Fender Squire Telecaster - Any good

2tel1

Thinking of getting one.

Anyone else got one? What do you think

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/10442-squier-by-fender-affinity-tele-black.html/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=base

Shane_C

Interested on this one, been thinking about getting a tele for a while now.....

Stratocaster

2tel1 wrote: »

Thinking of getting one.

Anyone else got one? What do you think

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/10442-squier-by-fender-affinity-tele-black.html/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=base

I wouldn't be too concerned with other peoples opinions. The best thing for you to do is go to the music store and play it. Your the one who is playing the guitar so if you like the look and it feels good while you play go ahead and buy it.

At that price range you cant expect too much but the great thing with Fender guitars including Squires is you can replace virtually every part should you find certain parts aint up to it.

You cant go wrong with a Squire although most people on the forum will suggest a Yamaha P guitar, I believe a Squire is a great choice for low price range guitars.

enola/alone

Good aul starter guitar alright. Great necks on these new Squiers. One thing you should know about Tele's though, they have a distinctly trebly or 'twangy' sound. Some people love this, but however it mightn't be your thing. Try it out before you buy it I'd say.

rcaz

Out of interest (because I can't see myself actually doing it anytime soon), is it a "big job" to put a humbucker in the bridge position on one of these? I've been gumming for one of those Tele Pluses, but one of these + a new pickup might be a more sensible option. The Pluses go for silly money.

Alanstrainor

The squire classic vibe teles are sexy, really great guitars for the money. I've got the classic vibe Strat and i love it. Although, i wish i could've gotten it in a different colour when i bought it back in feb, i've got too many sunbursts!

Lands Leaving

http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/guitars/electric/6-string-solid-body/thinline-tele-hh-18923/review

http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/guitars/electric/6-string-solid-body/classic-vibe-telecaster-50s-178104/review

That might help.

Also Total guitar give the squier tele 5 stars. Think the standard model.

Dave Total

The squiers have definately improved big time.The bullet and classic vibe ranges are excellent. I've only seen the strats, but their build quality and sound quality for a budget instrument are brilliant. So id say the Tele's are no different.

fguihen

squier classic vibe tele is absolutely awesome. i hate saying its awesome for the money, as realistically, its awesome at 3 times the price. I played american, mexican, non fenders and squire's and the classic vibe came off best. it plays better than any American i played.

Here is a review i wrote about it after owing it for a few weeks. apologies for the extreeme length of the post, but wanted to be as accurate as possible:


First Impressions:
This thing is heavy. Its 8lbs if its a gram. a lot heavier than i expected. I duno why but i always thought of teles being lighter than strats, but having done a bit of googling, i can see this is often not the case, especially with woods such as pine.

Out of the box guitar looks like a classic tele, something that will last you a lifetime given the propper care. It looks like its worth 2-3 times what it costs, and that first impression lasts after you pick it up. It feels solid, switch feels sturdy, nice solid engage feeling when you change positions.
Volume and tone controls are not too stiff, not too loose.
Finish is very nice. not a favourite, but at this price, im not gona complain.

Neck looks lovely, sort of aged, tinted color.

Setup:
This thing is perfect out of the box. a quick tune and its ready to roll. perfectly intonated, not just for a tele with old style saddles, but for any guitar!! no fret buzz, neck feels very straight, action is almost too low! way lower than i can get my Am Deluxe Strat! Think i might actually highten the strings a little.

Finish:
The finish is nice, not one id pick but its nice. its kind of an opaque cream color with the grain barely visible through it. its very difficult to photo this finish as it just looks fully opaque. In small spots( around the neck joint) you can see where this was not lovingly hand painted but done on a conveyor by machine. its a little rough on the very edges, but nothing unbearable. also there is a tiny spot that looks as if it was scratched and touched up with a small paint brush by a worker. its barely noticeable, took me ages to notice it and doesnt bother me at all( if the guitar was a little dearer though this could be cause to send it back), but i like my gear perfect, especially if its expensive.

