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Squier VM: "Natural 70" vs "black 77"

#22
Here's a pic of a natural vm next to a 2000 MIA:

IMG_5613-1.jpg


The VM has a more yellow tint and this one didn't have as much character in the grain. But still a great looking, playing and sounding bass. I got it used for my niece. Set up was terrible when I got it but now it's good, but I couldn't get it quite as low as the MIA.

Haven't played a black one. I'm a sucker for natural.
 
#23
My friend finally got me the natural one - says he got one with nice grain and plenty of ROAR - Woohoo!

And the airline lost it in transit - boooooooo!

(it's supposed to be here tomorrow morning, but I could have it right now if not for their ineptitude. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU)
 
#28
sotua said:
My friend finally got me the natural one - says he got one with nice grain and plenty of ROAR - Woohoo!

And the airline lost it in transit - boooooooo!

(it's supposed to be here tomorrow morning, but I could have it right now if not for their ineptitude. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU)
Click to expand...

Finally, four days later, the bass arrived :hyper:. Special thanks to Gator Cases for keeping my baby safe while American Airlines flew it all around the eastern US.

Of course, pics or it didn't happen:

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On the right my 90's Fender MIJ fretless.

The grain doesn't really show on the pic, but it's very nice. My friend told me he chose between six of them to find the prettier grain.

I'm in love with the bass, the construction quality is right there with the MIJ Fender. I'm deeply impressed. I don't think I've been this giddy with a bass before. It roars, it sings, it responds easily to my hands. The neck finish is a pleasure to play, my hand flies.

My only gripe so far is that lowering the pickups hasn't been easy, the screws feel very hard and don't turn easily.

Stock strings surprisingly good and with a lot of zing. I can't wrap my head around how defined, how much snap there is to this bass' tone. The fretless, even when it was fretted, was a lot rounder and not as in-your-face. Even rolling off the tone and using just the neck pickup, there's snap. Maybe new nickel strings will tame that, but I'm not sure this is a bad thing for me :).

This is my first maple board bass, so I have to get used to the strings not being as visible on top of it - there's not as much visual contrast as it used to.

I have rehearsal tonight so I'll see how it goes in a band context. SO EXCITED!!!
 
#30
My experience with these two basses is they sound exactly the same (excellent). I do, however, find the quality to be more consistent on the natural VM. I have played some really nice 77 models, and some really crappy ones, heavy ones, and light ones. All of the natural models I have played have been pretty much identical, save a bad set up here and there.
 
#32
My wife recently bought me a natural VM, used, for my birthday. It is a great bass, very versatile, and a wonderful value. My future plans include installing one of the hi-mass, brass saddled bridges from the Squier Classic Vibe series, a set of flats, and, eventually, stripping it and painting it vintage white/cream to match my '77 Strat.
 
#33
I own both. The natural with the maple body has more of an agressive tone, while the black one with the agathis body gives a little more warmth.

They both feel simular. I put Kent Armstrong lipstick pups in the black one and switched necks and man does it have nice tone. With the DR black beauties it sustains excellent. I just need a high mass bridge for it.

The natural I would have to say sounds more growly and gives a little higher tone

I love em both, but my fave is the natural one because I love wood grain finishes. However the black one is a very close second
 
#34
Strat Hater said:
I own both. The natural with the maple body has more of an agressive tone, while the black one with the agathis body gives a little more warmth.
Click to expand...

+1 I checked out some of the Black ones and they do not have they aggressive edge you get out of a heavy J bass.

I find the soft maple in the natural sound a lot like 'hard ash' that you can find in a 70's fender. The is a bright quick edge that comes with that and there in the blacks...(Pity) That is so much part tone itself.

Although I did think they where a pretty decent bass all and all especially for the Money. The blacks ones reminded me of swamp ash.

I have a natural and put an Allparts neck on it, Nordstrands and Audere.
 
#35
lobster57 said:
IMO the pearloid blocks on the maple fretboard of the 77 looks weird.

Maple fretboard = Dark blocks
Light blocks = Rosewood fretboard.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. Back in 1979 I had a real fender jazz that was black with a white pickguard, maple fingerboard and white MOP inlays and she was perty. White inlays go with either the maple or rosewood boards and the black inlays only go with the maple board. I'm not saying you are wrong to each his own, but I can see the beauty in a maple board with white pearl inlays. all that's needed to bring the beauty out in the squire vm 77 bass is a white perliod pickguard to match up with the perloid block inlays.
 

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