SeriesSquier Vintage Modified

The new Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster is a great new reproduction of the famed Fender Jazzmaster guitar of the late '50s, but with a stripped down etho that does away with many of the rather strange and generally not used small thumbwheel controls. It has Jazzmaster style single coils designed by Seymour Duncan and built for Squier. The model I tried had a hardtail Danelectro style bridge and vintage tuners. The body is alder, and the neck is maple with 21 jumbo frets. They are made in Squier's factories overseas (they can vary between places like China and India). However this still produces a great sounding Jazzmaster reproduction, especially considering the price of $300 that they cost. The design of the Jazzmaster is surprisingly one of the most ergonomic I've ever tried. The contouring is even more so than the Strat, and the weight is generally extremely light as well. Generally a light weight on a cheap guitar makes me feel dubious about the quality of wood being used, but it's obviously good resonant alder in this case. The upper fret access is near perfect. The cutaway allows PERFECT access right to the end of the neck (something even Strats don't have) and I'm sure if it had a tremolo and some hotter humbuckers it would be well received as a shredder guitar if given time. Getting a good tone out of this guitar is far easier than the USA Jazzmaster because the controls are simply concentric volume/tone pots (IE: a volume and tone for each pickup) and a 3 way toggle switch. It does away with all the odd little thumb switches that you see on USA Jazzmasters which are little tonal alterations that are hard to really mess around with on the fly. This guitar just plugs in and goes right to the core tone. I've tried this guitar through various Fender and Mesa Boogie amplifiers. I firstly noted how loud and resonant the guitar was when unplugged. It was enough that when I first picked it up and played a bit of old bebop, I had heads turning from a fair distance away to listen. Given this criteria, I knew that the guitar would definitely sound good plugged in, and it didn't disappoint there either. It has a great tone that reminds me of a cross between a Tele, a Les Paul and a solidbody Grestch... very midrange voiced but with a persistent top end that really drives the sound and gives it a unique jangly character. The neck pickup is perfect for jazz and early blues/R&B tones, especially with a tad bit of dirt applied. The middle position is like the love child of a Tele and a Les Paul... perfect for chicken pickin'... but with that little bit of extra midrange that you'd associate with a dual humbucker Les Paul guitar. The bridge pickup is very bright and responsive, but it doesn't ever cause ear fatigue. I especially liked this pickup with a bit of classic gain applied for some '70s hard rock tones that had the grunt of a Gibson but the brightness of a Fender. All in all I think Gibson is onto a winner with the Vintage Modified series of guitars. They combine many features that are simply useable and workable into a value priced and well made guitar. At $300 new this guitar is an absolute steal for the quality and tones that you get, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see them go up in price eventually.

The Squier Vintage Modified Tele Custom II is a take on the classic redesign of the Tele that came out under CBS Fender in the seventies after they wanted a guitar to rival the Gibson Les Pauls and SGs that were really popular at the time. This particular model has an agathis body, a maple neck with 22 frets, standard chrome sealed tuning machines, a hardtail bridge with six saddles and the large Tele Custom type pickguard loaded with two Seymour Duncan P90 pickups. Each pickup goes to its own separate volume and tone, and pickup selection is covered by a three way toggle. Given that the original model had dual humbuckers, having the two P90s offers a very cool and unique tonal set that isn't covered in many guitars in this price range. UTILIZATION The design of this guitar is pretty ergonomic to my senses. Like some modern Squiers I've noted that it's a bit heavier than I would like myself. I particularly like the solid feel that it has (IE: it really feels like its of good quality, not like a cheap toy). The neck has a very smooth finish and the fret ends on this model were great, no real issues. The upper fret access isn't the greatest in the world but it's not too bad considering the design. Getting a good sound out of this guitar is pretty simple. It doesn't exactly sound like a Tele to me given the pickups, but it does display traits of Fender tones because of the design. It's kind of like the love child of a Tele and a Gibson Les Paul goldtop with P90s. SOUNDS This guitar seems to sound good with a wide range of tones and amps. I've always been a fan of P90s and the Duncan Designed models in this guitar do a killer job of sounding good. On a clean sound the tones are fat and clear, and offer a nice brightness that is very Fender mixed with the dense P90 sound that is totally Gibson. It's a great clean tone for those who can't decide which tone they're after. Switching over to the drive tone offers a very cool and crunchy set of tones. They're very bassy with nice low mid heft and top end sparkle. The only complaint I have is that the design of the pickups is a bit scooped in the midrange for my liking, but that can be changed at the amplifier with some work. OVERALL OPINION All in all I think the Squier Vintage Modified Tele Custom II is a great guitar for the player who wants a great sounding Tele that offers something different than the usual Fender bright jangle or the Gibson esque fury of humbuckers blasting full tilt. At about $350 new these guitars are a great deal and definitely worth looking into for any Fender or Tele fan who just wants another tone in their arsenal.

