Guys in big famous bands don't play their budget signature models that much. Flea, pete wentz, troy sanders or whoever may talk like they gig their low end sig models, but they use it for maybe one or two songs at most. They usually have their high end sig models that look similar to their budget models. If you have modulus, music man or fender custom shop basses at your disposal, why would you play the squiers.
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Fender logos on Squier basses...
- Thread starter MarkoYYZ
- Start date
Because you like them better?
I have a $1200 MIA Fender Jazz which is definitely the best made bass I've ever had my Hands on. I also have a $300 Squier VM P bass, which is pretty nicely made, maybe not as much as the Jazz, but it ain't no slouch, either. Guess which one I enjoy playing more. (hint: it's the Squier) Go ahead tell me I'm wrong for preferring a cheap bass over an expensive one.
I double-dog dare ya.
BTW, there are indeed pros who can afford "better" instruments, but they'd rather play their cheapies. Go ahead, tell them they're wrong too.
Actually, this raises a very interesting question. With all the improvement of the Squier product range, what would happen if Fender started calling all of their basses Fender? Would the universe implode, would everybody just shut up, would Squier basses become sought after and their prices would skyrocket?
I dunno how that's relevant to what I was saying. Dare me all you want. I wasn't talking about you. Are you in a multi platinum selling band?
It's no secret those big acts don't gig their cheap low end models all that much. They are obligated to be seen around with them. Even then, their "cheap" basses are teched by top notch guys who probably charge as much as the cost of a squier for their work. Proof is already there, so what is your point?
Again, all these praises for squiers, but I see so many relabeled squiers around. Most people don't care if you have a squier of fender on the headstock. It seems like squier owners care more about the name on the headstock more than the audience themselves. People hate to admit it, but it's all about the image.
It's no secret those big acts don't gig their cheap low end models all that much. They are obligated to be seen around with them. Even then, their "cheap" basses are teched by top notch guys who probably charge as much as the cost of a squier for their work. Proof is already there, so what is your point?
Again, all these praises for squiers, but I see so many relabeled squiers around. Most people don't care if you have a squier of fender on the headstock. It seems like squier owners care more about the name on the headstock more than the audience themselves. People hate to admit it, but it's all about the image.
I asked this earlier in the thread, though maybe in a different way.
What if the Squier brand remained out there for the Affinity and Standard series - but based on quality and reputation - the Classic Vibe and Vintage Modifieds were 'up-branded' by FMIC to be Fender instruments from a Squier CV or Squier VM series?
The guitar universe would definitely be at risk of implosion if that happened and yes, the few years of models from the Squier CV and VM lines would probably become a collectable product at some point, like the Korean ProTone models are now.
That's a bit of a thread derail, though, and doesn't really justify the relabeling to Fender that goes on - still interesting to ponder and wonder what those so vigorously opposed to the practice would be able to say if FMIC themselves did in fact consider these basses worthy of the Fender label.
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it'd hurt the fender brand from fender's perspective.
The fender brand is associated as being of higher quality. Not saying its true but its still what the general population think. Hell thats the reason snobs ridicule people with squiers and kind of the reason for this thread. If they got rid of squier and absorbed it into the fender brand their "weakest link" of their range would be weaker.
This means they can charge more for the fenders I believe.
The fender brand is associated as being of higher quality. Not saying its true but its still what the general population think. Hell thats the reason snobs ridicule people with squiers and kind of the reason for this thread. If they got rid of squier and absorbed it into the fender brand their "weakest link" of their range would be weaker.
This means they can charge more for the fenders I believe.
Is this debate still going on? The term Fender Bass has been used as a generic since around the time I was born. They were then, and to a degree it still are, the benchmark for recording and live performing. To begin with it was used to designate just the Precision Bass and later the Jazz Bass was added to that same generic. In their rather unchanged designs those two are still the mainstays of the Fender Bass line 50 plus years later and they still tend to be referred to as Fender Basses.
The Squier brand has gone through many evolutions over the years and it's earned it own place in the Fender Bass hierarchy and also a reputation for producing very good quality high value instruments. IMHO the CV basses are the real value leaders in that product line. So why the need to have the name Fender on the headstock? They are for all intents and purposes the same bass as any other Fender Bass but are able to be offered at a lower price due mainly to lower labor costs and the economy of scale by offering less finish options or other non-essential upgrades. The actual difference in material costs is fairly negligible.
I still have to chuckle at the thought that anyone should want to relabel their bass because of what someone else thinks of it. Especially those who don't even play bass and wouldn't know a good one from a bad one if it bit them in the ass so all they use as a measurement of quality and suitability is the name on the headstock. Is that who you're trying to please? Well you may as well stop and just let your playing speak for you. You could show up with a $2000 bass and get some smiles and nods of approval but without the chops you won't get the job.
I've been playing Fender Basses for over 35 years and have owned many. I can honestly say my two Squiers are as good as any I've ever had or played and I'll stick with them no matter what it says on their headstock. If what I play counts for more than how I play then I'm in the wrong situation anyway.
The Squier brand has gone through many evolutions over the years and it's earned it own place in the Fender Bass hierarchy and also a reputation for producing very good quality high value instruments. IMHO the CV basses are the real value leaders in that product line. So why the need to have the name Fender on the headstock? They are for all intents and purposes the same bass as any other Fender Bass but are able to be offered at a lower price due mainly to lower labor costs and the economy of scale by offering less finish options or other non-essential upgrades. The actual difference in material costs is fairly negligible.
