Squier Standard Telecaster Black & Chrome Edition

Indonesia made, 2008 model. Black w/ "chrome" pickguard. It's your standard Tele folks. Maple neck w/ rosewood board. Paintmatch headstock. Cheapo tuners are holding up so far. Nut will be replaced VERY soon. Still debating about the tailpiece. Few differences to set it apart - which is why I bought it. 22 frets - Okay, it's not really a 22 fret neck. The board has an extension (overhang) at the end with the 22nd fret hanging over the pickguard. Not really a big deal, especially b/c that means that down the line I could change the neck to a real 22 fret b/c this thing has A MONSTER scale length of 25.5". I could probably get a baritone neck on here later if I wanted, it's that long...Pretty unique for me, but the neck is nice, like a strat. I think that Fender/Squier has come a long way recently in standardizing the neck size on it's models, and this one feels as comfortable as my strats. So you lose a few points for the cheapo neck overhang and "chrome" pickguard (really just foil under a clear p/g). I think that if you check MF or the company site you might notice that this thing was built for rock n' roll.

BIG SURPRISE on this one was that thanks to it being a damaged item, I could see through a large paint chip to the wood - there's about 5 layers of alternating black and white paint on the guitar. Why, Squier? Was it really necessary?

Sounds pretty decent to me. I haven't got it out to the practice space yet, that's coming up soon. But it seems like it's something that will be able to cut through the mix. Overall, I'm a single coil type of player, so I know what to expect and how it will sound REALLY loud. In the store though I was happy and no surprises with the pickups. It sounded like a tele should. Definitely bright. Acoustically though - unplugged - it sounds dead. That's usually a deal breaker for me. But when I plugged it in, it sounded pretty good! I don't think you can play the super-high gain stuff with this, but should cover MOST anyone, even the modern rock genre.

Setup was...meh. Some get setup at the store, some just get tossed on the rack. This was one that got tossed on the rack. Interestingly, the pickups on this model are non-adjustable. So what I've got is what I've got for right now. But once I got it home I slapped on some 10's, dropped the action a good bit, and polished the heck out of the frets. Also oiled the fretboard and just cleaned the thing overall. Now asking about wood quality on a Squier is a bit of a loaded question, IMO. BUT I should mention that I purchased the guitar on the cheap as a damaged item. It fell off the rack overnight and lost a chunk of paint on the bottom edge. Not a big deal for me, there are no case queens at my house! But I am giving an "Average" rating b/c that's what the hardware and setup was.

Seems pretty well built, but time will tell on that one I guess. I don't see any issues with this particular one, but I can fix most anything that goes wrong with it, and I'm not without a backup at a show. Though if we're judging cheapo Squier hardware in this section, I gotta deduct points for the tuners and bridge.

IMO, every guitarist should learn to repair his/her own instrument. There's no point in calling yourself a "guitarist" or "guitar player" if you don't know everything you can about your instrument. Besides, anything on this particular guitar that breaks that needs replacing wouldn't be that great of a loss, you know what I'm saying?

But no, I don't need no Customer Support.

I've been playing live for about 12 years now. I own a few MIM Strats, an Epi LP Classic w/ WB's, and some other oddball stuff that I've picked up over the years. I think that I personally know what I'm looking for in an instrument and I chose a good one. IF it were stolen or broken beyond repair, I might get a Classic Vibe instead. At the time, I just didn't have too much money on me, and being damaged the price (and risk) of admission was worth it.

Otherwise, I purchased this as a modding platform. A guitar I could change to something I wanted w/out worrying about "value" or "resale" or whatever.

I believe that I rated this guitar realistically, from a objective standpoint. I know what I purchased isn't the greatest guitar in the world, but it's above average in a lot of ways. With a bit of work over the next few years, it'll be a great player for the stage.