Squier Standard Telecaster

The Squier Standard Series Telecaster is meant to offer a Tele style guitar to musicians who may not be ready or able to spring for a real deal Fender model. It's pretty simple and loyal to the standard Tele specifications, so upon first glance I figured it might be a good guitar for jamming on to get that Tele sound for not a lot of cash. It features an agathis body (very common wood with these lower end Squiers) a maple neck with rosewood fretboard and 22 frets, sealed chrome tuners, a standard Tele style bridge and a pair of generic Squier pickups wired to the standard Tele control plate. They're usually built in China, though I have seen some Indonesian models from time to time as well.

UTILIZATION

The design of this guitar isn't particularly ergonomic... there's no real contouring to speak of and the finishing/shaping of this Tele is crude at best. The neck does have a satin finish which would be a great feeling thing, but like many of the other Squiers I've tried, it's marred by sharp, point fret ends, a poor factory setup, and in this case the rosewood used for the fretboard felt quite cheap and dry. Even for $200 I'd expect better than this. The upper fret access isn't great given that the frets are poking out at the player and it makes getting up there a bit harder. Getting a good sound out of this guitar isn't really difficult being that it's quite a simple design. The stock pickups and electronics are not great, but they can be made to sound at least passable through a GOOD amp.

SOUNDS

This guitar does have some nice Tele-esque sounds lurking within which is great, but it's really at the mercy of the stock electronics. The pickups that are in there from the factory really don't do the classic Tele sound justice. They're fairly muddy and undefined, and the bridge pickup has icepick type highs that can't easily be dialed out. Through a GOOD tube amp like a Twin Reverb or a Dr. Z Maz I was able to conjure up some average sounding country or blues tones. Switching to the drive sounds, the best I was able to get was a brash and distorted punk tone... the guitar really doesn't have the definition needed for more articulate chord or lead work with distortion.

OVERALL OPINION

All in all I think the Squier Standard Telecaster just misses the mark. For $200 new it's not worth it. The quality of this guitar is pretty poor, and it would need quite a bit of work to be a decent playing and sounding instrument, and to do that would cost more than the guitar is worth. I'd just look elsewhere if you want a cheap Tele to jam on... there are definitely better options than this.

Squier Standard Telecaster Features:
Series: Standard Series
Color: Antique Burst (Polyurethane Finish)
Body: Agathis
Neck: Maple, C-Shape (Polyurethane Finish)
Fingerboard: Rosewood, 9.5" Radius
No. of Frets: 22 Medium Jumbo
Pickups: 2 Alnico Magnet Single-Coil Pickups
Controls: Volume, Tone
Pickup Switching: 3-Position Blade
Bridge: 6-Saddle Strings-Thru-Body Bridge
Machine Heads: Standard Die-Cast Tuners
Hardware: Chrome
Pickguard: 4-Ply Tortoise Shell
Scale Length: 25.5"
Width at Nut: 1.650"
Gold and Black Squier Logo
Engraved Neckplate
Black Plastic Parts
Dot Position Inlays

UTILIZATION

This is one of the worst brand new guitars I've seen in awhile. It seems that a common perception of the Squier brand is that their guitars can be cheap pieces of junk. I was mostly of that opinion, but recently I was getting excited for Squier, and my opinion was changing of them, for the better. The Classic Vibe series are great guitars for the money, and I've seen a few other examples of nice guitars that Squier has been cranking out. However, this particular guitar is utterly not good. Among its design flaws - agathis wood, which is very cheap and dead sounding, no finish at all on the neck (I don't even thing there's a sealer coat on it), pot metal hardware...

The example of this series that I played had two fatal problems from the get-go - the neck SHIFTED on me as I was playing it! The neck is a bolt on, like most Telecasters, and I was playing a few chords, and I felt the neck pop, and all of a sudden the action was a lot higher and the strings were now out of tune. The second flaw was a big crack in the neck pickup cover! It's a metal cover, yet there was a large crack in the side of it, which caused the high E string to get stuck in there a few times during play.

SOUNDS

The pickups are anemic, weak, and lifeless. The electronics are shoddy, and the guitar's inherent acoustic tone is awful.

OVERALL OPINION

I'm severely disappointed in this guitar. I had hopes for Squier. Now I know I need to be picky with them, and play every example first before buying.

This is a Squier guitar, made by Fender. Squiers tend to be marketed as entry level guitars. When they first came around they had the air of "bargain guitars". The reality is a bit different, as I'll explain. They are actually quite similar to many new Telecasters in their design. There is a maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard, the neck has a 9" radius. There are 22 frets. The bridge is a 6-saddle string-through-body bridge. It has two Alnico magnet pickups in the neck and bridge position, and the bridge pickup is slanted in typical Telecaster fashion.

