Squier Vm 77 Jazz Bass

[Wylie]

I ordered the Squier 77 jazz bass from U.S. online store Sweetwater. Cost: $285 (L182 or 214 euros). Bass arrived in good shape and tuned up nicely, very playable right out of the box, but with pretty high action. (But see below.)

I was surprised to find that the bass is made in Indonesia. I thought these were being made in China. Body is agathis. The black finish is flawless and the overall effect is stunning. White-edged black pickguard, maple neck with white binding. Satin finish on the neck and headstock; a dull look but good for playing. The block inlays are pearloid. It's a very sharp looking bass. Not especially heavy, but not a lightweight. Good balance with a strap; no headstock-diving.

Truss rod adjustment is at the top of the neck. Everything is mostly nice and tight: no knobs falling off, but one is rather free and the other one is a little tight. Frets are in good shape, no sharp ones. The tuners are good; string tension (with the flats I put on) is comfortably tight. Nicely responsive to aggressive finger-picking.

There are a couple of 'blurry' notes but no dead notes. Overall tonal response is somewhat equal all over the fretboard. And all the lower notes--low E, F, G, up through B on the E string--are fat and full; no 'hollow' low notes. I prefer flats, but the bass was strung with rounds when it arrived, and the lower range of notes, with bridge pickup dialed in, was nice and big--a full-bodied tone, not just loud. I lowered all strings and intonated them; the action is now low, and no buzzing. With the flats, I still get the best of both worlds.


I am running it through a Hartke 2500 & Schroeder light 12 cab and getting powerful, nicely balanced tones all over the fretboard.

Very good instrument for the money. I swapped the bridge for a Gotoh 201 C and the tone and overall note quality is improved by thirty percent. Incredible improvement! The neck pickup dialed to about eight, with the bridge pickup dialed in to five to nine -- it's great!

A year later ... It's still performing. The pickups are better than I gave them credit for. I switched to D'daddario half-rounds six months ago and they seem perfect for this bass; I get a lot of variety with them and they feel great. Not quite the fat sound of flats, but the feel of flats. I've had no neck issues. When I put the Gotoh on I shimmed the neck -- twice. Got the instructions, with pix, here on BassChat. Shimmed with two business cards and that brought the action down nicely that the Gotoh had raised a bit.

[EDIT: Got DiMarzio pickups installed Nov. 2011 and they put the Duncan-Designed pickups (stock) in the shade; monster tone now.]



Ted

Edited November 22, 2011 by tedgilley

[gjones]

Good review. It certainly looks very nice. I've got a couple of Squier Jazzes and they're great basses for the price.

[hookys6stringbass]

[quote name='tedgilley' post='965839' date='Sep 23 2010, 05:10 PM']I ordered the Squier 77 jazz bass from online store Sweetwater. Cost: $285 (L182 or 214 euros). Bass arrived in good shape and tuned up nicely, very playable right out of the box.

I have included some detail shots; you all know what a jazz bass looks like. Sorry, some of the photos are not so sharp.

The bass is made in Indonesia. I was surprised; I thought these were being made in China. Body is agathis. The black finish is flawless and stunning, set off with a white-edged black pickguard. Neck is maple, satin finish; not my favorite look but part of the bargain. The block inlays are pearloid, and the neck is bound in white plastic. Very sharp. Truss rod adjustment is at the top of the neck. Everything is nice and tight: no knobs falling off. Frets are in good shape, a little too evident at the edge of the board, but all right. The tuners seem good, string tension is tight--well, why wouldn't it be? What I mean is, it feels good. Nice and responsive to aggressive finger-picking.

There is not a dead note on this bass. NO dead spots. Plus, the tonal response is somewhat equal all over the fretboard (my P-bass had a lot of variety in this department). And all the lower notes--low E, F, G, up through B on the E string--are fat and full; no 'hollow' low notes. I am getting true notes all over the board as well.

'Duncan Designed' pickups: The neck pickup alone is pretty bland--solid, but unremarkable. But with the neck pickup at 7 to 9, dialing in the bridge pickup to 5 or above puts an edge on the tone--it's like the note comes into focus--while retaining the fullness of the neck pickup sound. I probably won't use the bridge pickup alone, but combining the two gives a very subtle and satisfying range of tones; with the strong edge the bridge pickup provides, the lowest notes really kick. I've heard very little noise from the pickups.

There is considerable clearance at the nut; seems even a little too much. But I think this means the action could come down considerably without a buzz developing.

I had intended to wait till I'd played out with this bass before reviewing it, but my trio won't have a gig for a month, so I thought I would send out some first impressions. I'm sure others will report on different aspects of the bass, and with different thoughts. Playing it through my Hartke 2500 & Schroeder light 12 cab, I am getting a powerful, even sound.

As a rating, I'd have to give this bass a ten on value alone. But otherwise, I'd give it a 9.95 all around.

Ted[/quote]

Great review Ted do you have anymore pix??

