I just ordered an np5f, i should have it in two weeks, if you still want a stock pickup, i'll sell you mine
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Squier Vintage Modified Precision V: who's got one?
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
This pretty much mimics my experience with the Fender Am Std pickup.
The difference is noticeable, and I'm keeping the Fender. Still, it's mild enough that I'm still gobsmacked by Squier's bang for the buck.
Those of you who have reached geezer status will understand. When I was coming up, there was a massive difference between Fender, and the beginner brands that most of us were stuck with. Even a real Fender Mustang was a bit of a joke compared to a P or J-bass...
Update: I got one of these for my office, and I'm much happier with this one. Feels better and sounds a bit nicer than the first one I ordered. I even ordered another for home!
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AM std v. Nordstrand. In this clip, difference is subtle to my ears. D+G string coil on my stock pickups were way too loud and harsh compared to A+E+B coil. Quite happy with Am std pickups. Not spectacular or anything. Gets the job done.
I tried the Aguilar P5 pickup this week, to me it's exactly the tone i want. I use to have some Aguilar P pickup in two of my precision before moving on to 5 string basses. More bass, more treble, detailed and growly mids + more clarity overall.
DILEMMA TIME!!!
My Squier P5 is one of the best feeling bass i've had in years... It vibrates a lot, it's light, and the neck is just perfect...
Do I invest 165$ for a pickup (including shipping and taxes) plus another 70$ on a custom pickguard.
I know myself, in a near future i will install an hipshot vintage bridge and HB7 tuners (another 200$)
Would you spend close to 800$ on a squire to end up with a bass that sounds and is build the way you like???
I haven't decided yet...
DILEMMA TIME!!!
My Squier P5 is one of the best feeling bass i've had in years... It vibrates a lot, it's light, and the neck is just perfect...
Do I invest 165$ for a pickup (including shipping and taxes) plus another 70$ on a custom pickguard.
I know myself, in a near future i will install an hipshot vintage bridge and HB7 tuners (another 200$)
Would you spend close to 800$ on a squire to end up with a bass that sounds and is build the way you like???
I haven't decided yet...
This is key. As long as you can put it back to stock appearance and sell the aftermarket parts, you should be able to recoup most of the cost of the mods.
From the sound of it, if you spent eight or nine hundred on a used Am Std P5 you'd only end up modding that, too.
I have contacted Aguilar to ask if they could do a direct replacement pickup for Squier/Fender P5. They said they have no plan to do one. I'm sad 
There's not much drop in replacement pickup and parts on the market... I may go back to a 4 string precision, too bad, i really enjoy playing 5 string P.
I may post mine in the classified section when i'll find a great 4 sting P, if anyone interested in buying it or trading for a 4 string P, please PM me.
There's not much drop in replacement pickup and parts on the market... I may go back to a 4 string precision, too bad, i really enjoy playing 5 string P.
I may post mine in the classified section when i'll find a great 4 sting P, if anyone interested in buying it or trading for a 4 string P, please PM me.
I had no idea that the Aggie was a proprietary shape/size. That's a drag, but if you enjoy that tone, like playing 5-string, and like your Squier, I'm at a loss as to why you would abandon it all for the sake of about $250.I have contacted Aguilar to ask if they could do a direct replacement pickup for Squier/Fender P5. They said they have no plan to do one. I'm sad
There's not much drop in replacement pickup and parts on the market... I may go back to a 4 string precision, too bad, i really enjoy playing 5 string P.
I may post mine in the classified section when i'll find a great 4 sting P, if anyone interested in buying it or trading for a 4 string P, please PM me.
I'm also wondering if you might be able to tweak the Squier's tone to your liking with a preamp. If it's just about a deeper/more scooped tone, there's more than one way to skin a cat.
YMMV, but I wasted over a decade and thousands of dollars on amplification in the 80's and '90's, because 5 string basses came out before people started designing cabs and amps with them in mind. It was a pain in the neck, but I was that committed to playing an extended range bass...
I am weird, my favorite instruments were always stock and i did not really need to modify them. Maybe it is snobbism but i feel like i need to modify my P5 to get what i want out of it. You are right, Steve, for the price of that instrument i should probably keep it.
Regarding EQ, I think it is hard to add something that is not already there.
Regarding EQ, I think it is hard to add something that is not already there.
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Got mine this past week love it already! Here 's a family pic and a close up. The neck is straight as an arrow. Starting with strings I have a list of possible mods. The only definite electronics mod will be putting in a linear volume pot. Then maybe a .01 cap if the zing gets to me and a new bridge if setups end up cumbersome. New pickup maybe waaaaaay down the line, If I want to experiment..
I'm takin it out to gig tonight so we'll see how it does.
I'm takin it out to gig tonight so we'll see how it does.
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That was a great clip, and your groove was perfect. I liked the Fender pickup better. The harshness or clank made it sound like a Fender to me. The Nordstrand was a bit too smooth for my taste. The Fender pickup made me think of Paul Jackson or Byron Miller, especially with the treble turned up or active.
I love Nordstrand P pickups. They are faithful to the vintage Fender vibe, yet smoother, more even, and prettier-sounding.
However, I would never do a good P-bass the injustice of trying to tame it. That clanky, throbbing tone is part of what makes a P-bass work on the gig, at least IMO/IME.
Nordy's for pleasure, Am Vintage '62's or late-model Am Stds for work.
However, I would never do a good P-bass the injustice of trying to tame it. That clanky, throbbing tone is part of what makes a P-bass work on the gig, at least IMO/IME.
Nordy's for pleasure, Am Vintage '62's or late-model Am Stds for work.
Has anyone found a really full spectrum pickup that fits these? I'm thinking that's the sound I need from this beast, considering my other instruments and what I use the 5er for.
You would have to define what you considered to be a full spectrum pickup in order for us to know what you meant.
A Piezo pickup with a suitably designed high-impedance preamp has a wider frequency response than any magnetic pickup, but that's not the sound that most electric bassists shoot for.
Any decent tech or luthier should be able to rout a pickup recess for you. With modern high-speed tools, it's often possible to do this on a painted instrument, and leave a clean edge that doesn't need to be refinished, or covered up with a pickup surround.
That's the only drawback to routing for a bridge pickup on the VMP5: As I found out while routing for a recessed straplok on my Oly White, the finish and the basswood of the body were both brittle enough to chip, just a little.
In my case, the lip of the Straplok cup covered the damage, so it's invisible. Had it been a pickup rout on the front face of the body, I would have been reaching for the touchup paint. Pretty easy to fix on a white one, but harder on the CAR and Sunburst models, because of the difficulty of matching the colours.
I have one in burst/maple. Only upgrade was a set of LaBella DTFs. Fantastic bass --regardless of price.
