New Budget Bass Day

JezWynd

Squier Affinity Jaguar Bass, 32" scale. I'd been wanting a bass that would intonate accurately (my other bass is an old Hofner 185 with a floating bridge) in order to play melodic lines around the 12th fret and this fits the bill nicely. Fender is doing a great job with their budget end instruments and I'd read some excellent reports on this model so when an FSR with painted headstock in shell pink was on offer I was powerless to resist.

I've changed out the stock bridge (which was perfectly serviceable) for a Fender Hi Mass and I think I might change the tuners at some future point (again, they work okay and keep tune but they're obviously where some savings were made). Pickup is powerful and perhaps lacking some top end but boosting treble on the amp fixes it for me and I might investigate changing the pots to see if treble response might be improved. Fret work is excellent - no sharp ends, no high points. There is some neck dive when playing seated but I don't feel like I'm holding the neck up, while playing as my right arm rests on the body and seems to balance it up.

All in all I'm very happy with it; it's a joy to play and excellent value for money.

fretmeister

 Nice!

Whistler

That is a nice catch, @JezWynd , well done! I agree with you regarding the surprisingly good quality build of Fender Squire Affinity basses.

Funkfingers

JezWynd said:

I've changed out the stock bridge … for a Fender Hi Mass … Pickup is powerful and perhaps lacking some top end but boosting treble on the amp fixes it for me and I might investigate changing the pots to see if treble response might be improved.

The Fender Hi Mass Badass II lookalike is made entirely from cheap brass.

The Stingray style pickup is away from its sweet spot. EBMM positions that pickup where they do to get the best sounds out of it. 

Squier has positioned the pickup toughly where the second pickup goes on a Warwick Corvette Doublebuck.

All of these details will reduce high treble detail.

It might be worth checking whether the coils of the pickup are connected together in parallel (like a Stringray) or in series. The latter is louder but boomy and overbearing.

UnclePsychosis

Looking great. 

JezWynd

Whistler said:

That is a nice catch, @JezWynd , well done! I agree with you regarding the surprisingly good quality build of Fender Squire Affinity basses.

I haven’t had much experience with them; I had an Affinity Tele which was very playable - the thinner body and raw wood neck made it super comfortable, the only issue I recall was the height adjusters on the bridge saddles would rattle but a dab of nail varnish fixed that. This more recent buy seems a bit better made all round, though with very cheap metal parts. I find the thinner body an advantage and the finish has been applied very sparingly which I much prefer to some other budget models, which look like they’ve been smothered in urethane.

JezWynd

Funkfingers said:

JezWynd said:

I've changed out the stock bridge … for a Fender Hi Mass … Pickup is powerful and perhaps lacking some top end but boosting treble on the amp fixes it for me and I might investigate changing the pots to see if treble response might be improved.

The Fender Hi Mass Badass II lookalike is made entirely from cheap brass.

The Stingray style pickup is away from its sweet spot. EBMM positions that pickup where they do to get the best sounds out of it. 

Squier has positioned the pickup toughly where the second pickup goes on a Warwick Covert Doublebuck.

All of these details will reduce high treble detail.

It might be worth checking whether the coils of the pickup are connected together in parallel (like a Stringray) or in series. The latter is louder but boomy and overbearing.

I wondered how such an inexpensive bridge could be so heavy and now I know, thanks!

Re the pickup, it’s a design I’ve never seen on a Fender before, how do I tell if it is series or parallel? I wouldn’t describe it as boomy and the volume pot has a nice gradual increase over most of its travel (as opposed to those that go from nothing to max between 8 and 10), so controlling volume is easy enough.

Funkfingers

JezWynd said:

Re the pickup … how do I tell if it is series or parallel?

By looking under the pickguard. 

EASY METHOD

Count the number of insulated output conductors reaching the volume pot. Add one for the bare screen grounding wire.

Single con + shield means that, however the pickup coils are connected, they are set like that.

2-con + shield could signify all sorts of possibilities.

So, for that matter, could 3-con + shield.

4-con + shield offers maximum versatility. Thus, the pickup could be wired via a mode switch to offer series/single/parallel options.


PROPER METHOD
Unfasten the pickup. Inspect its underside for bridging wires between the two coils. 

TBH, since you are enjoying the instrument as is, it is probably wisest to leave it alone.

JezWynd

Funkfingers said:

JezWynd said:

Re the pickup … how do I tell if it is series or parallel?

By looking under the pickguard. ….

TBH, since you are enjoying the instrument as is, it is probably wisest to leave it alone.

Sounds good to me! Thanks for the tips, when I change strings again I might have a look.

Dave_Mc

Is it passive? If so, you might be able to make an educated guess from the resistance...

EDIT: Nice score on the bass, excellent colour! 

