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Post subject: Help needed for P bass
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 12:40 am
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I am not a bass player .
I bought a Squire P bass for my daughter and she is happy with it , playin in a band even .
I would like to upgrade it and thought I might try something like this first :

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Fender-PJ-Ba ... 3a5fb4024b

My question : is it worth doing ? should I be doing something else--pups-- first ?should I leave it the way it is ?
Any suggestions would be appreciated .


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Post subject: Re: Help needed for P bass
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 5:33 am
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Thanks but the thing is I already have this one .
Not about to shell out for another , just wanting to know if these sort of upgrades will actually improve the bass or not .


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Post subject: Re: Help needed for P bass
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 8:04 am
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Roadie
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hey bro,

i've got a squire and there aint nothin wrong with that, by the time i get the money to do upgrades it'll be more fender than a fender... anyway like these guys said it's what feels right to her, i'd start with pup's get some SPB-3's from seymour duncan, there only 64.99 and thats what i'm going to get, and i'll probably get an electronics set at the guitar store and replace that too. :D

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Post subject: Re: Help needed for P bass
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 9:12 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Most of us here already have gone through what you are going through in making a decision to up-grade, why bother asking if you already know what your going to do? we already made the mistakes(big or small,some not all of us,more than others)or made the correct ones,there's alot of experience here so use it to your advantage.
Why not buy the up-grade ? all you will do is add some clarity to the already entry level pick-ups that probably sound the best that they ever will(unless your pots are way dirty or you have worn out parts)so now to justify the money already spent you complete that part of the up-grade and realize that better pickups are probably in order(and should be because stock Squier stuff is'nt the best,no off. guys :D ).
So now you already got 95.00$ for the electronics and another 75.00-80.00$ for the pick-ups thats about 175.00-180.00$ without labor so we can add another 75.00-100.00$,now we are at almost 300.00$ what about the bridge and tuners and maybe even a fret-level,so what I mean.
You dont want to spend 250.00-300.00$ on a better bass like a Mexican standard but you dont mind the 275.00& for the electronics and pick-ups? if you trade in the current bass which the minimum you will get is about 60.00-70.00$ and probably a little more if you use the bass you are selling towards a better bass it will be a higher amt(they give more in trade than in they buy it out-rite).
So a trade in and 150.00$ or so will get you a MIM standard bass or even possibly a Japanese one if your a good boy :D ,which is a much better up-grade than some pots and output jack on a Squier ME THINKS.
GoodLuck,keep us up-dated :mrgreen:

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Post subject: Re: Help needed for P bass
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 1:12 pm
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Rock Star
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First, if you have a Squier Affinity or standard type P-Bass with one volume and one tone control and one split P-Bass pickup then the eBay item you are looking at is all wrong. That is for a P/J which has an additional Jazz Bass single coil pickup closer to the bridge and two stacked pots with concentric control knobs.

Pots, wire, jack and cap for a two-control P-Bass should cost under $20 then wire it yourself. (That cost is depending on what capacitor you choose.)

Second, some Squiers are better than others. For example the Japanese ones are considered to be nicer and in fact collectible. So part of the decision to upgrade or not would be based on whether an upgrade is worth it and you planned to keep it indefinitely. On an Affinity (low end beginner) model I think I would take the "IT IS WHAT IT IS" approach and other than strings not replace anything that wasn't broken or otherwise crying out for attention. To quote President Obama, "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig."

