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Squier to Fender Upgrade - Worth It?

neutron619

neutron619

Jul 12, 2019
121
261
United Kingdom
#1
Hello Chaps,

Please forgive me if I start with some context:

I have a "big" birthday coming up next year and it's been suggested by family members that if there was a "big" present I wanted to ask for, so that everyone could gang together and get me something special, that that would be "advisable" :)D). But - they need some notice, hence it being mentioned now.

This coincides with a couple of other things going on in life currently.

One is, I've been having a bit of "brand-envy" since the start of the year. Last Christmas was apparently very kind to my church band bandmates and everyone now seems to turn up with superb, expensive instruments from Fender, Gibson, Taylor etc. My current collection includes nothing that cost more than about £400 new.

The other is that, presumably because I've been working hard at (re-)learning bass for the last 4 years or so (see here if interested: Picked up a bass again after 22 years...), I feel I've actually reached a place where I'm confident in my ability to play, perform, hold down a groove and so on. People are starting to comment on how good my playing is (without prompting!) and I'm starting to take more of a lead in the band simply because bandmates are asking my opinion more, using my suggestions etc. Although I was already a capable musician in other areas (singing, organ, piano, music theory) I think they've "noticed my progress", if I can put it that way. I'm now refining, rather than learning technique.

So, although I haven't decided whether I should cross my fingers for a new bass or ask for something completely different (other interests, etc.) I am starting to do a little preliminary research to see what's possible.

What I have:
95% of the time, I'm playing one or other of two basses. One is an Ibanez SR405-EMQM. It's like my "do everything, versatile" bass. It's beautiful, the neck is amazing and it's really comfortable to play. I'm very happy with it and it's not the subject of this post, but I mention it so you can see that I've got "modern bass" covered.

The other bass that I'm playing is my Squier Vintage Modified 5-string J-Bass. This was my first instrument; I always wanted a 5-string J, even back when I was 11 or 12 years old. (I just thought they were soooo cool!) I'm quite fond of it now, although, looking back, it did take me a long while to get it to produce the sound I was after. It's the one with the natural, all maple body / neck. It now wears D'Addario Pro Steels (EPS-165-5) and has had a cap switch and a series-parallel switch added to give it a little extra tonal versatility. The best bit is that my youngest daughter always turns up and dances when I slap on it - she likes the sound at least as much as I do!

What I (might) want(?):
I think I might want to upgrade from the aforementioned to an equivalent Fender J-bass. I like the look of the Player Plus Jazz Bass V (see: Fender Ultra Jazz Bass : How I purchased a LEMON) as it's available with a maple neck and seems to be sensibly priced. It would have to wear steel roundwounds of some kind to give that slappy, spanky tone. But as you can tell - I'm very unsure.

I've doing quite a lot of reading here to try and sort out some of the disparate thoughts I've had on that subject. Some of these include:
  • "Now I'm playing at a decent standard, I can justify having an expensive guitar..."
  • "A Fender should be even more comfortable and easy to play than a Squier..."
  • "A Fender is just a Squier with a different badge on the headstock. I've just got brand-envy..."
  • [Response to the above] "But I play my basses almost every day - it's OK to have nice things, even if I am just paying for the name..."
  • "Steel strings may ruin that Squier yet - do I really want to ruin an instrument 3x more expensive...?"
  • "Am I really good enough to justify buying a "professional" instrument?
  • "Would I have to get rid of the Squier if I owned a Fender?"
  • "If I'm happy with the tone of the current bass, why do I want [need] another?"
And so on.

I've also been searching the forums for information about these basses. Some of it has shown a worrying lack of QA on various Fenders recently, e.g.:
Fender Am. Prof. II Precision vs Player Precision
Should I modify my Squier or upgrade to another bass?

Other posts have reminded me that the upgrades I did to the Squier did get me the tonal colours I wanted and that the VM series basses were unusually good (and said by some to be as good as the cheaper "Fender" branded basses), e.g.:
Is MIM Fender p bass just a “better” Squier
Picked up a bass again after 22 years...

Mostly, I don't want to ask my family to contribute to a bass that doesn't give me something over and above the bass I have already. I think that a label on a headstock by itself isn't enough. Maybe ease of playing would be enough, but the Squier has been professionaly set up and plays well. Maybe having an active J-bass would be fun in the way that the Ibanez is fun. I don't know.

Can anyone help me tease out some good sense from all of the thoughts above? It'll be much appreciated if so.

Thanks in advance,

Adam.
 
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#4
Snakeman1066 said:
Are we talking MIM Fender, MIA Fender or MIJ/CIJ Fender?
Click to expand...

Honestly - I don't know. My current take on all those acronyms is that the differences must be even more subtle than the Squier / Fender differences and I don't really understand them or their significance.

