Got 9 Teles from a $150 HB to a $4500 CS....all great...but all have great pups from either coming stock (CS, Pro II's Tim Shaw, LSL handwound, MFDs) to Fralin, Lollar, McNelly, Suhr Classic T's when needed. Love my 2 Squier CV 50's!! In fact, put in a set of USA Fender pups into my son's Squier CV 60's Baritone just this eve.....added brass saddles too. Nice improvement in tone.
Personally, If you have to let one go, I would sell the Fender and keep the Squier. It's harder to find a guitar with a neck that is most comfortable to you than it is to set one up with better electronics. The Fender will get a better re-sale price. You should be able to pay for all the squier upgrades with that cash. Even if you don't, the squier can remain a confortable woodshedding, songwriting and demoing tool. Or, you could setup the Fender for slide, where the differences in the neck feel probably won't be so noticeable to you and it'll still sound great for gigs or tracks.
The Squier isn't going to bring much on the used market, considering you could get them as cheap as $250 this past summer. That being said, I bought a Squier Tele identical to the one you have. I love the feel of the neck, and the weight was perfect (7lbs, 3oz). That being said, it had problems with the G string tuner, the neck pickup was muddy, and the bridge pickup slightly microphonic. The pots were fine, not great, but fine. I ended up putting Kluson Supreme vintage style tuners on it, replaced the bridge with a modern style 6 saddle Kluson bridge, replaced the pickups with Tone Hatch A3 pickups (I almost went with the Brad Paisley set, but in the end I liked the Tone Hatch just as much, and liked the idea of supporting a guy working out of his garage), and installed an Obsidian Wire 4-Way solderless wire harness, along with an electrosocket, and replaced the kind of cheap looking "vintage" hardware with polished nickel. I dropped a little over $300 in parts, so altogether for about $600 I have a guitar I'd put up against any MIM or MIJ tele. But unless you plan on keeping it forever, doing what I did is a waste. So I guess my advice would be - if you are going to leave it stock or may sell later, keep the Vintera. Otherwise, sell the Vintera and mod the Squier to be what you want it to be.
@@anotherheadlessdemo Maybe? It seems like they made a lot of them, and you can still find 40th Vintage models on clearance. The only Squiers I've seen go up in value are the early MIJ ones, and the (believe it or not) Hello Kitty Stratocaster. Honestly, out of the box I really liked my 40th Squier tele, and now modded it's usually the first electric I reach for to noodle around.
I have had a similar experience with Mexican made Fender fret work as compared to Squier. All the MIM necks I’ve owned have needed work to reduce the sharp fret ends. I have a Squier 40th anniversary tele and a CV 50s strat and these necks were great out of the box
Remember, the Vintera will always be a Fender. That's the one I'd keep. End of story. Love the seafoam green and dark fingerboard combination. Sell the Squier and use the proceeds to pay for a setup with fret dressing would be my suggestion. I have the same Vintera loaded body but haven't done anything with it. Looking for a good dark board like you have. Was thinking about letting it go but, like others have said, it's a poor market selling online these days. Thanks for sharing and good luck with your choice.
I have always liked your Vintera. I love the color. It sounds great. Have the frets done and keep it. The Squire sounds decent but if you have to change the pickups, again keep the fender, plus if you keep the Fender you can have a bit of gear snobbery lol. The Fender looks better in my opinion.
Which one are you bonded to more? A tell for me is song writing. If a guitar produces more creativity then I keep that one. I have played both of those guitars and I actually liked the feel of the Squier better but yeah the pickups are not so good. I would say sell them both and get a made in Japan used. But selling guitars right now sucks. I’ve lost so much money I can’t even count, and I’m a math teacher 😂 I’d keep both right now.
Putting some really nice pickups into the 40th Squier will give you a great playing and sounding guitar. That's what I did. You could also just buy a better neck for the Vintera or get some files and put some hours into it. I was planning on buying a mexican Tele but ended up buying a 40th Squier and love it.
