Squier Tele Custom 2

I have the blond Squier Tele Custom 2. It was crafted in Indonesia in 06. This guitar has a two (black) Duncan Designed P-90 pickups, three way selector switch, two volume, and two tone controls. The body is a string through design. This guitar has the finest maple neck I have ever enjoyed.

This guitar is designed to rock. The Duncan Designed Pups are smooth and hot. I really find myself having to pull back on the reins. It will do clean as well. Admittedly, I have strong options for tonal adjustment on my amp, but this guitar seems to be very balanced, both across the strings and from treble to bass. After considerable adjustment, (see below) this guitar sounds awesome. It really has more in common with my Les Paul (though cleaner and less muddy) than any of my Tele's. I see no need to replace the pickups. Being single coil, they are prone to hum when near a radiating source, but placing the selector switch to the middle quickly knocks it out. The tuners feel good and work well so I see no reason to replace these, either. It plays and stays in tune very well. I have eight electric six string guitars. This is, but certainly not limited to, my go-to rock guitar.

I give this guitar a seven because it's flaws are of no concern or easily corrected with adept adjustment. There is a small nick in the fine edge of the neck pocket. One of the string ferrules is slightly sunk too far into the body. The string holes in the bridge did not line up well with the holes drilled into the body making it very difficult to thread a string through. I did a slight routing of the holes to allow easier string through. The general setup was horrible. The action could not be lowered without dead action at the highest frets. I took the neck off to see if the guitar included some kind of tilt adjustment, (it didn't) but found a small square of sandpaper being used as a shim. Removing that allowed for perfect adjustment. I adjusted the neck for just a slight amount of relief. The strings were adjusted very low. And finally, the intonation was set. The action and tunability of this guitar is now fantastic. The neck is the best feeling I have ever felt. It either has no finish or something very light. It is just so smooth. It feels chunky which is to my preference. It just plays so fast and easy.

The mini style pots have an acceptable taper response and are quiet, so they have stayed. The selector switch has worked loose before, but careful tightening has fixed this. I have had no problems with the input jack even though it appears to set too far out of the body as if it had not been properly routed. The guitar is structurally sound and I anticipate no problems. The finish is nice and has suffered no paint chips after three years.

I can't imagine needing customer support. I have enough experience with guitars to deal with most everything, so I have never dealt with them.

I waited three years to post this review so I would have a very clear opinion that I knew would be accurate. I mostly play and record in my private studio. I have gigged some, but did live engineering much more. Still, I have been playing guitars since 1976. I own and play a couple of basses, mandolin, mountain dulcimer, and 15 or so assorted electrics and acoustics. Brands include, Gibson, Fender, Squire, Epiphone, Guild, Alvarez, and Airline. This guitar, after my considerable setup work, is now near the top of my heap. At $279 from mail order, this guitar was an unbelievable bargain. I most love the neck and the smooth but aggressive tone. I still feel glad that I got the blond instead of the black, but I am waiting for the color to fade as the yellow really is quite ugly. It kind of clashes with the tan of the maple neck. I think what it is, is it has a slight green tint to it. I give a ten here because I do believe this guitar, despite it's initial problems, is still a fantastic value.

Made around 2007, I would assume in Indonesia...2 vol, 2 tone for each pickup...three way switch at top similar to a Les Paul...@ BADAZZ Duncan Designed p-90's...KEEPERS! Passive electronics...Agathis body solid with nice finish and i think it looks a bit more like TV yellow, not a "orangey" as what they call TV Yellow these days. I can see it fading nicely as years go by. I love the neck which seems a little fatter than a normal Fender. Not a baseball bat, but it's solid and plays great. Nice maple neck. I love maple necks!

I play in a versatile cover band. I lower the volume, i get clean ballads, I raise to a medium, I get a nice blues or rock crunch. Don't even let it all the way as p-90's are high gain pu's and you don't even have to "go there" for your amp to take over for distortion. I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and it loves all pedals and the tubes of the fender. Remember, you've got some high gain pu's in theis puppy so don't stack distortion on distortion...you shouldn't have to. lot of players don't realize they put volume and tone knobs on things for a reason! LOL! Get nice harmonics and feedback when overdriving.