What I can say is that the green "Player Plus" fiver with the maple neck (link above) caught my eye and I started wondering / lusting / NBD-ing.
 
#5
jd56hawk said:
When I wanted a Jazz bass, I bought this...could've gone Fender USA, but didn't.
It was the right move.
Click to expand...

It sounds like money wouldn't have been an object. Would you mind talking a bit about your motivation for going with the Squier in that instance? What made you prefer that over the Fenders? What was it about the Fenders that you didn't find - 6 or 7 times - suited your needs that the pictured basses did?
 
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#6
Please don't do it just because of brand envy. I've learned that looking at a name on a headstock won't directly lead you to a bass that you will click with.

Go to a shop near you and try some basses out, would be my advice. I'm looking for a Mustang-type bass myself and I've noticed that something like feel can be all over the place. Yesterday I played a killer Fender Mustang PJ, which left another Squier Classic Vibe Mustang Bass in it's dust. But a while ago I visited another shop that had two Mustang PJs, and both of those definitely felt worse to me than the dirt cheap Squier Bronco next to them.
 
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#7
neutron619 said:
Honestly - I don't know. My current take on all those acronyms is that the differences must be even more subtle than the Squier / Fender differences and I don't really understand them or their significance.

What I can say is that the green "Player Plus" fiver with the maple neck (link above) caught my eye and I started wondering / lusting / NBD-ing.
Click to expand...

MIM = Made in Mexico
MIA = Made in America
MIJ/CIJ = Made in Japan or Crafted in Japan

Player Plus series are made in Mexico with upgraded electronics...IMHO they are not worth the price tags
that particular model has a 12" radius which I'm not overly fond of...

My best advice is to go into a physical store and try everything you can get your hands on...

In my 40 plus years of playing experience the MIJ/CIJ Fenders blow all of the others out of the water in terms of quality, fit and finish...
 
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#8
In general:

The more you spend, the better the workmanship and materials.

The less the bass will bark like a dog.

But plenty of people regularly gigging Squiers.

I think it's worth the extra money. But I've owned my two basses for 37 and 22 years.

In short, there is no easy answer. Best to go out and try for yourself.
 
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#10
neutron619 said:
It sounds like money wouldn't have been an object. Would you mind talking a bit about your motivation for going with the Squier in that instance? What made you prefer that over the Fenders? What was it about the Fenders that you didn't find - 6 or 7 times - suited your needs that the pictured basses did?
Click to expand...
Bought a Crafted In China Classic Vibe Jazz in Inca Silver eight years ago with the intent of installing a set of Lace Sensor Man O War pickups, but the bass sounded so good I never did the mod. The bass was damaged in a fire maybe a year later and I sold it.
When I saw the one in the pic for sale in September 2021, I jumped on it, even though it was more expensive than a new Squier CV.
It feels like a Fender, sounds like a Fender, but it also looks better than an MIM...the fretboard is so nice, they were still using rosewood in 2015 and it's a very good example of how good rosewood can look.
Nothing wrong with the Fender or Squier Jazz basses I've owned before this one, but they were just missing that unidentifiable character that this bass has.
 
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#12
Yea you’ll have to try some then decide, there were/are some very good VM’s and the same goes for “Crafted In China” Classic Vibes like @jd56hawk ‘s first pic.

I wouldn’t trade my CIC Classic Vibes or my Vintage Modified for a Fender MIM bass, they are really just stellar players.

Bought a new CIC CV J (2012) but I did hunt around a bit for my 2nd CV P bass (although most all were stellar players).

I would reiterate you should really play a few if at all possible, it’s very likely you could find a MIM as solid as a Squier CV.
D29905AF-F529-4866-B86A-B21BAF6FB5EB.jpeg

Edit: Wait, just re-read your post and seems you are looking for an Active 5 sorry about that…same advice though… you really have to try a few then decide.
 
Last edited:
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#16
neutron619 said:
Hello Chaps,

Please forgive me if I start with some context:

I have a "big" birthday coming up next year and it's been suggested by family members that if there was a "big" present I wanted to ask for, so that everyone could gang together and get me something special, that that would be "advisable" :)D). But - they need some notice, hence it being mentioned now.

This coincides with a couple of other things going on in life currently.

One is, I've been having a bit of "brand-envy" since the start of the year. Last Christmas was apparently very kind to my church band bandmates and everyone now seems to turn up with superb, expensive instruments from Fender, Gibson, Taylor etc. My current collection includes nothing that cost more than about £400 new.

