Fender Squier Telecaster Custom II

No need to recap the features, its been covered...

P90s sound HUGE. Impressed with the quality of the duncan designed. I play progressive rock and a little bit of wierd stuff like MGMT. Use a Fender Super Champ XD. Noticed a hum when either bridge or neck was selected, not when both were selected. Impressed with this $200 guitar.

Purchased used. The previous owner had adjusted action intonation appropriately. However, i did notice that the fret wire on 18 was taller that 17. I had to file down 18 until the note for 17 could be played. Although it was a minor problem, it was an unpleasant surprise.

It's too new to know. It seems like it will last.

no problems

I'm fairly new (2 years) but I do know whats sh*t and what isn't. I must say at first I didn't give this one a chance but when i plugged it in, whoa. Squier has really done it on this one. It plays as well as my buddies Epiphone LP custom and sounds better too! Forget the named brand labelling, this is the real deal. (I do recommend a pro set-up or just a thorough check up at home).

This guitar looks like a Telecaster '72 Deluxe but with two p90s and a regular tele headstock instead of the CBS strat one. The neck feels nice and has a fine satin coating. Mine is black but it comes in a greeny-yellow finish as well. The body wood is agathis (which is supposedly similar to alder wood) and the neck is maple with a maple fingerboard. Other than that, everything is pretty straight forward really.

I was very surprised and impressed by the quality and playability of this guitar! Technically, I bought it second hand but the original owner had only played it for about 3 hours in total after having it set up. It was in flawless physical condition and the setup was a great job. The intonation is very near perfect and the guitar stays in tune well. Again, you have to take into consideration the quality vs price.

I like the pickups on this guitar. To me, they sound fairly humbucker-ish. They definitely have a nice jangle and I'd say these pickups are best suited to some sort of rock-based genre of playing. I'm not sure whether it's the light gauge of strings on this guitar or the body wood or something else but there isn't a huge amount of attack in the sound. That's the area I'd say the guitar seems it's cheapest. I like all of the pickup positions though. The bridge is nice, the neck is good and has a good balance of warmth and brightness (not muddy at all) and the middle selection on the 3-way toggle switch is very useful as well. These pickups are wound in a way that when you use the middle setting they are hum cancelling. Honestly, the noise doesn't bother me at all and I haven't thought about it (I'd read lots of noise comments). My original guitar was a Schecter Tempest Custom with a Kent Armstrong 'Motherbucker' in it (ridiculous name, ridiculous pickup) and I'd say they output the same amount of noise. It's not particularly noticeable IMO.

All in all, good balanced tone! Versitile guitar.

Mine had been setup when I recieved it and it was done really well. The intonation is great and the guitar is put together very well. I'm not savvy with this kind of thing so I'm not really sure what to look for but everything seems to be put together well and there are no loose or suspiscious looking screws or hardware. Everything is straight and adjusted well. I'd recommend you getting this guitar set up but I'd probably recommend that for any guitar purchase.

I would depend on this guitar in a live situation. The strap buttons seem very solid and the hardware really does seem fine! I found the tuners to be surprisingly nice and smooth and it has held in tune very well. I bought this guitar to be used as a backup but I intend on making it very much the main guitar for now. I'd like to put new saddles on, a new nut and new tuners. I don't think this guitar necesarily needs those things but for the price I definitely think it would be worth doing to have a great sounding instrument with high quality hardware. I can understand why people don't like the feel of the 3-way switch as it's very weak and feels cheap but it's not loose or anything of that nature. The output jack seems completely fine to me but it's such a small price to replace I figure I may as well just upgrade all of the hardware at once.

All in all, the hardware is totally fine and the guitar will withstand hours of playing and hold tune though it does feel a little bit cheap in some ways though I can't quite put my finger on why.

I've not ever used customer support. I can't see that you'd really need to..

I have been playing for about 6 or 7 years I suppose. I use this guitar with an '83 JCM 800 2203 amplifier. If it were stolen from me I'd be really pissed off. Chances are I would replace it because it's so fantastic for the price. I think once I upgrade parts of this guitar I will become a lot more attached to it than I am now. I have a MIUSA Fender 96 Tele too which is a beautiful guitar but I don't really feel that the Squier is inadequate. They sound very different from one another and I find them both useful. I really like the satin finish on the neck over gloss and this guitar is quite light weight too.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased! A fantastic guitar for anyone. If you are buying your first guitar I'd definitely recommend this guitar and as many others have done, it's a good guitar to buy for upgrades or any modding curiosities. I'm interested in doing that at some stage - maybe repainting the body or putting a new neck on..

Highly recommended! Plays and sounds fantastic. Great value.

>> Made in Indonesia, 2007
>> 23 frets
>> 3 way selector, two volume controls, and two tone controls
>> Maple neck
>> Medium-Jumbo frets

Great to play :)
Looks awesome :)

I'm a young guitarist, and have only been playing for around a year and a half, and recently bought my first electric. A Fender Squier Telecaster Custom II in black. I only have basic equipment because I'm learning, so I play it normally through a Fender Frontman 15R amp.
I play anything from Blink-182 through to Death Cab For Cutie on this guitar, and this guitar plays all styles well.
I play with the basic pick-ups that were in the guitar when I bought it. I can't say it is noisy, because my neck pick-up hasn't worked from day one, so that's going to be fixed soon. Although, the one pick-up that works, works brilliantly, and produces a high quality sound.

Apart from the neck pick-up not working at all, I would say that the guitar was set up quite well. When I first had it, the three higher strings were slightly rusted from in-store demonstration and use, though I did speak to the guy at the store and he replaced the top strings free of charge.

I have no idea if it will withstand live playing, because I only play at lessons and in my living room at home. The hardware does seem prety strong, and the strap buttons are very solid. Finish wise - I think that it will last, and won't wear off with lots of playing because it seems as though it is a good quality piece of equipment.

I'm getting the neck-pick up repaired soon, and I spoke to the company and they sorted it out with our music store, and it is under warranty (7 year warranty).