JezWynd

Dave_Mc said:

Is it passive? If so, you might be able to make an educated guess from the resistance...

EDIT: Nice score on the bass, excellent colour! 

Thanks Dave. Yes it is passive. I've found a long thread on the TalkBass forum about this bass and various modding possibilities. From reading, I've learnt that the pickup is wired in series, which apparently results in reduction of treble. There is a recommendation there for a Wilkinson MWM4 pickup, which will install very easily and puts out more top end. Something to consider if I do make a change.

Dave_Mc

^ Yeah probably a reduction in treble and a big jump up in output (if my Sire M5 bass is anything to go by).

That's interesting about the WIlkinson- I haven't tried that one, but the ones I have tried (both guitar and bass, stock in Fret-Kings, not sure if the retail ones are the same) have been decent but not amazing. There probably aren't a ton of options for MM-style pickups, though...

diap

Funkfingers said:

The Fender Hi Mass Badass II lookalike is made entirely from cheap brass. 

You say that like it's a bad thing!

Funkfingers

JezWynd said:

I've learnt that the pickup is wired in series, which apparently results in reduction of treble.

I once got an almost brand new Bartolini MMC pickup very cheaply. The seller had wired it permanently in series mode and instantly disliked the sound.

Musicman Stingray pickup coils are normally connected in parallel.

The stock Squier pickup might improve if it can be reconfigured in parallel mode. 

The Bartolini MMC was indisputably professional. I eventually sold it and its host Sterling RAY'34C bass for weight reasons.

Dave_Mc

Funkfingers said:

JezWynd said:

I've learnt that the pickup is wired in series, which apparently results in reduction of treble.

I once got an almost brand new Bartolini MMC pickup very cheaply. The seller had wired it permanently in series mode and instantly disliked the sound.

LOL

I would say- series doesn't always sound worse, it depends on the pickup (it's probably an overgeneralisation, but I would guess that the lower the output, the better it would work in series). I could see it sounding worse on an MM-style pickup, though, which as you say is designed to be wired in parallel and is basically perfect that way.

I'm not sure what spec the Squier pickup is, and I guess it also depends on whether they wired it in series because it it was designed from the ground up to be wired that way and sounds better in series, or whether they wired it in series purely to differentiate it from MusicMan... 

Funkfingers

My guess is that Squier has used a generic Asian MM lookalike pickup. Two coils of modest DC resistance, connected in series, probably adds up to a similar nett resistance to two far hotter coils, connected in parallel.

Hopefully, if the Squier pickup has 4-con + shield output cable, the addition of a DP3T on/on/on switch triples the sonic possibilities.

All this talk of customisation and additional outlay flies in the face of the Squier bass being inexpensive and fun.

JezWynd

Dave_Mc said:

Funkfingers said:

JezWynd said:

I've learnt that the pickup is wired in series, which apparently results in reduction of treble.

I once got an almost brand new Bartolini MMC pickup very cheaply. The seller had wired it permanently in series mode and instantly disliked the sound.

LOL

I would say- series doesn't always sound worse, it depends on the pickup (it's probably an overgeneralisation, but I would guess that the lower the output, the better it would work in series). I could see it sounding worse on an MM-style pickup, though, which as you say is designed to be wired in parallel and is basically perfect that way.

I'm not sure what spec the Squier pickup is, and I guess it also depends on whether they wired it in series because it it was designed from the ground up to be wired that way and sounds better in series, or whether they wired it in series purely to differentiate it from MusicMan... 

From info I’ve gleaned from the TalkBass thread, the stock pickup is wired in series, with no option for parallel connection.

I’m quite happy with the sound I’m getting, it has more treble available than an EB0 for instance (though that might be damning it with faint praise). I play with flats, finger style, so I’m never going to achieve a Chris Squire clang but using my fish n chips eq and a compressor I can get a bit of cut to my attack, which is all I’m looking for atm. I might revert to the roundwounds it arrived with or perhaps some half rounds if I can find some in medium scale.

Dave_Mc

Funkfingers said:

My guess is that Squier has used a generic Asian MM lookalike pickup. Two coils of modest DC resistance, connected in series, probably adds up to a similar nett resistance to two far hotter coils, connected in parallel.

Hopefully, if the Squier pickup has 4-con + shield output cable, the addition of a DP3T on/on/on switch triples the sonic possibilities.

All this talk of customisation and additional outlay flies in the face of the Squier bass being inexpensive and fun.

Yeah, pretty much. I would guess that if it sounds good in series it might sound a bit weak in parallel, and if it sounds good in parallel it might be too powerful in series. Basically I agree with you, I'm not sure it's worth the bother if it's not already an easy upgrade to do (and it sounds like it's not from what @JezWynd says, plus it sounds decent already).