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Post subject: Squier bullet.
Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 8:57 am
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:?: hi everyone i recently acquired a squier bullet surf green. im wondering if it is made of basswood,or alder. its made in China serial number is COB 080515037.
thanks alot!!!


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Post subject: Re: Squier bullet.
Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 6:57 pm
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The "Bullet" series are made from Basswood but do not let that put you off as many guitar companies are using this for their guitars. Fender use it for their EVH guitars in Japan and lots of other respected names also use basswood.

I don't know why a lot of people (including myself up until recently) got the idea basswood was some kind of inferior product. It is in fact a very nice tone wood and I would not hesitate to buy a guitar that is made with it if I liked the sound from it.


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Post subject: Re: Squier bullet.
Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 7:37 pm
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Basswood is actually used in many heavy metal guitars because it gives that tight tone that sounds really 80's, my Ibanez is basswood, and that wasn't a budget guitar for sure.

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Post subject: Re: Squier bullet.
Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 7:14 am
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Well if the body is actually a Bullet, then there is zero chance of it being Alder. While I don't have the info at my finger tips, I know I've seen either here or elsewhere that the Bullets were typically basswood -if- they were going to be sunbursts but they used laminates in A LOT of the solid block colors. My dark blue hard tail was a lam as was my late 80's MIK Strat (-serious- piece of crap).

Now as others have said, don't let that put ya off...either way. My old Jersey Kramer is actually a lam and she's always sounded outstanding! And lam bodies can still be useful as backup guitars as well...if nothing else just for knockin' about the house with (I have a $40 G. Burton Strat up here in the office at the moment with my new Affinity Tele). If the kids or the dog comes running thru and knocks it over...not really a big deal. More over, regardless of other factors, the pickups and let's face it, your own fingers are going to have a FAR greater influence over how the instrument sounds and plays than anything such as body wood.

Now that said, there's another factor here...a Bullet in surf or seafoam green? There's a bit on the internet about some "mis-colored daphne blue" from a few years back on another forum, but as far as I know, Bullets were never offered in the genuine greens. As you say you "recently acquired", I'm going to assume it's also used. If it is indeed the surf green as you suggest, someone somewhere along the lines may have swapped bodies and should that be the case, could turn out to be quite difficult to tell exactly what you have, wood-wise, without stripping the body. -If- it's actually that Daphne blue, then it's likely a lam, but if the body's been changed....who knows...

Sorry if it's not what you wanted to hear but that's the way I understand it...

Peace,
Jim


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Post subject: Re: Squier bullet.
Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 7:33 pm
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In the latest MF catalog there's a full page ad for Steve Vai's latest signature, the JEM Premium in Sea Foam Green. This $1,400 guitar is advertised as having an American Basswood body. If it's good enough for Steve Vai...

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Post subject: Re: Squier bullet.
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 6:42 am
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CRGuitarMan wrote:
In the latest MF catalog there's a full page ad for Steve Vai's latest signature, the JEM Premium in Sea Foam Green. This $1,400 guitar is advertised as having an American Basswood body. If it's good enough for Steve Vai...


First and foremost, let me apologize if I gave the impression of suggesting that Basswood is somehow undesirable for a guitar. The truth of the matter is that when it comes to electric guitars, I've always felt most folks spend way too much fuss over the body wood - other facts such as the pickups, the amp and even the guitar players own personal style are going to have a FAR greater influence over the instrument's sound compared with basswood vs. alder etc.. Seriously...I've had instruments made out of all the popular Fender/Squier woods...alder, poplar, laminates and even one home cut tele body out of red oak! Different pickups will change the sound FAR more than the wood ever will on an electric. You -may- get more sustain out of ash than you will with basswood (each and every piece of wood is different), but throw a compressor pedal in the middle of your sound chain there and even that becomes pretty much insignificant.

In fact, as I understand it, the reason Leo and his gang used ash and alder in those early teles and strats wasn't because either was such a great tone wood or anything as much as that was what was plentiful and available out in California for what was essentially a start up business at the time...in other words, those woods were inexpensive and there was lots of it back in the late 40's/early 50's!

Second, regarding the SV sig being basswood and being good enough for Vai, I would like to point out that regardless of what bodywood his instruments are made out of, he's still gonna sound like Steve Vai...because he is. I've seen this so many times over the years...particularly with the Clapton sig series Strats; someone will go out and blow the wad to get the guitar so they can sound "just like Clapton" and when they get it home, they're disappointed because they still sound like themselves. People always forget that Clapton sounds like Clapton because he is Eric Clapton...he could be playing a $180 Squire Affinity thru a $150 Line 6 amp and he's -STILL- going to sound like Eric Clapton. By the by, I actually didn't care for those Clapton models...I really hated the necks on them!

Anyways...just my long winded way of saying that I just don't put too much stock in those signature series instruments. Gimme a good ol' Squire or MIM built up to my own specifications ANY day :-)


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Post subject: Re: Squier bullet.
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 4:12 pm
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lomitus wrote:
CRGuitarMan wrote:
In the latest MF catalog there's a full page ad for Steve Vai's latest signature, the JEM Premium in Sea Foam Green. This $1,400 guitar is advertised as having an American Basswood body. If it's good enough for Steve Vai...


First and foremost, let me apologize if I gave the impression of suggesting that Basswood is somehow undesirable for a guitar. The truth of the matter is that when it comes to electric guitars, I've always felt most folks spend way too much fuss over the body wood - other facts such as the pickups, the amp and even the guitar players own personal style are going to have a FAR greater influence over the instrument's sound compared with basswood vs. alder etc.. Seriously...I've had instruments made out of all the popular Fender/Squier woods...alder, poplar, laminates and even one home cut tele body out of red oak! Different pickups will change the sound FAR more than the wood ever will on an electric. You -may- get more sustain out of ash than you will with basswood (each and every piece of wood is different), but throw a compressor pedal in the middle of your sound chain there and even that becomes pretty much insignificant.

In fact, as I understand it, the reason Leo and his gang used ash and alder in those early teles and strats wasn't because either was such a great tone wood or anything as much as that was what was plentiful and available out in California for what was essentially a start up business at the time...in other words, those woods were inexpensive and there was lots of it back in the late 40's/early 50's!

Second, regarding the SV sig being basswood and being good enough for Vai, I would like to point out that regardless of what bodywood his instruments are made out of, he's still gonna sound like Steve Vai...because he is. I've seen this so many times over the years...particularly with the Clapton sig series Strats; someone will go out and blow the wad to get the guitar so they can sound "just like Clapton" and when they get it home, they're disappointed because they still sound like themselves. People always forget that Clapton sounds like Clapton because he is Eric Clapton...he could be playing a $180 Squire Affinity thru a $150 Line 6 amp and he's -STILL- going to sound like Eric Clapton. By the by, I actually didn't care for those Clapton models...I really hated the necks on them!

Anyways...just my long winded way of saying that I just don't put too much stock in those signature series instruments. Gimme a good ol' Squire or MIM built up to my own specifications ANY day :-)



"Hear Hear"


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Post subject: Re: Squier bullet.
Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 7:09 am
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I had a '05 bullet, it had a thin laminated body, and yes, it had a pretty decent sound.
You can have two guitars made out of the same tree and they will sound different.
Out of a dozen guitars you can usually find one that will sound pretty decent.
I eventually switched bodies, which I now regret, and I kept that neck replaced the machine heads, but its the same good neck I intend to keep.


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