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Is a Squire a Squire?

#21
Simply, IF this is at all true, this 'person' you 'know' is a dick.

And, anyone not doing due diligence to find out of the bass is legit is a sucker.
I am failing to see how one could be mistaken for the other by a new set of strings, an aftermarket pickup, and a logo. Who knows, as a glance if the pickup is an upgrade? Just about every other appointment assigned to that bass would be a tell.
 
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#24
If somebody is making fraud copies by using a Squier and relabeling, that is wrong.
To mod a bass yourself is just a hobby. Those who are doing it to play are doing it to put together something they like and is personal to them.
As to prices, The $500 mark seems about right. A new MIM P I think runs about $549 and an American about $1300, so it is still below those prices.
It certainly doesn't increase the resale value that much, but I can see it being fun to do. I've been thinking about it, but I am finding Affinitys hard to find now. Don't know what happened, but it seems like a year ago I could go in to any pawn shop and pick from 2 or 3 and < $100.
 
#25
gary m said:
Korean-made Squiers from the early 80s are decent utility instruments with their own collectors vibe. The current crop of VM series Squiers are also well made and serviceable instruments, from what I can tell. In the middle somewhere are the Affinity series basses and some factory "oopses" that never should have gone to market. As with most instruments, you truly have to pick it up and play it before passing judgement. There's good and bad in every bunch.

What's it worth? Whatever you, the buyer, are willing to pay for it.
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A good MIK or MIJ Squier will be as good with maybe a few mods as a MIA. Since I owned all those I should know or at least in my mind its as good.
My main player is a highly modded early 80's MIK and it sounds as good as the 06' MIA P bass I had before it. I have maybe $300 and my time in her.
 
#26
There is a guy on my local kijiji who was trying to sell a Fender Jazz bass that he painted in orange with a matching headstock.

Except for it was a Squier that he had re-branded "Orange" and he was claiming it was a Fender to start with. I called him out on it. The ad is now down, I really hope somebody didn't buy it although I imagine some sucker thinks he got a great deal.
 
#27
Someone tried that crap here on TB about a year or two ago. They put up an ad for what they said was a Fender 70's Jazz bass reissue and were asking about a grand for it. I (and one other poster ) immediately recognized it as a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz with a Fender decal on the headstock. The ad was taken down rather quickly after me and the other poster called shenanigans on it. I figure if someone had the chutzpah to post such an obvious fake here, then it must be fairly common elsewhere, where the thing might not get the same scrutiny as it would here.
 
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#28
bolophonic said:
Is that so?
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Yes, that is so.

I offer this example, very recently bought from Atomic Music in Beltsville, MD (I have no affiliation) a 2011 Fender Precision, American Standard, Sunburst with rosewood board and SKB case, $745 out the door. I have also bought several other Jazz and P basses over the last few years in the same price range. If you look in my avatar, the American Jazz bass was $815 from the same vendor.
 
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#29
virginiabassman said:
I know a person who will take a cheap $300.00 squire bass and replace the pickup,, paint the bass, replace the strings a do a setup.Then sells the bass for almost what an American Fender will cost. The same is done with mexican made basses. They sound and play well. Is it worth it? Or, is a squire is a squire no matter what you do to it.
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You weren't specific on exact prices, but I don't think he will sell very many Squier's for ~$1,000, no matter what he does to them. They are Squiers, I have a CV and love it, gig the hell outta that thing. Never even changed the pickup cause I like how it sounds. That said, I'm well aware that it's great for what it is, but it makes little sense to dump a bunch of money into it.
 
#30
Lipstick or not, a pig is a pig.... and I doubt that what is described in the original post actually happens. Too far-fetched. More likely the OP is testing the market for an idea he has been thinking of trying out himself.
 
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#31
DiabolusInMusic said:
There is a guy on my local kijiji who was trying to sell a Fender Jazz bass that he painted in orange with a matching headstock.

Except for it was a Squier that he had re-branded "Orange" and he was claiming it was a Fender to start with. I called him out on it. The ad is now down, I really hope somebody didn't buy it although I imagine some sucker thinks he got a great deal.
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Do you remember his name?
 
#32
I just bought a Squier VM and swapped out the pickups with a MIA P-bass pickup and a Super 55 jazz pickup. However, I wouldn't expect to make much of a profit from my upgrades, certainly not the parts and labor I put into it. I wouldn't pay someone else a premium to do upgrades that are easily done yourself either, and repainting - that's a negative in my mind always.

As for my guitar, I modified it for me to play, not somebody else.
 
#36
KramerDon said:
Maple is maple,if it has good action and is stable it's worth upgrading the tuners,pickups,etc.
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The difference of the quality of maple used in various instruments is usually reflected in the price. Close and straight-grained Rock Maple with little-to-no runout is the best for necks, and I rarely find that on cheaper instruments (rarely is in "never"). And there are over 120 species of maple - they are not all suitable for musical instruments, and for those that are, some are far superior to others.
 
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