P-Bass Special Review

Easy to play, the Squier P Bass Special is responsive and flexible, delivering tone by the truckload. The slim, comfortable neck is matched to a solid agathis body, which is fitted with a traditional split single-coil P Bass pickup and a J Bass® pickup in the bridge position for tonal versatility. Quality touches include multi-ply pickguards and chrome dome knobs.

Features:	8
Sound:	7.8
Action:	7.3
Reliability:	7
Impression:	8
Overall rating:	7.6
Users rating:	8.8
Comments:	3

overall: 8.6

Featured review by: smily_mike, on august 17, 2007

Price paid: $ 274.5

Purchased from: GAK

Features: Easy to play, the Squier P Bass Special is responsive and flexible, delivering tone by the truckload. The slim, comfortable neck is matched to a solid agathis body, which is fitted with a traditional split single-coil P Bass pickup and a J Bass pickup in the bridge position for tonal versatility. Quality touches include multi-ply pickguards and chrome dome knobs. // 8

Sound: It suit's my playing style very well, it's got the P-Bass pickup for the more punky/ska riffs and then the Jazz pickup for the more funky feel (very well suited for playing Superstitious by Stevie Wonder). At the moment I'm using it with a Beringher 1400, (hoping to change that as I can't get the best sound out of it). It works ok, but I can't always get a full sound. I've also got the 300 model though, which is a lot better. I can get a nice rich sound out of it, and the Shape dial helps to give a little variety. The bass itself is a very versatile one. With the two different style pickups you can go for a raw, punchy punk feel or a more jazzy, funk sound. You could spend literally hours juts fiddling with the control knobs, tring out different sounds. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was pretty well set up at the factory. The pickups wern't screwed down all the way, but it only takes about 5 mins with a screwdriver to fix that. So far I havn't found any serious flaws, all I can complain about is that there's sometimes just a little bit of feedback when the tone is all the way up. // 7

Reliability & Durability: This guitar will withstand playing Live as long as you don't smash it up. It's solidly built, and the electrics all seem pretty well conected. The strap buttons are good, but if you have an old strap (like I do) I reccomend you invest in a couple of strap locks. I would definatly use this without a backup. In fact, I have many times. The finish is good, althoigh you get the inevitible fingerprints if you don't clean it, and the marks on the frets from the strings after a while. // 9

Impression: I play punk, ska, a bit of motown. This is a good amtch because as mentioned above, it is so versatile, so I can egt teh right sound for the style I am playing. I've been playing for near a year now. I did have an old Wesley, but I sold that when I got this since it was showing it's age. If it were stolen, I would definatly buy it again, unless I had enough money to buy to proper Fender version. I just love the versatility of this bass. Also, the lightness of teh wood used. The only thing is that at 20 frets, I can't always go to the second octave. // 9

overall: 9.6

Reviewed by: unregistered, on april 25, 2008

Price paid: $ 265.35

Purchased from: some music shop

Features: My P-Bass Special, made in Japan, is a 2006 one which I bought brand new. Mine has 20 jumbo frets, on a rosewood fretboard. I chose the nice black metallic one which looks stunning in the sun. The included accessories with it were a ritter gig bag, a cheapo tuner, a lead, and some picks. I liked the P pickups for ska/punk music and jazz pickups for higher pitched songs and funky rhythms. There are 3 knobs, master volume for the P pickup, master volume for the jazz pickup and a tone control. // 9

Sound: It really does suit punky music, which is my style but it is also equally as amazing at jazz/funk. I currently use it with a Fender Princeton 650 I think with no effects though I am saving up for a proper bass amp. It is just right volume wise, the sound it makes is just as good, as when you are on the P pickup it is all meaty and powerful, while on the J pickup it is so lively and bright. Together they are superb. As it has both types of pickups the variety of sounds and tones is literally endless. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The factory set up was OK I had to buy ernie ball flat round strings almost imedilatley, The pickups are screwed in only half way but it only takes a while to screw them up. Apart from that the setup was well and truly great, it is the first great guitar I have had in a while. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I would defentley use this at a gig without a backup. It seems that it can last for ever, I have dropped it once or twice with no marks at all. The strap buttons are prone to getting lose so you really have to screw them in. The paint and finish is very good and I don't worry about it coming off. // 9

Impression: It is great for my style of music as I play ska/punk, so is a perfect fit. I have only been playing bass for a year, but have been playing guitar well before that. I have owned a Squier Affinity Bass which was so-so. If I lost it I would buy it again for sure if I could not be able to afford a Fender version. I love everything about my P Bass special, But I like the 2 pickups the most. I don't hate anything about it at all. I think it is a worthy rival to the Fender version in some areas. But I now wish I got the black and chrome colored one as it looks awesome. // 10

overall: 7

Reviewed by: unregistered, on august 27, 2007

Price paid: $ 366

Purchased from: Can't remember

Features: I'm not 100% on when this was made, but it was made in Indonesia. It sports 21 frets. Mine is a gloss black finish. It did have the standard Squier pickups, but I've since changed them for Vintage Fender-Line Sensor ones. I'm basing this review on the original ones. There's one tone control and one volume control, both chrome. // 8

