Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass Special SS - Silver Reviews

I ordered this bass on a whim just because it looked so cool, and how can you beat the price? I have a 1979 Music Man Sting Ray, a 1968 Fender Telecaster, and various Jazz Basses and Rics. This bass is a MONSTER!! I couldn't believe the sound when I plugged it into my vintage SVT, my Hartke system and my Fender Rumble. It sounded great, with so many tonal variations that I now use it just as much as my mainstays MM and Tele. Great bass, great price, great job, Squier!!

I am new to the bass and after a lot of web search I bought this Squire and I am very happy with my purchase and experience with Bob Mondok and Sweetwater. I had a set up and new strings put on by Sweetwater and it arrived in Perfect shape and the action was perfect for me. Thx Bob and the technician that worked on my bass. SWEETWATER ROCKS

This is my second bass. My first one is a Warwick. The Squire Vintage is a well-built bass. Short scale is just amazingly fun to play. Love this bass! Lots of claims about short scale basses being too weak or floppy. Not true. Short scale basses are long scale basses with shorter necks. that's about all the difference. Proper setup will get this bass sounding like a thousand dollar bass guitar. Stock pickups and strings will do just fine. I wanted to raise the bar on this bass even further so have recently modded this instrument with Seymour Duncan P-bass and J-bass Quarter Pounder pickups, installed Rotosound flatwounds. A regular long scale bass case will do if you need a case for this instrument. This bass is a beast.

I purchased the bass, pickups, case, and strings from Chris Lewis at Sweetwater...as always. Buy this bass.

I bought this for my 12 year old instead of the Ibanez in the same price range due to the high ratings (and cool style!). And just like the other reviews, this Jaguar looks and sounds fantastic right out of the box! I plugged it into a 10" Fender bass practice amp, tuned it up and was floored by the tone. With both sets of pickups you can adjust through the entire scope from a muffled no buzz (small fingers not quite there yet) to using a pick and making it growl like a dog. Great value! Bought the soft case for it as well, fits perfect and will suit him fine until he goes on tour :)

I'm not seeing/hearing any of the issues reported by other reviewers.

Out of the box I had to raise the bridge very slightly to eliminate buzz, and then lo and behold, the intonation was actually perfect. Lucky I guess.

There is only one small flaw in the paint job underneath the lacquer, but it's barely noticeable.

The sound of this through my new Fender Rumble 500 v3 is simply amazing - I'd go so far as to say Universe shattering. It sounds like I spent $8000 on a top of the line Custom Bass and Rig. Seriously.

The playability is unbelievable. Now I can play stuff on Bass that was literally impossible to do on longer scale Basses, and sound incredible doing it.

Fender has really stepped up their game. I remember when I'd laugh at some newbie's terrible sounding Squier back in the 90's. I bet the competition isn't laughing now.

Sweetwater's website experience was very user-friendly, I was contacted by a Representative prior to Shipping to verify the order details, and Shipping only took 2 days.

Thank you Fender, and thank you Sweetwater.

I've awarded this bass 5 Stars because it is an exceptional value. A short scale Bass, it isn't too big for shorter arms, nor is the string spacing/nut too wide for small handed guitar players. It is a simple four string Bass, finished very well (I have the silver metal flake paint), with a plain, unfinished neck, well done fret work, acceptable tuners, good strings, and decent pickups. Many folks have complained that the bridge pickup doesn't have the output of the neck pickup, and while that is true, if you BLEND the pickups, you get good volume and some really nice tone! I bought this after considering the Epiphone Violin/Viola style Bass, and I chose this one for two reasons: (1) is it actually shorter in scale than the Epiphone, and (2) It is NOT neck or headstock heavy; it is a well balanced Bass. You will note this Bass is priced at less than $200. That's $100 LESS than the Epiphone, and a genuine bargain. It sounds good, plays well after I adjusted the truss rod (hex key included) to pull the neck back, lowering the stings, it looks really good, if that matters to you, and it FEELS good and comfortable next to the body. Clearly, for the money, you get what you need with NO real regrets if you buy this Bass. It's a FUN Bass! It doesn't come with a gig bag or case, but you can buy one separately, and Hercules offers a very nice super heavy duty adjustable guitar stand that is pricey, but works perfectly with this Bass. I think this Bass is a great buy, and the overall quality leads me to expect that Squire may be among the best of the Asian imports. BTW, I bought this for recording, and I also bought the Ampeg BA-108, the in-stock older version with the controls on the top, rather than on the front panel. The Ampeg is a great little amp for recording, with super tone. Sit it on a Sub-Dude platform for isolation.

