Squire vs Fender…

[LeftBass2022]

I think I prefer my Squier Jazz to my Fender Jazz.  Anyone else feel this way?   I dug out the Squier and I just think it sounds better.   The Fender is a new Player series,  nice enough,  the Squier is just a Squier.  But - if I had to give one up right now, I’d keep my second-hand Squiggly.  I’m even thinking about getting a Squier P.bass to see if it compares to the Squier Jazz.  Maybe I’ll sell the Fender?  Any opinions welcome guys.  😎

[Waddo Soqable]

Just my 2p worth.. I've got a low spec maple neck Squier PJ of the type currently available, it's excellent. If I had to choose between it and some of the old pukka fenders I've had through my hands in the past I'd keep the Squier. Other than tuning it up I could have happily done a gig with it straight out of the box. 

 

[buff]

I think my ratio of great squiers is higher than great fenders so far. But a £400 squier is never going to be worth more than £400 , or is this now the price of a very good bass ?

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I have a Squier Classic Vibe Mustang bass three Fender JMJ mustang basses, a Fender CIJ Mustang and a Fender Vintera Mustang Bass. The Classic vibe is a great bass and I've happily gigged with it, but even though it has a vintera mustang pickup in it it is still outclassed by the Fenders. The competition orange finish looks fantastic though.

[tegs07]

A few years ago I had a squier CV P bass. It was a really decent instrument. Eventually I decided to get a “proper” Fender. Thus began a total waste of time (in retrospect) buying and selling a US P, a mexican P, a couple of Bitsa’s before finally getting a Fender Nate P that for me is better than the CV. If I never sold the CV though I would have been perfectly content and saved a fair bit of effort!

I’ve been down a similar road with Stingrays with the initial Ray34 being in retrospect just a really decent instrument that didn’t need to be replaced.

 

Edit: The one caveat is most likely due to age I now prefer a slimmer neck so that may tip the balance for the Nate.

Edited July 8, 2023 by tegs07

[LeftBass2022]

Funny ain’t it.  I’ve just put away my Ampeg BA115 and got a Line 6 Lowdown 110 amp for practise and portability - it’s good for its size - but the Squier seems to suit it better.  Maybe it’s the older strings,  I dunno!

[Cato]

I've got a Squier 70s VM Jazz that I often use in preference to basses that cost 4 times as much.

 

OK it's been modded with Aguilar pickups, a Kiogon loom and and Babicz bridge, but it's the feel of the bass that I enjoy as much as anything else, it's just very enjoyable to play.

 

So much so that , barring my fretless Sire, since I've had it I've felt no urge to buy another Jazz style bass, Fender or otherwise.

[ezbass]

5 minutes ago, Cato said:

but it's the feel of the bass that I enjoy as much as anything else, it's just very enjoyable to play.

This is where they score so well. I have a Telecaster (yes, a guitar, deal with it ) which used to be a CV, but now all that’s left is the neck, tuners and a few other bits and bobs. It has a different body and DiMarzio p/ups, but that neck is what makes me want to play it. This is why I want to try one of the current CV Ps (the black one with maple neck and block inlays), I’m hoping it’ll have that feel too and then it’ll also be customised within an inch of its being.

[tegs07]

1 minute ago, ezbass said:

but that neck is what makes me want to play it

Yeah the neck and pickups are crucial for me. I don’t like offset bodies much but other than that the neck is the determining factor. It doesn’t really matter what it says on the headstock. Pickups are easy enough to replace and the Nate’s will swapped out as soon as I stop being lazy.

[LeftBass2022]

I’m still very new to all this so modifying isn’t something I’m into yet - although I did replace a dead pickup, just with a Wilkinson one.  Not expensive, but does the job.   Really good feedback from you guys, appreciate all of this knowledge. 😎

[Lozz196]

I’ve had a good few Squiers and many Fenders. Every US Fender I’ve had was better for me than every Squier I’ve had. I have however had some Squiers that I preferred to the earlier  range MIM Fenders, namely the Matt Freeman Precision and those Made in Korea. I’ve had Squier Affinity Precisions that were a joy to play as well so it doesn’t have to be the higher priced Squiers.

