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NBD Squier Debut Series…

#141
Just ordered the
joeLowB said:
My Squire Debut P Bass arrived about an hour ago from Amazon. I'm VERY pleased and amazed at $129.

First impressions:
- The Neck. I'm thrilled. I wanted a P Bass with a J Neck...this is it. I had been practicing on my MIM J bass for a couple of hours when it arrived. I pulled the PB from the box and instantly felt the very same neck shape. In early playing, it feels just like my J Basses.

- Tone/ Volume controls each provide a full range...some tone controls are more non-linear. These feel "linear" to my ear.

- Tuners feel fine. Not cheap...functional and smooth. Pleasantly surprised.

- Matte finish. I noticed it immediately but it was less different from the gloss finish in identical color from my JBs. You may not detect a difference in the photos.

- Pickguard. I am pleased it is three-ply! The Squire Sonic series basses are apparently single ply, I had expected the same. Pleasing, if small, feature.

- Weight... 8.5 lbs, 3.85kg... mid range... I'm fine with it.

- Set up. Surprisingly close, out of the box. I'll need to add a little bow to the neck. The, a tweak on the saddles. Intonation was almost perfect, as delivered.

- Strings. Cheap and gritty. Not surprised. I has planned all along to swap strings and go to BEAD with flats.

- Shielding. Others here observed there is none. There was a lot of hum, very noticeable. I'll likely go in and do a full shielding job. This is the only true negative so far.

All said, I'm very pleased. I can work with this bass.

Now, I need to give it a name! I give one to each of my basses which tells a story. This lines up along Fred and Lewis.

Hope this is helpful.

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I literally just ordered the red one and came to this thread to post about it. Then I saw the photos of your sunburst and immediately cancelled the red one and ordered the sunburst. Thank you!!

I also ordered a set of Fender Tapewound strings to go with it. Looking forward to the thump.
 
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#142
Well, I let my GAS get the best of me...... I just bought 2 Sonic Precisions from Fender; one in Lime Green (currently on sale at Fender for $175) and one in Graffiti Yellow ($199). Man, I feel like I'm returning to my P Bass roots, but in a slightly twisted way. I'm sure some of the parts from these will be sold, but I have always liked these 2 colors, so I saw the chance to snag a couple more modding platforms. I'm sure I'll post something on TB regarding this purchase........ but now back to the Debut series. I'll have to start on it after July 7th, as we have many family things going on this week. And an early Happy 4th to all !!!
 
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#143
So I was unhappy with the hum on my Debut P Bass, so decided to shield it.

Here's the pre- shield pix of the cavity.

1000003769.jpg


Emptied.

1000003771.jpg


I laid out copper tape in the cavity. Discovered using a pencil eraser to gently press the tape into the corners worked well.

1000003774.jpg


I was pleased with how the cavity looked...had zero ohm continuity where I needed it and no shorts on the signal side.

Shielding the underside of the pickguard was less elegant, however. I was running short on copper tape and used every square millimeter to piece together a reasonable copper cage to surround the pickups.

1000003786.jpg


Reinstalled pots and jack. Carefully screwed the pickup in. My initial observation was they were too close to the strings. I'll check that once I get my preferred strings on. One last check.

1000003788.jpg


Reattached everything. Plugged it into my amp.

Quiet. Massive improvement from what it was out of the box.

Pleased.

When my EB flats arrive, I'll do a full set-up.

.
 
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#145
timendous said:
Just ordered the


I literally just ordered the red one and came to this thread to post about it. Then I saw the photos of your sunburst and immediately cancelled the red one and ordered the sunburst. Thank you!!

I also ordered a set of Fender Tapewound strings to go with it. Looking forward to the thump.
Click to expand...

Ha! That's funny. Glad the pix helped...color is such a matter of personal preference.

Do let us know your reactions. I'm very keen to hear how tape wound strings work... I was vascillating between tapes and conventional flats...went with the latter... but am keen to find what works best.

Hope you enjoy yours... I'm very keen to see mine up and play a lot.

