Squier Vintage Modified JB Opinions

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Exploited93

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Nov 18, 2019
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#1
Hello Everyone,

I want to start this thread by saying I'm very new to TB, but extremely excited to finally have an account. I realized that my bass related searches on Google pretty much 95% of the time lead me to a TB forum. Someone some way or another has asked a question on here that I have been wondering myself. But it wasn't until I needed to ask a specific question that I decided to actually make an account.

Question: Are the Squier Vintage Modified series of basses worth upgrading? Pickups, bridge, etc?

I have a Squier 70's Jazz Bass as my main axe and it seems pretty solid for the most part. But I don't wanna waste too much time with upgrades on something that's not going to last or even worth it for that matter. I'm mainly looking to upgrade the pickups and POSSIBLY the bridge. Those seem to be my only real complaints. But I don't wanna waste $100+ on pickups when I can just invest in a better axe overall.

is it common for people to upgrade Squiers? If so, what was your experience like?
 
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#4
I had two of those and the rosewood sunburst was on of my favourite basses. Personally, I don't think it really needs the upgrades, everything was fine for me but yeah, as for upgrading, if you feel like you'll get better results, go for it. They are solid instruments. If I had the cash I'd drop more than the bass is worth on a pickup on my harley benton. If, on the other hand, you feel you'd be better off with a more expensive instrument, then don't. And by the way, more expensive doesn't always mean better overall. Diminishing returns and all that jazz.
In any case, all up to you.
 
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#5
I've bought several Squiers strictly as pieces to add different pickups, mess around a little with customizing them.

You have to remember that even a really good Squier where you double your investment (say you added Seymours and a 'better' bridge, for instance) is still to 95% of the guys out there a Squier when resale time comes, when you want a new bass. You can carefully choose your spend, and come out on the deal, or buy expensive stuff and realize you'll never see that money back. You'll just have to decide what's the right choice for you.

The catch is right now the better Squiers are great axes, and I often wonder if I should leave well enough alone, they could be gigged no problem as-is. If and when I hot-rod them, it's for me, and I'm not real worried if I lose some money on the deal vs. the fun I had doing it.
 
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#6
I have a VM P (PJ) which is damn nice overall, but for a few niggles it wasn't stage-ready when bought used, the PUs didn't raise and the neck plate screws are skinny cast garbage which needed a beef up. the P PU is ok but the bridge PU could stand a good upgrade, I could swap'm both out for something killer and never look back if I didn't have even cheaper basses that I love far more. a good Squier is a good bass, period, if yours can be upgraded to taste and made forever lovable then do it soon. I'm doubting the sturdy bridge needs to be changed tho.
 
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#7
Nicer Squiers are great right out of the box, but upgrades are what makes the bass yours. If the overall platform of the bass is solid and you like the feel, it's very reasonable and well worth it to change pickups and maybe the bridge if it gets you closer to your tonal goal.
I kept the stock pickups and bridges on my Squier Bass VI and Tele Bass, but the pots and jack were changed. The stock pickup and pots on my Squier Dirnt P were cheap, the pots and cap the wrong value, and changing them made it a much nicer sounding bass. I also changed the bridge on it just because I had one in the parts drawer. It did help, as the factory Squier bridges aren't as tight of tolerance and I often have problems with saddle screws backing out.

Something I change immediately is the jack. A $5 Switchcraft jack will last nearly a lifetime. The stock jack won't hit puberty. Another thing that many Squiers can use is a good nut. Often, the stock one is cheap plastic.
 
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#9
Just added a Fender High Mass Bridge to my Vintage modified. It wasn't expensive and to be honest it was more an aesthetic choice. As posted above, making it more mine. Setting up the Bridge was so much smoother than the traditional bride, although it sits a little higher, so the G string is dial almost as low as it will go. I've coincedentally been working on my picking and palm muting (Thanks Cody Wright and Bobby Vega) and the bridge is much more comfortable to palm mute on. So overall I'm really happy with the small investment of about 30 quid.

