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New JB (Squier ‘77) Day

shupe13

shupe13

May 17, 2011
55
55
Central Indiana
#1
It’s been a while since I’ve owned a bass. I wanted another for a while but funds are a little tight. So I go to my buddy’s shop a couple of weeks ago and I saw a beautiful Squier Jazz Bass for $350.

Well I did a ton of research. YouTube, guitar forums, written reviews and all shared a common consensus... badass for the price. So I went back to the shop and went over the guitar with a fine tooth comb. The fit and finish seems flawless. I thought I’d mod the hell out of it at some point.

Took her and a new Rumble 40 (low cost too) home. A quick tweet of the neck and I tuned it, and damned if the intonation wasn’t spot on! First time ever in 37 years of playing.

The elephant ears are cheap. No denying that but she does stay in tune and sounds good to my ears. I think Hipshots at some point. Maybe not.

Not that there’s at need at the moment, but I’d love mod opinions, pics, advice and cost.
 

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#2
Nice!!! I dunno about mods... I've replaced pick ups with pretty good results, but the ones in it might just be as good as any.. also I've only ever replaced tuning pegs when they needed it, or the bass needed some weight off, if they stay in tune, they stay on imo.
Depending on how it feels and sounds to you, I'd probably leave it as is.
Congrats on the bass and the amp. Enjoy!
 
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#4
Congrats on the new JB. I've got a 2010 model and it is outstanding. I've got news that Fender won't like to hear, but the Squier Vintage Modified series runs circles around the new MIM jazz basses in fit, finish, feel and sound. The Duncan Design pickups are excellent. I did go and replace mine with Aguilar noiseless which are excellent, but the difference is mostly some added clarity which you'd expect from $180 pickups. If you want to make it look a little cooler you can get a Gotoh heavy bridge for about $40. It will add a touch of sustain but won't really change the sound. If you have no trouble getting in tune and staying in tune don't worry about changing out the tuners. I did change one to a Hipshot drop D. And while the Hipshot is a finer piece it really doesn't function better on a practical level. Maybe a hair smoother.
Yours is beautiful, so again congratulations. Use it in the best of health.
 
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#5
Thanks for the replies.

I was really wanting to go with new tuners (Hipshot), a heavy bridge (Hipshot or Babicz), pickups (Aguilar) and so on. A cheap modding platform but I’m really impressed with it stock. At least for the moment.

Save that cash for a Squier Precision? Hmmm...
 
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#6
shupe13 said:
Thanks for the replies.

I was really wanting to go with new tuners (Hipshot), a heavy bridge (Hipshot or Babicz), pickups (Aguilar) and so on. A cheap modding platform but I’m really impressed with it stock. At least for the moment.
Click to expand...

For $35 I don't think you can go wrong with the Gotoh bridge upgrade. Gotoh 201B-4 String Precision Jazz Bass Bridge for Fender P Jazz Bass - CHROME 685646944002 | eBay . They are mostly cosmetic but do add a bit of sustain. You could buy a Hipshot or a Badass for $100, but while they are well made I think a bit of overkill, especially considering what you're putting it on (see following thread). Hipshot A vs Badass bridge . The stock pickups are good but single coil, so a bit limiting unless you can deal with the hum. My condo's electricity is "dirty" so all but two of my guitars/basses doesn't now have noiseless pickups. Though I haven't tried any other non-stock noiseless bass pickups I do highly recommend the Aguilar noiseless even though they are a bit more money than some of the others.

If you want to see how different (or better) Hipshot tuners are made, get yourself a Drop-D tuner. A lot of stuff I end up playing in some of the groups is in the key of D so it can be handy at times. Hipshot 20700N BT7 Bass Xtender Made-in-Mexico Fender Tuning Clover Key Nickel | eBay . I put one on my Squier...*just* before getting bitten by the 5-string bug. It's not perfect, but comes in handy at times when I'm playing 4-string (which is less and less these days).

If you do these things, as I have, you will have greatly over-improved your bass. But if it's a keeper, why not?
 
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#7
shupe13 said:
It’s been a while since I’ve owned a bass. I wanted another for a while but funds are a little tight. So I go to my buddy’s shop a couple of weeks ago and I saw a beautiful Squier Jazz Bass for $350.

Well I did a ton of research. YouTube, guitar forums, written reviews and all shared a common consensus... badass for the price. So I went back to the shop and went over the guitar with a fine tooth comb. The fit and finish seems flawless. I thought I’d mod the hell out of it at some point.

Took her and a new Rumble 40 (low cost too) home. A quick tweet of the neck and I tuned it, and damned if the intonation wasn’t spot on! First time ever in 37 years of playing.

The elephant ears are cheap. No denying that but she does stay in tune and sounds good to my ears. I think Hipshots at some point. Maybe not.

Not that there’s at need at the moment, but I’d love mod opinions, pics, advice and cost.
Click to expand...
I just bought a Squier Classic Vibe jazz bass three weeks ago. After trying out quite a few jazz basses during the past year and a dozen or so leading up to my purchase, I finally found one that wouldn't let me leave the store without it.
Tuners are just fine but I did replace the bridge…and I put some new 35-year-old strings on it.
2ztgay9.jpg
 
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#8
nice ax! congrats! :thumbsup:

i like tinkering with/modding my instruments for fun after the 'utility' issues are resolved. i have no specific advice, but: i like black black black black, so = black hardware to go with that pickguard might look swell.

good luck! :thumbsup:
 
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#9
I always ask: what problem are you trying to solve?

