Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster Thinline

The Squier Classic Vibe thinline Tele is a ressiue of the Telecaster that Fender introduced under CBS in the late sixties to appeal to a wider audience. It takes the typical Tele layout shape and electronics wise and mates it to a nice semi hollow body for increased resonance and trading some of the inherent brightness for a warmer, rounder tone. The guitar features a mahogany body (unusual for Fender in general, but it works here) a maple neck with 21 frets, standard Tele tuners and bridge, and a pair of classic Tonerider Tele pickups wired to a standard Tele setup of volume/tone/pickup selector. They are built to a certain price point, so Squier has these built in China, but the quality is really a wonderful thing and lots of players are giving them a serious look, sometimes even over an American made Fender.

UTILIZATION

The design of this guitar is pretty ergonomic to me. The hollow body does give it a bit of nice weight relief, so it is a guitar that's light enough for stage use. Other than this fact, the guitar feels much like a typical Tele, so the shape is devoid of the contouring that is found on many other Fenders. This brings the shape ergonomics down a bit, as does the blocky neck heel which is a common malady of Fender's designs. The upper fret access is not bad considering the neck heel and the fact that it's only a single cutaway. Overall I was pretty impressed on the occasions when I've jammed on one as I was able to do rhythms and leads pretty easily.

Getting a good tone out of this guitar is pretty easy. Squier used great pickups in these guitars and they work very well for many applications. The mahogany body and semi hollow construction take away some of that Tele twang, but it's replaced with a Gibson-esque warmth and a bit more sustain. Clean and drive tones sound great with this guitar due to the balanced frequency spectrum that it covers.

SOUNDS

This guitar, like the other CVs, is much more of a vintage sounding instrument and I found it sounded best with more vintage sounding amps as a result. The clean tones are nice and jangly, but with a punchiness and warmth that can only be had from mahogany. The semi hollow nature of the guitar also adds some heft to the tone by making it sound a bit more airy as well. Using drive (sparingly, mind you, since this IS a semi and will feed back at high gain levels) is great for some raunchy blues or rock tones with those subtle hints of distortion and clipping that so many players are into. You can't go TOO crazy with the gain levels on this guitar due to its construction and the fact that the single coils will start to hum given the distortion.

OVERALL OPINION

All in all I think the Squier Classic Vibe Thinline Tele is a great buy for the money. It combines the classic Fender feel and jangly tones with a warm Gibson type sound and the semi hollow tone for a very attractive price. At about $350 new it's just a fantastic deal, and being that all the stock parts are of decent quality, there's no real need for modding unless you have to. There's other cheaper options for thinline Teles out there now, but for my money none of them will touch the Squier in terms of feel, looks and tone. Go try one today!

I'm not sure what the specifics on these CV Squiers are. Apparently they're China made or something. I've played a lot of Squiers in my day and wasn't impressed by any of them. But the price tag on these isn't exactly Squier-like. They're priced more in the Mexican Fender range which seems odd to me. I'm guessing this is Fender's idea of a high end overseas line, which in this day and age is actually a somewhat valid concept I think. Look at some of the Korean models that Ibanez and LTD have...impressive.

This is your basic thinline tele. Not bells or whistles. No surprises. It's no reissue but like the name says, the vintage vibe and feel are very much here in spades.

UTILIZATION

First thing I noticed in the store was the feel. This guitar to me felt better than most of the mexican fenders. I was in guitar center, which is notorious for having out of tune and abused guitars on the racks. It's common to have guitars with stolen parts and knobs just laying around. Sad actually. But the CV thinline I tried felt great. Stayed in tune reasonably. I was looking for a guitar to tour with. I have a lot of nice instruments that I can't take on tour so I usually find a couple of good beaters every tour and do what I will after it's over. I'm normally not a tele guy. But as soon as I played this one I turned into a fan. Neck was smooth and good feeling. Frets looked nice. Switches and knobs felt pretty solid. Overall it felt like a guitar that might cost $500 or $600.

SOUNDS

The sounds are just as good. On tour I play mine through an Orange AD30 and a mesa traditional 4x12. I'm not an expert on how tele's are supposed to sound but this one sounds good. Really resonant especially on the neck pickup. This guitar has some of the best clean sounds I've heard. It's not a high gain beast but I didn't get it for that. It's not trebley like some can be. Very warm and full sounding.

OVERALL OPINION

I was really blown away by this one. The price seems pretty fair even though a lot of people will be shocked at the name on the headstock VS the tag. I promise it's every bit as nice as most Mexi Fenders. Maybe I got a good one but everyone I know who has one says the same praises as me so these must be something special. They hold up well too which is great. The only thing that might rival these for value is the slightly more expensive G&L Tribute series. I have a few of those and imo they are just a little bit better than these, although you have to find a deal on them to cover the price difference. For $300ish though, these CV's are about the best Fender style around.

