Squier Paranormal '54 vs. Classic Vibe Jazz - Budget Jazz Bass Battle - LowEndLobster Tone Shootout
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
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Squier Paranormal Jazz '54 Review (2020)- • Squier Paranormal Jazz...
Squier Classic Vibe Late 60's Jazz Review- • Squier Late 60's Class...
Squier Paranormal Jazz '54 Revisit (2022)- • Squier Paranormal Jazz...
Squier Paranormal Jazz Bass '54- www.fender.com...
Squier Classic Vibe Late 60's Jazz Bass- www.fender.com...
Hey Everyone! Today we have ourselves a budget Jazz Bass joust! We're putting the Squier Paranormal Jazz Bass '54 (A favorite of mine) against the newly released Squier Classic Vibe Late 60's Jazz Bass (the Labor Day parts bin special!) in another epic LowEndLobster Tone Shootout. Both basses are surprisingly similar spec wise, but they differ greatly in their execution. Which bass will walk away the winner?... well neither of them because these are guitars and they don't have legs... But one shall win! Let's do this!
This bass and all my other basses with rounds are strung with SIT Foundation Nickel Plated Stainless Steel 45-105(125) unless otherwise noted. Check them out at sitstrings.com/
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One reason the Paranormal may have lower output is because of its control scheme, assuming they did it correctly. If you want to have true tone control over the two pickups individually, you have to isolate them from one another, and that was originally done with an additional resistor or two in the circuit. This will keep the tone and volume knobs from influencing each other, at least, mostly. It does come at the cost of output level, and it has an impact on the overall tone. Whether or not this is a good thing is all about personal preference.
... exactly. A reason why Jaco Pastorius changed the stack knobs control for the classic one. I made the same mod on a early 90s Japan Fender and the difference was huge. I always liked the two stack knobs configuration, but the classic sounds better indeed.
Good to know..thanks!
The paranormal would've looked so much better with a vintage tint neck
I agree. I own the Paranormal with the butterscotch blonde finish, and a tinted neck would have looked cooler. As the neck is pretty white, while it doesn't look terrible, that aged neck would be the winner.
I just picked one up for $199 brand new on pro audio star. It’s a awesome bass, fit and finish was flawless. You are so right, I love the gloss neck but a vintage tint would look much better.
I bought the Paranormal mostly because of Lobster's recommendation. I found one sold as an "open box", that wasn't actually opened, but something had poked into the box and made a small ding on the back. So even after taking a decent knock, the only thing I needed to do when I took it out of the box was tune the E. That's it. I did shield the electronics and replace the strings after a couple days, it just got better. I did bring the pickups up a little from what they were, did seem to get some more output. I will probably replace the pickups someday, and will flatten the finish on the back of the neck before the weather gets warm. But for $279, I am very pleased. Plus it looks really nice, I got the burst with the tort pickguard. A friend's son said it looks like a cactus from the 80's. Not sure exactly what that means, but he is only 5. Prior to this I had ordered 2 separate Sterlings that were in my favorite color, but they both came damaged and unplayable, for almost $200 more.
I got the player jazz but the paranormal definitely made a good argument
Despite the nice look, don't let the Paranormal brightness fool you in the comparison: the pickups of that bass got a native midrange cut who makes the bass completely "out of the mix" in most situations. Plus, their low output doesn't help: that's not a real problem, because it's a perfectly suitable tone for genres like Funk and SOME (not all, which it's different) kind of Metal. That's a modern tone, not the traditional Jazz Bass tone. Even the pickups position is different from the classic JB, and that thing makes the sound even more "nasal" in every configuration. In other genres, the pickups lack punch and the added highs can be a serious problem when you need a warmer tone, with richer low end.
The bass finishes are generally premium for the price, but mine came with a scratched pickguard and the frets got consumed (plus, the knobs started being too loosy despite the adjustments) after some months of playing.... 😞
At the end, if you want a traditional JB with a classic tone you can shape in every way you want, get the Classic Vibe.
For the finishes issues...meh, every Squier got some little things you need to adjust for getting a better instrument, and even the nice Paranormal isn't far from that situation.
I really appreciate your work, Lobster! 🦞🎶
I have a Paranormal. I swapped the pickups for Seymour Duncan Apollos and it sounds great. Fit and finish were great out of the box. It's up to the quality of some of my Mexican Fenders, not as good as my MIJ Fenders though.
I have the same Paranormal as Lobster. The Pups are quite bright, and don't have a lot of output (thinking midrange punch is missing). The tone/volume controls do influence each other, as was mentioned in the other comments. The QC on this bass is quite good, comparing to MiM instruments I've had. The pickguard needed to be sanded down around the edges with some 1k grit for comfort--it came out of the box a bit sharp for my taste. The tuners are lame. I replaced the bridge with a Fender Badass/hi-mass and never looked back. The frets appear to be the narrow/tall polished version, which is nice. The finish feels and looks great. I did end up putting a small shim under the neck heel to make the upper register consistent with the rest of the neck. I have to say that this is one of the best "bang-for-your-buck" instruments available now. Thanks for the review, Lobster...and cancel the ham!