Other than this guitar, I own a Fender Frontman 15R amp, and some random cheapo nylon string acoustic which is practically worthless haha.
I would probably by the Fender Telecaster '72 if ever something happened to this one, although this guitar is great for a beginner like me.

i got a "blonde" one(which is a kinda off yellowish green color) a few years back and i loved it from the start. the only things is i upgraded a few things and it's a much better guitar than it was out the doors of the music store, and that's impressive. it was already a great guitar. i've replaced all the electronics with switchcraft components exept the pickups. i put a tusk nut on it, the strings starts widdling their way into the (plastic)nut causing tuning problems. replaced the string trees with roller ones, and replaced the saddles with string saver saddles. i was going to re-finish it with another color and it turns out that no paint stripper would take any of the finish off of it, i have no idea what the heck they used, but you can bet the finish it comes with will survive for years of playing. i ended up sanding it down and i loved what was underneath the gloss. it actually looks blonde now, and in some places, i sanded it thinner and in some, down to the wood. so it looks like an instrument that i have been playing every night for 15 years.

i play all kinds of music, from punk to gospel. and it does all of them just fine, not a one trick pony. i've played it through many amps....didn't sound very well with solid state amps, muddied up real bad when palm muting and over all playing. i've used it through a fender roc pro 1000 and it sounded amazing. through a blue voodoo 212 combo and it was a unique sound(very middish) handled well with low gain over the high gain. and now i'm running it through a peavey classic 50 4x10 combo and i think it may be a match made in heaven for me. it has that "clash" guitar sound that i love. and it's extremely responsive with that amp. the softer i play the cleaner it sounds, the harder the dirtier. it's sounds like a fat dark tele. i love it.

when i bought it it wasn't set up too shabby, but i did have to make some minor adjustments, no idea why but the strings were rusted to hell when i got it and i had to adjust the neck a little bit. other than that it was good to go.

i've been beating this guitar up for a few years and have had one problem with it...the neck pickup has a tendency to go out on me every once in a while, i mean it just wont work. so i open it up, jiggle some wires around and it comes back to life. it's no problem though, the bridge pickup will work fine if it comes to it, just a little more jangly. and with all the add ons and change outs i've done on it, i'm always positive it'll make some noise everytime i plug it in.

never bothered or needed it.

i've been playing for 14 years now and people always look at me funny because it's a squire and my main guitar, but they are impressed when they play it and hear it. i always say that it's the best "lower" priced guitar that i've ever played and owned. it would be a sad day if it dissapeared, i would def buy another one. it's a very versatile guitar, not nearly as fat as a les paul, but not as nasal and jangly as a tele(which there's nothing wrong with that sound by the way). seems to fit right in the middle of it.

No need to recap the features, its been covered...

I love it. I love tele's anyway and always wanted to try a P-90 one. For a cheap squier it is incredible. I have owned more Tele's than is probably healthy in one lifetime, and have loved some, and sold others on, unimpressed. No. 1 factor is always the sound of course and I am not sure that this isn't the best sounding Tele I have ever owned!

I learned a long time ago that the sound that comes out of a tele has little to do with how much you pay for it, I know others will disagree but I have paid a lot for USA built vintage and new teles, Japanese ones, built my own partscasters, and had various copies and squiers. There is virtually no correlation between price and tone in my experience - and this guitar proves it.

I have a blonde one - they only come in blonde or black, and I hate the way black bodies show up every fingermark. The finish is pretty good.

One crit is the fret ends could have been better rounded off - I have seen worse but I will probably get them done some time.

The nut was cut OK on mine out the box (I have seen other Squiers with nuts not cut low enough)

The jack is loose already, time to fit an electrosocket!

Action out the factory is irrelevant to me, I always do a full setup anyway. No problems setting it the way I like.

For gigging, fit an electrosocket, don't think twice, just do it. That joke thing they fit in the factory will let you down pretty soon.

While you are in there, maybe put a better quality switch in and you are all set. Leave everything else alone, it works great and is well made.

This is a superb sounding and musically inspiring cheap guitar IMHO. I hope they are all as good as mine out of the factory.

I hope the guys that made it in Indonesia get paid a fair wage - they did a good job.

Flawless Mary-Kay finish (over ASH), black (70's) pickguard, six saddle string thru bridge , string trees and adequate tuners stay in tune just fine. Twenty-two medium frets on a single peice of maple, very smooth and familiar to play.
Two volume and two tone controls that respond just as they should, Three way large toggle to fetch the very best of these DUNCAN DESIGN P-90 pick-ups

Sound always comes from the hands but this value market guitar sure helps a LOT! A sound heavier than a single coil, less "DESTROY" than a humbucker. Smooth rich Jazz thru a Polytone and Fender G-dec, add tremolo get the DOORS, clean up with a Blackface or Tweed and seriours blues are found, add fuzz/distortion get Smashing Pumpkins.

If you rake your fingers over the pickguard on mine... you get a vinylizer effect. What I mean is, the pick guard has an issue that causes a great deal of static when your hand touches it while strumming. This will be fixed with a little aluminium tape use for heat shield or for air conditioning duct sealing. I like to laugh with the guys and add a little vinyl sound at the end of a tune by squeegee-ing my index finger back and forth across the plastic. I like.

Bought it from Pierre Nicol at EMF in Granby for a song... and change. Set-up by a pro who likes what he does. The routing looks precise, the fit and attention to centering of the parts, indicates that the floor manager in Indonesia was doing a fine job on the day mine was made.
Screws are all counter sunk properly, no tool marks, drips or debris.

The guys in the packaging dept. spared no expense in wrapping it up. Goodgolly, there was a lot of clear plastic on this one, they may be paid by sq. foot.
Fabulous sounds.... effeminate. I'll say "The out of the box experience" was a good one.

I know it will handle a lot of playing, I change guitars a lot for live, Baritone, another "real Tele" with bigsby, blah blah.

No problem.

5 year from Fender, I have 2 fender dealers not far from home. If they want Christmas cards, they will fix it.

Playing 25 years, 50 amps, over 100 guitars. Today I own a nice lightweight Polytone and Fender G-dec, Pheonix (japan) Tele with Fender 56 tuners, pickups and Bigsby, Value market Baritone, others.

