Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass  

Comments about Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass:

Okay, I won't sugarcoat anything. I am NOT at a professional level as I am a 20 year old student but I do enjoy weekly gigs and bar tours so I know what I am talking about. I have only played a Fender Standard Jazz Bass and a Deluxe Active Jazz Bass and I must say the only mistake with this bass is that it has the SQUIER logo. I purchased this a few weeks ago as a backup to my Fender Standard (instruments are overpriced here in the Philippines) and this has become my main working axe. I won't lie to you and say that it is better or it "blows my fender away" but it is just as good and I mean that in terms of feel, sound, and durability. Do not be fooled by brand snobs who say it is just a squier. The wood is soft maple which I know to be one of the better woods. Also I think this is better than the Classic Vibe Jazz Bass that comes with a basswood body. If you can't take my word for it, do your homework and try it out. If you can't, then youtube it. Seriously this will probably last a lifetime and a half even if you bang it around. Perfect for a working musician. I gave it 4 stars because there are better basses like the ones over $800. This bass is less than $300 and it gives my Fender Standard Jazz a run for its money. It isn't good for the price, it's just good period. I would pay $600 for this thing. Buy it now. Seriously.

Comments about Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass:

This was the first new bass I ever purchased. I did my homework, read the reviews, played a bunch, and chose this over a MIM or Geddy Lee that cost 2-3X. As other reviewers have mentioned, the plusses: great Duncan-designed pickups, almost worth the price of the bass itselft, the rest is gravy (always received compliments on the tone of this bass, people would say "that's a Squier?"); beautiful maple body and maple neck/fingerboard, nice touch to have the blocks and binding, even if its just painted on, looks more expensive than it really is; OK weight, but not lightweight by any stretch of the imagination. Now the minuses: neck was highly bowed, really had to crank on the truss rod and I feared overtighening, but I eventually got the action in the ballpark of low; bridge pickup on mine was noisy with treble full, but OK when blended, cheap bridge, nobs, and tuning heads, work OK but not sure of longevity. All and all, you will not find a better jazz bass for $300 or under on the market today. This one lives up to its billing and I highly recommend it for those just starting out or for those moving up to a new bass from a used one.

Comments about Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass:

There are a lot of good things about this bass. The maple body has a nice butterscotch color and high gloss finish that is perfect - it's heavy but not too heavy - and mine has a nice quartersawn figure on the bass horn side of the closely matched three piece body. The neck finish is great - it's very hard and a true satin that makes the neck feel very raw and fast. The neck grain is straight on the back and nicely figured on the front - the black blocks and binding are immaculate. The Duncan Design pickups sound very good - they are the Duncan vintage voiced pickups, only made in Korea. Hardware is solid, nice 3-ply pickguard. Very well balanced bass, really stays in place...a perfect design. However, Squier could have done a better job finishing the fret work on this neck. I don't think the fret ends are filed at all and mine are sharp up and down on both sides of the neck. The frets need leveling and my A string frets out completely on the 15th fret. Other than that, it's a slim, great playing neck...just needs a proper fret dressing, which can get pricey. A block AP neck will cost about $275 new, so it's probably worth spending some $ to save the Squier neck. I bought a fret-end-file for about $20 to take care of the sharp ends and will take it to my luthier to level the frets. At this price, you figure they have to cut corners somewhere. Overall, an outstanding value for an all-maple jazz bass. It has a great feel and look, balance is perfect and it resonates well unplugged. It will probably need fret work.

Comments about Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass:

Ok, I admit I sold this off after 4 months to pay for some pedals I wanted, but during that time it served its purpose well. I can't speak for the other basses in the VM line, but this is one case where hope meets hype. There's plenty of sparkling reviews floating around online, and they're spot on: the SVMJ has a nice weighty body, perfect balance, and better-than-entry-level construction. Pups will hum if you favor one heavily over the other, but split in the middle gives no hiss at all. Mine came perfect from the box with little buzz, and no dead spots, at least none I could find. Hardware does seem a little cheap, but do what a majority of the bass community is doing: get one and mod the thing like crazy. A Badass II bridge here, new strings there, straplocks...you'll end up with a bass that surpasses Fender's Mexi and Highway 1 lines for a fraction of what those basses cost new. It has the looks, the feel, and more importantly the sound; the Duncan pups are pretty much as close to Fender's American series as one can get without breaking the bank. More than just a beginners instrument or a beater, the VMJ has to played to be believed. Buy one, I will again.

Comments about Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass:

Got this for my first bass. It has great tone, a fast neck and looks awesome to boot. It had a few problems but they were easy to fix, you might want to change the bridge out for a leo quann, the pickups are the best for the price with a great range of tones. Buy it!

Comments about Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass:

The natural-wood style finish of the Squier Vintage modified 70s bass looks great. I REALLY like having a maple fretboard on a Jazz bass - and this is one of the few low-cost Fenders or Squiers that does. The neck binding is a nice touch, and the three-ply pickguard looks wonderful. Great: The pickups are way above par for a passive bass in this price range. The tuners are significantly better than the more basic Squier Jazzs, and the overall quality is fantastic. The price (compared to other Jazzs) is quite reasonable and is worth the money. Not so good: The "inlays" are actually painted-on blocks - not inlays. Every - single - one - of - these starts with a curved neck - you have to adjust the truss rod to get them straight. These should start life better than Affinity basses. The nut is cheap. Overall: Im very satisfied with my Vintage Modified 70s. It sounds, feels, and looks like a great bass - and it is!

Comments about Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass:

If you want a Fender Jazz and can live without the Fender logo on the headstock, this is it. This bass plays, sounds, and feels like a name brand quality bass - but is priced right. It may be imported, but Fender showed them how to build it right. You can not go wrong with this guitar.

Comments about Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass:

I love this bass. I'm primarily a Guitar player (learning to play the bass) and decided to buy this one as my starter bass; since the reviews were so favorable. This bass was excellent right out of the box. Though I must admit that the action was a bit high and the neck started to "bow" a little bit. I had it set up by a professional and changed the bridge to a Bad A** II and it now plays like a dream. As a matter of fact, my son's teacher loved the set up so much he played my bass over his!

Comments about Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass:

I got this as my first bass because I was interested in learning the instrument. It feels good when I play it, and the only adjustment I need to do is get strap locks and get better pickups. Overall it is everything I could ask for and more. I'm glad I made the decision to get this one instead of the affinity series. I plan to soon get the vintage P Bass soon as well. Squier is a great company for producing this for people who don't want to blow 2x as much for the Fender's standard version where this is superior.

Comments about Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass:

It can get really tuff at there sometimes, and when someone puts out an instrument like this one, on the market, that can satisfy from the beginner to the advance, without hurting the bank, BUY IT QUICK. !!!! Everything said about this bass guitar is positively on the money, ( get it.!!!) on the money. ONLY IF YOU'RE EXTREMELY SICK FOR TONE, try the Audere preamp system. you'll thank me later....