Fender Squier Telecaster

Made in 1991 in Korea

Unknown wood body (could be ply for all I know)

Maple neck (that I will come to later)

Usual pick up configuration for a Telecaster.

Top loader bridge (rather than string through body)

In butterscotch blonde (or bright yellow if you like)

Won't go on about it's many features because, as a Telecaster, it naturally has very few. Got it in 1993 and owned it until about two months ago.

An incredible guitar.....eventually.

Sounds like a telecaster should...I think that's all you can ask really.

read on to the end and I'll explain.

The hardware on this guitar was crap. the bridge corroded within 2 years and the saddles fell to bits. The pickups sounded tinny on the bridge and dull on the neck. The electrics generally were of poor quality. The volume and tone were of little use and the jack kept cutting out.

Now you're thinking 'Why did he keep this bag of crap for 16 years and bother to stick a review on Harmony Central'. Well here's the thing...

The neck on this guitar was incredible. I mean it was a true joy to have in your hand. At first (being inexperienced) I didn't realise just how nice it was. My history with this guitar was unusual in that I lost possession of it for years at a time (its complicated so don't ask) but everytime I got it back it just felt right again.

So here's what I did.

I replaced all the internal electrics (including the jack) with a set up from a Mexican Standard.

Drilled through the body and fitted a kluson bridge and six ferulles at the back

I replaced the nut (twice)

New pickups from Gotoh (T1 and T2)

new scratch plate (for the hell of it)

Now plays like a dream. The body resonates beautifully giving a fantastic sound. The neck (and tuners) are still excellent, far better than I would hope to expect on a budget guitar like this. Everything works as it should now.

Will now last for years.

errmmm?

If you buy a cheap guitar and you love the wood in it, everything else can be replaced. This is now a very good guitar which will last through gigs and do what it's supposed to do.

The stock hardware on squier models are not good but if you find one that fits your hand the customise it and you'll have a good guitar.

I no longer own this guitar. I've given it to a friend who I'm in a band with. I own too many guitars now and i don't have room. I suppose by giving it to him at least I'll still get to hear it every week.

I love my Indonesian Squier Standards, but this... this is an instrument that is very different. It's in it's own category. This is a "Crafted" in India Telecaster. It's actually like a SITAR with an "H". The serial number should have been a clue... SH 07034575.

The sound is fine, typical tele. rich neck and biting bridge.... Until you turn it up, then it squeals like a pig. Cheap... Embarassing... Do not play it in public - it will humiliate you. If you own one, don't admit it.

The frets on this thing are bad enough to be humerous. Lowering the strings down from bluegrass to electric guitar range (closer than 1/2" away from the frets) allows it to be used in only certain keys as fingering many of the frets plays the note that is one, two, or three notes higher. The bow in the neck is unfixable. The strings are much closer at the 21st fret than at the 12th. The tension rod absolutely will not bring the neck up. I twisted the provided Squier allen wrench until it looked like a candy cane. I got a normal allen wrench and stripped the end of the tension rod with the next turn. The pickup switch top makes absolutely no pretense of trying to stay on - it's great if you like to repeatedly pick things up off the floor. Back to the frets - Sooo Talll! - 11s require extreme delicate fingering to avoid bending a note many cents off pitch. The 1/4" jack is mounted in what looks like a piece of pickguard. But I have to admit that the "Crafted in India" label is clearly legible and very, very nice.

The black with tiny gold sparkles finish can be counted on to capture and hold on to minor scratches, and chip rather than dent. I've only owned it for a month, but I'm sure it will endure as the most reliably utterly hopeless guitar in my collection. Seriously, in order to be reliable and durable, it would first have to become playable. The people who made this guitar deserve some kind of punishment.

Oh please. I can just imagine that call - "I need you to teach me how to file and crown frets and then please talk me through replacing the tension rod.... hello?... hello?"

Really, there's nothing to discuss.

I've been playing since I was 5 YO and am now too old to be a pop star. I own a perfect Taylor 410, a '76 Ibanez Les Paul, a fantastic Squier Trans Fat Strat, a brilliant Squier Jagmaster (plays like butter - sounds great with red/red and blue/gold lace - unfortunately the name sounds like something that should be done in private), many others played, owned, and traded/sold through the years. Before I bought this guitar I wish I would have asked if I could just pay the money and let them keep it. If it was stolen I would laugh about it every time I thought about it for years to come. Now that I know the guitar, I really wish it had come equipped with a self-destruct button. I have always liked Squiers, but realized that this is the first time I didn't get a "Standard" model. Here's the rub. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE IF IT SAYS "INDIA" ANYWHERE ON A SQUIER. Or buy it and destroy it to save a guitar tech a nervous breakdown. Or, buy it and give it to someone you hate. You can't have this one, though. I got my hand drill and put a long screw through the face and into a stud in the wall in the hallway so when I pass it I can always wipe on another booger.

