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Is there really a big difference between Squire vs Fender
- Thread starter aasti3000
- Start date
I have Two Fenders's MIA and MIM, also a Squier with Duncan Designed Pickup. The only difference I can tell is the wood. The Alder is definately better than Agathis in my opinion. My Squier has a Jazz neck and it seems identical to my MIM which is great. If you can finda Squier with Alderor something close to it andDuncan Designed pickups, I say go for that. Oh yeah, be sure to buy a pack of strings, the stock strings are doo doo.
I'm doing no such thing - I'm just not willing to write a novel to play into your trolling... Knock yourself out, dude - I've already wasted enough time here...
- georgestrings
I 've owned / played Fenders and Squiers. If you would have asked me about them a few years ago I would have said that Squiers are pretty low quality as compared to Fenders. However, that has changed over the last few years. Squiers have improved in quality and tone.
I can now enter this debate. The only Squiers I knew about were very early models -- like 1982. And I thought they were crap. But I was a gear snob then too, so that might be all there was to it. And I bought some of the kid sized Squiers for my twin boys, and those things are definitely crap. So my impression of Squier would have been that they were basically crap, end of story.
Then I saw people talking about the VM models and I got interested. I tried a VM Jazz at my local GC, and I am sorry to say that it was crap! But I knew it was a bad one. Just looking at it, it was obviously that one piece that the new guy worked on before he knew what he was doing. Things were not exactly lined up right..
Well, tonight I auditioned for a band and the guitarist had a sweet looking Squier P sitting in a stand. I couldn't keep my hands off it. The strings were old and dead -- he said they were the original strings, and he's had it since 1998. But it felt awesome. Everything was just like you'd want it. And the tone was pretty dang good.
So I can now say that you can DEFINITELY get a gigworthy Squier. You just have to be careful -- I doubt I would ever order one, unless they had an endless return policy so that you could wind up with a good one.
I will be getting myself a Squier for my backup bass I believe..
Then I saw people talking about the VM models and I got interested. I tried a VM Jazz at my local GC, and I am sorry to say that it was crap! But I knew it was a bad one. Just looking at it, it was obviously that one piece that the new guy worked on before he knew what he was doing. Things were not exactly lined up right..
Well, tonight I auditioned for a band and the guitarist had a sweet looking Squier P sitting in a stand. I couldn't keep my hands off it. The strings were old and dead -- he said they were the original strings, and he's had it since 1998. But it felt awesome. Everything was just like you'd want it. And the tone was pretty dang good.
So I can now say that you can DEFINITELY get a gigworthy Squier. You just have to be careful -- I doubt I would ever order one, unless they had an endless return policy so that you could wind up with a good one.
I will be getting myself a Squier for my backup bass I believe..
I didn't see it mentioned, but the pickguards on Squiers are of lower quality than Fenders. The tortoise shell is a print that is horrible to look at, and the solid colors are more prone to warping.
Do it, the newer Squier's are an S ton better then that '98 your buddy had. Guaranteed.
Had a squire when I started. Traded it out for a real fender. Night and day, fenders are better. Quality control is hit and miss for both. I've played great squires and bad fenders. But fenders sound Better and have better parts.
Fender has made some winners and losers, and Squier has made some winners and losers.
Buy what you can, what you like, and what makes you want to play.
IMHO,
My 83 MIJ Squier P bass is as good as any 70s-era Fender, and
my 84 MIJ Squier J is as good or better than any MIM Fender.
I have less than $200 bucks into the pair.
I am content.
wraub
Buy what you can, what you like, and what makes you want to play.
IMHO,
My 83 MIJ Squier P bass is as good as any 70s-era Fender, and
my 84 MIJ Squier J is as good or better than any MIM Fender.
I have less than $200 bucks into the pair.
I am content.
wraub
Two things ...
Fenders sounding better is your opinion (which you are of course entitled to) I think (IMO) the Squiers sound just as good as any Fender.
Secondly, what exactly do you mean Fender parts are better? What exactly is it that the Squier parts are doing or not doing that is inferior to the Fender parts? It seems to me, the parts on a Squier, while being maybe less expensive, are doing their jobs and doing them well. The tuners turn smoothly, are solid and stable and keep their tuning. The bridges are also stable and keep their setup and intonation well. The pickups and electronics all work as they should, and (again IMO) sound as good as the Fender.
So again, apart from the Fender parts being more expensive, how are the Fender parts all that significantly better, performance-wise?
If the knobs don't fall of the Squier pots, I'd call them successful.
Cliff's right and if it weren't for all the BA style bridges I see for sale (very often on TB's own sales zone) I'd say gilding a lily isn't such a good idea.
