The Squier Mini Precision Bass Club

[GregLeSage]

Hello everyone,

First, I'm French so english isn't my native language...
Litlle introduction : I'm a guitarist but allways wanted to play those terrible bass lines... so when I knew that the Mini P existed (and was playable) I wanted one. And I think I managed to find the last one in France, hidden in a music store of my city.
So I purchased a Black one.
I'm in love with it and barely touched my guitart since november

I have a question, I ordered a pickguard (3 ply matte black ) on earlpilanz, do i have to change the strings when I'll put the new pickguard ?
(I still have the stock strings, and I'm lurking on flats, but the price is high...)

I'll post a picture when i'll put the new PG.

PS : those wood PG are absolutly stunning

 

[TomB]

Hello everyone,

First, I'm French so english isn't my native language...
Litlle introduction : I'm a guitarist but allways wanted to play those terrible bass lines... so when I knew that the Mini P existed (and was playable) I wanted one. And I think I managed to find the last one in France, hidden in a music store of my city.
So I purchased a Black one.
I'm in love with it and barely touched my guitart since november

I have a question, I ordered a pickguard (3 ply matte black ) on earlpilanz, do i have to change the strings when I'll put the new pickguard ?
(I still have the stock strings, and I'm lurking on flats, but the price is high...)

I'll post a picture when i'll put the new PG.

PS : those wood PG are absolutly stunning

You don’t need to even loosen the strings on a P-bass to change pickguards, but it makes the installation of the wiring harness and knobs easier if you do. Bass strings can also be loosened at the tuning peg and moved out of the way, then carefully reinstalled, something you wouldn’t often do on a guitar.

 

[GregLeSage]

Good news! Thanks for the answer

 

[RodRy]

Hello everyone,

First, I'm French so english isn't my native language...
Litlle introduction : I'm a guitarist but allways wanted to play those terrible bass lines... so when I knew that the Mini P existed (and was playable) I wanted one. And I think I managed to find the last one in France, hidden in a music store of my city.
So I purchased a Black one.
I'm in love with it and barely touched my guitart since november

I have a question, I ordered a pickguard (3 ply matte black ) on earlpilanz, do i have to change the strings when I'll put the new pickguard ?
(I still have the stock strings, and I'm lurking on flats, but the price is high...)

I'll post a picture when i'll put the new PG.

PS : those wood PG are absolutly stunning

You probably noticed post number #3440 where a stunning pickguard is for sale! And 3421 where he linked to a producer of pickguards.

Welcome to the world of little basses!

 

[g-dude]

So I’m contemplating picking up one of these, but don’t have time to go through 173 pages.

Generally speaking, what other strings will work here - particularly interested in whether TI strings will work, but want to know what options I’d have.

 

[Mountain Mike]

So I’m contemplating picking up one of these, but don’t have time to go through 173 pages.

Generally speaking, what other strings will work here - particularly interested in whether TI strings will work, but want to know what options I’d have.

This largely depends on how comfortable you are with the main part of the string wrapping the post.

If it's not sacrelidge for you many short scale strings will work. If you're more particular (or if the strings can't handle it) then the options are limited.

For specifics you don't have to read the whole thing, just go back through the last couple/few pages as this was just answered again.

 

[Lowendchamp]

So I was curious because I didn't even wait to start nodding mine when I got it, but did anybody keep thiers stock? If you think it sounds okay stock, would you record or gig with it? I ask because I was thinking of buying another and keeping it stock.

 

[Lowendchamp]

Modding not nodding..........stupid predictive text

 

[g-dude]

This largely depends on how comfortable you are with the main part of the string wrapping the post.

If it's not sacrelidge for you many short scale strings will work. If you're more particular (or if the strings can't handle it) then the options are limited.

For specifics you don't have to read the whole thing, just go back through the last couple/few pages as this was just answered again.

Thanks.

Now, here’s a question I suspect nobody has asked yet…

Does it work well as a BEAD bass?

 

[OLD-PLAYER]

So I was curious because I didn't even wait to start nodding mine when I got it, but did anybody keep thiers stock? If you think it sounds okay stock, would you record or gig with it? I ask because I was thinking of buying another and keeping it stock.

Mine's stock! I did upgrade/replace the tuners, the bridge, the nut, the strings, the pick-guard, the electronics, the pickups, the strap locks, and then I rolled the neck and dressed the frets. But it's still 100% stock "underneath"

 

[mbell75]

Righteo, been slowly trawling through all 170 pages of this thread since around November, after I saw a Mini P listed at one of my locals and became obsessed with the idea of rocking up to gigs with a toy-sized bass that actually sounded and looked good.