I also installed at the same time Area J' Pick up from Dimarzio. The stock pick up by comparison were good, but I feel I have a little more clarity and growl when I dig in. They are also humbucking so really quiet. They give the option of serial and parallel wiring, so I may change the pots to push pull in the future.

Previously I'd changed the pick guard and the nobs, as well as flats. So now this bass really feels my, I've no complaints on the tuners, and the build quaility was really good, frets and nice edges, smooth edges and nut hasn't needed any work.

If I ever was to sell, I could change the parts back and resell the parts separately, but selling it has never been on my mind, it's a great bass and totally mine now
 
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#10
I appreciate all the responses! I think I might just put a LITTLE work into it. I just bought new rotosound flats that I'm gonna try (never tried flats before!) and I'm working on getting the bridge lowered to a desired position. Action is a little too high.

Any recommendations for Bridges with lower action preferences? If the fenders Bridges are fine, than I can forget about it. I just don't like the stock fender Bridges.. tbh it's probably all aesthetics. There's something about them I dislike, but can live with.

Any rerecommendations for replacement pickups? I'm really interested in DiMarzio model J pickups. This might be a stupid question, but can you have two different pickups? I'm thinking a DiMarzio Model J in middle pickup and Ultra Jazz in the bridge, if possible. I like the idea of more bass from the mid and more treble from the bridge.

Thoughts?
 
#11
Exploited93 said:
Hello Everyone,

I want to start this thread by saying I'm very new to TB, but extremely excited to finally have an account. I realized that my bass related searches on Google pretty much 95% of the time lead me to a TB forum. Someone some way or another has asked a question on here that I have been wondering myself. But it wasn't until I needed to ask a specific question that I decided to actually make an account.

Question: Are the Squier Vintage Modified series of basses worth upgrading? Pickups, bridge, etc?

I have a Squier 70's Jazz Bass as my main axe and it seems pretty solid for the most part. But I don't wanna waste too much time with upgrades on something that's not going to last or even worth it for that matter. I'm mainly looking to upgrade the pickups and POSSIBLY the bridge. Those seem to be my only real complaints. But I don't wanna waste $100+ on pickups when I can just invest in a better axe overall.

is it common for people to upgrade Squiers? If so, what was your experience like?
Click to expand...
The VM jazz basses are nice but the CVs are nicer.
Find one of these and you won't have to think about upgrading or even buying an MIM Fender.
Photo-Collage-20190725-232302785.jpg
 
#12
If you like it upgrade it. I love the look of the body of my vm fretless. Have been upgrading it-installed nice bridge and voodoo pickups, and cts pots. Next I want to put on the mim fretless neck. I like it and enjoy playing it.
 
#13
If you want to upgrade one, go for it they are a good platform. But as others have said don't expect it to be worth all the upgrades if you ever decide to sell it.

The way I look at it is, even if you did spend the extra money and bought say a MIM fender, you'd probably still want to upgrade the pickups, the bridge, maybe the tuners, etc. So, if you're going to spend the money and replace all that stuff anyway...might as well save the money and start with the squier. I imagine most people would be happier with a squier upgraded to their liking than a stock "real" fender, even if they would never admit it :thumbsup:
 
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#14
If you like it, he’ll yes it’s worth upgrading! Don’t make the mistake of underestimating a bass that feels good in your hands because it a Squier. I’ve had some truly terrific Squier bodies and necks. My only suggestion on mods is to do one thing at a time (i.e., don’t change the pickups, pots and bridge simultaneously) so you can identify the effects of each component change “in isolation”, figuratively speaking. If it were me, I would change the pickups first, then reassess and go from there. Have fun!

Oh, bye the way, modding can get addictive way fast. Not to worry, there’s always room for another TB’er at the 12-step meetings. ;)
 
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#15
I own two Classic Vibe J’s and I’ve definitely spent more on upgrades than I did on the actual instruments. Worth every cent IMO. They both feel & play just as nice as their more expensive stock model Fender counterpart, if not better.
F119374D-3618-4BF5-B6E3-B96B58CBC358.jpeg

The Model J’s in my 70’s are killer. The Ulyates in my 60’s are a great complement to the stable.
F638055D-8D4E-4CB6-A36A-40D05D1A7DAA.jpeg

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on the Area J bridge pickup, if you ever decide to do the swap please share your results. Welcome to TB!
 
