Squier Classic Vibe 60s Jazzmaster vs Mexican Fender Classic Player Jazzmaster

[Larsongs]

Squiers are great these days, and if you're dipping your toe in to a jazzmaster I think the classic vibe or JMJM are good starting points. Although I like my Mexican and American Fenders which do feel a bit nicer, I've always been left underwhelmed by the jump in quality between them all. Its never felt it me as huge a leap as what I read.

The JMJM has a great neck and a good rep, I have the neck on a parts build as I wasnt as keen on the body. The pickups are essentially P90's and you might need to do something about the stock bridge. The classic vibes come with decent traditional type Jazzmaster pickups and a mustang type bridge, and would get my vote.

Good luck!

Squier JM's are great if you're a Luthier or someone who is experienced at Modding & or building Guitars... And want to spend ypur time working on your Guitar.. Some do.. But, not everyone.

Not so much for Guys who just wasn't to play them...

Truthfully, The Setups out of the Box are about as bad as it gets... Not just a new Set of Strings & a minor Action adjustment.. You will either spend hours on You Tube learning how to do serious Set Ups & buy the Tools you need to do Set Ups. Which is good to know. But, not so much if you're just wanting to play the Guitar... Or, take it to a Luthier & spend the Dough for a serious Setup.

In addition to the Set up at a minimum may include a new Bridge, Nut Work or replacement, Shim & Fret Work. Many upgrade Tremelo, Tuners, Pots & more...

The Duncan Designed Pickups are pretty good though..

A Hard Shell Case is extra.

Then, there's the non traditional Woods that are now being used for Fret boards.. Subjective...

If you want to tackle all this, spend extra $$$ making it a good playing Guitar, get the Squier.. Or spend a bit more & get a better Guitar.. Like the Lacquer 60's.....

I won't link to the countless NGD posts of upmarket guitars which have also needed a setup, but I dont think you can single out the cheaper guitars these days for that.

And I think it depends on the angle you are coming from. If you are new to offsets then buying a Squier is a good testing ground without sinking a load of cash into it. If you know you're into it then fair enough and spend the cash.

Yes, there are lots of different Guitars.. However the 2 most common lower priced Guitars are Squier & Epiphone...I've played countless numbers of both & own a some of each. More Epiphones... Only 2 Squier's..

There is no comparison in regards to Set up.. Most Epiphones need little or nothing. Other than a new Set of Strings. Sometimes a very minor Relief adjustment. No additional Parts needed. Just Play!

Squiers require much more labor time. Relief being only one in a long series of adjustments. Then there's the probable Shim, Bridge, Nut & Frets to begin with.. Then the subjective need to replace the Tremelo, Bridge & Tuners.

After the time & money involved in making Offshore Squier's good Guitars you can simply buy a better Guitar for about the same cost.. Without the hassle.. And get a Hard Case..

Living in Korea can be a challenge buying.... But not impossible.. The question is, do you want a good Guitar or a lot of Work, Time invested in Labor & extra Cost of possible Upgrades? Don't forget the Hard Case!

[Beltone]

I'm trying to play Johnny Cash style country/ rockabilly/ slide guitar blues and I'm trying to decide between Squier CV 60s Jazzmaster (2019 model) vs MIM Fender Classic Player (2018) Jazzmaster.

P.S: I know that tele is a go-to guitar for many country guitarists but by god i hate how they look.

I'm not a Tele fan either and I love how my Jag sounds when I play rockabilly and slide licks (using 11s).

[Maggieo]

Son, you need a Telecaster. With a Bigsby. MIJ.

[Nevets]

I'm not seeing any Reverb listings for 60's lacquer Jazzmasters that ship outside the United States. I keep an eye on the local listings here, (and this is one of the most active markets in Canada) and I rarely see any come up for sale. I can't imagine the Korean used market is any better.

[mcbrandt]

Son, you need a Telecaster. With a Bigsby. MIJ.

I miss mine. Great guitar. Never should have sold it. My friend worked for Fender and I got an employee discount on it.

[Maggieo]

Son, you need a Telecaster. With a Bigsby. MIJ.

I miss mine. Great guitar. Never should have sold it. My friend worked for Fender and I got an employee discount on it.

Was it white blond? I love those.

[DavidG]

Yes, there are lots of different Guitars.. However the 2 most common lower priced Guitars are Squier & Epiphone...I've played countless numbers of both & own a some of each. More Epiphones... Only 2 Squier's..

