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Squier PJ special

D

dav_tm

Nov 24, 2009
51
0
Bailey, CO
#1
I've cancelled my plans regarding the Explorer bass and pondered multiple others. i kept landing on this:
40756_l.jpg


with the PJ pickups i keep thinking this might be a good buy. is it?
 
#4
I just a used one, it's surprisingly awesome. The J pickup is a single coil though, so it does hum when it's on. The tuners aren't as solid as the ones on SXs, but they stay in tune pretty well. The neck feels great. The body is light and thinner than other P basses I've seen though. Overall, it's a pretty well made instrument. Lately, I've been prefering it over my Geddy Jazz and 2 SXs.
 
#6
Got the Walnut one two weeks ago.


Neck-Fretboard-Frets: NO COMPLAIN. I've got a MIA Fender and I think that both of them are at the same quality level.

Tuners: They feel more "rigid" than the Fender ones, but they DO NOT detune and I haven't had any problems with them.

Bridge: As adjustable as the Fender one, put looks quite fragile and crappy... May need a replacement if you're a hi-mass lover.

Body: Extremelly light. Good resonance thought not as good as my Fender.

Vol-vol-tone knobs: As adjustable as the Fender ones, but feel a little bit fragile. May need a replacement in a future.

Pups: Quite good, though not the best ones, obviously.



OVERALL: its a very good bass (good looking, veeery confortable, sounds nice). A very cheap good bass.
If you know how to play and you can do minor adjustments (bridge saddles, pup's height) it'll sound great.
If you replace the pup's and maybe the bridge, you get a 10 points bass.
 
#8
I'm probably going to get flamed for this,

But I bought an older model of this bass. Even though I really
liked this bass's feel, playability and overall tone, there was
something unidenitfyable about the sound that wasn't quite
right.

I'd read on some other postings about problems with Squier
necks, so out of desperation I bought an SX blocked neck for 45.00
(a "2nd" at that, due to cosmetic blotches on the back).

the difference totally blew me away. The original neck was
complete junk... it looked good, but when I tap this neck
against the floor, it's got some strange vibrations inside (the
truss rod maybe?) I believe this neck was just sucking the
tone right out of the bass. Before this, you never could have
convinced me that a neck could make this much of a difference.
Even unplugged, I can really hear how much better each note
rings out.

Thought I'd share this... hope it helps someone.

Dave
 
#11
I have one too.
Mine is light indeed and the neck has got an awesome flame-pattern in it.
It's built like a tank.

One word of advise: Change the capacitor to a standard one,
this will improve the sound when your tone is rolled down
 
#13
Hey guys, thanks for the quick response. My shop is getting one transferred over on Thursday, so I'll get to give it a try. My other option is an SX P bass, but I'd rather play before I buy if at all possible. So if this one's a keeper then I'm good to go.

I'll have to move to the amp forum to find a good cheap combo LOL.
 
#16
WhoSeyes said:
Got the Walnut one two weeks ago.


Neck-Fretboard-Frets: NO COMPLAIN. I've got a MIA Fender and I think that both of them are at the same quality level.

Tuners: They feel more "rigid" than the Fender ones, but they DO NOT detune and I haven't had any problems with them.

Bridge: As adjustable as the Fender one, put looks quite fragile and crappy... May need a replacement if you're a hi-mass lover.

Body: Extremelly light. Good resonance thought not as good as my Fender.

Vol-vol-tone knobs: As adjustable as the Fender ones, but feel a little bit fragile. May need a replacement in a future.

Pups: Quite good, though not the best ones, obviously.



OVERALL: its a very good bass (good looking, veeery confortable, sounds nice). A very cheap good bass.
If you know how to play and you can do minor adjustments (bridge saddles, pup's height) it'll sound great.
If you replace the pup's and maybe the bridge, you get a 10 points bass.
Click to expand...

Do you have any pics? I'd like to see what the walnut looks like in real life.
 
#17
EagleMoon said:
Do you have any pics? I'd like to see what the walnut looks like in real life.
Click to expand...


Sure!

walnut2.png


walnut1.png


walnut3.png




I had not seen it before I got it in my hands from thomann.de, so here are maybe the first pics on the net of a walnut squier special P!

From what I had seen/read on the internet, I thought it would come with matching headstock, but no. I don't like matching headstocks, so no problem!

Sorry for the crappy illumination, it's not allways sunny here in Spain :o:o
 
#20
That walnut looks great!!

If you want the pewter satin finish I would jump on it now
since they are being discontinued for both the P bass Special
and the Jazz

I had a Precision Special for a short time
and I found it to be a great bass. I never has issues with the stock neck.
The neck pickup was upgraded and I did switch the neck out for a Mighty Mite maple neck. The Jazz profile neck is also fast and comfy

4070565973_76a4cd9c79_b.jpg
 

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