Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 12:03 am
SJM -
neck & body: very nice fit & finish. on par with a MIJ as far as neck tint (a tad thicker), and it all fits together really nicely. the dots are already aged. the headstock is quite busy, and i would like to replace the gold sx decal with just a silver one, and i will probably reshape the beakiness of it. the pickguard is cut perfectly, and everything meshes really nicely. the neck is exactly like my MIM strat neck. the back of the neck could use a little roughing, to bring the stickiness down, but really looks exactly like the pictures (except the bridge - more in a moment). the whole thing just feels like a jazzmaster. worth noting: the top rear fin actually has an elbow contour on it (think sg or squier setneck tele). nice. the weight is about standard, not heavy at all. fretboard could use some juice.
electronics: while i haven't taken the pickguard off yet, the pots are not noisy, scratchy, or non-functional. they're very smooth from 0-10, and have an effect on the output the whole sweep. output jack is very solid. pickups are nice. although they're nothing to write home about, they sound great clean and are really close to most of the p90's i've heard. they dirty up a bit too much, becoming a scoche cloudy, but they've surpassed my expectations for a $110 guitar equipped with p90's.
hardware: tuners are like standard squier tuners; they work, but scream REPLACE MEH! they actually say 'sx' on the back. i will try to find some slottys for her, eventually. the nut is cleanly attached, and appears to be good enough. the tremolo is now locked, but it did come with an arm, and it worked. looks exactly like a fender (except the screws and such - as close a copy as is made these days). knobs are cheap, and pickup covers look cheap, but y'know.
now, on to my hang up: it's got a fucking tune-o-matic... granted, the description does state this as a 'roller,' but for some silly reason, i assumed they were referring to the mustang bridge as a roller bridge. it's actually a GFS style roller tom. i didn't want a tom guitar, esp. fender style. i hate them. i will be e-mailing to see about exchanging it (assuming they have anymore
)
overall impression - if squiers were made in mexico, these would be them. the finish is superb, and the build quality is unmatched in this price range. guitar was set up very nice.
SS Jazz Bass -
neck & body: exactly the same as above. the quality is amazing. the pickguard lines up with the neck & control plate, something that doesn't always happen even on instruments of higher 'quality.' body weight is very light, and neck has no dive. perfectly weighted.
electronics: basically the same as above. knobs are huge, but all the pots work fine. output jack is grand. pickups are bleh. they thump, but that may just be my amp. will probably be swapping them out in the long run.
hardware: top notch. tuners are spec, bridge is solid; does need to be setup, as it is very buzzy atm.
overall impression - i love the idea of a shortscale version of a standard jazz bass, but i think with the squished stature, they should've removed some of the features. it seems awful cramped. i'll take care of that.
demo's and detailed pics to come. i'm trying to whip the new jam room into shape, so i can set up a video camera/mic system and get it rolling.
stay chuned.
neck & body: very nice fit & finish. on par with a MIJ as far as neck tint (a tad thicker), and it all fits together really nicely. the dots are already aged. the headstock is quite busy, and i would like to replace the gold sx decal with just a silver one, and i will probably reshape the beakiness of it. the pickguard is cut perfectly, and everything meshes really nicely. the neck is exactly like my MIM strat neck. the back of the neck could use a little roughing, to bring the stickiness down, but really looks exactly like the pictures (except the bridge - more in a moment). the whole thing just feels like a jazzmaster. worth noting: the top rear fin actually has an elbow contour on it (think sg or squier setneck tele). nice. the weight is about standard, not heavy at all. fretboard could use some juice.
electronics: while i haven't taken the pickguard off yet, the pots are not noisy, scratchy, or non-functional. they're very smooth from 0-10, and have an effect on the output the whole sweep. output jack is very solid. pickups are nice. although they're nothing to write home about, they sound great clean and are really close to most of the p90's i've heard. they dirty up a bit too much, becoming a scoche cloudy, but they've surpassed my expectations for a $110 guitar equipped with p90's.
hardware: tuners are like standard squier tuners; they work, but scream REPLACE MEH! they actually say 'sx' on the back. i will try to find some slottys for her, eventually. the nut is cleanly attached, and appears to be good enough. the tremolo is now locked, but it did come with an arm, and it worked. looks exactly like a fender (except the screws and such - as close a copy as is made these days). knobs are cheap, and pickup covers look cheap, but y'know.
now, on to my hang up: it's got a fucking tune-o-matic... granted, the description does state this as a 'roller,' but for some silly reason, i assumed they were referring to the mustang bridge as a roller bridge. it's actually a GFS style roller tom. i didn't want a tom guitar, esp. fender style. i hate them. i will be e-mailing to see about exchanging it (assuming they have anymore
)overall impression - if squiers were made in mexico, these would be them. the finish is superb, and the build quality is unmatched in this price range. guitar was set up very nice.
SS Jazz Bass -
neck & body: exactly the same as above. the quality is amazing. the pickguard lines up with the neck & control plate, something that doesn't always happen even on instruments of higher 'quality.' body weight is very light, and neck has no dive. perfectly weighted.
electronics: basically the same as above. knobs are huge, but all the pots work fine. output jack is grand. pickups are bleh. they thump, but that may just be my amp. will probably be swapping them out in the long run.
hardware: top notch. tuners are spec, bridge is solid; does need to be setup, as it is very buzzy atm.
overall impression - i love the idea of a shortscale version of a standard jazz bass, but i think with the squished stature, they should've removed some of the features. it seems awful cramped. i'll take care of that.
demo's and detailed pics to come. i'm trying to whip the new jam room into shape, so i can set up a video camera/mic system and get it rolling.
stay chuned.