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Pro playing a Squier?


DeepEnd

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I don't have a pic for this but in Friday's paper (the St. Louis Post-Dispatch), in the Entertainment section, there was a feature about Fall Out Boy and a pic of bassist Pete Wentz playing a Squier P-Bass. I know the older Mexican and Korean Squiers are supposed to be pretty good but how common is it to find pros to playing them?

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I don't have a pic for this but in Friday's paper (the St. Louis Post-Dispatch)' date=' in the Entertainment section, there was a feature about Fall Out Boy and a pic of bassist Pete Wentz playing a Squier P-Bass. I know the older Mexican and Korean Squiers are supposed to be pretty good but how common is it to find pros to playing them?[/quote']

 

Pete could have his signature model gutted and redone. We really have no idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Well, here he is ''playing'' the thing or anyway posing with it. This photo is from equipboard.com:

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I doubt it would be worth it to have a Squier "gutted and redone." We're talking about replacing the pickup, pots and wiring, probably the tuners, plus some fretwork. If you're ''slumming,'' why not just buy a Mexi-Fender? Again, if I had to guess I'd say the photo is probably a promo and he plays the ''real deal'' live.

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My Squire II Precision is over 25 years old. Its built as good as any Regular Fender I've owned, better in fact then many I've played. Its Rosewood neck is well into the high quality range. Its got Lace sensor pickups which sound excellent and I've never seen the need to replace them. The only thing I dislike is the weight. I'm pretty sure the body is Basswood. Its got to weigh at least 10lbs and its not a bass my shoulder can handle playing live any more. It looks nearly identical to this one except for the pickups.

 

 

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I toured with Henry Turner, Jr and Flavor, out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Henry plays a Squier strat and a First Act acoustic on tour. On one tour with Henry, I played an Ibanez GSR200 bass. Bad things can happen to nice instruments on tour.

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I toured with Henry Turner' date=' Jr and Flavor, out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Henry plays a Squier strat and a First Act acoustic on tour. On one tour with Henry, I played an Ibanez GSR200 bass. Bad things can happen to nice instruments on tour.[/quote']

Yes, I thought of you and your Ibanez when I posted the thread. I was curious as to how common it was. Apparently moreso that I would have thought.

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A while back I was visiting my luthier with a bass player buddy. My luthier is a bass player who used to play for some big names and still plays around town. My buddy asked his advice on a 5-string and asked him what he uses. My luthier said he doesn't like the necks on Fenders (nor does my buddy) so he took a Squier off the wall and modded it to his tastes (which included a Fender headstock decal so everyone thinks its a Fender).

 

The only real difference in the "low-end" and "high-end" these days is in the branding. Electronics and hardware can be upgraded, if needed, but many of the lower-end instruments rock out of the box.

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A while back I was visiting my luthier with a bass player buddy. My luthier is a bass player who used to play for some big names and still plays around town. My buddy asked his advice on a 5-string and asked him what he uses. My luthier said he doesn't like the necks on Fenders (nor does my buddy) so he took a Squier off the wall and modded it to his tastes (which included a Fender headstock decal so everyone thinks its a Fender).

 

The only real difference in the "low-end" and "high-end" these days is in the branding. Electronics and hardware can be upgraded, if needed, but many of the lower-end instruments rock out of the box.

Why lie? Compulsive dishonesty, or just an arsehole?

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Why lie? Compulsive dishonesty, or just an arsehole?

 

He's a great guy and certainly isn't the first.

 

I think it has more to do with the "poseur" attitude within the player/gear market - if it doesn't say Fender or Gibson you're not taken seriously. I personally don't care, but image seems to matter to quite a few peeps who tend to be victims of fashion. And it matters to Fender because they get to charge a premium for a 5 cent water-slide.

 

As the old saying goes - what's the difference between a Fender made by Mexicans in California and a Fender made by Mexicans in Mexico? AFAIK the only difference is the label on the headstock.

 

Truth be told, most body parts for modern Fenders are made by Godin and assembled by Fender, if that. Yet how many bass players do you see playing Godin guitars?

 

I think the fact someone made a thread asking if "pros" play Squiers speaks volumes. These days the main differences are in the price and market perception.

 

This isn't new - gear snobbery has been around as long as I've been playing, and that's a long time.

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. . . I think the fact someone made a thread asking if "pros" play Squiers speaks volumes. These days the main differences are in the price and market perception.

 

This isn't new - gear snobbery has been around as long as I've been playing, and that's a long time.

I wouldn't call it "snobbery." My Alvarez bass is easily as good as any Squier I've ever played but I wouldn't play it professionally even if I were good enough to play at that level any more than I'd use a cheap amp. I'd invest in "pro" gear. YMMV.

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I wouldn't call it "snobbery." My Alvarez bass is easily as good as any Squier I've ever played but I wouldn't play it professionally even if I were good enough to play at that level any more than I'd use a cheap amp. I'd invest in "pro" gear. YMMV.

