Squier Standard Tele Questions

[RobBnTX]

Looking over the Elderly Instruments site I was looking at close up shots of the Squier Standard Telecasters here and here.

I especially really like the Vintage Blond one and I think with the rosewood fretboards these sort of have a 60s Classic look to them. I also kind of wonder what the Antique Burst model would look like with a white pearloid pickguard? That Antique Burst is fairlly redish to me, maybe a bit too redish, at least in these pics.

Someone told me that with a good Pro Set-up and a better set of pick-ups these Squiers are a really good value for the money. I realize there has been lots of excitement over their newly release Vibe models but I am curious about the Standard. One question I have is about the wood. How does agathis compare to alder? Is it more softer than alder and therefore more prone to denting? How does it compare to alder in tonality?

Thanks,
RFB

[degsycaster]

RobBnTx. I had one of those Squier Stds about a year ago. Bought it to upgrade the heck out of but in the end I never bothered - it was a great guitar 'as is'. Never played it in a gig situation but for home use it was a really 'believable' Tele in both tone and feel. Ended up selling it to a pal who sold his MIJ '71 re-issue and kept the Indonesian Squier. Hope this helps

[Daddydex]

I love my Indonesian Squier. I feel no need to change the pickups. I gig with it regularly. Buy it, set it up, play it, live with it and then decide what mods it may or may not need.

Dan

[Sollophonic]

I have a Squier Standard in Antique Burst, and it is a great guitar. Admittedly I got it used, but I love it and think that it is a great guitar for the money new as well. I have tried a white pearl plate on mine, and didn't like it much, I prefer the torty one that it came with, though a three ply black works well on it. I havent done much to mine, except the mods which I have done to both my Squiers, and that is to remove the chrome cover on the neck pickup, if you want more tone. That and I've wired the switch so that the middle postion has both pickups in parallel.

IMO, before you go changing pickups, try the cover removal mod, it really works, more treble and mids, more volume, less muddyness (unless you like that tone).

The Squier Standard is a really nice guitar, its sounds and feels great, its not too heavy, the only gripe is I wish they did it with a maple fingerboard, but Ive got used to mine, and I have other teles with maple boards.

[mellecaster]

Originally Posted by RobBnTX

Looking over the Elderly Instruments site I was looking at close up shots of the Squier Standard Telecasters here and here.

I especially really like the Vintage Blond one and I think with the rosewood fretboards these sort of have a 60s Classic look to them. I also kind of wonder what the Antique Burst model would look like with a white pearloid pickguard? That Antique Burst is fairlly redish to me, maybe a bit too redish, at least in these pics.

Someone told me that with a good Pro Set-up and a better set of pick-ups these Squiers are a really good value for the money. I realize there has been lots of excitement over their newly release Vibe models but I am curious about the Standard. One question I have is about the wood. How does agathis compare to alder? Is it more softer than alder and therefore more prone to denting? How does it compare to alder in tonality?

Thanks,
RFB

I would strongly suggest a Good Pro Set-up w/ Strings of your choice...leave all else stock...and put that money towards an Amp....JMO

[yegbert]

Originally Posted by RobBnTX

I also kind of wonder what the Antique Burst model would look like with a white pearloid pickguard? That Antique Burst is fairlly redish to me, maybe a bit too redish, at least in these pics.

Here's my '05 with a a yellowed/aged white pearl pickguard:

Originally Posted by RobBnTX

Someone told me that with a good Pro Set-up and a better set of pick-ups these Squiers are a really good value for the money. I realize there has been lots of excitement over their newly release Vibe models but I am curious about the Standard. One question I have is about the wood. How does agathis compare to alder? Is it more softer than alder and therefore more prone to denting? How does it compare to alder in tonality?

Thanks,
RFB

IMHO they are a good value. Maybe the popularity of the Classic Vibe will push some folks to sell their Standards to make room/money to buy a Classic Vibe, and an increased supply in the used market will cause their selling prices used to drop some. But even at $200 new I think they are still a good value.

And if you're open to looking for used, you might consider looking for one of the earlier models which had three tone sunburst instead of antique sunburst. I like both.

