Squier Classic Vibe 70's PBass?

[Springman]

I'll chime in. I have a sort of a minty blue "70 Classic Vibe P-Bass. It was a CL find. I met a lady in a super market parking lot and bought it out of her trunk!
This bass turned me into a p-bass nut case. Since then I have purchased two American Pro P-basses, one with a Jazz neck. They all play well together.
The thing about Blue is the neck shape, unique in all of Fenderdom. The classic vibe P-neck sits somewhere between traditional P and J necks in terms of feel. For me it is a very comfortable compromise.
I put in Fender custom 70's pick ups and a orange drop cap which I think was a nice upgrade (but unnecessary in that the stock's sounded fine).
So it's like this....I invested a thousand bucks putting together an American P-Bass with a J-Neck trying to duplicate what I already had in the Classic Vibe for under $300, up grades included!
Seems like Fender will take some chances with the Squier line that they avoid in the High End versions. In the case of the C.V. we were gifted with an excellent product.

 

[patrickhowell]

It's a great bass for the money. It's hard to find anything that needs upgraded. It has a high-mass bridge and nice saddles, the pickups are good (probably made by Tonerider), pots are small but they work, and the tuners are more than good enough. The glossy finish on the neck is uncomfortable for some players, so you might want to try before you buy.

 

[mbene085]

The CV basses and guitars are ridiculous quality for their price point. No word of a lie, I had a CV strat with better fretwork than an American Special I bought around the same time. Do not hesitate for a second to consider a CV model of any kind.

 

[J-Bassomatic]

I just posted on another thread how much I like the one I bought, the frets are no big deal, you'll only notice when you're looking at them. I put on a nicer pick guard, at least I think so anyway. I have a Fender J and P and this one is in my hands more than the other two, with the J almost being ignored lately. This is a top notch instrument, I think the rattling tuner might not be so common, mine are fine.

 

[ThudThudThud]

I had one of the 60s CV Precision (Fiesta Red). I loved it. I had a scratchy jack, and a pot with the tiniest bit of odd travel. I love tinkering so I went the Switchcraft/CTS/Sprague route just for the hell of it.
Other than that it set up beautifully, had a great neck (I like glossy), was lightweight, and when paired with Chromes it was just a monster. I miss that bass a lot.

 

[bordinco90]

I've owned a couple and have really liked them. The only negative about them for me is the feel of the bass. It feels overly glossy to me. I also do not like the small frets. For the price though, it's a great bass!

 

[PeaveyPlayer]

are the vintage mod 70s jazz and 77 really in the 70s position?

does that include the 5 string too?

 

[40Hz]

I've got the Matt Freeman PB which is basically a CV with a pickup they did just for that model.

The thing is an absolute joy to play. Easily one of the nicest PB necks I've ever worked with.

I've since changed the pickup because the special one unique to the Freeman sig model was a little more aggressive a pup than I usually prefer. And since I was in a modding mood, I replaced the electronics and pickguard as well. I pulled the original pup, wiring harness and pickguard out in one piece. This way I can turn it back into a stock Matt Freeman PB if I ever change my mind by simply resoldering the bridge and cavity ground leads and screwing everything back in.

Highly recommended. You can't go wrong with a CV Squier IMO.

 

[Kukulkan61]

Guess which is my number 2 after my Lakland Skyline, yup the Fiesta Red Squier...

 

[Big Jon 71]

I have a 60’s C.V. p bass the red with tortoise guard. I love it. Thought it looked good and had that vintage look to to it. Rolled the dice and really like it. The bass in the pic is not mine but it’s identical. I thought I had a pic on my phone but I must’ve deleted it somehow. But man it Plays so smooth. The pickups could be a tad hotter. That’s my only beef. But that’s easily fixed on a standard P. Love the 70’s all black P too.

 

[selowitch]

I have loved virtually every Squier Classic Vibe or Vintage Modified bass that I've tried. Great instruments and not just "for the money."

 

[Big Jon 71]

Another thing I liked about the 60’s p was the stained neck. Again such a smooth feeling bass. I highly recommend them. Who knows maybe I just picked a good one. But I still hold that Squier are good basses. But that’s me.

