Squier Jaguar H Affinity Series - Budget Modders Rejoice! Fender delivered! - LowEndLobster Review
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2024
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Hey everyone! Today we're reviewing the Squier Jaguar H from the Affinity Series. Featuring standard 'Fender' style bridge and tuners as well as a fat sounding 'Music Man' style humbucker, the Squier Jaguar H might check all the boxes for a beginner player and/or modder. Let's check it out!
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![Medium scale monster! | Squier Affinity Jaguar H [Demo/Review]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/q7Y8RmchW4M/mqdefault.jpg)
back in the 80's when I was a teen and first started playing, $250 got you a plywood body, warped neck and the electronics were horrible. kids today just starting out have the choice of this level of instruments are lucky.. nice bass man.
What country did you live in? In the US in the 80's you could get a 70's Fender Jazz or Precision for $250 to $350. $450 got you a pre EB Stingray or a late 60's Fender and you could get a Pre CBS Jazz or P for $800.
@@rrdream2400 USA, my father bought it for me and neither of us knew a thing about instruments. I just wanted to learn.. I wound up buying a much better guitar a couple years later when I was 20, it served it's purpose.
@@robertyoung7027 gotcha. I got my first bass for $80 and it was horrible. If i only I could back then and buy up or hold on to
what is now vintage. cheers
In ‘85 my mom picked me up a 1975 Gibson Grabber for $125 in a pawnshop for a last minute fill in gig.
I wish I still had it.😢
Our starter instruments were truly terrible. Actually held me back a bit until I got proper Guitars.
Something about your reviews I really appreciate is that you really consider the price of the instrument with its quality. A very expensive bass could be great, but get a lower score because it SHOULD be OUTSTANDING for the price. Similarly a cheap bass could be relatively average, but get a high score because it's a killer bargain.
Thank you! That's exactly why I do it. Value at a given price point is super important and I definitely try to stress that :).
Absolutely, 100% agree.
Thanks Lobster. There's a few bassists in my circle who pick up a Ray4 and mod it, but I was never a Music Man kinda guy, but when the Jaguar H came out I was excited, I picked one up, and having watched your Ray4 series, chose an EMG MMHZ pickup and started tinkering. I kearned a lot just changing the pickup and the pots, and my Jaguar H sounds much better. I love playing it, now I am wondering what further mods I should do to it.
I used to be intimidated by mods, now I look forward to it, I have a Paranormal on preorder, ,and picked up a set of Seymour Duncan Apollo pickups for it, and look forward to that as well. It's a new world. Thanks again for the videos that inspired me on this journey.
Thank you for the thoughtful comment, Dean! It makes me really happy to know that I helped you get into the wonderful world of bass modding. Enjoy! :)
That sounded much better than I was expecting; I'm impressed
I have been putting off watching reviews of this bass until I could watch the lobster work his magic first. Worth the wait.
What a cool little bass! I can think of so many ways to mod it that my little brain just went into overload. Tuners - pots - cap - pickup - shielding - holy cow! Can't wait to see what you are going to do. Cheers!
I think this is the first Squier you've had on your channel that I'm actually interested in buying, although I still fear their notorious lack of consistent quality control. Looking forward to your mod video!
LOVE the sound of that thing.
Nice! I've been waitin for this video! I was thinkin about putting one of the Seymour duncan MM pick ups in it.
Great review as always. I just got the exact bass this week. You nailed the high points well. Keep up the good reviews.
Inexpensive basses seem to keep getting better and better.
Thank you!
Great review. Nice playing too. You are the man.
Can’t wait for the follow up to this!
Thanks Filip!
That’s a really nice bass. Surprising!
I really wish Fender (or Squire) would come out with a Meteora bass though.
I'm thinking to buy one like that thanks for the review.
Just got this Bass at a local shop... love your grove.and at 250 bucks I'm happy !
I just bought one in the Charcoal Frost color.I like the Indian Laurel fretboard.The fret work is nice,no fret sprout.The neck dive is a little annoying,but I can deal with that.I think a hi mass bridge would work well.I’m thinking of going with an EMG pickup with a BTC control,but I’ll wait to see your mods and go from there,nice review 👍👍👍👍
Thanks for that review Lobster! I was for sure it would be preamped. But it is an "Affinity!"
I have 2 Jaguar H basses.. The Black model with the maple board & the Charcoal Frost with the Indian laurel board. I love them both due to their sound & their 32" scale length. I'm 61 years old & my fingers are not as nimble as they used to be... & the slightly shorter scale length makes me play this bass like i used to be able to play my old 34" scale Jazz Bass.
