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The re-birth of my Affinity P-bass.


Maarten_E
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Hi guys!

I'm working on a little project to upgrade my Squier Affinity P-bass, which I bought 2 years ago.
When I got it, it looked like sh*t, but it plays well.
I've been doing a lot of modifications through the times, but the big things (electronics a.o.) will be done in a few weeks.
This is what she looked like when I bought her.:


At first, I changed her appearence by putting a new Fender strap on her, and removing the black and white gaffertape :blink: on her knobs.
Then, she looked like this:


(The amplifier you see is an old gee-tar amp, which is replaced by an Ampeg BA-108 last August.

After a while, I decided to upgrade her totally, but on a bit of a budget, I want the total cost not to be higher then the amount of money you'd pay for a new Squier Affinity P-bass.
At first, she got new D'Addario Flats, which I really like, I seem to play much faster ;)

Now, she looks like this:

You see, she has a different Pickguard (lime-green), a bridgecover, a new strap (brown suited my Jazz Bass more... :lol: ), and the rosewood has been treathend with lemonoil.
She now also has a new Schaller bridge, which looks awesome, it's a lot thicker and bigger then the standard bridge, which looks like it's going to fall apart anytime ;)


To-Do list:
- New black knobs
- Installing CTS potmeters
- New black tuners
- New jack

And that's about it ;)

I know, it's not the most entertaining upgrade you can think of, but I find it exciting ;)

Greets from The Netherlands,

Maarten

Edited by Maarten_E
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Nearly finished my Affinity upgrade.

Black white black pg courtesy of Bass Doc.....makes a massive difference to the look.
Mighty Mite Maple board neck with 70s logo (I know, I know) with 70s Wilkinson Tuners.

Looking quite Roger Waters now but still thinking about a period neck plate and bridge cover. The Squier pups will probably have to go at some point but where do you stop......

Definitely punch above their weight these Affinitys Maarten.

Edited by martthebass
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Thanks for your reply, Martthebass!
Do you have a link to a topic about your project, or some pictures, so I can have a idea of what it looks like.
Sounds really good! :)

The neck will be completely replaced by a London City neck (as far as I know as good as or better, in comparision with the current neck.) Can buy it for 60€, which is 30 pounds I believe. (Can't find the pound sign on my keyboard... :blush: )

Edited by Maarten_E
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Great project - my Affinity P-Special was my first bass, and I give it a bunch of upgrades a couple of years ago. Holds its own against much more expensive basses.

I cleaned off all the stickers and gunk that teenage me left on there, stuck on a Badass II bridge, Wizard pickups (Thumper in the P position and an 84 at the bridge), a W/B/W scratchplate and all new pots/wiring/jack. It's a beast now. I was tempted to change the neck as I prefer the look of maple (would love an all-black P with maple board, classic!) but the original neck plays great so I've kept it on. Planning to do the tuners and nut at some point, I'm sure I'll get round to it eventually!

Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

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The Badass is great, the tone and sustain definitely improved since the upgrades, although I fitted them all at the same time so it's hard to say how much of the change has come from the bridge. I've also fitted a Gotoh 201 to a cheap Jazz copy, that's a nice chunky bridge too, and probably a bit cheaper and easier to get hold of than the Badass these days.

I do think the Wizard pickups are excellent, and the customer service is superb, so I'd check them out if you get the chance. I chatted to Andy at Wizard about the tone I was looking for, the styles I was playing, and what I was after from the pickups, and he tweaked the winding and construction to suit my requirements. I think mine are wound a little bit hotter than standard, and he tweaked the Jazz bridge pickup to make it a better match for the Precision pickup - as good as the Seymour Duncan stuff might be, you don't get that level of service and personalisation from a big manufacturer!

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[quote name='martthebass' timestamp='1327442057' post='1511408']
Nearly finished my Affinity upgrade.

Black white black pg courtesy of Bass Doc.....makes a massive difference to the look.
Mighty Mite Maple board neck with 70s logo (I know, I know) with 70s Wilkinson Tuners.[/quote]

+1. Mine is exactly the same as yours, you can't beat the black/black/maple combination. I'm not ashamed of the fake Fender logo though,
some of us don't have money these days to throw around on £500+ basses. besides it finishes the look off, and I would never try to pass it off as the real thing if I sold it.

Edited by pst62
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[quote name='pst62' timestamp='1327491952' post='1512104']
+1. Mine is exactly the same as yours, you can't beat the black/black/maple combination. I'm not ashamed of the fake Fender logo though,
some of us don't have money these days to throw around on £500+ basses. besides it finishes the look off, and I would never try to pass it off as the real thing if I sold it.
[/quote]

Ditto I'm not a Fender snob.....my first decent bass was a Squier (albeit a JV) and even though the body has some dinks I dont think it would fool anybody lol. I use mine against my CAR US Jazz 75RI - there aint £1000+ difference between em.

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[quote name='martthebass' timestamp='1327670548' post='1515097']
Dunno, but the Affinity is standard Fender fit....any licensed neck should do. The Mighty Mite in mine was very slightly thinner and shallower but no problem in fitting.
[/quote]
Okay, I'm interested in a London City neck (which is, quite surprising considering the name, a Dutch brand), which should be better than the standard Affinity neck.
The owner of the LC neck is checking whether the neck could/should fit, so we'll see :)

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Little update:
We found out the London City neck won't fit, so I've been looking at something else.
A MiM Fender P neck for 100€! (which is 70 Pounds I believe).
I will get her in at the end of the month, when the current owner will recieve his new neck.

I'm happy!
So, a lot of budget goes to the neck, but on the upside, there are just a few minor things to get, such as the Orange Drop and new tuners.
I'm considering a Pickup-upgrade as well, but that can wait I think. :)

Edited by Maarten_E
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[quote name='Maarten_E' timestamp='1328458390' post='1527328']
Thank you for your reaction!
Do you know if the Wilkinson tuners are available in The Netherlands, where I live? ;)
[/quote]
Hi Maarten,
Why don't you just order them from [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wilkinson-Open-Bass-Machine-Head-Tuner-HWJB200-Chrome-/220839354896?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item336b0d2210"]here[/url]
That's where I got mine, that's cheapest price I've seen them too. :)

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