The body is nice to look at, espescially from Squier. It is all high gloss black with that massive blck pickguard, it just looks so retro. The setup is just like a Les Paul with 2 P90's. Two volume, two tone and a 3 way toggle switch. Like I had said before, it has 2 Duncan Designed P90 pickups which, for pickups that are built in Korea, totally kick ass, HONESTLY! I played the Godin LG SP90 with the 2 Seymour Duncan SP90's and these sound almost identical. I think if you were to put these pickups in that guitar they would sound the same. It actually has a string through body design, can you believe that, with a hardtail strat style bridge and just some basic tuners but they seem to work

Like I mentioned before, great. I was looking for a good guitar with P90's on a tight budget and tried the Epiphone 56 Goldtop, Godin LG SP90, Hamer Sunburst and this Squier. The Godin was almost my choice but I just can't get into this space age design body style they have going on, but if you like the look of it try it out because it really rocks. It has a very Different sound then any other single coil pickup and has alot more power then the average ones to. I find you get very good note definition when you use single coils but alot of them just dont have the beef behind them for me to rock hard enough. Thats where P90's come into play. These P90's are awesome lots of power and lots of clarity, a good backup for a Strat or a Les Paul or just use it on its own (like I do). My only quarrel is the hum these pickups produce, the 60 cycle hum seems to be alot crazier on P90's but it is'nt bad enough, for me anyways, to put it down. I am probably going to by a hum eliminator and a noise gate. Bottom, line these pickups rock, very Dean Deleo.

The action, off the rack, was great, intonation was perfect, no body flaws and pickup height was awesome. Great guitar for the price, seriously. Now, I have heard and read alot of bad reviews about the way these guitars come "out of the box" but I think this one was setup and had a good once over before it was put on the shelf because it was an excellent feeling guitar right away. On another note it is a very heavy guitar, espescially for a Fender/Squier. Must be agathis wood.

The paint seems strong and thick and I do beleive it will withstand live playing. The hardware seems fine, not the highest quality (no big name stuff) but very workable and holds its tuning very well. I am positive I can depend on it but I always have a backup, no matter what I use. The only quarrel I have is the neck. The Squier website states that it has a "Gloss Polyurethane Finish" but that does'nt feel very strong, protection wise I mean. I am just worried that a couple years of harsh and ever changing Candian weather might really do a number on the neck and it could require a replacement. But we will see, plus I like the feel of the finnish, it is soft, non sticky and very fast.

Have'nt had to deal with them.

I have been playing for 14 years and I currently own a Fender Telecaster (mexi), an American Standard Stratocaster, Gibson Swamp Ash Studio Les Paul and this Squier. I run them all through a Traynor YCV40 for my clean channel with a Marshall JCM800 combo for my drive/distortion channel with an A/B switch to change amps (SWEET). I use an MXR double shot distortion, marshalls beautiful amp distortion, Boss OD1, Danelectro Rocky Road and a Dunlop Jimi Hendrix wah and all 4 of these guitars equally. We play a kind of Army of Anyone meets Breaking Benjamin style of music so you need versatility when it comes to guitars. I need one more guitar to acheive my "total ton plan", and that is a Gibson ES-335 and I will be done. But as far as a guitar with P90's go's I dont need another one because I now have all the P90 I need in this sweet, inexpensive little number. If it was stolen I would be calling my insurance company right away and if you look in the sound column you will see that I did in fact compare it with several other lower priced, P90 equipped guitars. All in all it was a great purchase on my part and I would'nt trade it for anything, maybe one day if I get sick of the hum I will put some Seymour Duncan SP90's in it, but until that happens I am content. $340 Canadian is a small price to pay for such a great guitar, thanks Fender/Squire.

If you're a p-90 fan this guitar has 2 tone and volume knobs and a switch, i don't think anything else in this price range with p-90s does.everything else about the guitar is decent or average quality, i have no complaints.

well p-90 equiped guitars are not for everybody but i sure dig them. I play a sort of retro 60"s/punk and this guitar sure delivers on the british invasion 60s jangle. It's also great for distortion with a nice subtle jangle on the high end, a little noisy though ( nothing too bad) but that just makes it all the more retro. It would also make a great blues guitar..If you're lookig for a strat or les paul sound than you won't like it but if you want to find your OWN sound, keep an open mind and spend some time with it.

The guitar came mail order from elderly instruments and all the set up work had been done by them, the action and intonation were flawless, the hardware decent, the only thing about it that seems cheap is that it doesn't say "fender" on the headstock. A lot of people can't deal with that...But if you want a great guitar and don't buy in to status symbols you should check it out!

like i said earlier, it has average hardware, the woods and stuff seem comparable to the mexi-strats and teles. I woulld have a back up though, no matter what guitar i play.

i have had no problems so i dont know

Ive been playing pro to semi pro for 10 years, and have owned a standard strat, a peavy T60, a 1967 fender mustang and a couple of other Squires. this is the first Squier I've owned that is really nice, it has a lot of charachter and a fantastic sound. Other people on this website have had trouble with quality control but that was all taken care of for me. Just get it from somwhere that gives you a free set up which i guess it needs judging by the other reviews

Blonde, tele string thru, maple neck/fb, 2005, pair of P90s, agathis body.

Stock PUs lack dynamics and nuance. Potentiometers are barely adequate.

Cheese grater fret ends and aweful nut job. Hardtail bridge was mis-aligned so that the strings were not passing over the pole pieces of the bridge PU. Selector switch tip was broken.

I am a professional guitarist of 35 years. I bought this guitar knowing what I was getting into. I replaced the neck with an old 1983 Squier bullet neck, switched out the stock PUs for Jason Lollar vintage P90s, rewired the the vol/tone pots with CTS pots, re-aligned the bridge---now it is a drop dead looker AND player! This guitar is a good deal for the pro as a spring board for modifiying and up-grading, or as a entry level guitar for the novice.

blah blah blah ,you know the deal

when i first got this guitar it sounded awesome.I play it through a Fender Pro JR with a TS9 and an analog delay.unfortunately when i play it on gigs the P90's were very noisy.so I made some upgrades.I added tuners from a Mexi Tele,added graphite string trees so tuning was no longer an issue.then I swapped the PU's with Dimarzio DP164's,they are P90 humbucking PU's.Now the Guitar is a monster.I also added a push-pull tone pot for the neck PU so when it has both PU's on I can put them out of Phase so now i can also get a kind of a strat sqawk.Change the PU's you wont be dissappointed.

basic black and i always set up my own guitars

it is now a great gigging guitar and never play without a backup

dont know,its a squier

when i got it, it was a 7 .now its a 10

For lower-budget Fender/Squier products this guitar makes my old mexi-starter-strat look like a toy. Features are pretty standard, the Tele body style makes for a nice comfortable cut-away for reaching the higher frets. Six-adjustment saddle was a big point for me in purchasing this guitar vs the old-style Tele three-adjustment saddle. The black finish is like a mirror. I really like the way it is set off by the maple neck, I just don't think this guitar would look proper with a rosewood fretboard. 3-way pickup selector is very solid, and pretty quiet switching pickups as well.

