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Leak? Squier Paranormal Rascal Bass HH

#381
klattman said:
I have an American fender mustang. I’d recommend the rascal if you like the tone. I still pulled them apart and shielded them because fender just doesn’t do that.
The rascal pickups are heavy. They flex the pickguard when you pull it off. They seem very unique.
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I had to go back and try them again today. The mustang is nice, finished well, but just didn’t get me excited to buy it. The Rascal otoh really has my attention! Seemed even more comfy on the second try and I spent some time sitting with it too. Those pickups are fantastic. GAS just might get me yet… :woot:
 
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#382
CallMeAl said:
I had to go back and try them again today. The mustang is nice, finished well, but just didn’t get me excited to buy it. The Rascal otoh really has my attention! Seemed even more comfy on the second try and I spent some time sitting with it too. Those pickups are fantastic. GAS just might get me yet… :woot:
Click to expand...

When I first saw this Rascal with the humbuckers and British Racing Green paint job, I kinda snobbishly wondered why they hadn't made it twice the price, to label it as a Mexican, Japanese or wherever Fender.

I'm a big fan of Fender guitars, enough of a fan of their proprietary CuNiFe wide range humbuckers, that I bought a lovely AVRI Thinline which now has the modern iteration of that pickup installed.

I now feel like I underestimated this Squier bass. I've previously expressed concerns around not being able to blend the pickups like a Jazz Bass. I've not read anything now to suggest that these are not fine pickups in their own right, plus there are some cool aftermarket pickup upgrades available if needs be (and if you want to invest as much money again.)

Unfortunately I still can't justify buying another bass, given I'm already well served, in terms of Precision Bass tones, with few places to currently use them. If I was currently gigging bass I'd have snapped this beauty up. It's had superb reviews, and the lack of a pickup blending option doesn't seem to bother folks.

I hope they sell a poopie ton of them. I imagine the next time I can justify such a purchase may be after they've stopped making them - just like the Squier Vintage Modified Precision TB bass, which seems to sell now for a notable premium.

Hopefully I'll end up finding a tidy used example of a Rascal, priced fairly, in a few years time, if I want a new interesting bass with a cool, funky neck pickup sound!

Sadly it just doesn't make sense to buy another guitar right now, but I suspect the Sherwood Green model will eventually find it's way to me. I love the pickup type, the colour, and the funky shape with the cool strung through body Mustang stylings.

Like I said, I just don't need another guitar right now. But like you said, the Rascal bass has my attention!

The comfy nature you describe is also very appealing. I mostly record bass guitars using my equally inexpensive ancient Yamaha BB4xxx (honestly no idea) as it does P bass perfectly, but is actually more comfortable to play sitting down at home, for recording sessions in my study/studio/big musical mess.

I'm really glad I subscribed to this topic, as the pictures posted of posters' basses all look so lovely...though British Racing Green is the only colo(u)r for me!
 
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#383
mojo filters said:
When I first saw this Rascal with the humbuckers and British Racing Green paint job, I kinda snobbishly wondered why they hadn't made it twice the price, to label it as a Mexican, Japanese or wherever Fender.

I'm a big fan of Fender guitars, enough of a fan of their proprietary CuNiFe wide range humbuckers, that I bought a lovely AVRI Thinline which now has the modern iteration of that pickup installed.

I now feel like I underestimated this Squier bass. I've previously expressed concerns around not being able to blend the pickups like a Jazz Bass. I've not read anything now to suggest that these are not fine pickups in their own right, plus there are some cool aftermarket pickup upgrades available if needs be (and if you want to invest as much money again.)

Unfortunately I still can't justify buying another bass, given I'm already well served, in terms of Precision Bass tones, with few places to currently use them. If I was currently gigging bass I'd have snapped this beauty up. It's had superb reviews, and the lack of a pickup blending option doesn't seem to bother folks.

I hope they sell a poopie ton of them. I imagine the next time I can justify such a purchase may be after they've stopped making them - just like the Squier Vintage Modified Precision TB bass, which seems to sell now for a notable premium.

Hopefully I'll end up finding a tidy used example of a Rascal, priced fairly, in a few years time, if I want a new interesting bass with a cool, funky neck pickup sound!

Sadly it just doesn't make sense to buy another guitar right now, but I suspect the Sherwood Green model will eventually find it's way to me. I love the pickup type, the colour, and the funky shape with the cool strung through body Mustang stylings.

Like I said, I just don't need another guitar right now. But like you said, the Rascal bass has my attention!

