I don't think that hold true of recent Squier Basses. It seems to hold true of older ones abut quality control. Previous to 2013  they had Duncan (Seymour) Designed pickups for a few years. It seems that the feedback I've followed has been favorable about quality and be  able to be set up well for both the Duncan Designed and the current Fender designed Models. I'm not sure if the Affinity ever had these Pick Ups, so this is regards their VM (Vintage Modified) range. 
 
 
 

Thks guyz , the thing is that i don t know nothing about basses , 5 cordes , 4 ... P , J ect lol ... so i saw that yamaha was labeled as the most versatyle entry level , basically if i m not yet decided on the type it could handle any direction , the sevond thing like lentionned is the built quality and yamaha has nothing but high praise in this area ....

Jim Roseberry
For the cost, the VM Squier and Music Man Sub basses are hard to beat.
The Music Man Subs have passive pickups with active preamp.
 
If you prefer the sound of DI bass, this is where a great pre-amp can make a HUGE difference.
Neve Portico-II makes DI electric bass sound awesome (little effort).
 
If you like a more "amp'd up" sound, and especially if you have UAD hardware, demo the Ampeg SVT plugin.
Just like the real amp, you plug in any "classic" bass (P, J, Rick, Stingray)... and it's instant "Rock" bass tone.
Smooth, thick, heavy, and with attitude...
 
Ampeg more recently released smaller watt tube heads.
One of those with a UA OX (for Cab/mic) would make a great silent bass recording solution.
 
Also, checkout Helix Native.
Not an inexpensive plugin, but loads of options (including loading bass Cab IRs).
The Mesa bass amp in Native sounds very good.
Not quite as colored as the Ampeg... but more attitude than a typical solid-state model.
 

Thks Jim i just bought ik ampeg and ampeg 2 just for that , have your compared those the ampeg from uad ? (Aka brainwork ) ?

The ik is also licenced ....

I liked also and grabbed the fender 2 bundle , i love those edgy sounds with character , while for a more clean and deep sound i would probably garb myself overlourd. Mark studio 2 ( or a real one , i saw i bass guitar with a bilt in marks studio amp onboard , tried it and it sounded dope ,..)

michaelhanson
I guess I need to try Mark Studio 2 one of these days....maybe try the demo.  I play a Markbass Big Bang live most of the time.  
 
I have both of the IKM Ampeg collections and I have mostly used those for SIM recording of bass tones.  They seem to work well for me.  

Thks Michael , i ve found ik multimedia stuff sounding more detail and th3 stuff to sound more like a record lol ...i don t really know what to think ... for markbass i miss e the sale but i ve found a great deal on ampeg 1and 2 for 65 $ so i decided to jump ...i compared it to th3 models and it s mainly onn the low lows that ik goes deeper , but the high saturation is less agressive /digital on th3 ...

If you check th3 as well give me your input , i m not at all familiar with real amp on regular basis ...

Great advice on this thread.
 
IMHO about the last thing you want to rely upon in getting a good recorded bass tone is a bass amp sim. I've tried all the usual suspects and I end up feeling like I'm just polishing turds all day long. Sims will make a poorly recorded bass all puffy and pillowy. Gross!
 
So you have to have a well recorded bass to start with, and if you are just now buying your first bass, then the adventure begins. First q, what tone do you seek, smooth jazz, or rawk? Motown?
 
This will certainly determine what type of bass you buy, and just as importantly, what type of strings you put on it.
 
Just as important, do you have someone near you that can set up a bass? Intonation (do the strings play a true octave) is incredibly important. 
 
And some basses are easier to play than others. String height and string separation width on the fretboard are factors.
 
Sorry if this is hitting on the obvious.
 
So if you are looking at an entry-level all-rounder, great but you will guaranteed want something else later. My first bass was a Yamaha, too! It took me a good while to learn how average it was. You might get an Ibanez for your first, but stay far away from the cheap Ibanez, the quality control is just not there, especially with the electronics.
 
Better yet for your first bass, get a made in Japan fender jazz bass. Hard to go wrong there. Look up p-j combinations, you might like those.
 
Next up, string choice. A lot of new basses come with roundwounds, which might not be great for a beginner. Noisy fingers. Switch out for flatwounds, or even better, tapewounds.
 
Next, do you play with soft, accurate fingers, or a pick? Don't  overlook a nice felt pic, the thick ones they make for ukulele players.
 
All of this is enough to get you into trouble. :)
 
Cheers,
-Tom