The other is that, presumably because I've been working hard at (re-)learning bass for the last 4 years or so (see here if interested: Picked up a bass again after 22 years...), I feel I've actually reached a place where I'm confident in my ability to play, perform, hold down a groove and so on. People are starting to comment on how good my playing is (without prompting!) and I'm starting to take more of a lead in the band simply because bandmates are asking my opinion more, using my suggestions etc. Although I was already a capable musician in other areas (singing, organ, piano, music theory) I think they've "noticed my progress", if I can put it that way. I'm now refining, rather than learning technique.

So, although I haven't decided whether I should cross my fingers for a new bass or ask for something completely different (other interests, etc.) I am starting to do a little preliminary research to see what's possible.

What I have:
95% of the time, I'm playing one or other of two basses. One is an Ibanez SR405-EMQM. It's like my "do everything, versatile" bass. It's beautiful, the neck is amazing and it's really comfortable to play. I'm very happy with it and it's not the subject of this post, but I mention it so you can see that I've got "modern bass" covered.

The other bass that I'm playing is my Squier Vintage Modified 5-string J-Bass. This was my first instrument; I always wanted a 5-string J, even back when I was 11 or 12 years old. (I just thought they were soooo cool!) I'm quite fond of it now, although, looking back, it did take me a long while to get it to produce the sound I was after. It's the one with the natural, all maple body / neck. It now wears D'Addario Pro Steels (EPS-165-5) and has had a cap switch and a series-parallel switch added to give it a little extra tonal versatility. The best bit is that my youngest daughter always turns up and dances when I slap on it - she likes the sound at least as much as I do!

What I (might) want(?):
I think I might want to upgrade from the aforementioned to an equivalent Fender J-bass. I like the look of the Player Plus Jazz Bass V (see: Fender Ultra Jazz Bass : How I purchased a LEMON) as it's available with a maple neck and seems to be sensibly priced. It would have to wear steel roundwounds of some kind to give that slappy, spanky tone. But as you can tell - I'm very unsure.

I've doing quite a lot of reading here to try and sort out some of the disparate thoughts I've had on that subject. Some of these include:
  • "Now I'm playing at a decent standard, I can justify having an expensive guitar..."
  • "A Fender should be even more comfortable and easy to play than a Squier..."
  • "A Fender is just a Squier with a different badge on the headstock. I've just got brand-envy..."
  • [Response to the above] "But I play my basses almost every day - it's OK to have nice things, even if I am just paying for the name..."
  • "Steel strings may ruin that Squier yet - do I really want to ruin an instrument 3x more expensive...?"
  • "Am I really good enough to justify buying a "professional" instrument?
  • "Would I have to get rid of the Squier if I owned a Fender?"
  • "If I'm happy with the tone of the current bass, why do I want [need] another?"
And so on.

I've also been searching the forums for information about these basses. Some of it has shown a worrying lack of QA on various Fenders recently, e.g.:
Fender Am. Prof. II Precision vs Player Precision
Should I modify my Squier or upgrade to another bass?

Other posts have reminded me that the upgrades I did to the Squier did get me the tonal colours I wanted and that the VM series basses were unusually good (and said by some to be as good as the cheaper "Fender" branded basses), e.g.:
Is MIM Fender p bass just a “better” Squier
Picked up a bass again after 22 years...

Mostly, I don't want to ask my family to contribute to a bass that doesn't give me something over and above the bass I have already. I think that a label on a headstock by itself isn't enough. Maybe ease of playing would be enough, but the Squier has been professionaly set up and plays well. Maybe having an active J-bass would be fun in the way that the Ibanez is fun. I don't know.

Can anyone help me tease out some good sense from all of the thoughts above? It'll be much appreciated if so.

Thanks in advance,

Adam.
Click to expand...
From a Squier to a Fender, no. It's much more worth it to just upgrade the hardware on the Squier.

From a passive Squier to an active Fender, depends on whether you want active electronics.

I'd just by some pickups and a John East pre though.
 
#17
neutron619 said:
Hello Chaps,

Please forgive me if I start with some context:

I have a "big" birthday coming up next year and it's been suggested by family members that if there was a "big" present I wanted to ask for, so that everyone could gang together and get me something special, that that would be "advisable" :)D). But - they need some notice, hence it being mentioned now.

This coincides with a couple of other things going on in life currently.

One is, I've been having a bit of "brand-envy" since the start of the year. Last Christmas was apparently very kind to my church band bandmates and everyone now seems to turn up with superb, expensive instruments from Fender, Gibson, Taylor etc. My current collection includes nothing that cost more than about £400 new.

The other is that, presumably because I've been working hard at (re-)learning bass for the last 4 years or so (see here if interested: Picked up a bass again after 22 years...), I feel I've actually reached a place where I'm confident in my ability to play, perform, hold down a groove and so on. People are starting to comment on how good my playing is (without prompting!) and I'm starting to take more of a lead in the band simply because bandmates are asking my opinion more, using my suggestions etc. Although I was already a capable musician in other areas (singing, organ, piano, music theory) I think they've "noticed my progress", if I can put it that way. I'm now refining, rather than learning technique.

