Squier Vintage Modified Precision 5 string (sunburst/tort/maple)

[Painy]

Having just played my new VM P5 at a gig for the first time last night and writing this review for it's NBD thread, I thought I'd add it in here too.

Well firstly fit and finish is all excellent with a nice tight neck pocket. Weight is 9lbs 5oz. The body appears to be made of 4 pieces of wood but there's some nice grain showing through. The tort guard is printed but looks fairly decent and is an inoffensive dark brown tort rather than red. All frets seem to be well levelled with no sharp ends. Hardware is simple but functional in true precision style. At a gig the tuners held their tune perfectly all night and I was surprised at how smooth the gears are for what will obviously be fairly budget units.
The setup straight out of the box was very playable with a decent action and no fret buzz anywhere along the neck. I was able to drop the action even lower though and keep the notes ringing out clearly. Our lead guitarist even commented on how easy it is play when he tried it out for himself.
For me the star of the show on this bass is the neck. Obviously neck profiles are a very personal thing but I can honestly say I've never had a bass neck feel more comfortable in my hands although of course, as always with these things, YMMV.
Electronics also seem surprisingly good and it certainly sounds how a P-bass should. Both the volume and tone controls give a good, smooth linear response with no crackles and the jack socket holds the plug firmly with no wiggle and again no crackles. The pickup sounds exactly as I would hope a split coil would and has a surprisingly hot, but not overpowering output. In fact it puts out a touch more juice than my twin humbucker loaded (but also passive) Jazz.
Overall I'd say I can't fault it at all but there is a touch (and I do mean just a touch) of neck dive. Nothing a set of lightweight tuners Wouldn't sort out but it's really not bad enough that I'd actually bother.
Having now played it in anger I can honestly say that it's love. It sat in the mix exactly as a precision should but every note was clear, defined and punchy. I'm loving the traditional look too which for me is really refreshing after spending the best part of 20 years playing active 'coffee table' basses (for about 15 of those years I played Warwicks exclusively).
It may have Squier on the headstock (which to be fair doesn't carry any shame anyway these days) rather than some fancy boutique brand that makes its trussrod cover screws from a secret blend of Kryptonite and Unobtanium but I think I may have finally found a bass I can love as much as the Warwick Steamer Stage 1 five string I had to sell for financial reasons a few years ago. I can see this being my go to bass for a long time!

Edited February 21, 2016 by Painy