Mine was bought used but didn't seem played at all. I believe if it was the facory setup, It was pretty darn great, Strings were low with no buzz. I play 10's and have heard this guitar shines even m ore as you put heavier strings on it. Would probably make an awesome slide guitar for blues and rock. Guitar looked great and ready to rock when I got her.

MINE LOVES LIVE PLAYING! Couple with my Hot Rod Deluxe, it makes me wanna "go there", if you understand what I mean! LOL! One issue that cropped up was the pull out plug came out of the body. I fully expected it, but it did take a while to happen. Took it to my guitar tekkie. He got the upgraded Fender part which nis more substantial. $13 and a day later I had it back with an upgraded jack cover. Should last a while. While there shouldn't be any quirks from the get go on a new one...as the hardware does decide to go, just upgrade to the better Fender parts and problems probably won't be there in the future if you don't abuse. Yes, I depend on it, BUT as much as I trusted it, a guitar is like a fickled soulmate. It will surprise you from time to time, so if you don't gig without a backup, you kinda get what you deserve. I've had the tuning peg come off of a $1800 Rickenbacker and a pickup go out on a high dollar Gibson Les Paul on shows before, but guess what, you take more than one guitar. I know take four because i had a situation where i actually broke a string on a song, broke a string on the next song with my backup and BROKE A STRING ON THE NEXT SONG WITH MY LAST BACKUP. Finished out the night with my part time rhythm guitar players one and only axe. So Murphy DOES visit at weird times. Take my word for it. Invest in more than one playable guitar for your shows. This is the section I'll know off a few points on just because I know there will be more hardware changes in the future as well as the jack problem. It's gonna happen.

Never had to deal with them. My guitar tekkie is a certified Fender repairmen with a lot of respect and love between us, so my guitar issues are dealt with pretty asap and he knows how to pull the ropes on the parts department and things. They aqre incredibly kind and helpful to him...that's good enough for me

I have been playing guitar for 35 years and let me tell you I have played EVERYTHING from Rics to Gibs to Fends to you name it. I play pro in a gigging rock band and let me say, I am PROUD to pull out my SQUIER CUSTOM TELECASTER II (Blonde). I play through pedals for modern sounds for about half the night but I also go straight through the amp for clean/drive/ and yes... MORE DRIVE in the case of the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. It's a really nifty set up that I CONTROL and it doesn't control me. I can talk back to it, so to speak.
Back to the Squier...You can get blues at low crunchy volumes but let out the volume (not all the way, they are HIGH GAIN P/U's!)and it turns into a ROCK MONSTER! I play through an all tube Fender Hot Rod Deluxe as I mentioned. 40 watts of loud, honking tubes! There are many nights this Squier Tele is my main guitar! I also have a Fender MIM Strat modified and a SQUIER Esquire '51 which I play onstage a lot. I was so impressed with the playability of the Esquire '51, I had the Buzz Feiten tuning system put on and did a couple of little tweaks and IT IS ALSO a FANTASTIC guitar with great action and stock pickups. Of course, always be careful of budget guitars. There ARE lemons out there but, Squier outdid themselves on these two models (the Esquire '51 has been discontinued). I also own a Fender telecoustic and a Godin USA made G-1000 that I play equally as much, I also own a sparkly Danelectro DC-3 for fun and a Mosrite Ventures II Johnny Ramone copy (lawsuit model) We started out as a Ramones tribute band. It doesn't get pulled out these days and I have to have guitar versatility and the Johnny Ramone is pretty much a one trick pony...turn it up, let it out on Marshall 11 and you're there...I also have a JD McCormick parlor guitar, handmade in the mountains of good old NC by the late J.D. MCCormick, himself! I also play bass and own a modest, nice little Cort P-style bass which allows me to play some bass on commercial tracks and things I write personally. When I buy a guitar, I go for one that FEELS good as well as sounds good on stage so I can pick up ANY of them and feel the love. Definitely check out bang for buck on this awesome Squier Tele Custom II AND the Esquire '51 reissue (if you can find one of them). I've learned in MY case, FANCY guitars don't give you as much pleasure as you think they would. I like making love to a quality woman who feels good back and doesn't overshadow, if that makes sense. For some reason,I can play like a $3000 bucks on a $300 guitar and can sound like turdburgers grilling on something I feel like a have to "BABY", too much...I would never have considered playing a Squier onstage years ago. I now have guys coming up to see what it is and when they get their hands on it, they don't want to let it go. That testimonial enough for ya! LOL! The Blonde looks more like a TV Yellow and has a COOL vibe all the way around! Almost more "Gibson-like" in sounds you can get outta those P-90's. I Can get that Johnny Thunders, New York Dolls quack outta the p-90's

