Modding squier pbass

[Jimmy310]

Ive been playing bass for about 6 months. So i already have a Olp MM2 and my friends pitched in and got me a Squier Affinity P-bass for xmas. I dont really want it (it just isnt up to par with the OLP) and would rather exchange it for store credit towards a p.a. but i cant really do that. what i have in mind is:

1. dropping in a seymore duncan quarter pound pick up

2. changing the bridge....unless i could raise the string height so everytime i hit a note the string doesn't bang against the frets (which i can probobly do)

3. upgrade the machine heads

4. red pearloid pickguard.

Is all possible to do fairly easily?

Thanks, Jimmy310

[Pearly Gator]

Jimmy,

You did not mention your style of music, amp or what tone you are looking for (punk, oldies, etc.) but I'll take a shot at your Q as I own an identical bass.

A good setup and strings is the first thing to do. The tuners work fine so save some money by not swapping them out. Get the wiring replaced with good wire, capacitor, pots IF the pots are the small dime sized ones. The quarter sized pots are fine. Replace the jack and pickguard.

To see if a new bridge will help, get a "C" clamp or small pair of vice grips and clamp it to the bridge somewhere. If the extra mass helps the low E string, get a BADASS II bridge installed.

Replace the stock ceramic magnet pickup with a better unit. I scored a "designed by EMG" Johnson P bass pickup from Melody Music on Ebay (no affilliation) for $10. It was a big improvement in tone. The bass cost me $75 and the improvements another $40. It's a nice bass.

Good luck on your quest,

Pearly Gator

[Sippy]

Yea I put a Fretless neck on my Squier, and the Dimarzio P-bass and Jazz bass pickups going in, in about 2 weeks!

[Mike N]

I use my modded Squier P for gigs at the crappier clubs we play (and it's my backup at the nicer places). It's modded with a BA 2 bridge, MIA P pup, MIM pots and jack, gold anodized pickguard and MIA Fender tuners.

All parts were scored from the TB classifieds for little or no money (I traded extra parts I had laying around for some of the stuff). Total $ invested (including $100 purchase price) is $150.

I won't BS you and tell you it's as nice as my stock '98 MIA P (because it isn't), but I've impressed quite a few people when they learn it's a Squier.

[Jimmy310]

What do i have to do to adjust the string height at the bridge? Is this as easy as turning a screw? would this involve loosening the strings or even taking them off?

And for the new pickup installation, is the S.D. Quarter Pound pickup pretty much plug and play? i have soldered before but how hard would this be? how many diffrent points would i have to solder? and if im going to be doing this transplant on the squier, do you guys recommend any other little things/ parts that could be done/changed to improve this bass guitar?

[Kurtmon]

Does anyone know if the Squires necks interchange with fenders other models MIM,MIJ,MIA? I have one I am thinking of putting a fretless on, it a Korea model the serial is F90250-1 on the fender site comes up 86-87 but that is on the MIJ list would this also be for MIK?

[PanDeVida85]

Originally Posted by Jimmy310

What do i have to do to adjust the string height at the bridge? Is this as easy as turning a screw? would this involve loosening the strings or even taking them off?

And for the new pickup installation, is the S.D. Quarter Pound pickup pretty much plug and play? i have soldered before but how hard would this be? how many diffrent points would i have to solder? and if im going to be doing this transplant on the squier, do you guys recommend any other little things/ parts that could be done/changed to improve this bass guitar?

If you are going to adjust the setup to your bass, I suggest you take your time with it and get it JUUUUST right. I gave my bass a setup and it buzzed alot the first few times till i found the strings' perfect sweet spots and eliminated the fret buzz. Whatever "buzz" was left over actually gives the bass a brassier (i meant to spell it that way) tone. Pickups, depending on the maker, may or may not come with pots and output jack, and may or may not come pre-soldered. I have the good fortune of having a EMG MMTW in my MM3 :-D essentially, their pickups are plug-in-play but you have to do some soldering. For SD, their website should specify what comes along with their pickups, if you're buying it online from a store the description should tell you what you're getting.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by Jimmy310

What do i have to do to adjust the string height at the bridge? Is this as easy as turning a screw? would this involve loosening the strings or even taking them off?

And for the new pickup installation, is the S.D. Quarter Pound pickup pretty much plug and play? i have soldered before but how hard would this be? how many diffrent points would i have to solder? and if im going to be doing this transplant on the squier, do you guys recommend any other little things/ parts that could be done/changed to improve this bass guitar?

The Quarter Pounder is a good choice for your bass if you want to bring it alive. I've used one on my American P for over 10 years and like it a lot.

It drops right in the same route that the Squier pickup is in but you have to solder two wires in exactly the same spots where the original pickup is soldered. There should be a wiring diagram with the QP anyhow. It's not much of a chore if you've soldered before.

Once the new pickup is installed you'll have to mess around adjusting their height for the best sound but that's just a matter of adjusting a few screws.

That'll be the most dramatic change in sound you can make. Next would be strings. That's a matter of choice depending on your style and the sound you want.

Leave the bridge, tuners and everything else until you're sure there's something inadequate about them. No point on blowing good money on something that doesn't need it. A lot of guys re-wire their basses with upgraded pots and capacitors but generally this doesn't improve tone. I only do it if the stock ones are faulty.

I picked up a cheap, new Squier Classic 50s P bass recently. It was good the way it came. I put in a custom wound pickup for more of the sound I was after and changed to my favourite flatwound strings. Then I did a complete setup of action, etc. It sounds and plays great now.

I could have upgraded to a heavier bridge but the stock one is fine as it is. Plenty of sustain and no dead E string. So, there's no point in that. The electronics are also fine as is. They do exactly what they're supposed to do. The tuners tune the bass the way the more expensive ones do so I don't need to change them either.

So for $299 plus another $150 or so for strings and a pickup I've got a very useable bass that I can play on gigs and record with. I'll put it up against my 78 American P any day as far as sound and playability goes.