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!

Indonesia 2005, 22 frets, solid Aghatis body, maple neck, 3-way selector, individual tone and volume for each pickup (like on a Les Paul), Duncan Designed P-90 "soapbar" single coil pickups, black or blonde finish, typical Telecaster body style, hardtail bridge with through body stringing, locking tuners, special chunky neck

Unbelieveable! The guitar sounds so great, I'd pass ANY Epiphone SG or Les Paul for it. The pickups sound rich, full and creamy, the tone is unbelieveable, even when played "dry" it sounds rich and full, for the price there is no better electric guitar on the market. If you are into blues, rock, punk, alternative you owe it to yourself to check this out, it might be the guitar you've always been looking for.

Workmanship of the parts is good, especially the neck, one of the nicest necks I've ever played, absolutely no flaws here. As for the rest, Tthe set up was horrible to unplayable. I own three (!) of these guitar (yes, they are THAT good!), but I had to re-assemble and put together again each one in order to make it work. After that, everything was perfect. The hardware is decent, but needs a lot of first time adjustment. Once set up, this guitar serves highest demands. The only real weak part is the output jack, I don't know why they made that one so bad, but I suggest you replace this right away as it will pop out all the time. A huge plus is that you can take off the entire pickguard without having to cut the wires, just in case you would like to give it a new look as the "blonde" one is actually some very ugly yellow-ish green. The finish itself is done well, nothing to complain here, so I'd give this a 9 for the crapy output jack only since EVERY guitar needs to be set up by YOU, the player!

Once set up, I've used this guitar at home, in the studio and on the road, and it would never let me down. I have absolutely no complaints.

Never dealt with Fender or Squier, but they make decent guitars affordable and their websites are very player friendly. I give them a thumbs up for that.

Been playing for more than 10 years, solo and in bands, home, studio and live. I play Teles only as this is the best guitar ever made, so I can only compare this one to other Teles. It's one of the best Teles (if not the best), I've ever played. Bang for bucks galore, for that money, I believe there is no better guitar out there nowadays. Check it out, you might end up buying one and loving it!

the main feature is duncan design p-90 pickups. duncan design means the pup was mfrd in korea vs u.s. for the seymour duncan line. there are also independent tone and vol controls for each pup, and a hard tail bridge. don't believe the 7.25" fretboard radius claim. it's no more curved than my 9.5" fender toronado.

here's the killer. in a blind test, this git sounds as good as any guitar out there. after hearing these p-90s, i couldn't care less that these duncan designed pups were made in korea (to the same specs as the seymour duncan p-90). the sound is fat but with clarity. as another poster said, "full yet articulate", and this characteristic holds up on overdrive. there is no hum (maybe this p-90 IS a closet humbucker). yet you can get feedback with gain up and the git in trhe amps face.

warning: this is not the country bears jamboree tele. there is no twang, to my ears, anyway. but i have been looking for a rocking tele, and this is it. i play punk and alternative, and after i got it i learned that mike ness (of Social Distortion) uses p-90s. i can see why.

the setup was poor, but you can fix this. in my git, the neck was out of alignment, not crooked, but rotated 2-3* to the right looking down the neck from the headstock vantage point. the strings were too, high, but is easy enough adjusted, and the first thing i do anyway is replace the fender bullets. the frets were good, the neck was smooth and silky. tuning, and staying in tune, was not an issue either.

too soon to tell.

N/A

i give it full points coz what matters most is the sound, and this tele's got it in spades. prepare yourself for a fairly extensive setup, but that is done on any new git, right? once set up though, it's pretty easy to play (not quite as easy as the aforementioned toronado), but the tone with the soapbars is the meal tkt here.

also, this guitar has plenty of heft. it is not some lightweight cheapie.

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 - about the same weight as my Ibanez Roadstar II). You could probably fend off rabid fans or home intruders with this and the guitar would be fine.
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 (see fit and finish section for more notes on this)
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. (although it is not nearly as slim as let's say a USA Fender Bullet from the early 1980's) 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" (whatever that means) P-90 type pickups - essentially side by side single coils that behave (well sorta) like humbuckers.
String through - hard tail body. Solid feel. And nice 'heft'. Hey - I want an axe with some dense/inert wood - not a piece of plywood. So this is cool by me.
I'm used to (mostly) playing with Ibanez Roadstar II guitars (early 80's) 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 a variety of styles and guitars. I purchased this to fill in some harder crunch sounds and wider distortion than the Roadstars (and my Fender Bullet's USA 1981) would give me. I do not have $1000+ to spend on USA Fender Tele customs - so I took a small chance and bought the Squier. This guitar sounds AWESOME. It can be sweet, it can growl, it can even have a little of that ol' Fender Twang - but mostly you can send this into overdrive heaven and it doesn't break up. Rich and full - Super sustain, overtones, and it doesn't get muddy.. well.. it will slam into pleasant puddles of mud if that's what you want with tubes at full gain. The pickup selector is basic - 3 position - for each pickup and middle position to light up both. Simple basic Tone/Volume controls. cool. Less to go wrong with the guitar and you can adjust your sound using your Amp/preamp/EQ/FX boxes - you don't need your guitar to handle this. Personally I have heard of NOTHING even close coming out of a guitar that sold for $179. (at Musicians Friend). Nothing even close until you get into $1000+ (and really more like $1500+). It sounds like a hybrid between a Fender and a Les Paul and it is immediately unique. I like Fender style guitars and did not want to do the Les Paul - and so I am glad Fender decided to make a very reasonably priced guitar that sounds way over what you think an under $200 guitar is going to sound like. You will not be let down.

Ok... well... there ain't ne free lunch... and you can't expect a guitar selling for under $200 to be perfect. It isn't. However - if you are willing to either have it professionally setup for you after you get it - OR - take some time yourself to adjust on the guitar - then you will be amazed at the difference. This guitar does not arrive "all set to go". Basically Fender of indonesia has given you everything you need - but it is up to you to set it all up and do it right.
1. Take off the strings. That's right - don't even play it yet - take off the strings.
2. These guitars almost always seem to arrive with loose tuners.
Get a small box wrench and tighten up the tuners - they will be loose. so tighten 'em up!
3. The guitar will not be intoned correctly.
Go to the Fender website and download the PDF directions on how to set up your guitar - intonation is something you simply have to get right. It is worth the time and effort to do this. You do not need complicated tools.
4. The saddles are up way to high (if you like lower/faster action then you are going to have to adjust the saddles with the allen/hex wrench you get with the guitar - this guitar can be setup for fairly fast action - but ya gotta adjust the saddles properly - And no - you are not going to get the action you can get with Ibanez - but pretty close)
5. You might notice that the frets are not close spec'd. You might find a fret or two slightly higher than others that create buzzing or string clearance problems - take a small fine file and shave the problem fret(s) down a little.
6. You might find that a few fret wires are sticking out a little bit over the fretboard - the frets are not as nicely 'rolled' as you might be used to - so take that little file you have and gently file down any fret wire sticking out a bit or too sharp for you (at the edge of the neck or fretboard).
7. And finally - some people out there have as their number one complaint - the taking off of the 'plastic' wrap around the pickguard - gimme a break - this is a $200 guitar - for a little work you get something that sounds way beyond any $200 guitar or anything less than $1500+ besides - taking out a few pickguard screws to get all the plastic off isn't that much bother - no matter what the price this is still an instrument - so work with it - - it is not some instant gratification toy.

