Squier Classic Vibe 70’s Precision Bass | Gear Review
I’ve always wanted to pick up a bass for putting together quick mixes. Whether it’s alternative rock, metalcore, or any other genre, the idea of filling a mix with an actual bass over a midi instrument was interesting to me.
Lucky for me, I was approached by a close friend to play bass in their band, Rumors, which I now play guitar in! This was the perfect excuse for me to finally pick one up. Upon walking into my local Guitar Center, I absolutely fell in love with the look, fullness, and feel of the Squier Classic Vibe 70’s Precision Bass. It was a close tie between that, and its 60’s counterpart, which is also a fantastic bass that’s known for having less quality control issues… More on that later…
For now, let’s get into the differences I experienced in person, why I ultimately went with the 70’s bass, and if I would go a different direction now in hindsight.
Sound:
This is the most important part of buying any instrument. To my ear, the pickups in both the Squier 60’s and 70’s precision basses sound identical. This makes sense after reading both of the linked above listings label the pickups as “Fender designed alnico split coil pickups” in both guitars. To clarify, this is not a nock against Squier. These basses both sound quite thick and full, like you would typically expect from a P Bass in this price range.
Take a look at some of my Helix Tone Dial Up videos that feature the Squier Classic Vibe 70’s P Bass in the full mix demos.
If this is your first serious bass, I’d say that both sound great in a mix based off of my own P Bass with stock pickups. If you grow out of them, Pickups are a very easy, quick, and relatively swap. I’ll need to make a tutorial about this in the near future.
Neck:
The biggest difference between the two p basses ultimately is within the appearance and shape of the neck. The 70’s neck is much chunkier, while the 60’s model has more of a slim feel in the hand.
In addition to this, the 60’s model has a smoother, painted headstock, clear coat finish with a laurel board and white dot inlays. This is in stark contrast to the 70’s bass that sports an amber tint gloss finish, maple board and large block inlays.
Personally, I’m a sucker for amber tinted and baked maple necks, so I think the 70’s model looks absolutely stunning. I also cannot lie about the block inlays catching my eye right away in contrast to the vibrant sonic blue color of Guitar Center’s exclusive 70’s classic vibe model.
However If the feel is a dealbreaker for you, I would definitely consider feeling both instruments before making a choice.
Quality Control:
Sounds like there’s not a bad reason to choose the 70’s precision bass, right? WRONG!
I found out the hard way that this specific model is extremely hit and miss from a quality control perspective, with many people reporting issues in online reviews, Reddit, and YouTube. The good models are absolute bangers, while the bad ones can have anything from aesthetic issues, to little to zero fret work done from the factory.
To prevent going on too much of a tangent about my experience (I’ll discuss more in my video), I’ll just say that after placing my order, I had to return my bass a couple of times before I finally got a good one.
The story is totally different with the 60’s Classic Vibe bass, which I have not seen anywhere near as many quality control issues reported.
Of course all products, especially guitars, have some likelihood of coming out duds in mass manufacturing. I just found my buying experience to be not-so great with this specific model. If you. want to minimize issues, my recommendations would be:
Buy in store to play test the bass.
Opt. for the 60’s if you have to order online to prevent QC issues.
Conclusion:
To briefly summarize, I absolutely adore my Squier Classic Vibe 70’s Precision Bass and would recommend it! If you like the look and the feel of the neck; It’s a great first bass for anyone who’s primarily a guitar player, or getting their first serious bass, like myself.
Compared to the 60’s Precision Bass, I’d say it’s more of a subjective purchasing decision. As they sound identical and the primary difference is the feel of the neck and vibe. Another reason to spring for the 60’s model over the 70’s is to avoid the potential for getting a dud, like I ran into a couple times.
Lastly, to play devils advocate, I want to offer up a couple wild card Squier basses I want to throw into the ring. If I were buying a budget bass today, I would also consider the Squier Sonic P Bass and Affinity PJ models.
I feel confident recommending these to beginners or to those experienced with modding, as could be bought for much cheaper, while still being pretty solid out of the box.
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