2000s P-bass body wood

[WimWalther]

Anybody know what wood was used in a ca.2005 Squier Affinity P-bass body? I've read it could be variously basswood, poplar or alder.

If this is helpful - I needed to drill & dowel a stripped screw hole, and the drill shavings were a dark, reddish-tan color. Previous owner managed to strip out both of the strap button screws. Both were loose, but they just spun if I tried to tighten them.


Btw, what's with the NGD / NAD prefix option when posting a new topic?

[Herbie]

Here they say it is alder.

Affinity Precision Bass | Squier Wiki

Do You mean New Guitar Day / New Amp Day? They are for stories about new guitars / amps.

[WimWalther]

Here they say it is alder

Cool, thanks!

This info seems to be for current production instruments. I wonder if the materials were the same back 20 years ago?

I know the colors weren't! Mine is what I believe they called Cobalt Blue Metallic. It's an almost purplish, dark cobalt blue with a fine metallic sheen.

So does alder produce dark, reddish-brown sawdust / drill chips?

Do You mean New Guitar Day / New Amp Day? They are for stories about new guitars / amps.

Pardon? Not quite getting your meaning. But yes, it's a new-to-me bass. Now I just need to learn how to play the dang thing.. ;-)

[Herbie]

Pardon? Not quite getting your meaning. But yes, it's a new-to-me bass. Now I just need to learn how to play the dang thing.. ;-)

You asked about prefixes NGD / NAD.

I always thought that it is easy to play bass, but after playing it in one cover band for some years, I realised that connecting the melody, harmony and the groove is its own art form.

Good luck!

[Herbie]

Cool, thanks!

This info seems to be for current production instruments. I wonder if the materials were the same back 20 years ago?

I know the colors weren't! Mine is what I believe they called Cobalt Blue Metallic. It's an almost purplish, dark cobalt blue with a fine metallic sheen.

So does alder produce dark, reddish-brown sawdust / drill chips?

I have drilled more Gibsons in last decades than Fenders, so I can’t say anything else that reddish-brown sounds like mahogany.

But mahogany in Squier basses… I doubt.

[WimWalther]

I have drilled more Gibsons in last decades than Fenders, so I can’t say anything else that reddish-brown sounds like mahogany.

But mahogany in Squier basses… I doubt.

Right. I have an Epiphone Thunderbird IV that's definitely mahogany and really heavy. The Squier is much lighter, but the drill chips that came out had that mahogany color.

This was when drilling the upper sling screw, on the bass horn. Guess I'll see what I get next when drilling the bottom screw.

(How does someone strip out both sling button screws??)

[John A.]

It’s most likely alder (I think they’ve always been spec’d as such). The dark color is probably from paint and/or sanding sealer and/or wood fill of some kind getting mixed in with wood dust, plus maybe the wood being slightly discolored by the drill bit heating up. You could try taking the pickup out and seeing if any bare wood is visible.

Could also be a random dark bit in the wood. My alder strat has a streak of darker color visible through the light part of the sunburst.

[Herbie]

And then there is a variety of alder called Alnus rubra, aka red alder. Often used as a tone wood.

Alnus rubra - Wikipedia

And now when I think it more, the Finnish word for alder is leppä, which meant red in old times.

[WimWalther]

The dark color is probably from paint and/or sanding sealer and/or wood fill of some kind getting mixed in with wood dust, plus maybe the wood being slightly discolored by the drill bit heating up. (...) Could also be a random dark bit in the wood.

Nah. The chip was all the same color through & through, from just beneath the surface to the bottom of the hole.

And there was no heating, either. I only use a hand-crank drill on stuff like this.

[WimWalther]

Pics from the same 2005-ish P-bass.

Does this look like an AlNiCo pickup to you? The black block is a piece of foam.

[John A.]

And then there is a variety of alder called Alnus rubra, aka red alder. Often used as a tone wood.

Alnus rubra - Wikipedia

And now when I think it more, the Finnish word for alder is leppä, which meant red in old times.

Looking at the pictures on that Wiki page, that could account for the dark color.

[Rickco]

Anybody know what wood was used in a ca.2005 Squier Affinity P-bass body? I've read it could be variously basswood, poplar or alder.