This bass is the total package great tone wicked fast neck and lite . I got it out of the box tuned it and fell inlove

Surprisingly good for the money. I was wondering how straight the neck was going to look. It looks great and I'm pretty fussy. Finish looks great. Fret ends and the satin finish on the back on the neck feel great. Bridge is okay and doesn't have issues like the Epiphone 3-point bridge does. The P-bass pickup on this bass sounds great however I found the J-pickup to be weak in comparison and mismatched....even after adjusting it closer to the strings. Also one of the tuners felt somewhat rough when turning the tuner key...I put some lubrication on it and hopefully it will get smoother with use. These are fairly small concerns however considering the price...fingerboard and frets look good...nut was well cut....bass is slightly heavy for it's size but again...no big deal.

I'm primarily a lead guitarist and have been for many years. However, over 45 years ago I began my musical journey on a bass. I own several guitars and always keep a bass nearby. I wanted a ss bass, and I'm a Fender freak, but I didn't want to put out the cash for a Mustang. After months of processing, I bought this bass. I couldn't be more pleased for the price. It will need some tweaking, but it's built well, looks good, sounds excellent, and is well worth the money. If you're looking for an inexpensive short scale, why not try this one? I think you'll be pleased.

I'm a guitar player looking to learn bass, so I went for a short scale and totally loved this one. The sound and tone is great. Very playable and set up very well from the factory (although the low E might be a little too close to the pickups). My friend had this same model and highly recommended it at well.

Great bass for the price!!!
I love the short scale!! Makes 2+ hour gigs a breeze for me!
Sweetwater is the best online shopping experience. Sales Engineer Jed Elliot was a pleasure.

This is my first short scale bass, after 30 years of playing, and I love it! The sound and feel are amazing considering the price. Played great out of the box, no setup required. The reduced tension of the strings is noticeable to my hands but not so much to my ears. The only minor complaint I have is the neck dive. I have to say, since I got this Squier bass my G&L L2000 is getting lonely. If you're tempted at all, I say go for it, you won't be disappointed.

Workmanship was excellent, flawless finish close set-up. What others have said about the pick-ups they are a little weak but so is my playing. I decided to order strings knowing that I would change them out soon anyway. I got the D'Addario flat wound light short scale chromes (45/100) for picking up the base again after 15 years they made a big difference in playability. Smooth and quiet on slides and string changes. I had purchased an Ibanez full scale bass several months ago and was struggling with the long reach for my short fingers, the short scale is a lot easier to play. I may at some point upgrade the pickups but for the casual player these are okay.

I got this little short-scale bass for recording & demo's for songwriting, etc. It works great. It's not perfect cosmetically - it had a ding in the pick guard, some scuffing under the headstock, and the typical little imperfections in the paint (barely noticeable - you have to really look) but functionally, it is great. Stays in tune really good, even with the stock strings. I get the best sound for my taste, using both pickups. The bridge pickup by itself is a little weak. The neck on it is sweet. I am a guitar player, so this really fits the bill size-wise. I would definitely purchase this again if I had it to do over. I am really happy with this bass! I like it because I get a good Fender Bass tone for my recordings/demos.

Right out of the box the set-up was very good. The action height was right where I like it. The intonation was very good. The finish quality is excelent. I could'nt find any flaws. It looks great, plays great, and sounds good. For the small amount of money this bass costs I think it is a great bargain. If you have small hands and short fingers like I do, you probably should check this bass out. You can't go wrong for the price. I love it. Thanks Sweetwater.

I was sceptical at first having never played a short-scale bass before.( I play an acoustic fretless and standard 34" scale basses) But when I got it, I was quite impressed. I have large hands and did not feel any discomfort or awkwardness in playing it. The action is low and comforatable, easy to bend strings when playing up the neck. It idoes not weigh very much compared to the 34"' scale basses, so it was nice to have something to use at rehearsals that will ot wear you out when strapped on.

You can hear the tonal difference when dialing in from the p-bass pickup or j-bass pickup . I play jazz, rock/blues mos, reggae most of the time. If you like to play funk styles, this bass will not disappoint. It feels solid and would make a great back-up bass .

I like to play fast, melodic bass. The short scale, narrow neck and versatile pickups on this jag bass lend themselves to fast, melodic bass. This bass is so easy to play; I don't want to to play my other bass.

After along hiatus from playing bass , this short scale Jaguar is light and easy to play.
I haven't had it setup by a pro but sounds good straight away.
Great price too. Sweetwater is a great company to work with and I will continue to do so.

The four star rating is not meant to suggest its on par with high end basses, only that it is a standout in this price range.

I needed something with versatile tonal options, didn't want to mess with active pickups, and needed something cheap that I wouldn't mind getting scratches and dings in.

Lets look at 3 areas: Comfort, Quality, Sounds

Comfort - this is super lightweight, yet somehow manages to maintain decent sustain. The neck on this is thin, fast, and extremely comfortable. Without a doubt the most comfortable bass I've ever played - I could imagine doing long sessions on this without getting tired or needing to eat a bottle of ibuprofren the next day. As a guitar player first and foremost, the short scale increases the comfort and playability greatly.

