I went to Guitar Center a couple of weeks ago to buy a new Fender Strat, spent about two hours playing all the Fenders and some other brands. I kept coming back to the Squier 40th Anniversary Strat in Satin Seafoam Green. The neck is amazing (satin finish, rolled finger board), the action was great, and has killer looks. It played and felt better than every other guitar there, so I bought it instead. I really like the sound of the pickups as well. I really wanted a Fender but just couldn't justify paying more for something that didn't seem like it was worth paying a lot more for it. I don't know if I got lucky and found a diamond, but if they are all like the one I got it is amazing.
Found a squire 40th anniversary telecaster. Smooth as butter, couldnt tell the difference between that and the American performer other than the price tag
Classic vibes that were made in China from 2008 -2014 were some of the best guitars you could ever buy . I’ve got a CV60 strat , 50s Tele and I had the 50s strat .
Yep...got the Blackguard 50s CV from that time period ...its a belter... My bandmate bought a Squier Tele CV last year (a 2022 version), I played it - didn't sound near as good or play so well....
Phil, what a stand-up guy you are, I mean it! You borrowed that guys guitar, and you put a ton of upgrades in it for him as a thank you! That is old school honorable behavior, brother!
I purchased a Ruby Red 40th year anniversary Squire (also a green tele 40th) for my two grandsons. I thought that one day... perhaps 10 - 15 years from now, when I'm gone, they might like getting something from their granddad. The strap button on the strat on the one I got is also off-center installed, so it looks intentional.
I bought this online when the price was $600. I wanted it because of the block inlays. I think if I played it in store first I would have passed. I've grown to like it.BTW. my strap button is centered. Fret ends were nicely rounded over also
I love block inlays too. Looks powerful and electrified. But I'm just playing an old 22-fret B.C. Rich Warlock from 2011 as it stands. With how little I play, I don't need anything more anyway.
.......ah, yeah...likewise, I paid the $599 for the Sherwood Green Tele with the Gold.....but, to make me feel better, I bought the Ruby Red with Gold Strat...at half that price, new.....so as to average out!....if that makes any sense!.....it made me feel better. lol.
I bought one of these just because I wanted another Strat, and I liked the options (and the surf green color) and aside from the fret polishing issue, it's fantastic.
Bought a Squier Classic Vibe '70s Telecaster Thinline for $379 on a Musician’s Friend sale sometime back on a whim. I’m not exaggerating when I say the finish, build quality, and even the setup out of the box was some of the best I’ve seen from any sub $1000 guitar I’ve purchased. It quickly became my #2 and has stayed close by ever since. That Thiline can do anything from acoustic to metal….it even tracks well!
One thing youtube become is an advertorial video platform. Your channel is one of the few exceptions. You review guitars just to share what you really like. Thanks for the great review. Guitar is super hot btw! Squier has outdone themselves!
I like that you demonstrate the middle position. Some guitar youtubers leave out the middle position, but it's got such a nice sound, you should not leave it out!
The Squire 40th anniversary models are the greatest value for money instruments you can get at the moment. I picked up a Jazzmaster, brand new for a little over £350 in the UK! It's as cool as f..k, sounds amazing, especially the bridge pickup which is super hot. The build quality is great with no issues whatsoever. Couldn't be happier.
I also gotta say, ive been following you for quite a while now, and i love how far these videos have come. More in depth, and as you acquire more knowledge over the years, you pass it on to us, and im forever grateful. Most informative gear channel on YT.
I own a 2001 Squier “Standard” Strat (Indonesia), and I’m amazed how “Fenderey” it is. The neck is slightly rolled (on a Squier?), and the Alnico 5 pickups sound good enough to me to not switch them out. The floated 2-point trem works well. The ONLY thing that bugs me is the 41 mm (yes, 41) nut. The neck at the 1st fret is pretty dang narrow. I replaced it with a Tusq, but had to trim off the ends.
3:54 I typically sand the nut down from the bottom so my strings sit nicely on top. This way I only need to adjust the width for my preferred strings, which are 10 to 52 gauge.
Not many YTers I trust for reviews…you and The Guitaristas are my favorites. Excellent reviews and I always learn something! I’m not a strat fan so I wouldn’t buy something like this, but it does look nice.
With you on that! Phillip and Colin (Guitaristas) have set the bar for informed, honest and fun guitar reviews. So many 'salespersons' out there 'reviewing' stuff . . .
That's nice of you to make those adjustments to his guitar just for letting you review it. You're a nice guy Phil (and a great source for honest guitar reviews). Thanks for the video.
I got to say I'm kinda done with the bigger companies not at least giving a gig bag with their more expensive or Anniversary type guitars if $100 guitars can do it there is no excuse. That's just my opinion.
I bought a Tele couple years ago. I'm very happy with it. Only thing I'd like to change is the D-G saddle. There's no compensation for intonation. I imagine when Leo thought it up, wound G strings were the norm, ergo, the compromise wasn't so far apart. Other than that, for the level I'm at, and unlikely to rise too much, everything else is fine. I think on a blind test play, I'd be unable to tell Squire from Fender. Would like to add. With modern CNC machines, there's very little hands on craftsmanship. So long as someone has quality materials and programmers, I see no reason why a quality instrument can,'t be built by anyone anywhere.
Thank you for the great video! I have the same guitar and the straps are mounted identical. Also hated the gloss on the back so i got rid of it and in my opinion its feels a lot better to play now.
Doesn’t matter if you change all hardware of the instrument... the most important part is the wood... I talk from experience... I upgraded a Squier Jazz Bass (pups, bridge, tuning machines and I even made it active).
I have an Affinity Squier and I’m beyond happy with it. Out of the box it’s obviously lower quality than even this 40th Anni model but with some hands on work addressing the small details that aren’t attended to in the name of keeping the price low it’s a really good instrument.
I love what Squier is doing rn. I have a couple diff ones and theyre really great instruments for the price. I recently got a Squier baritone tele and its my current favorite. I did sand down the back of the neck tho because i hated the gloss finish
The one with P90s? I messed around with one at guitar center when i was done checking out acoustics, and I kinda want one. I played it through a supro delta king 5 watt, and it was lovely.
I bought a 2023 Squier classic vibe 60s a few months ago. Put me some hand would 59 pickups and a Mojotone blender solderless wiring harness. CT’s 500k pots and switchcraft 5 way. I love it. It came in waaaaay better condition as far as quality and fretwork that my fender did. I’ve finally accepted that a sticker on one saying fender is nothing more than a decal. I thought I’d never say that lol. I love it!! It’s my number 1 go to now. Selling my fender now.
I love to see these reviews getting so many views and attention, all deserved. You will struggle to find a review as thorough and well spoken, and with as much helpful advice.
