Does anyone know if a Squier VM Jazz 5 string neck or a Squier Deluxe Jazz 5 string neck will fit the VMP5? Also are there aftermarket pickguards yet?
Thanks!
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Squier Vintage Modified Precision V: who's got one?
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
I haven't heard of anyone doing a neck swap on these. I find the soft-V profile on the P5 more comfortable than the neck on the J5.
There's a TB'er on here who has done some nice pick guards, but most commercial outfits won't make a Squier pick guard without a template.
My understanding is that historically, there has been too much variance. Fender has so many different factories pumping out the Squier line...
There's a TB'er on here who has done some nice pick guards, but most commercial outfits won't make a Squier pick guard without a template.
My understanding is that historically, there has been too much variance. Fender has so many different factories pumping out the Squier line...
This is the guy, a fellow tber (can't remember his tb name - sorry mate if you're reading this!)
I bought a nice mint green pickguard off him for my VMP5. Good fit, looks great. Sent promptly over to the UK to me with no fuss. Recommended.
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Finally got off my butt, and started working on turning my Vintage Modified Precision V into a PJ!
I've never bought the idea that putting a bridge pickup at the 60's or 70's position will automatically guarantee you a particular tone.
When I built my homemade 5-string, one of the things I couldn't nail down through research, was where to put the pickup. I heard basses with closely-spaced pickups that sounded great, and others that turned me off. Ditto for every other option.
In the end, I built a little shoe to hold a pickup inverted over the strings, and just fooled around with placement until I found one that worked for my ears and that particular bass. It was just a little off the standard P-bass position:
When I decided to add a second pickup, I used the same method. Here's the bass in its final configuration:
So of course, I'm going the same route with the VMP5. Here's the new-to-me DiMarzio Area J 5 that I plan to use, mounted in the shoe I made up this afternoon:
And here's the shoe sitting on the bass:
I'll wire it up to a parallel jack setup so I can test it tomorrow. With this setup, I can slide it back and forth between the bridge and the back edge of the pick guard.
Once I find the sweet spot, I'll make a template for the cutout, clamp it to the bass, and grab my router...
I've never bought the idea that putting a bridge pickup at the 60's or 70's position will automatically guarantee you a particular tone.
When I built my homemade 5-string, one of the things I couldn't nail down through research, was where to put the pickup. I heard basses with closely-spaced pickups that sounded great, and others that turned me off. Ditto for every other option.
In the end, I built a little shoe to hold a pickup inverted over the strings, and just fooled around with placement until I found one that worked for my ears and that particular bass. It was just a little off the standard P-bass position:
When I decided to add a second pickup, I used the same method. Here's the bass in its final configuration:
So of course, I'm going the same route with the VMP5. Here's the new-to-me DiMarzio Area J 5 that I plan to use, mounted in the shoe I made up this afternoon:
And here's the shoe sitting on the bass:
I'll wire it up to a parallel jack setup so I can test it tomorrow. With this setup, I can slide it back and forth between the bridge and the back edge of the pick guard.
Once I find the sweet spot, I'll make a template for the cutout, clamp it to the bass, and grab my router...
This is really cool, Steve! I'm excited to see how this project turns out!
NicJimBass
Flossin'? I thought your name was Munson!
I've been thinking hard about adding a 2nd pickup, and I can't decide between a J or an MM. I seem to prefer an active tone for general stuff, and passive for when I use effects. Still love and play my P5 as my main bass,but craving a little more versatility these days.
Very interested in what your research yields.
Steve do you still have my ex US Fender pickup onboard?/or did you switch to Nordstrand?
Btw, last year I tried Nordstrand np5\bigsplit combo and it was amazing imho.
The bigsplit output is higher than a jazz pup so it is a better match to the precision pup output!
I personally would not go with the MM pup in bridge position because it would not be in his sweet spot but that's me.
Btw, last year I tried Nordstrand np5\bigsplit combo and it was amazing imho.
The bigsplit output is higher than a jazz pup so it is a better match to the precision pup output!
I personally would not go with the MM pup in bridge position because it would not be in his sweet spot but that's me.
I'm still using the American Standard P bass pickup. I don't hear enough difference between the Am Std and Nordy P's, to throw down the big bucks for the Nordstrand. If anything, the Nordstrand is a little rounder than I want.
Testing was done with mildly broken-in D'Addario balanced tension nickel rounds, in the lighter gauge.
As you would expect, the Area J's output varied, depending on how close it was to the bridge. I was less interested in a perfect match, than in finding some good blended tones.
I found interesting tones with the Area J anywhere from right up against the back edge of the pick guard, to a little over 9" from the 21st fret (further back than a 70's Jazz). Sometimes a movement of less than 1/4" was enough to tame a nasty honk with some blends, or to even out the levels from note to note.
Moving the bridge pickup affected the tone pretty much as you would expect:
This is closer to the neck pickup than most PJ's, and pretty close to the bridge pickup position on a 60's Jazz. This seems to fit with current thinking, as Sheldon Dingwall mounts the bridge p/u further forward on his Super P with the PJ option. The new Fender American Deluxe Precision is also set up like this, with the N3 Jazz bridge p/u maybe a quarter-inch further from the bridge.