98 korean squier tele in cream.

modded with Wilkinson machine heads and tele pickup set.

this poor, long-suffering guitar. used to create beautiful sounds in the hands of more accomplished musicians - part of some twisted ordeal/therapy in mine.

only recently has it started to look and feel a little happier. matched with big strings, thick picks, a Kustom 2x12 transistor combo, Harmonic Percolator clone, Barge Concepts BB-1 for boost, and occasionally a Boss DF-2, I have almost found my sound. use the neck pickup to produce some fairly nice rounded, ringing tones with just the BB-1 engaged. with the Percolator it starts to sound nasty - really aggressive distortion. i like this guitar. it has been patient with me and churns out some very usable noise. to get better than this is going to require substantial investment on my part - a vicious amp and aluminium neck guitar beckon. yes i am an Albini fan.

i can't remember how it was when i got it. okish? whatever i was just delighted to have a proper guitar to wang around. action has always been highish coz of buzz lower down and intonation has always been a slight issue. did change the machine heads coz they were a bit crap and upgraded the pickups to give a bit more clarity - i don't want muddy fuzz, i want definition in my distortion.

everything's fine and always will be.

never had to.

this is my first choice. saw Big Black's Santiago Durango playing a tele a long time ago and had to have one. bought a Hagstrom F200 recently and modded it so that it is also a lovely little beast, but turned back to the tele and modded that as well and now poor Hag sits there neglected. do pick it up once or twice a week to reassure it that it's still my friend, but it knows.....

it will never fall into another's hands - simple as. but if it blew up i would bury the bits and save for something really lovely (Jazzmaster, EGC Custom) while making do with the Hag.

best things about the guitar are it's sound and simplicity. it makes a very good effort at achieving the clanky, chinging, harmonic-laden, Andy Gillesque, rythm sound i dream of. but then i'm a perfectionist and i may have an impossible vision.

top marks for effort though. and for being a friend.

This Squier Tele was made in 1985 in Japan and I bought it new that year. Blonde ash body with a whiteguard and slim maple neck. Original hardware and electronics were the usual Squier junk but it has been modded significantly. It came with a Fender hardshell case of the era. I'm mostly taking points off here because it was originally a toploader and Teles should always have strings through the body as this girl now does. It has the typical, bulletproof Fender poly finish.

The mods I've had done include replacing the tuners with Fender/Schaller locking machines, the bridge with a Gotoh string-through 6-saddle, the pickups with Duncans ('54 Vintage in the neck, Jerry Donahue [one sweet unit] in the bridge), adding a bone nut and replacing all the Squier junk with quality American pots and switch. I now give it a 10 for features but ironically, the modding probably DECREASED the value. Who'da thunk, back in '85, the lowly Squier Tele might someday become a semi-collector's item? But that's what happened and a collector would pay more for it stock. I bought it as a player, however, and that's what I've used it for over the past 23 years (and hopefully, 23 more).

This was my first non-Gibson electric and I bought it specifically to get the Fender Tele sound. It's always delivered that sound; adequately before the mods and superlatively after them. I've played everything from old-time fiddle music to Neil Young-style grunge on this puppy and it's done the job well on all of it. I generally prefer it for '80s-style and later prog and alt rock. You really need a humbucker to play blues and blues rock and the Duncans are too ballsy to give you a convincing country tone. It is noisy but that goes with the territory for Teles with single-coils.

The finish is, and always has been, beautiful with the grain of the ash showing nicely through the milky-blonde paint. The setup from the box was decent, as I remember, but fret sprout made its appearance at an early date (but was totally eliminated by my friend's Dremel and hasn't been an issue since. The finish, as stated earlier, is bulletproof. While I haven't exactly played this axe into the ground, it hasn't sat in its case for the past quarter-century either and, except for a few very inconspicuous dings, it looks practically new.

It may be a Squier but it's still a Tele and built like a Sherman tank. Rest assured that you cound bash somebody upside of the head a la Keef and then go on to jam out on "Sympathy for the Devil." The original hardware rather sucked but it's all been replaced so no problem there. I almost wish the finish would start showing some wear and tear. I think factory "relicking" is seriously bogus but I've had this guitar for 23 years now and I almost wish it would start looking its age. I probably should replace the strap buttons with Schaller straplocks but they've done the job okay up to now. This guitar is as dependable as the Rock of Gibraltar and I would have no problem gigging without a backup with it if I had to (but it's always a good idea to have a backup regardless of how solid an axe you're using). If I did break a string, the Fender/Schaller locking heads would make replacement a piece of cake.

I don't deal with the company. If something needs to be repaired, I bring it to Rich Beck in Tempe who I know will do the job correctly.