There are some other issues - the dots on the neck seem painted on (they are definitely not inlaid) and you might see some overspray or fuzzy looking painted dots. So what - is your guitar attending a beauty pagent ? This has nothing to do with the way the guitar plays or sounds. The neck seemed otherwise very nice on the guitar I bought although I lightly sanded a small nick on the back of the neck and it is all smoothed out. Little piece of fine sandpaper is all that was needed. Once again - if you are willing to work a little on the guitar (or have the work done) you get a guitar under $200 that you simply can't match anywhere - there is nothing close to it out there. But you must be willing to work with this guitar - or things might fall off (tuners) and the sound and action are not going to be as good as they can be. So after doing some work on the guitar - the fit and finish rating would go up to 7 or 8 but out of the box I can honestly only give it a 5.

This guitar has a nice hefty feel to it and feels solid. I do not think there would be any problem gigging around with it. And since it cost you under $200 you won't cry when it falls or gets some nicks or whatever. Some high gloss black nail polish will certainly take care of nicks and whatever. Actually I always use two or more guitars - Roadstar II's from 1984 and a Fender USA Bullet 1981 (one of my all time favorite guitars) so I will be using this guitar for only a few songs on the playlist. Obviously I will ditch the little stock strap buttons and get better (why does Fender continue to put on inadequate little strap buttons on their guitars?)
I am not real big on how shiny or perfect my guitars look. I care about the sound they give and how they feel in my hands. I don't need to impress pimply MTV video types or suits and ties with some shiny image inducing guitar.
So far I have played the heck out of this Squier tele and have done 2 shows with it and all has gone well - stays in tune (there is no tremelo bridge) for the 3 songs on the playlist that I use it (played in sequence). If the hardware such as tuners or saddles start to give out then I will replace them with better. The tuners/saddles and the bridge are chrome coated (they are not stainless steel) so eventually they are gonna chip and rust - so when that happens (and it will) then time to replace with stainless steel hardware and probably will put in better tuners if this guitar gets more play time or more songs to play on the set list.

I deal with local luthier and have never dealt with Fender directly.

Been playing about 15 years
Own Peavey amps and mostly Ibanez FX boxes (yeah I know... I can hear the boos out there) but they work for me, hopefully you'll find something that works as well for you and your sound. Own 2 Ibanez Roadstars that are like part of my hands - both are 1984 Roadstar II's. These are some of the most underrated guitars ever made - fastest action you could possibly want and tonal range and versatility not to mention these things are built like trucks. excellent axes. and lots of custom work done to them over the years. Also 2 Fender USA Bullets (from 1981) these are some of my favorite guitars ever. And a Fender Elite (yeah the 'active' electronics). The Elite is now parked in a closet waiting for a good home. I had a USA Strat from 2001 but gave it to a friend - Strats are cool guitars - but it was a little too twangy for me (the Fender Bullets have a classic much smoother mellow twang - the newer Strats have a nuisance sounding metallic twang to them <imho> so it had to go)
My final thoughts on the guitar are that for under $200 (the price of one good pickup!) you get an entire guitar that sounds great but you have to do a little work to it and put out some effort to set it up you have an excellent player on your hands. And for the Fender freaks out there - hey - get over the fact that this is a "Squier" guitar made in Indonesia - your ears don't care where it's from or what is printed on the headstock. And your ears are gonna love this thing.

The Indonesian Squire Tele Custom II. 2-P90's Duncan Designed, 2 vol.
2 tone knobs,3-way switch,agathis? body, maple neck & fretboard,
transparent "blonde" finish. (actually yellowish/greenish) but yet a
pretty attractive color. string through body, I give the features
because you can blend the pick-ups good with the 2 vol/tone knobs,
several tone variations with the 3 way switcher w/various effects.

The sound (tone) of this squire is pretty amazing! It makes my tube amp growl, not necessarily noisy, it can go from deep mid sound to a honker n & b - and rich/full with both pu's. Yes the P-90's are the
factor for this guitar; full yet articualte. I can get everything except a mellow jazz sound. The knobs blend well I think anyway.

The action out of the box was not acceptable, after c. 2 hours of
removing the plastic, It's still a work in progress of getting my string height to it's best without string buzz. A slight neck adjustment also. I think I can wrestle this thing into a decent instrument. I'm glad Musician's Friend didn't send me a blemish guitar as they have done in the past. This Tele is 98% blemish free!
I like the transparent "blonde" finish. The frets need breaking in
and I hope not a fret job will be needed. The E B G ring clear with lots of sustain; the D A E buzz but not much through the amp. I'm glad it didn't have a neck bent like a rocking chair.

I predict if the electronics in the Squire Tele holds up the wood will be no problem. It seems solid enough. I probably would/will use it without a backup guitar in the near future.

I've been playing for 30+ years, have low/mid/high end guitars, I wish the neck quality felt a bit more substantial. I just might replace it if lost or stolen because the P-90's have made a believer out of me. This Squire has great tone for sure.

Fender Squire Custom II with Duncan designed P90's - Tele style etc
3 peice agathis body - not a laminite - solid wood! A little brighter that mahogany but not as bright as alder. A very nice tone wood.

2004 made in Indonesia.

Color was a sort of creamy pale green that was supposed to be blonde.

Neck is 42mm wide at the nut. Same as MIM Standard models. Not bad

Before I stripped the finish down to the wood the sound was really nice and better than my Gibson Les Paul Special that had the new P100's - with so so sound.

But after stripping the paint and getting the bridge set right down on the wood body and the neck and body fitting wood to wood, it gave a it beter resonance and sustain. It wasn't a muffled down sound any more. It came alive with a hot gutsy "electric sound". Running through a blues jr was very enjoyalbe rush!!!



The neck pick up is FANTASIC for blues. A little over drive and your in another world! Crank theat tone nob dow to 5 and Jazz comping sounds almost as nice as the best big Jazz hollow bodies any where. Better that most under $2,000.

Switching to both pickups and it gets a nice 360 Ric sound. Very useful.

Not really all that fond of the bridge pick up alone. Nice country tone clean and nice on overdrive. It could be better but I'm afraid to change out it because it sounds so great mixed with the bridge unit.

Had to smooth all the fret edges and do a mild fret level and polish. Have the acttion set a bout 5/64ths on the bass side and to about 3/64ths on the treble at the 12th fret. No fret buzz now and plays as well as as my Amer. made Tele.

I took all that pea green polyester finish off of the body (a huge job) and took it right bare wood. Under the pickups too.

This improved the tone by an amazing amount, possibly due to the now paint free-clean wood to wood body/neck joint. I tinted the body with a warm vintage amber and a thin coat of light satin lacquer. I tinted the neck too and put new vintage Gotoh tuners on, fit a new bone nut with very low action. Intonation is almost perfect all the way to the 12th on the low E instead of the usual %25 sharp on the first fret.

It sounds great now, stays in tune,and only took 5 billion hrs of labor. But for $200 it was a FINE VALUE!!!!

Learn to do your own set ups folks. Nothing comes set up for YOU unless it's an accident. Most luthiers do THIER own "one size fits all formula" no matter what the customer says.

Fine now. It will hold up to any normal wear and tear.

better than GM or Ford I bet.

Have been playing for 40 years and become very fussy about guitars.

Not all big money guitars are much better than the choice little cheapy gems. Many low buck guitars often have more personality and an indiviual sound than many are willing to recognize.

Some just need some working up that can't be done at the factory because of the cost of labor. It's like "Fine, I can take it from here". It means more when you bring out the magic in an instrument. You know...etc etc.

I have a US Tele abd 2 US Strats, two 335 copies, G&L Tele and two Guilds.

Might replace it with another if something happed to this one. Not sure. Always fun to look for the nex project!

Looks the business, black body and pickguard, with two Duncan designed pick ups and the Les Paul style toggle switch. Nice feel to the maple neck (though obviously not as smooth as the real thing)Cheap looking tuners (see below)

Great sound - I wanted something different from my faithful old Strat and I got it. The nearest Fender to a Les Paul without going over to the Dark Side. Noticeable change in tone and oomph between the pickups, and I particularly enjoy the middle setting through my Fender Twin.

