New Squiers Are Now $600

[telemnemonics]

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.

That's EXACTLY what I think of as Squier because it's the only model that isn't plentiful and cheap in the Fender brand.
Not in the last two years but I've played probably dozens of the JMJM's often with cash in my pocket and they always have a consistent mediocrity.
Nothing wrong, just kind of dead and lacking any notable charisma, while not being cheap either.
I stopped looking though when they were still $450 all day and $400 now and then second hand.
Guitar Center always stocked them, very popular so players (or buyers) seem to like them?

 

[Alcohen]

If you pay a premium for a "40th Anniversary" Squier, of all things, with gold colored hardware, that's on you. They're nice looking guitars, and may be good instruments, but that there is the marketing department flexing.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

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

Word to yo mama (I love it when I talk stupid obsolete hipster slang)!

Telecasters are simple machines.
Building one yourself or with limited assistance from a luthier is easy and for the time being a bargain.
Plus you get EXACTLY what you want.

1. Decent Tele bodies are all over eBay and other sites for under $200 if you don't want something "fancy."
And even at those prices, there are plenty that are double bound and ready to bolt up.

2. Mighty Mite and other established brands sell decent necks on Amazon and other outlets for around $125 every day.

3. All the hardware you need (bridgeplate, neckplate, saddles, knobs, switches, pots, jack, tuners, string trees) ditto.

4. Bootstrap sells great pickups hand wound in a garage in Ohio for less than $50 a set, plus P90s, HBs, etc.

I recently built a really swell double-bound thinline (Linda Lou) for less than $500.
And you've got the good folks on this forum to ask for help, so no worries.

Oh, and you can go for extra points by slapping a $10 decal on the headstock to piss off the corksniffers.

 

[telemnemonics]

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.

Containers nuthin, I blame the rabid crackhead style consumerism!

How many guitar player consumers have no guitar???

How many guitar consumers play our guitar more than we participate on gear forums, watch youtube gear reviews, shop and nit pick miniscule issues with our new gear?

 

[JL_LI]

That's too much money to send to China and I'm still not convinced that consistent quality is coming out of Indonesia. Save a few more shekels and buy MIA, or at least MInorthA.

 

[Ronzo]

This FSR Aztec Gold Squier Bullet Stratocaster was purchased by my Lady from MF for $99.99 with free shipping. It arrived in my office on September 6, 2016:

Five years later, after a set of Hipshot locking staggered tuners and a pickguard/backplate change, it’s still a great player:

As another poster said, the Golden Age may have ended.

 

[421JAM]

I haven’t played a MIM in a while, but I used to have a MIM Strat in the early 2010s. It was $299, or maybe $350 new. It was INferior to my Squier Vintage Modifed Jazzmaster, which I purchased new for $250 around 2013-15. The fretwork and general finishing work on the guitar was not as good as the Squier.

What is it about current model MIMs that is better than the higher end current model Squiers?

 

[bottlenecker]

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..

The TOM bothered me, tbh. I didn't realize the P90s. I'll pass. I just got hyped for a bargain.

 

[Telecaster88]

Well, I'm gonna have to reconsider. Can't keep crying about inflation...

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/squier-40th-anniversary-models

View attachment 944717

I have the hots for this one, but will have to wait for reviews.

 

[jwsamuel]

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

I have been doing just that...comparing a G&L Tribute ASAT Bluesboy at $549 to a Squier Classic Vibe 70s Telecaster Deluxe at $489.

 

[bottlenecker]

That's EXACTLY what I think of as Squier because it's the only model that isn't plentiful and cheap in the Fender brand.
Not in the last two years but I've played probably dozens of the JMJM's often with cash in my pocket and they always have a consistent mediocrity.
Nothing wrong, just kind of dead and lacking any notable charisma, while not being cheap either.
I stopped looking though when they were still $450 all day and $400 now and then second hand.
Guitar Center always stocked them, very popular so players (or buyers) seem to like them?

Thanks! You fellas cured my fomo.

 

[Greg70]

Back in 2011 when I bought my new 2011 MIM Tele for $400, I never realized I was making an investment. I fully expected it to go down in value since it wasn't MIA. I see them on Reverb now for close to double that.

 

[Whatizitman]

Back in 2011 when I bought my new 2011 MIM Tele for $400, I never realized I was making an investment. I fully expected it to go down in value since it wasn't MIA. I see them on Reverb now for close to double that.

I bought my MIM tele new in 1999 for $299(?). I just remember selling off my LP Studio for $500 cash, and buying the tele and a few other recording gear things with the rest of the dough. I still have it. It's a far better guitar than the gibson was. Only until very recently have I considered keeping it for "investment", though. In the past when I was tempted to sell or trade, I reminded myself that the cash I might get from it wouldn't cover another guitar as good or better. That and sentimental value has kept it around.

Well, the way things are going, now maybe there are other reason$ to keep it.

That times they are a-changin'.

EDIT: I also have an 80s E-series MIJ P-bass I bought in horrible shape from a pawn shop that same year. $80. I still have it, and play it regularly. It took some work to get playable. And it's certainly not pretty. But it does its job with a little side of vintage mojo. Same situation. Hasn't been worth selling. Granted, it's worth more now than $80. But it's also not worth as much, or as good as shape, as a new MIM P-bass. Not yet, anyway. So it stays.

As soon as it can pay for a new MIM or MIA pbass, it goes.

 

[BorderRadio]

I have the hots for this one, but will have to wait for reviews.

It's this or a USA made Harmony this year. Im sure I'll talk myself out of it--adulting these days

 

[northernguitar]

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

I was gonna say a Godin Stadium. Keep North American craftsmen and women employed.

 

[Chuckster]

Now I may be reconsidering the asking price on my Silver Sparkle Squier Bullet...

 

[archetype]

Well, I'm gonna have to reconsider. Can't keep crying about inflation...

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/squier-40th-anniversary-models

View attachment 944717

Desert Sand and brushed gold look mighty fine together.

 

[aging_rocker]

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

Sadly, I think you are spot-on with that.

 

[loopfinding]

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).

i dunno, i had a VMJM and the neck was as thin as my 90s MIM strat (so thinner than 08-present MIM standards). it was nowhere near the vintage JMs i've played or allparts JM neck i had, and it was noticeably thinner than the classic player JM or my MIM standard tele. the only beefy-ish JM they did was the j mascis.

it's been my experience that the squier necks tend to run thinner across the board than a comparable MIM.

 

[BorderRadio]

i dunno, i had a VMJM and the neck was as thin as my 90s MIM strat (so thinner than 08-present MIMs). it was nowhere near the classic JMs i've played or allparts JM neck i had, and it was noticeably thinner than the classic player JM or my MIM standard tele. it's been my experience that the squier necks tend to run thinner across the board than present MIM.

I mostly agree with this. However they also vary from guitar to guitar more than people assume, and some models became known for its neck (early Squier '51s for example). I sold my 2016 VM Mustang but not because of the chunky neck. It measured 0.92" to 0.95", 1st to 12th, nice C-shape profile with a rosewood fingerboard. Another player mentioned his VM Jag was just under 1 inch at the first fret. On the other hand the VMJM I own is average, just a little less than an Allparts JM neck.