I got the late 60's and had similar QC issues that needed addressed, but not nearly as bad as what you ended up with. The pickups and playability are great. Based on your endorsement I might have gone with the Paranormal. Unfortunately my post-Xmas bank account has halted my collection for now! Thanks for the comparison
Picked up a late 60's CV during the labor day sale. The fret board was a little dry but other than that no issues. Personally I didn't like the bridge so I swapped it for a fender hi mass and some flat wounds. Sounds and plays amazing.
Wow! I have waiting for you to do this video for a while. Great video
Happy new year Lobster!!!
Happy new year!
I went crazy on the Proaudiostar sales and got four guitars and four basses, all Squier, for under $2k shipped - I don't know how anyone made any money off these but I'm super-pleased with them all, particularly the Paranormal '54. I've rehearsed and gigged with them all out-of-the-box and have yet to change strings on anything (!). There are tweaks to be made (a pokey fret on one guitar, a malfunctioning toggle switch on another - I'm overdue for a visit to Dom at Third Floor Guitars) but overall, the build quality and looks are fantastic.
I wanted to add a Jazz bass to my arsenal and jumped on a Black Friday deal that gave me a couple hundred off a MIM Fender Player series. Unfortunately, the story out of the box is similar to your experience with the Classic Vibe Jazz. It was obvious that the bass was assembled and tested but absolutely no setup was done to it at all, and it took a full 360 degree turn of the truss rod to get the neck in spec! Also, the freakin' tone knob was broken! The pot was fine, just the plastic knob... broken! Didn't see any damage to the box so I can only assume it shipped out that way. The fret edges aren't the best but not bad enough to cause any issues or sore fingers. The rest of the fit, finish and construction I have to say is pretty decent, about what I would expect at this price level. The good news is that, once I replaced the tone knob and did a full set up, the bass sounds and plays very nice! Received a lot of compliments on its looks and tone.
Still, I'm a little disappointed in Fender, at this higher price point and with their main brand on the headstock you'd think they could do a bit better.
Looking forward to the mods on the Paranormal '54, I snagged one from Pro Audio Star as well. So far I have only slapped on a set of Labella Deep Talkin gold flats which look pretty snazzy. I agree the pickups need some help. I'm thinking Seymour Duncan quarter pounders. It will be interesting to see what you come up with. Thanks Lobster 🦞
The Paranormal sounds better. Smoother tone. What a cool looking bass too. Had my eyes on this bass for a while.
The paranormal sounds more scooped with fatter low end, and the Squier has stronger mids.
I preferred the sound of the paranormal. I was surprised at the amount of string noise on both when the tone was on though.
The paranormal sounds like it has a diifferent tone circuit than the CV. I believe both basses has the same Fender designed Alnico single coil pickups.
Beautiful and very helpful comparison. I remember you making a similar one with CV vs Sire. It would appear to me that for somebody who's not inclined to replace pickups CVs are very good value at the end of the day.
The MIM 60's Classic Vibe from 10 years ago was the best! Only downside for me was, truss rod adjustment required removing the neck.
I didn't like the Paranormal I tried a few years ago. Maybe it was the typical, guitar center set up, but it sounded much better in your video.
Nice vid. Merry Christmas Lobster 🦞
Super cool video! I actually have the Paranormal and it's a really solid bass! I was also just wondering, at some point in the future I may want to build a J-Bass, and was wondering if the Paranormal pickguard fits on a standard J-Bass body, what do you think? It just looks so cool that I want to use it!
that paranormal is a cool look!
In this demo the Paranormal sounds better to me.
However, some time ago I went with a friend of mine to some music shops in order to buy a new affordable bass for him. We tried a Paranormal Jazz and a Classic Vibe Jaguar side to side: the Paranormal looks better on paper, but after trying it kind of felt more toy-ish compared to the Classic Vibe Jaguar. The Paranormal also had squared edges on the pickguard, something I did not expect.
In the end he picked the Jaguar; the bass needed some adjustment (and a fret polish) but it's not a hard thing to do when you already know how to maintain your instrument.
I liked the Classic Vibe of the bat. The quality control issues are troubling. I myself at this moment am not a diy guy nor do I currently have the space to start. Paying someone else to put in different components not a pleasing idea.
I will spin the roulette wheel when I buy one in the future.
The tone on the Classic Vibe is fantastic.
Great comparison review, Mr. K.
The Paranormal bass is a far more worthy bass.
I picked up a Paranormal from ProAudioStar over the holidays. I think I may replace the pickups with DiMarzio Ultra Jazz and put some flats on it. My truss rod was sticky when I first received the bass but otherwise a pretty decent bass for around $200.
