Fender Squier Telecaster

Maybe early 90ies Squier Telecaster made in Korea. Butterscotch blonde finish with one piece maple neck. Unfortunately the body is made of laminated wood with front and back ash veneer. White pickguard. Standard pick-ups. Cheap bridge with 6 die cast saddles. Also cheap tuners. Somehow i liked this guitar, so i modified it to a pretty vintage look :
Kluson style tuners, single ply black 5-screw pickguard, vintage bridge with 3 brass saddles. Finally i drilled 6 holes through the body to get the strings where they belong. After that the guitar sounded dramatically different.

I used to play heavy guitars so this was a new experience to me. The neck pick is still sqealing ( feedback ). But after the changing of the bridge the sound is much more twangy. Some day i'll change the PU's also and it's gonna be a real Tele :-) Nevertheless unplugged it sounds very good now, despite the fact it's **** laminate. How could that happen ? This is maybe one the reasons why i love this piece of firewood. By the way the neck is really good. Not fat, not thin. Just right. Sounds ? Man, it's a traditional Tele... I think, the sound comes from the vintage brass bridge and the maple fingerboard.

Set up ? umm, quite nice. fretware is visible, so it has a buzz on the 15th fret. Action can be set up relatively low.
Craftmanship is good, but the wood :-) An how did they put the colour on it ? Butterscotch finish looks very thick. Factory PU's are noisy.

Really nice now. Even with Klusons the guitar will stay in tune while i'm bending the strings heavily.

no experience.

It's that type of guitar everybody is warning you about. Cheap and crappy on one hand but when you play it, you just don't put it away. It fit's my hands perfectly. Like an old glove. It will never be a 52 original Tele, but somehow it gave me the feeling of what the Tele is all about : just a plain piece of wood with a bold on neck. I dont'need more guitar now than the Tele offers. Everything more is pure luxury. Leo Fender was a very clever man.

Squire Telecaster, 2004 I believe, with mirror pickguard,color Black, 22 frets, bolt-on-neck, 3 way switch, 1 volume and 1 tone, and 2 Alnico magnet pickups. Grover style tuners, Billit type Bridge saddles

For a $200.00 guitar, this thing rocks. Crunchy when distorted, twangy when playing clean. This thing sounds like my strat clean but less bell like, sounds like my my les paul dirty but with a little less crunch. It really has a sound of its own and is quite versitile. The coils do hum esp. when using exsessive overdrive for distortion but not overly so,

I like to try one off the rack because of the uncertainty of not trying it out first. Any brand guitar can have its issues, some Fender necks can feel like tree trunks others like butter. I have not run accross one that was too warped that an adjustment won't cure but I suppose there are ones out there that are not fixable. Anyway to my story on how I purchased this thing: This particular one I was just noodling around with not looking for a purchase. After a few minutes of shredding some scales and playing some black Sabbath i realized what a good guitar this thing really was. Fearing the price, I peaked at it and saw it was for only $200.00! After checking for no major scratches, I grabbed it!! My particular one needed new strings, the ones Fender puts on are crap and I set the action lower to 1mm between the frets and strings.

I would not expect any issues, this thing is quite heavy and seems to be built like a tank.

Haven't dealt with Fender

The action and sound are good as any axe 2 to 3 times the price.

My Squier Telecaster Standard is an Indonesian-made 2003 model. Most of this guitar's main features have been covered, but I will do so again in tribute to this timless piece of American guitar art - (2) standard Tele-type single-coil pickups with a (3) position selector switch, separate tone & volume controls. I believe the body on this model is Alder, and the neck is maple with a 22-fret rosewood fretboard. The neck has a slimmer profile than my Squier Stratocaster, with the back of the neck and headstock having only a light seal coat finish. The slim neck is really comfortable, and plays very easily. The top of the fretboard is tinted in the usual Fender fashion, and the familiar "skunk" stripe is present on the back of the neck. Standard sealed tuners sit atop the headstock, with a fixed, adjustable bridge and string-through body rounding out the tonal appointments. The solid body of the guitar is finished in the always-alluring Fender 3-tone Sunburst, and the guitar I have has an especially nice finish. The darker parts of the wood grain show nicely thorugh the orange-amber color of the body, giving it a unique, vintage appearance. Simplicity is the calling card of the Telecaster design - everything you need, and nothing you don't. The Squier does not deviate from its higher-priced Fender counterparts in this aspect, so I would give it a solid (8) for features.