Here's my '03 in 3TS with the stock W/B/W guard:



From '98 (first year of production in Indonesia) through '99 the Standards had 21-fret maple fretboards. Here's my '99:



IMHO, whether they need new pickups is to some extent whether the owner/player likes the tonal e.q. of the stock pickups. They are Mighty Mite Alnico pickups. I've switched back and forth between the stock pickups and others in my '05, I have the stock pickups in my '05 and '03 now.

I have a few of the Squier Standards with agathis bodies, one Special with an alder body and a partscaster with an alder MIM Standard body. In my experience, agathis is noticeably softer.

I can't tell whether alder vs. agathis has any affect on tone.

[mista breeze]

yegbert,,,You are the King of the Squier guitars! Ive never seen so many Squier Teles in someones collection. Ive got the Affinity...but thinking of going for the Standard for Classic Vibe myself.

[bowlfreshener]

I have 5 Squier Standard Telecasters (plus one of the Squier Vintage Modified Custom Teles), and they are all stock. Great guitars once properly set up.

However, if you do buy it from Elderly, they are one of the few online retailers who set-up the instruments they sell prior to shipping:
http://elderly.com/repair/setups.html
And they'll probably put on whatever strings you request, though they may charge you for the strings, I don't know as I haven't ordered from them before.

[RobBnTX]

Originally Posted by yegbert

Here's my '05 with a a yellowed/aged white pearl pickguard:

Oooh, better than expected. I have to say, that is a tempting look, thanks for sharing that!

Originally Posted by mellecaster

I would strongly suggest a Good Pro Set-up w/ Strings of your choice...leave all else stock...and put that money towards an Amp....JMO

Good advice, however I already have a small Peavey 40 Watt Amp, but I do have my eye on a Marshall 50 Watt Twin Channel Combo.

Thanks for all the replies,
RFB

[Roli]

I have the Standard Fat Tele in antique burst. The only mods I did were to turn the neck 'bucker around to get a bit more treble and I added a 5-way switch. It's a good guitar.

[MatteusNova]

Originally Posted by yegbert

Here's my '03 in 3TS with the stock W/B/W guard:

Do you have a better pic of the body of that one, I'd like to see the grain. Is
that Agathis also?

[Roli]

Here's my antique burst one, it's agathis:

[yegbert]

Originally Posted by MatteusNova

Do you have a better pic of the body of that one, I'd like to see the grain. Is
that Agathis also?

Here's a closeup of that '03. Of the 3 sunburst finished agathis bodies I have, this is the only one with these somewhat larger and bolder streaks in the grain:



The other two closeup:

My '99 3TS:


The '05 antique burst again:

[jwl325]

I've owned two of these--sold my first one when I got a Fender '52, but surprisingly, I missed the Squier. Picked up another one about two years later--both vintage blonde.

I wound up modding the second one, but it was more out of curiosity than need. The only downside I noticed was that the neck seemed a bit more prone to temp/humidity changes than other guitars I own. Seemed like I was having to tweak the truss rod fairly frequently. Interestingly, when I sold my first one, the guy who bought it said the neck appeared to have been twisted a bit--it was straight when I shipped, so I now wonder if maybe this is a common trait from the Indy guitars.

Long story short, I put a set of SD 5-2 p/ups in this one, and bolted on a used MIM Std maple neck I picked up off the 'bay. I like the Fender neck better--feels a bit heftier (I haven't measured it), and there are no issues with the shape. Had it professionally set up when I swapped the necks.

I was going to sell this one when I got my Baja, but it's such a great little guitar now, I know I'd never get anywhere near the money I sunk into it, so I imagine she'll be sticking around a bit, LOL.

The Squier body is super light, and like you, I really like the vin blonde finish. The SD pickups really give her some oomph....

Bottom line, stock or mod, it's a great vehicle.

Bill

[RickG501]

Here's mine...
I have since refinished the neck..I tinted it and put some gloss laquer on it. Looks and plays better..IMO. The weak point on mine is the 6 saddle bridge, I'm just not crazy about it as I'm more a fan of the three saddle brass. The tuners are not what I'd like they slip a bit, I'd rather have some fender F-style.tele.jpg

[yegbert]

Originally Posted by RickG501

...The weak point on mine is the 6 saddle bridge, I'm just not crazy about it as I'm more a fan of the three saddle brass.

