Squier "Perfect Fit Replacement Parts" Mega thread

[Big Hoss]

I don't mind minor adjustments, I am trying to avoid MAJOR fitment problems such as neck route in wrong place, pickup hole not lined up etc... If I have to trim to get it to fit flush to the control plate, or the screw holes don't perfectly line up, big whoop dee doo. Again, just trying to avoid a major mismatch. If close enough isn't possible, I will source up the material and do the tracings / scroll saw cutting on my own.

 

[bassstrangler]

I just bought a Squier Vintage Modified '77 Jazz Bass, black with the white pearloid block inlay maple neck. Replaced the knobs with J bass knobs and the pickguard with a Fender white pearloid pickguard. The pickguard fit perfectly no adjustments at all. My only complaint was the screws that are on it were installed crooked originally. The pickguard screws go in at weird angles not straight up and down. I replaced the bridge with a Gotoh 201b. Also a perfect fit and it helped with the string alignment over the pickups. I barely had to make any adjustments to the Gotoh, and slapped some D'Addario Pro Steels on it and it looks like a great replica of Geddy Lee's bass. I'll probably replace the pots and maybe the pickups. For a total of 75 bucks and 30 minutes of work, this bass is very playable and sounds great. It is light, prefer the heavier Fenders but the money was well spent to get a look alike of Mr. Lee's bass, I just need to find an amalgam symbol and I might just hang it on the wall.

 

[bassstrangler]

According to Fender's website, The $199 Mexican made bass necks are replacements for Fender and Squier basses. I recently took a neck off a Chris Aiken Squier bass and slapped it on a MIM 2011 p- bass. It was pretty much a perfect fit, with the exception of less than an 1/8 inch gap between the heel of the neck and the body. Not noticeable unless your really looking, the MIM neck was a perfect fit on the Squier as well with no gap. It appears the Squier neck is actually a bit shorter when measured.

 

[Dan_reeves]

So I am in possession of a Indo Squier Affinity P-Bass with a broken neck. It appears that the tuners are not the older small kind, and I am told they held tuning just fine before the neck was damaged. I am somewhat handy with soldering and wood working stuff, so I can do a lot of work myself or with a little help from a friend of mine. With that being said, is the Affinity worth bothering with replacing the neck? I am thinking the following:

New Mighty Mite neck ~ $100 or New Fender neck ~ $199
Used MIM tuners ~ only if the old ones are too small
Upgrade the electronics ~ I am partial to QP's in P-basses, so I'd find a used set for about $50 or so
New pots and wiring

On the low end I would be about $175 in, assuming the MM neck doesn't need work. I have files but don't really have much fret/neck work experience so I would have a luthier friend work on it for me if that was the case. On the high end I would be about $275 or so in? But at that point I could probably buy a used MIM Fender.

Is it worth it to mod it or just move on? Thoughts? Thanks guys!

 

[tubatodd]

So I am in possession of a Indo Squier Affinity P-Bass with a broken neck. It appears that the tuners are not the older small kind, and I am told they held tuning just fine before the neck was damaged. I am somewhat handy with soldering and wood working stuff, so I can do a lot of work myself or with a little help from a friend of mine. With that being said, is the Affinity worth bothering with replacing the neck? I am thinking the following:

New Mighty Mite neck ~ $100 or New Fender neck ~ $199
Used MIM tuners ~ only if the old ones are too small
Upgrade the electronics ~ I am partial to QP's in P-basses, so I'd find a used set for about $50 or so
New pots and wiring

On the low end I would be about $175 in, assuming the MM neck doesn't need work. I have files but don't really have much fret/neck work experience so I would have a luthier friend work on it for me if that was the case. On the high end I would be about $275 or so in? But at that point I could probably buy a used MIM Fender.

Is it worth it to mod it or just move on? Thoughts? Thanks guys!

If I were you, I'd buy the Mighty Mite neck. I have one and it's very nice quality. If your Squier has the more standard "open gear" tuners, then they should fit through the predrilled tuner holes. You'll just have to drill the mounting screws. You may need to file some sharp fret ends, but when you're done it will be quite nice.

 

[Dan_reeves]

If I were you, I'd buy the Mighty Mite neck. I have one and it's very nice quality. If your Squier has the more standard "open gear" tuners, then they should fit through the predrilled tuner holes. You'll just have to drill the mounting screws. You may need to file some sharp fret ends, but when you're done it will be quite nice.

It appears that Mighty Mite is now selling a vintage tint P or J replacement neck...hmmm...decisions, decisions. The vintage tint is about $40 more, but looks like a really cool honey color.

 

[Big Hoss]

To keep in reference, a new Affinty PJ bass, at least near me, retails for $179.99. HOWEVER, It won't have Quarter Pounders in it.