This guitar puts the SG to shame in bang for the buck. Very smooth sound. Very quiet and pleasant with the stock pickup height, raising them up a couple millimeters brings it to full rocking potential although there's the risk of a little extra noise/hum. I found a happy medium raising them just enough to 'biggen' the sound without creating a lot of noise. I'm a big classic rock buff, and I delve into some newer rock as well. A good clean sound means as much to me as a good heavy/hard sound and I have to admit this guitar handles both excellently.

Actually makes my amp/cab sound better than my SG does, and is much more versatile. In hard-rocking showdom the SG would win, for for all practical purposes the dual P90s offers a wider variety of sounds to my ear. I also play through a Pod 2.0, which I may feed into my computer or my Sovtek depending on my mood. Sounds 'cleaner' through the Pod than the SG does. SG makes a lot of noise through the Pod and surprisingly the P90s on the Tele make about half as much.

A LOT more than I expected for the price. I could buy six of these for the money I have invested in my SG.

Stock setup from Fender/Squire. Ordered from Musician's Friend, came without the little plastic screw-on knob for the pickup selector (more on this in Customer Service section). Other than that the fit & finish is sweet for the price. I can't find a flaw in the guitar at all, save that one of the pickguard screws was a touch loose out of the box.

I would like to have the action a hair lower, and I did the intonation myself. Intonation is in my opinion the most important aspect of a guitar setup, and it isn't very hard to do a decent job at it yourself. Any cheap guitar setup guide has instructions, and unless you know what you're doing ignore anything the book might say about neck relief. The intonation was great but not quite perfect out of the box. One of the key selling points on this guitar for me was the saddle, having six individual adjustments instead of the classic Tele three adjustment saddle. In the end I probably won't bother in lowering the action, simply because I've been playing it so much the action hasn't ill-affected me in any way.

Really I'm only giving a 6 in this category due to the missing selector switch knob, out-of-the-box setup on this guitar was better than most I've come into contact with.

Built solid. Its a bolt-on neck, which is simple and easy to replace if you manage to break it. The tuners aren't the most pride-inspriring, but they do the job. I suspect in the coming years they may start to loosen up, but that's just pure speculation. I haven't had to tighten them yet, and I find myself tightening my SG's tuners about every 3 months.

For this category I'm ranking Musician's Friend, not Fender/Squier. I haven't dealt with Fender/Squier directly at all.

As I mentioned earlier the guitar came without a plastic knob on the pickup selector switch. I called Musician's Friend and the representative I dealt with was very courteous and 'knew' exactly what knob I was talking about, and claimed it would be sent out right away. The knob arrived in three business days, so that was nice. It was a Gibson knob. Completely different inside diameter and threading. Fits on my SG just fine.

I called back and got a different representative, informed him that they had sent me a Gibson knob for the correct switch, but this was a Fender/Squier guitar. He said that indeed the wrong knob was selected in my replacement part request and would send out the correct knob right away. In three business days the knob arrived again. Now I have two replacement pickup selector switch knobs for my Gibson SG. I don't know if this is an ordering problem, a warehouse problem, or what, but its rather disconcerting.

I called back again and went through the exact same routine. About four business days later the 'correct' knob came. It is a Volume knob for a Fender amp. The package doesn't specify which amp, but it definitely not a guitar volume knob, and definitely not a pickup selector switch knob.

I called back again, rather irritated, although as polite as I could be while swearing under my breath. Same deal, new knob, Musician's Friend is terribly sorry. About two (!) weeks later I got a set of strap knobs, the ones on the horn and base that you would attach your strap to. I gave up, went to the local music shop and bought the correct knob for $2.95.

VERY impressed... I started playing about a decade ago with one of those Fender Standard Strat packs, with the little Frontman 15R combo. Since then I've invested in a late 90s Gibson SG. I'm pretty particular about sound, and even on the SG the neck pickup sounded too muddy so I swapped it out for a '57 classic pickup.

I typically practice through my little Frontman 15R, and I can even pull a pretty nice sound out of that. My main rig is a Sovtek Mig50 Head (wooden cab, all tube) through a Kustom 2x12 old-style tuck n' roll cabinet. I believe the speakers in the cab are Jensens.

If this guitar was shattered/lost/stolen/spontaneously combust I would definitely get another one. In my hunt for a guitar with P90s (always loved that sound) I tried out many guitars from $200 to $1400. I ended up somewhat torn between this and an Epiphone Les Paul reissue '56 Goldtop (P90s of course). In price, throw-it-around ability, and looks I chose the Squier Tele Custom II.

Blonde Body/Fret
P-90 Pickups
Duncan Designed Pickups

I play lots of styles, but mostly rock, and although the pickups are pretty noisy, its not that bad if you are far enough from the amp.

a Tele isnt really meant for rock, but this is pretty good for multiples styles.

I bought this used, and the guy who sold it too me just got it set up before he sold it too me, and i recommend that. It sounded great from the minute i played it. I may need to set it up again in a few months though as i play it almost every day and bang it around.

The parts are not that great, but what do you expect? Nothing has gone wrong yet, but the toggle and input jack are both semi loose, and i have a feeling will require repair in the distant future

The finish is pretty good, no complaints

I would maybe use this as a backup guitar live, as its cheap and wouldnt care so much about it.

The strap button fell out of the hole after i put a new Dimarzio strap in it. I used the old toothpick trick and its been fine since then. But i abused it playing it which caused it to come out.

I bought it used...so no warranty.

ive been playing for 10 years, i own mostly gibson guitars and i bought this just to play at college so i wouldnt have to worry about babying it or if it got stolen. If it got stolen somehow, i would probably check out the other squire w/o the P-90s. It plays better than my MIM strat and my epiphone SG, but not better than my gibsons obviously. I might change the pickups if i can later.

