Goodbye Squier Classic Vibe basses?

[Bunk McNulty]

Fender seems to be modernizing the top end of the line with two active Jazz Basses. The CV '60s Jazz was dropped during 2018 and now the '70s PBass is gone as well as the '60s and Matt Freeman PBasses. My guess is cost.

CV Basses would have broken the $400 barrier new and my thinking is that would hurt sales so in order to stay well under that they've cut costs and subbed the Contemporary Jazz Bass for the CV 60s and kept pricing on the VM series at $300.

There are still a fair number of used CV 60s Jazz Basses to be had but finding a used Matt Freeman isn't as easy. I know I won't be selling mine soon if ever and I'm in no hurry to replace my CV '60s Jazz either.

To me those basses were some of the all stars of the CV Series and fair competition for any MIM version for far less money. When stuff like that happens Fender often renames it's higher end line, increases the prices, and the lower end internal competition disappears.

Forgive me, I've never thought about this before: What's the difference between CV and VM product lines? I see some Squier VM basses priced new at $379...

 

[johnson79]

This happens every year before NAMM or a new product launch. Everyone panics on TB, but Fender always launches a slightly modified version of that line, which is either the best thing ever or not, but it will definitely cost more.

So yeah, wait until NAMM to panic...

 

[ole Jason]

IMO the Indian Laurel fretboards look horrible on current instruments and it's so depressing that rosewood has been depleted the way it has to force this to happen.

Agreed. The current Squier fretboards look absolutely atrocious. I'd be really surprised if sales didn't go way down when they switched over.

 

[Droopy_TX]

IMO the Indian Laurel fretboards look horrible on current instruments and it's so depressing that rosewood has been depleted the way it has to force this to happen.

I agree that pao ferro looks too red.
Check out this YT video form Anderton's Music:


At 7:05 Pete Honore, talks about an oil he put on a paso ferro fretboard to darken it. When done, it looks pretty danged close to rosewood. It's definitely no longer as red, and it supposed to last. Not sure if it's applicable to Indian laurel as well.

 

[jd56hawk]

I've been saying this for years and I think the VMs will be next.
I sure hope Squier isn't going to rely on the Affinity and Contemporary basses.
Might be a good time to pick up a nice CV Inca Silver Jazz bass.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

One thing that is certain is we won’t be seeing that beautiful dark rosewood the CV’s featured on any Squier ever again. I don’t know if they dyed it or what, but that stuff had a look usually only seen on 60’s era Brazilian boards. If I were to guess, I’d say the great Fender experiment of the last decade of offering tremendous bang for the buck on their budget lines by using them as a test bed for future MIM and US releases is likely over, and we’ll now be entering a long slump when it comes to anything Squier.

Fingers crossed that CITES II is implemented. Unless I've misunderstood the proposed changes it might bring back rosewood on guitars while still keeping it restricted for the uses that caused the problem in the first place.

As for the CVs being discontinued I'm not surprised. Thery are WAY better than their price suggests and this was probably not what Fender wanted, at least not in the long run. They are in a completely different league than any VM I've tried. With the exception of cheap feeling jack input/pots the CVs are more comparable to MIM or even some MIA. These Chinese Squiers are far better than anything I've tried coming out of Indonesia. The Indonesian Squiers are more like "good for the price". The Chinese CVs are almost unbelievably good for the price and I use mine (CV70+50) just as much as my MIA Fenders. My only regret is that I didn't get a Sonic Blue CV60s before they were gone.

 

[Kukulkan61]

I sold this back in November I miss it but don’t regret it, it was an exceptional bass better than any any MIM I ever played and IMO better than the Player series basses I fiddled around with at GC. I really didn’t play it much as I usually grab my Lakland D Dunn with EMG Geezers when I prefer a Pbass...

 

[Bassa Nova]

Thankfully, I have a Squier CV 60s P and it is a rock solid P bass.

