Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Current Prices for Squier Classic Vibes
- Thread starter jmattbassplaya
- Start date
devnulljp
Supporting Member
Everything ... except wages
Agree, my 2012 Classic Vibe is an absolute gem, A top notch bass! Fit and finish is remarkable, plays like a dream and feels every bit as good as a US Fender made bass.
Attachments
That's a beauty!
I didn't even realize the Jazz basses originally came with high-mass bridges as well?
Yes, the China classic vibe basses just have "it", in all the right areas.
I forget everything but the music, and have this connection with the instrument, and days gone by.
I don't feel that with the new Squier basses, even some Fender basses don't have it!
Probably because they read the posts here on talkbass of you guys raving how good Squiers are, like "my chinese Squier is better than any US Fender" etc. You see?
It's broad. I remember just a few years ago the price for a typical used USA Ernie Ball Stingray was about $900. I actually bought and sold one at that amount. Double that amount now.
Just a quick look at some other budget lines and I am not seeing a similar price jump. Sterling Ray4 is still $299, Ibanez have stayed put as well as Jackson, LTD, etc… no real price jumps (in the lower priced models). The Squiers are great but definitely jumping out of range of a lot of people that would have bought one. For example, they aren't $200 better than an Ibanez sr300e or a Sterling Ray4. The quality at that price range is better and better and they are starting to charge for it and I believe sales will suffer for it. But that's just my opinion, what do I know lol
Thanks for that, yep it is an original high mass bridge with the brass saddles and the only black "Crafted in China" CV Jazz I have come across in the states. I read they were overseas special run but who knows for sure, love it!
I see what ya did there, and you are most likely spot on! The buzz was loud on these Chinese CV's...
Soon, I think. It got leaked a couple months ago. I'm not sure what became of it.
I think they are exclusive to Bass Chicago, IIRC.
Id love to get another P so I can keep one with flats and one with rounds. I was seriously considering the 70's in walnut but I guess I'll go the used route and get an MIJ, instead.
I'm glad I'm good with the gear I have, although I browse a lot but everything I'm interested in is on backorder so maybe it's a good thing.
I'm a big fan of all my Squiers. Even at almost $500 the CV is still a good buy imo. I wouldn't be surprised to see them top out in the $550 range within a year or two. Epiphone is selling the TBird vintage pro for $700 and most think its worth every penny. I wouldn't disagree and think that CV Squiers are on the same tier. I'm more irritated at how much it's costing me to feed a teenager these days. That's a kick in my wallet on a weekly basis.
Aug 3rd I brought home a new Squier '50s Precision. Made in Indonesia. I am am amazed at the quality, value and low price.
I paid $559.99 Canadian at Long & McQuade. They had an August sale where it was interest free for 6 months. So I went for the sale, and walked out with the bass.
Squier is expensive? Goodness. Not in my opinion.
My first decent new bass was a '72 Precision for about $300. That is around $2000 today.
Was it better than this Squier? I could debate that. Generally, no.
The Squier is absolutely amazing value. The frets are perfect, the bass does not need a setup by a professor.
The quality of the pickup, neck, metal bits, finish and playability is comparable to every decent bass I have bought. That includes my current basses Alembic '06, USA Fender '81, Japan Fender '88, and top line Ibanez. You get the picture.
If I really wanted to, I could buy an original '50s Telecaster or Precision.
But I'm happy with this one.
I paid $559.99 Canadian at Long & McQuade. They had an August sale where it was interest free for 6 months. So I went for the sale, and walked out with the bass.
Squier is expensive? Goodness. Not in my opinion.
My first decent new bass was a '72 Precision for about $300. That is around $2000 today.
Was it better than this Squier? I could debate that. Generally, no.
The Squier is absolutely amazing value. The frets are perfect, the bass does not need a setup by a professor.
The quality of the pickup, neck, metal bits, finish and playability is comparable to every decent bass I have bought. That includes my current basses Alembic '06, USA Fender '81, Japan Fender '88, and top line Ibanez. You get the picture.
If I really wanted to, I could buy an original '50s Telecaster or Precision.
But I'm happy with this one.
Last edited:
Just glad my bass buying days are done.
Riding out to the sunset with what I have.
Riding out to the sunset with what I have.
This is a decent thing to keep in mind; my first Fender was a MIM bought in new 2007 for $500 or so. Those same basses are hitting the $1000 mark now. And this new Squier is definitely a better made instrument than that MIM Fender, so their quality has jumped up considerably. I'd argue at a faster rate than the pricing. I think it's about us needing to shake the feeling that the Squiers of today are in any way comparable to the Squiers of 20yrs ago. Which were dirt cheap for a reason!