This is where the complaints start. The tuners are crap! Even taking into account that this is a budget model, there is no excuse ? Fender ? for producing an axe which doesn?t stay in tune for more than one number. I tried changing strings but to no avail. What a contrast to my trusty Strat and my Silver Series Squier, both of which take all form of abuse without so much as losing a semi tone! To add insult to injury I can also confirm, as reviewers below have mentioned, that all the screws on the pickguard were tangled up with the protective plastic; the toggle switch was loose, and the intonation was out. Oh, the volume pots are already scartchy too!

I will probably buy some new tuners for this guitar, otherwise it can never be reliable enough to take to gigs on its own. Being of limited technical ability I'll get our local guitar tech to give it a good seeing to; but if I wasn't a loyal Fender fan (and a patient man)I'd probably take it back. Just as well it sounds good...

As well as owning a ?real? Fender Strat, I have one of the early Squier Silver series Strats and have to say that its build quality and sound are more than a match for the Fender big brother. I have played for thirty years, and currently I use a Fender Twin and a Boss ME50 for colour. My decision to get the Telecaster Custom II was based on the fact that we play a lot of Stones covers, I really liked the look of the thing and as mentioned above it?s the closest thing a Fender player can get to the Les Paul ?option?. Reviews were also encouraging, but I would suggest that you give this guitar a really thorough run out in the shop, otherwise you might end up with a "Friday afternoon" model like mine.

Recent production Squire Tele, Has two Duncan design "p-90's" with a Gibby style control layout, and Strat style string thru hardtail bridge. Dealer included Fender Gig bag, and basic set up in price. Basic woods & finish servicable tuners.

VERY fat..but possible to get a bit of twang on the lead PU. Actualy sounds more like a Gibby than my buds LP DC with P-100's. Hum cancling is VERY effective..with my MIM Strat my FM 25 is a box of bees..pretty quiet with this.

Frets not bad, intonation & action not bad..dealer had done a quick set up . As others have mentioned..the plastic covering on this is a PITA..esp on the PU's you need to destring the guitar TOTALY dissasemble it in order to remove all the plastic "shipping protection" I intended to get the model with HB's and had researched IT..when I went to get it I noticed it had p-90s..cool, I went for it..not knowing about the plastic..If I had known I woud have made the shop take it off. If you get one of these DO NOT buy it thru the mail or with the plastic on unless you want to spend two + hours dissasembling your new guitar.....sheesh.

Should be OK for the amateur player, not really a pro level piece

Well they are geting a testy email on the plastic..we shall see if the gift me with something to "ease my pain" Probably tell me it's the dealers fault..

Playing a while, been jonesing one of these since the HB version came out. Cool budget guitar. Shame about the plastic.

Made in Indonesia, 2 Duncan designed P-90s, black Fender Custom pickguard, 22 frets, separate volume and tone controls for each pickup, 3 way Gibson style pickup selector switch, maple neck, agathis body, cast, sealed tuners, six saddle, thru body adjustable bridge and yellow almost transparent finish.

This guitar is great for playing punk, power pop & surf. I used it with a Crate VC50212 amp and a Vox Cambidge Reverb amp with a Boss digital reverb and a Boss tremelo pedal.
The tone of the P-90s are definately more warm than the alnico single coils or DeArmonds, but more clarity than a dual humbucker. I was pleasantly surprised by how quiet the pickups were, especially in the middle position.

When the guitar came out of the box it needed to be set up properly. The neck was ok but the bridge saddles were a bit off and the action was set high. I had to raise the neck pickup slightly. Nothing was loose and the input jack seemed stable. The high-E tuner was slightly crooked. The fret ends seemed properly filed. I have played a similar guitar in a music store where the fret ends were pretty bad. There were some blemishes in the neck's satin finish and some tiny black specks in the body's finish.

So far I have rehearsed with this guitar and it stayed in tune pretty well with 10 - 46 gauge strings. The bridge seems to hold up with my strumming hand resting on it. I think the true test will be playing in the summertime, or in a high heat environment where sweat can wreak havoc on it. It seems pretty dependable so far. I would choose this guitar over a less expensive Epiphone Junior that I own.

I puchased from Musician's Friend. They offer a warranty. I would hope that I could contact Fender directly and receive some kind of service if I needed it. Fender lets the customer register their products online.

I've been playing over twenty years. My main guitar is a Rickenbacker 370, which has a great biting tone but it has a very narrow fretboard and less sustain than most other guitars. My other gutars are a Epiphone Junior DC, Jay Turser SG and a Guild D-25. Amps Crate VC50212 and Vox Camridge Reverb.
I like the weight and feel of this guitar. It plays great for what I do. The sustain is really nice, the pickups don't sound noisy. I would definately replace this guitar if it were lost or stolen. I'm not going to even bother trying to compare it to other Fenders I have played. It's a great value for the money for the tone alone.

Buget tele with quasi-p90 pickups. Agithis (think buget mahagony) body and maple neck. A sort of updated rendition of the tele deluxe.

sounds like my old les paul special with p-100s in it. The whole point of this guitar is the pickups. they work fine, respond well and sound like the soapbars in lower end gibsons, which is the idea. Minimal hum for the species great for punk -hard rock -blues and so on. turn the volume down and you get a solid dry gibsonish clean tone. I compared it side by side to both a rick 330 and a les paul standard and it about splits the difference.

Um, lets see...you buy a guitar for $230.00..about what the pickups retail for by themselves, what do you think its going to look like? The materials making up the guitar were all generally fine but the phrase "slapped together" does come to mind. I had to adjust/tighten or re-install almost everything on the guitar, including the tuning keys which were barely hand tight. a couple hours of set up and I had a first rate second rate guitar. Low rating mainly for the frets which were like barbed wire where there ought to be binding.

the neck and body are o.k. wood. the knobs bridge and other hardware are trash. the body finish is great, nice blond with woodgrain visible. The neck finish is way too thin and I'm going to refinish it soon.

Huh? you bought a tele for 230. You want What? Hope you get along with your dealer

I wanted a cheap reliable beater to hang out with and leave the good guitars in the closet. I got what I paid for. The pickups are as advertised- servicable p90 clones. Compared to the other teles I have at hand (gnl and fender custom shop) its a toy but would I gig it? sure. Good overall rating for being what it purports to be: a cheap guitar with good pickups.

Bought new. I've always wanted a Tele, but whenever I've played one I havn't liked the bridge.
(I play with a pecussive style and bash me hand against the tray!)

P90's and a maple neck appealed, and it looks great.
Tuners have plastic bushes and seem stable.
String trees not too good(but cheap to replace with good ones.)
The neck is not yer flash pencil-thin type, but not Jeff Beck cricket bat either.

This is the reason to buy this guitar.I love the sound. Flattered with a Line 6, and Fender Hot Rod in the shop, I was delighted to get it home and find it still sounds great through my tranny Crate 60W.
Add Digitech screaming blues pedal, and it's brilliant.
From just-breaking-up-Keef-style, to wailing Gary Moore (if I had the talent) The P90s cut through.

The nut is crap- high e much too close to the edge, and unevenly set.
But at this price, and with such great sounds, a proper set up is a gift.
DAMN PLASTIC COVERING! took ages to get off, and had to rem,mover strings to get it off around the pickups.
Nice finish, string-through furrules not perfectly straight, but no problem.
Nice bridge, good fretting

Tele's can take a bashing, and I'm confident this will last.
Dodgy plastic tip on the switch, and cheap knobs.

