The Squier Mini Precision Bass Club

[DavesnothereCA]

....would much rather this thing cost another 100 dollars and have some nearly guaranteed quality....

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Yep.
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[DavesnothereCA]

Red knobs that go to 11 hath arriven.
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I'll post a better picture tomorrow when the sun's out.

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Now I want 12 on mine.
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[macmanlou]

BTW, what years did they build the MIM P-Bass JR basses ?

I believe it was around 2003 - 2005. I got mine in 2004.

 

[DavesnothereCA]

Unfortunately, I don't think there has been a whole lot of string innovation for this type of bass.
There Could be, but I don't think we have seen it.

When I first fell down this rabbit hole, for anyone who remembers my Picco Bass times , I made up the tension difference by essentially stringing with 5 string gauges. The bass was a 25" scale design, using essentially BEAD gauges tuned+ to EADG. That made up the difference.

In this 28" scale world, I don't think anyone has bothered, even though it would be pretty easy to match a string design to the scale that would yield proper tension and tone.

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As I frequently lament, bass players are the Rodney Dangerfield of musicians - We get No Respect.

That was a good idea, using part of a 5 string set at raised pitch, but what did you do about the scale length at the tuners ?
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[SBassman]

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As I frequently lament, bass players are the Rodney Dangerfield of musicians - We get No Respect.

That was a good idea, using part of a 5 string set at raised pitch, but what did you do about the scale length at the tuners ?
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I actually had a string manufacturer at the time building me strings tapered with the right length.
Curt Mangan. I am externally grateful he worked with me.

 

[SBassman]

Hey, if anyone winds up looking for an expensive pretty good gig bag for it, the Chromacast Electric Guitar gig bag works perfectly. At a very Squier Mini P appropriate price - 20 bucks.

 

[DavesnothereCA]

Once again, on strings for the Squier Mini P...

First off, the butt to nut length on the Mini P is 76 cm/30". The center of the E tuner is 4 cm/1.5" past the nut. The "perfect fitting" string would have a 31.5" to 32" ball to taper length. - Almost all short scale strings are 34" ball to taper....

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Almost all of the normal production short scale string sets which I researched (when looking for what short scale flats would fit my Hofner Club bass) last year advertised between 32 and 33 inches of full diameter winding/wrap. [BTW, I was not pleased with the gauges of the only two sets of flats which LaBella offers specifically for Hofners.]

Examples :
GHS = 32.75"
LaBella (and I think D'Addario too) = 32.25"
One which was longer than 33" was DR, at 33.50 or 33.75".

Any of those would fit my Hofner (DR rounds were on it when I bought it, its owner told me), but of course none of those choices have a short enough winding for the Squier Mini P.

I have always gone by the same rule as you do, about not wrapping the fully wound portion of the string around the tuner post, even with round wounds, which I have not used except briefly if a bass which I buy comes with them, and most do.

The last time that I willfully PUT rounds onto a bass was in 1974, onto my then-new Ric when I first got it, after my last P bass, on which I had only used rounds.

In both instances, they were Rotosound RS66, which are admittedly wrapped with pretty hard metal compared to some other rounds.

They came off the Ric about 2 weeks later, when I noticed the early fret wear, then to Ric's own flats and later ground round wounds, then from Dean Markley.

But I digress....
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[DavesnothereCA]

I like the pickguard as a thumbrest, myself... it's thick enough that the edge of my thumb nestles in there perfectly, and I have a wide variety of options.

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I use the E string as a thumb rest, except when I pluck the string, which I generally do with a finger, except when doing a blend/chord with another string.

It's become part of my string/note damping technique.
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[DavesnothereCA]

I emailed Fender after I received my mini and they told me they had no plans to make a set just for the mini. They do get back to you same day.

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It's easy to be prompt when the answer is "No".
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[DavesnothereCA]

....The full winding length of *some* strings advertised as "short-scale" is almost at or even over 34" (Thomastik-Infeld "short-scale" strings are 35.5", DR are 33.75", Pyramid and Höfner are notoriously Beatlebass-friendly at 33.5"), but the majority of them are 32"~32.75". - True, that means they're too long for the Mini-P anyway.

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I agree with any of that data which I had researched already.

And there were some examples which I did not previously know.

Plus, LaBella publishes that their Medium scale strings are 34" or 34.25" (I forget which now), making them slightly too long for the Hofners, so they feel the need to make special sets for those basses.