I'm disappointed by the finish. 1 - There is a big knot on the body. It looks like a big knob on top of the instrument. It looks awful. 2 - There was too much varnish under the 2nd fret and I had to polish it. I find such faults are not acceptable. 3 - The back of the neck has ditches and it looks like corrugated iron. The difference is almost 1mm deep!! I had never seen this before, even with very cheap bass guitars. There are a lot of small other faults: the pickups seem to be too wide compared to the space between the strings, the binding is not varnished everywhere, the 1/4" connector is not tight, etc. UTILIZATION Once I set the instrument, the ergonomics are perfect and the sound is really good. But the faults on the neck are a pity! SOUNDS Good sound for funk. I don't use my effect pedals anymore: they are not required. I plug it directly into the amp with flat EQ settings and the sound is nice. I didn't change the strings. OVERALL OPINION Compared with another Jazz bass copy (an old Session), the Squier VM sounds better and I don't regret having bought it. Maybe I was unlucky and got a faulty one. It's a pity and I cannot forgive this. My next instrument won't be a Squier but a Fender.

Features — 8 Bought in 2015 from a shop, brand new. The body is poplar with a bolt-on maple neck, fitted with a nice "C" profile. The maple fingerboard is set with dot inlays and 21 narrow tall frets. The vintage design is reflected in the headstock with its vintage style tuners and 70s headstock shape and markings. 2x volume and 2x tone controls, with three-way switch. Overall solid Tele features, no surprises there. The best feature is the extremely comfortable neck, 12" radius. The pickups are Fender-branded. Sound — 10 Suited my blues and classic rock style amazingly, the sound could go from fat and full, to clean and crisp. Played it through a Marshall combo. I didn't use any effects with it and just cranked up the gain a little when playing AC/DC, Hendrix, etc. It's not a noisy guitar. You can get a wide variety of sounds, although I wouldn't play Metal or anything too heavy, go for a Jackson or ESP in that case. It's perfect for that 70s Rolling Stones sound, lots of great tones to be had in the classic rock range. Action, Fit & Finish — 9 The guitar was well set up by the shop. I did need to adjust the truss rod several times over the years, but nothing dramatic. Wiring and finish were all fine, good quality there and no complaints. Same with the frets, nothing to flag. All in all a solid instrument that looks and feels more expensive that it is. There were no flaws upon purchase. The pickups needed a little raising that's all. I was very impressed by the out of the box nature of its playability. Well done Squier! This is how it should be. Reliability & Durability — 8 I would use this as a main live guitar, or rehearsals and home practice. Couldn't spot a major a difference with the more expensive Fender pickups. Durability is fine. It's dependable and looks quite cool. I had fun using it and it never let me down. It lasted me around 3-4 years before I eventually sold it for an SG which suited my playing style better. It's a great feeling and sounding guitar, I would easily recommend it to anyone looking for an alternative to Gibson or Fender. It's very versatile. Overall Impression — 9 This is a great guitar with clear pickups, fantastic mild “C” neck and good finish all around. The tuning keys are stable too. You can reliably gig and record with this guitar. I even played the Fender version in a store, and honestly couldn’t tell the difference between the Squier and Fender, save for the neck profile which is different. It’s got that classic Keith Richards, 70s-era mojo. The pickups on the Fender version are slightly more powerful and cleaner, but not in a way that would majorly impact your playing.