I bought a Squire Starcaster and I was really impressed with the fit and finish, playability, and the overall tone. The frets on my were done well, maybe because it had a maple fretboard. Great video!
I got a cheap Squire Tele used from GuitarCenter for my nephew to learn on, and I was SHOCKED at how good it is. Plays great, sounds way better than it has any right to, and looks fantastic.
Thanks Phil! I love these videos as they teach me more and more about the workmanship that goes into the instruments you feature. The Geeky Stuff rules!
When I started to get interested in luthiery, I wanted to make my first guitar sound a little better. It was an Affinity Stratocaster from a starter kit, it had decent hardware and construction, unlike the new Bullet kits. Now the first thing I did was learn how to play better, and the second thing I did was install a 1-meg mini potentiometer on the volume knob. It made those cheaper single coils open up and the guitar almost has this humbucker driving tone, but it's rather different for sure.
Pretty nice guitar. Looks cool. Does stratoguitar things. Neck binding is neat, uncommon. Squire is working hard to own 300-500 dollar range, or at least staying pretty close in quality to the upstart brands with less "heritage." Really makes you look for something loaded up with features if you go for value on an off brand alternative.
Harley-Benton is a pretty good alternative from what I can tell, but their cheapest strats actually don't sound good. To my ears, most electric guitars sound basically the same, and almost all of it comes from effects, filters, etc. But that guitar just sounds affected. Maybe it suits certain styles of music, but I'd want a versatile guitar.
Hey Phil, I don’t own any Squires however for $499.00 this to me is an incredible deal honestly. It would’ve been nice to have this many choices when I was growing up as a kid in the mid 70’s @ these price points.
Japanese fenders in the 80's were less than 300bucks new, not cheap but affordable and very high quality, arguably better than today's stuff at that price.
I bought the vintage edition, , has no bindinf Fender-designed, Alnico V-loaded,solid maple neck,I upgraded the tuneing gears and a loaded tortus shell picguard orilpure hotrails, mine weighs 9.3 lbs,,,well satisfied with mine
I would keep in mind too, with any Anniversary limited edition. Some people(collectors)will rarely play them,maybe what Squire is assuming, but from what I can see from your review, it's better than I expected for $499 from Fender and they cant make them too good or Fender cant sell higher end guitars.
I am a huge Squier fan because you typically get so much guitar for your money. This Squier looks great. But compared to some of the other options out there, I would have serious reservations about buying it when compared to the other options. Especially when it comes to the stuff Sire is putting out.
I just bought my 1st non main name brand guitar a Slash Gold Top Epiphone. I am surprised how well it fairs to even my vintage Gibson's for tone. They have stepped their game up. It looks like Squier is too.
Big no from me, they went all in the looks, and it is gorgeous, but I'm not doing a fretjob, shielding, swap pots, maybe change that ugly nut at this price point. Great vid as always, thank you!
Would love to see an episode where you get a used guitar and do a full setup and fix whatever needs to be fixed. Most of these new guitars just needs a tweak here or there but the used ones usually need a full truss rod, action, intonation, nut, and other stuff which I would love to see. Thanks for all the cool videos 🙏🙏
It’s nuts, when I was newbie I used think the pricy guitars just played way better. Even though there are still certain advantages to pricy guitars, a good setup brings them super close
I watched a number of videos years ago about the Squier Classic Vibe Tele and not one had anything bad to say about them. I bought one and I'm glad I did. My only complaint is that it came in either a natural finish or white finish.
I've had that exact guitar. I bought it used, just a couple of months old, practically new! It's a really beautiful guitar! The color, binding, the block inlays... It looks great! However... The wiggle stick doesn't feel good. It's screwed in, and I'm afraid it won't last... The guitar wasn't really set up well, but my main issue with it was the tuning machines. They were absolutely awful! It's a new guitar, but the tuning machines have give in them. I want to loosen the strings and have to turn maybe even a fifth of a lap before anything happens. And it's not about the nut clamping on the strings either. They have give both ways. I was thinking about changing the tuners, but also the fret ends were really sharp and uncomfortable. Finally, I wanted a second Strat as a backup, but it's just so far off from my Shijie STE, it can't compare, it's not even close. Since I bought my Shijie, it ruined all other Strats for me.
What I like about the G&L is that like the Squier Affinity, the width at the NUT is 41mm while everybody else goes for 42mm and larger.... HOW does your Shijie actually measure at the nut ??? Is it 42mm or less ???? Does it "FEEL" slim enough ??? (PS: Squier Classic Vibe feels very large at nut despite it measuring 42.5mm)
As the owner of four Classic Vibe Squier guitars, I have to say when they were made in China the fit and finish was a lot better than the Indonesian made. The Chinese made Strat even had a rosewood finger board, the fret work on both the Tele and Strat were perfect. I have since bought two Indonesian made Classic Vibe one Tele Deluxe and one white blond Strat, on both of those guitars I had to change out the pots and also do the fret ends. The Tele deluxe had sheilding paint but it looked like it been splashed on with globs in places, also the paint under the pickguard was dull not polished and there were chips around some of the screw holes, also the holes for the bridge screws were chipped and drilled too big, I had to put larger screws in. Fender need to get their quality control in order you don't see those kind of mistakes on PRS guitars made there.
Give me the Squier and I’ll put all the money I saved into fretwork, having the edges rolled, and nut work to make it super comfortable AND upgrade potentially all the electronics and switches. Seems like a no brainer to me
Nice deep dive. Most of the Classic Vibe, Vintage Modified, Contemporary and 40th Anniversary ones I've tried play fine after a good setup and new strings. Nice gear for the price. I love Squier guitars and basses.
From Leo: I like the looks of the guitar. You would think at the premium price, they would at least come with a gig bag, maybe one with some 40 year logo applied. Even $159 INDIO guitars have a gig bag with a real embroidery logo. My CV Squier did not need fret dressing, it is a shame that a bound neck guitar was shipped needing fretwork. . FMIC needs to up their game. I am sure the owner appreciates Phil making it right.
Squier Surpassing Fender Guitars In Quality? YES. When the Classic Vibe guitars came out, I was in a band with a guy who had a custom shop Fender. Everyone but him preferred the CV and thought it was the better guitar. I've met and heard of a lot of pro players who use Squier or other foreign Fenders. Jack Pearson was one of the first I've heard of like this, and I continue to keep hearing this.
1st time viewing your channel. Got to say I found this review very informative & detailed. As a novice guitar builder I definitely learned some good tips! Personally I dig the look of a Squire neck with big block inlays & binding. I've put a few of the Indonesian Squire necks on different Fender Jag bodies & really like 'em once they're polished up!
