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Professionals using a Squier

#222
The truth is, a lot of the perceived quality in things is all in our head.

It's just a tool to hold a set of strings in place. It needs frets that are precisely positioned and dressed and a pickup or two and a few pots and capacitors and whatnot.

As long as you have properly dried and cut wood of sufficient quality to feed the machines that build them you will have a quality tool to do the job.

A fender costs 2 to 3 times more than a squier, but it cannot outperform it by the same margin.

At any rate, pros have technicians to keep fresh strings and keep things properly adjusted and repaired... Even it its a Cigar-box with a stick and a rubber band. But if it's on the road, it will have to be adjusted and repaired often, no matter what it is.

So what do you want to take home after the tour? A beat up Squier or a beat up Fender custom shop?
 
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#225
georgestrings said:
Honest question - do you personally know any professional musicians???


- georgestrings
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I know a professional bassist that played on world tours a $500.00 Crafter bass.His backup was a $300.00 model. I bought them both cheap flipped them for a small profit. They were at best Squier level maybe less. I would never of bought or played them but he rocks them.
 
#229
I'd rather have a Ford that runs than a Mercedes that doesn't.

I don't blame anyone for assuming that if it costs more, it must sound better. I just think there are times you will be wrong.

I bought a Squier Telecaster back in the mid-80's for about $300, just to have an electric guitar to noodle with. The Squier was affordable, but at the time I thought it sounded pretty good for what I paid. I still have it - an E-series MIJ which has become somewhat sought after, so my original instincts were confirmed.

I recently bought a 5-string SX that in many ways is superior to my MIA Fender Jazz - louder, fewer dead spots, better sustain. If I put them both on Ebay, the MIA sells for 5x more, at least.

Jeff Healey was a heck of a guitar player and he played some Squiers in his heyday. He couldn't see the label, I guess - he just liked the sound. :-)
 
#230
I've seen a few touring guitarists using Squire Strats and Epi Les Pauls over the years, dunno about bassists, though. I also bought a vintage-looking sunburst Indo Squire Strat as a back-up to a USA G&L Legacy (I've played USA G&Ls primarily for years now) and with a good, basic set-up it played as well as anything else. Even the pickups weren't bad. Some of the guitars coming out of Korea and Indonesia and remarkable for the money.

I could certainly see myself finding that ONE perfect G&L Tribute S-500 and bonding with it to the extent that I don't play anything else.
 
#233
Wade10987 said:
I never understood why anyone professional (not people who have passion and play bars/clubs/parties) but people who are rich and have endoresments would use a Squier. Why would they not just use a real Fender?

I am NOT hating on Squier. I have two and I appreciate their value, for the price. Also I know recently the VM and some of the Classic series are a pretty decent quality.

But years ago I saw ads with people playing Squiers on stage, with their best (or worst, its hard to tell) guitar face.

Is that just a business move by Fender, to raise more awareness and prestige for their learner/budget line?
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Maybe the sound a Squier produces is right for their music and band. Finding that perfect sound is priceless.
 
#234
Rutherford_Fan said:
I have a live performance coming up next Thursday and one of the first things I thought of was that I would love to use my Squier Classic Vibe 50's P Bass! Then I realized that people may think that I am a beginner if I used it. But that is far from the truth! I have been playing hard for 12 straight years and, in fact, own many "fancy" basses such as Rickenbackers, MusicMen (haha), Warwicks, and such.

It is just that I will be playing jazz (by that I mean the style of 60s post-bop but with electric instruments) and I think that the simplicity and cutting fundamental harmonic of the 50s P setup would be perfect for the performance. All of my band-mates love when I use that bass in practice (most prefer it to everything else except maybe the MusicMan Bongo).

So I still haven't decided, but this thread certainly will make me cautious about whipping out the Squier in a live performance!
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Personally I'd say Bring it. Let the audience judge the book by its cover early on in the evening. Then tell the real story with your playing.
I've got one of those too, and Ive used it on a lot of my rock recordings I am always amazed at how it just kind of "sits right" in the mix
 
#236
Mark Bedford, the well respected bass player for UK ska/pop band Madness, played a gig for the closing of the BBC studio`s in London a few weeks ago. He is usually a P bass man but on this occasion he was playing a white Jazz with a rosewood neck. On a close up, I noticed it was a Classic Vibe.
As has been said earlier in this thread, if it sounds good, it is good. End of.
 
#237
TRichardsbass said:
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
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Old thread I know, but it is worth noting the Squier Mikey Way sig model is a tribute to the modified Fender Mustang that Mikey already owned and played.
 
#238
I've been playing for 30+ years, and have had my share of pro and crap equiment (see the "Has anyone ever laughed at your bass" thread).
A few years back I had a hankering for a fretless, I had loved a late '80's G&L I had borrowed back then, but could not justify the cost. I wanted to try the Squier VM Fretless Jazz, but no one by me was stocking it. After much research in low cost/good value basses, I ordered an SX Fretless from Rondo. I was kind of digging it, then my GC got a used CV jazz... While not quite as comfortable a neck as the G&L, it blew the SX and others I tried away. I sold the SX the next week, ran over to GC to get the Squier... and proceeded to kick myself for not reserving it... GONE!
If it's good... It's GOOD!
 

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