Squier Classic Vibe Club (Part 3)

[Malak the Mad]

My indo 70s CV p sounds great after I put Lollar P-90s in it and changed out the pots. The construction of the bass was really nice as well no hot spots on the fretboard, the stock pups are the weak link IMO. But turning a $450 bass into fender player series price territory is kinda looney on my end, but I guess that’s part of the fun.

A common theme I've seen over the past nine years of being a TalkBass member is the idea that a well-built Squier is a great platform for modifications and experimentation. Being able to do that without risking a crushing amount of money can be quite liberating.

Some say it's like "putting lipstick on a pig". Personally, I don't buy that. I say a good instrument is still a good instrument, no matter what factory or country it came from. Who cares if someone puts $300 or more worth of electronics into a bass that cost as much, or even less than that? If it feels good in your own damn hands and sounds damn fine in the process, then it's no one's damn business other than your own.

So, if you've scored a great modding platform, or put together an instrument from parts you've sought out and curated on your own, be proud of your accomplishment…I know I am!

 

[P Cheen]

At the end of the day, we all play pieces of wood with strings!

 

[InstantEctobass]

Back on talkbass after some time outside... glad to be back

Late CV 50 P from Chicago music.

Squier Classic Vibe Late '50s Precision Bass 2-Color Sunburst w/Gold Anodized Pickguard

Squier Classic Vibe Late '50s Precision Bass White Blonde w/Gold Anodized Pickguard

View attachment 4340984 View attachment 4340983

Real ,or fake ???

Probably real, but now these links are leading to nowhere. Maybe FMIC and CME cancelled their plans.

Yeah, I saw that and was a little intrigued. I'm no expert, but I can't think of a single Squier that has truss rod access at the heel. I guess we'll just have to wait and see when they're finally released.

Sadly, their Squier FSR's seem to only consist of P-basses, Mustangs and a couple of Broncos. <sniffle> No Jazz basses…

1982-1984 Squiers had the "normal" truss rod at the neck heel because they were recreation of the original Fenders.

The Chinese CV's are regarded as being the best basses Squier has ever produced and have become very sought after in the last few years (they go for more used now than they originally sold for) due to the significant drop in quality after the factory was moved to Indonesia.

Well, I had two complete Squier CV gen 2 70 Jazz Bass and one body only (bought to @Malak the Mad ) and all of them were incredibly disappoiting. First bass, in natural finish arrived with lots of blemishes and dings, even though it was inspected. Didn't keep it. Bought the body to Malak from USA to France, arrived in perfect shape but after few weeks and months, the varnish/lacquer on the body was so fragile it was crackling everywhere! Then I had a second complete bass for "cheap", black finish this time. Made late 2020. The neck was 5 months young and already warped.

Why? Cause they just use too young maple, or weak pieces. All of these are made at Cortek factory.
I'm getting my first Samick made 70s P in Walnut in a few days. Will compare but the Cortek stuff SUCKED for me. Even my Cort basses, had two. Both had bad necks.

Grand Reward China Squier and Fenders were top notch. I have 5 Grand Reward necks, 4 Squier (3 CV and one Matt Freeman) and 1 Fender (one piece maple neck from a Modern Player Jazz Bass). All of these are great neck, aside maybe the Fender that has a inverted ski jump at the heel (nobody can explain how it is possible lol). Still playable and all necks are "stable". The CV 2nd Gen black Jazz 70s that I had, the neck was constantly moving from day to day. And bad frets "flatting".

Maybe immediately after, but nowadays the Indonesian made ones are just as good. Squier recently has been doing an excellent job.

Read above, but I had a lot of Indonesia Squiers, including Affinity, VM and CV Gen 2. They are truly inconsistant. My best Indonesian Squier vas a Squier V string Precision. Neck was AMAZING and flat even though the guy never adjusted it in 5 years. Chinese Squiers made at Grand Reward never disappointed me; mostly the necks. This is the most important part. I have 5 CV necks, 3 of them comes from... FACTORY REJECTS!!!

I think 1980s Japanese Squiers might have an issue with this statement regarding their Chinese descendants. And I disagree that there was a "significant drop in quality after the factory was moved to Indonesia". I know some people have had issues but Ive owned several Indonesian Squiers and never had a qc problem with them.

Question of luck. I have a Word document listing all the bass I had in my possession since 2012 and I had multiple Indonesian Squiers. They were good, and bad ones. Inconsistancy as stated above.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

That's good to hear about the Indo CV's, although it has to be said they're getting much more mixed reviews than the Chinese ones. The hardware is also objectively worse (the old ones came with a high mass bridge and brass saddles, for example,

The CIC Matt Freeman I just bought has had the stock HiMass bridge replaced with a Wilkinson. Both have brass saddles.

The seller said the previous owner had done that to be able to get a lower action, so it's something I appreciate, but I don't know if, that aside, the Wilkinson bridge would be regarded as any kind of upgrade on the HiMass?