I purchased a new Squire Esquire 2 years ago, straight out of the box it played great, no adjustments required, the only thing I’ve changed are the strings! I was very impressed, modern Squires are definitely not entry level quality!
I own an American Strat and Tele. I also have a classic vibe 70's Squire with oversized headstock and rosewood fretboard board. Alnico pickups. I'm choosing the squire as my #1 everytime! The tone it gives on the neck pickup is the warmest and most responsive tone I've ever found. I changed my pots to 500k. Overkill but much better.
I have a made-in-China 2009 Squire Strat and I absolutely love it and would not sell it for anything, Like Mike Campbell said if you find one that plays and sounds great keep it. but I do have a Squire Affinity 2012 and I wouldn't give it to my worst enemy. LOL.
IMO Squier should have 4 lines of guitars; budget, hot rod, vintage and modern. The budget range is all cheap pot-metal hardware, top loaded hardtail bridges, cheap ceramic pickups but decent bodies and necks (the beginner/mod platform guitars) The hotrod range is reminicent of what bands like Motörhead, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden played in the late 70's/early 80's, vintage looking guitars, but upgraded with humbuckers bigger frets, and 2-point tremolos (here you can also find a Keith Richards-type SH tele and stuff like that) The vintage range is basically the current classic vibe series: small frets, tinted necks, AlNiCo pickups, vintage style bridge and tuners (I'd also like for them to have the aged hardware from the anniversary models and semi-gloss finishes) Finally we have the modern range; satin finishes, active pickups, roasted maple necks, stainless steel frets, heel contours, locking tuners and maybe Floyd Rose trems. Of course all ranges would come with a strat, tele, jaguar (bass and guitar), mustang (bass and guitar), jazzmaster, jazz bass and Precision bass. The vintage line would have several versions with cosmetic differences between 50's, 60's and 70's and the modern range would also have 5-string basses
I just bought an Affinity Squire Strat last month. I'm learning to love it everyday. I wanted to upgrade my playing and think it is the one to do it. I LOVE anything Fender...
Hi I got a ruby red today , the strap button was the same off centre as that one. Besides that and the typical iffy pots and switch, it is a wonderful guitar. No fret sprout and all frets are level . Next to no relief , string height 1.75- 1.5 plays great. Some flame in the maple.
Hey, Phillip, I've been watching a large number of videos on the Donner superstrat that's been all over TH-cam recently. When they've mentioned the frets, they've usually had good things to say about them. I'm waiting right now to receive the guitar I bought yesterday, so in a few days I'll be equipped to examine the frets and their ends in person. If you like, I'll let you know what I find. If it's as good as some of the reviews I've seen, though, Fender might need to give serious thought to upgrading and modernizing some of their processes. I will not have paid all of $200 in acquisition cost for this guitar. If its frets are even as good as the Squier, the Squier is getting its butt kicked in the value for money department. And if Squier is somehow beating FENDER in quality, then what the hell good is Fender anymore?
Love Squier guitars. Yes I have crazy expensive guitars all makes all brands customs etc etc. BUT! I added a few things to my squiers and they play and sound no better or worse than my 5 grand guitars. Literally the biggest pros to playing a Squier is you don't have that looming fear of denting digging scratching or having it stolen playing out lol or around your kids. Also I don't customize every Squier I buy guitars for their different sounds. Personalities. Love your channel. I've learned alot you come across very personable. Great content.
Phil, I have the same Squier guitar and the strap button is centered on mine also plays perfectly the only thing I found wrong is the pic guard edge is very sharp and you better be careful when cleaning as you will cut yourself on it.
I bought the 40th anniv Jazzmaster in the same color and out of the box it had pretty much the same quality issues you describe. Unpolished frets, pickguard screws all over the place, plus a dodgy pickup switch. But the sound is good and it was at a 25% discount at Thomann so I kept it, set it up, cleaned the pickup switch and it's been playing fine for the last two months...
!!! Greetings from Montréal, Québec, Canada !!! I have been watching your videos for a few years now and ALWAYS enjoy the instructive content of them !!! Recently bought a Squier Telecaster Affinity, Not happy with the 'FREE One month later adjustment', the low strings 'Buzz' within the first 5 frets and still find the strings to be too high past the 12th fret soooo, with your good advice and tricks, I shall try to correct the situation myself, I do not think I can do such a bad job on the bridge for string height and intonation IF I follow your instructions !?! Keep you posted on this one. Thank you for your professionnal videos, may you and familly stay healthy !!! Cheers !!!
I've got a Player Plus Strat. It's amazing. I've customized it a bit with a hot rail humbucker and a new black pickguard, plus I set the trem to dive-only and it's my #1 guitar. That being said, I've also got a Squier Jaguar and a Squier Tele. The Jaguar is a classic vibe 70s Jaguar and the Tele is just an Affinity. The Jaguar needed a bit of work. The bridge kept sinking down too low, so I had to add some loctite. I think I'll just replace the bridge when I change the bridge position single coil to a humbucker. Other than the bridge issue, it's fantastic. The neck is amazing. Chunky compared to my Strat. The Affinity telecaster never ceases to amaze me. It's the cheapest Squier Tele that you can buy and it's just so stable. Maybe it's a Tele thing, but for my cheapest guitar, the tuning stability is crazy good. It's super easy to intonate and it's just a great cheap guitar, so it seems that Squier has been doing great for a while. My first electric guitar when I was a kid was a hard tail Squier Bullet Strat from like 2000 or 2001. It was alright, but nowhere near as good as the newer Squiers. Another good cheap brand to check out is Eart. I got an HSS Strat type guitar from them off of Amazon for like $300 or $400. It's got perfectly polished stainless steel frets. The pickups sound great. It's a very dark sounding guitar, but it's nice to have a dark sounding Strat since my Fender is pretty bright sounding, even with the humbucker.
What timing! I was just in a music store here in Prague the other day. There were two Strats that really caught my eye. One was a Squier, one was a much higher priced Fender. I liked the Fender better upon first glance. Maple fretboard, burst, mint green guard and aged plastic parts. The Squier also had a maple fretboard, burst, but white guard and white plastic parts. But when I looked closer at both, and picked them up, the neck on the Squire was A LOT nicer. Like a lot. Both in feel and in looks.
Bought this exact guitar in the transparent "Sienna sunburst" finish. It's honestly the best out-of-the-box guitar I've ever purchased. Looks amazing, too. Mine had a tiny cosmetic imperfection in the binding near the join on the bass side but otherwise it was flawless. Such a nice guitar I actually considered selling my Fender Player Tele to buy the 40th anniversary Telecaster.