Would look great with chrome knobs like on an ordinary tele.

never tried

As an alternative to my Mexican Strat (which I've fiddled with- SD pickups, better bridge) This is great. Very happy that for so little cash you can have a guitar that plays OK and sound brilliant.
Well done Fender/Squier - the timing is good too - it's the perfect guitar if you wanna get that indy/blues Jet/Hives/Strokes sound on the cheap.
Buy one and spend #40 on a good set up, and you have a bargain #200 guitar that will last for years.

2004 Made in Indonesia, 22 frets, agathis body, maple neck, 2 vol, 2 tone, 3 way switch, 2 Duncan Designed P-90 pickups, hardtail string thru bridge. Tuners appear to be non branded Gotoh. Neck is 7.25" radius C shape, Med Jumbo frets. No accessories, 2 wrenches for trush, saddles.

Mostly into rock music and never tried P-90's until now. Used to Humbuckers, hum cancelling single coils. Sound is like nothing I've heard before, kinda like a humbucker but warmer and not muddy at all. Very versatile. On Clean Channel, it sounds bluesy with great tone. On Distortion, it rocks hard, warm but also great clarity. P90's are single coil so there is some hum but its really very quiet compared to a normal single coil. Middle position is hum cancelling. I actually don't hear really any hum until I go near my computer monitor.

Action was pretty decent. About as good as any other factory guitar, I like it a little lower and will adjust. Flaws: the pickup selector switch fell inside the pickguard as the nut to hold it came off in the both. Fixed it in 30 seconds. There is a small spot on the neck where clearcoat ran but its not even really noticeable and never feel it. A tiny nick where the neck pocket meets the neck but also not noticeable.

I think it is dependable. I've put it through its paces. I would gig with it but always take a backup no matter what you're playing.

Bought it from Musicians Friend and they've always taken care of me so no worries but won't rate this category as I have had no dealings with Fender.

I've been playing for 10 years, this is one of three Squier's I currently own. I own a M77, a 1995 Strat, and now this. Sold my USA Strat Plus so I could buy some more gear to experiment with (hence this guitar in my possession). I've owned ESP's (the best), Nashville Tele, Fender Jagstang, USA Strat, Les Pauls. This is an awesome guitar. Wish the neck was more like a MIM though. Just wanted a P90 solidbody and this was cheap and fit the bill. I am pretty impressed with it and definitely would talk my friends into owning one. For the money you can't go wrong. As Squier quality can vary, I'd recommend buying from Musicians Friend as they ship the fastest and have a good return policy!

The features are already listed below. This is the black one and didn't come with any extras, although having two tone nobs to play with is a nice change for a tele!

This is great for blues/rock. Those noisy p-90's have a lot of tone for sub #200 guitar and can cope with anything I throw their their way. I was really pleased with the neck pu as I wasn't expecting it to sound as good as it does, it's nice and shimmery (for want of a better word) for clean stuff. If you roll off the tone slightly at the bridge it screams like a good'un. It's hard to describe what it sounds like because it's quite distinctive. But if you get the chance, try one and you'll be gining from ear to ear. For a cheap guitar, it's got gig worthy sounds.

Ok, like so many others who have pointed this out, this is the area where the guitar is let down. It's not that the materials are that bad, it's just not put together very well. Admittedly, it won't fall exactly fall apart on you, but if this is your first guitar I would advise that you get one from a shop (as opposed to on-line) and ask them to set it up for you. The inotation on mine was awful, but if you know what you're doing (it's not brain science) then it's simple to sort out.
The tone and volume knobs are really flimsy and (on mine) are set all wonky, so much so that one of them rubs against the guitar. The paint job looks like it has been touched up with a brush on the back before the laquer was applied and don't get me started on the nut! However, (and this is a big however)there is nothing technically wrong that i can find that cannot be sorted out easily and cheaply. Knobs and nuts (oh my!) can be replaced to result in a guitar that is great value for money. The neck is quite a chunky c-shape, but my girly hands deal with it fine.
I'm planning on having it repainted, reassembled and set up and I bet it'll end up being an amazing, CHEAP guitar!

Haven't had this too long so I have no idea how reliable it'll be, only time will tell. The hardware is only 'ok' but does the job fine so I can't complain. After a set up, I'd gig with it (haven't yet) and probably get some stunned faces from hearing a squier that sounds this good. Always have backup and starp locks though, you never know what might happen. I was doing a quite a large gig once and the strap came off the guitar which made me drop it and break a couple of strings in the process!

Never dealt with them so I can't say.

Been playing for about 9 years now and am the proud owner of a squier thinline pro-tone (I love that thing) and this which are played through a vox ad30vt. If this were lost or stolen I'd save up for a PRS SE soapbar as it's superior in build and has a touch more complexity to its sound, but then, for double the price of this thing, it should have. I'm really pleased with it as I'm a skint post-graduate and like to get the best out of my money. This is a cool beast but I don't think it would be a good first guitar due to the assembly, but then maybe that's just mine.

Solid black Telecaster, Agathis body with a bolt-on maple neck and two 'Duncan Design' P-90/1 'Soapbar' pickups. It has separate volume and tone controls for each pickup. It has a Tele-style bridge with string-thru body, non-locking tuners and came without a gig-bag

Good for blues-style playing, the soapbars have a bark which sets them apart from the traditional Tele single coils. I have read that the P-90/1s are actually humbuckers but there is sufficient hum to make me wonder about the accuracy of this statement

The action was crap straight from the factory. The nut had to be re-cut to prevent it choking on three of the strings. There was a screw missing from the scratch plate and minor paint marks on the neck. The action was way too high and the neck adjustment was non-existent. Intonation way out and the strings had no life left in them straight out of the box. So why did I buy it? Well all of these factors were grounds for me to bargain down the price significantly. And, yes, it was a new guitar! It just seems a pity that Fender should allow such a poorly finished item to hit the retail shelves and that the shop should do nothing to fix things. I might just find this acceptable in the Squier Bullet line, but not the Standard line. Shame, Fender, Shame! I was also disappointed in Coda Music. They advertise in UK guitar mags and one unhappy customer can undo so much paid for advertising with a single critical report such as this.

Once properly sorted (as it should have been at the factory) and a new heavier set of quality strings installed, the guitar plays like it should have a long life. Then again, only time will tell. The scratch plate is large enough to protect the front finish. The rest of the unit looks pretty durable and the neck already has a satin-like finish that makes the cleaned-up action play really well.

It's a Squier. Fender don't seem to care about its budget brand. You only get quality if you are buying USA or Custom Shop. Even my son's Mex P-Bass has quality issues. My local dealer here is Australia has always done the right thing on servicing my other guitats, so I am not particularly perturbed about Fender's attitude. And no, I would not go back to Coda Music. When I telephoned them during my stay in the UK to express my concerns about the contiuned choking on the nut after a reasonable 'play-in time', I simply got the 'Put a bit of soap on the nut' advice. So much for professional service!

I own a variety of good and budget gear - Gibson LP Studio, Steinberger 'cricket bat', Martin accoustic, Ibanez Artcore, Fender accoustic, Pod 2 and Roland Cube 30 amp (I do strictly lounge room gigs these days!). I like to play a variety of music styles, including rock, blues and jazz and have been playing for nearly 40 years.

While I very much like the Tele Custom tone, I am still niggled by the indifferent quality of the finish. If my Tele was stolen, I would probably look for something else with soapbars, rather than go back to Squier. Maybe invest more money and go for a cheap PRS soapbar. The P-90s have an edgy sound which appeals to me but Fender has an edgy quality that does not!

