I got a new Squier Affinity PJ Bass from Guitar Center. That ought to piss off both the people who hate the very idea of a PJ bass and the people who hate Guitar Center with a passion. Sorry not sorry, I'm working with what I've got in terms of budget and local suppliers here.
It is what it is, a cheap Squier and you expect some fit and finish problems with them. I already had some upgrade parts in hand when the bass arrived, namely a Gotoh bridge and Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder pickups.
I noticed that the stock pickups were angled and uneven but figured I'd sort that out when I changed them out. It turned out to be more work than I wanted. The factory had run all of the pickup screws in at an angle and not all at the same angle. The bridge pickup cavity was too tight to allow the pickup to move up and down. I opened that up, drilled and doweled all of the existing holes, and then marked and drilled new ones for the Quarter Pounders.
Another minor gripe is that the neck was either unfinished or finished so thinly as to be undetectable. I removed the neck the first night and hit it with steel wool and a few applications of Tung oil. Turned out very nice.
The setup went well, maybe a quarter turn on the truss rod nut to get the relief right and had to adjust the Gotoh bridge for string height, and intonation was spot on after that.
The tuning machines seem to be good quality and hold tune very well. I've no plans to replace them because they seem fine as they are.
Now that I've spent time and as much money as the bass cost in the first place I've got a real player. I can't say enough about what an upgrade the Seymour Duncan pickups are. The sound is absolutely amazing. Properly set up the bass feels good in my hands and is a delight to play. Almost but not quite makes me wish I'd spent three times as much and gotten a Fender.
At the end of the day after some admittedly expected tweaking I have a really nice instrument for about a $450 investment. I'm very pleased with how it turned out.
It is what it is, a cheap Squier and you expect some fit and finish problems with them. I already had some upgrade parts in hand when the bass arrived, namely a Gotoh bridge and Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder pickups.
I noticed that the stock pickups were angled and uneven but figured I'd sort that out when I changed them out. It turned out to be more work than I wanted. The factory had run all of the pickup screws in at an angle and not all at the same angle. The bridge pickup cavity was too tight to allow the pickup to move up and down. I opened that up, drilled and doweled all of the existing holes, and then marked and drilled new ones for the Quarter Pounders.
Another minor gripe is that the neck was either unfinished or finished so thinly as to be undetectable. I removed the neck the first night and hit it with steel wool and a few applications of Tung oil. Turned out very nice.
The setup went well, maybe a quarter turn on the truss rod nut to get the relief right and had to adjust the Gotoh bridge for string height, and intonation was spot on after that.
The tuning machines seem to be good quality and hold tune very well. I've no plans to replace them because they seem fine as they are.
Now that I've spent time and as much money as the bass cost in the first place I've got a real player. I can't say enough about what an upgrade the Seymour Duncan pickups are. The sound is absolutely amazing. Properly set up the bass feels good in my hands and is a delight to play. Almost but not quite makes me wish I'd spent three times as much and gotten a Fender.
At the end of the day after some admittedly expected tweaking I have a really nice instrument for about a $450 investment. I'm very pleased with how it turned out.