If I knew anything about refinishing, I would apply that metallic blue finish and an off-white pick guard on my Squier Vintage Modified Bass Six. I dig that finish.
As nice as that Squire is, the Sire Larry Carlton ones seem to be setting the standard in the class. Even for the $100 more, you more than get your $$ worth. JMHO 8) --gary
Last year I wanted a tele, a project guitar to upgrade, and was trying out Squiers. While I was expecting to have to work on the guitar a bit, the ones I tried weren’t great! They all felt like about 10 minutes were spent on fit and finish. Playable, but not pleasant: rough scratchy frets mainly I tried an Ibanez, made in Indonesia. A hard tail strat with pup switching that can get tele sounds. It needed less work so bought that one, and spent a couple hours on setup, and polishing frets. Now, almost a year later, it’s still stock, and pondering leaving it be. It’s not as good as my American strat, but pretty damn close; closer than the difference in price! If I were a beginner I’d have been disappointed with what was available for under $400
I purchased this same Squier from Aaron @ Sweetwater and had it plek'd. I am in the process of installing Fender Locking Tuners, but they have two aligning holes instead of screws and require a slightly wider shaft hole. The Fender Locking Tuners are a real pain to install on this guitar, but it will hopefully be worth it in the end. I added copper foil tape in the cavity. I also installed Fender Strap Locks. I have about a grand in it, but I don't thing it will be nearly as good as my Sire Strat. Almost 40 guitars in my studio, PRSs, Andersons, Fender Custom Shop, Gibson custom shop, and Suhrs. Nothing beats my plek'd SIre.
What I like about this is that you play in a way that the average player can relate to. Not some virtuoso impossible stuff. That's a nice sounding guitar setup.
I got a green telecaster version with the gold hardware for $359 Christmas sale! Did all the mods mentioned in the video, but used shielding tape and gotoh tuners. Also changed pickups to tex mex, higher output than original!
It has the split shaft tuners, which in my opinion makes the need for locking tuners unnecessary. I started playing Fenders back in 1963. Every Strat or Tele I owned never had any tuning problems.
I noticed some intonation issues particularly with the B string when you were playing in different areas on the neck. Considering the price, it's not as noticeable as many other cheap guitars. However, poor intonation can make a great guitar player seem like a beginner. It could also be the taller fret height and finger pressure causing the intonation inconsistency.
I bought a Fender Player Plus Tele and it’s awesome, I love it. However, I bought my son a Squire Tele for Christmas and for $300, it’s crazy good and I’ve found myself picking it up a lot!
The sensational question, "Squier Surpassing Fender Guitars In Quality?", made me think that there was something unique about this guitar, so I watched the video. After watching the video, not only was the Squier, not even close to surpassing the quality of a Fender, but the question posed in the title was never addressed. I gave the video a thumbs up before it ended, but after it did, I took it back. I like Mr. McKnight's videos, and I respect him and his knowledge, very much, but the title of this video was very misleading. I didn't expect that from this reviewer or his channel. It's not that big a deal, but it's just one of those things where I won't believe everything I read in the title anymore. Other than that, thank you for the video.
Hey Phil - I like that you pointed out the Kluson-style tuners. Tuners are important. I went to a boutique shop here in Charlotte NC and the "guy" pointed to what he called Kluson tuners on my 1977 (Nashville made) Gibson Les Paul Standard. Yep, Norlin heavy. "Guy" said he could replace them with a $50 set. Yes their appearance is Kluson and they have that footprint, but if you disassemble, look closely, each is stamped "Made in W. Germany." I'm thinking they are Schaller. And good to keep. You thoughts? Thx -R
People should be super careful using that tool to dress fret ends. It’s super easy to create tool marks in the fretboard, even if you are experienced at filling. I prefer to use the super high grit sanding pads from stew Mac to fix sharp frets. Less dangerous IMO. Great video as always!
I have the 40th anniversary P Bass version of this. It sounds and looks amazing. In my opinion its quality, playability, frets, and value is better than any MIM I have owned or played.
I was handing "CBS" Fender's to guys over the counter as far back as 1971 and nothing out of California had that build quality. The fit was so bad that Fender had to make a tilting 3-bolt neck joint just to set them up correctly. Consumers just got confused about this. I was there. When the neck pocket is made correctly by CNC Machine they went back to traditional four bolt joint.
I have one of these. I immediately swapped out the pots and switch and kept the stock pickups. After playing it for about a month I started thinking about selling my Tash Sultana signiture Strat, it's that good! I put gibson gold reflector top hat knobs on it, cause it's fancy lol
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I went to Guitar Center a couple of weeks ago to buy a new Fender Strat, spent about two hours playing all the Fenders and some other brands. I kept coming back to the Squier 40th Anniversary Strat in Satin Seafoam Green. The neck is amazing (satin finish, rolled finger board), the action was great, and has killer looks. It played and felt better than every other guitar there, so I bought it instead. I really like the sound of the pickups as well. I really wanted a Fender but just couldn't justify paying more for something that didn't seem like it was worth paying a lot more for it. I don't know if I got lucky and found a diamond, but if they are all like the one I got it is amazing.
Yeah those 40th annis a slick. Would love to get a strat and drop a rails in the bridge. Good to go!
Found a squire 40th anniversary telecaster. Smooth as butter, couldnt tell the difference between that and the American performer other than the price tag
Yep. They are real nice fiddles. The Squier classic vibe 60’s and 70s ones I had were awesome also.
@@stallionstudios I had the red one and put in a Seymour Duncan lil’ screamin demon and sounded great. Shoulda kept that guitar.
They're nice, yes. Only drawback is the Indian laurel fretboard
Classic vibes that were made in China from 2008 -2014 were some of the best guitars you could ever buy . I’ve got a CV60 strat , 50s Tele and I had the 50s strat .
You're right. I've got the CV 50's Tele, and it's fantastic. And I bought it used for only $250
😂😂😂😂
The ones made in Indonesia today are just as good.
Even better it doesn’t say CHINA on the headstock
Yep...got the Blackguard 50s CV from that time period ...its a belter... My bandmate bought a Squier Tele CV last year (a 2022 version), I played it - didn't sound near as good or play so well....
Phil, what a stand-up guy you are, I mean it! You borrowed that guys guitar, and you put a ton of upgrades in it for him as a thank you! That is old school honorable behavior, brother!
Everyone knows that moving the strap button back 5mm not only eliminates neck dive but also doubles your sustain
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Good one!
Must be why SGs have the button all the way on the back
It's like vinyl tape on a Honda Civic. 20 extra HP!
it also gives you more tone!
😂😂😂
I purchased a Ruby Red 40th year anniversary Squire (also a green tele 40th) for my two grandsons. I thought that one day... perhaps 10 - 15 years from now, when I'm gone, they might like getting something from their granddad. The strap button on the strat on the one I got is also off-center installed, so it looks intentional.
