Well...the strap that came with my MIM Jazz says Fender right on it as well as the bass of course. I also was pawn shop browsing today and played a Squier P, lets just say the Squier felt like a Squier and my MIM Jazz feels like a Fender. I see alot of Squiers in the pawn shops....not too many Fenders.
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If you have a Squier do you have a Fender?
- Thread starter de la mocha
- Start date
So? And Yamaha made motorcycles before it made PA systems or Pianos.
I don't see why that makes and Epi better or worse than a Squier.
I really hate to sound like I am defending a corporation. They make enough money they should defend themselves. Again, if Squiers are such bad instruments than why are they so darn popular?
This is obviously another attempt by the bass bourgeoisie to keep down the musical proletariat. RISE UP!
mikeyswood
Inactive
I have never seen an "OLP Stingray".
I have seen a "Squier Telecaster".
Squiers are much closer to Fenders than OLPs are to Ernie Balls. I think few will argue that.
Quality wise I wouldnt say a squire is a fender. I own an vm squire p bass and its a great bass for 250$ but it just doesnt compare to the mia fenders. But comparing the tone I think its better then alot of mim p basses I played at guitar center. They also were thrashed by highschool kids and the action was set really high. Lately squire has gotten way better but I still wouldnt consiter them fenders
Here Here!!!
I've got a 83 Squire p-bass with an Alembic stock cong. pickup that would make a boatload of MIA Fender basses (vintage and current issue) sound like a Wal-Mart Special.
And I have them all Fender, Roscoe, Stingray, Lakland, Godin......
It's my go to bass for a lot of gigs.
I've got a 83 Squire p-bass with an Alembic stock cong. pickup that would make a boatload of MIA Fender basses (vintage and current issue) sound like a Wal-Mart Special.
And I have them all Fender, Roscoe, Stingray, Lakland, Godin......
It's my go to bass for a lot of gigs.
And some Squiers are better than some Fenders.
I know my late 80's MIJ E series Squier is better than a lot of MIM Fenders I've played.
No. Drummers do this with a brand called Drum Workshop. They have an off-shoot line called Pacific which aren't lousy drums by any means, but they're not in the same league as the DW drums. People put DW logos on their bass drum heads all the time even though they *don't* have a DW. As a drummer myself this irritates me.
Oh yeah... we know this little trick. I would never think about switching out the name on my kick drum head... or the name on my headstock.
Exception: Unless you put your bands name on the drumhead. Thats ok. Or Animal, the muppet. Then your really cool.
No - they were called that in the 80s, but then they became CIJ/MIJ Fenders. The Squiers are just Squiers, one of many brands owned by Fender, including SWR, Charvel, Jackson, etc. The back of a Squier headstock says "Squier by Fender" in fine print.
Yes because Spector, Lakland, and G&L all say so. Fender says a Squier is a Squier, not a Fender. So they're Squiers, not Fenders.
Who cares?? Do you like it? Do you play it?
OK THEN!!
But does DW outsource one of it's lines to a different country and still sell them as DW products?
I think Fender is a special case when it comes to this because of the MIM standard line. There is very little difference between an MIM standard and a Squier. Honest salesmen have even told me as much. I'd take a Squier VM over an MIM standard any day for the price difference. The only way to justify paying more between those two is if you absolutely have to have the different color option.
Don't mistake that as a bash on MIMs. I owned an MIM P standard years ago that I had to sell because of hard times. I'd love to track down where it is now so I could try to get it back. It played and sounded just fine, and there is some sentimental attachment.
Here is a pick of the FRONT of the headstock of my Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass Crafted in Indonesia in 2008.
As you can see it clearly says Squier Jazz Bass by Fender.
Attachments
And for those willing to hear the story right from the source:
Here is the Squier story, including how they got their name:
Invalid Link Removed
Here is the Squier story, including how they got their name:
Invalid Link Removed
The other brands you mentioned do not say, for ex: "Jackson by Fender" anywhere on them, do they? I highly doubt it.
I got the lowest price jazz bass that Fender puts their name on, an Affinity, btw it says "Fender" on the front of the headstock right under Squier. I'll put this bass against any USA Jazz bass that was made at the same time as mine.
As a matter of fact I did when I bought it, the $180.00 Squier won because the difference in price wasn't justified. All the savings going to a high-quality amp makes more sense to me.
Squier IS 100% Fender.They get their savings by the amount the factories pay their workers. There really isn't anymore to it than that.
This same hype, for lack of a better word happens with Gibsons as well. Do you really believe that a Gibson Les Paul is worth $2500-3000 more than a well made copy. Sure it's better, but not that much. As long as people will pay for the name they'll sell them. BUT not to me.
