dave_bass5

Its all down to people realising how good Squiers are :-)

[quote name='Bobby K' post='995162' date='Oct 20 2010, 06:11 PM']I had mine for a few months before doing any mods at all. It's a great bass for the money innit? [/quote] Damn right. so far i cant fault it, tone is just right (at home on headphones). I like the fact that the neck has vintage frets, thats goin got help me a lot in getting used to the wider string spacing.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='995147' date='Oct 20 2010, 05:55 PM']is that 8 point 5lb (ie 8lb 8oz) or 8lb 5oz? How come whenever I ask about the weight of these people all seem to say less than 8 1/2lb yet everyone that I've weighed has been between 9-10lb... and yes I've had my scales checked! [/quote] Yes. 8 1/2 lbs (8lb 8 oz). It feels like a toy lol. I did this on our post scales at work so its pretty accurate. My CV Jazz is 9.1lbs but this was on our bathroom scales at home, ill re check it tonight. After some more playing, and going back to my CV Jazz i can now definitely feel a difference. Not a big deal and one i hoped for as this will help me get to grip with P necks again.

Oh, and for the record, it weighs exactly 8.5lbs so its pretty light.

[quote name='Rasta' post='995088' date='Oct 20 2010, 05:01 PM']+1 for the CV's, I owned a VM jazz and it looked nice, but in my opinion it didn't play aswell as the CV jazz's do. Have you tried a CV 51p (The blue one) - i've got one of these and it is amazing.[/quote] i must admit that although i really loved my CV Jazz when i first got it, it doesn't give me the Jazz tone i wanted. My HW-one has much more growl and punch to it. Thats not to say the CV J isnt a good bass, its just not the tone i wanted/expected. Ive not tried the CV 50P. I just wanted a standard P tone for now. I will try one one day though but im not sure how different the tone is to a Jazz with just the neck pup on. Its some thing ill look in to when the time comes.

If i could afford a Fralin i would definitely put that in but i really cant afford a pup that costs half of what the bass costs. I sold one on here earlier this year that i got for my Duck Dunn and i really regret it now. Im probably going to go for either a Fender 62RI, a vintage (as used in their MIAs') or a Wizard Thumper. Ill get a few gigs under my belt with it first. It sounds pretty deep already. I do like the red better than the blue, but White or Black would be so much better. I would have said it was more Salmon red than Fiesta but i dont really know what Fiesta is supposed to look like unless the CV P is spot on. What a year its been. Started off with a DJ5 but sold it pretty quickly, then went back to my HW-1 Jazz, then traded that for a Sub and at the same time got a Duck Dunn. Then sold the Sub and got a Ray34. Sold the DD and used the Ray34 for a few months. Sold that and got a CV Jazz. Tried to get a MIA and ended up with another HW-one Jazz, and now ive gone back to a plain old cheap P. And at the same time ive had the same two bass rigs for 4-5 years. It never ends.

[quote name='ezbass' post='995025' date='Oct 20 2010, 04:31 PM']Which one did you get blue or red?[/quote] Well, it says Red on the box but its a bit washed out. I went for this because i like the HM bridge but it seems the Blue one also has this now. I guess its not really that bad, and a PG change will improve it, although for the life of me i cant imagine what colour i would get that goes with fiesta Red. Ill boot up Photoshop at some point and get some ideas but its probably going to be black. Im sur ei have my old 80's mirror PG at home still, maybe ill try that on it :-)

My CV P just arrived and i think im going to keep it as stock for a while. Pots seem good and they feel better than the ones on my CV Jazz for some reason. I will try a new cap, and definitely a new pup but i dont think ill be in any rush to do either.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='987313' date='Oct 13 2010, 07:28 PM']If there is 4mm difference in neck width then I certainly didn't notice it; having had both the Jazz and the Precision I'd have sworn that the neck profiles inc' width were exactly the same![/quote] My CV P just arrived and the nut is definitely 4mm wider but i had to measure it at least twice as it does indeed feel the same as the CV Jazz. Very strange and i too would never had thought it was different. In a way this si good as im already at home on it, bu ti was hoping for a challenge so i could conquer my issues with wider P necks. First impressions were yuck, what a horrible colour. This was the one thing thats put me off getting one for ages. But as soon as i plugged it in to my Korg Pandora (in the toilet at work no less) a big smile spread across my face. Its sounds fantastic. Im sure its just the P tone as ive been playing Jazz basses this year but its the tone ive been missing. set up seems really good, although i will change the strings tonight so might have to do another set up on it. Fit is good, there is a tiny bit of paint flaking off the body under the heal, right on the edge, but im not going to worry about that (road worn already, bonus). The pup is leaning forward. Im not sure if thats a problem or not but as it sounds great, and string to string volume seems good, ill leave it for now. So again, a Squier out of the box seems better made than the MIA's i had.

[quote name='Delberthot' post='994852' date='Oct 20 2010, 02:23 PM']Exactly, they're long gone [/quote] Yeah but you will probably buy at least one back so you can sell it again.

[quote name='neilb' post='993819' date='Oct 19 2010, 05:39 PM']Hope he manages to keep his trademark sound![/quote] Hope he has a back up Im sure he will keep his tone, after all, its all in the fingers (apparently) and he does have one heck of a style in his playing.

I have mine at 2mm at the 12th fret if i can get it. I also like to shim my necks so the action stays pretty much at 2mm right up to the last fret. It doesn't bother me too much lower down the neck but i prefer to not have too much of a gap past the 12th. I also tend to lower the pups a bit.

