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Post subject: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 4:35 pm
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I wanted a real inexpensive bass to mess around with and because I never had any problems with the Squier series I got one on Ebay for $80. When it arrived the neck was bowed so bad there was 5/16" gap under the strings. After about 3 weeks of small adjustments on the truss rod I got it to just over 1/16th" gap at the 12th fret. the problem is when sighting down the fretboard I cant get the "entire" neck dead flat. ,where the neck is over the body is straight. From the point where it leaves the body (15th fret) it is still straight but there is a bend at the spot where it leaves the body giving me that 1/16th" gap at the 12th fret. No amount of truss rod adjustment seems to be able to align these two straight sections, unless I loosen the strings. Once back up to 440 tuning its back to the same bow. Do I have a bad truss rod? Adjusting the rod feels ok some tension on the allen wrench, doesnt seem broke or stripped... I've had Squiers series basses and guitars before that would adjust fine... other than buying a higher quality bass how can I fix this? :(


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Post subject: Re: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 3:10 pm
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The heel is up I think . Oh I imagine you can mess with it and spend all kinds of time on it-- like having frets pulled and the wood planed etc shim etc etc-- and 19 other things that someone will post after me. I've been there done all that junk 10 times. The best fastest result is to buy a new neck. Hope you get a new neck that doesn't have that problem. A neck is more than 80 bucks in most cases. So buy another cheap bass. Well maybe not- it may have some other problem. Now they will say buy a USA bass and be done with it. You will say I can't afford it right now. What do you do?
BTW a guitar neck is not supposed to be flat. It's supposed to have a bit of a bow around the 5th to 7th fret. Otherwize the strings buzz etc etc..


Next person poster please::::::::::: :D


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Post subject: Re: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 4:02 pm
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If it had some bow there it would be fine...my bow is where the neck leaves the body..lol
I did get a Wasburn P bass copy from guitar center for $50 in perfect shape. The neck was like new. I then made it into a Vox Phantom 4 clone bass. I shaved the neck so it didnt get any wider than at the 5th fret. Reshaped the head stock and made a decal to spoof the Vox name. A new tail pc with brass saddles was made to bring the strings closer due to the narrower neck. Body was cut from an old Mahogany mantle pc I found in the cellar rafters. My point is You can get a perfect bass for $50...I guess just not this time with the Squier...Image

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Last edited by jcart on Tue Mar 25, 2014 1:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:20 am
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Nice Voks. You CAN get a really good bass for cheap. I did that with my last two bass builds. 2 P basses gig ready with good parts and no issues for about $300. That's TWO basses. I did have spare parts etc that I've had for years and I used them for the builds. One bass is a 62 copy and the other is a Rat Rod all Fender parts bass with a Squire flame maple neck ! As much as I love Fenders I just don't think I need to buy new ones anymore. Sorry... I already have quite a few USA's and MIM's ..... I already paid the dues . I'm a Fender guy to the end. :D


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Post subject: Re: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 2:11 pm
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thanks, the Vokx is the best playing bass I have ever owned..I used all the parts from the Washburn bass(except the body and tuning keys) its got low action, narrow neck and a tonal range from the Sienfeld Show snap and pop to Hofner mud.... What I did find less than perfect was two things, one: the balance, like the original its head stock heavy and requires a suede leather strap. this wont slide across your shoulders as you play so it keeps the bass up and in position, and two:the volume control is right where i play and I end up turning it down without realizing it...lol....:D
Any way I was hoping to make the Squier have the same easy playability....with a problematic neck to start with, it might not be a good idea to remove more wood from it to get it as narrow as the Vokx.... :cry:


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Post subject: Re: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:01 am
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If you have the talent to build a bass that looks as good as that Vokx, I don't know what we are supposed to tell you.

You bought an $80 dollar bass, sight unseen.

It has a bad neck- Maybe...

If you don't feel comfortable doing any of the following. Take your bass to a repair shop, but be prepared to pay as much or more than your purchase price for the repair.

You can heat treat it or shim the neck.
You can also place a washer under the truss rod nut to gain more purchase for the nut and that may straighten the neck, or you can invest in a new neck which is not worth it for an 80 dollar bass.


I don't know why it took 3 weeks to adjust a truss rod?

If it needs adjusting - clamp the neck straight or just back bow it manually with the bass body on the floor, the neck against your knee and your hand pulling the head stock backwards. This takes the stress off of the rod while you turn the nut. If the rod nut turns with reasonable resistance- TURN THAT SUCKER!
A TRUSS ROD DOESN'T KNOW HOW LONG YOU TAKE TO TURN IT!

Repair shops do not take three weeks to adjust your truss rod. If they did they wouldn't make any money!

Good luck with your bass.

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Post subject: Re: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 1:08 pm
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it took three weeks because I didnt keep cranking on the truss rod everyday...I'd do a quarter turn then wait anywhere from a few hours to a day or two to see what happened As a last effort and to try something different, i loosened the strings to no tension at all... then did another quarter turn on the truss rod and let it sit for a couple days(since this first post) checked it today with the strings back up to 440 and it actually looks pretty good, just a slight even bow all the way down the neck....maybe i spoke too soon... :oops:
Thanks for your comments anyways.....


