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squire vs fender

#61
bassbenj said:
Hey, didn't you notice you get $100 cash back on the $1,700 American Fender? How can you resist?
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Be strong, be strong, be strong...

bassbenj said:
The Carbon fiber reinforcement neck rod for one.
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...must..... resist....

:D

bassbenj said:
But the point is these differences are SMALL and the cost to get them is LARGE.
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Yup.

bassbenj said:
I'm tickled with the Fender-shaped headstock on my Squier. Almost nobody ever looks at the decal on it.
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Nahh......

bassbenj said:
And hey I own SX basses too so I'm mighty familiar with super-stiff tuners.
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I'm ticked now... I didn't get that feature in any of my squires.

bassbenj said:
And it's a small sacrifice I"m willing to make to be able to spend the extra cash on some OTHER bass gear.
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Agreed. I"m the same.

I used to say, "Hey, I'm an American taxpayer, and I want, no, I DESERVE a truck, and one of these days I'm going to get me one." And so I did... a 2009 Toyota Tacoma, brand spankin' new, which has been recalled a couple of times, and two of the power lock thingies gave up the ghost and my local dealer asked me about $400-500 a piece to replace. But, I did get my truck... I dig it. It has four wheels (vs the 5 and 6 wheel versions), and compared to today's newer and more gas-efficient cars it drinks gas like a drunk at a bar (16 mpg with the topper). But, it's a truck, it's big, and it's red. And everyone knows it's a Tacoma.

Now, 'bout them Fendre basses.... ;)
 
#62
Fender people get pissed when Squier people say that there is no difference. Squier people get pissed when Fender people say Squier's are junk.

There are differences, i'm not gonna say my Squier is exactly the same as the Fender version. It's not, but looking at it 10 feet away you couldn't tell other then the decal on the headstock.

Biggest differences i've noticed are fit and finish issues. Not really in the tone, newer Squier's have comparable tone. (In fact, it would be great to know what kind of pickups Squier uses or how they are built, if for instance, they are using earlier Fender pickup specs). But the things I have noticed are like on my Jag, (which is a VM), a few specks of sawdust/or paint irregularities under the clear. Like a gun that wasn't cleaned properly and shot out a small speck of another color. Not "outtie" bumps however, just specks in the paint, but you have to really look hard for it. I've never come across that on Fender's. The neck pocket isn't as clean or tight as i've seen on Fenders. The rosewood at the top of the neck (1 and 2 frets) isn't as consistant as the rest of the fretboard. My frets aren't as cleanly attached to the fretboard or as polished on the edges. Not problems i've seen on Fenders. The truss rod inlay on the back of the neck is a little off, like it was set in wrong or sanded wrong, I can only feel it when I move my hand perpendicular, up and down the neck, and I can slightly feel my hand catch it. Again, things i've not come across on Fender's.

And i'm sure there are hardware differences which i'm less inclined in knowledge about, but my Squier has great looking chrome on the hardware. A solid 3 ply pickguard, smooth pots and a tight input jack. So those parts I have no qualms about.

Like I said, 10 feet away you wouldn't notice, and these issues aren't enough to call a Squier crap, or to make me feel it's not a good instrument. For the price I paid, it's a very good instrument.
 
#63
I currently own 3 Squier basses (Standard Jazz, CV 60's Precision, and CV 50's Precision). I have also recently owned a MIM Fender Precision. Compared to the Squiers, it was junk ! Neck and fit and finish problems. It also sounded like crap. I am very pleased with the Squiers. Do they compare with an American Standard Fender - probably not. But I bought 3 Squiers for less than I could have bought ONE American Standard !
 
#65
Just for the record, I also agree there are differences. Are there diminishing returns the more you pay to get those differences? Probably so.

I'm sort of a "traditionalist", so when I did my research I settled on Squiers because they are about the same "form-factor" as Fenders, and if I ever "upgraded" I wouldn't have to learn a completely different instrument (or so I thought).

I kid you not when I say that my two Squiers do not exhibit any of the craftsmanship problems I read about on these forums.

Well, almost. My Affinity V came with a plastic nut that was a piece of dung... I had my local friendly luthier replace it with a bone nut. I changed the bridge on my CV for a BAII (probably not necessary). The problem I thought I was solving was not due to the HM bridge, but because I was running out of intonation adjustment on the D string, and the BA has longer saddle travel. Probably a function of strings, ignorance, or both. But it's golden now.

The CV I ain't touching no more. It does not need a thing (said by almost anyone I've let touch it). For $250 I think it was a good deal.

The Affinity I've modded like crazy, just because I can, and if I trash it it's only $180 to replace.

However, don't get me wrong... at some point I'm going to go Tacoma on one of the Fender American Deluxes (or the 2012 Standards) just because I gotta try them out myself and see what the deal is about. And I'm sure they'll be fine instruments. At this point I just have other priorities, but don't be surprised if I become a Fender convert soon. :bassist:

I'm not a pro, so I don't "feel" that I need a lot over what I currently have for the level I'm at. As a matter of fact, I don't get to play much (other than at church) because I have to turn down most every gig opportunity once rehearsal practice levels go over a certain (dB) threshold, which myself, my family and my audiologist have all discussed and I feel happy with.

