So lately I've been playing my Surf Green Bullet Tele in my quasi-country/classic rock band. A lot. So I figured that some of the bars we play I might as well pick up another Squier Bullet Tele for a back up guitar. I passed on lots of Bullet Teles at GC (LPB, Red Sparkle etc.) because I had decided I wanted a black Tele. So I ordered the Black Bullet Tele from musicians friend and it got here today. Nice little guitar. Made in China instead of Indonesia. Set up nice. Playable right from the box, but it's top loader. Wasn't expecting a top loader. Doesn't matter to me much. I installed some locking Hipshot tuners I had laying around. Figured out how to restring it top loader style and I think it's gonna be OK. Got a Bootstrap Pretzel bridge pickup coming soon. I guess you never know what you are gonna get these days. I'll try to get some pics soon.
New Squier Bullet Tele
- Thread starter vanr
- Start date
glad to hear it was playable outta the box. Sometimes they’re not. The MF ad for this guitar shows it as string-through. Like you said, you never know what you’re gonna get these days.
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Boreas
Poster Extraordinaire
Odd. It sounds more like an Affinity body. Didn't know Bullets had gone that route, but for the price point, I don't blame them. Was this some kinda limited edition? I hope they didn't downgrade the pickups - I really like the Bullet pickups.
Yes, please hurry with pix!
Yes, please hurry with pix!
Yes another thing is it has the football jack plate instead of a Tele cup. Single ply white pickguard instead of white/black/white. The box says Bullet Telecaster. Don't know if they have made changes to the Bullet Teles or if mine is just some kind of freak stray. It plays nice though and is relatively light which I'll be glad of at my age on those 4-set late nights.
Boreas
Poster Extraordinaire
Dunno. Perhaps market forces and production demands forced them to start making them in China. Perhaps Bullets will always be made there now and the "upper-end" Squiers will be made in Indonesia.
DougM
Poster Extraordinaire
Fender will build any Squier wherever they can get the best price and best availability and quickest delivery when they need them. Economics 101
ricardo1912
Friend of Leo's
Maybe there's a difference between 'normal' Bullets and what fender call the FSR version? Here in the UK those are still string thru with traditional jack sockets. Whatever, they're very nice little guitars that seem much better than they should be for the price. Well done
jvin248
Doctor of Teleocity
The general pricing is Bullet -> Affinity -> ... MIM ... -> MIA. Bullet is their lowest priced model. Of course, that does not mean lowest quality/tones/etc/etc. And FSR means special run where the retailer chose a few non-standard features for the guitar to 'make it better' or 'stand out'. Might just be cosmetic or they did something with the hardware.
More recent Indonesian Squiers have been getting lower pickup bobbin wraps with the same ceramic magnets which is the same direction Leo Fender went with G&L where he used stronger magnets and less wire to get better signal and less noise.
I've found many of the import 'cheap' pickups often sound better than some of the popular aftermarket brands because they have lower internal capacitance -- operate more like hand-wound than machine-wound pickups.
If you get an itch to 'upgrade' a Squier ... focus on putting in the same branded parts used in MIA Fender models of Switch, Jack, and Pots. The other upgrades don't gain any practical advantage.
Btw, I love top loader bridges. I hate flipping guitars back and forth loading strings like some sort of wet fish. Through string takes longer ... and the same folks are putting locking tuners on to save time changing strings, lol. Roadie way to change strings: bring the string to the tuner post and wrap 3-4 times up, thread the hole, pull tight. Then you are only a few turns of the tuner knob away from pitch just as if you'd used a locking tuner. Only 'tune up' to pitch or you'll have strings slipping out of tune at the first strum if you try to 'tune down to pitch'.
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Funny. I have no preference--ok, gun to my head I'd prefer what I got, which is a string-through. But your post is funny nonetheless.
Fenderdad1950
Friend of Leo's
Another case of Fender's (Squire) basement priced guitar used in a band at gigs, making $ for its owner.
ricardo1912
Friend of Leo's
Willie Johnson
Friend of Leo's
That's kind of an odd duck--is the body thinner than usual Tele dimensions? My current favorite is a Bullet Tele that started life as a humbucker bridge/single coil neck, and is now a hb-sized P90 in the bridge and an Esquire pickguard--it has the skinny body, and I love it.
Ronzo
Tele-Afflicted
I think that Fender finally got the message that hard-to-play guitars at the entry level were one of the things that limited their market. Young players today haven’t the patience to fight the instrument while learning to play. And there is no stair-stepping the product line until the entry-level player is locked into playing. Fender learning software is part of this, as well.
In today’s CNC manufacturing world, even inexpensive instruments can play decently, if not well, out of the box.
In today’s CNC manufacturing world, even inexpensive instruments can play decently, if not well, out of the box.
Yes I hadn't really noticed it until last night, but the body is slightly thinner than a regular Tele. I like the guitar Ok, but in hindsight I should have returned it for not being as advertised on the MF site and tried to find one of the LPB FSR Bullets.
0SubSeanik0
Tele-Meister
I'm not sure if I've had to flip a wet fish before, but I'm confident that if I ever do, I will no doubt ask the person nearest to me if they have ever strung a Tele before. The trigger is now set in my subconscious.
So guys I played this Bullet last night at a gig and the guitar sounds great just stock. I have a Bootstrap Pretzel bridge pickup in the mail as we speak and now I wondering of I might just leave it stock. Played it through my Blackstar HT20 head and HTV-112 cabinet. Just the ideal sound for my quasi-country/classic rock band.
Glad to hear it was not just playable but sounded great. I am still GASing for one of those puppies, and these great reviews don't help. 
Ronzo
Tele-Afflicted
John, it appears the shipment of Lake Placid Blue Bullet Teles appears to have landed at Musicians Friend and Guitar Center online. Now $219.99. MF is blowing out the Red Sparkle version for $179.99 on clearance. Hope this helps!Glad to hear it was not just playable but sounded great. I am still GASing for one of those puppies, and these great reviews don't help.
Willie Johnson
Friend of Leo's
They're nice guitars--I had a regular Bullet Tele that I traded in on a Squier Super Sonic, but only because I picked up a mid-aughts Squier Standard Tele for next to nothin' that was just a bit nicer, otherwise I'd still have the Bullet.
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