 

[micguy]

American Standard became American Professional. Standard became Player. They're not really going away, they're being tweaked and renamed. The Marketing guys have to do something, and this is evidence that they're up to that something.

 

[pappabass]

They are actually cool basses even though its a Squier!

 

[InstantEctobass]

One thing that is certain is we won’t be seeing that beautiful dark rosewood the CV’s featured on any Squier ever again. I don’t know if they dyed it or what, but that stuff had a look usually only seen on 60’s era Brazilian boards. If I were to guess, I’d say the great Fender experiment of the last decade of offering tremendous bang for the buck on their budget lines by using them as a test bed for future MIM and US releases is likely over, and we’ll now be entering a long slump when it comes to anything Squier.

True!! I like how dark it is, and with a quality looking grain, too. Squier's best products of the 2000s era for sure.

Yes....I'm thinking we'll see the CV series incarnated but in something like Fender Player Classic series. Easier to justify the higher cost of manufacture, and perhaps to make that quality difference between Squier and Fender a little clearer. Logistically speaking, as you alluded to, it makes sense to have the manufacturing of the CV done by the same source that manufactures the Fender Player series, as they're similar in the quality of labor involved and higher grade parts. The CV is really at the very least on par with the next tier up on the Fender pantheon, the Fender brand itself in terms of quality.

It's not just about the quality difference, but the manufacturing costs. Asia vs America. Quality is good on Squier. At least was. I had a friend with an American Vintage P which pickup died without reasons.

IMO the Indian Laurel fretboards look horrible on current instruments and it's so depressing that rosewood has been depleted the way it has to force this to happen.

So true they look so "ill" and wrong... I'd rather go for Thomann's way to "burn" maple to make it look it "rosewood".

I've been saying this for years and I think the VMs will be next.
I sure hope Squier isn't going to rely on the Affinity and Contemporary basses.
Might be a good time to pick up a nice CV Inca Silver Jazz bass.

VM are mixed feeling for me. Had a VM CAR PJ, didn't like the dull tone of it (Agathis + 250k pots), and I had a 70s J VM: amazing, stock!

Fingers crossed that CITES II is implemented. Unless I've misunderstood the proposed changes it might bring back rosewood on guitars while still keeping it restricted for the uses that caused the problem in the first place.

As for the CVs being discontinued I'm not surprised. Thery are WAY better than their price suggests and this was probably not what Fender wanted, at least not in the long run. They are in a completely different league than any VM I've tried. With the exception of cheap feeling jack input/pots the CVs are more comparable to MIM or even some MIA. These Chinese Squiers are far better than anything I've tried coming out of Indonesia. The Indonesian Squiers are more like "good for the price". The Chinese CVs are almost unbelievably good for the price and I use mine (CV70+50) just as much as my MIA Fenders. My only regret is that I didn't get a Sonic Blue CV60s before they were gone.

Finger crossed then. Had an Indonesian P which had a way better neck that any other Affinity's I've seen. Made in 2006. Sold it for a CV JB 60s. Somehow regreted it, but the JB IS TOP.

I sold this back in November I miss it but don’t regret it, it was an exceptional bass better than any any MIM I ever played and IMO better than the Player series basses I fiddled around with at GC. I really didn’t play it much as I usually grab my Lakland D Dunn with EMG Geezers when I prefer a Pbass...View attachment 3282454View attachment 3282455

Oh yeah, that one was awesome too. Just like the 60s CV JB. The Sonic Blue one was great but when the lacquer yellows, it's green haha

Thankfully, I have a Squier CV 60s P and it is a rock solid P bass.

True.

American Standard became American Professional. Standard became Player. They're not really going away, they're being tweaked and renamed. The Marketing guys have to do something, and this is evidence that they're up to that something.

Yes, they changed names... and choices, but there's always been turnaround. Good series and bad ones, wasn't it?

They are actually cool basses even though its a Squier!

I mean... look at that:

 

[soulman969]

Forgive me, I've never thought about this before: What's the difference between CV and VM product lines? I see some Squier VM basses priced new at $379...

