Squier CV 51 p Bass

[breen]

So I picked up this bass the other day for cheap. I'm going to use it as a project being I have way too much time on my hands. Someone replaced the logo with a Fender one. So the face of the headstock was sanded and refinished. But it looks strange to me and has quite a bit of a forward bow when the strings are under tension. Do you think when sanding they took out too much material and weaken the headstock? Here's a couple of pics. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[Beej]

Weird... can you take a pic of it lying flat against something? Like the whole bass laying down on a table face up?

Also, can you measure how thick the headstock is and post that up? Looks thin, but hard to tell from pics. It does appear to have an odd curve to it though.

 

[breen]

Weird... can you take a pic of it lying flat against something? Like the whole bass laying down on a table face up?

Also, can you measure how thick the headstock is and post that up? Looks thin, but hard to tell from pics. It does appear to have an odd curve to it though.

It is really thin. Especially on the treble side

 

[breen]

Weird... can you take a pic of it lying flat against something? Like the whole bass laying down on a table face up?

Also, can you measure how thick the headstock is and post that up? Looks thin, but hard to tell from pics. It does appear to have an odd curve to it though.

It's 1/2" thick on the bass side. The treble side goes from 1/2" at the top to 3/8" at the bottom.

 

[Beej]

1/2" or a little thicker (0.51-0.59) tends to be "regulation" thickness, so the 3/8" area has definitely been thinned quite a bit. Does it hold tune well though? Even though it might look wonky, if it works, it works. Might want to get a bar string retainer so that they are all under the same angle.

 

[breen]

1/2" or a little thicker (0.51-0.59) tends to be "regulation" thickness, so the 3/8" area has definitely been thinned quite a bit. Does it hold tune well though? Even though it might look wonky, if it works, it works. Might want to get a bar string retainer so that they are all under the same angle.

Thanks for the reply. It does seem to stay in tune. Someone must have got carried away with the sander. I'd like to compare it to another bass that hasn't been modified. It is a project though, so it maybe getting a new neck.

 

[Beej]

The pic on the table sure shows a lot of upward curve in the headstock, which is definitely not "normal" for a fender style neck. The face of the headstock should be parallel with the face of the fingerboard. That said, if it holds tune and plays alright, it should be functional until it's not.

 

[kodiakblair]

Someone must have got carried away with the sander.

Understatement of the week.
They were only removing a logo,one of those "step away from the power tools" moments

If it offends the eye, pop a veneer on the peghead and sweeten it out.

 

[electracoyote]

Yeah, prolly wrong grit on that sand paper and before they knew it, oops. Kinda silly these days to think you can't rock a Squier logo, but oh well.

Anyway, aside from the slight forward bow, if it's holding good and staying in tune, you're in business. I have this exact bass and finish and love it. I replaced the stock pickup with an SD "upgrade." It upgraded nothing, sounds exactly the same, so that stock pickup is plenty good enough for me.

Congrats, enjoy.

 

[breen]

Yeah, prolly wrong grit on that sand paper and before they knew it, oops. Kinda silly these days to think you can't rock a Squier logo, but oh well.

Anyway, aside from the slight forward bow, if it's holding good and staying in tune, you're in business. I have this exact bass and finish and love it. I replaced the stock pickup with an SD "upgrade." It upgraded nothing, sounds exactly the same, so that stock pickup is plenty good enough for me.

Congrats, enjoy.

thanks. Ya it's a nice bass. I was thinking about a Fralin pickup for it. But I may leave the stock one. So your headstock doesn't have that bow at all?

 

[kodiakblair]

I was thinking about a Fralin pickup for it.

I tried 7 different single coils in a P-bass,one of them cost £8 from China. Asked folks to guess which was the Chinese from some sound clips.

Nobody could really tell,each one got roughly the same number of responses saying it was the £8 cheapie.
My take from it was the same style of pickup in the same position will have the same basic character no matter who makes it.

 

[electracoyote]

thanks. Ya it's a nice bass. I was thinking about a Fralin pickup for it. But I may leave the stock one. So your headstock doesn't have that bow at all?

