TheGreek Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 (edited) Just acquired one of these from eBay. http://leejameskirkham.com/p-bass-special/specifications.shtml Idea is to leave it at work for stress relief - Managers recognise that working with Homeless substance misusers with MH issues can be stressful. There are also moves afoot to convert an empty office into a studio at which point the company may buy it from me. I have the tech spec but what are they actually like to play? How do they compare to their lookie-likies? Should arrive mid week. Edited August 11, 2019 by TheGreek 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Nice. I've owned several of these over the years. The funny thing about the Squier Special's are the weight of them varies, I've had one's which weigh over 10lbs, and another which was only 6.6lbs. The necks on all of them are brilliant, super easy to play, and the last one I had I set up with the lowest action of any bass I've ever owned, played like butter. On all the one's I've owned the pickups and electrics have been utter rubbish, dull and lifeless. Drop in some Wilkinson pickups (decent and cheap) and a better loom and you'll have a bass as good if not better than most pre-2014 MIM Fenders. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted August 11, 2019 Author Share Posted August 11, 2019 OK BCers...anybody have a set of suitable replacement pups? Cheap/free/ trades preferred - remember this will, primarily, be for the use of some really troubled people. PM me if you want to trade...I've got lots of odds & ends 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 1 hour ago, TheGreek said: OK BCers...anybody have a set of suitable replacement pups? Cheap/free/ trades preferred - remember this will, primarily, be for the use of some really troubled people. PM me if you want to trade...I've got lots of odds & ends Mick I'll have a rummage around for any bits spare, they will go to you FOC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted August 11, 2019 Author Share Posted August 11, 2019 Hey Ross.. Many thanks, VERY much appreciated... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grahambythesea Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 I grabbed one of these cheap on eBay recently too. Pots were dead but pickups good. Removed the banana shape from the neck but the action isn’t great, it is a very nice neck to play though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 Left mine at work....only had about 10 minutes of noodling on it so far with a pair of Vox Amphones - feels nicely weighted and balanced, nice neck - but realistically no real idea if it's any good. There are issues with a loose connection somewhere - hopefully can be resolved when the pick ups are swapped over....I'll keep you apprised Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangotango Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 On 11/08/2019 at 14:17, TheGreek said: OK BCers...anybody have a set of suitable replacement pups? Cheap/free/ trades preferred - remember this will, primarily, be for the use of some really troubled people. PM me if you want to trade...I've got lots of odds & ends If you're still looking for pups...I have the original P/J set from my Bass Collection bass. You're welcome to those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmingo Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 I got one of these for free because the neck had a ski jump (these are prone to that) and a kind member here attempted to fix it with no success. I plan to put a different neck on it one of these days..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 24 minutes ago, Bassmingo said: I got one of these for free because the neck had a ski jump (these are prone to that) and a kind member here attempted to fix it with no success. I plan to put a different neck on it one of these days..... Shame. The necks on these basses are the best part, but at least it was free. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmingo Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 53 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said: Shame. The necks on these basses are the best part, but at least it was free. 👍 Yeah It's a satin pewter metallic one, which is a cool colour. It really lends itself to black hardware which looks really cool on it. That's also my plan....one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 Cheap way to fix the pickups... get a cylinder or even a small bulldog clip to support the pickup and tap the pole pieces down 3mm. I made a special punch with a 3mm spigot on the end to move then the exact distance. Ensuring you have the tight polarity, drop a 5mm diameter by 3mm thick neodymium magnet onto each pole piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 (edited) Are these the VM PJ basses you guys have? I had i one a few years ago. Never liked it, not even with a set of EMG Geezer Butler PJ pup's in it. To me it sounded quite lightweight with no real body to it. Anyway, the point of my post is to recommend the EMG's lol. Edited August 27, 2019 by dave_bass5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 5 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said: Are these the VM PJ basses you guys have? I had i one a few years ago. Never liked it, not even with a set of EMG Geezer Butler PJ pup's in it. To me it sounded quite lightweight with no real body to it. Anyway, the point of my post is to recommend the EMG's lol. Well it's clearly not to recommend the Squier PJs is it? 😂 😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 1 minute ago, Al Krow said: Well it's clearly not to recommend the Squier PJs is it? 😂 😀 Haha, no, i wouldn't recommend the VM, but i think these are a different line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 43 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said: Haha, no, i wouldn't recommend the VM, but i think these are a different line. These are the "precision special", the precursor to the VM series. You must have had a bad one as there are lots of glowing reviews both here and on the US site. I was impressed with the VM I had. Having owned several "precision special's" also I can say the pickups on all the ones I played sounded lightweight, but not on the VM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 6 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said: These are the "precision special", the precursor to the VM series. You must have had a bad one as there are lots of glowing reviews both here and on the US site. I was impressed with the VM I had. Having owned several "precision special's" also I can say the pickups on all the ones I played sounded lightweight, but not on the VM. I didnt have a bad one, i just didnt like it and all the glowing reviews are obviously based on people liking them 😉 As an example i compared just the neck pup on it to my CVP and the CV had more body to it, and just sounded more 'P' like. It was only the tone i didnt like, the bass was well made and had no quality issues (other than i thought the neck edges were a bit sharp). But if i didn't like it i couldn't possibly recomend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 7 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said: I didnt have a bad one, i just didnt like it and all the glowing reviews are obviously based on people liking them 😉 As an example i compared just the neck pup on it to my CVP and the CV had more body to it, and just sounded more 'P' like. It was only the tone i didnt like, the bass was well made and had no quality issues (other than i thought the neck edges were a bit sharp). But if i didn't like it i couldn't possibly recomend it. Sounds like you didn't like the pups, why didn't you just change them to suit your taste? 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 3 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said: Sounds like you didn't like the pups, why didn't you just change them to suit your taste? 😀 Eh? i already said i put a set of EMG's in it and still didnt like it. For the record i have the same EMG in my Fender P bass and love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 Sorry, forgot you mentioned the pup change. The EMGs won't sound anything like your CV, totally different sound, so don't get the comparison there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 20 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said: Sorry, forgot you mentioned the pup change. The EMGs won't sound anything like your CV, totally different sound, so don't get the comparison there. Ok, to clarify, both Squiers had stock pups at the time. Didn't like the VM. Put EMG;s in the VM, still didnt like the tone. The reason i brought this up was in case anyone (actually, just you) says the pup is not to my liking. I have the same pup in my Fender P bass. Now i know its not exactly apples to apple's, but its as close as i can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 17 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said: Ok, to clarify, both Squiers had stock pups at the time. Didn't like the VM. Put EMG;s in the VM, still didnt like the tone. The reason i brought this up was in case anyone (actually, just you) says the pup is not to my liking. I have the same pup in my Fender P bass. Now i know its not exactly apples to apple's, but its as close as i can get. Easy tiger, I was only asking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprocketflup Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 Had a Squier standard in pewter as my main gig bass for several years, it did the job very well tbh. It had a Kiogon loom on right from the start, and I shielded the cavity to the best of my ability. However, the j pup did have issues in several theatres with humming, and rather than replace the pickups I ended up replacing the bass as it had had its fair share of knocks over the years, and hey, new bass lol The neck on it was sublime however, which is the main reason I liked it s much I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 31 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said: Easy tiger, I was only asking. Well, you were questioning the fact that i didnt like something. Not quite 'asking' but its all good with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 2 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said: Well, you were questioning the fact that i didnt like something. Not quite 'asking' but its all good with me. No, I was asking why you liked one 'vintage' voiced Squier over another, and comparing different pups. I didn't question the fact you didn't like something. We all have different tastes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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