Better than VM/CV bass for less money?

[Annoying Twit]

Just out of curiosity, are there any basses which are better than the Squier VM/CV basses, for less money? I don't mean better value for money, but actually. a better bass for less money. To keep it simple, it might be an idea to restrict things to P and J copies.

Not that I'm planning on buying one, just curious.

[Cygnus x-1]

er, a question i've often thought.....i've not tried one but, a Futurama perhaps, a few nice ones have sold on ebay, I may have to dip my toe in the water if a colour combo comes up for sale that I struggle to resist.

[paul h]

I am not sure about better but I reckon a [i]good[/i] example of an SX or Jim Deacon will give them a run for their money.

[Chris2112]

No.

I bought a Squier Classic Vibe jazz when they first came out and I was blown away by how good they are. They really stand head and shoulders above the competition, even now at the their £300+ price mark. The Classic Vibe basses are a lot better than the Vintage Modified ones though. As it happens, I just bought another CV jazz today!

[Musicman20]

Are the CV Jazz basses really that good?!

I played one, and it sounded pretty ok. But are they as nice as the current American Standards? How far apart are they? I realise its a huge price difference.

[clauster]

If you're willing to go to a shop and try a few then you can find some nice basses from the Squier Affinity range. I've got an Affinity P on long term loan and it's well put together and plays great. Paint job isn't that good (some ripples here and there) though. As with any Fender/Squier, I'd want to try it in person before handing over any money because even the MIA basses have variable quality control IME.

[Chris2112]

Obviously they're probably not as good as American Fenders across the board, but pound for pound they're better basses. This one today has set me back £190, and it is excellent. I only bought it because I wanted a cheap bass I could take to work and leave in my locker to play during breaks or take round to friend's houses for jam sessions. There isn't £700 worth of difference between the CV and the American basses.

[redstriper]

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1120062' date='Feb 8 2011, 01:36 PM']The Classic Vibe basses are a lot better than the Vintage Modified ones though.[/quote]
In what way?

The new fretted VM sunburst jazz is nearly £100 less than the CV at £228 and I would advise comparing them to see which suits you best.
The build quality is excellent on both and preference of tone, feel and look is highly personal.
I have not heard of anything better for less money, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, the new VMs seem fantastic value, while the CVs have increased recently.

[Chris2112]

[quote name='redstriper' post='1120250' date='Feb 8 2011, 04:33 PM']In what way?

The new fretted VM sunburst jazz is nearly £100 less than the CV at £228 and I would advise comparing them to see which suits you best.
The build quality is excellent on both and preference of tone, feel and look is highly personal.
I have not heard of anything better for less money, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, the new VMs seem fantastic value, while the CVs have increased recently.[/quote]


I'll admit, the Classic Vibe basses were better value when they first came out, although as a used buy you won't find anything better for the price. I used to own a VM fretless jazz and I've played a few of the fretted VM jazz basses too. The CV holds it own as a 'proper' instrument whereas the VM basses strike me as very good buget basses. The CV basses feel better, look better, sound better and the fit and finish is better than the VM's too. YMMV, but that is my experience having owned two CV's and a VM fretless and played a few more.

[iconic]

Is P/J allowed if so Yamaha BB615 for £269...that's obscene!

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/B-Stock-Yamaha-BB615-Bass-Guitar-Yellow-Natural-Satin-/200541007066?pt=UK_AudioElectronicsVideo_Video_TelevisionSetTopBoxes&hash=item2eb12cecda"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/B-Stock-Yamaha-BB615...=item2eb12cecda[/url]

[lojo]

I sold my VMJ for £160, which for what it was, was amazing value

I can only comment on the VMJ, and for what they cost, they are a great instrument

A cheaper, but better bass than that would be an amazing deal indeed

[redstriper]

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1120353' date='Feb 8 2011, 05:54 PM']I'll admit, the Classic Vibe basses were better value when they first came out, although as a used buy you won't find anything better for the price. I used to own a VM fretless jazz and I've played a few of the fretted VM jazz basses too. The CV holds it own as a 'proper' instrument whereas the VM basses strike me as very good buget basses. The CV basses feel better, look better, sound better and the fit and finish is better than the VM's too. YMMV, but that is my experience having owned two CV's and a VM fretless and played a few more.[/quote]

It is a personal choice and I wouldn't say either is better than the other.
I don't like glossy necks or white or blue guitars, so the CV doesn't look better in my eyes, which only come in those finishes.
I prefer the choice of finishes in the VM range and I also prefer the sound of the Duncan pick ups in the VM, which are warmer and deeper to my ears.
I haven't noticed any significant difference in the build quality between the two, certainly not enough to say one is a 'proper' instrument, while the other isn't.
Feel is also a personal opinion and I feel more comfortable on a VM, as do many players - it doesn't mean one is better than another, just that everyone feels differently.
When it comes to price, I thought we are talking about new instruments and I don't see where the extra £90 for a CV goes.
I would not suggest that it is impossible to get anything better than a used CV for the price, because anything is possible and I have had some amazing basses for a lot less.
Having said all that, I agree that both are great value instruments with enough choices to find one that suits most people in the price range.
Play both and choose [b]your[/b] favourite.

