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Tricked Out Squier Club Part 3

#301
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#303
Laurie Bass said:
Hello all....here is one of my modded Squier basses. The body I got from Denny (Master Bass) and the neck was purchased from 'the bay"and as you can see neck is from Squier Jaguar with blocks,,no fret buzz,,nice and straight. Pickips are Duncans,,bridge is Chinese highmass style. Also strap locks installed.
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Extremely nice bass.love the grain and blocks.nice concept.
 
#306
I've modified a 32" scale Squier Jag to look more like a full scale Fender. The owner wanted block inlays on a medium scale neck but couldn't find it anywhere.

I defretted the fingerboard, chiseled out some wood and fitted the blocks. A lot of sanding, then a refret. The tuners were then swapped for lollipops and the bass had a string thru Wilkinson bridge fitted.

Then, a new pick guard was made using the old one as a template. The metal plates were then fitted on top of it and copied on to the plastic before it was carefully cut. No routings or electronics beneath them, but since the switches on the real thing are black it looks right anyway!

The pickups and electronics were replaced by custom wound Urban Pickups (made by a friend of mine here in Sweden), CTS pots, a Switchcraft output jack and vintage cloth wire.

Finally, it was fitted with a set of medium scale Chromes.

Quite a lot of work, but i like the look of the finished bass. The Jag bass is definately a great design!
 

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#307
After stumbling around "Squier etc" threads, I found this one and think it's the place to launch my "tricked out" Squier Jag project. To start with, I've never owned a Squier, nor a P-bass. Love most basses in general, but do love Fender J's, P's and '51 P's/Tele's. (and all their second tier designs as well - Mustang, Musicmaster, Coronado, Performer) And I also dig the Jaguar concept - one of the legitimately cool design concept moves that Fender made in '06. They are coming close w/the (guitar-bodied) Tele basses they are currently producing, but to stay on point...

Since the Jaguar never really existed, there can be all sorts of interpretations using that body as a starting-point. The first generation active, multi-controlled version is awesome in it's conceptual authenticity. (a spot-on bass version of a classic late '60's-'70's Jag guitar) Since then, Fender/Squier have produced a number of Jag spin-offs, all of which are pretty cool. So with (price-point) entry so affordable, I popped for a black (loaded) 70's Vintage Modified P/J body. Love the early '60's J split controls, and the tort pg - very classic J bass. (which is why I'm thinking of doing a J bridge pu ashtray on it) But I also like how basic it is - very P-bass!

I'm fussy about necks, so am having one made for it based (loosely) on an early '66 dotted/bound J version w/'60 J profile/specs. (never much of a big-blocks guy) It will have an ebony board w/butt-end inset hex-head nut adjustment (no headstock-face port or plug- clean) and I'm installing custom fab'd lolly-pop tuners.('66-'69) Vintage vibe but w/modern upgrades. Since it will not be the full-blown 70's vibe of its design-concept origin, I may leave the headstock face natural. (not black) We'll see - I could change my mind.

My concept for this build is as the title sez' - '60's Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass. The body arrives tomorrow, and I'll post pics of its development.
 
#308
The loaded body arrived today and it's just as advertised - brand spankin' new and ready to go.., but for me it a project starting point. I decided to make this body a string-thru, as I favor that option. I know there are many opinions in this dept, but I like the idea of the strings anchored to the back of the body, over the bridge and nut, and attached to the peg-poles which are attached to the back of the headstock. A dynamic grounding of the strings to body that will have undeniable sonic impact on the instrument. (to whatever degree one cares to ascribe to it) Needless to say, it was Leo's choice for his first P-bass, and is commonly incorporated on most 5'rs.

The new bridge is not a string-thru, but nothing that 4 holes won't fix. Once set-up (w/bridge attached to the body), drilling the bridge will also drill the pilot holes thru the body. Then I'll open the pilots to fit ferrules (w/a stepped drill-bit), pop them in and done. I'm also considering cream pu covers alluding to the big soaps on a Jazzmaster guitar. It's a look I like (against tort) and the cream covers will tie-in visually w/the cream neck binding. Also will outfit it w/a P-bass bridge ashtray. The new bridge won't allow a J cover (my first choice) but a P will fit and it won't compromise access above the J pu.

