Tricked Out Squier Club Part 3

[Laurie Bass]

Yes thank you...rolandm for the video and the commentary on the mod you did to your fretless Squier...very very informative.

 

[rolandm]

Thanks. I try. I've done that with a few products for which I couldn't get any info or salient reviews that spoke to my situation online. D'Addario even sent me an OPort because I asked how they'd work on an ABG. Long story short, they were amazingly well.

 

[JIO]

Thanks. I try. I've done that with a few products for which I couldn't get any info or salient reviews that spoke to my situation online. D'Addario even sent me an OPort because I asked how they'd work on an ABG. Long story short, they were amazingly well.

I have a friend who was an early user of Pro-tools. He was always on the phone w/their R&D people inquiring about this and that limitation and questionable quirk & nuance he'd run into using their system. (all expressed with deft clarity and insight) After many daily calls they realized he knew more about their system than they did, and they offered him a job. He's been there ever since - one of their top troubleshooters.

Point being, we are the people who use this stuff and luckily due to such platforms as tb, the 'good word' can be spread. (and thanks again for yours!) I'll post my own take on the mod once I install it, but as the opposite of my tech-brained friend - it will have to be a wordy impression unless I can find someone to help me figure out how to post an audio review!

 

[rolandm]

LOL. The key there is "deft clarity and insight" … if you check out my video for the OPorts, not sure you'll get "deft" anything so much as you'll get "daft" out of it.
Be warned, it's about 20 minutes all told, and the examples do not include any string changes I've made recently (going to GHS tapewounds - much louder than Earthwoods).

First video


Clarity of tone

 

[JIO]

Another interesting product/development I was unaware of (not owning an acoustic or being a 6-stringer). Had to watch a guitar dem to confirm it was made of malleable material. (latex? rubber?) Installation looks fairly easy but I kept wondering what happens if it falls into the body during installation. Just a bit more fussing I presume.

 

[rolandm]

Turn the instrument on it's end, reach a finger in and snag it. Easy as pie. When I get a new bass, or occasionally will check the setup on an acoustic I haven't played recently, if the truss needs adjustment, I pop the OPort into the body, adjust the truss rod, and then slip the OPort back in place.

 

[JIO]

Ok - got the Santellan Elek-Trix harness yesterday and installed it last night. Installation was slowed by a few details. I installed it into a Fender MIM VJ body (w/the tube-shaped rout) The hieght of the push-pull pot was taller than the cavity depth so to install it I took off the nut that sat at the threaded base of the pot which evens it w/the other two pots on top. Doing this allowed it to (barely) fit but left that pot higher once knobs were attached. Will address this later by routing a troff for it and reinstalling the nut - it's mostly a cosmetic concern (to have the pot as low as the other two on top) but I just wanted it together to play/hear. I went with the .022 uF setting, because that's what it replaced and I wanted to hear the difference from the same cap value. With more time at a later date, I'll experiment with the other 8 optional cap value settings. It was late by the time I finished but did play it for a bit to make sure I had everything connected correctly. It is pretty straight forward with the no-solder connections, but you do have to solder the bridge-plate ground wire to the ground-poll on the jack. One note on out-of-box inspection was that in the pics on-line, it shows the two jack pole solder connections covered w/black sleeves. Mine were bare and the white (hot) wire on the jack wasn't soldered. It should have been but must have escaped final inspection. No worries as I'm versed in that dept. Will be using it at band rehearsal on Sunday and after that will give a more considered opinion. It sounds good, so for now that's all I can say.

 

[JIO]

Routed the troff so the push-pull circuit board clears the floor of the cavity. 3 side-by-side 1/2" forstner bit holes drilled 1/8" deep and covered w/copper tape. Had to apply a square of electrical tape to the bottom of the square pot housing as it now barely rests on the cavity floor and caused grounding issues. Once that was done it's good to go. Now the knobs are nearly the same height. I could use the inside/lower nut to further fine-tune (within a thirty second of an inch) but I don't want to fuss w/more routing. (it's good - best not to entertain anal retentiveness anymore that I do!)

