Just received an email from La Bella Roadie Club. My order is complete, along with the USPS tracking number.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
The Squier Mini Precision Bass Club
- Thread starter sabre79
- Start date
That's fat - almost Old '54's fat. I'll be curious to hear how the mini-necks like them.
That's what I'll be interested in hearing from users. I get the physics and I'm a long-time Labella flats user. But I find 45-100 gauge Chromes work just fine for the mini - not floppy at all. So I'm interested.
Hey, I'm Nico from Italy, (maybe) new owner of a Squier Mini.
After reading all (!) the 140+ pages (and countless 52x errors) of this thread, I decided to buy the bass and received it a few hours ago.
I will use it to practice with HL Bass Aerobics.
The bass looks very nice, although a bit tiny. I guess you have to get used to it.
Visual inspection is ok, except for dots at frets #3 and #5 who look misaligned (or is it something else?):
There's also a lot of fret buzz when playing. I made a couple of short videos to show it.
Is it me (technique), or does it need a setup?
Thanks in advance for your help.
After reading all (!) the 140+ pages (and countless 52x errors) of this thread, I decided to buy the bass and received it a few hours ago.
I will use it to practice with HL Bass Aerobics.
The bass looks very nice, although a bit tiny. I guess you have to get used to it.
Visual inspection is ok, except for dots at frets #3 and #5 who look misaligned (or is it something else?):
There's also a lot of fret buzz when playing. I made a couple of short videos to show it.
Is it me (technique), or does it need a setup?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Hi Nico!
Seems you are right, those two dots look slightly off location. For this price point, I suppose we can't be too critical, right?
I'd say you should have a good setup done by someone who knows what you like. Then try it again. If it still seems buzzy, try adjusting your hand technique and see if it helps. Some of my basses are more particular than others, so I understand that.
Welcome to the club!
NBD, got my Squier Mini P today. Pretty much as described by this (pretty long) thread. Such a good bass for $200. I could see with just a little work taking this out to play as is with no upgrades.
It is really light and really easy to play. I haven't done anything to it yet, and it is nice right out of the box. The action is good and all but the G string (a tad sharp at 12th fret) is well intonated. The strings don't really feel floppy, even though they are really light. I will wait till my LaBella strings get here to do a setup. The fret ends are flush but have sharp ends, I don't notice it while playing though. Has anyone ever finished fret ends with just a diamond nail file and then polish with micromesh sandpaper?
Sound wise, it is very deep, not tubby or dull, just deep. I think people describing it as having a strong fundamental would contribute to this sound. It may not be a good bass for people that like a really rich solo tone, but for playing a supporting role, it does it's job well. I thought the pickups were quite loud and strong, I had initially thought before I got it that I would upgrade, but I now don't think I need too.
It is neck heavy, it would just drop as soon as I took my hands off. However, as soon as I put on a better/wider strap with a suede back, it stayed stable. Since it is so light, the extra grip was all that was needed. I am primarily a guitar player, and have small hands and frame, so the reach is a real relief, as of course is the closer together frets. I could see a taller person with big hands feeling cramped. The satin neck feels awesome.
I think this is a winner for someone struggling with a larger/heavier bass. Sound wise, it is different, but I can't say better or worse than my Fender Aerodyne. Who knows how durable it will be, but it seems well made. it's certainly not a lemon. The world has come a long way where $200 in 1970's dollars wouldn't have gotten you a playable instrument, now you have gig ready basses for a steal of a price.
It is really light and really easy to play. I haven't done anything to it yet, and it is nice right out of the box. The action is good and all but the G string (a tad sharp at 12th fret) is well intonated. The strings don't really feel floppy, even though they are really light. I will wait till my LaBella strings get here to do a setup. The fret ends are flush but have sharp ends, I don't notice it while playing though. Has anyone ever finished fret ends with just a diamond nail file and then polish with micromesh sandpaper?
Sound wise, it is very deep, not tubby or dull, just deep. I think people describing it as having a strong fundamental would contribute to this sound. It may not be a good bass for people that like a really rich solo tone, but for playing a supporting role, it does it's job well. I thought the pickups were quite loud and strong, I had initially thought before I got it that I would upgrade, but I now don't think I need too.
It is neck heavy, it would just drop as soon as I took my hands off. However, as soon as I put on a better/wider strap with a suede back, it stayed stable. Since it is so light, the extra grip was all that was needed. I am primarily a guitar player, and have small hands and frame, so the reach is a real relief, as of course is the closer together frets. I could see a taller person with big hands feeling cramped. The satin neck feels awesome.
