I should say that I love low priced guitars, and the VM series was my favorite cheap guitar. But, I can also appreciate a good high end guitar, and I spend a lot of time working in a small boutique builder shop making some pretty cool custom stuff.
I've had well over 2 dozen of the Vintage Modified Jazzmasters and Jaguars, and for a while had a little cottage industry buying seconds/refurbishing and reselling. I got to know those guitars really well. From poor wiring to paint blems, and everything in between. I've fixed them, modded them and enjoyed them.
This guitar is brand new. It's the first brand new Squier I've ever bought. Which is weird. But I still got a deal on it.
I'll try and temper criticism with facts.
First, some pics. These are fresh out of the box.
Cosmetically, everything was fine. no big blems, and fit/finish seem good.
After the pics, I tuned it up, and played it for a bit. Still comes with 9/42 strings....
Let's start with the good.
Pros:
1.guitar weighs 8.35 lbs on my digital scale. That's cool.
2. 3 piece body? Maybe 4 piece. Decent grain match - which is easy when its Basswood.....
2. The new Mustang style bridge seems like a solid upgrade over the previous style. Even with the 9/42 strings, and no shim, it was far less buzzy than the VM's. 2 1/16" (52mm) string spacing should keep the strings off the edge of the board. Verified it's a real 9.5" radius.
3. the bone nut looks nice, but .....
4. The new wood truss rod plug looks nice, but.....
5. The tremolo works smoothly. These Squier versions can be hit or miss, but this one is good.
6. Right out of the box, it played well enough. except for one thing......
Cons:
1. The high E string was cut poorly, and had a "sitar" buzz. easy enough fix with a nut file, but...... most people don't have a nut file. It was virtually unplayable until the nut was fixed. All the other slots might be oversized?
2. I haven't seen a sunburst this poor since.....The Vintage Modified series. it's the exact same sunburst. virtually no red. and
3. This is basswood. Fender states Poplar. I don't really care, but this guitar isn't made of the wood it's claimed to be. I was hoping to see a Fender Poplar body, which is why I bought the sunburst.
4. Booger on the truss rod hole. no big deal, but it's there.
5. Fingerboard is UGLY! I'm not a big fingerboard snob. Dark or light, I don't much care, but this one is kind of grey. We'll see what some oil does, but I'm not thinking it's going to be too much improved. The pics make it look better than it does. UGLY!
6. Tuners don't seem to be as nice as the VM series. I know some have issues, but I never had any cause to swap them.
So, I pulled it apart, looked it over, measured some things, and I can virtually guarantee these are made in the same factory as the VM's, using almost all the same parts. Basswood body, same marginal sunburst. Even the pickups are the same. While playing it I immediately thought "these are the same pickups.
1. The pickups have to be the same a s the "Duncan Designed" versions. Same construction, and same output. 11.71 bridge, 6.77 neck. Same glued on covers. I'm kind of disappointed that they aren't something new. "Fender Designed" my butt.
2. that's a lot of wire!!
3. The finish is still really thick.
So, with all this doom and gloom, what's the final verdict? I guess I like it? I was kind of hoping for something much different that the VM Jazzmasters of the past. This is basically the same guitar with a new (better) bridge, bone nut, and new decal, and really poor looking fretboard.
I'm going to do a basic set up on it. (shim the neck, heavier strings, etc) and play it for a while. I'm going to resists doing a bunch of upgrades right away.
I'll follow up as things progress.
I think overall, these are an upgrade from the VM series just for the bridge alone.
Still, for $399 (or less if you are a cheapskate like me) these are a really good modders platform, or even a good way to dip your toe in the JM pond. I'm going to hope the e string nut issue was an accident, and not the norm.
