Squier Sonic P-Bass! Believe it!

[Gervais Cote]

I had opportunities sometimes to get a tremendous Squier bass in my hands and really having a hard time putting it back in the rack at the music store…………

Squier really impressed me with their low budget basses, when you get a good one of course.

Enjoy yours !

 

[Gervais Cote]

Sorry for the awful pic. Got a Yellow Sonic P from Fender.com for $200. Dressed it up with ashtrays and it's now in heavy rotation. Liked it so much that I got another when Fender put them on sale for $140! Although I did a little clean up and set-up, mostly cosmetic, no big deal, they're both great! And I can compare them to basses that cost 10X as much or more.

I've just assembled my under $600 gig rig:

Sonic P: $150
TC Thrust BQ500: $180
1x15 sealed speaker cab: $60
Deltalite 2515 speaker: $200

TTL: $590

BBB
View attachment 7102996

Goodness ! The look, the color AND the total budget, everything here is amazing !

 

[MovingPitchers]

Seafoam green

 

[Yahboy]

This would be a NBD post, except that I bought this bass on November 19. "New to TB", I guess!

Anyway...

These things are for real. I bought it immediately when Guitar Center reduced them to $179. I was down to 10 basses and didn't NEED another. But the price got me, as well as the glowing reviews. And, silly me, despite always being righteous about "the tone is all that matters", I was starting to daydream about owning my first ever Sea Foam Green bass! I love maple fingerboards for their clarity. And these have Jazz Bass width nuts. Hey, why not treat myself?

Well, everything you read and hear is true!

They brought it out from the back, in its box, and the setup was great already. No sharp fret ends, low action, no buzzing. Quiet electronics. And for those who care, the nut is cut properly (even spacing), the strings straddle the pole pieces correctly, the knobs turn smoothly and firmly, and the neck pocket isn't AIRTIGHT, but just fine. The bass is resonant and loud unplugged. The ceramic split pickup is fat and hot. The sound is nicely balanced. I'm certainly not running to replace the pickup, especially since I've come to appreciate the "natural"-sounding Squier pickups more than the "on steroids", artificial-sounding (to me) pickups like Dimarzios and SD Quarter Pounders.

Here we go... (I'm waiting for someone to say, "It looks like the pickguard screw under the jack is .001 mm too far to the left." Also, "You like this bass only because you've never played a bass like mine, which costs as much as a Lamborghini." )

View attachment 7102742

Yes, fully believe!
And Sonic P not just has better QC than current Classic vibe P, meanwhile, the stock pickup sound surprising good !!!!

 

[Yahboy]

Sorry for the awful pic. Got a Yellow Sonic P from Fender.com for $200. Dressed it up with ashtrays and it's now in heavy rotation. Liked it so much that I got another when Fender put them on sale for $140! Although I did a little clean up and set-up, mostly cosmetic, no big deal, they're both great! And I can compare them to basses that cost 10X as much or more.

I've just assembled my under $600 gig rig:

Sonic P: $150
TC Thrust BQ500: $180
1x15 sealed speaker cab: $60
Deltalite 2515 speaker: $200

TTL: $590

BBB
View attachment 7102996

Wow , !!!

 

[Swerve]

This would be a NBD post, except that I bought this bass on November 19. "New to TB", I guess!

Anyway...

These things are for real. I bought it immediately when Guitar Center reduced them to $179. I was down to 10 basses and didn't NEED another. But the price got me, as well as the glowing reviews. And, silly me, despite always being righteous about "the tone is all that matters", I was starting to daydream about owning my first ever Sea Foam Green bass! I love maple fingerboards for their clarity. And these have Jazz Bass width nuts. Hey, why not treat myself?

Well, everything you read and hear is true!

They brought it out from the back, in its box, and the setup was great already. No sharp fret ends, low action, no buzzing. Quiet electronics. And for those who care, the nut is cut properly (even spacing), the strings straddle the pole pieces correctly, the knobs turn smoothly and firmly, and the neck pocket isn't AIRTIGHT, but just fine. The bass is resonant and loud unplugged. The ceramic split pickup is fat and hot. The sound is nicely balanced. I'm certainly not running to replace the pickup, especially since I've come to appreciate the "natural"-sounding Squier pickups more than the "on steroids", artificial-sounding (to me) pickups like Dimarzios and SD Quarter Pounders.

Here we go... (I'm waiting for someone to say, "It looks like the pickguard screw under the jack is .001 mm too far to the left." Also, "You like this bass only because you've never played a bass like mine, which costs as much as a Lamborghini." )

View attachment 7102742

Sweet! I came so close to buying one of those as the fit, finish, and playability was excellent. But I really wanted a P/J configuration. GC roped me in with a 15% off coupon.

Neck is really comfy and I can get the relief pretty much dead flat with no buzzing. Pretty crazy that you can get a gig-worthy bass for less than $250.