Excellent future gift!
*Squier, not "Squire."
i also have the ruby red one and the strap button is off-center.
I stand corrected. @@QS-si3cq
I bought this online when the price was $600. I wanted it because of the block inlays. I think if I played it in store first I would have passed. I've grown to like it.BTW. my strap button is centered. Fret ends were nicely rounded over also
I love block inlays too. Looks powerful and electrified. But I'm just playing an old 22-fret B.C. Rich Warlock from 2011 as it stands. With how little I play, I don't need anything more anyway.
.......ah, yeah...likewise, I paid the $599 for the Sherwood Green Tele with the Gold.....but, to make me feel better, I bought the Ruby Red with Gold Strat...at half that price, new.....so as to average out!....if that makes any sense!.....it made me feel better. lol.
paying a prettier penny to have chunks of toilet seat embedded to your rosewood fretboard is rock'n'roll 😎👌🏻
@@theelodgeovkeku all right Mary, settle down
@@davedavid7061 I'm not hatin', just pointing out the irony of it all.
Now PRS birds...
I bought one of these just because I wanted another Strat, and I liked the options (and the surf green color) and aside from the fret polishing issue, it's fantastic.
Bought a Squier Classic Vibe '70s Telecaster Thinline for $379 on a Musician’s Friend sale sometime back on a whim. I’m not exaggerating when I say the finish, build quality, and even the setup out of the box was some of the best I’ve seen from any sub $1000 guitar I’ve purchased. It quickly became my #2 and has stayed close by ever since. That Thiline can do anything from acoustic to metal….it even tracks well!
One thing youtube become is an advertorial video platform. Your channel is one of the few exceptions. You review guitars just to share what you really like. Thanks for the great review. Guitar is super hot btw! Squier has outdone themselves!
The Squire J Mascis Jazzmaster felt & played better than every single $1K Fender I picked & played at Guitar Center. It’s such a great guitar
I like that you demonstrate the middle position.
Some guitar youtubers leave out the middle position, but it's got such a nice sound, you should not leave it out!
The Squire 40th anniversary models are the greatest value for money instruments you can get at the moment. I picked up a Jazzmaster, brand new for a little over £350 in the UK! It's as cool as f..k, sounds amazing, especially the bridge pickup which is super hot.
The build quality is great with no issues whatsoever. Couldn't be happier.
I also gotta say, ive been following you for quite a while now, and i love how far these videos have come. More in depth, and as you acquire more knowledge over the years, you pass it on to us, and im forever grateful. Most informative gear channel on YT.
@Jake Football that "because" is not a reason. Give reasons.
@@musstta01he doesn't need to lmao
I own a 2001 Squier “Standard” Strat (Indonesia), and I’m amazed how “Fenderey” it is. The neck is slightly rolled (on a Squier?), and the Alnico 5 pickups sound good enough to me to not switch them out. The floated 2-point trem works well. The ONLY thing that bugs me is the 41 mm (yes, 41) nut. The neck at the 1st fret is pretty dang narrow. I replaced it with a Tusq, but had to trim off the ends.
3:54 I typically sand the nut down from the bottom so my strings sit nicely on top. This way I only need to adjust the width for my preferred strings, which are 10 to 52 gauge.
Not many YTers I trust for reviews…you and The Guitaristas are my favorites. Excellent reviews and I always learn something! I’m not a strat fan so I wouldn’t buy something like this, but it does look nice.
With you on that! Phillip and Colin (Guitaristas) have set the bar for informed, honest and fun guitar reviews. So many 'salespersons' out there 'reviewing' stuff . . .
@@ThankHank agreed I fucking love him
And his playing is so realistic but always so good too
Col is great, open & sincere, & I really like his playing style.
That's nice of you to make those adjustments to his guitar just for letting you review it.
You're a nice guy Phil (and a great source for honest guitar reviews). Thanks for the video.
I got to say I'm kinda done with the bigger companies not at least giving a gig bag with their more expensive or Anniversary type guitars if $100 guitars can do it there is no excuse. That's just my opinion.
I bought a Tele couple years ago. I'm very happy with it. Only thing I'd like to change is the D-G saddle. There's no compensation for intonation.
I imagine when Leo thought it up, wound G strings were the norm, ergo, the compromise wasn't so far apart.
Other than that, for the level I'm at, and unlikely to rise too much, everything else is fine.
I think on a blind test play, I'd be unable to tell Squire from Fender.
Would like to add. With modern CNC machines, there's very little hands on craftsmanship. So long as someone has quality materials and programmers, I see no reason why a quality instrument can,'t be built by anyone anywhere.
Thank you for the great video! I have the same guitar and the straps are mounted identical. Also hated the gloss on the back so i got rid of it and in my opinion its feels a lot better to play now.
I sanded off the gloss finish on my Squier baritone tele too. So much nicer
Doesn’t matter if you change all hardware of the instrument... the most important part is the wood... I talk from experience... I upgraded a Squier Jazz Bass (pups, bridge, tuning machines and I even made it active).
Cool tip on how to put a groove in the Dremel pad to make polishing the frets easier. Thanks
I have an Affinity Squier and I’m beyond happy with it. Out of the box it’s obviously lower quality than even this 40th Anni model but with some hands on work addressing the small details that aren’t attended to in the name of keeping the price low it’s a really good instrument.
I love what Squier is doing rn. I have a couple diff ones and theyre really great instruments for the price. I recently got a Squier baritone tele and its my current favorite. I did sand down the back of the neck tho because i hated the gloss finish
The one with P90s? I messed around with one at guitar center when i was done checking out acoustics, and I kinda want one. I played it through a supro delta king 5 watt, and it was lovely.
I bought a 2023 Squier classic vibe 60s a few months ago. Put me some hand would 59 pickups and a Mojotone blender solderless wiring harness. CT’s 500k pots and switchcraft 5 way. I love it. It came in waaaaay better condition as far as quality and fretwork that my fender did. I’ve finally accepted that a sticker on one saying fender is nothing more than a decal. I thought I’d never say that lol. I love it!! It’s my number 1 go to now. Selling my fender now.
I love to see these reviews getting so many views and attention, all deserved. You will struggle to find a review as thorough and well spoken, and with as much helpful advice.
I bought a Squire Starcaster and I was really impressed with the fit and finish, playability, and the overall tone. The frets on my were done well, maybe because it had a maple fretboard. Great video!
I got a cheap Squire Tele used from GuitarCenter for my nephew to learn on, and I was SHOCKED at how good it is. Plays great, sounds way better than it has any right to, and looks fantastic.