I haven't played mine for awhile, so I dug it out again just for you.

The headstock on mine is pretty dang straight, perhaps a miniscule forward angle, or that might even be an optical illusion, and certainly nothing nearly as noticeable as yours. I'd say yours is a product of over-sanding, but if it's staying in tune and doesn't require frequent tuning it's probable the guilty party stopped short of ruining it and you're good to go. Like that first nice ding or chip, don't think about it any more or it will play tricks with your head and cause a distraction. And you might be extra-careful not to bump it into something hard.

In case you're interested, I installed a SD Basslines SCPB-3, their Quarter Pounder in single coil form. QP's get lots of praise, so I thought I was doing myself a service. Again, it was a waste of time and money as the stock pickup sounded just as good, almost identical. One of those cases where they actually put a decent PU in a Squier, and as mentioned above, I think just about any decent single coil in that position in that kind of bass is going to give you about the same sound and output.

 

[kodiakblair]

I think just about any decent single coil in that position in that kind of bass is going to give you about the same sound and output.

Years back when I was raving about the £78 Thomann PB-50 there was a lot of talk regarding replacing the Wilkinson pickup with Seymour Duncan.

Friend of mine bought his PB-50 used,the Wilkinson already replaced with Seymour Duncan. I sent him the stock Wilkinson so he could record an A/B. He put the tracks online.

All talk of PB-50 + Seymour Duncan stopped

 

[Hevy T]

Here are a couple pics of my 51 Squier CV. This neck has not been touched in any way. My regular model is in isolation, so I had to use my stand in Tyla

 

[breen]

My headstock doesn't look that much thinner than the one in the pic that @Hevy T sent. When I got the bass the neck had a substantial forward bow. The truss rod had no tension on it. I wonder if sitting in that position may of contributed to the bow in the headstock.

 

[Stewie]

I have the same bass. I like it more than any other Fender I have played. I changed to the Fender reverse tuners to make it more like it's grandpa. I also added a Kluson 70s bridge. The heavy bridge on the China CV51 has different hole spacing, so changing it meant filling 4 of the five screw holes and redrilling them, but again, it looks closer to the old two saddle bridge, at least in size.
I can't see why you would change the pickup, the one on it is very very nice. Try a set of GHS Precision Flats 45-105.

 

[breen]

I have the same bass. I like it more than any other Fender I have played. I changed to the Fender reverse tuners to make it more like it's grandpa. I also added a Kluson 70s bridge. The heavy bridge on the China CV51 has different hole spacing, so changing it meant filling 4 of the five screw holes and redrilling them, but again, it looks closer to the old two saddle bridge, at least in size.
I can't see why you would change the pickup, the one on it is very very nice. Try a set of GHS Precision Flats 45-105.
View attachment 3802951

I may not change the pickup. I know the stock one sounds good. I would only change it if the hum bugs me too much and Fralin and others make a hum cancelling version of that pickup . I'm more concerned about the neck and modified headstock giving me issues.

 

[Stewie]

I may not change the pickup. I know the stock one sounds good. I would only change it if the hum bugs me too much and Fralin and others make a hum cancelling version of that pickup . I'm more concerned about the neck and modified headstock giving me issues.

Mine has only been a problem in one bar that has blinding lights and a lot of neon. I just turned the volume knob way down between songs. It wasn't a problem once the drums and guitar started, and the amp I was using(not mine) has a problem with buzzing if any treble is dialed up. It was worse than my P with a split pickup, but not unbearable

 

[breen]

Understatement of the week.
They were only removing a logo,one of those "step away from the power tools" moments

If it offends the eye, pop a veneer on the peghead and sweeten it out.

Do you think adding a veneer to the face would give it enough strength to keep it from bowing?

 

[kodiakblair]

Do you think adding a veneer to the face would give it enough strength to keep it from bowing?

No, a veneer would mainly be cosmetic but that said 1/8th is a pretty heavy veneer. More like a cap than veneer. It would add bulk to the thin area ,that bulk might be enough to stiffen.

Does the peghead spring back straight when you slacken the strings ?