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I bought a Squier Affinity Jazz 5 as a backup bass a couple of years back. I originally planned for it to stay stock, but after I plugged it in, I was hooked by the sound. There was just something to this bass - it should not have played and sounded as good as it did. I consider it the underdog of basses. The little bass that could. It is now my main player.
While I liked the way it played and sounded stock, I wanted to give it some love. It started with getting the headstock painted to match the rest of the bass. I liked the Fender Big Block P Bass, so I decided that this would be transformed from an Affinity to a Big Block version of the Jazz bass. The new headstock decal would retain the Squier name because I wanted people to know that a bass that kicked this much butt was indeed a Squier. That's a standard Fender nut as well. Nothing wrong with the Squier one, but I figured while the neck was off, why not swap it out.
Next, I had WD music make a brushed aluminum colored pick guard. I traced the original one and sent it to them as a template. I swapped the chrome screws for some black ones to create a more "industrial" look.
Pickups are Fender noiseless N3's that I bought used on Talkbass. The Squier pickups are good. Very aggressive. The noiseless ones are quiet and a tad more "polite".
The most recent additions are the Babicz FCH bridge, CTS 250K pots, and switchcraft jack. For some reason, the height adjustment screws kept backing out of the stock bridge. When upgrading, go big or go home, so I went with the Babicz. I knew the Babicz would lock down the setup, but I was pleased to find that it actually did change the sound. Yes, there is noticeably more sustain. The Babicz is a drop in, but does increase the string spacing from 18mm to 19mm. The strings are DR Neon Whites with a lighter gauge .120 B string. The angle makes it look like the G string is not aligned, but it is fine. Blame my picture taking skills.
I wrapped the chrome control plate with 3M 1080 satin black vinyl. (Invalid Link Removed)
The knobs are chrome hipshot knobs with the little rubber grippy things.
Here's the whole thing.
The inlay stickers are from Ebay. The seller's name is jokomo and they are imported from Japan.
While I liked the way it played and sounded stock, I wanted to give it some love. It started with getting the headstock painted to match the rest of the bass. I liked the Fender Big Block P Bass, so I decided that this would be transformed from an Affinity to a Big Block version of the Jazz bass. The new headstock decal would retain the Squier name because I wanted people to know that a bass that kicked this much butt was indeed a Squier. That's a standard Fender nut as well. Nothing wrong with the Squier one, but I figured while the neck was off, why not swap it out.
Next, I had WD music make a brushed aluminum colored pick guard. I traced the original one and sent it to them as a template. I swapped the chrome screws for some black ones to create a more "industrial" look.
Pickups are Fender noiseless N3's that I bought used on Talkbass. The Squier pickups are good. Very aggressive. The noiseless ones are quiet and a tad more "polite".
The most recent additions are the Babicz FCH bridge, CTS 250K pots, and switchcraft jack. For some reason, the height adjustment screws kept backing out of the stock bridge. When upgrading, go big or go home, so I went with the Babicz. I knew the Babicz would lock down the setup, but I was pleased to find that it actually did change the sound. Yes, there is noticeably more sustain. The Babicz is a drop in, but does increase the string spacing from 18mm to 19mm. The strings are DR Neon Whites with a lighter gauge .120 B string. The angle makes it look like the G string is not aligned, but it is fine. Blame my picture taking skills.
I wrapped the chrome control plate with 3M 1080 satin black vinyl. (Invalid Link Removed)
The knobs are chrome hipshot knobs with the little rubber grippy things.
Here's the whole thing.
The inlay stickers are from Ebay. The seller's name is jokomo and they are imported from Japan.
Damn that is a REALLY nice bass. You did a great job. How did you paint the headstock? I got an affinity 4 last month and I think it's a beautiful bass. Although I plan to show it lots o love as well by swapping out the pups and some other things. I want to grab a babitz bridge too. I'm thinking of putting in an Aguilar preamp and some dimarzios maybe. I want it to be a hot output. I'm also thinking of swapping the neck out for a maple fretboard for a brighter sound.
I have one and I tried to sell it but I broke down and couldn't part with it.
Kudos on leaving the Squier logo! Now the nut on mine was a little piece of crappy plastic that would bend like a spaghetti and create tuning problems. I had a luthier replace it with a bone nut and now it is great.
