Fender Squire VM Jazz

[Fourstringsonly]

So I played with one at Sam Ash tonight. Seems like a pretty nice bass. Played through an AMPEG BA112..pretty good tone from the Seymour Designed P/U`s. One thing that was strange to me..when I tried to slap the E string,it didn`t seem to sound right. It just made a heavy thump...like the string hit the frets and just stayed there. It didn`t seem right to me..also the tone knob made a scratching noise,not like a dirty pot..but like it was making contact with that metal plate. I wasn`t exactly thrilled with the feel of the back of the neck,,it was very smooth,like bare wood.. I guess I was accustomed to a laquer type finish when I had my Fender years ago. Does anyone have one,who can concur?

[C.Linton]

About the E string, sounds like it probably just needs a proper setup and maybe new strings, the knob thing I can't tell, but at a guess, perhaps the pot was set into the plate wrong, (an easy enough fi if that's what's wrong) but the neck is supposed to be like that, it's a satin poly finish, it's not bare wood. Some people like it (I do) some don't, it's a matter of personal reference.

[mogpipe]

I have one, and it rules. Strung with chromes. All maple tone machine! I love the satin finish on the neck. Silky smoothness with no hang ups. The controls on mine all work fine. I believe, at $274.00, this has to be the best deal I've ever got on musical equip.
And I got a Fender Twead Bass Case, MSRP, $249.50, for $69.00.
It was a good Christmas!

[FrenchBassQC]

Originally Posted by Fourstringsonly

So I played with one at Sam Ash tonight. Seems like a pretty nice bass. Played through an AMPEG BA112..pretty good tone from the Seymour Designed P/U`s. One thing that was strange to me..when I tried to slap the E string,it didn`t seem to sound right. It just made a heavy thump...like the string hit the frets and just stayed there. It didn`t seem right to me..also the tone knob made a scratching noise,not like a dirty pot..but like it was making contact with that metal plate. I wasn`t exactly thrilled with the feel of the back of the neck,,it was very smooth,like bare wood.. I guess I was accustomed to a laquer type finish when I had my Fender years ago. Does anyone have one,who can concur?

Is it just me? It seems like it is hard to spell Squier properly on this site. Do we call Ibanez Inabez? Do we call MTD MDT?

Come on and let's try to make an effort please and maybe it will start to sound better when you'll try it next time.

[blindrabbit]

I love mine. When I picked it up at the store it had one slightly scratchy/noisy pot, so it was opened up by the resident electronics guy who gave it a squirt of something or other, and since then zero problems and it has sounded great. It played nicely enough right from new, but I then had my luthier set it up and it went from nice to fantastic. Don't tell my ThumbNT this, but for a few months the VM Jazz took over as my main bass, I liked it so much.

The neck is a lovely satin finish. Everyone has their own preferences, and mine are for satin finishes or bare wood - I hate lacquer or thick glossy finishes on necks. If you aren't into satin you may not like it, but perhaps you could polish it up (in the same way that glossy finishes can be knocked down)?

IMHO, this is a fantastic bass, and the fact it is <$300 makes it an amazing deal. I do find it to be a little more "bright and hot" as opposed to "growly", so I may experiment with some different pickups down the line, but I think again that's a matter of preference as opposed to an issue of "good" or "bad".

Originally Posted by Fourstringsonly

So I played with one at Sam Ash tonight. Seems like a pretty nice bass. Played through an AMPEG BA112..pretty good tone from the Seymour Designed P/U`s. One thing that was strange to me..when I tried to slap the E string,it didn`t seem to sound right. It just made a heavy thump...like the string hit the frets and just stayed there. It didn`t seem right to me..also the tone knob made a scratching noise,not like a dirty pot..but like it was making contact with that metal plate. I wasn`t exactly thrilled with the feel of the back of the neck,,it was very smooth,like bare wood.. I guess I was accustomed to a laquer type finish when I had my Fender years ago. Does anyone have one,who can concur?

[ProfGumby]

Originally Posted by mogpipe

I have one, and it rules. Strung with chromes. All maple tone machine! I love the satin finish on the neck. Silky smoothness with no hang ups. The controls on mine all work fine. I believe, at $274.00, this has to be the best deal I've ever got on musical equip.
And I got a Fender Twead Bass Case, MSRP, $249.50, for $69.00.
It was a good Christmas!

Aside from the Fender case, I can agree to all of what you said here. Even though I traded thre Maple body for an alder one and shielded the cavities, the feel is very much the same and I like the sound better! Also, I played 2 Geddy Lee Jazz basses and a VM through the same amp, also an Ampeg as mentioned elsewhere and the VM kicked the Geddy Lees to the curb in terms of sound, volume and punch.

The VM is the best value for the dollar I have ever found, seconded by the CV series. But be aware, both the VM and the CV feel and sound completely different!

BTW, that's my VM in my avatar pic...

[Fourstringsonly]

Originally Posted by FrenchBassQC

Is it just me? It seems like it is hard to spell Squier properly on this site. Do we call Ibanez Inabez? Do we call MTD MDT?

Come on and let's try to make an effort please and maybe it will start to sound better when you'll try it next time.

You must be bored. get off my thread.

[Fourstringsonly]

Thanks to everyone except French.

[khutch]

I played a Squier VM five string several times in a local shop. All the pots on that one were scratchy, and then one day they were not. Someone in the shop finally noticed and pulled the knobs up slightly on the shaft which is likely all the one you played needs. There is nothing wrong with the finish on the Squier necks that I have played but some like one type of finish and others another so either you do or don't like the Squier finish.

A couple of days ago I played two Blacktop Telacaster Baritone guitars (or baritone bass VIs as I like to think of them!) in a shop in Chicago. One had a bottom B string that sounded just awful. The other one sounded fine. You cannot really depend on getting a good set of strings on a brand new bass, even though you might think you would and a bad E string might play the way you describe. I have never seen a setup so bad that it would cause the E string issue you describe but that does not make it impossible. I really should take a tuner along when I try basses because normally when you sit down to play them no string matches another. The one you played may have just been horribly tuned and that could have caused the E string problem. It is easy to tune a bass by ear so that the strings match each other but unless you have perfect pitch you might not notice that the whole shebang was tuned a whole step or two low! I've never seen a Squier with an E or a B string issue so most likely the one you played needs one of these simple fixes.

Spelling Squier right will not make the bass sound better, it will not make you a better bass player, it will not solve any problem known to man. It will make the forum spell checker flag the word Squier as an incorrectly spelled word!

If you like the bass have the shop do something about that E string. I bet it won't take much.

Ken

[oldleftybass]

Originally Posted by ProfGumby

But be aware, both the VM and the CV feel and sound completely different!

How so?

[Diesel Kilgore]

My Jag pots do the same thing. Was a little worried when I first heard that but its no big deal. They just give a little 'shoosh' when turned close to full volume.