Squier Vintage Modified Fretless Jazz Bass
This Fretless Modified Jazz Bass is an affordable fretless bass that spares no expense when it comes to quality. This bass is perfect for anyone looking to pick up a fretless for the first time.
Overall User Ratings (based on 19 ratings)
Submitted May 4, 2011 by a customer from yahoo.com.au
"The one you've been hoping for........"
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I was going to buy a Warwick fretless Rockbass before I saw the Squier. And the only downside to owning this bass is the low-rent street cred that Squier have currently. But this will change. I would still play one of my Fenders on an industry gig, unless it specifically needed a fretless sound, which happens never! But I am very impressed with this bass. I would possibly upgrade if I needed to replace it, but that's only because I am vain and conceited. As a working instrument this baby is perfect, although only very slightly. It really is that good.
Sound
This is very high 7 however! Like a B++ grade, or something described as being marginally fantastic or very slightly awesome, if you get my meaning. I'm comparing the Squier to my other two Fender jazz basses which are perfect band instruments. The Marcus Miller has sooooo much going for it and my '70's reissue (with an Audere JZ-3 preamp) give me all the old school jazz funk tone I could ever need, so these two basses are clearly going to answer the call before a passive fretless ever could. But the Squier has its own thing going on, it really does, and it's hard to describe with words sometimes, but it's not totally outgunned by the other two. It has a sound and an application, or an integrity if you like, that is not at all commensurate with its cost! I'm not sure what that actually means. It's just a really good instrument. Yeah, that's it! You should buy one.
Features
I'd like higher spec tuners and a larger bridge, a high gloss neck and more gigs! Those roundwounds have to go!!!(!!) Even Jaco famously said he never practised on the fretless because his roundwounds chewed up the neck! I bought mine fresh in a box and changed the strings straight out of the box. FLATWOUNDS ONLY PLEASE.
Ease of Use
The best, you know, for a fretless! Tons of mwhah if you set the action low enough and a very pleasing staight-ahead jazz tone with both the pickups full open. The treble is not too thin (although I am using flatwounds) and even adds a little growl to the mids, or at least it seems to.
Quality
It has a scratchplate-less body which would reveal any dodgy fit issues, were it to have any, but the neck/body join is pretty much seamless. The neck feels VERY slim and trim and is a beauty to play. Apart from the low-sheen gloss finish (which I think is a Jaco-style wear and tear image thing) this fretless neck is totally flawless, which is a big call! I've owned several Squiers over the years and I've always felt the need to upgrade something on them to get them up to spec, but not so with this instrument! Even my drummer had to look at the headstock between sets to see what was going on, and then he just smiled! It's all just a tone thing with basses and this bass has it by the truckload! I used to own a Fender fretless reissue and it didn't really prove itself (not at all actually), not like the Squier has. I sold the Fender but I honestly think this bass is a keeper. It has a thinner body than a Fender but it isn't really an issue.
Value
This bass is either too cheap, or else the Squier brand has some serious self-esteem issues. If Squier keep making instruments that respond like this one does it will eliminate the gear-snobbery we all have to deal with! I'm no fanboy here. I'm a working muso and this bass is very slightly AWESOME.
The Wow Factor
It's not so much that you want it as need it. It really has helped me improve my playing because I'm enjoying the Jaco vibe I can fake now. It looks the part and sounds just right.
Musical Background:
active musician
Musical Style:
funk/soul/jazz disco etc...
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Submitted November 9, 2008 by a customer from gmail.com
"I played on an build so many fretless basses and I have to say that this compares to anyone of them. And yes, of coures if you w"
I'll have this for a long time.
Sound
I have been playing bass for 40 years. I playy upright, electric, and fretless. I also made basses with Fodera and Ken Smith. Having qualified to know alittle about building and playing, especially in the fretless arena I have to say that the Squire fretless is on on the best playing and sounding fretlesses i have played.
I did not even want another bass. I was just window shoping with a friend who wanted to get an accessory for his paino. While I was waiting I picked up the Squire...plugged it in, and was amazed at the playability and punchy sound. Several people in the music store stopped brousing and came over to comment on the amazing punch the bass had. Within 15 minute I was purchasing the bass. I was lucky enough to get the bass and case for a remarkable $189.00. How could I resist a great sounding bass for that price. I would still have paid the going price of about $280.
Features
I got a gig bag and the salesman changed the input jack because it was cross-threaded. he even tried to attach a ground wire from the volume pot to stop the slight hum comong from the bass when you tsake your hand off the strings. We could not eliminate the small hum but it did not bother me because I rarely play my bass with out touching the stringd, Ha ha.
