squier bass out, yamaha trbx174ew in

Well, that didn't last long. I returned the Squier Precision Bass PJ because it had an unfixable problem. However, I should be very clear that it was only unfixable to that very specific bass and certainly not for all of them.

What I'm about to describe is actually something that can happen to any new bass. There are a few fixes you can try, and I'll talk about that, but if the fixes don't work, you have to get another bass.

The replacement bass is the Yamaha TRBX174EW:

The TRBX174EW comes in a bunch of different colors. Mine is in a finish called Natural. I call it Coffee Table.

This is actually the third time I've owned this bass. The first two times it was called the RBX170. I had a blue one first, then an EW (which means "Exotic Wood") second. Why is it the TRBX174 now? No idea. It's still the same bass as it ever was, and that's not a bad thing.

The problem with the Squier PJ was...

Overtone on the low-E.

An overtone is when two notes are heard on one string at the same time. Sometimes it happens when fretting above the 12th fret, while other times it happens only on the open note. Either way, it sounds awful and is a VERY annoying problem.

How to fix?

Fix #1: Lower the pickups.

If the string is too close to the pickup, overtones will happen. If the pickup is already as low as it can go, you can usually still go lower. On most basses, you can take out the pickup height adjustment screws, pull out the pickup and remove the springs underneath. And if that still doesn't get the pickup low enough, you can shave down the foam under the pickup, although that is a bit extreme. It should be easy enough to squash the foam once you screw back down the pickup without springs.

Fix #2: Change the strings.

New bass strings sometimes just come out bad. There may be a problem with the string core, or maybe something happened when the string got bent over the string saddle.

Fix #3: "Crack" the neck (bolt-on only)

With the bass tuned to pitch, slowly loosen each screw holding in the neck 1/8th of a turn. If you've never done this before, you'll hear small cracking noises as the wood settles. This is normal. After loosening each screw, tighten them down again, but obviously don't over-tighten.

Fix #4: Examine every single thing that could rattle and account for it.

On the headstock, check for anything loose when the bass is tuned to pitch. And I mean anything. Tuners, string guides, nut, truss rod adjustment point (if at the headstock), all of it.

At the string saddles, check they are touching properly, check for loose height adjustment grub screws (wrapping them in Teflon tape fixes that). If you think the intonation springs may be rattling oddly, tape them up. Also, detune the bass, loosen the screws for the whole bridge and then screw it in again.

Check volume and tone controls for loose nuts.

Check all electronics wires - especially for the ones close to the pickups. Tape down anything you can so wires can't vibrate against anything.

Check any control plate for loose screws.

I did all that stuff. It didn't work.

Changing strings was the first thing I did. After that, I went through the entire bass and did everything above I just said. No luck...

Maybe if it were a super expensive highfalutin bass, I'd send it to a luthier to track down what was causing the overtone on the low-E. The Squier was not an expensive bass, so I returned it.

Why I went Yamaha once again

Any Yamaha bass with RBX in its model name is good because it gets the job done and is thoughtfully built.

I'll explain what I mean by thoughtful.

The truss rod adjustment location is at the heel of the neck and is very accessible because it's an open slot. Look at the curve right before the 24th fret. That's the slot. The rod can be adjusted even when the bass is tuned to pitch. Nice and easy. No cover to remove. It doesn't get any easier.

Top horn of the TRBX174EW has the strap button ending directly over the 12th fret, which is exactly correct. No neck dive. Ever.

While this is a full 34" scale bass, the headstock is short and the bass fits in any gig bag. Very nice.

The P pickup does have the traditional mounting style with the bass side first (Ibanez flips theirs on the GSR200 with the treble side first). My fingers do prefer the traditional orientation. You might look at the Yamaha and think the P pickup is mounted much too far forward. That's an illusion. The 24-fret neck and the slot for the truss rod trick you into thinking the P position is further along the body than it actually is. I can assure you yes, it's in the correct spot.

Every RBX I've owned - and this one is no exception - has just the right amount of tension to the control knobs. I don't know how Yamaha does this on a bass this cheap, but they're masters at it. They just feel better to turn compared to other basses at this price point.

This is a bass with modern tone to it. No vintage Fender tones here. I'm okay with this...

...especially considering the TRBX174EW handles B-E-A-D tuning very well instead of the standard E-A-D-G. Maybe this is due to its 10" fingerboard radius or maybe a combination of things. Fender style basses fart out when you tune low, but not the Yamaha.

I'm not kidding when I say it totally works on the TRBX174EW. Here's me playing in B-E-A-D:

The Squier PJ couldn't get a sound like this. Yeah, it could do vintage Fender tones well, but the Yamaha gets that modern punch that I like. I didn't realize this until I got another RBX.

Maybe it was destiny that led me to another Yamaha. I don't know. But I'm glad I got another one. That Squier just didn't want to work for me.

Also, I'll say again that it was the particular Squier bass I had that exhibited the overtone problem. Maybe another Squier would have worked out, but the Yamaha was there and I went with that instead. No regrets.

Published 2024 Sep 5