I've been playing for 30 years and this is one of my core axes. Besides this, I own 2 other Teles ('52 Vintage Hot Rod and '72 Thinline reissue), 2 SGs, a Strat, an Epiphone AlleyKat and a Jon Kammerer custom Strat. I'm currently playing through either a VOX AC30CC2 or a Fender Blues Junior and an effects chain that's too long for me to list here. What I love and hate about it the most amounts to the same thing: as with every Tele, it makes me work like a bastard for my licks. Teles are not for folks who want guitars that "play themselves" but that's GOOD. A Tele will ALWAYS make you a better player, even while you're cursing it for being so cantankerous the whole time. If this guitar were stolen or lost, I'd be utterly heartbroken as it's pretty much irreplaceable. So I probably wouldn't try but would just mourn it and carry on with my other 2 Teles. But I would never forget this one.

Bought secondhand and was in immaculate condition for ??80 which I thought was a bargain at the time as I was looking to invest in a more expensive Squier Custom Tele. Guessing that year is 2006/2007. Made in Indonesia. Tobacco sunburst finish. Main body not too sure but is probabily Agathis. 22 Fret neck with rosewood fretboard. Standard tele style pick ups. It initially felt o.k but needed strings as some were missing. I could see that it need adjustments to it when I bought it.

I am an amateur player who used to play in a pub rock band in the early 80s, doing police covers, hard rock + "bluesy" music, so the sound kinda suits my style. I've been listening to a lot of other types of music recently and for a while started listening to Albert Lee and some country stuff. I wanted to get that "tele sound" without having to shell out too much as I'm on a tight budget.
I got the impression that this guitar has had a few owners before I got it but it looked like it had not been played much.
While the sound on this guitar is definitely a "Tele" sound, (bright bridge pickup with a "bluesy" neck pickup) the pickups are the weakest I have ever heard! I have to turn up my amp a good couple of notches to get the same volume output as my other guitars!
The short scale of the neck feels o.k. to me (I'm used to longer scale necks) and allows some nice bending and pull-offs (if it manages to stay in tune long enough). The back of the neck is rounded
which also suits my style.

The action when I got it was terrible! Took it to a local music shop and got them to set it up for me. It now has what I would consider average action and intonation but still has fret buzz around the third and fifth frets. It also had the "loose jackplug syndrome" which plagues all of these models which I got sorted out. I did some work to it myself, changing the stock machine heads for the Fender Telecaster standard types and fitted a set of telecaster pickup tension springs as the only height adjustment for the neck pickup was via a long woodscrew placed directly into the body, with no other means of support for the pickup! I must have spent nearly as much money on the work as I did for the guitar and decided not to spend any more on it as I felt I wouldn't get my investment back if I traded it in at a later stage.
The finish on the guitar is nice and is really about the only thing they got right when making it. How it would stand up to constant banging at a gig is another matter.

This guitar would "fall at the first fence" in a gig and the build quality suggests that it was never made for the road, only as a beginners guitar. I wouldn't even think of letting it out the door.
(It looks nice though...........)

No point......................

I've been noodling around since I was fourteen. I will listen to most kinds of music (except Irish Country & Western! My god what dross! I think they use it to extract confessions from prisoners!)and playing guitar keeps me calm, well balanced and happy!
I have a Fender MIM maple neck Strat (which I love!), an early 80s Tokai rosewood Strat,(IMO a classic and was my main guitar for a long time!) and a 1979 Gibson "The Paul" guitar (easily the nicest guitar I have ever played and I've played a few! - see the harmony-central user reviews)
It's a great pity that Fender has chosen to make guitars this way as it seems to me to be a proper waste of wood, chopping down the Indonesian forests for a guitar as weak as this. I know that I was buying a budget guitar but I thought I was getting a real bargain at the time, spend some money on it that it would be a good "player". (you know the story by now.....) My greatest concern is that it would either put off someone from learning the instrument or even worse dent fender's sales as they are endorsing this product by putting their name on it. If I was a beginner I would never buy a Fender again after buying this.
I would not reccommend this guitar to anyone starting off as there a are much better budget instruments out there (e.g. IMO the "OLP MM1" is about as good as you can get for a beginners guitar and afforadble).

This is a brand new 2006 Indonesian Squire Telecaster Standard. It does what it says on the tin.

It's made from Agathis which is a real wood... Weight is average. I'd prefer it a bit heavier but this is neither a horrific 70s strat or dodgy basswood (or is it balsawood?)shreddy thing. Rosewood on maple neck. The 22-fret neck is a decent size and shape and is a comfortable if uninspiring shape, the satin finish in nice to play but looks a bit anaemic.

