A neighbor (guitar player) was going to toss this bass in the trash a few years back, so I snagged it and gave it it to my step daughter. Since she was 11 and lost interest in a barely functional bass, it was put aside. Anyway, I am having a tough time id'ing it. The wings seem high for a jazz or p bass and the color is odd. Any ideas? Reason I'm interested is that I may make this a project for myself. Thanks very much.
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Unknown Squier
- Thread starter Larbacca
- Start date
The other strange thing is the serial number. It seems very old by the fender/squier conventions. I've played around with it and it's not as bad as I thought 5 plus years ago. It just needs some work. I want to repaint and restring it and maybe change out the pick ups. What better way to learn than on something that was about to be literally thrown out?
Yep likely late 80's. Korean made. In good shape worth $150-$200 or so. For free its a very good price
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Yup, HM series bass. There was a corresponding guitar line as well. Made by the Cort factory in South Korea, so should be a decent instrument. Especially for free!
Yes, it's a Squier HM- I've played it before but went with another Squier model, the MB5 (Modern Bass 5) as it was a five string. Thing about both these basses I've noticed were the pickups were very weak. Definitely could use changing, playability is pretty good though. Nice and light weight much like an Ibanez bass.
So I've taken this bass apart, cleaned the body (kid graffiti), replaced the truss rod cover, and put in a new nut. I'm going to put dimarzios and new tuners on after I make a decision on the body. Should I get it refinished or keep it as this late 80s teal? I don't think it matters much except the relic factor. I'd prefer a more subdued color and it's not like it's a 60s era pbass.
Personally, I would rattlecan refinish it (it came out of the trash, not worth a pro refin imo) in some white or off white. That would be plenty 80s with the matching headstock, and would also be suitable for other styles (tux colors, ya know?). Dimarzios would probably be a good pickup choice (given the jazz is the right size), but if the tuners do their job, I would keep them. Just my 2 cents
I never put the after pics of this bass. It was a fun little project making it a lighter look and cleaning it up. I changed the nut to a Carvin graphite nut, the cover to white, and chromed the rest of the hardware. It looked less 80's metal and more what the 80's thought the 50's looked like. The pickups are the tone monster P/J set and they worked out great. I also put flats on it. It was a deep, smooth bass. I've since sold it to a collector of HM basses, but thought I'd share the completed project.