I am a bit of an odd duck on this in that I prefer the Alder bodies of the current Affinity series. I think the older Indonesian Affinty P was Basswood that is good, although screws like pulling out of that stuff. If that happens, drill and fill the hole (Drill the hole out, fill with a dowel / glue to reinforce the wood where the screw goes... Basswood is notorious, no matter the price point of the instrument, for stripping out screw holes...

 

[bassstrangler]

I'll be listing a 2011 rosewood MIM neck soon, for a p bass. Let me know...

 

[Dan_reeves]

I'll be listing a 2011 rosewood MIM neck soon, for a p bass. Let me know...

PM me when you are ready to sell - I may be interested. I am probably not going to make a decision for another week or so.

 

[Crazy_Jake]

Not sure if it's been mentioned already or not but Dimarzio Ultra Jazz pickups dropped right in with no routing required

 

[Dan_reeves]

So I am in possession of a Indo Squier Affinity P-Bass with a broken neck. It appears that the tuners are not the older small kind, and I am told they held tuning just fine before the neck was damaged. I am somewhat handy with soldering and wood working stuff, so I can do a lot of work myself or with a little help from a friend of mine. With that being said, is the Affinity worth bothering with replacing the neck? I am thinking the following:

New Mighty Mite neck ~ $100 or New Fender neck ~ $199
Used MIM tuners ~ only if the old ones are too small
Upgrade the electronics ~ I am partial to QP's in P-basses, so I'd find a used set for about $50 or so
New pots and wiring

On the low end I would be about $175 in, assuming the MM neck doesn't need work. I have files but don't really have much fret/neck work experience so I would have a luthier friend work on it for me if that was the case. On the high end I would be about $275 or so in? But at that point I could probably buy a used MIM Fender.

Is it worth it to mod it or just move on? Thoughts? Thanks guys!

Just wanted to circle back on this post...

I did the following to my Affinity:

• Added an EMG GZR P-bass pickup - sounds awesome!
• Purchased an older headstock SX P-bass maple neck - it was a perfect fit from a dimension standpoint, although the screw holes were a little off. No worries though, I added some threaded inserts that I had and with a little hole enlarging it is on there as solid as can be
• I took the tuners off of the Affinity (they actually are good) and put them on the SX (the SX tuners weren't that great) - they were not a perfect drop in - the front two holes matched up perfectly but the back two required new pilot holes...no biggie!
• Added a GOTOH bridge, which was a drop in replacement

All in all I love the bass now! I will post pics when I get the chance. Too busy playing it!

 

[Muddslide]

Just wanted to circle back on this post...

I did the following to my Affinity:

• Added an EMG GZR P-bass pickup - sounds awesome!
• Purchased an older headstock SX P-bass maple neck - it was a perfect fit from a dimension standpoint, although the screw holes were a little off. No worries though, I added some threaded inserts that I had and with a little hole enlarging it is on there as solid as can be
• I took the tuners off of the Affinity (they actually are good) and put them on the SX (the SX tuners weren't that great) - they were not a perfect drop in - the front two holes matched up perfectly but the back two required new pilot holes...no biggie!
• Added a GOTOH bridge, which was a drop in replacement

All in all I love the bass now! I will post pics when I get the chance. Too busy playing it!

Cool to hear all this. I've owned several various Squiers in my day, but I just recently put a 2000 Affinity P bass (Baltic Blue) in layaway. It needs a little help.

I was actually trying out amps and was in a pawn shop. This old blue affinity P was the only bass in the store to try out the amp with.

It was literally hidden in a corner underneath a bunch of cords and covered up by guitars.

I plugged it in to test the amp and as I was playing a smile was blooming on my face. It was just a nice, light, good-feeling bass, so I had them bundle it into the amp in layaway. The Affinity will end up costing me $40.

I have an old disassembled SX P bass I have bought some parts for, but I think the Affinity is going to get those...the stock Affinity tuners seem fine. I MIGHT replace the bridge...gonna see how it adjusts first.

I have a few pickguards laying around...various torts and a black (b/w/w) so it'll get some new pickguard or other. Then I have brand new Fender chrome vol/tone knobs, a premium wiring harness and jack (the jack is pretty much finito in the Affinity) and a Duncan 1/4 pounder pickup for it.

I think it's gonna be a darn nice bass.

Somehow I just couldn't leave it in that pawn shop. It needed a home.

 

[Dan_reeves]

Affinity with SX neck and upgrades

• Dan_reeves
• Jul 7, 2015

 

[Dan_reeves]

My Affinity + SX P neck.