So, get yer Fenders if you can/want; I'll be joining the fold one day too.

However, to all the people saying the horrible things I read about on the current crop of CVs and VM (and some Affinity's, like the JV), either you are buying sight-unseen (which I don't think it's the best approach) or you need to find stock in other music stores to try.

Keep bringin' it boyz!
 
#67
Okay, just to be clear EVERYONE Squier is spelled, ending with er.

Like this::::::: Squi-er / Squier.

But for the pure joy of watching everyone lose their minds over such a completely unimportant issue, please by all means make it a point to just continue spelling it improperly as SQUIRE.

And to keep things interesting, try and use the word in as many different ways that you can, make sure to spell it incorrectly EVERY time.

Maybe even be a rebel and just spell Squier like Skwire or Skwier or Sqwyer or Scwyer or anything else besides SQUIER.

:D
But don't get mad at me for not participating, I prefer to spell it properly but don't mind a bit how many different ways anyone else screws it up.
Watching the in house spell checkers flip their lids over it, is a bit entertaining too. :D
 
#70
I own plenty of [DEL][DEL]Squires [/DEL][/DEL] Squiers as well as Fenders (and many other much higher end basses) and I can tell you from my first hand experience that I have never run across any of the "problems" with Squiers others here are claiming. No bad frets, no bad nuts, no bad finish, no bad electronics, no bad tuners, no bad bridges, no problems at all. In standard TB protocol, if you got no pic you got no claim. Here's a pic of just some of my Fender/Squier line up (I have several more instruments not in the pic).
061.jpg

So if you really have frets on a bass that could be used to saw lumber let's see 'em, otherwise I call bull.
 
#71
GBassNorth said:
I own plenty of [DEL][DEL]Squires [/DEL][/DEL] Squiers as well as Fenders (and many other much higher end basses) and I can tell you from my first hand experience that I have never run across any of the "problems" with Squiers others here are claiming. No bad frets, no bad nuts, no bad finish, no bad electronics, no bad tuners, no bad bridges, no problems at all. In standard TB protocol, if you got no pic you got no claim. Here's a pic of just some of my Fender/Squier line up (I have several more instruments not in the pic).
061.jpg

So if you really have frets on a bass that could be used to saw lumber let's see 'em, otherwise I call bull.
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Nice basses and is that your man cave?
 
#72
I bought a Squier Affinity V on the eBay, and it plays like a dream. It COULD have slightly better pickups.

I have a Squier Bullet Strat, and the only thing wrong with that guitar is that when I play it, it sounds terrible. Maybe that's because I'm terrible on electric guitar?

I had another Squier Strat, back in the early nineties. I recorded a bunch of demos on it, and it really didn't sound bad. I don't know how I did it, but I must've been playing "my style," because you can't even tell how terrible I was. Thank Jimi for overdubs!

I have never played a bad Squier anything. I think the Fenders TEND to be a bit nicer. But that doesn't make the Squiers bad.

I have a Fender/Squier frankenJazz that is my main axe, and it is OH SO BEAUTIFUL!
 
#76
It sure is refreshing to see my Skwireish Brethen show up here. We be a faithful tribe. :D

I'm sorry folks that I can't spell it right... I never went to school. ;)

Here are some pics of my acses...

(Had to edit this because apparently you can't attach more than two pics.)

My JV and CV60J pics are now attached.

They're horrible, Ok?! Don't buy them!!!! (That'll help keep their prices down... :D)
 

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#78
Look if you know what you are doing and can select a good Squier you will be money saved ahead over a Fender this I know. But if you think they are all junk with sharp frets and crappy hardware you will never get it or understand.

There is a large part of bassists here and musicians looking for the middle or lower end basses that require sometimes a simple mod or two to make them as good as basses costing hundreds more. In these times who can blame them? Is the hardware better on a bass costing $1200.00? Sure, it better be, but will it play better than a $300.00 bass?
If its hardware such as a bridge it's a $30.00 fix and it gets you there, Pots/wire/jack a few bucks and pups the most expensive but not going to break you. Setup is something you should know how to do yourself and inspecting frets and sounding the board for low/high frets is part of the job when buying budget basses...don't walk in and grab any bass ..check them out.

I bought a used 97' China made Squier P/J bass for 150.00 that sounded great played like butter. I put on new pots and it was as good as any P bass except for my SQ Squiers I got all my money back for it and some when I sold it to fund another bass.

Now if you don't or can't buy all of this that it's ok! but I know a good bass when I see, feel or play one. Cost makes no diff if it is a solid platform and you take the time (if needed) to make them work for you.
 
#80
DiabolusInMusic said:
They are not even comparable in terms of quality (and price) anybody that cannot tell the difference between playing a Squier and a Fender is either kidding themselves or just that ignorant of what to look for in a proper playing machine. You can get the tone close with a pickup swap but actually playing both with your own hands they are going to be two different beasts. As a previous poster said,it is especially noticeable in the fretwork, Squiers all have sharp fret edges.

EDIT: Just realized the date on this thread... why did you feel the need to revive this eian?

Food for thought, even your 8 year old Squier isn't as old as this thread.... :D
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My CV60 p bass, no sharp edges on the frets. Great neck and fret job.
 

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