.
 
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#146
covermego said:
Well, I let my GAS get the best of me...... I just bought 2 Sonic Precisions from Fender; one in Lime Green (currently on sale at Fender for $175) and one in Graffiti Yellow ($199). Man, I feel like I'm returning to my P Bass roots, but in a slightly twisted way. I'm sure some of the parts from these will be sold, but I have always liked these 2 colors, so I saw the chance to snag a couple more modding platforms. I'm sure I'll post something on TB regarding this purchase........ but now back to the Debut series. I'll have to start on it after July 7th, as we have many family things going on this week. And an early Happy 4th to all !!!
Click to expand...

That's real GAS!

Very interested to get your comparison of the Debut and Sonic series units. I've wondered if they ate mostly identical but marketed separately.

Happy 4th to you too!

.
 
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#147
timendous said:
I read through this whole thread a few days ago while I was considering buying one of these. Was there someone who had a bunch of single ply "cream" (aka aged white) pickguards from old Squier P basses that was offering to sell one? I think it'd look awesome on the sunburst.
Click to expand...

There are some pix which showed the dimensional differences between pickup locations on the Debut and "standard" Fender/Squire p bass. Thus, pickguards may not be a simple swap.

.
 
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#148
joeLowB said:
There are some pix which showed the dimensional differences between pickup locations on the Debut and "standard" Fender/Squire p bass. Thus, pickguards may not be a simple swap.

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Yes. Pls refer to post # 108. As @C Stone mentioned, a few holes down by the pots will need to be re-drilled, plus the pickup will need to be scooted back, but there is, indeed, room to do so. I'll be performing the scoot on my black one, sooooooon.
 
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#150
joeLowB said:
That's real GAS!

Very interested to get your comparison of the Debut and Sonic series units. I've wondered if they ate mostly identical but marketed separately.

Happy 4th to you too!
Click to expand...
Very close it seems, other than on the Debut pickup placement is not standard
spec. I read on the Sonic the PG can be replaced with standard replacement PG.

After I shielded I installed my new PU’s but moved the pickup down about 1/4” to standard Fender spec so I could use a Squier standard pick guard I had here, I
also replaced the pots with full size CTS.
CAA4C110-F4A4-476D-84BA-25C470599A4A.jpeg
 
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#151
Rehearsal went great , the bass is a keeper . It's not as articulate as my Jazzes but it's a P-bass and it does that really well . The guys didn't even notice it was a different bass until about six tunes in . I had a little trouble on one tune , an old Savoy Brown song , because I use a five string almost all the time and the riff I use keys on the E on the B string . Just messed with my head a little , no fault of the bass .
Would I use it on a gig ? Sure , if the gig required a P bass definitely .
 
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#153
I finished my set up of my Debut P Bass this afternoon. Eased the truss rod 1 1/2 turns to let the strings get enough relief. From that, though, I made no further adjustments to saddle height, as the action was just fine for my taste with the new flats. Neither did I touch the intonation...it was still spot on.

In working and reworking the truss rod ( meaning much defining and tuning of the middle two strings, particularly) I ended up with some "rattle" on the second string (the E, since I'm in BEAD tuning) when i play it open. It appears the friction of the string moving so much through the nut has opened it a bit much. When I put my finger on the nut, it goes away. May need to shim it with a bit of paper.

I played it for an hour or so...very pleased with the neck...very pleased. The cavity shielding effort also worked.

So far, so good. Tired of fiddling, now just want to play it!

.
 
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#159
InstantEctobass said:
I wouldn't judge the laurel on one exemplary. It varies a LOT. Even rosewood is ugly sometimes. That's just the nature of things. That being said, the Sonic P is all Fender Spec, minus the pickup on the Chinese model. But if you replace it, you can also replace the pickguard without any issues.
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Ha, laurel is rosewood

But yes, it seems just about every board of laurel they choose to glue to a neck is meh, or ehh. You'd think they just use fake ebynol or something by now.

Your fretboard is one in a thousand. Nice bass dude
 
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