Don't mind me. I seem to have a stick up my a** about people maybe being too quick to mod stuff that doesn't really need it. Don't know why. That's just me, I suppose.
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Squier VM Jaguar Bass
- Thread starter Essential
- Start date
No problem. As a general role, it's a good idea to give an instrument a few months workout before you mod it. You might be pleasantly surprised to find you don't need any changes!
Exactly my position. I've seen too many people on forums saying stuff like,
" I have Brand X bass on order, and as soon as it gets here I'm gonna swap out the pickups, electronics, bridge, tuners, and neck."
Seems silly not to wait and make sure it actually needs those changes. Don't just do it because it seems to be "the thing to do".
" I have Brand X bass on order, and as soon as it gets here I'm gonna swap out the pickups, electronics, bridge, tuners, and neck."
Seems silly not to wait and make sure it actually needs those changes. Don't just do it because it seems to be "the thing to do".
There are exceptions to that. You can order something specifically with the intention of modding it. A lot of people do that with low-end stuff like Rondo SXes. Sure, it's advisable to wait and see. But you don't *have* to. It's your gear.
I want a VM jaguar....and I own the fender version. But, I just bought a bass, don't need to buy another one...yet.
+1, same here.
I thought the fit, finish, and build quality was outstanding for the price. Very much in character with the CV and VM lines.
I would have scooped one up but for two things: 1) One color? Really? I wonder if Fender really has done the research, crunched the numbers, and studied how many sales they lose because of their stubborn adherance to such limited colors, and that goes for everything they offer, and 2) I've already got the P/J configuration in a couple of other basses, there is no reason to duplicate that.
Otherwise, it plays as well as my CIJ Fender Jaguar and is another impressive offering for the middle-to-low price point. Tons of modification opportunity for the hobbyist as well, mold it into your dream bass, excellent foundation to work from.
I can guarantee they HAVE crunched the numbers, and they have determined that the cost/benefit ratio for offering more colors, especially for the economy Squier line, is nil. If they could posssibly make more sales by offering more colors, you know damn well they would be doing it.
I am with you though, I wish they did offer more colors, for all their instruments. I would have loved for my Jazz I got last year to be in any number of colors that they don't offer. I would LOVE a metallic purple Fender.
Well, you may be right, but like Eaglemoon said above, red, white, and black gets old fast, and Fender has worked that color pallette to death for a long time. I can't conclusively prove they are losing money with their unimaginative color offerings, but I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt they have lost money on ME by being so narrow. And I'm hardly alone with that assertion.
I have trouble imagining that a couple of other colors wouldn't increase sales overall.
I have seen the six-string guitar Squier line come out with some pretty amazing colors lately, including sparklers. If they can do it with the guitars, they could do it with the basses.
Yeah I am seriously digging it still after a few days. In fact the more I play it and compare it to my VM J the more I like it. Mine does not seem to have any of the tone/volume problems mentioned here though. I've made a demo video of me just futzing around solo on the bass with different tone/p-up configs. Hope to upload to youtube tomorrow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3DoJZJ-0XI
For anyone interested a solo demo of the Squier Jaguar bass played fingerstyle with different pickup and tone combinations played direct into a Vox AmPlug Bass.
For anyone interested a solo demo of the Squier Jaguar bass played fingerstyle with different pickup and tone combinations played direct into a Vox AmPlug Bass.
Good demo. Pretty much tells you what you want to know. Makes me want to go to my nearest GC and try it out.
Thanks! I'm glad you found it useful. I tried to think of how I could kind of display the range of what was possible in as short a time as possible. I had made another demo with me playing with a pick as well, but it got messed up somehow while recording so I scrapped it. Since most bassists play fingerstyle I just went with that. I feel it can do that aggressive P-Bass with a pick rock tone pretty well though.
I can't vouch for how your local GC will have the Jag Bass set up, but mine thankfully came out of the box setup perfectly. Probably just sheer luck of the draw.
I have not noticed anything wrong, the fretmarkers seem clean, the finish is flawless, the fret dressing is perfect. Now I have a Squier VM 70's Jazz that did not arrive in and still is not nearly as nice in every respect. Its a nice bass, don't get me wrong, but my Jaguar is above and beyond what I expected from Squier. Maybe the rest of the Jag basses are not as nice, I donno, but I am really digging this one.
Do you have one? Did you find some problems?
not yet, but having to cherry pick fender products is pretty common and my local store is only getting one of these in their initial shipment.
thanks for the demo, by the way...
Absolutely, no problem. I understand how you feel and that is part of the reason why I ended up buying a Reverend Warhawk HB as my main ax (I actually have two). I knew the Reverends would be almost identical and the quality control would be top notch. I wanted two identical guitars that I could really rely on and they have delivered.
I think Fender can ride-out having that variability in their quality control because of their name. If you are a new brand no one ever heard of like Reverend you need people to pick up your instrument and be immediately impressed.
Hope they get a nice one in for you. My store wasn't even getting one so I had them special order this one for me and send it to my house so I know how you feel.
Fingers crossed for you brother!
Played one the other day. Are the tone "knobs" supposed to feel less like actual smooth-turning knobs and more like rotary switches?
