Build quality of cheaper basses

[MartyBRebelMC]

I have modified a Squier 5 deluxe by putting Nordstrand pickups on it and latterly an East U retro preamp. Those two mods alone cost around £400 and as such I probably fall into the slightly bonkers category. I did find out a few things along the way though. The Squier deluxe is active out of the box and i replaced the pickups as the first upgrade. This didn't do a great deal to improve the tone however changing the preamp to the East U retro made an extraordinary difference, so if you have one of these basses I'd say the preamp is probably the weak link in it's tone although I haven't had a chance to try the original pickups with the East.

However I'm drifting of topic slightly, I think given the build quality of budget basses they are a great way of incrementally trying out high end parts that might otherwise only be available on very expensive instruments and as someone pointed out earlier you can take the bits off them and use in other instruments or sell on.

I recently tried some AB testing in a few shops between Squire jazzes (in particular the CV 60's jazz) and their Mexican and American counterparts, I'm looking for a jazz and having recently bought a second hand USA MM stingray and been amazed at how good it is I thought I'd better check out some American made Fenders and see if they are way ahead of their Chinese cousins.

I suspect other peoples ability and technique may well reveal differences that I as an only modestly able player was unable to, but I was hard pressed to tell the difference between the Squire and the American standard although in terms of build the fret finish was marginally better on the American basses neck. As for the mexican fenders...let's not go there! If you want a natural or transparent finish then the American made instruments are in a different league because of the wood used, otherwise I think the Squier basses are definitely worth sticking high end parts on.

Martin

[henry norton]

I think allot of people miss the point of owning an 'expensive' instrument. To most listeners one bass will sound much like another and in a blind test even the most seasoned Fender player will be hard pushed to find a [i]big[/i] difference in sound between a Squier and a MIA. As far as wood goes a piece of Canadian Rock Maple on a Chinese bass is no different to one on an American bass - it's all from the same trees.... Better pickups, electrics etc. will only narrow the gap but the real point of say, a MIA Fender is it just feels better owning one as compared to a Chinese made Squier. There's the cachet of the name and the kudos of where it was made that makes it a bit more 'real', a bit more Rock'n'Roll. I'm pretty sure knowing that can make you play better, therefore making the bass itself feel like it plays better.

It's the difference between owning a real Rolex and a fake. The fake will probably tell the time just as well but knowing you've got the real thing on gives you extra confidence and maybe a certain satisfaction knowing you have the real thing and are not just pretending.

Henry Norton (Doesn't own a wristwatch )

[Rosh]

[quote name='The Burpster' post='751556' date='Feb 20 2010, 07:24 AM']Squire is part of the Fender Emporium and therefore is/will/has been subject of shonky QC.[/quote]

I'm so glad someone uses "Shonky" instead of "crap" or "fubar" Thank you for that.

This does raise a lot of points that I have taken on board as I'm looking to get a Fender (£400~) and was wondering about Squire so thank you again!

If it was upto me I'd have a white Jaguar and have done with!

[CHRISDABASS]

Maybe fender is a bad example but i know if i had £900 i certainly wouldn't buy a cheaper end bass and upgrade it!!

with all the great basses that come up for sale on here that £900 could really get you something fantastic!!! you'd have so much choice at that kind of money!

also with the higher end stuff that £900 can get you on the second hand market your almost guaranteed way better playability, wood's, build quality, finish etc etc etc and you have the knowledge that someone who knows what they're doing has put it together, your not just Guessing what pickups will sound right in your cheapo squire!

[nick]

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='751489' date='Feb 20 2010, 12:07 AM']Can you name some of these £200-300 basses?[/quote]

With regard to slaying (many) a Fender : Ibanez Blazer,Tokai Hardpuncher, current crop of Squiers....

[MartyBRebelMC]

i think Henry Norton makes a good point, much of the reason for buying a USA Fender is buying into the brand...the 'real thing' i.e made in America, and for those who can afford it why not!

But it's difficult to argue (if anyone was) that in pure quality terms you get what you pay for with mass produced instruments, a milling machine in China works just the same as one in America and the employees have the same skills, they just earn different amounts and have different overhead costs.

If I were spending a lot of money I'd want a hand made instrument from the likes of Jon Shuker.....but I digress.

[ThomBassmonkey]

[quote name='nick' post='751926' date='Feb 20 2010, 04:56 PM']With regard to slaying (many) a Fender : Ibanez Blazer,Tokai Hardpuncher, current crop of Squiers....[/quote]

Agree with this (The shop I work at sells Tokais and they've all been quality instruments so it's not just the hardpunchers and I know Ibanez always make decent instruments for any budget).

CHRISDABASS, though that's a fair point, you have to remember that the prices both drop similarly 2nd hand. So a 2nd hand SBMM (not that I've seen any being sold on yet) would probably be around the £4-500 mark compared to £800 for a EBMM. Still a large difference in price range.

It's interesting to hear what people have done to their basses, I would've assumed that a pickup upgrade would make more of a difference than a pre-amp upgrade.

[NJE]

[quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='751924' date='Feb 20 2010, 04:52 PM']Maybe fender is a bad example but i know if i had £900 i certainly wouldn't buy a cheaper end bass and upgrade it!!

with all the great basses that come up for sale on here that £900 could really get you something fantastic!!! you'd have so much choice at that kind of money!

also with the higher end stuff that £900 can get you on the second hand market your almost guaranteed way better playability, wood's, build quality, finish etc etc etc and you have the knowledge that someone who knows what they're doing has put it together, your not just Guessing what pickups will sound right in your cheapo squire!

[/quote]


Firstly the point above is a really good one, you could get a stunning bass for £900 secondhand, spending that much and only ending up with a Squier is in my opinion a waste of money. I bought a Overwater Progress on here for just over £800 and the build and playability is fantastic, far superior to any MM or Fender I have ever played.

I am not having a go at Squier though because I own one and use it regularly. I have a Squier Deluxe V and it is a fantastic bass but "for the money". The neck is good and the body solid, frets well dressed and joints all tight but it is nowhere near as good as my Overwater.

I thought about modding the Squier and completely replacing everything. I was going for Hipshot tuners, badass bridge, Audere preamp, Dimarzio or Nordy Pickups but when I added it all up It would cost me about twice as much as the bass cost and I could basically buy a better bass for the money. As it is I did upgrade but with secondhand parts from Basschatters. I put in a new Aguilar Preamp: £40 and a Badass V - £50 (only because the bridge was cast badly and I couldnt get my gauge of string through) and its great. £90 of mods on a £150 bass is still reasonable I think.

The point I am trying to make (finally) is that for me that Squier is superb because it only cost £250 with the mods. It makes me smile because its cheap and fun. When people play it they cannot believe what I paid, but even if I did upgrade everything with the best parts it still would only be a Good bass because the woods are not superb and it does feel cheap.

[charic]

Some basses you could upgrade to your hearts content and not get close to its "superior" model.

Prime example is rockbass & warwick. Such a big difference.

The bodies feel & weigh different
The necks aren't even related!
They sound completely different

And sometimes... they don't even look quite the same.

The amount of money you'd spend and you would basically have "triggers broom" syndrome