Squier Affinity Jaguar Bass...H?!

[Yammer]

I think at least based on their tone charts, the Bigman will be the closest to what I’m looking for;

 

[Fitz]

I got the little $30 Wilkinson pickup installed.

If anyone buys this pickup and doesn't receive a wiring diagram, don't worry--it comes set up exactly the way it needs to be for this bass. Two wires are soldered together and two wires are separate. The wires soldered together are the hot and are soldered to the lug on the volume pot. The other two wires are soldered to ground on the back of the pot.

The original pickup is a series pickup from the factory and can't be changed, for the record.

The Wilkinson pickup will not fit in the pickup cutout on the pickguard when being dropped in from the top. It WILL fit when being pushed up from the bottom, so remove the pick guard. Theres a clean pickup route underneath, so you can go with no PG if you want to do that.

The high end has returned and this $30 pickup has really woken up this bass. It doesn't sound like a stingray, but doesn't sound like a P either. It sounds like a really nice mix in between. It's a very very nice combo with the 500K pots.

I may drop in a .047 tone cap to make the tone pot more usable, but with the .022 it can go from a clean, clear sound to a more mid-focused sound with some highs preserved. It almost sounds like a blend pot or something.

Also worth noting, the Wilkinson pickup is pretty heavy and will help a little bit with body weight/neck dive.

These basses are a lot of fun to work on. In an ideal world, I'd drop $120 on lightweight tuners, but honestly it's not worth it on a $250 bass. I'll settle for electronics modifications for now. I absolutely love this bass.

 

[Yatta79]

Hi all.
Long time lurker here. It's time for my first post.
I got my Jaguar H today and I'm really excited to start working on it. My first impression was that the neck and fretwork is really good. 8/10 on that. The pickup and electronics was as expected for the pricepoint. Well, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed about the noise. But that's thing I kinda knew.

So my plan for it so far is to do a propper shielding job, swapping out the pickup, replacing the volum knob with a stacked one and have a 3 way selector where the tone knob is now. I've also scanned my pickguard so I can get a custom WD pickguard.

So my question is this.I have the Sterling Stingray shortscale and on it I have a 3 way rotary switch. I would like the same on my Jaguar but I don't know where to buy one.
Is there anyone that know where I can get one like that?

 

[Yammer]

An 80s Squier Japanese P bass in 32”. They didn’t make very many.

I gotta say, discovering medium scale has been fantastic. I didn’t know they have been a thing for so long. Now I’m curious to deep dive and find out what basses were/are 32”, all in.

 

[Fitz]

I gotta say, discovering medium scale has been fantastic. I didn’t know they have been a thing for so long. Now I’m curious to deep dive and find out what basses were/are 32”, all in.

I always, always tell people that it's what Leo should've done originally--its just the far superior ergonomical design and there is no sacrifice in sound or feel compared to the larger, heavier guitars. 34" was not the right scale length for the typical run of the mill electric bass.

 

[Yammer]

I only read the first post because at this time I’m only interested in Fender family designs, but good info!: Master List Of Medium 32" Scale Basses Only - Not For Short Scale 30"

 

[Yammer]

I have the Sterling Stingray shortscale and on it I have a 3 way rotary switch. I would like the same on my Jaguar but I don't know where to buy one.
Is there anyone that know where I can get one like that?

I’m pretty sure this is it, but my guess is you’ll need to route out the cavity a bit to get it to fit:
Alpha 3 Position, 3 Pole Rotary Switch, Make Before Break | NewOldSounds | Reverb

 

[Yammer]

I got the little $30 Wilkinson pickup installed.

If anyone buys this pickup and doesn't receive a wiring diagram, don't worry--it comes set up exactly the way it needs to be for this bass. Two wires are soldered together and two wires are separate. The wires soldered together are the hot and are soldered to the lug on the volume pot. The other two wires are soldered to ground on the back of the pot.

The original pickup is a series pickup from the factory and can't be changed, for the record.

Good to know! Is the Wilkinson inherently parallel by comparison?

 

[Fitz]

Good to know! Is the Wilkinson inherently parallel by comparison?

It’s a 4-conductor wire pickup and is parallel out of the box with no separating of wires or changing anything. Plug and play.