The hardware is chrome and pearl pickguard, which contrasts well with the gross appearance of mahogany.
The tuners are "vintage" oil bath, and the bridge is old school, three bridges, and therefore not very precise settings.
The strings are 09-42 home I pull up a stronger which is much better.
Microphones and the shield can be improved, but it is an instrument for undeniable qualities.

UTILIZATION

It is a light guitar and very pleasant to handle. Her body is partially hollow and mahogany. Its appearance is both crude and refined, and its throws really natural finish!

SOUNDS

It is very enjoyable to play, his body is balanced and pleasant handle. The gaming experience is very good and the sound is well balanced. Given the level and price range, the sound of a Hot Rod Deluxe III is stunning. Very good clean and crunch sounds.


OVERALL OPINION

This is a Telecaster character, with a huge potential and a reasonable price.

The +:
. Finishes
. The price / quality ratio
. Lutherie

The - (with upgrade)
. Microphones
. The fittings

Manufacture chinoise.Telecaster with a hollow portion (not really / Hol / body /)
-Mahogany veneer naturel.Plaque protection / white. A hearing in f.
-Manche/érable Varnish. Radius9, 5.
Easel 3-bridges.
Micro-Alnico V / single coil. Volume.Un tone.Un A three position selector.
Mechanical-type Strat'ou Telecast '.

UTILIZATION

Excellent all-round / radius maple on a 9.5 .... easy and fun .... very good access to acute virtually no heel at the junction / case.
-Thanks to its hollow design ... Ergonomics clearly superior to all traditional Telecasters ... it sounds slightly vide.Et has not connected the Twang is unaffected, no difference with the Vibe is full, if it is only a very very slight impression archtop.POUR ULTRA WEIGHT / LIGHT OF 3 Kg! ! I loved it reconciled me with this type of scratches .... away from the genre guitar "Semi / trailer" or 10 minutes already sought a seat ...
As always, a new acquisition .... fear of bad sounds were quickly swept microphones surprising given the price of the machine. I did vary in height for adjustment, I was able to easily balance the output neck and bridge just a small difference due ...
Volume-knob's good and ton'excellent. Very easy to adjust the curvature of the handle and "action" ... Freight '(low) type Fender excellent!

SOUNDS

-For the blues ... and rock ... VINTAGE ... Attention to the amp .... if it is a low end that is felt and heard ... especially
But, on the correct (and upscale hua!) You slamming well removed from any self-respecting 90! Sortie.Sur beautiful presence and attack Severre instantaneous direction of the sound .... immediate response very typical 90 '(in contrast to double coil slower on the "trigger").
-Of course it is passed from hand to hand around me ... and then ... astonishment could be read on the faces, they are all retarded on the handle and settings. Slap it especially on medium and treble ....'s forcing the sound to deteriorate as the big ... With this clean and cruch it is made for the directory ... 55/60/70 Alnico 3 p'etre that would have drawn more towards Télécas/52 '... but with 5 options are more extensive.
The FENDER smi / Holo / ash (mexico I reckon?) Was much more expensive for almost no difference and the G & L thinline tried probably not very good ... A note on these signs low / cost Squier and Epiphone ... Compared to Fender, I think the Squier pickups are much more successful and compelling sounds far superior than productions of Epiphone compared with Gibson.

OVERALL OPINION

-ALL IS GOOD AT IT ... THERE IS NOTHING TO JETTER!
-I had already repérée.Donc is an excellent acquisition for purchased secondhand ... almost new for a ridiculous price of 200 euros. Frustration comes from the only country how to compete such as production and quality on a price of nine 370/400 euros???? ... poor workers and entrepreneurs ... but also Western and Korean Japonnais when the Chinese "it must not be sad ... hello ... the galley."
Yes, I have tried many time .... and over the years ... No regret it "nasille not rhythmic and the solo's notes are untied!! Good Telecast 'to advice!!
-I love everything about this guitar, violin finish, rendering sound, light which does not affect the driveability ... I would not change anything ... ... or microphones .... or the jumpers ... nor mécaniques.Les strings of 9/46 not more than 10 ... it seems to have a guitar of 700/750 euros hands.
IT ..... AND COLOR! A MAHOGANY NATURAL THAT THIS MARIE WELL IN A RUSTIC LIVING DESIGN AND BETTER ... everyone note especially the ladies ... and not only when it use.