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Thoughts on Squire Basses for Professional Musicians?

#324
I was at a party last night and got to play a Squier Jazz...white pg on black, rosewood fretboard, flatwound strings. It could've benefitted from new electronics but the build quality and playability were excellent. Neck not too big, not too small, felt straight and solid.
 
#326
Most people tend to snob squiers because they're cheap, but a friend of mine owned one and it sounded better than a fender, You can modify it, I just tried a squier jazz bass earlier and it reallys ounded sweet, maybe if the wood's agathis it might suck ass. If you are uncomfy playing a squier, scratch out the decal and just say it's a fender lol.
 
#327
blues_bassist said:
What are your thoughts on serious or professional musicians using Squire products? I'm in a serious band and I'm looking at buying a Squire Vintage Modified Tele Bass but I have a sort of negative view of Squire. So what do you all think of Squire?
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I kept an Ibanez around as a backup bass; I suppose a Squier would do as well. I wouldn't bring one to an audition.
 
#328
bassbenj said:
Well Squier basses tend to be inferior. And worse than that, most band leaders, guitarists, and those holding auditions know that a player with a Squier shows that he is not a serious player because a serious player would own a serious instrument. Does Victor Wooten play Squier? No. He plays Fodera. Serious and professional.

My experience is that generally speaking Squier basses on average tend to be inferior. Tonewood is less than optimum as are many other things. However, since I actually own a Squier and play it, let me say that basses are made out of trees and no two trees are alike. The bottom line is that if you start looking, absolute killer "keeper" Squiers exist. Also absolute dead spot dog God awful USA Fenders exist. I've played BOTH kinds.

So what are my thoughts? My thoughts are if you don't have the experience and knowledge to tell a good bass from a bad one, you DO NOT want a Squier. You'll have to try them all and find "the one".

And as for professional and serious musician playing Squier, that means that you MUST be good enough that you can whip out a fender-shaped headstock (which is a plus by the way) that says Squier on it and then have what it takes to DARE anyone to question that. If you have that many hairs on your butt then maybe Squier is for you.

The serious pros I know who gig with Squire (and Ibanez) have what it takes to cut down any other player, they've got hand-picked and hand-tweaked instruments that put any boutique to shame and they've got the attitude (with whatever it takes to back it up) to DARE anyone to question their choice of instrument.

So what you have to ask yourself is are you that serious and professional?
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well I make my living as a professional bass player and I have the socalled serious Fender Jazz and P basses as well as my " serious MusicMan SR but for the last couple of months I've been playing my "not so serious Squier VM5 and my "not so serious
Peavey Grind6 and the people who've hired me to play still pay me very well enough for me to make my "serious car payment and my serious mortgage payment !. Practicing and giging make for a serious musician not socall mid level to high end instruments
 
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#331
Go for it,,Squier has really upped their game with the VMs and classic Vibe series,I have a VM P and Jag and had a Jazz but sold it as i am a P bass guy,great basses I gig with them all the time,its not whats on the headstock that matters,I really doubt anyone is gonna care or notice if your playing a Fender or squier and I mean you gotta be real technically skilled almost like a computer to tell the difference in what your hearing...Get a Squier you wont regret it,just read all the love here on TB that should confirm your decision...
 
#333
JustSomeDude said:
I will add to this thread....

The WORST Bass players I have ever recorded always had really expensive rigs.
That said...my 'serious bass' is a '69 PBass.
But my other bass (Epiphone Viola with Flats) has been on more than 1 multi platinum record :)

I'm in the market for a Squier now...I need something that I'm not afraid to fly with.
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Squier VM's and CV's are both nice instruments. I had a VM '77 Jazz that was absolutely stellar.
 
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#335
I brought my Squier Jazz Standard to practice the other night. It has my old mim pups in it. I like the way they sound at home, but they don't cut through the band like my dimarzios do. The bass plays really nice, though. As good as my fender. I think it's great when people rock out on low end gear.
 

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