HOWEVER, Squire get top marks for finally addressing the Telecaster's (only?) significant design flaw. I (and I cannot be the only one) have found real problems gigging teles at high volume as the bridge plate is only attached at one end and therefore squeals like a piggy. I resorted to drilling holes in bridge plates and screwing things down which always looked a bit messy. Squire have done this for me: the bridge is properly attached to the body, in front of the pickup as well as behind. I have yet to test it at high volume (as I don't currently have a gig) but I have every confidence it will be much better. For this reason it gets 10 in this category, despite obviously not having "tons of features".

Playing into a decent tube combo with a couple of stomp boxes in the way.

In the bridge position this sounds like a decent tele should and therefore sounds much better than the price would suggest: a good mix off fat and twang with the tone knob doing its job of removing any ice pick factor as you require. Just about nasty enough for your Roy Buchanann and Albert Collins licks, but can also do everything else from Keef to Stve Cropper to Chrissy Hynde. Presumably you can play country music on this guitar too...

The neck pick is a dull and nondescript, but this can be a problem for much more expensive teles too.

Comments on neck pickup notwithstanding, if you like teles you'll like this: despite being cheap as chips, it doesn't sound it.

The "Antique Sunburst" (i.e. reddy) finish is fine. Out of the box action was a tad high and the intonation wasn't brilliant (but this is a sub-?200 guitar so you'd expect that).

I popped of the scratch plate and the neck pickup is fitted pretty badly, but it is routed for a humbucker which is useful to know for future upgrading. Tuners seem fine, but electronics are cheap. For some reason they put a cheesy tortoise shell scratch plate on: white would have looked better.

The electronics are cheap (but it does look like they have used screening paint in the control cavity) so I expect the pots, switches (and neck pickup) will need replacing if this is to be gigged solidly. Tuners look good to me but only time will tell.

I would gig it without a backup simply because I'm too slow at changing broken strings and have other guitars!

???

I bought this as a cheap, but playable, guitar to take abroad with me (I work in in not very nice places) that I wouldn't cry over if it was lost, stolen, driven over, rotten, had to be left behind, etc. I'm sure it will do this job valiantly.

However, with ?100 or so of investment this could be turned into a serious guitar that could mix it with guitars twice the price and more. For this reason this would make an excellent second/back-up guitar. Similarly it would make a great first guitar as it is cheap but totally playable and also ugradeable into something really quite good.

This is the best value new guitar I've every owned or played.

This is the usual Telecaster features. Some poorer quality features - e.g. no screws in the machine heads. Everyone knows what a Tele is like - nothing flashy but it has what you need. The edging around the cable in socket is plastic and shattered when I dropped it once. Replaced it with a metal one.

This guitar has a quite mellow sound, not much difference between the bridge and neck pick ups. Sounds decent, pick ups are quite quiet and low output.

I bought this guitar second hand. I tried every guitar in the shop and this one felt the best. I would guess that it's been set up professionally first. This is, without question, the most playable guitar I have ever owned.

There is some crackling when I change pick ups or adjust the tone knobs.

I used this guitar at over 40 gigs over 5 years and never had a problem.

NA

This guitar was bought second hand, which is hard for reviewing because I do not know how it was from the factory.

Generally Squire guitars can be decent, but the quality control is not as good as Fender. The action, neck and playabilty of this guitar is perfect. Other bits could be better. Adequate but not great. A Squire guitar can be a great guitar if you are prepared to adjust it yourself, change the pick ups and upgrade the accessories. If you don't mind having "Squire" on the headstock it can be a good way to save money. I wouldn't get rid of this guitar for anything, even though it is no longer my main guitar. I have a Fender Telecaster now, but it doesn't have the smooth playability of this one.

Okay here we go...

Mexican Squire. It's candy apple red with a white scratch plate. The neck is probably maple, and the bridge is standard, but each string has it's own bridge piece. Sometimes Fender guitars have three bridge pieces and two strings go through one bridgepiece with two holes in it. This makes it harder to adjust the action. The single bridge pieces allow me to adjust the action to my liking. This makes the guitar more valuable to me.

The pickups are the standard, single coil pickups that it came with. I tried a Squire with a humbucker and it did not sound as clean, but it was originally made in Indonesia, and I have no idea who put the humbucker in. It was being sold for about $300 used, but my Mexican Squire still sounded better. It's in the electronics, but that's a whole other discussion. The humbucker was what made that guitar sell for $300. Without the hummer, I'd say the guitar was worth about $150, $200 tops.

I give my Tele a 9 because 10 says "tons of features." It's not a digital keyboard...it's a guitar. I take good care of it and it looks and sounds nice.

I play flat or round-wound 11 gauge strings.

It came with a hard-case.

Be careful if you are looking for a Telecaster that is made outside of the United States. I would only buy one that was made either in Mexico or in Japan. Again, it's the electronics thing.