In all my years of playing guitar, I'd never owned one with P90s until about a couple of months ago, when this (second hand) baby appeared in my local emporium. It's the one finished in black and I got it in perfect condition. It's completely stock so I wont reiterate the features

As a pub-and-club musician, I have to cover a lot of styles, and I've had no problem with getting workable sounds out of it. The sound is much gutsier than I thought - to me it suggests mid-way between a regular single coil and a humbucker. I haven't had to change to the spare when using this on a gig. I either poke it staright to PA via my Boss GT8 pedalboard or into my Laney VC15 combo via a Boss GT3 in manual mode - the latter setup is particularly satisfying if you're good at tap-dancing.

As stated, I got it second hand, but it was set up exactly as I would have had it done myself. I switched the string gauge to D'Addario Super Light Plus (9.5 - 44) and that's as much adjustment as I'm interested in. It was in surprisingly good condition. The pickup adjustment suits me fine, but at some point I'm going to grit my teeth and have a go at a bit of experimentation. I do have to saty it's a tiny bit neck-heavy but I suppose I'm used to subconsiously balancing it.

I don't ike to gig with no spare, but this has held up OK so far. Thankfully there's none of that gold hardware nonsense on it and the finish looks pretty damn substantial to me. Of course I've stuck a couple of straplocks on it but

I've never dealt with Fender.

Been playing longer than I care to admit, and mainly using Paul Reed Smith and Squiers (depending on the kind of bar I'm playing in!) P90s are a new road for me and so far I'm enjoying the journey

I bought the Squier Custom Tele II P90 brand new (2008) after reading various comments on this forum and seeing a few positive reviews. I have the blonde version which looks great and the one I got was well finished. It cost ??169. There were no extra's with the guitar.

I play various kinds of music and the custom tele suprised me with the variety of sounds you can get out of it. It is a very forgiving guitar and rarely produces any fret buzz. I do not know how it would compare to more expensive guitars. It will produce very loud / raw sounds if you want it to as well as the more jangly.

The guitar shop I bought it from set it up well and I have found no manufacturing problems with it so far. The playing action is very smooth and it is easy to play quickly with rapid changes or just relax and play slowly. The playing action is also very consistent.

So far so good with no problems at all in terms of durability after owning it for about a month.

Not used.

Overall this is a very good guitar for the price. It is a noticeable improvement over my first guitar (Jim Deacon strat copy)being easier to play and more forgiving. I will now practice on this guitar until I become good enough to buy a more expensive guitar again. So far that seems a good way to get motivated and practice !!!

My review is for the Squier Tele Custom, not the Squier Tele II.Mine has a Glossy Black finish,2 humbuckers,3 way pup switch,2 sets of volume and tone controls,and is made in Indonesia.I'm not sure what year it is,and nor do I really care.The body is made of agathis,which seems to be very solid to me.The pups are passive,which is okay with me.I'm not a fan of active pups.

I play a mix of Classic Rock and Blues,which I feel suit this guitar perfectly.It has that retro 70's look to it,which I like.I play this through a 1997 USA made,Peavey Studio Pro 112,along with a Digitech RP50 effects processor,and it sounds great.I actually prefer playing this one straight through my amp without any effects.It has that twangy Tele sound,and when I switch my amp to distortion,I get that classic Jimmy Page/Angus Young tone.This guitar,I feel,is suitable for any type of music.This is the best guitar that Squier has out there today,bar none.

