Fender Squier Fat Telecaster

Mine is a 2004 one, made in Indonesia. Agathis body... you may know the features. Bought this one used, and there have been quite a bunch of modifications made, by one of the previous owners, but the guy I've bought it from knew nothing about guitars generally, so I'm not really sure, which pars are orig, a which are not.
The tuners on mine are GREAT... not sure if they are originals, think they are not.
The neck humbucker has to be set down, to around the level of the pickguard! Try that if you have problems with it. Anyway it was pretty unbalanced (the B sring was a lot louder, than the others), but quickly fixed that with the adjustable polepieces.
My rating is based on my version, wich still has the cheap, crappy pots, but apart from that it's just piece of cake.

I'm a JAZZ and FUNK type musician, maybe some blues... not really into distorsion. Using it through a Rat pedal (dist down, filter up), to fatten up the sound, and a Line 6 FM-4 filter modeler.
The neck pickup is very warm (didn't even had to turn down the tone knob), I don't think it would be to good, for harder staff, but clean it sounds awesome. It was pretty uneven, as I said before, but fixed it quickly. Great for a Tele Jazz sound!
The middle position is funkyfunky. Ads some quank to the sound of the humbucker. It only needs some autowah from the FM4.
The bridge pickup is a high output singelcoil. Really ads versatility to the guitar: rat dist up, ad there ya go: Cocaine. Would be a bit too fat, for a country sound.
Love it, but i still know, the sound it is already a looot more, than I expected for this price?

Pure setup... it's a Squier. (Can't understand though how could anybody play the guitar like this.)
A piece of sandpaper and fixed the fret issues. I wouldn't want to pay a dime more for that. Very easy to do, and fun too. Pretty good option from Squier if you like ;).
So I did the whole thing, now it plays great.
I'll rate it 6... poor quality on this one, but one hour, and a little knowledge of guitars in general, and you can make it a 10.

It's a Telecaster... it would survive a tank attack. But might need to replace all replaceable parts with time they are poor quality.

I expected a guitar that will be only suitable to start from somewhere... but it quickly became a purchase of a lifetime. Somebody wrote earlier, that teles should be cheap instruments, and Fender made them to luxurious. Totally agree.
This one feels to me, as a vintage tele should. Great stuff.
Been playing for around 10 years, have lot more expensive gear, but this on is an absolute winner. Rarely play anything else. I tried to be critic in this review, but if you have the choice I really recommend you buying this guitar.

Detailed listing of the features available in other reviews. Mine is the "vintage blonde'. Squire vintage blonde is an odd colour, but it's nice looking.

Taking the price into account, you can't really knock the stock features. You can't expect too much from electronics or hardware in a guitar this price.

There aren't many options for a budget Tele with this pickup configuration, rosewood neck, and large frets. So it's a pretty good deal.

For a guitar in this price range the pickups are decent. The real issue is the cheap switch, jack, pots and wiring. I'd imagine even upgrading those parts would improve the sound quite a bit. But again, in this price range you just aren't going to get high end parts stock. The cost of those parts is pretty small, and if you did those upgrades you'd have a lot better sounding guitar.

I had never owned a Tele with a humbucker in the neck. Even with the mediocre pickups, that middle position on the switch sounds like heaven. I can't believe it took me this long to try a Tele with this setup.

I bought mine used, but the guy had never had a professional setup on it. And it's totally fine. There are no rough fret ends, and the action is quite good.

I see no quality issues with the construction of the guitar. The finish is very nice and the neck looks great.

The hardware is, once again, decent for the price. The tuners are ok as is the bridge.

It's a Telecaster. Tele are made to take a beating.

But as mentioned, I'd have no confidence in the stock switch, jack, and pots. But that's common with any guitar in this price range so I can't deduct too many points for that.

I bought it used.

I have been playing for 13 years. I mainly play Rockabilly and Rock n' Roll. I run my guitars into a Princeton Reverb, a Tweed Super, and Traynor YBA-2A and a Reverend Goblin.

This is basically a great budget Tele. Especially if you buy one used. I own an American Series Ash Tele, which is a better playing and better looking instrument, but I also paid 4 times what I paid for the Squire. The quality of the Squire is quite good though, and if I spent another $150 or so on upgrades I'd have a guitar I would consider almost on par with my American Series for about $300 total. Even just doing some electronics upgrades would be an improvement.

Again, you can't be too picky about a guitar that I believe was $200 USD new. And I paid $150 CDN for mine used.

1982/2002 anniversary Fender Squier Fat Tele in 3 color sunburst.Rosewood fretboard with 22 frets.Made in Indonesia.Looks like solid alder.Die cast tuners.Humbucker equipped.

