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Squier VM Jaguar Bass

#382
I think I've almost convinced myself it's OK to use one of these basses. Actually, maybe even two. I have been playing a friends Geddy Lee to see if I can gig without a B string, and I'm leaning to a passive tone these days.

A Jazz and a Jaguar - for the "P" tone with a kick - might be a nice pair. Maybe flats on the Jaguar. I could get both new for the price of the used Geddy. I'd still have my active 5 string "jazz type" bass so I'd be pretty set and have only about $1,200 into all 3 basses.

Still uneasy about being taken seriously with a "cheap" bass, but when I switch between $300 and $3,000 basses, the keyboard player (who is a bass player as well) doesn't even notice. That should be "justification" enough. I've played both at the local store and they play and sound great - IMO anyway.
 
#383
SteveC said:
Still uneasy about being taken seriously with a "cheap" bass
Click to expand...

See, I don't get this. I let my fingers do the talking. Your playing should get you taken seriously. The proof is in the pudding. The skill lies in your abilities; not the instrument, though I agree you at least need something that intonates and doesn't sound totally muddy.

However, you can get that from a $300 bass OR a $3000 bass, depending.

but when I switch between $300 and $3,000 basses, the keyboard player (who is a bass player as well) doesn't even notice. That should be "justification" enough.
Click to expand...

There you go.
 
#384
Muddslide said:
See, I don't get this. I let my fingers do the talking. Your playing should get you taken seriously. The proof is in the pudding. The skill lies in your abilities; not the instrument, though I agree you at least need something that intonates and doesn't sound totally muddy.
Click to expand...

Should is the key word. I'm going to go play them again tomorrow.
 
#385
SteveC said:
A Jazz and a Jaguar - for the "P" tone with a kick - might be a nice pair. Maybe flats on the Jaguar. I'd still have my active 5 string "jazz type" bass so I'd be pretty set.

Still uneasy about being taken seriously with a "cheap" bass.
Click to expand...

I own 3 70's Fenders and a MIA Fender Deluxe 5er Jazz and have ordered a Squier Jag.

I plan to gig my 2010 MIA 50th Anniversary Jazz and the Squier Jag for the most part due to the versatility of the pair. My 5er isn't getting much use these days.

As far as gigging a cheap bass.... who cares what people think if it sounds good?

I played lots of gigs with a Squier VM Jazz and Sadowskys, Roscoes, Dingwalls, Stingrays, etc. and never thought about the fact that I was playing a $2000-4000 bass and a $300 one. They both sounded great (but different) was all that mattered IMO.
 
#388
Yep, I gotta tell ya -- the Jag is another surefire winner from Squier. If only the neck were bound as well as blocked (helps with fret sprout). But that's a small quibble. The knobs may be cheap, but if they break it's any easy fix. The body is nicely balanced and I love the black finish on the headstock. Very comfortable to play, an excellent bass for playing live. Nice oomph from the preamp, too.
 
#393
So I went to GC today after work to do some testing and I have to say that the Jaguar really had a lot going on. It gave me some really good tones. For 300 Bucks I think I will pick this up as my gigging bass. As far as the controls go they are not that hard once you figure them out, and the tuners did feel a bit cheap, but man did it feel good in my hands.
 
#396
I use the stock Fender 7250 NPS strings - but on this bass only!

The Jag just loves these strings, by whomever they were made, in whatever country and by whatever method. I don't care if they were wrapped around a stick in the back yard of a mud hut in Ethiopia, they are just great!

Just remember that Fender says their OE strings are ALL 7250 NPSs. They are NOT! They are all over the board for quality and musical/physical playability and not even the same 7250s of a year ago.

I personally feel that changing the bridge to a Hi-Mass would kill a lot of the tonal quality and resonance that the Jag is known for in it's original hardware.

Since the bridge is a portal to the tone-eating wood of the body, sending the lows to the black hole would be a big mistake.

Most everyone who swears about the positive value of a H/M bridge, says they have improved the slap and pop capacity of their bass - and therein lies the truth: the lows are diminished by a quantum amount and that's not where I would want to go.

They DO look cool however, and there's no debating that - at least to me. I, however, refrain from taking the voice I like and messing with it for just something that looks cool.

Kinda like putting a blower scoop on a Cadillac CTS.
 

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