Third, a 250k pot is a 250k pot. Unless it is scratchy sounding or has dead spots or a razor edge spot (razor edge = a tiny move makes a ton of difference) you will get no tonal benefit whatsoever from replacing pots. USA CTS pots = 250k and the Asian OEM pots also = 250k, so there is no advantage in replacing a properly functioning original pot. If it is scratchy, it may just need a shot of control cleaner. Most techs know how to fix that quickly. Pot swaps can actually result in the following problems on Asian made basses and guitars. Problem 1: Many Asian instruments have mini-pots and standard USA pots won't fit in the body's control cavity unless you expand it by making the control cavity routing larger. Problem 2: The actual pot shaft on Asian basses is frequently smaller than a USA pot shaft. In these cases the hole in the mounting plate or pickguard is smaller on Asian basses than USA ones so you wind up having to auger out the mounting hole to make it bigger. Problem 3: Control knobs made to fit the smaller Asian OEM pot shafts will not fit correctly on the larger USA pots (such as CTS pots which are Fender USA's OEM,) so you might have to buy new knobs too, which is another expense with no tonal benefit.

Fourth, tone capacitors will make far more difference than a pot upgrade and cost far less in total parts and labor or time required to do it yourself. There are many types of tone caps which each have their own characteristics. The primary characteristic is distortion injection. The secondary characteristic to consider is the tolerance factor. Ceramic disc caps are the cheapest, have the most distortion and have the widest tolerance factor. Ceramics commonly have a 20% tolerance factor meaning that a cap labeled .05uf could actually vary from between .04 to .06. This is the style cap currenly used on Fender USA passive basses like the Standards. It was also used on Fender basses in the late 50's through the golden era. Fender recently re-introduced the .05uf ceramic disc cap and other value ceramic discs to their parts line. I prefer a cleaner tone myself. Ranked from most to least distortion the tone capacitor types I've used are: 1. Ceramic, 2. Poly, 3. Mylar, 4. Paper in Wax or Paper in Oil. The paper caps can be notoriously unstable over decades and even leak but the Vitamin-Q military spec ones which were developed for use on ICBM guidance systems are ultra stable and do not leak since they are sealed in glass then sealed in metal. In the USA the cost for a ceramic disc cap is less than one-dollar, a poly cap (Sprague Orange-Drop Poly type) $2 to $3, Mylar Cap (Sprague Orange Drop Mylar type) $2 to $3 , Paper in Wax caps are not recommended due to stability issues and the Vitamin-Q Type Paper In Oil caps will range from $4 for a Soviet one (used on their ICBM's) to $20 for a genuine NOS Sprague Vitamin-Q made in the USA. There are also copper foil in oil and aluminum foil in oil caps that can cost much more but I don't think you get bang for your buck with them. The audible difference between the SPRAGUE MYLAR ORANGE DROP and any PAPER IN OIL cap is neglible and I can hardly tell the difference. If I was upgrading a Squier P-Bass I'd go with a ceramic disc cap for an edgy sound or a Mylar Orange Drop for a smoother and warmer tone. No matter what cap you choose I'd have it checked to get an accurate reading before installing it as I'd be looking for something between .045 and .055. On the Vitamin-Q type the 200 volt versions are better for instrument tone caps as they are smaller than the 300 or 400 volt versions. The Mylar Orange Drops are hard to find. Almost all online parts dealers only sell the Poly Orange Drops. AXEGRINDERZ does carry both.

Good luck!


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Post subject: Re: Help needed for P bass
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 1:38 pm
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Oh and WHAT HE SAID. And thanks for the reminder Mr SabreLane a pic of my MEMPHIS,Which is now just a neck in limbo while I decide what body to use;A Lawsuit(you got it :wink: )3 tone s/burst p-bass body p/j pick-ups OR a 85 Japanese Jazzbass special(stripped of finish basswood body fughly as all he!!)tough call.
But it will still leave me with a maple/maple Telecaster neck that will go on the body by default(unless I sell it on e-bay),I think 2 jazzbass specials is one too many especially when you have a p-bass and a jazzbass already :|
it dont have to die,but it cant stay here,sorry boys one of ya's gots to be mosy"in(is that really a word) :?:

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Post subject: Re: Help needed for P bass
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:48 pm
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Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:27 am
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OK thanks for all the reply's .I have decided to leave it as it is ,seems like a nice bass to me , and if she carries on with it we could think about getting something better later on .


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