Quality - the knobs and pots feel terrible... lightweight, sloppy, and in fact one of the knobs fell right off within the first 5 minutes it was out of the box. the jack feels a little loose and the action needs a little fine-tuning. The tuners look and feel cheap but actually seem to hold quite nicely - better than expected. The milling of the body and next is pretty much perfect, and the finish is cleanly done. There are no rough frets or corners, no dimples in the paint, nothing that would suggest the body/finish are cheap. With some inexpensive upgrades to some of the hardware, the bass will be looking and playing like a much more expensive bass. There was no manual or documentation with it other than an "inspected by" sticker.

Sound - the jazz/bridge pickup is not very flattering. There are some useable sounds available with it, but overall its a little blah. the P/neck pickup was really quite decent, giving me a good range of sounds that could easily show up on an album release without any shame. blending of the jazz/P pickups seems to introduce some fairly significant phase issues, but with a little care you can blend together some nice tones. Overall, the bass can be low and full, tight and snappy, clean or slightly crunchy. definitely versatile, and a no-brainer at the price.

I bought this with the intention of making some mods over time, and it certainly is a great bass for doing this with thanks to the solid performance out of the box and a ridiculously low price. I can sink a little money into some electronics and hardware upgrades and will have a bass that performs at a much higher level, but still on a very modest budget.

All in all, its exactly what I expected.

The rating I gave is based off what a beginner should expect from an inexpensive bass, and not based off quality when regarding any bass on the market. When I got my bass from Sweetwater I expected bad fretwork and a marginally sloppy setup. I was amazed at how close to a professional setup it had, not to mention very few sprung or unlevel frets. I've worked as a guitar tech for a couple of years professionally and I bought this bass to hot rod. The short scale basses from Fender are very fun and easier to play and sound decent enough for practice or recreational recording. Not much else to say about it; its nothing fancy but I will say that although Sweetwater has great customer service and will always treat you right if you don't know what a well playing bass is you should take any new bass from Fender to an authorized service center and just ask them to check it over for flaws and to check the setup. Fender does do a great job with quality control but sometimes some product gets pushed through and overlooked. If your looking to upgrade a bass like this I would recommend changing the pickups at least and maybe a beefier bridge as well as getting the fretwork evaluated. All said out of the box this bass was very good.

This Jag SS bass is a great deal. I spent about 1 hour setting it up, flat-wound strings, minor nut work to fit strings, truss-rod adjust, bridge height and intonation (definitely needs to be set). The bass plays perfectly now and using the P bass pickup only, it sounds awesome. The J bridge pickup, as noted in other reviews, is the only weakness. This is the first bass I've owned. Have played many over the years and this is equal to my favorite Mustang SS which lists for $700.

I had no idea what the peculiarities were with a short scale bass, having never purchased any bass before or having the foresight to go look at them locally. After a couple months of practicing on this very nice for the price model, it was time to get myself something full scale that didn"t have that wobble feel. I"ve read there are ways around that, but its scale just didn"t click with me.

Not a negative review, but just make sure you know what you"re getting into with a SS bass.

But it looks good and feels better than the price would have you imagine.

pick guard very pitted; fret buzz ( fixed with set-up); tone poor but with a Boss bass 7 band EQ was made acceptable; finish ok; shipped with poor strings; for $ what do you expect?

I rated this guitar as it comes out of the box.

I got it specifically to modify, however. Normally, doing this is not worth the money with Squiers, but in this case, it is a unique instrument. Jaguar basses are cool enough as it is, but this one is short scale. I have always loved short scale basses.

The pickups, pots, and jack are pure trash, and so is the hardware. But replace the bridge, tuners, and pickups, and you can have a very nice bass.

A lot of the screw holes are already stripped straight out of the box. They aren't even tight enough to hold the factory screws! (Seriously, these things are made like absolute crap. A five year old could put them together better.) So when you go to replace the hardware, you need to drill the stripped holes, dowel them, level the dowels, and then re-drill them.

By the time you have this thing up to snuff as a gigging instrument, you probably will have spent $500 total. But IMO it is worth it for such a unique instrument in this one particular case. However, if you want a nice bass out of the box, stay away from any Squier except those in the Classic Vibe line. Save up a little more money and buy a used Mexican Fender instead.

I added tuners, a bridge, pots, and Duncan 1/4 Pounder pickups. I also added a P-Bass bridge cover. Now, with about $600 total into it, it is a rippin' bass. The finish quality is abysmal, but it looks good enough from a distance. Like I have said, worth it as a unique base for mods, but trash out of the box. IMO very few Squiers are worth modifying, but this is one of them. The Bronco might be another.