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The Squier Mini Precision Bass Club

#1,241
andare said:
The tone knob is great. I use it all the time to make my J-bass sound like a P. On a P it's also great for cutting out a bit of top edge. EQ is more complex than that.
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I always assumed that turning the neck pickup on all the way on my jazz would make it sound like a P for decades

I never was going to buy a P bass because of that assumption and because I always looked at it as "half a J" soundwise, then Fender/Squier put out this cheap mini P and I said "why not?" and all assumptions went down the drain.

It proved me wrong, with or without tone rolled off. Something about the thump, and of course, subjectivity in sound appreciation, but I like to think that my biases are going away as I am getting older.
 
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#1,242
andare said:
I checked the LaBella website and all the thru-body strings are long scale. I also checked a few Vulfpeck videos with the Precision Junior and I can see the red silk of the LaBellas on the post but not on the headstock, so the strings must've been cut shorter. I think I'll bite the bullet and see what happens with the 50-105 Chromes.
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~
The LaBella website is not organized quite as logically I would wish.

They make a set for string-thru-body Mustang basses, which has 'MUS' in its name.

Back out to the main menu, and look at 'specialty sets'.

La Bella Strings

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I saw those first at an online seller's site, while I was looking for strings for my Hofner Ignition Club bass last year.

They are not correct for the Hofner, but they were listed.
~
 
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#1,244
SBassman said:
I have had no issue tone wise with having the full string on the post. For me, it's just an issue of if it will crack or not. If the string is flexible and not too thick, it will not crack, and all will be well. If it is too stiff or too fat, it will not have a happy ending. In my own experience, just about all flats will crack. [The E string]
YMMV....
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Another thing to consider is whether you are trying to wrap only one full diameter extra turn of the E string of a short scale set around the post, or several turns of a long scale E.

The short scale string would be less risky, though I personally would not do either, unless for an emergency string breakage, but then again, I cannot recall ever having had a bass string break during performance.
~
 
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#1,246
andare said:
The tone knob is great. I use it all the time to make my J-bass sound like a P. On a P it's also great for cutting out a bit of top edge. EQ is more complex than that.
Click to expand...

I use it always as well. I need it, and I don't have complex needs. Was just saying that when someone has more complex needs, it really does make the knob not very helpful.
 
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#1,247
My only string breaks were on guitar, and, when I was into the synthetic strings of a UBass.
On a metal string bass, in my whole life, no string ever broke on me.

I also - don't use a pick, and stroke the strings with a pretty light touch. I also don't ever slap or pop.
 
#1,248
Diver said:
I always assumed that turning the neck pickup on all the way on my jazz would make it sound like a P for decades

I never was going to buy a P bass because of that assumption and because I always looked at it as "half a J" soundwise, then Fender/Squier put out this cheap mini P and I said "why not?" and all assumptions went down the drain.

It proved me wrong, with or without tone rolled off. Something about the thump, and of course, subjectivity in sound appreciation, but I like to think that my biases are going away as I am getting older.
Click to expand...
Yes I should have said "make a J bass sound CLOSE to a P". It's not the same at all and it's why I bought the Mini. I can't stand the J bass sound with both pickups on and the isolated neck pickup was close, but no cigar, plus hum.
 
#1,250
andare said:
1,5"
I guess that's too narrow for you. You weren't going to find one anyway. They only made them for a couple of years and if they do come up for sale they go for $450-600.
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If it ever returns to production, I'm all over it. :)

It was a very nice build. An old colleague of mine had one. He loved it.

But, we are fortunate to have our beloved 179 dollar version, minus the string through.
This Mini is ridonculous fun, and it sounds great.

We have all noted a bunch of different things about this bass.
For me, I'd say the Single most impressive thing is - the pickup and shielding for a 179 dollar bass.
Everyone's mileage varies on this, but I find that pickup to be Excellent. It conjures precisely the type of tone I like. And this bass doesn't even make a whisper of noise.
 
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#1,251
SBassman said:
If it ever returns to production, I'm all over it. :)

It was a very nice build. An old colleague of mine had one. He loved it.

But, we are fortunate to have our beloved 179 dollar version, minus the string through.
This Mini is ridonculous fun, and it sounds great.

We have all noted a bunch of different things about this bass.
For me, I'd say the Single most impressive thing is - the pickup and shielding for a 179 dollar bass.
Everyone's mileage varies on this, but I find that pickup to be Excellent. It conjures precisely the type of tone I like. And this bass doesn't even make a whisper of noise.
Click to expand...
I was all ready to have to shield the cavity but nope, it's quiet. The only real issues for me are: 1) nuts slots too shallow, 2) neck dive and 3) the flatwound string issue.
For 1) I'll buy nut files and be set for life. For 2) I'll try to find Gotoh GB350 tuners. Unfortunately they only seem to come in a 2+2 package. I found singles but they're really expensive, plus shipping from the UK, it ends up being almost as much as I paid for the whole bass :( For 3) I'll probably risk it and install the 50-105 long scale Chromes.
 