However regular LaBella short scale strings fit mine, albeit with not much winding to spare after the nut [Ignition Club series].

For that, I chose their low tension flats.
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[DavesnothereCA]

For whatever it is worth - not much:

Since Fender these days is very responsive, I wrote and asked - are there any plans to bring back the P Jr, and, are there any plans to add other colors to the Squier Mini P lineup. Response was nope and nope.

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Have you asked them whether they plan to correct the error about the nut width on their web page specs tab for it, and notify the gazillion music stores which copied and pasted that mistake ?

It soitainly wasted MY time, and got my hopes up for SFA.

There ought to be a penalty for causing false GAS.
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[HaphAsSard]

However regular LaBella short scale strings fit mine, albeit with not much winding to spare after the nut [Ignition Club series].

For that, I chose their low tension flats.

Oh, I wouldn't have expected that, good to know (and glad to know your specific combination worked). It also has to do with the length of the trapeze tailpiece: some are shorter than others (vd. for ex. the one they use on the Epiphone Viola) and would possibly accommodate La Bella mediums, but maybe not their shorts; the Pyramid/Höfner/La Bella* Beatle-bass winding length is probably tailored toward fitting as many violin bass models as possible.


* Their -BB and -B2 sets also have small ball-ends and a steeper tapering at the tuner side, in order to fit narrow-slotted tailpieces at one end, and guitar-style tuning posts at the other, that many Höfner(ish) basses come with.

 

[pcake]

I'm really enjoying this bass.

Anybody contemplating taking the plunge on getting a replacement pickguard cut?

lucky for me that my husband cuts all our pickguards. as an example, he did this one when we put a music man pickup in a mikro:

Here you go. Doesn't have Fender's logo, but, it's same scale as the Mini P apparently:

sure, there's the mini P bass - where's the mini J?

hey, that's my thread!

Nonetheless, you can still hear the bass calling: Pick me up... Stroke my neck... Smack me on the bottom... Make me moan... You know you want to...

this thread keeps me thinking
buy one, sounds like a p bass sized like a mikro... no, no - i don't need another bass! come on, it's so cute and lightweight... aw, man! you know you want to...

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LaBella even cautions of breakage, if you put their regular strings onto a bass which needs string-through.

If this concern is true for THEIR strings, then I would reasonably expect most other brands also to fracture at the bend where it comes from the body hole to the bridge.

That said, some bridge designs might exacerbate that problem more, and others less so ?

I've never had a bass which did string-thru, so the only weirdness which I have encountered in choosing string scale lengths is the Hofner 'trapeze style' bridge, which pulls maybe 2 inches extra of each string onto the ball side of the saddle, so that the wound part of plenty of short scale strings cannot reach the nut of most Hofners, even though their basses ARE short scale.
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la bella strings are the stiffest i've used. i wouldn't assume other brands are as likely to fracture.

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They don't fit my huge hands, and my 1974 Ric, bought new that year, has a [typical for them] 1 11/16" [43mm] nut width.

I'm an old dog, I reckon.

I can learn new songs, but not so good on new tricks.

From time to time, I have tried narrow nut basses, but they feel weird and uncomfortable, especially after all this time with the Ric, and regular scale Precisions prior to that.

Most recently I played a Schecter Stiletto 4 [1.5" nut and 34" scale as most Schecters are] for a whole 4 hour gig, to test it after restringing and setting it up for its owner.

I got thru it.

The bass was nice and light weight, sounded decent, with no hum, but....

Last year, I scooped a Hofner Ignition series Club bass.

Short [30"] scale, but the nut width is same as the Ric, therefive MUCH easier transition for the left hand, and feather-light at around 5 pounds.

The kicker is that I do not NEED any more basses (few of us here really do, even if we can afford the cost), so if it's going to give me GAS, it either has to be a bass which I will actually try to play, including being light weight [which Rics are not], when gigs resume after Covid, or it has to be AWFULLY pretty on the eyes.

If I want pretty [for the wall], I might buy a Jazz with a Maple fingerboard and natural body, or one of those Schecters in natural finish.

But a lightweight 30" scale bass with a wide nut and Maple fingerboard, and no hum, it could look ugly as sin and I could justify buying it to play at gigs.

That's why.

Oh, and BTW, a 1/10" change represents a larger percentage of difference on a smaller scale instrument.
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my husband is 6' 7" and he plays a jazz bass...

