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The Squier Mini Precision Bass Club

#61
I am thrilled by this release. I have written Fender asking about a short scale Precision or a mustang with Precision only pickups (for me the J bass pickup on most fender bass is just along for the ride since I turn it off) Now my dream has come true. I had to sell my full scale Precision since the neck was just too long for me (in my past life I owned a
Jazz Bass, a Mustang Bass and a Gibson EB-O all put through an AMPEG BT15 D, all 1967 models purchased new in 1967- my amp the JB and the EB-O were all on clearance as floor stock but the Mustang Bass was new and in the box with a case from Halpin Music in Alton, IL. I'm going to put a check in the mail
 
#62
My Mini P is here, seriously nice for the small amount of $!

The E string doesn’t have the same amount of tension as a normal bass and the scale length makes the strings feel somewhat floppy in a sense, but i’m shocked at how good it actually sounds! Sounds larger and deeper than my old 2000’s MIJ bronco....yep, Mini P is a keeper!

I will say pics don’t do it justice, this thing is SMALL! Bathroom scale says mine is in the 6lb range, and going from 34” to this isn’t easy unless you play a 6-string. It’s an awesome mod platform, as most hardware is off the bigger basses (unlike the bronco). Quality seems great, think vintage modified series from a few years back, paint is nice, electronics are clear, and mine has good fretwork too!

Here it is next to Nate, the Nate Mendel P-Bass!
 

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#63
dusterdan70 said:
My Mini P is here, seriously nice for the small amount of $!

The E string doesn’t have the same amount of tension as a normal bass and the scale length makes the strings feel somewhat floppy in a sense, but i’m shocked at how good it actually sounds! Sounds larger and deeper than my old 2000’s MIJ bronco....yep, Mini P is a keeper!

I will say pics don’t do it justice, this thing is SMALL! Bathroom scale says mine is in the 6lb range, and going from 34” to this isn’t easy unless you play a 6-string. It’s an awesome mod platform, as most hardware is off the bigger basses (unlike the bronco). Quality seems great, think vintage modified series from a few years back, paint is nice, electronics are clear, and mine has good fretwork too!

Here it is next to Nate, the Nate Mendel P-Bass!
Click to expand...
Cool beans!

How are the screws and nuts on the tuners? I had to go over mine and re-tighten everything, especially the tuners.
 
#64
dusterdan70 said:
My Mini P is here, seriously nice for the small amount of $!

The E string doesn’t have the same amount of tension as a normal bass and the scale length makes the strings feel somewhat floppy in a sense, but i’m shocked at how good it actually sounds! Sounds larger and deeper than my old 2000’s MIJ bronco....yep, Mini P is a keeper!

I will say pics don’t do it justice, this thing is SMALL! Bathroom scale says mine is in the 6lb range, and going from 34” to this isn’t easy unless you play a 6-string. It’s an awesome mod platform, as most hardware is off the bigger basses (unlike the bronco). Quality seems great, think vintage modified series from a few years back, paint is nice, electronics are clear, and mine has good fretwork too!

Here it is next to Nate, the Nate Mendel P-Bass!
Click to expand...

Sounds cool!!!!:thumbsup:

About the floppy E-string: Do you know what gauge the strings are? The specs say 45-105 but I find that hard to believe as Fender doesn't make any 45-105 short scale strings. Their only short scale set is a ridiculously thin and floppy 40-95. Or have they been naughty and installed long scale strings on a short scale bass AGAIN? They did this on some Mustangs but at least those had through body stringing. On a top loader like this one you would have an INSANE amount of windings on your tuning pegs with long scale strings!

If the strings are the ultra thin Fender short scales pretty much ANY decent short scale set with a 105 E-string should be a HUGE improvement for the E-string. I personally never go lower than 105 E-string on short scales. Lighter than that on a shortie = floppy IMO.

But if the stock strings actually are long scale 45-105... It would probably be better to look for STIFFER strings rather than even higher gauge.

Pyramid Pure Nickel 45-105 is my "go to" roundwound for short scales. Very tight feeling E-string. But of course these are EXTREMELY warm sounding strings and need a LONG break in period to sound good so they're probably not for everyone. But I'm sure there are other roundwound short scale sets with a tight feeling E-string out there too. Definitely avoid flexible roundcore strings. Look for hexcore strings with the stiffest possible feel.

Many flats can be great on short scales too. In fact, short scales generally LOVE flatwounds! Pyramid Golds are CLASSICS on short scale basses but the "dead" sounding E-string may take some time getting used to. Still, Pyramids Golds + short scale = THE sound of the 60s for me!

The LaBella DTF 45-105 short scale sets are pretty tight on the E too and a very VERY classic, vintage tone.

My advice: GO FLATS!!!! Your E-string is gonna love you and you've already got the Nate Mendel for the other stuff.

But whatever you decide on: With the great selection of strings we have these days there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON that a short scale bass should have a floppy E-string. This really is a thing of the past when there was a much more limited selection of short scale strings. Choose the right strings and ANY short scale bass should be able to have a tight, great sounding E-string. YMMV of course.
 
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#66
Hi everyone, first post here :)
Mine is coming too! I'm planning to sticker bomb it and apply a glossy clear coat on top, has anyone ever done something similar?

