So I bought this Squier as I always fancied a 5 string Jazz bass, and for its price I gave it a go and having it at home for some chill play time. My 2 main workhorses are my Dingwall NG2's so the bar was quite high. And boy was I impressed.
First off, for it's price, it's a ridiculously quality bass. Neck finish is great, smooth and comfortable. No sharp edges (except some slightly sharper ones at the 15th fret, but seriously, why go there on bass?) and smooth sliding around the neck. The sparkle finish is good and on point even throughout.
Hardware is decent enough for it's price. Anyone complaining about it's hardware must be forgetting the price, but it's still solid enough.
Electronics are the thing at which this bass excels, pickups indeed are noiseless and barely any audible static in realistic settings. I did notice the neck pickup is the one that slags off a bit compared to the bridge which is chunky and powerful. Then again, a matter of preferences. I saw comments complaining on the absence of a passive bypass. Well, in my opinion, it's a "rarity" to find active jazz basses at this price range, so really and truly, to me the lack of passive bypass is totally justified. I wanted an active jazz bass and that's exactly what this thing excels at. The DI sound from this is truly amazing compared to what I was expecting.
Intonation, just a very quick fix upon opening it and this thing got right in place. Well done for the out of the box overall great intonation and action.
Weight: compared to my other Fender Jazz, I actually found this lighter and easier to play standing, sits comfortably, doesn't have too heavy a neck dive and stays well in place.
Well done Squier for making this thing a great great bass at a budget price.