 

[Malak the Mad]

Cool to hear all this. I've owned several various Squiers in my day, but I just recently put a 2000 Affinity P bass (Baltic Blue) in layaway. It needs a little help.

I was actually trying out amps and was in a pawn shop. This old blue affinity P was the only bass in the store to try out the amp with.

It was literally hidden in a corner underneath a bunch of cords and covered up by guitars.

I plugged it in to test the amp and as I was playing a smile was blooming on my face. It was just a nice, light, good-feeling bass, so I had them bundle it into the amp in layaway. The Affinity will end up costing me $40.

I have an old disassembled SX P bass I have bought some parts for, but I think the Affinity is going to get those...the stock Affinity tuners seem fine. I MIGHT replace the bridge...gonna see how it adjusts first.

I have a few pickguards laying around...various torts and a black (b/w/w) so it'll get some new pickguard or other. Then I have brand new Fender chrome vol/tone knobs, a premium wiring harness and jack (the jack is pretty much finito in the Affinity) and a Duncan 1/4 pounder pickup for it.

I think it's gonna be a darn nice bass.

Somehow I just couldn't leave it in that pawn shop. It needed a home.

You pulled the trigger on it?! Awesome!!

 

[Jayhawk]

The upgrades/mods to my 60's CV P are complete with the following:

• As with all my basses, installed Dunlop Dual-Design Straploks.
• I replaced the stock pups & pots with a set of EMG Geezer Butlers. Other than some light filing of the pickguard opening to help the pups fit, theses pups were a perfect replacement to the stock and made the tone of this bass go from good to great.
• I replaced the stock tuners with Invalid Link Removed. These tuners were "Perfect Fit Replacement Parts" and required absolutely no modification or adjustment to the headstock. I have read others recommend the HB7 tuners for the CV P but the HB1 tuners and BT1 detuner are what you need. If you don't upgrade the tuners and decide to add a just the detuner, I did notice that the shafts of the paddles are shorter on the Hipshots than on the stock tuners so that may, or may not, be an issue to you.
• I swapped out the plastic thumbrest for a black finished brass Hipshot thumbrest. This was totally unnecessary and I only did it because I was able to buy one cheap and I like the way it looks with the flat black of the GB pups.
• Finally I changed the knobs from the stock to some Fender flat top barrel knobs. This was both because I like the look of flat top knobs on P basses and because the stock push on knobs were almost too small for the large shafts of the pots that came with the GB pups.

Here a couple of pictures of the final product (hopefully my playing is better than my photography skills):

Everything else will stay stock on the bass. I like the look of the pickguard, think the bridge is a huge improvement over what came on my 2007 VM P and have no complaints about the feel of the neck or frets. I had thought about changing out the nut but for now it works as it should with no issues so it stays.

I was able to repurpose all of the parts I took off this CV for other basses. The stock pups ended up in an old SX PJ I have that had dead P pups from when I tried to remove the cover (not a good idea with stock SX pups) and the rest of the parts, including the tuners, ended up on my previously referenced '07 VM P. The CV tuners were definitely an improvement over the stock tuners from the VM P and, even though all the screw holes did not line up exactly, the original holes are covers by the tuners and the new holes were easy to make in the soft wood of the VM P's headstock.

 

[Muddslide]

You pulled the trigger on it?! Awesome!!

Somehow missed this, but yeah! Should have it real soon.

It'll bring me up to (finally) one decent amp (I'll probably get a smaller practice amp at some point) and, once everything is put together/modded, three basses. All cheap, but all fully functional and modded/upgraded with nice electronics and some cosmetic changes.

 

[Muddslide]

PS-- Mentioned this on another Squier thread, but man--I gotta say, I thought the stock pups on the Affinity I am getting sounded super nice. I mean, I was in a pawn shop testing out an amp at low volume, but to my ears I was pleased and surprised at the thump and boom. Very rich sounding. My wife (also a musician) commented on it as well.

I have replacement pups ready to slap in it (either an SD 1/4 Pounder or an old alnico from a CIJ Fender), and I am pretty certain I'll be replacing the wiring and jack (the jack and one pot are pretty much on last legs) but heck, I might wind up keeping the stock pickup in there.

 

[4 string mofo]

Can anyone recommend tuners for my squier affinity jazz bass? The ones i have at the moment are those silly closed box tuners

 

[jp8848]

Does anyone know if Delano JVMC pups are drop-in replacements in a Squier VM jazz?

+1 Have a VM 77 in Amber. Wanting to pretty much gut it out and redo most of it including Delanos, tuners, bridge, pots knobs etc. Then paint it a different color. The maple body has no character to it on the one that was shipped to me. Needs to be a solid color. (Shoreline Gold. Lake Placid blue or Burgundy Mist color)