Squier Affinity Precision Bass PJ Race Red

Most Liked Positive Review

Surprising quality

I was hesitant to write a review, since this is my first and only electric bass. After practicing daily for a year, I am ready to share some observations. The build quality is way beyond what I expected for the price! The finish is flawless. It is nicer than my Squire Standard Stratocaster, which cost quite a bit more. The neck, head stock and fret board are smooth. The fret edges are nicely beveled and look polished. The satin neck feels great in the hand. Out of the box, the neck was straight, the intonation pretty close, and the action about right for a beginner. Over time I acquired a softer touch on my right hand, and was able to lower the action significantly. The neck is now very playable. There is one pot for each pickup, plus a tone pot. Fiddling with the controls, you will likely find a tone you'll like. The bridge pickup brings some hum into the mix. Cutting the tone mitigates the hum. The neck pickup is practically noiseless. My preferred setting is the neck pickup around 8, bridge pickup around 3 and the tone about half way. The numbers are guessed. There is no scale on the knobs. When recording, I found that the signal straight out of the instrument was fairly weak. My solution is to open up the pots, then manipulate the tone in the software. The bass is well balanced, but a little on the heavy side. Since i practice on foot, an extra wide leather strap was required. The tuning machines are precise and hold the tune. I did not care for the original strings and replaced them early. Other than that, everything is stock. I see no need to change anything until the pots get scratchy. In summary, I already had endless hours of fun with my JP Bass, and I'm just getting started. So could you!