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Also want to de-gloss the finish and bring it to a soft satin black. I love the way vintage black Fender (nitro) finishes look - not all glossy but with a soft-gloss time-worn look and feel. Also like the way satin finishes get glossy where they are touched the most (like a neck in your most used positions) It'll be a while before the neck is done, and so I have some time to get a few things sorted in the meantime.
 
#310
JIO said:
...

The new bridge is not a string-thru, but nothing that 4 holes won't fix. ...

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....
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I have a Squier Precision 5-string that is undergoing some significant mods (I will post when the time is right). The bridge is very similar to this one. My plans are to bolt the bridge to the body rather than going string-through. This approach is inspired by what is known as the "Bridge Mod" seen here.
 
#311
BillyB_from_LZ said:
I have a Squier Precision 5-string that is undergoing some significant mods (I will post when the time is right). The bridge is very similar to this one. My plans are to bolt the bridge to the body rather than going string-through. This approach is inspired by what is known as the "Bridge Mod" seen here.
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interesting and understandably another legitimate approach to thru-body bridge grounding
 
#313
So I went thru 4 different configurations on this bass:
1. Bart 57J's & Audere JZ3VB
2. Bart's passive
3. OEM pups & Audere
4. Fender noiseless pups & fender deluxe preamp

Configuration # 4 won out, I was also replacing the bridge and bought a string thru only by mistake, so I just replaced the saddles ( not perfect but work fine ). Also added the Fender tort pickguard.
 

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#314
heb9_28 said:
Do they have to be modded? I'd say my James Johnston sig Squier is pretty tricked out...

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I'm sure most right out of the box basses today would be fine left as is. I bet your JJsig rocks as good as it looks! Maybe because I can't leave basses alone wanting them more specific to all these individual nuanced things I love that I "trick out" my basses.

Case in point was buying a late '80's Ric 4003 for cheap w/non original pu's/electronics and missing the top pickguard piece. (this is the 2 piece front pg model) Anyway, I proceeded to "trick it out" back to original! So it goes both ways depending on the concept.
 
#315
Jamarvic said:
So I went thru 4 different configurations on this bass:
1. Bart 57J's & Audere JZ3VB
2. Bart's passive
3. OEM pups & Audere
4. Fender noiseless pups & fender deluxe preamp

Configuration # 4 won out, I was also replacing the bridge and bought a string thru only by mistake, so I just replaced the saddles ( not perfect but work fine ). Also added the Fender tort pickguard.
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So you like the Fender deluxe preamp more than the Audere - that's interesting. I have the Audere in my Lindy Fraylin split-coil'd (4 string) Jazz bass and love it. What is it about the Fender preamp that you like?
 
#316
JIO said:
So you like the Fender deluxe preamp more than the Audere - that's interesting. I have the Audere in my Lindy Fraylin split-coil'd (4 string) Jazz bass and love it. What is it about the Fender preamp that you like?
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I liked the Audere, but to my ear I like the voicing of the fender deluxe electronics, especially when I solo the bridge pickup I liked the ( burpiness? ) i guess it's the stacked coil vs. split coil. IMO
 
#319
This is going to be my first attempt at posting a photo. It's of a Jazz from Indonesia that I bought very cheap because the frets had been ripped out and the slots not filled so the neck was rubber. Refretted it and decided to use it as a learner build to build a Tractor. No Darkstar or the like in hand led me to use an old Dimarzio model one I pulled out of an old Sekova I scored from Willie's front window "buy this beater if you dare" display. The J pickups came from a late 70s Fender J body bought at a pawn shop in Indianapolis. Still not settled on how to wire this but I've gone simple to get around the phasing weirdness when done with three volume controls. Then I learned waterslide decal printing and application. I chose the Farmall name because it gave me "F" to cop the look. Talkbass inspired me to try this and the wealth of knowledge shared here has been instrumental in me pursuing several other projects that were beyond my abilities or experience just a few years ago.
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