I'm 60 and started playing about a year ago. Mostly the guitar sits and collects dust. Now that winter is here I intend to play it much more often. I have a Mikro bass. Maybe I'll get a Jag in a year or two. The scale on the Mikro is 28.5.
I love the Fender headstock. In this case though I think it would be cooler to do a Jag as a 34" headless in H and HH configuration. Better balance, more definition, and more options.
Great video as always Lobster!
Headless guitars are ugly as hell.
I bought one. Switched out the bridge with a badass. Swapped the plastic knobs with chrome. Keep the spicy stock pick up, I like the tone. I like this bass.
Yup. Found the bass to modify and do an EVH paint job on!
Can’t wait to see your mod video!
This Friday :)
@@LowEndLobster awesome! I’m super close to picking one of these up as a mod platform for myself, and I’ve got a few ideas…super excited man! Have a good one!
I'm pretty pumped for this redesign of the Affinity series.
The 5-string Jazz Bass model looks SO MUCH BETTER. The previous Affinity 5-string looked so ugly and cheap; the new ones have a much more beautiful finish and headstock.
I'm pretty excited for the new 2021 Squier Affinity series overall.
Yes.....I think the refresh of the Jazz V is fantastic with the 4 + 1 tuner arrangement and the maple neck option. Interestingly, the 5-inline arrangement was the initial standard for Fender 5's and what's also interesting is that the model name is now fully spelled out ("Jazz Bass" vs "J-Bass"). Will the additional decal ink add to the tone??😄
I've put this Bass on lay-by, and yes, it will probably be turned into a modding project.
❤️❤️🙂🙂👍🎸🎵
I just got one of these and I pretty much agree with everything you say here. The bass feels great and the short scale means you can tear up and down the fretboard. Very nice construction for such a cheap instrument. The pickup is the big weak point--it has a very distinctive character to it, but it's hard to get certain things (very low notes, open strings) sounding good. I'm definitely planning on replacing it down the line, and seeing if there's anything that can be done about the neck dive. Other than that, great instrument for under $400 (CAD). Definitely feels better than the other Squiers I've tried at the same price point.
Wow pretty and sounds great
Excelent video man
Hey Lobster.
Just wanted to say i really like your channel.
Great presentation and play.
And you have always interesting items.
Keep up the good work.
Sincerly Phil from Germany🇩🇪
Enjoyed this. Will other musicman style humbuckers definitely slot into this. Thanks
Yes, though I recommend going from under the pickguard vs trying to stick the pickup in through the pickguard.
I’d like to see a video on medium scale 5strings. I have a set of DR flats ready for one. 🤓. Incidentally a series/parallel selector switch (or a push/pull pot) could cancel the hum (as well as less sloppy grounding as you pointed out). Looking forward to that mod video.
Thanks, you have now caused me to doubt my next purchase! After getting a Squier CV Mustang, and enjoying how light and comfortable it is vs my P Bass, I was planning on getting a PJ Mustang. I really want a SS Stingray, but those are near impossible to get where I live. And now that you have reviewed this, I am wondering if I should get this Jaguar H and replace the pickup, along with a few other upgrades, and get that tone from the humbucker that I am currently missing in my collection.
Another thing I don't see mentioned in many places, the cut out on the body are shallower than a P or J and it doesn't sit on your leg that well when sitting down. You have to keep the neck level, if you raise it up much it slips back.
Seems like with just a few mods this $249 bass could be a medium-scale, lightweight gig-worthy beast!
Lobster, once you modify it, will you do a head to head with the G&L Fallout? Great content as always and I love the videos that show the steps you do to mod, that is what got me into tinkering too!
I've had my eye on these. You should throw a black pickguard on their when you do your mods. That would look real sharp, give it some attitude.
I might have to get one of those and pop my EMG MMCS into it......I think there's enough room to rout out in the Stingray "sweet spot"
that would look *so* good with a black pick guard
Musician's Friend Stupid Deal of the Day today..."only" $174.99US plus sales tax (if applicable). Now I need to watch your Mod videos on these!!! Excited about the 32 in. scale. I had a Fender Stu Hamm Urge 1 and loved how the instrument played...not sure why I ever sold it (as we all say).
You can probably stick 2 other MM style hums above and below the pickup. That would be crazy or interesting, probably both. So many tonal options and wiring madness.
That would be nuts haha
Cool, I'm interested to see where this goes as a mod platform. I my self have modified a fender modern player jaguar bass out of china thinking a fender highmass bridge would pop right in, but the screw holes didn't quite line up.
i got one of these and routed out a space for a p bass pickup and cut my own pickguard, i love it now even if shes kinda ugly now
Join the discord channel and share some pics! I wanna see!