This guitar is actually pretty versatile.I play mainly classic hard rock and blues and this guitar can cover alot of ground from screaming Roy Bucannan style pick harmonics to faux humbucker-like tones with the bridge pickup used and the tone control rolled back half a turn.I mostly have been running this through my cyber-twin using a crunch preset based on blackface preamps.It sounds pretty killer.The neck sounds pretty good as well.

When I first checked out this guitar it seemed to have some set-up problems that I figured I could correct myself, mainly some fretting out at the 10th fret when bending the high E and B strings(a pretty important area; key of a and b at least).A slight adjustment of the neck and bridge helped but after a few months they came back.I figured the guitar is still being broken in so I did more adjusting.After needing to raise the action significantly I brought the Tele back to the store and even though I'd had it almost a year it was still under warranty.The tech who works there got approval for a partial fret mill and it turned out great.All the hardware and construction seems fine.I am especially impressed by the fit of the neck and pick-guard.Looks pefect.The sunburst finish is nice as well.I lowered the neck pickup to balance the output with the bridge pickup and it sounds good.

This gutar seems pretty solid but with my experience of playing out(about 10 gigs and too many rehearsals to remember over the years) I would totally bring a backup.The finish seems good but does have a low spot on the top by the upper strap button.it can only be seen when the light is reflected.Not bad considering the price.The output jack is susceptible to trouble but after taking the unit apart and flattening out the retaining plate before reassembly I know now to hold the jack in place with two fingers when unplugging it.

See above.The tech said getting approval for the repair wasn't easy.I think the term "hardballing" was used.

I addition to the cyber I own a variety of other amps(blues jr,peavey sp112 etc.)I have been playing off and on for over 30 years(almost non-stop for the last 15 or so)I also own 7 other electrics(epi lp std,ibz 58v and 335 copies,arbor and peavey strat copies,squier jagmaster,cort v) and none of those axes ever had as much trouble as this Tele.All this happened in the last month or so.But when all is said and done I am pretty happy with this guitar.I am more of a HB type of guy but still dig what a Tele type of axe can offer.

The good: Antique burst finish is beautiful - rivals $1000 guitars, neck is very playable; price is hard to beat. The bad: Low quality hardware (switch feels cheap, bridge chrome is starting to pit, output jack seems cheap)

I left mine stock for 12 months. I found the stock pickups very usable, but eventually wanted to try to improve on them. I installed GFS pickups into both locations and did get a nice improvement in sound. I put the split coil (aka Seth Lover knock-off) in the neck, and the oversized poll tele PUP in the bridge). After these modestly priced PUPs, I rate the sound a 8. They also improove the looks of the guitar.

As stated above the finish in immaculate. The frets and neck are fine; but the guitar did need a setup when it arrived. Very playable - no dead spots.

Tele's are basically blocks of wood anyway... so I don't think it will fall apart anytime soon. The low-grade hardware items (bridge, switch, output jack) will need to be replaced soon (after 2 years of playing)

No issues

I give it an 8 mainly because for the price, it's a damn nice instrument. I have been playing 25 years. I gig 2-3 times per month. This is now my main 'drag it to the gig' guitar. I get lots of nice tones from it.. and I don't need to worry about it getting scratched or stolen (The Les Paul and American Tele stay at home most nights).

Antique Burst, Humbucker in the neck, single coil bridge. 3 way switch, Rosewood neck. 2006 Indonesia.

Sounds great! I was prepared to change the pickups when the guitar arrived (especially the neck humbucker) after reading other reviews. When I plugged it up, the humbucker sounded harsh, one dimensional, and muddy (just like other reviewers had said). I lowered it to the level of the pickguard, and wow!!!!!! Sounded like a completely different animal. Very smooth and warm. It is now very matched with the single coil. I would not dream of removing either pick up. They both sound great. You can get a ton of sounds out of this guitar. The single coil bridge is very bright and twangy. The combined pickups is kind of strat like, nice for rhythm. The neck humbucker is made for blues or jazz. I seem to gravitate here because it sounds so good with a little overdrive.

For $199.00 I should not complain. It was acceptable out of the box. I'm pretty picky. The fret ends were a little jagged to me. Not terrible, but not great. I filed them down a little and now the neck is really nice. I put on 10's so I had to adjust the intonation. Not a big deal. The neck on mine is a little fatter than most of the squires I've played at local shops like GC. This is a good thing.

The finish looks awesome. It has the antique burst, with a dark rosewood fretboard.

Seems like it is built like a tank. Hardware is nicer than I thought it would be. Switches feel pretty heavy duty.