Even the Ibanezes from Indonesia are pretty inconsistent I mean I still love my basses I ended up getting a mim player jazz (I’m pretty rough on instruments so I wasn’t worried about rolled fretboard and I’ll add my own preamp) you should check them out my player series guitars have been my favorite I’ve ever owned even more than Ernie balls, I got a black one that’s pretty much the geddy Lee counterpart but I got it on sale for 1/3 of its price might but with truss rod at nut and I could pay luthier to have blocks instead of dot but meh lol
Also you could double stack a 2eq preamp on the paranormal if you had somewhere to slap the battery I imagine there’s room under the guard for a battery
I've played both as of recent and I must say besides the paranormal being set up waaaaaay to close, it was great. I prefer concentric knobed fenders and squires.
The Classic Vibe sounded like it had a higher output Neck Pickup, or it was raised higher than the Paranormal's.
The earlier MIC CVs were vastly superior IMO to the later ones made in Indonesia or even the more recent MIM Fenders.l I’ve been seeing. FWIW 2014 was a banner year for MIC Squiers. I’d even put those up against some MIA Fenders.
Bought a Paranormal and hate it ! Fit and finish is awesome but sound stinks ! I have a classic vibe 50's P bass and it is on par with it's big Fender brother. Hit and miss I guess.
Swap the CV pickups into the paranormal. The original paranormal pickups lack mids and have too much bass and high end
Paranormal sounds more open in the top end, including letting in more noise!
Bummer the Paranormal didn't come with PJ setup. Seems more appropriate. Regardless, I'd skip Squier all together and get a Sire instead.
Finger style the classic vibe sounds better but for slap its the paranormal
that classic sound nice
Sounds like you need a speaker upgrade cause that amp was buzzing like mad when you switched to the {aranormal, or the mic is not set in the right position, I don't hear much between the pickups
I'm running direct....
I wish they re-release the paranormal in butterscotch colour 😭
I got the paranormal jazz for $199 brand new, flawless from pro audio star.
Same
Setup on the Squier seems to be more cleaner and with less fret buzz, am I right?
Thought the Paranormal looked and sounded better until you got to the 100% tone neck w/ pick. How does one configuration have such an outlier?
I’d probably just throw some nice pickups in the Paranormal and call it a day. The stock pickups don’t sound great.
CV sounds warmer/slightly muddy. Paranormal sounds brighter/more transparent.
That said, I have the Paranormal, I use a pick by the bridge pickup. Very bright sounding, love it.
Man, it's so hard to choose which one, there is just only a 30$ difference. Which one would you prefer for someone's who's going to try out for jazz band?
Soundwise both don't even come close to any of the Sire basses shown in other vids in my opinion. There's something (punch/attack, character) missing in the midrange of these Squier basses. I had the same experience, when trying out different Squiers and other basses with basswood bodies at local shops. I don't want to start that discussion about so called 'tone wood' again, but I think the basswood that has become standard for about 80 percent of the Squier models these days at least contributes to this. So as a mod platform this paranormal J - although it looks really cool imo - doesn't really do it for me. You will get a much better sound with better pickups for sure, but I think, you'll end up at 95 percent of the tonal quality you'd get out of a Sire or Fender for example.
Lobster, I want a jazz bass. Should I go with the Squier Paranormal '54 or one of the Harley Benton models? I bought the HB jp-45op based on your recommendation and I've been playing it nonstop for months. I've been eyeing the HB MV-4JB. I don't think I'm too put off by the weight since I play seated 95% of the time. I want something inexpensive that both feels good and sounds good, and I've never owned a jazz bass.
p.s. I love you
For me as a lefty it's becoming increasingly frustrating to watch the reviews, I'm a huge Fender, Squier fan, and they actually make very nice instruments at my pay grad. BUT THEY REFUSE at the same time to make, as an example, a Lefty Squier Paranormal, (I LOVE them) or even a lefty Squier P-bas, not to mention a lefty Fretless..If you have any idea how annoying it is to play righty J,bass its horrible!
Do Fender think that Leftys are all somehow millionairs :D :D:D... But great review, though frustrating.
Hey Lobster maybe swap the pickups from one bass to the other and See if the difference is truly the pickups and not just the bones of the basses🤔.
Maybe a bit too much work....... For Science.
I like the tone of the paranormal as it sounded more versatile and much better top end snap and zing over the vintage vibe. The vintage was too muddy only compared to the paranormal, not saying it is a muddy bass just different from the other. Both look good but visually I think I likes looks of the paranormal a little more. Great video.
I preferred the sound of the Paranormal but would probably go for more output. In that price range, I would spend a touch more and go for either a G&L Tribute series or a Sandberg Electra.
The Classic Vibe sounded better to me. I have the paranormal and yes... I switched out the pickups. WHALLA!!
I've had the paranormal j bass for 6 months awesome..... tried affinity and classic vibe. . Both had terrible frets and nuts ..errr. the Indonesian ones are awful. PARA J is better than my USA J Bass. Guess China has better QC.
$709.00AUD
No discernible difference I could hear. I could even bet the pickups in both are the same.
I don't like that Paranormal and the Vibe sucked.
I have the Paranormal and love it. I'll be interested to see what pickups you swap the originals out with.