Squier VM P bass 5 upgrade path?

[synthaside]

I've just agreed to purchase of one of these ( should be in my paws Tuesday) the refinished Sherwood Green one from the classifieds, my plans for it were to wrap the scratchplate in black Nylon wrap, like I've done before on a Bitsa jazz .

Then see what needs doing with the pickups, supposedly the seller fitted one of these. http://www.angela.com/fenderamericanstd5stringprecisionbasspickup.aspx .
I guess I shall soon find out

[Telebass]

[quote name='No lust in Jazz' timestamp='1487317632' post='3238827']
I must have been lucky with my Squier VM P5 or possibly you were unlucky - I find the stock PU great and I'm the kind of tart that would change stuff out in a heartbeat.
[/quote]
This. I actually put a USA standard pickup in mine. Then returned it to stock. The upgrade I might make is Hipshot Ultralight tuners to improve weight and balance.

[No lust in Jazz]

Just for full disclosure - My upgrade path has been.

Dunlop strap locks - Which all of my basses have
A Sandberg Bridge - The BBOT was its weakest feature and I like the Sandberg design
A Kiogon replacement loom - fitted after the tone pot developed a noise
I made some spacers for under the string tree.

It still makes me smile every time I play it..

[Ghost_Bass]

I wouldn't spend money on such cheap instrument if the part ain't broken. If it was me i would sell it and buy another bass, for the same money, with better sound/components (won't say wich but you know what i'm talking about )

[No lust in Jazz]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1489593844' post='3258250']
I wouldn't spend money on such cheap instrument if the part ain't broken. If it was me i would sell it and buy another bass, for the same money, with better sound/components (won't say wich but you know what i'm talking about )
[/quote]
Oh... I'm really sorry to read this, which one did you own?

[Ghost_Bass]

[quote name='No lust in Jazz' timestamp='1489600012' post='3258308']
Oh... I'm really sorry to read this, which one did you own?
[/quote]

Could you explain your question? Don't quite get it...

[No lust in Jazz]

Sorry - its a thread about modifying a Squier VM P 5 bass - sounds like you had a bad experience of doing this - which bass was it?

[Ghost_Bass]

[quote name='No lust in Jazz' timestamp='1489678352' post='3258923']
Sorry - its a thread about modifying a Squier VM P 5 bass - sounds like you had a bad experience of doing this - which bass was it?
[/quote]

No, you must have misundertood my post or it's just my lack in english vocabulary that didn't allowed me to explain well. Summing it up, a VMP5 is a cheapish bass, what's the point in buying a cheap bass only to spend a fair bit of money in upgrading working pickups/wiring/bridge/tuners/etc.? In the end the bass will be more expensive but won't be worth the inicial investment plus upgrades!

If it was me, i would prefer to sell the VMP5 and but another budget 5-string P-bass of another brand that doesn't come with those shortcomings.

Then i made a joke about wich bass i would get, in that price range, that wouldn't have those problems - Yamaha BB425(x) obviously, just look at my profile and sig... hehehe - but there are more out there that will also have more punch and good B string off the shelf in the same price bracket (Ibanez, Sire, etc.).

Cheers

[lownote]

As the OP I'd just like to say that I liked several things about this bass: light weight, smokey pickups, good B tone, good finish, including smooth fret ends. All that it needed in the end was a KiOgon loom to unleash its goodness.

[Telebass]

[quote name='lownote12' timestamp='1487314310' post='3238809']
Just bought one. Like many aspects of it but find the pickups quiet, muddy and boomy. And cheap and jangly sounding with the tone control anywhere but off. Can anyone who has done a successful upgrade of this bass recommend ideas. A KiOgon loom is probably a given, but which pickup? I like the Tonerider very much but they don't do a 5 string version.
[/quote]

Mine was completely good stock. Why upgrade it?

[Ghost_Bass]

[quote name='lownote12' timestamp='1489760691' post='3259583']
As the OP I'd just like to say that I liked several things about this bass: light weight, smokey pickups, good B tone, good finish, including smooth fret ends. All that it needed in the end was a KiOgon loom to unleash its goodness.
[/quote]

So, the wiring loom took care of the "quiet, muddy and boomy" sound you were gettin? In that case it's a good, cheap and justified upgrade.

[Jimryan]

A little heads up...

In a current project I'm doing (Harley Benton 5 string P - build diary is ongoing), I wanted to fit a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound in mine. Prices do vary and I found Thomann to be the cheapest (about £120). Had a look online and noticed GAK's price of £170. Rang them up, the chap was very helpful and offered me one for £130 including next day delivery. With Thomann the pickup and delivery came to £131.

Pickup is already here, saved a £1 and a delivery time. It pays to call and ask.

[No lust in Jazz]

Yes indeed, why upgrade it..I understand the counter arguments - there are others around, buy a Yamaha, buy an Ibanez, This bass stands on its own - the Squier price point could lead one to think that its a piece of rubbish to be avoided, OK I've tweaked mine, but total spend for me has been a shade over £300 and it sounds awesome.

[Deedee]

[quote name='No lust in Jazz' timestamp='1489826542' post='3260093']
Yes indeed, why upgrade it..I understand the counter arguments - there are others around, buy a Yamaha, buy an Ibanez, This bass stands on its own - the Squier price point could lead one to think that its a piece of rubbish to be avoided, OK I've tweaked mine, but total spend for me has been a shade over £300 and it sounds awesome.
[/quote]

Too true. I've fitted a kiogon loom (cts pots/switchcraft socket etc) and I have been toying with changing the pickup too. However, it does sound great as is.

