Fender Squier Tele Special

Made in Indonesia '04- 21 "medium jumbo" frets 9.5'' Radius neck-Alder body -Rosewood fretboard- Strat single coil neck/humbucker bridge pickups- Walnut satin finish- Short "string through body" bridge w/6 steel saddles.

Pickups are a little weak (volume wise), but balanced well. Just turn the amp up a little louder. You can get a wide range of sounds from Les paul tones off the bridge bucker when cranked, to good rhythm sounds off the neck. If you roll the volume down in either middle or bridge position you can still get the classic "tele twang" sound. Overall very versatile. A splitter on the humbucker would be nice, but the balance is nice, so I guess that would be asking for trouble. But that might be my next modification.

Set up was ok out of the box, but a little tweaking, and it plays as well as my heavily modded '90 American Standard Tele. A couple of sharp edges on some of the upper frets were fixed in 15 mins. with a fret file, But otherwise a very nice feeling neck. The wood is really beautiful, looks like one piece, the grain matches perfectly (no visible seams). The tuners (although heavily criticized around here) are actually OK. The secret (actually an old Ibanez secret) is to pull the tuning key knobs off, wipe the "quart" of oil from the factory off the plastic washers, and crank down the knob mounting screws (very tightly). Mine never goes out of tune ! Also the factory .009 strings HAVE TO GO put .010's or .011's on, you'll be much happier. I also changed out the cheap,cheap pots for a set of real 500K pots I had around , also I changed out the cheap knobs for a set of real Tele knobs from Allparts ($10). Hey, I would rather have them keep the cost down by skimping on pots and knobs, than the wood and neck !

I do gig with this guitar 4 nights a week, about 6 months of the year. It's been holding up very well for a year now. I bought this as a backup Tele since my #1 Tele is a little too old, and a little too expensive/nice (with all the mods) to take to some of the pubs we play (where the occasional drunk guy wants to play my Tele). I used to bring my #1 Tele and my Casio MG-510 to gigs, but now I've put a Roland GK2 MIDI pickup on the Squier Tele, and I can leave all the vintage/ expensive stuff at home. Yes, I have relied on this for about a year with no backup guitar. Except for the occasional broken string no problems.

Don't know, but they've got a website with manuals and schematics. Thats worth a 2.

I've been playing over 30 years (mostly Blues in "biker bar" bands), I am very into the "Tele sound", the Squier Tele Special has that down ! If it was stolen... Hell yeah, I'd buy another one. I might even buy another one now. I bought this as a backup "cheap" Tele I could beat on and kick around, but the only problem is that it is actually nice enough that I don't want to see it get damaged. I even hate to let the occasional drunk play it at gigs, but I jut keep reminding myself of how cheap it was. Now I need a cheap backup for my cheap backup.

2004 Indonesia
21 frets
Alder body
Strat SC in neck, HB in bridge
Walnut finish
3way 1 vol 1 tone
STB
Tuners-no names
Fosewood FB, maple neck, rosewood skunk strip on back of neck
No pickguard Yes!

Stock, the neck pickup is ok. A noisy strat pickup-very good tone, but hum City. the bridge pickup, with ceramic magnets had to go. Immediately.
I use a Carvin Belair 212 and a Yamaha DG stomp
The SC neck, HB bridge arrangement is quite versatile with the right pickups.

Action needed adjustment. No biggie. What did I expect going from 9s to 11s. Fit and finish was as good as an American Fender. no complaints. Not Jackson or PRS or Schecter. But way beyond what you would expect for $200.

I have had it 5 months. The guitar is built to last, except the tuners are finnicky.

I have been playing for about 28 years. I also own a Jackson Fusion Pro.
Would I buy the guitar again? Heck yeah! I might buy another.

This guitar needs to be seen as potential: A very competent neck and fingerboard and fret work. Alder body and lots of it. Amazing sustain for a $200 guitar. Slap a REAL Bill Lawrence 280S ($40) in the neck and a Duncan 59 ($60) in the bridge and you are ready for anything from jazz to blues to rock to ska. And no noise. Classical? No. Death metal? Look elsewhere.

Since I took put 11s on, the tuners stay in tune much better.

I compared to many, many guitars by many manufacturers.

Made in Indonesia 2004, 22 frets, no pick guard, mine was pewter, looks like an average tele (without pick-guard). Made of alder.
came with strap, picks, and gig-bag. After all these years don't you think Fender can come up with a different head-stock for the Tele?

