The Squier Mini Precision Bass Club

[Volker Kirstein]

I brought the Mini P to rehearsal today, using my wireless to plug directly into the big console. I let the board take care of my EQ, and ran the bass volume wide open, and tone all the way down; all dynamics were finger driven. I could hear myself clearly, even with everyone else flailing away, and it sat well in the overall mix. This bass plays well with others.

 

[pcake]

argh! the UPS guy was one block away after circling us all day - then he took off due east and our time updated from between 12:15 and 4:45 to 9 pm

come back, UPS guy, come back!!!!

 

[knigel]

Hey I may have missed this but has anyone changed the strings on their mini? Any suggestions? Maybe some flats?

Seems like the Fender 4250m was the set years ago but they are no longer. Thanks!

 

[SBassman]

argh! the UPS guy was one block away after circling us all day - then he took off due east and our time updated from between 12:15 and 4:45 to 9 pm

come back, UPS guy, come back!!!!

How does this story end?

 

[DavesnothereCA]

What can I say? Claims like this just seem a bit... silly. It's 2.5mm. That's the width of a slice of cheese. I doubt you could detect the difference without calipers.

Believe you me, I KNOW SILLY.

But there is a time and a place for everything.

So anyway, if that is true [a player cannot tell the difference], why should Fender even bother even making two different neck widths anymore ?

Nobody should care.

Nor should bassists have the right to care, I reckon, if you are correct in your analysis.
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This is not a $5000 custom instrument that took 6 months to build to your precise specs, it's a sub-$200 mass-produced instrument from a budget brand.

I don't know about you, but I expect my next Wendy's Junior Bacon Cheeseburger to taste like the last one which I bought from them, and as a consumer spending money, I expect both burgers to be as advertised.

And I only pay $2.29 Canadian for one of those, which, BTW, includes a slice of cheese, albeit processed cheese.

If my next JBC tasted like a Big Mac, I'd be just as grumpy and outspoken about it.
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Do you really expect a 28.6" neck to be identical as a 34" neck, just because they're both branded "Precision"? I may be wrong, but that seems highly unlikely. If you are really that sensitive, wouldn't the Mini neck drive you nuts in the first place, even if it had a 1.6" nut?

Maybe, but I have felt OK playing basses with 30" scales with wider nuts [Hofner, Gibson], and my 1974 Ric [bought new that year] has a 1.6875" nut, so it kinda set my standard back then.

I have tried other basses, both over the early years and in the recent past, and those with 1.5" nuts are simply uncomfortable to me, both in a physical sense to the muscles of my hand, and in that they are an unexpected change to my brain.

It's whatever you are accustomed to holding in your hands and playing.
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And... expectations have a huge impact on these types of subjective experiences, right down to the neurological level. As in, if you have convinced yourself that the difference between a new J and P neck is HUGE!!! and it turns out that the exclusive difference is 0.1" at the nut then your perception is going to be influenced by your expectations. (And yes, I'm well aware this may be influencing my own evaluation of this instrument.)

So again, why did a company such as Fender offer a choice of neck widths in the first place, if it really doesn't matter ?
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If Fender was getting measurements wrong on dozens of instruments per year, we'd know it.

Would we ?

There could be other discrepancies in their products, waiting to be unearthed by observant TB members.

For ME, the trust in this once great company is blown, and if I ever consider another Fender instrument, I will have someone go and measure it before placing the order, or bring a measuring tape along if I am visiting a store.
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If you paid $5000 and waited 6 months for a custom build with your dream specs, then you can justifiably freak out over a 0.1" difference. With a sub-$200 instrument...?

No, both should be as advertised.

Consumers deserve no less.

Again, see what I said about the budget-priced burger.

I'd be willing to pay an extra hundred dollars for this bass, if they'd build what they SAID that they were building.

