• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Whats the difference???? Fender vs. Squier

  • Thread starter Thread starter garretibanez
  • Start date Start date

What do you prefer Squier or Fender

  • Squier

    Votes: 23 14.6%

  • Fender

    Votes: 134 85.4%
  • Total voters
    157
#41
When I looked around recently for a bass to get back into it after a long layoff, I knew I wanted a J bass. I checked out all the usual suspects, including other value brands like Jay Turser.

What I wound up doing was buying a used MIM and upgraded pups and put a BA II on. For the $ I paid, it really wasn't much more than a new Squire, and I think it is better any any Squire I played. After buying it and upgrades, I paid less than a new MIM.

I certainly looked at the new MIM and the new MIA J's, along with G&L and others. While really nice, I am not sure the MIA J's are $1k+ better than MIM and $1200 better than Squires. However, they are definitely better, imo.
 
#42
I've got a '08 MIA Fender Jazz V and a Squier FVM Fretless. The major difference in quality and workmanship is obvious, the Fender is vastly superior to the Squier. I've got truss rod issues with the Squier as the Fender is built like a tank. Every inch of the Fender is top notch, I can't say that about the Squier.

Of coarse, I bought the Squier just because I wanted to get into playing fretless for as little money as possible, so the Squier has served it's purpose in that regard. Needless to say, I'm happy with the Squier, but I love my '08' Jazz V.
 
#44
bongomania said:
Squier is one of Fender's budget brands. The only way to make something cheap is to make something cheap, if you catch my drift. That doesn't mean they don't or can't sound awesome; it only means that Fender put as little money as possible into the parts, assembly, and quality control, so if you got a good one then you were lucky--or you just like it how it is, which is fine of course.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. I have no idea how much Fender spends on producing a Squier bass vs. a Fender bass, but it is entirely possible that they spend the exact same amount, and simply charge more for the Fender because of the demand for the Fender brand name.

In fact, it's possible (though not likely) that Fender is actually losing money on each Squier it sells, because by selling a Squier cheaply it enables more consumers to become bass players and enthusiasts, and those new players will likely end up buying future instruments from the most popular brand in the world.

Say both a Squier and a MIM Fender both cost $325 to make (obviously this is blatant speculation for the purpose of demonstrating how this model would work) and therefore Fender loses $25 per Squier sold. If 1 in 10 people who bought a Squier end up buying a MIM Jazz Bass for $650, Fender would be making a profit.

Anyway, the point is that just because Squiers and less expensive than Fenders doesn't mean that Fenders are necessarily twice, or 4x, or 5x, as good.
 
#47
MonsterTruck88 said:
Not necessarily. I have no idea how much Fender spends on producing a Squier bass vs. a Fender bass, but it is entirely possible that they spend the exact same amount, and simply charge more for the Fender because of the demand for the Fender brand name.

In fact, it's possible (though not likely) that Fender is actually losing money on each Squier it sells, because by selling a Squier cheaply it enables more consumers to become bass players and enthusiasts, and those new players will likely end up buying future instruments from the most popular brand in the world.

Say both a Squier and a MIM Fender both cost $325 to make (obviously this is blatant speculation for the purpose of demonstrating how this model would work) and therefore Fender loses $25 per Squier sold. If 1 in 10 people who bought a Squier end up buying a MIM Jazz Bass for $650, Fender would be making a profit.

Anyway, the point is that just because Squiers and less expensive than Fenders doesn't mean that Fenders are necessarily twice, or 4x, or 5x, as good.
Click to expand...


Sorry, this is not how it works. The production costs are entirely different, due to the parts used, the cost of local supplies, and local labor.

The cost to build an MIA and a Squier aren't the same because the raw materials aren't even the same, never mind the labor costs.

Trust me, FMIC ISN'T losing money on the Squiers. As a matter of fact, given the low labor costs, it's entirely possible that they make MORE percentage wise on the Squier.


I doubt that my $$'s are going to pay for Chinese or Indonesian employee's health insurance, retirement plans, workmans comp, etc. etc. like my $$'s do for the American employees when I buy a FMIC product.
 
#50
This thread is friggin bullsht!!! I dont want to read any more of this! I just blew my kids college fund on a Fender Jazz and to hear that a Squire sounds the same and looks the same is gonna kill me. I wont believe it. Dam you for writing this. Its blastfamy! :mad: Sht, how do you spell blasfomy?
 
#51
monroe55 said:
This thread is friggin bullsht!!! I dont want to read any more of this! I just blew my kids college fund on a Fender Jazz and to hear that a Squire sounds the same and looks the same is gonna kill me. I wont believe it. Dam you for writing this. Its blastfamy! :mad: Sht, how do you spell blasfomy?
Click to expand...

