Tricked Out Squier Club Part 3

[Michael Simpson]

Here's one I've just completed. It's a CV 60's neck on a CV 70's body, all stock CV hardware besides the bridge cover, ivory pickup covers and Rickenbacker knobs. Set of LaBella 760FS strings, chunk of foam under the cover and it sounds and plays great.

Going to get a few gigs on the go before I decide to upgrade anything more (likely starting with the electronics, but they work fine and sound fine to my ears for now).

 

[bassbrad]

My tricked out Squier Vintage Modified Fretless Jazz. Guyker JB11 split coil in front, Seymour Duncan Jazz Stack V in rear, custom thumb stop, fancy control plate hiding an upgraded control assembly including a "trickled" tone circuit.
Not tricked out yet Squier Classic Vibe 60's

 

[LeighOnSea]

My 'Sonic Sisters' are done!
Back in Black GOTOH bridges and tuners with Emerald Green Simonon Inspired pick guards (thanks Arty Farty Tim)

Precision:
Tonerider The Duke Pickups
Rotosound Jazz 77s
Bourns push pull volume blower and tone cap switch ( 47 / 100 nF)
Wasn't 100% sure on tuners but now love them & much lighter, had to leave in original chrome bushes tho.
Now going to put on La Bella 1954s and try BEAD

Bronco
Musiclilly blade pickup
Ernie Ball Cobalt flats
Bourns push pull volume blower and tone cap switch ( 47 / 100 nF)
Going to try with some Fender 9050s, maybe

 

[friskinator]

I realized I wasn't feeling the Olympic White for the previously posted CV Precision, so I did a refin. Color is Sepia II Metallic (custom BMW color) with matching headstock, but everything else is the same as before.

 

[shojii]

My tricked out Squier Vintage Modified Fretless Jazz. Guyker JB11 split coil in front, Seymour Duncan Jazz Stack V in rear, custom thumb stop, fancy control plate hiding an upgraded control assembly including a "trickled" tone circuit. View attachment 7445877
Not tricked out yet Squier Classic Vibe 60's
View attachment 7445888

Asking for a friend - what lies underneath the p/g of the CV60's? Thanks in advance!

 

[Malak the Mad]

Asking for a friend - what lies underneath the p/g of the CV60's? Thanks in advance!

If this is a decent cross section of results, then the best answer may be "It depends on the individual unit". Some have a "bathtub route" from the control route to the neck pickup, but there are some that have a clean neck pickup route, allowing someone to go without a pickguard.

 

[shojii]

If this is a decent cross section of results, then the best answer may be "It depends on the individual unit". Some have a "bathtub route" from the control route to the neck pickup, but there are some that have a clean neck pickup route, allowing someone to go without a pickguard.

Thanks @Malak. I've always had an aversion to the bathtub; seems to be a cost cutting measure (unless additional electronics warrrant a different route). Best, S

 

[Malak the Mad]

Thanks @Malak. I've always had an aversion to the bathtub; seems to be a cost cutting measure (unless additional electronics warrrant a different route). Best, S

I have my own theories about why the bathtub route is even a thing, especially in the days when CNC machines can cut nice, uniform and properly placed channels. If one needs more space for a preamp, that's one thing, but not on a passive Jazz. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around what "cost-to-benefit analysis" is at work. All I get are more questions in my head;

1. Which is faster and/or cheaper, drilling a hole between the neck pickup slot and the control route or simply cutting a big, ugly bathtub route between them?
2. Do you need more factory equipment and skilled labor to drill that small connecting hole between routes?
3. Routing out one channel may be quicker, but with so many units produced, wouldn't that lead to more wear-and-tear on the routing equipment and end up costing more in the long term?

Either way, some drilling will still be necessary for the bridge ground wire and connecting the bridge slot to the control route. Whatever it is, these are just theories. I don't know anyone who manages such a factory, so I can only guess. I might be missing a crucial detail or two.

On a related note; one thing I still believe to this day is in regards to the small routing hole MIM bodies have underneath the pickguard. I don't care how much Fender says it's to aid the CNC routers. I don't buy that for a second. Rather, I think it's to keep people from passing off MIM bodies as their more expensive MIA counterparts. Certainly, there are more ways to tell the difference nowadays, but one, quick peek "under the hood" will speak volumes.

 

[JakobT]

On a related note; one thing I still believe to this day is in regards to the small routing hole MIM bodies have underneath the pickguard. I don't care how much Fender says it's to aid the CNC routers. I don't buy that for a second. Rather, I think it's to keep people from passing off MIM bodies as their more expensive MIA counterparts. Certainly, there are more ways to tell the difference nowadays, but one, quick peek "under the hood" will speak volumes.

I’m fairly sure that your suspicions in this respect are unfounded.

I understand that the Ensenada factory is currently using the CNC machines that were originally used at the Corona factory, which is the reason that American Standard Fenders previously used to have the same alignment hole that are now found on MIM Fenders.

This would of course make the presence of this hole useless in distinguishing MIA bodies from MIM bodies.

 

[Malak the Mad]

I’m fairly sure that your suspicions in this respect are unfounded.

I would be happy to be wrong, here, but I still can't help but be a little bit dubious. Call me crazy, but I have a distrust of corporatization that keeps me wary of their decision-making processes. (Guess who grew up in the America of the 1980's! ) However, in this case, if I knew more about the capabilities and limitations of different CNC machines, I'm sure it would have an impact on my aforementioned theories.

