Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

The re-birth of my Affinity P-bass.


Maarten_E
 Share

Recommended Posts

[quote name='martthebass' timestamp='1328617916' post='1529993']
Bit cheaper here - depending on the shipping charge.

[url="http://www.axesrus.com/AxeBassMachine.html"]http://www.axesrus.c...assMachine.html[/url]
[/quote] Aye he's right! £24 with free shipping, making them 49p cheaper :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, well, I can buy them for €30,- without shipping, so I'll go for that I think. ;)
Going to order them today, as well as an Orange Drop capacitor.
More things to order?
Don't know actually, maybe new flats for my Squier Jazz Bass, but that's not an issue for the Precision. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm intrigued... how much of the original bass is left now? Just the body? :blink: How much have you spent on it in total?

I'm asking out of interest, not trying to be funny. :o I have done some upgrades on my Squier Affinity P, but I would hesitate to replace the neck, especially as that was what made it such a good player in the first place!

Pickups have been upgraded to GFS [url="http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-PB-Pro-PLUS-OVERWOUND-Alnico-P-Bass-style-VERY-hot_p_334.html"]http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-PB-Pro-PLUS-OVERWOUND-Alnico-P-Bass-style-VERY-hot_p_334.html[/url]

Pots are CTS and the Bass Doc custom made a W/B/W plate to replace the cracked standard one.

It plays great, but to be honest I think the most noticeable upgrade was a decent set of strings! DR hi-beams to be exact. It's a shame so many people overlook the strings and go straight on to replacing parts...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your reaction Conan!
My very first upgrade are D'Addario flatwounds, the P played much better after that upgrade, but I thought it could be better. :)
Yes, the only original part is the body, which is black and will maintain it's colour. The neck is replaced by a Fender MiM P-bass neck, but it seems like that neck won't fit snuggly in the neckpocket. The position of the screwholes on the neck is a bit too far towards the fretboard, which gives this result:



Though, this neck looks much, much better than the original neck, as you can see:

New neck is on the body, the old neck lies above it,

[b]How much I spent (in €'s):[/b]
Original bass: €15,-
Schaller bridge: €40,-
Bridge Cover: €20,-
Pickguard: €20,-
CTS Pots: €11,50,-
New Tuners: €30,-
Fender MiM P-bass neck: €120,-
New Capacitor: €25,-

Total: €[b]281,50 (which is 233 pounds.[/b])But, I honestly think it will play a new Affintiy P bass out of the damn water ;), (besides, a new affinity P costs €250 over here, so I "lose" just 30€ ;))

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Jerry_B' timestamp='1329556256' post='1544111']
I wouldn't worry about tiny cosmetic quibbles such as that gap between the neck heel and the scratchplate. No-one will be able to tell!
[/quote]

Exactly. And some Fenders have a similar gap apparently! :blink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Maarten_E' timestamp='1329528796' post='1544020']
Thanks for your reaction Conan! Total: €[b]281,50 (which is 233 pounds.[/b]) ;)
[/quote]

Oh right! That's not bad at all then. I had no idea you paid so little for the bass! Nice job B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone told me that the MIM necks weren't such a good fit in the Chinese Squier and USA P basses - maybe I'm dreaming it though. Had a similar problem when I put a Squier neck in my old Sue Ryder P copy. Needed to dowel the screw holes in the neck and redrill to get the optimal fit - would this work for you? Alternatively sell the MIM neck and get a Mighty Mite - these fit spot on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='martthebass' timestamp='1329645598' post='1545137']
Someone told me that the MIM necks weren't such a good fit in the Chinese Squier and USA P basses - maybe I'm dreaming it though. Had a similar problem when I put a Squier neck in my old Sue Ryder P copy. Needed to dowel the screw holes in the neck and redrill to get the optimal fit - would this work for you? Alternatively sell the MIM neck and get a Mighty Mite - these fit spot on.
[/quote]
Well, today I'm going to a mate who can drill the holes and fill the old ones up. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I went to my mate, to work on the neck, to get it fit snuggly.
At the end of the day, we did literally everything, except for installing the stringtree (which I didn't bring with me :unsure: ) and intonate the guitar, which I'll do tomorrow. As far as we can see, that's all.
But we found out, the single-coil is humming and cracking like an old lady, so I'll replace that one I think by an SD SPB-1 :)

Photos:
Fender MiM neck:


Body, new pots, capacitor, knobs, bridge and everything else. :)
[IMG]http://i40.tinypic.com/30l12sg.jpg[/IMG]

Edited by Maarten_E
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

I've made one last change to the bass. The standard Pickup is replaced by a DiMarzio Model P in cream colour. Bought it for 50€ second hand, and it BLOWS! :blink: :blink:
Had another bass on the workbank as well, a London City body and neck (Precision style), with a hole with could fit a ChiSonic pickup. I've put a OLP-humbucker in it, and it gives a low-end I can only dream of. :)

Pictures will follow soon, :) :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='StevieD_FenderP2009' timestamp='1327438325' post='1511300']
You're right in thinking Steve uses the SPB-1's. I have the Steve Harris Fender P Bass and I've strung it up with D'Addario flats (50-105) as I didn't like the Rotosound SH77 strings. I've 95% nailed his tone now too :D

Your bass is looking really really cool now but please sand that headstock down and get it looking fresh
[/quote]

Sorry for the thread hijack, but according to the SD website, Steve uses the Quarter Pounders. I don't know which is right though, the signature model I would suspect, but I've no way of proving either, I'm going to get some of the right ones once I've cleared the confusion in my head :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Maarten_E' timestamp='1348964497' post='1820275']
I've made one last change to the bass. The standard Pickup is replaced by a DiMarzio Model P in cream colour. Bought it for 50€ second hand, and it BLOWS! :blink: :blink:
Had another bass on the workbank as well, a London City body and neck (Precision style), with a hole with could fit a ChiSonic pickup. I've put a OLP-humbucker in it, and it gives a low-end I can only dream of. :)

Pictures will follow soon, :) :)
[/quote]

Musta missed this, it's nice to see someone else making their affinity P-bass into something that exceeds stock Mexican Fenders. X-D
I'm yet to fully finish mine but for pickup I chose the DiMarzio Willpower middle. It was based on 3 P-bass using influences, with my own spin.
That being Steve Harris, Billy Sheehan and Phil Lynott.
I will warn, I built it to have obscene power, so if your looking for a more trad sound I'd avoid the Willpower. You only need to touch the string gently to get a note out. :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Maarten_E' timestamp='1329528796' post='1544020']
[b]How much I spent (in €'s):[/b]
Original bass: €15,-
Schaller bridge: €40,-
Bridge Cover: €20,-
Pickguard: €20,-
CTS Pots: €11,50,-
New Tuners: €30,-
Fender MiM P-bass neck: €120,-
[color=#FF0000][b][i][size=5]New Capacitor: €25,-[/size][/i][/b][/color]
[/quote]

Sorry for the question but what cap did you get for this price? I can get an Orange Drop cap for about 1€!!!
[url="http://www.banzaimusic.com/Orange-Drop-225P-0-0022uF.html"]http://www.banzaimusic.com/Orange-Drop-225P-0-0022uF.html[/url]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...