[Waddo Soqable]

1 hour ago, buff said:

I think my ratio of great squiers is higher than great fenders so far. But a £400 squier is never going to be worth more than £400 , or is this now the price of a very good bass ?

Well the Squier I got was more like £200, I'm not bothered what an instrument is worth tbh, to me it's a thing to play. 

 

[LeftBass2022]

Yeah, I paid  £130 for mine.  Cheap as hell.  Best first bass I could have got.  Love it!

[neepheid]

Turns out that CNC machines in China and Indonesia work in exactly the same way as CNC machines do in Mexico and the USA!

 

[NickA]

I'm not p- bass fan.. but we found a fender jazz and a squire p in a rehearsal studio a while back; the squire was the better bass all round.  In the end they're both mass production factory basses made from pretty cheap materials... just a different headstock badge. You'd think fender would up their game to keep ahead of their "low wage economy" partners; but in fact they're just resting on the name snobbery.

[jd56hawk]

I've only tried maybe a dozen active Fender basses, never found one that had me reaching for my wallet, but these really surprised me, especially the P bass...impeccable fit and finish, fantastic neck and fretboard, and the pickups and electronics seem made for the GHS tapewounds 

[theplumber]

Recently sold a Fender Vintera and Classic series Precision bass to BassBros. Both made in Mexico. great fit and finish,loved the sound and did no mods on them. Could not get on with the wide necks which was a shame as they both were great guitars. I had sold a Fender Player series just before I got them both. I did like it but the other two seemed like a step up! So over the last few months I have been mostly using 2 Sandberg Electras,a Godin Shifter Classic and a Sire V5. Really missed the P bass so started looking for another! I narrowed it down to an American made p bass,a player series (Made In Mexico) and a Squier Classic Vibe 60's p bass....Tried the Squier first and that was it! The feel,sound,look,fit and finish did it! Bought it on the spot and the very next day managed to pick up a Squier Classic Vibe 70's p bass in a fetching Surf green. Only mods so far are new vintage type reverse tuners on the 60's bass and a Fender hi mass bridge on the 70's bass!. Well worth a punt!

[LeftBass2022]

Lots of support for the Squier machines.   Good to hear!

[Supernaut]

Said it recently but my Squier Precision 40th anniversary is a gem of a bass - one of the best Ps I've ever played. 

[Waddo Soqable]

2 hours ago, LeftBass2022 said:

Lots of support for the Squier machines.   Good to hear!

I just don't think you can go wrong with the Squiers of all flavours these days, if anyone was starting out (or indeed whatever level player they were).. it'd be my recommendation

[asingardenof]

At their best Squiers can definitely go toe to toe with much pricier instruments. My Precision is a joy to play, and the VM70s Jazz I used to have was, IMO, a better bass than the Fender Vintera equivalent (or at least the example I tried).

Edited July 14, 2023 by asingardenof
Fixed typo

[TheGreek]

A lot of people have it in their heads that Fenders are better than Squier - fair enough. Are they ten times better if the price is ten times more? No!

When I started playing the build quality of Fenders was abysmal which set my mind to thinking that people are buying Fenders because that's whats on the headstock. This has stayed with me for my whole playing "career" - I've owned a LOT of basses but only about 3 Fenders.

 

What you get from a Squier is a good, well put together bass with good tone.

 

What you don't get with a Fender is a 10x better bass, 10x better put together or 10x better tone. 

 

For your money, the Squier is the better bass.

[Lozz196]

Very true Mick, the difference in price and quality isn’t proportional.

[FinnDave]

It's the rule of diminishing returns in action - you can get a fairly decent for (say) £300 and one which is a bit better for £600, and one a bit better than that for £1200. The £1200 bass will in no way be four times as good as the £300 one, but will be a little better in most respects.

In mu experience, Squier basses are perfectly good, I have one not more than a few feet away as I type, but they do seem less resilient to slight knocks that a Fender equivalent would shrug off without a mark. I also find that things screwed to the body require tightening far more often on a Squier than a Fender. Sound and feel wise, though, there's little in it in my opinion.

[grenadillabama]

My only Squier is a Mustang Bass with competition stripe. It seems a bit scooped in the mids compared to my Mustang PJ. I went to Squier after the 'Stang went from $650 to $850. Both play good and sound good. The Squier was less than $500 !