A lot of this has to do with more than just the guitar itself. I play through a Fender Blues tube amp. Very simple. I have two analogue pedals - a Russian made Big Muff distortion/fuzz pedal, and a Japanese made Ibanez Phase Tone. The flat-wound 11g. guitar strings allow for a smooth, jazzy sound, and I can use a brass or a glass slide (as long as the strings are clean. Otherwise the glass slide sticks instead of slides). The neck pickup provides more bass, which works well with the Big Muff for melodic, heavy, blues metal as well as fast blues and metal, and the bridge pickup (as well as the center setting that uses both pickups) sounds good with the Phase Tone. Of course, it all sounds right together or apart (i.e. effects off), and I've been playing guitar for 11 years.

I bought my guitar new from a reputable local dealer. What can I say? They're good people with good guitars.

I've adjusted the pickups myself (another nice feature) to sound the way I like.

Everything about the guitar was good. The strings do not buzz and the action is very subtle and easy for a steady eye to adjust. It has a maple neck instead of, say, a rosewood neck, but it also was not a $1200 guitar.

Live playing? Yes. Pete Townshend? No.

The electronics have lasted for about 6 years now, and I don't see any serious foreseeable issues. Do regular maintence, an occational tune-up...it's all good. But their Mexican electronics, not Indonesian or Korean.

Well, I have it repaired where I bought it, so that's simply a store thing. I've never had to contact Fender for anything.

I think I've covered most of this. If it were stolen or lost, I'd upgrade, but as long as I have it, it'll be my only electric guitar.

Im 14... a guitar ifisianardo i like to think... anyways i dislike this guitar a far bit. I own a Gibson Nighthawk and a Martinez acustic. I got the Gibson for my 14th for 1460 and i put in 500 (all the money is Australian). But anyway were not here to talk about the amazing Gibson, were here for the Tele copy. I bought this for 200 Australian because i needed a guitar to leave at school.
I am much more of a Gibson person then a Fender person. For example i played a Japanese Jazzmaster the other day and although it sounded good it played awfully.
On a guitar i like a thin neck and this one is big and fat (yuck). This dimensions are pretty much the same as a normal Tele. I regret buying this guitar i should of bought a Epiphone or a Synocromatic. I dunno... its not great.

Well, to give this guitar alittle credit it sounds ok. Not great, but good for a 200 guitar.

Feels awful. Looks ok could pass off as a normal Tele! The bits inbetween the frets are to big. Not much to say.

Yer, well theres not much u can fix with a Tele. Its ok and well heck it does the job well but its feels awful and i dunno.

Its crap dont buy save up for a real guitar!!!!!!!

Indonesian Squier Standard Tele - purchased secondhand in 2006 so year of manufacture unknown - the serial number is IC0008xxxx, so must be quite an early one. its Blonde with a rosewood neck. Had no need for another guitar but this hung in my local music shop for months and looked quite cool..haggled it down to #100

I play all styles of music and have a 15 year old 62 re-issue telecaster (made in japan)..so I compared it to that, there is a difference but not a huge amount, the bridge pickup on the squier is a little harsher, thinner and lower output..but its close. the neck pickup lacks the body of the 62 model but again close. I may change the pickups as others have done..but its just a fun guitar to leave around the house.

Well set up secondhand guitars are great!!,all the hard work has been done before.. this one has been well set up and plays great..intonation is good tuning stability ok (I removed the D/G string tree). The neck and fretting and good and I could have gigged it after walking out of the shop. the neck finish and headstock show where corners have been cut (the headstock is not quite the right shape)..and the electrics are a bit cheap (but they work!!)

Should go on for years..nothing is hard to fix on telecasters!!

none needed

Been playing for 25 years and own 16 guitars, this is just brilliant for the money, even new they are great value..dont buy and Affinity tele, pay a few $ more and get a standard. If you can afford a US one great!..but to have round the house and gig occasionally this is a great tele.

Tipical telecaster configuration, two single picups, two knobs (tone and volume) one pick up selector (tree positions). Maple neck purple color.
Mine was a standar made in Indonesia, from arround 1999.

Good sound for a low price, if you want a tele to start playing guitar this is your choice. Any way each year the guitars are worst, maybe search in the second hand market. Sound like a telecaster, feel like a telecaster, but with the limitations of a 280? instrument.

Mine was made with some errors, the bridge was not completly perpendicular to the strings. Any way a hard guitar, will least as much as you take a little care of it.

See ahead.

Never needed, but is a fender, al components from fender will work.

I was looking for a tele sound, exactly for the neck pick up, and there was. I changed the bridge pickup an put a seymour duncan, the things get better, but will not be a American. Any way a equilibrated instrument for the price. I have owned also a Squier Stratocaster from japan, a Freeflyte Stratocaster from 1984 american, and another Stratocaster form 1980 american too. (Yes!! I love fender!!) If you want more information you can contact me in www.perfect-smile.org , the web of my group Perfect Smile.

