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Squire Sonic P-Bass Neck Question
- Thread starter aero58
- Start date
I'll pile on and say that mine was good out of the box (the Guitar Center guy literally went to the back and brought out one in its sealed box). Then I had a highly skilled luthier fine tune the setup -- just slight truss rod tweaking and saddle adjusting -- and it was superb. That was in January, and nothing has changed.
Mine is one of the Sea Foam Green ones, with a maple fingerboard.
Mine is one of the Sea Foam Green ones, with a maple fingerboard.
Did you have to do any work on the bridge saddles? I'm planning to do the same and it looks like the current E string is roughly the size of the current saddle slot.
I put some pencil lead in the nut slots, but that was all the extra attention it got - the Fender 7250-5M (.045-.125) strings went right in no problem.
I have flats on my Sonic Bronco……no issues there, or with stability (I get there’s more wood on a P, sorry if the OP got a stinker. Excrement occurs.
Well, as my old dad used to say " Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see".
According to the serial number, mine was made in the beginning of 2023, close to 3 years ago. At this point, IMO, it's safe to say that any "out of the box" stability problems should have shown themselves already (none did). The neck has survived three of the hottest and driest summers in Europe on record. I don't think it will go anywhere from now on.
Thanks for all the informative comments. I went ahead and ordered the black w/laurel. Should arrive in “3 to 5 business days”. 
They are nice for the price, but be prepared to do the following to make them really good:Thanks for all the informative comments. I went ahead and ordered the black w/laurel. Should arrive in “3 to 5 business days”.
1. Level, recrown and polish frets. The fretjobs are not impeccable.
2. File fret ends and roll the ends of the fretboard a bit.
3. Change electronics.
4. Change pickguard.
Optionally, you may want to change tuners and bridge, but these are optional.
After all that you'll have a nice playing and sounding instrument. Quite lightweight to boot.
It doesn't. Just that the stock pickup is a bit larger than standard, and the PG is cut accordingly. Changing the pickup, leaving the stock guard will result in about a mm gap-not nice. Apart from that, the stock PG is an ugly single ply piece of cheap plastics. Just esthetics, nothing more. I should have added "and nicer looking" to my last sentence above.
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I didn't need to do any of that to make mine "really good."
The frets were impeccable, including the fret ends. The fretboard edges don't feel like they need to be rolled. The pickups sound great, and I have no complaints about the pots. Everything's quiet.
Tuners are fine. Bridge is fine.
Great, you saved yourself some cash and time. We all have different perception of "really good". To me, out of the box and after setup it is acceptable at best (very good to you). After what I described, it could be very good to me, excellent for the combined price, actually. I could do most of the things myself, so, apart from the pickup, pots, jack and pickguard, I didn't have to pay for anything. Unless you won a lottery, my humble Sonic plays and sounds significantly better than yours. Again, we all have different perceptions...
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Your last sentence is 100% valid, I think.
The only gripe I had with your previous post was that you seemed to be flatly stating that it's simply to be expected that these will need fretwork, etc.
I was pretty stunned by how mine needed *nothing* after that simple setup. I have decades of experience with Fender, Music Man, G&L and Squier, and this Sonic -- with almost no tinkering -- is one of the best sounding, best playing basses I've ever had.
I just needed to counter your take and make the same point that you did: it comes down to a matter of taste with these.
Whenever I run into a neck stability issue, I stop using the truss rod to move the neck into position. Loosen tension on the neck, clamp it into the position I want, then, use the truss rod to hold it there. 90% of the time, this will get everything back in sync.
The thing is, quite a few people have said it, some right here, several on Facebook Squier bass groups.
Not sure why someone would lie about it happening with a new bass that they really enjoy.
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Update: I received the Sonic P-Bass today. I am pleasantly surprised at how nice it is right out of the box! No sharp fret ends, action not crazy high, intonation is spot on, neck pocket is tight, body paint is great, back of the neck feels smooth, neck is not twisted, warped, or bowed, and sounds pretty good, although I do plan on changing strings (will probably put some GHS balanced nickels on first). One noticeable thing is that while seated, there is some slight neck dive; however, while standing, it balances well with the strap. This is a non-issue for me because I play standing about 99% of the time. So all in all, call me impressed thus far!
