Squier Mini Precision Bass Electric Bass - Dakota Red with Laurel Fingerboard Reviews

Can't NOT smile playing this sweet little bass. I have a copy of most every short scale bass made. Out of all of them this lil' Squier is the lightest, most petite and possibly the most fun to play out of all of them...(tied with the just slightly larger Ibanez Mikro). The Mikro, same price BTW, has more thump and rumble but is also slightly bigger and heavier. If you're a small adult, a slight female or a child's first bass, go for this incredibly fun and easy to play little bass, it's a blast to play and sounds great too. The only thing I did after purchase was put a slightly heavier set of my personal favorite short scale strings on it, the D'Addario EXL160S 50-105's. Even with my bad back and everything I can easily play 3 hour gigs in our usual taverns, VFW's, and outdoor BBQ and party gigs with no discomfort afterwards. It's a sweet little bass for sure.

These basses play easily and sound terrific...just like a full-size P-bass. But they don't always come set up well right out of the box. Yours may need attention. Mine had serious fret buzz on the bottom two strings all the way up to the fourth fret. That's the bad news. The good news? It took a luthier-friend of mine less than 10 minutes to set it up perfectly. I chose the Mini P-Bass because of its pedigree in the P-bass family and because it's lightweight. Would I recommend the Squier Mini P-Bass to a friend? Absolutely.

This was, without a doubt, the best purchase I have made in many years. I needed a bass for studio work. The major appeal of this Mini Precision was the size. It is perfect for use in a studio. The 3/4 size makes it about the size of a Fender stratocaster. There is no compromise in quality, playability, or range with this smaller Squire bass. I couldn't be happier!

I researched this bass to use for demos in my home studio. Read a bunch of reviews before purchasing.
This bass sounds really good, plays really well out of the box.

I am a guitar player needing a versatile non-finicky bass that plays in tune.

Mine has a lightly flamed maple neck. I have done a few demos, haven't even taken the tag off yet.

For $ it is no brainer.

This bass arrived yesterday. I was blown away with the good looks and finish. It is so comfortable to hold and is much lighter than my regular American made P bass. It needed NO setup! Everything was perfect right out of the box. The frets are smooth - even the pickup height was correct! The pickups are good and punchy. Even the strings sound and feel good. THIS IS AN AMAZING BASS AT ANY PRICE. My American P bass is now in the closet.

Picked this up for my niece for ab birthday present.
I almost kept it for myself... Really cool, sounds great, and quality craftsmanship.
Wish this Fender line was around when I was a kid.
As always, Sweetwater quality is 10 out of 10.

After watching You Tube videos on the mini-P bass I took the plunge, the bass arrived two days ago. The bass was flawless
right out of the box great fit and finish and set up properly not even a thing to tweak. took it to the gig we played that night and that good old P Bass tone was present it sounds just like it's big brother. so easy to play and light and comfortable. The neck is awesome and fret ends are dressed properly no fret rash or shredded fingers at all. thanks again Jimmy and sweetwater for your outstanding service. Would definitely recommend this short scale bass and also sweetwater for their great service % thumbs up

I've played a variety of fretless and fretted 4-string basses by Fender (and a few other brands) since the late 1970s and have been gravitating toward short-scale fretted instruments for a couple of reasons: tight space in my home studio, and the desire for more comfort when stretching to hit certain notes. I have a Made-in-Japan Mustang Bass which is incredible, but I decided to roll the dice on a Mini P-Bass, based on a couple of demo videos in which that classic P-Bass sound really comes through. I've been playing it for a few weeks now, and it's even better than I had hoped. The fit and finish are outstanding. Lots of sustain, and there are no dead spots. It arrived nicely set up from the factory (in Indonesia) though I had to tweak the intonation on a couple of strings, and that's it. The neck is a bit thinner than a regular P-Bass, more like a Jazz Bass, which is fine. The pickup is amazingly full sounding and well balanced. This is the most important part: Given that I'm mostly a fretless player, it's tricky for me to play a 34" fretted instrument without getting that "fret clank." With the Mini P-Bass set up so well, I can control the fret noise to my liking. This is now my go-to fretted instrument for recording. At this price point, it's unbelievable!

First of all I am a Covid survivor. The virus has left me with a reduction in strength, not to mention other symptoms. I have played my Fender Jazz for many countless years and I needed a bass I could comfortably play a gig. Now, A short scale lightweight bass was in order. I purchased the Squire Mini Precision Bass in black. For the price it was a no brainer. The fit and finish is great. Playing the bass was more comfortable with it's weight. I was expecting a child's bass and was surprised. The most important feature of course was the weight. It is head heavy and dips down when not playing but I have a cure for that. The neck is very comfortable and playing fast leads is a breeze.
Now for the really good part. With the price being so low. I changed to a Seymore Duncan Quarter Pounder pickup, real Fender tuning keys, a heavier bridge, and flat wound strings. The sound is just short of amazing.
Doing business with Sweetwater is GREAT! Many thanks to Josh!!!

A real person talking and showing a newby like me stuff I would have never thought to ask!!! This is why I'm still looking around Sweetwater. Thank you very much.

