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Is there something wrong with me, or is there something wrong with Fender?
- Thread starter LaklandMike
- Start date
i dont understand your post, some of the words are too big. why are you so wound up anyway? who really cares. this is just a bass forum . dont take yourself so seriously
Yep, I bought my CV P more or less on impulse based on the good reviews I saw around here. I am still delighted with how excellent it is, and I am really nitpicky. If I could go back in time one year and tell myself that I would become a Squier owner and fan, I would have laughed in my own face, spittle and all. But, it happened.
Then based on the CV bass I bought the CV guitar. I bought it new online which is something I never do. And guess what? It's so close to flawless it's almost scary. That sounds like hyperbole but it's not.
Anyways, yeah, these Squiers have been some of the best gear purchases I've made too.
There are some very good points being made in this thread, and I'm glad I started it even though I knew this topic has been brought up many times before.
As the hours have passed since I played all those basses in GC this morning, I'm finding that I'm thinking more about that EBMM with the roasted maple neck than any of the Fenders or Squiers, anyway. That thing gave me one of the only true "WOW" moments I've had when picking up an instrument for the first time. It just felt like it was in another class compared to anything else I touched. Of course, it was over $2k lol!
As far as the Js and Ps go, I'll just keep trying all of them that I can. Now, if only there were one of those MIM road worn 50s Pbasses around.
As the hours have passed since I played all those basses in GC this morning, I'm finding that I'm thinking more about that EBMM with the roasted maple neck than any of the Fenders or Squiers, anyway. That thing gave me one of the only true "WOW" moments I've had when picking up an instrument for the first time. It just felt like it was in another class compared to anything else I touched. Of course, it was over $2k lol!
As far as the Js and Ps go, I'll just keep trying all of them that I can. Now, if only there were one of those MIM road worn 50s Pbasses around.
No one at Guitar Center can change string let alone set up an instrument . Here in Connecticut they just take everything out of the boxes and throw it on the floor, and half the instruments are missing knobs because people steel them. Oh yeah, they blast hip hop so loud you can't even hear yourself think!
I did notice a few missing knobs in there. Good to know there are so many honest people out there.
The Squier line, (IMO) just like Japanese built instruments, seem to offer many players - more of what they want/look for in a bass... leaving aside the Artist and Custom shop lines, the MIM and MIA basses seem a little bland... (maybe it's just me)... I love the fact that Squier offer 70s style instruments with MAPLE boards and make '60s-ish' instruments with glossy necks (yes I know that there are SOME MIM and MIA basses with these features)... and whilst I'm ranting... a reasonably priced P/J with concentric control pots (Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass), YES PLEASE... Anyway... If I was running the company... I'd be stamping the Squier basses with a Fender logo and the MIM Fenders with the Squier badge... ALL IMO of course...
I've never played a MIA Fender that was on the downside of a Squier and I've been playing for 37 yrs.
To each his own.
Been playing over 30 years, and agree totally...
- georgestrings
My MIA Fender Standard Jazz is absolutely my best (some guy even wanted to buy it if I was selling, which I'm not); the MIJ Marcus Miller is great, the late 80s Fender Precision Lyte sounds magic, and the Squier Jazz Fretless is IMO excellent value for money, but not outstanding compared to the Fenders. yes, setup and strings are so important!
I just bought two 2010 MIM Precisions, sight unseen, new in the box, for some summer touring.
Both are absolutely outstanding, flawless, perfect examples of appearance, playability, and tone. They are the quintessential, iconic P bass.
Twenty-minute set-ups on each, including a very slight amount of nut slot filing, and these things play like butter.
I'd have preferred MIA's, because every one of those I've played has been even more enjoyable, mainly because I'm a big fan of the graphite-composite reinforcement rods in the necks of those. But as it stands, I got two great P basses for the price of one MIA, and I won't get too bent out of shape if the road devours them. I am extremely happy with my new MIM Precisions.
Both are absolutely outstanding, flawless, perfect examples of appearance, playability, and tone. They are the quintessential, iconic P bass.
Twenty-minute set-ups on each, including a very slight amount of nut slot filing, and these things play like butter.
I'd have preferred MIA's, because every one of those I've played has been even more enjoyable, mainly because I'm a big fan of the graphite-composite reinforcement rods in the necks of those. But as it stands, I got two great P basses for the price of one MIA, and I won't get too bent out of shape if the road devours them. I am extremely happy with my new MIM Precisions.
I know this has been talked about in several threads before, but now that I have firsthand experience, I just can't help myself and I have to chime in.
I had some extra time today so I decided to go to the local GC and play as many basses as I could just to get a feel for what's out there. Of course, the brand selection was limited to mainly Fender, Ibanez, EBMM, and Schecter and was completely lacking in what I really wanted to play, Laklands and MTDs. So, I decided I would spend most of my time with the Fenders.
I played every J and P that they had, 5 string and 4, American, Mexican, and Squier, and this is what worries me... HANDS DOWN, the Squiers felt the best to me! Without even taking tone into account, the quality of craftsmanship on the Squiers just felt altogether superior to the MIMs and MIAs. ALL of the MIMs and the MIAs had rough frets, sticky feeling neck finishes that were uneven (some spots sticky, some not), some had scratchy pots, and one of the MIMs actually seemed to have the bridge attached crookedly. Some of the MIM Ps were much heavier than others, but the MIAs and the Squiers were all about the same.