So, although I haven't decided whether I should cross my fingers for a new bass or ask for something completely different (other interests, etc.) I am starting to do a little preliminary research to see what's possible.

What I have:
95% of the time, I'm playing one or other of two basses. One is an Ibanez SR405-EMQM. It's like my "do everything, versatile" bass. It's beautiful, the neck is amazing and it's really comfortable to play. I'm very happy with it and it's not the subject of this post, but I mention it so you can see that I've got "modern bass" covered.

The other bass that I'm playing is my Squier Vintage Modified 5-string J-Bass. This was my first instrument; I always wanted a 5-string J, even back when I was 11 or 12 years old. (I just thought they were soooo cool!) I'm quite fond of it now, although, looking back, it did take me a long while to get it to produce the sound I was after. It's the one with the natural, all maple body / neck. It now wears D'Addario Pro Steels (EPS-165-5) and has had a cap switch and a series-parallel switch added to give it a little extra tonal versatility. The best bit is that my youngest daughter always turns up and dances when I slap on it - she likes the sound at least as much as I do!

What I (might) want(?):
I think I might want to upgrade from the aforementioned to an equivalent Fender J-bass. I like the look of the Player Plus Jazz Bass V (see: Fender Ultra Jazz Bass : How I purchased a LEMON) as it's available with a maple neck and seems to be sensibly priced. It would have to wear steel roundwounds of some kind to give that slappy, spanky tone. But as you can tell - I'm very unsure.

I've doing quite a lot of reading here to try and sort out some of the disparate thoughts I've had on that subject. Some of these include:
  • "Now I'm playing at a decent standard, I can justify having an expensive guitar..."
  • "A Fender should be even more comfortable and easy to play than a Squier..."
  • "A Fender is just a Squier with a different badge on the headstock. I've just got brand-envy..."
  • [Response to the above] "But I play my basses almost every day - it's OK to have nice things, even if I am just paying for the name..."
  • "Steel strings may ruin that Squier yet - do I really want to ruin an instrument 3x more expensive...?"
  • "Am I really good enough to justify buying a "professional" instrument?
  • "Would I have to get rid of the Squier if I owned a Fender?"
  • "If I'm happy with the tone of the current bass, why do I want [need] another?"
And so on.

I've also been searching the forums for information about these basses. Some of it has shown a worrying lack of QA on various Fenders recently, e.g.:
Fender Am. Prof. II Precision vs Player Precision
Should I modify my Squier or upgrade to another bass?

Other posts have reminded me that the upgrades I did to the Squier did get me the tonal colours I wanted and that the VM series basses were unusually good (and said by some to be as good as the cheaper "Fender" branded basses), e.g.:
Is MIM Fender p bass just a “better” Squier
Picked up a bass again after 22 years...

Mostly, I don't want to ask my family to contribute to a bass that doesn't give me something over and above the bass I have already. I think that a label on a headstock by itself isn't enough. Maybe ease of playing would be enough, but the Squier has been professionaly set up and plays well. Maybe having an active J-bass would be fun in the way that the Ibanez is fun. I don't know.

Can anyone help me tease out some good sense from all of the thoughts above? It'll be much appreciated if so.

Thanks in advance,

Adam.
Click to expand...
I just picked up a Fender American Professional II Precision last November, it is an absolutely beautifully made and sounding bass. I’m sure duds exist but most I’ve picked up have been great, the one I purchased is exceptional.
End of the day you need to know your budget and try as many as possible until you find “the one”, it’s out there waiting.
That said, your Squier may very well be “the one”, don’t get hung up on a logo.
Only you’ll know what’s right for you.
 
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#19
The difference between your bass and a MIM Fender is a marginal upgrade - you run the risk of having your folks buy you something fairly expensive, and having to act thrilled...when you're not. The biggest step in the line of Fenders/Squiers is when you get into a MIA instrument, you get a graphite reinforced neck - they're a bit more solid feeling, and less likely to warp/twist. Everything else on the instrument besides the neck is a relatively easy (and cheaper) thing to change than the neck - it's is really all about the neck. I wouldn't move from one J to another without thinking about that.

And absolutely, you have 2 good basses - don't have someone buy you anything you haven't played, and fallen in love with. Your 3rd bass should not be something you pick out of a catalog - it should be an instrument you have bonded with in person. Go place, try basses (hey that's a rhyme). Don't settle for something that's "OK" - you already have 2 good basses. The 3rd should be spectacular.
 
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