New Squier Classic Vibe Basses

[Sibob]

3 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

It may depend on the actual piece of wood - I may have got lucky!

Old (~35years) rosewood left, young laurel (right). The laurel has similar but not quite as nice grain, but darker. Similar finish. The rosewood used to get treated with fast fret, but not for decades.

If Laurel can look like that, how on earth are Fender making it look how it does in those Squier photos?! It's a shame, because if I was in the market, those photos would stop me buying.

Si

[Deedee]

On 24/03/2019 at 21:24, ezbass said:

Music Man use poplar for some of their solid finishes IIRC.

Yes, my old black 2 band Stingray was poplar. Weighed a fair bit (which I prefer) and it certainly didn't lack any low end. 

[Deedee]

22 minutes ago, Sibob said:

If Laurel can look like that, how on earth are Fender making it look how it does in those Squier photos?! It's a shame, because if I was in the market, those photos would stop me buying.

Si

It is a shame. I have one of the original 60's CV Precisions and the rosewood is lovely and dark  

[Nicko]

My Squier CV 70s PB is poplar and sounds better than my (admittedly budget friendly) MIA US Special which is alder.  May have something to do with the hi-mass bridge though.

[tony_m]

Yes, I wasn't impressed with the look of the Laurel in the Squier photos either. The fingerboard on my CV '60s P (Fiesta red) is nice and dark, while that on my old CV '60s Jazz was even darker - in fact it was so dark and the position dots were such a dark cream that in certain lights my poor old eyes struggled to make them out clearly. 😳

[dave_bass5]

I have both the P and Jazz Classic vibes (still use the Jazz) from the first run. As others have said, its just bits of wood and a few pieces of metal. The reason i would still go for the old versions is they had smaller frets. I find these much nicer to play than the usual Med-Jumbo frets. Not a deal breaker if i was buying new, but definitely a preference that woudl sway me towards the old style.

[Stub Mandrel]

44 minutes ago, Sibob said:

If Laurel can look like that, how on earth are Fender making it look how it does in those Squier photos?! It's a shame, because if I was in the market, those photos would stop me buying.

Si

The laurel one is actually a Squier VM SS Jaguar...

I suspect they work hard to make sure the Squiers don't outshine the Fenders, at least on their website.

[Moos3h]

Check out my laurel!  Have hit it twice with the lemon oil and looking pretty healthy.

 

 

[Cato]

I definitely prefer the aesthetics.of laurel to the Pau Ferro Fender initially used as their Rosewood replacement.

Although I thought I read somewhere that the CITES rules might be about to get tweaked and that Rosewood might be making a comeback.

Edit: Found this

https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/rosewood-may-return-to-low-cost-guitars-in-2019

If it happens maybe the last couple of years worth of Pau Ferro boarded instruments will become collectables...

Edited March 26, 2019 by Cato

[mcnach]

On 24/03/2019 at 20:13, zvirus said:

Hi,

 Fender knows how to make sure new Classic Vibe Basses will not be better than MiM or USA basses (which WAS the case IMO):

 https://shop.fender.com/en-GB/squier-electric-basses/precision-bass/classic-vibe-60s-precision-bass/0374510505.html?rl=en_US

https://shop.fender.com/en-GB/squier-electric-basses/jazz-bass/classic-vibe-60s-jazz-bass/0374530504.html

 

Poplar body... seriously?

Will this give you any sort of low end?

Or maybe I`m totally wrong and they are still good?

 

Cheers

Tomas

 

as others must have said already (I haven't read the whole thing yet), poplar does not mean lack of low end, how did you get that conclusion?

 

I only own one example (USA MM SUB) but I've played a handful of other poplar bodied basses (and pine, and other 'lowly' woods) and there's no lack of low end that I can tell. It does have a bit of a boring grain, but that's about it. Not the most exciting natural finish.

 

edit: my fretless Precision is also made of poplar. No problems there either.

Edited March 26, 2019 by mcnach

[Stub Mandrel]

This mention of lemon oil got me thinking. It seemed weird to me that a vegetable oil would be used on fretboards.

Why?

Vegetable oils oxidise, thicken and go gungy over time. Mineral oils don't.

So I looked up the MSDS (material safety data sheet) for few a popular brands. They are typically >90% white mineral oil or 'heavy naptha' (which is the same thing but longer molecules so a bit thicker for lemon oils used as a 'lacquer'), the 'lemon' bit appears to be just a touch of essential oil to add fragrance.

What's the cheapest and most easily obtained source of high-purity white mineral oil? Sewing machine oil, which is thin, hardly smells and is specifically chosen not to go nasty and gungy when used in a very challenging environment.

Just happen to have a bottle too!

Tried it on an old no-name neck - worked great. Tried it on Hohner rosewood - great. Tried it on Laurel - spankin!