This guitar is a 2004, Crafted in Indonesia Black Tele Custom II, purchased form Music123. The features have been described pretty well, so I won't go into them in great detail.. This is typical tele, with the difference that it has two P90 pickups and individual vol and tone controls for each pickup. It's got a 3-position toggle swithc that lets you have neck, neck+bridge and bridge sounds. Non-locking, but sealed cheap tuners, but they actually seem ok. The neck is a medium sized C-shape that's fairly comfortable. The frets are more vintage style than modern jumbos, which I prefer.

I'm really into the blues and rock, and this guitar has the exact sound for that kind of music. They're P90's, so yes, they are noisy. I cut my teeth on an LP Jr with a single P90, and got used to it, so I don't even notice. The sound is the main reason I got this guitar. It's a $220 guitar and it sounds like a $2000 guitar. The pickups are Duncan Designed and they really, really sounds great. It doesn't do the soft jazz, sound that well, but the bluesy, slightly distorted and full crunch raunch sounds it totally nails. I'm extremely happy with the way this guitar sounds. Bridge and neck sound amazing. Neck for rhythm and solos and bridge for solos and rhythm -- both work really well.

The fit and finish of the body is fine, especially for a $220 guitar from Indonesia, even for a $500 guitar from america for that matter. But on the neck, there were some fairly bad sharp edges to the frets. I spent the first our filing them down and now they're fine. They didn't look to be unfiled in the first place, but seemed to be suffering from shrinkage due to dry climate or colde weather. I'm disappointed in the rough frets, but it was remedied fairly easily.

It's too early to say, but I would say it's pretty solid.

I bought it from music123 and they took way to long to ship it. It took over a week before it went from 'Shipping' to 'Shipped', which means it sat in the warehouse waiting to go on a truck. It came via FedEx and once it was sent, it only took 2 days (48 hours) to get here. My guess is they have a low cost deal with FedEx to bundle it with other shipments that are going this way. I don't know, but it was annoying. I'm not expecting much support from Fender on this.

Overall, I give this guitar a 9. It would have been a 10 if the frets didn't need any work. The guitar sounds great and plays very nicely. I immediately can get a good groove going and I really like the sounds. Aside from the edges, the frets themselve will support fairly low action (4/64 - 5/64), so they're are no complaints there. The intonation was right on the electronics all work great. I really am glad I got this guitar, especially for such short money. I would recommend this guitar to everyone who wants a serious blues sounds. It does really, really sound good. The execution is good enough considering the price, but you have to know what you're doing when you get it to be great. If you don't feel comfortable doing the adjustments yourself, a tech might charge you 50-75 to get it right. I do think it's a really good value!

Duncan Designed P-90s
Indepedendent tone and volume controls
Agathis body
All-maple neck/fretboard with dot inlays
Medium-jumbo frets
25-1/2" scale
Handcrafted in INDONESIA
Black 'scratch and dent' finish
String-thru

I ordered this realizing that quality was a crap shoot (I read the reviews). Nevertheless, I was intrigued because the + feedback was glowing.
My take: aside from the fact that this is indeed a 'scratch and dent' item (some nasty scratches below the pickguard), this thing is the bomb!!! I concur with previous reviews that the nut is junk, and I'm completely frustrated and baffled by the 'plastic wrap' that covers nearly everything but the strings, but son, what a sound!!!
Setup was perfect (I guess I lucked out), but it was evident that no effort whatsoever was made to tune the thing.
Nervously, I tuned, and frankly expected to be disappointed. Not so.
The sound of this instrument is VASTLY superior to a Standard (MIM) Tele, although it isn't 'typical.' I'll go one further -- it sounds vastly superior to the overrated Highway 1 Tele which costs $600.00. The neck is full bodied with a beautiful shimmer when one tweaks a note. While the tone controls don't have a lot of throw, they are useful for variations of the essential sound. The point is that while you don't get a good 'jazz' sound by rolling off the high end, you get a good jazz sound with the tone wide open. Middle postion isn't quacky, but colorful and powerful enough for blistering rhythm.
Bridge position is bright but not thin, and not a bit brittle.
This guitar, IMHO, would suit any professional rock, blues or country application. In my collection of a baker's dozen of guitars, this rivals my best, in terms of sound. It's gonna get a lot of play.

Excellent set-up. Playable out of the box.
PUs seem to be where they need to be, although I'll seek a pro set-up.
There ARE quality issues w/ this guitar, but FWIW, it's very sturdy (heavy too). I imagine that a luthier would have some constructive suggetions about what needs to be fixed, but for now it's a really fine player.

It feels very sturdy. Time will tell.

I have a hunch that customer support for this axe is non-existent.

I own a ton of cheap guitars. I don't have an aversion to more expensive ones, but it has been my experience that ya really got fork out $ to hear a substantive improvement in the tone dept.
I own:
'81 Fender Bullet 1 (the best!)
MIM early Squire Strat
Squire Jimmie Shine Showmaster (a one-trick pony that does it's trick wonderfully)
G&L Tribute Legacy (sometimes love it, other times ?)
Oscar Schmidt Delta King (good meat and potatoes guitar)
O.S. OE40 (best jazz box for the money)
Peavey T26 (very cool relic from the late 70's)

If I were 20 years younger I'd be answering the classifieds for "Roots rock and power pop band seeking guitarist" with my Tele Custom II. It deserves to live its life in grueling one-nighters.

This is just an update.....

The tuners on it were not bad, but they string trees SUCK. I had issues with keeping tune dead on. I ended up scrapping the stock tuners and going with staggered sperzels and ditching the string trees. Now it stays in tune forever.

I did some research and found out the pickups are not true P90's. They are an OEM Korean made pickup that's supposed to be an exact copy of the dual coil P90's that Duncan makes. So they are hum cancelling. They still sound incredible, so I'm not going to touch them.

I can't think of anything I plan on changing. I might put a Graph Tech nut and saddles on it. It sounds incredible through the traynor btw. I have a traynor ycv40 with a V13 in it and a 70/80 in an extension cab. With a Weber MASS attenuator soaking the output, this guitar/amp simply sing with smoky output tube love.

I just purchased my Tele Custom II from a local dealer and have had about 1 week. Blonde finish, P90 pickups,2volume and tone controls, 3 way selector, stb bridge. Comfy C shaped neck.

I play lots of styles and this guitar seems to offer great tones from blues to metal, jazz, country, etc. The P90 pickups sound really warm at cleaner amp settings, and really screams with high gain settings, just roll back tone a bit.

Action was medium high like most Fenders I've played or own. Volume and tone pots seem a little cheesy, takes a considerable amount of rotation to really hear a change in tone. Fret ends shipped very sharp, actually prutruding from edge of neck, which could be de to the fact it hung at music store for several months, which is heated with forced hot air. After some carefull filing and rounding they are fine. I don't notice any uneven heights like previous reviewers just the sloppy ends, but that is expected at this price. My biggest bitch about this axe and my Strat for that matter is the way Fender applies all screws, switches , pots and pickups through the protective plastic over pickguard. I actually had to disassemle the guitat to remove all the plastic, including the neck. I ended up scratching the pickguard trying to remove plastic without tearing apart the guitar. So I opted to take it apart. Even the P90's were sealed in their own plastic whose edge was beneath the pickguard.. could'nt Fender just apply the film over the assembled guitar instead? Finish was ok, nothing special, what I expect from a $230 axe. This guitar plays and sounds great, neck is great for bending pulloffs etc... When I had the guitar apart I examined the wiring, pots and stuff, all workmanship is actually pretty neat and solder joints appear sturdy. Weird mounting setup for pickups though. adjusting them may be a little tricky.. not sure if they need any adjustment though because the sound seems to be just right.

The guitar seems to be built pretty well.. even for an Indonesion built model. All harware seems solid.. should be a good live axe.. only time will tell.