Well the Vintera will always be a Fender while the Squier will at best be a great mod project. I put Monty's DP51 set into mine and brass saddles. The only real negative is I feel it's a bit heavy. :)
I'd keep the Vintera. As someone has already stated, the build quality of the body and electronics are least are superior. You could work on the frets yourself or bring it to a luthier to get the neck dialed in. At the price that the Vintera sells for, it would make sense to put a little more money into it to get it where you want. Replacing the pickups, electronics and nut on the Squier, however, would probably double your total investment in the guitar (i.e., the value wouldn't be there). An alternative, of course, would be to swap out the necks and keep the Vintera "partscaster," and then sell the Squier (potentially advertising it as having an "upgraded neck," though you would still need to have the frets worked on in order to be ethical about it). Anyway, I have a feeling that you love the feel of the Squier neck, a factor that's hard to dismiss.
Hey Esau! I think I would have a real luthier work on it. That said, I do have a 50s maple Vintera neck that's just sitting in a box. It's very glossy, but might prove to be an improvement. Of the two guitars, the Squier might be easier to sell because of the lower price. But who knows?!
@@anotherheadlessdemo cleans up nicely, clarity improves, and output is increased when you remove the tone pot from the neck pup...I do that to most of my Teles.
For me I like how both sound. As for you I see your points, that being said then flip flop the necks and pay someone to take care of the idiosyncrasies and call it a day. You said it your self your not a luthier so get the frets taken care of and anything else that bothers your playing. The most I’ve spent on guitars is typically no more than $700.00 and even way cheaper knowing I would upgrade miscellaneous things which still put me under budget with me doing everything.
Seafoam green is a keeper, swap the neck with the Squire and sell the Squire with an added Fender neck, which will bring more dollars to the table, would be a win-win situation, As long as you don't sell the Squire as a Fender everyone would be happy :-) PS Fender sounds fantastic compared to the Squire.
Yes, the Fender is definitely the better sounding guitar. I've did a better setup on the neck and have decided the Vintera is a keeper, and I love the color. :)
I was able to try the Squier at a local store. I was disappointed by how much darker the mocha colored body was in person. I thought it looked nicer (brighter) on screen watching your initial review of it. The one I tried was very buzzy and rattley. I suppose a setup would fix that. I also remember you saying the microtones were annoying when you played live/gigging, and so pickups need changing. I'm not a modder or tech person so by the time I payed to have everything done , and for me the disappointing too- dark mocha (personal opinion), I figured I'd be better off with an actual Fender.
Fender Ventera 60s sound better. It has a more varied and deeper, although less bright, sound. This guitar is designed for a variety of style applications. She has less glass in her sound, but a “more guitar-like” chest voice, like an opera singer.
Take the electronics and pickups from the Vintera and swap them with the Squier. Then sell the Vintera (be honest in your description though). But sheesh, selling guitars online is getting brutal lately!
It absolutely is brutal right now. Took me forever to sell my Classic Vibe Strat and two years for my PRS. I'm also noticing lots of Vinteras like mine on Reverb. It's a buyers market.
I bought an identical Vintera Tele, Great guitar but the fret ends were in an atrocious state. Two hours of filing and polishing sorted it,. But what the hell Fender?
Got 9 Teles from a $150 HB to a $4500 CS....all great...but all have great pups from either coming stock (CS, Pro II's Tim Shaw, LSL handwound, MFDs) to Fralin, Lollar, McNelly, Suhr Classic T's when needed. Love my 2 Squier CV 50's!! In fact, put in a set of USA Fender pups into my son's Squier CV 60's Baritone just this eve.....added brass saddles too. Nice improvement in tone.
Personally, If you have to let one go, I would sell the Fender and keep the Squier. It's harder to find a guitar with a neck that is most comfortable to you than it is to set one up with better electronics. The Fender will get a better re-sale price. You should be able to pay for all the squier upgrades with that cash. Even if you don't, the squier can remain a confortable woodshedding, songwriting and demoing tool. Or, you could setup the Fender for slide, where the differences in the neck feel probably won't be so noticeable to you and it'll still sound great for gigs or tracks.
