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Tricked Out Squier Club Part 3

#501
JIO said:
Is the grain going side to side? I don't recall ever seeing a body cut like that - is it a thin top laminate?
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That's what most are saying, they've never seen the wood like that. Someone said it was a veneer covering over a 2 piece body. I totally dig it. It's unique. God how I missed playing it, sounds, looks and plays like a dream. Love my P. It is indeed made in China as stated on the back of the headstock. It's a '99 as well.
 
#502
Let me ask you Squier fans a question about the finish on your Squiers -- Do they all feel like the necks are naked wood?

I tried out a couple of Squier basses last weekend, a VM Jazz and a 70s Jazz, and both of them felt like they had an unfinished neck. They felt nothing at all like the Americans with the glossy poly finishes, and nothing at all like the Mexicans with the satin finishes. The Squiers all felt like they were bare wood. I liked the feel of the bass for the money, but I absolutely hated the feel of the neck finish.

Is this typical / normal? Are they all like this? If they're all like this, then I don't understand how anyone could like the finish. It was a real deal breaker for me.
 
#503
The necks of the vm series are unfinished. The Classics aren't. The unfinished necks are much faster/easier to play due to the fact that a slightly sweaty hand doesn't hang on the fine grain. Lacquered necks tend to make your hand stick when sliding. And have that squeaky basketball court sound.

The unfinished neck is something that developed in the 70's.

I myself have a finished neck on my Squier Strat. My VM 70 has an unfinished neck. I used lapping paper of 1500 or 1000 grit to make my strats neck more slick and faster like my friends ibanezz RG.
 
#504
My neck is finished with something, it's made in China and is a '99 Squier P. It's starting to come off and in some places has already due to me scraping off a sticker I put there years ago. I like the way the neck on mine feels as I do the unfinished newer ones. Feels nice and quick to me.
 
#506
Southway said:
Those necks that look and feel unfinished, do actually have a satin finish on them. Maple will deteriorate noticeably if there is no finish on it. I have a Squire bullet Strat that I thought had no finish on the neck, until I tried to stain it.
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I am pretty sure that my VM 70 neck is unfinished. Because my neck has staining of the wall mounted guitar hook and dirty fingers. It would be more of a darker colour too if it was a satin finish
 
#507
According to the Fender site, the Squier VM Jazz has a gloss polyurethane neck finish:

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There is no way in hell that that bass had a gloss poly neck finish. It was bare wood.

According to the Fender site, the Squier 70's VM Jazz has a "vintage tint gloss" neck finish:

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Both guitars felt like they had bare maple necks. Now I could understand it if there was supposed to be some sort of satin finish on there -- I would have assumed that if a satin finish had been applied, then it was sprayed on so thin that it was hard to tell it was there. But there's just NO WAY that those basses had gloss polyester finishes on them -- no matter how thin they were sprayed, you should be able to recognize a gloss poly finish if it had been applied.

So this seems to be a case where the guitars on the racks don't match the descriptions on the Fender web site. Not sure exactly where the problem lies, but the bottom line is that these guitars with necks that feel bare ... they feel cheap, and they feel like somebody in QC let them out the door without having the necks go through the spray booth.
 
#508
Painted the pg all black. I'm sorry but my P has officially been pimped. Damn. Very happy with the results. Mmmmm mm!
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#510
WretchedExcess said:
According to the Fender site, the Squier VM Jazz has a gloss polyurethane neck finish:

Invalid Link Removed

There is no way in hell that that bass had a gloss poly neck finish. It was bare wood.

According to the Fender site, the Squier 70's VM Jazz has a "vintage tint gloss" neck finish:

Invalid Link Removed

Both guitars felt like they had bare maple necks. Now I could understand it if there was supposed to be some sort of satin finish on there -- I would have assumed that if a satin finish had been applied, then it was sprayed on so thin that it was hard to tell it was there. But there's just NO WAY that those basses had gloss polyester finishes on them -- no matter how thin they were sprayed, you should be able to recognize a gloss poly finish if it had been applied.

So this seems to be a case where the guitars on the racks don't match the descriptions on the Fender web site. Not sure exactly where the problem lies, but the bottom line is that these guitars with necks that feel bare ... they feel cheap, and they feel like somebody in QC let them out the door without having the necks go through the spray booth.
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I have two Vintage modified Squiers:
1st) 1998 VM Precision (4 string Olympic White/black pickguard/rosewood), it had satin finished neck, rather thinly applied, after all the years the satin finish had buffed itself out into a kind of semi-gloss;
2nd) a recent (2013) VM Precision 5 with very glossy PU neck.