[quote name='Alfie' post='994522' date='Oct 20 2010, 10:27 AM']The only time I swapped pots for supposedly better CTS ones, the CTS ones were a lot cracklier, so I swapped back again. Definitely snake oil IMHO. Considering resale value, I would only part with cash for an "upgraded" bass if the work was done by a professional, otherwise the bass has been tampered with and is worth a lot less (IMHO).[/quote] Well as i said, i want a Linear pot for the volume so i will change that for a reason. Ive never had to change pots before, as ive not had any problems with them so ill leave the tone pot as it is. The good thing about selling on here is its easy to follow a basses history so i dont think many people worry too much who has done minor work, as long as it all works as it should/as advertised i think most people are happy. And as we know, not all "professionals" are professionals.

Cheers Guys. I saw that ebay shop yesterday but its good to know he is reliable.

[quote name='tedgilley' post='994029' date='Oct 19 2010, 08:06 PM']I did get in touch with Wizard's US distributor, Jade Guitars, in Herndon, Virginia, after emailing Andy. The Wizard Jazz 84s can be had over here for only about $10 over the price of top-line Duncans and Bartolinis, so I may go with the Wizards. tg[/quote] Nice one. Ive just replied to your PM about them but i forgot to add that they do seem to give a more articulated, more defined tone, especially to the higher notes. You may find the 84's a bit dark sounding, i did with my CV Jazz but as ive explained, Andy will do you a custom wind that will give you a bit of 84's and 64's, called 74's (no surprise there) I think a few of us have had these done. Im not sure how you stand to get this done in the USA though.

[quote name='umph' post='990082' date='Oct 16 2010, 12:05 PM']personally i'd get in touch with wizard pick ups[/quote] +1. I had Wizards in my CV Jazz and they really made a nice difference. As the OP is in the USA it might work out cheaper for him to buy one of the bigger brands over there.

[quote name='Cyrene' post='993408' date='Oct 19 2010, 12:31 PM']Hi. Would a standard Fender bridge cover fit over the high mass Squier CV bridge or a Fender BadAss II? Cheers[/quote] The blue CV P comes with a bridge cover, the red one doesn't but does have the HM bridge. It might be worth checking the dimensions of the standard bridge to see if its any wider than the HM one. Im pretty sure it a cover wont fit though.

[quote name='Bobby K' post='993454' date='Oct 19 2010, 01:10 PM']Do you mean the CV P bass? Apart from putting Seymour Duncan SPB-1's in, all I've done is change the capacitor to a 0.047 Orange drop. There's definitely a difference from the old cap (which was 0.068mf) - the tone variation used to be pretty unremarkable, but now there seems a definite gradual difference as you turn the pot. I did think about putting CTS's in but I think it would not make much difference, as Ou7shined said earlier. The bass just sounds a bit more exciting than it did stock now[/quote] Cheers. Yes, the CV P is the one im getting. Since i started this (yet another wiring) thread ive done some research and i guess ill give the cap change ago, and also put a linear CTS pot in for a more gradual volume change. Ill do a couple of gigs first with it as stock, as long as it all works ok, then change the above and probably the pup as well. Thanks all for the help.

[quote name='chris_b' post='993452' date='Oct 19 2010, 01:10 PM']This is like Groundhog Day!!![/quote] Not for me its not ;-)

[quote name='Bobby K' post='993444' date='Oct 19 2010, 01:00 PM']I'm learning all the time myself Dave, I'm deffo not an expert, but I definitely saw a marked difference, for the better, with the orange drop. I'm sure others will back me up on this too. Instead of on-off tone pot, you tend to get a smoother transition, from wooly at 0 to clear defined tone at 10 (on the tone pot)[/quote] Cheers. Ive only just noticed you also have the same bass so i guess that makes you the expert. Do you think its worth just changing that to start with rather than the pots? What im confused about (still) is that the kit i posted above says as used on modern Fenders, yet the cap is 0.1mf disc capacitor. I like the tone the MIA's get so how different will a .047 sound?

Thanks again Bobby. Ive read that name a few times but never really looked in to it as it wasn't something i was interested back then. I assume there isnt really much difference wit hone of these and the one thats already in the bass, other than the look. Sorry of all the basic questions. I just want this to be a one time job so want to get it right first time, although as i expect it to be my back up bass for a while i am open to messing with it. In fact i plan on putting my CV Jazz neck on it as well.

[quote name='Bobby K' post='993419' date='Oct 19 2010, 12:38 PM']A Sprague Orange Drop cap, to give it its full title. Most people seem to be using the 0.047mf version[/quote] Thanks. So is this just a brand of cap or is it different from say another .047mf cap? I want to keep it all pretty standard.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='993338' date='Oct 19 2010, 11:38 AM']That's a fair enough reason to put new in pots. It wouldn't warrant swapping out the entire loom though.[/quote] The main reason i thought about the kit was because its all the right parts in one place. Im not really bothered about the wires to be honest. John, im not really sure what a Sprague cap is im afraid. Its all new to me :-(although i will investigate all this a bit more one i get the bass and know what im going to do) Im also probably going to put a Fender original or 62RI pup in if i dont get on with the stock pup. Again, im going by the CV Jazz and that seemed to lack punch compared to my other Jazzes, and i do like the tone of the MIA P.

To be honest i agree with you. Thats why ive never done anything like this before. I do find the volume and tone knobs on my CV Jazz are more like on/off switches, especially compared to my old Lakland that had a nice range of control over both. Thats really the only reason im thinking of changing things. Im not on a hunt to get a perfect 60s' tone or authentic wiring or anything like that, just something that might work a bit better. Im happy to admit i might even be on the wrong track and it might just be a pup thing. I dont really want to experiment with caps, and if the one i linked to is the same as in a MIA P thats good enough for me.