OR, if they simply had published the correct spec for what they ARE building, that would be OK too, though moreso for those who are comfortable with a Fender Jazz width of neck, and in that case, I would have muttered a single "Meh", a month or so ago, and have moved on....
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[DavesnothereCA]

I agree one can't expect super precision for the build of a 200 dollar bass. However, I'd also say - 2.5mm, in the world of guitars, neck dimensions, and setups, is a large distance.

View attachment 3977182

That's a pretty thick slice of cheese.

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Here in Canada, the companies are diddling us lately on the number of slices in the package, as it would be hard to make them much thinner.
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[DavesnothereCA]

A Bronco has a 40mm nut. The Mini P and Jazz Bass have a 38mm nut. A P, 42mm.

It makes a difference. My left hand does better on the narrower nuts; I get tired quicker on a P.

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You've posted 40mm on another occasion about the Bronco.

Fender says that the currently produced Squier Bronco has a 38mm / 1.5" nut.

I played one last year, and it felt that narrow to me.

Do you own a Bronco, and/or have you measured one ? (Has anyone else ?)

Remember, between Fender and I, the thrill is gone, so to speak, therefive I had to ask.
~

 

[pcake]

How does this story end?

mr UPS man came back and left my bass at the door

the good:

- the red is SO red, absolutely gorgeous. i often wish the bronco was red like that
- the body is so very comfortable, nice for my bad shoulder
- i like the tuners, they look at feel good to use
- i like the front jack rather than a side jack
- it weighs in at exactly 6 pounds

the not-so-good (but mostly fixable):

- the neck is deeper than the mikro's or the bronco's, it slows me down a bit. some might prefer it.
- the back of the neck is rough *easily fixable*
- one half the split pickup is much deeper in the body than the other, making the two low strings much quieter than the two higher strings *easily fixable*
- the A string isn't intonated correctly *easily fixable*

the sound is nice - it's not wonderful, but it's good enough that if it was your only bass, you'd be happy with it, and it sounds nice through my rumble 40. if i bond with the little bass, i'll get it a Fender Pure Vintage 63 Precision Bass Pickup

~
Fender says that the currently produced Squier Bronco has a 38mm / 1.5" nut.

I played one last year, and it felt that narrow to me.

Do you own a Bronco, and/or have you measured one ?

Remember, between Fender and I, the thrill is gone, so I had to ask.
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my bronco has a 1.5" nut.

 

[Volker Kirstein]

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You've posted 40mm on another occasion about the Bronco.

Fender says that the currently produced Squier Bronco has a 38mm / 1.5" nut.

I played one last year, and it felt that narrow to me.

Do you own a Bronco, and/or have you measured one ? (Has anyone else ?)

Remember, between Fender and I, the thrill is gone, so to speak, therefive I had to ask.
~

I have a 2008 Badtz Maru Bronco, and I remember measuring the nut at 40. But, that was over a year ago. My memory may have squirmed around. I will remeasure next time I'm in Frankfurt.

 

[pcake]

my bronco has a 1.5" nut.

maybe i'm remembering wrong... i'll measure tomorrow...

 

[Frank Vozak]

Guys, all I got to say is that my Mini in my small chubby hands plays better than my former basses
(67 Jazz, 67 Mustang , 67 EB-O, 18 Squier PJ) or my current basses 19 CB 60 and 19 SS Jaguar as well as the Kramer short scale that the band owns. I play better and more creatively on this sub $200 bass that has stayed in tune for 3 weeks (per my electronic tuner and my band's guitar player---his $1500 gibson acoustic goes out of tune at least once during every band practice) Truly my only two problems are the precision pickup edges ar sharp so I went to the stationary store to get a gum rubber finger cott and problem solved and two I don't look as impressive as all of the bass players in BASS PLAYER magazine or for that matter as when I play any bass with a 39 in or 34 in neck. I;m learning to get go my little man syndrome for bass that plays well and makes me more creative and makes a Fender 15 watt base amp sound good.