Here's where it loses points.When mine came in,it seemed like it was just put together and shoved in a box and shipped out to where ever.I had to tighten up the tuners and jack imput,lower the bridge saddles,and do a intonation on it,along with a string change.Once I did all of that,it was just fine.Mine did not have any flaws that I read about,such as misfiled frets,loose wiring,etc.I believe that I got lucky with this one.Then again,from what I read,these are made by Cort for Fender,which makes it a well made guitar.

I feel that I could use this at a gig without any backup,but I wouldn't.Only because if I'm gigging,my strat has to come with me.I believe that this will last me a long time.I'm a firm believer in taking proper care of your equipment,and I have no respect for people who don't.Take care of your guitars and amps,and they'll always be there for you.After doing all of the necessary adjustments,I've come to the conclusion that this is one solid instrument that I will never have to worry about.

Fender is always great to deal with.

I've been playing for over 35 years,and my set up consists of a 2006 MIM sunburst standard strat,1997 USA made,Peavey Studio Pro 112,Digitech RP 50 effects processor,and a Squier Telecatsre Custom.

it's been described in the other reviews, i got the blonde (it's not really a butterscotch blonde!) with duncan designed P-90s.
it's produced in indonesia

(note: this is a cheap guitar and my ratings refer to what you get for the price. of course a american tele is a far better guitar, being made of superior quality wood, superior quality hardware, better electronics, shielding (there's hardly any shielding here!) and in comparison i should just give it 3. but in terms of value for the money this is a 10 and that's what it gets)

i was looking for a reaonably priced axe with P-90s. i had an eye on the epi LP junior, but this has a P-100 and that's not exactly the same thing. i don't mind a little noise when the sound is right.
so i decided to check this one out.
despite not having the typical tele bridge, there is some twang in the tone - i suppose because of the maple neck.
the duncan designed pu's have pretty strong output - they push the amp into overdrive when my standard tele still sparkles clean.
with the two volume/two tone knobs you can dial in a lot of different sounds. this guitar can really sing and automatically i started playing bluesy riffs and licks. it's also very good for classic rock and punk sounds. it even sounds not that bad with high gain settings but i have other guitars which can handle this better.
in short: i got the sound i wanted for not a lot of money. the P-90s have really been missed in my arsenal!

very nicely set up straight out of the box. extremely low action without any fret buzz, the pickups adjusted correctly.
agathis is often said to be a very bad tonewood. well, probably, but this guitar sounds very good for it's price so i don't care.

the cheap nut will have to be replaced asap. when i tuned the guitar i already noticed some "clicks" and after bendings the b-string likes to go out of tune (yes, the b not the g, that's something new!). at the moment some graphit will hopefully help. the tuners seem to be allright, all the other strings hold their tuning well.

there are a few little flaws in the finish at the neck pocket - but they are on the lower side of the neck so i never see it while playing.

the color is not really "butterscotch" blonde, a lot of butter but no scotch ;-). but that doesn't give me a lot of headache

once it has a proper nut it should be a reliable instrument. the hardware is cheap but should be good enough, proper shielding might be a good idea ad something to work on in the future.
it definitely needs some tweaking to make it "gigable" but it does have the potential.

no idea

i have been playing for more than 30 yeas. i own a couple of guitars and amps. if this one was stolen i'd buy it again.

vintage blond tele-style body with gloss finish, maple neck/fingerboard, satin finish. Neck has a traditional Tele feel. 25-1/2" scale length, 21 frets, 2 tone & 2 volume controls, 3-way switch. 2 Duncan-designed P-90 pickups. Body is Agathis (who knows what that might be -- cheap I'm sure). The color, the P-90s, and the controls make it feel like a part Tele, part Les Paul Special. Very cool.

The sound is pure Les Paul Junior/Special, with just a hint of Fender, which is fine with me. The pickups are reverse-wound, so you get a humbucking effect when both pickups are engaged. Individually, they do buzz, like any single-coils. Bridge pickup has a nice bite, and the neck pickup is nice and dark. I'm playing it through a Sundown 100W tube amp in a custom-made combo cabinet featuring a JBL 15" guitar spearker, and the guitar sounds great with it. especially on the clean channel, which is virtually all I use. Think Les Paul Junior into a vintage Marshall 50W, with a bit more bottom punch.