 

[VerryBerry]

I have a 70s CV Pbass in black. I also have a Fender Elite and a Fender Stu Hamm Urge II. The Squier is not far behind at all from the other two much more expensive basses.

On mine, excellent fretwork, no high frets, allowing for very low action if I want it, and easy playability. Fantastic at 20-25% of the price of the other two.

I did change out the stock pickup because I had a spare Geezer Butler split P pickup from another bass I sold (returning it to stock) and I thought I might like a little mid-range bump. If I didn't have the Geezer p/u, I doubt I would have felt the need to change it.

What I did have to change was the tuners. Two or three of the four were buzzing/rattling. I bought a set of Hipshots that fit without modification. These were non-ultra lites, but hey - still a whole 12 grams lighter over the set they replaced.

Yes, I have a few nicer, higher end basses, but I'm not looking to get rid of my CV Pbass. It's just too good. After my little p/u mod and tuner upgrade, there isn't the nit-pickiest detail I can use as an excuse to get rid of it for something different.

 

[Resonance129]

I have a 70s CV Pbass in black. I also have a Fender Elite and a Fender Stu Hamm Urge II. The Squier is not far behind at all from the other two much more expensive basses.

On mine, excellent fretwork, no high frets, allowing for very low action if I want it, and easy playability. Fantastic at 20-25% of the price of the other two.

I did change out the stock pickup because I had a spare Geezer Butler split P pickup from another bass I sold (returning it to stock) and I thought I might like a little mid-range bump. If I didn't have the Geezer p/u, I doubt I would have felt the need to change it.

What I did have to change was the tuners. Two or three of the four were buzzing/rattling. I bought a set of Hipshots that fit without modification. These were non-ultra lites, but hey - still a whole 3 grams lighter over the set they replaced.

Yes, I have a few nicer, higher end basses, but I'm not looking to get rid of my CV Pbass. It's just too good. After my little p/u mod and tuner upgrade, there isn't the nit-pickiest detail I can use as an excuse to get rid of it for something different.

I have the same issue with the tuners on my CV 70's P.
Which Hipshot replacements did you use? Did they slip on, or did you have to make some adjustments to fit them?
I feel like getting my tuners replaced for better ones would make this bass incredible.

 

[VerryBerry]

Hello Resonance129 -
The following is a cut-and -paste of my review of the Hipshot tuners I bought from www.bassstringsonline.com. I tried to cover everything, but if you have further questions, let me know. Change those tuners - it will improve your experience greatly!

"Hipshot HB1 also fits Squier Classic Vibe series:
The Hipshot HB1 tuners also fit the Squier Classic Vibe series basses without modification. I bought a new Squier 70's P-bass and soon after noted buzzing while playing. I traced it down to rattling tuners on my E and D strings. If I grabbed those tuners, I could wiggle the shafts just a bit, and this is what was resonating. The retailer that should have covered this under warranty was very slow in getting anything done, and I figured that I should put something of higher grade than the standard tuners, which might start buzzing again anyway. I emailed Hipshot and was told that the HB1's are the way to go, so I ordered a set of 4 HB1's in the Long Key version, thinking I would get the identical key length to the Squier version. When I got the HB1's from BSO, I thought that I was shipped the short key version in error, as the shafts on the Hipshots were appreciably shorter than the originals. Jason assured me that these would fit according to info he found in a thread in the TalkBass forum. I put them on and they do fit just fine. I was worried that the bottom of the clover leaf would rub against the headstock - it does not. And I like the shorter shaft look on the headstock too. I did have some slight issues in putting these in, but it has nothing to do with Hipshot; but with Squier. - Only ONE of my Squier tuners had holes that lined up perfectly! The other tuners had one or two holes that were about 0.5 mm off. So I had to start all 4 screws loosely and work them in equally bit by bit. Had to make sure I used a phillips screwdriver with a good bit. All ended up looking perfect once I was done. Other remarks: The screws supplied by Hipshot are very slightly longer and bigger in diameter from the originals in the Squier. I used the Hipshot ones. I did not install the friction-fit bushings that Hipshot sends as part of the package, as I could not push out/knock out the originals in the headstock. Either looked identical and rather than risk doing damage, I left the original bushings in. Also, if anyone is wondering about weight savings, there is little difference, as the HB1's are not the in the light-weight line of keys. The Squier original tuning machine weighs 76 grams and the HB1 machine weighs 73 grams. At least the weight difference was in the right direction even though small. I have no issues with neck dive on this bass, and being basswood, it is light-weight anyway. So glad to get rid of the buzzing! The bass was living in its case for the last few months as it was basically unplayable until the tuners were changed."

