Does anyone prefer Squiers over Fenders?

[bassmansky]

i used to have a mia fender jazz and when squier brought out the classic vibe range i tried both the 50's and 60's p-bass.i was very surprised how good they were,so surprised i bought the 60's pbass and used it for gigs instead of the fender which ive now sold.i have also tried the squier vm pbass and imo was better than a mim fender precision.Idont care whats on the headstock if it plays and sounds as good who cares.i also gig with a vintage p-bass,another good sounding bass.

[Bigwan]

On a recent trip to NYC (Honeymoon) I got to play loads of really impressive, boutique and vintage basses, as well as all the standard fair. Strangely there are 3 basses from the trip that stick out in my mind as awesome. A Sadowsky PJ in burgundy mist(!) (@ the Sadowsky shop), a refinished '66 Fender Precision (@ Rudy's on 48th St.) and a Squier Classic Vibe Jazz (@ Guitar Centre on 14th St. - what a horrible place by the way! Cheap though)... the Squier's in pretty good company there I think!

I would add that I'd buy a Squier CV 60s P-bass in a shot, but I'm not a fan of the colour. If it were Olympic white with tort (like the jazz) I'd have one already!

Edited December 29, 2009 by Bigwan

[funkle]

I've replaced my Lakland DJ4 with a Squier CV 60's Jazz.

It sounded better than anything else I played (including Fender Roadworn Jazzes, MIM + MIA Jazzes, and a couple of Sadowskys) and gave me instant GAS the second I heard the bridge pickup tone.

I may have some fun with it - maybe install a Graphtech piezo system for a laugh - but it sounds like a Jazz, has a great neck, vintage size frets (which I love), seems built well (though I prefer Hipshot ultralight tuners to the standard Fender ones), and is cheap. I've already cut a Jazz demo with my band - sounded good recorded too!

Christmas delivered some nice Hipshot ultralights, so I'll soon have my preferred tuners on there...but really, it doesn't need the upgrade, more just my personal preference.

I wonder about changing the stock pickups too - just to see if the Fender CS 60's sound any better - but I can't be bothered at the moment, and the stock pickups are more than good enough to gig and record with.

Pete

[ianSB]

i ahve a squier p bass and i love it but still would choose a fender over it

[retroman]

I have a Squier Affinity Jazz that I use for band practice. It's fitted with the EMG J set, and sounds awesome! Really growly tone. The build quality is excellent, and really hard to fault, unlike a certain 1K+ bass I bought recently......

IMHO, a MIA Fender is not 1K better than a Squier by a long shot

[Stacker]

I got the modified fretless squir a couple of years back and the build is superb. It's Indonesian but the only gripe I've got is the pups. I also noticed the Biffy Clyro range and played the blue jazz. The only trhing I didn't like about it was the oversized scroll on the headstcok - it's sh*t!

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='maxrossell' post='693698' date='Dec 26 2009, 01:18 PM']I'd be interested to hear what people have to say about Squier vs. Fender guitars.

Of late people have been raving about the quality of Squier basses, but I can't see guitarists being so easily convinced.[/quote]

I picked up a Squier Std Tele (Indonesian) circa 4 years ago for about £130 new from Peter Cooks. P'ups a bit feeb so shoved £30 worth of GFS overwounds into it and tidied up the string spacing at the nut.

It's a lovely little guitar, resonant, light and the 40.5 mm nut width is nice for my stubby little fingers. Although I've got other theoretically [i]better[/i] guitars it's the one I always go to fanny around on. Having checked out some Strats last year, every Squier I picked up was some distance ahead of the MIM's. In many respects, Squier also seem to be more adventurous than Fender - love those P90 Tele Deluxes... and RIP the 51.

Edited December 30, 2009 by skankdelvar

[Higgie]

My 82 Squier JV PBass is the best P i've ever heard/played, let alone owned! I consider myself extremely lucky to own such a bass! No Fender could ever beat it.

[radansey]

Well I like the Fender and I like the Squier, but which is best.

There's only one way to find out - FIGHT!!!

