New JB (Squier ‘77) Day

[shupe13]

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.

Did my neck earlier today. Came out awesome as suspected. If I can capture the work in pics, I’ll post them.

 

[shupe13]

As you can see the back of the neck shows a big difference in the glossiness. The front of the headstock and fretboard couldn’t be captured, but I barely hit the board. Really looks great in person.

 

[vindibona1]

As you can see the back of the neck shows a big difference in the glossiness. The front of the headstock and fretboard couldn’t be captured, but I barely hit the board. Really looks great in person.

Great job! Looks professional. I have to wonder why they put all that glop on the necks. It's so much more difficult to get perfect gloss without specs or bubbles. Does anyone really like a full gloss neck (in the back)?

 

[shupe13]

Great job! Looks professional. I have to wonder why they put all that glop on the necks. It's so much more difficult to get perfect gloss without specs or bubbles. Does anyone really like a full gloss neck (in the back)?

Thanks. I really enjoy working on guitars. I’m sure there are people out there who don’t know any better. I didn’t for a long time. I also believe that on the lower priced models, poly protects from “new player clumsiness” be it in store, or at home.

Amazingly I only found one minor finish flaw at the bottom of the neck pocket.

 

[Bassa Nova]

Get it properly set up with your choice strings and see how it really plays.

It is likely that you really don’t need any mods.

I have a CV P bass and upgraded the electronics but that really was not necessary. It was pretty perfect as it was stock.

Oh, and green pad works great. It knocks down the gloss without taking too much off.

Enjoy!

 

[shupe13]

A quick update:

I’m really, really impressed with this bass. It plays great and sounds really good. I’m completely at home on it. I don’t have any experience with multi $k basses to boast absurd quality comparisons to its custom counterparts but it’s worth well over $350 to me!

My thoughts of mods are out the window as I don’t see any need to.