Ease of Use
By blending the pick ups I was able to get a Jaco sound by favoring the bridge pick-up and treble on the tone control. I agree with another reviewer who said that the bass treble spread is extremely wide, and the treble past 3 or 4 is over the top for me. Likewise if you play closer to the neck and favor the bass tone you can get a warn fretless jazz sound. The best thing about the instrument is that I was able to play close to the neck for a jazz gvove and move to the bridge when I wanted to get that jaco punch, without having to change any settings.
Quality
The finish was a little cheesey for my taste so I stripped the body and danish oiled the body to get that natural look.
Oh yeah, you can't beat the ebony finget board. I was weird that there was that little piece of sand paper under the neck. Wesed to put shime under the bolt on necks sommetimes to get the best possible adjustments. I was actually impressed that a factory made instrument had someone shim the neck. I later read that other people found that piece of sand paper shim...must be a factory correction for an over routing of the neck pocked or, over compenstion to lean the neck back.
Value
They are giving the bass away. Everyone says a great biginners bass. I say a good pro bass. There is plenyt of room to add anything you want to the bass.
Manufacturer Support
Great service.
The Wow Factor
As I mentioned, as a custom bass builder I really do not like the factory starburst finishes, especially in the yellow and brown. That would be my only complaint. It does not look vintage in that color..it looks like a wanna be vintage..so why bother. I bet if they made the finish in a natural, or basic black it would be more appealing. I guess that natural would be hard to do because the woood selection would be more costly. I was lucly to have a good grain combo on the 3 pc body.
Musical Background:
professional
Musical Style:
funk, jazz, and any grove that will pay the bill
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Submitted May 26, 2009 by a customer from hotmail.com
"Nice Buy"
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I expect to be happy with this baby for some time. The only other specific feature I seek in a bass is one with a graphite neck. Saving my money for a Modulas some day, maybe fretless.
Sound
Warm tones, Duncan pickups sound good. Played well right out of the box. Full sound on its own and run through wah and filters. Nice jazzy upright sounding slides are easily attainable. Solid for rock, funk, reggae...
Features
Bass came with two wrenches. Would have been nice to get at least a soft case with the purchase. Quality and components seem good.
Ease of Use
I have always played fretted basses. The sound and ease of playing is very enjoyable. I now know why Jaco called frets "speed bumps".
Quality
My bass arrived via ups in what appears to be perfect condition. Headstock says made in Indonesia. Quality is nice. Comparable to a 5 String Mexican made Fender Jazz I once owned, but much lighter in weight. Seems dependable. I am curious how the Ebonol finger board will hold up over time.
Value
Very good deal for the price.
Manufacturer Support
No need as of yet.
The Wow Factor
I really like the look with no pick guard. The Ebonol fret board with celluloid fret lines made me curious enough to purchase, and I wanted a second bass just because.
Musical Background:
Active Hobbyist
Musical Style:
Rock, Funk, Reggae/Ska, Hip Hop/Trip Hop, Jazz
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Submitted January 14, 2014 by a customer from yahoo.com in psl, FL
"fretless"
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I bought this to try to learn fretless before I spent a Lot of money on a high end fretless. turns out with a few mods its an excellent guitar, nevermind the price. It had a little glue left on the neck and I had to straighten the neck a bit, but overall this bass kicks butt. I would recommend this to anyone starting on fretless and Zzounds made it a lot easier
Musical Background:
professional, 3-5 nights a week, from beatles to luke bryan to godsmack to rush
Musical Style:
rock, pop, country, dance
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Submitted January 5, 2014 by Jeff Slicer in East Windsor, CT
"squire fretless jazz bass- MONSTER!!"
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Right from the box, this bass was great!-I never buy instruments sight unseen but taking a chance on this turned out fantastic. It played great set up as is,however after changing to my preferred roundwound strings it really came to life .Sounds great,really growly,lots of tonal variation available with this! I just can't play it enough...a home run!!!! Thank You zZounds!!!!
Musical Background:
40 years playing drums &bass -semi professionally
Musical Style:
Rock,Pop,Country,Fusion
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Submitted December 2, 2012 by john burghauser in bel air, MD
"good value- great service"
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as far as the bass goes- its a nice product for the money... its my first fretless, and I am getting alot of overtones and buzz- that might just be part of the 'fretless experience'- or is a result of a cheaper product. I have never liked Fender strings (stock on this)- so I am putting on some D'Addario half-rounds... maybe that will get me closer to what I'm looking for. Squier has definately figured out how to get alot into a cheap price! The construction and finish are very good.
