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About the Squier James Johnston Jazz Bass
- Thread starter Robotmono234
- Start date
IMO/E, Any squier bass above the affinity level is worth checking out.
Jazz or Precision is a personal preference, both are great. FWIW, I traded my jazz in for a P. I liked the J in my living room, but the P sounds better/ cuts thru at the gigs.
Welcome to TB, and good luck!
Jazz or Precision is a personal preference, both are great. FWIW, I traded my jazz in for a P. I liked the J in my living room, but the P sounds better/ cuts thru at the gigs.
Welcome to TB, and good luck!
It's my understanding that the silver one with the matching headstock is identical to the JJ Sig, I couldn't say about whether it's the same as any Classic Vibe Jazz. I'd contact Customer Support at Fender.com who could say for sure.
I have a Squier 60s Classic Vibe JB and a Squier Matt Freeman PB. I would have no hesitation about using either one for a gig or a recording session.
FWIW I’ve owned several very nice Fender PBs over the years. I even still have a “real Fender” PB. But the Squier Matt Freeman is my all time favorite. It has a neck you have to play to believe just how good it is. If you can find a Matt Freeman for a reasonable price used, I’d definitely suggest you think about getting one.
FWIW I’ve owned several very nice Fender PBs over the years. I even still have a “real Fender” PB. But the Squier Matt Freeman is my all time favorite. It has a neck you have to play to believe just how good it is. If you can find a Matt Freeman for a reasonable price used, I’d definitely suggest you think about getting one.
For the better part of 20 years I played Jazz basses. I came across a 1.75” nut width P bass. I felt it was made for my hands.
In short, I play a P Bass now and sold off all but one of my Jazz basses.
This guy seems to like his.
Yeah, I know, changed the pickguard, swapped the pickups and added a Fender Jazz bridge cover, but...
Yeah, I know, changed the pickguard, swapped the pickups and added a Fender Jazz bridge cover, but...
My Freeman has a maple neck and fretboard with dots. The CV JB is Inca Siver, maple neck, rosewood feetboard and dots.
I, @jd56hawk and others have already done this research. Underneath the finish, they are the same. One of the dead giveaways is the chunky-ish, high-mass bridge with the brass saddles. For example, it's how I've been able to tell the difference between two Olympic White Squiers. The ones with bent-plate bridges and no thumb-rests are from the Vintage Modified line, while the nearly identical CV '60s Jazz has the thumb-rest and aforementioned bridge.
Vintage Modified Jazz
Classic Vibe '70s Jazz
…and the Classic Vibe '70s Precision has a maple fretboard with black blocks & binding.
Lead us not into temptation!
I actually got my CV JB with the intent to use it as a modding platform. Didn’t initially care for the silver paint and figured I’d just replace the pickups and electronics when I got it and maybe refinish it someday. But when it arrived and I plugged it in I realized I liked its sound just the way it was - which means it sounded like a really nice JB. And the silver/mint cosmetics appealed to me once it was in my hands. The photos don’t quite capture the character of the color.
Good sound and a dream to play. And for a $349 price tag when I ordered it, what’s not to like? Got it a Gator bag to tote it around and now I’m set to go anytime I need a JB.
The Matt Freeman was just a touch too modern sounding for me however. I prefer a more classic PB tone. So that I modded with a Aguilar pickup, new electronics, and since it was already apart, it got a new pickguard and some LaBella copper white nylon strings. Because why not, right?
I've been looking for a red Dipinto for quite some time. Found one about a year ago but it was a bit rough.
I bought Lace Sensor Man O' War pickups for mine but discovered it didn't need them.Lead us not into temptation!
I actually got my CV JB with the intent to use it as a modding platform. Didn’t initially care for the silver paint and figured I’d just replace the pickups and electronics when I got it and maybe refinish it someday. But when it arrived and I plugged it in I realized I liked its sound just the way it was - which means it sounded like a really nice JB. And the silver/mint cosmetics appealed to me once it was in my hands. The photos don’t quite capture the character of the color.
Good sound and a dream to play. And for a $349 price tag when I ordered it, what’s not to like? Got it a Gator bag to tote it around and now I’m set to go anytime I need a JB.
The Matt Freeman was just a touch too modern sounding for me however. I prefer a more classic PB tone. So that I modded with a Aguilar pickup, new electronics, and since it was already apart, it got a new pickguard and some LaBella copper white nylon strings. Because why not, right?
View attachment 3288690
I, @jd56hawk and others have already done this research. Underneath the finish, they are the same. One of the dead giveaways is the chunky-ish, high-mass bridge with the brass saddles. For example, it's how I've been able to tell the difference between two Olympic White Squiers. The ones with bent-plate bridges and no thumb-rests are from the Vintage Modified line, while the nearly identical CV '60s Jazz has the thumb-rest and aforementioned bridge.
Vintage Modified Jazz
View attachment 3288671
Classic Vibe '70s Jazz
View attachment 3288672
…and the Classic Vibe '70s Precision has a maple fretboard with black blocks & binding.
View attachment 3288673
Thanks, Malak, I suspected as much, but didn't know the particulars. They are wonderful axes for the money, and I enjoy mine a lot with a smirk, thinking how little I paid for it !
