Could you perform your current role on a Squier Bass ?

[bassbiscuits]

Yes no doubt about it.

A Squier set up to a broadly decent standard would work just as well as any of mine and cover most of what I need for a typical gig.

It's longevity might be a different matter tho - I can be a heavy handed player once I get stuck in onstage, and I've rapidly chewed up frets and worn down bridge saddles on v cheap basses before now.

Maybe the basses are fine and it's my technique that needs sorting.

 

[bassbiscuits]

7 hours ago, discreet said:

A Squier bass..? Eeeh, I dream of a Squier bass. My current go-to bass is a modded Harley Benton P strung with La Bellas. It sounds bloody great and is comfy as a pair of old slippers. Not that I play old slippers, or even wear them, but you know what I mean...

Nice to see all the Squier love. But it's pretty much the same as Fender love, imho.

What next..? Shall I start a thread on whether you could perform your current role with a 1990 Peavey TNT 160 Combo..??

 

TNT130 in my day...

I thrashed one for years and it still sounded decent. Weighed the same as my car tho. 

[discreet]

2 hours ago, bassbiscuits said:

TNT130 in my day... I thrashed one for years and it still sounded decent. Weighed the same as my car tho. 

My current amp is a Trace 300W 7215 Series Six combo (1993). Yes it's heavy, but it sounds totally amazing and it's punchy as fook.

I'M GOING BACK IN TIME!! WOOOO!*

*Cue creepy theremin music with lots of reverb. Woo!

 

[Dad3353]

1 hour ago, discreet said:

...I'M GOING BACK IN TIME!! WOOOO!*

*Cue creepy theremin music with lots of reverb. Woo!

 

I played this to death, back then. Excellent stuff. (I left decades ago ...)

[BigRedX]

14 hours ago, rogerstodge said:

Not very comfortable? Blimey..

I suppose if you like most bassists have spend most of your bass-playing life playing Fenders, copies or instruments whose designs are very similar to Fenders, you will have little idea of what I am on about. 

I'd been playing bass for over 25 years before I bought my first Fender-style bass (A Squier VM Fretless Jazz). My previous basses had been a Burns Sonic, Overwater Original and Gus G3. Admittedly two of those are serious high-end basses, but even so the shape of the Jazz felt all wrong - big, clunky and cumbersome. It hung in a peculiar manner on the strap and I couldn't reach the G-string tuner easily. Because of the balance it felt heavy to play standing up for a long time. I persevered for about 3 months before giving up and selling it.

It was definitely down to the design, because the Overwater was bigger and heavier, but it managed to balance properly on the strap and despite being 2" longer scale length than the Squier all the machine heads were easy to reach, and it was never a burden on long gigs or rehearsals in the way the Squier was. I subsequently tried a very expensive Jaco Pastorius signature Jazz Bass and all the problems I had with the Squier were still present, so for me the issue is about the design rather than the quality of the build.

[Trueno]

^^^

Bigredx... thanks, you've helped to resolve an issue for me, whether to sell my Fender jazz or not. Now I'm a bedroom noodler (but gigging still an admitted possibility) I'm into comfort and short scale. After extended noodling on my Squier SS Jaguar, I gave my US Jazz a try yesterday, and found it very much along the lines you have described. For the record, I've gigged with all kinds of non-Fenders, but mostly Warwick basses.

In answer to the OP, I would absolutely gig with my Squier, if the opportunity ever came up. Very playable and comfortable. I am beginning to notice some compromises on the pickups, notably string to string tone balance. I've set it up myself... not too badly, got new fave strings and a Gotoh bridge. I've given it a try via my EBS Microbass pre-amp and decided that the "drunk at the bar" (my imaginary arbiter of good tone) would never notice the difference between this and an expensive bass. Attentive bass players probaly would...

[discreet]

15 minutes ago, Trueno said:

...the "drunk at the bar" would never notice the difference between this and an expensive bass. Attentive bass players probaly would...

Yeah well, what do they know??

[KevB]

11 hours ago, discreet said:

My current amp is a Trace 300W 7215 Series Six combo (1993). Yes it's heavy, but it sounds totally amazing and it's punchy as fook.

