Squier Pro Tone series

Hi!

I looked for this subject and did not find any.

I own a '97 Strat and a '96 Tele Thinline of this line.

Is there someone else having this type of guitar?

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/5595bassman/Univox%20LP%20SB/Squier%20Pro%20Tone/SquierStratProTone01-1.jpg
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/5595bassman/Univox%20LP%20SB/Squier%20Pro%20Tone/SquierStratProTone03.jpg
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/5595bassman/Univox%20LP%20SB/Squier%20Pro%20Tone/SquierStratProTone05.jpg
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/5595bassman/Univox%20LP%20SB/Squier%20Pro%20Tone/SquierTeleThinlineProTone03-1.jpg
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/5595bassman/Univox%20LP%20SB/Squier%20Pro%20Tone/SquierTeleThinlineProTone02.jpg

Guitar player friend just offered to loan he his out of the blue.

I have Pro Tone tele thinline and fat tele. Both are '97. I'm going to exchange the necks so the thinline get rosewood board and the fat tele get all maple neck. And also replace red pickguard on the fat tele with a black one.

Pro Tone page on www.21frets.com (http://www.21frets.com/squier_jv/theprotonepage.htm)

Hi!

Thanks for the link!
I knew about it but what I meant is that I did find not much on TDPRI about those Pro Tone Series.

I bought those two not long ago after reading it. And I can confirm that they are in fact quite good for being "only" Squier.

As many friends told me when playing with after I introduced them to those jewels : "The only bad thing is that they wear a Squier Logo".
I must admit that this statement might be true valuewise, but as players they are far away from present and past entry level Squier I came across. And my two specimen are in pretty good shape for almost 15 years old guitars.

There is still one friend that keeps mocking because I add Squier into my collection.
I simply think he his a "Leading brand snob." Bad for him! because I'm sure he is walking-by something special.

I wanted to know if other owners think the same way I do???

There are some old posts about the Protone series here in the TDPRI. I posted about my '97 Thinline here (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-discussion-forum/145221-squier-protone-thinline-tele.html).

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/549/Squier_Protone_Thinline_Tele_01.JPG

These are pics of my Pro Tone after some mods: exchange necks (better that way IMO), put a black pickguard and Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder - P-rails combo on the fat tele ...

The natural one looks in fact much better. Not sure for the Thinline?

damn thats a hot thinline, i wish the new classic vibe thinline had sweet binding like that.

The natural one looks in fact much better. Not sure for the Thinline?

Thanks, I appreciate that. De gustibus non est disputandum ... :wink:

I bought one of the Pro Tones on a lark and much to my surprise it was a killer guitar. Stupid me I sold it to a friend (who loves it by the way) and realized my mistake. I immediately got on Ebay and replaced it. I now own a Blonde Strat, a white one with the matching headstock, a thinline tele, and a trans red stratocaster. These are the best kept secret of the Fender world. There is no reason to change anything... Nothing. The sound is great and the playability is by far and away so much better than any Mexican made you will ever find. These things walked all over the American mades in 96 and 97 and thats why Fender made it stop. The "cheapies" were better than the "top of the line" this caused a lot of embarrassment in California at the time. Go get one as soon as possible. I own about 20-25 guitars, mostly strats, Custom Shops included, and quite a few, and my White Squier is so unbelievably sweet that they "should" have been embarrassed. I get a lot of ribbing for playing a Squire "God Forbid" at gigs until the other guys play it and hear it. Great just great...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4070/4467905161_8b53f02379.jpg

Hi!

I looked for this subject and did not find any.

I own a '97 Strat and a '96 Tele Thinline of this line.

Is there someone else having this type of guitar?

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/5595bassman/Univox%20LP%20SB/Squier%20Pro%20Tone/SquierStratProTone01-1.jpg
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/5595bassman/Univox%20LP%20SB/Squier%20Pro%20Tone/SquierStratProTone03.jpg
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/5595bassman/Univox%20LP%20SB/Squier%20Pro%20Tone/SquierStratProTone05.jpg
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/5595bassman/Univox%20LP%20SB/Squier%20Pro%20Tone/SquierTeleThinlineProTone03-1.jpg
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/5595bassman/Univox%20LP%20SB/Squier%20Pro%20Tone/SquierTeleThinlineProTone02.jpg

I bought a white strat last April. It is a 97 just like the one pictured above. It is in excellent condition and it plays great .
RonS

