NBD Squier P Bass Content - Live report update.

[ezbass]

5 minutes ago, Linus27 said:

 

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?

Thanks. To be honest, as much as I'm a big old tort fan, I quite like this gold PG and it might see a return at some time.

 

Aluminium tape. I did all of the back of the PG and, as I had the PG off, the control cavity (which caused the wee bit of bother mentioned).

[Waddo Soqable]

That looks cracking now, very classy & much improved 👍

[Jonesy]

Both look great, the tort is a really nice shade too. I reckon cream pup covers would go nicely with the tort......

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, Jonesy said:

I reckon cream pup covers would go nicely with the tort...

Ooh, interesting.

[Linus27]

1 hour ago, Jonesy said:

Both look great, the tort is a really nice shade too. I reckon cream pup covers would go nicely with the tort......

 

That's a great idea 👍

[Jonesy]

I'm slightly biased though (excuse the poor screen shot).....

[Geek99]

On 16/09/2023 at 19:27, ezbass said:

You could've posted a picture of a Telecaster here, I for one would not have been unhappy.

No, he couldn’t 

it would have been wrong 

[ezbass]

Update time. Rather than adding to what I've posted before, I thought I'd precis my posts into a new one, with aded, up to date info, so folk don't need to scroll through all the previous posts, if this is their first read (also good for those who may have forgotten the details).

 

Here's the thing, I didn't need another bass, I'd been playing my JMJ Mustang extensively since it arrived in Feb 2021 and that tone is to die for. However, the aesthetics of the Mustang are questionable to my eyes and I've always been a sucker for the P bass look and I've owned a few through the years, including one from 1963, all of which were moved on for reasons that pass understanding. I went P bass shopping in Dundee (my nearest 'local' store) some time back and tried a number of Player Series Ps and, nice as they were, they didn't hold a candle to my JMJ tonally, which I took along for comparison, they were all simply outclassed (or out-Peed if you will). Thinking that this was GAS cured, I returned to my lovely short scales but, surprise, surprise, I was wrong, the P GAS persisted. Then, some bright spark, you know who you are  , starts a thread, advertising the great deals Thomann were (are?) doing on the Squier 40th Anniversary basses, colour me hooked. I'd seen a few YouTube videos too with reviewers extolling the virtues of this range, so it wasn't long until I pulled the trigger on the vintage blond version. Having now rehearsed and gigged with it (first outing live, last night), an update is required.

 

As mentioned in my first post, straight out of the box, it was very playable, a very manageable 3.8kg, no complaints. Despite specs to contrary, the nut width on mine is 40mm, which suits me beautifully as this matches my Mustang and is just 1mm narrower than my custom Maruszczyks (these are slimmer front to back, so they feel very similar). The neck is a joy to play, very smooth in the palm, with no drag. There were two frets that seemed a tiny bit high when I had adjusted the action to my preferred settings, but this was rectified with a good polish in the offending area (800, 100, 1200, 1500 grits and micro mesh). I use EB cobalt flats on just about everything, so I ordered a set at the same time. I also had a set of Hipshot, lightweight tuners spare, so, when I changed the strings, I fitted these too, making the finished article lighter than my Mustang and a mere 3.67kg; happy days. Having had anodised pickguards in the past and not liking the scratchy feeling on my fingers, I also ordered a tort pickguard (I like 'em, YMMV). However, the anodised pg on these basses is more of a gloss finish, so that wouldn't have been an issue this time around, other than the sea of yellow (more on this later), but I had bought the tort one, so on it went, together with some shielding (there was none, the pg notwithstanding, and although it wasn't noisy anyway, I like to have it. There was none in my Mustang either, when I bought it and that cost over 3 times as much as this bass. C'mon Fender, get with it!). My only complaint, and it really isn't a complaint as such, is that the Vintage Blond is more a sandy/custard, but I think that the satin finish may wear in a pleasing fashion and the tort breaks it up too.

 

In a live setting, with the band, the best way to describe the pickup tone is rude. It's definitely a P, but with extra bark and bite, not as smooth as the Seymour Duncan in the JMJ Mustang, although certainly in the same ballpark and it sits in the mix really well, making itself known; very suitable for The Jam and other slightly aggressive numbers we do. Add a little dirt (I use a Tech21 VTDI for this) and you're really in Jean-Jacques Burnel territory. If the the Player Series ones I mentioned earlier had sounded like this, I'd have bought one then and been poorer for it, especially as the all maple necks on those are quite bulky. I normally find all maple necks on Fenders to be much bulkier than their rosewood (or whatever) equipped counterparts, that is not the case here, the neck feels just right, a very similar profile to the JMJ as previously mentioned, so another win for waiting a bit.

 

So, is it a keeper? Yes, I think so, but I've said that before . Members of the band were also suitably impressed by its performance and I found myself wanting to keep playing it. In short, feels good, sounds good, all good. Squier have really excelled themselves with these basses it seems and the Mexican Fender plant should take serious note and up their game accordingly.

 

Same image as before, but to save scrolling...

 

[Frank n funker]

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

Then, some bright spark, you know who you are  , starts a thread, advertising the great deals Thomann were (are?) doing on the Squier 40th Anniversary basses

Guilty as charged! 😄

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, Frank n funker said:

Guilty as charged! 😄

And very grateful we are really.

[jd56hawk]

On 17/09/2023 at 10:06, ezbass said:

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).

I like mine so much I bought the Jazz bass the very next day.

[ezbass]

New scratchplate day. Decided that all black was better than tort (did a mock-up with some card). Big shout out to Guitars Electric in Wolverhampton again https://www.guitarselectric.co.uk who sent it it out yesterday using a 24 hour  service, even though I didn’t select that option. 
 

 

[Lozz196]

Looks really nice