I really appreciate you and Cathy sharing your life with us. The first thing I look at in the morning and the last before I go to bed is what yall have put up. I really appreciate it! Love y’all !
@@Mr.PhatsVarietyVibesShow To me it doesn’t make sense. They should do it right and the way they do it is just asking for unstable intonation, even with their 6 saddle bridges. I like the 50s MIM Tele through the body and the 3 brass saddles keep it sounding like a Tele should. For Good 👍
I have the same exact guitar I got mine from guitar center on sale for 149.00. I didn’t have the fret issues. What I did was I treated the neck with the Monty’s fret treatment and that really gave frets an amazing darker look and darkened the rest of neck also. I put in bone nut and hip shot locking tuners. I added an obsidian wiring kit and a mirror pickguard and it’s a fantastic guitar.
I personally like working on guitars.. got a bunch of squires that needed some love but are rippers now.. that's why I'm watching this channel to learn and mod.....bold move with the extra fret !!!
That is crazy! I would return it. It isn’t worth 200$ I check everyday to see if you upload anything…..thanks Sean for your hard work and giving us great content! If I was gonna keep it I would put Cathy’s tele pickups in it. Love y’all ❤
Sean reminds me of my 8th grade shop teacher. With wood, “ Nothing is more fun than finding and fixing a damaged piece of wood. All you need is patience, wood glue and clamps.” Wood can be sculpted into something that makes you happy. I made my Mom a cutting board out of Cedar and Poplar strips and glue with two small dowels in each piece of cedar glued into the poplar and clamped together. Then hand rubbed linseed oil. My mom passed away in 2008 , but her younger sister still uses that butcher block cutting board as the center piece of her cabinet and just cleans it by wiping it with dish soap and rubbing Crisco oil in it. The dowels are still tight after 50 years, she has cut up a lot of chickens on it and the cedar and poplar never seems to age she tells me. My aunt Ruth still considers it the prettiest thing in her kitchen and has promised to pass it on to her daughter. Every guitar neck Sean makes, or an old pawn shop guitar he fixes like the flamed pine top “Tiger Lilly” with a pair of Cathy’s Humbuckers creates an heirloom guitar that can be passed down for generations for a family. Pass it from generation to generation like he could or I would and you have respected the trees and hardware that can still be making music 100 years from now. Because, it was made right by someone who could sculpt and dowel, glue and solder an old guitar. The “Tiger Lilly “ is more than just a pawn shop piece that will wear out. Someone can take care of it and it can be doing what he and Cathy made it for and look great forever. That is the story of an old discarded guitar and is a metaphor of what any of us can be in what the Good Lord made.
I have a Squire Bullet Strat from 2010 that I paid $119 for. I love the neck on it and it looked good all put together. Of course, like anyone would, I decided to modify it. When I got the pickguard off, I noticed that the routs for the neck and pickups were janky and the paint of the sunburst under the guard was super-sloppy. It made me feel a LOT better about my own rank amateur partscaster building/painting.
I have this guitar, bought from Sweetwater and didn't have any of these issues. I put a new set of strings on and did a slight adjustment to the neck and was good to go. I really like my Squire Sonic Telecaster. Certainly looks like Fender needs to work on quality control as this one should have never left the factory like that.
I wish I had the skill with guitars like Sean, but I wasted my time trying to get a 3800 lb car to run 150 mph in the quarter mile. And I really got bummed out when I couldn’t solder the Cathybuckers in my Silvertone. I have learned a whole lot, but Sean has a special gift for it. So does Cathy in winding pickups. They sound so great. I had a Grey with a black pickguard Fender Strat with no pickguard and 1 bridge humbucker. I tuned it a half step down and it had an amazing tone. I think it was made for grunge and metal, and fingerpicking and using an up/ down picking on chords chopped into individual notes really sounded sinister. I think it was a HM Strat, but you never see them for sale. I believe it was a hard tail too. You’re a master wood artist and sculptor. Those Reaper guitars are amazing!
When fender/squier had the big sale not so long ago, i ordered one of these tele’s. I got one, unboxed it, wrapped it back up, and sent it back because the fit and finish was so bad. I got its replacement and did the exact same thing. Two guitars got sent back and i never even strummed either of them. Ill go onto the used market and buy one for less than $100 and not feel bad about any work it may need. And i also cant stand these top loaders. Theres no reason for them not to be string through.
I bought a Firefly tele for about $130 last year and it had no problems a basic setup didn't fix. Other than getting new magnetic pole pickups, I did not have to mod anything really, and those were cheap and sound great. You are 100% percent correct, because these "Fenders" are made in the same places now as what's on Amazon for a fraction of the price.
I've heard of factory seconds (That's Guitar Center), but this is factory thirds! Who wants sloppy thirds?? NOT me!! I'm so glad you do these videos, man.
Sean/Shawn (however), Thank you. I have learned more from your vids that all the others I've watched and your list of tools far exceeds in number and affordable price (as I'm a 100% disabled vet from the Vietnam War). Working my way up to making one after playing (just for me not others, in other words, amateur, which means, "for the love of") 58 years. Again thanks to you and you better half! PS -- maybe I should say rank amateur ;~).
I have the same guitar, same color. It takes stickers very well. I immediately installed a DiMarzio Super Distortion, Tele style in the bridge. I got me mine during 2020 lockdowns, $179. I love it. Mine had no QC issues that I noticed. It also had string thru, too. Mine was made in Indonesia. I sent back the other series made in China.
Hi @patricklennox9572 could you tell me what the name of this colour is please? I cannot find it listed anywhere and I think it’s just Beautiful. Thank you 😊😊🙏🙏😊😊
@@pranapositivepartyireland2767 Guitar Center still has as a "limited edition." But I got mine four years ago. There are calling it Surf Green in the Guitar Center description. Mine was made in Indonesia, but according to Guitaristas, his was made in China.