Musical Background:
occasional gigging... lotsa playing (with others) at home
Musical Style:
rock and prog. rock
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Submitted September 3, 2012 by Shane Bournival in Rochester, NY
"Squier VM Fretless"
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Ok. I love this instrument. It was a bit of a journey to make it a great bass. Like many I read the reviews and great things people have said. I took the leap and ordered it. The first bass I received was great looking just like the pics but, the fretlines that you see in those pics were raised off the finger board causing it to become in fact a fretted instrument. I contacted customer service and was able to exchange the bass for another. A week later I received the second one. This was the last one zZounds had in stock, and even though the lines on this guitar were also raised I did love the feel and sound of the instrument. I called customer service and took a different approach, I asked about a factory warranty. It does come with a 1 year. I contacted Fender and they told me to bring it to the local fender repair shop to see what could be done. The tech there told me for $90 dollars he could adjust the truss rod, set up the guitar and that would take care of the problem. Well I know how to do all that so I went home and set up the guitar and I still had the same problem. So I decided to get the 9.5 radius sanding block from Stew Mac and sand the board till it was even. Success the sanding worked wonders! This instrument is awesome for an extra $15 and a couple hrs work it is well worth it.
Musical Style:
Music
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Submitted March 18, 2011 by a customer from yahoo.com
"Best bang for your buck fretless on the market. Hands down."
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I'm happy with the product. Albeit, I will be performing some upgrades, this only speaks to the basses overall build and "mod-worthiness". If it were stolen or lost I would buy another, without a doubt.
Sound
Very nice sound right out of the box. The duncan designed pickups aren't the most powerful, but considering this is a budget bass, they are warm and "jaco-esque" sounding. Played next to a Fender fretless, it is very hard to distinguish a difference.
Features
Once again, for the price range, the features are right on point. Passive pickups, maple neck, ebanol fretboard that is holding up very nicely with round-wounds on it, good tuners, etc. The only gripe I have is the cheap bridge, but that has to be expected.
Ease of Use
Very playable right out of the box. The controls are basic and straightforward. Not much to complain about.
Quality
Very sturdy bass, that feels just as nice, if not better, than any MIM Fender I've picked up. It stays in tune, plays nice, and you'd never know it was a three-piece body. The tobacco sunburst finish and the lines all look perfect. I do plan on replacing the electronics and the bridge when the funds allow. These are the only "weak" points of the bass, but aside from the bridge nothing is truly low quality on this piece.
Value
This is the best bang for your buck intro fretless on the market. 'Nuff said.
Manufacturer Support
Have not had to deal with customer service at this time. That's a 10 in my book.
The Wow Factor
Very nice looking bass, the finish is nice and appears sturdy. Being a three-piece body, I am very impressed at how well the wood lines up. Squier makes some very desirable, well-made instruments. The best in their price range and beyond.
Musical Background:
Active Musician
Musical Style:
Jazz - Metal - R&B, I play it all.
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Submitted January 30, 2012 by Eddie B in Woodbridge, NJ
""Impressive...most impressive." - D. Vader"
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I can't say enough nice things about this bass. No dead spots on the neck. The action is nice after some minor tweaking. Plays like buttah. The sound is great!!!! You really can't go wrong for the price. I could go all guitar snob and nit pick and if I had paid a lot more I would, but I didn't so I won't. For a "low end" (excuse the pun) bass it's sound, playability and build is really quite extraordinary.
Musical Background:
I have been playing bass for 22 years and guitar for 15 years. Played professionally; toured nationally, recorded, etc.
Musical Style:
Rock, Heavy Metal, Punk, Grindcore, Jazz, Shoegaze
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Submitted October 2, 2008 by a customer from comcast.net
"Not a bad deal!"
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Overall, the bass is great for the price. It did need to be adjusted to get a better action on it as it was very hard to play the way it was. I did worry about the rounds it came with ruining the fret board but once I changed the strings to a set of warm flatwound and adjusted the bridge it now plays fine and sound good.
I bought this fretless only because I never owned a fretless and wanted to give it a try without spending a few grand.
If you are looking a starter bass and willing to do a little work, it is a great value for the price. Let me put it another way, I own a few very expensive basses and this one is the only one I have been playing lately.
Sound
The overall sound quality is not bad, It does'nt compare to my 4001 Rick but this instrument did'nt cost 3 grand either.
Quality
The darn thing is beautiful, not a mark on YET.
Value
It will never play or sound as well as my 4001 Ric, but then again, didn't cost three grand either!
Manufacturer Support
I received the bass in one day, excellenct service.
Musical Background:
Hobbyist
Musical Style:
Classic Rock, Blues, Jazz
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Submitted March 5, 2008 by a customer from hotmail.com
"Great instrument to experiment with, quite inspiring tone, I don't expect it to last forever but one can always rebuild and cust"
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It's a fun instrument to play. I worry how long the fretboard will last with Roundwound strings, I have ordered a set of Half Rounds in the hope of minimizing fretboard wear, I think that Flatwounds will spoil the overall tone that I am looking for but would be great for a real 'smokey club' vibe.