£228: [attachment=71618:vm.jpg]
£318: [attachment=71617:cv.jpg]

[Circle_of_Fifths]

[quote name='redstriper' post='1120458' date='Feb 8 2011, 11:11 AM']When it comes to price, I thought we are talking about new instruments and [b]I don't see where the extra £90 for a CV goes.[/b]
I would not suggest that it is impossible to get anything better than a used CV for the price, because anything is possible and I have had some amazing basses for a lot less.
Having said all that, I agree that both are great value instruments with enough choices to find one that suits most people in the price range.
Play both and choose [b]your[/b] favourite.

£228: [attachment=71618:vm.jpg]
£318: [attachment=71617:cv.jpg][/quote]

I tried to love the CVs, but the neck radius wasn't to my linking as well as the VMs. I seem to prefer a flatter fingerboard than the CVs have.

However - I think the extra money is in the neck details on the CVs. Like I said I don't care for the tighter radius, but there is a lot more work to making them that way than the non-rounded sides on the VMs.

Even with the bound neck on my VM-Jazz Natural, I still think either the VM or the CV is a personal choice - but just for the neck details, not overall quality.

What I am eagerly awaiting is the new VM-Hummers when they hit in April - now that that's the date being bandied about here in the US anyway.

Here the VMs and CVs haven't gone up in price - I wonder what's happening in the UK with the prices there?

In fact, the new VM-HBs are going to be 66% the cost of the VM-Jazzes, at $199 USD.

[Musicman20]

UK prices have literally turned ridiculous. £300 price rise on USA Fenders when we were only expecting a 5% rise.

[Ghost_Bass]

I'm GASing for a CV Precision Fiesta Red. The only reason i haven't bought it yet is because they don't make a 5 string version of it...

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1120083' date='Feb 8 2011, 01:50 PM']Are the CV Jazz basses really that good?!

I played one, and it sounded pretty ok. But are they as nice as the current American Standards? How far apart are they? I realise its a huge price difference.[/quote]


for the last time....


YES! they are that good provided you appreciate them for what they are, and I mean look at them as in their "stock" livery. Great basswood body with excellent neck weight ratio, superb hi-mass bridge with brass saddles. Perfect neck fit to the body (find me a mim that has a good neck fit in the pocket and I'll eat my hat) out of the 3 CV's (jazz / 60's P and 50's P) the jazz had the best resonance out of the 3 unplugged, always a good sign.

Finally, and tha'ts a fact, they are limited in the electronic department and while, say... 75% of the people here who owned one could live with the stock alnico p/ups the other adventurous 25% of peeps, like me sees them as a blank canvass for modding, (none more than me having even bovined the look of it as well as totally junked p/ups and wirings) which means they are a very decent starting point towards making it your dream Jazz bass picking and choosing the best boutique p/up to fit in them.

Gareth I have read that you are someone who doesn't like tinker with mods and you prefer a stock Fender USA but think about it. £1200 spent on one of them which you weren't even full satisfied with, against a starting price of £300 for the bass and no more thant £150 on p/ups and pots leaves you with something that, a) you made it your way and that will be the best 500 quid you've ever spent on a bass that will defeat all your expectations. Man you know it makes very good sense.

[TheFear]

I had a classic vibes, i think its the best bass ive ever had , the only reason i sold it it said squier on it, What a mistake, £300 for a reliable gigable bass, no comparison

[redstriper]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1121176' date='Feb 9 2011, 11:40 AM']for the last time....


YES! they are that good provided you appreciate them for what they are, and I mean look at them as in their "stock" livery. Great basswood body with excellent neck weight ratio, superb hi-mass bridge with brass saddles. Perfect neck fit to the body (find me a mim that has a good neck fit in the pocket and I'll eat my hat) out of the 3 CV's (jazz / 60's P and 50's P) the jazz had the best resonance out of the 3 unplugged, always a good sign.