My local guitar stores matches the price of the online guys, and throws in a free setup, so I really don't know what it was like when it came from the factory. As it came to me, the frets were nicely dressed, intonation dead-on, pickups propery adjusted, etc. the finish on the body and neck is perfect, and the neck joint is nice and tight. All the controls work perfectly. The only other thing is that I had a bone nut installed (at extra cost) while they were doing the setup -- just one of those things that bugs me.

guitar feels every bit Telecaster, which is to say, nice and solid. The hardware is not at all cheesy, and the tuning machines, at least at present, seem nice and tight, and keep it in tune well. I replaced the strap buttons with strap locks, which I use on all of my guitars (since breaking the neck on a Les Paul Standard as the result of a strap snafu). Can't speculate on how the satan neck finish will stand up, having never owned one before, but I suspect it can't be as durable as a gloss lacquer finish.

Never had occoasion to deal with Fender.

I've been playing since 1966, and in that time have owned some really top-drawer guitars -- starting with an original '61 SG-Les Paul, some older Fenders, a Howard Roberts Fusion III, several Les Pauls, etc. I was a bit concerned that I would really be happy with a low-end instrument, but this guitar really impresses me. With the exception of that satan finished neck/fingerboard, there's nothing about it that says 'cheap guitar'. Even the satan neck has a nice fast feel to it -- it's just aesthetically somewhat less pleasing to me than a glossy finish.

Who doesn't know a Telecster? Mapleneck,butterscotch blonde,two
P 90's,Toggleswitch,black Pickguard.Enough features to be a guitar.

Lets think of Stones,CCR,Rock and Blues of any Colour.
If its in your fingers its in that guitar for shure.
If you know the sound of a Tele, well, all that and a little
fatter if you want.
I knew before that P 90's are hm noisy, but I'm louder hah.

There's where the flaws are but hey look at the price.
Pickups were set too high but that is my taste as I like
the sound more open more highs and basses not so much
mid scream.
Second. Those fuckin sharp screws for the bridges stand out
much to high.
All that repaired, all okay.

Think this can stand the shows the rehearsals and the practising.
Own it for four months now. Nothing to complain.
Anyhow I always play with backup.

Never dealt with Fender. I have Tommy and Robin at Thomann.

Playing now for 25 years I own and owned some. It was like from
Fender to Gibson and back. I am a singlecoil guy, more, Fred says
"Daddys not the neckpickup guy". I don't think so but there's some
truth.I own some more expensive gear,but this is a keeper.
I love it and would immidiatly buy an other one if lost or stolen

2 x p90 pups, 2 vol. pots, 2 tone pots, maple neck and a 3 way switch.

this guitar sounds very good for its price. the p90's realy do the thrick, and that combined with a little tele twang gives it quite a unique sound.

the action is great with 009 strings, havent tried 010's yet. im not very technical but the guitar seems build very solid.

feels solid...

the combination of twang, p90 pups and a maple neck makes it a very comfortable guitar with a great bluesy tone. clean and overdriven this guitar just sounds great.

Love it great neck, duncan designed P-90's 3-way switch.. whats not to love

These P-90's f***in' smoke, i absolutely love this guitar

only thing i could possibly complain about is the action could be a little bit better on the higher frets, other than that great

i havent had it long enough to comment

squier is such a huge deal that customer support is no prob

If you come across this guitar and can spare the cash buy it, its well worth the money

Click the link for features and specs. I got the Vintage Blonde.

http://www.squierguitars.com/products/search.php?partno=0327602506

This guitar sounds great! My new found love of P-90s prompted me to buy this guitar. I love Teles too so it was a no brainer. I play mostly blues and classic rock, but I imagine this guitar will suit most any style. My current "apartment setup" is Tele Custom II>BBE Green Screamer>Epiphone Valve Jr Head/Lopo Cab. I use that setup with all my guitars and sometimes I use a Wah pedal. Haven't tried it through my Deluxe Reverb yet, but I'm sure it sounds great. I don't really consider this guitar noisy because P-90s tend to have more hum than regular Fender single coils. If you usually play humbucker equipped guitars, you'll think its noisy. Normally, one of the first things I'll do with a Squier is upgrade the pickups. Not this one. The Duncan Designed P-90s sound completely awesome and they got it right on this one. Fat, warm, dirty, and this thing can growl if you want it too. Oh, and its great for slide work as well.

