Somewhere around 2013, Squier switched from the "Duncan Designed" pickups to "Fender Designed", which bear no markings.
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Squier Vintage Modified Jazz 5er????
- Thread starter natw42
- Start date
Somewhere around 2013, Squier switched from the "Duncan Designed" pickups to "Fender Designed", which bear no markings.
Hey all you VM 5 Jazz users!
Here's one for ya - I'd really like to upgrade the pots on this bass, easy suggestions?
and -- could anyone tell me which other brand pickups would drop in here easily? I'd really like to get some more "punch" outta this guy....
Thank You!
P.S. ---- I'm still picking this bass up over my Lakland right now, which freaks me out!
Here's one for ya - I'd really like to upgrade the pots on this bass, easy suggestions?
and -- could anyone tell me which other brand pickups would drop in here easily? I'd really like to get some more "punch" outta this guy....
Thank You!
P.S. ---- I'm still picking this bass up over my Lakland right now, which freaks me out!
Just replace the pots with good ones...250k CTS or Alpha...
Any pickups designed for Fender Std. Jazz V (long and short pickups) will fit.
Which pickups do you have BTW? The older SD-design or the newer Fender design?
I have the Fender pickups in mine, and I actually quite like them. They have a fantastic vintage-sounding sizzle to them, especially the neck pickup.
I have been on the fence about replacing them as well, but really the only pickups I think I would put in this bass are the SD Quarter Pound JV's. They are hot and punchy, with a lot of growl....which is what I like.
I have another Jazz V with the QP neck pickup in it (and MM bridge pickup), and that QP in the neck is killer.
They're the Fender design. I certainly have considered the QP'ders. but i've also thought about Aguilar as well!
Thank You!
I suppose comparing the two pickups...QP and the Fender pickups in the VMJV....the QP's have more growl, more low-end punch and more output. The Fenders have more midrange sizzle and are very bright. I like them both for what they offer, but I just can't decide on which I would want in this bass in the long-term...
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That IS a very tough call, maybe I shouldn't try so hard, to fix, what isn't broken!
D
So... I needed a cheap 5 string for a studio project (I haven't actually owned a 5 string bass for almost two decades). I decided on the VM Jazz V. Mostly because the price was right. Ordered it unseen. Natural finish. It turned out to be kinda quilted!
Really beautiful if you're into that kind of thing, huge disappointment if you wanted the natural finish 70s vibe. And I think most people going for this bass with the natural finish and black block inlays would want that 70s vibe, not something half-way into coffee table territory! I'm not sure what happened at the Squire factory there... I guess it looks more "expensive" with the quilted look but it really says something about Squire's QC. Beautiful as it is, it should never have left the factory as a "natural finish" J-bass. It doesn't look anything remotely like any pictures I've seen of this model. The color even has a slightly more reddish glow to it, due to the darker areas of the wood pattern.
The neck/body/hardware was more or less as expected. A couple of rusty frets. And worse, a couple of BUZZING frets when I tried lowering the action. Not TOO bad though, I got it more or less where I wanted it to be. Pretty decent for the price but perhaps slightly below what I've come to expect from Squier. All my other Squiers are Classic Vibe though. The neck felt a bit uncomfortable but it's been a while since I've regularly played a 5-string so that's probably to be expected. I'm used to rather wide necks though as my main instrument for the last 10 years or so has been an AVRI '57 Precision.
The B-string wasn't particularly good to be honest. Very floppy. A bit better when I changed the stock .125 for a .135. But not a lot of sustain on the 1st to 3rd frets. It's not horrible, works great for what I needed (aggressive grooves rather than smooth sustained notes) but I would consider something else if long sustained lower notes are required.
But then comes the best part: The pickups! Or I should probably say pickuP. I'm really a P-bass guy so I only use the neck pickup on J-basses. I can't stand the sound of a J-bass bridge pickup, solo'ed or blended, so I can't possibly comment on them. They all sound horrible to me! Everything written below is about the neck pickup ONLY!
