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Help me identify a Squier Jazz please?
- Thread starter killsapo
- Start date
Greetings, and welcome to TalkBass!
It's most likely a Squier Vintage Modified with some new knobs. They put out a VM that looked a lot like a Squier Classic Vibe Jazz, only with a bent-plate bridge, chrome knobs and no tug bar. But without see the headstock it's only an educated guess. This one is in such minty condition, I'd hazard another guess and say it's an N.O.S. unit.
If you look at the serial number on the back of the headstock, the year will be the first two numbers. For example, this Squier VM neck dates back to 2018…
What does a brand new Squier VM go for in your area? If it's much less than 300 Euros, then yours might be a bit overpriced. Still, a solid, well put together VM can be a great first-ever bass, especially after a good setup.
It's most likely a Squier Vintage Modified with some new knobs. They put out a VM that looked a lot like a Squier Classic Vibe Jazz, only with a bent-plate bridge, chrome knobs and no tug bar. But without see the headstock it's only an educated guess. This one is in such minty condition, I'd hazard another guess and say it's an N.O.S. unit.
If you look at the serial number on the back of the headstock, the year will be the first two numbers. For example, this Squier VM neck dates back to 2018…
What does a brand new Squier VM go for in your area? If it's much less than 300 Euros, then yours might be a bit overpriced. Still, a solid, well put together VM can be a great first-ever bass, especially after a good setup.
Thanks for your quick reply,
a brand new Classic Vibe (VM aren't availbale anymore apparently, I found some ranging from 340 to 410€ but aren't as close to my home as this one, which is 20min from my house) ranges from 380€ to 420€ depending on the store… I'm on a REALLY tight budget, this was listed at 320€ as EX DEMO UNIT, I pushed the price a bit to 300€… unfortunately I don't have a pic of the back of the headstock.
This comes with a 2yrs guarantee, as it's in a store, a same priced one from a private seller wouldn't have that bonus…
edit: p.s. what's a NOS unit?
a brand new Classic Vibe (VM aren't availbale anymore apparently, I found some ranging from 340 to 410€ but aren't as close to my home as this one, which is 20min from my house) ranges from 380€ to 420€ depending on the store… I'm on a REALLY tight budget, this was listed at 320€ as EX DEMO UNIT, I pushed the price a bit to 300€… unfortunately I don't have a pic of the back of the headstock.
This comes with a 2yrs guarantee, as it's in a store, a same priced one from a private seller wouldn't have that bonus…
edit: p.s. what's a NOS unit?
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The differences between two VM or CV basses cannot be known unless you play them.
From a picture they're all alike = usually very decent tight budget basses (there are lemons).
That said, the first generation of CV has often been described as "almost too good for the price" around here.
If I was on the market for a first bass, I'd def try to find one.
From a picture they're all alike = usually very decent tight budget basses (there are lemons).
That said, the first generation of CV has often been described as "almost too good for the price" around here.
If I was on the market for a first bass, I'd def try to find one.
btw the model seems exactly like this one: I finally found one looking the same in this vid (except for the replaced knobs)
I agree with Malak, looks like a VM. But even if it’s not, the general rule is if they write out “JAZZ BASS” on the headstock (as opposed to “J BASS”) it’s one of the Better squiers.
If you’ve been looking for a while, And that’s a good price for the area, I wouldn’t hesitate. Can’t really go wrong with a 2 year guarantee!
So what are you still doing here? Go get you a bass!
If you’ve been looking for a while, And that’s a good price for the area, I wouldn’t hesitate. Can’t really go wrong with a 2 year guarantee!
So what are you still doing here? Go get you a bass!
I saw this ad on Reverb. They first listed it as a Classic Vibe; I sent them a message to correct the listing and they apologised. It's indeed a Vintage Modified Olympic White Jazz Bass. With beautiful rosewood and I think replaced knobs
yes, I booked an appointment at the shop (damned COVID!) for tomorrow morning; might definitely become my first bass at 50yo
Yes, sir! That's the exact model I was referring to!
As far as anyone's first-ever bass goes, you could do far, far worse. Just anyone who started playing bass back in the 1970's. From the stories I've heard, the vast majority of bargain basses were completeyes, I booked an appointment at the shop (damned COVID!) for tomorrow morning; might definitely become my first bass at 50yo
. As for the date of this one, I'd bet a nickel it was manufactured somewhere between 2013 and 2018. Given the replacement knobs and the plastic wrapping that's still on the pickguard and neck plate, I'd also bet it was bought new by someone and either brought back or sold to the store as-is.Nowadays, a person can get a decent, maybe even excellent, bass that can be played in a live setting with other musicians or used for recordings right out of the box. And through the magic of "interchangeable parts", you can modify and upgrade any parts that seem to be lacking or if you simply want a different sound. (Personally, my first modification is a new set of strings. The type or brand depends on what kind of sound I want to get out of it.
)I took a quick peek at the current exchange rate between American dollars and Euros. €300/$320 for what appears to be a nearly brand-new/barely used Squier VM Jazz is a very reasonable price.