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Post subject: Re: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 10:22 am
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I'm glad that your bass neck has responded to the adjustment and I am sorry if I sounded like a jerk. I just get frustrated with some people who think a truss rod can only be turned a quarter turn a day.

Most squires can be set up to be good playing instruments. Some will be great, some will have problems but all basses can benefit from a good setup and it is something that I think a serious player should learn to do.

That's just my opinion.

Good luck with your bass.

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Post subject: Re: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:55 am
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I get it. I just like to give the wood a chance to move a bit more slowly. Although this was the worse neck bow I have ever seen. I guess the previous owner had no clue about guitars/basses as there was 5/16ths of an inch gap under the strings!!! So with it that far out I just wanted to allow it to come back more gently. Good news is so far it is still holding shape and the playability has maintained. :D


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Post subject: Re: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 5:09 pm
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jcart wrote:
I get it. I just like to give the wood a chance to move a bit more slowly. Although this was the worse neck bow I have ever seen. I guess the previous owner had no clue about guitars/basses as there was 5/16ths of an inch gap under the strings!!! So with it that far out I just wanted to allow it to come back more gently. Good news is so far it is still holding shape and the playability has maintained. :D





I think the previous owner absolutely did not have a clue about setting up a bass. You may or may not be surprised to know that most of the guitarists I know do not know how to tweek a neck or a bridge. Especially the Country players I've met in the last few years. Repair guys are thankful for this fact I'm sure. I'm talking guys as old as me and older and younger. They take thier guitars in to get them intonated and end up paying $50-$100 for a set up. Then they never do it again cause it cost them so much. It's frustrating to watch these guys stand there at their tuner and think they have it in tune. The open strings will tune up but the first chord they play sounds terrible. Then they play the whole set and mess with tuning after each song. I watched one guy tune by ear during a song. So...YES.... NO CLUE !!!!!!! Also most of if not nearly all of the guitars and basses I've purchased from private owners in the last 20 years are out of intonation and have loose tuners (nuts and screws). That and various other problems.


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Post subject: Re: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 9:06 pm
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Sv i see in yur signature Ampeg?...Back in the 70's I was in a 3pc hard rock band(Aerosmith, Led Zep, ZZtop, Skynard etc) and I had a brand new 76 P bass (at the time they were $375 w/HSC!!!) and an all tube 300 watt Ampeg SVT with two 8-10 cabs..talk about power!!!LOL the stage would shake when I started to play...but then I needed it to stay on top of the guitarist who ran a Gibson Flying V through a double stack 100 watt Marshall. No wonder I am almost totally deaf in my right ear now :roll:


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Post subject: Re: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 10:03 am
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jcart wrote:
Sv i see in yur signature Ampeg?...Back in the 70's I was in a 3pc hard rock band(Aerosmith, Led Zep, ZZtop, Skynard etc) and I had a brand new 76 P bass (at the time they were $375 w/HSC!!!) and an all tube 300 watt Ampeg SVT with two 8-10 cabs..talk about power!!!LOL the stage would shake when I started to play...but then I needed it to stay on top of the guitarist who ran a Gibson Flying V through a double stack 100 watt Marshall. No wonder I am almost totally deaf in my right ear now :roll:



I bought my all tube Ampeg SVT and 2 8-10 cabinets in 1978 for $1100. My 74 P bass was $330. I liked the sound of one cabinet better than two. I took both cabs on the road. No one would help me carry it. Same thing when I got off the road. Chumps, but hey I guess that's how it goes. I finally sold all of it. I use an Ampeg HLF 4-10 with a horn now. I would buy another and have two but I don't need two. For big gigs I put an Epifani 1-15 on top off the 4-10. I have a GK RB-800 that handles both cabinets quite well . For some reason I can't figure out why my right ear hearing is so bad. But yeah my hearing blows on that side. I can't hear my wife too well in the car. I say "Yeah", "sure", "okay", and "what?" a lot.


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Post subject: Re: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 7:52 pm
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yeah its got to be the low frequencies...same here(hear?) wife talking away and I dont hear a thing...(sometimes thats a good thing no?) :lol:


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Post subject: Re: Squier Pbass blues
Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 10:17 am
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Shim the neck as best you can.perfect example WHY I run from a Squire. you learned a 80.00 lesson.As a bass repairman buying sight unseen is a bad idea,play what ya got save up and buy something you really want,sometimes deals fall on your head.
I was about to buy a (300.00)1992 LIKE NEW Mex made p-bass(like it came of the buffing wheel)while waiting for the sales man I did some browsing and found a used 2003 Fender American Pbass for 449.00$ like new,my point is dont buy the first thing you see when YOUR bass lands in your lap YOU WILL KNOW. :mrgreen:

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