I don't hear any problems. You like the bass, the bridge works, you think the tuners feel cheap but they hold tune just fine. On a limited budget, why put another hundred dollars or more into replacing parts which are working very well?

My advice: put the strings you prefer on it, and then just play it. Don't spend money on "upgrades" which are just parts swapping, not actual upgrades.
 
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#11
Pilgrim said:
I always ask: what problem are you trying to solve?

I don't hear any problems. You like the bass, the bridge works, you think the tuners feel cheap but they hold tune just fine. On a limited budget, why put another hundred dollars or more into replacing parts which are working very well?

My advice: put the strings you prefer on it, and then just play it. Don't spend money on "upgrades" which are just parts swapping, not actual upgrades.
Click to expand...
I was wanting to mod to mod but I’m very pleased at the moment.
 
#12
vindibona1 said:
For $35 I don't think you can go wrong with the Gotoh bridge upgrade. Gotoh 201B-4 String Precision Jazz Bass Bridge for Fender P Jazz Bass - CHROME 685646944002 | eBay . They are mostly cosmetic but do add a bit of sustain. You could buy a Hipshot or a Badass for $100, but while they are well made I think a bit of overkill, especially considering what you're putting it on (see following thread). Hipshot A vs Badass bridge . The stock pickups are good but single coil, so a bit limiting unless you can deal with the hum. My condo's electricity is "dirty" so all but two of my guitars/basses doesn't now have noiseless pickups. Though I haven't tried any other non-stock noiseless bass pickups I do highly recommend the Aguilar noiseless even though they are a bit more money than some of the others.

If you want to see how different (or better) Hipshot tuners are made, get yourself a Drop-D tuner. A lot of stuff I end up playing in some of the groups is in the key of D so it can be handy at times. Hipshot 20700N BT7 Bass Xtender Made-in-Mexico Fender Tuning Clover Key Nickel | eBay . I put one on my Squier...*just* before getting bitten by the 5-string bug. It's not perfect, but comes in handy at times when I'm playing 4-string (which is less and less these days).

If you do these things, as I have, you will have greatly over-improved your bass. But if it's a keeper, why not?
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info.
 
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#13
jd56hawk said:
I just bought a Squier Clasdic Vibe jazz bass three weeks ago. After trying out quite a few jazz basses during the past year and a dozen or so leading up to my purchase, I finally found one that wouldn't let me leave the store without it.
Tuners are just fine but I did replace the bridge…and I put some new 35-year-old strings on it.
View attachment 3004628
Click to expand...
Congrats!

I was eyeing one of those too.
 
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#15
After my honeymoon with the squier jazz, my AM std jazz with cs 60s pickups sounds more "refined". Squier hardware isn't all that bad. I'd do the pickups first, but I'm leaving mine as is. I like that it's a squier, and want to keep it that way.
 
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#16
jd56hawk said:
Any idea what you might do with yours?
Click to expand...

I’m going to sand the neck for sure. I haven’t owned a Fender yet that I haven’t, except for my RWs. Probably lightly hit the fretboard too. A scoshe too shiny for my taste. I bought the JB with the sole intent to mod but after playing it, I don’t know if I will. The intonation was spot on from the factory and she stays in tune. That might be an omen.
 
#19
shupe13 said:
It’s been a while since I’ve owned a bass. I wanted another for a while but funds are a little tight. So I go to my buddy’s shop a couple of weeks ago and I saw a beautiful Squier Jazz Bass for $350.

Well I did a ton of research. YouTube, guitar forums, written reviews and all shared a common consensus... badass for the price. So I went back to the shop and went over the guitar with a fine tooth comb. The fit and finish seems flawless. I thought I’d mod the hell out of it at some point.

Took her and a new Rumble 40 (low cost too) home. A quick tweet of the neck and I tuned it, and damned if the intonation wasn’t spot on! First time ever in 37 years of playing.

The elephant ears are cheap. No denying that but she does stay in tune and sounds good to my ears. I think Hipshots at some point. Maybe not.

Not that there’s at need at the moment, but I’d love mod opinions, pics, advice and cost.
Click to expand...
I have one. It is really a good bass. As to the Rumble 40, get yourself over to the Fender Rumble Club in the Amps & Cabs forum and get a number. There is a wealth of information about the Rumble series and a Tone Pool that has settings other members have posted. Hope to see you there.
 
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#20
shupe13 said:
I’m going to sand the neck for sure. I haven’t owned a Fender yet that I haven’t, except for my RWs. Probably lightly hit the fretboard too. A scoshe too shiny for my taste. I bought the JB with the sole intent to mod but after playing it, I don’t know if I will. The intonation was spot on from the factory and she stays in tune. That might be an omen.
Click to expand...

In 2013 Fender changed the Squier VM's from satin necks to high gloss. Unfortunately they use a very soft poly which has a ton of "stiction". I have a 2010 model and the feel is amazing. I did want a high gloss headstock so I hit it with some gloss spray and did some wet sanding and buffing. Looks like it had a gloss headstock from the beginning.

I'd be interested in knowing the results of your sanding efforts. In the past I've only had to use Scotchbrite pads for such things but I know the current crop of Squier VM's and my experience with Fender CV's is that the gloss is thick and soft and produces tons of "stiction". I have no idea what they were thinking when they started with heavy gloss. I thought the finish of the earlier satin necks was perfect.
 
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