I agree with most of the reviews praising this guitar. You should play more than one to be sure you're getting the best of the lot but it shouldn't take long. I played three, they all played well, sounded good, looked good, and none had QC problems. The setups were typical factory setups but all such things being equal all three played well OOTB. As a result, my choice between the three was rendered arbitrary. Like any mass produced guitar, the cost a set up is part of the drill. Get a bone nut while you're at it. Choose the strings of your choice then play the **** out of it. Rock that logo with pride because it says you got a real Jaguar (compare it to an original) without paying the luxury fee for a "Fender" logo. After the brief initial "Squier series" offerings in the 80's, Squier quickly became synonymous with POS. Today, however, Squier is doing something right and slowly changing their reputation as a result. As an aside, I also own a Squier '51 VM and it's an equally solid guitar OOTB. Considering some of the criticisms leveled at the big two regarding QC on their instruments costing thousands, owning a "Squier" is becoming something of a statement. A bit two fingers in the air, if you will.

Squier hit a home run with their latest Classic Vibe and Vintage Modified lines. They are basically taking the Squiers and souping them up to fall somewhere in between a regular Squier and a classicly worn Fender. I am the weirdo that hears on the internet that a new model is coming out and I'll stalk all local music stores until it shows up! That was no different with the Vintage Modified Mustang. I did not buy this $279 instrument because I could not justify buying another cheaper bass, but I will do my best to relay my thoughts on it from my 45 minute demo of it. It is a funky little short scale in a day and age when there aren't many on the market. The bass is super light and boasts a 30' scale and a 19 fret neck. The Vintage Modifieds all feature a satin finished neck. I do not prefer it over the glossy finish of the Classic Vibe line. You see you can always sand down a glossy neck for a smooth satin finish, but sadly it doesn't work the other way without a great deal of work. The body is made of basswood. The neck is maple on maple. The model I played was sunburst, I believe it also comes in black. They kept the retro looking bridge and tiny Precision pickup like the original. The pickup like most of the newer Squiers is a Duncan designed pickup and does well with the bass. The truth is the original Fender Mustangs from the 60s and 70s were made as 'junkier' budget instruments, Squier nailed the feel and sound of the classic! Great for younger bassists or beginners with smaller hands. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I saw pictures of this that Fender leaked about 6 months in advance. I couldn't wait to get my hands on one of these! There are a few different Squier Jaguar basses; there is a $299 version with the two stacked pots similar to a 60s Fender Jazz bass and then there are three $199 versions, one with a P/J setup, one with a humbucker and then a shortscale model. I picked up the $199 P/J version in transparent red. It looks cool. The instrument holds tune well and you can get a nice setup with it. I am not a fan of the electronics. There is a 9volt built in boost. I wished they'd have canned it and used the Duncan Design pickups that are in the other Squiers. Weight felt a bit heavy and awkward. Well to get an instrument out the door for $199 you need to take a few shortcuts. The body is made of Agathis which I don't think is a good choice for a bass. The maple neck feels like a P-bass neck and also it is finished in a very thin satin coating. You know it's not going to be 'the one' but for a $199 it's a fun bass to play around with. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is the Vintage Modified Precision TB bass put out by Squier. This is not to be confused with the regular Vintage Modified Precision as I believe the TB stands for Telecaster Bass. You will immediately be able to tell by the looks as the headstock is shaped like a Tele and there is only one fat humbucker in the neck pickup. It happens all the time you go in for strings and come out with a guitar. Sometimes you even forget to get the strings you came for! This bass was brand new on Christmas Eve. $299 You're darn right I told the Mrs. Santa brought it for me! Since the vintage Fender version of these are going up and up in price this is a nice compromise. The string through body. Something about string throughs just give you an extra