Squier Affinity PBass CL score!

Kid Klash · 12-31-2009, 03:23 AM

Saw this on the local CL yesterday - I called the guy and went to see him today. $75, including a gig bag.

I took it to the studio tonight and had our bass player play it. He loved it, and couldn't believe it was a Squier PBass. I couldn't believe how good it sounded too... very consistent from note to note and string to string.

dman · 12-31-2009, 12:08 PM

Great score! I'm getting frustrated, though....I can never seem to find deals like that on CL!

S. Rock · 12-31-2009, 03:37 PM

yeah, nice score. I've got my eye on one at a local guitar store. the price isn't as good as your's though.

S. Rock · 12-31-2009, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dman

--- I'm getting frustrated, though....I can never seem to find deals like that on CL!

I know what you mean. I missed a great deal on a guitar a couple of months ago.

Kid Klash · 12-31-2009, 06:13 PM

I just noticed the neck plate... it says "20th Anniversary"... kewl!

CL deals are out there - I tend to check every day, especially towards the weekend. Getting to the killer deals before anyone else is pretty hard sometimes, but just keep trying when you see what looks like a killer deal. This seller didn't post a photo, so I called him to find out what he had, When he told me, I said "I'll see you soon!"

AllroyPA · 12-31-2009, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kid Klash

I just noticed the neck plate... it says "20th Anniversary"... kewl!

CL deals are out there - I tend to check every day, especially towards the weekend. Getting to the killer deals before anyone else is pretty hard sometimes, but just keep trying when you see what looks like a killer deal. This seller didn't post a photo, so I called him to find out what he had, When he told me, I said "I'll see you soon!"

Cool , nice score. Neckplate means it's a 2002. I had a P-Bass Special before, it was just a bit unbalanced. But the construction was good and it sounded good. My MIJ Squier P-Bass is much more satisfying.

Kid Klash · 12-31-2009, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllroyPA

Cool , nice score. Neckplate means it's a 2002. I had a P-Bass Special before, it was just a bit unbalanced. But the construction was good and it sounded good. My MIJ Squier P-Bass is much more satisfying.

I'll bet your MIJ Squier P-Bass cost more than $75, including gig bag.

AllroyPA · 01-01-2010, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kid Klash

I'll bet your MIJ Squier P-Bass cost more than $75, including gig bag.

Right was twice that and no gig bag : |
I love basses, they can still be had for less : ]

Kid Klash · 01-01-2010, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllroyPA

Right was twice that and no gig bag : |
I love basses, they can still be had for less : ]

Thanks for the date info too - I was wondering when it was built.

AllroyPA · 01-01-2010, 10:13 PM

No prob, Squier from 1982. Then tack on your twenty ..lol ( www.21frets.com )

Kid Klash · 01-15-2010, 02:45 PM

So the phone rings a couple days ago, and it's the guy that I bought the Pbass from. I'm thinking *jeeze - I wonder if he wants it back?* So I pick up the call, and he said "he was thinking about it, and because it had a few dings on it, he felt it would only be fair if he gave me back $25" (from the $75 I gave him for it. I was so stunned I didn't know what to say, so after a few seconds of silence he said "can you meet me at the Starbucks on Hawthorne?" I said "sure", and drove right over (10 minutes away). I see the guy standing on the corner next to the Starbucks, and he walks over to my car, and as I roll down my window he passes me a $20 and a $5 and says "stay warm!" Still stunned, I went back home and looked at the Pbass that I wound up getting for $50. Nothing like this has ever happened to me... EVER.

Squier?!? · 01-15-2010, 03:02 PM

Wow... through all of my Craigslist
scores, that's absolutely unheard of.

I've got a great Squier Affinity P too...
a Black version that i picked up on sale @
my local GC for $100 about five years ago.
I needed my own bass for recording demos
@ home & figured i'd grab a cheap Squier.

I played every one they had there that day &
the one i went home w/ was most definitely the
best playing & beefiest sounding of the bunch.

Even my bass player, who has some gear snob
tendencies, agreed that it was a fine instrument
(especially for $100) & couldn't put the thing down.

$50 for a cool Baltic Blue/Rosewood
Precision, i'd say you scored Bigtime.

Nice work.

Kid Klash · 01-15-2010, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squier?!?

