Spent about 2 hours with a red one this afternoon. Impressions:
- Easily 2lb lighter than a Sterling Sub Ray 5, about 1lb more than similar Squier 4-strings (VM fretless P, and VM PJ). I would guess mid-to-high 9lb range?
- Mildly head-heavy, but not to the point of excessive neck dive.
- Nut width is 1 7/8". Same as a Fender ADJV, not super-wide like some of the earlier Squier 5-strings.
- Neck profile is a fairly deep C, not shallow like the ADJV.
- Neck is finished in thick gloss poly, same dipped-in-plastic feel as the CV basses.
- Overall quality was excellent. Tidy fret work, tight neck pocket, no finish flaws.
- The neck had a nice, even flame figure. Not bad for a cheap bass!
Only weak spot noted: the pickup screws on the lower pickup half were bottomed out badly. I didn't dare adjust the B-string side with the dealer's crappy screwdriver.
- Setup was good out of the box. Caveats: the B and E strings were a hair low, and the pickups were poorly adjusted, making them sound unbalanced.
- The classic Fender dead spot around the 5th to 7th frets on the G string was missing.
- The bridge felt solid.
- The pickups were hot overall.
- Noise was non-existent, suggesting that the shielding is good.
Straight off the wall, the sound was a little indistinct. The B-string had poor pitch definition on the lowest 3 frets, and digging hard caused fret rattle. The A string sounded low in level and a little hollow, plus the D and G strings were too loud.
The dealer let me make a couple of quick adjustments, tweaking the pickup height and raising the B string slightly. This was enough to smooth out the response, and make the B string sound a lot better.
Tone was in the same ballpark as a MIM 4-string P that I compared it to. The tone control had a useful range, and worked quite smoothly. The pickups had slightly less midrange detail and more bottom than my favourite vintage winds (AVRI '62's and Nordstrands).
Feel-wise, I'm not big on thick gloss finishes. Still, the string spacing, action height, etc., were comparable to an American Standard P-Bass. I could gig this thing without even a string change, and I've never said that about a Squier before.
An interesting sidenote on weight: While checking out other Squiers around it, I noted that the solid-colour basses were all heavier than the sunbursts. We're not talking about an ounce or two, probably closer to a pound overall.
Anybody care to comment on whether this is luck of the draw, or something to do with the lumber they choose for the sunburst bodies?
I asked them to order a sunburst VMP5 on spec. If it sounds as good as the one I tried today and comes in around the 9lb mark, I will likely buy it.
I've got a few recording dates coming up the next while, and I've already been warned to expect some pushback over my Dingwall. I hate playing 4-string house basses, and I'm hoping that it might satisfy the requirement for a passive Fender. Even if it turns out to need better pickup, it could still represent a decent recording bass for small coin.
- Easily 2lb lighter than a Sterling Sub Ray 5, about 1lb more than similar Squier 4-strings (VM fretless P, and VM PJ). I would guess mid-to-high 9lb range?
- Mildly head-heavy, but not to the point of excessive neck dive.
- Nut width is 1 7/8". Same as a Fender ADJV, not super-wide like some of the earlier Squier 5-strings.
- Neck profile is a fairly deep C, not shallow like the ADJV.
- Neck is finished in thick gloss poly, same dipped-in-plastic feel as the CV basses.
- Overall quality was excellent. Tidy fret work, tight neck pocket, no finish flaws.
- The neck had a nice, even flame figure. Not bad for a cheap bass!
Only weak spot noted: the pickup screws on the lower pickup half were bottomed out badly. I didn't dare adjust the B-string side with the dealer's crappy screwdriver.
- Setup was good out of the box. Caveats: the B and E strings were a hair low, and the pickups were poorly adjusted, making them sound unbalanced.
- The classic Fender dead spot around the 5th to 7th frets on the G string was missing.
- The bridge felt solid.
- The pickups were hot overall.
- Noise was non-existent, suggesting that the shielding is good.
Straight off the wall, the sound was a little indistinct. The B-string had poor pitch definition on the lowest 3 frets, and digging hard caused fret rattle. The A string sounded low in level and a little hollow, plus the D and G strings were too loud.
The dealer let me make a couple of quick adjustments, tweaking the pickup height and raising the B string slightly. This was enough to smooth out the response, and make the B string sound a lot better.
Tone was in the same ballpark as a MIM 4-string P that I compared it to. The tone control had a useful range, and worked quite smoothly. The pickups had slightly less midrange detail and more bottom than my favourite vintage winds (AVRI '62's and Nordstrands).
Feel-wise, I'm not big on thick gloss finishes. Still, the string spacing, action height, etc., were comparable to an American Standard P-Bass. I could gig this thing without even a string change, and I've never said that about a Squier before.
An interesting sidenote on weight: While checking out other Squiers around it, I noted that the solid-colour basses were all heavier than the sunbursts. We're not talking about an ounce or two, probably closer to a pound overall.
Anybody care to comment on whether this is luck of the draw, or something to do with the lumber they choose for the sunburst bodies?
I asked them to order a sunburst VMP5 on spec. If it sounds as good as the one I tried today and comes in around the 9lb mark, I will likely buy it.
I've got a few recording dates coming up the next while, and I've already been warned to expect some pushback over my Dingwall. I hate playing 4-string house basses, and I'm hoping that it might satisfy the requirement for a passive Fender. Even if it turns out to need better pickup, it could still represent a decent recording bass for small coin.
