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The Squier Mini Precision Bass Club

#2,841
slashvanyoung said:
Thanks for the tips on the Hipshot tuners! And I will check if the stock ones are too loose (common problem on budget instruments, sadly).

I've read somewhere that the Fender Hi Mass bridge is a drop in replacement… can anyone confirm that?
Click to expand...

Hi mass bridge here - look at all his videos - he seems to have a problem (the strings are not the new La Bella's )
 
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#2,843
Just ordered my LaBella strings. Currently 17 sets left. Thanks for helping to make this happen!

They're pricey but I appreciate they're made here in New York State. I was tempted to go down to Newburgh to pick them up in person but it's just far enough away to be impractical. Excited to upgrade from the Chromes, which are serviceable but not as good as I initially thought.
 
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#2,851
DavesnothereCA said:
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....However, will they ship them to Canada, and if so, at what cost ?
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Click to expand...
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Here is my answer [in US funds, not including border fees] :eek: :

LaBella Mini-P Special Run 49-109 Flats, in Cart, with Shipping Quoted.PNG


BTW, 14 sets remain.
~
 
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#2,853
I think the LaBella string thing is really cool, and kudos to the club making them fly off the shelves.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), I long ago swapped the stock strings with Ibanez Mikro brand strings - except for the G, which was cut too short. I used a generic .045 nickel roundwound from Stagg for the G. (These are not the same strings that come stock on a Mikro)(allegedly)
bass lil red mikro strings.jpg


They sound pretty good, IMO. Nice and thumpy near the neck, bright and slappy near the bridge, the Mini is very responsive to how and where you pluck the strings. I'm still amazed at how much tonal variation I can get just by changing where I pluck. It's almost like having a 2nd tone knob.
 
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#2,854
RodRy said:
My eyes are watering over the cost to ship to Canada. I mean, NY and Canada are kissin cousins!
:greedy:
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It's like chopping onions - or mayhaps that was ragweed. :crying:

Egads, those would make an expensive souvenir ! :rollno: :(

I'll let the folks who will actually USE them buy this run [14 sets left], then if they make more later, and if my regular suppliers [Strings by Mail, or Strings and Beyond] decide to stock them, I'll look at buying a set, for a bass which I do not own.

USPS shipping to Canada by regular class mail without tracking would be around $6 USD for a set or two, based upon my dealings with those 2 vendors, and I get LaBella flats from them for usually $38.95 USD per set, sometimes less.

I have purchased 5 sets of LaBella flatwound bass strings over the past couple of years or so, only installed the first set so far, onto my Hofner Ignition Club bass, and I liked those enough to order the other 4 sets, 3 of which are intended for basses of other scale lengths.

The remaining set which is also short scale may end up on the Jay Turser JTB-40 bass which I mentioned a few posts ago, unless I order some GHS Brite Flats for that one.

I have played it for a rehearsal and 3 recent gigs [yes, 3 :bassist: :smug:], and given the non-original rounds which are on it a fair chance, but the finger noise aggravates me too much, after all those years of flat and ground strings on my Ric.

I made the same observation after using the Hofner for a few gigs when I first got it.
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#2,856
Volker Kirstein said:
I think the LaBella string thing is really cool, and kudos to the club making them fly off the shelves.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), I long ago swapped the stock strings with Ibanez Mikro brand strings - except for the G, which was cut too short. I used a generic .045 nickel roundwound from Stagg for the G. (These are not the same strings that come stock on a Mikro)(allegedly)
View attachment 4410592

They sound pretty good, IMO. Nice and thumpy near the neck, bright and slappy near the bridge, the Mini is very responsive to how and where you pluck the strings. I'm still amazed at how much tonal variation I can get just by changing where I pluck. It's almost like having a 2nd tone knob.
Click to expand...

All the tonal variety you get from a full scale bass is just more pronounced in such a short bass. All those harmonic nodes are packed closer together considering the tuning is the same. It just feels physically less drastic because the difference between neck and bridge is much shorter.
 
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#2,857
thisheregiraffe said:
Wow! It's just a little over $4 US to get Strings By Mail to mail me a set of strings to Southern Ontario. How on Earth can La Bella justify charging that much to mail them from New York :laugh:
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As I mentioned in another post, SBM and SAB are sending them without tracking, so they go at at basic rates.

If we asked them to send by Priority Post, which LaBella's lowest option is, we would get tracking, and pay that higher rate too, which can be found on the USPS website.

BTW, just to keep things interesting/confusing, USPS Priority Post service is equivalent to Canada's Express Post, and vice versa.
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#2,858
J Posega said:
All the tonal variety you get from a full scale bass is just more pronounced in such a short bass. All those harmonic nodes are packed closer together considering the tuning is the same. It just feels physically less drastic because the difference between neck and bridge is much shorter.
Click to expand...
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Yes, moving along the strings by just a finger width represents more of a tonal change on the Mini-P, assuming that we are using the same finger to judge both instances, compared to, say, a 34" scale bass.

But I'm sure that most of us know that, at least instinctively.

And the greater sensitivity to position was noticeable, even when I went from my Ric [33.25" scale] to a 30" scale bass.
~
 
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#2,859
DavesnothereCA said:
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As I mentioned in another post, SBM and SAB are sending them without tracking, so they go at at basic rates.

If we asked them to send by Priority Post, which LaBella's lowest option is, we would get tracking, and pay that higher rate too, which can be found on the USPS website.

BTW, just to keep things interesting/confusing, USPS Priority Post service is equivalent to Canada's Express Post, and vice versa.
~
Click to expand...
My last order from SBM, just a couple weeks ago, was fully tracked. Very detailed. I got a link by email when it shipped. I paid $4.17 USD for shipping. It says International Priority Airmail on the order. Another order earlier in the summer was the same. I was very impressed with the service time, especially on the most recent order.
 
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#2,860
pcake said:
i play extra light rounds, but if i played heavier flats, i'd grab the la bellas...

as it is, i'll stick with my newtones.
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity and also because I like light gauge rounds on my short scales and ponder on ordering from Newtone:

What gauges do you use, and is it by any chance the Diamond series nickle plated steel hex core strings you use, and finally how do those compare to co-responding D'Addario strings in terms of tension and tone?
 
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