Wow... through all of my Craigslist
scores, that's absolutely unheard of.

I've got a great Squier Affinity P too...
a Black version that i picked up on sale @
my local GC for $100 about five years ago.
I needed my own bass for recording demos
@ home & figured i'd grab a cheap Squier.

I played every one they had there that day &
the one i went home w/ was most definitely the
best playing & beefiest sounding of the bunch.

Even my bass player, who has some gear snob
tendencies, agreed that it was a fine instrument
(especially for $100) & couldn't put the thing down.

$50 for a cool Baltic Blue/Rosewood
Precision, i'd say you scored Bigtime.

Nice work.

Thanks man! Yeah - I'm STILL flabbergasted! And thanks for letting me know what the color is called. I'm a guitarist, but I bought this for pretty much the same reason you bought yours... it's always good to have a bass around.

Did Fender use this baltic blue color on any of their guitars or basses? It looks fine as-is, but I have a tendency towards modding most of my gear, and I was thinking about refinishing the body in either lake placid blue, surf green or fiesta red, and going with a B/W/B pickguard and a Gotoh 201 bridge.

Squier?!? · 01-15-2010, 03:46 PM

I know there are Baltic Blue Affinity Strats
(& some Bullets too, if i'm not mistaken) but i
think those are the only other Squiers w/ that.

Jazzy Squire T · 01-17-2010, 09:39 PM

nice score, Kid Klash! Have 7 Sq basses and love em all. BTW - they don't like D'addarrio strings. They changes their manufacturing somewhat and put a lot of tension on the necks. I can only use LaBella's or Ernie Ball. Just a heads up.

YeahDoIt · 01-19-2010, 07:54 AM

That looks like a very nice bass. It looks in excellent condition. The price is very good. I wonder how the sound compares to a Precision Bass.

motoman45 · 01-19-2010, 05:21 PM

I have never played a bass.... is it fun?

YeahDoIt · 01-22-2010, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motoman45

I have never played a bass.... is it fun?

I think bass is lots of fun. With the quality and performance of some of these intermediate grade instruments it is possible to own a nice bass such as the Kid Klash Squier Affinity Pbass for not a lot of money.

I spent much of today practicing slap bass techniques and scales on my Peavey Fury bass.

You might check out youtube.com/watch?v=nCoHgfCVbYE Alexis Sklarevski

Bass is like a whole new dimension of guitar.

Just don't play a bass loud through a guitar amp because it can burn out the speaker. Maybe 1 watt is OK.

Squier?!? · 01-22-2010, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motoman45

I have never played a bass.... is it fun?

I LOVE playing bass.

Especially in that melodic
McCartney/Entwistle style.

I usually only play bass on
my own recordings though.

Kid Klash · 01-25-2010, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazzy Squire T

nice score, Kid Klash! Have 7 Sq basses and love em all. BTW - they don't like D'addarrio strings. They changes their manufacturing somewhat and put a lot of tension on the necks. I can only use LaBella's or Ernie Ball. Just a heads up.

Thanks for the heads up! That's good to know, and I was considering putting a new set of strings on her when she's done. How about RotoSound bass strings? Our bass player swears by them... not sure if the tension involved with RotoSounds is more or less than the LaBella's or Ernie Balls.

Kid Klash · 01-25-2010, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YeahDoIt

That looks like a very nice bass. It looks in excellent condition. The price is very good. I wonder how the sound compares to a Precision Bass.

Our bass player compared it to his late 60's Precision, and his six year old MIM Precision and Jazz basses, and he was very impressed. He said it had more output and was just as smooth as his vintage Precision. Tonewise, he said it was somewhere between his vintage and MIM Precisions. He was quite impressed.

Kid Klash · 01-25-2010, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motoman45

I have never played a bass.... is it fun?

Yeah, it's a blast. Totally different than a guitar, at least to me.

Jazzy Squire T · 01-25-2010, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kid Klash

Thanks for the heads up! That's good to know, and I was considering putting a new set of strings on her when she's done. How about RotoSound bass strings? Our bass player swears by them... not sure if the tension involved with RotoSounds is more or less than the LaBella's or Ernie Balls.

