🎸 Stray Of The Day 🎸

❤️ Meet Bernadette! ❤️

Squier Affinity Precision Bass • 2000 • Sunburst • Indonesian-Made • Hard Case Included

There are people in this world who believe that bassists are simply guitarists who couldn’t be bothered to learn the other two strings.

These people have clearly never been in a band where the bassist stopped playing.

Because that’s usually the precise moment everybody discovers that the entire song has fallen down the stairs.

Fortunately, Bernadette is here to prevent that sort of thing.

🏷️ Adoption Fee: £255 🏷️

Meet Bernadette, our lovely Squier Affinity Precision Bass, dating from around 2000 and dressed in a wonderfully traditional sunburst finish. She also comes with her very own fitted hard case, complete with the original little set of keys.

Which is rather impressive, considering that some of the guitars arriving at our workshop don’t even come with all their screws.

Bernadette is a proper old-fashioned P-Bass, based on the design that has been underpinning popular music since the 1950s. It’s difficult to overstate just how many legendary recordings have featured a Precision Bass, and there is a very good reason for that.

They just work.

No complicated electronics, no bewildering combinations of pickups and switches, and absolutely no requirement to read an instruction manual before joining in.

Just four strings, a comfortable neck, a pickup and a job to do.

And Bernadette takes that job extremely seriously.

Made in Indonesia around the turn of the millennium, she comes from Squier’s Affinity range, offering that familiar Fender-inspired playing experience without requiring the kind of financial commitment normally associated with buying an actual Fender.

Her classic sunburst body fades from a warm amber centre through rich brown to black around the edges, with the wood grain visible beneath the finish. It’s complemented by a cream pickguard, chrome hardware and a traditional maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard.

Nothing outrageous, nothing unnecessary.

Just a combination that’s looked fantastic for decades and has absolutely no intention of going out of fashion.

Her full-length 34-inch scale and 20-fret fingerboard give her that familiar Precision Bass feel, while the bolt-on maple neck provides a comfortable playing experience whether you’re holding down simple root notes or getting a little more adventurous.

And if you’re new to bass, there’s something wonderfully reassuring about an instrument that isn’t actively trying to intimidate you.

Under that cream pickguard sits a traditional split-coil Precision Bass pickup, controlled by one volume knob and one tone knob.

That’s it.

Two knobs.

We’ve had guitars through here with more controls than our washing machine, but Bernadette apparently believes that if something is worth doing, it should be done properly rather than made unnecessarily complicated.

The split-coil design is responsible for that lovely, familiar P-Bass sound, with plenty of warmth and depth, a satisfying low-end thump and enough midrange presence to make sure you can actually hear what you’re playing.

Roll the tone back for something smooth and rounded, or open it up for a little more bite.

Motown, soul, blues, punk, indie, classic rock or pretty much anything that benefits from having a rhythm section that knows what it’s doing, Bernadette is happy to oblige.

She doesn’t need to be the centre of attention.

She’s quite content to be the reason everybody else sounds good.

Her four-saddle bridge allows each string to be adjusted individually, while the traditional open-gear tuning machines complete that unmistakable Precision Bass appearance.

It’s wonderfully straightforward, and we mean that as a compliment.

As always, Bernadette has received our usual workshop treatment, including a thorough clean, fret levelling, crowning and polishing, and a complete setup to make sure she’s ready for her next adventure.

She’s been around for approximately twenty-six years, so naturally there are some cosmetic signs of previous ownership, but she presents very nicely indeed, with that lovely sunburst finish still looking fantastic.

And then there’s the case.

Not a gig bag.

Not a slightly optimistic piece of fabric with a zip that looks as though it’s considering retirement.

A proper hard case, with a plush-lined interior, sturdy catches and even its keys.

Bernadette has somewhere safe to sleep, somewhere to keep her belongings, and apparently takes home security more seriously than most of us.

The case is included in her adoption fee, making this a particularly lovely package for somebody looking to get started on bass, or an experienced player wanting a dependable instrument without spending a fortune.

And really, that’s what Bernadette is all about.

She isn’t flashy. She isn’t complicated. She doesn’t have seventeen pickups, illuminated fret markers or a finish inspired by an exploding galaxy.

She’s a proper, honest Precision Bass with plenty of music left in her, a lovely traditional appearance and a hard case that’s probably more organised than we are.

Besides, we named her after one of the greatest basslines in Motown history, so she’s got rather a reputation to uphold.

Just remember, the next time somebody tells you bassists aren’t important, ask them to play their favourite song without the bass.

Then watch their face.

Bernadette knows.

🏡 Could you offer Bernadette her forever home?

🎸 The Stray Chord 🎸

Rescue • Restore • Rehome

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