Squier Precision Special Standard 2003/4 Reviews 
4 / 5 based on 1 reviewsBought from a specialist bass shop at Tin Pan Alley in London.
Paid £199.00
I have been looking to get a bass for a while, I used to have an 80s Ibanez RB-850 but this was stolen and hocked by a drug addicted 'friend' of mine. I was thinking vaguely of spending around £350 for something by Ibanez or Yamaha and this bass caught my eye. I like the look of P-Basses but wanted a bit more variety and was thinking of an active bass. I had a play in one shop and was quoted £249 and left, thinking that the bass wasn't half bad but the finish wasn't great, the pots were obviously crooked. When I went to the next shop the assistant showed me a yamaha and a dean, using my specification of active, two pickups. He also mentioned the Squier for £199, and said that it was a little more due to the painted headstock and reflective pickguard. Well, for £50 less I took a quick look to see that the controls were on straight and said I'd take it, without even playing it properly (I wouldn't recomend this). Anyway, I took the bass home, adjusted the truss rod to remove a small bow and plugged in to a trademark 10 guitar amp sent for Fender bassman emulation, DI'ed through a TF Pro compressor and was blown away. I expected this impulse buy to be a very rough, bad sounding plank that would allow me to gradually get back into playing. I am an ex-pro but I was tired and emotional for about 15 years and didn't really play. This bass sounded great, especially with the mix of pickups, full P just enough J to clear the tone up a bit. The finish is flawless, the neck to body socket fits like a glove and the paint is completely perfect. I love the look of the black headstock and reflective guard and that was the main reason I just dropped a couple of hundred. I really expected this bass to be rubbish but I have been pleasantly surprised. I would recomend this to any starter, as long as they don't NEED that name.
Badly setup and the other copy I saw was not as well finished.
As I've said, stunning. For this price I can't believe the quality, it outdoes several mexican fenders I saw. Must have hit the assembly guys on a good day, based on other reports I've read
Basses have improved incredibly in the last 20 years. To get this sort of quality for under £200 is incredible. I only give this bass a 4 as it was not set up properly, I did this myself although the shop said they would do a set up free for the lifetime of the bass.
Johnny Terumo rated this unit
on
2004-10-08.
