Squire Bass Question

[DeanT]

I've got a question for all you bass gurus out there. I've noticed that many Squire basses say Squire on the headstock, with Fender written small underneath. But I've seen ones with Fender on the headstock large and Squire written small on the tip.

What's the difference? Are the ones with the large Fender and small Squire the ones Fender put out when it first acquired Squire? Are these better than the other Squires?

 

[Mark Wilson]

Can't Help you...

But everyone. It's SQUIER!!!


-mark

 

[eduardo salles]

yeah! just dont bother about squier

 

[thebassclef]

IIRC The Ones with the bigger Fender Name are some of the first Squires to come out. They are actually very good in comparison to the newer Squires in tone and workmanship.

 

[spudmaster34]

you guys, on top of being unhelpfull both of the first two responses were disrespectfull to the many players (myself included) who play squires. I am not nearly as pissed of as this post looks, so don't sweat it.

The only help I have for you is the information tha my squire (about 3 years old) has squire larger than fender

 

[jbassbob]

you guys, on top of being unhelpfull both of the first two responses were disrespectfull to the many players (myself included) who play squires. I am not nearly as pissed of as this post looks, so don't sweat it.

The only help I have for you is the information tha my squire (about 3 years old) has squire larger than fender

+1

Not much help here either but, thanks to the likes of first two responses, you can still pick up 80's Japanese Squiers for about 200.00 each. I have a J and P, and every time I go into GC I smile at the fact that I saved about 800.00 each for a similar quality bass. I did upgrade their pickups for fun, tho they didn't really need it. They both have the large Squier logo and tone for days.

 

[cassanova]

IIRC the ones that say Fender then squire are the older ones that were Fender Squire series, they were actually made by Fender. The ones that say Squire are a subsidiary company with Fender rights or something like that. As always, I could be wrong. So research it for yourself just to make sure.

 

[DeanT]

Sorry about the spelling. From what I can gather, the basses with the large Fender and small Squier are Fender Squier series guitars, some of which were made in Mexico. I assume these are better quality than the other Squiers.

 

[thebassclef]

Mexican Squires are decent for the money, but as jbassbob stated, if you can find a Japanese one, their build quality is almost matched to the CIJ Fender basses. The Japanese Workforce has a very high Quality Control ethic in most cases.

 

[Turock]

IIRC, the Mexican Fender "Squier" series (Big "Fender", small "Squier" logo) became the MIM of today, and Fender dropped "Squier" from the headstock in Mexico, when the "Squier by Fender" (big "Squier", small "Fender" logo) was outsorced to Asian countries.

 

[lpdeluxe]

I have a Squier II P I got for $130 and it rocks. I wish some of my more expensive basses had sounded that good.

 

[keewa]

how can so many people Misspell Squier?
it's not an abbreviation of Esquire, it's a guy's surname
Squier

 

[eboe]

yeah, I have a Fender Squier series Tele, it has the Fender in black lettering rather than the nicer logos, but it was MIM as well.

 

[ss81]

how can so many people Misspell Squier?
it's not an abbreviation of Esquire, it's a guy's surname
Squier

Actually, "Squire" is the correct spelling of a word that actually does exist in the english language with several definitions (edit: "squire" is the correct way to spell it as a title, which I believe you're referring to), and it would make sense as the brand name of a line of starter guitars. In fact, I don't know of any other instances aside from the guitar company where it would be correctly spelled "Squier", so I'd say it's a forgivable mistake to make.

 

[middlebit]

None of them say 'Squire' - end of story.

 

[SMPTE]

Big Fender, Little Squier = MIJ or MIM. Early Squier
Big Squier, Little Fender = Made somewhere else in Asia. Later Squier.

The early ones are really nice as complete instruments. The later ones are diamonds in the rough, you gotta find the right one and it needs to be set up correctly.

I replaced everything but the body on mine, but before I pimped it it sounded pretty good.

It boils down to this, PLAY the bass before you buy it, play alot of them. Don't look at the headstock. The right instrument will just speak to you.

 

[lpdeluxe]

It was the name of V C Squier, who started a string manufacturing company in Battle Creek, MI that Fender eventually bought. Fender then applied the name to lower-priced instruments made offshore.

So, no, it's not a permissible variant of a dictionary entry. It's a man's name. Here's a photo of the gentleman concerned:
Link Removed

 

[mjolnir]

I played an old squier once, and I certainly thought it was a MUCH better bass than the Johnson I was using at the time...

Don't knock cheaper basses, if you like the sound, you like the sound. Hell, my favorite J-Bass I've played is a Jay Turser...

 

[keewa]

Actually, "Squire" is the correct spelling of a word that actually does exist in the english language with several definitions (edit: "squire" is the correct way to spell it as a title, which I believe you're referring to), and it would make sense as the brand name of a line of starter guitars. In fact, I don't know of any other instances aside from the guitar company where it would be correctly spelled "Squier", so I'd say it's a forgivable mistake to make.

it doesn't say Squire on the headstock, would Fendre be an acceptable substitute? and squire *is* an abbreviation of Esquire, which is the title, which is why a landowner might introduce himself as John Smith Esq.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Squier Precision Bass Special Vs are really great basses for the money. Anybody who wants a budget five string jazz simply cannot do any better for under $550 new IMO.