Friends,is a SQUIER by Fender is a good guitar? please tell me the details & comment

[Sinmastah]

I love my Squier. Great bass.

[dennistruckdriver]

Originally Posted by vladmaximus

bro...
" EXCUSE ME WHILE I KISS THIS GUY "
hi hi hiiii

I don't know about the Squier 'California Series', but I wish I had my Fender 'California Series' Fat Telecaster back. Like a dumbass, I sold it....it was beautiful....

[Paragon]

My guitar started out as a Starcaster (even lower than the Squier) and had the typical potmetal trem and saddles, aftermarket neck (guitar was a gift). I blocked the trem with wood to make it easier to keep it in tune. Eventually got the steel block trem with stamped steel saddles and some better pickups and electronics. I don't use the trem arm hence the sticker over it. The trem is blocked flat to the body with wood.
Will eventually get some better tuners and make a bone nut (only the body will be left from the starcaster and it will be officially MY guitar). Since I cannot play much anyhoo, it worked fine but I wanted some better pickups than the really cheap ones that were in it (flat pole piece with ceramic bar mag) hence the upgrades. The squire pickups that have staggered pole pieces aren't too bad (friend has one)

Not sure what type of wood the body is but as long as it is solid (and I know it is not plywood) I really don't care right now. She sounds great with the upgrades. Weighs 8 lbs iirc.



Sure doesn't look like .:: Fender®.com ::.

[needlespauls]

Hey Vlad,
You've got a winner there! The "California Series" was one of the last "good" Squier series before the Vintage Modified and the Classic Vibe series, and after the Pro Tones. Very good axe for the money!!

[vladmaximus]

Originally Posted by needlespauls

Hey Vlad,
You've got a winner there! The "California Series" was one of the last "good" Squier series before the Vintage Modified and the Classic Vibe series, and after the Pro Tones. Very good axe for the money!!

wow..

is it true?

is it a good axe?

all i knoe the guitar sound good to me...

i dont know much about Squier by fender guitars..

anyway,thanks for the info bro...

ROCK ON...

[vladmaximus]

Originally Posted by The_Sentry

They're allright. I'd put 'em on par with Epiphone in terms of quality.

As long as you don't use the trem bar, it's serviceable.

hmm..

a trem bar??? u know what...ive been using a lot ok...

its because i wanna be like jeff beck...

right now im listen to jeff beck...

he's use lot lot lot of tremolo on his playing style...

and,me,after ive set up my tremolo,my tremolo now works good for me after

the set up...im using 2 springs,im using 0.10 gauge...and,set up the tremolo..

now my guitar works fine for me...im abuse the tremolo so much...

hi hi hiiii...watch & listen to this video ok...

right now im learning & watching jeff beck guitar playing technique --->

YouTube - Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club 2007 - A Day In The Life

YouTube - Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club 2007 - A Day In The Life

YouTube - Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club 2007 - Nadia

YouTube - Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club 2007 - Nadia

YouTube - Jeff Beck with Tal Wilkenfeld at Crossroads 2007 Live

YouTube - Jeff Beck with Tal Wilkenfeld at Crossroads 2007 Live

enjoy ok...

[Skynyrdpicker]

Vlad, I had a '94 Korean Squier a lot like yours that I didn't like very much. It was made of plywood and didn't sound great, but wasn't worth upgrading. I don't know about the California series, though; yours looks really nice!

Enjoy it!!!

[The_Sentry]

Originally Posted by vladmaximus

hmm..

a trem bar??? u know what...ive been using a lot ok...

its because i wanna be like jeff beck...

right now im listen to jeff beck...

he's use lot lot lot of tremolo on his playing style...

and,me,after ive set up my tremolo,my tremolo now works good for me after

the set up...im using 2 springs,im using 0.10 gauge...and,set up the tremolo..

now my guitar works fine for me...im abuse the tremolo so much...

hi hi hiiii...watch & listen to this video ok...

right now im learning & watching jeff beck guitar playing technique --->

YouTube - Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club 2007 - A Day In The Life

YouTube - Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club 2007 - Nadia

YouTube - Jeff Beck with Tal Wilkenfeld at Crossroads 2007 Live


enjoy ok...

Seriously...on that Squier...it's the same deal as with the Epi's....you want to use the tremolo bar and keep that guitar in tune and have that much control over the pots and volume (like Beck)....then it's the usual upgrades. A better nut, better tuners, a better bridge...and better pots and caps. (Better pickups doesn't hurt either.)

[The_Sentry]

Originally Posted by Skynyrdpicker

Vlad, I had a '94 Korean Squier a lot like yours that I didn't like very much. It was made of plywood and didn't sound great, but wasn't worth upgrading. I don't know about the California series, though; yours looks really nice!

Enjoy it!!!

Squier has really tried to improve their line the past couple of years, SP....you outta check one out again......

I even went to the Fender forum and told the bastards 2 years ago that the Squier guitars were good as base models to upgrade, but as far as marketing 'em they had their collective heads up their asses. Seems to me things have improved a bit in the last year or so.