Anyway, had a chance to play it at home the last couple of days. This is a very worthwhile mod. Here's why - I wanted my J to stay looking 'standard' (using standard black J knobs). I also wanted to keep it passive. I have and love both, but I wanted a battery-free bass. I use it in my James Bond band and wanted not only that Carol Kay tone (La Bella flats using a pic & palm-muting) but also wanted to not worry about low batteries at a gig. Check, check - so far this is the set-up I was after. Before, my bass had good tone with a classic harness and .022 cap. (through Fender Super 55 split-col pu's) With this system - it sounds great. There is now the tone I strive for in a bass - a multi-layed, transparent/clean nuanced tone - "the three layer tone"; a low clear foundation, the almost breathy sound of fingers or pick on the strings, and the upper articulation/definition of the note. Each layer distinctive and clear and in perfect harmony. And the push-pull series/parallel option is like icing on the cake. What it does is create a spaced hum-bucker utilizing both pu's. The neck pu pot controls volume of the linked 'bucker' and the tone remains the tone adjuster. There seems to be a tonal difference when the push-pull knob is rotated but it's very subtle. I love the beef of a standard bucker, but this is a somewhat different beast. It is beefy, rich and deep but is smoother than most buckers I own or have played. Just a creamy chocolate mousse tone that is totally fattening! I can't wait to try it w/the band.

I apologize to have wandered far from "Tricked Out Squier" as my J is a Fender, but I would very much recommend this cool mod to 'trick-out' your Squier or any bass.

I only use the neck pu cover playing - the bridge cover is for photo-ops only.

 

[rolandm]

Love that jazz, man, and I totally agree with your tonal assessment of the humbucking properties. Smoooooooooth and HUGE bodied. A lot of weight but not in a muddy way.

 

[JIO]

Thanks Roland - dig this.., I took it to rehearsal tonight, with the same amp settings as usual. I didn't even engage the hum-bucker mode. (next time) This bass sounds awesome now! A marked difference and exactly what I've been wanting my tone to be for this band - I'm totally sold on this product. It's not like I'm going to install it in all my Jazz basses, but for this particular bass in this particular band - score! No, not muddy in the least - in fact, it is all about transparency. Whatever they did delivers the natural tone of the bass w/o colour. It actually may not work in some basses - the bass itself has to sound good first. As in, it won't make a crappy bass sound good - it's not a 'fix', but more of an accentuated actualizer. (or something like that)

 

[rolandm]

LOL. Well, it will definitely help a basses base components realize their full potential, but yeah, any bass is only as good as its weakest part.

 

[JIO]

LOL. Well, it will definitely help a basses base components realize their full potential, but yeah, any bass is only as good as its weakest part.

I just made that point because there is a tendency for some to think that if you throw enough money at an inexpensive bass, it will make it exponentially better. Incrementally maybe, but if the wood is good - developments like this harness will help fully realize the instruments potential, along with pu's, bridges, strings etc. (and needless to say, a nice sounding rig)

 

[rolandm]

Quite true. I was playing around with my tone on my VM fretless earlier, and I decided to change the modeling I am using for it, and get some old-school vibe going. I ended up electing to go with a modeled Acoustic 361, with a bit of stank on it, but more warmth than fuzz. With the bass in humbucking mode, it got a very solid feel to it, and I was able come up with a similar sound to that of my very, very distant cousin Jean Millington on Fanny's debut album, but with a touch more weight to it.

 

[fjadams]

Fortunate enough to see Fanny a few times. Jean was/is a hell of a bass player. Very solid, great tone, just a pleasure to listen to. First time I saw them she was still running thru the Fender.

 

[JIO]

more cowbell

 

[John Swartz]

I have a Squier P-Bass with a Hipshot D-tuner, Seymour-Duncan Quarter Pound pickups, wired with two added switches (1. series/parallel wiring, 2. all-controls by-pass), shielded inner cavity, and a 2-Tek bridge. Do I qualify for a number?

 

[giocalypse]

Here is a 1989 Squier II P- Bass

2013 Squier VM Jaguar V Bass

 

[zackthompson]

Love the note stickers on the Jaguar. Does it help? I might consider doing that...

 

[rolandm]

I think I am going to kill my head, now. LOL

 

[mpdd]

hopefully my bullet will be done in the next two or three weeks and i can join this club