Squier?

[Ol Geezer]

jeje said:

Hmm yeah, they had those too, but he wanted a whopping 600 bucks for them

Are you in the U.S.? All the online stores and local Guitar Centers regularly sell the Made In Mexico Standard Telecasters and Stratocasters here for $350 -- I got my last one for only $300.

[jeje]

No, I live in norway.. weird having that price on a mexican, and that low price on the squire, eh?

[Steelpriest]

Obviously Norway is an expensive place to live... My Mexican Strat was 600,00 DM once ago, when we still had the Deutsch Mark, now in Euros 600,00 DM would be 300,00 €, this is about 350,00 $ like Ol Geezer said... hmmm... But you can also buy a Squire and rely on it. The Squier models are very decent and in any case worth the money.

[jeje]

Yes, Norway is on the top 5 list of expensive countries to live.. But also on the top 3(I think) richest countries list, so I guess it sort of levels..

But I want a tele!

[wierdsley]

Hey...I have played both the Squier Teles and the Fender Mex Standards. Not too much difference when you get to the higher end Squiers but the lower ends are not all that great, in my opinion anyway. If it were my choice I would go for the Fender Mex. You will have the basics then and can mod it if you want to. Whatever your choice, good luck. I have always wanted a Tele but have not been able to put aside the cash without something else coming up that needed financial attention.

[sacrifice]

I have a very cool aged white Squier Strat with a black pickguard which I bought in the Philippines with my hard earned moolah as a kid in high school. It was made in Japan and has a killer maple neck & fretboard. I even sounds good unplugged! You can get a really good crunch sound out of it. It is my baby. I will never sell this guitar b/c of sentimental reasons. It has my blood, sweat and tears in it (literally---you can see it on the neck! OK, not blood.)

A luthier here in California told me this was a particularly good Squier because Japan went to making Fenders right around the time I got this in the early 90s. Anybody know about that? Would my serial number help unearth it's place in history?

[JotaDe]

I've got a MIK Squire II and want to change the pickguard (it's an 11 hole one).
Anyone here do this, if so where did you get the pickguard from?
I've heard typical strat pickguards don't always fit.

CAFeathers, I think I read on the Fender forum that you moded your squire, did you change out the pickguard?

[CAFeathers]

No, I didn't, however, check with Warmoth www.warmoth.com they have several options available for their pickguards.

[JotaDe]

Thanks for the reply.
Guitar Center mentioned they have a Pro-Line pickguard.
Any idea if this fits squiers?

[CAFeathers]

Basically the pickguards themselves are the same size, it is just screwhole placement that they talk about. If you don't mind drilling a new hole or two any of them should work.

[JotaDe]

Thanks again.
I'd like to pose a bit of an objective question...

If any of you were given a Korean Squier II would you bother upgrading it with say new tuners, PU's, pots, output jack, and selector switch OR would you just put that money into a newer strat (which would probably be more than the upgrades)?

I'd love to have a squier strat-like guitar to complement my Epi LP and hope that this Squier II can cover it, but I don't want to put any $$ into it if it won't even give me a decent strat sound.

[CAFeathers]

My Squier Standard Strat is made in China and the ONLY mod I have done to it is adding an on/off switch so I can add the bridge pup into the mix anytime I want. I have NO plans to do any other mods to it. It plays excellent and sounds good to me.

[bek]

I have had a couple USA Strats, and I actually like the tone of my Squier Bullet Strat (hardtail super-cheapo) better than the American ones. I know that's blasphemy, but I think the Squier has a more elemental, nasty tone. I did install a Fat-O-Caster, but it was already good-sounding. I think the deal is, the imports are a bit less consistent.

[jeje]

Well, I'm bumping this thread.. I tested some teles today, and I fell in love with an antique burst (?).. Indonesian made, it said. Considering buying it tomorrow, got a good deal

(btw, this is my post #200 )

[exyearrboy]

I think the basic difference is that the Squier is a bit thinner in the neck (at the nut end especially), but the quality is still pretty high. The sound is a bit rougher and noisier than the Mexican, but it's an excellent guitar (Affinity series included) to modify since a) Fender and Fender replica and replacement parts are everywhere, b) they're cheap... really cheap, c) you can switch out a pickguard and totally change the look, sound, and attitude in one fell swoop, and d) they're a breeze to work on. I was toying with making my strat project a shredding machine (HSH pickups, push pull pots, etc.), but laziness and a regression to my bluesiness left me with a middle ground (Armstrong Distortion HB in the bridge, MIM strat pickup wired out of phase in the mid, yamaha telecaster in the neck). Both are great values and both are fun to tinker with, though the Squier pots are a bit piddly.
Ty