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MIM stuff is a bit variable and Squier will be too so a good Squier would trump a worse MIM. I don't suppose there's really a great deal in it.
I guess the Yamaha is a lesser known quantity and some people prefer the traditional look of a Jazz or Precision but it may well have come out of the same factory in China or Indonesia as the Squier. Unless there's a definite fault it's hard to buy something completely duff at these price points. You may also want to factor in the price of a case or gig bag ( a MIM I think comes with a gig bag, the Squier I think doesn't so that explains a chunk of the price difference).
What about the Yamaha TRBX504?
http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/yamaha_gtrbx504tbl_bass_guitar.asp
Or the TRBX304?
http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/yamaha_gtrbx304wh_bass_guitar.asp
What are these like compared to a Precision and Jazz.
Another interesting option is the Yamaha BB424X as looks to be essentially a PJ so the best of both worlds at a much lower price. What are these like?
http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/yamaha_bb424x_bass_guitar_black.asp
I know Yamaha guitars are very good so would these be a good option?
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Find one of the old Attitude Plus bass guitars. Feed it a Gotoh 201B bridge and an American pickup. You'll be sorted.
OK, it looks like I'm not tied to the one shop anymore. I've decided not to trade my Gibson in because it's just too good to part with so now it's just a straight cash purchase. This opens up possibilities with other stores so I can get a good price but it also restricts the budget a bit too. As some of the guitars are on pre-order, to make sure I get what I want I'll need to order it before I return to the UK in August as I only have a 2 week window when I'm there. My investigations so far suggest it's between three guitars:
As I'm a guitarist and as there is no possibility of trying these before I buy, I need some advice from actual bassists who do know what they're talking about so which of these offers the best quality, tone and versatility?
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/0310500506/electric-basses/squier-affinity-precision-bass-pj-bass-guitar-in-black
Precision pickup for the sound, and you have the option of adding in the Jazz bridge pickup to taste, but Jazz neck for the playability.
Unfortunately the higher end ones don't have the Jazz neck:
https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/0306800502/electric-basses/squier-vintage-modified-precision-bass-pj-in-lake-placid-blue
In the Mexican range the only way to get the PJ configuration with a Jazz neck is on the Jaguar - which is ugly.
As for Ibanez, I agree that my past experience of them has now led me to discard the SR300 but as the SR370 is maple, that may be better. Both the Yamaha TRBX304 and BB424 still appeal a lot. As I can't try them myself given where I'm living, I've asked my son who plays bass to try them next week so I'll ask him to take a look at the Squier Affinity too.
I don't know how the new Affinity Series one stacks up, but it might be worth going and trying one. My brother in law has an Affinity Series Tele that sounds really good, although it could do with some hardware upgrades.
I recently bought a NOS 2014 VM Precision Bass. (Also agathis.) It sounded pretty funky stock. With EMG-GZR pickups and controls and Gotoh 201B bridge, this bass records as well as any of my American or German instruments.
Squier Affinity instruments are unashamedly low budget. It is not difficult to deduce where corners have been cut. (Almost everywhere.) This does not prevent the occasional example being an absolute peach.
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