 

[Volker Kirstein]

... this thread keeps me thinking
buy one, sounds like a p bass sized like a mikro... no, no - i don't need another bass! come on, it's so cute and lightweight... aw, man! you know you want to... ...

Exactly. You know you want to. I'm reasonably sure that you'll love it. (Hubby, too!) It sounds like a P should, and is amazingly responsive... plus it's so cute! So tiny! So affordable! So fun! I believe Squier hit it out of the park with this one.

 

[DavesnothereCA]

....my husband is 6' 7" and he plays a jazz bass...

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Has he played a JB for a long time, and not much else, so he's familiar with it ?

That's how I am with the wider nut architecture, due to my Ric 4001 since 1974, and two P basses before it.

Even now, my only reason to change is how much the Ric weighs, and maybe liking a shorter scale, the Hofner being my first serious taste of that, as well as weighing only about 5 pounds.
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[pcake]

Exactly. You know you want to. I'm reasonably sure that you'll love it. (Hubby, too!) It sounds like a P should, and is amazingly responsive... plus it's so cute! So tiny! So affordable! So fun! I believe Squier hit it out of the park with this one.

confound you!

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Has he played a JB for a long time, and not much else, so he's familiar with it ?

That's how I am with the wider nut architecture, due to my Ric 4001 since 1974, and two P basses before it.

Even now, my only reason to change is how much the Ric weighs, and maybe liking a shorter scale, the Hofner being my first serious taste of that, as well as weighing only about 5 pounds.
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my husband comes from a background of wide neck acoustic guitars and regular electric guitars. he enjoyed my wider necked bass more than i did, but he also likes narrow necks. i gave him the jazz bass in april.

i'm the same way with acoustic guitar - i find the standard 1 11/16" nut neck guitars make my hands cramp and slow me down. oddly i'm most comfortable on a slimmer bass neck.

the ibanez 30" talman has a very slightly wider nut, but i'm guessing not enough to help you.

maybe the traveler TB-4P or the ultra light? i'm actually selling my ultra light because the neck is too chunky for me. i sold my TB-4P for the same reason. both are 1 3/4" at the nut and filled my fretting hand more than i care for, so you might try one.

Traveler Guitar TB-4 P Bass Guitar - Sunburst

Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light Bass Guitar - Natural Maple

 

[Deleted member 271037]

So I guess there are no available strings that will fit these basses and Fender have no intention of making any. Well, that pretty much put me off them.

Of course there's always the possibility of modding the bass with a tailpiece (something similar to a Warwick bridge) but that's a lot of hassle and money to compensate for Fender's lack of support for their own instruments...

 

[Volker Kirstein]

So I guess there are no available strings that will fit these basses and Fender have no intention of making any. Well, that pretty much put me off them.

Of course there's always the possibility of modding the bass with a tailpiece (something similar to a Warwick bridge) but that's a lot of hassle and money to compensate for Fender's lack of support for their own instruments...

Ibanez brand Mikro strings fit perfectly, except for the G, which is too short. I used a "regular" .045 nickel roundwound cut to fit. Anyway, note where the taper sits.

Allegedly, D'Addario SS strings with a 32" winding length will fit, but I have not seen photographic evidence of this.

Again, if you don't mind the fat part of the string wrapping onto the tuner post, any short scale strings will work.

 

[Maxdusty]

the ibanez 30" talman has a very slightly wider nut, but i'm guessing not enough to help you.

The short scale Talman has a 41mm width at the nut (1.61 inches) but also chunky so more of your hand wraps around the neck.

• Scale :
• 762mm/30"
• Width 41mm at NUT
• Width 62mm at 20F
• Thickness 21.5mm at 1F
• Thickness 24.5mm at 12F
• Radius : 240mmR

 

[pcake]

So I guess there are no available strings that will fit these basses and Fender have no intention of making any. Well, that pretty much put me off them.

Of course there's always the possibility of modding the bass with a tailpiece (something similar to a Warwick bridge) but that's a lot of hassle and money to compensate for Fender's lack of support for their own instruments...

until someone uses the d'addarios, i'm going to guess they'll fit - they fit my mikros (also 28.6" scale) perfectly. and there's also newtone strings if you like round wounds. they make strings in any lengths and gauges you like. i ordered a set for my 24.75" scale smallguitars MB2, and we'll be trying 'em this week.