So, I tried some P-basses yesterday...

[jackers]

A couple of days ago I acquired a Tech 21 Landmark 300 (courtesy of dutchman, it is amazing ), so yesterday, since I had some spare time, I thought I would take it down to PMT Oxford and test out a variety of basses. I was most interested in trying out some P-basses, since I have had P-bass GAS for quite a while now, and I wanted to see if the famous P-bass/SVT style grind tone was for me.

The store had 4 different P-basses in, a Squier VM, an MiM, a Mexican Classic (the Fiesta Red 50's one) and a '62 RI. Annoyingly there was no US standard, but there were still several for me to compare.
To test the basses I asked for an Ampeggy cab, and got an Ampeg Classic 115, which, while weighing the same as my house, definitely did the trick.

So, after getting the Landmark plugged in and turned on I set about picking which bass I was going to test out first. (I played all the basses fingerstyle.)
I decided to start with the Squier VM, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well it played. The action was well set up, the neck felt nice and smooth and comfortable, and the seymour duncan pickups sounded great. It had a very nice aggressive tone through the landmark that I really liked. It is a hell of a lot of bass for 250 quid new, and definitely punches well above what its price range would suggest.

Next up was the MiM Fender, which was really disappointing overall. The action was well set up, and the neck felt ok, but the sound was awful. No matter what I tried I couldn't get that nice grinding tone, it just farted out the second I touched the drive dial on the Landmark. I suspect with a pickup and electronics upgrade this would sound great, but at £500, you really shouldn't have to pull bits out and replace them.

I then moved on to the Mexican Classic, and apart from a few small issues I really liked it. It was well set up, it felt nice to play and it had that very nice grinding tone, (albeit a little more restrained than the squier). However, I did have two issues with the Mex Classic, firstly the strings felt like cheese wire on my fingers, they were horrible, and secondly the gold anodised pickguard felt kind of awkward under my thumb. I guess I'm just used to the standard smooth fender guards. Ofcourse neither of these are major problems, but they did affect my enjoyment of testing out the bass.

Last up was the '62 RI, and my god was it nice. It played beautifully, was set up perfectly, looked great and sounded amazing. It had a really nice vintage sound with a strong aggressive edge to it. I did almost choke when I saw the price tag though, as £1700 is quite steep, but it is impossible to deny that the quality is definitely there.

After trying all 4 basses, I switched back and forth between them a little just to confirm my thoughts, then left the shop with a clear order of preference in my head.
My favourite was the '62 RI, it is one hell of a bass, it looks great and sounds like a p-bass should sound in my head. My next favourite was the Squier VM, it was just so playable and it really snarled. For £250 you really can't go wrong in my opinion. Then came the Mexican Classic. While it did have a slightly more refined sound than the Squier, the pickguard really did bug me, and the bass as a whole didn't wow me like the '62 and the Squier.
A firm last was the MiM, I was really shocked by how poor an instrument it was. I am aware that Fenders can be a lottery, but until now I have never experienced it, I guess I have been really lucky.

If I had to go back and buy one of the basses I tried it would definitely be the Squier. It was a great bass, and even thought the '62 RI was my favourite, I just didn't see £1500 different between the two instruments.

[Lozz196]

Just shows how the quality can differ, especially between MIMs. I`ve now had 2 of these, and both have been very good. Not as good as US Standards, but good. But I have played a few that I wasn`t very impressed with. The Classic 50s I had was also a great bass, virtually the same as the US Standard - just the wider neck - but build quality and sound, very near the US.

As you`ve said, the Squiers (I had a CV precision) are very good indeed. i never used mine live, so don`t know how they would hold up in a band situation, but the build quality and playability was great. If necessary, pickup upgrade, pots etc, a cracking bass for not much money at all.

I think the pricing structure is a bit out as well - as Fender have made so many "grades" of instrument, there is such a gap between the highest and lowest, where in real terms, the increase in quality doesn`t match the increase in price.

for me, it would be easier to have Squier, Mex, US, Custom Shop. But then, that`s not going to generate as many sales.

[dannybuoy]

I had a Squier VM P, which I then upgraded to a USA Standard, but I preferred the sound of the Squier! I was going for an agressive roundwound tone at the time, and the VM's excel at that with their Duncan pickups and 500K pots help with the brightness too.

Although now I have flats on the USA P and going for a more vintage sound it sits perfectly.

Edited May 18, 2012 by dannybuoy

[Mornats]

I tried my first Fender P bass the other week when I was trying out some amps. It was a MIM Fender P, not sure of the exact spec but it was £500 ish. I have to say that it felt distinctly average. Felt poor at first but then I got used to it but it's simply not in the same league (by several leagues) as my £600 Tanglewood-made Overwater. It wasn't even as nice as my £280 cheap Dean Hillsboro, although the Fender MIM did sound nicer than my Dean ever has.

I haven't tried the Squire VM but think I need to based on what people are saying about them. I've tried a range of Fender Jazz's though, the best being a beautifully set up MIA standard jazz that was amazing to play. Tried another one in a different shop though and it was ok, fairly good but not great. Tried a Fender Geddy Lee too and felt it wasn't worth £800 or so. Nice neck, horrible clangy sound. Tried some others, all awful, hence why I got an Overwater. I wasn't even intending to buy a guitar that day, I just had to buy it after not being able to put it down for 45 mins in the shop.

Incidentally, you could buy 7 Squire VMs for the price of the 62 (assuming they'd knock £50 off for a bulk buy). I just can't see why there's such a big price difference for such a relatively small difference in quality. It's crazy that the mid-range priced basses just don't fill the gap quality-wise too.

[BottomE]

Gotta agree with a lot of the findings here. £500 for a Mexican Fender which is built to a lesser standard than a £200 Yamaha or Ibanez IS STOOOPID! My experience is that you have to try a few Fenders before you find a good one. Or just get a really old Squier

[MrFingers]

the 62RI comes with a G&G hardcase which is like 150£, has better hardware, nitro finish, and the wages in the US are just a bit higher than those in Asia. But is it worth the 1500£ difference? I really dig the new squiers (vintage modified, classic vibe), which are perfectly built. The Mexican Standard series from Fender is... well "meh"... You pay a lot for the name on the headstock.

[MrTaff]

I haven't played the Mexican Classic but I've played the rest & my impression was the same as yours, I loved the 62 and the American Standard but there's no way I could justify the price of buying two of them when the two VM's I bought came too less than half the price of one American Standard.  The MIM was nothing special, build quality wasn't any better than the VM and the Ducan Designed pickups in the VM sounded better.

Edited May 18, 2012 by MrTaff

[jackers]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who is confused by the price of an MiM Fender, for what is basically, a lottery. Until I tested these basses out I was seriously considering picking up a second hand MiM P-bass on here, but now I am really not so sure that I want to risk it.

I have to say, I am seriously tempted to walk back into PMT after work and buy that VM, it was very nice.

[Mornats]

[quote name='jackers' timestamp='1337351348' post='1658672']
I have to say, I am seriously tempted to walk back into PMT after work and buy that VM, it was very nice.
[/quote]

I've got 5 basses, don't need any more and even I'm tempted to walk into PMT and buy one!

[mushers]

i do hope you washed your hands after playing those Fenders (with bleach)

[Mornats]

I washed my hands then went home and cradled my Overwater.