Fender Squier P Bass

Pretty standard Bass - this is what you think of when someone says the word, basically. Alder body, Rosewood neck, 22 frets, Black finish that's really think but ships really easily. Mine's probably from the early 80's, if I use the age of my amp to judge. It's got one split, passive pickup, one volume, one tone, and that's about it. It's all original, and it looked brand new when I bought it (used) about 10 years ago, so I know exactly the wear it's stood up to. Not weird or fancy, but very good overall. I hate giving this a low number, because i really don't see what features it needs, but it's about as bare-bones as you can get, so a 7 it is.

I play it through a Fender Bassman Compact 50 watt combo amp, and quite honestly, the sound is awesome in almost every respect. Good bass response, and lot of highs as well, so it sounds really alive when you play it. I get a real Wedding Present - type tone out of it usually, because the amp distorts really quickly, and I play hard, with a pick, and the tone suits me just fine. I also run it through a Big Muff Pi pedal, which sounds really really nice. Very broken and raw and aggressive. My only complaint is that it picks up a lot of pick noise when you play, though you can remedy that by rolling back the highs either on the amp or the bass itself. It affects the tone quite a bit though, and I've pretty much gotten used to the fact that it will tick whenever I play it. You can't really hear it live anyway. You can get a pretty warm and full bassy tone with the tone knob all the way back, but it's kind of muffled, because it's cheap and passive electronics, and that's not really my sound to begin with, but it's pretty much an all or nothing thing. But I've taken it from metal to bad jazz to indie pop to noise rock all on the same amp, so I'm pretty happy with it. You'll get the sound you want out of it.

It was used when I bought it, but in like new condition, and it really was a beautiful instrument, as far as my memory can be trusted. The finish was bright and clean and mirror-like, and everything was perfectly straight and true and easy to play. I was only in 9th grade though, and hardly an expert. Considering how well it's stood up, I'd have to say it was put together pretty darn well for something that's supposed to be a knock-off of the real thing. I've played a friend's "true" P-Bass, and honestly can't tell much of a difference except for the pickups.

It's only ever had to be set up once in the 10 years I've played it. It never goes out of tune unless you subject to extreme climactic variations. It's survived 2 trips down the cellar stairs (though one time the fall was broken by me), a car accident, and the time I threw it off the stage when two strings broke at once. It's losing little pieces ofthe finish here and there, and it doesn't shine like it used to, but the only repair I ever did was to the tone pot, which blew on me about 3 years ago. I actually think they just did it for me when I had the rest of it set up, because i can't imagaine that kindof thing bothering me enough to address it (it stuck in the full on position, which is all you really need anyway. It's the only bass I've ever owned, so I play out with it all the time, ad the only problem is when I break a string, and that's aplaying style thing morethan anything else. I'd have to make a deliberate effort to damage it past the point of playability. It doesn't hum, the intonation is good, it's (almost) always in tune. Can't ask for more.

never tried. Never had to.

I learned to play on this bass 10 years ago, and it has never let me down. Any problem I have ever had was so negligible compared to how good it sounds and how easy it is to play (the strings are set kind of weird, and always have been - they sit pretty high off the body, but fairly (not incredibly) low along the neck, so you can fret easily, but still have a lot of room to pick - I prefer that to some basses I've played which were really low the whole way along). I've never questioned the tone, which is quite honestly very good. If it were stolen or lost, I would probably buy a Hagstrom bass somewhere to replace it, because I like Hagstroms a lot, but on the other hand, if I bought a Hag tomorrow, I would definitely keep this bass too. Sentimentality may have a lot to do with it, since it's theone I leanred to play on, but I think the fact that I play out about once a week, and recorded a couple of seven inches and a cd using it, and nevre really had any problems at all with it ever, or any question that there was aburning need to find something new speaks a lot. It was never meant for professional use, I'll grant you, and I'm hardly a professional now, but I honestly can't imagaine needing a whole lot more from an instrument than what I get out of this one. It's cheap enough to get started on without much worry, but it will stand by you for a long long time if you want. Or at least mine has. Maybe I got lucky, but I would recommend it to anyone.

Alder Body. Black with white pickguard. One split coil pickup. One volume pot, one tone pot. Bolt-on maple neck with rosewood fretboard. This is your typical P-Bass.

I play in a Christian rock band, and before that I played in a grunge band. It has your typical 'p-bass' sound to it. The pickup sucks, and the tone pot does not work all that well.

Allright, here is where my major gripes are: you can fix a bad action, but the thing I HATE about fender basses is that headstock that weighs about nine tons. This bass is ballanced terribly. I do not like to have to support the neck with my hand, it makes fretting notes a pain in the butt. The action set-up from the factory wasn't too bad, but the weight of the headstock weighs too much for the instrument to be comfortable. Mabey a few pounds of lead in the bridge would help, but that would also kill your back.

Its a fender... in other words: This thing is a tank. If I sharpened the headstock I could use it to cut down trees (but headstock isnt supposed to be that big!!!)

Never dealt with them.