In a "Blind" test I bet that 90% of players couldn't tell whether they're playing a Fender or Squier.
This is from the last paragraph of that article;
Basically confirms the fact that Squiers are Fenders manufactured to meet a lower price point.
I took apart a Squire Bullet Stratocaster last Thursday, and the neck pocket cut quality is appalling! The guitar is ok and I did not notice any neck movement, but workmanship is nowhere near my MIM P Bass, or my 1989 Epiphone Rock Bass for that matter. Can't talk about the Affinity or VM Squires though.
I've purchased 3 Squier Affinity Jazz basses in the last 3 months - they play fantastic and sound damn good stock, like a good passive jazz should. With a solid Alder body, they also make an excellent platform to mod out with pickup upgrades, etc. Two of my Squiers are in the process of being upgraded with CTS pots along with pickup replacements at the moment (Fender SCN's & DiMarzio Ultra J's).
As I was saying, I just unboxed my 3rd Fender Squier jazz bass last night. FWIW, the interior box protecting the bass said "Fender" (and nothing else) on it.
The fact of the matter is personally, I could care less whether anyone else thinks it is "really" a Fender. It "really" plays great, "really" sounds great, and "really" puts "real" money in my pocket after a gig, and I've received "real" compliments on its tone after some gigs. I have no problem saving the wear & tear on my "real" MIA Fender Jazz Bass Deluxe-5 by playing my Squiers at most of my gigs either. I'd recommend this thread as well that explains recent management/production happenings at Squier:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=434004&highlight=squier
A few pics:
As I was saying, I just unboxed my 3rd Fender Squier jazz bass last night. FWIW, the interior box protecting the bass said "Fender" (and nothing else) on it.
The fact of the matter is personally, I could care less whether anyone else thinks it is "really" a Fender. It "really" plays great, "really" sounds great, and "really" puts "real" money in my pocket after a gig, and I've received "real" compliments on its tone after some gigs.
I have no problem saving the wear & tear on my "real" MIA Fender Jazz Bass Deluxe-5 by playing my Squiers at most of my gigs either. I'd recommend this thread as well that explains recent management/production happenings at Squier: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=434004&highlight=squier
A few pics:
maybe you had a good one, and the USA was a dog... but don't expect it to be better than every USA jazz around... get real!
simple thing is: you have a Squier, backed by Fender sure... still a Squier...
is a mex Fender a Fender? yeah sure, but a Mexican one.
is a cij/mij Fender a Fender? yeah sure, but a cij/mij one.
is a USA Fender a Fender? well duh...
I've played my share of affinity Squiers, with the exception of one(cause someone ripped the frets out) all of the fretwork was ****! I seriously cut my hand open on one...
but I also had a Squier stratocaster, I still regret selling that one!
I'm not saying it's a bad brand, but come on, saying it's better...(unless you're talking 'bout the early '80's they seem to be awesome... but you're also paying top dollar for them now so...)
No, because the people who buy them do not feel the need to validate what they are buying by having it associated with the Fender brand. Just because Squier is 100% owned by Fender, they are not Fenders, they are Squiers. That's why Fender puts Squier on the headstock, so people don't get confused.
And yes, some Gibsons are worth that much, just as some Fenders (the ones that sell for that much) are worth that much.
I own a Squier VM Fretless Jazz (sorry I forgot it had a Fender logo in fine print also on the FRONT of the headstock). I also own a Fender New American Standard P bass, and they are both worth every cent I spent on them. The Squier is a fine $300 bass, but let's not suffer any delusions here ok? It's not even close to the same class as an American Fender.
My objection however isn't about quality, it is about branding. You may feel that a Squier VM is better quality than a Mexican Fender, and for all I know you may be right, I don't have much experience with the Mexican ones, but the simple fact is that Fender chose to call the Squier a Squier, not a Fender (ok, Squier BY Fender then...
). What's wrong with a Squier? Why do people constantly have to validate a Squier by calling it a Fender, or replacing the logo on the headstock with a Fender one? The new Squiers are fine instruments for their money, there's nothing for y'all to be sensitive over.
About the blind test - I assume you mean blind in the sense that if you swapped out all the hardware and rolled the edges of the fretboard, and replaced the decal, so that all you had left of the originals were the finished wood with common hardware? Maybe not for a Mexican Fender, or even a Japanese Fender. But I'd still recognize an American Fender in that test. If you want to throw in a blindfold too, then I'd likely have to look for the ferrules at the back of the body, I doubt there'd be much difference besides that - but night after night, gigging and taking it from my truck to the gig and back to the truck and then home again, I bet there'd be some differences after a year in the integrity of the finish, the frets, the neck, and whether all the hardware was still attached properly.
