Squier Classic Vibe 2019

[mbell75]

I keep seeing the words “cheap” & “cheaper” thrown around quite a bit when describing the Squier line. I don’t believe that the term “cheap” necessarily means poor quality. The CV ‘70s P-Bass I picked up from Sweetwater last month is of tremendous quality. Like I said in an earlier post, the Player P-Bass that I sent back just wasn’t “better” than the Squier. Price was not a consideration regarding which one I was going to keep. Mine is a CIC model so I don’t know if that had anything to do with it. I’ve not tried any of the Indonesian made models yet. Not bashing the Player series, perhaps the example I received was a dud?!

True, but at the same time, if the Chinese and Indonesian made Squiers were THAT good, wouldn't you see them on stages all over the place? Especially given how inexpensive they are? I think Ive seen like one Squier on a stage in LA in 6 years. Don't even see them in dive bars around town. Even the guys with "beater" basses they don't care what happens to getting knocked around in a bar or club are using older Fenders, not Squiers.

The parts on Squiers are cheap indeed. The bridges, tuners etc...are not built to stand up to rough treatment for years gigging on the road or you would see them everywhere. As Ive said, Ive gigged a Squier bass and a guitar before for shows in tiny bars where I didn't want to bring my more expensive gear. I would never take them on the road, they just aren't built for it, and Im certainly no pro.

 

[Breaker]

In my (admittedly somewhat limited) experience Fender Japan = absolutely outstanding and better than MIA in every way except the pickups which may be rather dull/muddy/uninspiring ceramics. But some Japanese Fender models come with USA pickups stock.

I have seen some used japanese Fender jazz basses floating about that are being sold at VERY cheap prices! I'm still trying to look into them, see what the catch is. A few nicks and scratches won't bother me, adds to the character. To me, it's like owning a cool worn, vintage bass.

I know that japanese Fenders are super high quality right? Whether they rival US, which I'm sure they do, I don't care, but they will definatley be better than the new CV's I think. And to find some preowned at the same price as the new CV's is a STEAL!

I still have to check out these deals if they are legit, or if they are a waste of time, but I think, if they are as good as people say, this is an opportunity I can't miss!

What should I do? Is it trustworthy, should I still check out the Squier, or should I just pull the trigger on a sweet japanese jazz in fairly good condition?

If there happen to be issues with it, with hardare, pups, anything, (which there shouldn't be from japan right?) then swapping out a bridge or tuners is not a real hassle is it? Beesides, I will still have some spare change cos it's such a good deal! Plus, Fenders will hold their value more I think, especially a japanese, even if it's slightly modded or scratched.

So... what should I do guys?! There are a few I've found, a couple late 90s, most I think like 2003 and a little later like that.

Thanks.

If Australian prices are anything like Canadian prices, then the lowest Japanese Fenders will be at least 60% more expensive than the the new CVs, with the more desirable ones costing at least twice as much. Current Canadian price for a CV 70s Jazz Bass is $450. Used Geddy Lee Signatures go for $900-$1,000, and Marcus Millers go for $1,000-$1,200. These are the most desirable and most common MIJs here, but they also have American pickups in them. I've seen some regular Japanese Jazz Basses go for about $750, but the ones I've spotted have had lower-quality ceramic pickups.

I'm also not a fan of buying an instrument I don't quite like and then spending the money to upgrade. You never know how those mods will end up sounding or feeling. I tried it on a couple of guitars and I sold both because the upgraded instruments turned out to be different sounding guitars that I still didn't like.

Your most affordable choice will probably be a Chinese pre-2019 Classic Vibe, but if you find a used MIJ Fender that you like and it costs the same as the CV, jump on it but bring along someone who knows instruments so you're not getting one that has issues.

 

[andruca]

My Chinese Matt Freeman P bass’s build quality far exceeds the MIM, is a little better than the MIJ and is probably almost equal to to my American Standard, although the MIA has better hardware.

Best P bass I've ever played, yes, a basswood body. Over every single MIA P bass I've played (including an Am Dlx P 5 I borrowed for months from a friend). I think the CV '70s P is spec'ed similarly. Hope the new Indonesian '70s P keeps up with the "legacy".

