ezbass

OK, 2 days in and time for a review of my feelings so far. The neck is a joy to play, just the the right amount of width and chunk. My custom J type is really easy to play, but at the lower registers can be a little wearing if a lot of time is spent there. Not so with the Squier's neck, it is deep enough to alleviate any build of tension in this area and has a profile not dissimilar to my JMJ Mustang, albeit longer. The feel of this neck is way beyond that of the MiM Fender Players I tried out recently. This shouldn't come as a surprise really, as the neck on my Squier CV Telecaster is a complete joy and pretty much all that is original on that skinny stringed beast. Sound wise I am also very pleased. When I embarked on this latest round of P GAS, I went to a local(ish) shop and tried out some Fender Player Series Ps, both maple and rosewood, and I took my JMJ along to make sure I wasn't duplicating the tone. What I found then was that JMJ out P'ed them, if that makes sense, they weren't as articulate as the Mustang. This Squier, however, really barks and growls, with plenty of top end bite, a more aggressive, rude version of the Mustang, whilst adding that piano type quality that you get with the longer scale. Some of this may be down to the new strings (my favoured EB Cobalt Flats), but not all of it. At the money I paid for the Squier, I thought that I'd probably replace the pickup with something more up market but, at the moment, I can't see why I would do this, it's a fine sounding pickup, that adds something to my arsenal that I don't currently have. The tone control has at least 4 separate areas for modifying that inherent sound too, a welcome and surprising addition. It is wonderfully quiet, which must be down to the anodised pickguard to some extent. Talking of which, I don't like the feel of the normal anodised pg, with its fine, sandpaper quality. This one is different, however, as it is glossy and despite already ordering a tort pg (sorry [not sorry] tort haters, I like them), the original might stay; watch this space. There are a couple of tiny, tiny dings around the neck pocket, which I guess happen during the fitting (probably some haste involved), that indicates that the finish may not be particularly ding resistant, but I'm OK with that, given that I rather like some mojo, especially on something that looks like this. As mentioned above, I've already changed out the tuners for Hipshot lightweights. There was nothing wrong the original, pre aged tuners (as is all the hardware and very well done it is too), but the weight saving was significant enough to warrant the swap out (approx 37grams per tuner). The bridge is exactly what you'd expect, a BBOT, although I would have liked to have seen threaded saddles for that vintage vibe. In conclusion, everything seems absolutely fine and dandy, with me looking forward to using it anger with my band, where I think it add something in addition to the Mustang, with it's in your face tone and its less understated looks from a visual perspective (not a reason for buying it, but these things matter from the audience's POV and in photos, etc).

My P was 3.8kg out of the box. There are few quoted weights throughout this thread, IIRC, ranging from just under 3.5kg, to just over 4kg.

This what I did earlier in the year with a mod band. Not necessarily my normal thing, but good to be out playing again. Getting matching dates has always been an issue with any band I’ve been in, it is the proverbial trying to nail a jelly to a wall.

You have had the worst luck with bands in recent times it seems .

Springsteen, Elvis Costello (because my gf at the time liked him, me not o much - things change), Simple Minds, Big Country, Dire Straits. I’m driving around in a series of nasty secondhand cars, but having a great time.

That has a nice ring to it, not least in its ambiguity.

I see what you did there, taking advantage of my good nature

Having just purchased a new P bass, my bass GAS is currently sated. However, my guitar GAS is still bubbling away nicely, I feel a Gretsch is on the cards.

You could've posted a picture of a Telecaster here, I for one would not have been unhappy. Confused maybe, but not unhappy. I do love a Tele.

Never a bad thing. That era had so many great session players, Jackson was spoilt for choice, the personnel on that album alone reads like a who’s who. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pretender_(album)

Cracking tune, in fact, the whole album is superb. The crediting of Lee Sklar (IIRC) rather than Bob Glaub is an amusing anecdote.

He can be hard work, but fast forward is your friend. It was mainly on the back IIRC; odd. I wonder if the finish would take a spray over easily, given its non gloss finish, it does feel kind of primer like.

The Captain & Me - The Doobie Brothers

Sgt Rock - XTC

The specs say 42.8mm, but no matter how many times I measure mine, it's 40mm on the nose.

It's a 13 hole jobbie, whether the holes line up remains to be seen, but it looks right.

The neck is an added bonus. The quoted width is a hair over 42mm, but as soon as I saw it and then had a quick play, I knew it wasn’t. I’m not a fan of 38mm, J shaped necks, but it’s been a while since I’ve had anything over 41mm (5 string notwithstanding) and I’ve been playing the JMJ almost exclusively recently and become used to to the 40mm on that. Discovering that this is 40mm and avoids the extra chunkiness that I’ve found with MiM Player series Ps, was an absolute result. Not being gloss, plays down the tinting and avoids it being orange, that you sometimes get with tinted, all maple necks. I fancy that the body might wear quite pleasingly too (I don’t mind a bit of mojo).

TBH, I had kind of decided on a tort pg before it arrived. I’ve had anodised pgs in the past and didn’t like them. This one feels nicer than those, however, and looks better too (it has a more pronounced ’grain’ and is shinier, an altogether different beast). I may end up keeping it as is and have the tort for when I fancy a change. I’m really looking forward to using with my band. It’s a Mod band and the various genres that that entails, but I think it’s the more aggressive tunes I think we excel at (The Jam, The Who, Small Faces, etc) and the tone of this bass should enhance that over the Mustang.

Shipbuilding - Elvis Costello

Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas

After being made aware of some special pricing, on a thread here on BC, from those lovely folk at Thomann, I pulled the trigger on 40th Anniversary Squier Precision in trans(ish) blond, at £285 (28.5% off list), it was rude not to. It arrived today and straight out of the box, it screamed keeper. Everything as you’d expect from a well put together P, but at a price that seems impossible for the quality. It weighed in at 3.8kg, but I had a spare set of Hipshot, lightweight tuners, so fitted them straight away and that weight is reduced to a very acceptable 3.67kg (lighter than my Mustang). The 40mm nut width was also most welcome (the same as my Mustang). Matt body, satin neck make it pleasant to handle. The sound: a proper, full on P, with a very usable tone control. The nut was a little rough in places, but a nail file soon put that right. A bit of fret buzz on the G string around the 12th fret area also needed a little polish to the frets to remove that. I’m pleased, very pleased. I’ll update with more pics when I’ve fitted the tort guard I’ve ordered along with more thoughts after a few days of ownership.

Cheaper from GG. https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/search/?Query=Aerodyne

A cardboard box. No, they don’t come with a case or gigbag.