So glad I took the time to read through the thread because once I got my hands on one of these wee things, the info exchanged between you lot proved to be a goldmine!

I think I'm just about there with my Mini now, and really really happy with it. The refinish was of course the biggest expense, and absolutely an indulgence, but hey it looks killer (IMO at least...) so I don't really care. David Wilson up in NE of England did a stellar job on the body/neck there.

There's a few things that could still be changed – I think some shielding work could be done as it's a bit noisy when I'm not touching the strings.

I'd also ideally whack some flats on there, but just need to do some thinking about which set would be best for me. I'm holding out for another run of those LaBella custom flats that you guys somehow managed to collectively force into production, but that may be wishful thinking haha!

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View attachment 4664572

So awesome! If you ever sell this, I call dibs!

 

[GregLeSage]

You probably noticed post number #3440 where a stunning pickguard is for sale! And 3421 where he linked to a producer of pickguards.

Welcome to the world of little basses!

I noticed but i didn't understood that he was selling his PG, and yeah for the link on ebay, I think he is the only seller that I found.
Also I asked a price for a wood PG for my Cv telecaster thinline it was more than a quarter of the guitar value...

 

[andare]

So I was curious because I didn't even wait to start nodding mine when I got it, but did anybody keep thiers stock? If you think it sounds okay stock, would you record or gig with it? I ask because I was thinking of buying another and keeping it stock.

Mine is stock with Chromes. I have recorded with it (only demos for now but the thing sounds great). I've played it at rehearsal and my bandmates were delighted about the sound, looks and playability.

For frequent use and gigs I'd definitely replace the tuners and possibly the output jack. Mine goes slightly out of tune every couple of songs and a Switchcraft jack would give me peace of mind.

I haven't opened mine up but if the wiring is as crappy as it was in my Bronco I'd replace that too. Two 16mm Alpha pots, one cap and a good jack cost very little and it's a quick upgrade I can do myself. Cheap and quick even if you have to go to a tech.

 

[RodRy]

I noticed but i didn't understood that he was selling his PG, and yeah for the link on ebay, I think he is the only seller that I found.
Also I asked a price for a wood PG for my Cv telecaster thinline it was more than a quarter of the guitar value...

If you like the look of that wooden one that @TK4261 has, just send him a private message and ask how much he'll sell it for. Could be just the thing for your new bass!

 

[Mountain Mike]

So I was curious because I didn't even wait to start nodding mine when I got it, but did anybody keep thiers stock? If you think it sounds okay stock, would you record or gig with it? I ask because I was thinking of buying another and keeping it stock.

Mine's 100% stock so far. One reason I got this was because I have a modding itch and I'm too afriad to mess with pricier or fancier guitars.
However I found a used Bronco which is what I'm going to tinker with for now so the Mini is currently safe.

 

[mbell75]

Ive officially joined the club! Really love this thing. It reminds me a lot of the MIM Fender P JR I had around 10 years ago. Sadly, they only made those from 2002 to about 2006 and I regret selling the two I had. One with the standard volume only knob and one modded with a tone knob. Its great these come standard with a tone knob.

Neck is nice and smooth, fretwork is great, neck is straight. The really great thing about these are the necks. You got all the P bass sound but in a smaller body and IMO, more comfortable neck with a jazz nut width and it doesnt fatten up as you go up the neck. For instance, Im learning a song right now that plays down around the 3rd fret but them jumps up to the 15th and 17th frets for some fills, back down to the 3rd, back up again etc...Thats a workout on a 34 inch scale bass (especially with tendonitis in my left shoulder) but its a breeze on this super short scale. Not to mention the weight. My 10lb Squier Jazz I just got feels like a ton of bricks compared to this thing, which is maybe 6lbs. Great on my shoulder and back.

Pickup sounds pretty good, but I might at some point swap in a CS 62 and a hipshot bridge and tuners at some point. Would be a killer little bass for around $450 total. Now just need Squier to make a Mini Jazz to go with it! Highly recommended for the price.

 

[EatS1stBassist]

Can I join? Just got my Mini and I love it!

 

[OLD-PLAYER]

Ive officially joined the club! Really love this thing. It reminds me a lot of the MIM Fender P JR I had around 10 years ago. Sadly, they only made those from 2002 to about 2006 and I regret selling the two I had. One with the standard volume only knob and one modded with a tone knob. Its great these come standard with a tone knob.