[lexluthier]

My brother picked up a new 50's Classic Vibe Strat. I've played it, the thing is a seriously nice guitar! It has a nice woody type tone, good for singing lead work ala EJ, Uli Roth or Gilmour.

[vladmaximus]

Originally Posted by The_Sentry

Seriously...on that Squier...it's the same deal as with the Epi's....you want to use the tremolo bar and keep that guitar in tune and have that much control over the pots and volume (like Beck)....then it's the usual upgrades. A better nut, better tuners, a better bridge...and better pots and caps. (Better pickups doesn't hurt either.)

hmm..
well,ok..what you say is right...
better NUT,BRIDGE,POTS & PICKUPS...
later ive got the money i will upgrade my squier ok...
i want to get a BONE NUT & TEXAS SPECIAL PICKUPS...maybe...
thanks for the info...

ROCK ON

[vladmaximus]

well..im lucky enough coz my squier is an ALDER WOOD body...
and its a bit heavy body...but..i like it...

ROCK ON...

[Paragon]

Originally Posted by vladmaximus

hmm..
well,ok..what you say is right...
better NUT,BRIDGE,POTS & PICKUPS...
later ive got the money i will upgrade my squier ok...
i want to get a BONE NUT & TEXAS SPECIAL PICKUPS...maybe...
thanks for the info...

ROCK ON

Just so you know, the good Fender bridges like what I put on mine, you will probably have to plug the old mounting holes and drill new ones as the mounting hole spacing is wider. If the saddles/strings line up with the mounting screws, it is the usual narrow import spacing. You can get some bridges from guitarfetish that will fit without modification.

[vladmaximus]

Originally Posted by Paragon

Just so you know, the good Fender bridges like what I put on mine, you will probably have to plug the old mounting holes and drill new ones as the mounting hole spacing is wider. If the saddles/strings line up with the mounting screws, it is the usual narrow import spacing. You can get some bridges from guitarfetish that will fit without modification.

ok paragon...

thanks...

[Iceman0124]

Originally Posted by lexluthier

My brother picked up a new 50's Classic Vibe Strat. I've played it, the thing is a seriously nice guitar! It has a nice woody type tone, good for singing lead work ala EJ, Uli Roth or Gilmour.

I cant decide if I like my 50's or 60's better, they both play great, and both look great, and both sound great! Best thing is they sound and respond nothing alike, the 60's is great for that gritty bluesy and fuzzy drive sounds, the 50's alnico 3 pups dish out sparkling clean jazzy soulful tones, and surprisingly....handles super high gain very well especially in the notch positions, sounds almost like a classic PAF, the 60's kinda turns to mush with modern high gain applications. Glad I got both, they will easily fill the bill untill I can afford my highe dollar custom builds.....major gas for a light/medium relic 60's shell pink



I'm man enough to proudly wail on a cool ass pink guitar, if they make a CV version in SP in the near future though, the SB is going up for sale!....


well mebbe not, in pristine condition they arent near as cool looking, that ones a little too mary kay as well

[Skynyrdpicker]

Originally Posted by The_Sentry

Squier has really tried to improve their line the past couple of years, SP....you outta check one out again......

I even went to the Fender forum and told the bastards 2 years ago that the Squier guitars were good as base models to upgrade, but as far as marketing 'em they had their collective heads up their asses. Seems to me things have improved a bit in the last year or so.

I'm definitely looking into one as my next project! Not for a while, though!

[Iceman0124]

Originally Posted by The_Sentry

Seriously...on that Squier...it's the same deal as with the Epi's....you want to use the tremolo bar and keep that guitar in tune and have that much control over the pots and volume (like Beck)....then it's the usual upgrades. A better nut, better tuners, a better bridge...and better pots and caps. (Better pickups doesn't hurt either.)

Honestly, I've found (and it took me a long damned time too) that simply the manner of stringing the guitars makes more of a difference than the hardware,

2 or 3 wraps with a natural string lock is all you need on the wounds,



Since i started doing this , I can slam and yank the bigsby all to shit, and it stays in tune, i can leave it alone for a week, and it stays in tune, I can play for hours and it hardly ever strays. My mim strat with modern tuners trem got super stable as well when I started stringing like shown

The vintage split posts like my vibes (just like standard bass tuners) make it even easier, just trim the string to two or three wraps, and you get an automatic lock, and great tuning stability



Its all the extra wraps in the string when you put a shit ton of winds on that kills tuning stability, all those wraps take 10 times the life of the string to get all the stretch out of, and tons of bending, and trem use will slowly get a little more of that stretch out every time....and can be simply eliminated by using very sparse winds.

[Iceman0124]

Originally Posted by Sinmastah

I love my Squier. Great bass.

Hey sin, is that neck satin finished? Or hard poly? If its satin you can easily and cheaply tint it to match the body a little better if you'd be interested in that sorta thing, just a dab of kiwi brown shoe polish buffed into the pores on a satin neck works wonders, on poly it'll just wipe off.