So what exactly does a guy who plays mostly classic rock want with a Telecaster. Well, to tell you the truth, I wasn't exactly sure myself. All I knew going into this deal was that Jimmy Page recorded most (or all) of Led Zeppelin I on a Telecaster, and I dig Zeppelin. And also, that Mr. Keith Richards has had cool tones a-plenty eminating from his stable of Tele's for a solid three decades, and I dig the Stones. If there was some magic to be found in this model of guitar, I was going to first get my feet wet at a price I could handle. This Squier has fit that bill, and more. Amp-wise, I play through a modified Peavey Classic 30 (J & J Tubes w/ a 12" Celestion Vintage 30 speaker), as well as a Fender Cyber Champ (65W, also w/ a 12" Celestion speaker), and this Telecaster covers the gamut of music I play with ease - Hendrix, SRV, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, Black Crowes, Lynyrd Skynyrd - you name it. After about nine months with the stock pick-ups (which were more than adequate in producing that trademark clucky Tele tone, though a bit noisy at times - no big surprise for single coils), I decided to move up to Fender Vintage Noiseless pups, which further enhanced mid's and lows, while still keeping the bright, glassy upper register. All-in-all, a very noticeable improvement - and ZERO noise. Perhaps the most surprising sound-related aspects of this guitar, to me, were the growly, gritty tones I could coax from Tele single coils, with nothing more than a few tweaks of the low and gain knobs on both of my amps. Lining up a DigiTech Bad Monkey Tube OD pedal through my the Peavey C30 amp produced even better distorted sounds, without sacrificing any of the Tele tone. On the Cyber Champ, the middle bank of Fender-modeled tones were especially convincing. Sound-wise, the Squier gets a (9) - even w/ the stock pups. All that classic Fender tone at a price you can afford. If you want to improve your sound even more, though, consider upgrading the stock pups.

Well, here's where we really see the price of the guitar. Right out of the box, I could have hung laundry on the strings - the intonation was set so high that the guitar was barely playable. The neck was also a bit out of whack (or so my guitar tech told me), but again, stuff that can be adjusted. The strings weren't stretched at the factory, either, so the guitar did not seem like it would stay in tune. Part of this problem I can attribute to the bridge & intonation issues I've already mentioned. Once I had the guitar adjusted, it stayed in tune, and became very playable. Bottom line -if you buy a Fender Squier guitar, esp. through the mail, plan on having it properly set up. If you purchase it from a local music shop, however, some (or all) of these issues may have been addressed before the guitar went onto the sales floor. Two other issues I encountered later on were a scratchy pick-up selector switch (the original switch was a non-Fender unit), which was easily corrected with a new Fender switch. The nut on the input jack has also had a habit of coming loose from time to time, but nothing I can't handle with a deep-well socket an a couple of twists of the ratchet. Lastly, there was a slight finishing flaw in the body in the form of an indentation, which apparently wasn't sanded out prior to the guitar being finished. As luck would have it, the flaw was on the back of the guitar, and very small, so it isn't noticeable. Other than that, the hardware, albeit not the greatest, has worked just fine. The plastic nut was cut OK, though this might be another area that I will seek to improve down the road. Fret finish was good, too, but another area where I may seek improvement. For a guitar in this price range, I was expecting issues like these, but maybe not this many. As such, I give this area a (6) - not bad, but not great.

As with any Fender product, I have high expectations. I am not in a band, so this guitar is not gigged. However, is played nearly every day, and in this capacity, I am expecting that it will stand up to many years of continued use. I have jammed live w/ friends on many occasions since purchasing it, and it has not failed me once, nor would I expect it to. The Tele, overall, is a solid, no-frills, workhorse of a guitar, and my Squier model seems to be more than capable of living up to these expectations. I can't give it a (10) due to the aforementioned quailty issues. However, it does deserve a solid (8), primarily because most guitars in this price range are total junk, and completely unreliable. I am happy to report that my Squier is neither.

Never dealt with Fender on any of my Squier guitars (I have three), nor would I expect to. They're good, solid instruments. No warranty cards or info came with the guitar, so I am not sure what, if any, warranty exists. Due to the above, I won't give any rating here.

