markstuk Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 Hi folks... Just tried out both of these in my local music shop.. Frankly although the GL is prettier and better finished the VMJ played better and sounded much the same.. Am I missing something? It also did not help that the VMJ had a better setup... Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 If the Geddy was set up properly you would notice that the neck is the thinnest neck Fender make. Whether that's a good or a bad thing depends on your preference. The pickups on the Geddy are vintage US built ones which can sound a bit thin when on the Geddy because the very thin maple neck does affect the sound (I know as I have a Geddy neck on my Jazz at the moment fitted with DiMarzio 123 pickups which sound anything but thin when teamed up wiith a rosewood neck). Of course as Squiers get better and better people are asking this question more and more i.e. are we getting any more value for our money when we buy a Fender instead of a Squier or are we just paying for the Fender name? Good question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted May 26, 2012 Author Share Posted May 26, 2012 (edited) What I found (could be my giant chubby hands) was that the VMJ neck was pretty close to the GL - a tiny bit more rounded, but really not much in it... And the (sensible) bass playing shop assistant said she could not tell the difference (but both were much thinner than her "proper" Jazz... ) The "natural" VMJ was £250, the GL £979.. The GL was immaculate (as you'd expect from a MIJ) - I don't understand why it was not setup properly.. Edited May 26, 2012 by markstuk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 The setup is down to the store really, these basses have both travelled halfway around the world, something is gonna move! I personally think the VMJ is a bargain, even if you do what I did with mine and replace almost everything but the neck! The thing is, on the GL all of the hardware is top notch, and the amount of 'human time' in the build process is considerably higher - which means these are more consistent out of the box in terms of QC. On the VMJ the hardware is sufficient, but not great, and eventually you'll discover that adding a badass bridge (£40-70) and decent pickups (£70 minimum), and electronics (£20-£150 - depending on what you want t do), put some Gotoh machine heads on (the VMJ ones are weak) etc. etc. and you'll have a Squier that's almost as well built as a decent MIJ Geddy Lee, for a little less money, a lot more hassle - and the pickups will be in the wrong place (VMJ is 60s position, not 70s)... When you come to sell it or trade it, you'll have a Squier VMJ with some mods - you'll never get back what you put in. Wheras if you get the GL, its still a GL and you probably won't need to modify it much... My advice, get the shop to set up the GL properly and try them both again, pay close attention to the feel when tuning up, the volume of the pickups (tap th body with the bass plugged in and you'll see the difference in microphonics), hold the bass up and shake it a bit, does it feel solid? Then look for a secondhand GL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted May 27, 2012 Author Share Posted May 27, 2012 Sure, I agree the setup is down to the store, why I don't understand is why they don't prep the bass to show it to it's best advantage... She said they'd throw in a setup if I bought it, but that's a little cart before the horse in my opinion... I take your points on board about the component quality difference, and playing through a snall fender combo bears no resemblance to a real world playing situation, but given the other basses I have the GL did not impress me at it's price point whereas the VMJ did.. And I'd only use the VMJ (or the GL) in very specific circumstances Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackers Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 I think the VM squier series are phenomenal for the amount of cash they cost. I recently did a comparison of P-basses and was blown away by how good the VMP was, especially compared to the MiM P. IMO, you can't go wrong with buying a VM, even without any mods they are seriously impressive instruments, and with about 150 quid put into them they are amazing, and still cost less than an MiM Fender! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I love my GL. It oozes quality and has a lovely action (for me). But is it worth 3-4 times that of a VMJ? Only the buyer can decide that based on their own criteria. Sounds like a second-hand GL might be the way to go? There have been a few on here recently at the £450-550 mark. Can't fo far wrong there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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