So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

Blille

Blille

New member
I went to GC and instead of playing the few hollowbodies they have as usual they had a few Squiers that looked good so I gave them a try.

I have to say that I was very impressed. The value you can get from guitars these days is phenomenal.

The Vintage Modified Thinline Tele was hard to tell from the Fender Thinline I had. I played a bunch of other Squiers and they felt really good. Setup was surprisingly good too. Electronics sounded crappy on some but that’s not the end of the world.

Long story short, I have a Squier Deluxe Strat incoming. Obviously not bought at GC but I’m looking forward to it.

Any lover for Squiers here?
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

Congrats!! Yeah, I dig Squiers! After I got married and the stork dropped of a couple of kids, I had to hock my gear and didnt have a guitar for 11yrs. I then bought a Squier. This was96, so they were nowhere near the quality they are now, but it served me well and was my learn to mod guitar. I have a Japanese Squier that is amazing. (stock pups were poo, but easy fix) And, a few years back, was shopping for a Tele. Tried many diff ones trying to get the biggest bang for the buck. Was down between a Fender (baja I think) and a Squier Vintage Modified. I simply couldnt find $200+ dollars more to like with the Fender, so got a Vintage modified tele. Came stock with Duncan designed pups in it, which were good, but I did swap em out.
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

They're very good. I don't think there really any worse than MIM Standards for the most part.

I have a VM Jazzmaster and a VM Jazz Bass.
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

Good to see I wasn’t crazy.

I forgot to mention my good first impression was after I bought a Squier mini for my kids. The finish, frets etc was all great. Even the pickups were decent.
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

Affinities can have funny balance due to the super-light/thin bodies and I still dislike the feel of the necks but they're much better put together now than say fifteen years ago.
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

Yep, Fender has their act together on brands-

We use them as an example in the Save Gibson discussions, because Fender has done a very good job getting value points and messaging aligned-
There may be some overlap between Squire and MIM or MIM and MIJ or MIUS, but it's really easy to make comparisons on quality, materails, price etc... Obviously, much harder to compare Gibson to itself, much less Epi...

A few years back, we were given a couple of thousand to buy Strats to ship to another country and we had fun finding the best mix for the money- Its been long enough that i forget the details, but it was something like 1 MIUS, 2 MIMS and 4 Squires- The squires were less beefy, but all were well built because we chose the ones that were built on Wednesdays;)

Seriously, in CNC world, you can find some really, really good and inexpensive guitars and thanks for posting!
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

zionstrat said:
Yep, Fender has their act together on brands-

We use them as an example in the Save Gibson discussions, because Fender has done a very good job getting value points and messaging aligned-
There may be some overlap between Squire and MIM or MIM and MIJ or MIUS, but it's really easy to make comparisons on quality, materails, price etc... Obviously, much harder to compare Gibson to itself, much less Epi...

A few years back, we were given a couple of thousand to buy Strats to ship to another country and we had fun finding the best mix for the money- Its been long enough that i forget the details, but it was something like 1 MIUS, 2 MIMS and 4 Squires- The squires were less beefy, but all were well built because we chose the ones that were built on Wednesdays;)

Seriously, in CNC world, you can find some really, really good and inexpensive guitars and thanks for posting!
Click to expand...

One major difference in the Fender/Gibson comparison is Fender has a large, solid line of amplifiers...that has to be a huge part of their revenue/profit stream...
There is a very long and complicated discussion here as Fender has made some of the same mistakes Gibson made in diversification/expansion but with a much larger base business model they have been able to ride out their mistakes...so far...
Another big issue sitting out there is Guitar Center...as well as some of the other big retail sales folks that are struggling...if BK hits in this area it's going to be a major hit to the whole enchilada...
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

justFred said:
One major difference in the Fender/Gibson comparison is Fender has a large, solid line of amplifiers...that has to be a huge part of their revenue/profit stream...
There is a very long and complicated discussion here as Fender has made some of the same mistakes Gibson made
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, definitly correct- not saying F is perfect, but you nailed one of their strengths- their portfolio is diverse and they do a great job cross-selling and upselling = guitar+amp+pa system and Yamaha does this even better-

Talked in depth with a dealer the other day who says that Fender may be heading down the Gibson path, but much harder for them to fall because of their breadth and depth-

Every other word out of his mouth was PRS- they would probably go 100% PRS if they could (on a sidebar, he mentioned that Princeton reissues are failing at an extremely high rate).
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

