Reviving a battered Squier affinity p

[Soverntear]

Ahh the first bass, got it in trade for my exs acoustic guitar. it came with a big nasty crack in the neck. now that same neck is warped. ive decided to revive this p. the plan is to replace everything except the body(black with a couple war wounds). below is the list of parts im planning.


Bridge: Badass 2
Pup's: SD 1/4 pounder
Pickguard: bright white or mirrored
Neck: MIM fender p or MIA if i can ever find one
Machine Heads(if not on neck): hipshot
Knobs: ok not everything is going


any suggestions on comparably priced stuff to consider? i also have now idea what preamp to use. also what pots should i use (i want standard p controls) any suggestions on input jacks? anything else im not thiniking of that could be a good idea? im trying to get a good bass for punk going.

 

[Dee_01]

Any idea what kind of wood the body is made from?

 

[Soverntear]

no idea, but if someone can tell me a way to figure that out im all for it. i will say its one heavy bass

 

[Soverntear]

also what type of nut would ad to a punk rock tone?

 

[Strongjag]

Just to let you know, I had an old affinity Jazz that I defretted. Went to buy a bunch of new parts and the neck pocket is NOT the same as my MIM.

 

[Soverntear]

strongjag, thanks for the tip, ill remember to get it measured

 

[mrkreuzschlitz]

Get a Neutrik locking jack.

 

[Godbody]

also what type of nut would ad to a punk rock tone?

Whatever type of nut you can steal. That will make it infinitely more punk.

 

[SundanceChile]

Body's alder. I'm actually doing the EXACT same thing with my beat-to-hell Squier Affinity P, but I'm keeping the original neck and slapping on a W/B/W pickguard.

For Punk, you don't need a preamp. Period. I would suggest however investing in a replacement capacitor, and possibly even some new pots if you feel so inclined. The Squier electronics can be a little iffy. Better safe then sorry IMO.

 

[Chinguschild]

I have a affinity p bass I am bringing up to the playability of my old bass. Its not beat up or anything close but I will be following this thread to see what issues you all run into before I tackle mine

 

[Soverntear]

again thanks all for the suggestions


godbody, yes yes it would be more punk if i stole it, lol but seriusly which nut materials would help sustain/ give a beefier tone?

mrkreuzschlitz good choice on jack, now if i get a mogami platinum cable will the two jacks cause each other any problems?

SundanceChile thanks for the body ID. was wondering how i would figure that out. glad to hear another squire revive is happening. id keep my neck, but the neck is the whole reason im doing this. its messed up serious. no preamp eh? will i still be able to use my knobs? or do you mean keep the stock one in there? as for the capacitor/pots i do want to redo all the guts in it with new parts. so which preamp or pots/cap will work best in there for some punk.

 

[Chinguschild]

There is no pre amp. That entire bass works in a passive manner. Your volume knob obviously only cuts volume. You tone know also can only cut frequencies. An active preamp can cut AND boost frequencies many time over various eq bands.

Mine will be getting an active preamp. Im looking at a Bartolini setup.

 

[BioDriver]

You can buy Highway 1 necks on the 'bay for cheap.

 

[Gintaras]

don't forget to get a high quality wiriing harness. I bought one from Bayou Cables. Also you might want to read posts on the G&L SB@ pbass pup and the Dimarzio P. I have the G&L and it is hot and punchy.

 

[Pilgrim]

For the money you'll spend, you can buy a used MIM bass and forget about doing the work.

 

[Soverntear]

see i thought there was preamps in passive basses, thanks for the tip. gonna keep it passive


are there any real differences between the Highway 1 necks and the MIA standard neck? also on a whole whats the difference between a highway one and an ameican standard?

Gintaras ill also look in to to the wiring harness. many things i must talk with my guitar tech about. gonna read the posts on those pups too. imstill a bit new to bass so im not too farmilliar with those pups. too many choices out there.

Pilgrim, i know ill spend allot less on a MIM pbass, but im not going for that. its my first bass and as it stands its unplayable, so instead of just letting it die on a wall in my house id rather make a crazy passive p out of it and still be able to use it. sure its just the body/knobs that will be original but its just sentimental. plus it allows me to try out building

 

[ojo]

HA! I just got one of these myself on the cheap as a project bass (read: defret and route for a J pup in the bridge). Mine is super lightweight though, and a very soft wood cuz most of the screws are stripped.

The only things that the bass probably could use is different pots and maybe a different pickup, but if you don't like the tone (or it's shot).

Good luck!

 

[Soverntear]

ojo, the tone is solid but i feel it needs some more balls to it. also im in a diff boat my p is heavy as all can be.

decided im going with the bayou cables prewired p harness and possibly the orange drop capacitor

 

[Soverntear]

shameless bumping

 

[Godbody]

godbody, yes yes it would be more punk if i stole it, lol but seriusly which nut materials would help sustain/ give a beefier tone?

Don't worry about the nut material, it won't have a big effect on tone. Bone, brass, plastic, whatever; its not worth worrying about, because it won't matter.

I'd get a 500k vol pot and bypass the tone pot; no advice on caps from me.

Frankly, I'd worry more about your amp and its settings for getting a beefed tone. IMO, I'd be concerned with your Squire's playability over its tone.