Hi Sean I'm a UK pensioner so cheap guitars are what I can afford unfortunately in the UK it difficult or impossible to get all the guitars you get in the U.S. I have a few squire's and recently bought a squire debut strat and it's pretty good action just how I like it no buzzes pickups weak after i fettled it I'd be happy to gig it I'm thinking of getting the debut Tele next pension day try them 119$ . Great channel 👍👌
I love Fender, but as times go by they have to compete with cheaper and cheaper copies of their own Guitars, but they should know if it has their name on it it should be quality, no matter the price.. Also this expensive guitar thing is ridiculous, my first strat in 72 was $350.00 brand new, and that is what a good American Fender should be... period...
Thank you so much for this. Everyone else on youtube saying this guitar is amazing which is fine but they dont even talk about the negitives. Subscribed.
I do sessions. I happened to end up at an old singer pal's place who played me some (pro level) tracks, one of which didn't have the intended rhythm and solo guitar tacks. His daughter had a MIM strat with ceramics. I had my laptop and apogee field audio device, so recorded parts for him right there. Nobody ever complained about the tone.
I had a buddy who got this same guitar months ago and it did the exact same thing. He ended up taking it back and getting an actual Fender Tele instead.
Subscribed. Love your videos. I bought a Fender Squire Bullet that exact color but string through body made in Indonesia from Guitar Center in 2017 for $135 on sale. Surprisingly great playing and sounding guitar. Plays and sound better than my made in China Affinity Telecaster. This guitar was definitely a butchered Amazon return. Great job fixing it up.
Thanks Sean, nice review, I agree with your assessment. thanks to you I will never ever buy anything on line unless I see it myself at the music shop so before my local Sam Ash closes down for good, I will head off to the store & buy something before it's too late.. I just don't have faith in buying anything on line anymore..
Everyone was raving about the pink squier sonic strat with one humbucker... it looked really good afar, but hell, everything was wrong with it even with my "know how". So i left with a Kramer Baretta Special for 20 bucks and I can't put it down, even before I changed the tuners and bridge. I used to love them squier, they felt really good. It's sad.
Hey Sean, another great video! What kind of file would I need to use on fret tangs poking out the side of the fret board? Flat file? I bought a short scale guitar so my daughter can get started playing, but man a couple fret are sharp. I appreciate any advice. Keep on scarrin!
@scarmyguitar awesome! Thanks so much. Watching your videos is making me confident in doing guitar maintenance myself. Guess its not too late to learn.
I made a tele that would catch the E string on a fret like that. I kept working of the frets, then learned it was due to the cheap bridge & saddles I used.
Great video! I bought the 40th anniversary Squier telecaster and it was great straight out of the box. I don't know what's going on with the Sonic line.
There is a type of Palm tree that the resulting wood is sold as several names. It is sold both as Black Palm and Laurel Palm that in finished items the Palm gets dropped off. I found it years ago when I was buying Chumna. There was a price change (Yep price go up) and new stickers put on the wood and the name changed from Chumba to Black Palm and then a few years later to Laurel Palm (Including price go up) then back to Black Palm again (You guessed it concerning price). The Rockler employee that I questioned said "It is all "Astrocaryum it is exactly as it sounds if you break it down Astro-Car-Yum" I asked if I can just order it as that and get the price back to the 60% cheaper. He said not at Rockler. I quit Rockler shortly after and found better places to spend money.
Its funny that people will pay more for the names and get junk, than buy a solid off brand for less! Squier and Epiphone use to be an affordable used choice for upgrade or modding, not anymore! Thanks to you and Cathy for another great video!
I bought a tele sonic made in Indonesia no problems straight out of the box frets ok plays brilliant maybe wii change to locking tuners and graphite nut and ernie ball strings
The only thing that annoys me about Shaun's vids is that all these great Amazon guitars he recommends aren't available on Amazon UK and can't be shipped from the US site. Much sadness.
Thanks for the upload Sean, I'm fairly new on the channel so I been watching a lot of older videos, I've gotten to the point I can tell about how old the video is by the wear on the hat, patiently waiting
I built my First DIY tele turned out great, put a Wilkinson p-90 in the bridge and a Wilkinson m serious single coil in the bridge, and Wilkinson locking tuners, what a great little guitar!!
It's a shame that the more established brands have not caught on to the fact that the cheaper stuff is better than it used to be. Squire is putting out "new" models but not matching the quality of guitars that sell for less (or matching the quality of Squier from even the recent past). Epiphone prices have skyrocketed and the quality there is not what it should be for the price. As I have said many times, the old adage "you get what you pay for" is not as true as it once was and it was never completely true in the first place.
Squire low end Sonic is as bad as $70 range on other brands. I say go and buy a Squire Affinity series for a bit more and for price of +$50 to +$80 more Depending on model, you are getting models where they would sell for $300--$350 from other more established non Chinese brands like Ephipne in terms of quality. Only the Bullet/Sonic 3/4 or mini size Stratocaster is worth buying if you need a smaller guitar for a rather small hand adult or a young kid.
Nice work Sean! Definitely needs some of Cathy's pickups next. Well done for calling out Fender on their Squier guitars. They can't just rely on their name and put out sub par guitars. 🎸🎸
Hey Sean, Thanks for the inspiration. I have learned so much from your channel. Built my first parts caster and have plans for a parts Telecaster. Thanks again.
Nope, not buying NO Fender from Indonesia and Amazon. I bought a Grote LP with P-90’s from Amazon for $159 with S/S frets and bone nut. Way better than any Epiphone and Gibson. Plays beautifully. Just had to tune it a little and plays great. I’m a guitar tech on the west coast central Florida.