 

[andruca]

On a side note, anyone got or tried the CV '70s Jazz Bass V? How's the low B? Is the neck profile Geddy Jazz'ish enough (front to back)? (LOVE that japanese era thin profile, I've always fantasized with a CIJ era Geddy Lee 5) Thanks in advance for your impressions.

 

[Breaker]

On a side note, anyone got or tried the CV '70s Jazz Bass V? How's the low B? Is the neck profile Geddy Jazz'ish enough (front to back)? (LOVE that japanese era thin profile, I've always fantasized with a CIJ era Geddy Lee 5) Thanks in advance for your impressions.

I haven't played the CV 70s V but the Geddy is noticeably thinner than even the thinnest CV/VMs I have tried. They're all semi-ish. The MIJ Geddy is EFF YEAH to the CVs GETTING THERE MAYBE when it comes to thinness.

 

[RumbleMan3]

hey guys. found both an american special jazz bass, jb62 and a mex standard jazz all ranging from $700 - $800 what should I do is it worth still trying the Squier or save extra $100 bucks and buy preowned american or MIJ in mint/near mint/great condition?

 

[davesultra]

hey guys. found both an american special jazz bass, jb62 and a mex standard jazz all ranging from $700 - $800 what should I do is it worth still trying the Squier or save extra $100 bucks and buy preowned american or MIJ in mint/near mint/great condition?

While I like my CV Squier, I would definitely try the other two basses. The others will hold their value better than the Squier.

 

[Heavy Blue]

Nice to see some lefty CV's at last! That 60's Precision went to the top of my GAS list lol. In 2 years the cost of getting a lefty P from Fender/Squier has gone down from C$2,100 to @$450. Now if Squier would put out lefty 50's and 70's P basses, a 5-string, and a fretless as well...in that order lol 70's spacing on the Jazz makes it interesting too even though tbh idk if the difference is worth selling my VM to get.

I've had a Squier VM 70's Jazz with Duncan designed pups for 6 years of daily use (as well as a regular VM Jazz with Fender designed pups and a rosewood board for awhile). It's been a tank (weighs as much as one lol) Tuners and hardware are good other than the rosewood jazz's tuners were kinda crap. No complaints with pups/pots either. It's bone stock other than shielding the pup cavities & putting some proper jazz bass knobs on it which I noticed Squier did on the '19's.

I went through the wiring harness and retouched a few solder joints when I first bought it as per normal for me and that's been it till now and now the frets/nut are starting to need a little TLC but that's after a lot of playing. Probably more than the average Squier sees. Mine has a very thin neck, particularly from the first to third frets. No regrets buying it and I wish I had held on to the other one too in spite of the tuners.

 

[wizard65]

hey guys. found both an american special jazz bass, jb62 and a mex standard jazz all ranging from $700 - $800 what should I do is it worth still trying the Squier or save extra $100 bucks and buy preowned american or MIJ in mint/near mint/great condition?

I’d definitely go for the American Special.

 

[InstantEctobass]

True, but at the same time, if the Chinese and Indonesian made Squiers were THAT good, wouldn't you see them on stages all over the place? Especially given how inexpensive they are? I think Ive seen like one Squier on a stage in LA in 6 years. Don't even see them in dive bars around town. Even the guys with "beater" basses they don't care what happens to getting knocked around in a bar or club are using older Fenders, not Squiers.

The parts on Squiers are cheap indeed. The bridges, tuners etc...are not built to stand up to rough treatment for years gigging on the road or you would see them everywhere. As Ive said, Ive gigged a Squier bass and a guitar before for shows in tiny bars where I didn't want to bring my more expensive gear. I would never take them on the road, they just aren't built for it, and Im certainly no pro.

The issue with your thoughts is that you put all the existing Squiers in the same bag. Not all of them are equal. Why don't you see more Squier on stage? Well because of the renommée of the brand of course, people know this is is the sub brand of Fender, but it wasn't always it. Most Affinity Squier basses of the 2 last decades are cheap and bad, mostly the ones with the wrong headstock shape. But get a good Squier Standard or Classic Vibe from between 2000 and 2014, or a Squier from the 80s. These are lasting players. With great hardware and quality details to the manufacturing. And these will last as a long as you take care of the neck if rosewood.

