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Squier Deluxe Active or Squier Precision Special Five?

oldrookie

oldrookie

May 15, 2007
1,922
104
Avon, IN
#1
Question for Squier lovers (all other move along...nothing to see here:))

I know on the surface this is an easy call, but read on!

Been looking for an inexpensive fiver to add to the mix. I really like the Deluxe, except for the ebanol fingerboard. Love the wide neck and 19mm string spacing; the look, feel and capabilities have this bass at the top of my list.

But, recently found an new, old stock Precision Special Five. I know the pickups were designed for a four string and the sound really was weak, but it has the wide neck I like and 19mm string spacing. BIG plus for me is the rosewood fingerboard. Store is overpriced at $300 (same as the Deluxe.) Appears to be well constructed. Metallic green with white pickguard. Kinda like the look.

Has me dreaming about what the PS5 would look and sound like if it had G&L MFD humbuckers in it. Love my Tribute L2k in passive mode, but I just don't like the neck on the L2.5k...too thick.

Haven't measured to see if those pickups would fit and I've never tried to stick pickups in that would require routing out space.

So, what do you think? Not really a poll, just the options I've been considering.

1. Don't be an idiot--you can get used to the ebanol and the Deluxe is clearly the superior bass, and the mods you are thinking about are too expensive for what you'll end up with, or:

2. Sure, why not? MFD pickup mod is worth investigating and you'd have a unique, capable bass.

3. Wild card...keep looking for the TBC AP500M you've been eyeballing on-line.
 
#3
I have the P Special 5, and I'm currently modding it to hell. AFAIK both (the J deluxe and P) have the same pickups, the only differences are: preamp on the J (passive P), basswood body J (agathis P) and ebonol fretboard J (rosewood P). It would have been a toss up for me, but I got a great deal on the P and I couldn't resist.

I'd say get the P. Agathis is harder than basswood (hard woods fare better when modding, IMO), the neck pickup route is soapbar-shaped so you just have to cut the pickguard to get a new pickup in, and it's plain cooler:cool:. Then again, if they're priced the same and you don't intend to mod the bass, maybe the Jazz is the way to go. It's good to go right out of the box. And BTW, why don't you like the ebonol fretboard? It's a major factor in the sound (and the appeal) of the J. I'd swap the neck on my P for an ebonol board one in a heartbeat.
 
#4
well there you have it...looks like you'll need to get both...

Sandu is right about the pickups...same pups in both basses...
he's also right about the body wood, although, the tough poly finish on the basswood kinda nullifies the hardness issue a tad...

the ebonal board on the jazz is awesome...but you can't beat a P-shaped bass...

OH WHAT TO DO ;) :D
 
#5
PhilaraBass,
Hmmm... apparently not familiar enough with Squier nomenclature....I meant the DJAV in my original post. Oh, and your last post...a lot of help! :D

Sandu,
Not sure why I don't like the ebonol as well...just the look and feel, I guess. Gets kinda scratched up and is apparently hard to keep looking pristine. It's not a deal breaker, just a factor I am considering.

You both sure about the pickups being the same? I had read on TB that the pickups on the Precision Special V were in fact 4-string pickups. Often cited as a reason for weak B-string output.

Good to know about the routing of the neck pickup.

Some excellent points to consider from both of you so far. Appreciate your thoughts.
 
#6
oldrookie said:
PhilaraBass,
Hmmm... apparently not familiar enough with Squier nomenclature....I meant the DJAV in my original post. Oh, and your last post...a lot of help! :D

Sandu,
Not sure why I don't like the ebonol as well...just the look and feel, I guess. Gets kinda scratched up and is apparently hard to keep looking pristine. It's not a deal breaker, just a factor I am considering.

You both sure about the pickups being the same? I had read on TB that the pickups on the Precision Special V were in fact 4-string pickups. Often cited as a reason for weak B-string output.

Good to know about the routing of the neck pickup.

Some excellent points to consider from both of you so far. Appreciate your thoughts.
Click to expand...

I guarantee the pickups on the Deluxe Active Jazz V (DJAV, JDAV) have 4 string pickups too...
 
#7
oldrookie said:
You both sure about the pickups being the same? I had read on TB that the pickups on the Precision Special V were in fact 4-string pickups. Often cited as a reason for weak B-string output.
Click to expand...

