davidmark Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 Hi I have a Squire P Bass special that I am looking to funk up a bit, have change pups but am looking to pimp it up a bit in the looks dept, I am into the vintage vibe (as in old stuff not the compnay) , any suggestions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nik1093 Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 yea i want to do this too. anyone with any ideas of what to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 It rather depends what you mean by 'vintage vibe'. Vintage precisions don't have the jazz pickup nor painted headstocks, so getting a 60's/70's vintage look would be very difficult. If you just want to relic it try looking [url="http://www.tdpri.com/resourceRELICING.htm"]here.[/url] There's are plenty of other resources on the net for relicing as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Some ideas: If there is a particular issue about its sound or performance that you want to address: Change the pickups Rewire it with CTS pots and a switchcraft socket. (this can make more difference on a squier than you'd imagine) install a badassII bridge (don't forget to cut the grooves) Upgrade the tuners if the existing ones are crap If you want somewhere to rest your hand like James Jamerson or Marcus: Install a chrome 'ashtray' pickup cover Install a thumb rest If its just a matter of marking your territory: get a different colour pickguard stick some stickers on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmark Posted June 12, 2007 Author Share Posted June 12, 2007 Thank you for the suggestions, ashtray pickup covers sound like a good idea, how to install though , body is made of agathis do you think it will stand up to drilling the holes to mount the ashtrays. Was thinking about maybe changing the bridge to one of the bridges with two saddles to make for a more vintage look [url="http://www.allparts.uk.com/catalogue/product_info.php?cPath=91002_91036_91038&products_id=10342"]http://www.allparts.uk.com/catalogue/produ...oducts_id=10342[/url] Also changing volume and tone knob(s). Have got seymour duncan p , j set so will swap pickups over soon. Also does anybody know if it would be possible to modify a squier for thru body stringing. Any suggestions welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 (edited) [quote name='davidmark' post='16163' date='Jun 12 2007, 12:31 PM']Also does anybody know if it would be possible to modify a squier for thru body stringing. Any suggestions welcome[/quote] You'd need a replacement bridge that allowed thru body stringing. You'd also need metal ferrules for the back to catch the ball ends of the strings. If you'd like the holes to be in a straight line, don't even think of drilling by hand. Mount the bridge, mark the holes and use a vertical drill stand. Make sure you drill the holes for the ferrules at the rear nice and tight, you don't want them loose. PRACTICE ON SCRAP WOOD FIRST. You should end up with something like this: Edited June 12, 2007 by neepheid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 You can get away with using a plunge router to drill the holes for through body stringing - just check that it will drill to the required depth. Personally I wouldn't bother with two saddle bridges. As far as I recall only the earliest precisions, tele bass and musicmaster had these bridges, and the intonation suffers as a result, for something that's only visible to close inspection. It's your call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Hi , I was also wondering if anybody knew how much (roughly) it would cost to get the pick ups changed over by a music shop, i have been quoted £35 but i am a bit sceptical as this sounds a bit cheap as I have heard of music stores charging that just to cut a new nut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 [quote name='markdavid' post='17521' date='Jun 14 2007, 12:12 PM']Hi , I was also wondering if anybody knew how much (roughly) it would cost to get the pick ups changed over by a music shop, i have been quoted £35 but i am a bit sceptical as this sounds a bit cheap as I have heard of music stores charging that just to cut a new nut[/quote] Sounds about right for fitting a new pickup if it's just a straight replacement, with no routing involved. Obviously it wouldn't include the price of the pickup though. It's an easy job to replace pickups - why not do it yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul, the Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 I have a P-special (jazz neck, jazz pup, gold pg, vintage pups). I'm going to fit covers, thumb rest and re-paint it in either a dark chocolate brown or vintage white. That should make it look pretty old-school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 Good call , I would love to see that Bass once the customisations have been done, make sure you post pics of it. I will be adding some pickup covers to mine very soon, am thinking of stringing it with flatwounds once everything else has been done (seymour duncans and flats , should make an interesting tone) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 have now added seymour duncans and will be adding pickup covers very,very soon, I am currently looking to fit a 2 band eq , any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 I've got a squire p-special, languishing unloved in a corner, that i'm eternally threatening to tart up. it already plays surprisingly well, so i'll probably start with the electrics and go from there. A bit of old school black-on-black might be nice... although i'm kind of tempted by those glowguard things. Tacky as hell, but hey, the more flashing lights, the better it sounds, right?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Hi all , will be adding ashtrays this week , have attached some pics now so you can see what i am working with , any ideas? What should I add next to pimpify my bass [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=67414&d=1188517508"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.p...mp;d=1188517508[/url] [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=67415&d=1188517508"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.p...mp;d=1188517508[/url] [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=65298&d=1186259902"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.p...mp;d=1186259902[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaphappygarry Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 Black pickguard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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