I owned a MIM fretless J Bass some years ago and overall I think this Squier is more playable and sounds more authentic.
Sound
Possible to coax a 'Jaco' like sound. Nice jazzy fusion vibe with some overtones, suits what I purchased it for. The instrument is capable of expressive tone and some dynamic range.
Features
It has all the features of a Fender Jazz bass. Comes with no extras but would not expect them at this price point. Materials are basic but seem to work well for a budget instrument.
Ease of Use
Ease of use as expected. Action is good and very playable.
Quality
I purchased a 'Blem' but could not find any cosmetic defects. However the pots were very scratchy. As expected the neck needed a small truss rod adjustment and the truss rod works well.
I cleaned up the pots with contact cleaner which helped but there is still some crackling at times. I have decided to replace all the pots and re wire the electronics (for around 40 bucks) with USA made CTS pots and a Vitamin Q cap. I think that this will make a big difference and the guitar is worthy of that upgrade. The bridge is typical stock Fender which I may replace in the future.
The pots are 500K but I am replacing them with 250K (as used on most Fender J's). For my taste the tone control full open is too bright and I have been turning the tone way down (also, there is quite a lot of hum with the tone turned up past about 2).
Value
Very good value, even with the extra spent to mod the instrument.
Manufacturer Support
Have not had cause to use them.
The Wow Factor
It's a nice looking piece of gear, although I am also replacing the chrome knobs with a set of Fender J Bass black plastic knobs, I think that it will look cooler.
Musical Background:
Hobbyist
Musical Style:
Rock, Blues, Jazz.
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Submitted July 27, 2011 by a customer from gmail.com
"Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder."
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Sound
Out of the box, the sound isn't bad, its not great either. 1st of all its very noisey. I suspect this maybe in part due to a poor ground, also the pup's themselves create a lot of noise. I play using a traditional jazz style, very smooth and fluid finger style, not aggressive or harsh yet still alot of buzz/hum and noticeable feedback. I planned on doing some recording with this bass however with the amount of noise it generates, modifications would definitely be necessary for recording or live shows. Ive attempted to clean the sound up some using various settings on my TC Electric BH500, but the tone becomes very dull. If you like to modify your instruments this would be the perfect choice, with proper mods I believe this bass will be a keeper, i.e. I would recommend flats, rounds will eat up the ebonal on the fretboard and its going to look really bad. Next new pups, I prefer passive pups personally, but an active set would be killer too...
Features
A hard shell case would have been a nice touch, perhaps added some value to this product. Also instead of shipping with cheap round-wound strings, a set of flats would have been a better choice. The bridge is some sort of cheap alloy or tin, again its cheap. So I guess you get what you pay for.
Ease of Use
very difficult to achieve decent sounds, due to all of the noise. However Im confident that after a few mods it will sound killer. Out of the box forget about it.
Quality
Cheap Cheap Cheap... I was looking for something that I could modify so I knew this bass wasnt going to sound like my higher end basses or feel like them for that matter, but I was expecting a more robust pallet to build on
The materials feel and look cheap. The pictures do not accurately portray the actual product. Its very shiny like a toy, the finish looks cheap, its not an authentic sunburst its cheap, also its very lightweight (not in a good way either) its kind of like one of those guitars you get with Guitar Hero or Rock Band. It really doesn't look or feel like wood at all. Although I do like the ebonal fingerboard, I could do without the white fret markers makes it look even cheaper IMO.
Value
overall its way over priced!!! it feels and plays cheaper than the selling price. It should be price at about 199.99, because Ive played guitars at that price point that actually sounded and felt way better. Although after some modification this may earn its place in my collection.
Manufacturer Support
N/A
The Wow Factor
Its not sexy, not yet... but it has potential to be. I guess thats why I picked it up because I saw some potential there... But out of the box 0 sexy.
Musical Background:
Session Musician
Musical Style:
Jazz, Soul
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Submitted January 29, 2008
Squier Fretless Jazz Bass Customer Review
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Sound
Haven't really spent more than a few minutes with it plugged in. I've been trying to adjust from fretted, so mostly playing it unplugged to learn its feel & character.
Ease of Use
Playing fretless has been easier to adjust to than I would have thought. No complaints in the playability on this bass yet.
Quality
It's no boutique instrument, but it seems rather sturdy, and it hasn't gone out of tune on me yet. For the price, I am very impressed with the build quality.
Value
I never would have bought another bass in this price range, but after reading a lot of reviews (most of which were very positive), I decided to give it a try, and I've been blown away. I've definitely played better fretless basses, but I've never seen anything close to this level of quality for under $300. I'm extremely pleased.
Manufacturer Support
Hven't used it.
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