 

I also found an MSDS for pure lemon oil. Slightly toxic if taken internally, hazardous (irritant) with skin exposure. In other words, don't put pure lemon oil on your fretboard, just drip it in your new-age oil vapouriser and use it to summon unicorns.

I suppose you could add a drop to sewing machine oil and make your own 'lemon oil'.

<edit> found this which seems to agree with me! https://www.guitaranswerguy.com/12-lemon-oil-debate/

🙂

Edited March 26, 2019 by Stub Mandrel

[DoubleOhStephan]

12 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

This mention of lemon oil got me thinking. It seemed weird to me that a vegetable oil would be used on fretboards.

Why?

Vegetable oils oxidise, thicken and go gungy over time. Mineral oils don't.

So I looked up the MSDS (material safety data sheet) for few a popular brands. They are typically >90% white mineral oil or 'heavy naptha' (which is the same thing but longer molecules so a bit thicker for lemon oils used as a 'lacquer'), the 'lemon' bit appears to be just a touch of essential oil to add fragrance.

What's the cheapest and most easily obtained source of high-purity white mineral oil? Sewing machine oil, which is thin, hardly smells and is specifically chosen not to go nasty and gungy when used in a very challenging environment.

Just happen to have a bottle too!

Tried it on an old no-name neck - worked great. Tried it on Hohner rosewood - great. Tried it on Laurel - spankin!

 

I also found an MSDS for pure lemon oil. Slightly toxic if taken internally, hazardous (irritant) with skin exposure. In other words, don't put pure lemon oil on your fretboard, just drip it in your new-age oil vapouriser and use it to summon unicorns.

I suppose you could add a drop to sewing machine oil and make your own 'lemon oil'.

<edit> found this which seems to agree with me! https://www.guitaranswerguy.com/12-lemon-oil-debate/

🙂

This deserves its own thread for a wider audience, excellent advice! 

[bazzbass]

On ‎25‎/‎03‎/‎2019 at 06:43, zvirus said:

Hi,

 Fender knows how to make sure new Classic Vibe Basses will not be better than MiM or USA basses (which WAS the case IMO):

keep telling yourself that lol

 

not even close, those rolled edge fingerboards on USA Fenders are to die for. No business can make their cheap brand better than their premium brand and stay in business.

[Moos3h]

1 hour ago, bazzbass said:

keep telling yourself that lol

 

not even close, those rolled edge fingerboards on USA Fenders are to die for. No business can make their cheap brand better than their premium brand and stay in business.

I'd agree with that, although ultimately most of what makes the GOOD ones is in the finishing stage and a lot of that can be done yourself if you enjoy that sort of thing - making a bass that's yours and suits you.

 

My Squier 'required':

- Fret Dress

- Neck sanding down

- Fingerboard edges rolling

- Full setup

- New strings

 

and whilst I was at it, I ripped out the electronics and put some EMGs in.

 

Now you could certainly argue it didn't NEED any of the above, you could also argue that it reaches 'Trigger's Broom' status after a certain amount of work/changes/upgrades but if like me you find that part of the 'fun' then that's cool.  Is it comparable to a USA mode? IMO, no.  Was it fun? Yeah!

[Nicko]

2 hours ago, bazzbass said:

No business can make their cheap brand better than their premium brand and stay in business.

Yes they can, as long as there is a demand for premium brands and the consumer is label concious.  Are Audi's better than VWs, and are VWs better than Seats, and are they better than Skodas?

[EssentialTension]

3 hours ago, Nicko said:

Yes they can, as long as there is a demand for premium brands and the consumer is label concious.  Are Audi's better than VWs, and are VWs better than Seats, and are they better than Skodas?

For me, Audis and VWs are not better than SEATs and Škodas, because they cost more and don't have anything I need over and above what the SEATs and Škodas have.

Edited March 27, 2019 by EssentialTension

[dannybuoy]

Laurel? I prefer yanny fingerboards.

Edited March 27, 2019 by dannybuoy

[Stub Mandrel]

My Squier Jag has rolled edges to the fingerboard (if I am understanding what that means properly)

[bassix]

I have a Fender jazz Pro, I today tried the classic vibe range of basses. I today bought a classic vibe precision because it felt lovely, the country of origin or body didn't make a difference to me. 

[Lozz196]

44 minutes ago, bassix said:

I have a Fender jazz Pro, I today tried the classic vibe range of basses. I today bought a classic vibe precision because it felt lovely, the country of origin or body didn't make a difference to me. 

A Precision, Liam, what were you thinking?

[bassix]

Sorry about that, but I was weak! Frankly for the money, flip it! 

[Jazzmaster62]

Any thoughts on these? Looking for a backup bass and these fit the bill perfectly. Love the daphne blue colour as well. 

[dave_bass5]

Have you looked on here for threads about these? They have been talked about already i believe.

[Jazzmaster62]

Couldn't find any using the search function.

[hooky_lowdown]

3 minutes ago, Jazzmaster62 said:

Couldn't find any using the search function.

There's at least two threads from March this year!