$200 Squier vs. $700 Fender

[vindibona1]

As far as the bridge is concerned, the bridge doesn't function as well as the one on my Fender. Maybe I'm expecting too I don't know but I'll change out the bridge as soon as this Corona lockdown is over. I have to mention the pick ups on these CV j's...I've heard they're different from the Chinese CV but these ones offer so much more than you'd expect from a $400 instrument...definitely love these. I might throw on pick up and bridge covers so that it fits my precision's look

I've got a similar bass, a VM70's Squier. I put a Gotoh 201b bridge on it and some Aguilar noiseless pickups and rewired it with full sized pots, plus put the Drop D tuner on. The bridge gave it a *little* more sustain, but didn't change the sound at all. It's cool looking, but if it had cost more than $50 I would have had regrets. I found the drop D works, but found it cumbersome to use, so I soon went to primarily 5 string basses. One of the better mods I made was to my MIM 5 string Jazz; Hipshot USA Ultralite tuners. It cured that bass of neck dive, eliminating a solid 6 ounces (170gm). The stock pickups on the Squier were good, but the Aguilars are much better sounding. The reason I changed them was to minimized hum should I want to change the pickup balance without introducing hum.

 

[SXema]

I have nothing against Yamaha but opened this thread to see Squier Vs. Fender pro and con dialogue and found a Yamaha fan boy convention. Who knew.

Bitchy

 

[vindibona1]

So, this is my Squier in question (as well as my pedal board and practice amp) and I suppose I don't have many quarrels with it. I have thought about doing upgrades on it in the past such as upgraded tuners and pickups, maybe a nice bridge.

As far as the neck goes, it isn't bad. I do like more tapered necks though like what is on my Thunderbird so maybe modding is the route I should take first before diving into a new instrument. I do wish the Squier handled drop tunings better but I may just need a higher string gauge to compensate for lack of tension.

I appreciate all the responses and insight you all have given me, it's given me a lot to think about and consider and it feels good to hear from knowledgable people that have tons more experience than me
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As per my other replies, you know I've modded both my Squier VM and MIM Jazz basses, so I've been down that road, and still question my decision to do this rather than just aim for a better bass straight away. As for modding an Affinity model? I personally wouldn't do it. I was testing P basses at GC not too long ago. I was really impressed by the Squier CV bass and equally unimpressed by the Affinity version, played side by side. The main difference IMO was the resonance, unplugged- something you can't correct with pickups and bridge replacements. Yeah, the Affinity is a good starter bass, but compared to the VM's or CV's isn't as "mod worthy". Again, JMO

 

[CallMeAl]

TL;DR- unless you have something specific in mind, you should probably skip modding and get a nicer bass.

I agree with alanloomis about wanting to know what's lacking in your Affinity,
and what you are looking for in an upgrade.
He's done some amazing mods, you might want to check out as well.

So here's my modded 2005 Indonesian Affinity:

The only thing that's still original are the body and pickup. This was probably the heaviest Squier I've ever picked up, but in the end I think it made for a well-balanced and resonant bass. I never had an issue with the pickup so I left it.

I put in a quality wiring kit, and shielded with copper. It's a small detail, but I like the full size pots and heavy fender knobs. I tried a few bridges, and settled on a basic Fender Bent-plate bridge. It does the job, and frankly if my Squier Bridge wasn't rusted out I'd have prolly kept it.

Pearl PG and ashtray, just for funzies

But the big thing for me was the Fender Jazz neck. A) I prefer a Jazz neck, so a neck swap was essential. This is the main reason the mod worked for me; otherwise, I'd have just gotten a used Fender p bass. B) the quality of the Fender neck is noticeable. I'm a big Squier fan, but I haven't found a Squier neck I like quite this much. This is the only bass I play anymore.

Modding is a gamble, and you have to be ok with it not turning out right, or taking a few tries at it. (Cause this one sure took me a few tries!) There's a learning curve. Now, I'm very glad I modded this bass- I know the thing inside and out, and it's perfect for me. But, if you can get the perfect bass for you right off the rack, why not?

For more mod inspiration:
Tricked Out Squier Club Part 3

good luck, and keep us posted, m'kay?

 

[zontar]

There have been times when I have gone into a store & played a Squier, as well as a MIM & a MIA Fender--and like the Squire the best, and other times I liked the MIM best & others the MIA.
So I can't make a blanket statement.

If it is with the extra to you or not is really up to the basses you are comparing, your budget & what speaks to you.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

It'll be a significant upgrade from an Affinity. Anything in the Fender/Squier lines that aren't an Affinity will generally be at least somewhat of a step up. Definitely try before you buy, though, Mexican Fenders are known to vary significantly in quality.

On another note, you could almost certainly find a used Japanese Jaguar bass for that kind of money or less, and I can say from experience that every single Japanese Fender I've ever handled, played, or worked on has been excellent, as good as or better than all but the very best American Fenders I've seen. Their consistency is awesome, and always very good. Sometimes their electronics aren't exactly world class (but always perfectly usable and not bad at all), but that stuff can be changed easily/cheaply enough.

Used Japanese Fenders are about the best gear buys out there, along with US Peaveys and Japanese Yamahas.