 

[4sight]

I have a 2010 MIM Jazz and a 2013 Squier Classic Vibe Jazz - the Squier sounds better (AlNiCo pickups vs the MIM's ceramic), the neck is made from better wood (straight grain, no run out) and the basswood body, while heavy, holds screws a lot better. Not all Squiers are born equal

 

[Deleted member 271037]

True, but at the same time, if the Chinese and Indonesian made Squiers were THAT good, wouldn't you see them on stages all over the place? Especially given how inexpensive they are? I think Ive seen like one Squier on a stage in LA in 6 years. Don't even see them in dive bars around town. Even the guys with "beater" basses they don't care what happens to getting knocked around in a bar or club are using older Fenders, not Squiers.

The parts on Squiers are cheap indeed. The bridges, tuners etc...are not built to stand up to rough treatment for years gigging on the road or you would see them everywhere. As Ive said, Ive gigged a Squier bass and a guitar before for shows in tiny bars where I didn't want to bring my more expensive gear. I would never take them on the road, they just aren't built for it, and Im certainly no pro.

Either you haven't tried the Chinese CVs or you must have been extremely unlucky and gotten a bad one.

The Chinese CVs really were THAT good in my experience. At least the ones I've tried. I've not been particularly impressed with any of the Indonesian Squiers but the CIC CVs were special IMO.

I currently own three Chinese CVs: CV50 P-bass, CV70 P-bass and CV60 Strat.

For comparison's sake I also own several MIA+CIJ Fenders, including Custom Shop + several other expensive basses like Rick, USA Gretsch, Sandberg, Gibson, some mid level stuff like Ibanez, Yamaha + a bunch of vintage European basses like Höfner, Burns, etc.

I use the Chinese CVs just as much as my more expensive basses. The CV70 in particular is an AMAZING instrument regardless of price and one of my top3 favourite P-basses ever.

For the CVs I own I'd say the build quality varies from good (CV50) to very good (Strat) to EXCELLENT (CV70). Certainly no worse than currently manufactured Fender USA. Excellent fretwork, no worse dead spots than my MIA Fenders, flawless finish, none of the silly QC issues of Fender USA, very nice Alnico pickups. My CV70 even has a quartersawn maple neck. I don't think you will find that in another Fender bass except Custom Shop at $3500 and upwards.

(For comparison I'd rate the quality of the Indonesian Squiers I've tried from poor to good. Very inconsistent, some have been good but none have been great without mods).

The hardware on the Chinese CVs isn't anything special but the same could be said about any vintage style Fender. There's absolutely nothing about the CV hardware that has given me any problems whatsoever with ONE exception: The poorly designed output jack socket on the CV50. It was a relatively cheap and easy fix to replace it with a Tele input socket so not a big deal.

There have been certain Squier models over the years with absolutely HORRIBLE tuners that I would avoid at all cost but the Chinese CVs are in a completely different league.

Maybe things are different in LA than in my part of the world (Europe) but I see Squiers on stage all the time. Even the cheaper series. I actually got the CV70 as a touring bass after a couple of bad experiences with expensive basses and airlines (goodbye AVRI63...). But the CV70 turned out to be TOO good so I won't risk it. I actually had to get another cheap bass for air travel, lol. And guess what I got? An Indonesian VM (but upgraded the pickup). Good enough for touring but not good enough to worry about getting stolen or smashed to bits.

The ONLY thing I'm not 100% comfortable with on the Chinese CVs are the pots. None of them have failed me yet but they look/feel a bit cheap so it's probably a matter of time. But were' talking a $5 upgrade here! And the fact that I haven't bothered replacing them yet says it all really... as long as they still work they're fine.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to testing one of the new Indonesian CVs. I hope they're great but my gut feeling says VM quality in a different package. Early reports seem to suggest this too. Which is fine I guess. At least it means Squier will still offer a true P-bass (not PJ) at a reasonable quality/price and that's a good thing IMO.