 

[pudgychef]

Another thing I liked about the 60’s p was the stained neck. Again such a smooth feeling bass. I highly recommend them. Who knows maybe I just picked a good one. But I still hold that Squier are good basses. But that’s me.

I had blue and red CV 60s P and played a pile more...great basses

 

[Big Jon 71]

I had blue and red CV 60s P and played a pile more...great basses

Blue? Got a pic of that? I’ve not seen those. Didn’t know they were available in blue.

 

[pudgychef]

Blue? Got a pic of that? I’ve not seen those. Didn’t know they were available in blue.

The first CV 60s P released was sonic blue (LBP Blue 50s, Sonic Blue 60s Ps and White 60s J) Bought one of each as soon as they popped up used. The 50s P had an odd sized truss slot than the others...)

 

[Big Jon 71]

The first CV 60s P released was sonic blue (LBP Blue 50s, Sonic Blue 60s Ps and White 60s J) Bought one of each as soon as they popped up used. The 50s P had an odd sized truss slot than the others...)
View attachment 2941241

Ohhhh that shade of blue. Yes I have seen those. That’s sharp!!! I like that color. Ranks right up there with sea foam green. That’s another pretty color. Makes one think of the ventures or dick dale

Very nice bass. There’s just nothing like a p bass.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Resonance129]

Hello Resonance129 -
The following is a cut-and -paste of my review of the Hipshot tuners I bought from www.bassstringsonline.com. I tried to cover everything, but if you have further questions, let me know. Change those tuners - it will improve your experience greatly!

"Hipshot HB1 also fits Squier Classic Vibe series:
The Hipshot HB1 tuners also fit the Squier Classic Vibe series basses without modification. I bought a new Squier 70's P-bass and soon after noted buzzing while playing. I traced it down to rattling tuners on my E and D strings. If I grabbed those tuners, I could wiggle the shafts just a bit, and this is what was resonating. The retailer that should have covered this under warranty was very slow in getting anything done, and I figured that I should put something of higher grade than the standard tuners, which might start buzzing again anyway. I emailed Hipshot and was told that the HB1's are the way to go, so I ordered a set of 4 HB1's in the Long Key version, thinking I would get the identical key length to the Squier version. When I got the HB1's from BSO, I thought that I was shipped the short key version in error, as the shafts on the Hipshots were appreciably shorter than the originals. Jason assured me that these would fit according to info he found in a thread in the TalkBass forum. I put them on and they do fit just fine. I was worried that the bottom of the clover leaf would rub against the headstock - it does not. And I like the shorter shaft look on the headstock too. I did have some slight issues in putting these in, but it has nothing to do with Hipshot; but with Squier. - Only ONE of my Squier tuners had holes that lined up perfectly! The other tuners had one or two holes that were about 0.5 mm off. So I had to start all 4 screws loosely and work them in equally bit by bit. Had to make sure I used a phillips screwdriver with a good bit. All ended up looking perfect once I was done. Other remarks: The screws supplied by Hipshot are very slightly longer and bigger in diameter from the originals in the Squier. I used the Hipshot ones. I did not install the friction-fit bushings that Hipshot sends as part of the package, as I could not push out/knock out the originals in the headstock. Either looked identical and rather than risk doing damage, I left the original bushings in. Also, if anyone is wondering about weight savings, there is little difference, as the HB1's are not the in the light-weight line of keys. The Squier original tuning machine weighs 76 grams and the HB1 machine weighs 73 grams. At least the weight difference was in the right direction even though small. I have no issues with neck dive on this bass, and being basswood, it is light-weight anyway. So glad to get rid of the buzzing! The bass was living in its case for the last few months as it was basically unplayable until the tuners were changed."

Thank you so much for posting that. The details about using the Hipshot screws, using the stock bushings, and the length of the key shafts are appreciated. As soon as I can, I'll definitely be getting some HB1's for mine.