I've dealt with Fender before when my neck went bad on a Mexican Srat I own .. all they needed was serial# and they shipped me a new neck free of charge ... not even a shipping charge... hopefully the same for Squiers.

I've been playing about 35 years own several guitars (13 and 2 basses) and I must say the customII is a welcome tonal addition.. sounds unique. Fender could replace the totally cheesy soft plastic nut with something more durable.. I can forsee the stock one wearing out too easily. All in all for the money this is an excellent guitar.

Made in Indonesia
22 Fret
Solid Body
two tone, two volume, 3 way switch
one neck and one bridge duncan design P90 soapbar
maple neck with maple fretboard
black body
hardtail bridge (not standard tele)
standard tuners
25 7/16 scale (measured)
Came with allen wrenches for truss and bridge

I'm only playing this through a little 10 watt Marshall right now, but it sounds fantastic. I'm inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt. It's amazing how many sounds you can get just by playing with the tone. I got a great bluesy sound by pushing the clean channel. I had no problem making create sounds on the overdrive channel as long as I played with the "contour" control on my MG10CD. It's very clean. Cleaner than I'd expect for a 230 dollar guitar.

The scale for the first string bucket was dead on perfect. The rest of the buckets were way off though. It took a little while to get the intonation set correctly. The action was horrible until I fixed the neck. When I hit the 8th fret with the feeler gauge after putting a capo on the first fret and holding down the last fret I had a huge gap. Adjusting the truss rod to get the recommended .01" gap on the 8th fret on the 6th string made the action almost perfect. I dropped each allen head a quarter turn, then adjusted the center strings to follow the curve of the neck. I'm getting no buzz and the strings are very low. I use super slinkies exclusively. The tip was broken clean off on the 3 way selector, but I'm blaming UPS. The finish is flawless. The fit isn't too bad. The output jack was a little crooked but I fixed it. The neck was mounted perfectly, and the nut was surprisingly absolutely perfectly cut. The tuning pegs look kinda generic, but they work fine if you know how to string a guitar. The bridge appears to be grounded fine and nothing is loose. The pickups were mounted perfectly. I had no reason to mess with them at all. It was a pain in the ass getting the stupid protection plastic off. The frets edges aren't perfect, but they are pretty close. After taking the time to set everything up, it plays just as well or better than an off the shelf 700 dollar guitar. I'm basing that on a thinline custom I picked up a few months ago.

I'd definitely gig with this guitar. The pieces seem to be quality, or good enough. You are chancing a really crappy assembly job when you buy a 200 dollar squire. Usually you can just take everything apart and put it back together correctly. I didn't have to do too much. I can remember having to spend an entire weekend on a squire strat or tele to fix things, but this one took about 5 hours to sort out. It's a tele. More importantly, it's a 200 dollar tele. If I dropped this thing on stage, I could probably pick it up and keep playing. I'm not going to cry a river if I gouge it or smack it. I'm interested to see what it sounds like on the traynor I ordered.

Other than the broken selector switch, I'm pretty impressed with Squire and Musicians Friend. I ordered this thing with the free ground shipping and had it TWO DAYS LATER. I'm very impressed with the tone/sound of this guitar. It doesn't feel or play like a 200 dollar guitar now. It feels like something approaching a grand. I'm going to go ahead and get the regular squire tele custom with the humbuckers because of the positive experience I had with this guitar.

I've been playing off and on for about 25 years. I play for fun, and jam with friends. I'll do the occasional gig. I move around a lot because of my chosen profession, so music isn't the most important thing in my life. Unless it's something really special, I tend to look for a good value instead of blowing a fortune for a name or bragging rights. I like maple fretboards and hardtails. Every single guitar I own has those characteristics. I'd say this is the equal to the thinline custom, but not as good as the Axis Super Sport or the Silhouette.

Bought new this week. Made in Indonesia (cool). 22 frets I think. Agathis body which is similar in density to Ash, with very similar sonic characteristics. Sort of a gibsonlike electronics setup, with two vol. and two tone controls with a three way switch controlling two PUPS. These are a P90 type PUP designed by Seymour Duncan for Fender. I think they are slightly different in design to accomodate neck or bridge placement. Maple neck with maple board, nice wood with even grain and coloration, frets are medium jumbo with nicely finished ends for a guitar in this price range and for a guitar of even three or four times the price. Finish is Vintage Blonde (fender color 07). It can't really be described but it's cooler than black which is the other option. Pickguard is the big Tele custom shape in B/W/B layers. Three position selector switch on the upper bout. Telecaster shape body with rounded edges. Neck is a nicely substantial Tele neck, c-shaped and makes for great string bending and pull offs. Tuners are some sort of cast sealed things that seem okay, it stays in tune pretty well I think. Comes with the allen wrenches needed for truss rod and bridge adjustments. The instrument's main features are value and the fact that it's a quirky special model, a fun idea, something a little different. It all works together for fun.

I like a variety of styles, leaning toward blues/rock/country/rockabilly but I'm okay with a little jazzy stuff too. This guitar is a "tone machine" by advertisment and I will affirm that it is a "TONE MACHINE" and a half! Wonderful sounds from those soap bars. Very sweet clean sounds especially and very nice driven as long as you don't get to trebly at the amp. They start to break up and get muddy in the high end if chording when the gain gets high. This is a single coil thing I think and not really a flaw at all, just a characteristic. If you plan on playing through some little ten or fifteen watt practice amp while working on becoming a heavy metal god you probably aren't going to get what you want here. I use a Fender Cyber Champ and because of the very nice tones available through its modeling circuitry I think this guitar is awesome for sound. These PUP's are not powerful, not high output loud, but they are very responsive to control changes. Amazing variety of tone is possible but like with les pauls you have to have an amp that will get the results too.

This is the only guitar I've ever bought since a Les Paul Custom in 1974 that came out of the box set to factory specs. Fender specs are a little higher action than most people like but that's why they give you a wrench to change the saddle height with. The nut is at least slotted to the right depth which is all you can expect from any guitar until you hit the high end custom shop strats and LP's and PRS's and things. Even the PUP's were set to specs. I measured it all twice to be sure. Even the neck was set to the correct relief! Finish is nicely done. Poly clear coats but buffed well and the pickguard looks good against the Blonde. Frets are finished as well as anything I've ever bought except the LP Custom. If you play seriously at all you should learn to do all that filing of stuff and adjusting whatever anyway. No sharp ends and nicely rolled neck edges. Medium jumbo frets are very comfy to play on.

I'd play live with it. It's a Tele at heart so you could beat an elephant to death in the parking lot with it and still get back to take the second solo. Hardware always lasts unless it is actually flawed or you abuse it. Don't slam the PUP selector switch too hard too often and the thing will probably outlive you. The second thing I do (after putting on new strings) is put on strap locks so those buttons aren't a factor for me. What sort of idiot would gig without a back up?

1 year limited warranty.

I play every day. I play whatever comes into my head and I like pretty much all guitar styles. I've played on and off since I was thirteen. I have a couple of Martin acoustics, a Gretsch bass, a larrivee, a Strat (classic series 60's strat), play through a Fender Cyber Champ, Fender acoustasonic 30, and sometimes run a Behringer V-amp2 through a Fender Frontline 25 watt bass amp. I love the sounds that you can get out of this guitar! Everything from glassy clean tele sounds to strangly strat noises to full out crunching, humbucker type rythmn stuff is there in spades and very tweakable with the controls provided. These are GREAT PUP's. The neck is good for me 'cause I'm old and I like more neck than is common today. String bending requires some mass to bend against. I wish it came with a hardshell case but that's not likely at this price point. It fills the "quirky but very cool and different with awesome sound", niche. A terrific value.

