A little late on this post, but recently I picked up a used Squier VM P5. I recently created a thread asking for suggestions on which 5 stringer to buy for a backup (Help me choose my backup 5 stringer.). There were a lot of good suggestions and I was torn, but in the end I wanted that P bass thump more than anything, so I ended up buying a VM P5 on Reverb. As fate would have it I ended up returning it immediately for a few different issues. I decided one more try and found one on the classifieds here, and I'm so glad I did. Pretty much the only thing stock on the bass is the body, neck, and tuners. The pickups have been changed to Fender American Standard, the pots are CTS, Orange drop cap, the jack is Switchcraft and the knobs are Fender too. It's been shielded and has a high mass bridge. It's quite an amazing bass for the price. Very comfortable to play and sounds heavenly. It's actually giving my Stingray 5 a run for it's money as to which is going to be my main bass vs backup bass. The only thing I want to do to it is replace the pickguard since I'm not a huge tort fan. I'm thinking black or black pearl. Pics from the FS thread since I haven't been able to get some of my own yet. {} {} {}
The current VM series are very nice, the old ones were as well but the latest are a little more fine tuned. I also have just gotten a white P, maple board and tort guard. I had to order a black guard right away but black pearl maybe a future purchase.
6 months later and this still gets as much play time as my stingray 5. best bass (for the money) i've ever bought
To date, I've never taken the time to seek out what a B string on a 5string P sounds like... I need to make that happen. Regardless, that really does look like a workhorse. Sexy bass, too. I love aesthetic simplicity.
