Since I satisfied my jones with another new Fender Strat recently - an American Pro II, I've decided to look into the Squiers a bit more. The last one I had was maybe 4 or 5 years ago and it was a J Mascis Jazz Master which was a surprisingly phenomenal guitar at any reasonable price. But I had to dump it after only 2 months because I kept having to tighten the truss rod ever few days until it maxed out and became unplayable. How are these guitars today? I'm seeing Strats and Teles for $229 on Fender's site, are they still good? Hard to see how they can even make a playable guitar for that price, let alone make it decent quality and highly playable. Since I got my latest Fender I started watching some videos and coming across a few incredible players who are using Fender copies costing around $400 and they sound as good as anything. Show me your pics and tell me some stories about your experiences with the Squier brand. Who knows, maybe I'll bring one home this weekend as a nice little house 'beater'. .
Here's my work beater Squire Strat. Got it on sale at GC for $129. It came as a SSH with a 6 screw trem. I added the FR copy 'cause I had the router templates from the Explorer build, and the spring chamber was already there. Swapped out the stock pickups for those obnoxious rail/rail/quad rail HBs and some 500k pots. After the FR set up, the action is great & it plays well above it's pay grade. Probably another $100 in upgrades. I keep it at my office with the Code25C
Try finding a Squier Classic Vibe instead Or one of the old transition models from countries that later got to make full-brand Fender guitars (Japan, Mexico)
I have a Squier Bronco bass. For $200 CAD, it does everything I need it to. I have no idea what kind of pickup is in it, but it has a nice angry growl when the volume is cranked.
I like these, A 1989 Squier ii. Made in Korea. These have pretty sweet necks that some say are from the made in Japan stock. Usually bargain priced. I bought this one at a Pawn shop for a bit over $100.
A friend of mine bought a Squier Tele recently, and couldn’t be happier. I’ve also known others to use them, and like them. Sure, they don’t have the prestige of “real” Fenders, but if you don’t care about that, you can pick up a crazy cheap solid workhorse of a guitar any time. In other words, they look and sound perfectly fine IMO. I was just lucky when money was a bit tight, that I found a well-priced 80s Jap Fender that’s just right for me.
Squier Bullet series are full on budget guitars that I would avoid, especially with the new Strats being a hardtail so their use as a modding platform is pretty much gone. The Affinity line are better - decent enough instruments to have to kick around. Those are the ones you see for $229. Last time I checked, the bodies were a bit thinner than their Fender counterparts, so if you get tired of one and want to mod it later on there could be a probelm with the depth of the routing cavities. Squier Classic Vibe are good guitars, period. If I ever get the desire for a Mustang or a Jaguar, I would likely buy one as I would want one with close to origianl style pups and switching options. The equivelent Fenders would cost 3-4 times as much. And I mentioned before that I recently got a J Mascis Jazzmaster and I'm blown away at how good it is. The neck is amazing and I haven't had to touch the truss rod yet, but I've only had it about a month. I don't think I'll have the issue you had, but I'm keeping an eye on it. Squier had a Standard series that they discontinued just a couple years ago. I have a 2016 Squier Standard Strat that's out on extended loan, but it was very similar in feel to the current Fender Player series. It's a shame they got rid of that, as it fit nicely between the Affinity and the Classic Vibe.
^THAT, CV's are great A few of my Teles have started life as Classic Vibes ,of course morphed into my personal needs.But they were a good bargain .I end up selling the necks I think that Tele Deluxe body was MIM My favorite strat started out as an Indo Squier
Here is my Classic Vibe. I bought the Mustang after trying a real deal 60's Mustang at a shop in Missasauga. They wanted $1600CDN for it and I didnt really want to spend that much just to have something with the short scale and scrappy Mustang sound. A few days later I tried the CV out in my local shop and I couldnt believe how similar the overall feel and sound was. You could say it nailed the Vibe. I was originally planning on upgrading the pickups to Duncan's but I've had it for a few years now and havent felt the need to.
That's really nice. I saw a '68 for $1300 a few months back and didn't pull the trigger. Unless I find a '67 - my birth year - at a similar price, I'll likely get one like yours at some point. Or the Jaguar.
Thanks! I've been tempted to pick up a Jaguar too but I hardly have time to play all the guitars I already have. The Jags are super cool.
I have 3 Squier Standards, 2 Classic Vibe Strats, 2 Korean Strats, and a CV Tele. Wonderful guitars. Absolutely wonderful. Especially for the price.
I'll attest to the Classic Vibe series! One of the best guitars I ever owned was a Classic Vibe '60s Stratocaster. The neck felt and looked amazing, it played and sounded amazing too. Another "wished I never sold it" guitar and would add one again if I didn't have so many Strats currently. Off topic in a way but the 80s/90s Japanese Squires and the Fenders are mind blowing to me. My favorite guitar currently is my '94 MIJ Fender Strat, I had owned a late '80s MIJ Fender Strat that I again regret selling. I had a MIJ Squire Bullet, it was a small scale Strat that was just awesome and fun to play, that was stolen a few years ago. I have yet to stumble onto another one in the wild but if I do, I will snag it immediately as I really miss that guitar.
Ive had many Squiers through the years ranging from MIJ E series to newer standards and affinity strats. I had a Squier standard strat(one of the musician fiend fancy colored top ones)that guitar was a DAMN good guitar for the price. Evan had Alnico single coils(bridge HB). Even the affinitys are decent platforms for modding into a grab and go beater. A freind of mine had an affinity tele that he put what he said is a "broadcaster" pickup in it. Sounded really good......then he stripped the finish to natural(not the nicest grain)but that MO FO resonates like a bastard......spanky tele on the chea..... competes with many High enders tone wise IMHO. Of the MIJ E series Ive had they vary.......some were Alder some were basswood(I think) and the neck shapes vary........Had two maples that were nice but one rosewood that felt waayyy too wide and flat.
I have a Classic Vibe Precision Bass that I absolutely love. They are very well made instruments that look great, play great, and sound great. You can't go wrong with Classic Vibe IMO.
