Pimping a Squier VM 5 Jazz

[MoJoKe]

OK, so my Lakland JO5 is a beautiful bass, but I'm struggling with its weight on stage, so as quite a few here, I have bought an Olympic White Squier VM5 from Basses for sale here to see how I get on with it.

It arrived yesterday, so last night unpacked it and gave it a good bash... very slight nail/pick scratching on the the scratchplate, but its black and it doesn't really show - apart from that it looks brand new, so all good. The neck is set well and very playable, though as I expected the B is a little flabby and rattly at the moment, but the slightly shorter scale feels comfortable. It is going to get some straplocks, a nice new set of Elixirs and a good setup, and it will also be getting a J-retro, which hopefully will negate the need for replacing the pups straight away.

What else should I do to it? Bridge?

Your thoughts on a postcard please!

[organic]

Only thing I've had done to mine (4 string rather than 5) is the series/parallel switch. In series mode it has a sort of J/P hybrid sound, which I prefer on the most notes, while parallel sounds better to me on the high end.

[NJE]

I had one of these for about a year, an incredibly good bass and I only sold it as I was getting out of the soul music I have been playing for a while and doing more pop/dance music.

I bought mine with the intention to pimp the hell out of it, it arrived and I didn't do anything to it, I thought it did what it needed to. The tuners on mine were solid and kept tune, and I could get any gauge string I wanted through the bridge and it and was also stable so they both stayed. I only change bridges if I have trouble with string gauges, I put a hipshot on my other Squier and there was no difference in sound at all.

The B string was usable in my opinion, it sounded like a B string on a precision and I always find precisions a bit boomy and muddy. I raised the string height on the B on mine and with the Elixirs it sounded great.

Someone on talkbass put a Nordstrand pickup in their Squier P5 and said it made little difference and wasn't worth it so I never bothered with modifying the pickup either. The only thing I was really tempted to do was put a P retro in so I didn't have to drill holes and modify the bass.

Probably not a helpful post but I can't see you drastically improving the bass short of putting a J pickup in the bridge and maybe an EQ.

[MoJoKe]

[quote name='organic' timestamp='1461153512' post='3031902']
Only thing I've had done to mine (4 string rather than 5) is the series/parallel switch. In series mode it has a sort of J/P hybrid sound, which I prefer on the most notes, while parallel sounds better to me on the high end.
[/quote]

Interesting idea. If I were leaving it passive I would do this!

[Ghost_Bass]

Surely the new Sire V7's erased the need for us to pimp out CV and VM Squiers! Haven't they?

[MoJoKe]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1461235714' post='3032682']
Surely the new Sire V7's erased the need for us to pimp out CV and VM Squiers! Haven't they?
[/quote]

Quite possibly, except for the rather awkward fact I have already just bought the squier, and didn't plan to ditch it just yet!

[Ghost_Bass]

[quote name='MoJoKe' timestamp='1461241195' post='3032783']
Quite possibly, except for the rather awkward fact I have already just bought the squier, and didn't plan to ditch it just yet!
[/quote]

Don't mess with it then. Just enjoy it like it is and save the money for when you want to sell the VM and get the Sire. Moneywise is the best move IMO, upgrades don't reflect on the bass's prices.