More on topic: do you feel it needs an upgrade on tuning machines and/or bridge?
I've already bought EMG's GZR P pick-ups for him :rolleyes:

Thanks
 
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#67
caralse said:
... do you feel it needs an upgrade on tuning machines and/or bridge? ...
Click to expand...
The only reason I had issues with my tuners is because they weren't mounted tight. After tightening the nuts and screws, they're stable, and hold the tuning.

The bridge is fine as is.

Just tighten everything down when you get it, and you should be fine. Don't forget to graphite the nut.
 
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#69
Volker Kirstein said:
The only reason I had issues with my tuners is because they weren't mounted tight. After tightening the nuts and screws, they're stable, and hold the tuning.

The bridge is fine as is.

Just tighten everything down when you get it, and you should be fine.
Click to expand...

^^^this. The bridge and tuners are fine, doesn’t mean they’ll stay on but they’re far from the 1st necessary mod, imo
 
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#72
I already have an inexpensive, SS "P" with upgraded pups (DiMarzio DP-127) that fills this slot for me. Otherwise I'd probably be interested were it not for the narrow, vintage-style frets, for which I don't really care. Before I got this bass, I searched far and wide without success for a (then out-of-production) Fender Precision Jr.. The 2 basses pictured below have a 30" scale-length so can use any standard, SS string set, and MJ frets which, IMO, are advantages over this new Squier bass.

1zGBDhQ.jpg

Mini "J" (upgraded with Dimarzio DP-123) & "P"

Before Fender Japan products stopped being readily available in the USA, they were making medium and SS Jazz Basses. There may still be some kicking around in Japan, though finding them and getting them shipped here nowadays might prove a bit more involved than it once was (and they are far more expensive than the new Squier "P Jr." though, I'm sure, are also of superior build quality to both the Squier and my basses pictured above).
 
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#75
Mustang Surly said:
I already have an inexpensive, SS "P" with upgraded pups (DiMarzio DP-127) that fills this slot for me. Otherwise I'd probably be interested were it not for the narrow, vintage-style frets, for which I don't really care. Before I got this bass, I searched far and wide without success for a (then out-of-production) Fender Precision Jr.. The 2 basses pictured below have a 30" scale-length so can use any standard, SS string set, and MJ frets which, IMO, are advantages over this new Squier bass.

View attachment 3874799
Mini "J" (upgraded with Dimarzio DP-123) & "P"

Before Fender Japan products stopped being readily available in the USA, they were making medium and SS Jazz Basses. There may still be some kicking around in Japan, though finding them and getting them shipped here nowadays might prove a bit more involved than it once was (and they are far more expensive than the new Squier "P Jr." though, I'm sure, are also of superior build quality to both the Squier and my basses pictured above).
Click to expand...
I think you have given me the answer of where the neck for my Squirer Jaguar Bass came from. When I tied it at my local Fender dealer, it just felt so good in my hands after I had been struggling with a Fender Precision Bass that I bought because the neck was too long. I bought it assuming that it had a 30 in Mustang neck like my first bass guitar, a brand new out of the box white Fender Mustang Bass (that was in 1967). But I began to notice that it felt a lot like bass no 2 a 67 Jazz Bass (bass no 3 was a Gibson EB-0) I think the Jaguar has one of those 30 inch Jazz Bass necks that Fender Japan designed. By the way, my first three basses were sold in near mint condition in the late seventies when I thought I would never return to playing bass). You may have also solved the mystery surrounding my acoustic Fender CB 20 with its 32 inch neck that feels very much like a precision but that two inches shorter made the world of difference in playability. You may ask why I have two basses, I play in a folk roots country community band with only one rule----no amplified instruments. So I bought the acoustic at aforementioned Fender dealer. On a bit of a story, Squier is what makes this guy profitable. For every 3 Fender Precision or Jazz Basses he sells, I think he sells ten Squier basses and the same for guitars like Stats and Teles. He also sells a lot of small Fender Combo amps.
Being a luthier he cleans up rough frets and other finishing issues. By the way he makes some beautiful custom guitars which probably cost as much as 10 Fenders. Your post is very much appreciated and I learned a lot about Fender basses from it . Thank you.
 
#78
This definitely one post that goes into my save basket. The info you shared with me really shows why TALK BASS is such a great thing to be a part of. It is really neat learning about gear THAT I dreamed about but never knew existed in real life. Again thanks for two great pieces of info
 
#80
I just realised this is a 28.6" bass! I thought it was 30".

Ok, that means two things:

1) I want one really bad. :D

2) What I wrote in a previous post about the great selection of short scale strings these days might not be the case here. The E-string will most likely be the problem. The tuning peg for the E seems considerably closer to the nut than on the Ibanez Mikro. I know people have used strings with 32" winding length with success on the Mikro but I suspect this won't be ideal for these Mini-Ps, at least not if you want to avoid having the fully wound part of the E-string around the tuning peg. Of course short scale strings from different manufacturers have different winding lengths so I'm sure SOME of them could work but any strings that work ok for short scale basses with a tail piece will surely be far too long for this Mini-P???

Does Fender/Squier even offer a suitable set of replacement strings for these basses?

Has anyone changed to other strings? I'd love to hear more about this!
 
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