I also got a pickguard from those guys... it's not custom made however and it doesn't fit as well, but it's hardly noticeable and it doesn't affect the tone as bad as my bad playing and lack of skill does, so it's alright.
I put Nordstrand NJ5Fs on mine
Great minds think alike! I also replaced mine with a Babicz. Solved some intonation problems. i like that it is quick release. The string spacing... it does increase it a bit but it's ok. If you press the G straight down against the fingerboard and not pull/bend it to much you should not run out of fingerboard estate. I think it also changes the tone somewhat... But because I changed electronics, pickups, and bridge around the same time, and because my hearing is shot don't pay attention to my nonsense.
I really like the intonation mechanism, and the set-it-and-forget-it saddle adjustments.Here's the whole thing.
The inlay stickers are from Ebay. The seller's name is jokomo and they are imported from Japan.
And because no pics means no tricks... wait, Tapatalk is saying that I must log in to some new free service that I don't have time to sign up for now, so I'll owe you all the pic...
Edit: Attached a photo.
Attachments
I took it to Rowyco Customs in Durham, NC. http://www.rowycokustoms.com/RK_home.html
He's right down the road from me and does great work specializing in metal flake finishes. If I every get another Squier, I'm going to get him to refinish it in silver flake with a little bit on neon flake. I'll string it up with DR neon greens, and get a "Squier Intergalactic Space Bass" waterslide decal.
Speaking of waterslide decals, I had the Big Block bass decal made by Rothko and Frost over in the UK. I'm not affiliated with them - they were recommended by Rowyco. Link Removed. I think they are on Ebay under Dec-Art decals.
I have one and I tried to sell it but I broke down and couldn't part with it.
And because no pics means no tricks... wait, Tapatalk is saying that I must log in to some new free service that I don't have time to sign up for now, so I'll owe you all the pic...
Edit: Attached a photo.
Awesome bass. Mmmmmm...nordstrand pickups. I played a Lakland with those pickups and they are sooooooo meaty (The Soup reference).
Is that an Audere JZ3? I had one in one of my other jazzes and it was a great upgrade.
Yes, it's an Audere. I sold it to another TBer, but I may put the 4 band pro version in one of these days. Right now I am enjoying it passive. I didn't know how to get good sounds out of it at first, so I went and bought a fender AmDlx in order to have a good reference point in terms of sound, playability, craftsmanship. Once I did that, a light in me went, aha, so this is what I need to do!
I have learned a bit and won't pretend to compare the two, but an Affinity Jazz V, which you can buy new for $180 (even less with a discount) is one of those hidden "best values" that many people pass over because it says Squier on the headstock, and to make matters "worse", it's from the Affinity series...
Ask around... There are many here that have them and they'll tell you that these are great instruments; not boutique, but c'mon, $180... Really???!!!
Oops, I just realized you're the owner I replied to.
Anyway, yes, these are great basses, aren't they?
Thanks. I'm really happy with my Squier P. It took a couple months but I think she's a beaut and still play and sounds like a dream. Was thinking of putting a maple fretboard on it but sort of changed my mind, gonna put it on the affinity.
Here's the last of my control plate experiments on a Squier VM Jazz. I wanted to see (hear) if a "No Load" tone pot made any difference with the blend/master-vol/treble/bass circuit. For this one I used a wiring jig (cheap control plate that doesn't fit the bass properly) and wired the p-ups parallel only.
The controls are 250K blend, 250K volume and 500K bass stack (standard Fender/CTS stack) and a Bourns 500K no-load audio taper treble control pot.
And here's the back of the no-load pot:
The rectangular slot allows the wiper spring to lift the wiper off the resistance track when the control is rotated fully clockwise - taking the the pot completely out of the circuit so nothing bleeds to ground at full treble. The orange thing on the right is a 0.1 uF cap for the treble control. The one on the left is a 0.001 uF treble bleed cap on the volume pot.
Result: the no-load pot makes no audible difference. At least, not to these old ears
. So I'm going back to the blend/vol/bass/treble set-up with the stacked tone controls and a series/parallel switch. Oh well, it was an experiment
.
The controls are 250K blend, 250K volume and 500K bass stack (standard Fender/CTS stack) and a Bourns 500K no-load audio taper treble control pot.