I got my 2003 Korean Epiphone Zakk Wylde Signature from Guitar Center like that. The Used advertisement said it came with the Zakk Wylde Custom Hardshell. They sent it wrapped in bubble wrap. I called up the store itself and spoke with the manager. I kept my cool, explained my situation and what I received. She called me back a little bit later apologizing that she couldn't locate the case. She did offer to send me a brand new Gator Flight Case. I was thrilled.
I bought a Mexican Fender Telecaster Nashville model years ago. Out of the box, it was not playable. I did not return it, thinking I would work on it later. Thanks to your videos, Sean, I think I may make it an awesome ax. Thanks, bro!
@shawn. Honestly how much time went I to making this pos playable to where it's giggable.?? I'd love to know. Adding a fret and making it string thru. And all the fine tuning. Had to been a days work and I don't work for less than 50 bucks n hour generally it's about 75.
Bout an hour and a half but I'm a well oiled machine ;) Thanks for asking. I'd say for a guy that doesn't do this stuff all day everyday (like me), he'd be in for a half day maybe.
Nice work brother! I wish I had a shop (and the skills) like you to make my sonic squier more player friendly. Some of my older squier guitars have really good necks/bodies and fret work. Two hundred dollars is a lot of money for some of us to let go of on a new guitar Fender!
Two- or three-piece poplar with ceramic PU's and of course, you read all our minds... TIME TO GET SCARRED and I betcha Cathy's PU's will make it sound 💯% better... sonically speaking anyhow!
The top-loading bridge was installed on Teles beginning in mid-1958, but by mid-1959 string-through construction was reinstated. They occasionally bring back top loaders for nostalgic purposes
I have always had pretty good luck when I have ordered Squiers from the Fender site or Musician’s Friend. The only time that I have encountered the bubble wrap is when I have ordered used Squiers from Guitar Center. Was that guitar made in China or Indonesia?
I ordered a "new" Bullet HH Mustang from MF that came from a store in bubble wrap and non-original box. Rusted strings, fingerprints and general yucky DNA all over it. It cleaned up nice, but it has the same issue with the high E string getting stuck under some fret ends. Good thing I got it on sale for $125, or else it would have gone straight back.
truthfully in all my years of playing geetar not so much where it's made and the cosmetic part of it,it's truly the hands that are on it that counts💯I've picked up Walmart kids guitars on really cheap amps and started riffin while playing dimebag darrel licks from Pantera and had a crowd of people standing around me as well as the cheapest Chinese Made bottom dollar fiddles st sam ash with the same result(not to sound like a egomaniac) i played with passion and sang through my guitars before my stroke that made my left hand weak and not able to play anymore😢I'm switching up lefty soon with those nice westcreek guitars as they make southpaw models of the revenge and flying V series🎸🎶🤘🏻I'm not no quitter because of a setback in life😊I'll play a fiddle with my toes if I gotta😄that's dedication right there!😊I have no limitations because most people place them on themselves😐which is why most of those people only go so far with their playing abilities😄love your work Sean!🤘🏻💯your a guitar knowledge guru brother!i now have better guitar setup and repair skills Sean because of you and Kathy💯👍sending love and appreciation brother!🙏🏿😎I'm looking forward to paying it forward to your patreon Sean💯❤️👍you've given me knowledge i will need brother!🤘🏻🎶god bless you and your lovely wife Kathy🙏🏻❤️💯😎ive owned a squire jagmaster and it played as well as sounded if not better or just as good as the high dollar fiddles i had👍dont you touch my scarred guitar sean😄😎😊
I had a Squier tele about 4or 5 years ago that I named Little Red that I purchased from music go round for $99 bucks and it was awesome, I eventually traded it but it was a good guitar. I have about 30 guitars at the moment, I have a Squier Classic vibes 50’s that’s awesome Classic vibe 60’s awesome as well, Classic vibe Duo Sonic equally awesome. I also have Gibson’s American teles and strats and several Japanese Fender and Squiers that are on par with the American tele’s and strats that I own. I have a Squier Bullett H2 from the 80’s that is incredible. My go to Strat I bought at a pawnshop for $99 is a MIJ Fender Spagetti Logo Squier Series from 1984. All of the above I’ve done no work to other than minor setup and strings, and maybe some pickguard changes.
I had a single Humbucker Fender from 1988 that I think was the M series. It was Silver Grey and it was a real Fender. That thing sounded so good and I wish I still had it. I think it was a “Metal Series “ because it had a good bite to it. Black head stock, can’t find another to save my life.
I bought one of those green squire sonic single Humbucker's from fender for 139 they had on sale and besides fret grab it's really a fine guitar I could not believe it
Brilliant video Shaun, I'm looking for a t style as a modding platform and think I'll be bying a Harley Benton from Thomann instead of a Squier. All the best to you and Cathy and hope you have an awesome 2025.
Yep looks like a return. A buddy ordered a red one but from Fender and it did not come packaged like that. You should try ordering directly from Fender as they have the same price as Amazon. His is fairly decent. I don't think this is a good example to review because I think it is a return. Great job on fixing it up and making a better guitar. Your right this is what Fender should have done from the start.Good video though Sean.🎸🤘🏻
i got a Squire Affinity Tele, 1 1/2 years ago, and the only thing it needed was a fret job on the slightly sharp fret ends. It plays and sounds great. I also bought a Semi Hollow Tele Carbonita with the soap bar pickups. It was used and needed nothing. The shop I buy from did a full setup before putting it on display. I guess things at Squire have gone downhill since.
@darkscribblings My Squire Carbonita in blue goes for $449 to $499. I got it for $299 like new. That guitar is awesome. Even better than the Affinity series
You say those Sonic Series Squires aren't worth $200. I agree, because last year I bought TWO Donner DST-400s, each of which cost me less than $200 to get to the door and they're both better than either of those Squiers you reviewed. If Fender/Squier were the gold standard, they aren't now!