The Squier isn't going to bring much on the used market, considering you could get them as cheap as $250 this past summer. That being said, I bought a Squier Tele identical to the one you have. I love the feel of the neck, and the weight was perfect (7lbs, 3oz). That being said, it had problems with the G string tuner, the neck pickup was muddy, and the bridge pickup slightly microphonic. The pots were fine, not great, but fine. I ended up putting Kluson Supreme vintage style tuners on it, replaced the bridge with a modern style 6 saddle Kluson bridge, replaced the pickups with Tone Hatch A3 pickups (I almost went with the Brad Paisley set, but in the end I liked the Tone Hatch just as much, and liked the idea of supporting a guy working out of his garage), and installed an Obsidian Wire 4-Way solderless wire harness, along with an electrosocket, and replaced the kind of cheap looking "vintage" hardware with polished nickel. I dropped a little over $300 in parts, so altogether for about $600 I have a guitar I'd put up against any MIM or MIJ tele. But unless you plan on keeping it forever, doing what I did is a waste. So I guess my advice would be - if you are going to leave it stock or may sell later, keep the Vintera. Otherwise, sell the Vintera and mod the Squier to be what you want it to be.
I'm hoping the Squier will hold some of the value since they aren't making any more of the 40th Anniversary models. Fingers crossed!
@@anotherheadlessdemo Maybe? It seems like they made a lot of them, and you can still find 40th Vintage models on clearance. The only Squiers I've seen go up in value are the early MIJ ones, and the (believe it or not) Hello Kitty Stratocaster. Honestly, out of the box I really liked my 40th Squier tele, and now modded it's usually the first electric I reach for to noodle around.
I have had a similar experience with Mexican made Fender fret work as compared to Squier. All the MIM necks I’ve owned have needed work to reduce the sharp fret ends. I have a Squier 40th anniversary tele and a CV 50s strat and these necks were great out of the box
Remember, the Vintera will always be a Fender. That's the one I'd keep. End of story. Love the seafoam green and dark fingerboard combination. Sell the Squier and use the proceeds to pay for a setup with fret dressing would be my suggestion. I have the same Vintera loaded body but haven't done anything with it. Looking for a good dark board like you have. Was thinking about letting it go but, like others have said, it's a poor market selling online these days. Thanks for sharing and good luck with your choice.
I did a better setup on the Vintera yesterday and it plays much better. It's a keeper.
I'd personally take the Squier change the pickups. Really digging the 40th anniv satin necks.
The necks are really decent!
If you don't need the cash, keep em both. They both are as nice as any framed artwork hanging on a wall and you get the play them. Great videos!!
Thank you! Keeping both is a possibility!
They both sound good.
Sounds like you are more comfortable with the 40th Anniversary.
Tough choice!! I like them both!!
I know, right?
I have always liked your Vintera. I love the color. It sounds great. Have the frets done and keep it.
The Squire sounds decent but if you have to change the pickups, again keep the fender, plus if you keep the Fender you can have a bit of gear snobbery lol. The Fender looks better in my opinion.
That sea foam green color I've always liked, which would be hard to part with.
I would keep the Vintera. It’s a better instrument as a whole.
Totally up to you though David 👌
It defintely is better, although I really like the wood grain of the Squier.
Which one are you bonded to more? A tell for me is song writing. If a guitar produces more creativity then I keep that one.
I have played both of those guitars and I actually liked the feel of the Squier better but yeah the pickups are not so good.
I would say sell them both and get a made in Japan used. But selling guitars right now sucks. I’ve lost so much money I can’t even count, and I’m a math teacher 😂
I’d keep both right now.
The nut on the Squier looks like it’s set in backwards. I’ve never seen a nut that flares out larger towards the headstock like that.
It's a crappy nut, to say the very least.
Putting some really nice pickups into the 40th Squier will give you a great playing and sounding guitar. That's what I did. You could also just buy a better neck for the Vintera or get some files and put some hours into it. I was planning on buying a mexican Tele but ended up buying a 40th Squier and love it.
I'll be posting a video about what I decided to do later on today (3/12).