The heavy headstock outweighs (no pun intended) any good merit that the bass has. If you are looking for a good bass to learn on, move on. I recomend an Ibanez (GSR 200). On the other hand, if you learn on one of these and get good, switching over to an Ibanez will make playing feel effortless, and will make you sound like a god. If this bass had a light headstock, or was ballenced good, I would rate the instrument much better.

20 frets, 4 strings, single pickup, one tone control, one volume control. Prety simple. This is defidently a "beginner" bass. I bought this bass for the simple fact to find out whether or not i like playing the bass. It's not a huge investment, so i figured what the heck. Overall it is a good bass, but it is nothing to call home about.

It has an ok sound, but then again i am judging it on a peavey 20 watt microbass amp. It has a pretty clean sound, not perfect, but for what you pay for it...it's not going to be a studio bass.

My Squier P Bass has a loose fit on the output jack for the cable. Other than that it is in really good shape.

This bass is built pretty well. I beat it up pretty good and it still plays good. It is defidently a "Beginner" instrument, and can handle the mishaps of the beginner player.

never had to need it

Korean made Squier Bass. 1999. 20 frets. One pickup, one tone, and one volume knob. Solid poplar body, rosewood fingerboard. Genero-tuners of dubious orgin, no accessories included.
Yup, the options are mind-blowing aren't they? About as simple a setup as you can get. Not that this is a bad thing...for 200 bucks or less, you better keep it simple.

Okay, I confess to being a guitar-player. I bought this bass to put some kind of bottom end on home recordings, thinking that *anything* would be better than nothing. Well, not being a real expert on bass sounds, I am satisfied. It booms fairly well and the fretwork is actually good enough to keep everything from buzzing badly. With the tone-knob on full, however, you can really hear the frets clicking. I try to keep it as muddy as possible. I suppose in a performance situation, it wouldn't stand out as a piece of crap, but it does tend to show its warts on my porta-studio. I have to keep it pretty far back in the mix or it embarrasses me. And don't even get me started on my piss-poor bass playing technique...
It sounds like a bass to me. At such low frequencies, the nuanes of tone tend to escape me. It booms and I guess that's what I paid for. Buying anything more expensive would have been casting pearls before swine. I'm satisfied.

Black finish, white scratchguard. Everything is in fine condition. No flaws on the paint, so I guess the Korean quality-control has improved. Action is high, but so goes a bass. Seems about as easy to play as any other bass I've picked up. Neck is straight and all of the knobs have stayed in their proper place and seem tight.

When there aren't any bells or whistles, there really isn't anything to go wrong. Discounting some kind of catastrophic failure of the neck, I don't see anything unreliable about this guitar. Its about as exciting as a tax audit, but its certainly sturdy.

Never dealt with Squier/Fender. Considering the way they mass produce these pupppies, I doubt they would spend a lot of time on the phone trouble-shooting with me.

I've been playing the bass all of a year, but have played the guitar for about 8 years. I am one of, if not the world's crappiest bass player. BUT, I'm slowly learning the ropes. This bass is as good an instrument as I deserve. A solid beginner instrument, to say the least. I'd highly recommend it for anybody who is learning to play.
In my alter-identity as a guitar player, I have worked my way up to professional gear. I know from experience that really good equipment shouldn't be wasted on beginners...you play too badly in the beginning to really get the tone out of a quality piece of gear. This amp is a bare-bones instrument for newbies, plain and simple. I like. Go buy.

Red, rosewood fingerboard, basic P-bass with a poplar body. The tuners looked cheasy but did fine. If you buy one, *shield it* with copper tape from Stewart-McDonald or Carvin. Without chielding it's noisy.

It was a good sounding instrument! I liked it better than my American Standard as far as the tone. Shield it and you will have a good bass for the money.

I fiddled with the truss rod a bit, adjusted the bridge, and shielded it (but it was inexpensive to start with). I find some Squiers have pretty brutal fret levelling; this one was good.

The poplar body probably would strip out the screws holding the strap buttons eventually. I used it on several gigs and was happy with it; I only tuned it between sets.

Nevers asked them for help.

I think you get a great bass for the money. I also find a lot of variation in quality control on lower-end Fenders (they have to save money somewhere). Check them over carefully and spend a few minutes polishing them up, and Squiers can be great basses.

Not many features, just has one (Passive) split coil pickup, tone and volume controls. 20 frets, top-load bridge. I didn't, but you can get it in a "Bass Pack," which has a strap, video, squier 15w amp, and a gig bag.

I use it clean through my Fender Frontman 15B, and it has this rich tone which sounds _GREAT_. I would strongly recommend getting it with this amp. Only thing is that you can't get much variety in the sound. I also use it through a Peavy 150w, sacrificing tone for volume, I occasionly use it with chorus (Built into the Peavey), which sounds pretty good.

The only problem was the original action, but that wasn't too bad, more of a personel preference thing. Other than that I've never had to modify anything on it.

The strap can slip off if it has a twist in it, but otherwise it is solid as a rock.

Never dealt with them, but I think it has a good warranty (or was that my amp.....)