The new project I'm currently in isn't going to require quite as much 5 string action as I first thought, so I'm looking to sell one of my fives. But honestly although completely different beasts, I can't decide between this or my BTB. My head says move the Squier on as the BTB is more flexible etc, etc, but my heart says keep the Squier because it plays and feels wonderful. 🤔

Edited March 18, 2017 by Deedee

[ead]

I have just acquired one of these (now with Kiogon harness) and it sounds pretty good. The band certainly liked it.

What did surprise me was the serial number which starts ICS16....This would appear to indicate made in Indonesia by Cort in 2016. I thought these were a discontinued line?

[GreeneKing]

Another option that I've read good things about:

http://www.haeussel.com/index.php?id=22

[BassBunny]

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1490272812' post='3263802']
What did surprise me was the serial number which starts ICS16....This would appear to indicate made in Indonesia by Cort in 2016. I thought these were a discontinued line?
[/quote]

Mine is an ICS14 serial number and I must admit I really like it. If they are/were made by Cort, that could explain why they are so well made and get consistently good feedback.
Swapped the original BBOT bridge for a Wilkinson Vintage one. Pots for CTS. Switchcraft Jack and changed the capacitor to a [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]0.1uf for further vintage roll off and with flats on it is a really nice bass. Took it to rehearsal last night and it sounded superb and plays really well.[/font][/color]

[BassBunny]

[quote name='GreeneKing' timestamp='1490277982' post='3263879']
Another option that I've read good things about:

[url="http://www.haeussel.com/index.php?id=22"]http://www.haeussel....index.php?id=22[/url]
[/quote]
Must admit I really want to try Haessel pickups Pete. They really do intrigue me.

[ead]

Just put on a set of D'Addario nickels in 42/55/75/100/135T gauges. Much improved bottom end to my ears - tighter. The sound does seem to be quite sensitive to pickup height for the stock items (more so that my other basses); anybody else found this?

Toying with the idea of replacing the disappointingly cheap-looking (printed?) scratchplate, and maybe some lighter tuners.

[doc40hz]

That's me playing the white VM 5 on page one of this thread!

I can't say enough about the quality of the SQuire VM range. For years I had completely ignored Squiers, probably because of the hunk of crap one I had in the early 90s - A P-bass, my second bass (looking back, it probably jsut needed a good truss rod tweak).

The neck on this bass is great. The stock pickups were not bad at all and appeared to be alnico Vs with cloth wire. The wiring inside is top notch with good quality components. The tuners seem ok. The stock bridge is a bent bit of pot-metal, but no worse than on may fenders.

Altogether a superb 5 string p-bass for not a lot of money - cant really see how it could be improved by spending an extra 1000 quid on an american on. There is no problems with the B-string on this bass either. Played live the sound is meaty, p-bass goodness all the way.

I've been playing bass 27 years and have had dozens through my hands. The quality of modern budget instruments is outstanding, way better than back in the day. You get the odd dodgy ones, for sure, but good ones are excellent for upgrading into superb beasts. I have a VM 77 Jazz which has been suped up with a badass II, Delano PUPS, Hipshot tuners and a John East pre-amp. Great sounding bass and the neck is probably the nicest one I have on my many basses - action is sooo low with no fret buzz. Feels amazing! In fact, here's a vid of that bass (off topic, I apologise - remove if you want admin): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NnCnqAF2SA

[lownote]

Thanks for the vid. Great piece of playing. How do you cope with that huge amount of backbow in the neck tho, it's looks like a banana!

[6feet7]

Would sticking something like a hipshot bridge make any difference (apart from looks) to my VM Precision V? Reading up (on t'internet), sustain seems to be improved but not a lot else. I'm perfectly happy with the BBOM but wondered about the opinions of basschatters? Also would changing the saddles to brass on the BBOM make any difference? (I'd rather not spend any extra money if it doesn't really make much of a change).

Edited April 5, 2017 by 6feet7

[BassBunny]

[quote name='6feet7' timestamp='1491423756' post='3272991']
Would sticking something like a hipshot bridge make any difference (apart from looks) to my VM Precision V? Reading up (on t'internet), sustain seems to be improved but not a lot else. I'm perfectly happy with the BBOM but wondered about the opinions of basschatters? Also would changing the saddles to brass on the BBOM make any difference? (I'd rather not spend any extra money if it doesn't really make much of a change).
[/quote]

I have put a Wilkinson Vintage bridge on mine. A lot more substantial than the BBOT and the Brass Saddles look a lot better. It does seem to make a difference in the sustain department. For just over £20 it was money well spent IMHO.

[6feet7]

[quote name='BassBunny' timestamp='1491426615' post='3273025']
I have put a Wilkinson Vintage bridge on mine. A lot more substantial than the BBOT and the Brass Saddles look a lot better. It does seem to make a difference in the sustain department. For just over £20 it was money well spent IMHO.
[/quote]

I did look at those but they didn't seem any different to what was already on the bass. I'll have a look more closely

[BassBunny]

[quote name='6feet7' timestamp='1491426987' post='3273028']
I did look at those but they didn't seem any different to what was already on the bass. I'll have a look more closely
[/quote]
They are the same design and look the same, (apart from the brass saddles), but are made out of heavier guage steel. You could try a Gotoh if the Wilkinson one doesn't float your boat.