I just bought one of these on sale for 159 and it was on back order. When it finally arrived, it didn't have any of the issues that this one has. Maybe the boys in Taiwan got their act together.
Whenever I've tried the Sonic line, it's been at a dealer, and they at least do a setup of the instruments before they go on the floor. The best Sonic is actually the P-Bass, it's pretty solid and sounds great. If you want the cheap Tele, definitely up the budget and go for the Affinity version - string through bridge, alnico pickups and a stomach cut. Now if you want something from Fender that I would call offensive, it's the recently announced Joe Strummer replica ''69 Tele - which they want $20,000 US for. Obviously they're trying to cover the punk lawyer market 😛 Diametrically opposed to what Joe and The Clash stood for.
Sean .... will you do a review on a Harley Benton guitar. The shipping is $80, but the price is so low it's still cheaper than what you can get state side. Also if you get more than one guitar like three, that shipping is the same price.
I have a $200 tele that is awesome! Of course, it's a $159 Harley Benton with Fender American Standard pickups ($35 from a generous and well-off seller). It outplays every Squier I've played for under half the retail of a Classic Vibe. Knowing that my guitar isn't the only option by a long shot (I'm guessing Firefly, Xavierre and many more make comparable instruments), I'm wondering how much longer Squiers can be profitable for Fender to make and sell.
It seems to me Fender, rather than a simple name change from "Bullet" to "Sonic", the Sonic series is a direct replacement of the higher quality Bullet lineup. The thin fretboard and fret-finishing are testament to this. Those Korean pots are nice, but hardtailing the bridge is bogus. Folks keep saying Indonesia builds are better these days than Chinese builds, but these Sonics tell a different story. Good on ya for turning this Crappecaster into a very decent Scarcaster
I bought one used the other day for $100. Still had the stickers and plastic on pick guard but this thing will NOT stay in tune for 1 minute. Does the string through help? I have plenty of other guitars so I could afford to put a little work into this one.
Great video as usual 😄 I think it’s more a case of quality control. I bought a Squier Sonic Strat and it’s built as well as my Player series. Played good right out of the box! As a personal preference all I have done is lower the action and rub a little fine steel wool on the back of the neck. But yeah, I did get a bad Squier Affinity Tele a couple of years back. Bridge plate was at a funky angle and a chipped finger board. I complained to Fender and got my money back.
I have had two Squiers over the last 3 years; the first was a butterscotch Tele and is beautiful. The second was an HHS Strat Bullet new from GC. Within a year the same fret issues appeared on the Strat. I made a clamp and reset the frets and glued them in place. It worked but the quality of the Bullet Strat was way below the first. That Strat is gone......... The Affinity level is much better.
That's the thing about guitars at that price point: The *end user* is quality control. Once I started seeing those flaws I would have returned it. Things rarely get better after that. The next one might be a good one - or not. Either way, the beauty of Amazon is you can keep at it until you DO get a good one. Rolling the dice on these types of affordable instruments anywhere else can be a serious hassle.
Makes no sense. Fender owns Jackson and I picked up a JS22 for $160 on sale, $200 list. It was nearly perfect out of the box. I only had to lower the bridge and file one high fret. It looks good and sounds great. Why does Fender want to put out such low quality and tarnish their brand? They would be better off rebranding Harley Benton guitars.
I bought a Squire Sonic tele and it showed so beat up I sent it back! Bought a used Affinity Squire tele and still love it 🎸
I really appreciate you and Cathy sharing your life with us. The first thing I look at in the morning and the last before I go to bed is what yall have put up. I really appreciate it! Love y’all !
Wow, thank you
what's really dumb is if we want the string though the body that's an extra 50 bucks for the same hardware.. How does that make sense?
@@Mr.PhatsVarietyVibesShow To me it doesn’t make sense. They should do it right and the way they do it is just asking for unstable intonation, even with their 6 saddle bridges. I like the 50s MIM Tele through the body and the 3 brass saddles keep it sounding like a Tele should. For Good 👍
I have the same exact guitar I got mine from guitar center on sale for 149.00. I didn’t have the fret issues. What I did was I treated the neck with the Monty’s fret treatment and that really gave frets an amazing darker look and darkened the rest of neck also. I put in bone nut and hip shot locking tuners. I added an obsidian wiring kit and a mirror pickguard and it’s a fantastic guitar.
I bought a bullet strat in 2022. Frets look just like that. Back then i didnt know how to do any work on guitars. Now I do.
Fantastic repair vid and great playing to boot. TY.
I personally like working on guitars.. got a bunch of squires that needed some love but are rippers now.. that's why I'm watching this channel to learn and mod.....bold move with the extra fret !!!
Man, i like your straight forward personalility. Plus, really appreciate your craftsmanship. Wish you & Kathy a happy journey in your lives.
That is crazy! I would return it. It isn’t worth 200$ I check everyday to see if you upload anything…..thanks Sean for your hard work and giving us great content! If I was gonna keep it I would put Cathy’s tele pickups in it. Love y’all ❤
Sean reminds me of my 8th grade shop teacher. With wood, “ Nothing is more fun than finding and fixing a damaged piece of wood. All you need is patience, wood glue and clamps.” Wood can be sculpted into something that makes you happy. I made my Mom a cutting board out of Cedar and Poplar strips and glue with two small dowels in each piece of cedar glued into the poplar and clamped together. Then hand rubbed linseed oil. My mom passed away in 2008 , but her younger sister still uses that butcher block cutting board as the center piece of her cabinet and just cleans it by wiping it with dish soap and rubbing Crisco oil in it. The dowels are still tight after 50 years, she has cut up a lot of chickens on it and the cedar and poplar never seems to age she tells me. My aunt Ruth still considers it the prettiest thing in her kitchen and has promised to pass it on to her daughter. Every guitar neck Sean makes, or an old pawn shop guitar he fixes like the flamed pine top “Tiger Lilly” with a pair of Cathy’s Humbuckers creates an heirloom guitar that can be passed down for generations for a family. Pass it from generation to generation like he could or I would and you have respected the trees and hardware that can still be making music 100 years from now. Because, it was made right by someone who could sculpt and dowel, glue and solder an old guitar. The “Tiger Lilly “ is more than just a pawn shop piece that will wear out. Someone can take care of it and it can be doing what he and Cathy made it for and look great forever. That is the story of an old discarded guitar and is a metaphor of what any of us can be in what the Good Lord made.
