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The Squier Mini Precision Bass Club

#3,961
neil|lien said:
Hey guys!
Those of you who have a J&D Mini Jazz, can U tell us more about it? I have a Mini P and it's my only bass, so i want an inexpensive but decent backup. And was considering those... just to have a different flavour at hand...
Would U recomment them? What are the strengths & weaknesses of these basses?
Click to expand...

Sadly I don't have a Squier Mini, but I do have two J&Ds...like the Squier their cheap platforms for mods, well built (though the rosewood on the fretboard is pretty cheap, more on that later), great feeling neck, and they weigh just the right amount to feel solid (I've got Hipshot bridges on both of mine, so I can't tell you the weight but their nicely balancedand have a heft to them). I'm still running the original pickups 'cos they sound good with no problems, I did replace the pots and caps and shielded everything, all is quiet and sounds really good! So good, I bought my second and after attempting to take out the frets (and failing, 'cos the rosewood splintered regardless of how careful I was removing the frets) I replaced the entire fretboard with a strat-sized ebony fingerboard blank from StewMac, and voila a fretless custom bass the same size as a Strat! I like 'em...I'd still love a Squier Mini though, maybe fit a J-bass pickup to it to make it a PJ... :)

Strengths? They're cheap, easily modded, pretty good frets out of the box, they feel solid so you don't feel like they're a toy, and they can be made to feel and sound amazing.

Weaknesses? I get the feeling the bodies might have epoxy in the gaps (found some on the edge of the neck route), the control plate is ugly and there's no possible replacement without cutting one yourself, the rosewood fretboard isn't pretty and smells if you sand it, the tuning machines are really small so replacements are hard to find without buying Hipshots (at more than the price of the bass).

Would I buy one? I bought two, that says it all, but I wanted mod platforms for cheap. Mods on mine are:
* tuners - sanded the gear undersides with really fine sandpaper and they hold well without too much slop in the action
* graphtech nut - a cheap and worthwhile upgrade
* sanded the neck and added TruOil (personal preference, but makes it feel like a pro bass)
* shielded cavities
* Hipshot bridge (overkill, but with the graphtech nut the sustain and tone is great, and helps with body balance to make it really neutral on a strap)
* CTS pots and Sprague cap - the originals were fine, but there's definitely something in the tone this adds.
* D'Addario short-scale strings (Chromes on the fretless)

...and that's it...great mod platforms.
 
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#3,962
AG42 said:
Sadly I don't have a Squier Mini, but I do have two J&Ds...like the Squier their cheap platforms for mods, well built (though the rosewood on the fretboard is pretty cheap, more on that later), great feeling neck, and they weigh just the right amount to feel solid (I've got Hipshot bridges on both of mine, so I can't tell you the weight but their nicely balancedand have a heft to them). I'm still running the original pickups 'cos they sound good with no problems, I did replace the pots and caps and shielded everything, all is quiet and sounds really good! So good, I bought my second and after attempting to take out the frets (and failing, 'cos the rosewood splintered regardless of how careful I was removing the frets) I replaced the entire fretboard with a strat-sized ebony fingerboard blank from StewMac, and voila a fretless custom bass the same size as a Strat! I like 'em...I'd still love a Squier Mini though, maybe fit a J-bass pickup to it to make it a PJ... :)

Strengths? They're cheap, easily modded, pretty good frets out of the box, they feel solid so you don't feel like they're a toy, and they can be made to feel and sound amazing.

Weaknesses? I get the feeling the bodies might have epoxy in the gaps (found some on the edge of the neck route), the control plate is ugly and there's no possible replacement without cutting one yourself, the rosewood fretboard isn't pretty and smells if you sand it, the tuning machines are really small so replacements are hard to find without buying Hipshots (at more than the price of the bass).