THE SOUND ON THIS GUITAR IS INCREDIBLY GOOD!! I was in shock when i went to my guitar shop and played it through a Marshall amp. As soon as I played the intro to Smells Like Teen Spirit (ye im a NIRVANA fan) I knew I had to buy this guitar. I play grunge, rock, punk, and some classic rock. This guitar is perfect for every style I play.

Set up beautifully! When I was at the guitar shop, i tuned up this guitar and I bought it. Everything was fine, no chips and dent in the wood or anything. I want to give it an 8.5 but im going to put it under 9.

This guitar CAN withstand live playing....but with a back-up. Hardware is perfect, then again I take perfect care of my guitars
(I own Fender Strat and Tele, Squier Jason Ellis Showmaster, Jay Turser Strat Copy, an old Degas acoustic, Epiphone Les Paul, and of course this.)Finishing is great, and it lasts you a long time, as it is doing for me.

Never dealt with them. But the owner of the shop is really friendly.

Great Guitar! If it were stolen or lost, I would probably get this again, or get a Squier Jazzmaster.

This tele was made in 2004, in Indonesia. It has 22 medium frets, a maple/rosewood neck, rosewood fretboard, and I think an Agathis (Asian Alder) body. No-name tuners. It is equipped with a single coil (Alnico) at the neck, and a humbucker at the bridge. It has one vol, one tone, and the typical Fender three way blade selector, mounted to the signature tele steel control plate. There is no pickguard. The bridge is a Fender six-saddle string through body design. The neck is unfinished, while the body is in a walnut satin. It came with no accessories. For the value of the guitar, you get plenty.

I play mostly Rock/Jazz, and the pickup configuration adds and interesting dimension to the tone (a bit different than the typical tele.) You get the "vintage" hum when the single coil is in use, but it's not obnoxious or even bothersome. It has a distinctive sound that I like - a little twangy, with a little bit of bite. It can have quite a smooth sound if you back off on the tone a bit. I acquired this guitar through trade, with the intent on "redesigning it." The pickup config was what I wanted in my design anyway, my changes are elswhere. The guitar sounds very nice.

What do you expect in a guitar worth under $200? The set up wasn't bad, but it had an audible buzz at the lower registers. I adjusted the relief, then lowered the saddles a bit. It's fine now. The frets are very level, but they protrude slightly along the edge of the fretboard (nothing a file can't fix.) The nut was cut a little off center (towards the high E; again, easily resolved.)
The pickup setup was pretty good, except that I had to raise the neck (single coil) about 1/8 inch, to give a better balance when using both pickups.
When I revamp the guitar, I will keep most of the hardware, except the control plate and the tuners. The tuners absolutely refuse to stay in tune. I thought about putting some Sperzels Locking Tuners on it, or Grovers, haven't decided.
All of the flaws are easily repairable, but for someone who doesn't know any better, the tuners could be real problem.
Fit is good, the neck joint is solid, and the pickup wells cleanly done.
The finish is nice, but I'm changing that - this is a project guitar.

Without changing the tuners, this guitar would not withstand live playing. All of the hardware is fine except the tuners. The chrome finish on the hardware seems just fine. The satin finish seems a bit thin (easier for me to sand off!)
As a stage guitar, the Tele Special would be terrible. As a project guitar, it's great.
Keep in mind, the guitars structure is strong, but the stock tuners make this guitar unreliable.
Durability 9, Reliability 3 (Average 6)

Don't have a clue.

I have been playing over 25 years. I own a Hamer Newport, Epiphone Scroll 450, Taylor 314.
If this tele were stolen, maybe the thief could keep it in tune; it's a project guitar - I'd get another inexpensive tele and start over.
The pickup configuration has a lot of tonal variety, and I like that. I hate the tuners (can't you tell.) I did not compare to other guitars - although I've previously owned a tele before (52 re-issue,) and sound-quality of this Tele Special is comparable.
I chose this guitar because it had the pickup configuration I wanted.
I wish it had real tuners.
This guitar is great for a project guitar...no pickguard, all the parts you need. It's cheaper to buy something like this, than to buy all the parts separately. I have big plans for this guitar.
For the money, it's a good deal. If a beginner bought this guitar, they would need counseling - they would never be able to play a clean sounding chord.