If this is helpful - I needed to drill & dowel a stripped screw hole, and the drill shavings were a dark, reddish-tan color. Previous owner managed to strip out both of the strap button screws. Both were loose, but they just spun if I tried to tighten them.


Btw, what's with the NGD / NAD prefix option when posting a new topic?

I just took the neck off mine and its poplar

[John A.]

Pics from the same 2005-ish P-bass.

Does this look like an AlNiCo pickup to you? The black block is a piece of foam.

With Fender-style pickups if the magnets are alnico they're typically individual pole piece magnets, and if ceramic it's typically one magnet stuck to the underside of the pickup. So based on construction, I'd assume that's ceramic (plus all the affinity specs I've seen say ceramic). It's not always obvious from the appearance of the magnet itself what it's made of, but in general alnico will have a more metallic appearance and can be polished to a shine. Ceramic will usually look darker and duller.

[WimWalther]

With Fender-style pickups if the magnets are alnico they're typically individual pole piece magnets, and if ceramic it's typically one magnet stuck to the underside of the pickup. So based on construction, I'd assume that's ceramic (plus all the affinity specs I've seen say ceramic).

You lost me there. Your description of a ceramic pickup matches my understanding, but where in my pics do you see the single slab of ceramic magnet?

The black rectangular block is foam, and the mottled gray-green piece sandwiched beneath seems to be part of the bobbin. So where is the ceramic magnet?

[AllanAllen]

Does it matter what kind of wood it is if you're going to drill it out and shove a maple dowel in there?

I feel like that needs punctuation somewhere....

[John A.]

You lost me there. Your description of a ceramic pickup matches my understanding, but where in my pics do you see the single slab of ceramic magnet?

The black rectangular block is foam, and the mottled gray-green piece sandwiched beneath seems to be part of the bobbin. So where is the ceramic magnet?

The "mottled gray-green piece" looks like a magnet to me. It definitely does not look like part of the bobbin.

[WimWalther]

The "mottled gray-green piece" looks like a magnet to me. It definitely does not look like part of the bobbin.

Ah, ok. It doesn't look like any ceramic magnet I've ever seen. The ones I'm familiar with are a uniform dark-gray - or at least that's how they appear before they're coated.

[WimWalther]

Does it matter what kind of wood it is if you're going to drill it out and shove a maple dowel in there?

No, I can't say that it really matters much. More just a matter of my personal curiosity.

[John A.]

Ah, ok. It doesn't look like any ceramic magnet I've ever seen. The ones I'm familiar with are a uniform dark-gray - or at least that's how they appear before they're coated.

¯\_(?)_/¯. You have it in hand, I don't. There are ways to figure out whether something is a magnet.

[WimWalther]

¯ There are ways to figure out whether something is a magnet.

Ok, sure.

The mottled gray piece attracts ferrous metal. So it's a magnet, then?

[John A.]

Ok, sure.

The mottled gray piece attracts ferrous metal. So it's a magnet, then?

Yes.

[WimWalther]

Here's another pic of the pickup with the foam block partially removed. Not what I expected to see!

If the mottled gray pieces are magnets, then it looks like they're arranged in a crossfield?

[Herbie]

Here's another pic of the pickup with the foam block partially removed. Not what I expected to see!

If the mottled gray pieces are magnets, then it looks like they're arranged in a crossfield?

The P90 pickups work in a same way, two magnets against the pole pieces.

[WimWalther]

The P90 pickups work in a same way, two magnets against the pole pieces.

So this is a ceramic pickup, then? It uses a pair of ceramic bar magnets and four unmagnetized metal slugs as pole pieces?

Btw, I'm unsure what a P90 is. I'll try looking it up.

[John A.]

The P90 pickups work in a same way, two magnets against the pole pieces.

Yup, 2 magnets. I can’t say for sure whether those are alnico or ceramic. But my guess is ceramic, for the reasons already stated. If it sounds good (and if it’s anything like the one I got for my son I bet it does), enjoy. If it doesn’t, welcome to the hell of tone-chasing. Abandon hope all ye who enter here.