As you promised, thank you so much on this second review. For all speculators, the neck is extremely smooth with no fret sprout at all. By the way I own the same Squier Jaguar H bass tune down to B-E-A-D to get that legendary Type-O-Negative bassist Peter Steele (RIP) growling low bass sounds. No dead notes nor fret buzz which I find it amazing! Another great simplistic entry level Squier bass guitar with a bit of oomph. Again thank you "Lobster" for your honesty which I believe you're the first to make a full specification review on this Jaguar H bass. Blessings to you my friend!!
Thank you Mask! Glad you enjoyed it :)
hey if you don't mind what strings did you get for BEAD on this 32" ? did the nut need filing or bridge need any work? thanks!
@@rchrd3353 Thank you so much for your question! I did not need to file the nut nor change strings and no adjusting the bridge. All I did was to tune down the strings (B-E-A-D) that it came with. The bridge, nut and strings are totally fine without any problems. Blessings!
@@tornmask7 tuning down a standard e string to b ? on a shorter scale no less? that sounds like it would be awful / floppy. i wouldn't even consider a b string without .120 gauge minimum.. probly .130+ on this one.
@@rchrd3353 Yes I totally agree 100%, but my experience that didn't happen with my instrument, honest. Though I was amazed how the unreplaced bass strings was able to hold down those notes without making any changes or upgrades to the Squier Jaguar H bass guitar. Thanks again for your comment, cheers!
We truly live in a golden age of guitars when you can get something this nice for only $250 bucks. Was surprised at what a warm thick tone this bass has, but it's not completely devoid of definition. I would love to see a Nordy Big Splitman or a Nordy MM4.4 Quad coil with switching dropped in there!
Just bought a loaded body of one of these and put an Ibanez Talman neck on it. It kinda works for my grunge covers band 😂
Dear L.E. Lobster;
Tripple Fendering a cheap bass?
YOU MADMAN!
Sincerely Mike B. B. From Philly
I've been looking for a project to do some routing and put a Novak DarkStar, or a Guild BiSonic in. Serak had a good video comparing the 2 in one of his Midwestern basses. Been looking at the Luna shortscale Pbass. Bully had one a while back, but I don't remember if he had the shortscale or the 34". This bass looks like a good choice as well. I kinda like the looks of the Jag.
I'm extremely interested in one of these. I just hate the huge, ugly pickgaurd . I don't understand why they would make it so big and cover up the beautiful color.
Can't wait for your mod update, especially pertaining to neck dive... that alone is the reason I traded off my Jag SS, which I hated to do, because the neck was amazing!! And super fun to play. Just couldn't deal with the dive
A great mod platform to be sure. For my dollars, I like the look of a jazz bass much better and would probably start there. Opinions...
5:41 🔥
I was super excited for these but wasn’t actually planning on getting one just yet until I went into my local Guitar Center and I sh*t you not when I say this is the best budget money I’ve spent on a bass. Saying the fretwork is excellent is an understatement. I have so many great things to say about this instrument which I can assure is going to be wordy so I’m just gonna stop right here.
Cons: nut, electronics (it IS a mod platform after all)
Pros: everything else.
I'm still loving this bass but have been waiting for your mods to see how it goes.I take you're going passive? I haven't looked under the hood but I don't expect there's much room for a preamp.Keep up the great vids!
Thanks Kev! Yeah we're staying passive. Mod vid will be in the coming weeks :)
Sounds okay no more .cool kick start for beginners
I think the mods on this are going to go somewhere great! That's alot of bass for $250. A Tele bass pickup near the neck.......hmmmmm.
it needs to be cranked for that growl, I wish more basses put the MM pickups in passively
Thanks Bizi! I have a Novak that I've been saving for a project. I don't think this is it, but we shall see what it ends up in!
Perhaps a second pickup? Course then you would need the metal plates that are on some jags for unique wiring..... MM/MM, MM/J, MM/P, MM/soap....
Oooh, if I get into modding this might be the one, not really a stingray guy, and the jag is the only fender shape I really like.
These are a killer blank canvas. So many possibilities with the pickups and electronics.
I've got mine recently and shielded its electronics cavities right away with conductive carbon paint - easy and cheap fix I absolutely needed because my home electrical wiring is crap.
I like its bassy sound - I already have other basses for more high oriented sounds so this one having another personality is a good thing
Thanks Badscrew!
Thanks for your review! So it seems the only downside is the pickup… apart from replacing the pickup, do you think you could make up for the lack of highs with a brighter set of strings? Like a DR High Beams or d’Addario XL?
Thanks for the video!
