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The Squier Mini Precision Bass Club

#2,003
RodRy said:
I feel the inertia more. When I'm at rest, I am more inclined to stay at rest. Used to have to get out and do things each day. Now? Not so much.
:meh:
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I dislike the masking, so I plan my visits to stores [where we have been mandated to wear them] so as to get more stops done in a single day's outing, buy what I want/need for a longer period, then stay home.

Also, Ontario restaurants currently must not operate their indoor dining areas until later this month [part of a province-wide 4 week lockdown], so a certain group of seniors with whom I drink coffee at out local BK some mornings cannot meet.

AND, even without all of that, it's Winter, and I would get out less anyway, being part groundhog and all. ;)

Plus masks in Winter exacerbate the fogging of my eyeglasses, making it harder to see when walking and driving, so gotta minimize that.

As well, no gigs during the pandemic, of course, though fewer in Winter anyway.

That all said, I did get to a Kijiji [much like Craig's List in the US] meetup earlier this week, outdoors in a parking lot of a Tim Horton's restaurant, 20 some miles away, and took ownership of a bass [a near mint 2010 Ibanez SRA-500, BTW], trading two old cabinets which I did not want anymore [and some cash] for it, thus freeing up several cubic feet of storage space.

My last year's resolution of unloading most of my excess speaker cabs is almost complete [7 gone since last August]. :)

BTW, one advantage of being a senior is that I stand to get vaccinated sooner.
~
 
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#2,004
DavesnothereCA said:
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I dislike the masking, so I plan my outings to stores [where we have been told to wear them] so as to get more stops done in a single day's trip, buy what I want/need for a longer period, then stay home.

Also, Ontario restaurants currently must not operate their indoor dining areas until later this month [part of a lockdown], so a certain group of seniors with whom I drink coffee at out local BK some mornings cannot meet.

AND, even without all of that, it's Winter, and I would get out less anyway, being part groundhog and all. ;)

Plus masks in Winter exacerbate the fogging of my eyeglasses, making it harder to see when walking and driving, so gotta minimize that.

As well, no gigs during the pandemic, of course, though fewer in Winter anyway.

That all said, I did get to a Kijiji [much like Craig's List in the US] meetup earlier this week, outdoors in a parking lot of a Tim Horton's restaurant, 20 some miles away, and took ownership of a bass [a near mint 2010 Ibanez SRA-500, BTW], trading two old cabinets which I did not want anymore [and some cash] for it, thus freeing up several cubic feet of storage space.
~
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Nothing motivates me more to do something than buying instruments :)
Get over your nut width pet peeves and get your paws on a Mini. I just played it this morning through my brand new Rumble 100 and the little fella packs a serious vintage punch, especially with Chromes.
Look at the proportions of the 1st fret, the Mini is like a P bass with a 1.75" nut, just shrunk down. It doesn't feel cramped at all. Same with the Bronco.
Jazz necks I can't play no more, I need space, but the Mini is so small the 1.5" nut feels roomy.
 
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#2,005
andare said:
Nothing motivates me more to do something than buying instruments :)
Get over your nut width pet peeves and get your paws on a Mini. I just played it this morning through my brand new Rumble 100 and the little fella packs a serious vintage punch, especially with Chromes.
Look at the proportions of the 1st fret, the Mini is like a P bass with a 1.75" nut, just shrunk down. It doesn't feel cramped at all. Same with the Bronco.
Jazz necks I can't play no more, I need space, but the Mini is so small the 1.5" nut feels roomy.
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I have no doubts that the Mini-P sounds decent.

Shrink my hands to match, and I'll think about it. :laugh:

There is no sane reason to do what makes a person uncomfortable.

There are plenty of other bass[es] in the pond [joke] - and bass guitars too. ;)

And as I'm sure you know, the Bronco is 1.6" at the nut, which is as narrow as I can comfortably go, and it is 30" scale.

More details to come in a longish post about my basses bought and tried during the last several years, after playing only a Ric 4001 [1.6875" {1+11/16"} at the nut, 33.25" scale] since 1974.

Oh, and I just did buy an instrument. :hyper:

How about someone congratulating me for THAT ! :woot:
~
 
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#2,006
It's always interesting to see how different we all are.

I'd actually prefer a wider neck.

I have small hands, and short arms. My comfort comes from a shorter scale, but not necessarily from the thin necks. I often feel like I'm falling off a fretboard. :)

I know I am absolutely in the minority, and this is not the target market of this bass, but I would actually be all over a short scale that had a chunky neck. It would feel more comfortable to me.
 
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#2,007
SBassman said:
It's always interesting to see how different we all are. - I'd actually prefer a wider neck. - I have small hands, and short arms. My comfort comes from a shorter scale, but not necessarily from the thin necks. I often feel like I'm falling off a fretboard. :) - I know I am absolutely in the minority, and this is not the target market of this bass, but I would actually be all over a short scale that had a chunky neck. It would feel more comfortable to me.
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So would I, and there are more of us than some folks believe.