 

[RumbleMan3]

I have no experience with any chinese CV's, but I CAN say however that the CHINESE affinitys are JUST AS GOOD as a mexican standard Fender jazz I've played... i think maybe better! And not just one, but 2 chinese affinitys I played, both played the same, sounded the same, quality is top class, really up there... no joke! apart from visually with the different headstock, less prettier wood neck and less thorough sunburst finish I couldn't tell the difference in the solid build quality and fantastic growling sound between a Fender, in fact, the mim sounds VERY dull in comparison!

So I can only imagine how good the chinese cv's are. I would be interested in comparing a chinese affinity with the new indonesian CV or a VM though, see how the quality compares.

 

[mexicant]

Lots of good advice in this thread. I'm intrested in the cv 60s precision bass as a backup to my mia fender precisions.

 

[mbell75]

The issue with your thoughts is that you put all the existing Squiers in the same bag.

I wasn't intending to. As I said, Ive owned a couple great Squiers and even gigged the J. Mascis Jazzmaster which is an excellent guitar and better than the Fender versions IMO. But looking at it honestly, Squiers are not know for the great quality, excellent tone or durability, if they were, you would see them being used on many stages. In general, they are an entry level brand made for those starting out who don't have a lot of money to spend or for those who don't need pro level gear. Nothing wrong with that and there are indeed some Squier models better than their Fender counterparts as I pointed out. However, that is extremely rare and the MIM Fenders are better in every way (wood, electronics, pickups, hardware) 99% of the time and worth the extra money if its only a few hundred bucks.

I was disappointed with these new Squier basses at NAMM. They dropped the price to $349 and you can see why. Everything on them is cheap quality and would need to be replaced IMO. I would have much rather them use more quality parts and priced them around $499. But some of you here may find them to be nice basses for a value.

 

[mbell75]

Maybe things are different in LA than in my part of the world (Europe) but I see Squiers on stage all the time.

Well that makes sense in Europe where Squiers are the same price as MIM Fenders here and Fenders are outrageously expensive. In the US, you can typically get a MIM Fender for only a few hundred dollars more than a Squier. If that price gap was closer to $1k like it is in other countries, you would probably see a lot more Squiers around here.

 

[Breaker]

Lots of good advice in this thread. I'm intrested in the cv 60s precision bass as a backup to my mia fender precisions.

Define backup. It can mean different things to different people.

 

[mexicant]

Define backup. It can mean different things to different people.

Something I can leave in my car just in case my main player has an issue at a gig. A bass that's not super fragile/valuable.

 

[Fun Size Nick]

I was disappointed with these new Squier basses at NAMM. They dropped the price to $349 and you can see why. Everything on them is cheap quality and would need to be replaced IMO. I would have much rather them use more quality parts and priced them around $499. But some of you here may find them to be nice basses for a value.

I'm just gonna throw this out here again:

The question I have is what does 'higher quality' mean?

The parts on Squiers are cheap indeed. The bridges, tuners etc...are not built to stand up to rough treatment for years gigging on the road or you would see them everywhere. As Ive said, Ive gigged a Squier bass and a guitar before for shows in tiny bars where I didn't want to bring my more expensive gear. I would never take them on the road, they just aren't built for it, and Im certainly no pro.

Surely anything that would break a 'cheap' tuner or bridge would break a 'high quality' one? Most tuner damage that I've seen is the key breaking off from being dropped head-first. I'm not even sure what there is on a Fender style bridge that would be vulnerable to damage? When it comes down to it, these are pretty simple instruments without a lot of moving parts.

I've done my share of touring and frankly I don't feel like it's been tough on my basses at all - just my experience. I gig regularly with a Squier VM Precision and treat it the same as my Fender Jazz.

 

[RumbleMan3]

I'm just gonna throw this out here again:



Surely anything that would break a 'cheap' tuner or bridge would break a 'high quality' one? Most tuner damage that I've seen is the key breaking off from being dropped head-first. I'm not even sure what there is on a Fender style bridge that would be vulnerable to damage? When it comes down to it, these are pretty simple instruments without a lot of moving parts.

I've done my share of touring and frankly I don't feel like it's been tough on my basses at all - just my experience. I gig regularly with a Squier VM Precision and treat it the same as my Fender Jazz.

Nice to know!

In the long run what is a better option in terms of durability and cost... Squier CV/VM or Fender MIM?

BTW what's the verdict... new CV's better than a VM or not?