For a cheap guitar with decent sound, this is a great investment. Just get that setup.

features seem pretty much like everyone else's... cool, cheesy vomit tan finish, almost tv yellow... thin, fast neck, cheap tone and volume knobs, double Duncan designed p-90's... pretty standard axe... some of the frets can be a little sharp around the edges...

i play this guitar through a ts-9 and 535q wah plugged straight into a reverned hellhound 40/60 tube head and marshall 1960a. when i first got this guitar, it sounded decent, like a 6 maybe, but i noticed after getting some tips from a friend that if i raised the pickup heights, it improved the sound dramatically... the bridge pickup has a really nice crunch that can cover heavy distortions quite well...the neck pickup has awesome, glassy clean tones that are perfect for jazz... i also really like the blues lead tones that come from this pickup... not a big fan of the middle position that uses both pickups at the same time... they sound too different from one another and do not seem to mix well... i play a lot of music, mainly smashing pumpkins/ bends era radiohead type stuff and this guitar does a good job covering the sounds i need... just do yourself a favor and raise your pickups if you arent getting the sounds you want...

the guitar was set up really well from the store i got it from... the paint job was flawless... the neck feels good, tight neck pocket... a pretty solid guitar... like i said before, the pickups were a little low for my taste, but p-90s are easily adjusted so thats no big problem...

this guitar seems pretty dependable... i have only 3 complaints about it... sometimes when i am playing, the high e string gets stuck on some frets that seems a little sharp and this has resulted in a few broken strings over time... the tone and volume control knobs are very cheap and will need to be replaced probably after banging the guitar around a few times... and the pickups selector switch seems to come loose and needs tightening about every other time i play... other than that, this guitar has never failed me live...

ive never had to go to squire for anything... if it broke i would probably just buy another one, cause they are so cheap...

i've been playing for about 5 or 6 years and ive owned a lot of guitars... i tend to buy a lot of things and turn around and sell them over time because they end up collecting dust and wasting space... this guitar has stuck with me as my main axe longer than any other... there are nicer guitars out there... but i like this one... it feels comfortable, sounds comfortable, and is cheap so i dont have to worry about it... would i buy another one if it was lost or stolen... maybe...

Slightly more options than the bog-standard Tele. It's great to have individual tone and volume controls a la Gibson. The through body stringing makes a big difference to my ear too... more expensive to manufacture than a simple bridge mounted assembly. A welcome addition to an already excellent package.

As has been stated, the p90's are a great compromise between beefy humbuckers and trebly single coils. Potentially noisy, but I play cranked up/distorted so I love 'em. Lots of harmonics, but I achieved this after experimenting with the pickup hight. Initially too low, raising it a few mm made all the difference. We play the odd bluesy number and the neck sounds great too. Not as thick as you'd expect, but ample for the odd song or two.

Can't fault the action. I picked it up from the shop pretty much before they had a chance to set it up but I don't think it needed it. I really like the matt/satin finished maple neck, but I know this is an objective point.

I decided to 'relic' mine up a bit, and the polyester/urathane finish is really thick (1 or 2 mm). I gave it a real seeing too with a padlock and security chain (as well as a bench sander) and it survived admirably. No tuning stability issues and it now looks about 30 years old! I have played it live around 10 times now. I sweat a lot on stage and it's been fine. Tuning is bomb proof once new strings have bedded in. This thing is just the best workhorse.

I can't recomend this guitar enough. All my mates love it, they love to play it and within a short period of time it has become my main stage geetar. I bought it initially on looks combined with the very reasonable price, but it has proven to be a valuable tool of the trade. If you like quirky bomb proof teles, then ignore these puppies at your peril!

See below for exact specifications. My opinion: pretty damn sweet!! I mean, you have the girth of a telecaster neck and body, the controls of a telecaster deluxe, and the Duncan (designed) P90s sound AMAZING to my ear. I always felt Strat single coils were too cold and Gibsonesque humbuckers were too chunky. I finally found my happy medium. Actually, its better than a mere compromise.
On this particular example, a crack in the finish on the lower horn had to be sealed with crazy glue and ink. The result is not perfect but pretty camoflauged and will not get worse. A prior owner seems to have chopped the toggle switch so that it still works but is almost flush with the body. I thought I'd have to replace that but I kinda like having no obstruction--plus it still does its job. It just feels more like a square little slider switch like on Jazzmasters for instance.
Finally, prior owner set this thing up beautifully filing down the frets and smoothing neck edges. It plays super smooth and I can't put it down!

Like I said, my ideal sound. I play rock and roll, but fool with the blues when I'm in the privacy of my home. I run it through an all tube 60w early 80s american combo who's name I will withold in case another comes up on eBay. This guitar has the most stability of sound of any others I've played. My others now are a 80s MIJ Strat and early 60s Ibanez mustang/jaguar looking guitar toy.

Was well set up when I recieved it so a high mark here. Cant comment on the factory. The neck pickup is a touch loose--a common problem from what Ive read. The jack "bucket" is a little misaligned from the body (these jack suck and I dont know why Fender doesnt move on. but if they did it would be trailblazed by no Indo Squier). There is a slight misalignment b/w neck pocket and neck. I cant tell if this is the neck itself or the pocket was cut a little off. I had to adjust the saddles a little to get this sorted. Im gonna replace the neck anyway with an aftermarket 50s style tele nitro neck. Big Deal.

It seems pretty sturdy. One strap button will not tighten up as if the screw hole were stripped a little. Finish does seem a little eggshelly from that one crack but it didnt crumble away either. I will play this live but NEVER this or any other instrument without a backup.

Pretty good. Havent needed it yet. But I like the setup PDF on the Squier site.

I mentioned my other stuff, 1989 MIJ Strat, 1964 Ibanzez 882. 60w tube combo. I also have a Dunlop Fuzz Face and CH-2. I also have one maraca. If anyone sees the second......

I adore the P90s on this thing. I also love the deluxe pickguard and knobs. Im impressed even more than I had expected. I wouldnt pay more that 150$ plus shipping for one simply because of the MI Indonesia stigma. But, I would replace for that.

Features have all been reviewed before. More control than your average telecaster with 2 volume and 2 tone controls. I tend to control the tone from the amp, so that's not ultra important to me.