I still have to chuckle at the thought that anyone should want to relabel their bass because of what someone else thinks of it. Especially those who don't even play bass and wouldn't know a good one from a bad one if it bit them in the ass so all they use as a measurement of quality and suitability is the name on the headstock. Is that who you're trying to please? Well you may as well stop and just let your playing speak for you. You could show up with a $2000 bass and get some smiles and nods of approval but without the chops you won't get the job.
I've been playing Fender Basses for over 35 years and have owned many. I can honestly say my two Squiers are as good as any I've ever had or played and I'll stick with them no matter what it says on their headstock. If what I play counts for more than how I play then I'm in the wrong situation anyway.
Nothing I'm about to write has anything to do with the original topic of this thread, but as the founding member of the Grumpy Old Guys Club, I need to share my opinion on some of what I've read here. 
I've also made a fair bit of money by flipping them afterwards.
Learning how to set up and maintain an instrument is as important as learning how to play it.
Some of the best "factory" fretwork I've seen was on a Chinese-made Ibanez.
I don't gig much these days. When I do, I get paid the same whether I'm using a $500 instrument or one worth $5,000.
A friend paid thousands to have a custom bass guitar built. It's a beautiful looking instrument. Another friend has a Fender Jazz he bought in the 60s. It's probably worth quite a bit on the collectors market. For obvious reasons, those instruments seldom leave the owners' houses.
I've sold off most of my "high value" intsruments over the past several years. Someone more vain can have the "status" of owning them.
I've saved a LOT of money over the years by buying "unplayable" instruments and spending a few minutes with files, truss rod wrenches, etc.
I've also made a fair bit of money by flipping them afterwards.
Learning how to set up and maintain an instrument is as important as learning how to play it.
The fret ends on my American Standard Tele (skinny-string) would have literally cut your hand when I first bought it.
Some of the best "factory" fretwork I've seen was on a Chinese-made Ibanez.
I've earned some or all of my income playing music for more years than most of you have been alive. I've never once run into this on the pro level. I've walked into auditions with instruments I initially bought for $50 and gotten the job.
My guess is that it comes from people who have never been in a real studio. Or from people recounting stories from the distant past when some engineers and producers didn't know how to work with a bass guitar other than a Fender.
I'm the same way.
I don't gig much these days. When I do, I get paid the same whether I'm using a $500 instrument or one worth $5,000.
A friend paid thousands to have a custom bass guitar built. It's a beautiful looking instrument. Another friend has a Fender Jazz he bought in the 60s. It's probably worth quite a bit on the collectors market. For obvious reasons, those instruments seldom leave the owners' houses.
I've sold off most of my "high value" intsruments over the past several years. Someone more vain can have the "status" of owning them.
Wow that makes sense....buy a $200 bass, put $1000 worth of parts and time into doing all that to it, and then when you are done you still have squier on the headstock. It will still be made with the 6 piece scrap wood bodies. It will still be made into lesser quality purposely so the masses buys the next higher level of quality when their financial level dictates. The basses in the 70s were so hit or miss becuase they were made by people. Now they are all made by computers. Is it that hard for fender to use the same computer program for every bass and guitar made? They use different programs to make sure each bass of a certain quality! Grade A B C D E. If you need to do all that to make a bass playable then its obviously not the same quality.
None in particular I think. He just seems to enjoy spreading lies and misinformation.
Hopkins
Commercial User
I've met Pete Wentz at a show a friends band played with Fall Out Boy. He was admiring one of my builds that my friend was using on that show, and he showed me his rig. He had 5 or 6 different basses in his rack, and every one was either a black or white Squier sig. So you are wrong, at least in his case. Flea used Fleabasses quite regularly when the company was still selling them. Why wouldn't he, that is advertizement for his own company.
Hopkins
Commercial User
I put about $190 worth of pickups in my VM, and a different pick guard that I had laying around.
So tell me how many pieces do you see in my maple bodied Squier VM? I never learned to count very well, but I am pretty sure its not six pieces, I'm not sure but I only see two. Maybe you should quit while your behind.
To add to that, if you watch the FOB video for "Arms Race" or what ever that song is called, Pete starts out in the video with the Squire black and chrome P bass Special Edition from Squiers Standard series.
I put about $190 worth of pickups in my VM, and a different pick guard that I had laying around.
So tell me how many pieces do you see in my maple bodied Squier VM? I never learned to count very well, but I am pretty sure its not six pieces, I'm not sure but I only see two. Maybe you should quit while your behind.
Same with my two Squiers, both have two piece bodies. And, from what I know, plenty of "real" Fenders have multi-piece bodies. As far as mods, for the VM J I spent maybe 40 bucks total for knobs and ashtrays, and twenty on the VM P for a bridge cover. Neither one "needed" any more mods than that. His whole post is baloney.
23 pages and nobody has posted anything that hasn't been posted about 1,000 before ... including me
Ignore him. Obviously he is an MIA heat snob. Don't try to argue with him because he will only be fuelled by itI
23 pages and nobody has posted anything that hasn't been posted about 1,000 before ... including me
If it doesn't say Sunkist, you don't know what you're getting.
