Not so NBD - Squier Standard P (JP)

[TheGreek]

Bought this a while back but it's been at work. Senior Management said I could have this as a stress management tool - my senior says that I can only use it for ten minutes (how long it takes the smokers to have a fag) locked away in an interview room. That's ridiculous so I've brought it home.

In the office I didn't get to use it with an amp so didn't have a real idea about the tonal palette which surprised me when I used through my Trace Elliot 150 SMX.

The controls are simplicity itself - Volume/ pan/tone. The P pick up is fat and cheerful, providing those latte/ cappuccino tones you've heard a thousand times on all your favourite funk/ soul classics. The J pick up provides tones you'd expect from a (more expensive) good Jaco copy - remember that this is a Indonesian made, sub £200 bass, standard pick ups, no active pre-amp. I was surprised, to say the least. No need for replacing these IMO.

I haven't owned a P bass before - lots of basses with that pick up but not the actual beastie itself so I was surprised by the shallow profile of the neck - is this your standard P neck?? - slim through from the back to fretboard - just measured it at 20mm - pretty much the length of the neck. This doesn't feel like any P bass I'd played previously. Measuring 38mm at the nut, 60mm at the bridge the spacing is pretty much spot on - but then this is a 60+ year old design so you'd expect them to have got it right by now.

My peeve with Fender style basses has always been that horrible, square wheel, Fred Flintstone design BBOT bridge which rips at the forearm when you slap. IMO the least ergonomic/ user friendly bridge I've ever played - you can see why companies are making money manufacturing high mass bridges. Aesthetically, I can't have ashtray covers, so surely there must be some other way of protecting yourself from the allen key bolts short of replacing the bridge with a high mass? No?? Looks like I'm working on a Dragon's Den appearance then.

The neck itself is very playable - satin finished with a fast profile - it won't be everybody's choice but I like it. No issues about fit and finish - this does not feel like an inexpensive instrument - confirms the modern belief that there are very few bad basses these days.

Hardware seems to be of a good quality - again no reason to change these. Weight and balance make this a very playable piece of kit.

At just under £200 I'm surprised that they're not everywhere. Yes, there are lots of other good quality, well built and inexpensive P basses out there but this one has many redeeming qualities so I'd expect to have heard more about it. Are they flying under the RADAR or are there others in this very competitive price bracket which need serious consideration? 

New players could do worse than get one of these.

[BrunoBass]

Is this the Affinity range? If so, agreed - surprisingly impressive basses. I picked one up a year or two ago from a branch of Cash Converters whilst visiting Leicester. The guy was literally putting it in the window as I walked past. £100. I went straight in and got it. I gigged it regularly and found it to be an ideal bass for some of the grottier pubs we were playing at the time.