I had a 30 day period which I could return the guitar for any reason. I really expected that I would probably return it. Once I opened the box I knew this guitar would be with me for a long long time.

Been playing (or trying to) about 10 years. I have a bunch of gear. I have custom Strat 1997 anniversary, Gibson 335 and SG, number of old Ibanez's, Yamaha SA2000, some fender amps - Blues jr, Vibroverb,a Peavey Delta Blues, and a VOX AD30Vt (which i love!)

I absolutely love this Squire because it inspires me to play. It sounds as good as any of my other guitars. It feels great and it plays really nice. No buzzes, rattles or hums.

Standard Indonesian Squier, burst w/rosewood board. Humbucker @ neck w/traditional single coil @ bridge. Nothing fancy. Just what I was looking for.

I'd wanted to buy this tele configuration for years, due to the many tonalities available with the H/S pickup configuration. These pickups are conmensurate with the price-point of this guitar. They will work fine for the casual player or beginner. If one is looking for great sounding guitar with the stock pickups, I'm not sure you can accomplish it regardless of amp. I do not have a modeling amp and am not sure how one would affect available tones. However, I bought this guitar for the shell, knowing that lots of mods would be done resulting in exactly the guitar I wanted at a fraction of the cost.

Absolutely terrible fretwork from the factory. However, the neck is good, as it is the geomety of the Fender neck I was looking for. After spending $100 a the luthier, the frets and neck is just as good at a US made neck. Before luthier=5, after luthier=10.

Even though it is a cheap Indonesian model, it's a tank.

Really do not expect any problems. In 42 years of playing and a zillion guitars, I've never once had to deal with Fender on a product issue.

I view this guitar as a shell to craft a good guitar from. If you are looking for US or custom shop quality out of the box, this is not it. If you are looking for this configuration of guitar that you can inexpensively craft into a good to very good guitar, this may be for you.

It's made in Indonesia. What year I'm sure of, but somewhere between 2002 and 2005.
Neck: Bolt on maple C-shape 22 Medium Jumbofrets with rosewood fretboard
Body: Solid top in agathis.
Controls: 1 volume and 1 tone plus a standar 3-way toggleswitch
Pickups: 1 Humbucker in neck and Alnico Singlecoil in bridge. The pickups are of an unknow make, though I wrote to Fender and they told me it's a standar Fender pickup.
Bridge: Through body fixed Fender bridge
Tuners: Standar Die-cast tuners
Accessories: two allanwrenches
Finish: Candy Apple Red

For my style it just the thing I was looking for in terms of configuration, though the pickups are not qiute to my liking. The neck pickup alone is too muddy and boomy in the low end. It got too much middel and it grows a bit together in the extreme ends. Also, the bridge pickup alone is too whimpy compared to the humbucker in the neck. On the puls side though, it's brigt enough, just lacks the output. When the pickup is used together, the give a good rich and bright sound I like, as this is the position I main use when I play.

I run this guitar through my pedalboard in front of my amp.
Pedalboard:
-Morley PWV-1 Wah/Volume
-Ibanez PH-7 ToneLok Phaser
-BOSS OD 20 Drive Zone
2 presets with Blues Driver
2 presets with Tube Screamer
-Old BOSS DS-1 Distortion
-BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone
-Marshall VT-1 Vibratrem
(Reverb on the amp)

Amp: VOX AD30 VT
Ch. 1: Boutique OD (Dumble Special Overdrive run clean)
Ch. 2: US HiGain (Soldano SLO 100 run as main drive)
The guitar gives a good rock sound in general, but as a metal guitar it's no match for a humbuckerloaded Gibson Les Paul or SG, yet it beats the strat in the sound. The humbucker helps, but without the bridge humbucker, it falls behind.

I mainly like the guitar, but I don't like the pickups and the tuners.
But if you change the factory pickup and tuners, I would give this a 9.

As I commented in the subject above, I don't like the factory pickups and the tuners. These two will be changed as quik as I get the money. Also the 3-way toggleswitch, but there is nothing wrong with the toggleswitch from the factory.

This guitar will take the beating of giging, but I would changed the strapbuttons to StranLoks of a good make. I wouldn't rely souly on this guitar for a gig. Would always use a backup.

The support is OK. I only emailed them once to se if they could give me the exac make of the pickups.

If the guitar were stolen, I would buy it again.

I bought this guitar with the intent to customize it futher. Change the factory pickups with some Seymour Duncans (SH-1 in the neck and ST-59-1 in the bridge), Gotoh tuners, Jim Dunlop StrapLoks, 1000K dual volumepot and a 5 way toggleswitch.

