squier jazz bass...good enough for recording?

B

Btyre2013

New member
Vintage Modified Jazz Bass® '70s | Vintage Modified Series | Squier by Fender®

I've been seriously considering getting the above bass guitar, but am not sure it'd be the best choice for £200 or less, I've managed to find it for £200 and it seems like a good deal. Are they any good? are there any other basses in a similar price range that you would recommend? I'm more of a guitarist than bassist so would like some bassists opinion of it, thanks.

Ben.
 
It's fine. I use a cheap ass Squier P-Bass and I probably have the best bass tracks of all time.


No seriously though, I do.


But for real, yes, that bass will be a fine tracking bass.
 
As long as it's in tune you're good to go. I could probably play track with a $200.00 bass and one with a $3000.00 bass and I'd doubt that 99.9% of people could tell which is which. Don't get caught up with price, get caught up with sound!:guitar:
 
XploZiveToyz said:
As long as it's in tune you're good to go. I could probably play track with a $200.00 bass and one with a $3000.00 bass and I'd doubt that 99.9% of people could tell which is which. Don't get caught up with price, get caught up with sound!:guitar:
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true, I'm thinking that if I set it up and get the intonation right with my peterson tuner then it will (potentially) be a great bass. I'm just worried about the crazy cost of bass strings, which I find mindblowingly expensive, almost 10% of the value of the actual bass
 
Btyre2013 said:
true, I'm thinking that if I set it up and get the intonation right with my peterson tuner then it will (potentially) be a great bass. I'm just worried about the crazy cost of bass strings, which I find mindblowingly expensive, almost 10% of the value of the actual bass
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Yeah, but they'll last about as long.

I haven't actually played one of their basses, but if they are anywhere near the quality of the guitars, the Xaviers from GuitarFetish will be at least as good as that Squier, and a little cheaper, and right now they've got a coupon for 10% off all basses. Not sure about ordering from a place that talks in pounds, but I know folks that get them in AU without much trouble.
 
I've got what is probably the equivalent, electronics-wise, of that same Squire, except that it's fretless. I'm not so thrilled with it, but I heard someone else play the same model and it was pretty damn good, so I'd say it's mostly in the playing anyway. I'm sure you could put better strings on it and improve the sound considerably, and then of course there's the pickups and electronics. It all depends on what sound you're looking for, and what your standards are. It's not going to be top-shelf out of the box. If that's what you demand, then you're going to have to move to a higher price point. It should be, however, a perfectly adequate bass. For the price of some strings, it should elevate it to pretty good. Then, if necessary, when you're ready, you could upgrade the pickups and electronics and get pretty much whatever you're looking for sound-wise. And since you're going to be recording this, do yourself a huge favor and find a Behringer (yes, that Behringer) Bass BDI 21. They're Behri's rip-off of Tech 21's industry-standard SansAmp Bass Driver. They're the real deal as far as tone, and they're dirt cheap.

Good luck, and have fun.
 
Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, depending on the sound you're after, I've also got an Epi EB-O bass (looks like an SG) that I'm surprisingly fond of the sound of. It's not at all what a normal EB-O should sound like. A normal EB-O should be a very big, almost wooly bottom end. This thing sounds almost Rick-like, or maybe Stanley Clarke Alembic-ish. I'm sure it's because of the strings that came on it, which I haven't changed because I don't want to lose that sound. Wish I knew for sure what kind of strings they were. I should write to Epi some time and ask them.
 
Just listened to your song. Awesome. Don't know how a jazz bass is going to fit into that, though. I guess I don't know what kind of a sound you're looking for.
 
Squiers have gotten a lot better in the last few years. I'd get one if that's the sound you're after, since Fender's been known to pull the plug on good stuff.
 
I've got a Squier Affinity J-bass ($99 delivered). I DI it and use PodFarm to amp-sim it, works for the types of music I've recorded, and used it live for Beatles tribute music.
 
Also, aside from the Squire fretless J that I don't like, I've got a Squire P-bass that I really like the sound of. Bought it very used, and afaik, it's got a stock pickup.
 
notCardio said:
Just listened to your song. Awesome. Don't know how a jazz bass is going to fit into that, though. I guess I don't know what kind of a sound you're looking for.
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obviously I won't be using the bass for my classical guitar tracks, it's just for when I need to make rock/jazz and other styles.
 
I say heck yes. Every single time I have heard these in demos or picked one up in a store I have been impressed for the price of it. TBH I would own one in a heartbeat if I didn't already have an American.
 
ultrasound said:
have to say I have a vintage modified precision bass and it sound awful. It's like a horrible clunky metallic sound and I wouldn't use it in any recording.
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You bought the wrong bass then. That clunky metallic sound is pretty much how a jazz bass sounds.

I not only like that sound a lot, I will order steel strings over nikel just to emphasize that pingy metallic sound.

Sounds like you would have liked a P bass better.
 
Guitargodgt said:
You bought the wrong bass then. That clunky metallic sound is pretty much how a jazz bass sounds.

I not only like that sound a lot, I will order steel strings over nikel just to emphasize that pingy metallic sound.

Sounds like you would have liked a P bass better.
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read again - he got a P!
 
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