Thanks Phil! I love these videos as they teach me more and more about the workmanship that goes into the instruments you feature. The Geeky Stuff rules!
When I started to get interested in luthiery, I wanted to make my first guitar sound a little better. It was an Affinity Stratocaster from a starter kit, it had decent hardware and construction, unlike the new Bullet kits. Now the first thing I did was learn how to play better, and the second thing I did was install a 1-meg mini potentiometer on the volume knob. It made those cheaper single coils open up and the guitar almost has this humbucker driving tone, but it's rather different for sure.
Classic Vibes are always the way to go.
How much more can full sized pots cost? Its a $500 guitar.
Pretty nice guitar. Looks cool. Does stratoguitar things. Neck binding is neat, uncommon. Squire is working hard to own 300-500 dollar range, or at least staying pretty close in quality to the upstart brands with less "heritage." Really makes you look for something loaded up with features if you go for value on an off brand alternative.
Harley-Benton is a pretty good alternative from what I can tell, but their cheapest strats actually don't sound good. To my ears, most electric guitars sound basically the same, and almost all of it comes from effects, filters, etc. But that guitar just sounds affected. Maybe it suits certain styles of music, but I'd want a versatile guitar.
Indonesian Fenders have amazing fit and finish. Period. Older China "Classic Vibes" are nice but I still need to dress fret edges.
Hey Phil,
I don’t own any Squires however for $499.00 this to me is an incredible deal honestly. It would’ve been nice to have this many choices when I was growing up as a kid in the mid 70’s @ these price points.
Japanese fenders in the 80's were less than 300bucks new, not cheap but affordable and very high quality, arguably better than today's stuff at that price.
squier standard are all over the place for $200 , that 40yr one is way overpriced
I bought the vintage edition, , has no bindinf Fender-designed, Alnico V-loaded,solid maple neck,I upgraded the tuneing gears and a loaded tortus shell picguard orilpure hotrails, mine weighs 9.3 lbs,,,well satisfied with mine
I would keep in mind too, with any Anniversary limited edition. Some people(collectors)will rarely play them,maybe what Squire is assuming, but from what I can see from your review, it's better than I expected for $499 from Fender and they cant make them too good or Fender cant sell higher end guitars.
I am a huge Squier fan because you typically get so much guitar for your money. This Squier looks great. But compared to some of the other options out there, I would have serious reservations about buying it when compared to the other options. Especially when it comes to the stuff Sire is putting out.
I just bought my 1st non main name brand guitar a Slash Gold Top Epiphone. I am surprised how well it fairs to even my vintage Gibson's for tone. They have stepped their game up. It looks like Squier is too.
The last Fender I bought was a 2017 Pro Tele. It had something like 10 to 12 high frets in various places up and down the fret board. Thanks Fender!
Big no from me, they went all in the looks, and it is gorgeous, but I'm not doing a fretjob, shielding, swap pots, maybe change that ugly nut at this price point. Great vid as always, thank you!
Would love to see an episode where you get a used guitar and do a full setup and fix whatever needs to be fixed. Most of these new guitars just needs a tweak here or there but the used ones usually need a full truss rod, action, intonation, nut, and other stuff which I would love to see. Thanks for all the cool videos 🙏🙏
Check out Zimm’s Guitars if you haven’t already. He does a ton of videos like that on his channel.
It’s nuts, when I was newbie I used think the pricy guitars just played way better. Even though there are still certain advantages to pricy guitars, a good setup brings them super close
Check out Phil’s Sharpen My Axe series fir exactly what you’re describing!
The past two years your guitar playing has improved a lot !
I've been watching since the beginning.
I watched a number of videos years ago about the Squier Classic Vibe Tele and not one had anything bad to say about them. I bought one and I'm glad I did. My only complaint is that it came in either a natural finish or white finish.
I've had that exact guitar. I bought it used, just a couple of months old, practically new! It's a really beautiful guitar! The color, binding, the block inlays... It looks great! However... The wiggle stick doesn't feel good. It's screwed in, and I'm afraid it won't last... The guitar wasn't really set up well, but my main issue with it was the tuning machines. They were absolutely awful! It's a new guitar, but the tuning machines have give in them. I want to loosen the strings and have to turn maybe even a fifth of a lap before anything happens. And it's not about the nut clamping on the strings either. They have give both ways. I was thinking about changing the tuners, but also the fret ends were really sharp and uncomfortable. Finally, I wanted a second Strat as a backup, but it's just so far off from my Shijie STE, it can't compare, it's not even close. Since I bought my Shijie, it ruined all other Strats for me.
What I like about the G&L is that like the Squier Affinity, the width at the NUT is 41mm while everybody else goes for 42mm and larger.... HOW does your Shijie actually measure at the nut ??? Is it 42mm or less ???? Does it "FEEL" slim enough ??? (PS: Squier Classic Vibe feels very large at nut despite it measuring 42.5mm)
As the owner of four Classic Vibe Squier guitars, I have to say when they were made in China the fit and finish was a lot better than the Indonesian made. The Chinese made Strat even had a rosewood finger board, the fret work on both the Tele and Strat were perfect. I have since bought two Indonesian made Classic Vibe one Tele Deluxe and one white blond Strat, on both of those guitars I had to change out the pots and also do the fret ends. The Tele deluxe had sheilding paint but it looked like it been splashed on with globs in places, also the paint under the pickguard was dull not polished and there were chips around some of the screw holes, also the holes for the bridge screws were chipped and drilled too big, I had to put larger screws in. Fender need to get their quality control in order you don't see those kind of mistakes on PRS guitars made there.
Give me the Squier and I’ll put all the money I saved into fretwork, having the edges rolled, and nut work to make it super comfortable AND upgrade potentially all the electronics and switches. Seems like a no brainer to me
The second you said that you asked a viewer to purchase that guitar, i stopped the video. You truly are a person without shame.
Considering Phil's top-notch integrity I have to say you must be missing something.
I have the ruby one and absolutely love it. Had to change the pickups to a Tonerider City Limits set but it’s now spot on for me.
Nice deep dive. Most of the Classic Vibe, Vintage Modified, Contemporary and 40th Anniversary ones I've tried play fine after a good setup and new strings. Nice gear for the price.
I love Squier guitars and basses.
From Leo: I like the looks of the guitar. You would think at the premium price, they would at least come with a gig bag, maybe one with some 40 year logo applied. Even $159 INDIO guitars have a gig bag with a real embroidery logo. My CV Squier did not need fret dressing, it is a shame that a bound neck guitar was shipped needing fretwork. . FMIC needs to up their game. I am sure the owner appreciates Phil making it right.