Whatever bass you decide to make your first-ever, please let us know. One thing, though, there's a rule around here…
…no pics, no bass!
Stay healthy, stay safe and enjoy yourself!
I will definitely post the pics, and thanks for the heads up!
(And I thought I missed my luck by arriving late on a used Daphne Blue Squier Jazz CV at 290€… this comes with a 24months guarantee, too!)
(And I thought I missed my luck by arriving late on a used Daphne Blue Squier Jazz CV at 290€… this comes with a 24months guarantee, too!)
Yes, sir! That's the exact model I was referring to!
As far as anyone's first-ever bass goes, you could do far, far worse. Just anyone who started playing bass back in the 1970's. From the stories I've heard, the vast majority of bargain basses were complete
Nowadays, a person can get a decent, maybe even excellent, bass that can be played in a live setting with other musicians or used for recordings right out of the box. And through the magic of "interchangeable parts", you can modify and upgrade any parts that seem to be lacking or if you simply want a different sound. (Personally, my first modification is a new set of strings. The type or brand depends on what kind of sound I want to get out of it.
I took a quick peek at the current exchange rate between American dollars and Euros. €300/$320 for what appears to be a nearly brand-new/barely used Squier VM Jazz is a very reasonable price.
Whatever bass you decide to make your first-ever, please let us know. One thing, though, there's a rule around here…
…no pics, no bass!
Stay healthy, stay safe and enjoy yourself!
From the stories I've heard, the vast majority of bargain basses were complete
Wasn't just bargain instruments. Top of the line stuff too. Les Paul Customs with twisted necks. Precision basses with the sideways fret thing (look it up, not a joke) rammed so far into the neck the fret tops barely cleared the fingerboard. Strats straight from the factory where you could make your own neck-pocket tremolo by yanking the headstock back and forth an inch. Every new instrument, no matter how cheap, in any music store in the United States today would be better built and set up than almost any top of the line instrument in any given music store in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Music stores had really good repair guys back in those days because it wasn't optional; you had to, or you wouldn't have anything in the store that could be played or sold.
Yeah, I've heard the stories (…although the sunken frets is a new one to me!
). I was just trying to be fair, especially since I was fortunate enough to never having to deal with that. Much like @killsapo, I didn't get my first bass until I was turning forty-years-old back in 2011. I also had the great fortune of getting a Crafted In Japan Fender for my first-ever, so talk about "quality assurance". 
You have to remember that over the last 25 years, as CAD/CAM and CNC production techniques have taken over, it's a completely different world than the old days where so much of this was done with hand measurement and production using fixtures to try and ensure quality. There were some great instruments built then, and some dogs, and most somewhere between the two. It was very common for a good player who knew and could feel the difference to try 5 or 10 examples of a given axe till he 'found a good one'.
Just weren't many good ones in beginner axes, and back then Fender and Gibson thought a Mustang bass or a Melody Maker guitar was all you needed. I'm here to tell you a Mustang wasn't all that, I could listen to AM stations on those awful MM pickups, and they weren't real cheap either. And you were really hung out if you wound up with a Teisco or Goya, or the other pitiful axes we used to call 'Green Stamp Catalog guitars': Those of us of a certain age will understand that reference.
Modern production techniques don't require the big skills it took in the old days in a lot of spots in the assembly process, and it's not geographically dependent, so now you can have remarkably good Squiers built in that hot-bed of guitar and bass building . . . . . Indonesia ! Modern digital production travels the globe easily.
Someone starting out now is in SO much better shape with great choices available at reasonable money. Way different in my day.
If that white Jazz is that recently discontinued VM or CV (I don't remember which line it was in), it's a great Jazz, especially for a first bass (with fresh strings and a good setup if needed). Squier sold LOTS of them, and I would have had one had I not bought the James Johnston Signature instead (though I'm pretty sure it's the same axe with a few very minor tweaks). Price seems right, and they're a lot of bass for the money.
Just weren't many good ones in beginner axes, and back then Fender and Gibson thought a Mustang bass or a Melody Maker guitar was all you needed. I'm here to tell you a Mustang wasn't all that, I could listen to AM stations on those awful MM pickups, and they weren't real cheap either. And you were really hung out if you wound up with a Teisco or Goya, or the other pitiful axes we used to call 'Green Stamp Catalog guitars': Those of us of a certain age will understand that reference.
Modern production techniques don't require the big skills it took in the old days in a lot of spots in the assembly process, and it's not geographically dependent, so now you can have remarkably good Squiers built in that hot-bed of guitar and bass building . . . . . Indonesia ! Modern digital production travels the globe easily.
Someone starting out now is in SO much better shape with great choices available at reasonable money. Way different in my day.
If that white Jazz is that recently discontinued VM or CV (I don't remember which line it was in), it's a great Jazz, especially for a first bass (with fresh strings and a good setup if needed). Squier sold LOTS of them, and I would have had one had I not bought the James Johnston Signature instead (though I'm pretty sure it's the same axe with a few very minor tweaks). Price seems right, and they're a lot of bass for the money.
Or “S&H Specials” as they were called in my neck of the woods.
Wow! Did you ever bring back a cascade of memories with that one.
