NBD x 2 VMs

[nnnnnn]

Left-to-right:
New Squier VM Jazz Fretless
New Squier VM Jaguar Special
Trusty old Washburn Mercury Series (which I bought twenty-five years ago)

I set out to buy an inexpensive fretless, just something I can fool around with (I'm not good at fretless), but I was also sort of looking for a fretted bass with a P pickup to provide an alternative to the J-type pickups in my Washburn, and I realised I could get two Squier VMs for about the same price as a single Mexican Fender, so today I tripled the number of basses that I own.

Tried some Squier Precisions, some Yamaha BBs, and another of the same model Jaguar, but they all needed some setup work, whereas this specific Jaguar was already good to go with about the string height I like and no fret buzz, and in general it just felt nicer to play than anything else in the approximate price range.

Please excuse the dodgy photography, with my phone camera it was hard to get an angle that didn't have weird reflections. All three basses look better in person, and are the same 34” scale length (the Jaguar looks a bit shorter because the stand it's on leans back a little more than the others). Here's, a slightly different angle on the new ones with different weird reflections:

 

[alack]

Squier=value
I love my VM Jazz and VM SS Jag.

 

[nnnnnn]

P.S. Can anyone confirm how the tone controls work on the Jaguar Special? Seems like the third knob boosts the bass, whereas the fourth knob is more like a traditional passive tone control. Is that right? So far I prefer the bass boost(?) knob all the way off (fully counter-clockwise) regardless of what pickup combination I dial in.

 

[bassist4dalord]

Congratulations! I recently added a VM Fretless Jazz to the flock and I’m in love. I recently had a setup done with some new Thomastik Infelf Jazz Flats and it plays like butter.

Happy NBD x 2!

 

[Maxime1980]

Cool basses and yes, i hope you'll have lots of fun and sonic discoveries!
I have the Squier Jaguar (without the bass boost) and *love it* a lot, esp. with the fact you have a bit of precision tone and jazz tone to it and that you can mix them up to have something broader than just a p bass or a jazz bass. It is really great and i do understand how bassists tend to like it a lot!
Out of curiosity, how is the Squier VM Jazz Fretless ? It seems real good....and im wondering how it compares to a squier precision fretless!

 

[Maxdusty]

Cool basses and yes, i hope you'll have lots of fun and sonic discoveries!
I have the Squier Jaguar (without the bass boost) and *love it* a lot, esp. with the fact you have a bit of precision tone and jazz tone to it and that you can mix them up to have something broader than just a p bass or a jazz bass. It is really great and i do understand how bassists tend to like it a lot!
Out of curiosity, how is the Squier VM Jazz Fretless ? It seems real good....and im wondering how it compares to a jazz fretless!

I actually had the Squier VM Jazz Fretless and a MIM Fender Jazz Fretless at the same time not too long ago and as a result, was able to compare them side by side on the same amp and settings. My Squier VM was the older one with the Duncan designed pickups. To be honest, I preferred the neck on the Squier with the ebanol fretboard over the MIM jazz. The MIM sounded better and pickups had a slightly higher volume output ,also more lows than the Squier which seems to have a higher mid tone quality to it (both basses had identical flatwound strings installed when I first got them - so it's not because of the strings). I do think the Squier is a pretty good option though, probably would have been satisfied with it if money considerations were an issue. I don't have either now as I fell off the fretless wagon and sold both.

 

[Bass V]

sweet basses, now I'm in the mood for a Washburn Mercury MB4 lol

 

[nnnnnn]

Out of curiosity, how is the Squier VM Jazz Fretless ? It seems real good....and im wondering how it compares to a squier precision fretless!

It's pretty nice for the price. In my limited experience trying different Squiers in shops I've found that like lower-end instruments from other manufacturers the quality and/or factory setup can vary quite a bit from instrument to instrument, but the better ones can feel as nice to play as, e.g., MIM Fenders. (I realise setup can be improved, especially by a good guitar tech, but it's reassuring when an instrument already feels good straight off the shelf.)

Since my original post I've had time to do some playing at home and have been enjoying the bass. Slight dead-spot around C# on the G string, but not terrible, and otherwise no complaints about construction or setup. Though the pickups are obviously cheaper than on more expensive basses they don't sound bad and I won't be looking to upgrade them (if I really cared about that I'd have just bought the MIM model instead).

For a fretless novice to fool around on I didn't think it was worth paying twice as much for the MIM model, but it was hard to compare because in the relatively small city where I live a Squier VM Jazz factory-strung with rounds and a MIM Player(?) Jazz factory-strung with flats were the only two new fretless basses actually physically in-store anywhere to try, and they weren't even in the same shop - other models and brands can of course be ordered in, but fretless is in such low demand that they don't routinely stock more than one or two.

sweet basses, now I'm in the mood for a Washburn Mercury MB4 lol

My MB-5 is 25% better than an MB-4...because that's how adding strings works, right?