I'm choosing between this one and Ibanez Talman TMB30. Currently have my friend's cheap Cort PJ which is ok but I want to buy my own bass and those are two final options
Love the simplicity and less treble of Jag (I use only P pickup on Cort) but it costs 110$ more where I live. Should I spend more on Jag or is TMB30 fine?
Dang- I wish they mad this lefty. I could turn a righty around like I have done in the past but those knobs hit my arm and get moved. Plus even more neck dive. Medium scale lefty basses are extremely rare - especially affordable ones.
My VM Jag SS has a heavy enough body where I don't have too bad of neck dive. They should have made this one a shorty too.
Who else loves the 32’ scale?
I would put another HB in the bridge position for fun and a high mass bridge.
That'd be fun!
I need to shield my Vintage Modified PJ because I'm literally picking up radio channels 📻😂
Mod away oh-yee Lobsterius Subsonicus! You did mention a pickguard swap which would def the look; assuming you will get to that in the mod vid?
Lobster, I love the sound of this bass as well as the SUB HH. IYO, which is better and in what way?
@LowEndLobster How would you compare this to an Ibanez tmb100? I know there's a couple differences like passive vs active. I think they're in a similar price point.
Hi Lobster,,,after returning several Jaguar H bass’s due to neck dive I decided to get another one and mod the bridge and tuners to help the neck dive.
I do BEAD on all my bass’s, what strings can be used on the Jaguar H, long scale strings or short scale strings ?
Medium scale strings are extremely hard to find as 5 string sets (obviously the G string goes in the garbage can when I buy my 5 string sets)
Thanks in advance for any string scale length info you could offer.
Cheers, Davyo
It kind of sounds like a L-1000 already so I am curious to see the mod. This would be great with a quad coil pickup so you can select front or back coils.
That would be interesting! I honestly haven't messed with an aftermarket quad coil. Only quad coil I have is in my ATK810E
GREAT. one question.... vs jaguar sq cv... what is the winner? Thanks!
One question, is the output of the ceramic Humbucker pickup louder than the pickup of a Precision ?
It also seems to be light weight and quite versatile
Since the cavity is not shielded in any way what is the best way to get it sheilded? Can you line it with tin foil to shield it? Would that work at reducing the noise?
Install the KSM bridge
If you do put in an MFD, may I recommend putting in a Series/Single/Par on/on/on switch rather than the 2-way? I have my old L2000-E wired with each pickup on its own switch like that, and the single-coil sound on these just *kills*, especially in that "front" pickup. I think it's well worth it.
Thank you! That's what I'm going to do actually, just got the switches in the other day :)
I'm seriously considering getting this as a mod platform. Very cool looking bass, thanks Lobster! 🦞
the black one is super nice too
Wish they made these left handed but that wouldn’t stop me from just getting one and rocking it upside down lmao
Right!? Fender made the right handed version of what you describe with two MM style pickups (the upside down jag). I think it would be awesome to rock this lefty!
This screams "punk rock" to me. Looks like a great first 4-string noisemaker!
if you like that, try the mini
I definitely will. Thank you!
Squier make any other 32 inch scale instruments? Not into the humbucker or neck dive
I'm new to bass and am especially curious about the scale length of this instrument. I assume from some of the comments this is considered a medium scale length. I've read that a short scale length has less tension and thus will have implications, especially on the sound. To what extent is this true for medium scale and this bass? To my ears this sounds like a "regular" bass. I'm assuming scale length can also affect the action? Very helpful video btw. Thank you.
Scale length doesnt affect tone, its more of a playability preference and style
Would anyone consider throwing flats on it and digging in deeper in the lo-fi low end?
the bronco had shielding paint.
For a second , i sought it was Bob Broozman raising from the dead ...
That jaguar is cool but not really my thing (for now). Any plans to review the new affinity Jazz? They have some cool custom colors coming out (burgundy mist) but am also wondering how they fit into the Squire lineup quality wise. Hope they have some upgrades from the previous line other than just colors.
You had me at burgundy mist... YES.
I’m not sure if you noticed, but the new Affinity basses feature a more “authentic” (haha) Fender shaped headstock and a much better “Precision Bass” or “Jazz Bass” decal that’s the same as on the Fender American Performer basses. Much, much better than the Affinity basses of yore. If their quality is anything like this Jaguar H, I’m all in.
@@jaxonvictoria4345 Cool! The headstocks do look more vintage and glossy. The decal looks more vintage Fendrey too. I am digging the throwback colors, especially the burgundy mist option. Lobster will give us the true scoop on them (as usual)!