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#16
FWIW, in as respectful of an opinion as I can, any changes you make are 'modifications', not necessarily 'upgrades' in the eyes of anyone buy you … and with that said, IF you need to ask on a discussion forum WHAT you should change, you aren't ready to change anything … again respectfully submitted ;)

I wish I had kept track of it, but I must have had anywhere from 30-50 Squier basses of some sort since probably early 2000's … I won't go into the reasons here, but suffice it to say, IF you find something that feels good, plays well, and sounds fine for what you are doing, why in the world would you want/need to make any changes, just to make changes … especially if you aren't certain WHAT and IF you should change …

With that said, I have also had probably a dozen or better USA Fender basses over that time frame, and even a few MIJ … if you notice in my pic to the left, I am playing a bone stock 2010 Squier '77 Jazz while 2 USA Fenders sat home in the closet … BTW, I paid $150 used for it … neck is decent, sound is just fine for what I need (Duncan Design pups back then), and best of all it is a hair under 7 pound bass, and the reason it came out with me in public in the first place … yes, I spent some time setting it up and getting strings, etc. just right (FOR ME) … once I found it would work for what I am doing, I just kept it out with me ...

Make note of YOUR priorities in a bass, and check off where this one meets and where it falls short … for me, all the Squier 70 J's I had were too heavy to start with … that can't easily be fixed, so down the road they went … one by one, check your boxes and see what you need to change (if anything), but don't do it based on the name on the headstock or because of someone else's opinion …

Again respectfully submitted by an ol'coot that wish he had realized what he just said MANY years ago, he would have saved himself a LOT of $$ and anguish …
 
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#17
All mods I did to my Affinity P bass were either custom or deemed necessary:
-Fender bent bridge (because the stock one was rusty and gross)
-Rewired (because the previous wiring job was not working correctly)
-Jazz neck (personal preference)
-Pearl pickguard and a Bridge cover (just for funzies)
-pickup is stock! (It sounds great)

this bass is my main player, and I absolutely love it!
B9153215-CC74-4522-A027-0421B8F1D3A7.jpeg

so my short answer is yes! Anything you can do to customize the bass will make you like it more. Anything you change out will help you better understand how the instrument operates.

I am also a firm believer in “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” So no need to go crazy on hardware and pickups. Get to know the bass and see how it plays before you start ordering parts.

my only complaint about the VM line is the black/maple ones tend to be heavy. I MIGHT swap the pickups for something split coil/hum canceling, but that’s about it.

good luck, and have fun!
 
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#19
This is my 2015 VM Bass V. Bought it new, but felt the pickups were meh, especially the neck pickup soloed, which oddly sounded more like a Precision Humbucker than a single coil Jazz pickup, despite it being SC. As good as that sound is, I didn't want it on my jazz bass. I added Hipshot string trees ala the older Marcus Miller signature 5 string. I also changed out the control plate for a black one, added some extra pickguard material and a pickup cover to get that MM look. I added the Fender "BadAss II" style bridge [make sure you get the "narrow" version that costs more rather than the cheaper "wide" version, as the strings won't match the pole pieces], a couple of chrome dome knobs for the volume pots, and finally, a pair of Fender American Standard V pickups from Guitar Parts Resource. They were about $45 each (I've seen them recently on eBay for less, as I believe they are discont.)

You can see a "before" and "after" video of the pickup change here:


and here:


Hope you find the info helpful!

IMG_2567.JPG
 
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#20
Hi, it is all solid body and worth costomizing, some changes such as replacing the bridge with a better one with more sustain, like hipshot or badass or ... and replacing pickups with an split coil humcanceling and a multi band preamp, these were for the sound. You can also chang machineheads and pickguardm
 
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