And here's the back of the no-load pot:
The rectangular slot allows the wiper spring to lift the wiper off the resistance track when the control is rotated fully clockwise - taking the the pot completely out of the circuit so nothing bleeds to ground at full treble. The orange thing on the right is a 0.1 uF cap for the treble control. The one on the left is a 0.001 uF treble bleed cap on the volume pot.
Result: the no-load pot makes no audible difference. At least, not to these old ears
. So I'm going back to the blend/vol/bass/treble set-up with the stacked tone controls and a series/parallel switch. Oh well, it was an experiment.
I bought a Squier Affinity Jazz 5 as a backup bass a couple of years back. I originally planned for it to stay stock, but after I plugged it in, I was hooked by the sound. There was just something to this bass - it should not have played and sounded as good as it did. I consider it the underdog of basses. The little bass that could. It is now my main player.
While I liked the way it played and sounded stock, I wanted to give it some love. It started with getting the headstock painted to match the rest of the bass. I liked the Fender Big Block P Bass, so I decided that this would be transformed from an Affinity to a Big Block version of the Jazz bass. The new headstock decal would retain the Squier name because I wanted people to know that a bass that kicked this much butt was indeed a Squier. That's a standard Fender nut as well. Nothing wrong with the Squier one, but I figured while the neck was off, why not swap it out.
Next, I had WD music make a brushed aluminum colored pick guard. I traced the original one and sent it to them as a template. I swapped the chrome screws for some black ones to create a more "industrial" look.
Pickups are Fender noiseless N3's that I bought used on Talkbass. The Squier pickups are good. Very aggressive. The noiseless ones are quiet and a tad more "polite".
The most recent additions are the Babicz FCH bridge, CTS 250K pots, and switchcraft jack. For some reason, the height adjustment screws kept backing out of the stock bridge. When upgrading, go big or go home, so I went with the Babicz. I knew the Babicz would lock down the setup, but I was pleased to find that it actually did change the sound. Yes, there is noticeably more sustain. The Babicz is a drop in, but does increase the string spacing from 18mm to 19mm. The strings are DR Neon Whites with a lighter gauge .120 B string. The angle makes it look like the G string is not aligned, but it is fine. Blame my picture taking skills.
I wrapped the chrome control plate with 3M 1080 satin black vinyl. (Invalid Link Removed)
The knobs are chrome hipshot knobs with the little rubber grippy things.
Here's the whole thing.
The inlay stickers are from Ebay. The seller's name is jokomo and they are imported from Japan.
WOW! What a tremendous bass. Nice job.
Here's my application for membership, guys. My Squier Affinity P bass. Paid a measly $55 bucks for this bass. Put a set of Fender flats on it and set it up and I was blown away. What a neck on this bass. I got the action really low and it plays like an absolute dream. Just perfect. This thing is a real gem.
I added a Bad Ass II brige and a Seymour Duncan SPB-4 Steve Harris pick up. I've got a maple boarded neck for it but the stock neck is just so good. I'm also planning on a mirror PG for it. Building my own SH tribute bass.
I added a Bad Ass II brige and a Seymour Duncan SPB-4 Steve Harris pick up. I've got a maple boarded neck for it but the stock neck is just so good. I'm also planning on a mirror PG for it. Building my own SH tribute bass.
Here's my application for membership, guys. My Squier Affinity P bass. Paid a measly $55 bucks for this bass. Put a set of Fender flats on it and set it up and I was blown away. What a neck on this bass. I got the action really low and it plays like an absolute dream. Just perfect. This thing is a real gem.
I added a Bad Ass II brige and a Seymour Duncan SPB-4 Steve Harris pick up. I've got a maple boarded neck for it but the stock neck is just so good. I'm also planning on a mirror PG for it. Building my own SH tribute bass.
How are those Harris pups?? Are they really hot output??
More bass heavy than I expected, honestly. They are pretty hot but so were the stock pups, I can't tell that they are terribly hotter than stock. I jacked the upper mids on my EQ and it sounds pretty good.
That description sounds a lot like the DiMarzio P's I just put on a custom Precision. Do you have an ypersonal experience with the DiMarzios, to compare?
Nope, I don't. This is actually the first time I've ever used aftermarket pups in any guitar I've ever owned. Had I not wanted to build my own Steve Harris P I probably would have kept the stock pups in this as well.
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