Mine comes in at about 6.5K ohms. The stock pickup was about 13.5K ohms.

The new pickup buzzes quite a bit more, so I’m thinking about shielding tape next, along with shielded wiring for the 1/4” jack.

I’m a gigging bassist so what seems like a rabbit hole of modifications is actually for very practical purposes. A lot of the rooms here in town have dirty power and I use in-ears, so when something is buzzing it is in my ear and screws me up.

 

[Yammer]

Thanks for that! In doing a bit more el-cheapo pickup research for the Affinity, I ran across this one for $13.70!: https://www.amazon.com/BQLZR-Noisel...00EQ277JK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Complete with four-star review from John Patitucci!!:

 

[P Cheen]

Can somebody post a pic of the bass without the pickguard and control plate? I’m going to do a mod project but unsure if I should grab this Affinity Jaguar H or the Classic Vibe Jaguar PJ.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Fitz]

Thanks for that! In doing a bit more el-cheapo pickup research for the Affinity, I ran across this one for $13.70!: Amazon.com: BQLZR Noiseless Good Balance 4 String Bass Guitar Pickup: Musical Instruments

Complete with four-star review from John Patitucci!!:

I would’ve bought that instead, had I known. I’m not a pickup snob whatsoever and just wanted something in parallel. Oops!

 

[Yatta79]

Can somebody post a pic of the bass without the pickguard and control plate? I’m going to do a mod project but unsure if I should grab this Affinity Jaguar H or the Classic Vibe Jaguar PJ.

Thanks a lot!

Here is mine. I did a shielding job on it as it comes unshielded. I also drilled up the hole as the original was too small for me.

 

[P Cheen]

Here is mine. I did a shielding job on it as it comes unshielded. I also drilled up the hole as the original was too small for me.

THANKS! And great shielding work too. Looks like they did us wrong by routing a control cavity this small… probably can’t even fit an Audere setup.

 

[Yatta79]

THANKS! And great shielding work too. Looks like they did us wrong by routing a control cavity this small… probably can’t even fit an Audere setup.

Thanks Yeah, tight space. Anything with a battery and a preamp will need some work done. That's why I'm going passive with mine. I've taken some photos with a battery in the cavity. It fits sideways but not flat. If you want a battery I think you'd have to route out for it. You can't go any further down as the body is 40mm thick and the control cavity is 33mm deep. I placed the battery where I would have it if I was gonna go the active route. You'd have to remove the PG to change batteries but at least you keep the backside clean.

 

[Joybass]

Maybe some inspiration for you modders: I slapped this together with relatively inexpensive parts and although it doesn't look like much it produces some pretty impressive sounds. From P-base to J-bass plus a few more. I added a 4-way switch for the humbucker, and the bridge pu because it was a JB body. A total of 9 pickup switching options.

 

[Greywoulf]

Thanks Yeah, tight space. Anything with a battery and a preamp will need some work done. That's why I'm going passive with mine. I've taken some photos with a battery in the cavity. It fits sideways but not flat. If you want a battery I think you'd have to route out for it. You can't go any further down as the body is 40mm thick and the control cavity is 33mm deep. I placed the battery where I would have it if I was gonna go the active route. You'd have to remove the PG to change batteries but at least you keep the backside clean.

Why did you add the battery and active electronics? (-I'm not trying to be a wise ass, I really believe folks sh set up their bass any way they like. But I am really curious...)

 

[P Cheen]

Saw one of the Lake Placid Blue in my local GC, tried it and I was pleasantly surprised. I couldn’t put the thing down. I was so close to buying it, but I was on my lunch break and I didn’t want to make a decision on the spot.

The neck is a lovely satin all over, and it was a breeze to play. For being a Guitar Center display item it actually was set up properly.

I’m probably going back tomorrow to get it.

 

[Yammer]

I would’ve bought that instead, had I known. I’m not a pickup snob whatsoever and just wanted something in parallel. Oops!

Meh. I got it today, tried it out. A bit better than the stock one, but going back.

 

[Fitz]

Meh. I got it today, tried it out. A bit better than the stock one, but going back. View attachment 4342241

How was the noise level? Im getting a ton of buzz with the Wilkinson but it could be because the bass has no shielding.