I have been playing guitar for nearly (22) years, and have owned many guitars - mostly in the $400 and under range (Ibanez, Electra, Squier, Epiphone). Besides this Telecaster, I have an early 90's Epiphone Les Paul, an early 80's MIJ Squier Stratocaster, and a brand-new Squier Tele Custom w/ P-90's. It's hard to believe Squier can offer this much instrument at this price, which is probably why I own more than one of their guitars. In my honest opinion, this guitar has all of the looks, features, sound, and playability of its more $$ Fender brethren, which I feel only adds to the overall value of the instrument. As a matter of fact, one might easily mistake a Squier for a "real" Fender, as many are being played under the skillful disguise by Tele traditionalists who are much too vain to let their secret out. I myself am not, and enjoy the clamor of other fellow guitarists when they come face-to-face with the fact that this guitar oozes with all of that classic Fender vibe and tone, even though it says "Squier" on the headstock. I would recommend this guitar to any player, old or new. And if ever faced with replacing it, wouldn't even give it a second thought. It's an easy buy at two Benjamins, and a no-brainer "10" for an overall value rating. Really, you don't need to flip over big coin to live the Fender Telecaster dream. Grab yourself a Squier, and find out for yourself!

I got this Tele Standard for x-mas 2004, it's a 2002 20th anniversary
Indonesian squier. 22 fret, fast action maple neck w/ rosewood fretboard. It's a rear strung, 6-saddle bridge, with 2 Alnico single coils(one chrome covered). Finish is vintage blonde, that is sweet. The wood grain is just slightly visible, which is a nice touch. The tuner machines are standard die-cast, and work very well. Do not know how well this type of peg will age though. Body is Agathis. Somehow it sat in the store for close to two years.

All though I only play for fun, I have professionally guitar tech'd for bands, and have dealt with many a tele from all eras. And this guitar competes handily with the best of them. I'm not a big efx guy, I use a Danelectro echo pedal, and a Nobels phaser, runing through a Fender Frontman 15R. So simple but very versatile for the music I play(mostly old country music). The sound is exactly what you buy this guitar for, just a truly pure tele sound. From what I've heard this guitar is patterned after the 1969 Tele Standard.

I have not changed the factory setting on the string saddles, and the action and intonation are close to perfect. I restrung it with Fender
350 Stainless XL's which isn't very adventerous, but they work very well. I've never played this type of neck on a tele, it does take getting used to but that's my limitation not the guitars. Being a brand new guitar I don't know how well the hardware will age. The finish and construction are remarkable. In the Squier range, Indonesia has really got a good thing going. In my estimation it's the finest overseas(and Mexican) Fender product yet. It even has a 20th anniversary plaque on the body back where the neck mounts. That kind of stuff always adds to the collectability down the road.

The most gig action this guitar will ever see is maybe a sit-in type situation. But I will wear it proudly when the situation occurs, and I know it will hold up. As I prefer to travel lightly I will not carry a back-up either. I use a simple $12 Fender strap(With the gold Fender logos on it), no strap locks, and it hasn't fallen off once. I'm confident I will be able to keep this guitar in stock condition forever. Although I do need to assess the hardware a little further.

Having been a guitar tech I will probaly deal with any repairs myself.
Not real sure about warranty. Although I know the details are on the Fender web-site. Initially I assumed I would modify this guitar in some way, but as I play it and stare at I can't really pinpoint a shortcoming that is worth altering. But keep in mind this is the first solid-body guitar design ever. It is a no frills instrument, most players needs are more complex than mine. So when considering this guitar, make sure your planned modifications will work before you start dismantling and routing,etc.. It is basically a big wooden plank and seems suitable for altering, but once you've gone too far
the integrity of the tone will go away. Many guitars tones are owed more to pick-ups and hardware. A teles tone is split more evenly between the wood and hardware than most solid electrics.

Started playing about 15yrs. ago. Bought and sold so much gear over the years, it's not worth mentioning. However, I haven't played in the last 4-5 yrs.. This guitar was a gift from my better half, because she thought I needed a creative outlet. And it has been that indeed. I shopped all over my area and found mostly Affinity series teles which just really fell short in so many areas. This guitar is miles ahead, and is a "real" Telecaster as far as I'm concerned.

if you've read all of these you'll know these pretty well
mine is some kind of 20th anniversary edition, but it was priced with all the other standard squier tele's

whenever it works, this is the best feature. when you spend $200 on a new guitar you don't expect a whole lot, but this actually sounds pretty sweet. I play mostly blues and funk, and that's definately where this guitar belongs, but when i throw on the the overdrive and twist up the volume on the tele it has some pretty sweet dirty sounds aswell. So i'd say it's pretty versatile. It not too noisy either.