So even these price bumps, while seemingly a lot, probably require a bit of context
I played an Affinity Jaguar H in a shop yesterday, expecting to be disappointed after so much hype online. If I was sure I'd be happy with a medium scale bass, I'd have impulse bought it then & there. Fretwork was solid, bass was light, pickup was fine, open back tuners rather than the old Affinity closed ones, well setup. It had neck dive, but I'd probably put Ultralites and a high mass bridge on it without a second thought.
You can get that bass for £190 in the UK. It might be genuinely the best value for money bass I've ever seen.
I've started playing short scales, for a budget instrument I'd be happy with the Affinity range. I play a Mustang PJ which I like just fine, if I was going more expensive then I think I'd order a Maruszczyk. I love Fenders, played them nearly all of my musical life, but there's definitely more palatable options with recent price increases. They're still selling by the truckload, though, so they haven't priced them above their perceived worth yet.
You can get that bass for £190 in the UK. It might be genuinely the best value for money bass I've ever seen.
I've started playing short scales, for a budget instrument I'd be happy with the Affinity range. I play a Mustang PJ which I like just fine, if I was going more expensive then I think I'd order a Maruszczyk. I love Fenders, played them nearly all of my musical life, but there's definitely more palatable options with recent price increases. They're still selling by the truckload, though, so they haven't priced them above their perceived worth yet.
I would be annoyed by this…except that the last three Squiers I have purchased have been better made guitars than ANY Mexican Fender I have ever picked up. And I'm talking even cheaper Squiers than that, one of which was a $200 Affinity.
The real problem is not that Squires are too expensive now. You still get what you pay for, and then some. The problem is that the Mexican ones are now incredibly overpriced for the mediocre quality level you get. I have never, not once, picked up a Mexican Fender that didn't need fret work. I am talking about at least 1,000 that I have picked up, over the past nearly 30 years of perusing music shops frequently. Literally not one had near perfect fretwork. This was somewhat acceptable when they were $350–$700 guitars. But not now, when what used to be the "Standard" line (the bottom level MIMs) are over $600.
Yet those last three Squiers I mentioned were either perfect in terms of fretwork, or only needed the mildest of touchups, for prices from $200-$400 that I paid for each. I have $850 into all three instruments, with only mild work needed…which is less than one Mexican reissue would cost me, while still needing a healthy amount of work.
The real problem is not that Squires are too expensive now. You still get what you pay for, and then some. The problem is that the Mexican ones are now incredibly overpriced for the mediocre quality level you get. I have never, not once, picked up a Mexican Fender that didn't need fret work. I am talking about at least 1,000 that I have picked up, over the past nearly 30 years of perusing music shops frequently. Literally not one had near perfect fretwork. This was somewhat acceptable when they were $350–$700 guitars. But not now, when what used to be the "Standard" line (the bottom level MIMs) are over $600.
Yet those last three Squiers I mentioned were either perfect in terms of fretwork, or only needed the mildest of touchups, for prices from $200-$400 that I paid for each. I have $850 into all three instruments, with only mild work needed…which is less than one Mexican reissue would cost me, while still needing a healthy amount of work.
Last edited:
Apart from the real world reasons that EVERYTHING is getting more expensive (COVID, freight restrictions, increased demand and supply inability etc.), which I'd cite as the main reasons for the price hikes, there's also the fact that, realistically, those prices can be justified.
They're made in Indonesia now instead of China and Indonesia seems to be the new Korea and "MII" (let's make this a thing) instruments are (allegedly) a notch upwards from the Chinese ones. Plus, quality control seems to have also been improved and, apart from ALL that, most people would probably pick the Squier over most MIM Fenders in a blind test. So, yeah, if you're getting a good instrument (not for the price, just a good instrument, period) for 400 bucks, that's a pretty good deal.
My only gripe is they don't offer them in more colors.
They're made in Indonesia now instead of China and Indonesia seems to be the new Korea and "MII" (let's make this a thing) instruments are (allegedly) a notch upwards from the Chinese ones. Plus, quality control seems to have also been improved and, apart from ALL that, most people would probably pick the Squier over most MIM Fenders in a blind test. So, yeah, if you're getting a good instrument (not for the price, just a good instrument, period) for 400 bucks, that's a pretty good deal.
My only gripe is they don't offer them in more colors.