The electronics have also been replaced, with parts I'm told will be higher quality. Would the original CIC electronics have been in need of upgrading, or is this just a mod for the sake of it?

Also cavity has a nice layer of paint to shield it - would that have been original?

Now that I've replaced the nut (Tusq) and pickup (Dimarzio) I think the only original parts are the tuners and the jack

Oh another question for people's opinions: am I right to have the impression that these CIC signature models are essentially just customised CVs? (or should I be getting out of this thread? )

 

[InstantEctobass]

The CIC Matt Freeman I just bought has had the stock HiMass bridge replaced with a Wilkinson. Both have brass saddles.

The seller said the previous owner had done that to be able to get a lower action, so it's something I appreciate, but I don't know if, that aside, the Wilkinson bridge would be regarded as any kind of upgrade on the HiMass?

The electronics have also been replaced, with parts I'm told will be higher quality. Would the original CIC electronics have been in need of upgrading, or is this just a mod for the sake of it?

Also cavity has a nice layer of paint to shield it - would that have been original?

Now that I've replaced the nut (Tusq) and pickup (Dimarzio) I think the only original parts are the tuners and the jack

Oh another question for people's opinions: am I right to have the impression that these CIC signature models are essentially just customised CVs? (or should I be getting out of this thread? )

Both the original bridge and pickups/electronics were great. I have a friend who has that bass and he replaced the pickups with Custom Shop made one. HE did A and B recordings: no different. Both were AlNiCo V pickups with same DC resistance and inductance. Guess what... He sold back the "premium" pickups. CV and Matt Freeman instruments get ToneRider pickups.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I have a friend who has that bass and he replaced the pickups with Custom Shop made one. HE did A and B recordings: no different.

I changed the pickup not because I felt it was an upgrade, but because I specifically wanted the Dimarzio. In reality, I was looking for a P to fit a Dimarzio too, and this already heavily modded MF came along at a very good price.

If the current CVs didn't have their thin neck profile I would probably have bought one of them. But they do, so I kept looking for something thicker – playing a thin neck quickly tires my damaged thumb – and I think I stumbled upon some very good fortune.

I think I read that the CIC CVs have a thicker profile, but in the UK they sell for a lot more than what I paid for my MF.

 

[Malak the Mad]

Oh another question for people's opinions: am I right to have the impression that these CIC signature models are essentially just customised CVs? (or should I be getting out of this thread? )

You're probably right. For example, as best as I and others can tell, the James Johnston Jazz is a Classic Vibe '60s with an amazing paint job. (What can I say? I'm a sucker for a matching headstock! )

 

[InstantEctobass]

I changed the pickup
not because I felt it was an upgrade, but because I specifically wanted the Dimarzio. In reality, I was looking for a P to fit a Dimarzio too, and this already heavily modded MF came along at a very good price.

If the current CVs didn't have their thin neck profile I would probably have bought one of them. But they do, so I kept looking for something thicker – playing a thin neck quickly tires my damaged thumb – and I think I stumbled upon some very good fortune.

I think I read that the CIC CVs have a thicker profile, but in the UK they sell for a lot more than what I paid for my MF.

Indeed my Matt Freeman neck is a bit chunkier than my 60s CV Precision Bass neck with rosewood fingerboard. I like both of them though, I play different stuff.

 

[Malak the Mad]

Both the original bridge and pickups/electronics were great. I have a friend who has that bass and he replaced the pickups with Custom Shop made one. HE did A and B recordings: no different. Both were AlNiCo V pickups with same DC resistance and inductance. Guess what... He sold back the "premium" pickups. CV and Matt Freeman instruments get ToneRider pickups.

There was a time, about five or six years ago, when I was strongly considering getting my hands on a CV Precision pickup, doing some routing to my CV '60s Jazz and turning it into the only Classic Vibe P/J out there. I still feel kind of sad that I never made it happen.

 

[Malak the Mad]

I changed the pickup not because I felt it was an upgrade, but because I specifically wanted the Dimarzio. In reality, I was looking for a P to fit a Dimarzio too, and this already heavily modded MF came along at a very good price.

What's funny is, when I read "MF", I heard a different, four-syllable word in my head that was decidedly not "Matthew Freeman".

If the current CVs didn't have their thin neck profile I would probably have bought one of them. But they do, so I kept looking for something thicker – playing a thin neck quickly tires my damaged thumb – and I think I stumbled upon some very good fortune.

I think I read that the CIC CVs have a thicker profile, but in the UK they sell for a lot more than what I paid for my MF.

Just out of curiosity, is it the front-to-back girth you need, a wider nut or both? If all you need is more front-to-back thickness, see if you can sample an MIM Fender Classic '70s Jazz. They kinda "baseball bat-like" (cricket bat-like?), but are very generous in their girth. This is, of course, assuming you're into J-basses.