Love the 22nd fret add on! That's scarred now!
The slab board is a vintage spec that's a veneer and the bridge pick up is shielded by the brass base plate
Always worth stoppin' by, here. Keep rockin' real, y'all.
God bless you! For saving that from falling into someone else's hands. It sounded great after your work!
I have a Squire Bullet Strat from 2010 that I paid $119 for. I love the neck on it and it looked good all put together. Of course, like anyone would, I decided to modify it. When I got the pickguard off, I noticed that the routs for the neck and pickups were janky and the paint of the sunburst under the guard was super-sloppy. It made me feel a LOT better about my own rank amateur partscaster building/painting.
I have this guitar, bought from Sweetwater and didn't have any of these issues. I put a new set of strings on and did a slight adjustment to the neck and was good to go. I really like my Squire Sonic Telecaster. Certainly looks like Fender needs to work on quality control as this one should have never left the factory like that.
Sweetwaters QC is why yours' wasn't like this. I honestly have never had any issues with the guitars they handle.
I wish I had the skill with guitars like Sean, but I wasted my time trying to get a 3800 lb car to run 150 mph in the quarter mile. And I really got bummed out when I couldn’t solder the Cathybuckers in my Silvertone. I have learned a whole lot, but Sean has a special gift for it. So does Cathy in winding pickups. They sound so great. I had a Grey with a black pickguard Fender Strat with no pickguard and 1 bridge humbucker. I tuned it a half step down and it had an amazing tone. I think it was made for grunge and metal, and fingerpicking and using an up/ down picking on chords chopped into individual notes really sounded sinister. I think it was a HM Strat, but you never see them for sale. I believe it was a hard tail too. You’re a master wood artist and sculptor. Those Reaper guitars are amazing!
Sweetwater has excellent QC. They have (at least in my experience) great customer service.
When fender/squier had the big sale not so long ago, i ordered one of these tele’s. I got one, unboxed it, wrapped it back up, and sent it back because the fit and finish was so bad. I got its replacement and did the exact same thing. Two guitars got sent back and i never even strummed either of them.
Ill go onto the used market and buy one for less than $100 and not feel bad about any work it may need.
And i also cant stand these top loaders. Theres no reason for them not to be string through.
I bought a Firefly tele for about $130 last year and it had no problems a basic setup didn't fix. Other than getting new magnetic pole pickups, I did not have to mod anything really, and those were cheap and sound great. You are 100% percent correct, because these "Fenders" are made in the same places now as what's on Amazon for a fraction of the price.
I've heard of factory seconds (That's Guitar Center), but this is factory thirds! Who wants sloppy thirds?? NOT me!! I'm so glad you do these videos, man.
Hey great video Sean,I appreciate you and Cathy in every video!
My $800 Fender American pro neck has dots half in fretboard half in neck.
Sean/Shawn (however), Thank you. I have learned more from your vids that all the others I've watched and your list of tools far exceeds in number and affordable price (as I'm a 100% disabled vet from the Vietnam War). Working my way up to making one after playing (just for me not others, in other words, amateur, which means, "for the love of") 58 years. Again thanks to you and you better half!
PS -- maybe I should say rank amateur ;~).
I have the same guitar, same color. It takes stickers very well. I immediately installed a DiMarzio Super Distortion, Tele style in the bridge. I got me mine during 2020 lockdowns, $179. I love it. Mine had no QC issues that I noticed. It also had string thru, too. Mine was made in Indonesia. I sent back the other series made in China.
Hi @patricklennox9572 could you tell me what the name of this colour is please? I cannot find it listed anywhere and I think it’s just Beautiful. Thank you 😊😊🙏🙏😊😊
@@pranapositivepartyireland2767 Guitar Center still has as a "limited edition." But I got mine four years ago. There are calling it Surf Green in the Guitar Center description. Mine was made in Indonesia, but according to Guitaristas, his was made in China.
Hi Sean I'm a UK pensioner so cheap guitars are what I can afford unfortunately in the UK it difficult or impossible to get all the guitars you get in the U.S. I have a few squire's and recently bought a squire debut strat and it's pretty good action just how I like it no buzzes pickups weak after i fettled it I'd be happy to gig it I'm thinking of getting the debut Tele next pension day try them 119$ . Great channel 👍👌
I love Fender, but as times go by they have to compete with cheaper and cheaper copies of their own Guitars, but they should know if it has their name on it it should be quality, no matter the price..
Also this expensive guitar thing is ridiculous, my first strat in 72 was $350.00 brand new, and that is what a good American Fender should be... period...
This dude is DEFINITELY the coolest guy he knows.
Thank you so much for this. Everyone else on youtube saying this guitar is amazing which is fine but they dont even talk about the negitives. Subscribed.
I do sessions. I happened to end up at an old singer pal's place who played me some (pro level) tracks, one of which didn't have the intended rhythm and solo guitar tacks.
His daughter had a MIM strat with ceramics. I had my laptop and apogee field audio device, so recorded parts for him right there. Nobody ever complained about the tone.
I had a buddy who got this same guitar months ago and it did the exact same thing. He ended up taking it back and getting an actual Fender Tele instead.