I guess the finish specifications were changed somewhere between the two. Or mayby different instruments in the VM series have different neck finishes.
 
#511
I have a recommendation:
I once told you that I bought a Squier Jazz 5 and compared it to my MIA Fender Jazz to the point of comparing dimensions with a micrometer - result - exact CNC specifications.

There was a lacking in the US pickups on that particular 2005 model and the 2011 Squier sounded very growly by comparison but there was a little less warmth than I like.

SOLUTION - There is a company on ebay (Stratosphere) that parts out new instruments so I bought a new set of MIA 2013 Jazz 5 pickups, scratch plate, wiring harness pots, etc for $138.

Even with shipping I have a replaceable "tossaway" bass for under $350 that sounds wonderful. Last weekend I played the whole night and left my Alembic Essence 5 on the stand and the other musicians complimented the look and sound of my "Fender" bass.

If you want a cheap spare or a bass to play dives without worrying about it, I strongly recommend this option.
 
#512
WretchedExcess said:
Let me ask you Squier fans a question about the finish on your Squiers -- Do they all feel like the necks are naked wood?
Click to expand...

I have four Squiers: '03 Precision Special, '06 VM Frettless Jazz, '08 CV Precision, and '12 VM Jag SS. Each bass was purchased new and the necks haven't been modified. ALL the basses have very smooth gloss finish necks. The Jag has the thinnest finish, the CV the thickest finish.
 
#515
Snakeman1066 said:
and guys the VM necks do indeed have a very thin satin finish, I know this as i had to do some sanding on the neck i took off my VM P in order to make it fit the neck pocket of another bass.....THEY DO INDEED have a thin satin fisnish
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Correct, but give up trying to convince people of this...they just seemed determined to believe they don't have any finish.
All I can figure is that they have never touch real unfinished maple, but whatever...
I like what you did with the VMP, btw...I have a VMJV and a VMP, and kinda laughed when I saw yours still had the inspection sticker (and apparently the clear plastic) on the pickguard...After a couple of years, I finally took mine off a week ago, lol.
 
#516
THand said:
Correct, but give up trying to convince people of this...they just seemed determined to believe they don't have any finish.
All I can figure is that they have never touch real unfinished maple, but whatever...
I like what you did with the VMP, btw...I have a VMJV and a VMP, and kinda laughed when I saw yours still had the inspection sticker (and apparently the clear plastic) on the pickguard...After a couple of years, I finally took mine off a week ago, lol.
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thanks...i haven't been playing it outside the house and figured i knew i was going to mod it when i bought it...so no point in taking off the plastic till i was finished with it...

i really dig the natural with blocks but can't really stand J necks, so when i found a MIM neck with p nut width i jumped on it!

and every bass i own (fender style) automatically gets a Gotoh bridge...i really like them

the Bill Lawrence P-46 is here but i'm waiting on some new pots and what-not to show up....more to come
 
#517
Hi snakeman...we meet again! I've got EXACTLY the same bass you do....A VM Precision amber. I ordered a Bill Lawrence P-46 for mine as well. I, too love the bound and blocked neck, although I think I'd be little more comfortable with the Jazz width. Where is the most reasonable place you've found to acquire the Gotoh bridge? Are they a simple bolt-on for a VM Precision, or do you have to tap some new holes to install it?
 
#518
eldoryder said:
Hi snakeman...we meet again! I've got EXACTLY the same bass you do....A VM Precision amber. I ordered a Bill Lawrence P-46 for mine as well. I, too love the bound and blocked neck, although I think I'd be little more comfortable with the Jazz width. Where is the most reasonable place you've found to acquire the Gotoh bridge? Are they a simple bolt-on for a VM Precision, or do you have to tap some new holes to install it?
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no they are a simple drop in...no fuss involved at all...i have never been able to get a bass close to being Intonated with the stock bridge....plus the saddles on the Gotoh are a bit thicker in diameter which gives me more room for string height adjustments...(I'm heavy handed when i play finger style) plus i like the added weight....and they do add a little more sustain if your into that sort of thing

they run about $40.00 new and you can get them just about anyplace but i usually get them form

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although this neck has a "P" width it is not as thick (front to back) as the standard "P"....so i absolutely love it.....spacing on a jazz is just a bit too tight for me.....this is basically the best of both worlds for me
 

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