Squier Classic Vibe Club (Part 3)

[Yahboy]

Can it do Steve Harris clanky?

I hope I own his right hand.....haha

Thanks for your mention on Steve Harris, will plan to get a SPB4 for it if i wanna keep this bass.

I let go my 5th Indo CV50P a month ago due to neck stability issue .

Edit.
I have another option to get a clanky P bass, ESP LTD AP-4 in blue with matching headstock.

 

[InstantEctobass]

I love the 3-hole control plate with those knobs! Great look to it

And yes, nothing come close to CIC CV bass... well mainly for the necks, to me. The bodies were basswood and it's mediocre. The CIC Squier electric guitars got Alder/Pine, which was pretty amazing! Bridges were amazing, tuners too, but the necks were the top of the game. I have 6 basses, all of them with a CV/MP neck (all are parts-bass expect for my CIC CV 60s Jazz Bass). A 7th neck that needs a body (CIC CV 70s Precision Bass mapled maple). And I'm getting a CIC CV 50s Precision Bass next week

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Got it yesterday. The neck is bowed and the trussrod skunk stripe is damaged on the back and on the headstock of the neck. Of course, no photo showed that. The tuners are hard (not smooth) and I've never seen this on a 1st gen CV. Also the frets cracked the binding on the whole neck. The electronics is fried too. That bass probably was left on a stand and never was set. It's going to the bin. shag people. I paid PayPal Friends&Family. It was to someone I've been talking on Facebook since 2019 and met once last summer. We're not "friends" anymore.

 

[icefly]

Bummer.

 

[InstantEctobass]

So... what can I say... what now?

I tried to set the neck, and the trussrod is near the maximum (very hard to turn more) and the neck still is not entirely flat (1mm relief at 7th fret). All my other Classic Vibe and Modern Player necks are set flat with no relief or near no relief at the 7th fret. Also, in the end, it's not the electronics that are dead but the pickup itself (reads less than 200ohms on my multimeter...). Best I could do would be to replace the pickup, repair the knock on the skunk stripe (appears to only be affecting the gloss poly but not the wood) and sell it for a tiny price with full transparency on the matter.

I love the profile of the neck so much and the quarter-sawn no-tint is amazing. What an effin' bummer, indeed, @icefly ...

 

[J Posega]

So... what can I say... what now?

I tried to set the neck, and the trussrod is near the maximum (very hard to turn more) and the neck still is not entirely flat (1mm relief at 7th fret). All my other Classic Vibe and Modern Player necks are set flat with no relief or near no relief at the 7th fret. Also, in the end, it's not the electronics that are dead but the pickup itself (reads less than 200ohms on my multimeter...). Best I could do would be to replace the pickup, repair the knock on the skunk stripe (appears to only be affecting the gloss poly but not the wood) and sell it for a tiny price with full transparency on the matter.

I love the profile of the neck so much and the quarter-sawn no-tint is amazing. What an effin' bummer, indeed, @icefly ...

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Back the truss rod adjuster all the way off, pull it out, and put a couple washers on the rod before reinstalling.

 

[timendous]

Back the truss rod adjuster all the way off, pull it out, and put a couple washers on the rod before reinstalling.

What does that do? Is that an acceptable "fix" for maxed out truss rods? Asking for an acoustic guitar I've got.

 

[J Posega]

What does that do? Is that an acceptable "fix" for maxed out truss rods? Asking for an acoustic guitar I've got.

Basically, you're currently running out of threading to tighten the adjuster onto. It essentially gives you back some threading. You can only do it on a single-action truss rod that you can actually remove the adjuster nut from.

 

[InstantEctobass]

Basically, you're currently running out of threading to tighten the adjuster onto. It essentially gives you back some threading. You can only do it on a single-action truss rod that you can actually remove the adjuster nut from.

Can't add washers on a dual-action trussrod which is what CIC Classic Vibe instruments have.

 

[J Posega]

Can't add washers on a dual-action trussrod which is what CIC Classic Vibe instruments have.

True. I assumed they were single action.

 

[InstantEctobass]

True. I assumed they were single action.

2nd gen CV are

 

[C Stone]

Can't add washers on a dual-action trussrod which is what CIC Classic Vibe instruments have.