Subscribed. Love your videos. I bought a Fender Squire Bullet that exact color but string through body made in Indonesia from Guitar Center in 2017 for $135 on sale. Surprisingly great playing and sounding guitar. Plays and sound better than my made in China Affinity Telecaster. This guitar was definitely a butchered Amazon return. Great job fixing it up.
Thanks Sean, nice review, I agree with your assessment. thanks to you I will never ever buy anything on line unless I see it myself at the music shop so before my local Sam Ash closes down for good, I will head off to the store & buy something before it's too late.. I just don't have faith in buying anything on line anymore..
Everyone was raving about the pink squier sonic strat with one humbucker... it looked really good afar, but hell, everything was wrong with it even with my "know how". So i left with a Kramer Baretta Special for 20 bucks and I can't put it down, even before I changed the tuners and bridge. I used to love them squier, they felt really good. It's sad.
Great job, Sean. Scar those pickups!
Hey Sean, another great video! What kind of file would I need to use on fret tangs poking out the side of the fret board? Flat file? I bought a short scale guitar so my daughter can get started playing, but man a couple fret are sharp. I appreciate any advice. Keep on scarrin!
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@scarmyguitar awesome! Thanks so much. Watching your videos is making me confident in doing guitar maintenance myself. Guess its not too late to learn.
I made a tele that would catch the E string on a fret like that. I kept working of the frets, then learned it was due to the cheap bridge & saddles I used.
I've had two guitars that catch the E string on extreme bending etc. I thought it was a common problem on the low E.
Great video! I bought the 40th anniversary Squier telecaster and it was great straight out of the box. I don't know what's going on with the Sonic line.
There is a type of Palm tree that the resulting wood is sold as several names. It is sold both as Black Palm and Laurel Palm that in finished items the Palm gets dropped off. I found it years ago when I was buying Chumna. There was a price change (Yep price go up) and new stickers put on the wood and the name changed from Chumba to Black Palm and then a few years later to Laurel Palm (Including price go up) then back to Black Palm again (You guessed it concerning price). The Rockler employee that I questioned said "It is all "Astrocaryum it is exactly as it sounds if you break it down Astro-Car-Yum" I asked if I can just order it as that and get the price back to the 60% cheaper. He said not at Rockler. I quit Rockler shortly after and found better places to spend money.
Like every Squier Ive had in the past, they all need tuners and upgraded electronics. Fun if you're a mod hound.
Its funny that people will pay more for the names and get junk, than buy a solid off brand for less! Squier and Epiphone use to be an affordable used choice for upgrade or modding, not anymore! Thanks to you and Cathy for another great video!
I bought a tele sonic made in Indonesia no problems straight out of the box frets ok plays brilliant maybe wii change to locking tuners and graphite nut and ernie ball strings
You know Sean you could be a cartoon character with those side glances and the action between you and Cathy Lol!
The only thing that annoys me about Shaun's vids is that all these great Amazon guitars he recommends aren't available on Amazon UK and can't be shipped from the US site. Much sadness.
A lot of them are not on Amazon Canada either 😢
Yeah same here
Can't get them in Australia 🇦🇺?
Thanks for the upload Sean, I'm fairly new on the channel so I been watching a lot of older videos, I've gotten to the point I can tell about how old the video is by the wear on the hat, patiently waiting
😂😂😂
I built my First DIY tele turned out great, put a Wilkinson p-90 in the bridge and a Wilkinson m serious single coil in the bridge, and Wilkinson locking tuners, what a great little guitar!!
Pre-cracked neck pocket! You won’t have to wait!
Man, you always put in the work Sean!! Great work, great video!!
I appreciate that!
Agree 100%
It's a shame that the more established brands have not caught on to the fact that the cheaper stuff is better than it used to be. Squire is putting out "new" models but not matching the quality of guitars that sell for less (or matching the quality of Squier from even the recent past). Epiphone prices have skyrocketed and the quality there is not what it should be for the price. As I have said many times, the old adage "you get what you pay for" is not as true as it once was and it was never completely true in the first place.
Squire low end Sonic is as bad as $70 range on other brands. I say go and buy a Squire Affinity series for a bit more and for price of +$50 to +$80 more Depending on model, you are getting models where they would sell for $300--$350 from other more established non Chinese brands like Ephipne in terms of quality. Only the Bullet/Sonic 3/4 or mini size Stratocaster is worth buying if you need a smaller guitar for a rather small hand adult or a young kid.
PRS has never made a bad guitar . From the cheapest budget SE to the US models .
Nice work Sean! Definitely needs some of Cathy's pickups next. Well done for calling out Fender on their Squier guitars. They can't just rely on their name and put out sub par guitars. 🎸🎸
Hey Sean,
Thanks for the inspiration. I have learned so much from your channel. Built my first parts caster and have plans for a parts Telecaster.
Thanks again.
It's amazing to see how much other budget guitar brands have improved over Squier's least expensive models. I hope Squier pays attention!
Only after all the good work done on it the word crap can be removed . Now the guitar sounds good.
I'm honestly digging on the Squire Sonic Torino Red Tele. I also know enough to mod it into shape. Us southern boys be like dat.
Nope, not buying NO Fender from Indonesia and Amazon.
I bought a Grote LP with P-90’s from Amazon for $159 with S/S frets and bone nut. Way better than any Epiphone and Gibson.
Plays beautifully. Just had to tune it a little and plays great. I’m a guitar tech on the west coast central Florida.
We need to hook up, bro
I wonder if jumping up the $50 to the Affinity series would be any better.
Glad you are here preaching the truth!
I got my 2003 Korean Epiphone Zakk Wylde Signature from Guitar Center like that. The Used advertisement said it came with the Zakk Wylde Custom Hardshell. They sent it wrapped in bubble wrap.
