Squier Clasic Vibe Jazz bass

[itsmedunc]

I bought this CV off ebay for £200. I'm really surprised with the quality of it. I have a Squier JJ artist series and a USA highway Jazz too but so far this new addition is the number one. Really nice slim neck and lighter (good for me) than both of the others. It feels much more expensive than I imagined it would have. It sounds well too but as yet has not been up loud. Has anyone modded one of these and made a worthwhile improvement? Pickups, pots, bridge etc?

[iconic]

I've got one and never felt any need to upgrade anything, very good bass's out the box

[jezzaboy]

Bedders from Madness is playing one of these live. Don`t know if it`s stock but I wouldn`t change anything until you give it a full pelt blast!

[essexbasscat]

A set of your choice of strings perhaps ? Marcus Miller DR's work nicely on mine

I've also seen one of these with a white pearl scratchplate, which looked rather tasteful

Other than that, the hardware on mine is pretty good overall. I might investigate if a different set of pots helps, but it's honestly not bad at all in standard nick

[Prime_BASS]

Pretty quality instrument as standard, benifits from a string change and a setup.

Only other things I'd suggest is electronics, pickups as fine but a better passive circuit or even an active one can add to the bass, pickguard as desire.

[bh2]

Congrats... they're great basses.

[theyellowcar]

Big fan of the CV series, £200 is an absolute steal!!

[Josh]

You're already familiar with my modded CV Dunc:



I think the mods have really improved an already amazing bass, especially considering how much they go for. I bought mine for £200 secondhand on here and it had already been modded with a set of Wizard 64's and the cavity had been shielded. I was more than happy with it for over a year and then I got a Fender American Special jazz with a maple neck, after a few days I quickly realised it was a pretty bland and harsh sounding jazz but I loved the neck and I've always liked the OW/maple/tort combination so off it came and on to the CV body with no hassle. The roller bridge was a £30 shot in the dark and it turned out to be a great bridge, fantastic adjustably and great sustain. I also swapped the stock tort plate for a proper Fender one as the CV looks a bit cheap.

I have a relatively high turnover rate when it comes to basses and this has recently celebrated it's 2 and a half years with me and I honestly hope I can hold on to it for a while as it's such a good bass. I would happily have another one, no question.

[fender73]

Great basses, wouldn't change a thing on mine

[AntLockyer]

I changed to flats and put a new pickguard on mine (plus a good setup) I like it. I'm tempted by another one with rounds on.

[Grand Wazoo]

I had one and modded it loads. The mods I did were divided in two, those who were necessity to improve the sound and those which were just to make it better looking.

The original pickups are a bit on the thin side, and they hummmmmmmmmmm alot. so I got some Seymour Duncan stacked humbuckers vintage sounding STK1B and STK1N b and n means bridge and neck. Then I changed all the wiring loop with proper wax cloth coated wires, CST pots and finally changed the plastic nut to a proper bone one.

The other mods I did which were not necessary but improved my appreciation of it, were original Fender reverse tuners, and a Fender logo neck plate, and then.... I moo'ed the bass in cow print and pinked the pickup cover and knobs. If I find the pic again I'll show it to you, alas there is a thread buried here somewhere going back 2 or 3 years when I did the whole transformation. It was fun.

[gjones]

[quote name='Josh' timestamp='1377895182' post='2193455']
You're already familiar with my modded CV Dunc:



I think the mods have really improved an already amazing bass, especially considering how much they go for. I bought mine for £200 secondhand on here and it had already been modded with a set of Wizard 64's and the cavity had been shielded. I was more than happy with it for over a year and then I got a Fender American Special jazz with a maple neck, after a few days I quickly realised it was a pretty bland and harsh sounding jazz but I loved the neck and I've always liked the OW/maple/tort combination so off it came and on to the CV body with no hassle. The roller bridge was a £30 shot in the dark and it turned out to be a great bridge, fantastic adjustably and great sustain. I also swapped the stock tort plate for a proper Fender one as the CV looks a bit cheap.

I have a relatively high turnover rate when it comes to basses and this has recently celebrated it's 2 and a half years with me and I honestly hope I can hold on to it for a while as it's such a good bass. I would happily have another one, no question.
[/quote]

So you would thoroughly recommend the CV Squier Jazz....except for the pickups, the neck, the bridge and the scratchplate?

I'm being ironic in humorous and friendly way,,,,,,,,,,,please don't hit me

Edited September 12, 2013 by gjones

[Donnyboy]

I'm going through a " my life is not truly complete without at trying /having one at least for a while" phase. There's one for sale fairly close by for £200, But,I need to get rid of something to get the cash for it. I could, I suppose exploit my good looks and, sell my body for sexual purposes. But it'd take ages to get that kind of money
Ah well.

[funkle]

I modded mine with various things. Hipshot tuners, J retro, Babicz bridge. Honestly, the tuners and bridge upgrade did nil to change the sound, so I put it back to stock and enjoyed it just the way it is. It's an excellent bass for not a lot of money. The J Retro now lives in my Celinder, but I might hunt down another to put back in this bass.

Most basses are going to sound the way they do. I think the stock pickups sound just fine and generally hardware doesn't make much odds to sound in my experience. IMO a preamp, the type of pickup installed, and string selection (and of course the player) make the biggest differences to sound on a given bass. The rest can be to taste/aesthetics/function.

Edited September 12, 2013 by funkle

[funkle]

[quote name='AntLockyer' timestamp='1378976983' post='2207180']
I changed to flats and put a new pickguard on mine (plus a good setup) I like it. I'm tempted by another one with rounds on.
[/quote]

What other pickguards fit this bass?

[Josh]

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1378985341' post='2207315']
So you would thoroughly recommend the CV Squier Jazz....except for the pickups, the neck, the bridge and the scratchplate?

I'm being ironic in humorous and friendly way,,,,,,,,,,,please don't hit me
[/quote]

Triggers broom and all that

In all seriousness, even 100% stock these basses are amazing value and quality. I saw the original neck for mine pop up a few weeks ago and was tempted to buy it back as the neck was a great neck, I only changed it purely for the aesthetic. I had a James Johnston CV jazz a few months ago which is now Duncs, it is essentially a CV just in a nice lake placid blue finish. Nonetheless I really liked the sound of the standard pick ups, warm and plenty of growl.

[quote name='funkle' timestamp='1379023514' post='2207999']
What other pickguards fit this bass?
[/quote]

I replaced mine with a genuine Fender 62/64 tort plate and it fit perfectly just about.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Josh

[bh2]

I recently A/B'd one up against a RW Jazz and a Custom Shop Jazz... I was interested in the RW at the time as it's a (almost) direct replica of my 62 Jazz.

The RW (£900) came out on top closely followed by the CV! I was floored by the lovely feel and the stock pups, really captured the vibe nicely and I loved the glossy neck finish.

The CS was miles behind these two (£1200)!

Would make a great replica project bass.

[Funky Dunky]

http://m.youtube.com/#/bassguitarmag?uid=ranFvDA8I4qHg8GweBmDEA&desktop_uri=%2Fbassguitarmag

In some instances, the Squier sounds better than the Fender (to my ears anyway). I dig that blue P-Bass!
In fairness, Ed Friedland runs them through a Genz Benz, so they sound outstanding, and he's a wonderful bassist too, but yeah, I have to say, very very impressive for what some people would call a "cheapo".