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Squier 40th Anniversary basses - BAD QC

Crackle

Crackle

Nov 3, 2007
650
1,183
Plano, TX
#1
I bought a brand new Squier 40th Anniversary Precision Bass, Gold Edition in May. This bass initially looked promising but my opinion changed quickly when I got under the hood. The neck pocket was badly oversprayed and no one bothered to clean it up; this was causing issues with the angle of the neck. The ground connection to the bridge was bad. And the bridge screws were driven in at angles that I would not consider normal. Back to the store for a refund.

Today I bought a brand new Squier 40th Anniversary Precision, Vintage Edition. I took it out of the box and was awed by its fit and finish. It was a little neck heavy but nothing I couldn't tolerate. I started to get under the hood in preparation for a setup and took the neck off. The neck pocket is good and clean. No grounding hum on this one. Then I noticed the bridge screws did not appear to be fully tightened. I grabbed a number 2 Phillips head screwdriver and found that the first screw on the G string side would not tighten. Same for the other 4 bridge screws. They just turn indefinitely. Total disappointment. Back to Guitar Center for a refund.

I can't believe these basses are making their way through QC. I suppose you get what you pay for. Absolute trash.
 
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#3
evs said:
Sorry to hear you got a couple of bad ones.

I've got both the P and J vintage models and mine have been really great in every way.
I disassembled the P bass, as I have resprayed it, and didn't find any issues anywhere.
Click to expand...

At this point, I'm on a mission to see if I can find a good one. I'm going to keep purchasing them new and will return every one that has these problems. Maybe someone will get the message.
 
#4
Crackle said:
At this point, I'm on a mission to see if I can find a good one. I'm going to keep purchasing them new and will return every one that has these problems. Maybe someone will get the message.
Click to expand...

You must be getting all the bad ones. Between a gold edition j I bought for my girlfriend and various vintage edition p's and J's I've gotten to flip or hold on to, the only issue I've encountered between 5 40th edition squiers was a tuner that rattled a bit. I'm sure you'll find one eventually.
 
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#5
I bought a Vintage Edition Squier 40th Anniversary Precision last week, overall its a good bass but fretwork was dissapointing, glue marks all over the fret ends I had to scrape off with a razor blade but some frets had visible glue underneath them...

Surprised it even passed QC.

I agree, Squier really need to cop on if they don't want to ruin their reputation.
 
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#6
enormungus said:
You must be getting all the bad ones. Between a gold edition j I bought for my girlfriend and various vintage edition p's and J's I've gotten to flip or hold on to, the only issue I've encountered between 5 40th edition squiers was a tuner that rattled a bit. I'm sure you'll find one eventually.
Click to expand...

In the meantime, Fender / Squier and Guitar Center get to eat their losses. I'm going to rub it in as much as possible.
 
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#7
MasterBrianD said:
I bought a Vintage Edition Squier 40th Anniversary Precision last week, overall its a good bass but fretwork was dissapointing, glue marks all over the fret ends I had to scrape off with a razor blade but some frets had visible glue underneath them...

Surprised it even passed QC.

I agree, Squier really need to cop on if they don't want to ruin their reputation.
Click to expand...

I think the fact is there was no QC for either of the basses I have purchased so far. It's amusing that there is a QC check tag attached to the bass. Inspection card signed off by four different people.
 
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#10
You are talking about a lower cost imported instrument. That’s no reason for them to be junk, but it is a reason for them to be made with every possible cost cutting measure in place to maximize profit. Cost cutting generally includes material and workmanship as much as possible for each category. It’s possible QC is being left to assemblers, which means inconsistency at best.
The depressing reality is that the same deficiencies are probably becoming more common instead of less common.

One piece of advice I’m surprised hasn’t been mentioned; get away from Squier & look at some other brand. If fewer people buy the brand with quality issues, the quality will improve or the brand will go away.

If you keep looking for a good apple in a basket of bad apples you might find what you think is a good one until you find the worm at the core….
 
Last edited:
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#12
MasterBrianD said:
I bought a Vintage Edition Squier 40th Anniversary Precision last week, overall its a good bass but fretwork was dissapointing, glue marks all over the fret ends I had to scrape off with a razor blade but some frets had visible glue underneath them...

Surprised it even passed QC.

I agree, Squier really need to cop on if they don't want to ruin their reputation.
Click to expand...

$300
 
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#14
I recently bought a Squier 40th Anniversary Jazz not too long ago from our local GC. Much to my surprise, it actually sounded great, nice, low action, everything seemed ok. However, I always take any bass I purchase to a good friend who's a high level guitar tech/luthier. For this Jazz, he spent close to 1.5 hours going over everything, even took the neck off, taped the upper 6 frets, did mild sanding, because he noticed slight string buzz in the upper E fret area. He also sanded the neck joint area, slapped the neck back on, did a slight neck/truss adjustment, intonation and new strings. It was WELL WORTH the $50 he charged....easily half of what he did. It sounds fantastic through my Rumble 500. Should a bass come in perfect condition? You would think so, but hey, I've even had a couple of Sweetwater basses that needed adjustments, even with their so called 55 point inspection - could be related to shipping, weather, etc......who knows. Hope you find a good one!!
 
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#16
Crackle said:
I bought a brand new Squier 40th Anniversary Precision Bass, Gold Edition in May. This bass initially looked promising but my opinion changed quickly when I got under the hood. The neck pocket was badly oversprayed and no one bothered to clean it up; this was causing issues with the angle of the neck. The ground connection to the bridge was bad. And the bridge screws were driven in at angles that I would not consider normal. Back to the store for a refund.

Today I bought a brand new Squier 40th Anniversary Precision, Vintage Edition. I took it out of the box and was awed by its fit and finish. It was a little neck heavy but nothing I couldn't tolerate. I started to get under the hood in preparation for a setup and took the neck off. The neck pocket is good and clean. No grounding hum on this one. Then I noticed the bridge screws did not appear to be fully tightened. I grabbed a number 2 Phillips head screwdriver and found that the first screw on the G string side would not tighten. Same for the other 4 bridge screws. They just turn indefinitely. Total disappointment. Back to Guitar Center for a refund.

I can't believe these basses are making their way through QC. I suppose you get what you pay for. Absolute trash.
Click to expand...
I would have stuck a few toothpicks and glue in the bridge hole if I liked everything else.
 
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