I'M GOING BACK IN TIME!! WOOOO!*

*Cue creepy theremin music with lots of reverb. Woo!

 

Not sure if mine's a six series or not but been gigging one of these for years. Couple it with a 2x10 extension and given years of trouble free use, never had it serviced yet.

Edited March 28, 2018 by KevB

[Bassassin]

I've owned 2x MIJ Squier Precisions & a more recent VMJ fretless - all excellent instruments that I'd happily gig or record with anytime.

Here's a band I'm particularly fond of - OK, the song's a 9-minute prog epic but you won't need to watch too long to see what Jon Poole (Cardiacs, Wildhearts & dozens of sessions) gigs with - last time I saw them he also used a very beat-up Squier VMJ as well as the P/J.

Might just be me being "inattentive" but I'd love my basses to sound like that live.

[discreet]

22 minutes ago, KevB said:

Not sure if mine's a six series or not but been gigging one of these for years. Couple it with a 2x10 extension and given years of trouble free use, never had it serviced yet.

Very good! If it's a series six it'll say so on the front. I'd love to use an extension cab with mine, but just the combo on its own is at the limit of what I'm prepared to haul. I'm not getting any younger you know and it used to be all fields round here. 

Edited March 28, 2018 by discreet

[Rich]

As long as it had 5 strings, yes absolutely.

[4000]

On ‎27‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 12:04, drTStingray said:

 

Tell most Wal players to play a Fender and you'll probably get a rude answer from most. 

 

 

And yet neither of my Wals, particularly the Custom, turned out to be as effective in a band situation as my old Squier. FWIW, I don't have any of these anymore.

Edited March 28, 2018 by 4000

[4000]

23 hours ago, drTStingray said:

 

'Coffee table' basses aren't bedroom basses - they're mostly used by very experienced players where tone, articulation and nuance required are way beyond the thump along rock or to quote another thread once on this forum - boring plodding. 

Bass guitar - indeed music - is often about nuances and intricacies - this thread simply proves to me that many bass guitar players on this forum  don't either get that or don't play in a style that uses them or needs them - that's fine but don't use that to judge what other people should do - they can take a lot of forms - if you can't hear them (or the guitar does not allow you to play them) then there's no differentiation from one style to the next and the bass guitar becomes no different from one thing to the next. 

That devalues most of the subtleties which can be used by skilled and inventive players. 

 

And yet I've found that for me a passive bass (cheap or otherwise) is often better at dealing with nuances and intricacies than an expensive active bass (of which I've had many), which is one of the reasons I seldom use expensive (or otherwise) active basses these days.

Obviously there will be instances where a Squier won't do the job though, for instance where you don't have enough strings.

[discreet]

23 hours ago, drTStingray said:

Bass guitar - indeed music - is often about nuances and intricacies - this thread simply proves to me that many bass guitar players on this forum  don't either get that or don't play in a style that uses them or needs them - that's fine but don't use that to judge what other people should do - they can take a lot of forms - if you can't hear them (or the guitar does not allow you to play them) then there's no differentiation from one style to the next and the bass guitar becomes no different from one thing to the next. That devalues most of the subtleties which can be used by skilled and inventive players.

Erm... I dont buy this at all. You're implying that users of Squier or Fender-type basses are all cloth-eared root and fifth plodders. You can be subtle and inventive on any bass - you don't need a seven-string ironing board to be nuanced and intricate. That is entirely down to the player. IMHO, etc.

[FinnDave]

33 minutes ago, discreet said:

 all cloth-eared root and fifth plodders. 

Root AND fifth, well that's something for me to try.

[Dad3353]

19 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

Root AND fifth, well that's something for me to try.

Not at the same time, dumpling; not at the same time..! 

[BigRedX]

2 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

Not at the same time, dumpling; not at the same time..! 

Roots and fifth at the same time is the BEST!

[Dad3353]

4 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Roots and fifth at the same time is the BEST!

 Heretic..! Burn the witch..! One never plays notes simultaneously with a bass, Shirley..!

