What is a Vintage Modified?

[prowla]

Squier is Fender's budget brand, but folks say "ah, but the VM is the bee's knees".

So what is a VM?

[mcnach]

Just one of their lines. When you think you get use to Fender and Squier lines... they go and change them

Basically, Affinity is the bottom series. Some actually are decent, but expect to do some little work. Vintage Modified are definitely ok. I would not say they're amazing although individual instruments can be quite good. Frankly, I would say they're on a par with Fender MIM from the late 90s or early 2000s. Then they have the Classic Vibe instruments. Now THESE are really nice. Or they used to be, as I hear that lately they're not as good as they used to but I haven't tried one in ages. I have owned a couple of CV basses and still own one. They're very decent instruments.

[prowla]

Ah yes - CV as well... 🙂

But what are the differences?

[andruca]

I prefer Classic Vibe '70s P bass (spec'd the same as the former Matt Freeman sig. model) to any other P besides a friend's Custom Shop. Thin neck, lovely playability  and the right Precision clonk for my taste. I agree the CVs are superior to the VMs, build and finish feels and look better IME and I like the offered models better too.

Edited June 7, 2019 by andruca

[Bassmingo]

53 minutes ago, prowla said:

Ah yes - CV as well... 🙂

But what are the differences?

I would assume they are as the name implies

Vintage modified - Like a vintage instrument that has been tweaked or upgraded throughout the years in an effort to keep it somewhat up to date, like an affordable "best of both worlds"

Classic Vibe - A modern version of a classic instrument, modern production methods, but vintage specs, again, a different "best of both worlds"

 

But as I've never played either I could be totally wrong. 

[EliasMooseblaster]

I believe with the CV series, it was an attempt to recreate a replica of a bass correct to a certain era on a limited budget - so the choice of parts, colours, pickup placements, etc, would be in keeping with a '50s, '60s or '70s Fender. There have been rumours that they were using Tonerider pickups in the CV series (as opposed to using Squier or Fender-licensed equivalents), which sounded very impressive: I came within a gnat's whisker of pulling the trigger on a '60 CV Precision years ago.

VM, I'm less sure about the specifics - particularly as they didn't seem to be associating the basses with a particular era in the same way. I thought their fretless P and J were both very good, though I was completely new to fretless when I tried them. Interesting to note that they used ebanol fingerboards on those (wasn't a fan at the time, but imagine I'd be warmer towards it these days); I don't know whether this was also true of the fretted options.

[Marvin]

28 minutes ago, EliasMooseblaster said:

I believe with the CV series, it was an attempt to recreate a replica of a bass correct to a certain era on a limited budget - so the choice of parts, colours, pickup placements, etc, would be in keeping with a '50s, '60s or '70s Fender. There have been rumours that they were using Tonerider pickups in the CV series (as opposed to using Squier or Fender-licensed equivalents), which sounded very impressive: I came within a gnat's whisker of pulling the trigger on a '60 CV Precision years ago.

VM, I'm less sure about the specifics - particularly as they didn't seem to be associating the basses with a particular era in the same way. I thought their fretless P and J were both very good, though I was completely new to fretless when I tried them. Interesting to note that they used ebanol fingerboards on those (wasn't a fan at the time, but imagine I'd be warmer towards it these days); I don't know whether this was also true of the fretted options.

I sort of got the feeling that the VMs were basses from a certain period with 'upgrades' someone had done to them, I suppose you could say it was trying to feel modded. For example, my Precision VM is quite 70's in looks, but then you've got these meatier pickups in it. I could be wrong, I usually am 😀

[EliasMooseblaster]

23 minutes ago, Marvin said:

I sort of got the feeling that the VMs were basses from a certain period with 'upgrades' someone had done to them, I suppose you could say it was trying to feel modded. For example, my Precision VM is quite 70's in looks, but then you've got these meatier pickups in it. I could be wrong, I usually am 😀

It would make sense, given the name! I seem to remember the VM Jazz Fretless being sans pickguard, so I did wonder whether it had been designed with a nod to Jaco's best-known instrument - i.e., a modified '70s Jazz. (Any idea what this meaty pickup was that they put into the VM Precision, incidentally?)