I play 2 Squier Vintage Modified with pickup upgrade. Most MIA are better, but not by far. For less than 5% difference, I prefer a modded Squier with a good setup.
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Is Squire a bad thing ?
- Thread starter Maszkman
- Start date
It sounds like a mixed bag on swapping necks; some have success, and some don't. I hope I'm one of the lucky ones. I have a VM 70s Jazz Bass (natural maple finish) and want to move that maple/black block neck onto a black Fender P body (coming today). I have an excellent roasted maple/rosewood Warmoth neck that would then go onto the Jazz body, along with a tort guard.
All of this is for aesthetics; the black P with black block maple neck would look wicked (black guard, too), and the modded Jazz would look essentially like a Fender FSR Jazz Bass. It would be simpler to put the Warmoth neck on the P body and call it good, but that would be one dark and boring look. If the other plan will work, it will be worth the shuffle.
All of this is for aesthetics; the black P with black block maple neck would look wicked (black guard, too), and the modded Jazz would look essentially like a Fender FSR Jazz Bass. It would be simpler to put the Warmoth neck on the P body and call it good, but that would be one dark and boring look. If the other plan will work, it will be worth the shuffle.
I own a 2014 affinity p\j and a '98 p bass special standard series (a p\j bass, precursor to the vm and cv series from squire) both are fine basses, though with the affinity you should expect less qc from the factory such as ragged fret ends, aside from that they both play fantastic and the '98 is my main. if it feels good, sounds good, gives you the tone you're looking for it doesn't matter what any sales rep. says or tries to sell you. I almost never have that issue but when it does happen and you know what you want, stick to your guns. I usually tell those types that unless they're willing to cut a sweet deal to get you a step up in price range they should keep their teeth together and make the sale.
I can be a bit of an ass if they rep puts me there, but not enough of one to put them off either. point being a good bass is a good bass regardless of the name slapped on it, ignore the hype.
I can be a bit of an ass if they rep puts me there, but not enough of one to put them off either. point being a good bass is a good bass regardless of the name slapped on it, ignore the hype.
Squiers are fine basses. Probably the best "budget" basses out there.
Here's a LPB VM P/J with all black hardware & DR Black Beauty strings and a red Affinity P/J with a red pearl PG and the VM's High-mass bridge.
Don't give me crap about the headstock logos - I didn't do it. But the tell-tale serial numbers are in place.
Here's a LPB VM P/J with all black hardware & DR Black Beauty strings and a red Affinity P/J with a red pearl PG and the VM's High-mass bridge.
Don't give me crap about the headstock logos - I didn't do it. But the tell-tale serial numbers are in place.
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I started with a Squier affinity P-bass. I think it's fantastic and people were always saying that it sounds really good. I have two fenders and they feel IMO much better than my Squier. It is perhaps because the affinity is the lowest quality series. However, I only heard good things about the VM series and the CV. I think you have a great bass and, if you like it, it's the perfect bass for you.
I never played a MIA Fender Bass, (a few MIMs) and I’m sure some mechanical and electrical parts are “better”
but I have now have a $300 Squier VM P-5 and I’m sitting here wondering what more I could need from it. Sounds great, plays great, everything works just as it should…
I just don’t know what more I could want from a bass.
but I have now have a $300 Squier VM P-5 and I’m sitting here wondering what more I could need from it. Sounds great, plays great, everything works just as it should…
I just don’t know what more I could want from a bass.
I went from a MIA Jazz to a Squier VM Jazz. Sold the MIA, got a Squier for under $200 and had a lot of money left over.
The Squier fills the same needs my MIA did. The MIA is a better bass, but for my needs it wasn't worth the extra $1000+.
The Squier fills the same needs my MIA did. The MIA is a better bass, but for my needs it wasn't worth the extra $1000+.
To add:
My guitar player snubbed it just the other day. He has nothing but classics and custom shop guitars, and high-end Mesa rigs… just brought a beautiful new Bubinga cabinet unit in…
I’ve had this Squier for a few weeks and he said nothing about it, then my buddy/bandmate (I specifically asked that he not say anything) said “Hey, did you see Mark’s new bass?”
the guitarist just gave a quick nod and turned his head.
Funny thing, all his nice gear and he can’t seem to do his homework and get to rehearsals.
Oh man, I’m rocking this Squier in his face for a while before I rotate in any of my others.
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I have a Squier VM 70s Jazz Bass, Squier VM Mustang Bass, and Squier VM Stratocaster. All three are very good instruments with no problems, except that I am upgrading the Strat tuners to Hipshot locking tuners.
The VM 70s Jazz Bass was the fastest in-store evaluation I've ever done. Picked it up, played a couple of runs up the neck, had the "Holy $&*#" moment, looked it over for dings, and walked it to the counter.
The VM 70s Jazz Bass was the fastest in-store evaluation I've ever done. Picked it up, played a couple of runs up the neck, had the "Holy $&*#" moment, looked it over for dings, and walked it to the counter.
I di
I didn't have that problem with this bass,its a MIM Fender neck on a VM body (Amber) and vice versa with the black MIM P Body with the VM Squier neck...
Hmm dealers want to up-sell you? Shocker!
I love my 3 Squiers - in fact my Fender is the only one I'm considering selling!