2005 Indonesian Standard Telecaster, String Through, Tele style bridge

It suits blues quite nicely, though i'm thinking of changing the brdige pick up to a 62 custom.

With it i use a TS9 Tubescreamer and a Laney VC30 210.

It has a nice rich sound, and when you crank it up it really snarls.

It was totally flawless except the fact it wasn't set up very well, and that the control plate screws weren't very tight.

It does withstand live playing, but mine has a few dings. The finish is really thick, and the hardware seemed okay... I replaced the machine heads because they weren't suited to minor tweaking, and I am thinking of replacing the bridge saddles... just because.

I have been playing 5 years, I own a few other guitars but this is my baby.

I love the feel to it. I polish the neck alot to keep it feeling new.

I wish it had come with Texas Specials as standard. That would've been great.

This is the Indonesian made Squire. Mine is the 2002 20th Anniversary model (sure to be collectable :). Standard Tele setup. The rating of 8 is compared to a top-line American made Tele.

I compared the Squire to the Mexican-made Fender-badged Teles. I actually thought the Squire sounded closer to the American made than the mex. The mex sounded a bit dull and not the dynamic range of tones switching between pickups. the Squire is bright (maybe a little harsh compared to the American tele), but has that twang and bite you buy a Tele for. The volume/tone pots are smooth and give good control.

The paint, and finish is great, the setup on most of them suck. Most people buying this guitar will be beginners and casual players. The guitar is actually pretty good... decent materials, sounds good, but there is wide variability in the finishing and setup. I guess the folks at Squire just can't justify spending much time on getting the burrs off the frets and doing a decent job of set-up on a $200 guitar. I bought mine used, dirt cheap. I am an amature guitar tech/builder, so was able to spend a couple hours and turn this into a very good playing/sounding guitar. But don't expect it to play well off the rack.

Here's some of the stuff I did to mine.
- leveled and re-crowned several frets
- smoothed edges of frets
- adjusted truss rod to straighten neck
- set intonation
- adjusted string height
- ground down the saddle screws (they are sharp and tear up you hand if you don't)
- put on decent strings (of course)

Seems durable enough. Tuning machines hold tune OK.

I got this just because I wanted a Tele, and you really can't get that Tele sound with any other guitar. I didn't have the $ to get American. This satisfies my yearning without spending a bundle. Once I did the proper set-up, this is a great little guitar. An awsome value for the price. Note: the Indonesian (Standard) Squire Teles and STrats are far and away superior to the Affinity models... I wouldn't recommend them at all. I'd take this and play it anywhere. At some point I might replace the pickups, but the stock ones are suprisingly good. I've been playing for 35 years, built and rebuilt guitars. Own about 30 guitars in all. This is one that I keep out and play on a regular basis.

Made in Japan in 1986, bog standard late '50's type Tele, alder body but could be basswood as its extremely light[6.6lbs] and maple neck and fingerboard.For me, a Tele MUST have a maple fingerboard, rosewood just doesnt feel right. Features are that its the best designed guitar ever, so it gets a 10

OK, lets not kid ourselves, the standard pickups are not up to the rest of the guitar. They do the tele sounds, but they just dont sound like the're really trying, which is a shame, because everything else, build quality, finish, tuners, etc are as good as any Tele Ive ever played.But,as its possible to get a set of Duff pups for under $100, you can turn this guitar into a giantkiller. I carried out the op, and played through my Fender VibroChamp, the tone is awesome. Due to its light bodyweight, it resonates like mad. Ive never heard such a 'woody' tone from any other Tele.

Excellent, tight neck joint, tuners work like new, nice thin paintjob, comfy C shape neck and the frets have lasted well, although they could use bit of attention. Ive set it to a low action and it plays better than any guitar I can remember playing.

A real workhorse. Tele's were made to suffer.Utterly dependable as, apart from a broken string, whats to go wrong?? However, always remember gigging rules 1, 2 and 3 --- ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP!!!!!

Never dealt with them.

Playing for 30 years and have indulged myself with almost everything.Loads of 70's Teles and Strats,a 71 and 73 Les Paul Custom, PRS's,Tokai Silver and Goldstars, Aria Pro Les Pauls[the best of the 'copies'],Ibanez Artists,'61 Gretch Single Anniversary [keeping that one]Gordon Smiths, Gibson 60's Melody Makers and SGs, plus too many more to remember.I realised many years ago that the greatest con is, 'Vintage' electric guitars - unless of course you're looking for investments, but tone and playing wise, the good Fender and Gibson copies made in Japan during the late '70's to late 80's are as good and in many cases, far better than their USA counterparts in terms of craftsmanship. Pickups you can always change. I'd be very upset if this got stolen, I wouldnt sit Shiva, but I would replace it ASAP.