...

 

[Les]

6 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

 Heretic..! Burn the witch..! One never plays notes simultaneously with a bass, Shirley..!

...

 

err.....I actually hit all 4 strings at once in our set twice. AND on a lowly Squier too 

[Dad3353]

32 minutes ago, Les said:

err.....I actually hit all 4 strings at once in our set twice. AND on a lowly Squier too 

OK, accidents happen, but twice..! That's just negligence..! Wouldn't happen with a Wal. 

Edited March 28, 2018 by Dad3353

[Marvin]

My Squier VM P bass has been my most used bass for gigs and practice for the past 2+ years

I shall be playing it this evening probably at an open mic.

[paul_c2]

On 3/27/2018 at 13:50, drTStingray said:

 

Bass guitar - indeed music - is often about nuances and intricacies - this thread simply proves to me that many bass guitar players on this forum  don't either get that or don't play in a style that uses them or needs them - that's fine but don't use that to judge what other people should do - they can take a lot of forms - if you can't hear them (or the guitar does not allow you to play them) then there's no differentiation from one style to the next and the bass guitar becomes no different from one thing to the next. 

That devalues most of the subtleties which can be used by skilled and inventive players. 

 

I guess you're implying that Squiers, and/or cheap basses in general, aren't capable of "nuances and intricacies". This, IMHO, is completely untrue. Its not the cost of the instrument itself that produces the nuances and intricacies, its the player. And any bass, which has been reasonably set up and doesn't have faults, would be capable of doing this. It might be that the player PREFERS their £2000 bass, or another brand, or whatever, but if they are incapable of playing a "standard" bass however you define it, I would struggle to blame the bass.

Also I am surprised at how many people who play 5-string seem now to be addicted to the lowest string and incapable of playing without it. If it came to borrowing a 4 string or cancelling a gig, would you cancel??? Sure they offer a bunch of advantages and 5 extra pitches, but those notes are available (up an octave) on a 4 string (or you can use an alternate tuning to achieve some of them too).

[drTStingray]

Im not being snobbish about Squiers at all - in fact I actually like them and think they're good value (not as good as the latest SBMM Sub though 😀) - but the idea that the differentiators between the tone, playability and sustain of those and a very expensive bass with complex tone woods, construction and electronics, in the hands of a skilled player will simply be lost in a mix frankly suggests those suggesting there isn't either have low standards and expectations or indeed cloth ears!!

Or we'd all be using Rickenbackers..... as they'd make no difference either - btw I like them as well 

Edited March 28, 2018 by drTStingray

[stingrayPete1977]

42 minutes ago, paul_c2 said:

I guess you're implying that Squiers, and/or cheap basses in general, aren't capable of "nuances and intricacies". This, IMHO, is completely untrue. Its not the cost of the instrument itself that produces the nuances and intricacies, its the player. And any bass, which has been reasonably set up and doesn't have faults, would be capable of doing this. It might be that the player PREFERS their £2000 bass, or another brand, or whatever, but if they are incapable of playing a "standard" bass however you define it, I would struggle to blame the bass.

Also I am surprised at how many people who play 5-string seem now to be addicted to the lowest string and incapable of playing without it. If it came to borrowing a 4 string or cancelling a gig, would you cancel??? Sure they offer a bunch of advantages and 5 extra pitches, but those notes are available (up an octave) on a 4 string (or you can use an alternate tuning to achieve some of them too).

I agree with the first half but I think you are missing the point us five string players are making regarding the Squier thing, for me and I think the others the point is that Squier do make five string basses so we have that choice to make the ability to do this imaginary gig using a Squier. 

I could do it on a four string Squier but I wouldn't have to. 

 

That's why I'm  saying poop to those that say they could not play what they do now on a Squier providing a comparable model is available. 

Edited March 28, 2018 by stingrayPete1977

[Bolo]

I'd say I COULD play a gig on a luthier modified squire, I just wouldn't be HAPPY doing it.

Me unhappy on a strange instrument that feels and sounds different than the one I spent years getting just so will make a bad gig.