Professionals using a Squier

[MarkoYYZ]

While I didn't take the responses that personally, I am a little annoyed that this gets about 200 rebuttals while my deep and more serious inquiries about the mechanics of bass strings and electrical engineering don't get bombarded anywhere near this much.

You may have started the thread, but not everything is about you. There are a lot of lurkers, newbies and casual posters who also probably learned a lot from this thread, not to mention experienced players who may just pull a Squier off the wall next time they're at a music store.

Topics take a life of their own and begging to have it closed seems a little silly. You can't un-ring a bell so at this point you've admitted that you learned something and can just walk away...

 

[Bongokid]

The only Squier I've ever picked up Sucked.. That all I have to say about that.

 

[caeman]

The only Squier I've ever picked up Sucked.. That all I have to say about that.

Thus, by inference, all Squier's suck? You are new to the game of statistical inference, aren't you?

 

[mongo2]

I'm getting paid to play two gigs this weekend. I currently have no other job. I'll be playing my Squier.

 

[caeman]

If one gets paid to do it, that seems to qualify one as a professional. No?

 

[fraublugher]

Hey guys and gals,

Basses are made of wood, wood has human attributes, some are dense, some are light on their feet. We can certainly agree on the variety of John's that don't come the same way.
Just because he's labeled a Squier, it doesn't mean he's a gentleman .

Hope that clears things up.

 

[gtarzan]

I have never played a Squier, but this thread brings up an interesting point. If you are an accomplished musician and if the axe you are using is of decent quality, you will perform and sound as good with the budget line as you would with the overpriced line.

The fact is, companies like Gibson, Fender and Gretsch have priced their instruments to ridiculously high levels. Let's face it, they are still just MASS PRODUCED chunks of wood with some electronics mounted on them. Paying thousands of dollars for a mass produced chunk of wood makes no sense to me. I can see giving a luthier a fair amount of money to custom make an instrument to my specifications for obvious reasons, but to pay a premium for a mass produced factory assembled instrument is not an intelligent business decision in my view.

The point of all this is that the manufacturers are playing on our emotions and egos. They realize that there are musicians who will feel criticized if they perform with a reasonably priced "lower" line instrument even if it is produced by their "sister" companies in another country. As examples, the guy who performs with a reasonably priced Epiphone Les Paul may be labeled a "Gibson Les Paul wannabe". The guy who performs with the reasonably priced Fender assembled in Mexico will be criticized and considered a less proficient player because he didn't pay double the price for the same Fender model assembled in the US.

I propose that we stop allowing the manufacturers to play on our emotions by letting their overpriced instruments sit on the shelves. If we don't buy them then they can't sell them and if they can't sell them, they will be forced to lower their prices if they want to stay in business.

We just need to remember that more expensive or a logo doesn't necessarily mean "better". You can spend a great amount of money on a Cadillac, but have just as good a car (same chassis etc.) at a fraction of the price if you buy a comparable Buick.

I have been performing and teaching professionally for many many years, own about 12 guitars, a mandolin, a banjo, and a bass and can say the same about musical instruments.

The result? While I own 3 Gibson products, I bought these at a time when they were reasonably priced. If I had to start over today, I'd refuse to pay the ridiculous premium for the prestige of the Gibson logo on the headstock and go with the compatable Epiphone. A few years ago, I bought a Mexican Fender Stratocaster and a Mexican Fender Telecaster for the same price I would have paid for ONE of these guitars if they came out of the American factory. I bought a Gretsch 5122 assembled in Asia for a fraction of the price of a comparable American made Country Gentleman. Recently, I paid a fraction of the price for a Hofner Icon bass produced in Indonesia rather than a couple of thousand dollars for the one out of Germany.

The bottom line is, although minor details may not show on the lower priced models, and although they may be assembled with laminated woods rather than solid, they are still quality instruments which play and sound comparable to their higher priced versions. I for one am proud to use them on stage and don't care about the shmoe in the audience who will criticize me for not spending the extra money on what he considers to be the "cooler/ real" version of the comparable product. He's usually the guy that can't play worth a damn anyway.

In closing, I propose that we unite and continue to buy good QUALITY instruments at reasonable prices reagrdless of where they are made. DON"T buy junk, but at the same time forget about ego and send the overpriced manufacturers a message by letting their products sit on the shelves. By not buying their products just because their logo and perceived "superior" reputation is considered a factor by some uneducated players, maybe they will get the message and become realistic in their pricing.

 

[Wyattsgroove]

To the OP : I'm not a pro. Or at least Im not famous. I own all of the FMIC brands. Made in where ever. My USA fenders have had their share of problems, same as the mexicans and squires where ever made. The one thing about the design of these instruments is that they can be tweaked into a good player. With the basic skills and plethora of aftermarket parts these days one can make a 40$ pawn shop find into a first rate gigging instrument.
I picked up a tele custom ( squire) for next to nothing and after a good fret level and set up it absolutely screams! Is it as good as my deluxe strat? No but.. It's damn close. Why does my MIM road worn P blow away my MIA deluxe jazz and AM Spec. Jazz? Who knows? Some days the stars align and the right wood and electronics fall into place for the right human to assemble on their best day to make a guitar ( bass or whatnot) that just blows all others away!

Look, if y'all are stuck with what's on a headstock than so be it. I dont care. I listen with my ears and mind. If I'm playing my squire, and you can't play with me because you are stuck in some mind fart ad to why I am, then you have your own issues.

The tone is in you. Not the brand name.
One of the best players I know uses a J Turser tele bass. It's bone stock and he rules that thing! He also has vintage fenders but .... Dig it ... Loves the turser after it had a pro set up.

I like my MIA fenders, I like my MIM fender, I like my made where ever squire.