Neck is nice and smooth, fretwork is great, neck is straight. The really great thing about these are the necks. You got all the P bass sound but in a smaller body and IMO, more comfortable neck with a jazz nut width and it doesnt fatten up as you go up the neck. For instance, Im learning a song right now that plays down around the 3rd fret but them jumps up to the 15th and 17th frets for some fills, back down to the 3rd, back up again etc...Thats a workout on a 34 inch scale bass (especially with tendonitis in my left shoulder) but its a breeze on this super short scale. Not to mention the weight. My 10lb Squier Jazz I just got feels like a ton of bricks compared to this thing, which is maybe 6lbs. Great on my shoulder and back.

Pickup sounds pretty good, but I might at some point swap in a CS 62 and a hipshot bridge and tuners at some point. Would be a killer little bass for around $450 total. Now just need Squier to make a Mini Jazz to go with it! Highly recommended for the price.

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First, let me Welcome you to "the club"! I agree these Squire "Indonesian" necks are amazing, plus the bodies are light-weight Poplar! (and a great place to start!) For reference that Hipshot "Kickass" bridge is a direct drop-in, and it lines up nicely against the bottom of the bass. Or you can go with the Fender branded variant (which come stock on the Ultra bass series) and are a little shorter, the same basic design (and a little lower priced right now). As to tuners the Hipshot series are beautiful (but expensive, and require several mods to fit) or you could go with Grover Mini's (like I did) if you don't mind the look (which are exact drop-ins, true 20-1 ratio, extremely accurate and smooth as butter for under $70). I also picked up an upgraded P. Bass wiring harness on EBay, which came loaded with really nice full size CT pots, cloth wrapped wire, an orange drop cap and a swithcraft jack for less than $50 pre-wired (It was a direct drop-in. Fit like a glove! No additional routing was required!). I also upgraded the pickup to a Semour Quarter Pounder (the best sounding bass pickup I've heard on a short scale bass). Finally, you might want to consider a set of short scale flat wounds, which sound amazing on these short scale basses (I prefer Roto standard 77's myself) No matter what you decide, have fun!

 

[scottie65]

First, let me Welcome you to "the club"! I agree these Squire "Indonesian" necks are amazing, plus the bodies are light-weight Poplar! (and a great place to start!) For reference that Hipshot "Kickass" bridge is a direct drop-in, and it lines up nicely against the bottom of the bass. Or you can go with the Fender branded variant (which come stock on the Ultra bass series) and are a little shorter, the same basic design (and a little lower priced right now). As to tuners the Hipshot series are beautiful (but expensive, and require several mods to fit) or you could go with Grover Mini's (like I did) if you don't mind the look (which are exact drop-ins, true 20-1 ratio, extremely accurate and smooth as butter for under $70). I also picked up an upgraded P. Bass wiring harness on EBay, which came loaded with really nice full size CT pots, cloth wrapped wire, an orange drop cap and a swithcraft jack for less than $50 pre-wired (It was a direct drop-in. Fit like a glove! No additional routing was required!). I also upgraded the pickup to a Semour Quarter Pounder (the best sounding bass pickup I've heard on a short scale bass). Finally, you might want to consider a set of short scale flat wounds, which sound amazing on these short scale basses (I prefer Roto standard 77's myself) No matter what you decide, have fun!

View attachment 4674665

Do you find the hipshot bridge does anything for sound on your guitar or is it for aesthetics? Glad to hear the the info on about the Semour Quarter Pounder pickup. I have usually used Dimarzio replacements. I will have to give the Semour pickups a try.

 

[mbell75]

So I finally used some headphones into my amp while playing last night and I must say I really dont like the tone too much after really hearing it full on. Its pretty hollow sounding and just, not that great. The Squier CV 60s P bass sounded great thru the same amp and settings at the store, the Mini definitely doesnt sound as good, but anyhow. Im not sure if its the stock strings, the stock pickup or the poplar body. I guess strings would be the cheapest and easiest to rule out, but Ive been down this road before with the cheap SX and Glarry basses. Even SD Quarter Pound pickups didnt help the tone much, so I figured it was the cheap tone wood used for the body.

Having said that, my new Squier 40th anniversary jazz bass sounds fantastic with the stock strings and pickups thru the headphones, but its also 3 times the price as the Mini. Never played a Nyatoh body bass before so I can't comment on that. Im hoping its not the super short scale length that I dont like the sound of because I love the size. Any ideas before I go throwing money at it?

Side Note: I have a 28.6 inch scale mini jazz bass coming on Wednesday. So I will be able to compare that directly to my 34 inch scale jazz and see if it is a scale length thing. I might just wait to compare those before deciding what to do with the Mini P.