And what a neck pickup, WOW! This is the dirtiest and most aggressive sounding J neck pickup I've ever heard! And I've owned quite a few over the years. I absolutely LOVE it! This is the newer "Fender designed" pickup, not the older "Duncan Designed". I read a few comments that the FDs are bright (and also that the older DDs are dull...). Well, this FD neck pickup is certainly not in the smooth cathegory! But I'm not sure I would call it extraordinarily bright either. But then my favourite pickup is the '57-style P so I guess my preferences are towards the forward/aggressive side of things. I guess it depends on what you compare it to. It's certainly not bright compared to say a Stingray. But as far as J-bass neck pickups go... yeah, definitely on the aggressive side of things. Actually, it's not that far from my AVRI '57 P. But it's dirtier. A LOT dirtier when digging in!
I've been buying and selling a lot of J-basses over the years. I always end up selling them because I miss the lower mid punch of a great P-bass. But this one... It's got a lower mid punch that I can't remember EVER hearing from a J-bass before. And it's pretty tight too, not the muddy mess that some cheap basses deliver in the low mids (hello Ray4
). I was really surprised at this. So much that I took it to my studio and did a comparison with my AVRI '57 P. The neck pickup on this cheap Squier J-bass actually sounded fatter than the P when listening to the basses solo'ed. Now there's something I've never heard from a J before! Admittedly the '57 still fit slightly better into dense mixes but they had a surprisingly similar tone. But the J was considerably dirtier when digging in. This Jazz neck pickup is without question the closest I've heard to a (57) P-bass ever. It's not even remotely close to any other Jazz neck pickup I've ever heard. Or perhaps mine is just incredibly out of spec, like the finish?????
I'm extremely surprised that I liked this pickup so much. On EVERY other Squier I've owned the pickups have been the weakest link by far. In fact, I've changed the pickups on ALL of my Squiers except this one. It got to a point where I almost did it by default, just assuming they were crap. But this one will stay! The rest of the instrument is average at best but I absolutely LOVE the (neck) pickup! I'm seriously considering getting a used Fender 5-string and put these Squiers pickups into it! And then I can sell the Squier with "upgraded" pickups.
The bass is really quiet with the neck pickup solo'ed by the way. No issues with noise whatsoever in a studio environment as long as I take reasonable care. I haven't tried it on stage though (and probably never will because with the projects I'm involved in I would probably be laughed off the stage if I showed up with a quilted maple 5-string...
).
Even with all it's issues and quirks, I LOVE this bass. It's not perfect but it's incredibly FUN to play. And that's what it's all about, isn't it? Probably the first J-bass I'm not gonna sell. At least not for a while.
(Plus it's great to see some weirdness in the Squire range again, they were almost getting boring with all the excellent CVs
)
Really beautiful if you're into that kind of thing, huge disappointment if you wanted the natural finish 70s vibe. And I think most people going for this bass with the natural finish and black block inlays would want that 70s vibe, not something half-way into coffee table territory! I'm not sure what happened at the Squire factory there... I guess it looks more "expensive" with the quilted look but it really says something about Squire's QC. Beautiful as it is, it should never have left the factory as a "natural finish" J-bass. It doesn't look anything remotely like any pictures I've seen of this model. The color even has a slightly more reddish glow to it, due to the darker areas of the wood pattern.The neck/body/hardware was more or less as expected. A couple of rusty frets. And worse, a couple of BUZZING frets when I tried lowering the action. Not TOO bad though, I got it more or less where I wanted it to be. Pretty decent for the price but perhaps slightly below what I've come to expect from Squier. All my other Squiers are Classic Vibe though. The neck felt a bit uncomfortable but it's been a while since I've regularly played a 5-string so that's probably to be expected. I'm used to rather wide necks though as my main instrument for the last 10 years or so has been an AVRI '57 Precision.
The B-string wasn't particularly good to be honest. Very floppy. A bit better when I changed the stock .125 for a .135. But not a lot of sustain on the 1st to 3rd frets. It's not horrible, works great for what I needed (aggressive grooves rather than smooth sustained notes) but I would consider something else if long sustained lower notes are required.
But then comes the best part: The pickups! Or I should probably say pickuP. I'm really a P-bass guy so I only use the neck pickup on J-basses. I can't stand the sound of a J-bass bridge pickup, solo'ed or blended, so I can't possibly comment on them. They all sound horrible to me! Everything written below is about the neck pickup ONLY!