It's blasphemy. And maybe you shouldn't have spent that college fund on a bass? Maybe? Anyway, carrots.
 
#52
FSSmikey said:
i dont sweat the petty things, although i have been known to pet the sweaty things.
Click to expand...
Haven't we all? :)

I've got a 2008 MIA, and there are some real differences in craftsmanship. Some are subtle, like the rolled fingerboard and frets. Some are obvious, like the completely noiseless pickups and the resonance in the body.

That said, we're talking an $800 (or, with this year's price hike, $1000) price difference.

My next bass may very well be the Squier Classic Vibe 51 Precision. Though it has a few very minor rough edges, it sounds and feels great, far better than I'd expect for a $300 instrument.

Sure, you get a bit more fit and polish with the Fenders, but it's up to you whether it's worth it. Apples and oranges, really.
 
#53
monroe55 said:
This thread is friggin bullsht!!! I dont want to read any more of this! I just blew my kids college fund on a Fender Jazz and to hear that a Squire sounds the same and looks the same is gonna kill me. I wont believe it. Dam you for writing this. Its blastfamy! :mad: Sht, how do you spell blasfomy?
Click to expand...

blasphemy.


so you had like 1,200 bucks saved for your kids college tuition?


that'll get what, 1 semester?






youre a bad father.
 
#54
here we go again...

do you fight with your neighbor cause he has a mini cooper and you have a toyota? He drives terrible while you can drive through anything.

i just read this month bass player and they have a big ad of the $600 sterling music man bass, and how it is almost the same as the $1400 sting ray music man. The wood was a bit different but made in Indonesia or something. Same pickups, same bridge, same tuners, same guts. Labor was cheaper. The brand doesn't say Stingray, although still says Music Man.

That's the same with Squier and the Fender. Cheaper labor, cheaper wood. Some models have lower quality pickups and bridge. But can you actually tell the sound being different cause the body is mahogany or basswood? If you can tell then I am pretty sure you own a $2,000 warwick.

Although I love my squire, I always get the "is that squire?", like it's some kind of grotesque animal.
 
#55
FSSmikey said:
so you had like 1,200 bucks saved for your kids college tuition?

that'll get what, 1 semester?
Click to expand...
That'll get books for one semester, perhaps...

I haven't been in since 1992, but even then, books alone were $600 one semester. Scores are expensive.

Seriously, you didn't waste money spending $1200 on a Fender. If you feel badly about it, you can sell it for most of what you paid for it.

OTOH, you're not a rube for buying a Squier. They're great instruments, they're just not as nice as the MIA Fenders.

(Of course, this comes from a guy who started gigging with a Mako in the 1980's. It was 1994 before I had a really "nice" bass.)
 
#56
crow01 said:
But can you actually tell the sound being different cause the body is mahogany or basswood? If you can tell then I am pretty sure you own a $2,000 warwick.
Click to expand...

Some would say they can. I know I can't..

But there is more to enjoying a bass than because you like its tone. It has to feel right in your hands. For me, Fender does that better than Squier. YMMV, etc.

Consider the Squier version of the Fender 51 reissue. As far as I know the Squier does not have the one piece maple neck, tinted, with 7.25 radius and vintage frets. That neck quality is something I love about the Fender and what makes it one of my favourite basses.

Without that the Squier version is a different instrument. Some may like it in its own right and that's great. But when you stand it beside the Fender, you can see and feel the differences.

IMO, etc
 
#58
I have the Fender Jazz Marcus Miller (strung with Hi Beams) and the Squire Classic Vibe Jazz (strung with Flatwounds). The squire classic vibe jazz is an excellent bass and a welcome addition. I now have two distinct sounds, but on two basses that feel quite similar. I am still amazed that there is almost a $1000 price difference between the two.

The tuning heads on the classic vibe are not as good though. They are a bit too loose. But since it is a recent purchase, I am taking it back to have the shop fix that for me. Otherwise I am happy with the Squire CV Jazz.
 
#59
garretibanez said:
Yeah but people say Fender sounds better most of them subconsiously think that because how pissed would you be if you bought a 1k bass to find out it has the same sound as a $150 bass
Click to expand...

:D:D:D:D

Reference any of the blind sound tests here. Squier and SX always get very high marks if not beat their higher priced counterparts when it is just one audio clip against another.

To the OP, the entry level Squiers will have slightly lower quality woods and lower quality hardware. However, the CV and VM series are very nice basses.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back