Paolo85

I see, many thanks!

Thanks. To be honest I am not much worried about the stain or the rugged feeling. I am worried though that if the finish is compromosed, the neck may be susceptible to damage from humidity. In fact, I wonder if that's what the stain was in the first place.. Should I be worrying about that?

Coming back from a 2 week holiday I noticed a dark patch on the back of the neck of a Squier Affinity I had bought recently (see first photo) I tried to clean it with Dunlop guitar polish, and while it is not as dark anymore, the patch is still visible (see second photo, but itbis more visible tham the photo would suggest, depending on the light). It feels a bit rugged and I am pretty sure the satin finish has come off there. I really am no expert so I wonder how do I go about fixing it. Possibly a simple, low cost fix. Is this something to address urgently? Or the neck will be alright for a bit without finish? Thanks

I have not tried the Tonerider P (I have a Tonerider J bridge thought) but I agree that changing pickups on a cheap P is a no brainer. I personally would focus more on buying a bass with a good neck, weigh and balance than worry about stock pickups. If soldering is an issue a solderless loom from @KiOgon can solve the problem, and also likely improve on the stock tone control.

I have a Squier Affinity PJ. I did not really like the pickups, which I have replaced with some cheap but great sounding Wilkinsons. The neck is really comfortable and the poplar body is really lightweight - although to the point that the bass is a bit neck heavy. I must say I have had two and both had problems in terms of limited truss rod range, which is not good esecially if you plan to tune down. I assume however that these are QC failures, I have been unlucky and that's not the norm. Overall, I believe it is a good bass for the money and a good modification platform. As for comparing with other basses, I can only tell you that I tried a Yamaha BB234, which would have cost ~£100 more, and I did not like how it sounded really. Any time I try a bass in a shop however I wonder if it is an amp thing..

Ha! No it does not. That divided by 10 is reasonable

It could make sense. New strings tend to buzz more. Would you say you are now in a situation where you get a buzz unless you have a very high action? I just thought that sometimes when I remove strings and fiddle a bit, it can happen that some saddle screws move. From one reason or another, you may have found yourself with a very different setup after changing strings compared to what you had before. So that could have been a bad reference point to start adjusting. What I would do personally would be to forget about the previous strings and start fresh as if the bass was new. I would do a reasonable setup (eg 0.3mm 0.35mm relief, 2,5mm string height at the 12th fret on E side, a little less on G side), then adjust further if needed to remove any unacceptable buzz. Once that is done, I would see if the resulting action is acceptable for me. Reading between the lines you may have done that already. Just thought it would be worth mentioning it. Btw you should be able to identify any obvious fret bump yourself by using a rocker (or any straight object really, I use an affordable string height gauge such as this https://amzn.eu/d/asRKJIE ) - you just put it across 3 frets and see if it rocks. You can start with strings on and some relief (if you see a bump in that case it is a really big one), although a proper job requires a straight neck. If there is no bump, I doubt a luthier could help with a quick fix (although they may still be able to help I guess either with a full fret dressing or by spotting something that you did not)

I'd wait for replies from experts, I am not one, but I think I heard that changing strings, especially if they are not replaced one by one, tuning immediately, may result in some movements in the neck which may require truss-rod adjustments. You say relief feels and looks fine. Did you try fiddle with that anyway?

Interesting. I personally could not live with that at that price level. Or even quite below

I don't know the bass so I cannot give any practical feedback. On the question of whether you are mad or is it gas, it sounds to me that you are in a situation where you can sell your bass and get one you like more maybe even at no cost if you sell your Fender well. So I guess it is pretty straightforward, not crazy at all. Just maybe doublecheck your first impressions on the Tokai are correct (try again, read about it). I assume you have given the Fender its best chance through a professional-level setup and by carefully choosing strings that suit you. Is that how GAS starts? I don't know but it looks like you just have one bass, maybe a backup. If that's the case I would not worry much yet

Just bought a strap from Dean. Quick and smooth transaction, quick delivery very good communication! 👍

It depends on the definition of "issue" I guess Certainly millimeters make necks feel different, at least to me. As a person affected by GAS, this can become an issue

I have two P basses: a 42mm and a 40mm. I enjoy playing on the 42mm neck more. While that's not the only difference between the two necks, based on experience with other necks of various shapes and forms I am pretty sure it is down to width. As I am stating what I like and not what is best/more suitable etc.., I doubt it is a rationalism, but who knows

I have definitely noticed that the higher the tension the lower the action I can get. Would that be the case ona bass with absolutely 100% perfect fretwork, nut etc... ? I don't know. I am also under the unpression that a chunkier string helps reduce buzz regardless of tension, but because this is all based on comparing different types of strings and not different gauges of the same, I am not sure 100% yet.