 

[InstantEctobass]

There was a time, about five or six years ago, when I was strongly considering getting my hands on a CV Precision pickup, doing some routing to my CV '60s Jazz and turning it into the only Classic Vibe P/J out there. I still feel kind of sad that I never made it happen.

Don't!!! PJs are monsters!!!!

 

[Yahboy]

The CIC Matt Freeman I just bought has had the stock HiMass bridge replaced with a Wilkinson. Both have brass saddles.

The seller said the previous owner had done that to be able to get a lower action, so it's something I appreciate, but I don't know if, that aside, the Wilkinson bridge would be regarded as any kind of upgrade on the HiMass?

The electronics have also been replaced, with parts I'm told will be higher quality. Would the original CIC electronics have been in need of upgrading, or is this just a mod for the sake of it?

Also cavity has a nice layer of paint to shield it - would that have been original?

Now that I've replaced the nut (Tusq) and pickup (Dimarzio) I think the only original parts are the tuners and the jack

Oh another question for people's opinions: am I right to have the impression that these CIC signature models are essentially just customised CVs? (or should I be getting out of this thread? )

You should happy If the MF p you get are fully stock.

Wilkinson brass saddle bridge are Fender spec with 19mm string spacing. But, stock CV Himass bridge are 20mm spacing brass saddle and has wider plate screws mounting.

On my previous cv60P, I swap stock bridge to Fender Vintage threasaddle bridge.

The bridge swap notable tone different especially with flatwound bass string. Stock Himass sound has better zing and bite, meanwhile Fender bridge give me more warmth and woody organic tone.

All china CV bass electronic cavity and pickups cavity has factory black shield paint . Unlike Indo CV50P, the cavity are blank.

Lot ppl customize thier CV bass , electronic /pickups swap, atleast the neck and body still stock.
I recall some one mix the China CV neck + Affinity bass body , and he just feel proud himself he own a nice CV bass..... Hahaha

 

[Ricky Rioli]

when I read "MF", I heard a different, four-syllable word in my head that was decidedly not "Matthew Freeman"

Definitely not intentional on my part

Just out of curiosity, is it the front-to-back girth you need, a wider nut or both?

It's the thickness front to back. My BB424 which is only 1.57" (40mm) wide, but has 0.87" / 0.98" (22mm / 25mm) thickness. My hand finds that very comfortable, I can bounce around the fretboard easily. I think similar MIJ Ps exist but

Anyway, I like how the MF's wider nut makes me play differently: my movements have to be more deliberate – they translate into a heavier kind of articulation of the notes — that matches up well with the stern throaty tone of my MF. I had been finding the idea of the current CVs' width of 1.69" (43mm) very attractive for that reason.

 

[Yahboy]

Both the original bridge and pickups/electronics were great. I have a friend who has that bass and he replaced the pickups with Custom Shop made one. HE did A and B recordings: no different. Both were AlNiCo V pickups with same DC resistance and inductance. Guess what... He sold back the "premium" pickups. CV and Matt Freeman instruments get ToneRider pickups.

Confirm The Tone rider pup only use on CV60P and 60J , but MF p and CV70P pickups just sound different compare to CV60P.

I been try CS62P, pv63P, Ori 60P and Fralin P on my cv60P, all of them sound different to stock pup.

 

[InstantEctobass]

You should happy If the MF p you get are fully stock.

Wilkinson brass saddle bridge are Fender spec with 19mm string spacing. But, stock CV Himass bridge are 20mm spacing brass saddle and has wider plate screws mounting.

On my previous cv60P, I swap stock bridge to Fender Vintage threasaddle bridge.

The bridge swap notable tone different especially with flatwound bass string. Stock Himass sound has better zing and bite, meanwhile Fender bridge give me more warmth and woody organic tone.

All china CV bass electronic cavity and pickups cavity has factory black shield paint . Unlike Indo CV50P, the cavity are blank.

Lot ppl customize thier CV bass , electronic /pickups swap, atleast the neck and body still stock.
I recall some one mix the China CV neck + Affinity bass body , and he just feel proud himself he own a nice CV bass..... Hahaha

That's me, the some one

Here how it does look like today...

 

[Yahboy]

That's me, the some one

Here how it does look like today...

View attachment 4342345
View attachment 4342347

View attachment 4342348

Really???

 

[InstantEctobass]

Really???

Why would I lie?

 

[Jose Kafka]

Good morning,

I have a proposal to exchange a Fender SQ 70´s Precision 4 strings (Indonesia 2020) for a Yamaha BBG5 S (5 strings 2009 Taiwan), do you have any experience with this Yamaha model? should i accept the proposal? My Squier is like new and the Yamaha has some dings but nothing relevant, the value is almost the same. Thanks in advance!

 

[Malak the Mad]

Don't!!! PJs are monsters!!!!

Then by the Power of my first-ever bass, a glorious Fender Aerodyne, as well as my first parts-bass, Projekt Blue, you may call me "The Mother of Monsters"!!

 

[Yahboy]

Why would I lie?

Yah, you are that guys !!!!