The comfy nature you describe is also very appealing. I mostly record bass guitars using my equally inexpensive ancient Yamaha BB4xxx (honestly no idea) as it does P bass perfectly, but is actually more comfortable to play sitting down at home, for recording sessions in my study/studio/big musical mess.

I'm really glad I subscribed to this topic, as the pictures posted of posters' basses all look so lovely...though British Racing Green is the only colo(u)r for me!
Click to expand...
I play guitar too, a lot of it lately in fact, which is what got me thinking about a short scale. I was looking at the Sonic Bronco, but couldn’t find one locally to try. (My #1 deal breaker is balance/neck dive) so I like to try anything I’m looking at. I don’t think Rascal was even on my radar, but came out on top of the ones at the local shop.

But I’m in the same boat with justifying. I don’t gig but 1-2 times a year, mostly jam for fun. I don’t but tons of instruments nor do I keep a large stable. I left a jam last night actually thinking “why am I buying another bass??” Because I like my P so much.

anyways, I’m gonna hold off and see how I feel in a few weeks. I’m hesitant since this one balances excellently and I’ve read a lot of reviews about neck dive. But if it’s not meant to be, that’s ok too.
 
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#384
Ended up deciding to pass on the Rascal. (For now I think lol.) ultimately decided I wanna try a more traditional, compact SS bodied-bass. And though I can make exceptions for the right instruments, it’s a bit more than I wanted to spend.

But I still stand by my assessment that it’s a knockout of an instrument and a great offering from Squier. :)
 
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#385
Sorry for the shadows, but this is how Squier should've outfitted the Shell Pink Rascals.

Swapped pickguards with @Jari Kurri who'll have fresh tort to put on his bass when he gets home next week.

IMG_1108.jpeg
 
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#386
J Posega said:
Sorry for the shadows, but this is how Squier should've outfitted the Shell Pink Rascals.

Swapped pickguards with @Jari Kurri who'll have fresh tort to put on his bass when he gets home next week.

View attachment 5257959
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Looks good. My tort has grown on me and I like it combo'd with the shell pink. If I were to replace it right now I'd try for something like a pearloid; just going based upon guitars I've seen over the years a I think the pink/sparkly white combo looks right.
 
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#387
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#399
My racing green Rascal showed up today. Ordered directly from Fender’s website as soon as it was back on stock last friday !

I’m afraid my first impressions won’t add much to what was already repeated numerous times in this thread...
This is a really nice instrument with a stellar finish, as good as my Japanese 2023 Precision Aerodyne. Fretwork is even better !
Knobs and switch feel robust and i kinda like the tuners, not loose and pretty fast.
Factory setup was really good, action was perfect and i just had to spend 10 minutes perfecting the intonation.
The only thing not to like are the strings imo. Very abrasive rounds. Not a big deal tho as i plan to give those pickups what they are crying for... flats :)

About the ergonomics i have to say that i bought this bass hoping that what might be a show stopper to some would be a perfect fit to me. And i was right ! I’m pretty tall (1,95m) so you can guess i have long arms and i’m usualy playing almost near the fretboard on standard basses so my arm can rest on the body. I tried to move my hand closer to the bridge numerous times but it always came back up there. Playing with a pick and/or palm muting longer than 5 minutes is a nightmare as i have to lift my elbow in the air and twist my hand to attack the strings perpendiculary.
Now with the Rascal i feel at home, my right hand naturally playing between the pickups.
My only concern prior to purchase was about the neck as i have big hands too but it’s thick so everything feels natural. Love the neck finish btw. Saw some neck sanding videos online that made me wonder if it was really sticky but it’s absolutely not imo.

Overall it’s a really fun instrument to play with and i love the sound of it. As it was already mentioned before the bridge pickup sounds amazing and it’s a first for me too ! Gonna order Labella’s MUS DT flats and this will be my goto bass for the old blues band i’m in. Only question left for me now is if i should go back to rounds on the Aerodyne to complement this... :)
 
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#400
Noticed today that the neck pickup is slightly lower than the bridge pickup on my Rascal.

Did yours came with the same setup guys ?
Would i get a louder output from the neck pickup if it was closer to the strings ?
What would be the proper way to do that ?

Otherwise i had a blast playing longer today. Not sure if it’s a honeymoon thing but i really enjoyed every second of it !
Didn’t talk about neck dive yesterday. Have to admit it’s diving a bit but not to the point of fighting it constantly.
 

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