I think this is a winner for someone struggling with a larger/heavier bass. Sound wise, it is different, but I can't say better or worse than my Fender Aerodyne. Who knows how durable it will be, but it seems well made. it's certainly not a lemon. The world has come a long way where $200 in 1970's dollars wouldn't have gotten you a playable instrument, now you have gig ready basses for a steal of a price.
Attachments
it could be technique, but there are other things it could be. at least one of my strings was put on wrong, so there was buzzing at the bridge. the rest were pretty crappy. also have you checked the action, nut slots, nut height and neck relief?
my mini needed major setup work, but luckily for me, my husband has a lutherie workshop and fixed all the issues. and they were fixable. now my mini plays smoothly with no issues.
let us know if you decide to keep the bass so we can give you a club number - if you want one.
Benvenuto nel Club.
The dots do look misaligned. I've never seen that before. However they are never perfectly aligned with the strings because of the different string gauges.
Definitely check the bass and do a full setup. Mine was totally out of whack when I got it.
But the buzzing could be technique as well. Mine plays a lot better with flats.
Mine sounds the same. Super deep with a harsh top end. But I like it.
I wouldn't use a nail file to round off the frets. I bought the specific file for that job because all my instruments came with sharp frets, courtesy of my lack of funds and sloppy manufacturing by Squier and MIM Fender.
If you do use a nail file, use a diamond-coated metal file, as thin as possible. Be careful not to mar the fretboard when you round off the corners of the frets.
Tape the fretboard when you round off the edges of the bevels.
Micro mesh will smooth and polish everything. Use at least 6 grits. My kit has 9 pads from 1500 to 12000.
Remove the tape when you're done and clean off any residue with lighter fluid (naphtha).
Finally oil the fretboard with Dunlop lemon oil or similar.
Thanks everyone for your feedback.
Since i'm also considering ordering a Bronco and compare them, I will wait to decide before taking it to the local guitar shop for setup. Plus, I just found something else, don't know if it's normal (never seen sticking out that much in other instruments) and related to the fret buzz:
Since i'm also considering ordering a Bronco and compare them, I will wait to decide before taking it to the local guitar shop for setup. Plus, I just found something else, don't know if it's normal (never seen sticking out that much in other instruments) and related to the fret buzz:
That's very kind. I will surely let you know in that case.
Last edited:
i've owned 2 broncos, andi bought both of them new. the first one needed a lot of work, and i ended up selling it. the current one needed less work, and i enjoy it. there's some buzz when i turn it up, but some day i might replace the pickup.
have you tried an ibanez mikro? i like them, and they have the same scale length as the mini precision.
have you tried an ibanez mikro? i like them, and they have the same scale length as the mini precision.
What you circled is the truss rod adjustment nut. It is normal for it to protrude slightly in that design. It is related to fret buzz only in that you will get buzz if the rod is not properly adjusted (neck relief). It is among the steps that are part of a proper set-up, which you or a luthier should undertake. In rare instances a totally loose rod can itself buzz, but that's unlikely in a new neck.
Don't you also have a Little Guitars bass?
Have you done a side by side comparison with the Little Guitars bass and your Mini P?
Inquiring minds and all that...
Don't you also have a Little Guitars bass?
Have you done a side by side comparison with the Little Guitars bass and your Mini P?
Inquiring minds and all that...
i own the smallguitars.com bass. for starters, it cost a lot more than my bronco or mini, but it's definitely an above entry level bass. it cost literally over 3x what i paid for my mini P as i got a discount on the mini.
the mini had many issues - neck relief, intonation, nut slot problems, pickup was much deeper on one side than the other and more, frets were sharp on the sides and more, where the smallguitars bass needed less work, but it, too, had the pickup much deeper on one side than the other. both sound good and precisiony.
the smallguitars bass is 24.75" scale vs the mini P's 28.6" scale, so the frets are shorter and require more precise fingering and custom strings. the mini was a good fit scalewise as i'm used to playing mikros, which have the same scale, but there's something about the neck for me - width? radius? neck depth? - that makes me play more slowly on the mini than any other bass i own or have owned. that's fine if you're playing blues or lady marmalade, but it's not great for playing punk, death metal or other speedy basslines. if you're interested, we'll whip out the calipers and measure.
the smallguitars.com bass is lighter than the mini P, but both are quite light and under 6 pounds.
Latest posts
-
-
-
Need recommendation on Preamp Pedal with DI, EQ, Compressor and Overdrive- Latest: Michael Eisenman
-
How can Fender release a "Vintage" series with an unplayable bridge?- Latest: MultiScaleMale
-
