NBD Squier P Bass Content - Live report update.

[ezbass]

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.

 

 

Edited October 15, 2023 by ezbass

[neepheid]

If I didn't already have a G&L Tribute LB-100 (which I got for a pretty decent £350), I'd have been all over these.

 

Congrats, it looks great. I think the anodised pickguard looks fantastic, but it's your bass, your way.

[Jonesy]

Lovely bass, glad you're happy with it! Seems like half the forum will be posting similar NBD threads soon 😂

 

Looks like the body is nicely matched and the neck is a nice colour too. I like the anodised plate, but tort will look cool as well.

[Jackroadkill]

I saw this offer too, and I really want one....  We're a bit thin, wallet-wise, in our house at the  moment, so I suspect I'll miss out on the deal.  Glad that they're a good bass, though - they look superb from my laptop.

[Waddo Soqable]

8 hours ago, Jackroadkill said:

I saw this offer too, and I really want one....  We're a bit thin, wallet-wise, in our house at the  moment, so I suspect I'll miss out on the deal.  Glad that they're a good bass, though - they look superb from my laptop.

Pretty much exactly the same here, been looking at the other thread on these too, like Ez I'd also have to change the Pickguard if I got one as I really don't like the goldy metal one. 

If I didn't have another newish Squier P bass I'd not be able to resist though! 

[ezbass]

10 hours ago, neepheid said:

Congrats, it looks great. I think the anodised pickguard looks fantastic, but it's your bass, your way.

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.

[ezbass]

10 hours ago, Jonesy said:

 

Looks like the body is nicely matched and the neck is a nice colour too.

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).

[Paolo85]

I did not realise they were 40mm nut width. That makes them unique for sure!

[Delberthot]

I've got a red one coming and having previously owned a Vintera with the anodised sandpaper scratchplate, does anyone know what scratchplate will fit these?

 

It looks like a US MIM one should fit.

[Waddo Soqable]

9 minutes ago, Delberthot said:

I've got a red one coming and having previously owned a Vintera with the anodised sandpaper scratchplate, does anyone know what scratchplate will fit these?

 

It looks like a US MIM one should fit.

Tbh if I'd got one I'd likely get the ebay bloke everyone uses to make me one, it'd be spot on then if you send him a template traced from the one on the bass... 

[ezbass]

35 minutes ago, Delberthot said:

I've got a red one coming and having previously owned a Vintera with the anodised sandpaper scratchplate, does anyone know what scratchplate will fit these?

 

It looks like a US MIM one should fit.

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

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, Paolo85 said:

I did not realise they were 40mm nut width. That makes them unique for sure!

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

[Paolo85]

54 minutes ago, ezbass said:

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

Ha! I wonder if it's part the reason why people, knowingly or not, find them so good. I had a P with 40mm and it was great

[Waddo Soqable]

2 hours ago, ezbass said:

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

This piqued my interest, so I just measured my Squier cheapo PJ (the type that's being sold currently btw)  it certainly doesn't give the impression of a chunky or baseball bat neck..

Now, depending on where you're taking measurements from.. the actual with of the plastic nut itself is 39.82.. The wood of the neck at this point is 40.93

 

[Paolo85]

24 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

This piqued my interest, so I just measured my Squier cheapo PJ (the type that's being sold currently btw)  it certainly doesn't give the impression of a chunky or baseball bat neck..

Now, depending on where you're taking measurements from.. the actual with of the plastic nut itself is 39.82.. The wood of the neck at this point is 40.93

 

I had that (still have it, but the neck had issues and I had to replace it). Honestly, once filed the multiple bumpy frets and the very high nut slots, it was the most satisfying neck ever. My impression was that it was proper P width, but the thinnest of my lot back to front. I wonder if it was too thin for the cheap wood they use and a number of them are bound to be unstable or become warped over time. When I'll have money to throw away I'll get sombody to build me that neck but with quartersawn maple or something

[Waddo Soqable]

2 hours ago, Paolo85 said:

I had that (still have it, but the neck had issues and I had to replace it). Honestly, once filed the multiple bumpy frets and the very high nut slots, it was the most satisfying neck ever. My impression was that it was proper P width, but the thinnest of my lot back to front. I wonder if it was too thin for the cheap wood they use and a number of them are bound to be unstable or become warped over time. When I'll have money to throw away I'll get sombody to build me that neck but with quartersawn maple or something

You must've been unlucky, no doubt they're a bit of a lottery, but the one I have was fine, I could've simply tuned it up and gigged it straight out of the box

[neepheid]

5 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

You must've been unlucky, no doubt they're a bit of a lottery, but the one I have was fine, I could've simply tuned it up and gigged it straight out of the box

 

Everyone who has received a "duffer" has been unlucky - if you can't manage a failure rate of less than 10%, you might as well give up making instruments and go home.

[Cato]

Oops wrong thread, doh.

 

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by Cato

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, Cato said:

Oops wrong thread, doh.

 

 

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.

[Jackroadkill]

2 hours ago, ezbass said:

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.

 

[ezbass]

2 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

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

[Jackroadkill]

Just now, ezbass said:

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

 

You're welcome, EZ!

[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).

Edited September 17, 2023 by ezbass

[ezbass]

New pickguard arrived today from https://www.guitarselectric.co.uk , whom I now recommend (quick delivery, great price, superb communications) and Ive fitted it. I added a whole load of aluminium tape for shielding and it's as quiet as with the original PG (I kind of overdid the cavity as it's quite tight and I managed to cause a short ).

 

Pics as promised:

 

 

[Linus27]

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

New pickguard arrived today from https://www.guitarselectric.co.uk , whom I now recommend (quick delivery, great price, superb communications) and Ive fitted it. I added a whole load of aluminium tape for shielding and it's as quiet as with the original PG (I kind of overdid the cavity as it's quite tight and I managed to cause a short ).

 

Pics as promised:

 

 

 

That looks so much better with the tort guard

 

Did you use aluminum tape or copper tape and did you do the cavity and pickguard or just the cavity?