Squire Basses

[NorCal Dog]

just picked this bass up new for under 2 bills,

have installed a set of Schaller Straploks
and a set of Fender SNC Samarium Cobalt pickups, HUGE improvement in tone
& a black pickguard

funny thing is,, this is the first bass i've bought where I didn't immediately cut the strings off & install DR's,, the original Fenders actually sound pretty good,, they'll work for a while

these Squier's are very playable & sound Incredible with the right mods.

now i have a white one,, & a black one..

 

[stingray69]

just picked this bass up new for under 2 bills,

have installed a set of Schaller Straploks
and a set of Fender SNC Samarium Cobalt pickups, HUGE improvement in tone
& a black pickguard

funny thing is,, this is the first bass i've bought where I didn't immediately cut the strings off & install DR's,, the original Fenders actually sound pretty good,, they'll work for a while


these Squier's are very playable & sound Incredible with the right mods.

now i have a white one,, & a black one..

I like it! Looks really nice in white. How would you say the SCN's differ from the stock pickups? Would you say they are brighter sounding than the stock pickups? I find that the SCN's in my MIA Jazz Deluxe sound pretty bright & tad mid-scooped (but not in a bad way). The highs are pretty bright and maybe just a little over-the-top for an active bass. Of course, I don't know how much the active electronics are adding to the "modern jazz bass" sound. I've been thinking of buying a 2nd Affinity Jazz & modding that one with SCN's. I think the added brightness from the SCN's would be a welcome addition to a passive bass & end up sounding pretty darn sweet without any additional help of on-board electronics. I guess in a nutshell, how would you describe how the low/mids/highs of the SCN's has changed the tone vs. the stock pickups?

 

[NorCal Dog]

I like it! Looks really nice in white. How would you say the SCN's differ from the stock pickups? Would you say they are brighter sounding than the stock pickups? I find that the SCN's in my MIA Jazz Deluxe sound pretty bright & tad mid-scooped (but not in a bad way). The highs are pretty bright a maybe just a little over-the-top for an active bass. Of course, I don't know how much the active electronics are adding to the "modern jazz bass" sound. I've been thinking of buying a 2nd Affinity Jazz & modding that one with SCN's. I think the added brightness from the SCN's would be a welcome addition to a passive bass & end up sounding pretty darn sweet without any additional help of on-board electronics. I guess in a nutshell, how would you describe how the low/mids/highs of the SCN's has changed the tone vs. the stock pickups?

as i said, the SCN's made a huge difference tonally,, i left the stock passive pots, & the SCN's play nice & deep on the bottom, that's not boomy at all,, the mids cut nicely, they may have a little mid cut,, but i normally run a mid bump at 500 / 800 to even it out,, the top is nice & round passive , ( which i prefer ) as the stock pickups were kind of buzzy & tinny up top, ( which i can't stand )

overall i think that the Squier Affinity V is a perfect platform for the SCN's

 

[stingray69]

as i said, the SCN's made a huge difference tonally,, i left the stock passive pots, & the SCN's play nice & deep on the bottom, that's not boomy at all,, the mids cut nicely, they may have a little mid cut,, but i normally run a mid bump at 500 / 800 to even it out,, the top is nice & round passive , ( which i prefer ) as the stock pickups were kind of buzzy & tinny up top, ( which i can't stand )

overall i think that the Squier Affinity V is a perfect platform for the SCN's

Cool - thanks for the description. I think I'll stick with the SCN plan in that case. I was mostly concerned with the highs - as you stated, I don't want them too thin sounding myself. The Treble frequencies of my MIA Deluxe are centered at 8Khz, which is pretty high up there. I think the SCN's may sound a little warmer in a passive bass. Sounds like they might be just about perfect for a passive bass to sound beefier, but not lose the general passive qualities. Thanks again!

 

[AndrewClaycomb]

There was once a time that I felt squier guitars were the crappiest instruments you could own. I always preached that you should save and at least get a Mexican or better yet a Japanese Fender.

Since then, the prices have gone up, and I found myself picking up a Squier VM fretless Jazz bass for a great deal on this website. I can't put it down. It actually has me thinking about buying a fretless American model because I like this one so much.

For some reason I can't get past the Squier logo on the headstock though. I just can't see myself going to a gig with it, even though I like it so much.

Does this make me a bad person?

 

[ibanezcollector]

For some reason I can't get past the Squier logo on the headstock though. I just can't see myself going to a gig with it, even though I like it so much.

Does this make me a bad person?

No but it does make you sound stupid.. WHO CARES whats on the headstock.. You like it but your ashamed of it cause? It didnt cost alot?

Rock that baby proudly let people know its a cheap bass..

I just dont understand the mentality of it. You like it but wont play it cause of a name.. Stupid.

 

[rschuh]

Before you drop too much $$ into these basses realize the body wood. If you're a fan of Alder or Ash, in the long run you'll be disappointed by the Agasis(sp) or Basswood that they use for the bodies. I bought a Basswood body bass and at first loved it for the weight and tone, then the bass became dry to my ears, best way to describe it. And I went back to my heavier but happier(sounding) alder body bass. For the price these basses are very nice, but you can tripe the cost of the bass with upgrades and then...... Well there's a reason people pimp out Honda's before Hyundia's.
BM

There are a # of high end bass makers who swear by basswood for Jazz bass bodies because of it's resonance and weight. I played a high end Jazz clone the other day made from basswood that weighed under 7 lbs and sounded amazing. It is a bit softer, so can get gouged easier, but don't poo poo these Squiers. I have both the Vintage 70s and the Fretless and love them both.

