Linus Pickle
Tele-Holic
A little background here - I am a bass player and have been playing, off and on (mostly on) for the last 25 years. I do most of my own setup and tech work, the only thing I don't touch is woodwork. But I've never owned an electric guitar. Until today, anyway.
This is the 40th Anniversary Vintage Telecaster, specs wise it's on par with a Classic Vibe. I saw these when they came out and were around $500, but passed on it at the time.
But then last week I saw that Musician's Friend had a couple versions of this for $299, with an additional 10% off if you had a (free) account with them. $270 was too good a deal to pass up so I pulled the trigger.
The last Squier I owned was a Bronco Bass, in 1998 when I first started playing bass. It was a cheapo piece of junk and I unloaded it pretty quick, upgrading to a Peavey Foundation. I had a sour opinion of Squier instruments for a long time as a result. But I kept seeing reviews of people trying out the higher tier Squiers and being impressed, in some cases even preferring them over Mexican Fenders that cost 3 times as much.
I'm pleased to say this one not only lived up to the reputation but in some ways exceeded them. The neck on this feels satin smooth - not glossy, which is good because I find gloss finish a little sticky - and there are no sharp fret edges on either side. I've also heard that these Squier guitars can be on the heavy side but this one weighed in at a featherweight 6 lbs 6 oz! I had to double check on my bathroom scale to confirm.
Hardware wise, I find this mostly fine. The pots have a little bit of scratch to them but I suspect that will wear off eventually. If not, I can replace them. The tuners seem alright, nothing jumps out as especially terrible or especially wonderful about them but they do what they're supposed to do without being loose or skipping gears.
The screws to adjust the bridge saddles are a bit soft and my screwdriver already started to strip them when I was setting it up. But I've ordered compensated brass saddles anyway, so they don't need to last.
Sound wise, it's hard for me to gauge yet. I ordered a little Fender Mustang LT25 practice amp but that arrives tomorrow, for now all I've got is a Danelectro Honeytone. A lot of folks don't care for the neck pickup on this, but again, I'll wait and see and if I'm not happy, I can replace that myself.
On top of all that this thing just looks great. Dakota Red is a nice bold color, it even shines through in the matte finish. And the black binding is a nice accent. I'm excited to finally give learning this weird little bass with too many strings that are too thin and too close together a proper go.
This is the 40th Anniversary Vintage Telecaster, specs wise it's on par with a Classic Vibe. I saw these when they came out and were around $500, but passed on it at the time.
But then last week I saw that Musician's Friend had a couple versions of this for $299, with an additional 10% off if you had a (free) account with them. $270 was too good a deal to pass up so I pulled the trigger.
The last Squier I owned was a Bronco Bass, in 1998 when I first started playing bass. It was a cheapo piece of junk and I unloaded it pretty quick, upgrading to a Peavey Foundation. I had a sour opinion of Squier instruments for a long time as a result. But I kept seeing reviews of people trying out the higher tier Squiers and being impressed, in some cases even preferring them over Mexican Fenders that cost 3 times as much.
I'm pleased to say this one not only lived up to the reputation but in some ways exceeded them. The neck on this feels satin smooth - not glossy, which is good because I find gloss finish a little sticky - and there are no sharp fret edges on either side. I've also heard that these Squier guitars can be on the heavy side but this one weighed in at a featherweight 6 lbs 6 oz! I had to double check on my bathroom scale to confirm.
Hardware wise, I find this mostly fine. The pots have a little bit of scratch to them but I suspect that will wear off eventually. If not, I can replace them. The tuners seem alright, nothing jumps out as especially terrible or especially wonderful about them but they do what they're supposed to do without being loose or skipping gears.
The screws to adjust the bridge saddles are a bit soft and my screwdriver already started to strip them when I was setting it up. But I've ordered compensated brass saddles anyway, so they don't need to last.
Sound wise, it's hard for me to gauge yet. I ordered a little Fender Mustang LT25 practice amp but that arrives tomorrow, for now all I've got is a Danelectro Honeytone. A lot of folks don't care for the neck pickup on this, but again, I'll wait and see and if I'm not happy, I can replace that myself.
On top of all that this thing just looks great. Dakota Red is a nice bold color, it even shines through in the matte finish. And the black binding is a nice accent. I'm excited to finally give learning this weird little bass with too many strings that are too thin and too close together a proper go.
