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Matt Freeman Squier Pbass!!! Just Got One!!!!
- Thread starter jamersonburton
- Start date
Just took one out of the box and gave it a short test run. Pretty nice bass. It sounds really good. It is a bit bright compared to other pbasses I've owned but that could have some to do with the new Fender strings. I usually use rotosounds.
The pickup is pretty hot. I have a '57 reissue with a Fralin in it and it's easily as loud as that. The sound of the pickup is quite nice. I'm comparing the sound of it to the original '57 reissue pickup as well as the Fralin. Both of those pickups sound darker to me than the squier. I wouldnt say they even sound better, just different.
The neck surprised me. I thought they had by mistake put a jazz bass neck on it. The '57 is wider and chunkier. It played nice and smooth. I was a bit disappointed that it did not have the flamed neck like I have seen on some but really......who cares.
I may need to spend a little time setting it up. The action is pretty high which is ok because I'm not one of those who have to have it ultra low but did notice it was a tad high. There is a "plunk" sound from my fingers over the A pole peice of the pickup. Not on any other string but on the A. Weird, but no big deal, maybe a set up will help with that.
Overall from the short time I got to play it before my daughter went to bed, I think it's pretty good. Not just for the money but in general its a pretty good pbass. I'll have more time with it tomorrow and then I can crank up my tube amp and give it a proper go.
The pickup is pretty hot. I have a '57 reissue with a Fralin in it and it's easily as loud as that. The sound of the pickup is quite nice. I'm comparing the sound of it to the original '57 reissue pickup as well as the Fralin. Both of those pickups sound darker to me than the squier. I wouldnt say they even sound better, just different.
The neck surprised me. I thought they had by mistake put a jazz bass neck on it. The '57 is wider and chunkier. It played nice and smooth. I was a bit disappointed that it did not have the flamed neck like I have seen on some but really......who cares.
I may need to spend a little time setting it up. The action is pretty high which is ok because I'm not one of those who have to have it ultra low but did notice it was a tad high. There is a "plunk" sound from my fingers over the A pole peice of the pickup. Not on any other string but on the A. Weird, but no big deal, maybe a set up will help with that.
Overall from the short time I got to play it before my daughter went to bed, I think it's pretty good. Not just for the money but in general its a pretty good pbass. I'll have more time with it tomorrow and then I can crank up my tube amp and give it a proper go.
Nice write-up Dan. Yeah the neck is nice and smooth on mine (and all that I've tried). Couldn't figure why I liked the neck so much. It took me a while to figure it out, I've been a Jazz guy for a long while. Then I checked out the specs for the Freeman and realized a that they had the smaller P nut - 1.650 (42 mm). That's what I play now. My Bello, LP and MIM all have the 1.650 nut. Great compromise between the J and the full P.
Just so you know, this bass totally blows chunks...
Why?
because they dont make a lefty model
And that is the only reason!
Why?
because they dont make a lefty model
And that is the only reason!
I have been jamming this bass in my room thru a iamp200 combo. I have been playing it side by side of my '57AV P-bass.
I took the squier to the gig tonight and it was every bit as good as my '57 RI. It has different tone but is really good. I bought this bass to see if it could stand up to my American Fender. It does. The gig was really good and I could not tell the difference between the two tone wise.
I may be parting withthe RI soon.
I took the squier to the gig tonight and it was every bit as good as my '57 RI. It has different tone but is really good. I bought this bass to see if it could stand up to my American Fender. It does. The gig was really good and I could not tell the difference between the two tone wise.
I may be parting withthe RI soon.
Thanks Dan. That's a heck of endorsement.
I brought mine to practice on Thursday to run through our first set with my rig (Peavey Max450 and TVX 410). My main bass is a modded Fender Frank Bello PJ.
I did notice a difference tone wise, but that was due to the flats that are currently on the Squier. Not sure what flats they are but they are very warm compared to chromes.
It had a deeper and warmer tone which would be expected. It sounded great on some of the old school songs we did, but lacked the zing for other stuff (like green day). I need to string it up with my standard Black Beauties and do a true comparison.
I brought mine to practice on Thursday to run through our first set with my rig (Peavey Max450 and TVX 410). My main bass is a modded Fender Frank Bello PJ.
I did notice a difference tone wise, but that was due to the flats that are currently on the Squier. Not sure what flats they are but they are very warm compared to chromes.
It had a deeper and warmer tone which would be expected. It sounded great on some of the old school songs we did, but lacked the zing for other stuff (like green day). I need to string it up with my standard Black Beauties and do a true comparison.
I should say I coud'nt tell a difference tone wise during the gig. There is a difference in tone. I wouldnt say one is better than the other, just different. The squier is a bit brighter. I have rotosounds on both basses.
Parting with my '57RI? Maybe not quite yet but I do know the squier can get the job done without disappointment.
Parting with my '57RI? Maybe not quite yet but I do know the squier can get the job done without disappointment.
Dan - you should throw some chromes on the Freeman. The basswood and maple on the squier likely brighten the sound and would be offset by flats. That said, I'm torn whether I want to swap my strings. I dig the sound of the Freeman with flats but they are GHS Flats I think and color the sound a lot. I might put the chromes on.
My bandmates were giving me a hard time before the gig started about bringing the squier. They had nothing but compliments after the gig. I'm still more comfortable with a wider pbass neck but this one is starting to feel pretty good.
I'm going to leave this one alone as far as strings go. I'm a sucker for trying this and that. I usually can't stop once I start trying things. I'm just going to embrace the sounds and tones I'm getting from this bass the way it is. No mods to it either. I have a Fralin pickup I could put in it but I see no reason.
I'm going to leave this one alone as far as strings go. I'm a sucker for trying this and that. I usually can't stop once I start trying things. I'm just going to embrace the sounds and tones I'm getting from this bass the way it is. No mods to it either. I have a Fralin pickup I could put in it but I see no reason.
Yeah, man. This bass is next on my list. I went down to a local shop here in Denver yesterday (Drum City Guitar Land) an played the heck out of one though an ampeg SVT classic. It really was surprisingly bright, funky and had that 70s p grind going on. I LOVED the neck. Nice and chunky but manageable. I was curious about the pickup... because of course you'd want to change out a squier pickup for a Fralin or Lollar or something. But, the more i think about it, I think you might compromise that nice crisp high you get from the bass if you change out the stock pickup. It would be really great to get one of these and be able to not change anything and gig the hell out of it with no issues. I look forward to more gig reports about this exceptional squier...