This bass is perfect for a beginner, the only bass I'd recommend over this (For a beginner) is the Squier P-Bass Special. IMO, get it with a Fender Frontman 15B. I would imagine the Squier amp it comes with in the "Bass Pack" wouldn't sound anywhere near as good.

it's a good bass in the standard precision style but suffers slightly from a lack of features meaning your average bass player might moan that he hasn't got anything to play around with when you want to make a stupid sound.but for me,the split pick-ups really make the bass a pleasure to play.

top sound; it'll rock your world!

action is good,but the third fret had a bit of buzz that needs checking,so i'll get round to it

this bass was my first bass and i still have it now.it isn't the sort of bass that you'd want to be using for recording purposes but for live playing it'll do the job fine.it's also built to last;mine has suffered heavily (numerous moments of being thrown around the room when my group's drummer refuses to shut up when we're tuning up) and still makes the sort of sound that makes the earth quake beneath your feet!i swear to God,this bass will live longer than you will.

to be honest i've never had to contact the company but i'm sure Fender will be as fragrant as their usual selves if i ever want to talk to them

i basically want to say that this is a top bass for your first bass and is also useful to have around if your main bass is in the shop.i refuse to compare it to other basses because at this price range,it really has no equal.

I have an early 90's Squier P-bass. During that time, squier started wxperimenting and put 21 frets on it. Well it's back to 20 now. simple but very desirable P-bass pickup with one otne and one volume. A deep red finish. Tuners are in great condition. Got it with a Gig bag. Okay, so I gave it a 6 because it is very bare of any features, but that adds to the beauty of the bass. Expect everything else to be much higher.

Ooh I like funky bass riffs. Ok so I only listen to alternative and classic rock, but I like to turn that tone knob down low sometimes and just start pumpin' some funky booty bass. Very nice sound; from very light (for a bass) to way down deep. Oh, and I play it through a Crate 15 watt KEYBOARD amp. I actually got it because it was on sale and it has a high, mid/high, a mid/low, and a low tone control instead of just high, mid, low. Sometimes I use my Zoom 1010 effects processor with it, but only when I'm just messing around.

I am primarily a guitar player, so I was disappointed by the aciton of it, but i soon learned that all basses are much harder to play as far as holding down the strings. So for a bass, it's pretty good. Pickups are rock-solid. I bought it used, and somebody had put quite a few nicks on it, but only 2 are visible from the front. Tuning keys are perfect (which you rarely find on used equipment).

Read my other reviews. I am careless with my guitars. This bass especially has taken a beating, but I haven't done any damage to it yet. The guy who owned it before had to have TRIED to kill it or something cause I haven't damaged it at all. My band's drummer is also a guitarist and bassist and except for his bass, I don't even have a backup. I wouldn't need one, though. Everything on this bass is very sound.

I bought it used.

I have played guitar for 2 and a half years, but the bass for just about a year. I love my bass. When I first bought it, I was kind of embarrased to have a Squier instead of a REAL Fender, but I have learned that the only difference is the name on the headstock and that it's not made in the USA but by some Chinx in a military prison's sweatshop. Oh and no offense to anyone reading this who's oriental in origin. Just being facetious. Oh and if you've read any of my other reviews, you know I have a Epiphone S-310, a Peavey Mystic, an Epiphone Excellente, a Peavey Bravo 112, a little Epiphone tweed amp, a Crate KX-15, and a Zoom 1010.

21 Fret Neck, 1 P-Bass Pickup, 1 Volume, 1 Tone Knob. Very simmilar setup to a Precision Bass. Came with Bass Kit (Bass, 15w/8" Amp, strap, bag, cable, tools). Doesn't seem to be lacking on any major features.

It's quiet if you turn the tone knob down, but the more you bring up the highs, you get a lot of fret noise. Good solid lows though with tone set low. Sounds good without any effects, but even better with them.

No problems right from the factory.

Mine's been beaten, but still looks brand new. The paint chipped once when it was hit by a falling tent pole, but other than that "nick", it's help up great.

No problems yet to know 5 year warranty

I got this as a first guitar, and it's been faithfull to me so far. I would strongly reccomend it to someone else looking to start. I routinly bring it to big gigs (1000+ ppl) w/ no backup, and don't feel I'd ever need one. I only wish it were a 5-string, but that's not the guitar's fault.

This bass guitar is designed to be a cheeper version of Fender's Precision Bass. It has one P Bass pick up, a tone knob and volume knob.

The sound of this bass is very good. So good, in fact, that many people would complement me on the sound. It's sound is very authentic P Bass sounding. I do lots of "open mike" gigs and go to professional rehersal halls on a regular basis.

The workmanship looked good in the store. But after just 6 months, the neck started to warp big time. I'm very angry. Also, the tone knob fell off--so I just turn the thing that the knob goes on to change the tone.

Hardware is good. The tuners work great and I dont see any problems in the future with any other aspect of the bass.

No experiance yet.

My over all feelings about this bass is that it is not worth buying. I bought this to use as a practice guitar to leave at the place that I reherse so that I dont have to keep lugging equipment around. Granted I only paid $200 for it, the bass should still be functional enough to use for practice situations, which it is not.