IMHO, a significant factor in the tone of the Squier Standard Tele is the thickness of its stock bridge plate.

The components on my '03 that IMHO affect tone are stock except for the pots, I swapped out the original 500K pots for 250K items. It has its original bridge.

I had done the same mods to my '05 plus I had swapped the pickups and installed a vintage spec bridge. I have since put the original pickups back in the '05.

So at this point, the only difference between these two Teles that is IMHO significant to tone, is the bridge.

My impression is that the '03 with the stock Squier bridgeplate has less harmonic complexity than the '05 with the vintage spec plate.

On a Squier Tele Special I've used a Fender Custom Shop Custom Classic bridge, which has six block shaped saddles on a plate that covers the same footprint as an American Standard or an Indonesian Squier Standard, but is made of relatively thin steel. With that bridge on that Tele, it sounds to me like it has the harmonic complexity similar to my Teles with vintage spec plates and three brass or steel saddles. But just recently I put a bridge plate on the Special that is made like the early '80s Revised Standard Tele: thick L-shaped with Elite-style saddles. Now it sounds to me like it has a more limited harmonic complexity, like that of my Squier Standard Tele stock thick bridge.

Those are just a couple of my experiments with different bridge plates, I've swapped other bridges I believe are similar, with similar results.

I've done some swapping of 3-piece saddles of different brands, diameters and materials. I think I heard some differences between brass and steel, and between skinny Fender steel and fatter Glendale or RSGuitarworks steel; but not as much I think I hear between a thick bridgeplate and a thin bridgeplate.

These are just my observations and opinions based on my own experiences. I don't suggest anyone should take my opinions as fact, and I don't suggest anyone should consider one type of bridge or saddle inherently better than another.

[kp8]

I have one as my Korean guitar (i live half the year in Korea). I bought it last year for my b-day and i leave it there now. It just seems silly to carry a guitar back and forth twice a year, esp. with the hassles in air-travel post 9/11. When i did my "Asian Tour" last year (playing to groups of 50 and sleeping on peoples couches), i had to pay overage on most flights. I had to pay in Taiwan and Korea and Japan... screw it. It actually is probably cheaper and it is one less thing to cary.

I love it. It is what i gig with when i am in Seoul. Fantastic little guitar. Blonde + RW is my favorite all time classic combo.

[boris bubbanov]

These are all Indonesia Squier "Fat" Teles, virtually the same except for the addition of the Humbucker.



I've substituted maple two piece Squier 51 necks, but they're basically the same. (If nothing else, the 21 fret neck speeds pickup changes.) I use Gotoh Klusons and add a sleeve to the bushing to fit the 10.5 mm Squier headstock bore, and I install a graphtech or Tusq precut nut. I show a couple of possible variants on saddles with the stock bridge plate. Nashville 6 hammer steel, Graphtech, and compensated brass. Each guitar uses an Electrosocket.

Yegbert's bridgeplate change requires finesse; IMO that move is much harder than changing bridge plates on a Fender American series. Of the 3 saddle choices, the brass is the best. But the bridgeplate is the boogieman, if you're looking for one; everything else is a breeze.

I walk past an AV 52 FSR and pick up one of these, and I don't feel the least bit deprived. Nice guitars.

[Sollophonic]

Just a quick shot of mine. Like I said, I have changed the nut for a bone one, I have rewired it so that the middle position plays in parallel, and I have done that simple mod that was posted on here that stops you losing your treble when you turn the volume pot down. Oh, and the front pickup now doesnt have a cover on, but I am working on cutting out a slot in a chrome cover, so that the poles show through, yet should look a bit neater. Ive done this on my other Squier, I just havent got round to doing it to this one yet. I'll post pics when I do.

If I were to do anything else to this guitar, it would be to somehow fit three saddles onto it, but for now, it just plays and sounds superb to me. That and I've grown to like its looks as well, even though it wouldnt have been my first choice of colour.

[MatteusNova]

Originally Posted by yegbert

Here's a closeup of that '03. Of the 3 sunburst finished agathis bodies I have, this is the only one with these somewhat larger and bolder streaks in the grain:

Sweet, nice 3 Tone SB Squier you have there, they don't make them anymore. Thanks for showing it.