Squier Surpassing Fender Guitars In Quality? YES. When the Classic Vibe guitars came out, I was in a band with a guy who had a custom shop Fender. Everyone but him preferred the CV and thought it was the better guitar. I've met and heard of a lot of pro players who use Squier or other foreign Fenders. Jack Pearson was one of the first I've heard of like this, and I continue to keep hearing this.
1st time viewing your channel. Got to say I found this review very informative & detailed. As a novice guitar builder I definitely learned some good tips!
Personally I dig the look of a Squire neck with big block inlays & binding. I've put a few of the Indonesian Squire necks on different Fender Jag bodies & really like 'em once they're polished up!
A lot of care, passion and love for the instrument...
Great guitar, great teacher and a great video!!! Way to go....
I purchased a new Squire Esquire 2 years ago, straight out of the box it played great, no adjustments required, the only thing I’ve changed are the strings!
I was very impressed, modern Squires are definitely not entry level quality!
I own an American Strat and Tele. I also have a classic vibe 70's Squire with oversized headstock and rosewood fretboard board. Alnico pickups. I'm choosing the squire as my #1 everytime! The tone it gives on the neck pickup is the warmest and most responsive tone I've ever found. I changed my pots to 500k. Overkill but much better.
I have a made-in-China 2009 Squire Strat and I absolutely love it and would not sell it for anything, Like Mike Campbell said if you find one that plays and sounds great keep it. but I do have a Squire Affinity 2012 and I wouldn't give it to my worst enemy. LOL.
IMO Squier should have 4 lines of guitars; budget, hot rod, vintage and modern.
The budget range is all cheap pot-metal hardware, top loaded hardtail bridges, cheap ceramic pickups but decent bodies and necks (the beginner/mod platform guitars)
The hotrod range is reminicent of what bands like Motörhead, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden played in the late 70's/early 80's, vintage looking guitars, but upgraded with humbuckers bigger frets, and 2-point tremolos (here you can also find a Keith Richards-type SH tele and stuff like that)
The vintage range is basically the current classic vibe series: small frets, tinted necks, AlNiCo pickups, vintage style bridge and tuners (I'd also like for them to have the aged hardware from the anniversary models and semi-gloss finishes)
Finally we have the modern range; satin finishes, active pickups, roasted maple necks, stainless steel frets, heel contours, locking tuners and maybe Floyd Rose trems.
Of course all ranges would come with a strat, tele, jaguar (bass and guitar), mustang (bass and guitar), jazzmaster, jazz bass and Precision bass. The vintage line would have several versions with cosmetic differences between 50's, 60's and 70's and the modern range would also have 5-string basses
Thanks!
I love how your logo colors for this video matched the guitar! Cheers and hope you're doing well.
I just bought an Affinity Squire Strat last month. I'm learning to love it everyday. I wanted to upgrade my playing and think it is the one to do it. I LOVE anything Fender...
2:30 it's right in the middle on mine!
Phillip is the best guitar and gear reviewer out there!
Hi I got a ruby red today , the strap button was the same off centre as that one. Besides that and the typical iffy pots and switch, it is a wonderful guitar. No fret sprout and all frets are level . Next to no relief , string height 1.75- 1.5 plays great. Some flame in the maple.
I've bought two Squier Classic Vibe instruments. A Mustang Bass (no dead spots), and a Jazzmaster. Great stuff!
Hey, Phillip, I've been watching a large number of videos on the Donner superstrat that's been all over TH-cam recently. When they've mentioned the frets, they've usually had good things to say about them. I'm waiting right now to receive the guitar I bought yesterday, so in a few days I'll be equipped to examine the frets and their ends in person. If you like, I'll let you know what I find. If it's as good as some of the reviews I've seen, though, Fender might need to give serious thought to upgrading and modernizing some of their processes. I will not have paid all of $200 in acquisition cost for this guitar. If its frets are even as good as the Squier, the Squier is getting its butt kicked in the value for money department. And if Squier is somehow beating FENDER in quality, then what the hell good is Fender anymore?
Love Squier guitars. Yes I have crazy expensive guitars all makes all brands customs etc etc. BUT! I added a few things to my squiers and they play and sound no better or worse than my 5 grand guitars. Literally the biggest pros to playing a Squier is you don't have that looming fear of denting digging scratching or having it stolen playing out lol or around your kids. Also I don't customize every Squier I buy guitars for their different sounds. Personalities. Love your channel. I've learned alot you come across very personable. Great content.
Phil, I have the same Squier guitar and the strap button is centered on mine also plays perfectly the only thing I found wrong is the pic guard edge is very sharp and you better be careful when cleaning as you will cut yourself on it.
I bought the 40th anniv Jazzmaster in the same color and out of the box it had pretty much the same quality issues you describe. Unpolished frets, pickguard screws all over the place, plus a dodgy pickup switch. But the sound is good and it was at a 25% discount at Thomann so I kept it, set it up, cleaned the pickup switch and it's been playing fine for the last two months...
!!! Greetings from Montréal, Québec, Canada !!! I have been watching your videos for a few years now and ALWAYS enjoy the instructive content of them !!! Recently bought a Squier Telecaster Affinity, Not happy with the 'FREE One month later adjustment', the low strings 'Buzz' within the first 5 frets and still find the strings to be too high past the 12th fret soooo, with your good advice and tricks, I shall try to correct the situation myself, I do not think I can do such a bad job on the bridge for string height and intonation IF I follow your instructions !?! Keep you posted on this one. Thank you for your professionnal videos, may you and familly stay healthy !!! Cheers !!!
That is a beautiful Squier! Love the binding on the neck!
If you don't like a glossy neck. If I am keeping the guitar, I get sandpaper and lightly sand it less than minute and it's smooth
I've got a Player Plus Strat. It's amazing. I've customized it a bit with a hot rail humbucker and a new black pickguard, plus I set the trem to dive-only and it's my #1 guitar. That being said, I've also got a Squier Jaguar and a Squier Tele. The Jaguar is a classic vibe 70s Jaguar and the Tele is just an Affinity. The Jaguar needed a bit of work. The bridge kept sinking down too low, so I had to add some loctite. I think I'll just replace the bridge when I change the bridge position single coil to a humbucker. Other than the bridge issue, it's fantastic. The neck is amazing. Chunky compared to my Strat. The Affinity telecaster never ceases to amaze me. It's the cheapest Squier Tele that you can buy and it's just so stable. Maybe it's a Tele thing, but for my cheapest guitar, the tuning stability is crazy good. It's super easy to intonate and it's just a great cheap guitar, so it seems that Squier has been doing great for a while. My first electric guitar when I was a kid was a hard tail Squier Bullet Strat from like 2000 or 2001. It was alright, but nowhere near as good as the newer Squiers.