Neck:
This is my first maple neck so I dont have a lot of basis for comparison.
It certainly looks beautiful. Very shiny fretboard. The layer of laquer ( or is it polyurethane ??) on the back of the neck is a little thicker than i would like, but still thiner than the finish on some necks like on the epiphone's. I would rather the satin smooth finish on my deluxe, but eh, its a 275 euro guitar! I find my hand doesnt slide as nicely on this as it does on the matt/satin finish.

The neck is a little thicker than my deluxe strat 9.25 C shaped neck, but barely. Different, but not necessarily in a bad way. It gives the guitar a bigger, fatter feel, like it is built for solid rhythm playing.

Frets are medium jumbo, the exact ones i like. I hate the tiny vintage frets, or the jumbo ones on the highway 1 series. i just cant play those guitars right at all. The fret job is better than that on most American standard and deluxe's. better, or at the very least, on parr. Frets are beautifully finished, all level as far as i can determine, no edges sticking out, nicely rounded and polished.There is even some sort of filler ( tiny slivers of veneer i think) at either end of each fret to prevent the metal showing on the side of the neck. very tidy.

Headstock is beautiful and only for it says squier, could happily belong to an Am std. The whole neck could for that matter, apart from the finish which, as stated earlier, is not bad, but not my preference.

Sound:
This thing sounds awesome! I cant play any country tunes, but i fiddled around on a few scales and its really... twangy for lack of a better term. the bridge pickup has a sharpness in its twang and when the gain is turned up can really bite.

The neck pickup gives a real nice round les paul-esque tone, but with added twang. it sounds awesome clean or distorted and makes me really want to get a tube amp( someday, when i live in a house and not an apartment i guess). I dont think i will ever upgrade the pickups in this guitar. they really give a nice contrast to those in my strat. different sound for different styles. Im favouring the neck pickup with a medium gain for nice round warm blues tones, and the bridge with tons of gain for a sharp bite and attack when playing lead. It really sounds every bit as good ( better mabie??) than any of the MIM i played over the last few weeks.


Hardware:
The bridge is an old style, 3 brass saddle type. This was a con for me initially, but as mentioned before it is intonated almost perfectly! Holes in the body line up perfectly with holes in the bridge, which is not often the case with cheap guitars.

Volume and tone knobs are chunky, almost too big. might replace them for slimmer versions down the road, but they are fine, and im just nitpicking there really. they feel really chunky and solid.
The pots are not too stiff, not too loose. just right. Even my Am Deluxe Strat had an overly tight tone control when i got it first.

String tree is like a screw with an enlarged head. Does the job fine, looks ok. I dont hate it or love it.

strap buttons are std strap buttons. nothing fancy. some folks say they wont put a strap on this guitar as pine is too soft and the buttons will rip out of the guitar with the first bit of rocking out. i find this hard to believe, and would like to hear some of your more expirienced opinions on that.

Pickguard is very thick. too thick. well, it looks too thick the way its bevelled. This is one thing i really want to change on this. Ive saw a matt gold pickguard that would look awesome on this and when i get around to it it will be my 2nd mod on this guitar after...

The output jack. This is the single bad feature of this guitar. It was loose straight out of the box. Had to remove the controls, hold the jack and tighten the nut after 5 mins of noodling around. This will be replaced sooner or later, possibly with an electrosocket jack,as this is what many CV owners are doing. Its a pity, i would have paid 10 quid extra for them to put a 3 dollar jack that was better than the one currently there.


Overall:
This is a smashing guitar, not just because its 275 euros, but simply because its a smashing guitar, period. it stands up there with guitars 2-3 times its price. It feels like a tele, sounds like a tele, but costs 1/3 the cost of a decent tele!

If your looking for a good 2nd guitar, without having to make any mods i heartily recommend this. also if your looking for an esquire, i also recomment this as its the perfect base to start an esquire project from.

Forget the money, this is an awesome guitar, and everyone should at least play one to see how much quality you can get in the low rage of the market. I look forward to many years of learning on this beauty.


Pros:
Cost.
Pickups sound awesome.
Neck feels great.
Frets are perfect.
controls feel solid.
Over all high quality feel of the guitar.
Setup.

Cons:
Output jack sucks.
Paint job could have been slightly better and a nicer color.
Slightly heavier than expected.
Pickguard Thicker than expected.