 

[MadJack]

My second Sonic Precision came in yesterday. My first is my Surf Green.



I did a setup with all the stock parts. To me it played quite well, but was too bright and clank-y. I did try adjusting the pickup and didn't help much. I've never been a fan of ceramic pickups in most of what I play. I do have a couple of ceramic pickup basses and they do what they were designed for, but to me. a P should sound within a certain range and to me the ceramic doesn't do it.

I also didn't plan on keeping the ceramic pickup. When I ordered the Sonic P, I also ordered a pickup, a black pickguard, and two sets of Black Smith Bass strings (a 4 string set and the equivalent 5 string set). The pickup is a Guitar Madness Thumpers! 60's Style P-Bass Alnico 5 Pickup. At $26.30 these pups are a real steal! The pickguard was only $12! I used the stock pots, cap and jack. While I had it open, I applied a second coat of shielding paint in the pickup rout and control cavity, I put copper shielding tape on the back of the pickguard, lubed the tuning machines and touched up the nut, as the strings were binding in the nut slots.



To me, it looks a notably better. The pickups do sound much warmer and fuller. The stockers were almost mid scooped, where as these are more balanced. I didn't care for the stock string on the Surf Green one and this one is no different, too bright and clank-y. At least with the Thumper pup, I can dial the treble back to a useable level. I may change the strings tomorrow. I plan on tuning it to BEAD, so I got both the 4 and 5 string sets. For now, I may just install the 4 string set.

I'm still planning on installing a black cast bridge, with brass saddles, carbon fiber tuning machines, and black string tree. When I get that, then I'll likely set it up for BEAD tuning.

I was going to call it my School Bass, but with my bumbling playing and tuned to BEAD, I decided to call it my BumbleBEAD! -

 

[Deleted member 271037]

Looks great!

These Sonic series basses do seem to be well made, with reasonably good QC for their price range, but personally I don't like the look/feel of the necks very much. I've never liked that type of thin satin finish, and it doesn't hold up well in my experience. In this price range I would personally rather get a Harley Benton. But of course, HB's aren't as compatible with Fender parts, so they're not as suitable for modding.

Which brings me to my next point:

I'm surprised by the amounts of money people spend on modding these basses. In many cases more than the cost of the bass itself! I guess this makes sense if you REALLY think these are better instruments than basses that cost twice as much. But I've already had two customers who came into the workshop to replace the NECKS on their Sonic basses, because they though the original neck looked/felt cheap. At THAT point it doesn't really make much sense to buy a Sonic anymore IMO.

To me it makes sense to buy a Sonic if:

-This is you budget. You want a bass in this price range.

-You enjoy modding, and maybe want to learn something in the process (fret leveling, soldering, etc.).

But buying a Sonic and then end up spending more money on parts than on the bass itself in an attempt to mod it into the bass you REALLY want, and maybe even pay someone to do it... at that point I honestly think there are better options out there. A $200 bass with $200 worth of parts will still be exactly that, not a $400 bass.

As for the resale value... I strongly recommend keeping the original parts, reinstall them before a sale and sell any upgraded parts separately. If not the money you've spent on new pickups/hardware/pickguard will be more or less lost.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

I understand what you mean @Deleted member 271037 .

But:
My Debut is just over 200 all told.
Fender himass bridge
G&L MFD pickup
$11 pickguard
EB flatwounds
Pots knobs and wire.
Made the nut, dressed the frets myself

I quite like the neck may sand and oil it at a later date. For now the 1500 grit knockback suits me fine

 

[BASSDROID]

That Seafom on maple looks amazing!

These Sonics are one of the better deals going right now.

Here's mine, from the first wave to hit the market. It does not have the skunk stripe.

I'm getting ready to do an electronic swap. Im upgrading to 500k pots and orange drop cap along with a set of white EMG Geezers.

There is nothing wrong with the original electronics. I could be perfectly happy with this bass off the rack.. But I am interested in experimenting as I have heard a lot of good stuff about the Geezers and want to try them.

I may post a separate thread about this project because I am planning to put the stock electronics into an Affinity Precision project. You could say it is an upgrade/transplant project.

 

[Gervais Cote]

That Seafom on maple looks amazing!

These Sonics are one of the better deals going right now.

Here's mine, from the first wave to hit the market. It does not have the skunk stripe.

View attachment 7103357


I'm getting ready to do an electronic swap. Im upgrading to 500k pots and orange drop cap along with a set of white EMG Geezers.

There is nothing wrong with the original electronics. I could be perfectly happy with this bass off the rack.. But I am interested in experimenting as I have heard a lot of good stuff about the Geezers and want to try them.

I may post a separate thread about this project because I am planning to put the stock electronics into an Affinity Precision project. You could say it is an upgrade/transplant project.

A Squier Sonic P with a beefy set of pickups is a clear winner IMO.