Now bridge and p'up covers are an entirely different story. Everyone knows they are the only necessary improvement on any Fenderesque bass. All else is superfluous.
I thought I might have made a mistake saying that, but I re-read it and I didn't. What I said was gospel and any other opinions are wrong.
Cliff's right and if it weren't for all the BA style bridges I see for sale (very often on TB's own sales zone) I'd say gilding a lily isn't such a good idea.
Now bridge and p'up covers are an entirely different story. Everyone knows they are the only necessary improvement on any Fenderesque bass. All else is superfluous.
I thought I might have made a mistake saying that, but I re-read it and I didn't. What I said was gospel and any other opinions are wrong.
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Haven't been closely following this thread, but the knobs DO fall off of Fenders. Check the MP Tele thread.
They need to include a tube of crazy glue in their extras pack.
Haven't been closely following this thread, but the knobs DO fall off of Fenders. Check the MP Tele thread.
That's a vicious rumor started by some Bongo and Warwick owners.
My advice to the OP is to try out as many bass guitars as you can. Go everywhere you can. Take a little pocket note book and right down the name of the bass,what you like about it,what you hate about it etc.
It doesn't have to be a fender to be a good bass. I guess across the board it's the standard but keep looking.
The one bass I now own is actually an Alvarez AEB 5000. When I would play out with it alot of people told me they didn't even know alvarez made electric basses. It played better than my jazz bass and though i've played higher end brand names I've found few,very few I thought played better,and the ones that did I couldn't justice by the price (dimishing returns). The point is though,don't feel you have to be stuck in a fender/Squier bubble. You may just find something completlely out their that blows you out of the water. I may just by a squier myself for a backup bass.
Keep in mind though that wasn't my first bass. I started out on a little ibanez sound gear I got for christmas (still own it just don't play it) and upgraded to a mim jazz. Then A peavy 5 string,then to my alvarez.
It doesn't have to be a fender to be a good bass. I guess across the board it's the standard but keep looking.
The one bass I now own is actually an Alvarez AEB 5000. When I would play out with it alot of people told me they didn't even know alvarez made electric basses. It played better than my jazz bass and though i've played higher end brand names I've found few,very few I thought played better,and the ones that did I couldn't justice by the price (dimishing returns). The point is though,don't feel you have to be stuck in a fender/Squier bubble. You may just find something completlely out their that blows you out of the water. I may just by a squier myself for a backup bass.
Keep in mind though that wasn't my first bass. I started out on a little ibanez sound gear I got for christmas (still own it just don't play it) and upgraded to a mim jazz. Then A peavy 5 string,then to my alvarez.
I can't believe that no one has mentioned the dreaded dead spot yet. We all know Fender and Fender style basses will have a dead note somewhere around the 5th to 7th fret on the G string. My '76 P has it on the 6th. Do yourself a favour and get something with a 2 + 2 tuner arrangement. I own 7 basses ( 2 Corts, 2 Epiphones, '76 Fender P, Headless Washburn and an ABG) and the only one with a noticeable dead spot is also the only one with 4 inline tuners...
With that said, my Fender rarely leaves the house. I usually take a Cort and an Epi to gigs. It's the most uncomfortable bass on long gigs ( fat neck and heavy on the shoulder ). Besides the other two just plain sound better at a fraction of the cost... about on par with the top of the line Squiers price wise.
At the end of the day the choice is up to you. Buy what you want and don't believe all the patriotic BS that goes on in this forum about American made being better, my 1 American made doesn't hold a candle to 2 Indonesian made, 2 Korean made and 1 Japan made (i'll leave the ABG out of this, I don't know where it was made
). Country of manufacture has nothing to do with how well (or not) a bass is put together. You can get sh1t quality from all over the world, or you can get some real gems. You just gotta find what works for you.
End of rant!
With that said, my Fender rarely leaves the house. I usually take a Cort and an Epi to gigs. It's the most uncomfortable bass on long gigs ( fat neck and heavy on the shoulder ). Besides the other two just plain sound better at a fraction of the cost... about on par with the top of the line Squiers price wise.
At the end of the day the choice is up to you. Buy what you want and don't believe all the patriotic BS that goes on in this forum about American made being better, my 1 American made doesn't hold a candle to 2 Indonesian made, 2 Korean made and 1 Japan made (i'll leave the ABG out of this, I don't know where it was made
). Country of manufacture has nothing to do with how well (or not) a bass is put together. You can get sh1t quality from all over the world, or you can get some real gems. You just gotta find what works for you.End of rant!
