Squier - Classic Vibe '60s Jazz

‘Not another Jazz’, you may be thinking. Well, looks can be deceiving, as Mike Brooks discovers

- Mike Brooks

Okay, we get it. The Jazz Bass is the most popular bass design out there—perhaps because when you break it down, its components are relatively simple. Why is it, then, that one sounds so different to another? I have several examples in my collection and all of them have different tonal characteristics. At a pocket-friendly $349.99, what sort of performance does this J put on?

Build Quality

It goes without saying that certain areas of this low-budget bass will no doubt reveal some cost-cutting—but on first examination, the instrument is surprisingly well put-together, with all of its nickel-plated hardware functional, solidly attached and working as it should. The ever-familiar offset body comes in a rather fetching Daphne Blue gloss polyurethane finish, which is made all the more striking due to the four-ply tortoiseshell scratchplate. Body contouring front and rear is as it should be, and the lower cutaway offers access to the upper regions of the 20-fret Indian laurel fingerboard.