 

[DavesnothereCA]

....I don't look as impressive as all of the bass players in BASS PLAYER magazine or for that matter as when I play any bass with a 39 in or 34 in neck. I'm learning to get go my little man syndrome for bass that plays well and makes me more creative and makes a Fender 15 watt base amp sound good.

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Confucius should have said : "Small bass make bass player look bigger."
~

 

[J Posega]

Stanley Clarke is a big tall guy and has played 30” scale for decades. Everyone just needs to get over their Napoleon complex and just play what they like.

 

[pcake]

my husband is 6' 7", and he was enjoying playing my mikro with the jazz pickups. he's often played my short scale basses.

 

[TK4261]

I have a Black mini P on the way. Tracking says I'll get it tomorrow
I have been looking at the StringJoy site and you can make a custom set of short scale (29-30") and medium scale sets..Their strings get good reviews

Stringjoy 4 String Short Scale (29-30") Nickel Wound Bass Guitar Strings

 

[MakoMan]

Just to end the debate on the differences between the Bronco and the Mini P, here is a photo of my Bronco and my Mini P side by side. You can see the Mini P is much smaller. Also the Mini P nut is clearly narrower than on the Bronco. Unscientifically and with a ruler a few minutes ago I measured both. The Mini P came in at exactly 1-1/2" and the Bronco at close to 1-5/8". You don't need a ruler to tell the difference when they are side by side.

 

[pcake]

I have a Black mini P on the way. Tracking says I'll get it tomorrow
I have been looking at the StringJoy site and you can make a custom set of short scale (29-30") and medium scale sets..Their strings get good reviews

Stringjoy 4 String Short Scale (29-30") Nickel Wound Bass Guitar Strings

i like newtones so far because you can literally make custom round wound strings at any length and gauge.

 

[DavesnothereCA]

Just to end the debate on the differences between the Bronco and the Mini P, here is a photo of my Bronco and my Mini P side by side. You can see the Mini P is much smaller. Also the Mini P nut is clearly narrower than on the Bronco. Unscientifically and with a ruler a few minutes ago I measured both. The Mini P came in at exactly 1-1/2" and the Bronco at close to 1-5/8". You don't need a ruler to tell the difference when they are side by side.
View attachment 3978395

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I LIKE the Maple fretboard !

Slightly less than 1-5/8" might be 1.6", because 1-5/8" is 1.625" in metric.

Are there different series of Broncos, currently or in the past ?

Currently there ARE [IF we believe Fender anymore] different Mustang models being offered, some with 1-1/2" nut and some 1-5/8" as the published spec.

And the current published spec for the Squier Bronco is a 1-1/2" nut.

So do we now have TWO specs discrepancies from Fender ?

What other bass of theirs should we check next ?

Hmmmm....
~

 

[DavesnothereCA]

i like newtones so far because you can literally make custom round wound strings at any length and gauge.

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Kewl.

They'll have me if they do it for Flats, and in all scale lengths.
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[pistonrod8]

Could one of you do something for me? I'll make it worth your while. I need a straight overhead photo of a mini p-bass pickguard against a contrasting color. I also need an accurate dimension for scaling in my CAD software. If you can give me the exact size of a pickup hole (preferably in mm) I'll be able to scale it just right. Ideally the pickguard would be by itself, not attached to the guitar. If it is attached, then taking the knobs off would help so that I can see what size to make the holes for the knobs.

I'll be happy to send a free pick guard to someone who does this. I just need a really clear photo (but not at an angle. It has to be from above, centered, and the camera level) and the size of a pickup hole.

I'll 3D print a couple this weekend as an experiment.

I also have a CNC machine, so it might be fun to cut one out of a veneer of an exotic wood or other material.

PS: I'm finding plenty of great images of a standard P-bass pickguard, but I have no idea if it's exactly the same as the mini p-bass pickguard but in smaller form. There might be differences that scaling alone won't solve.

Hey, man. Did you ever do anything with the pics I provided?