There is no comparison in regards to Set up.. Most Epiphones need little or nothing. Other than a new Set of Strings. Sometimes a very minor Relief adjustment. No additional Parts needed. Just Play!

Squiers require much more labor time. Relief being only one in a long series of adjustments. Then there's the probable Shim, Bridge, Nut & Frets to begin with.. Then the subjective need to replace the Tremelo, Bridge & Tuners.

After the time & money involved in making Offshore Squier's good Guitars you can simply buy a better Guitar for about the same cost.. Without the hassle.. And get a Hard Case..

Living in Korea can be a challenge buying.... But not impossible.. The question is, do you want a good Guitar or a lot of Work, Time invested in Labor & extra Cost of possible Upgrades? Don't forget the Hard Case!

Except the classic vibe and JMJM reputations disprove your blanket statement about squiers.

[timiscott]

I think it depends where you buy them from. I've bought a few guitars from Wunjo in Denmark Street and they are always well set up, including a Squier Mascis. However, just down the road in Hanks, I bought a VM Jaguar that was an absolute piece of shit until the guys in Wunjo's workshop set it up. So, I guess it all depends on how much the seller cares about what they sell and their reputation among buyers.

Frankly, I wouldn't buy a fucking plectrum from Hanks; the guitar was a mess and the service was offensively condescending. In my youth, I would have put him in a headlock and pissed vinegar up his nose but, these days, I've learned to smile and walk my wallet out the door.

[mcbrandt]

Son, you need a Telecaster. With a Bigsby. MIJ.

I miss mine. Great guitar. Never should have sold it. My friend worked for Fender and I got an employee discount on it.

Was it white blond? I love those.

Nah, it was sunburst, with binding on the body and a rosewood board. Looked so good.

[Larsongs]

Yes, there are lots of different Guitars.. However the 2 most common lower priced Guitars are Squier & Epiphone...I've played countless numbers of both & own a some of each. More Epiphones... Only 2 Squier's..

There is no comparison in regards to Set up.. Most Epiphones need little or nothing. Other than a new Set of Strings. Sometimes a very minor Relief adjustment. No additional Parts needed. Just Play!

Squiers require much more labor time. Relief being only one in a long series of adjustments. Then there's the probable Shim, Bridge, Nut & Frets to begin with.. Then the subjective need to replace the Tremelo, Bridge & Tuners.

After the time & money involved in making Offshore Squier's good Guitars you can simply buy a better Guitar for about the same cost.. Without the hassle.. And get a Hard Case..

Living in Korea can be a challenge buying.... But not impossible.. The question is, do you want a good Guitar or a lot of Work, Time invested in Labor & extra Cost of possible Upgrades? Don't forget the Hard Case!

Except the classic vibe and JMJM reputations disprove your blanket statement about squiers.

If so, why are there hundreds, maybe thousands, of Posts about all the things People have had to do to these Guitars to make them good Players?

The reputations for being good are usually the result of a laborious Set up, Shim, new Bridge, Fret work & possibly a new Nut... Many go beyond that with new Pickups, Trems & Electronics. Then they're quite good!

In the USA most of the Sales of these Guitars are through GC & online Sellers like Musiciansfriend. They don't do much in regard to doing Setups. And, in my experience, don't check for broken Parts or twisted Necks. They leave it for the Buyer to deal with...

That said, you can go to any GC & play a $499 Epiphone & a $499 Squier Offset. 99% of the time the Squier is unplayable while the Epiphones play pretty nice..

[Maggieo]

I miss mine. Great guitar. Never should have sold it. My friend worked for Fender and I got an employee discount on it.

Was it white blond? I love those.

Nah, it was sunburst, with binding on the body and a rosewood board. Looked so good.

That sounds pretty damn nice, too!

[DavidG]

Yes, there are lots of different Guitars.. However the 2 most common lower priced Guitars are Squier & Epiphone...I've played countless numbers of both & own a some of each. More Epiphones... Only 2 Squier's..

There is no comparison in regards to Set up.. Most Epiphones need little or nothing. Other than a new Set of Strings. Sometimes a very minor Relief adjustment. No additional Parts needed. Just Play!

Squiers require much more labor time. Relief being only one in a long series of adjustments. Then there's the probable Shim, Bridge, Nut & Frets to begin with.. Then the subjective need to replace the Tremelo, Bridge & Tuners.

