I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

[Diego]

So a customer and friend of mine sent me his Squier Tele Standard for a setup, it was a bit rusty and the strings were totally dead.

Set it up nicely, Ernie Ball 10-46, polish and smooth everything out, did the nut slots a bit, pickup height, neck relief, cleaned the electronics, the whole deal.

Holy crap guys. I swear this guitar sounds way better than my old Fender Tele ever did. I had top shelf pickups on that one, brass saddles and whatnot, and it always sounded kinda dark and unremarkable. This thing has OEM pickups and it absolutely slays, it crunches in such a mean manner and sounds aggressive as hell with almost no gain. Could use a tiny bit more mids maybe but who cares.

Not only this spanks way harder than my Fender, it plays better as well. I really wasn't expecting this at all. It stays in tune nicely, too. I can't believe it. I think I'm gonna buy it from him.

 

[jimilee]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

Don’t tell anybody, but squiers aren’t terrible guitars.


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[donaldr]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

I bought a Squier VM Jazz 5 2-years ago, it's an unbelievable jazz bass, better than all MIM Fender I tried and as good as some MIA Fender I tried. Squier are making really good instruments lately.

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

I have several Squiers and no real Fenders right now. I have setup several for clients that play as nice and sound as good as any other guitar played onstage by pros. Usually, upgrading the Asian electronics and putting in name brand pickups is all that is needed to yield a world class instrument.

 

[Aceman]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

Squire is the Epiphone of the Fender line. Gibson has no Mexico equivalent. Too bad....

 

[Demanic]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

That's cool. If it sounds good, it is good. I keep wanting to like Tele's. Maybe someday...

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[Diego]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

That's cool. If it sounds good, it is good. I keep wanting to like Tele's. Maybe someday...

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I get you, man. I don't like most Teles and for my style they're a bit of a one trick pony because I don't care for the Tele middle position, so I'll stay on the bridge pickup 90% of the time. I like Les Pauls and 335/339s for dirt and Strats for cleans, mostly. But this Tele man, it just sounds NASTY. Mean and cutting, very airy in the top end.

I can't emphasize enough how little gain Teles need to sound aggressive. I haven't had that with any other guitar I've owned and I've had just about every style of guitar you can think of. A hint of amp breakup, a heavy right hand and BOOM. instant rock and roll. Give some cheap Teles a go, who knows?

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

Squires are great- esp. compared to fifteen/twenty years ago. The Standard series made in China is particularly good. Their offsets could use some work, but in many ways are better than MIJ/CIJ guitars they make nowadays. I think Squier does a much better job than Epiphone; I still haven’t picked up an Epiphone I thought was a great guitar. In fact I’ve played more Epiphones I thought were terrible than any single brand (even if a lot of them were finished better than equivalent Gibson’s.)

My VM Jazz Bass is the best of the bunch - easily on par with MIM Fenders.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

Whatever you do, keep it in a dry environment at all times. Plywood swells under prolonged exposure to moisture.

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[Mincer]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

Well, good guitars are..good, no matter who makes them or how much they cost. Offer him a low amount for the guitar 'since it is only a Squier'.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

Whatever you do, keep it in a dry environment at all times. Plywood swells under prolonged exposure to moisture.

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I think the only plywood Squiers were Korean from the late eighties- almost all of them since have at least been specced solid wood. Some VM Jazz basses are two piece. All my current Squiers are three piece

But I have an MIM Fender body that is five pieces with veneers on each side. Go figure.

 

[LonePhantom]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

Whatever you do, keep it in a dry environment at all times. Plywood swells under prolonged exposure to moisture.

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They're not ply anymore, not for a long time...

 

[Diego]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

It's definitely not plywood. No idea what it is but there's no pancake in it.

 

[LonePhantom]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

I've got a COB seriall 2008 Squier Bullet Strat that I bought for a budget strat build. loved the guitar so much I gave it the works. It's one of my favourite guitars to play now. I have a recently acquired 2018 Deluxe Strat that, whilst having a myriad of issues that I did not expect to encounter, due to suspected water damage, sounds and will play amazing once I'm done with it. It's extremely resonant, and if I can get the neck issues sorted, will be a sublime guitar to play.

 

[Demanic]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

I could see getting one and putting some sort of lipstick in the neck and a 5/2 (even if it had to be Custom Shop) in the bridge. Four way switch.

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[JB_From_Hell]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

Whatever you do, keep it in a dry environment at all times. Plywood swells under prolonged exposure to moisture.

Has anybody seen, first hand, a plywood electric guitar body that's been damaged from something that wouldn't have damaged solid wood?

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

Has anybody seen, first hand, a plywood electric guitar body that's been damaged from something that wouldn't have damaged solid wood?

Once I had to paddle my canoe back to shore during a thunderstorm - but lost my oar. Used a Squire instead. Cheap plywood neck on the thing warped after that, and the cheap electronics stopped working. Definitely would have been fine with a Fender though. Not a Gibson though, the headstock would have broken with the first few paddle strokes.

 

[these_go211]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

I have a Squire J Mascis Jazzmaster and its a great guitar. Not as in great for the money, just great in general. I bought it when I figured I was past the point where I’d be buying what I considered “second tier” guitars. Yea, snobby! But I have been really happy ever since that jazzmaster came into my life.

 

[Demanic]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

Once I had to paddle my canoe back to shore during a thunderstorm - but lost my oar. Used a Squire instead. Cheap plywood neck on the thing warped after that, and the cheap electronics stopped working. Definitely would have been fine with a Fender though. Not a Gibson though, the headstock would have broken with the first few paddle strokes.

Should have used a Rainsong.

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[Silence Kid]

Re: I think I'm in love with a Squier? WTH?

I have a Squire J Mascis Jazzmaster and its a great guitar. Not as in great for the money, just great in general. I bought it when I figured I was past the point where I’d be buying what I considered “second tier” guitars. Yea, snobby! But I have been really happy ever since that jazzmaster came into my life.

I love the MIC Mascis neck; it is very different in feel from my Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster neck, which is made in Indonesia. By coincidence or on purpose, the Vintage Modified neck has less sophisticated shaping and less overall quality (little details like the way the profile 'swells' around the headstock on the VM, and seems to have more blocky heel contours than the Mascis or my MIC Squier Standard neck.)

I also have a Mascis body I'm refinishing; again by comparison to the VM Jazzmaster, the routes seem cleaner and the Mascis fits US pickguards; the VM won't. Unfortunately I only have a Mighty Mite neck on-hand to use at the moment. The big downfall of the Squier Offsets is the hardware quality; some people have better luck, but I had to swap to a AVRI vibrato and bridge on my VM, and I'm doing the same on the Mascis (made my own bridge conversion bushings.)