Mr Lobster do u like this one better than the Candy Apple Music Man bass? Hoping to get something this week! Your the best
Great question JJ! I think the short scale Stingray is a better instrument, but costs about twice as much. This Jaguar feel great but is lacking in the pickup department. However at the price and given the components, this is one hell of a blank canvas (and doesn't sound bad stock either!).
Leaning toward the stingray if you think it would be more fun. 4 or 5 string
There should be an HH.
Hello Mr. Lobster! I had a disappointing experience with the Afinity series. a bad quality control and finishing. I chose to save a little more money and bought one from the Vintage Modified series. a huge difference in these matters. But... it's just my opinion.
I bought a Classic Vibe Mustang and was super dissapointed, So even the higher priced squires can be hit and miss in QC
Hey lobster question for you! I just got this bass and wanted to replace the strings. Can I get away with putting long scales on or should I order mediums?
I'd say it depends where the taper point is for the tuners. The MJCs I used worked fine here but YMMV depending on the set of strings you get
@@LowEndLobster ok great thanks!
Had this exact bass for two weeks now and its not noisy at all. Bought it to mod it. Got a tortoise shell scratch plate, hip shot kickass bridge, lightweight tuners. Only thing I can’t decide on is a pickup. Any ideas would be welcome????
There's so many possibilities! Where'd you get the pickguard from?
@@LowEndLobster had a blank tortoise shell pickguard from WD Music and cut it out in a scroll saw. Was thinking of a Bartolini MM4CBC. Any thoughts on that one would be great? Was also thinking of a tonestyler stellar tone pot with it being passive. Fitted one to my 86 P Bass and i think it sounds bloody awesome. P.s love your channel, very informative.
Has anyone found a gig bag that fit this bass yet? Please let me know. Thanks
I wanna see someone turn one into a guitar
I just traded my Epiphone thunderbird for a Fender Jaguar bass. Now I guess I need second Jag bass because.. why not?
Now you gotta start saying 'My Jaaaaag', like a Jaguar owner ;P.
@@LowEndLobster my girlfriend’s favorite guitar body style is the jaguar, so I bought her a matching jag and jag bass. After playing hers for a little bit, I decided I needed one.
I keep expecting to hear Brick House.
She's mightay mightaaayy
I think I might need to stop watching your videos but don’t take it personally. I got too many basses as it is and you’re giving me all kinds of excuses to buy more… Ha Ha Ha. At least even with a nice mod, this one is incredibly affordable. But, I just noticed your Serek t-shirt and am about to watch the vid about Midwestern Gibson comparison. I might be in trouble…
:) Thanks El
I love the jaguar bass but this one just looks so bland, you HAVE to mod it!
A nice sounding bass, but that hum is a shame. They should have blasted that cavity with $0.05 of shielding paint and charged the consumer another $5!
Maybe a good upgrade platform?
Definitely a great upgrade platform. We're going to have some fun with this!
So it's a humbucker with hum?
Yes, though I'm not sure if I would fault the pickup here vs the lack of shielding or maybe lower quality pots. YMMV and my environment is definitely noisier than average. That being said, if a bass is going to be noisy - then I will definitely get noise. It's a good real world test of shielding, grounding, pickup construction, etc.
@@LowEndLobster thanks man. Yes in that way your environment is a good 'laboratory'!
It’s sounds light and like your said, there’s not a lot of depth to the tone.
Indeed, the build quality IMO makes up for it. The neck is like surprisingly really really good, and I'm definitely not one to compliment a Fender subsidiary for no reason. I'm actually gearing up to start modding it in a few minutes and I'm quite excited hahaha
Wait, isn't the whole point of a humbucker to eliminate that noise?
True, though sometimes really cheap humbuckers wired in series with no shielding can get a little noisy.
@@LowEndLobster You said in your review of the Squier Paranormal Jazz bass that it produced no noise, even though it uses single coils. How is this?
@@matthewlongstaff3112 I gotta revisit the paranormal, that was way earlier in the channel and we weren't as detailed. They may be split coils perhaps? I 100% will revisit the Paranormal in one of the new finishes later this year and we'll get to the bottom of it
@@LowEndLobster Or is it that the two pickups on a Jazz bass can cancel out the noise?
@@LowEndLobster wanted to chime in cuz i've actually owned both of these basses. funnily enough my jag h was dead silent, and my paranormal jazz was the loudest single coil instrument i've ever owned when pickups were solod, even noisier than my tele xD
Why the obsession with slapping? Get a pick, crank everything up, and let's hear it fully rocked out :-)
Heresy! I would like to hear it with a pick, though. Not a pick guy myself, as I do not posses the necessary talent for it, but I've always liked the way short or medium scale basses sound with a pick.