Play bass mainly (Rickenbacker) and bought this to learn some chords on. Indie/Rock style. This guitar has a nice warm sound without sacrificing all of that telecaster jangle. Good variety between the pick ups. No hum that I've noticed. Just using a little Orange Crush 10w practice amp, but can get a great sound and volume out of the combo. Bought them at the same time, so I can't say if the guitar, the amp or both are responsible.
This guitar sounds fantastic through distortion pedals (sounds good clean too)

None of the problems reported in early reviews - sounds like they've got their quality control sorted out. Even the plastic took me about 5 mins to remove.
The action was fine. Everything fitted solidly and straight. One screw on the pick guard needed half a turn to tighten it. Frets are OK - maybe slightly angular, but not sharp. I'm used to a 1983 bass, so I'd expect them to feel a bit more angular. Intonation was very slightly off on two strings - easliy adjusted. My friend has the Fender Telecaster Custom 72 re-issue, and the differences are pretty apparent side by side - the hardware on the Fender is obviously of higher quality than the Squire, but it doesn't put the Squire to shame either. I think I'll replace the machine heads and the control knobs. The current machine heads aren't bad, they're just not great. A set of Fender AMSTD machine heads are about #35. The knobs look a bit low rent, but I've seen replacement ones online for about #12. There's no great urgency for either though, these are just "nice to haves". Even with these additions, the price will still come in under #200, which is great. I noticed one review mentioned the painted on dots on the neck - they aren't a money saving exercise from Squire - they're like that on the Fender model that it's copying.

My guitar's new, so can't really say. Great paint finish. Neck finish seems a little thin - might benefit from polish or oil. Input jack seems like a potential weak point, which is probably due to staying faithful to the tele design - might put a gibson style plate over it.

Squire have a website with PDF documents on it to download - shows you how to set up the guitar. Seems pretty good. 2 year warranty.

Been playing Bass for 20 years, and Guitar for 2 weeks. If this was stolen I'd definitely replace it. Great sound, great looks, good neck and body, pretty good pick ups, average bridge and tuners/machine heads, poor input jack. Don't know about the control pots yet - soo soon to have any problems. Great for the price. I had the guitar player in my band check it out - he owns a Fender US Strat and a Fender US Telecaster (the standard configuration)- and he got some great sounds out of it. He tried the Black/Mirror Squier Tele in a shop last week and likes the Tele Custom II better.

Made in Indonesia in 2005,
22 Medium Heavy Frets
2 Semyour Duncan designer P90 pickups
3 Way Selector
Passive Electronics
Body is Agathis-Neck Maple
Black finish with black pickguard
Bridge is a Hardtail similar to the telecaster orignal without the extension.
Non Locking tuners

I like to play music such as Metal ect the p90 on the bridge alone is sufficent enough. It has warm sound perfect for those heavy riffs makes a great sound even through a Fender(squier built)15R Watt Frontman. I played a Fender Brand Standard Strat and this guitar had a far better sound.

It has a low action and was setup correctley from the shop. And the paint seams to be fine the only problems is the bridge p90 is loose.

I think this guitar would defintely survirve a gig and the hardware is a goog d quality. Thought on the edge of the threatboard it hows up dirt which can be wiped away. Strap buttons are good. I can depend. But i would like a back up incase i break string but this guitar keep its tuning well

Had no reason to obtian support.

It is great value and the guitar looks great and sounds exceptional too. If it was stolen i would buy it again but i would try a tele custom with the chrome humbuckers first. I would rather own this guitar than a fender brand standard strat. I do wish that this guitar had EMG p60a active pickups or a cheap alternative. But at this price it is asking a lot

If you are reading this I think that everyone knows the features ..It is one of those kind of guitars that .I think you have to be in the market for it .. I am giving it an eight just for the simple fact that it has p-90s on a tele ..Awesome !!

I play Blues Blues Blues..So it really fits what I try to accomplish and that is killer tone in all pos..Neck Middle Bridge ..killer killer sound ..tones in the lower volumes can be Jazzy,then krank and watch out ..Comin at ya ..It can go where ever you want to take it ..I play through a 112 fender super sonic ..and i have to say that just recently I have made this the one guitar that I have been reaching for lately.

Action Ok I mean its a Squier..not an American Fender ..but once again i mean you have to be really looking for this guitar ..It is one of a kind sound and action ..Adjustments always need to be made..Finish is cool I like it has a real see through finish and is always asked about on stage ..Neck is one thing that I had to change I knew this going into it though ..Neck that comes with it is very skinny thin and I have a 1952 Tele neck that I put on it ..So you might say its really a tele custom III..right on,! oh yea the volume and tone knobs ..cheezy ..so I put twin reverb knobs on it as well ..Damn I have good taste ..

Fender ..Fender ..Fender ...Fender ..do I have to continue ?Gibsons (the dark side )i think they are unbelievable works of art..I mean BB kings's Lucille is simply amazing piece of art ..I just think the story of Buddy Guy's 1956 Strat falling of the top of his car and he play It that night ..is just awesome ..Fender wont let you down and it a Tele for Gods sakes

Playing six years ,,I have 60's strat ..Love it I always wanted a solid Tele and I found this Jem ..I always am looking to Hot Rod guitars ..So this was a great project for me ..I play through a Fender amp super sonic 112..I think that the P90 in this far out do the Gibson's..I really think that this setup with the P-90 and on a Tele will ..for sure be picked up and put out with Feder in Cali..It is only a matter of time ..I never have put any comments on this great site really really helpful i wanted to write one cause I am really trying to push this guitar on anyone who is looking for a solid solid sounding guitar that can be used not only for blues ..but for rock ,punk,country,jazz even ..I hope it has helped ..One of the best guitars made for the money ..i know that mine has been upgraded..with the 650.00 neck but all by itself it rocks .

Nice looking Tele, kinda of off blonde. Nice big maple neck.

Ok,so its a great sounding Tele for rock, blues, and sounds great with overdrive. What if you like to country chickin pick too? Ok, the middle position is great for lead work, nice bright, and crisp before you get the rolloff. Remember nice, crisp, and hot, not that too fat overdone sound like the combination of the single coils. Buy it for that alone. Also sounds great in the neck an bridge position.

Had to lower the strings, and that was it. I liked the big flat tele neck. No major flaws, just getting the plastic off.

I think it will withstand live playing, and will use it without a back-up.

Musicians Friend has good return policy.

