Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Squier Vintage Modified Fretless Jazz Bass
- Thread starter whero
- Start date
I got a VM a couple of months ago and have been quite impressed. I'm enjoying it way more than I expected. Also, to be honest, for me it's really nice not having to worry about a bass taking some knocks. With a my wife/child/four dogs and cats in the house, it is going to happen unless the bass is in it's case 100% of the time. With the VM, I get the luxury of being comfortable leaving it on a floor stand or sitting it on the couch, etc., so I get to keep a bass near me pretty much 'round the clock , and that' worth a lot to me! It also means the VM gets more playing time than any of my other basses.
bought same bass new 2 years after introduction of Squier Vintage Modified Fretless Jazz Bass
ebanol fretboard was a challenge to find the right string for my use
today that same bass has Dimarzio J Pups and flat wound strings
this works as my go-to-bass for acoustic music
ebanol fretboard was a challenge to find the right string for my use
today that same bass has Dimarzio J Pups and flat wound strings
this works as my go-to-bass for acoustic music
Well, thanks to everyone for the replies - very much appreciated.
A decent honest spread of comments from those who love it and those who've had problems. I'm not expecting it to be a great instrument, but I'm hoping it'll be good enough to develop some fretless skills without laying out a lot of money in case I end up not liking it (or not being any good).
I'm going to check it out in person on the weekend.
A decent honest spread of comments from those who love it and those who've had problems. I'm not expecting it to be a great instrument, but I'm hoping it'll be good enough to develop some fretless skills without laying out a lot of money in case I end up not liking it (or not being any good).
I'm going to check it out in person on the weekend.
I bought the current model new this year (so not the same pickups). Feels nice to play. Sounds nice. I haven't changed the factory-fitted roundwound strings (don't know what they are), but they're OK.
I think the sunburst looks better in person, not as bright, so I haven't felt a need to cover it with a pickguard. (Note it doesn't have holes for pickguard screws.)
I think the sunburst looks better in person, not as bright, so I haven't felt a need to cover it with a pickguard. (Note it doesn't have holes for pickguard screws.)
Those old ones are a great deal at the right price. I had no problem with keeping the ebonol fingerboard at the proper relief, and I live in Ontario, Canada. We have wild seasonal swings in temperature and humidity that challenge poorly-seasoned necks.
It's also a great platform for cheap, effective mods.
One of the most cost-effective things I did to mine, was to swap in better string saddles. The stock saddles on recent VM's are machined from billet, and there's little or no improvement to be found by changing them. But those original, SD-equpped basses have cast pot-metal saddles.
Swapping in a set of Allparts steel "threaded" vintage saddles (or some used Am Standards, or whatever you can find used for cheap) will increase sustain and give a little more detail. Not just placebo effect, but an actual, audible difference that I could hear in before-and-after recorded samples. The only thing you have to do to make US saddles fit, is to open up the holes in the baseplate a fraction of an inch, to make room for the beefier intonation screws. You don't even need to pull the baseplate in order to do this!
Another cost-effective mod (you can't beat free), was to adjust the little spring-steel shims that tension the tuners to reduce the slop. Half an hour with a small screwdriver and some needle-nose pliers, gets the stock ones feeling just as good as Am Standard tuners, at no cost to you other than your time.
You do sometimes have to be careful about replacement pickups on Squiers, due to the length variations between US, Mexi and offshore Jazz pickup patterns. This has all been extensively documented over on the Squier modification threads.
Speaking of which, the other mod I did to mine, was the Dimarzio Area J noiseless pickup set. The bundled pair is stupid cheap compared to most Duncans, Fralins, etc.
Obviously, people vary in terms of what sort of Jazz bass tone they prefer. That said, I flat out LOVED the tone I got from this bass after the Area J swap. The reduction in noise was helpful, too.
There were two reasons why I let mine go:
- I have an on and off, love/hate relationship with fretless
- I'm a 5-string player who occasionally dabbles in 4-string instruments. The minute I see a good deal on a five string, I tend to sell my 4-bangers to finance the deal.
That said, my friends were fighting over who would get the VM fretless. It has been since used on a number of recording sessions, and I still occasionally try to buy it back from the lucky S.O.B. who ended up with it.
It's also a great platform for cheap, effective mods.
One of the most cost-effective things I did to mine, was to swap in better string saddles. The stock saddles on recent VM's are machined from billet, and there's little or no improvement to be found by changing them. But those original, SD-equpped basses have cast pot-metal saddles.
Swapping in a set of Allparts steel "threaded" vintage saddles (or some used Am Standards, or whatever you can find used for cheap) will increase sustain and give a little more detail. Not just placebo effect, but an actual, audible difference that I could hear in before-and-after recorded samples. The only thing you have to do to make US saddles fit, is to open up the holes in the baseplate a fraction of an inch, to make room for the beefier intonation screws. You don't even need to pull the baseplate in order to do this!
Another cost-effective mod (you can't beat free), was to adjust the little spring-steel shims that tension the tuners to reduce the slop. Half an hour with a small screwdriver and some needle-nose pliers, gets the stock ones feeling just as good as Am Standard tuners, at no cost to you other than your time.
You do sometimes have to be careful about replacement pickups on Squiers, due to the length variations between US, Mexi and offshore Jazz pickup patterns. This has all been extensively documented over on the Squier modification threads.
Speaking of which, the other mod I did to mine, was the Dimarzio Area J noiseless pickup set. The bundled pair is stupid cheap compared to most Duncans, Fralins, etc.
Obviously, people vary in terms of what sort of Jazz bass tone they prefer. That said, I flat out LOVED the tone I got from this bass after the Area J swap. The reduction in noise was helpful, too.
There were two reasons why I let mine go:
- I have an on and off, love/hate relationship with fretless
- I'm a 5-string player who occasionally dabbles in 4-string instruments. The minute I see a good deal on a five string, I tend to sell my 4-bangers to finance the deal.
That said, my friends were fighting over who would get the VM fretless. It has been since used on a number of recording sessions, and I still occasionally try to buy it back from the lucky S.O.B. who ended up with it.
Hey, thanks for all that @steve_rolfeca.
If I do pick it up this weekend I think it'll be a while before I do any mods. The plan will be to work on learning to play a fretless first. I imagine it'll be some time before I'm confident enough to gig it, but I'm sure I'll want to start "improving" it after playing it a bit.
If I do pick it up this weekend I think it'll be a while before I do any mods. The plan will be to work on learning to play a fretless first. I imagine it'll be some time before I'm confident enough to gig it, but I'm sure I'll want to start "improving" it after playing it a bit.
Unless you don't like the sound of the pickups the only improvements it might need are:
- scratch plate is you prefer the look
- new knobs if you like a different look
- lower the nut slots to taste
- neck sanding if it has line sprout
- additional fingerboard levelling if required (applies to any fretless)
The tuners, bridge, etc., are perfectly adequate. Otherwise it's minor stuff.
