Originally a customer order that was never collected, this instrument has languished at the back of my nearest Fender dealership in its cardboard box for a few years. BNIB, it just cost me the sort of money that unmolested pre-owned examples now fetch.
In my opinion, a white/black/white pickguard would look infinitely better against Candy Apple Red than the stock B/W/B. I envisage replacing the Gotoh 201B lookalike bridge with the genuine article. Parts drawer pickup options available to me include EMG GZR, SD/Basslines Pro Active or the ol' Seymour Duncan Active EQ "switch" pickups.
I do not usually care very much for PJ pickup pairings. This instrument will be an exception. The extra pickup would be especially useful if I ever bought a fretless Squire VM P and swapped the necks over.
No pics until;
a) I have finished modifying
b) I sort out a photo hosting account.
You say, atom bomb. I say, tin of corned beef.
Comments
Thoughts of adding a dual concentric treble 'n' bass active EQ have been thwarted by the intrusion of the barrel jack socket into the same bit of the control cavity where the PCB portion of an EMG-BTC or Duncan STC-2C-BO needs to go if it is to fit neatly.
https://speakerimpedance.co.uk/?act=two_parallel&page=calculator
The J pickup is a well chosen balance for the P. In a blend, it is not completely swamped. On its own, it is pleasantly wiry.
What the GZR combination fails to do is the classic passive J Bass honk. (Not that I ever expected it to.) P on full, J on 90% has a useful hollowness to it. Just not the full-on Marcus Miller slap thang.
As mentioned in the opening post, there is insufficient space in the control cavity for a stacked knob dual concentric active EQ. Turns out that there was no pressing need for onboard EQ. The traditional passive voicings are fine.
I hated the minty green scratchplate when it was on my Seminole Red AVRI '63. On the Squier, it looks fine.