Primarily point of manufacture and the features.

The Vintage Modified Series are built in Indonesia whereas the Classic Vibes are of Chinese manufacture.

The VM Series are modernized version of original body styles; PBass, Jazz Bass, Jaguar Bass, etc.

The Classic Vibes were built to MIA specs and emphasized popular original '50s, '60s and '70s models.

In the past there seemed to be some modest quality differences between them as well but over time I believe that became less of an issue. Currently I'm thinking the increased costs of building the CV Basses in China doomed them especially the Jazz Bass with it's rosewood board.

IIRC initially it was the CV Series that listed for around $300 each and back around 2012 or so the prices increased to $350 and then $400. My thinking is Fender was anticipating buyer resistance to a '60s or '70s style passive bass at list prices above $400.

Old farts like me who prefer the more vintage style passive basses we've played most of our careers have bought already and younger buyers and guitarists are more attracted to modern styling and features and short scale basses. Those are found in the VM Series.

But again.....it's only an educated guess.

 

[soulman969]

They are actually cool basses even though its a Squier!

I think the days when Squiers are being seen as some kind of bastard red haired step child of Fender are behind us at least as far as the Classic Vibe Series of both guitars and basses go.

I've taken mine to many jams and played them on many gigs and no one has been other than impressed with their build and playability.

In that regard mine are as good or better than any '60s or '70 MIA Fender bass I've owned or I would not have spent the money upgrading the pickups and bridges like I did.

Now they're even better.

 

[king_biscuit]

I agree that pao ferro looks too red.

No one complained about Pau Ferro until Fender started using it on the new Player Series. A couple of examples:

 

[soulman969]

Players will get used to just as they did maple. Who used that before Leo did? Gibson still resists it.

 

[InstantEctobass]

The issue with Pau Ferro is purely aesthetics. People loved that dark rosewood. Jatoba isn't good enough for Fender apparently

 

[Malak the Mad]

Yes....I'm thinking we'll see the CV series incarnated but in something like Fender Player Classic series. Easier to justify the higher cost of manufacture, and perhaps to make that quality difference between Squier and Fender a little clearer. Logistically speaking, as you alluded to, it makes sense to have the manufacturing of the CV done by the same source that manufactures the Fender Player series, as they're similar in the quality of labor involved and higher grade parts. The CV is really at the very least on par with the next tier up on the Fender pantheon, the Fender brand itself in terms of quality.

Just to be clear, are you referring to the short-lived Fender Modern Player Series? They were Chinese-made as well and I further suspect they were manufactured in the same, exact facility the Squier Classic Vibes were.

 

[Maxdusty]

Just to be clear, are you referring to the short-lived Fender Modern Player Series? They were Chinese-made as well and I further suspect they were manufactured in the same, exact facility the Squier Classic Vibes were.

to be honest, I had forgotten about those Modern Player Series basses, those were short lived indeed. I was actually speculating whether they're doing away with the Squier CV series and instead will be offering the same generational vintage type basses but manufactured in Mexico and labeled as Fender instead.

 

[Malak the Mad]

to be honest, I had forgotten about those Modern Player Series basses, those were short lived indeed. I was actually speculating whether they're doing away with the Squier CV series and instead will be offering the same generational vintage type basses but manufactured in Mexico and labeled as Fender instead.

Honestly, I hope not. Not because I dislike the MIM Classic Series, no sirreebob! It's because, as far as I, myself, am concerned, the Classic Series is more period-correct than the new (vintage-in-name-only) American Original Series. So please, oh please, don't wish for anything that means ending that series! Besides, a properly vintage-inspired and spec'd Squier series would wreak havoc upon my finances! (Savings account?! Who needs it?!? Shut up and take my money!! )

 

[HankHillWaluigi]

Out of curiosity, does anybody know if the 50's classic vibe is on the chopping block? I've been wanting one for forever and I may pick one up if they're gonna be going soon.