shine182 Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 Hi, Any thoughts on older Squire Jazz basses? What are we thinking is the best era to purchase without spending Fender money? Thanks Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 The Korean ones are decent imho 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 16 minutes ago, Geek99 said: The Korean ones are decent imho This. The early ones 88-90 have Schaller licensed tuner's, these are good basses. Alternatively, look for Fenix brand, these are by Young Chang, who made the Japanese basses for Squier. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shine182 Posted May 19, 2020 Author Share Posted May 19, 2020 24 minutes ago, Geek99 said: The Korean ones are decent imho Ahh yes I'm feeling that, used to have a Korean p-bass, foolishly sprayed it surf blue, in my younger years, and parted for a trace elliot cab, but I remember it was pretty decent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borntohang Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 3 hours ago, shine182 said: Hi, Any thoughts on older Squire Jazz basses? What are we thinking is the best era to purchase without spending Fender money? Thanks Alex Top tier are the Japanese models that go for above average Fender money. Then I'd go for the Korean stuff, then the Indonesian Standard Series models. Stay away from anything with 'Affinity', 'J Bass', or the little boxy guitar tuners on it. If you don't mind including modern stuff then the Chinese Classic Vibes are also really good quality, but the price has been climbing to above 300 secondhand cause the word is out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicVibes Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 7 hours ago, borntohang said: If you don't mind including modern stuff then the Chinese Classic Vibes are also really good quality, but the price has been climbing to above 300 secondhand cause the word is out. Very true this. I bought my CV Jazz for £200 secondhand but sold it for £300. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 7 hours ago, borntohang said: Stay away from anything with 'Affinity' Why stay away from the Affinity range? I've had a couple of Affinity basses which were excellent all round. Sounded and played as good as my MIA basses of the time. You get good ones and bad ones in any range. The VM range are also more than decent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shine182 Posted May 20, 2020 Author Share Posted May 20, 2020 Isn't the Affinity range the most budget option they do? I'm not saying the equals a bad bass, but there's got to be a difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 (edited) 12 hours ago, shine182 said: Isn't the Affinity range the most budget option they do? I'm not saying the equals a bad bass, but there's got to be a difference? Yes, it is the budget range. But that doesn't mean there aren't good ones. I've owned numerous Fender and Squier basses, including a few early Korean (late 80s), and I've owned two Affinities which blew the Korean ones away, and a few MIM Fenders too. The budget range uses lower quality woods and debatably pickups and hardware. However the Affinities I had played great, sounded awesome (so much so I had to take a look under the pickguard to see if it had been modified, but all seemed stock, they sounded that good. The "cheaper" woods used on the Affinities make little difference to the overal sound as they're covered in thick poly coatings. Edited May 20, 2020 by hooky_lowdown 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicVibes Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 3 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said: Why stay away from the Affinity range? I've had a couple of Affinity basses which were excellent all round. Sounded and played as good as my MIA basses of the time. You get good ones and bad ones in any range. The VM range are also more than decent. 😲 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 11 minutes ago, ClassicVibes said: 😲 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicVibes Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 8 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said: ? I just don't believe that. What next? My Stagg plays better than my Fodera etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 (edited) 22 minutes ago, ClassicVibes said: I just don't believe that. What next? My Stagg plays better than my Fodera etc. Well, its true bud. I'm not saying all Affinities are great, I've owned a few which weren't good, but like I said, there are good ones and bad in all ranges. Edited May 20, 2020 by hooky_lowdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borntohang Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 5 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said: Why stay away from the Affinity range? I've had a couple of Affinity basses which were excellent all round. Sounded and played as good as my MIA basses of the time. You get good ones and bad ones in any range. The VM range are also more than decent. You must have been snapping up the good ones. I don't think they're irredeemable as a range at all, but even as a collector of cheap guitars I'd want to play one in person to find a good one before dropping the hammer. I think if you're wanting to put parts into them you can get a very usable bass, but unless you're getting it for very cheap then after mods you could probably pick up a Standard for the same price and not have to get rid of everything except body and neck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 There`s a nice Classic Vibe in the for sale section. I have no link to the seller...... Well maybe a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 I've got a late 80s Korean Tele and apart from the neck, which is nice notwithstanding varnished over frets, it was pretty scrappy. My 2003 Indonesian Jazz is much better build quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shine182 Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 There seems to be a consensus that it very much depends on the individual instrument as opposed to the era or origin of manufacture! All interesting stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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