I have some Squiers that I like as well as a couple of my American made versions of them. Usually, the Squier Standard and Vintage Modified lines are very serviceable guitars. I like my Squier Bass guitars better than the MIM Fender versions I once attempted to "upgrade" them with. I briefly had two of the MIM Fender Deluxe PJ basses in seafoam green with the badass bridge, and they both had to go back for structural issues. I kept the Squiers and don't feel like I'm missing anything. I replace pickups in almost everything I own, so that is not a concern.
I see a lot of lower end guitars that my students bring in for restringing or setups. If you are unlucky, one of those Squiers might require a fret level, but other than a very few unlucky ones, I haven't seen many problems with them. I have a couple of Squier Standard Strats that I keep at school for the kids to play, and they have held up well to years of use and abuse.
The Affinity and Bullet lines are a different story. Many times I feel very sorry for the student I am handing those back to after a setup, because there is only so much you can do to make them playable.
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

Well, I just came to ask about Squiers. Looks like I need to ask you. Some clueless person is flippin stuff around town and has a "Miller Lite" elec gtr. I asked her what brand, and she said "Miller Lite Electric". So, she wants $100, and it could be anything from a $99 giveaway to maybe $400 something er other. I'm inclined to take my chances and be surprised. Supposedly unused and she said "sounded great" when demo'd. I realize this all sounds ridiculous, but it's all I got. Keep waiting for a pic, but nooooo. So I sent two, and said does it look like this, or this? Waiting to hear back.
Now, would you spend $100 on an unknown entity? Surely I could at least get my money out of it? Even crappiest Squier. I already own one, it's Chinese and not crappy, for what it is. Advice please, ya'll??? This is a today deal. thx
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

texred said:
Well, I just came to ask about Squiers. Looks like I need to ask you. Some clueless person is flippin stuff around town and has a "Miller Lite" elec gtr. I asked her what brand, and she said "Miller Lite Electric". So, she wants $100, and it could be anything from a $99 giveaway to maybe $400 something er other. I'm inclined to take my chances and be surprised. Supposedly unused and she said "sounded great" when demo'd. I realize this all sounds ridiculous, but it's all I got. Keep waiting for a pic, but nooooo. So I sent two, and said does it look like this, or this? Waiting to hear back.
Now, would you spend $100 on an unknown entity? Surely I could at least get my money out of it? Even crappiest Squier. I already own one, it's Chinese and not crappy, for what it is. Advice please, ya'll??? This is a today deal. thx
Click to expand...
Pass. Too many signs that this is a bad deal for you.
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

I got a jazzmaster and a bullet and have had many others.
one squier tele had a screw that broke off in the neck so they drilled a hole into the body for that broken screw to rest in, and drilled another neck screw in at an angle. a different squier tele had ugly agathis grain showing through the solid "blonde" finish. One was a dog no matter what, new nut, neck refin, pickups, electronics, trem block. Had a squier bass that was built during a change in pickup specs and it got from the factory one Duncan Designed jazz bass pickup and one Squier jazz bass pickup, they didn't hum cancel together.
But my Jazzmaster is solid, and so is my bullet. Play before you buy, generally QC is good, but at this level in price and with the number of guitars they put out, some will be messed up.
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

I'm wondering if country of origin affects the quality?
It seems like the vast majority of Squiers are made in China.
I have the Squier VM custom ($400 guitar) made in Indonesia and it's extremly well made.
I just ordered a limited edition Affinity Tele in a funky orange with black hardware which is aslo made in Indonesia.
I should receive it in a few days. Will let you know.
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

Mincer said:
Pass. Too many signs that this is a bad deal for you.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mincer. Talk about serendipity. My sweetie sent me $$ for guitar, then we were f2f chat, and I was trying to take a lesson and the amp croaked. Cheesy squier-my first. So, didn't buy guitar, and now I get decent amp. What do you think (I'm on a low budget): Line 6 Spider 20-20 modeling or Mustang I V.2 20watt 1.8 modeling combo? I'm leaning toward Fender, what do you think? I love it when a plan comes together (you're too young to remember that line).

{George Peppard-The A Team}
 
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Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

I've had my deluxe almost two years now and think it's a great guitar! Only things I have done were to replace the nut and installed locking tuners.
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

texred said:
Thanks Mincer. Talk about serendipity. My sweetie sent me $$ for guitar, then we were f2f chat, and I was trying to take a lesson and the amp croaked. Cheesy squier-my first. So, didn't buy guitar, and now I get decent amp. What do you think (I'm on a low budget): Line 6 Spider 20-20 modeling or Mustang I V.2 20watt 1.8 modeling combo? I'm leaning toward Fender, what do you think? I love it when a plan comes together (you're too young to remember that line).

{George Peppard-The A Team}
Click to expand...

I don't like the L6 or the Fender (I owned both). A Peavey VIP I is a better modeling amp.
 
Re: So I went to GC and played a bunch of Squiers

Squier has come a long way in the last decade. Their instruments have become very solid. I've seen players around here gig with them, especially bass players. When I was bass shopping I *almost* went for a PJ Bass but the Sterling SUB Ray4 I picked up first haunted me until I bought it. The Squier PJ is very nice. The Vintage Modified even more so. Change the pickups out for some Duncans, complete rewire with new pots/jack and you have yourself a really solid instrument that'll hang no problem.
 
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