I understand that the Ensenada factory is currently using the CNC machines that were originally used at the Corona factory, which is the reason that American Standard Fenders previously used to have the same alignment hole that are now found on MIM Fenders.

This would of course make the presence of this hole useless in distinguishing MIA bodies from MIM bodies.

That would make sense, especially if I could get a look at the old American Series basses (they weren't called "American Standards" until 2008) to see when the hole under the pickguard disappeared.

 

[friskinator]

I personally like the bathtub route, as it allows taking the pickup and harness out with no soldering.

 

[bassbrad]

Asking for a friend - what lies underneath the p/g of the Cv60

The universal and big ditch rout, ugly but you're expected to have a pickguard. With this routing you can switch out the front pickup for a P, double J or sopabar if desired and have room for a 9v if adding a preamp.

I have a black finished Squier J azz body that will get some treatment in the future once I've decided on direction.

 

[Malak the Mad]

The universal and big ditch rout, ugly but you're expected to have a pickguard. With this routing you can switch out the front pickup for a P, double J or sopabar if desired and have room for a 9v if adding a preamp.

I have a black finished Squier J azz body that will get some treatment in the future once I've decided on direction.

Good point. I did exactly that to a Might Mite J-body and a Fender Aerodyne. Now, I can switch between either configuration with the right pickup and guard.

 

[TheDuff]

Here's one I've just completed. It's a CV 60's neck on a CV 70's body, all stock CV hardware besides the bridge cover, ivory pickup covers and Rickenbacker knobs. Set of LaBella 760FS strings, chunk of foam under the cover and it sounds and plays great.

Going to get a few gigs on the go before I decide to upgrade anything more (likely starting with the electronics, but they work fine and sound fine to my ears for now).
View attachment 7426967View attachment 7426969View attachment 7426970View attachment 7426971View attachment 7426972

Wow. I like this beautiful Squier P bass.

But the unsightly chrome bridge cap detracts from its attractiveness. And I can’t imagine playing it with the bridge covered like that.

I can’t believe that I used to like bridge covers. I even thought stock P bass bridges looked cheap.

 

[TheDuff]

Good point. I did exactly that to a Might Mite J-body and a Fender Aerodyne. Now, I can switch between either configuration with the right pickup and guard.

Super nice bass.

 

[TheDuff]

I realized I wasn't feeling the Olympic White for the previously posted CV Precision, so I did a refin. Color is Sepia II Metallic (custom BMW color) with matching headstock, but everything else is the same as before.

View attachment 7471043

Wow. That is a beautiful metallic paint job. The color tone is great for a P bass for sure.

 

[TheDuff]

My 'Sonic Sisters' are done!
Back in Black GOTOH bridges and tuners with Emerald Green Simonon Inspired pick guards (thanks Arty Farty Tim)

Precision:
Tonerider The Duke Pickups
Rotosound Jazz 77s
Bourns push pull volume blower and tone cap switch ( 47 / 100 nF)
Wasn't 100% sure on tuners but now love them & much lighter, had to leave in original chrome bushes tho.
Now going to put on La Bella 1954s and try BEAD

Bronco
Musiclilly blade pickup
Ernie Ball Cobalt flats
Bourns push pull volume blower and tone cap switch ( 47 / 100 nF)
Going to try with some Fender 9050s, maybe

View attachment 7470985


View attachment 7470986

I totally like both of these and wonder if the Musiclilly blade pickup sounds bright, not enough bass? I like the idea for sure…

The blackout motif is great and the green pickguards are great.

Congratulations.

 

[TheDuff]

My 'Sonic Sisters' are done!
Back in Black GOTOH bridges and tuners with Emerald Green Simonon Inspired pick guards (thanks Arty Farty Tim)

Precision:
Tonerider The Duke Pickups
Rotosound Jazz 77s
Bourns push pull volume blower and tone cap switch ( 47 / 100 nF)
Wasn't 100% sure on tuners but now love them & much lighter, had to leave in original chrome bushes tho.
Now going to put on La Bella 1954s and try BEAD

Bronco
Musiclilly blade pickup
Ernie Ball Cobalt flats
Bourns push pull volume blower and tone cap switch ( 47 / 100 nF)
Going to try with some Fender 9050s, maybe

View attachment 7470985


View attachment 7470986

I have a Dimarzio high gain Split P rail pickup on my Fender P bass. It is cool. It sounds better than you might think. Dual rails. Blacked out blades.

 

[TheDuff]

My tricked out Squier Vintage Modified Fretless Jazz. Guyker JB11 split coil in front, Seymour Duncan Jazz Stack V in rear, custom thumb stop, fancy control plate hiding an upgraded control assembly including a "trickled" tone circuit. View attachment 7445877
Not tricked out yet Squier Classic Vibe 60's
View attachment 7445888

Nice.

 

[TheDuff]

The pic above is of my SR1605 which is falling out of favor to this Squire Bullet J Bass. I dropped in an Audere Jazz control plate, Fender classic 70s pickups, Fender vintage bridge and added a 3ply pickguard. This Squire is a beast now. Sounds every bit as good as the 5 string.

Times change, things change.

Irecently gave my Sr500 away to a bass player that could use it.

I haven’t used it in years but is was my favorite bass for many years.

It has held up to the test of time and the elements well. The new owner appreciated it.