bit of sustain. The body contour is nice as I don't believe the vintage ones had this, but it makes the bass a little bit lighter and closer to you. The 2 saddle bridge is correct for that era, but this is something the could have left out. Each string deserves its own saddle. Currently the bass has nice action and intonates well. Ash veneer is what gives the bass its looks. The body is a nice sunburst finish and the neck is a smooth semi gloss stain finish. The hardware is your typical cheaper instrument hardware, but if functions well. This bass thumps! Throw on some flatwound strings, roll back the tone knob and get that warm, fat bass tone you grew up listening to. Squier is making guitars better than ever these days at an affordable price. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I play the bass since I was 14, it was my first instrument. Now I'm 52 and since a few years I started to play again. I play in a coverband and in a schoolband. I like all different kinds of music, but soul and R&B are my favourites. I bought the guitar new in a musicstore and paid 300 euro. I read about the Squier Vintage Modified series in a guitarmagazine. Everything! This instrument looks good, sounds great with the Duncan Designed pick-ups en plays smooth. Being vintage myself I can ashure you it sounds like a '60 Fender Precision. The neck feels great and the construction seems built to last. No sharp fretends, stains or cheap materials used. It's delivered without the chrome covers. I bought these myself as well as a thumbrest and a tortoise shell pickguard. Now it looks even more vintage. The action was a bit high, but in the store they adapted that. In fact no problem, because these alterations are very personal. As I said: the construction is very well and the quality of the used materials is good. The intonation was perfect en the neck was straight. For this price you better think twice not to buy this Squier. The sound fits good in the bandmix, the bass plays very smooth and it looks good. No wonder the readers of the magazine BassPlayer choosed this Vintage Modified serie as best buy of 2007. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Squier Vintage Modified Fat Strat is another design that is based on a "modified" guitar. For many years people took their Fender Strats and put humbuckers in the bridge position to fatten up the tone for rock music. This guitar pays homage to that in a modern and affordable format. It's got an Indian Cedro body, a maple neck with rosewood fretboard and 21 frets, standard chrome tuners, a 6 screw fulcrum tremolo unit and three Duncan Designed pickups. Two are single coils, and in the bridge there is a hotter humbucker, reminiscent of the hotter pickups that were installed in many Strats in the seventies and eighties. It's basically like a typical Strat that's had a high output humbucker installed in the bridge position for some real raunch, much like was done back in the day. UTILIZATION The design of this guitar is reasonably ergonomic. I found this model to be a bit heavier weight wise than I would've liked or expected in a Strat, so it might not be my first choice for a live guitar. That being said the contouring is a nice thing to have, and the neck has a good satin finish. The fret ends could use a little work, but they weren't as bad as some of the other Squiers I've tried. The upper fret access is as good as it's going to get for an unaltered 4 bolt neck joint. SOUNDS The tones out of this guitar were pretty cool. The pickups Squier are getting from Duncan seem to be hit or miss, but this guitar makes good use of them. The single coils are nice and jangly sounding as a Fender should be. The neck pickup in particular has a nice bell-like chime to it that I found really excelled through a clean amplifier. The stock humbucker is definitely hotter than the other pickups and works best when used with a bit of drive for classic or hard rock tones. It has a nice bite to it and is surprising given the price. Overall I think the guitar is great sounding but leans towards sounding better for drive tones just because of the humbucker that is used here. OVERALL OPINION All in all I think the Squier Vintage Modified Fat Strat is a great deal for someone looking for a reasonably priced fat strat that can really rock for not a lot of cash. The gun metal finish is really cool, the feel is nice and slick, and the tones have a lot of punch to them. The quality control isn't 100% up to par, but with a bit of minor work setup wise, you could have yourself a truly cool tricked out Strat that would really scream.