UTILIZATION

For a supposed bargain guitar, this is actually well built. The neck in particular feels really good. The reality that I've been discovering is that these Squiers are only getting better, while the Fenders are getting worse. The design of the guitar is pretty much the same as a regular Tele, it's a little bit lighter than most of the high end vintage Teles but that's to be expected. The drivers on my Squier are stable, though I'm anticipating that I'm going to need to do some work on it eventually. They do use cheaper hardware than Fender guitars.

SOUNDS

Here's where the bargain part of the equation comes in. The main, and really only, difference between this and a good Fender Tele is the pickups. They tend to be sort of crappy, with not much detail or sustain. I would certainly not encourage any player to keep this guitar as it is, as there's really no way you'll be satisfied with the sound. I gutted it and put some better pickups into it, I think that made a world of difference. With a good set of Tele-style single coil pickups, you can get great sounds from everything from rock, blues, country, and even some jazzier stuff (though nothing as warm as a hollow body with some humbuckers.) The score reflects the sound of the pickups that came with the guitar, but rest assured, good sounds are possible with some work.

OVERALL OPINION

This guitar plays really well. I didn't like the pickups, but I switched them, and now I love the guitar. It's really a shame that more people aren't aware of how little it takes to make a guitar that's worth a few hundred sound a hundred times better. I would only recommend buying this if you're immediately willing to put pickups of your choice in there.

Purchase a buddy to me refile cost: 330 euros in 1994. (?)
It's a Japanese. This means they do not Courrent the streets these days ...

Two microphones: type "lipstick" ct ct single coil neck and bridge.
A three-position knob. He had a loose connection and I replaced by a Fender.
Saddle sleeve: the sound is more brittle, but at least it was the sound of the Telecaster 1st of 1951 ... The width and thickness delight my big hands of bassist ...

The bridge is six bridges: you have a small allen wrench for rgler.
The handle does not move, it is perfectly rgl 9 years.
The frets tend to eat the mtal does not look extremely strong ...

The knobs were desirous of Tone and lost their adhsif "mtal". Pitre quality ... The microphones that slecteur falters ... Squier quality! (7 / 10) But we can always replace them with Fender.

UTILIZATION

The neck is a killer. For me, the best round of guitlec the world.
CHAC is the acute boards.
This is a guitar "plug and play" ... Simpler is not possible.

In a VOX AC30, was the most beautiful sound of the earth (except the Rickenbacker "John Lennon" which surpasses all on VOX but that's another story and the handle of the Ricken is a piti!).

I can do blues, reggae, funk (in rhythm, the two pickups together (intermdiaire position) it's beautiful!), Even jazz (not me but others have done: neck pickup only).

The bridge pickup is quite steep: its clear trs acute. on the other hand, with gain or distortion, it comes into its own.

I can not put 10/10 by dcence for owners of US MODELS. A std Telecaster us probably sounds better. But I tried and it is not always so empty. The height of the microphones is essential (on mine, they too taient prs strings to dpart). So a better "BIESSE" Japan Squier Std well as US RULES RULES evil.

SOUNDS

I put the strings LTHB DR (Low top / heavy bottom): 52-10. Smaller, there is not enough severe, especially OPEN TUNING.

I often play in open G: l was the sound of Keith Riffhards. And that's good!

This guitar is a Swiss Army knife. Simple, robust, efficient, without making head.

I play a Laney VC30 2x10 '. I tried it on a 1x12 'and that's not bad either (rounder, warmer but less prcis). A VOX AC30? .. I can not afford (I'm not guitar).

OVERALL OPINION

I use it since 1994. Apart slecteur microphones replaced all is well.

Its main advantage is that the Telecaster is placed beautifully in an orchestra without pushing the sound. It comes "pass" through all without forcing.

Attention! This guitar takes a little effort because it's not a Les Paul (who plays herself in practice, especially in a distortion of Marshall). Here, we must work to some beginners to master it. Play it like that on another guitar.

In rhythm, it remains my view Ingala.

Bright clean sounds, sounds good crunch roots.

I remember this friend who showed me his L SERIES 1965 ... When he heard my Squier, the silent dgout The pvre!

The Fender Japan are no longer manufactured (do not even speak Squier Japan). They taient so good that Fender had trouble running the trs Chres "Made in US" ... For 700 euros, it can still be found but the earplugs will fast.

Reminds me of something else. A concert of Blues. Part 1 of the group before mine ... The guitarist played a Fender Telecaster US in STD Blues Deluxe (2x12 '). What's amazing, slide: a rgal! J'cumais of happiness! Nothing to do with the sound of Gibson semi-hollow of my poor guitar (with 2x10 Fender Blues'). It also makes me mouth for 15 days for prfr (by far!) What's his. Far too serious, no really clear sound clear, runny and difficult to hear distortion even rev high volume ...

Broadcaster prototype in 1949.
Premire Telecaster in 1950.
Uncle George Fullerton and Fender have pos Lo foot on the moon before anyone else!

I do not put that 8 / 10 for slecteur, the knobs and the frets of poor quality ... For the rest (his (s), ergonomics, compared qualitprix): 10/10!)