Review of the Squire MV Fretless Jazz

[kennans]

I just finished up a four day stand at Blues Central, where the only bass I took was this new Squire. I thought I'd share my observations.

I've never been a 'Jazz' guy; always played P's. I've owned three other Jazz basses; one was a 70's lefty that I kind of stoled from a pawn shop that got traded for a P pretty quickly. One was an AmStandard 6 string, and we never got along. The last was a MIM that tkarter decided to give away one night, and I happen to be on line. I donated that one to the local High School, where the new music teacher has been resurecting a wallowing program with the inclusion of "Rock Combo" classes.

So this is the first Jazz I've really packed to a gig. The only mods I made were to add a Hipshot Extender, and put a set of light nickel rounds on it.

Fit and finish are impressive for an Indonesian bass. Tight neck pocket, and all the hardware seems solid. The Duncan Design pickups are good, running from a nice tight burpy sound to a good deep growl. The body is light and attractive, though Agathis doesn't have much of a grain to display. The Ebonal fingerboard feels smooth and sturdy.

Downsides are typical; rough taper on the volume pots, Jazz-like noise when one pickup is louder than the other, and convex shafts on the tuners where the string wraps ( I hate that!).

On the gig, the bass played great, once I got used to having two volumes instead of one. I played through a BBE pre-amp (I think), with an Ampeg power amp, through a four ten (Carlsbad?). Sorry I didn't pay more attention to gear; as long as it makes the noises I want it to, I usually try to ignore it!

One adjustment I made had to do with string width at the bridge; the G seemed a little too close to the D, and it wasn't centered on the pole pieces, so I stuck a heavy pick between the barrels on the bridge, and it felt perfect. I might switch to a 'vintage' style bridge with the threaded barrels to correct it.

The pther thing that felt odd was the lack of a pickguard made slapping feel a little foreign (well, more foreign, for me at least). Just something to get used to.

The bottom line is that for $300, this bass is a hell of a deal. I enjoyed playing it, the boss liked the sound, and when the airline decided I needed to gate check my gig bag on the way home, I was glad I wasn't carrying one of my vintage Fenders.

If you're contemplating making the fretless leap (and you should!), I heartily recommend this bass. I can see that mine is going to get some serious road time!

[felig]

I don't get into the fretless forum very often, although I love my fretlesses--however, I felt compelled to rave about the used Squier MV fretless JB that I picked up at GC last week for $175. I think it's wearing a set of Rotosound Swing Basses--red wrap, abrasive feel--that have already caused some minor wear to the ebanol board--but otherwise it looks like new. Among my other fretless basses I already have a Fender USA Jaco '62 (not the reliced CS one, mine is the one with the lined pau ferro board), and it's scary how close this Squier is to the USA model in quality.

No complaints at all about this fellow--if you are looking to get into lined fretless, this is the place to start. I used to like the Peavey Foundation lined fretlesses for a cheap, but good quality, lined fretless. IMO the Squier beats the Foundation.

[Chuck M]

I bought one of these Squiers and the bass is about the best bang for the buck fretless out there. I put TI flats on mine, tweaked the adjustments and filed the top of the nut down. The nut looked to be the same blank you would use on a fretted bass but had deep slots that put the string way below the top of the nut.

That is all I have done to the bass and it plays and sounds great. It is quiet for a Jazz bass and looks very nice.

Buy one. You won't regret it.

Chuck

[bluesky]

Just checked one of these out at the local GC. They wouldn't budge on the $279 price, but would throw in a gig bag. Reminded them that MF sells them online for $279 shipped with a gig bag. This demo has plenty of string marks on the fretboard, big knot in the wood but plays well. They still wouldn't budge..... Might just take my chances online and see what shows up. Thanks for the reviews.