NBD : Squier Surprise

I have a confession to make...I'm a Craigslist junkie :D Bought a lot of stuff there - electronics, furniture, musical instruments, you name it. Few days ago I've spotted a great deal on Indonesian Squier Affinity Precision from 2004. I needed a beater bass and I only decided to buy it because of it's nice cream color :bassist:. Surprisingly, the seller was a fellow TB member(whats a small world we live in!). Got the bass, took the guts out(except for the pickup), put new pots, output jack, wiring and an anodized pickguard from my Road Worn P. Did a setup and was blown away! Neck is absolutely outstanding - fretwork is on par with MIA Fenders, very low action without fret buzz. Body looks like 3-piece. I didn't take neck off, but it looks like alder to me. Pickup is quite decent! I didn't even know that those cheap Squiers could be such a good quality instruments! Now I have exactly what I wanted for so long - one P with flats, one with rounds:cool:!

 
NICE! Love those finds... I have 2, and have had a few other Squier P's. The two I currently have are just about as nice as the Amer. & CIJ P's I have! Its nice to have a cheaper one - can take to 'questioable' gigs and/or loan to someone - without anxiety!!

... consider a Seymour Duncan Antiquity II pickup - really cleans up the tone & adds some vintage thump! I have one in a CV P... is nice!
 
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Sweet bass! I just got a Squier Affinity P from the local pawnshop for $25 bucks about 2 months ago. It might even be an '04. The guts were ripped out and no strings but I put in new electronics and stuck an older Dimarzio P bass pickup I had sitting around from another project, I think its the split P. I played it so far at rehearsals and a show. I'm really surprised because I didn't like the tone I was getting from the Dimarzio in another bass but it sounds amazing in the Squier.

The neck is comfortable but I don't like the fret ends a little too rough but it hasn't really been a problem. Maybe the frets in your bass were dressed better? Tuners are serviceable. Overall I'm very happy but I think I got lucky bass - pickup combination.

They can be surprisingly good and I kinda like knowing I'm playing through a cheap a$$ bass.
 
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Sweet bass! I just got a Squier Affinity P from the local pawnshop for $25 bucks about 2 months ago. It might even be an '04. The guts were ripped out and no strings but I put in new electronics and stuck an older Dimarzio P bass pickup I had sitting around from another project, I think its the split P. I played it so far at rehearsals and a show. I'm really surprised because I didn't like the tone I was getting from the Dimarzio in another bass but it sounds amazing in the Squier.

The neck is comfortable but I don't like the fret ends a little too rough but it hasn't really been a problem. Maybe the frets in your bass were dressed better? Tuners are serviceable. Overall I'm very happy but I think I got lucky bass - pickup combination.

They can be surprisingly good and I kinda like knowing I'm playing through a cheap a$$ bass.

Frets on my bass are finished better than on my Road Worn P and better than on some MIA Fenders. I'm really impressed with a quality. I swapped electronics, put Fender True Vintage '63 pickup, tort pickguard and I will be refinishing neck in Tru Oil. This bass is simply amazing.

 
It is more likely basswood than alder. I think just about all Squiers are basswood.

Nope on both fronts.
  1. Affinity J's and P's are alder…have been for years and years.
  2. The "just about all" comment prompted me to do some research. Of the current line-up of Squier bass models, there are thirty-two in production right now and only eighteen are made of basswood.
 
I sometimes wish I had just stuck to my old Squier.

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MB-4 model, with the blend pot.
 
Man, bass in the OP is gorgeous! Love finds like these.

I don't want to be accused of saying something like "My Squier Affinity I found in a port-o-pottie will absolutely slay any MIA Fender everrrr" although whenever someone posts about a great experience with a Squier, a couple people seem to come along claiming there are tons of posters who make statements like this with great regularity.

Fact is, there are plenty of great stock Squiers out there, and many more that can become really nice, playable, great-sounding and perfectly giggable instruments witj a few mods.

I need to take decent pics, but I just brought home a 2000-2001 Indonesian Affinity P for $40 from a pawn shop, Baltic Blue finish.

Put on a red tort guard, new wiring harness and jack and a cream-covered pickup from an old MIA P bass copy.

New strings, a setup and bingo bango...killer bass for +/- $125. I'd proudly rock it anywhere.
 
My two favorite Squier basses were this Lollar-equipped CV60 and the ThunderJag. The neck on the Jag was exceptional!

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Some people don't have a high opinion of basswood, but both of these sounded wonderful to my ears. :cool:
I've had a EBMM stingray years ago and now have a SB14 that is basswood and I like the tone of my SB14 better. The finish and feel is not as good but since music is not visual art form (for the most part) I don't care. Also, Bongo's are made out of basswood and they are far from a cheap bass. I guess some basswood sounds good and some doesn't. If a EBMM sterling was what I wanted as a main player I would spring for the real deal but a jazz is my main player. I also owed a RAY34 and it had at least 80 percent of the tone my stingray had, bet a pup change would have got me a lot closer. Again the finish was not as nice but EBMM has some of the best QC and none of them had sharp fret ends and all had outstanding fret jobs with really low action. I really feel time comes mostly from the neck as I have built may Warmoth basses and even changed the necks and bodies around. My findings are that most of the tone follows the neck.
 
Affinity basses can be pretty nice. I bought a pj (from GC off the floor that they discounted) for the sole purpose of learning how to do everything myself. After cleaning up the fret ends, putting chromes on it and doing a complete step by step setup, I think it is pretty sweet. The neck is perfectly straight. I've been able to get the action down to what to me is medium low with no buzzing at all. I played with pickup heights and have everything dialed in to where even the weak stock bridge j pickup sounds good. My only complaint is how thin and soft the finish is. It is the perfect "beater" that probably deserves to be treated better....I leave it laying all over the house.
 
Ok guys, here it is! Finally finished and good to go!

Here's a breakup of upgrades :
- Fender vintage bass bridge
- Fender '63 Pure Vintage pickup
- new wiring, CTS pots & switchcraft output jack
- old AVRI '62 tortoise pickguard
- vintage style F-neckplate
- chrome knobs

Also, I sanded down the headstock and finished it in Tru oil. Black Squier logo with black P-bass logo was quite ugly. Very very low action without any fret buzz. Absolutely the best action I've ever had on any of my basses ever! Tuners, despite being stock, are pretty decent performers. Sounds and plays like a dream!

So, in the end this is how much I spent on this bass(price in Canadian Dollars) : bass - $50(it was a steal!), pickup - $90, bridge - $35, neckplate - $12, knobs - $10, jack - $3, pickguard shielding - $3, wiring - $2, pots - free(came with my Road Worn Precision), tortoise pickguard - free(bought if for my Road Worn, but decided to keep gold anodized). So in the end it all came down to about $200 CAD or $150 US. This is how much I would have paid just for '63 pickup if i'd buy it new in store, but instead I have a whole bass!

File Nov 14, 11 16 58 PM.jpeg
 
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