I had long been intrigued by this model, what with the bold Lake Placid Blue, the matching headstock and scores of rave reviews. That curiosity became all the more intense after I'd gotten my first Classic Vibe '60s Jazz.
(…gotten in ways that are weirdly symmetrical to this acquisition. More on that below…) That one was truly excellent and remains high on my
"ones that got away" list.
Side-note; for those who haven't had the pleasure of owning a first-generation Squier Classic Vibe Jazz, either the '60s or the James Johnston, the Chinese factory that produced them really knocked it out of the park with that series! To that effect, I plan on keeping this one as stock as possible. The most I may do is install a series/parallel wiring harness.
One of the best things about this 2012 model is that it's practically new-old-stock! The guy I bought it from got it brand-new to have a bass available for anyone who needed it at his home studio. Now, that he's selling off his recording/mixing gear, this one was also on the block. All it took was to pull the trigger and drive up to New Jersey, right across the river from Manhattan. We met, I checked it out, including plugging it into a portable headphone amp, and everything was fine. He even threw in the dark blue strap in the first pic. Sure, it's a guitar strap, but it matches nicely with the bass' finish…plus, it was a nice gesture, which goes a long way in my book.
Afterwards, I was able to make the most of the drive by swinging by a Japanese shopping center, had some treats and a couple of carry-out boxes of
taiyaki for home, then visit some friends on the way back…wins all around!
Fun times aside, this one will need a bit of work. The frets have sprouted a wee bit, the pickups have grabbed some dust and the metal parts are tarnished to hell-and-back, so I'll be taking it apart, oiling the fretboard, giving it a deep cleaning and restringing it with far less dead ones.
(Let the Reclamation Projekt begin!) After that, I'll see if I need to take it to my local Guitar Center's fantastic tech for a fret-job. Better pics will follow as I make more and more progress.
Two questions for anyone reading this;
- Does anyone know a good tarnish remover that won't gouge the metal parts' chrome finish? I wanna get it to as close to looking new as possible.
- Any thoughts on strings? I'm already leaning towards a set of Thomasik-Infeld Powerbass strings (aka: The Rolls Royce of strings, which would be very appropriate for a Squier that is only rivaled by the early '80s Japanese-made models!), but I'd like to hear thoughts from people who've owned one of these first-generation Classic Vibes.
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