My roadmap for the Affinity!

[FlyStraight99]

Hey all,

 

I’ve rehearsed a few times with the Squier Affinity PJ bass and it’s a thing of beauty, the PJ pickups, the maple neck and black body, as well as the proper precision shape and neck size (I bought a sonic precision previously which had a jazz neck - I don’t mind a thin neck but wider works better for my sausage-like digits) 

 

only caveat is the pickups are very… mild? Very thin and not as overpowering although I am influenced by my Harley Benton pbass which has fitted SPB-1 pick ups among other little bits.

 

I plan on having the below done for performance & aesthetic reasons.
 

Would you recommend anything else be done that’ll improve the bass for gigging?  

 

SPB3 pickups & pots upgrade

matte black S/plate  

gotoh multitonal bridge

schaller lightweight tuning heads 

string retainer for A D & G (plenty of break angle on E string) 

 

 

Cheers! I don’t get on here enough it’s awesome! 

[itu]

Start with pickup adjustment or simply turn more gain from the amp. 

 

Make a trial with different strings to find the set you like the most with this bass. 

tapewound - flatwound - groundwound - nickel RW - SS RW 

...and of course try different gauges. 

[Rodders]

As @itu says start with the cheapest options first i.e. checking set up, amp settings, strings etc and see if that has any improvement on the sound. 

 

[Mrbigstuff]

If you’re going to this level of mods, I’d get the frets levelled by a top luthier to make it play like butter. That and the nut will make the biggest difference.

[Lozz196]

The changes suggested will all improve the bass in terms of quality, but as above a good fret level & change of nut will make it be able to be set up to play at its best. That coupled with the pickup change will get you a bass that plays great and sounds it too. 
 

One thing to consider though, quite often Squier put 500k pots in the electrics, resulting in a quite toppy sound, sometimes just swapping those to 250k can bring a real change to the existing pickups. Might be worth a try.

[Bassman68]

I’m pretty sure that the Affinity series come with Ceramic pick-ups, my white PJ certainly does…

They’re a bit of an acquired taste,  being quite bright, but get the height right & they can sing.

I found the maple neck quite bulky but I swapped the neck out for a 70’sCV which is somewhere between a Jazz & a P-bass width, but lovely & slim in depth.

As others have suggested, get a good set-up done & see how you get on before shelling out on too many upgrades? Otherwise you might be better off saving for a better quality instrument in the long run…

[kodiakblair]

On 19/08/2025 at 23:44, FlyStraight99 said:

gotoh multitonal bridge

schaller lightweight tuning heads 

Does the current bridge not allow you to set the string heights or intonation ?

 

Do the current tuning pegs slip, even after basic maintenance of a daub of grease and a wee tighten ?

 

Does the bass neck dive in all positions or can you find the balance point by adjusting the strap ?

 

On 19/08/2025 at 23:44, FlyStraight99 said:

SPB3 pickups & pots upgrade

£130 for a bit more output but lose the mids which give the P-bass it distinct sound. Not an ideal situation.

 

Could try an Entwistle Neo, PBXN, at £40. Massive boost in output while retaining the P-bass mids.

 

Screenshot of the SPB-3 signal vs the Entwistle PBXN. Tested using identical basses with same strings, pickup heights and settings.