Randy Shafter

I have a Squire Tele myself and its a great guitar! It sounds excellent, the neck is smooth and in my opinion, it suits nearly any style of music! The output jack is a bit flimsy though. Mine came loose and actually came off a week after i got the guitar but it was a quick and easy fix. Overall its a grand guitar and i would recommend it highly!

population

The Japanese ones are excellent guitars.

Have a Silver series from 1993 myself and fitted it with Fender Noiseless pickups. I reckon it holds its own against any Mexican I've played.

rgjmce

play one once before and wasn't overly impressed, just felt cheap, i know their cheap guitars but personally their are better then that

enola/alone

Someone asked about fitting a humbucker in the bridge. This can be easy, or it can be hassle. The easiest option is a 'stacked' humbucker. It's essentially a humbucker, except instead of the coils joined sideways, they're stacked on top, so they're the size of a single-coil, so you can just slot them in the single-coil slots. Although you might be able to get someone to widen the slot, or else get at it with a chisel so you can fit in a traditional 'bucker.

Hope this helps

rgjmce

enola/alone wrote: »

Someone asked about fitting a humbucker in the bridge. This can be easy, or it can be hassle. The easiest option is a 'stacked' humbucker. It's essentially a humbucker, except instead of the coils joined sideways, they're stacked on top, so they're the size of a single-coil, so you can just slot them in the single-coil slots. Although you might be able to get someone to widen the slot, or else get at it with a chisel so you can fit in a traditional 'bucker.

Hope this helps

or just get a new pickguard, might be simpler

enola/alone

rgjmce wrote: »

or just get a new pickguard, might be simpler

The wood underneath that the pickup slots into though will still be shaped for a single-coil though, so you'd need to do some woodwork

rgjmce

enola/alone wrote: »

The wood underneath that the pickup slots into though will still be shaped for a single-coil though, so you'd need to do some woodwork

oh yeah forgot about that lol, could get an sx guitar, they have universal cavities so you can do what you like pickup wise

enola/alone

Yeah that's a possibility. But some Squier's are fitted with universal slots anyway, as they make so many different versions of the same guitar, its cheaper for them to make them universal, so you may be lucky in that way. A simple pickguard might be all you need.

J_E

On another similar topic, is there a big difference in build and sound between Fender and Squier guitars?

rgjmce

squire = crap
fender = excellence

lol plain and simple

CianRyan

Not true.
Squire make some great guitars and I've played a few manky Fenders.
In saying that though, my custom Strat... Oooooh yeah!:cool:

rgjmce

CianRyan wrote: »

Not true.
Squire make some great guitars and I've played a few manky Fenders.
In saying that though, my custom Strat... Oooooh yeah!:cool:

well i know squire have made some amazing guitars, one of my mates has one thats i think about 17 years old and it's brilliant but not so sure they make as good ones now, at least from what i've played anyways.

Alanstrainor

rgjmce wrote: »

squire = crap
fender = excellence

lol plain and simple

:rolleyes:
I bet you wouldn't be able to tell the difference in a blind test between a squire classic vibe and a mexi strat. Infact i'd say the squire would be better.

CianRyan

Alanstrainor wrote: »

squire classic vibe and a mexi strat. Infact i'd say the squire would be better.

This.

Burning Eclipse

fguihen wrote: »

squier classic vibe tele is absolutely awesome. i hate saying its awesome for the money, as realistically, its awesome at 3 times the price. I played american, mexican, non fenders and squire's and the classic vibe came off best. it plays better than any American i played.

Here is a review i wrote about it after owing it for a few weeks. apologies for the extreeme length of the post, but wanted to be as accurate as possible:

I have the same guitar... I can't get over the quality for the price.

OP, do yourself a favour and buy one now!!

corpcleg

it only my opinion but i hope the squires have improved since i began playin caz they wer ****e back then n i have owned n played many types my advice
be patient and for the same price you will pick up a good 2nd hand guitar thats better built and has better pickups(a lower randge ibanez) with the reccession n all its a buyers market out there read up on what to look for and aslong as you be patient you will get sumtin that will last
i find most guitars you will buy from a shop are worth half what you pay for them once you exit the store.
hope this helps good luck