After the time & money involved in making Offshore Squier's good Guitars you can simply buy a better Guitar for about the same cost.. Without the hassle.. And get a Hard Case..

Living in Korea can be a challenge buying.... But not impossible.. The question is, do you want a good Guitar or a lot of Work, Time invested in Labor & extra Cost of possible Upgrades? Don't forget the Hard Case!

Except the classic vibe and JMJM reputations disprove your blanket statement about squiers.

If so, why are there hundreds, maybe thousands, of Posts about all the things People have had to do to these Guitars to make them good Players?

The reputations for being good are usually the result of a laborious Set up, Shim, new Bridge, Fret work & possibly a new Nut... Many go beyond that with new Pickups, Trems & Electronics. Then they're quite good!

In the USA most of the Sales of these Guitars are through GC & online Sellers like Musiciansfriend. They don't do much in regard to doing Setups. And, in my experience, don't check for broken Parts or twisted Necks. They leave it for the Buyer to deal with...

That said, you can go to any GC & play a $499 Epiphone & a $499 Squier Offset. 99% of the time the Squier is unplayable while the Epiphones play pretty nice..

99% of how many Squiers and Epiphones which are out there have you played?

I bought a 2018 Gibson Les Paul Classic new a few years ago. The high E was hanging off the side, sent it back to Gibson and it turned out that it had all sorts of alignment problems and binned it. Last year I bought a new Squier Bullet telecaster that needed nothing doing to it.

It's a lottery, no matter the price point. Maybe a few exceptions at much higher prices such as Gretsch (Japan), PRS, Suhr.

[Jestapali]

The Classic Player is a very good guitar. Solid Trem (it seems that the threaded bar, is the way Fender has chosen lately for other models) although I prefer the vintage location, nice flat neck, AOM unproblematic bridge. It really does not need any modifications per se. I did not love the pickups, so I got some 65's, but many people like them and leave them on (as someone said earlier, P90's might be better for rockabilly type stuff).

Also, it feels somehow lighter than my AV65. Even though it is clear that the AV feels better and it's somehow better built (including electronics), it's not 1000$ better. I had a CP Jaguar as well, and it was as good (sold it because it was the humbucker version and did not bond with it). Very solid guitars.

[Embenny]

I know I already replied to this thread but I just had another thought, though it may be more of a question.

What is the availability in Korea of Korean-made guitars, and what are their prices like?

Some of the best-playing affordable electric guitars I've encountered in Canada are made in Korea. I mean, the OP plays country and rockabilly, and the entire Gretsch Electromatic line is made in Korea. I know Made in Korea doesn't automatically mean "easily available and priced well in Korea," but those are damn fine guitars that fit that genre to a T and are made locally. It seems like almost too good of a match to pass up.

The Korean Gretsches easily exceed the level of fit and finish of any Squier I've ever played. Those seem worth checking out.

[mushjoon]

I know I already replied to this thread but I just had another thought, though it may be more of a question.

What is the availability in Korea of Korean-made guitars, and what are their prices like?

Some of the best-playing affordable electric guitars I've encountered in Canada are made in Korea. I mean, the OP plays country and rockabilly, and the entire Gretsch Electromatic line is made in Korea. I know Made in Korea doesn't automatically mean "easily available and priced well in Korea," but those are damn fine guitars that fit that genre to a T and are made locally. It seems like almost too good of a match to pass up.

The Korean Gretsches easily exceed the level of fit and finish of any Squier I've ever played. Those seem worth checking out.

I did actually think about buying Gretsch or Peerless Hollow Bodies cuz Eddie Cochran, Roy Clark and other great artists did indeed play those hollow body guitars.

But just like you said, it is true that just because those guitars are manufactured in Korea doesn't mean that we get a little bit of special discount.

The problem with the Korean market is that it's so fuckin tiny compared to US or even Japanese market, so few official dealers/ distributors can do whatever they feel like in charging customers and so on. Of course, exchange rate and tax play a big role in determining the price but it's still shitty compared to the price that I saw back then in local guitar centers/stores around Michigan.

It's a shame that Squier is not made in Korea anymore. I know that the consistency of quality is not gonna be as great as MIM or American Fenders. But based on what people said on here and there, getting a "playable" guitar is more like a lottery these days and depends highly on how good your local luthier's skill is in terms of fixing the bridge, filing the fret work and etc to finally make the guitar decent at least.

I'll browse through more posts on the internet and try to use my ears more. Thanks guys!