See below... Mexican Fender Nate Mendel sig P, Chinese Squier James Johnston sig J (which is a CV), Indonesian Squier VM Fretless, and Indonesian Squier MB-5 5-string. The CV's always seem best of the Squiers, but my VM is pretty darn good. I've only found that sometimes they desperately need a setup when they're new, but once that's done they are great! I love MIM and MIA Fenders but so far I haven't found one that is better than any of my Squiers, so...
I love my 3 Squiers - in fact my Fender is the only one I'm considering selling!
See below... Mexican Fender Nate Mendel sig P, Chinese Squier James Johnston sig J (which is a CV), Indonesian Squier VM Fretless, and Indonesian Squier MB-5 5-string. The CV's always seem best of the Squiers, but my VM is pretty darn good. I've only found that sometimes they desperately need a setup when they're new, but once that's done they are great! I love MIM and MIA Fenders but so far I haven't found one that is better than any of my Squiers, so...
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
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Don't let gear snobs tell you that you don't have a real bass. Typically a mim is better than a Squier and a MIA is better than MIM, the main reason is quality control. So you can get really nice Squier basses. So if you like it then play it and don't worry about the name on the headstock.
My son was interested in getting a Jazz bass, so I took him to GC a couple months ago where we both played Squire VM Jazz, MIA, and MIM. There is definitely a fit and finish improvement as you walk up the price range, more so between MIM and MIA, nicer fretjob, rolled fingerboard edges, smoother pots, etc. etc. The QC is more consistent in MIM and MIA too, I definitely wouldn't buy a Squier unseen/unplayed. We played three Squiers, and one of them had some finish issues. Just cosmetics, but you are very unlikely to see that on an MIA. As others have said, there is some justification for a price difference, how much the incremental improvements are worth to you is purely subjective. I couldn't say the MIA sounded three times better than the Squier, for instance, for three times the price, but you might think it's worth it. Resale is another consideration, an MIA Fender is going to hold it's name value a lot better than a Squier.
- Oct 18, 2012
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I am an admitted gear snob. In general, I am not a fan of Squiers but I think that's mainly because I have been playing since 1978 and have been fortunate enough to play MIA Fenders, Alembic and Spector. However, I did by my son a Squier Strat when he was interested in learning guitar and a Squier Jazz Bass when he wanted to learn to play bass. I figured why spend a lot of money and then find out he doesn't want to play. Lower priced instruments have come a long way since I started playing. I have played some $300 to $400 Ibanez and Schecters that played well and had a good sound.
There are two things I learned when I worked in sales.
The first is people buy emotionally and justify the purchase logically. A new car is a great example. People buy because they like the style, the handling, the stereo, the color, etc. They tell their friends and family that they got a good deal, the car is good on gas, its safe, reliable, and so on. The second thing is that people spend money they don't have buying things they don't need to impress people they don't know. Too many people are concerned with what other people think and end up spending more than they should and need to.
Don't worry about what other people think. There is no such thing as a bad instrument as long as you like it and can afford.
There are two things I learned when I worked in sales.
The first is people buy emotionally and justify the purchase logically. A new car is a great example. People buy because they like the style, the handling, the stereo, the color, etc. They tell their friends and family that they got a good deal, the car is good on gas, its safe, reliable, and so on. The second thing is that people spend money they don't have buying things they don't need to impress people they don't know. Too many people are concerned with what other people think and end up spending more than they should and need to.
Don't worry about what other people think. There is no such thing as a bad instrument as long as you like it and can afford.
- May 15, 2007
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- Owner RAD Repairs and RAD Engineering ,guitar, bass, and amp repair and limited custom instrument and amp building.
Even back when I started in the 90s (I'm 31 years old) the MIM and Squier lines sort of sucked. I remember my first bass was a MIM P bass and it was really difficult for me as a beginner to play. The frets were sort of sharp and the action was high to compensate for the buzz the bad fretwork was causing I presume. I ended up getting a MIA Fender Jazz and it was like a night and day difference, so much easier to play. The thing felt like it was playing itself even to my beginner hands.
I didn't have the ear for the tone back then but that's my take away. I do remember I liked the J sound better but it's an apples and oranges comparison there since my first bass was a MIM P bass.
Now, I'm a much better player so that is a factor, but my 2012 MIM Bass takes a set up every bit as well as my 1999 MIA bass and it sounds great. The frets are nice and smooth and well finished, and the neck is much nicer than the one I had in the 90s.
The fit and finish on the Squiers also has seemed to improved drastically in the instruments from their lines I've played. I think those foreign shops have improved manufacturing techniques and quality control a lot over the years, and parts are getting cheaper to produce so it's hard to even compare a 300 dollar bass from 2015 to one even adjusted for inflation in the 90s. You get a lot more for the money now.
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I have a Squier Jazz, and while I love it, I certainly wouldn't say that it's as good as a MIM or MIA.
Don't forget something like fret-sprout isn't always the manufacturer's fault... Notice most stores only have the humidity-controlled room for acoustic guitars? Any fretted instrument can exhibit fret-sprout if it's been hanging on the wall in a very dry store for a long time, the neck & fretboard wood drying out and shrinking over time. Most other issues IME are fixed with a setup.
They are better. A VM jazz is $300 and an American Standard is $1400. Is the betterness of the American Standard worth $1100? Not really, but it's definately better. Better wood, better pickups, better hardware. It's just better.