I had heard the same thing as well. Could someone with either check out what the pickups look like uncovered?

I wouldn't be surprised if the P-Bass V has 4-string pickups, since apparently the Squier Bronco Bass is using a regular ceramic 6-pole Strat pickup.

I'd be more disappointed if the Jazz V Deluxe was using 4 string pickups, because it really did seem as if Squier was stepping it up in the electronics department as of late...
 
#9
I guess it doesn't matter if they are four or five as long as the bass sounds good. I know the DJAV does, but the PS5 seemed a bit weak. Could have been the four-year old roundwounds on it (its been hanging in the shop for a few years.)

Bladed also make a difference, at least it's supposed to. No experience on my part to know for sure.
 
#10
oldrookie said:
I guess it doesn't matter if they are four or five as long as the bass sounds good. I know the DJAV does, but the PS5 seemed a bit weak. Could have been the four-year old roundwounds on it (its been hanging in the shop for a few years.)

Bladed also make a difference, at least it's supposed to. No experience on my part to know for sure.
Click to expand...

JUst means the strings don't have to be in a particular spot, they're good for fivers like this, or four strings with weird spacing.
Some guys on here(and I want to try it!) have modded the DJAV's for six strings, and say the stock pickups work well still.
 
#12
Went back and spent some time with this bass. Shop dude thinks it been in the store since '04.

Metallic green with white pickguard, a few scratches, and the plastic film still on the pickguard.

Neck reminds me of the the neck on my Tribute L2k with a bit more thickness than the Squier DJAV. Bit wider than the L2k, but still feel at home with it.

B-string was better than I remembered, but it needs new strings--no question. Probably weren't that great in '04. Has a nice tone, even with bad strings on it.

He offered it to me for $269, as is. Basically $300 with new strings. Same as the DJAV less taxes. Might offer $250 and see if he'll go for it.
 
#13
oldrookie said:
B-string was better than I remembered, but it needs new strings--no question. Probably weren't that great in '04. Has a nice tone, even with bad strings on it.

He offered it to me for $269, as is. Basically $300 with new strings. Same as the DJAV less taxes. Might offer $250 and see if he'll go for it.
Click to expand...

I think the offer of $250 would be worth while. I myself prefer the wood fretboards but I must say that the DJAV has tremendous punch and clarity. I was also surprised by the number of people on here that really love their PS5. I can't see where you would go wrong. I think the other advantage that the PS5 has is weight. It is lighter than the DJAV, which for me is a consideration.

Best of luck to you with this one :D
 
#14
Darkstrike said:
JUst means the strings don't have to be in a particular spot, they're good for fivers like this, or four strings with weird spacing.
Some guys on here(and I want to try it!) have modded the DJAV's for six strings, and say the stock pickups work well still.
Click to expand...

I've modded my DJAV to a sixer and the pickups work just fine. I would attribute that to the boost the preamp gives and could see how maybe the passive version in the P would lack some. But I've ordered the P Special V and am going to mod it as sixer too and we will see if I need to add a preamp to wake it up any...

Check out some DJAVs modded to VI:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=391653
 
#16
oldrookie said:
Went back and spent some time with this bass. Shop dude thinks it been in the store since '04.

Metallic green with white pickguard, a few scratches, and the plastic film still on the pickguard.

Neck reminds me of the the neck on my Tribute L2k with a bit more thickness than the Squier DJAV. Bit wider than the L2k, but still feel at home with it.

B-string was better than I remembered, but it needs new strings--no question. Probably weren't that great in '04. Has a nice tone, even with bad strings on it.

He offered it to me for $269, as is. Basically $300 with new strings. Same as the DJAV less taxes. Might offer $250 and see if he'll go for it.
Click to expand...

www.geartree.com is selling them new for $249 free shipping:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#17
jleguy said:
The Squier downloadable wiring diagram for the P-bass Special V (5-string) shows 5 pairs of poles for each pick up...
Click to expand...

Yup, sure does :D

Linky: Invalid Link Removed

I have a Standard Precision V Special and I don't hear any drop-off whatsoever between strings. I didn't know until jleguy's post that a wiring diagram existed (Thanks :bassist:). The stock pups aren't bad at all, but I prefer barts myself .... just have to figure out if they fit without routing .... ;)
 

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