My MIM tele neck was white as a ghost when I gopt her,



Removed the neck, buffed in some kiwi brown and 10 minutes later,



actually lightend it back up a good bit from that pic with a light sanding, and with a 7-8 months of smokey rooms and bars and tons of play it looks like this now



Not saying yours looks bad, but if you wanna give her a head start on a tan, its quick and easy to do! my squier 50's strat is poly, kinda wish it wasnt, we'll she how she ages.

[KP Willits]

I must have gotten very lucky.. I have a Squier Standard Strat Special Edition. It had the mint plastic originally, but I could not take it. It has the 2 point trem, which I do not use... blocked. Dropped some GFS vintage pups and a Jonesy cap into it and it sounds fantastic.

[b-squared]

I bought a Squire Affinity Series Telecaster at my local GC for $150, on the recommendation of a forum friend. It's a great basic body to do some mods on.

It's a tad heavy, but the neck has a satin finish that is super smooth and fast. I buffed off the "Squire" logo, so it's basically a No-Caster now.

Frets were a mess...sharp on the edges, not level at all. I had my local luthier fix all that...about $35.

I replaced the electronics with an RS kit; had to drill out the holes for the pots.

I replaced the pickups as well; GFS vintage bridge, and a Van Zandt blues neck.

Tuners were replaced with American Fender tuners...got for free from a friend.

It's a great little player--well worth the money, and I've got a great playing little Tele for under $350.

I had to order new nurled knobs for the controls, and they were back ordered from RS...they are on the guitar now.

[The_Sentry]

Sweet....BB, that's exactly what Squier guitars should be all about....a base guitar that's affordable to just about anyone and can be modded to meet even the most demanding players.

Cool guitar, dude!

[b-squared]

Thanks, man. Haven't played it in awhile.

I went and saw Brad Paisley last night (thanks to MLP member Sea Pull--Brad's Video Playback Engineer--for hooking a bro up with tickets!!!!), and now have an itch to play some Telecaster.



BB

[vladmaximus]

hell yeah...SQUIER is good...


hi hi hiiiii...

[Rikochet]

Drill it for a Floyd Rose! , even though that would probably cost more then the guitar its self.

[steadyriot]

The girl in Vlad's 3'd video plays Sin's Squier bass :P

[cynic79]

Originally Posted by vladmaximus

well..im lucky enough coz my squier is an ALDER WOOD body...
and its a bit heavy body...but..i like it...

ROCK ON...

My Mexican Strat weighs as much as my chambered Les Paul, but it's still a nice guitar.

I've played a few of the Squiers over the years, and they've generally been very nice, especially for the price. Glad you enjoy yours!

[cynic79]

Originally Posted by b-squared

I bought a Squire Affinity Series Telecaster at my local GC for $150, on the recommendation of a forum friend. It's a great basic body to do some mods on.

It's a tad heavy, but the neck has a satin finish that is super smooth and fast. I buffed off the "Squire" logo, so it's basically a No-Caster now.

Frets were a mess...sharp on the edges, not level at all. I had my local luthier fix all that...about $35.

I replaced the electronics with an RS kit; had to drill out the holes for the pots.

I replaced the pickups as well; GFS vintage bridge, and a Van Zandt blues neck.

Tuners were replaced with American Fender tuners...got for free from a friend.

It's a great little player--well worth the money, and I've got a great playing little Tele for under $350.

I had to order new nurled knobs for the controls, and they were back ordered from RS...they are on the guitar now.

Are the body and neck to typical Tele specs? I know that some of the Affinity series guitars have thinner or slightly smaller bodies.

[b-squared]

You know, I've never really compared them. The body is not thin at all, and the neck is comfortable to play.

I'll have to take it to GC and compare them, I guess.

BB

[vladmaximus]

Originally Posted by b-squared

I bought a Squire Affinity Series Telecaster at my local GC for $150, on the recommendation of a forum friend. It's a great basic body to do some mods on.

It's a tad heavy, but the neck has a satin finish that is super smooth and fast. I buffed off the "Squire" logo, so it's basically a No-Caster now.

Frets were a mess...sharp on the edges, not level at all. I had my local luthier fix all that...about $35.

I replaced the electronics with an RS kit; had to drill out the holes for the pots.

I replaced the pickups as well; GFS vintage bridge, and a Van Zandt blues neck.

Tuners were replaced with American Fender tuners...got for free from a friend.

It's a great little player--well worth the money, and I've got a great playing little Tele for under $350.

I had to order new nurled knobs for the controls, and they were back ordered from RS...they are on the guitar now.

Bro..u have a great tele squier...congrats...

[Iceman0124]

Before jumping on new pups, just try changinf the pots and add a good cap, then drop the pups almost flush with the PG, that gave me a dramatic improvement in tone. Not sure what pups the california series uses, but even the standard squires use decent alnico pups, dropping the pups low on my 60's instantly "cleaned up" my tone, it was brighter, much improved clarity and overall more articulate sounding,its much more touch sensetive, IE mild light picking is sweet clean, moderate gets a little grit, and when you nail her, she screams at ya! I'm able to pretty much nail a nice agressive SRV tone through my 15 watt tube combo with just a touch of OD.