It's a Tele Jim, but not as we know it!!
Wnen I found out that Squier were making these, I knew I had to check one out - I have always fancied the idea of a tele with P90s, but as we all know, such a beast does not exist . What we have got here is an Indonesian made copy of a Fender 1972 Tele Custom, but with Seymour Duncan designed P90 pickups, instead of the usual humbuckers; the other twist being white blonde colour instead of the usual black .I wont go into all the details other than to say it features a maple neck and fret board, a 3-way pickup selector and seperate volume and tone controls for each pickup . This makes it just about the most versatile variant on the tele theme possible .

How does it sound? - LUSH is the only way to describe it . I wouldn't have believed such a cheap guitar could sound so good . The bridge pickup is warmer sounding than the usual tele single coil, while the neck pickup is fatter and darker . both pickups gives a fabulous rich jangle. With a really good amp, (fortunately I've got one), this guitar kicks out a fearsome amount of bass, and bell-like highs, without ever sounnding as treble-fierce as a regular tele . Rolling of the treble gives some good sounds that get a little mushy at extremes, although using a compressor easily restores the punch and clarity .
The REALLY great thing is how clear and precise it sounds, even when playing chords through a Big Muff .
This is a great country guitar, a great rock guitar, and a Grunge dream . It sits really well between my Strat and my humbuckered De Armond . If you are looking for a tried and trusted guitar design, but with a slightly different voice, this could be the one for you .

OK this is where it gets tricky, fundamentally this is a really well made guitar for the money , that is spoiled by sloppy assembly.
The neck and body are almost flawlessly finished ; The thin satin finish on the neck , only needed a tiny rub in a couple of rough spots, the edges of the finger board are rolled , and the fret ends are well finished . The neck is a lovely C shape that fits my hands beautifully . The body is a lovely yellow tinged white, with a hint of wood grain showing through . My wife says it looks great against denim jeans!
HOWEVER the standard of assembly is poor, even for the price, with loose screws on the neck and bridge, and overtightened screws on the scratchplate causing the scrachplate to de-laminate slightly in a couple of spots . The intonation was a mile out, the nut cut way too high .The shop offered to set it up for me , but being a fussy so-and-so I wanted my own strings on it (Everly 10-52s) and wanted to do it myself . Fortunately, being a amateur guitar tech , none of this was too difficult to put right . My advice - get the shop to do a FULL set-up on it before you part with your cash, unless you can do it yourself .
I must stress though that eveything on this guitar is in perfect alignment, and well finished, you will just need a pro setup to get the best out of it - it's well worth it believe me .

It's a tele, It's a cheap tele - It's bombproof and cheap enough to replace if the worst should happen . Enough said .

Never had a problem with a Fender product .

GET ONE . this is a keeper

2004 made in Indonesia, classic tele custom design with 2 p90s, blond finish, satin finished med. neck with med. jumbo frets. 3-way switch for pickups. All that you need for a 2 p90 guitar.

I must have gotten a different batch from the preceeding reviews - mine sounds great! They aren't kidding when they say "tone machine". The pickups are incredible - the bridge P/U has the tele bite without the harshness and has more depth - the neck P/U is smooth and full with a little more cutting edge than most - and both P/Us together provide a wonderful tone spectrum - great not only for rhythm but also lead. The p90s have an almost compressed quality to them - and when played hard produce a hint of overdriven tone with sustain.

I've seen and played a lot of Indonesian guitars and was expecting substandard quality control - not on this baby! The frets were smooth with no edges, the finish on both the body and neck were flawless, tight neck pocket, nice tuners, no problems or complaints at all - it's a beauty. It played wonderfully out of the box (even almost in tune!) - it's on the heavier side, but no too heavy - the neck is medium sized with a satin finish that feels great in your hand (med. Jumbo frets). The blond finish is opaque with just the hint of wood grain underneath. I immediately decided that it deserved a hard case, and I'm sending back the gigbag I ordered with it and getting a real case.

Solid & dependable.

n/a

I currently have 16 guitars - G&L, Guild, Gretsch, Epiphones, DeArmond, and I've owned several teles over the past 35 years, but was always put off a bit by the rudeness of the tone. This one has the smoothness of humbuckers with the clarity of single coils plus a depth of tone not often found. I'm always skeptical when someone gives a glowing review after owning a guitar for only a few days, but I have played it a lot and I'm 99.99% sure that this one will be one of my favorites. I haven't even done my usual setup yet! And it's a Squier! (No offense intended) It's nice to be pleasantly surprised. I can't speak for everyone's taste, but mine is definitely satisfied.

It's a Tele, but with the Custom style 3 ply scratch plate, 4 "witches hat" control knobs (2 vol, 2 tone), and a 3 way toggle switch on the upper bout a la LP, but the big difference is that instead of 2 humbuckers as the usual custom, it's got 2 Duncan Designed P90's.

Headstock is standard Tele, as is the maple neck & 'board. The machine heads are generic sealed units, and the bridge is a generic 6 saddle plate.

My other guitars are humbucker loaded rock machines, and I was looking for something different. I had a real hankering for either a Tele, a 335 or just something a bit different fro what I already have, plus I didn't want to break the bank on another relatively expensive guitar. Saw this featured in a few NAMM reports, and thought, that's the one!

The sound is nice and bright, just don't roll the tone's off as you won't get that lovely humbucker-esq tone, sweet spot's for me are at about 3-5 tone.

Clean, it'll twang 'til the cows come home, slightly dirty and the cows'll come home drunk and smiling (eventually). Dirty is in the realm of the humbucker. Nice, varied sounds available because of the pickup selection.

When I played it in the shop, it seemed OK, but I only played it for about 5 minutes cause I knew I wanted it. When I got home and got deeper into it, the action was awful and high, the high E did the sitar thing, and it had a dreadful hum.

I spent about 2-3 hours giving it a damn good setup and taking the bridge off to sort the obvious bad earth. Taking the bridge off and sorting the earth only took about 5 minutes, and it sounds so much better for it, why wasn't this checked in the first place (Fender)? The bridge screws are so loose that I was worried about its tuning stability, as when I got it in tune (with the stock strings), played for a bit and then checked the tuning, it was way out. I don't think they stretch the strings at the factory though. Why not?

Setting the intonation, however, was a different kettle of fish. The saddles seemed as though they were positioned with some sort of gauge, as I couldn't get them to intonate at all, then I pulled them right back towards the rear of the bridge plate, and bingo, nicely intonated. Aargh! Another why couldn't this have been done at the Factory statement!

Mine's a black one with a black 3 ply scratch plate, which looks great and feels great. The neck is nicely smoothed and rounded, with what seem to be jumbo frets. Another niggle. The fret ends are a bit sharp, and seem to have been cut at different angles, with a bare minimum of grinding.

Also, not all of the strings travel directly over the pole pieces. This is simply because the pickups are designed for a Gibson type bridge, which has different spacing to a Fender type bridge, don't let this faze you, as it does have good string balance.

Now it's sorted, it seems like it will be reliable, although I do question the durability/reliability of the bridge fixing screw's as all but one of the 5 were tight. I feel that it may not be able to stay in tune because of this, and I'm marking it down on that.

Haven't dealt with either Fender or Squier.

As I say, my other guitars are humbucker driven, and this was meant to be a step in another direction, but able to cope well with some (or a lot) of drive.

