I always enjoy Dr. Cheese's posts. However, they usually make me want to buy something. Still, always good stuff.
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Squier Classic Vibe Fretless
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
You must have a good one. My VM fretless has dips _and_ protrusions at nearly every fret marker, which is going to require quite a bit of sanding before it's playable with anything other than mile high action. This new CV couldn't possibly be worse. Granted, if the VM had actually had been finished properly at the factory it likely would have cost significantly more than $299.
I had good results on my '19 CV JV using boiled linseed oil.
No
I tried one but didn't buy as I have too many Basses already.
One I tried had high action but played like it was slick as a wet soap bar
I'm a little eccentric in that as I was classically trained A 440, I am uncomfortable tuning flat ; prefer 5er and a D is a D; not a de tuned EI like the idea of detuners, but I lose my place with them very easily. Fives or simply tuning down a whole step are easier for me (I can still lose my place on a detuned also.)
I don't think roundwounds eat even a rosewood fretboard that much in practice. String marks yes, they'll be there from the very beginning, but you've got to play pretty hard for quite a long time before there are grooves in the wood deep enough to interfere with your playing. I say snatch it if you like it otherwise.
P.S.: BTW, you're lucky to have that kind of price there. Where I live, it would cost used at least 2.5 times that even from a private seller.
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Same here. Granted, when I took mine out of the box it was already far better looking than Fender's pictures led me to believe.
A couple coats of BLO over the course of a few days has mine looking as good or better than any rosewood I've seen.
Yes, my unfinished Ebony board already has marks on it from the rounds. But I have absolutely no worries on whether or not they would eat through the board. They won't.
The worst board I have ever seen was on a '77 P-bass. There were deep grooves in the board down by the heel, but I am sure those are from heavy finger plucking close to the neck, causing the strings to dig into the board, not from normal string vibrations.
Another option is to hunt down an LTD Vintage 214 fretless. They've only been discontinued for a couple years. Better than a Squier for about the same money. A great unlined fretless P clone (PJ actually) with a nice slab of rosewood.
I put Geezers in mine and it absolutely sang. I'd still have it if not for my Wendler.
Does anyone know if I would be able to use the neck of this classic vibe on a 2000 mim jazz bass body? I saw one for sale and if so I want to grab it up.
I have a Mustang guitar with the same kind of finish & the same thing happens when you take a picture--for some reason the burst looks so much better in person than in a picture:
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I think it's a good thing they went to a wood board.
Maybe it was the ebanol, maybe something else, but every one I saw with an ebonal board had neck issues
This was over a couple of years and in three cities with different climates, and different stores in two of those cities.
I know some didn't have that issue, but I saw a lot online about people have issues with them as well.
Hopefully the necks are more stable.
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I finally bit the bullet and bought this fretless. After 50 years of true left hand bass I thought it was time. I put my trio together to do a cover of Fourplay's "Bali Run". Lots of fun.
BTW:
Jake - Nord Electro 4
Lefty - Squier 60's Jazz Fretless
Buddy - Drums
Jake
BTW:
Jake - Nord Electro 4
Lefty - Squier 60's Jazz Fretless
Buddy - Drums
Jake
I know this is kind of an old post, but I thought this review could serve others who are wanting info about others experience with this is bass (here's my two cents): I just bought this bass a couple of weeks ago after much digging around for reviews, some videos, checking out the specs, and my experience with previously owning a fretted Classic Vibe J-bass years ago (I let it go because at the time I even-traded it with a friend for an American-made Ernie Ball SUB 5-string). To me the bass looked beautiful right out of the box. All the hardware looked and felt good, and functioned perfectly (tuners felt nice and smooth - bass stays in tune nicely, too). The stock J-pickups sounded nice and balanced - not too boomy, not too glassy; had just the right amount of all the frequencies you would expect from passive J-pickups, and their output was pretty decent, too (can't stand pickups where you have crank the hell out of your amp for your bass to have any tone). It reproduces that Jaco-fretless tone nicely as well as your standard two-pickup full-on J-bass tone. The neck pickup soloed can definitely reproduce that P-bass sounding bark, too. The only area where this bass falls short is the setup from the factory, but it's really not too surprising for a bass in this price range. One should expect a not-so-perfect setup and have to bring it to an expert who knows how to set up a bass (extra cost added to the overall price of the instrument). Luckily, all the issues my Classic Vibe fretless had were very correctable. For some reason a shim made out of sandpaper was put in the neck joint (neck wasn't sitting right in the joint causing the strings to not to sit correctly over the pickup pole pieces). The fingerboard badly needed leveling due to small humps and very uneven fret line markers (some of the edges for those fret markers were sticking out, too, like bad frets). Good thing is after bringing it to a trusted tech, he removed the shim (neck was perfectly in it's neck pocket and strings lined perfectly over the pickups), leveled the fingerboard to make nice and even, rounded off the edges of the fingerboard so they weren't sharp after the leveling, set it all up (intonation and neck relief)...$120 later the bass was immaculate!! The only other mod I did was to swap out the bridge for a heavier one. Other than, the bass is stock and now it looks, sounds very good, decent sustain, and plays great. Take-away here is "if you buy a Squier, add $100 to $150 to price for a setup".
