Fender Kingman SCE 2014

I know there’s been lots of discussion about this bass but I can’t seem to find the one little detail that’s driving me crazy. What does the “SCE” Mean? Also, Can anyone tell me the difference between this 2014 version and the current Kingman other than the color?

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I’m looking into it but I’m not having much luck either. I found a reference to SCE as Southern California Edition but that may have just been conjecture. It wasn’t anywhere official.

If you find these answers before I do, or if anyone else knows, please go ahead and post here. I would really like to know the answers also.

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It’s surprising how hard it is to find out what the SCE is but I’m gonna go with you. Southern California EditionI have one on the way from reverb. I’m pretty excited as my first acoustic and I feel like it was a steel $310 shipped with a hard case.

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Decked out in the electric-inspired style of Fender’s California Player series, the Kingman Bass delivers the full, deep acoustic projection and comfortable playing feel you expect from Fender. Named for a famous stop along US Route 66, the short-scale Kingman Bass offers a gloss black finish, smooth-playing mahogany Jazz Bass neck and convenient cutaway for easy access to the upper reaches of the fingerboard. This bass is built for one thing, and one thing onlyto rock.

I reckon you’re in the right track with the South California Edition @eric.kiser

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I don’t mean to spoil the fun guys, but the Fender acoustic basses catalog includes a CB-60 SCE and an FA-450 CE model as well… “SCE” and “CE” may just be manufacturer’s codes for body type, or scale length, or anything else.

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Yeah, I actually don’t think it’s Southern California edition since it’s already part of the California series.

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I remember a friend of mine who had just begun selling cars many years ago answering a buyer’s question that EFI meant extra fine interior. This was just at the start of electronic fuel injection :joy:

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I just talked to somebody at Fender. They are always really nice and professional whenever I’ve called. If you ever have any questions I highly recommend talking to them.

CE just means that it comes with a case.

SCE means that it comes without a case. The S meaning it ships as a single piece. Whereas, if it came with a case it would be more than one piece.

That was an unfortunately boring response. Maybe if CE had stood for CASE and SCE stood for SANS CASE that would have been a little more interesting.

I also asked about changes between the models and he said the biggest difference is each newer model gets the newest iteration of the Fishman pre-amp.

The newest model is short scale at a little over 30" where all the previous models where standard 34" scale.

Other than that, the newest model, the Kingman v2 (2018), got it’s v2 designation because they moved from a factory in China to a factory in Indonesia. The Chinese factory worked off of millimeter specifications and the Indonesian factory works off fraction of an inch specifications. This means all of the specifications (neck radius, nut width, etc.) are all slightly different.

@doylecb All this is just informational. I also think you got a great deal. :+1:

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:joy: I plan to use that sentence in my next zoom meeting!

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:rofl:
Bonus points if you can find a way to work my name into it!
:rofl:

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That is a lot of great info! Thank you!

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@doylecb When you have a chance to play it amplified, I would like to hear what you thing of the electronics.

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I had sent an email asking about this and then went ahead and called them.

What I wrote above was what I got from the phone call.

Yesterday, I got a response to my email and the answer was different. According to Eduardo Ardon of Fender Consumer Relations…

S stands for Solid Top
C stands for Cutaway
E stands for Electronics

It’s a bit funny this information isn’t consistent but the S standing for Solid Top makes more sense than standing for Single.

I went to the Fender site and looked at the models with the SCE designation and they all used Solid Top construction where the CE models all have laminate tops. Not that this helps very much since they don’t use these designations across all the models. Meaning, Fender sells plenty of acoustics with Solid Top construction without the S anywhere in the name.

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Thanks for doing the homework. I figured out the E meant electric/electronics/pickup a year or so back based on when I was comparing acoustic guitar models. I wound up buying an FA 235E, and I can confirm it’s a laminate top, no cutout, and has electronics.

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