I bought this one real cheap as the neck had a crack in it. The body was in perfect shape with no nicks, or dings, along with a beautifull grain finish on just under nine pounds of solid ash. I had Bob Logan at Logan Custom Guitars replace the neck, as well as adding a set of Twang King pups, and Fender tuning keys. Then for a final touch I had Eric Luther at Luther Leather make a calfskin-alligator print pickguard. So at this stage, I really don't know if I can still call it a Pro-tone, or what? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as she plays, and sounds better then any of the American Tele's from the same time era. Thanks for looking.
Eddy

I had a Pro-Tone Thinline but it was a bit too bling for me!

I have the only lefty one, see through blonde
http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt221/AllroyPA/Snapbucket/6AE46E75-26AF-4902-BB0D-1731BE1B547B-10199-00000AEFA5F538E7.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/199793_10151137949872593_584309767_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/199793_10151137949872593_584309767_n.jpg
WTF? ... you have that refinished? ...they did'nt come in that color... :cool:

WTF? ... you have that refinished? ...they did'nt come in that color... :cool:

Yep :mrgreen:

So I have one of these...boredom (or something) led me to research it today. :)

From the serial number and Fender's website, it's either a 1996 or 1997 Squire ProTone Fat Tele. I bought ~roughly 12 years ago. It, a HSC and a Crate GT212+ were between 400 or 500 (college, memory failures). I've loved it ever since. Especially since I've never seen another one anywhere.

What are the specs on the humbucker? Is it just a PAF-type clone? How many turns? What about the single coil?

-des

The only thing that I can remember about the humbucker is that it can get muddy especially at high volume. I sold it years ago. I still keep the single coil. It's a quite hot tele bridge pickup with ceramic magnet and has nice piercing high end to cut through the mix.

Thanks for the info..maybe one day I might swap it out for a coil (center?) tapped humbucker so I could alternate between fat tele and normal tele on the fly...but then i'd have to change the knobs or switch...firstworld problems, right? :wink:

But then again, maybe I won't cuz I see little reason in the future for me to be cranking the volume up that much. :smile:

-des

My fat tele's look right know

Hi. Just joined TDPRI, primarily to find out about the neck switch-out on the Pro-Tone Teles. I have both models as well and your photos have prompted me to consider switching the necks. Did you have the maple board aged or toned? I do find the Fat Tele's HB can sound muddy sometimes. What did you replace the original with? Thanks.

Welcome!

Well, it's aged, not toned. From pale to amber. It still has that satin finish (I don't like glossy neck). I've used 3 fat tele combo: SD Quarter Pounder (b) - P-Rails (n) with 500k pots (great for heavy blues and rock) then CS Nocaster (b) - SD '59 (n) with 375k pots (versatile set). Now it has a 'broadcasterish' bridge pickup by Artec and 'Gibsony P-94' by Wilkinson with 375k pots. The bridge pickup's output is hotter than Nocaster but less hot than Quarter Pounder. The neck pickup gives me P-90 sound.

If you still want to use the stock bridge pickup and pots, SD Jazz should be a nice pair in the neck position. I'm sure it won't get muddy and overpower the bridge pickup. Btw, Keystones set with 250k pots is great for the thinline.

I have one of the teal colored Strats. Long story, but it's the most incredible Strat I've ever played. Had a couple of the red, bound Teles, too. Beautiful guitars. Got the Strat (w/ new HSC) in a Kansas pawn shop around 10 years ago for $120.

3 other Squier Pro Tone Strats added to the collection.
3T Sunburst, Transp. Crimson Red, Transp. Blue.

The White one is the one shown on Post # 1

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/5595bassman/Strats/SquierProTone-3StratsCIK1-96amp2-972_zps01e8c88b.jpg

The Teal one ( Transp. Blue that yellowed ) is not all original.
Previous owner replaced gold bridge with a chrome 2 points and gold jack cup with chrome. I then replaced tuners and string trees with chrome one to match. Neck plate is still gold.
And finally I changed the PG and non-original electronics for a 2010 MIM loaded Mint Green PG.
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/5595bassman/Strats/SquierPTStratTBlueMod2_zps9ef06d50.jpg

Wow, very nice. Is the neck on teal one thicker than the others? The all maple neck on the thinline is thicker than the fat tele neck (like the case of CV and CVC).