New Squiers Are Now $600

[Whatizitman]

*Steve Martin voice*

Ahem. I got this 2021 for five. hundred. dollars.

 

[backporchmusic]

They're still using monkey woods for bodies and fretboards, yet the price goes up. Look at Guild--their new Starfire I line uses rosewood, and came out priced at 499. Silvertone reissues use rosewood, and they can be had for 299.

My new CV 60s Esquire is the most tonally dead guitar I've ever owned. Just a bland mush.

So no thanks, Squier. Bound and blocked is nice, but stop with your monkey woods and get back to woods that sound better.

 

[bottlenecker]

It bothers me that I sold my 50s lacquer Tele for 5 or 600 (can't remember) around 2016. Hope that kid knows what he has, and did something awesome with it.

What do you think about those j mascis jazzmasters for $500 (if they're still $500)? I've thought about one just because of some of the people who've raved about them.

 

[Fearnot]

Great. Time for a new bargain brand. I couldn't pull the trigger for $450 Squiers... so this isn't gonna happen at all. Maybe once they show up on the used market.

 

[dankilling]

Looks like partscasters are going to get a LOT more popular!

 

[bgmacaw]

Ok. Let’s compare to a $600 G&L Tribute and a Yamaha PAC.

The Yamaha Pacifica 3 and 6 series are in the same price range and lower and have better specs. There are also some nicely spec'ed "off-brands" like Eart and Firefly to be considered by bargain shoppers.

Now that I consider it, I think FMIC is trying to push prices of their Fenders higher with this move. If a Squier is $500+ then a MIM Fender for $1000 doesn't seem as unreasonable.

 

[BorderRadio]

What do you think about those j mascis jazzmasters for $500 (if they're still $500)? I've thought about one just because of some of the people who've raved about them.

They're good guitars, great neck. I bought a few necks for my parts JM, and messed around with a few stock. I've read on thee interwebs that these necks are chunky. The ones I played are all average, but they are wide at the nut and they have jumbo frets, which I don't care for. They are also too far from the original JM specs for me, so I never bought one. The TOM bridge, P90 style pickups, and relocated trem plate are a no-go. So good guitar, one of the best Squier ever made, worth the old prices for sure if the specs jibe with you. It's still hard to swallow these new prices however..

 

[beyer160]

In related news, I won't be buying a Squier for $600.

LOVE that blue Jazzmaster!

Gold hardware? Yeah, no.

 

[Boreas]

Ah, but the B&B is what FMIC realizes offset people will pay more for I mean, those are not bells and whistles for me lol. I'll do 550 for that desert sand JM I posted above, especially if that neck feels like the older VM Jags and Mustangs (fat necks).

Can't argue there. My pretty-new CV Esquire has a pretty beefy neck, but if these are not CVs, they may well have a wimpy neck. Buy the one you like and let us know - It sure is pretty!

 

[Skyhook]

This is getting really ridiculous!
My MIM Classic 50's WB cost 666€ (a.k.a most Rock'n'Roll price tag ever) in 2014.
Not buying another Fender or Squier until things calm down.
Not expecting them to anytime soon, of course, but they will some day.
This is not a natural inflation like comparing prices from the 50's with today's prices.
This is a bubble and it's getting really stretched.

 

[Boreas]

Looks like partscasters are going to get a LOT more popular!

Good parts ain't gonna get cheaper... Because of shipping costs, few people peddle their old junk any more. Places like Stratosphere take a guitar, break it in half and sell the two halves for $100 more than they paid for the guitar. I have to search long and hard to find Fender/Squier beater necks and bodies to fix up. Nobody trashes their guitars anymore! It is a sickness!!

 

[Jensen]

Has anyone actually played any of these guitars?

It seems most people base their idea of value on where these guitars were made and by which brand.

 

[Boreas]

I lived through and survived the inflated 70s-80s here in the US, and although interest rates eventually dropped, prices typically did not until we began trading in earnest with China/Japan. But then, we got what we got. As a registered Pessimist, I doubt luxury item (guitar/amps) prices will ever drop. After all, WHO is going to take the first step?

 

[fendrguitplayr]

I'm old enough to remember buying a US made Strat for less than that.

Same here and it came with a decent G&G HS case.

 

[sax4blues]

My wife’s parents bought their house in 1964 for $20,000. It was a stretch to make the $90/month payment. 2017 they sold for $1.8 million and the buyer promptly tore it down.

So what.

 

[telemnemonics]

Whut?

 

[Ronzo]

The days of the $150 Bullet Squier may also be over. Indeed - paying more for parts and labor will typically lead to higher prices. Priced amps lately?

FSR Squier Bullet Tele in Lake Placid Blue went from $150 USD in MF/GC to $219.99 in those same outlets when the new stock arrived on or about January 19, 2022.

Still the best value in Fender’s line, IMO.

Pricing for container space to land the product in the USA, IMO, is the most likely cause of the price jump.

 

[aging_rocker]

Yeah, I read somewhere recently that the price of moving 40 foot containers around the world has increased 10x recently. That's got to be paid for somehow, I guess.

 

[getbent]

we lived in multiple golden ages fellers. and... they are over.

 

[Flip G]

$185 CDN for my Squier Standard Tele back in 2010. When I bought one for a friend as a gift back in 2018, they'd gone up to $300-something. When I purchased my Epiphone Dot back in 2008, Gretsch Electromatics were also in the same price range of $500CDN. Just two years later, they'd gone up to $900CDN. It made me think I should've bought one when I had the chance, but I just didn't connect with the G5120 the way that I did the Dot.