Squier Vintage Modified Teles - Worth Further Modding?

PJ · February 9th, 2008, 04:02 PM

I've been looking at these India-made Squier VM models, wondering if it'd be worth modding the neck hummer model with some decent pickups and tuners. Seems you can find some (a few) with frets filed well enough along the fretboard edge to not require trips to the ER after playing and the finish work seems better than any other Squier stuff I've seen. Might even make a nice mini-hummer project - Maybe even an Esquire.

Doug Ferguson · February 9th, 2008, 04:19 PM

FWIW, half the fun of a Squire is the mods you can do. They're a great platform for that. I've got a less-than-a-month-old SA, and I'm getting ready to put in my 3rd p/u. Swapped the original for a lil '59, but it was a little hotter than I wanted. (I'll save it for my next SA

!) Seriously, they're decent guitars. Just make sure you buy the one you play. After that, have fun!

boris bubbanov · February 9th, 2008, 04:22 PM

I've only played a couple. There are some nice details, for sure. Nice neck/headstock transition, chunky neck.

The Indian ones, the solid bodied ones, are made of 'Indian Cedar' or tun.
The tun wood is not dense at all. These, the ones I played, are lighter than the VM Thinlines (Chinese). I have decided they are neck heavy, I had some mild neck dive on the 2 pickup version.

I think more of the dimensions are interchangeable with the N. A. Fenders. But the prices are simply too high. My overall impression was the Duncan Designed pickups were not quite good enough to actually use, in most cases.

If the price dropped big time for what ever reason, I might give them another look. I think the fun in the Squier line is concentrated in the Indonesian ones; the lower the sales price, the better.

PJ · February 9th, 2008, 05:13 PM

Boris....you're right. If I could snag one for <$200, it might be worth tricking one up, but at $300 new, after
upgrades, you'd be in the Classic Series or Baja ballpark.

February 9th, 2008, 04:02 PM	#1 (permalink)
PJ Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,909 4 Photos	Squier Vintage Modified Teles - Worth Further Modding? I've been looking at these India-made Squier VM models, wondering if it'd be worth modding the neck hummer model with some decent pickups and tuners. Seems you can find some (a few) with frets filed well enough along the fretboard edge to not require trips to the ER after playing and the finish work seems better than any other Squier stuff I've seen. Might even make a nice mini-hummer project - Maybe even an Esquire. __________________ PJ "I don't know if it's art, but I like it."

February 9th, 2008, 04:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
Doug Ferguson Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Indianapolis, IN Age: 55 Posts: 1,541	FWIW, half the fun of a Squire is the mods you can do. They're a great platform for that. I've got a less-than-a-month-old SA, and I'm getting ready to put in my 3rd p/u. Swapped the original for a lil '59, but it was a little hotter than I wanted. (I'll save it for my next SA !) Seriously, they're decent guitars. Just make sure you buy the one you play. After that, have fun! __________________ If you get hung up on just guitar players, you've missed something.... Don't ever get to a point where you just gotta be a guitar player. You hear something, go try to get that note and sound as much like that as you can.-Buddy Guy

February 9th, 2008, 04:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
boris bubbanov Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA + in the past Posts: 7,633	I've only played a couple. There are some nice details, for sure. Nice neck/headstock transition, chunky neck. The Indian ones, the solid bodied ones, are made of 'Indian Cedar' or tun. The tun wood is not dense at all. These, the ones I played, are lighter than the VM Thinlines (Chinese). I have decided they are neck heavy, I had some mild neck dive on the 2 pickup version. I think more of the dimensions are interchangeable with the N. A. Fenders. But the prices are simply too high. My overall impression was the Duncan Designed pickups were not quite good enough to actually use, in most cases. If the price dropped big time for what ever reason, I might give them another look. I think the fun in the Squier line is concentrated in the Indonesian ones; the lower the sales price, the better. __________________ Bubban0v

February 9th, 2008, 05:13 PM	#4 (permalink)
PJ Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,909 4 Photos	Boris....you're right. If I could snag one for <$200, it might be worth tricking one up, but at $300 new, after upgrades, you'd be in the Classic Series or Baja ballpark. __________________ PJ "I don't know if it's art, but I like it."