And what a neck pickup, WOW! This is the dirtiest and most aggressive sounding J neck pickup I've ever heard! And I've owned quite a few over the years. I absolutely LOVE it! This is the newer "Fender designed" pickup, not the older "Duncan Designed". I read a few comments that the FDs are bright (and also that the older DDs are dull...). Well, this FD neck pickup is certainly not in the smooth cathegory! But I'm not sure I would call it extraordinarily bright either. But then my favourite pickup is the '57-style P so I guess my preferences are towards the forward/aggressive side of things. I guess it depends on what you compare it to. It's certainly not bright compared to say a Stingray. But as far as J-bass neck pickups go... yeah, definitely on the aggressive side of things. Actually, it's not that far from my AVRI '57 P. But it's dirtier. A LOT dirtier when digging in!
I've been buying and selling a lot of J-basses over the years. I always end up selling them because I miss the lower mid punch of a great P-bass. But this one... It's got a lower mid punch that I can't remember EVER hearing from a J-bass before. And it's pretty tight too, not the muddy mess that some cheap basses deliver in the low mids (hello Ray4
). I was really surprised at this. So much that I took it to my studio and did a comparison with my AVRI '57 P. The neck pickup on this cheap Squier J-bass actually sounded fatter than the P when listening to the basses solo'ed. Now there's something I've never heard from a J before! Admittedly the '57 still fit slightly better into dense mixes but they had a surprisingly similar tone. But the J was considerably dirtier when digging in. This Jazz neck pickup is without question the closest I've heard to a (57) P-bass ever. It's not even remotely close to any other Jazz neck pickup I've ever heard. Or perhaps mine is just incredibly out of spec, like the finish????? I'm extremely surprised that I liked this pickup so much. On EVERY other Squier I've owned the pickups have been the weakest link by far. In fact, I've changed the pickups on ALL of my Squiers except this one. It got to a point where I almost did it by default, just assuming they were crap. But this one will stay! The rest of the instrument is average at best but I absolutely LOVE the (neck) pickup! I'm seriously considering getting a used Fender 5-string and put these Squiers pickups into it! And then I can sell the Squier with "upgraded" pickups.
The bass is really quiet with the neck pickup solo'ed by the way. No issues with noise whatsoever in a studio environment as long as I take reasonable care. I haven't tried it on stage though (and probably never will because with the projects I'm involved in I would probably be laughed off the stage if I showed up with a quilted maple 5-string...
).Even with all it's issues and quirks, I LOVE this bass. It's not perfect but it's incredibly FUN to play. And that's what it's all about, isn't it? Probably the first J-bass I'm not gonna sell. At least not for a while.
(Plus it's great to see some weirdness in the Squire range again, they were almost getting boring with all the excellent CVs
)
D
We are craving for pictures. Like... yesterday.
You got it! Someone at the Squier factory sure messed up the 70s Jazz vibe on this one!!!Attachments
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That bass is beautiful !! I’m sure someone would be willing to take it off of your hands since you think it’s too boutique looking.
D
That bass is beautiful !! I’m sure someone would be willing to take it off of your hands since you think it’s too boutique looking.
Haha, no I'm definitely keeping it. It's not really my style at all so probably a bit wasted on me but I love the fact that it's completely different than it's supposed to and probably one of a kind. Boutique by accident!
But I REALLY wonder how this happened??? QC gone bad in a good way... It's not like I REALLY wanted the 70s style natural finish anyway. I just ordered it because I didn't want Olympic White, lol.
OKAY! I just received mine from Sweetwater only an hour or so ago. My review will be just about the exact opposite of the one from S.F. Sorrow - Go figure!!
First of all, Sweetwater service is amazing and they sold it to me for 330 instead of the list price of 379. They claim that they do a 55 point inspection prior to shipping and I guess they really do since it took two days to ship after I ordered it. They then sent me pics of the actual bass I was to receive. THANKS ALOT - Now I can't wait!!
Opening the box I actually did an unplanned verbal "Wow" - this thing looks way better in real life than in the pics for sure. For one thing the wood is just about perfect (no quilted effect as the other reviewer had) and the finish looks DEEP and SMOOTH! Along those lines, the neck has a gloss finish but is not sticky at all - how'd they do that?