Finally, and tha'ts a fact, they are limited in the electronic department and while, say... 75% of the people here who owned one could live with the stock alnico p/ups the other adventurous 25% of peeps, like me sees them as a blank canvass for modding, (none more than me having even bovined the look of it as well as totally junked p/ups and wirings) which means they are a very decent starting point towards making it your dream Jazz bass picking and choosing the best boutique p/up to fit in them.

Gareth I have read that you are someone who doesn't like tinker with mods and you prefer a stock Fender USA but think about it. £1200 spent on one of them which you weren't even full satisfied with, against a starting price of £300 for the bass and no more thant £150 on p/ups and pots leaves you with something that, a) you made it your way and that will be the best 500 quid you've ever spent on a bass that will defeat all your expectations. Man you know it makes very good sense.[/quote]

Everybody loves the CVs, but how do you think the VM jazz basses compares to the CVs ?

[spongebob]

I bought a CV-P at the start of the year, after reading glowing reports on numerous sites (including some some good info from Mr. Wazoo above!)

I've owned a couple of other P's in the past, but loving my Ric, never thought I'd have another. Big mistake!

Compared to all others I've played, I love it. Forget the headstock - I've found a P bass that feels great and sounds superb.

Love it so much I bought a CV Jazz a couple of weeks back. Equally amazed. I used to have a Geddy Jazz, and TBH, I actually prefer the CV.

I think in the colours available, they actually look better than anything a normal Fender can offer. I'm proud to play it, and tell people it cost about 1/6 of a Ric!

Don't know how they do it, but to me, the basses do seem to have a vibe of their own, feel very playable and comfy out of the box.

Yes, they have gone up, but they are still cheaper than the MIM's and others. Not saying they are for everyone, but they seem to be selling in huge quantities worldwide.

I WILL resist the 50's P........!!

[Musicman20]

If I trusted myself with modding and soldering, id definitely be more interested. As it stands, I havent soldered anything since I was first taught how-to and that was YEARS back. I always think im going to ruin the paintwork or damage something.

[spongebob]

I just use mine as they are!

[redstriper]

What is wrong with the original pick ups - isn't their sound just a matter of taste, rather than any actual fault?

Many people also change pick ups in US jazz basses - does it make for a better bass, or just a slightly different sounding one?

This quote is from tredders talking about precisions, I think it applies to jazz basses too -
[quote]If you blindfolded someone and gave them a MIM, a MIJ, a US, and a Squire (and they were all well setup), I bet most people wouldn't be able to identify which was which...[/quote]

Edited February 9, 2011 by redstriper

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='redstriper' post='1121217' date='Feb 9 2011, 12:08 PM']Everybody loves the CVs, but how do you think the VM jazz basses compares to the CVs ?[/quote]

Hi redstriper, this is only my personal opinion, but if I look at the quality of an instrument and I compare VM vs. CV I find them to be words apart. We also discussed this in intense details circa 10 months ago in another thread. The factory in China where the CV's come from have consistently shown to be way better skilled in the functional manufacturing of a musical instrument, whereas it appears that in Indonesia where the VM come from these are basically assembled by factory workers who follow plans and sketches and have very little understanding of the end use of their products.

[Lfalex v1.1]

I must've got lucky with my VMJ, then.
I treated it as the previously-mentioned "blank canvas for modding", but found I didn't need to go very far at all. Put a BadAss II (*other replacement bridges are available*) on it and chaned the control knobs for some black schaller brass ones. Re-strung with DR FatBeams, and that's it for me, thanks.
Will merrily capture most of Tim Commerford's or Cass Lewis' tone. Played it at rehearsal for a change, and it handed my Warwick it's arse back on a plate, in both playability and tonal terms.
I also have an Ash-bodied 2004 MIA s-1 Jazz, strung with DR Sunbeams. Also a lovely instrument, but completely different. Feels like "home"
Tried a CV recently, and loved that, too.
All this makes it sound like I'm easy to please. Believe me, I'm not. I went through around 30 Jazzes from '71 to current in the old bass centre @ Wapping one Saturday, and ended up liking a Korean Burns Bison best, so gave up!

[Mog]

I find the CV are hard to beat. They go for €390ish over here which is almost half of what a mexican fender will set you back. The differences IMO are slight between the two. From mex to american theres a huge gap. IME the more expensive the basses feel more solid in the hand, but in all honesty a CV with an electronics upgrade will get you close to the higher spec models.

Hohner, Yamaha, SX and Ibby all have models in that range and IMO, only Yamaha come close to matching Squire.