The nut width is 1.5" with a C shape neck and narrow tall frets.
It is a blast to play.
Now when someone asks me if I’m a musician, I can reply (warning: dad joke ahead!) “Oh, I play a little bass.” 
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Oh so you can also say your neck is vintage spec.
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That’s cool! Interesting on the .1 cap. Haven’t tried one. Squiers continue to be the greatest mod platform going (if you get one with a good neck).
Enjoy it!!!
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That looks awesome which purple is that it looks metallic
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Somewhere in my research I read that the early (50’s and early 60’s) P basses used a .1 uf cap rather than the .047 uf used in later versions. It might have been in That Other Forum, which has a huge thread on the Mini P.
At any rate the .1 works really well at producing that dark classic P bass thump with the tone control backed off. I had ordered .047 uf and .068 uf caps just in case I didn’t like the .1, but I like it a lot.
I don’t know if the QC out of Indonesia is improving or if I just got lucky, but the fit and finish on this little guy is outstanding considering the price point.
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The .1 uf cap was used with the single coil p bass. It may have been used in others, but it is the vintage cap for the 51/54 single coil ps
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I have never had a bad instrument out of Indonesia; my Revstar is as well made as either of my MIJ’s, and those could easily rival MIA.
My SBV was made in Taiwan and it’s probably the best made instrument I own.
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And she’s done, needs a few tweks in setup but that’s it.
Player Mustang, added pearloid pickguard, Hipshot Kickass bridge, DiMarzio DP126 Model PJ pickups, CTS stacked pots with a .05 uf cap, and Switchcraft jack.
The 3way switch is just to plug the hole in the pickguard
She sounds great, the J is about 30% vol and the P is about 70%. They are hot pups being ceramic.
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Good to know. If I ever have a reason (or my curiosity gets the best of me) to pull the pick guard, I’ll experiment with different caps. Meanwhile I like the way the .1 uf sounds, even if it’s not authentic.
The documentation that came with the '62 Original pickup gives no clue as to the value of the cap. However, the wiring diagram for the Pure Vintage '63 pickup indicates a .1 uf cap.
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I think it’s crazy that no one has offered a preamp or control plate with a switchable cap feature. I have similar on my Super Beatle preamp but it’s for a mid range boost (think the end of The Beatles “Happy Birthday”).
Maybe I’ll build one onboard a passive P
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I think most people never turn their tone knobs, and wide open the cap does nothing, so…
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That is one hellofa mini P you put together.
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Thanks, Eric. It was a fun project.
I can’t get over how smoothly it went. Usually when I do something like this there will be at least one part that doesn’t fit and/or I get no sound the first time I plug it in.
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Yeah, the build quality of those SBV is outstanding. it compares to the Fender MIA Deluxe / Ultra range, in my opinion. Or MusicMan. The SBV is better built than a normal Fender MIA like Greenie.
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a few ideas to make it a bit more useful :
- a kill switch (actually really useful, especially on a instrument with two separate volumes)
- a choice of capacitor values for the tone control
- a series/parallel switch for the P pickup
- a series position for the two pickups
- a pot with a master volume
just to avoid having a non-functionnal control on the instrument 
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not my project, and not, in fact, a bass, but i really like the shou sugi ban (burned wood) finish on this build. the patina-ed copper inlay is interesting but not to my personal tastes by way of a ‘river’ look:
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That Tort pickguard is spectacular- nice find
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Thanks!
It probably isn’t surprising that pick guards to fit the Mini P aren’t all that common. That one came all the way from Glasgow, UK.
It wasn’t cheap (and int’l shipping added more), but it fit perfectly and as you noted, looks great.
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I am actually getting one from UK for a Tele clone.
Nice find
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