Fow what it's worth, none of the Fenders came close to the feel of my MTD Heir 5, but that is of course IMO.
So...
What's the deal? Is it me? Is it really that Fender's QC is lacking that badly? Could it be that GC had an unusually crappy shipment and I was there at the wrong time?
I was truly stunned. I played over 20 basses while I was there, and I would take one of the 3 Squiers I played over the others any day of the week.
Don't argue a good thing! You're about to save some money, fella!
Also, I would have hated to be your sales rep cause OVER 20 is a hell of a lot of basses. I hope you do buy something for all that trouble.
II had a similar thing to the OP happen to me but with a Telecaster RW.They had it on display. You know that one spot in the store that they use to highlight that Thunderbird IV or explorer(Wayne's World anybody?) and I grabbed it for the hell of it. I nearly cut myself to blood! Those frets were sharp, and not just a few, most were sharp as knives!
I would blame it on really bad QC but that was about a year ago in northern Quebec, so maybe the weather? I always though the wood would go back to a "normal state" after being in a climate controlled room for some time.. am I wrong?
I would blame it on really bad QC but that was about a year ago in northern Quebec, so maybe the weather? I always though the wood would go back to a "normal state" after being in a climate controlled room for some time.. am I wrong?
When everyone was talking up the squire vmj, I went and bought one to play with it...
In the store, I didn't like it... took it home... didn't like it... set it up, put strings on it, loved it...
I wanted another jaco relic (fender cusom shop)... in the store, I didn't like it... took it home... didn't like it... set it up, put strings on it, loved it...
And you know what? Same scenario with the mtd 535 I just bought... needed a little but of tweekening the action before it really livened up for me...
Don't get me wrong about the mtd, it was set up decently, but not to my specific tastes...
In the store, I didn't like it... took it home... didn't like it... set it up, put strings on it, loved it...
I wanted another jaco relic (fender cusom shop)... in the store, I didn't like it... took it home... didn't like it... set it up, put strings on it, loved it...
And you know what? Same scenario with the mtd 535 I just bought... needed a little but of tweekening the action before it really livened up for me...
Don't get me wrong about the mtd, it was set up decently, but not to my specific tastes...
Funny how that happens.
Every time I read these threads where someone tried to evaluate a bass without taking it home and setting it up, I'm a little skeptical.
The worst possible way to evaluate a bass is to play it in its totally unmaintained state, having hung on a wall and plucked and hammered by every juvenile bass player wannabe that came through the store.
For a long time I thought EBMM basses were overhyped crap--all because my local music store never maintained their basses. I finally got my hands on one, took it home, set it up, changed the strings...
Loved it.
Another thing...
Once I verify the electronics work properly (no noise etc)... I take the bass to a quiet room / corner and play it totally unplugged...
You will hear if there are any buzzes or rattles that shouldn't be there... you will also hear any sweet spots / dead spots the bass may have... feel the bass in your body etc... this is the best way to get to know a bass imho
Once I verify the electronics work properly (no noise etc)... I take the bass to a quiet room / corner and play it totally unplugged...
You will hear if there are any buzzes or rattles that shouldn't be there... you will also hear any sweet spots / dead spots the bass may have... feel the bass in your body etc... this is the best way to get to know a bass imho
I've played a few bad MIA's, but the new run (2008 +) of American Standards is great IME, I've never played a Squier that could come close.
Not if the room is heated and has very low humidity. The wood will still stay shrunken until it is moved to a place with more moderate humidity.
My cousin had a Hofner clone bass sitting in their recreation room that was heated and very dry in the winter. The frett sprout was nasty and sharp as razors throughout most of the length of the neck. That same bass was playable in the summer when the humidity was much higher.
I know exactly what laklandmike is talking about. Fender seems to have taken a dive in qualty, at least from the basses I've played lately. The only new fenders I've found more comfortable than the new vintage squires are the roadworn series basses. I have two 90s mim fenders that feel a hell of a lot nicer than the new fenders.
Sometimes the wood quality is better on some Fender models than other,and usually its the neck thats the trouble.
it may play a bit better now but when the cheaper bass starts to dry out and causes the fret tangs to stick out a bit,a more expensive Fender is a bit pre-dried already and if still had some to go it would be a lot less pronounced than the entry level guitar just beginning to settle in,you do get what you pay for in guitars so going the extra mile will be greatly rewarded when deciding which model to buy,its a skill that needs to be practiced,its not easily obtained at first but it will eventually pan out.
it may play a bit better now but when the cheaper bass starts to dry out and causes the fret tangs to stick out a bit,a more expensive Fender is a bit pre-dried already and if still had some to go it would be a lot less pronounced than the entry level guitar just beginning to settle in,you do get what you pay for in guitars so going the extra mile will be greatly rewarded when deciding which model to buy,its a skill that needs to be practiced,its not easily obtained at first but it will eventually pan out.