For me, this would be the Dimarzio Model P pickups. Hard to beat for the price !

 

[Mastermold]

These look great, and for the price they are like SX prices from 10 years ago.

 

[dougjwray]

OP here with a quick update...
I just got it back from a master luthier who did a slight tweaking of the truss rod and saddles (after the long weeks of frigid, dry weather that we've had here in my neck of the woods), and it's even better. Definitely one of the most flawless brand new necks I've encountered in many decades of playing.
"Beginner" bass?! More like "a bass for everyone."

 

[thrashingbass]

Looks great!

These Sonic series basses do seem to be well made, with reasonably good QC for their price range, but personally I don't like the look/feel of the necks very much. I've never liked that type of thin satin finish, and it doesn't hold up well in my experience. In this price range I would personally rather get a Harley Benton. But of course, HB's aren't as compatible with Fender parts, so they're not as suitable for modding.

Which brings me to my next point:

I'm surprised by the amounts of money people spend on modding these basses. In many cases more than the cost of the bass itself! I guess this makes sense if you REALLY think these are better instruments than basses that cost twice as much. But I've already had two customers who came into the workshop to replace the NECKS on their Sonic basses, because they though the original neck looked/felt cheap. At THAT point it doesn't really make much sense to buy a Sonic anymore IMO.

To me it makes sense to buy a Sonic if:

-This is you budget. You want a bass in this price range.

-You enjoy modding, and maybe want to learn something in the process (fret leveling, soldering, etc.).

But buying a Sonic and then end up spending more money on parts than on the bass itself in an attempt to mod it into the bass you REALLY want, and maybe even pay someone to do it... at that point I honestly think there are better options out there. A $200 bass with $200 worth of parts will still be exactly that, not a $400 bass.

As for the resale value... I strongly recommend keeping the original parts, reinstall them before a sale and sell any upgraded parts separately. If not the money you've spent on new pickups/hardware/pickguard will be more or less lost.

I am all for customizing these affordable basses-even though perhaps foolishly so, economically speaking-because even if you had $600 at hand to spend on a technically better instrument, it is highly unlikely for any random bass to be specifically specced to taste and for your own needs out of the box. For instance, I can see myself spending more than the bass's worth on parts if I had fun money to spend on the limited edition yellow P bass. However, I understand it's not wise for most people needs.

Tinker away, if you ask me, as long as you are happy with the results, and you do not intend to sell the bass (not that these instruments will be collectors' items into the future, I would think.)

Feel free to disagree-it is to be expected.

 

[elgranluis]

Which brings me to A $200 bass with $200 worth of parts will still be exactly that, not a $400 bass.

I disagree. That’s a bass you buy for 100 bucks, and you buy it to use the parts on another project.

 

[UriNoir]

Ordered one, and waiting for delivery, apparently they're out of stock almost everywhere in & around the Netherlands.
I always liked the idea of a P-bass with a more J-style neck. Not that I can't handle P-necks, the relatively slimmer J-necks fit/feel better into my hands.

Decided to get a sunburst one, nothing wrong with black, but without a matching coloured headstock it looks kinda cheap, and a full maple neck & headstock looks okay, at least to my eyes.
The blue one also looks nice, but it's not really my shade of blue, so, classic sunburst it is, and for under €160, brand new, sounds like a good deal.

Will swap the 1-ply white pickguard with a 3-ply black one I've got lying around.
Just for cosmetic reasons.

Will test the stock pickups, they could go both ways, but just in case I have a couple of Wilkinson P-pickups in my stack of hardware, just like a black Hi-mass bridge & black tuners, but, honestly, if the stock pickups and hardware are okay enough, I'll keep that as it is, for now.
But, so far, patience is virtue.

 

[LeighOnSea]

Very happy with my new one
I didnt like the white Pickguard so got an Ali-Express Green Pearl (of my own free will) one for 10 Eur
Also, decided to to try the Guitar Madness Thumpers
And I put some GHS Pressurewounds on it, but think I might go further to Rotosound Jazz Bass 77 Monel Flats
My mate also Pollocked (à lá Paul Simonon) another black pickguard for me in Emerald green One-Shot Signwriting enamel, waiting for that to dry now
I like Black and Green

 

[LeighOnSea]

@UriNoir 's post made me want to paint the headstock black.

Anyone seen any of the same Squier Precision Bass decals in not black colours?
I searched but cant find the same one

 

[UriNoir]

@UriNoir 's post made me want to paint the headstock black.

Anyone seen any of the same Squier Precision Bass decals in not black colours?
I searched but cant find the same one

Not sure if there's any decals available, otherwise just put Fender in it.

 

[LeighOnSea]

I used GIMP and this photo:

To make this:

And this Emerald Green one for me:

I have the .xfc files if anyone wants them (although I'm not sure how to share files on here) &/or can change colours on request

Then I think its just a matter of getting decal paper for the printer