Ok, been playing about 35 years, rock, blues, a lot of traditional country and that new crap they call country. Blaaah! I play steel,fiddle,mandolin, and banjo in the band. Would definitely buy again. Read the sound reviews on the P-90 pups on this guitar, they're about a 9 out of 10. It's true For 225.00$ you must hear it. P.S.,NICE BIG RICH BRIGHT SOUND

black, two seymore duncan "designed" p90's, three way selector switch, 4 bolt neck, generic tuners, agathis body, maple neck... pretty much standard features for any two pick up guitar

this thing sounds f'n killer. raw and loud. playing this through a 71 fender twin with an analogman tubescreamer and vintage maestro fuzztone. noisey p90's are great. if you want quiet go get something else. p90's buzz, thats what they do so dont expect em to be like humbuckers since well, they aint. throaty rockin tone. the neck is not too muddy like a regular tele custom and the bridge isnt too bright like a regular tele custom. sounds great with or without the overdrive or fuzz and sounds amazing with them. great with trem and reverb. no dislikes. perfecto

played perfect right off the wall. played it for 5 minutes and knew i was gonna buy it. i wasnt even really looking for a guitar but it played so well not plugged in that i knew this thing would kill. it did.

should be fine. this will play more than a few live shows. this will work as a primary or backup and it will definitely get used alot.

so far so good. i just grabbed it off the wall and took it to the counter, paid for it and walked out.

its inexpensive, it sounds amazingly good for any price, it looks pretty damn cool and it has real good sounding p90's. they are definitely louder than my seymore duncan p90 that i have in my tiesco/kawai. this guitar is a gem. i would buy another in a heartbeat. it would be nice to have some cool vinatge looking klusons but that is real minor. played with brand new starings at rehearsal and it was more or less in tune the whole time. i was suprised.

'05 Indonesian made Telecaster custom in 'blonde' but looks almost like a greenish custardy colour which I think looks lovely. Incidently when ringing round my local guitar shops only one store 'Machinehead' music in Hitchin had a 'blonde' one in stock, the other stores I tried said they only stock the black version as they have trouble shifting the blondes, bizarre!!

Absolutley amazing 'C' shaped maple neck, the grain pattern on this piece of wood is superb I would expect only to see a neck of this quality on top end MIA guitar. The 22 frets are medium jumbo and well seated but the ends need slight attention.

The Seymour Duncan designed P90's have a unique sound to them, this guitar sounds tele-esque but not as clangy as a traditional tele. I like the sound they make.

As said before the sound is unique and ideally suited to the style of music I play which is alt-country stuff, sounds good clean and grungey. Unplugged this guitar is resonant and bright.

Finish and build quality is mainly excellent. Only gripes are fret ends a bit sharp, grub screws on bridge saddles are too long and can catch on my hand when strumming, a couple of the scratchplate screws are wonky.

Guitar came with elastic band 0.9 strings which I had the guitar store swap out with Ernie Ball 'Beefy Slinkies' 11 - 52 which necessitated the nut slots to be re cut. After setting the intonation on my strobe tuner the tuning has been superb and stays that way even after a hammering. I play pretty heavily.

The poly finish looks pretty thick, time will tell how it will last. Will probably swap out the pots at some time and probably the output jack which seems a bit cheap.

Indonesian. 22 frets, Agathis body, individual vol and tone pots for each pickup. 3 way selector. 2 Duncan designed P90 single coils.
Maple neck, transparent finish. Telecaster body LP style controls. Thru strung. Non locking OEM tuners. medium jumbo frets.

Play a mixture of Rock & Punk, gets dirty when turned up and sounds aggressive. Cleans nicely, especially the neck which has a really warm blues jazzy feel. Sufficiantly snappy and bright on the bridge. It just sounds really good. I spent a little time looking around, and fancied a Danelectro - prices too high, didnt want to go for a strat so went for the P90s on thier rocking history. Of course if you really want a humbucker then get one, but this is just so versatile.

Bought second hand off Ebay, very little use, action amybe a bit high and intonation a little off.
finish of the guitar looks really good and its stunning in black.

Good enough for me - non gigger,
Dont really like string trees on any guitar and the volume pots are a bit scratchy.
I can imagine it as a good backup if you dont have a megabucks budget.

No contact. - a good enough sign??

Played for 2.5 years, i'd definately have another one, I just love the tone it make me feel special and thats not bad for #110!!

I guess I spent a little time looking around, and fancied a Danelectro - prices too high, didnt want to go for a strat so went for the P90s on thier rocking history. Of course if you really want a humbucker then get one, but this is just so versatile. The only problem is, I work with reasonably well paid guys who play, and the moment they here 'squier' then the snob alert lamp comes on. They assume your not a serious guitarist. A bit like owning a korean car (which I do..) thier loss I reckon.

Bought it late 2004. Retro 70's style Telecaster with two P-90 pick-ups. The pick-ups are set out in the same way as a Les Paul with a volume and tone control for each pick-up and a three way selector switch just above where the neck meets the body. Through body strung in the standard tele way but without the extension to hold the bridge pick-up. For the money I can't fault the features on this guitar.

This guitar does a great job of most sounds. I use it through a Boss Blue distortion pedal either into my Session tranny amp which has quite a nice clattery sound or my SJB 2x12 Ant which is similar to an old style Vox. Into the SJB it has a lovely single coil type twang which is great for clean tones, a bit warmer on the neck pick-up and almost acoustic like in the middle position. With a bit of crunchy gain the neck pick-up gives a great rock sound. Bar chords and power chords sound really open, you'll be doing windmills ALL the time. Lead stuff really punches through through as well without any changes in volume needed. Damp the strings a bit and that PJ Harvey riffing is spot on. Cranking up gain a bit more and you get a fantastic lead sound using the neck pick-up. It sounds to me like Television, big and glassy kinda thing, fantastic! Again, baring in mind the price, this is faultless!

I got mine off the net from Reidys.com and for the price they charged I can't imagine they took anytime to do any set-up work on the guitar so hats off to Fender, I haven't changed the set-up at all. Fairly low to the frets and no buzzing anywhere.

One problem was the neck pick-ups volume control crackled a bit. Easily fixed for anyone with a basic knowledge of guitar electrics or about #25 for your local shop to sort (or send it back I guess).

Played about 7 gigs and practise with it all the time and this guitar has never had a problem. It still looks like new except for the scatches on the scratchplate where I've been doing my windmills! The tuning pegs are still nice and smooth, I've replaced the strap buttons with lockers but the original ones were fine. Would I do a gig without a back-up? Of course not, you can ALWAYS rely on strings breaking when you do that........not that that's happened. Otherwise, lets face it, a guitar ain't going to stop working unless you abuse it!