FTW ! My MIM P bass kills all of em!!

One thing I can attest to and cannot deny is that, the higher end gear is with out a doubt easier to play and will have a better sound straight up. However it will not make "you" sound better than "you" are.


Flame on!

 

[Audiomarkj]

Research the history of Squire and come back. Never confuse price with value.

 

[jd1014.1]

My first electric was a Squier fat strat, and after a pup swap and a setup it was a great guitar.

There are "artist signature" Squiers being made and sold, and I doubt a performer with any kind of notoriety would allow their name to be put on junk.

+1 - for example, if I'm not mistaken, Mike Dirnt has his own Sig P, right?

 

[Wade10987]

You may have started the thread, but not everything is about you. There are a lot of lurkers, newbies and casual posters who also probably learned a lot from this thread, not to mention experienced players who may just pull a Squier off the wall next time they're at a music store.

Topics take a life of their own and begging to have it closed seems a little silly. You can't un-ring a bell so at this point you've admitted that you learned something and can just walk away...

Ok good point. I was just slightly annoyed. Will leave it open.

 

[pudgychef]

Mod Allmighty, are you out there? It's me, Wade.

PLEASE CLOSE THIS THREAD. Although I should have specified "professional", I really meant famous jerks on stage who get mega paychecks and endorsements. The one single word "remotely" was my fault. That was a clarification issue. However the responses were surprisingly defensive and even rude regardless.

Now every single person who has ever played in a bar says "I play Squier! You got a problem with that? Who the eff asked you!!"

Nobody asked me. I was the one asking, because, if I had anything against your budget bin axe I would have said so rightout. Instead I asked a question to learn and a bunch of people got offended.

I learned that the high end Squiers are pretty excellent. And that a lot of Fenders are just riding the legacy.

So thanks those of you gave an answer. I wasn't hating on them in the first place, but I appreciate them more for the convenience of price now.

hahaha!



Isn't that big of a deal. But even after I said "close the thread, I get the point" I still get responses. Some high end Squiers are really nice. I get it.

While I didn't take the responses that personally, I am a little annoyed that this gets about 200 rebuttals while my deep and more serious inquiries about the mechanics of bass strings and electrical engineering don't get bombarded anywhere near this much. Although a select few have given me some great answers, a question to help me assemble my complex fretless project gets ignored nearly, while a question (not an opinion!!) about the quality of a famous brand gets tons of rebuttals.

PS I was asking for help to close the thread. Not for shelter from responses. No individual poster insulted me. No hard feelings. I just don't want more people getting upset and acting like I called all Squiers rubbish and worthless.

(me, me, me - I, I, I,) threads, forums etc are entities unto themselves....not about you...

I disagree... they'd probably be too busy blaming their gear for their performance.


Squiers are pro level basses. If you really can't make it work...

+999

Fenders are fine. Many people find fault where others don't. Take setup for example. It's not permanent but most act like it is.


If it sounds good and plays well, it is good. Almost too simple.

+ 10000

So True.

Set-up probably has as much to do with why "Squier A" seems better/worse than "Fender B" as electronics. Even if a set-up isn't "good", if it's what you're used to playing for years...

+ any random number....so true

 

[pudgychef]

You may have started the thread, but not everything is about you. There are a lot of lurkers, newbies and casual posters who also probably learned a lot from this thread, not to mention experienced players who may just pull a Squier off the wall next time they're at a music store.

Topics take a life of their own and begging to have it closed seems a little silly. You can't un-ring a bell so at this point you've admitted that you learned something and can just walk away...

beat me to it - and phrased it far better! + many....

 

[pudgychef]

I never said "all Squiers are crap" or "all Squiers are worthless".

I asked because I wanted to learn, rather than assume or go off hearsay.

And besides (this is my fault for lack of clarification) I shouldn't have said "remotely professional". I was just reading GuitarWorld and confused why arena people would rely on a Squier, considering they are a beginner's/budget line.

I realize and really respect that people go and bust work hard to play music they care about in bars and smaller gigs. I guess I wasn't really referring to that class of musicians.

are you kidding? So a fellow playing with a signed act, on a major late night program on one of the big 3 (4) networks doesn't fit your definition of 'professional' - for the first time in my life I am going to type LMFAO (and mean it)

maybe next thread you can post a glossary of terms and acceptable definitions so the thread can go exactly as you wanted....

and you may have noticed the post I quoted in my response - maybe that was the post I was referencing with the 'all Squiers are _____' comment?

 

[MVPBASS]

I was just reading GuitarWorld and confused why arena people would rely on a Squier, considering they are a beginner's/budget line.

Because they are endorsed maybe?

 

[TRichardsbass]

Update for everyone:

In the new Bass Player Magazine there is a Mikey Way advertisement for Squier. If you look in the picture the headstock clearly shows Fender. So, even though his signature model is a Squier, he plays an actual Fender version.

tom

 

[MVPBASS]

Update for everyone:

In the new Bass Player Magazine there is a Mikey Way advertisement for Squier. If you look in the picture the headstock clearly shows Fender. So, even though his signature model is a Squier, he plays an actual Fender version.

tom

So he's getting paid to endorse Squier but still doesn't. LOl

 

[Cornelius Dawse]

So he's getting paid to endorse Squier but still doesn't. LOl

As mentionned earlier in the thread, one does not get paid for endorsment.

Yeah, just commenting to say ''thank you'' to Wade and to anyone who commented in this thread, because it's been one of the most helpful thread I have ever read on Talkbass!

 

[Buslady7803]

Wow I guess some people know aaaallll about the workers at Fender Corona...yeah right.....

 

[SAlcott]

A good instrument is one that does the job. My two Squiers do everything I need them to do. The logo on the headstock makes no sound.