Diversity is [supposed to be] a cornerstone of society.

And I'm not belittling anyone for wanting or preferring a narrower bass neck in the lower frets.

It just doesn't work for ME, especially along with a short scale, and I have tried and determined that wider does, regardless of scale length.

I've reached the conclusion that a shorter scale does not bother me [and may even help], and I only discovered this because in looking for lighter weight basses since getting back into playing during 2016, I learned that short scale basses more frequently satisfy that spec than longer scale basses do.

But narrower nut width ?

I'm an olde dawg with a 1974 Ric 4001 bought new that year, and played almost nothing since, until recently.

And their nut width is among the widest of mass-produced basses, at 1.6875".

BTW, have you tried a Hofner ?

I bought one of their Ignition Club [not violin] basses - It's 30" scale with a 1.65" or so nut width, and it has become my main gig bass since sometime during 2019.

Pics are in my TB media collection.
~
 
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#2,008
I'm ok with slim necks but I need a wide spacing. I can't play Jazz necks anymore. The Mini is proportioned like a big fat P so it works for me, it's also cheap so i don't mind.

I have a Player P with the 1.625 nut and I'm considering buying a Vintera P just for the 1.75 nut. I'm not gonna do it because then I'd have to sell the Player, at a loss, and who knows when it would sell. Also I'm running out of space in my apt.
 
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#2,010
ric4682 said:
I’ve been following this thread, though I haven’t kept an eagle eye on it.
Has anyone put short scale TI flats on their mini yet?
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Short scale TI flats are much longer than most manufacturers' "short scale" strings. They fit most 32" scale basses, and really should be called "medium scale" strings, instead. Great strings, though.

They are much too long for the mini P, and would have to be cut down. I wouldn't recommend doing that to such an expensive set of strings.
 
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#2,011
Mini thumb rest on a Mini P. Seller did an excellent job.

Thumb rest.png
 
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#2,014
andare said:
I'm ok with slim necks but I need a wide spacing. I can't play Jazz necks anymore. The Mini is proportioned like a big fat P so it works for me, it's also cheap so i don't mind.

I have a Player P with the 1.625 nut and I'm considering buying a Vintera P just for the 1.75 nut. I'm not gonna do it because then I'd have to sell the Player, at a loss, and who knows when it would sell. Also I'm running out of space in my apt.
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It's interesting that you like the wider nut on a regular P, but not on the Mini-P, which has the same nut width as a Jazz.

I can tolerate a narrower nut width better on a longer scale neck than on a shorter one, but still prefer wider in general.

That said, the Ibanez which I slightly above mentioned picking up the other day has a 34" neck and 1.5" nut width - AND, a curly Maple top, I think it's called. - I'm a sucker for natural wood grain.

When you speak of spacing, do you mean between strings at the bridge ?

I've never given that much thought on my basses.

And yes, limited space in the apartment is one of my nemeses too. :eek: :D

That's part of why I sold off so many speaker cabs during the last while [though I added several basses].

The other reason was that almost all of them were too heavy in weight.

I still managed to free up some space overall.

Enough space ? - Prob'ly not. :bag:
~
 
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#2,015
SBassman said:
Ok, then this is just a reissue of the same mini they used to have in production several years ago.
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Not exactly, not an accurate reissue at least, the Precision Junior was a Mexican Fender I believe and priced accordingly, this is cheaper and a Squier, also they added a tone knob this time, the Jr. only had a volume knob.

But yes, definitely heavily inspired by the original Fender Precision Jr.
 
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#2,017
SBassman said:
Ok, then this is just a reissue of the same mini they used to have in production several years ago.
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The biggest difference
NoiseNinja said:
Not exactly, not an accurate reissue at least, the Precision Junior was a Mexican Fender I believe and priced accordingly, this is cheaper and a Squier, also they added a tone knob this time, the Jr. only had a volume knob.

But yes, definitely heavily inspired by the original Fender Precision Jr.
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Another big difference is that the MIM Fender P-Bass Jr is strung-thru, while the Squier Mini strings are top loaded.

Thus the Fender can use many "short scale" string sets (except the much longer TIs).

The Fender has an alder body and rosewood fretboard as well.
 
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#2,019
macmanlou said:
The biggest difference


Another big difference is that the MIM Fender P-Bass Jr is strung-thru, while the Squier Mini strings are top loaded.

Thus the Fender can use many "short scale" string sets (except the much longer TIs).

The Fender has an alder body and rosewood fretboard as well.
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It was a wise move for the Jr. I wonder how much it would have changed the cost if they did a string thru on the Mini. It sure would have eliminated lots of string dialog here. ;)
 
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#2,020
SBassman said:
It was a wise move for the Jr. I wonder how much it would have changed the cost, if they did a string thru on the Mini. It sure would have eliminated lots of string dialog here. ;)
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Very much of it, yes. :smug: :thumbsup:

Fender could still pull up their socks, and commission someone to make specific strings for the Mini-P. :D

Or a major string maker could decide to give it a whirl.
~
 
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