What I like about it, is that it's a mix between a Telecaster and a Les Paul.

With the modifications I would give it a 10.

Made in Indonesia 2005. One single-coil bridge pick-up, one humbucker neck pick-up. Traditional tele shape. Body made of solid agathis (not laminate), chestnut brown finish, with a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. 22 medium-jumbo frets.

You can play anything on this guitar; from twangy rock'n'roll on the bridge pick-up with your amp on a clean setting, to heavy metal using the neck pick-up with lots of crunch, and blues and classic rock with other pick-up and amp combinations. The neck pick-up is quite a bit louder than the bridge.

The set-up on this guitar was rubbish; in fact i am not sure it was set up because the intonation was way out, but i do my own anyway. Also the tuning machines are CRAP! The guitar won't stay in tune more than five minutes (i use 10s) and that is no exaggeration. Apart from that this is a nice, well-built guitar and excellent value for money. With decent tuning machines this would probably be as good as a USA tele.

Apart from the tuners this is a rock-solid guitar and you could definitely gig without a back-up( i only play at home).

Haven't had it long.

I have been playing guitar for twenty years and although i prefer acoustic guitar i have owned a number of electrics including strats and yamahas. If this guitar was stolen i would definitely buy another but i would immediately replace the tuners. I love the tele shape and although this is not a USA tele it is a real tele in terms of sound and build qualiy (except the tuners). Why pay #700 for a 'Made in USA' logo when you can get one of these for less than #200. This guitar rocks!

Standard Indonesian job in Sunburst, standard squier tele pick-ups, controls and hardware - simple but does the job very well

I play bass guitar usually and i use the squier on songs that need a bit more fill-in work. I've never had a problem with noise or feedback. Has a wide variety of sounds from thin and twangy to a much smoother but still bright sound thanks to being able to mix the two pickups. And you can use each pick up on its own of course. It really does sound like a "proper" fender tele when put into a Marshall rig or a Mesa Boogie. In fact it sounds brilliant thorugh my SWR bass rig as well if you like a clean guitar sound. You will never a Gibson sound from it but then again its a tele!

When I got it there was fret buzz on the 13th and 17th frets, the neck had not been set properly and the intonation was out. None of it was major - just annoying. It took about 30 minutes to sort it out. Now it plays really well and the finish is great. My score is after doing the fine-tuning! Now I would put it against any tele or tele clone and it would give a good acount of its self.

Before I did the work I would have given it a 5 - I think anything that is badged Fender should have better quality control on the assembled item. I can't fault the individual bits though.

I like fairly high frets which this guitar has - its a personal taste thing! You might not so its something to be aware of.

I think you could drive a tank over it and it would still work! I have owned it for about a year and I've used it on gigs / rehearsals / playing at home and I'm really pleased. Plus it keeps in tune very well once I ditched the original strings.

I can't imagine anybody needing a back-up although, nervous Nellie that I am, I always have a spare:-)

Never had to contact them. I had a one year warranty.

I've been playing for 30 plus years. I have played a large number of bass and six-string guitars and own Gibsons, Fenders and Rickenbackers amongst others.

I really rate this guitar both in terms of cost to build/ sound quality and in comparision to any other tele I have ever touched be it USA, MEX or whatever. If it broke or became lost i would have another without hesitation.

Simply, a very nice guitar to play that gives the classic tele sound. For teh price it is a stunning guitar. If you want a tele get one - you will not be dissapointed.

Candy apple red, maple neck with rosewood fretboard. White pickguard. Humbucker neck, single coil bridge. 3 way switch, 1 tone, 1 volume.

twangy sound just like a tele should. but the neck humbucker lets it get thick. the neck, and the neck/bridge positions sound nice and fat, and the bridge is twangnasty (thats a good thing). i use a Laney LC15 amp with JJ tubes and a Jensen c10Q speaker, and i play mostly blues/rock. i replaced the pots and the switch and all the wiring/electronics except for the pickups. i will be changing those when i can afford it. it sounds good, with pickups of your choice, it will sound great.

bought it used, but it seems to have gotten a pro setup. the nut has been filed a little so the strings lay deeper in it (lower action). i dig it the way it is, but i am not picky.

seems solid enough. especially for the price. great value.

i really dig this guitar. i wish it had a maple fretboard, and maybe a sunburst finish. but that is merely cosmetic. i cant wait to hear how this thing sounds with a Rio Grande muy grande bridge pickup, and a Seymour Duncan 59 neck. it is a great value even if you buy it new, but if you can find one used... that is a sweet deal.