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Author: Tony Russell
I have now succumbed & bought the above Squier Classic Vibe 50s P. Bass. I guess I have a nostalgia thing about the music from that late 50s - early 60s period. It is the Butterscotch blonde with black scratchplate model, although it is also available in Lake placid Blue. It is equal in quality to the rest of it's excellent 'Classic Vibe' series brothers. When I first opened the cardboard box in which it arrived, I was a little concerned as there appeared to be a lot of fret-buzz, but soon realised that there had been no attempt by Squier to do anything like a basic set-up on it before it was shipped. After tuning it up from the extreme slackness of the strings when it arrived, & adjusting the saddle heights & intonation, the neck obviously adopted the correct concave bow & it was perfect. It has a Pine body, which shows through the partially transparent Butterscotch paint, revealing vertical striped woodgrain. The Black scratchplate is quite thick, which i quite like, as there will be no chance of warping. The Maple neck is excellent & the nut of good quality. The Headstock is in the Telecaster style, with a 50s style round string retainer for the D & G strings. The jack socket is on the side of the body & is similar in type to that of a Tele. The Tone & Volume pots are good & work really well, particularly the Tone pot. The Bridge is a very nice High Mass, solid chromed unit with four big brass saddles. There is no 'String-thru-body' set-up. The pickup is a single-coil unit with flat polepieces, very much like a bridge pickup in a Tele. The exposed coil windings have been wrapped in black insulating tape, so no problem there.
It comes with a set of basic round-wound bass strings, which, being new, are quite 'Twangy' at present, but I guess will mellow with time. I will install a set of flats in due course, to reduce fret wear if nothing else. The quality Tone control has quite a tonal range & can give tones ranging from the lower end of a piano to a nice mellow deep smooth thump.
The action is great & the feel of the vintage stained neck is really good. Unlike the original slab-bodied Fender '51 P. Bass that Leo actually invented, which it models, it actually has nice rounded body edges & body contours like the later P.Bass models that we are more familiar with. It feels quite light for a P.Bass. Let's put this instrument into perspective. It is made in China by Squier, & cost me £299 ! The equivalent US Fender Vintage Reissue would cost .... er £1,400 ?? Someone tell me. This is a perfectly servicable 50s P, Bass which looks great & plays well. It is definately in the 50s vibe. See old photos of Gene Vincent's 'Blue Caps', the Treniers, Little Richard's band etc., etc. Gentlemen, I recommend it for your consideration.
01302 369 999
Dave