The Squier Vintage Modified thinline Tele was the company's first real attempt at doing one of these semi-hollow guitars. It's definitely got a unique vibe to it that's part Tele, part Gibson, and works well for a range of tones that a normal Fender might not cover as well. It features an alder body, a maple neck with rosewood fretboard and 22 frets, sealed chrome tuners, standard Tele style bridge, and a pair of Seymour Duncan designed single coil pickups wired to a single volume and tone control along with a 3 way pickup selector. It's available in the really groovy shoreline gold finish, as well as basic black. UTILIZATION The design of this guitar is reasonably ergonomic. Because it's a thinline design, this guitar is definitely lighter and easier to play than a typical Telecaster for long periods of time. Despite having no contours, it forms to the body well and feels good. The neck has a nice fast finish and the upper fret access is decent enough considering the body and neck are joined by that standard 4 bolt neck joint. Getting a good sound out of this Tele is pretty easy. In this case, the stock Duncan Designed pickups work quite well in this guitar and offer a range of tones that stick to the Fender ethos, but can veer off into some blatantly Gibson territory when set up right... very cool! SOUNDS The tones out of this guitar are quite good considering the price point it's built to. The stock pickups have a nice jangle and chime to them that is perfect for country or blues type tones when used with a good clean sounding amp. They're a mild pickup, so the tone doesn't clip overly which is nice for vintage tones. The neck pickup is great for jazzier sounds, and the bridge pickup is the go to for country or brighter blues sounds. Switching to a drive sound brings in some really raunchy and bright tones that have very nice harmonic content. Unfortunately the design of the guitar and pickups prohibits using too much gain or else you'll get lots of noise and squealing, but that's par for the course. The stock pickups break up well and work excellently for classic rock and even some biting lead work here and there. OVERALL OPINION All in all I think the Squier Vintage Modified Tele Thinline is a great buy for someone looking for a great semi hollow Tele that looks cool, feels like a good quality instrument, and sounds great. They sell new for about $350 which is a good deal considering the quality that goes into the instrument. If you're into the more Fendery tone of alder, this one is ideal. If you want more of a Gibson type texture, look into the Classic Vibe thinline, which is made of mahogany.

Model Name: Vintage Modified Strat® Series: Vintage Modified Body Body: Indian Cedro Body Shape: Stratocaster® Body Finish: (0301200500, 0301200530, 0301200525, 0301200505) Polyurethane Neck Neck Shape: "C" Shape Number of Frets: 21 Fret Size: Medium Jumbo Position Inlays: Dot Position Inlays Fretboard Radius: 9.5" (24.1 cm) Fretboard: Rosewood Neck Material: Maple Neck Finish: Polyurethane Nut Width: 1.650” (42 mm) Scale Length: 25.5" (64.8 cm) Neck Plate: Engraved Neckplate Electronics Pickup Configuration: S/S/S Bridge Pickup: Duncan Designed™ SC-101 Single-Coil Bridge Pickup Middle Pickup: Duncan Designed™ SC-101 Single-Coil Middle Pickup Neck Pickup: Duncan Designed™ SC-101 Single-Coil Neck Pickup Pickup Switching: 5-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup, Position 3. Middle Pickup, Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup, Position 5. Neck Pickup Controls: Master Volume, Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 2. (Middle Pickup) Hardware Hardware: Chrome Bridge: Vintage Style Synchronized Tremolo String Nut: Synthetic Bone Switch Tip: White Switch Tip Tremolo Arm/Handle: Vintage Style Tremolo Arm Miscellaneous Strings: Fender® USA Super 250L's, NPS (.009-.042 Gauges) Unique Features: Vintage Style Tremolo, Custom Pickguards by Color, Gold and Black Squier Logo, Engraved Neckplate, White Plastic Parts, Dot Position Inlays Accessories Control Knobs: White Plastic Knobs UTILIZATION This is such an interesting guitar - it is made in India (huh?) out of Indian Cedro wood (what?) and has vintage features with modern flame top stylings (really?). I've not really played a lot of Indian-made guitars yet, so this was a good first impression. The guitar looks great - the flame top has a good "3d" quality to it. Playability is just as good as the Classic Vibe series, which is super nice! SOUNDS These are some nice pickups - they get the best of the "in-between" tones, cutting bridge tones, warm and smooth neck tones, and a balance middle pickup. SRV, Hendrix, Scott Henderson, Chris Duarte, John Frusciante...these are the range of tones that are instantly achievable with this axe. Of course, more tones are possible, but this will give you an idea of the "out of the box" sounds one can get. OVERALL OPINION Overall, this is a good choice for someone looking for a lower-midline Strat guitar. It compares very favorably to the Classic Vibe, series, only it offers some more modern looks, and a much glossier neck. If that sounds like your bag, this is the axe for you. 8 out of 10.