Could've gone back to Reidy's with the volume knob fault but it doesn't really bother me as a) I know how to fix it easily if I wanted and b) I don't really use the volume controls on guitars! I guess I can't really comment.

I've been playing from age 14 and I'm 31 now, my other guitar is a Patrick Eggle New York circa '92 which I bought for #350 pounds about 3-4 years after it was made having had only 6months worth of use.....I'd been staring at it in the local guitar shop window for all that time saving up the cash and watching it fall in price. If my Tele was lost/stolen I would definately get it again. The only other P-90 loaded guitar at this kind of price seems to be a Crafter Cruiser LJ-550 (not tried one) and since I now LOVE P-90's with a passion, it'd probably have to be bought again. The new Squiers are amazing for the price, built to last and sound great. The only possible thing I'd think of changing on this guitar is taking off all but one master volume control............but then it wouldn't look the same!

Squier Tele Custom II (made in 2005)
22 Frets
Solid Agathis wood body (nice heft to it - not a light weight guitar - heavier than an alder wood Fender Strat. String through body (offers excellent sustain in addition to the P-90 clone pickups that also offer even more sustain if needed). Standard Fender saddles that are easily adjustable.
Adequate tuners
C style neck - it is not a big chunky C neck - small hands can get around this quite well - perhaps a 10 in. radius neck and it is fairly slim. However - it is definitely not one of those huge chunky C necks that have 14 in. radius (or more) that feel more like cricket bats than guitar necks.
No accessories except for the 2 allen key wrenches for the saddles and truss rod.
The finish on the maple neck seems to be either a thin laquer or satin type finish. Very smooth and silky.
As mentioned previously - the pickups are "Duncan designed" P-90 type pickups - essentially side by side single coils that behave (well sorta) like humbuckers.
String through - hard tail body. Solid feel.
I'm used to (mostly) playing with my Marina strat guitar so I feel right at home with the feel and weight of this tele guitar.
Volume and Tone controls for each pickup (Neck and Bridge)

I play Brit Pop and grunge rock, seldom leads. I use a Peavey Bandit 112 and V-amp effect controller. The guitar is very still and it is very easey to change tones. Welcom to Tone Heaven. I love the tonevariety and it is very versitail to play. Will suit all stiles.

Factory set-up needed some ajustment but I think every guitar needs to be set up to your likings. It looks well made and robust. Everything is nicely bolted togehter and I use it without backup.
For this amound of money There is no better.

I play very heavey guitar with .12 strings. i bang it really but it still is in top condition. Like I said before a very sturdy guitar that stays in tune.

Never needed them

I play now over 30 years (10 years as a professional). I've owned Fenders strats and tele's, Morris Les Paul, Eko hollow body, Takamine, Ibanez, Eko and Fender accoustics. This one was one of the cheapest I've ever bought but it is a favorite. The price is a killer, there are worse tele copies around that cost more. There are evn real Fender tele's that play less at three to four times the price.

It's a Tele! However, with a bigger pickguard (70's style), a pair of Duncan Designed P-90 pickups and individual tone- and volume controls for each, this one looks and sounds different.

The slightly chunky neck adds a lot of beaf and is a joy to play. If your hands are like the not-a-butcher-not-a-girl type, then this neck is for you. The body resonated well and overall the sound was pretty reach and even when played 'dry' and unplugged.

But, boy...plug this into a Marshall and it will blow you away!

The P-90 pickups have a lot character and definition without lacking punch and energy. Even when plugged straight into a computer, they sound great - and that says a lot! The controls respond very well and make both subtile and wide tonal changes possible.

The neck pickup is great for bottleneck, slide and rhythm, lots of punch and attitude. The bridge pickup screams out the leads and delivers the funky powerchords, yet there's even a bit of Tele twang left in there when you play around with the tone control.

However, the sound of both pickups combined in the middle position takes the cake, this just sounds like nothing I've ever heard, warm and rich, perfect for open chords, singer/songwriters will love this.

The sounds coming out of this guitar are just unbelieveable, I've been playing for 20 years, but regardless the brand, model or price tag - I've never heard a stock electric guitar sounding this good.

Worst factory set-up ever! You need to take this guitar apart and re-assemble it completely before you can even set it up to play. For beginners, this can be a huge letdown as you really need some patience and experience here.

The parts themselves are flawless - neck is straight, frets are smooth and with the hardware you can set up string height and intonation to your requirements and make this a real comfortable player. No complaints about the tuners, bridge and saddles, it's not some light plastic spay-painted in chrome (like on the Affinity series), it's actual metal. Don't know what kind of metal, but the point is tighten the screws and this will intonate spot on and stay in tune forever.

You don't really need to change any parts, and the time spend on setting this guitar up is well worth it as you will be rewarded big time.

However, minus 2 points here for the real lousy factory set-up and a misleading color description, as their 'blonde' is actually a pale 70-ish mix of grass-green and lime-yellow. It looks nice, but when I order a 'blonde', I don't want a 'lemongrass' color.

The input jack is a joke, you don't have to replace it, but it really takes some nerve to make this thing work. Other than that, absolutely no complaints. I had this guitar for about a year, and so far it has not let me down. It's definetely road and gig worthy.

Never dealt with Fender or Squier, so I can't afford an opinion here.

This Tele is a new concept and design, it has no 'classic' snob appeal and no one famous plays it yet. But I think we're gonna see a lot of it.

Give it some time and have the patience for a decent set up, and you will be rewarded with what could be the best electric guitar available in that price range.

I compared this to the Fender Lite Ash Tele, several mexican made Teles, the Epiphone SG (all twice the price of this one) and to the Fender Highway 1 Tele (three times as much) - and seriously - this one beats the living s'it out of them.

I'm glad they build this at Squier Indonesia, because if this one would say 'Fender' on the headstock, they'd charge twice as much for a guitar not half as good as this. Seriously, the current 2004/05 Strats and Teles coming from Squier Indonesia (not China!) are some of the best I ever came across.

I'm thinking about getting another one of the exact same model, just in case they discontinue it or Fender begins to build the Standart series in Indonesia.

Both thumbs up - buy one today!