So far - I'm REAL happy - looks outstanding, not too heavy either although I didn't weigh it. Now to play it acoustically. Strings are a little high for my taste - so out comes the allen wrench to lower the bridge across the board. I'm pretty good at this so 15 min. later I've got significant improvement with no buzzing anywhere. Now for the fret files - yup, I already planned on keeping it. I did my thing with the files and now I have it JUST where I like it. Pretty low action with no buzz unless you really dig in.
Now it's time to plug in, well, just a slight disappointment here but too early to tell. I was hoping for a little more grunt from the neck pickup. Furthermore it seems as though "C" notes all around the fret board are a little less punchy than the other notes. Could be the room, hard to say. Nothing real bad - maybe I'm just too "in tune" with my instruments since just about everyone of my other bases have slightly louder and slightly quieter notes, I guess that's the nature of something made out of wood. Certainly not a deal breaker for me.
The tuners are the smoothest I've felt on any of my bases or guitars - very quality feel.
Overall tone seems to be classic "J" although this is the first "J" I've owned, closest other bass to this is my PJ.
Summary - Bang for the buck is great as many others have said. Fit, finish and feel are outstanding. Sound is very good. Pickup output may be a little low but again I say "MAYBE" since I've only actually played it for maybe 20 minutes so far through one amp in one room and have not done any side by side comparisons with any of my other bases. I DO highly recommend it!
First of all, Sweetwater service is amazing and they sold it to me for 330 instead of the list price of 379. They claim that they do a 55 point inspection prior to shipping and I guess they really do since it took two days to ship after I ordered it. They then sent me pics of the actual bass I was to receive. THANKS ALOT - Now I can't wait!!
Opening the box I actually did an unplanned verbal "Wow" - this thing looks way better in real life than in the pics for sure. For one thing the wood is just about perfect (no quilted effect as the other reviewer had) and the finish looks DEEP and SMOOTH! Along those lines, the neck has a gloss finish but is not sticky at all - how'd they do that?
So far - I'm REAL happy - looks outstanding, not too heavy either although I didn't weigh it. Now to play it acoustically. Strings are a little high for my taste - so out comes the allen wrench to lower the bridge across the board. I'm pretty good at this so 15 min. later I've got significant improvement with no buzzing anywhere. Now for the fret files - yup, I already planned on keeping it. I did my thing with the files and now I have it JUST where I like it. Pretty low action with no buzz unless you really dig in.
Now it's time to plug in, well, just a slight disappointment here but too early to tell. I was hoping for a little more grunt from the neck pickup. Furthermore it seems as though "C" notes all around the fret board are a little less punchy than the other notes. Could be the room, hard to say. Nothing real bad - maybe I'm just too "in tune" with my instruments since just about everyone of my other bases have slightly louder and slightly quieter notes, I guess that's the nature of something made out of wood. Certainly not a deal breaker for me.
The tuners are the smoothest I've felt on any of my bases or guitars - very quality feel.
Overall tone seems to be classic "J" although this is the first "J" I've owned, closest other bass to this is my PJ.
Summary - Bang for the buck is great as many others have said. Fit, finish and feel are outstanding. Sound is very good. Pickup output may be a little low but again I say "MAYBE" since I've only actually played it for maybe 20 minutes so far through one amp in one room and have not done any side by side comparisons with any of my other bases. I DO highly recommend it!
Hi guys, I would like to further elaborate on my VM 5er. I am now happier than ever with this bass. In the previous post I mentioned about two things that I wasn't thrilled with - C notes being a little weaker and the neck pickup not having as much grunt as I expected. Well after setting it up better (truss rod adjustment, a little more neck filing, bridge adjustment and pickup heigh adjustment) the pickups sound GREAT and better than I expected. As far as the lower volume C notes - I tried it with HEADPHONES and discovered the string to string balance and all the notes to be very good. I think what I originally noticed is some kind of effect from my living room, amp and position of the speaker. All in all I REALLY like this bass! Oh, I also set the strings quite low since I'm working on my slap technique and this really helps with my arthritic fingers. PLUS, as I read somewhere else on this fine forum - it's easier to control the volume of your slaps and pops with lower string action than higher, thus being able to avoid using a compressor. So far it looks like it works well. That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed reading this.
D
I don't doubt you. Its unfortunate that some brands are notoriously inconsistent instrument to instrument.
