Albi Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 (edited) About a month ago I managed to find a used Squier VM Jazz Bass. I was thinking a lot about pimping out a cheap passive bass as a back-up for my active Zon. But instead of doing some obvious upgrades I went a little further when I heard someone on our Dutch bass forum was about to order Chi-Sonics. He had already ordered them before directly from Hanson and pays the same amount shops are supposed to. So I decided to order me a set of J-Sonics. Since I'll be going to London to study at the ICMP, I was a little anxious about the time-frame because the pick-ups still had to be build! Yesterday the one who modded my Squier received the pick-ups and now it's closed to finished. I present my Squier Vintage Modified CS: Upgrades include: -Gotoh bridge -CTS pots+series/parallel switch -Sprague orange drop -New control plate -Hanson J-sonics -Fender neckplate+decal, although that was done by the previous owner. -JB knobs I'll be picking her up somewhere next week but he already told me she sounds monstrous! Edited September 19, 2010 by Albi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 [quote name='Albi' post='960703' date='Sep 18 2010, 07:42 PM']I'll be picking her up somewhere next week but he already told me she sounds monstrous![/quote] Oh no you're not one of these people who likes to personify inanimate objects are you? LOL jk. Looks good. Clearly some very high quality electronics going in there. You must really like how it plays presumably? I must say i've not really ever gone for putting really high quality pots in any of my guitars but i do like BIG pots since they're a bit easier to wire lolz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albi Posted September 19, 2010 Author Share Posted September 19, 2010 To me, a bass will always be a "she". I had a Squier VM like this before and I really like the feeling of the bass. The neck with a satin finish is really nice to play instead of a lacquered neck. The pick-ups are known to sound a bit like Darkstars: very nice lows, enhanced low-mids and audible, but not glassy, highs. Plus they are very dynamic in the way they react to you playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingnutkj Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 Very nice! How much did the Chi-Sonics cost, if you don't mind me asking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albi Posted September 21, 2010 Author Share Posted September 21, 2010 I don't mind at all. They were a bit less than 180 euro's for a pair. That's shipping and taxes included. We did however bought 6 pairs at once, so the shipping cost was actually equally divided amongst us.(5 people) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingnutkj Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 Cheers - they're really nice pickups! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 I'm loving it. Very cool Nice bit of wood there, you see a lot of the VMJs with practically no grain at all. What does the Sprague orange drop do though? And what IS it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 Retro cool ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 (edited) [quote name='Tait' post='966386' date='Sep 24 2010, 09:08 AM']I'm loving it. Very cool Nice bit of wood there, you see a lot of the VMJs with practically no grain at all. What does the Sprague orange drop do though? And what IS it?[/quote] Well it does [url="http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/Sprague_%27Orange_Drop%27_0.047_Capacitor_.047CAP-OD"]this[/url] 'A perfect upgrade capacitor offering a smoother, warmer tone over standard ceramic caps. Generally used on tone pots for guitars that have Singlecoils. A simple way to improve the tone of your Strat! 100v.' Edited September 24, 2010 by 51m0n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 Ahh right, it's a capacitor! If it was black, I'd have probably guessed that from looking at it to be fair! Do you reckon it can make that huge a difference to the tone? I guess for a quid it's worth a try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 wow, those pups look sexy, nice work fitting them! I'm just thinking about sexing my VMJ up.....couple of questions 1/ Have you sourced pickguards (scratchplates)? 2/ Where did you get those Fender decals, they look A1? many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 A flux capacitor?! Truckstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albi Posted September 24, 2010 Author Share Posted September 24, 2010 [quote name='iconic' post='966965' date='Sep 24 2010, 05:46 PM']wow, those pups look sexy, nice work fitting them! I'm just thinking about sexing my VMJ up.....couple of questions 1/ Have you sourced pickguards (scratchplates)? 2/ Where did you get those Fender decals, they look A1? many thanks[/quote] Thanks! 1/ I don't really understand what you mean with that? 2/ The decal was done by a previous owner but a friend of mine knows where to get them, so I'll ask him. I was able to try the bass on my Markbass set today and WOW. The pick-ups are are the most dynamic ones I've ever played. With a soft touch they sound pretty nice, but when you really dig-in they growl like a beast! With the series/parallel-switch engaged it gets a bit of the sound of a P-bass but with a more cutting edge to it. This is probably the best Jazz I've had so far, and the urge for another one with Chi-Sonics is taking me over. Maybe I'll make one with the humbucker... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 very nice indeed good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 It looks good, I've got the same pickups (although in humbucker cases) in my Decade. They are very nice and very sensitive pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 btw - wonderful thread title. one of those phrases bass players understand, but make everyone else go 'huh ?' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 [quote name='Albi' post='967075' date='Sep 24 2010, 07:45 PM']Thanks! 1/ I don't really understand what you mean with that?[/quote] I have been trying to find a new scratchplate for my VMJ but can't see anything off the shelf...maybe MIM J's are close, I wondered if you had tried anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albi Posted September 25, 2010 Author Share Posted September 25, 2010 Ah yes,. I believe this was the original scratchplate. Although I was thinking of putting a pearloid black on there, I'm just gonna leave it like that. So, no experience of other scratchplates by me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albi Posted September 25, 2010 Author Share Posted September 25, 2010 Some more pics: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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