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Post subject: Re: E String Issues
Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 10:50 am
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VM series basses are usually pretty consistent, quality wise, so this has been an interesting, and puzzling thread to follow.

Just for giggles, have you tried clamping a capo on it?

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Post subject: Re: E String Issues
Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 11:33 am
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I have, sounds the same with it on. That doesn't mean I'm ruling the nut out of this though.

When I swapped the strings for these taperwounds I kept the old ones (which were only a few days old) and put them on an old bass that I've never had a problem with and the E still sounded a bit off, so it seems like the bass is ruining the string somehow and that I won't really be able to tell if I've fixed it without dropping cash on new strings each time I try something. That or Rotosounds really do have dodgy Es.


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Post subject: Re: E String Issues
Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 4:09 pm
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I just thought of another long shot.

(You can count on me for long shots.)

Look VERY closely at the finish around the neck pocket for a hairline crack. It's possible the instrument took a hit during shipment. More often than not, a crack in that area is only cosmetic, but in some cases it's evidence that the body has lost its integrity in that area.

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Post subject: Re: E String Issues
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 10:50 pm
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craig.p wrote:
First thing I like to do in situations like this is give the build (i.e. what the manufacturing plant did) a good going through. On a bargain bass, way up at the top of my checklist would be neck heel-to-body fit. Take an especially close look at how the neck heel and the body's heel cavity are prepped. Sometimes these surfaces are very rough, so that even with the neck screws good and tight the neck is actually mating with the body over only a very small aggregate surface area. Sometimes an irregular (lumpy or sagging) neck finish can ruin the flatness of a neck heel, but I don't know if those Squier necks are finished all the way down to the end of the heel. Anyway, you get the idea: The closer to perfectly flat you can get those two mating surfaces, the better.

Also check the nut for tightness in the slot, check the bridge for flatness against the body (you'll need to remove it to do that -- check that it does NOT rock from side to side or front to back when the screws are out), and make sure the screws are snugged up and not stripped. Also make sure the tuners' backplates are flat against the headstock and aren't warped and all those little screws are snugged up well. Check the headstock surface where the tuners mate with it -- check for bumps, lumps, etc. that would prevent full contact.

Also check to make sure there's at least some tension on the truss rod. If there isn't, then it might be vibrating sympathetically with that E string, sucking the life out of it.

Just a few thoughts ...... hope it helps.


All good stuff there. I was going to mention a truss rod adjustment, but you beat me to it.

I'd be reeeally surprised if it was the nut.


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Post subject: Re: E String Issues
Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 6:55 am
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craig.p wrote:
Just a few thoughts ...... hope it helps.


Today I tried sanding down the neck heel and body pocket, to me it looks like a better fit than it was before, I also sanded the underside of the bridge to make it flatter where the the screw holes are. the bridge rocks when its unscrewed a little, but that's because there's a ground wire slightly poking out sandwiched between the bridge and body. I also made sure all screws are tight but two of the tuner backplate screws snapped in half, leaving the remainder stuck in the headstock. Truss rod is fine too.

All in all, I want to think it helped the problem, but really it still sounds off. Looks like I'm out of options too.


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Post subject: Re: E String Issues
Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 8:36 am
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You can take it to a luthier and get an opinion. Maybe they'll see something that's relatively easy to fix -- or they might see something that makes it unfixable without major surgery.

One conclusion I come to is if you have screws breaking off in the headstock, you probably have cheap hardware. If you decide the bass is worth spending any more money on, I'd consider replacing the hardware (tuners, bridge, screws) with some quality stuff.


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Post subject: Re: E String Issues
Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 8:53 am
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Sometimes with bargain instruments you don't know what quality the wood is, or even whether the tree it was cut from was suited to instrument use in the first place. Since it's a Squier, I'd cut my losses. You could put a Mighty Mite neck on it to see if that makes a difference, but this is shotgunning, with no guarantee of success, because the problem might be lack of integrity in the body wood rather than the neck, like maybe 1 or more gaps in the glued-together pieces. (Assuming the bodies aren't one-piece, but I'd be the last to know, so I defer to the Squier experts there.) Or there's a giant knot in the body but you can't see it because it's covered by the finish.

Again, I hesitate to throw money at bargain instruments. Typically for the money you wind up spending, you could've gotten a MIM. And you'll never recoup the money on a resale. No one cares (or will pay for) what you went through to get a bargain instrument serviceable.

Sorry your efforts didn't pay off, but congratulations for trying!

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Post subject: Re: E String Issues
Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 12:36 pm
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When you put new strings on, do you keep them from twisting? Unwrap the E string and re-wrap it..this time holding the ball behind the bridge wall in exact place. Tune up and tell us about it.


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Post subject: Re: E String Issues
Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 1:33 pm
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craig.p wrote:
Sometimes with bargain instruments you don't know what quality the wood is, or even whether the tree it was cut from was suited to instrument use in the first place. Since it's a Squier, I'd cut my losses. You could put a Mighty Mite neck on it to see if that makes a difference, but this is shotgunning, with no guarantee of success, because the problem might be lack of integrity in the body wood rather than the neck, like maybe 1 or more gaps in the glued-together pieces. (Assuming the bodies aren't one-piece, but I'd be the last to know, so I defer to the Squier experts there.) Or there's a giant knot in the body but you can't see it because it's covered by the finish.

Again, I hesitate to throw money at bargain instruments. Typically for the money you wind up spending, you could've gotten a MIM. And you'll never recoup the money on a resale. No one cares (or will pay for) what you went through to get a bargain instrument serviceable.

Sorry your efforts didn't pay off, but congratulations for trying!


Your thoughts, ideas and suggestions were all good, and you gave your opinion very well.

Listen to craig's suggestions, ideas and thoughts, thay're constructive and sound.


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Post subject: Re: E String Issues
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 7:56 am
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Thanks for the continued suggestions, I actually forgot about this thread!

I took it to a guitar shop last week to get an opinion, and the guy said if I didn't mention I didn't like the sound of the string, he wouldn't have noticed it, and that he doesn't consider there's a problem with it, which is weird because I'm no expert and can definitely hear something's not 'perfect'.

He also let me compare it with some other basses that I tried out there, and to be honest there wasn't a major improvement in any of them, although they were also 'budget' basses.

So all in all, I think I'm just being super picky, and I'll just have to live with it. Hopefully some day I'll upgrade to a quality Fender, and until then maybe look into trying Sansamp type driver boxes with it to aid in sound.


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