There was some resin-looking stuff here and there on the screws when they came out so I believe glued

I started on a P. I was playing the guitar at the time, I thought I'd like to noodle a bit on a bass and bought a cheap one, which happened to be a P, I do not remember the brand. There was something magnetic about that bass. I was playing it all the time. Few months later I was playing bass full time. Unfortunately, sometimes I am silly, especially when I think I am being rational. I soon sold the P and "upgraded" to an Ibanez Ergodyne. It would fit better in my metal band aesthetically, everyone knew Ibanez were good for metal, thin neck would allow me to play faster and other bs... ...the reality was that the Ibanez did not come out in the mix as well (or at least, I was not able to make it come out) and the thin neck was less pleasant. But I could not admit to myself I had screwed up. Eventually I decided to move on from the Ibanez but always trying to be "rational": bought a (very good tbh) Cort GB74 and a Cort B4fl because "everyone knows Cort is better vslue for money". After a multi-year break for tendinitis, I started again but always trying to be "rational": bought some Js and another Ibanez because thinner necks "would be good for tendinitis". Fortunately, after selling the Ibanez to a shop I had an attack of GAS and I tried a Squier Affinity PJ. I immediately felt at home, as I did with my first bass many years ago. I bought it immediately. Shortly afterwards I also bought an old Squier P, from when Made in China were made with alder and rosewood and necks were lacquered. I absolutely love it except for one thing: the neck is not standard P, nut width is just 40mm!

I remember when I started I bought the cheapest bass in the shop, and, true story, I did not know there was such thing as a setup. I figured that out literaly a few years later

I would not be surprised. At the same time, when I had an Ibanez GSR205 and a HB HBZ2005 I thought the pickups were fairy equivalent (or better, the pickup+preamp ensamble). I find the Roswell in my HB JB better but these, for as cheap as they are, are not no-name pickups. I guess soapbars may be a slightly more complex issue (maybe that's the reason why one could buy plenty od good classic J and P aftermarket pickups for £20-30 while it's not the same for soapbars) but that's just a guess. At the same time, the fact that, in my opinion, the sound of a Squier Affinity PJ could in my experience be widely improved by buying £20 pickups is weird..

I had the HBZ 2005 the 5 string. Great value for money but not as good as my HB JB75fl in my opinion. Pickups where muddy compared to the Roswell you get in the J.B. I do not think they have a standard shape so an upgrade would likely be difficult. Still, very interesting bass and in many ways not comparable to the JB. Not the snappy Jaco sort of bass, not at all. It makes you want to play slowly. These two videos in my opinion give a good idea of what the bass is good for Quite heavy though, although not as much as the JB75. Neck is not thin but less chunky than the JB75's if I remember correctly. Edges were sharp. Mine was also neck heavy, but that was 5 string. As for the neck-thru, I had mixed feelings about it. The high mass bridge is hugh and my bass was at the limit of needing a neck shim - which I could not have done. Also it had this very weird thing that the pickups height was not adjustable. Easily solved, I bought some foam and put it underneath. But the pickup screws were glued, it was hard work getting them out the first time, and I was afraid the screws would get ruined before I could do it

Well, the first of the two Squiers was new, but obviously I might have been unlucky

From the picture I would say the last one is my favourite, the other two are very shiny and overwhelm the bass. Unless this is very good photo editing in that case it may be the different light/focus in the two original pictures Personally I had to return my PJ for a truss rod problem. So pickguard problem solved. I bought a sunburst one used and with sunburst I am happy with the black stock pickguard. I also have a sunburst P with a mirror scratchplate that I will definitely replace one day but no rush as I am kind of getting used to it

Thanks. I just would like a bass where I could decide to spend a lot of money on say on some super low-tension TI roundwounds without having to worry about not being able to achieve a good setup. Personally I like some relief ...I guess Squier Affinity are not the right basses for a perfect truss-rod...

It is 0.35mm. I wanted to add more as I am getting a slight buzz on 5th fret. As I can't, I have cheched the frets and it looks loke there is clear bump on the 6th fret so I'll file that. Regardless, as I said I'd like a bass that can take even lower tension strings

Soon after returnung a Squier Affinity PJ because the truss rod was maxed out but still had a good bow, I bought another one second hand. Everything looked fine but now I have put low tension strings on and I realise I am having the opposite problem. I have put low tension DR HiBeam 45-100 on and it seems I cannot get more relief than 0.35. The nut becomes extremely loose - no resistance at all. I have given it a few full turns with no effect on relief. I have tried waiting one day, but it did not help. I obviously could get higher tension strings or adjust the saddles but I like to have fully functioning basses. Is there any "permanent" solution that would be suitable for a non-expert like me with limited tools? Thanks