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NBD - Squier VM Telecaster Bass Special

Bassamatic

Bassamatic

keepin' the beat since the 60's
Supporting Member
Dec 7, 2007
5,952
4,566
Studio City, SoCal, USA
#1
I saw this at NAMM, and played it and decided I HAD to have one, especially for the Blues bands I am playing in. My buddy is a Fender Dealer and gave me a great price.

Just got it home last night and tested it with the factory strings (usually crappy). It has an enormous, thick, fat sound. It came with a great setup right from the factory. I can't wait to play it on a gig.

Although the neck is bigger and fatter than the tiny necks I like on my Peaveys, etc. it is extremely easy and fast to play.

The build quality is just amazing, it feels nearly as good in my hands as my '08 USA P. Good Job Fender!

Pros -
32" Medium Scale - Better for my older hands, and the main reason I bought it.
Great feeling neck - Spec'd at 1.7" but it is smaller than that - around 1.6.
Humbucker at the neck for growly, fat sound.
Duncan J Pup at the bridge for highs and zing.
Smaller headstock for unique look and less neck dive.
Amazing build quality.

Cons -
Heavy at 10.0 lbs.

I'll be changing the strings out today for a set of Sunbeams I ordered from www.basstringsonline.com (Delivered the next day!) That should make the sound even richer.

Sorry I don't have the ability to record sound clips, but I think you should go check this one out.

TBS40photo_zps1ac35615.jpg
 
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Reactions: gregmon79
#7
Love, love, love the look of these basses - played with a band last month whose bassist uses one, and I gave it a quick try unplugged. Very nice neck, thick but comfortable, and the gloss wasn't sticky, nor did it slow my down at all. It balanced very nicely on a thin, quite bad strap, and despite the weight it didn't put a lot of instant strain on my shoulder at all.

The reasons I don't already own one - the weight, while it didn't feel too bad for 5 minutes, I imagine it'd be a different story after a few hours in rehearsal. That I could even overlook, but I just didn't find the bass comfortable without the belly or arm contour. Other than that, the instrument I tried felt like a bargain.

It was a shame, actually, I spent a lot of December looking at photos and overall everything seemed perfect, especially for the price.. it just didn't 'fit' me.

The photos in the thread look amazing, though, and have made me want one all over again!
 
#8
Bassamatic said:
I saw this at NAMM, and played it and decided I HAD to have one, especially for the Blues bands I am playing in. My buddy is a Fender Dealer and gave me a great price.

Just got it home last night and tested it with the factory strings (usually crappy). It has an enormous, thick, fat sound. It came with a great setup right from the factory. I can't wait to play it on a gig.

Although the neck is bigger and fatter than the tiny necks I like on my Peaveys, etc. it is extremely easy and fast to play.

The build quality is just amazing, it feels nearly as good in my hands as my '08 USA P. Good Job Fender!

Pros -
32" Medium Scale - Better for my older hands, and the main reason I bought it.
Great feeling neck - Spec'd at 1.7" but it is smaller than that - around 1.6.
Humbucker at the neck for growly, fat sound.
Duncan J Pup at the bridge for highs and zing.
Smaller headstock for unique look and less neck dive.
Amazing build quality.

Cons -
Heavy at 10.0 lbs.

I'll be changing the strings out today for a set of Sunbeams I ordered from www.basstringsonline.com (Delivered the next day!) That should make the sound even richer.

Sorry I don't have the ability to record sound clips, but I think you should go check this one out.

TBS40photo_zps1ac35615.jpg
Click to expand...

Congrats! May you get many fantastic hours playing that baby. I love mine too and used the same neck to build a 1954 P Bass.

BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
 
#12
I feel that the build quality of the new Squier products has reached or passed the MIM. Some of the hardware may be a little different, and perhaps under the finish, some of the wood is - but when you hold it in your hands and play it, it may be impossible to tell the difference.
 
#13
Hi! (First post ever!)
I recently bought one of these and decided to modify it. The bass sounds great in the middle (regular) position, but IMO the others are pretty useless. I decided to put a Black Ice overdrive (diode thing) in there, but that leaves an extra switch position. Any ideas???
 
#14
Jason was out of stock on the Sunbeams, so I got a set of LaBella 760 FM Flats instead - this was a GREAT choice. The sound and feel are fantastic - perfect for this growly, bluesy bass. The sound is so thick and powerful it is hard to describe.
 
#15
It's a shame they didn't include height adjustment for the humbucker.
It completely overpowers the bridge pickup to the point where eq changes are required at the amp.
Either you eq fior the humbucker, and the bridge pickup is too thin, or, you eq for the bridge pickup and the neck pickup is waaaaaaaay too hot and too fat.
 
#17
Chef said:
It's a shame they didn't include height adjustment for the humbucker.
It completely overpowers the bridge pickup to the point where eq changes are required at the amp.
Either you eq fior the humbucker, and the bridge pickup is too thin, or, you eq for the bridge pickup and the neck pickup is waaaaaaaay too hot and too fat.
Click to expand...

Ive had the exact opposite experience with mine. I lowered the HB with the 4 screws around it (more for pick clearance), and the J pup acquits itself quite well to my ears though I mostly use it with the HB to add some treble to the sound if needed depending on the room we're in.
 

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