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New SQUIER VM series! (Part 2)

#261
ewgrosschris said:
Hey guys, I've been saving for a nice bass for sometime now (Dingwall). But I have recently had a crazy idea of purchasing a Squire VM Jazz 5 string in white and replacing a whole lot of stuff on it while saving some cash.

I need help deciding what I can change.

So far I've got.
- some sort of pickups. ( any suggestions )
- bridge (black)
- black control plate-
-Darkglass Preamp.
- Hipshot tuners.

Anything else? Go buck wild!
Click to expand...

Go ahead and throw all the money you want at that Squier, it's not going to take the place of a Dingwall. Also, buying a bass and then replacing damn near everything on it isn't going to save you any money.

This is coming from someone who likes Squiers just fine, but you have to take them for what they are.
 
#263
What I'm saying is, taking that same $700 that would have gone towards a Dingwall and using it on a hopped up Squier seems like an exercise in futility; you'll likely end up regretting it. You're not going to satisfy the original desire for a Dingwall that way.

Also, you can get a better bass, Dingwall or no, for that same money than a modded Squier. You'll never recoup that $400 in mods on resale.
 
#264
Well, I don't think you have to replace every damn thing on a Squier for it to be a decent bass...
If anything, replace pots (I went for a 2-band preamp) and a better bridge if you're a stickler. The machine heads work just fine in the case of my VM Jazz V. They stay in tune - always.
I'm fighting myself on whether or not I want to change pickups. The Fender-designed vintage pickups sound great for what they are shooting for (vintage sound)....if I change them I'll be installing an MM-style bridge pickup and QP neck pickup to match the high output. I have the pickups sitting in a box, but I don't know if I want to go that route...yet....

For $350 out the door, the VMJV is a steal, no doubt. I wouldn't dump another $400 into it, though. For that money, I'd get a full bass worth $750 out the door...like an L2500 Tribute.
 
#266
I got mine today
Had to sell my last bass to pay my taxes so I got this to have something to play
I guess I'm not as tuned as you guys are, my Am Jazz Standard, Am Dlx, even my Carvin all sounded the same to me
And this bass just sounds like all the others I've had
Maybe I'm just old and deaf
This one is definitely louder than the J's I had, guess the pickups are hotter
Anyway here it is, Squier VM PJ in 3TSB

20160219_180217_zps06tzgrfa.jpg
 
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#267
ewgrosschris said:
Hey guys, I've been saving for a nice bass for sometime now (Dingwall). But I have recently had a crazy idea of purchasing a Squire VM Jazz 5 string in white and replacing a whole lot of stuff on it while saving some cash.

I need help deciding what I can change.

So far I've got.
- some sort of pickups. ( any suggestions )
- bridge (black)
- black control plate-
-Darkglass Preamp.
- Hipshot tuners.
Click to expand...
Speaking as someone who has both a modded Squier VMPV and a Canadian-made Dingwall, my experience is as follows:
First off, learning how to play better will always trump buying gear in terms of improving your tone.

Seriously. Put me on a stock Affinity, give most noobs a Fodera, and I'll outplay the crap out of them. Give me the Fodera, hand Richard Bona the Squier, and it'll be me getting killed. Every time.

- Current VM's don't really need any mods, other than a set up and the right strings for your intended purpose.
- Having done all the available mods, the only ones that made a significant difference were sanding back some of the glopped on poly off the back of the neck, and fitting Hipshots (for improved feel, not tuning stability).
- Get real: nobody ever "saved some cash" by throwing expensive mods at a cheap bass.
- If you really want to save money, make sure you know what you want, buy it and keep it. As the old saying goes, buy in haste, repent at your leisure...
- Aftermarket bling makes it easier to sell a used instrument, but it doesn't raise the resale value proportionately.
- In other words, you'll never recoup the money you put into mods.

Modding is fun, and passes the time, but it doesn't even come close to the satisfaction that comes from getting and gigging your dream bass.

After a certain point, it's more about how an instrument inspires you, rather than good/better/best. If your dream bass is a stock VM Squier, then you're a lucky man indeed.

But for me at least, my ABZ turned out to be the culmination of a 40-year search for the perfect bass. I've been building and tweaking basses all my life, and nothing else has even come close. After 2 1/2 years, the hair still stands up on my arms every time I pick it up. If it was a girl, I'd marry it...
 
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#269
Shardik said:
About upgrading: I get the pickup thing, but what's this about tuners? I have had basses from $100 to $1000, and the tuners behave pretty much the same on all of them.
Click to expand...
The tuners on my VMJV, compared to the tuners on my USA L2500, are NOT well
Made. The peg posts have a good amount of slop to them and not as accurate as they should be. The G&L machine heads are tight and precise; very tight fit between the gears.
 
#270
eastcoasteddie said:
The tuners on my VMJV, compared to the tuners on my USA L2500, are NOT well
Made. The peg posts have a good amount of slop to them and not as accurate as they should be. The G&L machine heads are tight and precise; very tight fit between the gears.
Click to expand...
I just tune and then play. I haven't noticed any slop, but I guess I am not very sensitive to that. I have had basses that were difficult to tune, but that usually came from nut slots that were pinching the string.
Come to think of it, my first ever guitar had sloppy tuners. I guess I have been lucky with my basses, then.

My advice for those planning an upgrade before even getting the Squire: Try them out before ordering replacements. It may very well turn out that the original tuners are good enough.
 
#271
...and if you're going to upgrade tuners, $20 sets on eBay and Amazon are probably worse than what the bass comes with...
Go for Gold and buy Hipshots or something of the like....
But I wouldn't....for what the bass is worth, the originals are fine.
 
#274
I'm a big fan of the 2012-13 Squier turnaround. I also enjoy modifying my instruments. I have a VM jazz that I love. It got $150 worth of EMGs and $25 worth of a new pickguard. I love it, it's great, and it's not going anywhere. I've had zero problems with the stock tuners or bridge and have no intention or desire to replace them without some sort of catastrophic failure. I feel that $250 in this bass and $200 in parts and strings is a reasonable investment for the quality and reliability I get from it.

That being said, I have no illusion about this bass being better or worse than anything else. Do I act like my VM is better than custom instruments? No. Do I hide the fact that I'm gigging a Squier? No. Do I enjoy sharing my positive experiences with this value-brand bass? You betcha. They didn't really cut corners on this series, came out with a nice product at a nice price point and that kind of value should be positively reinforced so the company's effort is successful and maybe they and other companies see that putting the effort in, even on something with a Squier headstock decal is worth doing. A rising tide lifts all ships, yeah?

I often challenge my gear-snob friends to tell the difference, which they cannot. The conversation usually goes something like this:

Them: "Dude why are you playing that Squier? They suck."

Me: "Because I like it. Check out this track I recorded."

Them: "Dude that's a killer bass tone, what did you use?"

Me: "A little DI box and that Squier."
 
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