I am going to have to take mine to a tech. I leveled my fretboard myself, but past the 15th fret, it annoys the heck out of me with business and choked notes if I don't baby it.
I like Squiers but it looks too "clownburst vibe" to me!
IMHO clownburst refers to a burst where the individual colors are too vivid vs. one that is more finely blended, thus being generally more aesthetically pleasing. I'm with Doc on this one but like was said, we are entitled to our tastes !
I have a Squier J Bass with Indian Laurel. When you oil the fingerboard (I used the Fender Fingerboard Remedy on this one, but I've used linseed oil on fingerboards in the past), the wood really drinks it up and it darkens to the point of really resembling rosewood. I don't have a thing against Indian Laurel, and I like it better than Pau Ferro. Given the trouble I've had with the Fender Player Series Fretless, I'm seriously considering one of these Squier fretlesses. I've heard that some people have had trouble with the necks, so I'm waiting to pull the trigger on it.
I just picked up one of these from a local shop. My 13 year old started playing bass a few months ago (also plays trombone and mandolin) and the other night he told me he had been researching Jazz basses online. I took him out yesterday and we made the rounds to multiple shops, playing various MIM and Japanese Fenders, Squiers, and a Music Man Sterling StingRay, which was the hands down winner of the day until we saw this (Squier Classic Vibe 60s Jazz). My son was actually happier that it was fretless, and it sings and barks like a Jazz Bass should.
Honestly, I was amazed by the quality and sound. It has a set of D'Addario XL rounds and a great setup, so from the first note it felt and sounded great. I didn't ask them whether it was new or used (not marked as either), but the only thing missing was the pickup stickers, so I figure maybe it was a quick return, because it looks brand new. The neck did look unappealing to me (too light and stripey), but a good rub with oil darkened it right up when we got home. We'll just oil it now and then until it stays that way.
I've owned and played a lot of basses over 40 years, but never felt drawn toward a fretless (that wasn't a doghouse). If your budget can handle the higher priced Fenders or clones, then obviously you might prefer one. But I wouldn't hesitate to use this bass (if my son lets me!) for any performance or session where I thought a fretless might do the trick.
Honestly, I was amazed by the quality and sound. It has a set of D'Addario XL rounds and a great setup, so from the first note it felt and sounded great. I didn't ask them whether it was new or used (not marked as either), but the only thing missing was the pickup stickers, so I figure maybe it was a quick return, because it looks brand new. The neck did look unappealing to me (too light and stripey), but a good rub with oil darkened it right up when we got home. We'll just oil it now and then until it stays that way.
I've owned and played a lot of basses over 40 years, but never felt drawn toward a fretless (that wasn't a doghouse). If your budget can handle the higher priced Fenders or clones, then obviously you might prefer one. But I wouldn't hesitate to use this bass (if my son lets me!) for any performance or session where I thought a fretless might do the trick.
I'd put flatwounds on it before the roundwounds chew grooves in the fingerboard.I just picked up one of these from a local shop. My 13 year old started playing bass a few months ago (also plays trombone and mandolin) and the other night he told me he had been researching Jazz basses online. I took him out yesterday and we made the rounds to multiple shops, playing various MIM and Japanese Fenders, Squiers, and a Music Man Sterling StingRay, which was the hands down winner of the day until we saw this (Squier Classic Vibe 60s Jazz). My son was actually happier that it was fretless, and it sings and barks like a Jazz Bass should.
Honestly, I was amazed by the quality and sound. It has a set of D'Addario XL rounds and a great setup, so from the first note it felt and sounded great. I didn't ask them whether it was new or used (not marked as either), but the only thing missing was the pickup stickers, so I figure maybe it was a quick return, because it looks brand new. The neck did look unappealing to me (too light and stripey), but a good rub with oil darkened it right up when we got home. We'll just oil it now and then until it stays that way.
I've owned and played a lot of basses over 40 years, but never felt drawn toward a fretless (that wasn't a doghouse). If your budget can handle the higher priced Fenders or clones, then obviously you might prefer one. But I wouldn't hesitate to use this bass (if my son lets me!) for any performance or session where I thought a fretless might do the trick.
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