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Is a Squier Bass Really That Bad?

B

BassNoob1

Dec 18, 2010
159
0
#1
I have a Squier Affinity Series Precision Bass. I don't think it sounds too horrible, but I hear a lot of people telling me that I need to upgrade to a Fender Standard. I don't have much of a reason to do this, seeing as (1) I don't gig that often with my electric and (2) most of my performances that I play on the electric are outdoors in rather unreasonable conditions for an instrument (marching band) and I don't want to bring an expensive bass outside.

So do Squier instruments really sound that bad compared to the Standard models? What about the American Standard?
 
#5
A MIM would give you the Fender name on the headstock, without tying up the $$$ that a MIA commands.

That said, A Squier will do the job. It may suffer a bit in the hardware, or electronics dept, but not so much that the difference will be noticable in a marching band.

If you want a "real" Fender MIM...or MIA...do it for you, not to make some self-appointed critics happy. I have a bunch of basses, from $200 cheapies to MIA Ric's, Fenders, etc. I play what I want, & the bass that fits the situation...defined by me...not band mates or others. Nobody should be telling you what to play...unless they're paying you, or furnishing a certain type of instrument, or both...
 
#7
the affinity compared to the american standard are worlds apart in terms of fit and finish,and attention to detail. That's not to say they're crap. Many of the squier's I've played were decent players,they just needed some work. If you think it sounds good,and plays good,f--- what the other people say and play what you want. Don't become a gear snob.
 
#8
I giged a Squier VM Jazz for almost 3 years. It sounded good for the money & was one of the best playing basses I've owned!

What's most important is what YOU think. Does it sound good to you? Does it play well? If so, play it! Who cares what anyone else thinks?

I play my bone stock SX Jazz all the time, while my Lakland DJ4 sits at home in a case.....
 
#10
I've had two of them and dumped both for reasons of poor quality. One one of the the bridge was mounted off center and the other the neck and frets were so rough it cut me. I'm done with them. There are too many other quality basses out there to fool with the cheap stuff.
 
#12
I also have a Squire Affinity P Bass. If I'm not mistaken it's about 10 years old and I bought it from a friend for $75.00. It's the first "P" bass that I've ever owned so I can't compare it at depth to other P models. It's a great player and I was most surprised at the results when I first used it for home recording. Very easy to record and doesn't get lost in the mix. It's amazing to think how right Leo got it with this bass and I could see why it was the industry standard for so long.

In my very humble opinion I think my Squire is a great bass.
 
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#15
Tommygunn said:
I played the standard squier affinity the other day. The pups were really hot and it played really nice. I could see someone using one even if their gigs were serious. I'm a proud squier owner myself.
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I also played the Affinity Jazz 5 a couple days ago when I was in GC checking out amps. I was quite pleasantly surprised, and I have an MIA Jazz V to compare it to. Like Tommy said, it sounded pretty good and played well. For $229, I plan on picking one up and use it as a bass I can leave at a rehearsal space or practice setups on. It'd be much easier to handle breaking a $200 bass than any of my others. And if one was so motivated, it would also be a perfect bass to mod/upgrade the CRAP out of. ;)

5sg.
 
#16
I played electric bass at some of our high school football games, in the "pit" with the non-marching percussion. BUT I've also seen an electric bass player playing and marching (and putting on quite a show) while someone pushed an amp (running off a huge battery? generator?) through the streets on a cart behind him.

These guys, actually:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

polyrhythmia said:
Can't see I have seen an electric bass used in a marching band...
Click to expand...
 
#17
fretlessman71 said:
I beg to differ! I did just that in high school (although I never "marched"; I stayed with the mallets on the home sideline). We did Chameleon, and I had my bass pumping through the speakers at the stadium! Pretty cool.
Click to expand...

Exactly, I'm part of the front ensemble. It's really weird because you have no control over tempo, unlike in jazz orchestra where I have plenty of control. And you have to play very ahead of the beat because of sound delays.

Anyways, Thanks for all the input! I'm only a high school student anyways, maybe when I get to college I'll get an American, but until now I think I'm gonna stick with the Squier. It needs some work done, but I can just take it into a guitar shop to get a tune-up. I'm thinking of getting it de-fretted or just buying a fretless neck for it, but I've never actually played a fretless bass before. So what I'm really saying is that I'd like to try a fretless bass and see if it's something I'd like.
 
#18
I know of a guy that plays a Squier Jazz Bass (don't know the specific model, but it's a natural finish, block inlays, bound fingerboard -- I was surprised). I haven't played it, but I've heard it live twice and it looks and sounds good. Squier Affinitys are the "budget" Squier line. I can only speak to the two or three I've played, but I wasn't that impressed with the build or the sound. That said, I picked one up used for ~$100. With some setup work it played okay -- great for a $100 instrument. Hell of a lot better than the toys they sell at Wal-Mart. I put a cheap fretless neck on it and -- voila! -- my first fretless. Will I want something better eventually? Yep. But this is doing the job for now. If you're buying locally, check out the specific instrument you're looking at. Not all basses of the same model will look/feel/sound exactly the same.
 

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