when I bought it it played pretty well. i had to get a setup done, as you do on most guitars just to get things right for you. it's not the upperclassmem kind of action where the guitar plays itself, but it's not terrible either. There aren't any dead spots, but when my tech set the intonation he said he had a hell of a time for some reason. Thats why i pay him to do it. the finish was pretty nice, and the tuners have always kept things together pretty well.

ok here is where the wheels start to come off the train. i think that most people write this within a week of getting the guitar, so they're all geeked up from having a new toy. "oh it's great great great will never break" well i am a very poor wannabe musician, so this has been my main guitar for shows, and i've played around 50 with it. for the first 9 months things were pretty good. the volume knob is sketchy, so it's hard to get your sound dialed in sometimes, but it still sounds prety solid and always cuts through the mix, and we have alot of people to cut through. after the 9 months it started falling apart. no matter what you do the input jack needs constant attention. then the shorts came. wires came loose on the input jack and the pickups. i took it in and had it fixed, and here 3 weeks later it's failing again. dontbuy this if you need to depend on it. if it stays home it will probably be fine, but it's not a road guitar. pay an extra 100 if you can and get a fender standard. i wish i had.

it sounds good and looks fine, but it doesn't want to go outside. I have played alot of shows with it, so i love it because it's mine, but it's just not dependable anymore. i think this would make a great first guitar, or hobby guitar.

I have a Korean black tele, one vol, one tone, one 3 way switch, two pick ups (usu tele stuff). Nothing amazing, but everything I need

Great clear sustain, due I'm told to the upper bout not being a cutaway (like a strat), and the way the bridge pickup is set in a steel tray. No complaints: nice and clean

Set up fine, action low enough. Some frets not finished perfectly: no big deal

I don't see why this thing would ever break or fail. It isn't a complex piece of performing machinery: it is simple and solid

n/a

I have about 6 other guitars, including a jaguar, a dot, and a dobro. This is by no means a poor relation, although the finery of the other guitars clearly lets them do things this never could (but I wouldn't want it to: that's why I've got a resonator, a semi hollowbody and a techy guitar hanging up next to it). I was bought the thing as a gift, and if it were stolen I might not get another since my Jaguar covers most of what this guitar does (just falling short on the crisp bite, but that doesn't mean if my jag AND my tele went I might not just get a tele....

Teles are great: don't listen to idiots talking about tremolo units and 5 way switches: if you know the sound you want, and this can do it, don't blink about the fact it isn't overcomplicated: that's the beauty. That's why so many people play teles and not strats: the bridge and body make a big difference. As for value: the best low end guitar going. I think if this were a car, if would be a pick up truck

This is a '98 MIM Squire Standard Tele..NOT the early MIM "Squire Series" this one seems almost to be a "copy" of the early '80s MIJ Squires...go figure..Very similar to the early MIM Fender "standard".
Same GREAT maple neck (NOT the one you get NOW)..same cheezy top loader bridge. Coverd tuners, plastic knobs, (Fenders had cast/metal) same PUs as current CIC Squires.. Good bang for the buck..no real difference from the high end MIM Fenders.

This gets worked out on everything from the Beatles to Ozzy..For Pop/roots stuff it goes into my VOX P15r..incredible fat sounds, with great twang on the lead. For heavy stuff, I have a Laney HC25r; good crunch.. GREAT overdrive(does the punk thing REAL well) of course a 'bucker could go in the neck......

This thing is incredibly well made..blows current Squires out of the water, better then most current MIM Fenders..allmost on the early MIJ level...sweet.

No problems here..one solid Tele

Used so no waranty..Fender has abysmal archival info on Squire. I have delt with them on other things.. OK response.

Had a lot of stuff over the years, most now gone..saw this in the used rack and simply walked up and paid..it was that nice. I don't think they made many..if you see one check it out.

-2002 model, made in Indonesia
-Agathis body, Maple neck, Rosewood fingerboard
-22 frets, medium jumbo
-25.5" scale length
-Chrome hardware
-Polyurethane finish
-3 ply plastic fingerboard
-2 single coil pickups
-Volume, Tone and 3 way pickup switch

Using the tone and pickup switch alone you can change from a clean sound to a sexy bluesy tone. Has a lot of that famous tele 'twang' which I like alot.

No major problems, here, although a few of the small metal parts have come a little bit loose occasionaly, but they can easily be tightened with a spanner in a few seconds. Also, the pickup selector is a little noisy if touched when using overdrive or distortion, but nothing too noticeable.

After 3months it's still in great condition, but after this small amount of time I can't give it a score.

No problems yet so I don't know.