True for dual-action but for the sake of clarity I have not yet encountered a dual action or truss rod on a Squier let alone a Classic Vibe so on a “maxed out” truss scenario washers can be added to get a little further adjustability for less relief…

 

[C Stone]

Back the truss rod adjuster all the way off, pull it out, and put a couple washers on the rod before reinstalling.

Easier said than done, there is a walnut plug insert over the truss nut, it has to be removed in order to remove the nut for a replacement or washer add and it’s a PITA but I have done it a couple of times, the thick gloss finish over the plug needs to be scored with an exacto knife then you need to heat the plug and use the truss nut itself to “push it up” from the underside of the wood plug and if that doesn’t work you can always step drill out the walnut plug to free up the nut for removal, easier said than done.

 

[Agriamodeling]

Easier said than done, there is a walnut plug insert over the truss nut, it has to be removed in order to remove the nut for a replacement or washer add and it’s a PITA but I have done it a couple of times, the thick gloss finish over the plug needs to be scored with an exacto knife then you need to heat the plug and use the truss nut itself to “push it up” from the underside of the wood plug and if that doesn’t work you can always step drill out the walnut plug to free up the nut for removal, easier said than done.

OMG, you sound like a peofessional luthier.
This amount of fix would worth for a rarity or CS Fender, but for a Squire - one must enjoy the challenge.
Actually I would also try just like you do it, though I have less skills, surely.

I hope you will fix it and also follow this with high interest and learning.

 

[Malak the Mad]

OMG, you sound like a peofessional luthier.
This amount of fix would worth for a rarity or CS Fender, but for a Squire - one must enjoy the challenge.
Actually I would also try just like you do it, though I have less skills, surely.

I hope you will fix it and also follow this with high interest and learning.

Given the differences in cost, a Squier would be a great place to experiment. Better to experiment on a relatively inexpensive instrument, rather than one that costs a small fortune or is incredibly hard to find*.


*: I may tinker and experiment quite a lot, but if I ever manage to score a stock James Johnston Squier Jazz, you can believe the only things I'd change are strings and possibly a Hipshot Drop-D tuner, too. No way I'll carve up such a beauty! (...severe malfunctions notwithstanding, of course! )

 

[InstantEctobass]

CIC CV necks have dual-action trussrod and I'm pretty sure of that because I've tried, in the past, on my CIC CV60 JB, and what happened was that the walnut plug on the headstock crushed the polyester gloss lacquer by the nut going in the other direction. You cannot remove the nut from a dual-action trussrod and you cannot remove the trussrod on CIC CV necks with having to strip out all the lacquer and remove the skunk stripe on maple fingerboards, or slicing out the rosewood fingerboard. Sadly these necks are great but not serviceable.

 

[C Stone]

Yea I don’t think they are considered “serviceable” that being said what likely happen was when you tried to remove the truss nut it felt like a dual-action when the nut reached the underside of the walnut plug and stopped, so without scoring the poly and softening the plugs glue it will indeed crush the plug, crack the poly and probably would’ve cracked the fretboard if you used too much force before realizing that this was the issue.

Here’s a pic after the walnut plug was removed with the truss nut removed.

I drilled through the old nut and cut a spacer from it to use instead of washers.

Alternatively you can use a long bit
to cleanly remove the plug instead of using the heat softening glue method.
StewMac also sells a truss rescue tool.

 

[ErickFilho]

More action with the CIC Classic Vibe 70s:



Used the Moises app to remove the original bass track and recorded directly to my audio interface. Some softube saturation and comp from the DAW and it's done. These Classic Vibes are gems.

 

[sonojono]

More action with the CIC Classic Vibe 70s:



Used the Moises app to remove the original bass track and recorded directly to my audio interface. Some softube saturation and comp from the DAW and it's done. These Classic Vibes are gems.

Love Moises. I use the app all the time to learn bass lines. They need to sponsor me lmao

 

[C Stone]

More action with the CIC Classic Vibe 70s:…
…These Classic Vibes are gems.

Have to look into Moises it sounded great
and nice playing thanks for sharing that.

 

[ErickFilho]

Love Moises. I use the app all the time to learn bass lines. They need to sponsor me lmao

Kkkk It's a great tool, for sure! I've already added a playlist for home practice, just to stay sharp for rehearsals. Works perfect!

Have to look into Moises it sounded great
and nice playing thanks for sharing that.

I'm glad that you liked!