Sound: I play mostly heavy rock and punk rock, but have also played a little blues and Jazz in the past. I bough this guitar to learn on and it's great for that. It sounds pretty decent through any half decent amp, though I find there is a bit too much feedback with the tone all the way up. I mainly use it with either a Fender BP-15 practise amp or a Leem multi amp as I mainly use this for demoing songs (I use my Fender P-Bass for recording and playing live). It's sound it not too different from a Fender P-Bass, though you can tell the difference in recording. This bass is best suited for punk rock over other genres. // 7

Action, Fit & Finish: When I bought it, the action was a little too high for my liking, but it's really simple to adjust, and since everyone has their own preferences, I can't really knock it on that score. My only problem with it is a slight buzz on the A string due to some minor problem at the bridge which I've been unable to solve, but other that that, it's fine. // 7

Reliability & Durability: I played my first few shows with this bass and it performed really well. The only problem was with the jack, as a slight knock and it snapped a contact and cracked the pickguard. I resoldered it myself, and haven't had any more problems with it since, though I'm far more careful with it now than I was back then! The strap buttons are a little dodgy too, but nothing a quick removal and dab of glue couldn't fix, but you don't really want to be building the guitar yourself. // 6

Impression: Overall I'd say it's a damn decent entry level bass, and maybe good as a back up to your Fender because they're so cheap in comparison and the sound isn't too different. If you play punk rock, then this is a cheap alternative to those expensive models out there, and it will perform just as well, but don't expect it to last forever. As I've said, I also own a Fender P-Bass and much prefer that, but mainly for the build quality. Fender brand (although they're essentialy the same company) guitars seem to last a lot longer and don't have as many small problems. It's easy to pick up and play, fun to learn on and I would never get rid of it, mainly due to the hours I've put in maintaining the thing! If you buy one of these, check all the screw points and buttons to make sure they're tight, and search eBay for a new set of Fender pickups. Replace the fitted ones and you'll have a bass that can sound better than a top end Fender model for less than half the price! // 7

overall: 5.2

Reviewed by: stevo192, on april 21, 2008

Price paid: $ 329.4

Purchased from: guitars.co.uk

Features: This bass is a 2007 model. The body is agathis, with a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. It is passive, and had both Precision and jazz pickups in it. The body is a Precision bass body, but the neck has more a jazz thickness to it (or so they say). The hardware is all Squier’s own. The finish on mine is metallic black. I didn’t get any accessories with mind apart from the usual allen keys for adjusting the action and truss rod. One feature I really like is that the jack socket is located on the bottom side of the bass (telecaster style) rather than on the pickguard like most Precision style basses have. // 7

Sound: I use this with my 600w Behringer stack, and can get some quite good tones, ranging from a trebly punky sort of sound to a deep blues bass sound. The bass also sounds pretty good for slap. The great advantage of having a bass with both the P/J pickup configuration is that you can get both sounds out of one bass. This bass is pretty noisy, and I suspect that the shielding inside isn’t quite up to scratch. I find that it sounds constantly ‘tinny’ too, despite EQing it properly. I originally bought this bass as my main bass but was forced to upgrade after around 3 months. This was because, despite my band’s soundman’s best efforts, he just could not make the bass cut through properly in the band situation, and just ended up having no headroom left, and the bass still not cutting. // 4

Action, Fit & Finish: The setup on the bass was remarkably poor when I got it. The action was sky high, the neck was very bowed and the intonation was way out. I had to set it up properly and it took quite a while! The pickups were also very low, I would go as far as to say they were about as low as they will go. I had to adjust those properly too. The finish on the guitar was perfect when it arrived, and had been packed very well. The stock strings, however, are not that good, and I would recommend that you swapped them with a decent set (rotosounds, etc). // 5

Reliability & Durability: The bass stays in tune quite well, but temperature seems to affect it a lot more than my other basses. I wouldn’t gig with this bass without a backup, primarily because it currently fills that role itself, i.e. it is the backup for my Fender (even though I trust it implicitly, I always take the Squier just to be sure). Also, the input jack will not stop working loose, and I have to tighten it up regularly. The finish is not very durable, and is marked and dented very easily. // 4

Impression: This bass is alright. Just alright. Nothing special really here. It was advertised as having a slim jazz style neck, but really was not thin at all and was quite chunky indeed. I play rock, pop music, and this bass is quite a good match. I wouldn’t buy this bass again, and I wouldn’t advise others to buy it. It sounds slightly weak, damages easily, and the hardware isn’t particularly fantastic. I wouldn’t consider buying it again as I hate the way the neck feels. I’ve got quite small hands, and despite the bass being advertised as having a slim neck, it feels thick and chunky. This makes it difficult and tiring to play. The weight is also quite an issue, as after playing this at several gigs, it becomes extremely tiring on the shoulder. // 6

Comments

[Ali-b912]

would this be good for an intermediate guitarist to use? i plan on still using my guitar but my band doesnt have a bassist and wont for a while so i took the job upon myself. i think an affinity squier is more for a complete beginner but its a hell of alot cheaper to get it and an amp. advices please

[Ali-b912]

btw, i play hard/classic rock and metal, and i know that this isnt an affinity i was comparing the affinity pack to one of these (both are $550 AUD)

[manipulator]

i need a wiring schematic for this bass, if anyone could possibly hook me up let me know [e-mail] thanks a mil.