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#1,256
macmanlou said:
The discontinued MIM 28.6" scale P-Bass Jr is string-through, and can use most short scale strings.

View attachment 4036208 View attachment 4036210
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While I have not owned a P-Bass Junior, I have owned a few string thru basses. It should be noted that many people worry about the sharp angle of flatwound strings going thru the body on string through basses. Plus it affects all of the strings, not just the E. While I myself never had an issue, IMHO the sharp angle on a string thru is more worrisome than a small bit of the fat part of the string on the tuning post of the E of the Squire Mini P. On my mini the fat part of the string just comes over the top of the tuning post - it does not make a full wrap - so there really is not that sharp of an angle. Plus the strings are not cut below the silk, so the main part of the string has not been compromised. It's more of a cosmetic issue of one string not having the purple silk showing below the tuning post.
 
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#1,257
andare said:
I was all ready to have to shield the cavity but nope, it's quiet. The only real issues for me are: 1) nuts slots too shallow, 2) neck dive and 3) the flatwound string issue.
For 1) I'll buy nut files and be set for life. For 2) I'll try to find Gotoh GB350 tuners. Unfortunately they only seem to come in a 2+2 package. I found singles but they're really expensive, plus shipping from the UK, it ends up being almost as much as I paid for the whole bass :( For 3) I'll probably risk it and install the 50-105 long scale Chromes.
Click to expand...

I'm very puzzled by the neck dive on your Mini P. I played mine for a couple of hours last night and mine balances perfectly. If anything, it has a slight neck 'lift'. And no-one else has reported that problem. Yours must either be exceptionally light, or maybe the strap buttons are off? Is it possible for you to return it for a different one? Or maybe go to a store and try a few others out just to let us know if you have the same issue with them?
 
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#1,258
SBassman said:
If it ever returns to production, I'm all over it. :)

It was a very nice build. An old colleague of mine had one. He loved it.

But, we are fortunate to have our beloved 179 dollar version, minus the string through.
This Mini is ridonculous fun, and it sounds great.

We have all noted a bunch of different things about this bass.
For me, I'd say the Single most impressive thing is - the pickup and shielding for a 179 dollar bass.
Everyone's mileage varies on this, but I find that pickup to be Excellent. It conjures precisely the type of tone I like. And this bass doesn't even make a whisper of noise.
Click to expand...

Agree with all of the above. I used to have a huge longing for a Fender Precision Junior and came very close to obtaining one a few years ago. Since then they've gone way up in value. I'm absolutely thrilled to get the Squier version.
I think what impresses me most about the Squier Mini P is how solid it feels for such a small bass. The body is smaller than the one on my Jay Turser Mini P and has a shorter, narrower, thinner neck, but the Mini weighs a pound more. We think of the bass as being light, but it's light because it is so small, not because of the wood or components. If you stretched the Mini-P out to a 34" scale and full sized body, it would be a 9 or 10 pound Precision.
 
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#1,259
MakoMan said:
It should be noted that many people worry about the sharp angle of flatwound strings going thru the body on string through basses.
Click to expand...

I've never had a problem with TI flats or Chromes making that angle on strung-through Mustangs or the P-Bass Jr. I've got LaBella flats on my CIJ Mustang, but they are the set that LaBella makes specifically for the strung-through Mustangs.

I use the LaBella flats they make for Gold Tone MicroBasses (MBLS) on my M-Bass25FL. They pass through the bridge at a sharp angle, but they work very well. They've worked on a variety of other 25" scale basses I've put them on, too.

I don't have any experience with roundwounds on strung-through basses, except to say that the stock strings I took off of them worked OK.
 
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#1,260
MakoMan said:
I'm very puzzled by the neck dive on your Mini P. I played mine for a couple of hours last night and mine balances perfectly. If anything, it has a slight neck 'lift'. And no-one else has reported that problem. Yours must either be exceptionally light, or maybe the strap buttons are off? Is it possible for you to return it for a different one? Or maybe go to a store and try a few others out just to let us know if you have the same issue with them?
Click to expand...
Mine weights 2.8kg. The black one in the video above about the DiMarzio pickups weighs 2.95kg. So mine is maybe lighter than average, or the neck is heavier. How heavy is yours?
When I play sitting down it tilts down to my legs. The strap buttons are where they're supposed to be. I bought it online from another city. Returning it would be a hassle and I don't want to because everything else about this bass is perfect, I got a good one. I guess I'll have to live with it.
 
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