hooky_lowdown

Nice poly finish.

Sounds like a standard V4 would suit your needs, they come in a few colour schemes, I like the vintage White with maple FB.

Yes, the parts are Chinese and the CVs are made in china. Fender MIM hardware is also made in China and shipped to Mexico for assembly, explains why they seem the same to you!

Yes, they have different spec. From things I've read the newer ones with the painted headstock have hotter pups than the others. If you decide on the V4 than try a few out, this goes for any bass really. Some will feel and sound better to you than others, but the consistent is that you know all will be well made and spec'd. All the CVs hardware is made in china, and most will agree while the Wilkinson hardware may also be made in china, it's of very decent quality. If we knew what style or kinds of music you want the p bass for, we can help narrow down your search?

Lozz196 knows what he's talking about.

No, the V4 has a bigger range, from the ICON series which is vintage in feel and tone, to the STANDARD series which is more modern sounding.

+1 for the V4. With the CV you only have vintage tone. The V4 range gives you more options, from vintage to more modern sounding.

Make sure it's a minimum of 40w, anything less powerful is pretty much useless.

Yup, definitely looks like an accu bass. Difficult to tell on my phone, but looks like a nasty split around the top of the neck, maybe the headstock was cut off at some point.

Squire had a busy year in 89 as it's around then they switched production from Japan to Korea. If they opened a US plant as well, must had been a logistical nightmare. US squiers must be as rare as hens teeth. Can't imagine what one would go for?

Same here.

Less is more mate. Bass looks a winner. Where are you putting your tugbar, I'm guessing in the original (50s) position as you used the term tugbar, instead of the 70s thumb rest position?

The same Indian factory (s) also made the early Encore basses (90s), these can be picked up dirt cheap, I currently have one, great neck and ash body, mine is still stock, but could upgrade electrics and add a tonerider pup, Wilkinson hardware and it would easily rival the CV range for a third of the cost.

Great job. Bass looks killer now.

Don't put those chrome pickup and bridge covers on - they are jazz bass covers, not P bass covers.

I don't think there was ever a US squier, and the Mexico were Fender, made with squier parts (squire series). I've owned mij, mik, mii and mic squires. It's all down to quality control, some years were better than others, this is what you need to look out for. Early and mid 80s jap squires are rated by many as good as US fenders. I owned an 89 p mik and it was great, couldn't get on with its glossy neck though. I recently had a 2010s affinity p bass mic and it was amazing, fairly light and sounded really good fully stock. So much so, I had to take it apart to try and work out why it sounded as good as it did. I now play SS basses, otherwise it was a keeper. Some CV and VM squires are excellent basses in terms of build and sound, some are not as good. Because quality control varies, even from the same batch, you need to try a bass (or any instrument for that matter) and some will feel right to you, others won't. There isn't one size fits all.

New or used? If you buy a used bass from Japan or US I doubt you will need a certificate, as most basses pre certificate will obviously be rosewood.

Great stuff Bill. Might you do some thumb style stuff, I play pretty much exclusively with my thumb, instead of fingers a la Sting and Paul Simonon. Get a bigger, rounder and fuller tone.

No point contesting feedback as fleabay won't get involved. I've had a couple problems with sellers and they don't even reply to messages.