Another good cheap brand to check out is Eart. I got an HSS Strat type guitar from them off of Amazon for like $300 or $400. It's got perfectly polished stainless steel frets. The pickups sound great. It's a very dark sounding guitar, but it's nice to have a dark sounding Strat since my Fender is pretty bright sounding, even with the humbucker.
What timing! I was just in a music store here in Prague the other day. There were two Strats that really caught my eye. One was a Squier, one was a much higher priced Fender. I liked the Fender better upon first glance. Maple fretboard, burst, mint green guard and aged plastic parts. The Squier also had a maple fretboard, burst, but white guard and white plastic parts. But when I looked closer at both, and picked them up, the neck on the Squire was A LOT nicer. Like a lot. Both in feel and in looks.
Bought this exact guitar in the transparent "Sienna sunburst" finish. It's honestly the best out-of-the-box guitar I've ever purchased. Looks amazing, too. Mine had a tiny cosmetic imperfection in the binding near the join on the bass side but otherwise it was flawless. Such a nice guitar I actually considered selling my Fender Player Tele to buy the 40th anniversary Telecaster.
same!
If I knew anything about refinishing, I would apply that metallic blue finish and an off-white pick guard on my Squier Vintage Modified Bass Six. I dig that finish.
As nice as that Squire is, the Sire Larry Carlton ones seem to be setting the standard in the class. Even for the $100 more, you more than get your $$ worth. JMHO 8) --gary
Last year I wanted a tele, a project guitar to upgrade, and was trying out Squiers. While I was expecting to have to work on the guitar a bit, the ones I tried weren’t great! They all felt like about 10 minutes were spent on fit and finish. Playable, but not pleasant: rough scratchy frets mainly
I tried an Ibanez, made in Indonesia. A hard tail strat with pup switching that can get tele sounds. It needed less work so bought that one, and spent a couple hours on setup, and polishing frets. Now, almost a year later, it’s still stock, and pondering leaving it be. It’s not as good as my American strat, but pretty damn close; closer than the difference in price!
If I were a beginner I’d have been disappointed with what was available for under $400
I purchased this same Squier from Aaron @ Sweetwater and had it plek'd. I am in the process of installing Fender Locking Tuners, but they have two aligning holes instead of screws and require a slightly wider shaft hole. The Fender Locking Tuners are a real pain to install on this guitar, but it will hopefully be worth it in the end. I added copper foil tape in the cavity. I also installed Fender Strap Locks. I have about a grand in it, but I don't thing it will be nearly as good as my Sire Strat. Almost 40 guitars in my studio, PRSs, Andersons, Fender Custom Shop, Gibson custom shop, and Suhrs. Nothing beats my plek'd SIre.
I put the fender locking tuners on a Squier neck some time back. It was a pain as you describe but man, what a difference!
What I like about this is that you play in a way that the average player can relate to. Not some virtuoso impossible stuff. That's a nice sounding guitar setup.
I got a green telecaster version with the gold hardware for $359 Christmas sale! Did all the mods mentioned in the video, but used shielding tape and gotoh tuners. Also changed pickups to tex mex, higher output than original!
It has the split shaft tuners, which in my opinion makes the need for locking tuners unnecessary. I started playing Fenders back in 1963. Every Strat or Tele I owned never had any tuning problems.
I noticed some intonation issues particularly with the B string when you were playing in different areas on the neck. Considering the price, it's not as noticeable as many other cheap guitars. However, poor intonation can make a great guitar player seem like a beginner. It could also be the taller fret height and finger pressure causing the intonation inconsistency.
I bought a Fender Player Plus Tele and it’s awesome, I love it. However, I bought my son a Squire Tele for Christmas and for $300, it’s crazy good and I’ve found myself picking it up a lot!
Love my 2022 Squire Classic Vibe 50s. I also have a PRS SE and a G&L Tribute strat. The Squire is my go to.
You've come a long way man. Congrats
I bought the same on lst year love it, my strap button is in the same place and my pickguard is a bronzy gold
The sensational question, "Squier Surpassing Fender Guitars In Quality?", made me think that there was something unique about this guitar, so I watched the video. After watching the video, not only was the Squier, not even close to surpassing the quality of a Fender, but the question posed in the title was never addressed. I gave the video a thumbs up before it ended, but after it did, I took it back. I like Mr. McKnight's videos, and I respect him and his knowledge, very much, but the title of this video was very misleading. I didn't expect that from this reviewer or his channel. It's not that big a deal, but it's just one of those things where I won't believe everything I read in the title anymore. Other than that, thank you for the video.
Always a thorough review on every detail you could be interested in!
I have enjoyed mine for over a year now, I play it more than any of my other guitars.
I have a Squire Classic Vibe 50s strat as well a a Fender American Standard strat that I bought in 2012. I really like both.
Hey Phil - I like that you pointed out the Kluson-style tuners. Tuners are important. I went to a boutique shop here in Charlotte NC and the "guy" pointed to what he called Kluson tuners on my 1977 (Nashville made) Gibson Les Paul Standard. Yep, Norlin heavy. "Guy" said he could replace them with a $50 set. Yes their appearance is Kluson and they have that footprint, but if you disassemble, look closely, each is stamped "Made in W. Germany." I'm thinking they are Schaller. And good to keep. You thoughts? Thx -R
People should be super careful using that tool to dress fret ends. It’s super easy to create tool marks in the fretboard, even if you are experienced at filling. I prefer to use the super high grit sanding pads from stew Mac to fix sharp frets. Less dangerous IMO.
Great video as always!
I have the 40th anniversary P Bass version of this. It sounds and looks amazing. In my opinion its quality, playability, frets, and value is better than any MIM I have owned or played.
Question about the strap button? Is it the thinner squire body or maybe the fender thickness drilled in a jig??
Nice guitar.
that 40th series is pretty good! I've tried a few
I was handing "CBS" Fender's to guys over the counter as far back as 1971 and nothing out of California had that build quality. The fit was so bad that Fender had to make a tilting 3-bolt neck joint just to set them up correctly. Consumers just got confused about this. I was there. When the neck pocket is made correctly by CNC Machine they went back to traditional four bolt joint.
I have one of these. I immediately swapped out the pots and switch and kept the stock pickups. After playing it for about a month I started thinking about selling my Tash Sultana signiture Strat, it's that good! I put gibson gold reflector top hat knobs on it, cause it's fancy lol
I found out that Duncan Designed pickups on some Squire Strats are Seymour Duncan pickups that are made in Korea.
Your guitar playing has gotten alot better since the eairly TH-cam days especially for a bass player .
wasn't really keen on the neck binding, but always love the 70's era headstock