 

[NorCal Dog]

There was once a time that I felt squier guitars were the crappiest instruments you could own. I always preached that you should save and at least get a Mexican or better yet a Japanese Fender.

Since then, the prices have gone up, and I found myself picking up a Squier VM fretless Jazz bass for a great deal on this website. I can't put it down. It actually has me thinking about buying a fretless American model because I like this one so much.

For some reason I can't get past the Squier logo on the headstock though. I just can't see myself going to a gig with it, even though I like it so much.

Does this make me a bad person?

i actually own three 5 strings currently,, 2 Squiers,,

and a Fender American Deluxe Jazz V

& i have like ZERO problem playing my Squire onstage while my Fender sits in a stand as a backup, it's all about the tone guys,,, not a dayum sticker

 

[stingray69]

i actually own three 5 strings currently,, 2 Squiers,,

and a Fender American Deluxe Jazz V & i have like ZERO problem playing my Squire onstage while my Fender sits in a stand as a backup, it's all about the tone guys,,, not a dayum sticker

+1

The proof is in the tone.

I guess I don't understand the sticker-shame mentality that I see fairly often here on TB. Isn't life hard enough for someone to live it for themselves? How exhausting (and apparently expensive) it must be to live your life for complete strangers & their approval. I plan on buying another Squier very soon & using my recently purchased Squier as my main gigging bass until further notice. I say rock a Squier & shed the hang-ups.

 

[NorCal Dog]

+1

The proof is in the tone.

I guess I don't understand the sticker-shame mentality that I see fairly often here on TB. Isn't life hard enough for someone to live it for themselves? How exhausting (and apparently expensive) it must be to live your life for complete strangers & their approval. I plan on buying another Squier very soon & using my recently purchased Squier as my main gigging bass until further notice. I say rock a Squier & shed the hang-ups.

amen brother

 

[BluesBrian]

I love my Squier Vintage Modified fretless (Jazz), it's excellent! Not sure I want to mod it though, I might stick in a Bartolini preamp in and maybe some bartolini pickups!

I got one too. Very nice! .. "modding" it does seem a little redundant! I did replace the round-wounds with a set of Thomastik JF344 Flatwound ... wow, nice strings! (I noticed that the round-wounds were beginning to lightly scratch the "Ebonol fingerboard".)

 

[Neener]

I just bought a VM fretless a couple days ago and I hate it. I don't eat, I don't sleep, and it makes my fingers hurt because I can't stop playing the stupid thing!

I added a tort pickguard and put on a set of roundwounds. Great bass for the money.

On another note, I think the reason that some people are spelling them "Squire" here is because the spell-checker doesn't like Squier. Just a theory.

 

[Linkert]

I just bought a VM fretless a couple days ago and I hate it. I don't eat, I don't sleep, and it makes my fingers hurt because I can't stop playing the stupid thing!

I added a tort pickguard and put on a set of roundwounds. Great bass for the money.

On another note, I think the reason that some people are spelling them "Squire" here is because the spell-checker doesn't like Squier. Just a theory.

Oh god! my nipples just got hard! Is that a standard pickguard for fender basses?

 

[Neener]

.........Is that a standard pickguard for fender basses?

Yes, it's actually for a '62 reissue. It was a little tight around the neck. I very gently used a Dremmel with a sandpaper drum thingy on the pickguard in a couple spots. Had to move the control plate a touch also to get it to line up evenly with pickguard. Otherwise, it's a direct bolt-on. The '62 pickguard is already drilled for a thumb-rest and neck pickup cover, which should be here any day.

 

[lamarjones]

Now for a little bad news.

Two of the tuners on my squier now do nothing, I had thought about replacing them before, now I need to. They look like little gotoh tuners, the ones I saw recently are either open gear looking or the whole back is enclosed in some trapezoidal encasing. These aren't like them, they do look like gotoh tuners with the rounded enclosed casing.

ANYWAYS, point being I haven't measured anything, never replaced tuners, anyone know what kind of good tuner would fit on these guys? I don't mind new screw holes, not trying to deal with the actual tuner hole.

 

[DutchDude]

I bought gotoh replacement tuners and I only needed to drill holes for the screws, because the backplate of those standard tuners were quite small, but the tuners fit perfectly in the tuner hole

 

[stingray69]

Here's my Squier Affinity V dressed up with a new white pearl pickguard. Also has a passive series/parallel wiring harness with CTS pots, new knobs, Switchcraft jack. I happen to really dig the stock pickups too. I LOVE this bass. I picked up another Affinity V in Metallic Red a couple weeks ago. I plan on using that one as my pickup test bed to try out different pups. These really are fantastic basses IMO.

 

[GreggBummer]

I have a black 4 string SQ. That MOP pick guard looks awesome... where did you get it?

 

[StringThing]

I got a Fender Jazz Five one day. Got a VM jazz used for a steal. It's an amazing bass. It put my Warwick Streamer in the case. Got a VM fretless and it put my Warwick Fortress MM in the case. I think of modding them, but I preamp them and that is all I need. If they made these in a 35" fives. It would be all i play. I seldom solo, but at a gig and the audience request, Armed with a VM fretless and a busted ass crate amp, I ripped it. The bass made is easy and fun. Bottom line: If you can play, these basses will bring it out in a classic, funky and fun way!

Stay away from the Affinity when you have the VM option. If you mod, you can always go back to stock and sell, while bringing your upgrades to the next bass.

 

[StringThing]

I have to plead to them again.... Make these in 35" five strings!!!!!