Would I buy one? I bought two, that says it all, but I wanted mod platforms for cheap. Mods on mine are:
* tuners - sanded the gear undersides with really fine sandpaper and they hold well without too much slop in the action
* graphtech nut - a cheap and worthwhile upgrade
* sanded the neck and added TruOil (personal preference, but makes it feel like a pro bass)
* shielded cavities
* Hipshot bridge (overkill, but with the graphtech nut the sustain and tone is great, and helps with body balance to make it really neutral on a strap)
* CTS pots and Sprague cap - the originals were fine, but there's definitely something in the tone this adds.
* D'Addario short-scale strings (Chromes on the fretless)

...and that's it...great mod platforms.
Click to expand...
I don't know that a nut increases sustain on fretted notes and a capacitor going to ground improves the tone but I'm glad the mods worked for you.
 
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#3,963
neil|lien said:
Hey guys!
Those of you who have a J&D Mini Jazz, can U tell us more about it? I have a Mini P and it's my only bass, so i want an inexpensive but decent backup. And was considering those... just to have a different flavour at hand...
Would U recomment them? What are the strengths & weaknesses of these basses?
Click to expand...
I own a CNZ MINI JAZZ BASS. Same factory as the J&D. I also own a J&D body with a CNZ neck.
91077442-664E-4812-847E-B03FE1B7BEA0.jpeg
These are quite no hum basses that are very well made. My other mini Jazz is Daphne Blue. Also got the Squier mini Precision. They sound as Robust as anything out there. I love them. Totally worth it.
 
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#3,967
Haven't been here in a while. Looks the same. :roflmao:

I had a surf green J&D Mini Jazz. It played fine, and looked cute, but I didn't really like what I was getting out of it, and I was tight on space, so I sold it.

TBF (1), I didn't try anything other than Hofner Contemporary SS Rounds (my go to rounds for shortys) on it.

TBF (2), I have a hard time getting a sound I like out of any jazz, it's not limited to the J&D mini. I have gotten rid of every jazz I've owned. PJ, too. But not other multi pup basses. I gigged a Cort headless w/dual humbuckers for years. FSO multi pup basses flummox me.

Which is fine by me. I get plenty of good sounds out of my Ps: long, short, and mini.
 
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#3,974
cashmoneywill said:
Any ideas on how best to approach the fretboard on these basses? Love the feel, but every single floor model I've played has had pretty horrible gray laurel that puts me off. Does some conditioning usually solve this issue?
Click to expand...

They do come pretty dry. Oiling it greatly improves the color.

Mine is rather dark, I'd almost say it was rosewood which is possible since the CITES agreements have been modified.
 
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#3,976
cashmoneywill said:
Is yours a 2022 model? It seems the 2022 classic vibes have rosewood coming back, so it is possible
Click to expand...

Could be but not sure, I got mine in the middle of Jan. They were back-ordered at the time so it could have been newly manufactured.
Even if it was an earlier production that doesn't preclude them from switching. Considering the supply chain issues of the last several years I'm sure they'd use whatever they could get their hands on, and they have a long history of doing just that anyway.
The fingerboard looks much darker than the typical laurel board in the pictures and darkened nicely with oil.
20220122_134122.jpg
 
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#3,978
Mountain Mike said:
Could be but not sure, I got mine in the middle of Jan. They were back-ordered at the time so it could have been newly manufactured.
Even if it was an earlier production that doesn't preclude them from switching. Considering the supply chain issues of the last several years I'm sure they'd use whatever they could get their hands on, and they have a long history of doing just that anyway.
The fingerboard looks much darker than the typical laurel board in the pictures and darkened nicely with oil.
View attachment 4862176
Click to expand...
Wow, thats a big difference. Do you by chance know the year on the serial?
 
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#3,979
cashmoneywill said:
Wow, thats a big difference. Do you by chance know the year on the serial?
Click to expand...

It was already a pretty "dark roast coffee" color but dry looking.

I'll have to check on the serial. I don't have it recorded and I'm at work ATM.

Like I said earlier they are notorious for switching woods as supplies change regardless of what's printed on the product page for that model.
 
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