This is a 1993 Japan-made Squier Telecaster Standard, maple neck/board with "skunk stripe" trussrod route. Solid red finish, originally white pickguard but changed to 3-ply black, looks killer now. Not sure of the body material but I have been suggested it would be plywood. Rings pretty nicely anyway. No-name but decent hardware, normal Tele pup configuration. The neck is satin finished, 21 medium frets I think and has pretty thick and round profile.

The only bit different part is the pickup routing which is of the so-called "swimming pool" style, a large cavity that extends to the lower horn and is almost as large as the pickguard - I think the same bodies are used to make various models. This huge routing makes the body lighter and bit more resonant, as well brings a tad of thinline style to the sound. Almost makes you want to cut an F-hole to the pickguard. Otherwise, your average Tele.

I'm a rock'n'roll/hard rock kinda guy myself, and I think the guitar suits my style. I'm sure it can cut the John Fogerty/Bruce Springsteen -styles too. The cleans are pretty nice and full, even a bit too bassy especially with the neck pup. The bridge pup is bit too thin and nasal for my liking, I'm possibly swapping it to a stacked HB for more balanced sound. Not that much variety of course, it's a Tele.

The action is med-high, but the pups were adjusted bit too low. Now, being an inexpensive guitar, there are some fibs with the finish, but small of them. The neck pocket isn't very tight and the paint could be bit better applied, bit nevertheless the guitar rings nicely and the finish is durable, you won't notice the flaws unless you watch really closely. Also the frets stick out a bit, but it's common around my area because of the weather.

Seems reliable to me. Tele is a very simple guitar and hard to bring down, and I can't see anything that would make me suspicious about durability. It already has lasted ten years of use with little more than few minor buckle scratches and a minor finish crack on the lower horn. The hardware is basic but seems to last pretty well.

I'd say this is a very nice axe for less than $200. It stands up to Made in Japan reputation, and with $100 extra to the bridge pup and new tuners, I think this baby would make a nice addition to any gigging arsenal. I'd certainly buy one for this price, even if just to have a decent simple axe available at home.

For the price a ten is a no-brainer, against expensive ($1500 and up) hand-made guitars I'd value it around 7 - not bad!

This particular guitar has a VN serial number, so it's from the nineties. It was made in Korea. 21 frets, stock passive tele pups. I think its an ash body, maple neck/board, blond color. Reliable stock tuning pegs. All the features you'd expect on a regular Tele.

This guitar sounds great after being tweaked (see below)! Full on Tele mojo. Except for something extreme (grindcore,etc.), I can't imagine not being able to make this guitar work on any gig, and I play music all over the map. The pups are a bit noisy, and though they sound just fine, lack the extra character a replacement set would bring to the guitar. I'd recommend a set of Bill Lawrence L280's, they're toneful, hum cancelling, and only $80.00 a SET direct!!! Another note, on this Tele the strings don't go through the body. They anchor behind the bridge plate. For hard core Tele guys this is blasphemous, but hard core Tele guys don't buy $180.00 foreign guitars. It contributes to maybe a slight lack of the kind of sustain you'd usually get, but If your replacing the pickups you probably won't notice, or care.

I bought this guitar used, but whoever had it before me never opened it up. When I did (immediately after buying it) I changed the pots to 250K CTS, from the 500K no-name ones in there. Added a couple of decent capacitors, a new switchcraft 3 way switch, and upgraded the wire inside. That made a HUGE difference. As far as the construction quality, it's fine. Actually a couple shades better than what you'd usually expect for an instrument in this class/price range. It plays like butter, these guitars are a real value if your not a Tele snob!!!

Solid as any other Tele.

I've tried to reach Fender a couple times about things, and it's brutal. The website tells you NOTHING, and it's next to impossible to reach them directly.

I've been playing for 18 years and I love this guitar! I'd replace it if anything ever happened to it. You just can't beat the price of these things!!!! You can find them everywhere too! I own an SRV strat, an 80's Mary Kay strat, a goldtop Heritage 150 (Les Paul), and I always wanted a Tele. This will do just fine!! My chain is guitar, Boss tuner, Expandora, Blues Driver, Proctavia, Crybaby, Q-Tron, Line 6 MM-4, Line 6 DL-4, into either a Rivera M-100, blackface Bassman, or HiWatt 50 Custom into either a full or mini Marshall 4X12 loaded with Celestions. Buy this guitar if you want Tele tone for very little bucks. It's a must to replace the pots and such, and new pups are a good idea, but after those expenses your still WAY ahead of the game!!