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Post subject: Which model do I have?
Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 10:17 am
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Hi everyone. I'm just new on here so please forgive me if I talk rubbish.
A couple of weeks ago I was in the local Cash Converters and saw, and fell in love with a Squire Jazz bass. I had never seen a standard squire bass like it before. When I've done some research, for intent and purposes it look like a VM model but the head has a tiny standard on it. The serial number starts IC09 so Indonesia 2009. It has a tortoiseshell board, plain pickups ( I'm assuming they are Fender) as they don't say Duncan on them. The colour is quite a reddish wood blending into black. Possibly the antique red I've seen on Squier Precision p basses.
What I'm after is knowing if this is a VM or has a previous owner modded it himself and it's actually a standard Jazz

https://flic.kr/p/p1ZmYh



https://flic.kr/p/oJx9K2

https://flic.kr/p/p1ZuzE


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Post subject: Re: Which model do I have?
Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 11:30 am
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Location: Albemarle, NC
Hi Steve,

From the photos it is a Squier Standard Jazz Bass in 2 color sunburst.
Built by CORT in Indonesia for the 2009 model year.

The Standards are very nice Squiers being superior to the more commonly seen Affinity series. The Standards have better components, materials and finishing than the Affinity line. Standards cost more than Affinity models when new. It absolutely is not a Vintage Modified Series instrument but the build and material quality is very comparable to the VM Series. The Cort plant builds the better quality Squier instruments in Indonesia and makes the better quality Indo models for other brands also.

It appears that the pickup closest to the neck is newer than the one closer to the bridge going by the way the two look in the photos. Can't say whether someone put a new one in the neck position or an older one in the bridge position but the one at the bridge position looks far older than 2009 judging by the discoloration of the poles unless it was stored in a very unfriendly environment. Whichever is true the coloration due aging and exposure of the poles do not match up so it is not 100% original, but originality doesn't really matter all that much in a Squier because nobody collects Indo Squiers or is likely to in 20 years or 40 years. What does matter here is that mismatching pickups can cause balance problems, so I'd make sure both pickups have about the same output volume.

The original pickups would have been made by Cort (also known as Cor-Tek Industries) and they make the better Indonesian pickups among the Indonesian plants that make Squier instruments under contract. The Duncan Designed pickup stamping is mere fluff and pretty much meaningless since the original designer that Duncan copied is really Leo Fender. You are just paying for a feature fluff that makes the instrument appear more "special" when in reality you are just kicking a few bucks back to Mr. Duncan for the use of his name on mass produced Asian made pickups that are no better than the original design they copy! There are bad and good Asian made pickups. The ones on the Squier Standards are very, very good Asian pickups and would be on par with one stamped "Duncan Designed." The "DD" stamping is however an assurance you are getting a decent Asian pickup but the best way to compare pickups is with your ears, not by the fluff. The Standard Squiers have your better quality Asian pickups. What matters to me is the wind pattern, the impedance and the pole material used in the pickup build. I'm not real fond of ceramic pickup magnets and prefer Alnico.


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Post subject: Re: Which model do I have?
Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 1:14 pm
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Wow, I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to answer, and you did with a very in depth and informative reply. Many thanks for that. If I was to search for new pickups for it and wanted to stick with the original Asian Cort ones, what would I search for to ensure getting the decent ones you described? Model number etc. I have spent the last 3 days Googling it with no luck. I would like to try if possible to stick to original parts that came with this model bass. For now anyway. I'd the 2009 Cort ones are impossible to get hold of, what's the next best thing that give a nice deep, clean sound. No distorted stuff. I am about to learn blues, and previously play covers from u2 rod Stewart etc. Sometimes Spandau Ballet. So a nice clean warm sound would do me nice.
Also, as I have never seen a standard one like this with the metal knows and tortoiseshell board, have you any idea what they normally sell for (ukp). I'm hoping I got a good deal.
I think it needs a set up done. I think anyway, unless there is a problem with the pups as a few of the notes on one of the strings sound quieter than others. I've not come across this issue before of my other basses. Defo new strings as well. Theres also a crackle when turning the volume dial.


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Post subject: Re: Which model do I have?
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 6:52 pm
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stevew68 wrote:
...If I was to search for new pickups for it and wanted to stick with the original Asian Cort ones, what would I search for to ensure getting the decent ones you described? Model number etc.... what's the next best thing that give a nice deep, clean sound. No distorted stuff. I am about to learn blues....So a nice clean warm sound would do me nice.... I have never seen a standard one like this with the metal knows and tortoiseshell board, have you any idea what they normally sell for....
I think it needs a set up done. I think anyway, unless there is a problem with the pups as a few of the notes on one of the strings sound quieter than others. I've not come across this issue before of my other basses. Defo new strings as well. Theres also a crackle when turning the volume dial.