Lots of surprises here. Usually Squiers require a good setup before playing. Its not often that its pretty much good to go out of the box. To top it all off, I bought this guitar as a scratch-n-dent from AMS for $185. Someone clearly owned this one before I did. You can tell by the scratch and ding on the pickguard. I had to raise/lower the pickups to my liking, and I'll have to raise the high e string a bit, but other than that, the action is perfect. No fret sprout on the neck, and the neck joint is a perfect fit. I did have to make an adjustment to the pickup selector. The 3-way toggle switch was horizontal instead of vertical. Easy fix.

Its been quite a few years since I've played out, but its a Tele so it can take a beating. The hardware seems ok, but to be honest, I'll probably replace the 3-way switch, and the pots. Especially if I begin to play out again. The finish is fine, and would gig it without a backup once the switch and pots were replaced.

If it comes to it, I can do most of the repairs myself. Never dealt with the company, but Squier has come a long way.

I got my first guitar when I was 18. I'm now 30 and I've owned a lot of guitars in that time. In addition to the Tele Custom II, I own an Epiphone Casino, Squier Affinity Stratocaster, Squier '51, and I'm currently building a Telecaster Partscaster. After I finished playing tonight, I really thought the Custom II was the perfect guitar. If it were ever stolen, I would surely replace it. I've even thought about purchasing a second just so I wouldn't have to worry about it. I love everything about this guitar. Like I said, I chose this guitar because of my love for P-90s and Teles. I was pretty excited about my partscaster build, but I'm not in a big rush to finish it now. This guitar completely satisfies all my wants and needs in a guitar.

Body is string through agathis with what I guess you would call a Fender style hardtail bridge with 6 adjustable saddles. One piece maple neck 25 1/2 scale with 22 frets. Frets are on the small side compared to USA Tele. Mine is black presumably with poly coat. The neck has a satin finish that took a while to get used to but now I wouldn't have it any other way. Made in Indonesia bought new in '06. Has two Duncan designed P-90's with 2 volume and 2 tone controls with a 3 way toggle to switch pickups.

I play mostly blues with a bit of swing jazz sometimes straight blues and straight swing but usually I mix the two.
I have a handwired Giller Lightning clone (14 watts pushing a Weber 25w 12A150-O no dope.) and an Epiphone Blues Custom 30 stock.
It sounds fat and dark with the neck pickup through the Giller. Perfect for a sweet clean jazz tone at low volumes. Crank it and you can get monster blues tones on all three pickup settings. Played through the Epi (ceramic speakers) the neck pickup is a lot brighter but by turning down the tone on the guitar a bit you can get a really sweet clear fat jazz and clean blues tone. I don't want to bore you any more with tone babble. If you're reading this you know how many different tones are possible with tube amps and pickup selection. I'll sum it up by saying that I LOVE the P-90's. I have 2 USA fenders (one strat and one tele) and with the maple neck on the Squier combined with the P-90's it's kinda like a Gibson-Fender morph. The tone is by far fatter than stock Fender single coils. I prefer to play this guitar (especially at low practice volumes and clean) to either USA Fender most of the time. I can't get enough.

The setup from the factory was terrible. The neck had a backbow to it and the last 4 frets were dead. I expected as much but one can hope can't one? I sent it out to my favorite tech and got a complete fret recrown and polish, the neck adjusted and the harmonics tuned. It was a different guitar when I got it back. NICE! I played it for a couple weeks but couldn't keep it in tune for more than about 5 minutes so back out it went for Sperzel locking tuners. I didn't expect a USA Fender for what I paid for it but with the above work finished I still feel like I'm stealing it.

This guitar is actually very well made except for some of the hardware and I expect it to last at least as long as I do. Somewhere down the road I may replace the toggle switch as it works loose and also have it totally rewired and a new jack put in. The pots seem ok. I love this guitar. Did I mention I love this guitar?

N/A

I've been playing for 34 years.
If someone steals it they better be able to outrun a madman on a Harley.