No one has written a proper review on this one yet, so I'll give it a go: I was truly surprised by the quality and playability for the price range. The neck was a real treat, it felt super smooth and is probably one of the better bass necks I've ever played. Comfortable C Shape, and a wonderful satin finish. No sharp fret ends, and a lot nicer and darker fretboard than in the images. The neck doesn't feel too small or cramped to play either, it's actually with the body you notice a true size difference, besides the scale length of course.

The setup was quite good as well, the intonation was great, and the action was fairly playable. Neck was straight, and the nut was cut and filed quite nice. The red Dakota finish also looked really good, no dings or scratches in the finish. A few tooling marks on the fretboard, but nothing to get hung up on.

Super value for the money if you're looking for a budget bass with great playability. Should note that I am primarely a guitarist, but I've played a lot of both full and short size/scaled basses before this one, and I truly love this one.

The sound is fairly good as well, considering the price point. Not nearly as noisy as I feared. It's quite full and round sounding compared to other p-basses, probably because of the looser string tension. I do not mind it at all though. The string tension actually makes it more easy to play bends and vibratos, which makes for a fun and creative playing experience. Another surprise: the tuning stability is great, despite the string tension and the cheaper bridge, nut and tuning machines.

Downsides? There is a neck dive because of the small size and light weight of the body. Can't think of anything else, besides the fact that it's hard to find a gigbag that would fit the bass correctly. Great for beginners, people with smaller hands, guitarists etc, but really a great and fun instrument for anyone at any level of playing. It's straight out so much fun to play this thing.

This bass is small and light weight. It sounds great. Set up well. Easy to play.

as a guitar player it is easy to switch to this short scale when I need to play bass. Out of the box the action is great & the intonation was very good. The pickup sounds good. tiny little strap buttons, but they are easy to change.

I've owned several full scale basses over the last 30 years, and I have three now. But I was thinking I wanted a short scale bass for recording, just for something different. I was pricing Fender Mustangs, and thinking of going that route. Then I saw these things for 179 dollars, and I thought, "I've bought lots of pedals more expensive than that," so I just bought one on a whim.

Bottom line: Good Purchase. I got a perfectly functioning, big-sounding bass out of the box. The action is playable and comfy, the intonation is spot on. The tuning machines are surprisingly robust for the price. The bridge is a standard P-Bass bridge. The Pickup sounds perfectly fine. The volume and tone pots work, and are useable throughout their range. The frets feel nice, the laurel fretboard is perfectly fine. The neck has a nice satin finish. The whole guitar is a little smaller than a Stratocaster, and fits in a normal guitar case. I would totally gig with it.

I ordered this just to be stupid, figuring I could send it back if it made me start vomiting or anything. But whatever instinct was causing my GAS for this turned out to be spot on. This bass is surprisingly good and perfectly usable. I actually like the pickup, it doesn't "barely pass", it's right up there like any decent mid-level pickup. Setup was quite good out of the box, which I opened straightaway in spite of the radiation fallout sticker and warning, cos I don't own a tinfoil hat, and, therefore I'm not scared of The Global Warming Cookie Monster.
Regrettably, I must subtract a star because of the headshakingly stupid decision by Squier to bestow this axe with tiny "strap knobs" which are at least 1/5 the scale of standard strap knobs. Because this is a "kid's " bass — "GET" it..?? Doo yuh "GET" it?? Yknow, because it's for kids?
This bass will not grip any strap, not even a locking one. Even a locking strap is still looking for a normal strap knob. So, I tried "doing the Dee Dee Ramone" and duct-taping a strap to this — that works for about 78 seconds, and I'm talking about even after I meticulously "poly-wrapped" it all kinds of ways and used 30% of the roll; no, this bass thought of everything; it slips out of even what you would think would HAVE to hold it no problem. Hannibal Lecter would be envious of how good this bass is at slipping out of any kind of bonds. It's kind of uncanny. And this isn't chincy duct tape — I use it to punish my GF by taping her hair to the wall, and she stays suspended up there no problem, so I don't know what the deal is with this bass. JUST KIDDING, and someone is actually going to take that serious.
Since my "band" is just me and all I do is play with my DAW at home, I can balance this on my lap while laying a bass track, but the neck has a jones to suddenly strike my interface like a baseball bat if I barely move. Not having the option to use a strap is REALLY inconvenient.
Hey, Squier, I know you're trying to make this bass as "precious and cute as possible because it's for kids", but, I mean, think in all 3 dimensions. Very idiotic move.
Good bass all-around. The small scale is cozy.

all good! thanks!

This bass arrived absolutely unplayable. The strings were literally laying on the frets. I made the necessary adjustments and it became playable, but sounded feeble. I adjusted the pickup heights and it got stronger but sounded tinny for a "P-bass". I put a heavier chrome string set on it and it improved the sound to my ear. Also checked the neck bolts and they were a bit loose. This bass obviously missed quality control at the factory! I bought this as a "compact/portable/travel" bass, not expecting much for the price, but expecting more than I got. After all this, the bass is playable and may serve it's intended purpose, but if you can't do your own setup, don't buy this bass.

I watched a few positive YouTube videos before purchasing this toy. Maybe this was a fluke?