Hmph! Drop in replacements, my foot 
<waffly background intro>
I'd got a hint of this from elsewhere so wasn't too phased but my install of the Quarter Pound set didn't go as smoothly as I hoped. Not sure what people know about different models but the Squier Precision bass, standard series is a dual pickup thing - pretty sound construction but very uninspiring pickups. I'd had this about 10 years (I think soon after the model launched) and as I wasn't really going anywhere with my playing I didn't bother too much. Then I finally got in with a band, depping and now full time, and it is amazing how much that changes attitude to playing!
Anyway, while a bad workman blames their tools, it had started dawning on me that things were not great in the tools department. One rainy day and I accidentally acquired an Ibanez SR650 which has opened my eyes to what I could do with a decent (but not extravagant) bass, and the sound it makes was just my cup of tea.
So now I had an unloved and redundant budget bass, firstly new strings (10 years is probably enough for one set, even if they were often lounging around in a case for months on end!) but disappointing. A major setup project and ventured into the world of truss rods and got a major improvement in playability, but nothing going on with the sound.
</waffly background intro>
Settled on Quarter Pounds based on ease of fitting, sensible price and some good reviews.
Not done anything with guitar wiring before so a bit of an adventure, but looked easy.
First problem, 8 screws taken out, 4 screws supplied - anyway, I'd seen the complaints about the silver screws and the original screws were fine for reuse.
Second problem, didn't see anywhere in the instructions where a chisel was part of the necessary tools for installation. The original Fender pickup is probably about 1-2mm shorter than the SD bridge pickup. There was not enough play to squeeze it in, the cover would pop out each time. Tried a bit of sanding down of the cover, but then decided that the way to go was to enlarge the hole. Also, the hole in the body to the pots was very high at the side of the pickup, so the wires were trapped and bent - a couple of trial installations and I needed to re-solder the wires.
Third problem, the holes in the Squier are very deep - I suspected this would be a problem, because I'd never been able to get the original pickups at a satisfactory height. My solution was to scavenge the old foam from the original pickups and stack it with the new foam - I could then get the pickups up to the 1/8" starting point of the setup guide (soon backed that off due to to much rattle).
Fourth problem - mega-buzz from the bridge pickup. That was my soldering. Pull it all apart and re-solder.
Fifth problem - buzz from the bridge pickup. Read forum, discover this is life ahead, but much more significant than on the Ibanez. Convinced myself soldering was fine with some checking with bridging wires around the bass making no difference. (Reading later noted the multi-meter resistance check hint from another forum and wondered why I didn't think of using it as I have one).
Anyway, now I have a bass that does growl instead of grumble, so successful from that point of view. Sounds 100 times better than it did before the upgrade, but my Ibanez I suspect will always be the love of my life, it sounds so good and a lot lighter.
So at the end, my final query is on shielding. The Squier standard shielding appears to be about 2 chewing gum wrappers worth attached between the pots and the scratch guard, nothing elsewhere. At home, I suspect the major noise is wi-fi - pulsating, two or three different patterns, sometimes quietens down plus a bit of mains hum. Is shielding going to make much difference? Thinking about using one of the shielding paints. Thinking of what I remember from networking days, will twisting the pickup wires help at all? How have people shielded the hole from bridge pickup to pots?
<waffly background intro>
I'd got a hint of this from elsewhere so wasn't too phased but my install of the Quarter Pound set didn't go as smoothly as I hoped. Not sure what people know about different models but the Squier Precision bass, standard series is a dual pickup thing - pretty sound construction but very uninspiring pickups. I'd had this about 10 years (I think soon after the model launched) and as I wasn't really going anywhere with my playing I didn't bother too much. Then I finally got in with a band, depping and now full time, and it is amazing how much that changes attitude to playing!
Anyway, while a bad workman blames their tools, it had started dawning on me that things were not great in the tools department. One rainy day and I accidentally acquired an Ibanez SR650 which has opened my eyes to what I could do with a decent (but not extravagant) bass, and the sound it makes was just my cup of tea.
So now I had an unloved and redundant budget bass, firstly new strings (10 years is probably enough for one set, even if they were often lounging around in a case for months on end!) but disappointing. A major setup project and ventured into the world of truss rods and got a major improvement in playability, but nothing going on with the sound.
</waffly background intro>
Settled on Quarter Pounds based on ease of fitting, sensible price and some good reviews.
Not done anything with guitar wiring before so a bit of an adventure, but looked easy.
First problem, 8 screws taken out, 4 screws supplied - anyway, I'd seen the complaints about the silver screws and the original screws were fine for reuse.
Second problem, didn't see anywhere in the instructions where a chisel was part of the necessary tools for installation. The original Fender pickup is probably about 1-2mm shorter than the SD bridge pickup. There was not enough play to squeeze it in, the cover would pop out each time. Tried a bit of sanding down of the cover, but then decided that the way to go was to enlarge the hole. Also, the hole in the body to the pots was very high at the side of the pickup, so the wires were trapped and bent - a couple of trial installations and I needed to re-solder the wires.
Third problem, the holes in the Squier are very deep - I suspected this would be a problem, because I'd never been able to get the original pickups at a satisfactory height. My solution was to scavenge the old foam from the original pickups and stack it with the new foam - I could then get the pickups up to the 1/8" starting point of the setup guide (soon backed that off due to to much rattle).
Fourth problem - mega-buzz from the bridge pickup. That was my soldering. Pull it all apart and re-solder.
Fifth problem - buzz from the bridge pickup. Read forum, discover this is life ahead, but much more significant than on the Ibanez. Convinced myself soldering was fine with some checking with bridging wires around the bass making no difference. (Reading later noted the multi-meter resistance check hint from another forum and wondered why I didn't think of using it as I have one).
Anyway, now I have a bass that does growl instead of grumble, so successful from that point of view. Sounds 100 times better than it did before the upgrade, but my Ibanez I suspect will always be the love of my life, it sounds so good and a lot lighter.
So at the end, my final query is on shielding. The Squier standard shielding appears to be about 2 chewing gum wrappers worth attached between the pots and the scratch guard, nothing elsewhere. At home, I suspect the major noise is wi-fi - pulsating, two or three different patterns, sometimes quietens down plus a bit of mains hum. Is shielding going to make much difference? Thinking about using one of the shielding paints. Thinking of what I remember from networking days, will twisting the pickup wires help at all? How have people shielded the hole from bridge pickup to pots?
