*SOLD* 2011 Squier VM Precision Olympic White - Colour Matched / Tonerider / KioGon / Hipshot £245 Eastbourne

[DoubleOhStephan]

Purchased from this very parish from the gentleman and scholar that is @itsmedunc last September, as a winter tinkering project and to satisfy a GAS urge. 

After reading a BC thread extolling the virtues of P basses wearing flats, I needed to change the fact that I've never even played flats, let alone on a P. As my 70s classic P is in storage at my Mums, I couldn't just buy a pack of strings, a whole new bass was required!

Another BC thread convinced me that the bass I needed was a Squier Vintage Modified Precision and as luck would have it, Dunc put his project VM up for sale that very week.

Upon arrival I was really surprised with the weight. This thing is very light, weighing in at around 7lb on my kitchen scales!

I was also really happy with the condition. The body has a few small marks, but they really need to be searched for (the classic "hard to photograph" types).

The neck is also in excellent condition, as are the standard Squire tuners. They turn freely and hold tune well, so were keepers.

 

The non-stock bridge had to go though. The saddles didn't match (although Dunc had kindly sent me some more) but on closer inspection I noticed that the bridge had began to bend and pull away from the body.
So, that was replaced with a Hipshot Type B chrome-plated aluminium bridge, a really high quality and solid bit of kit, which also has quick loading slots, so changing strings is doddle.

The non-stock pickups which came on the bass were fine, but I've replaced them Tonerider TRP1 Precision Plus pickups for a much more vintage tone. These pups are an absolute bargain BTW, and are highly recommended.

To make sure the electronics were up to scratch, I've replaced the original wiring loom with an exceptional KioGon loom. I've also copper shielded the cavity and scratchplate to make sure it's nice and quiet.

As neither the old or Tonerider pickups fit through the holes in the old scratchplate, I binned it and replaced it with a lovely brown tortoiseshell one off eBay, which looks fantastic and really compliments the rosewood fretboard. I filled and redrilled the screw holes on the body to be sure of a good fit.

New strap botton felts, a good dose of lemon oil on the fretboard and a deep polish finished all the refurb work, now for a bit of tinkering...

The first thing I wanted to try was rolling the fretboard edges. One YouTube video tutorial later and it's done. Such an easy thing to do and it makes a huge difference, it really takes the neck to a different level for comfort and playability.

The second thing I did was take some super-fine sand paper and remove the lacquer from the back of the neck. It's now extremely smooth & slippery and is so much easier to play. It does look a touch patchy up near the body, but it's not noticeable to the touch and is hardly noticeable to the eye. Tbh, it's only when I was taking the pics that I saw it!

Finally, being a shameless brand snob, I decided to remove the Squier logo (though have kept serial number etc on the back to avoid any confusion) and put on a Fender one. But I didn't want just any old Fender logo, I wanted something special!

After removing the Squier logo, I colour matched the headstock (with nitrocellulose paint/lacquer in olympic white from Northwest Guitars) and inspired by chrome logos on my Sandbergs, searched the internet until I found a beautiful metal logo, which I had shipped all the way from Russia!

 

Finally, I fitted a set of Fender 9050 stainless steel flatwounds (55-105) and job done. A P with flats!

There are a couple of small issues. The bridge isn't quite straight which puts the strings out of line with the poles. It doesn't seem to affect tuning and intonation or consistency of tone through the pickups, but it looks a bit annoying nonetheless. Also, even though I masked the headstock to within an inch of its life for spraying, some paint has filled into some old headstock nibbles and makes the edge look a little untidy (see pic).

All in all, it's now a really beautifully playing, beautifully sounding and beautiful looking lightweight P bass. Unfortunately, a rather large car repair bill and the discovery of a leak from the boiler this morning means my pockets are less cluttered than I'd like, so here it is!

Unfortunately, I don't have a spare gig bag, case or shipping box, so this one will be collection only FROM Eastbourne BN22.

Any questions, please get in touch.

http://www.tonerider.com/precision-plus

https://hipshotproducts.com/products/b-style-fender-mount-bridges

Edited January 30, 2020 by DoubleOhStephan

[DoubleOhStephan]

And she's sold! 

[briansbrew]

Damn, someone beat me too it LOL