Here's how I heard it:
Testing was done with mildly broken-in D'Addario balanced tension nickel rounds, in the lighter gauge.
As you would expect, the Area J's output varied, depending on how close it was to the bridge. I was less interested in a perfect match, than in finding some good blended tones.
I found interesting tones with the Area J anywhere from right up against the back edge of the pick guard, to a little over 9" from the 21st fret (further back than a 70's Jazz). Sometimes a movement of less than 1/4" was enough to tame a nasty honk with some blends, or to even out the levels from note to note.
Moving the bridge pickup affected the tone pretty much as you would expect:
- The closer it got to the P, the less tonal variation there was between the two. The blended tones mostly sounded big and mid-forward, like an MM but darker. Lots of output from the J.
- As it got closer to the bridge, the Area J started to thin out and lose volume. The J sounded less integrated with the P when blended, and more scooped. Glassy, bright highs. Some blends were a little honky and uneven.
This is closer to the neck pickup than most PJ's, and pretty close to the bridge pickup position on a 60's Jazz. This seems to fit with current thinking, as Sheldon Dingwall mounts the bridge p/u further forward on his Super P with the PJ option. The new Fender American Deluxe Precision is also set up like this, with the N3 Jazz bridge p/u maybe a quarter-inch further from the bridge.
Here's how I heard it:
- Moderate variation in tones between neck and bridge.
- Still very ballsy and mid-forward when blended roughly 50/50.
- Tight low end, more balanced note-to-note than the P by itself. Not too glassy or scooped.
- Good for finger funk a la Rocco.
- Good balance between pickups, solo'd J still nice and strong.
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Interesting.
As you can hear, when the J is that close, the difference between neck and bridge (and the blends) becomes pretty subtle.
Part of the reason I didn't use the really close position, is that I wanted a little more variation in tone. The other, was that I chickened out on the look. I wasn't that hot on having to cut the back edge of the pickguard, or on what such an unusual placement would do to my resale value.
This is making me rethink- what kind of resale does a $500 Squier have anyway?
I'll be getting awful close to that price point, with the addition of the J...
Anxiously waiting to see (and hopefully hear) the results!
I've long been contemplating making mine a double P with the bridge pickup being reverse. I know 1 or 2 people on this thread did this a while ago but haven't heard any sound samples. I'd love to hear them as well.
I've long been contemplating making mine a double P with the bridge pickup being reverse. I know 1 or 2 people on this thread did this a while ago but haven't heard any sound samples. I'd love to hear them as well.
I agree with you Steve that in the video the sound with both pickups on is not that different from the P pickup alone.
On my side, I've been using my G&L Lb-100 all the time in the past 3 months, but I'm forced to sell it because I can't afford to pay my university tuition fees.
Sounds like i'll get back to my VMP5 full time soon!
or are there other active pbass pick ups to try. I'm going to turn this guy in to a five string piccolo geared torwords taping. I like how the some active p pus sound in this format.
If you want to go to actual active pickups (as opposed to passive pickups with a preamp), you're going to have to modify the pickup rout and pickguard.
EMG P5's (I think there's a P5X now, as well) are a great-sounding active P-bass pickup, but they only come in the 40-series soapbar format.
I'm not aware of any other active pickups designed to fit a 5-string P bass with the Am Standard pickup layout/shape/size.
Another option would be to simply drop a Glockenklang preamp into your Squier, as-is. They're a great option for a clean, quiet onboard preamp with an quiet, open extended top end. If it fits, that would be my first choice for a picolo conversion, as it's reversible, and doesn't involve modding the pickup cavity.
Even if it doesn't fit in the p-bass control cavity, it would be easier to enlarge the cavity under the pickguard, than to do new pickup routs.
Just about anyone who owns a chisel and some bandaids, can mod a control cavity. I've built my own basses, yet I still get a bit hinky whenever I've got to enlarge a pickup opening, even on an unfinished bass. The time and labour involved are high as well, since the only really safe way to do it is with templates, a good router and a bearing bit or two...
Just my .02.
EMG P5's (I think there's a P5X now, as well) are a great-sounding active P-bass pickup, but they only come in the 40-series soapbar format.
I'm not aware of any other active pickups designed to fit a 5-string P bass with the Am Standard pickup layout/shape/size.
Another option would be to simply drop a Glockenklang preamp into your Squier, as-is. They're a great option for a clean, quiet onboard preamp with an quiet, open extended top end. If it fits, that would be my first choice for a picolo conversion, as it's reversible, and doesn't involve modding the pickup cavity.
Even if it doesn't fit in the p-bass control cavity, it would be easier to enlarge the cavity under the pickguard, than to do new pickup routs.
Just about anyone who owns a chisel and some bandaids, can mod a control cavity. I've built my own basses, yet I still get a bit hinky whenever I've got to enlarge a pickup opening, even on an unfinished bass. The time and labour involved are high as well, since the only really safe way to do it is with templates, a good router and a bearing bit or two...
Just my .02.