I haven't used rotosounds in quite a few years. They used to eat through frets very quickly and every so often I would get a dead E or G string. Give em a try! Almost all of the P basses that I have are strung with labella flatwounds. Just something about them on a P bass sounds so sweet. And they record extremely well, too.

dman · 01-26-2010, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kid Klash

So the phone rings a couple days ago, and it's the guy that I bought the Pbass from. I'm thinking *jeeze - I wonder if he wants it back?* So I pick up the call, and he said "he was thinking about it, and because it had a few dings on it, he felt it would only be fair if he gave me back $25" (from the $75 I gave him for it. I was so stunned I didn't know what to say, so after a few seconds of silence he said "can you meet me at the Starbucks on Hawthorne?" I said "sure", and drove right over (10 minutes away). I see the guy standing on the corner next to the Starbucks, and he walks over to my car, and as I roll down my window he passes me a $20 and a $5 and says "stay warm!" Still stunned, I went back home and looked at the Pbass that I wound up getting for $50. Nothing like this has ever happened to me... EVER.

Just one question....what kind of freakin' alternate universe are you living in!!???!!!!

Kid Klash · 01-26-2010, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazzy Squire T

I haven't used rotosounds in quite a few years. They used to eat through frets very quickly and every so often I would get a dead E or G string. Give em a try! Almost all of the P basses that I have are strung with labella flatwounds. Just something about them on a P bass sounds so sweet. And they record extremely well, too.

Labella flatwounds huh? OK - I'll give them a try... the flat wounds should keep my fingers from bleeding, and since this bass might wind up in the studio from time to time, recording well is definately important to me. Thanks again.

Kid Klash · 01-26-2010, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dman

Just one question....what kind of freakin' alternate universe are you living in!!???!!!!

Yeah, I know what you mean. This is like a throwback to the 1950's when people respected and helped others, and you could leave your house unlocked. I guess there are still some decent folks around.

Kid Klash · 02-02-2010, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazzy Squire T

nice score, Kid Klash! Have 7 Sq basses and love em all. BTW - they don't like D'addarrio strings. They changes their manufacturing somewhat and put a lot of tension on the necks. I can only use LaBella's or Ernie Ball. Just a heads up.

I ordered a set of LaBella 0760M flatwounds from Elderly Instruments today... they should arrive in a week.

These Labella flatwounds are a little difficult to get, locally at least. Elderly had the best price I could find at $29 a set.

http://www.elderly.com/accessories/items/0760M.htm

Kid Klash · 02-06-2010, 06:40 PM

The LaBellas arrived yesterday, and I'm working on the neck today. I've got a Tusq nut to drop in when the neck is done, and the chrome Gotoh 201 bridge from Warmoth will arrive next week. I'm still debating whether to leave the body as-is (dark blue) or change the color...

Kid Klash · 02-11-2010, 08:48 PM

The chrome Gotoh 201 bridge arrived yesterday, and it looks REALLY sweet! The body is prepped and ready to paint, as soon as the weather breaks for a while.

Kid Klash · 02-17-2010, 11:13 PM

Here are some photos so that you can see how she's coming along.

The neck is sanded, tinted (Reranch Fender Amber tint), and has 14 coats of clear nitro on it, with 11 more coats to go.

The pickguard mounting holes are plugged, the body is sanded, and I'm filling the last of the pinholes and small dents with lacquer glazing putty.

The neck pocket bottom is sanded smooth (it was a bit rough before I started working on it) which will help the sustain, and has been primered and color coated (Reranch Coral) prior to screwing on the paint stick.

You can see that the Gotoh 201 bridge is a perfect fit - it's mounting holes line up perfectly with the original sheetmetal bridge mounting holes.

Kid Klash · 02-21-2010, 10:40 PM

Our weather was great this weekend - plenty of sun and temperatures in the lower to mid 60's, so I got to spend some time working on the Pbass. I got 6 more coats of clear nitro lac on the neck yesterday, and worked on the body today. I finished sanding the body, shot two coats of white nitro lac primer on it, sanded it, shot another coat of primer on it, sanded it again, then got two solid coats of Reranch Coral nitro lac color coats on. I'll let it sit this week, and if we have decent weather next weekend, I'll start the clear coats over the Coral.