Ok some issues are present. I'd figure it is worth $150 to $200 where I live. Being the pickups and pots and neck all have issues that is a markoff.

So far as getting the original pickups, if you plan to keep this for at least a few years then you would be better off with Fender USA or Duncan retail pickups so long as they fit the pickup routing. Often on import basses the pickups are off sized so you'd have to measure. If you really want the originals a replacement might be available via a Fender or Squier part number....but then again maybe not. So far as I know they are not sourcing in Korea now but are sourcing from Cort China. You'd have to contact consumer relations with your serial and request a spec & part sheet and then use the part number to order the pickups from a Fender/Squier dealer. That would cost almost as much as a set of mass production Fender or Duncan pickups or any of the other very popular mass production replacements like Dimarzio. I favor the vintage type winds because they are full range, but some people like the heavier winds that have more bass. That might be you from your description. Actually from your description it sounds like you would want a Precision.

Fretted notes that sound quieter are called "dead spots" which are caused by resonance in the neck that cancels out vibrations at certain frequencies. I'd guess one on yours is first string (G-String) fifth fret, or somewhere between the 4th and 6th fret. That is a very common dead spot on most Fender and Fender style basses anyway. You can attempt to cure it my adding more mass (weight) to the headstock which changes the resonant frequency of the neck. There are several different techniques you can employ but basically they all involve adding mass to the headstock. The catch with that is more mass just causes the dead spot to move to another location. The object of course in adding weight is to move it completely out of the range of play. You can use a C-clamp from the corner hardware or a clip on tuner to add mass and Fender even sells a weighted clamp just for that purpose called a "Fat Finger." They make them for both bass and guitar. Here's the bass model.

Image

Another method is to remove the tuners, drill out small holes under the tuner baseplates and insert lead fishing weights, put wood putty over the weights to seal them in so they don't rattle. That is pretty radical and involved and easy to goof up. It is also hard to keep track of how much mass you are adding. So just clamp something on and see if that helps.

The noisy pots can be easily cleaned with a good spray cleaner like DEOXIT, and that usually fixes it. This is really easy to do yourself routine maintenance and there is no need to pay someone to do it. See the instructions here:
http://www.ehow.com/how_6364203_clean-electric-guitar-pot.html
While in there I'd clean all 3 pots, not just the noisy one. Lots of times just "exercising" the pot a few hundred times will do a "self-cleaning."

Since you are considering doing something about the mismatched pickups I'd go ahead and redo the pots, jack, tone cap and wiring when you install the new pickups using CTS pots, a Switchcraft jack and a better tone cap of your choice. That is just me. Changing the pots out is unnecessary on paper though. There often is no tonal advantage to changing the Asian pots to CTS pots since 250K is 250K and 500K is 500K. Whether you change the pots or not if you want the ULTIMATE smooth tone it would be advisable to spend $4 on a Russian paper in oil Vitamin-Q clone capacitor. Ceramic caps inject "edge" which is also called distortion. Cheap Asian poly caps often used in these (the green chicklet style caps) are only some cleaner than a ceramic. Both MYLAR and Paper In Oil caps are the smoothest sounding tone caps to me with less distortion. A good cap source is axegrinderz.com and I have had nothing but good experiences with them.

These chrome knobs were stock on this model and they are a bit unusual looking. The tortoise pickguard also was stock on the sunburst Standard Jazz Bass then. When redoing the pots that is a good opportunity to order original black Fender Jazz Bass knobs. I prefer solid shaft pots with the original Jazz Bass knobs that use the setscrew. I just prefer them as a personal choice. You can also get push on Jazz knobs and use the existing pots or order split shaft CTS pots. They all cost about the same thing. The Fender knobs give a more Fenderish look. The push on reproduction knobs look good and are sold by a number of aftermarket parts houses.

I wouldn't worry about getting a professional setup until you get the electronics ironed out. A professional setup is a good thing, but any changes you make to pickups, etc will wreck a pro setup. In the meantime you can do your own set up with basic tools using this online guide from Gary Willis:
http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html

People claim they setup their own basses all the time on here. Sure I can set one up and I do, but I know a guy way better at it than me and that is who I get to do setups on the instruments I know I'm keeping and want to play out. I have him do it once, then always replace strings one at a time using exactly the same string set and while I might have to make a very minor tweak I pretty much leave what he did alone. I'm better at electronics than setup. A pro setup (by someone who really knows what they are doing) makes a lot of difference over a do it yourself setup which is why professional setups cost so much. They sometimes involve some fret work and I don't have the tools for that. Some people charge $35 for a basic setup while others charge $125 so find out the cost up front. Also it helps to ask around among other bassists to see who does their setups and how happy their are with them. Eventually one name will come up more times than the others and that is possibly one to try. My tech has like a 3 week turnaround so you have to consider the bass is gone for a while.


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