It copes well with all these, looks good, and dares to be a tad different, but has a few build quality issues to my mind to warrant a mediocre score.

these have been covered well by prior reviews .. the unique feature here are the 2 duncan p90's.. which take the design of a 74 custom to a fun new direction

i play at one time or another most styles short of speed or death metal (ie: rock, blues , country, pop .. you get the idea) i focus on rockabilly and classic rock when using p90's... these in this case are not noisy at all , short of the expected single coil noise that one would expect .. as for tone? well honestly pretty ratty. they're ok but pretty limited .. i have an lp jr and the tones from those 90's are all very warm .. these are (bridge: very sharp and bright, tone adjustments for me are at 4 here... neck: VERY bassy and dark (frankly too boomy ) setting are tone 10 volume 7.. neck and bridge combo are a pretty useful mix .. of course each amp and effects combo gave different results ... in this case a fender champ , roland jazz 55, jazz 120, musicman 65, acoustic model 164 and fender super deluxe rev ... all played clean and various effects .. all in all i found the sound to be good as far as noise and pretty limited as far as tone .. but this IS a $200 guitar so this concidered a good value .. i think as far as sound it's a niche instrument .. fun for sure

sorry guys but this is where the price is reflected .. at $200 one should not expect more the a $200 guitar and that's what this is .. anyone that sees these as comparable to say a mim or jap or usa fender in any way DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THEY A TALKING ABOUT! .. if you want a good solid dependable guitar then please do yurself a favor and save yur money just a little longer and by a true fender .. these are student level instruments , which isn't a bad thing , it's just saying these are not built to last. and with that said this is where i see a strong negative ... newbees and kids are pretty rough on guitars and i can't see these really holding up to abuse.. the hardware on these is really very cheap (ie: the cord reciever pulled out of mine within days and upon inspection found it to be cheap tin .. the neck pickup rattled loose from its saddle and the set holes had to be retaped and screwed.. the switching and pots are very cheap as is the wiring , the neck tone pot didn't work and after inspection found a poor solder connection at the cap (not visible to the eye ).. the frets were aweful , so bad i can honestly say they were sharp enough to cut someone ) again granted this is a $200 guitar and i'm into working on instruments both for myself and as a business so i kinda have no problem fixing and upgrading (and i expected to have to do so) but for someone new or expecting a solid playable instrument right out of the box? i think you'll be lucky at best .. had this been brought to me to be brought to a reasonable playablity level "minus new parts" fret dressing, pickup repair, control repair, setup and new strings ,the money you'd have paid me on top of the original $200 would have easily bought a better guitar ... i read where another reviewer stated these with a real fender neck would be a real good instrument .. well ok that and new hardware and electronics .. but after that investment you could have bought a better guitar to begin with (which brings us back to my opening statement "if you can wait, save a little more money and buy an mim fender)

i think ya get the idea.. take a back up (but then that's always a good idea anyway)

i do my own repairs .. i have delt with fender in the past and as with all warranty situations it depends on yur problem ... nobody company's eager to hear bad news hahahaha but they're honest folks

been playing 35 yrs constantly .. i own 24 guitars or various makes and models .. relative to compare for this review, 2 lp jr's with p90 (single and double setups)and an es-330td and a 79 tele .. if this were stole? i'd have to wonder what the thief was thinking hahahaha i'd love to be there when he trid to pawn it hahahaha
it's a fun guitar now after the repairs
the reason i bought this guitar was an a lark .. i've always warned people not to buy a guitar by mail if they can help it for a number of reasons but realized that given these reasons the truth was that i had never myself bought and recieved a guitar by mail, so i was not being fair by speaking from experience... i've alway love this tele design and the p90 feature and price convinced me that it would be a fair investment for the experience .. after all was said and done i must say M.F. was true to their words (recieved in 3 days) but i still say it's a very risky thing .. shipping is tough on a guitar (and packageing in this case was not very good)..and had i picked this guitar up in a store ? i would have laughed and set it down without a second look ... "ya just gotta play it before ya buy it" period ... i know that's just not do-able for some folks so please don't take that statement wrong .... peace, zigg

This is a twist on the 70's style tele customs .Has the big pickguard with two "duncan design" P-90 pickups with les paul type 3 way toggle, with volume and tone for each pickup.4 knobs in all .
They offer two colors ,black and blonde .Mine is blonde .It doesn't really look like the classic tele blonde color.To me it almost looks like a Gibson "TV YELLOW" type of color but I'm color blind .
Neck is maple and the body is Agathis which I think is similiar to mahogany .The korean version of mahogany or something to that effect .
Standard stop tail bridge .Your basic meat and potatoes features,nothing fancy .

Here's where I had a big problem .This thing buzzes like mad .It was so bad its unusable.Even with clean sounds .The guitar is going back to the store .
I may have just got a lemon but I wasn't about to pay my guitar tech to find out if it wasn't grounded right or something .I'm not gonna exchange it .Just getting my refund .

This one like most of the cheaper stuff was not set up well at all .The neck and finish weren't too bad, but for what you pay for these things you shouldn't have high hopes anyway .The old "you get what you pay for " saying comes to mind .The hardware is your typical cheap korean stuff and as I said earlier the pickups were no good on this one .I'll give it a 7 as my only major complaint was the pickups .

I think this guitar as most of the cheaper stuff will hold up ok .I have some other cheap guitars that I've been using for years and they're fine as long as you take care of them .

I've owned many Fender products over the years and never really had any problems up to now .I found most Fender dealers will make good on any problems you have with Fender gear .Fender is such a big corporate monster now, your better off going through the dealer anyway rather than call them directly .

I'm a seasoned part time pro and own tons of expensive guitars but lately I've been getting into the cheaper stuff since they don't require a big investment and sometimes you get lucky and can find a pretty decent guitar for a very cheap price .And you can unload a cheaper guitar easier then the expensive ones .But anyway I struck out with this one .My only real complaint was the pickups ,everything else quality wise was as I expected for a guitar in this price range .
You win some and lose some .Luckily Musicians Friend is a pretty decent company and they're letting me return it .Good luck !

Body made of agathis wood, which I'v read is similar to mahoghany. Mine has a heft to it that reminds me of my mahoghany bodied guitars...solid, heavy. Not a bunch of paint and filler putty, but a nice big hunk of wood. Strummed acoustically is vibrant and loud, with a midrange slant. Plugged in, sustain is good. It's a lively guitar. Tuners decent. Stays in tune well, even after a round of string stranglin.

P-90s,on a tele...the reason I got the guit in the first place. With distortion, they have an angry snarling attitude, the primordial rock sound. Seperate volume and tone controls along with my trusty Trademark 10 amp equal plenty sounds to explore. Clean to scream. Have fun, I say.

The selector switch was loose, found the nut in the wrapping, screwed it on...no problem. Paint well done. Held up at arms length, in a side light, couldn't see any of the subtle lines that indicate several pieces of wood glued togeather, maybe I got lucky, one piece of wood. Hmmm, the color. They call it blonde. Maybe if the blonde swam in an overcholinated pool all summer. Either that or they wanted to replicate the look of a 1967 refrigerator, back when avocado and mustard yellow were hot decorator colors. Actually, is pretty close to Gibson TV yellow. The moose-kidney shaped pickguard is huge, running from Vermont all the way down to Baja. Would dig bigger frets, but they are passable, with no sharp ends. The nut is just OK, as is usually the case at this price point, upgrade in the future. Action is a little high. Lowering the bridge resulted in fret buzz round the 12-16 frets. New nut with a setup one day. Right now though, it's playable and a lot of fun.

It's a tele...no worries. A viking could use it as a weapon during the day, and play Nordic blues on it at night.

Dunno

Playin 32 years. Own 30 guits plus plenty amps and stuffs. Sometimes wish they could all magically be sold with just a few favs left. This guit is not perfect, but for the price is fine. I ordered it online, then read the first two reviews here, and felt remorse. When I first saw it and inspected it, I started liking it a little. After playing it a few days, I now am liking it. Like alot of import low priced guitars...they get you in the game. If you want to upgrade the performance abilities, then spend the loot. As is, the P-90s tude, combined with a mahoghany -like body yield wonderfully useable rock sounds.