1984 Blonde ash body Telecaster, has a maple fingerboard/neck, standard electronic configuration, made in Japan. Cast sealed Schaller-style tuners, white pickguard, 3-saddle bridge. No extras or features were included, but it did come with the bridge cover. No case, but a wedge shaped "brite" green cardboard box that actually served me well for about a year--kinda cheesy and I liked that! Had the old thin vintage style frets--I've recently had it refretted for it's 21st birthday with medium jumbo frets.

This guitar has the typical clean Tele sound, and has served my style of playing for more than twenty years. A lot of twang, pop, punk, and just about everything else has been played on it. Fairly limited in its range of sounds, it is the essential "is what it is" guitar.

Fit and finish were just fine right off the rack. After breaking several high E strings in a very short time, I switched out the bridge/tailpiece for the six-saddle block type. Had no problems after that with string breakage.

I have played this guitar for hundreds of gigs and even more rehearsals and it has held up like a champ through it all. I used to play a lot of surf and I even had this schtick during the lead on "Wipeout" where I would lay the guitar down on the floor, stand on the area behind the bridge and play while "surfing". It was always quite the crowd pleaser and the finish does not betray this rather harsh treatment! Of course, over the years it has received its share of dings and dents but it really does look great for the most part. I usually always used to play without a backup as I was too poor to afford another instrument for years and it never let me down--and I became pretty fast at changing the odd broken string while the band went in to some song for the duration. This guitar may just survive a nuclear detonation provided it is not at ground zero. Really. I had the first few frets replaced after a couple of years due to my power claw hand and have just recently had it refretted with medium jumbo frets as the old ones were due for another fretjob, and I prefer the mediums for comfort and effortless playing in my middle age.

Never dealt with Fender and don't see why I ever would have to with this particular guitar.

This guitar is really a treasure to me. I kinda bought it on a payday whim because it was nice, simple, and super inexpensive for a great quality guitar. It coincided with a rather exciting time for me musically as my band at the time emerged from the suburban basements and became quite the scenesters for several years. This was the guitar that I used exclusively and so it not only has functioned for me well over the years but is a part of my personal history and therefore is priceless to me. Ironic for a guitar originally purchased for under $200.00 in the mid-Eighties! Since I bought it, I have owned about 50 other electrics. They have all come and gone but the Squier remains. I always had planned on getting a "real" Fender later on, and certainly have many times over, but this one's a keeper and many musicians of vast experience have lusted after this one, without fail.

98 korean squier tele in cream.
Normal squier tele pickups. not sure of materials

the sound is good for what i paid. i have played #6000 guitars and yes they sound much better. however with a decent amp this sounds fine. I like playin ska and metal. The neck pickup sounds great for warm clean tones

I bought second hand, but was still dissapointed that it started falling apart. The line in jack kept falling out, ie the whole unit. Have sorted this wiv superglue now. Got some fretbuzz but now is sorted. Also get some horrible vibrations from the metal things that are on back end of strings, despite just being set up by the shop. I sorted this by just wedging little bits of paper in to stop the vibrations and now it plays fine. The finish is good, a bit bashed but i have really dropped this thing with no significant damage, jus a broken neck bridge thingy, soon got a new one glued in.

I can now after bodging this guitar together depend on it 100%. But i dont feel i should have had to bodge it, should have just been rock solid since the word go.

never dealt directly

besides being cheap and tatty, it now plays fine and i have played for 7 years and i do not plan on upgrading. It is a better quality korean model so sounds better than the indonesian affinity ones, and has a less square edge to it. If you dont mind making constant repairs then get one. Get a good amp and you should be fine in any situation with this.

2004 Indo Squier Black and Chrome Tele Standard
Typical Tele features

I play all sorts of music, this guitar is very well suited for blues, jazz, and country
I play it through either a zoom ps02 into a '78 twin or into a 90's pro jr. sounds great
I also run stereo through a behringer v-amp2 (effects only) into a furman PQ3, sounds great
It sounds like a tele although I feel it could benefit from new pups
but for the $$ it cant be beat

Used when I bought it

Seems to be fairly well made the indos are not bad at all for the $$, squier has come a long way since the 80's

Ive been playing for almost 20 yrs and have owned alot of gear
I would buy another
I like most everything about it
I was eyeing a squier 51 but this was cheaper
Nice guitar for newbies and experienced players alike

Your usual Telecaster set-up. Vintage White.

This one sounded pretty good before I modified it. I installed a GFS Loudmouth pick-up and a modern bridge. Now it rocks! I am amazed by how many sounds I can get out of this Basic Squier. I will be insalling a pull pot coil splitter to have a north and south config in the mid position. This should give me the, I hope, the holy grail of Tele tone! I give it a 6 in the stock config but this guitar is made for modifying. Hello! For $199 + $40 or so for a GFS or whatever you can have a pissah guitar made to your specs if your willing to experiment.

