Just Bought A Squier Vintage Mod 70's Jazz...

[blankstare77]

And the sound is very bright. I like it, but I was wondering if the strings are the primary reason for its bright sound. I am looking for a fuller, rounder sound. Could I simply switch out the strings to get this sound or is the bass the primary source of the brightness?

[Nighttrain1127]

It is probably A combination of the two. You can tame some of the briteness with Pressure wound or Flat wound strings.
Pressure wounds will still be brite but not as brite as rounds. Flats will be much deeper and more full in the mids and Bottom with much less top end response Unless yhou get Rotosound Flats they are fairly brite.

[michaelprice83]

Mine is also very brite. might have something to do with the all maple body and neck construction..........

[jmaestro]

Do you still have the stock strings on? If so, switch them out for some DR Lo Riders, Sunbeams or TI Jazz Flats.

[Linkert]

I bought Half rounds for mine yeasterday. Really nice!

[Jamie_Funk]

Originally Posted by blankstare77

And the sound is very bright. I like it, but I was wondering if the strings are the primary reason for its bright sound. I am looking for a fuller, rounder sound. Could I simply switch out the strings to get this sound or is the bass the primary source of the brightness?

The primary reason really is the ALL maple build - the body is maple too. That will yield a bright bass overall - mine sure was, but I dug it at the time. It will never sound like an alder bodied Jazz.

Other than less bright strings, I'd suggest different pickups with more of a low mid focus, like DiMarzio Model J or the Norstrand stacks which are more mid focussed (can't recall the model number right now)

Cheers,

Jamie

[hyp.spec]

Get a Squier VM P and turn the tone knob down :-P

[Jmon7]

I have the same bass and super bright sound. My Squier Vintage Modified Jazz bass has stock strings with the red silk. They might be 7350ML which are stainless steel. The Fender website says it comes with 7250ML, which are nickel. That string is supposed to have black silk. Stainless steel is really bright and with the maple VM jazz, it makes it even brighter.

I'm thinking about D'Addario Chrome Flats as they come in the same sizes 45-65-80-100, are cheap and should mellow it out. I like them on my guitars and hope they sound good on the VM Jazz. Anyone have any experience with these strings?

[mothmonsterman]

DR Highbeams

i still have the stock strings on because i'm poor.

[tharv]

I noticed the same thing w/ mine..... I changed pickups to Nordy NJ4's & put on some Fender SS strings...... WAY too bright! Slapped on some nickel Lo Riders..... It's a completely different sounding bass. Nice & round, deep tone. Nice growl when you roll off the neck p'up a little.

I was gonna give up on this bass because it was so bright. The Lo Riders really turned things around....

[skeptikal]

I changed out the pickups with some Dimarzio Ultra J's and it mellowed it out alot. Turn the neck pickup up and the bridge pickup down quite a bit and you'll get a nice growl out of it.

[Falkner]

Yeah, I own one and it is a bright sounding bass. I put some Elixers on, and roll the tone and bridge pickup down a bit and it sounds great to me.

[Ryan Mohr]

Originally Posted by tharv

I noticed the same thing w/ mine..... I changed pickups to Nordy NJ4's & put on some Fender SS strings...... WAY too bright! Slapped on some nickel Lo Riders..... It's a completely different sounding bass. Nice & round, deep tone. Nice growl when you roll off the neck p'up a little.

I was gonna give up on this bass because it was so bright. The Lo Riders really turned things around....

Do you think ss lo-riders would be a lot brighter?

[tharv]

Not sure about the SS Lo Riders? They should be a little brighter since they're SS, but beyond that......

The bass was just crazy bright & zingy w/ the Fender SS's. I prefer a little darker tone, and the Nickel Lo Riders did the job. It sounds like a bass again....

[Lorenzini]

Your solution is Bartolini 9J1 pickups. They have a big focus on low mids and really really change the sound to a more traditional jazz bass tone.

I have a Squier VM and with the Barts it sounds really really amazing!

[sheepgotoheaven]

Hey all, used the search button and ended up here. I also have a VMJ and am looking for some nice strings. I've been using DR chrome flats and the sound its a little dull/thuddy, yet, round wounds tend to sound really bright. Would the D'addario half-rounds be a good choice for such a circumstance? Any help is appreciated. Thanks,

-SGTH

[Surly]

If you like Lo-riders you might like Fender 7150's even more.