Kid Klash · 02-28-2010, 11:50 PM

Today was another beautiful spring-like day in my neck of the woods, So much so that I was able to spray four coats of clear nitro lacquer over the color coat today. Six more coats to go, then it's three weeks of curing in a warm room before the wet-sanding and polishing begins.

Here's what she looked like after the forth coat went on and it was ready to hang to dry. You can see the clouds reflected in the clear coats.

I'm thinking a tortoise shell pickguard will look good with the coral body and rosewood fretboard.

Kid Klash · 03-02-2010, 01:54 PM

I ordered the tortoise shell pickguard yesterday, which should arrive in a week.

I also wanted to find some good pots and a genuine Switchcraft 1/4" jack. After looking around on the typical guitar and bass parts sites, I dug a little deeper and found exactly what I was looking for at www.mouser.com .

The pots that I decided to go for are made by Bourns, specifically for guitars. I ordered two 250K linear taper pots for the volume control, and two 250K audio taper pots for the tone control (one set for this project, one set for another Pbass project coming up). Their price was between $1.71 and $1.76 each, depending on the taper and the shaft type (split vs. solid). These pots are listed in their catalog on page 692.

For those that are interested, the part numbers are :

652-PDB241E420K254A2 250k AUDIO TAPER POT, SPLIT/KNURLED SHAFT, $1.76
652-PDB241E420K254B0 250k LINEAR TAPER POT, SPLIT/KNURLED SHAFT, $1.76

652-PDB241E420P254A2 250k AUDIO TAPER POT, SOLID SHAFT, $1.76
652-PDB241E420K254B0 250k AUDIO TAPER POT, SOLID SHAFT, $1.71

502-11 Switchcraft Phone Connector, 2 CONDUCTOR 1/4" $1.87

The choice between split/knurled shafts and solid shaft depends upon whether you're using press-on knobs (split shaft) or knobs with set screws (solid shafts).

Why a linear taper pot for volume, and audio taper pot for tone on a standard, passive Precision bass? A linear pot in the volume position will sweep evenly; audio taper pots in the volume position will drop off fast from "10". Audio taper pots in the tone position will darken evenly from "10" to "0"; linear taper pots in the tone position will drop off suddenly near "0".

AllroyPA · 03-02-2010, 06:54 PM

Huh, for guitar it's audio taper for volume and linear taper for tone ...
I'm lovin' that coral/orange color ...

YouTube- Guitar Potentiometers part 2, Comparing...

Kid Klash · 03-02-2010, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllroyPA

Huh, for guitar it's audio taper for volume and linear taper for tone ...
I'm lovin' that coral/orange color ...[/url]

Thanks... it'll look good with my coral Strat.

And yeah... the type of taper and where you use it depends on the guitar or bass, how it's wired, and whether you're using (a) HB or SC pickup(s). That's why I noted that my modding project will be wired as a standard, passive Pbass.

This is an interesting read : http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=594342

Kid Klash · 03-07-2010, 02:20 AM

Alright. I finished the clear coats today on the body, and it looks great. The clear coats on the neck are done now too, so I'll let them cure for the next four weeks, then it'll be time to do the wetsanding and polishing.

In the meantime, I'll put the new tortoise shell pickguard together. The Bourns pots arrived yesterday, and they feel really nice. The Switchcraft jacks arrived too and are, well, they're Switchcraft jacks (excellent quality!).

Kid Klash · 03-11-2010, 02:36 AM

Here are the pickguard and knobs sitting on the body. I REALLY like the tortoise shell pickguard and coral combination. Wait until the plastic is peeled off the pickguard, the body is wetsanded and polished, the rosewood fretboard has the tape peeled off and the neck is screwed on!

AllroyPA · 03-11-2010, 06:10 AM

Yea Kid, I agree that tort looks good on that and I dont say that often about tort ...lol

Kid Klash · 03-11-2010, 01:13 PM

Thanks AllroyPA! Now comes the tough part... waiting another 3-1/2 weeks before I start the wetsanding and polishing! If the wind is at my back, this Pbass should be assembled, set up and pumpin' by the end of next month.

AllroyPA · 03-11-2010, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kid Klash

Thanks AllroyPA! Now comes the tough part... waiting another 3-1/2 weeks before I start the wetsanding and polishing! If the wind is at my back, this Pbass should be assembled, set up and pumpin' by the end of next month.

Dag, gonna be worth the wait though.