For $199 it's a awesome guitar. No compaints.

Very solid guitar.

Never needed them.

I always considered Squier to be inferior to most guitars but I won't think that anymore considering my experience. The build quality is excellent. I am very impressed by this guitar. I can't wait to throw that tap in! Up the hammers!

I bought this Telecaster as my first proper guitar after playing an acoustic for 6 months. I was attracted to the Telecaster because of their simplicity and look.

The features have been stated in other reviews but I'll give alittle insight. Mine is the Red Sunburst with rosewood fretboard and string through body. The tuners are standard as are the pick ups. The finish is unbelievable. I dont know why the genuine Tele's dont have this finish.

I went with a friend of mine whos been playing guitar for 7 years to make sure I made the right choice. After I showed him the guitar I wanted we played around with it through a VOX amp. We both agreed that the sound was definatly better than the other guitars in that price range. Un-plugged the guitar is still quite loud and nice sounding. If you plan on keeping the guitar for a while you can upgrade the pick ups but I quite like the sound these ones put out.

I was pretty determined to get this guitar even if the set up wasnt exactly %100. The strings that came with it were really really bog. It almost made it hard to get a nice clear sound out of it.
The action was alittle too low and the strings buzzed on the 7th fret.
A change of string and alittle modification fixed it up though.

The finish is what really got my attention. The sunburst looks so good. I dont really like red guitars. I think it can cheapen the look. But this is definatly not cheap looking. Just to be able to see the wood through the finish is really nice. The set up was average but the finish is excellent

Ive played this guitar only twice live so far. The day I got it I played it at a pub. We played some Crowded House and a few Pearl Jam songs. It definatly held up well. It only needed to be tuned up twice which was less than I expected and the straps didnt come off which im gratefull for.
I played with out a back up but my rthym guitarist brought two guitars anyway incase. I would play with out a back up but its not wise to test fate.

Ive had the guita for about 2 months now. The only thing thats wrong with it is the jack keeps slipping so you have to be careful. Other than that its still good.

the warrenty for Tele Squires is a year. That really doesnt seem like long. But then again use by dates are usually premature.

Because this was my first guitar I wanted something good. Everyone wants a genuine Telecaster or Gibson ES-335 for their first guitars but im more than happy with this. Ive seen a few bands use a squire tele on occasion. Before I bought this I asked Joe(The Snowman) if it was better to save up the extra money and get a genuine USA tele but he reassured me to get this one.

Mine is attipical. It's not an Affinity but is chinese. It's a vintage blonde, white/black/white pickguard, rosewood fretboard. The finish is nice. All the hardware are very very cheap. The bridge is the worst thing. It's not string through body. Has 6 adjustable saddles, but is not the fender standard. One of them (the 6th) uses to vibrate with the string. The pickups are cheap ones too. They got a plastic cover that covers the polipieces too. They are about 5k (bridge is more, neck is less). The neck pickup is screwed on the wood, and can be adjusted only by taking off the pickguard. It's not a problem, cause I m gonna make two little drills on the guard. Don't know the body's wood. The volume knob has that cool feature that keeps the brigth as you decrease the volume, and Im planning to put it on my other guitars, because its very nice.

Very, very good. I'm using it direct through amp (Laney LC50, all tube). Can get so many sweet vintage tones. I'm very surprised with the pickups tone, and I'm gonna leave them where they are. I have put 0.011 strings, and it helps a lot. It's my first tele, and it's not what I was expecting. I expected less output and more brightness comparing it to a strat. What I get is more body. I state it between the strat and the les paul, sound and feel.

The stripe behind the neck is kind of disaligned.
The setup, well, I dont trust factory setup. I allways do it by myself.

I opened mine just as we arrived home. Found an loose wire, and realized it was the ground wire. Soldered it to the bridge. Didn't notice it on the shop. The jack started to become loose after 3 days, and I just pushed it a little, and now its ok. The switch have given some signals of premature damage too, but still working.

All in all, the body and neck structure looks very strong. Only the cheap hardware disencourages me to gig without a backup. But I'm getting confident with it. And Im not planning to change any of the stock crap. I will just give it a chance. Its very funny to get so pleasant sounds from a so cheap guitar. To me, this is the deal with this axe. It gives you the possibilitie to get the best from the worst, but only if you can adjust it properly.

I really dont expect none from them.

I've been playing for 19 years. My other guitars are Fender Stratocaster Standard USA 93, Gibson Les Paul Studio, Fender HRR Stratocaster Japan 84, Epiphone Emperor Joe Pass, Laney LC50 combo.
If it were stolen, I would hate, but would be glad for not to be one of my overpriced other guitars.
I recommend these babies to everyone who can self setup it properly.

(sorry my poor english)

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.