[Al Heeley]

I got a Squier '98 Korean JB off ebay for about £90 2 years ago and its done me proud - it had a few scratches and dents on the body but that made it ideal for pub gigging. A bit of tweaking on the neck, a shim and a set up made it a keeper - great to play, punchy tone, prbobly the nost comfortable neck for my hands and a real steal at £90.

[Alfie]

Does anyone know if there are any new Classic Vibe models for 2010? I see on the Squier website that there are some new guitars, but no basses.

[thinman]

[quote name='Golchen' post='693525' date='Dec 25 2009, 11:34 PM']I get totally put off by the squier name. Don't like any knock-off brands really.

Having said that, if I tried one that was a good price and it was amazing I'd probably buy it![/quote]

Not sure that Squier can be classed as a "knock-off" brand given that Fender own them?

I've just bought a 60's CV P and I'd say the quality is as good, if not better, than my MIM Jazz, e.g. the standard bridge on the Squier is far better and I think the standard pickups are too (got Wizard 84s on the Jazz now). My only gripe was the factory setup but that's readily fixed.

I bought the CV as a standby bass but after one practice session it's definitely going to get gigged and I've suddenly lost my slight misgivings about Squier being a "toy" brand.

As someone said here I'm quietly hoping the CVs will become sought after.

[rjb]

I've found the CV Squiers I've tried to be nicer than MIM models.

[Jerry_B]

What about the Squier Standard P-Bass Special? Are they any good? I saw an all-black/pewter-like one a few months ago. And are there any guesses as to whether the Squier CV 60's Jazz will be released in something other than white?

Edited January 9, 2010 by Jerry_B

[smashie]

I've had quite a basses over the years, but the only one I kept is my '89 Samick P. granted I had the neck reduced to a J size. I never thought of getting rid of it because it was cheap, but after all this time it's one of the best playing and sounding basses I've owned. TBH it's probably a plywood monster, but damn it sounds good

[jim_bass]

I've played a few of the squier classic vibe jazz basses in shops and absolutely loved them. So much that I've just bought one second hand off the forum (getting it next week).

Definitely good value for money. Having said that, if money was no object - I did prefer the feel of the fender american standard jazz bass that I played. Now that was gorgeous. But I simply cannot justify £850 for a bass at the mo'.

[absolutpepper]

Well I just picked up one of the James Johnson sig CV Jazz's and I have to say that £ for £ the CV range is one of the best deals going at the moment. I've played a lot of different Squier's and Fender's over the years and while I'd admit that if money was no object I'd be looking at a MIA Fender I would also say that in my experience the CV Squier is a great second best and at a 3rd of the price (maybe less 2nd hand - I got mine off ebay brand new for £207) its impossible to beat.

I've got a lot of love for mine, particularly the neck, and as a result i've decided to sell my OLP MM-2 in order to take stock of another CV.

[Alfie]

I think that my attitude towards Squiers is pretty similar to my attitude towards sport, generally rooting for the underdog (until said underdog goes on to outperform your expensively assembled outfit). A great player grooving on a Squier is like when Seb Vettel won a GP in a Toro Rosso, or Hristo Stoichkov scoring for Bulgaria against Germany in the 1994 World Cup quarterfinal.

Reason I like Classic Vibes in particular is that have never really owned ‘the best’ (ie premium brand) of something. The Fenders I have owned have been MIJ, which are great instruments and I would never knock them, but at the same time I am unlikely to experience gigging an American Vintage- even if I had the money to spare, I would be scared to take it out of its box.

I get a perverse satisfaction from owning the very best model made by a second string manufacturer. I am very proud to own a Squier.

[KevB]

As I recently posted on the P/J pickup thread I just bought a Squier P bass special and where ever they are being made (box says China, back of headstock says Indonesia) they seem to have got it right, extremely good value for money IMHO. Plays and sounds like some I've played at twice the price or more. Also should I wish to make upgrades (PU's, bridge etc) there are plenty of aftermarket choices that will just slot straight in with no mess. However I'm pleased with it as it is for now as it was just bought as a cheap back up.