I called up the store itself and spoke with the manager. I kept my cool, explained my situation and what I received. She called me back a little bit later apologizing that she couldn't locate the case. She did offer to send me a brand new Gator Flight Case. I was thrilled.
I bought a Mexican Fender Telecaster Nashville model years ago. Out of the box, it was not playable. I did not return it, thinking I would work on it later. Thanks to your videos, Sean, I think I may make it an awesome ax. Thanks, bro!
I like the ceramics. More gain sound on the volume attack.
Great job on this review. Thanks
@shawn. Honestly how much time went I to making this pos playable to where it's giggable.?? I'd love to know.
Adding a fret and making it string thru. And all the fine tuning. Had to been a days work and I don't work for less than 50 bucks n hour generally it's about 75.
Bout an hour and a half but I'm a well oiled machine ;) Thanks for asking. I'd say for a guy that doesn't do this stuff all day everyday (like me), he'd be in for a half day maybe.
Nice work brother! I wish I had a shop (and the skills) like you to make my sonic squier more player friendly. Some of my older squier guitars have really good necks/bodies and fret work. Two hundred dollars is a lot of money for some of us to let go of on a new guitar Fender!
Two- or three-piece poplar with ceramic PU's and of course, you read all our minds... TIME TO GET SCARRED and I betcha Cathy's PU's will make it sound 💯% better... sonically speaking anyhow!
The top-loading bridge was installed on Teles beginning in mid-1958, but by mid-1959 string-through construction was reinstated. They occasionally bring back top loaders for nostalgic purposes
The Jay Mascis Tele is top loading since it’s a ‘58.
Why do you prefer through the body guitar strings instead of top load strings??
Saddle buzz
I have always had pretty good luck when I have ordered Squiers from the Fender site or Musician’s Friend. The only time that I have encountered the bubble wrap is when I have ordered used Squiers from Guitar Center. Was that guitar made in China or Indonesia?
Indonesia...look at the 4:27 mark.
I ordered a "new" Bullet HH Mustang from MF that came from a store in bubble wrap and non-original box. Rusted strings, fingerprints and general yucky DNA all over it. It cleaned up nice, but it has the same issue with the high E string getting stuck under some fret ends. Good thing I got it on sale for $125, or else it would have gone straight back.
Isn't EVH made by fender in Mexico? You think they have similar issues?
My buddy just bought the black and white striped EVH. Dude. It's awesome. I can't speak for anyone else's, but his is bad ass.
truthfully in all my years of playing geetar not so much where it's made and the cosmetic part of it,it's truly the hands that are on it that counts💯I've picked up Walmart kids guitars on really cheap amps and started riffin while playing dimebag darrel licks from Pantera and had a crowd of people standing around me as well as the cheapest Chinese Made bottom dollar fiddles st sam ash with the same result(not to sound like a egomaniac) i played with passion and sang through my guitars before my stroke that made my left hand weak and not able to play anymore😢I'm switching up lefty soon with those nice westcreek guitars as they make southpaw models of the revenge and flying V series🎸🎶🤘🏻I'm not no quitter because of a setback in life😊I'll play a fiddle with my toes if I gotta😄that's dedication right there!😊I have no limitations because most people place them on themselves😐which is why most of those people only go so far with their playing abilities😄love your work Sean!🤘🏻💯your a guitar knowledge guru brother!i now have better guitar setup and repair skills Sean because of you and Kathy💯👍sending love and appreciation brother!🙏🏿😎I'm looking forward to paying it forward to your patreon Sean💯❤️👍you've given me knowledge i will need brother!🤘🏻🎶god bless you and your lovely wife Kathy🙏🏻❤️💯😎ive owned a squire jagmaster and it played as well as sounded if not better or just as good as the high dollar fiddles i had👍dont you touch my scarred guitar sean😄😎😊
Now have Cathy change magnets to alnico and do a before and after.❤😊❤
I had a Squier tele about 4or 5 years ago that I named Little Red that I purchased from music go round for $99 bucks and it was awesome, I eventually traded it but it was a good guitar. I have about 30 guitars at the moment, I have a Squier Classic vibes 50’s that’s awesome Classic vibe 60’s awesome as well, Classic vibe Duo Sonic equally awesome. I also have Gibson’s American teles and strats and several Japanese Fender and Squiers that are on par with the American tele’s and strats that I own. I have a Squier Bullett H2 from the 80’s that is incredible. My go to Strat I bought at a pawnshop for $99 is a MIJ Fender Spagetti Logo Squier Series from 1984. All of the above I’ve done no work to other than minor setup and strings, and maybe some pickguard changes.
I had a single Humbucker Fender from 1988 that I think was the M series. It was Silver Grey and it was a real Fender. That thing sounded so good and I wish I still had it. I think it was a “Metal Series “ because it had a good bite to it. Black head stock, can’t find another to save my life.
Instant subscribe! Love the format!!
Awesome, thank you!
Mr. Scar, I love all of your videos Man, You Make things Work, That the Other People Did Wrong, Keep the Great videos comin Man, Cousin Figel
I bought one of those green squire sonic single Humbucker's from fender for 139 they had on sale and besides fret grab it's really a fine guitar I could not believe it
2023 Christmas, played one at store, total junk. Bought a double bound HBenton, sounds and plays great. It was less expensive too.
Brilliant video Shaun, I'm looking for a t style as a modding platform and think I'll be bying a Harley Benton from Thomann instead of a Squier. All the best to you and Cathy and hope you have an awesome 2025.
Yep looks like a return. A buddy ordered a red one but from Fender and it did not come packaged like that. You should try ordering directly from Fender as they have the same price as Amazon. His is fairly decent. I don't think this is a good example to review because I think it is a return. Great job on fixing it up and making a better guitar. Your right this is what Fender should have done from the start.Good video though Sean.🎸🤘🏻
It's definitely a return with no box
I love old-man sunburst Too.