Why not? If the Alvarez is good enough, how is it anything other than snobbery to say that you'd never use it? For me, it's all about the music, not the gear.

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I wouldn't call it "snobbery." My Alvarez bass is easily as good as any Squier I've ever played but I wouldn't play it professionally even if I were good enough to play at that level any more than I'd use a cheap amp. I'd invest in "pro" gear. YMMV.

 

While he's known more for guitar playing (even though he's a multi-instrumentalist) David Lindley has a reputation for often utilizing really cheap instruments - and he makes them sound fantastic. I think they help to give him his unique tones. I certainly am not trying to disparage high end or professional instruments, but there are some players who use cheap and inexpensive instruments in a professional context, and make them shine.

 

It's the Indian, not the arrow. :)

 

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In my experience Basswood is usually pretty light in weight... :idk:

 

I haven't checked what wood its made of myself. I've never even taken the pick guard off which is unusual for me because I usually want to know details first hand. The bass was built in the US in early 1990. It was 2 years old when I bought it in 92.

 

There are other versions of the bass made in India and Korea. They later switched to Mexico. The US versions are rare. They switched production after one of their foreign builders had a fire so the US made Squire II's from around the middle of 89 into 1990. The us versions have an E or N serial prefix or a 6 digit serial number stamped on the neck plate.

 

The Indian and Korean II's have the truss nut adjust at the headstock and most have Plywood bodies. Mine has the Truss adjustment in the heel of the neck. I've never had to touch it in 25 years. I read some site that said the body was Basswood. Maybe its ash? Its hard to know on a painted guitar. Its definitely not plywood, I'd know that right off.

 

Its as heavy or heavier then my 40th anniversary LP which weighs in at 11lbs. Much of that weight comes from the neck too.

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I haven't checked what wood its made of myself. I've never even taken the pick guard off which is unusual for me because I usually want to know details first hand. The bass was built in the US in early 1990. It was 2 years old when I bought it in 92.

 

Then it's most likely alder or ash. Except for a few early 60s era Strats, I don't think Fender USA has ever used basswood - even on Squiers. They have used less expensive woods like poplar, but that was mostly for Mustangs, Musicmasters and Duo Sonics. And poplar usually isn't overly heavy either.

 

While I'd be surprised if it's mahogany, that's a remote possibility too. Although Fender rarely uses it, they have occasionally.

 

 

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You folks crack me up! How many here understand the history of the Squier Brand?

 

Nobody? Thought so.

 

Fender started Squier in Japan as a high-end brand doing vintage-correct reproductions of their top shelf instruments. Their history and pedigree is to be the best-of-the-best.

 

When CBS sold Fender to their employees in the 1980's all they sold was the Fender brand name and the Japanese Squier production facility. For quite a few years every Fender branded instrument was a made in Japan Squier! And those were the days when we still called that stuff "Jap-crap."

 

Fender has this weird habit of making sweet slim-profile necks for their "student" models and huge tree-trunk profiles for their "professional" instruments. Many peeps, myself and all my bass player friends included, hate a big, fat necks (I think it's safe to say Phil falls in this camp as he claims to have small-ish hands). That means the only way to get a nice playing neck on a Fender "made" instrument is to get a Squier.

 

Everybody that picks up my Stratocaster says it has one of the nicest necks and is best sounding Strat they've every played. It just so happens to be a 1985 Squier E-series neck on a 1990 plywood Hondo body with Mojotone 50's Custom Wound pickups.

 

A great playing and sounding guitar has absolutely nothing to do with the decal on the headstock. If you knew half as much as I do about what goes into manufacturing musical gear, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

 

It's brand snobbery, pure and simple.

 

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You folks crack me up! How many here understand the history of the Squier Brand?

 

Nobody? Thought so. . . .

 

. . . A great playing and sounding guitar has absolutely nothing to do with the decal on the headstock. If you knew half as much as I do about what goes into manufacturing musical gear, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

 

It's brand snobbery, pure and simple.

Wow. Ask a question and don't wait for an answer, then criticize the folks who weren't allowed to answer. Great way to seem smart. Not the most constructive approach to the discussion.

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Sorry but I find this a bit of a silly conversation and should probably recuse myself by wishing everybody all the best. Carry on.

I started this thread by asking:

 

. . . I know the older Mexican and Korean Squiers are supposed to be pretty good but how common is it to find pros to playing them?

Which was a serious question. Apparently the answer is ''More common than you'd think.'' It's also likely that Pete Wentz was only posing with that current production Squier--which is not in the same league as the original Squiers you referenced--and that he probably doesn't play it live. FWIW, I'm not the ''brand snob'' you seem to think. I saw an Aria Pro II bass recently that I'd love to own, and I'd have no qualms playing it live.

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