I think the 77 is stunning and this is from someone who doesn't (or didn't) like Jazz basses. Perhaps I should explain - A while back I was looking for a cheap decent(ish) bass for away gigs where the venue might not be as wholesome as you'd expect i.e. I didn't want my decent basses getting nicked or damaged by some pissed twat!
So I thought i'd have a bash on the Squire VM Jazz bass in natural - it's a Jazz bass I wouldn't worry about it getting nicked, anyway I had go on it and it knocked my socks off!!!! I couldn't believe how good it sounded! That was it I was hooked. Squire have really come on leaps and bounds since the first time I tried one all those years ago.

Anyway I'm rambling. Please keep us up to date on your 77

[Wylie]

Some more photos of the Squier VM 77 jazz bass:

The body is done very nicely in black and chrome, neck and body alignment are great looking (no neck troubles, at any rate!). Bridge is now a Gotoh 201 C.

Ted

Edited January 17, 2011 by tedgilley

[hookys6stringbass]

[quote name='tedgilley' post='970970' date='Sep 28 2010, 06:17 PM']Some more photos of the Squier VM 77 jazz bass:

The body is done very nicely in black and chrome, neck and body alignment are great looking (no neck troubles, at any rate!), and the bridge seems fine, maybe not the greatest weight or mass.

Ted[/quote]

Nice to see the 77 in the flesh (sort of) your right it's a great looking bass. The action looks nice and low....
I think that is a lot of bass for £259!!!!

[OliverBlackman]

just played this bass today. Really good bass and i compared it to the 70's classic MIM and 60's roadworn jazz basses. The tone ws great for me, lots of mids with a bit of growl, what i would describe a marcus miller tone. It made the roadworn sound very artificial and sloppy and the MIM didnt quite get the same tone.

However, to get this tone i think you can get the same and more out of the Marcus Miller signiture. The one i played on really was amazing and i think rather than buying the squier i will save up for the Marcus Miller.

But all in all i give the squier an 8/10..... 9/10 for tone, 6/10 for looks and quality, and 10/10 for value. If i was buying today on the basses i tried, i would leave the MIM and the Road worn for the squier which is not what i expected

[Wylie]

I'm liking this bass more and more as it 'settles in.' I know some will think it strange, but I put flatwounds on it and they sound great: nice and mellow, but with the jazz edge. I still may swap out pickups, but I'm in no hurry.

I'd be interested to hear what others think of this bass, and whether others have upgraded and how they liked that.

Ted

[daz]

I think thay may have been made in China originally beofre being moved to Indonesia. The CV range however is still being made in China, and very good quality it is too. If the jungle drums are to be belived, Fender has noticed a significant drop in the yearly sales of Mexican made Fenders and an increase in sales of the quality Chinese made Squires, especially the Classic Vibe range. This is why a price hike happened this autumn. Even the box shifter like GAK that sell many of them and negotiate a good deal, has to increase its price by £25. Some have put the price up a good deal more. Whether this sales difference is in the USA, or Europe or worldwide I dont know. Certainly I have heard many people who have played both say that the CV squier is as good as if not better than the mex.

Edited October 23, 2010 by daz

[brensabre79]

Hey Ted

I got the same model, and I was blown away with it. Arrived pretty much ready to play, action maybe a bit high for me but lowered without any trouble. Like you I swapped to a Gotoh bridge and upgraded to CTS pots. I also stuck a set of Wizard pickups in ('74 custom build) because I found I was playing his one more than my 90s MIA Jazz AND my '79 MM Sabre!! Now its my main axe and I leave the others at home more often than not! (oh the shame)

The Duncan designed pickups sound pretty good (a bit like the Marcus Miller sound with that big mid-range honk!) but they were microphonic on mine and the Wizards I have in now take it to another league! The originals might be Duncan Designed, but they are not Duncan Made!

My only gripe with it is the neck finish. The satin is lovely and slick to play on but it does look a bit anemic. For a 70s Vintage look they could easily have used a stain to give the warmer colour to the wood. It looks so pale next to my (genuine 70s) MusicMan and even the 90s JB. So my last mod (when I stop playing it every day) will be to refinish the front of the neck to bring out the colour of the wood more - the contrast with the white binding and the black body will look great I reckon!

one thing I'll say to anyone looking to buy one of these is the maple neck is pretty soft. if you're the sort of person who leaves the bass leaning against the top of the amp you're going to get a dented neck pretty fast with one of these. I wouldn't take the neck off too many times either - in fact I wouldn't unscrew anything too often - I had to re-fill the control plate holes when I changed the pots over. baking soda and super-glue did the trick though.
Also, because of the price they are probably quite inconsistent in terms of QC - Ted and I got lucky I think, I tried one of the natural finish ones in the shop and it was awful, even after a set up. So TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!

but hey, its a quality bass for chuff all money - certainly far more than I expected for £250 and it plays like a dream!