The 5-inline Squier Affinity basses are a best kept secret. Thinner body like a Smith, and you can run them without pickguards! Mine has a Klōs carbon neck with a Hipshot and active EMGs, and it STAYS AND SLAYS!! Love them.
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NBD - The worst best bass
- Thread starter HelpImaRock
- Start date
After owning this bass for a week, I did it a little dirty in the OP.
The neck is big. I've played Ibanez, Jackson, Yamaha, and other competing 5 strings that had thinner necks. And if this is supposed to be a bass for beginners, you'd think Fender would have slimmed it down. It's not the prettiest piece of maple but we are talking about a budget instrument.
I should also note that I mostly play flatwounds on short scale basses. So this thing is gigantic and the strings are rough in comparison. And that's where my "it plays like a 2x4" comment stems from.
But it was set up well and despite both of our shortcomings is relatively easy to play. It sounds massive. And when I go back to my short scales I'm flying all over the place. So it's really serving it's function. To the point where I might take down the listing I posted and put new tuners and a new bridge on it. Because right now, it's the ultimate beater, riff machine, and proving ground for my playing.
Also, of course I keep looking at other 5 strings. But unless I'm going to abandon short scales entirely, that seems silly.
The neck is big. I've played Ibanez, Jackson, Yamaha, and other competing 5 strings that had thinner necks. And if this is supposed to be a bass for beginners, you'd think Fender would have slimmed it down. It's not the prettiest piece of maple but we are talking about a budget instrument.
I should also note that I mostly play flatwounds on short scale basses. So this thing is gigantic and the strings are rough in comparison. And that's where my "it plays like a 2x4" comment stems from.
But it was set up well and despite both of our shortcomings is relatively easy to play. It sounds massive. And when I go back to my short scales I'm flying all over the place. So it's really serving it's function. To the point where I might take down the listing I posted and put new tuners and a new bridge on it. Because right now, it's the ultimate beater, riff machine, and proving ground for my playing.
Also, of course I keep looking at other 5 strings. But unless I'm going to abandon short scales entirely, that seems silly.
It's been a while.
Like I said at the beginning of this thread, this bass has riffs in it. I posted it on Reverb the night I got it but tonight I took the listing down. I'm going to change the bridge and tuners, and string it with groundwounds.
It's been the proving ground I wanted it to be. Sometimes, the bass chooses you.
Like I said at the beginning of this thread, this bass has riffs in it. I posted it on Reverb the night I got it but tonight I took the listing down. I'm going to change the bridge and tuners, and string it with groundwounds.
It's been the proving ground I wanted it to be. Sometimes, the bass chooses you.
Nothing bad to say about my cheap budget main, but yes it is cheap, just not crap:
Stock pickups and all, though, yes, I actually do have one bad thing to say about it, the stock neck pickup was faulty, so I wired up the stock bridge pickup directly to the output jack socket, and it sounds amazing, really complex rich tone, with a nice amount of growl too, and it is a joy to play, with it's 16.5mm string spacing and just 28.6" scale length.
I have it tuned A to F though, tenor bass sort of tuning, as in the upper 4 strings of a 6 string bass in regular B standard tuning, and then an extra high F added.
I like it that way, and use it more as sort of a crossover between a bass and guitar, I adjusted my playing style to that, and enjoy it a lot, more sort of a 5 string Bass VI in low baritone tuning, with wide string spacing.
I can't imagine it sounding great with a low B, as it is intended, but in A standard tuning it sounds no short of amazing.
Poplar body, Maple neck, with a Jatoba fretboard.
Made for Ibanez on the Cort factory in Indonesia.
I tried replacing the bridge J pickup, which, as said, is the only one I use, with an EMG JX pickup, but didn't like the result, and I don't know why I did it, I guess the grass is greener and all that, as said, the stock bridge J pickup sounds amazing, and is surprisingly quiet, despite it being a cheap budget bass they bothered to shield the pickup internally and seal it in epoxy, and provide proper shielded wiring too, so practically dead quiet.
I pondered on, and likely will at some point, replacing the stock bridge for single mono rail bridge pieces milled from solid brass, but we'll see.
Love this bass to bits.
Even given it a name: "Mr. Growly - The Noodlemancer", which seems appropriate.
Stock pickups and all, though, yes, I actually do have one bad thing to say about it, the stock neck pickup was faulty, so I wired up the stock bridge pickup directly to the output jack socket, and it sounds amazing, really complex rich tone, with a nice amount of growl too, and it is a joy to play, with it's 16.5mm string spacing and just 28.6" scale length.
I have it tuned A to F though, tenor bass sort of tuning, as in the upper 4 strings of a 6 string bass in regular B standard tuning, and then an extra high F added.
I like it that way, and use it more as sort of a crossover between a bass and guitar, I adjusted my playing style to that, and enjoy it a lot, more sort of a 5 string Bass VI in low baritone tuning, with wide string spacing.
I can't imagine it sounding great with a low B, as it is intended, but in A standard tuning it sounds no short of amazing.
Poplar body, Maple neck, with a Jatoba fretboard.
Made for Ibanez on the Cort factory in Indonesia.
I tried replacing the bridge J pickup, which, as said, is the only one I use, with an EMG JX pickup, but didn't like the result, and I don't know why I did it, I guess the grass is greener and all that, as said, the stock bridge J pickup sounds amazing, and is surprisingly quiet, despite it being a cheap budget bass they bothered to shield the pickup internally and seal it in epoxy, and provide proper shielded wiring too, so practically dead quiet.
I pondered on, and likely will at some point, replacing the stock bridge for single mono rail bridge pieces milled from solid brass, but we'll see.
Love this bass to bits.
Even given it a name: "Mr. Growly - The Noodlemancer", which seems appropriate.