Love yall and have a great week!
The part that kills me is that it takes $300 worth of set up work and modifications to make the squire worth $200
And the Classic Vibe is legit too.
Are ceramic magnets that much cheaper than alcinos? Like $1 cheaper or something?
I read somewhere, Jimmy page used rear loaded telecasters
He did...but on a three saddle bridge. The strings don't have to go under and back up thru the saddles. They go straight over them.
@@scarmyguitar yeah my rear loaded one is three saddles
Yep, my 52 Vintera Mexican Strat is 3 brass saddles with a U ball bat neck. Rear mounted too.
Dave Gilmours Telecaster is a 53 I believe 3 barrel U neck. It has some bite.
The 40th anniversary Squier’s are AMAZING!
i got a Squire Affinity Tele, 1 1/2 years ago, and the only thing it needed was a fret job on the slightly sharp fret ends. It plays and sounds great. I also bought a Semi Hollow Tele Carbonita with the soap bar pickups. It was used and needed nothing. The shop I buy from did a full setup before putting it on display. I guess things at Squire have gone downhill since.
Their affinity series is wayyyy better than their sonic series that's for sure.
@darkscribblings My Squire Carbonita in blue goes for $449 to $499. I got it for $299 like new. That guitar is awesome. Even better than the Affinity series
"Yes, sir! You are speaking the truth!"!!!!
You say those Sonic Series Squires aren't worth $200. I agree, because last year I bought TWO Donner DST-400s, each of which cost me less than $200 to get to the door and they're both better than either of those Squiers you reviewed. If Fender/Squier were the gold standard, they aren't now!
I gig with my Donner Strat
@@toddshepard3592 I would too if I was gigging at all! I never bought two of the same model before, but this time was seriously worth it!
Now it's a $400 guitar. Great Video!
I just bought one of these on sale for 159 and it was on back order. When it finally arrived, it didn't have any of the issues that this one has. Maybe the boys in Taiwan got their act together.
Whenever I've tried the Sonic line, it's been at a dealer, and they at least do a setup of the instruments before they go on the floor. The best Sonic is actually the P-Bass, it's pretty solid and sounds great.
If you want the cheap Tele, definitely up the budget and go for the Affinity version - string through bridge, alnico pickups and a stomach cut.
Now if you want something from Fender that I would call offensive, it's the recently announced Joe Strummer replica ''69 Tele - which they want $20,000 US for. Obviously they're trying to cover the punk lawyer market 😛 Diametrically opposed to what Joe and The Clash stood for.
Sean .... will you do a review on a Harley Benton guitar. The shipping is $80, but the price is so low it's still cheaper than what you can get state side. Also if you get more than one guitar like three, that shipping is the same price.
I have a $200 tele that is awesome! Of course, it's a $159 Harley Benton with Fender American Standard pickups ($35 from a generous and well-off seller). It outplays every Squier I've played for under half the retail of a Classic Vibe. Knowing that my guitar isn't the only option by a long shot (I'm guessing Firefly, Xavierre and many more make comparable instruments), I'm wondering how much longer Squiers can be profitable for Fender to make and sell.
It seems to me Fender, rather than a simple name change from "Bullet" to "Sonic", the Sonic series is a direct replacement of the higher quality Bullet lineup. The thin fretboard and fret-finishing are testament to this. Those Korean pots are nice, but hardtailing the bridge is bogus. Folks keep saying Indonesia builds are better these days than Chinese builds, but these Sonics tell a different story. Good on ya for turning this Crappecaster into a very decent Scarcaster
I bought one used the other day for $100. Still had the stickers and plastic on pick guard but this thing will NOT stay in tune for 1 minute. Does the string through help? I have plenty of other guitars so I could afford to put a little work into this one.
Could be a nut issue, I had a Sonic telecaster and it stayed in tune great.
There's only one thing to do with all that bubble wrap - call your guy friends over, and pop the bubbles one by one. What fun!
We're supposed to trust the big guys. No more Sean. Thanks Brother.
Great video as usual 😄 I think it’s more a case of quality control. I bought a Squier Sonic Strat and it’s built as well as my Player series. Played good right out of the box! As a personal preference all I have done is lower the action and rub a little fine steel wool on the back of the neck. But yeah, I did get a bad Squier Affinity Tele a couple of years back. Bridge plate was at a funky angle and a chipped finger board. I complained to Fender and got my money back.
I have had two Squiers over the last 3 years; the first was a butterscotch Tele and is beautiful. The second was an HHS Strat Bullet new from GC. Within a year the same fret issues appeared on the Strat. I made a clamp and reset the frets and glued them in place. It worked but the quality of the Bullet Strat was way below the first. That Strat is gone......... The Affinity level is much better.
I bought a sonic tele.i really like it. Yeah ive had some expensive fenders
That's the thing about guitars at that price point: The *end user* is quality control. Once I started seeing those flaws I would have returned it. Things rarely get better after that. The next one might be a good one - or not. Either way, the beauty of Amazon is you can keep at it until you DO get a good one. Rolling the dice on these types of affordable instruments anywhere else can be a serious hassle.
Telecaster Squier Sonic or Tagima Tw 55???
Neither...either Fesley or Leo Jaymz
Don't sound awful, but it sure don't sound like a Telly!
You can't even change the bridge because nothing lines up with a good aftermarket bridge.
Makes no sense. Fender owns Jackson and I picked up a JS22 for $160 on sale, $200 list. It was nearly perfect out of the box. I only had to lower the bridge and file one high fret. It looks good and sounds great. Why does Fender want to put out such low quality and tarnish their brand? They would be better off rebranding Harley Benton guitars.