Well the Vintera will always be a Fender while the Squier will at best be a great mod project. I put Monty's DP51 set into mine and brass saddles. The only real negative is I feel it's a bit heavy. :)
I'd keep the Fender. It sounds and looks better and better quality.
It is a much better guitar, isn't it? :)
I'd keep the Vintera. As someone has already stated, the build quality of the body and electronics are least are superior. You could work on the frets yourself or bring it to a luthier to get the neck dialed in. At the price that the Vintera sells for, it would make sense to put a little more money into it to get it where you want. Replacing the pickups, electronics and nut on the Squier, however, would probably double your total investment in the guitar (i.e., the value wouldn't be there). An alternative, of course, would be to swap out the necks and keep the Vintera "partscaster," and then sell the Squier (potentially advertising it as having an "upgraded neck," though you would still need to have the frets worked on in order to be ethical about it). Anyway, I have a feeling that you love the feel of the Squier neck, a factor that's hard to dismiss.
Hey Esau! I think I would have a real luthier work on it. That said, I do have a 50s maple Vintera neck that's just sitting in a box. It's very glossy, but might prove to be an improvement. Of the two guitars, the Squier might be easier to sell because of the lower price. But who knows?!
The Squier sounds a bit more muddy but the difference is not huge and probably could be fixed with some EQ.
The neck PU on the Squire sounds pretty muddy to my old ears.
It is very muddy!
@@anotherheadlessdemo cleans up nicely, clarity improves, and output is increased when you remove the tone pot from the neck pup...I do that to most of my Teles.
For me I like how both sound. As for you I see your points, that being said then flip flop the necks and pay someone to take care of the idiosyncrasies and call it a day. You said it your self your not a luthier so get the frets taken care of and anything else that bothers your playing. The most I’ve spent on guitars is typically no more than $700.00 and even way cheaper knowing I would upgrade miscellaneous things which still put me under budget with me doing everything.
I thought the Squier had more honk. I preferred it.
Seafoam green is a keeper, swap the neck with the Squire and sell the Squire with an added Fender neck, which will bring more dollars to the table, would be a win-win situation, As long as you don't sell the Squire as a Fender everyone would be happy :-) PS Fender sounds fantastic compared to the Squire.
Yes, the Fender is definitely the better sounding guitar. I've did a better setup on the neck and have decided the Vintera is a keeper, and I love the color. :)
I was able to try the Squier at a local store. I was disappointed by how much darker the mocha colored body was in person. I thought it looked nicer (brighter) on screen watching your initial review of it. The one I tried was very buzzy and rattley. I suppose a setup would fix that. I also remember you saying the microtones were annoying when you played live/gigging, and so pickups need changing. I'm not a modder or tech person so by the time I payed to have everything done , and for me the disappointing too- dark mocha (personal opinion), I figured I'd be better off with an actual Fender.
Contrary to the beliefs of some, Fenders by and large are much better guitars. Pickups, workmanship; way better.
Fender Ventera 60s sound better. It has a more varied and deeper, although less bright, sound. This guitar is designed for a variety of style applications. She has less glass in her sound, but a “more guitar-like” chest voice, like an opera singer.
I agree. It's a much better guitar,.
Take the electronics and pickups from the Vintera and swap them with the Squier. Then sell the Vintera (be honest in your description though). But sheesh, selling guitars online is getting brutal lately!
It absolutely is brutal right now. Took me forever to sell my Classic Vibe Strat and two years for my PRS. I'm also noticing lots of Vinteras like mine on Reverb. It's a buyers market.
I would sell the fender as its easier to replace the pickup(s) as to get a good feeling neck also the squier just looks so sooo much better.
I kind of like the Sea Foam Green though. :)
I bought an identical Vintera Tele, Great guitar but the fret ends were in an atrocious state. Two hours of filing and polishing sorted it,. But what the hell Fender?
I know, right? The fell down on the job with the fret ends.
I am having the same problem, but with two Stratocasters.
You never have enough Tele's... Keep them both.
You might be right about that!
I'd sell the Fender if you don't like the neck as much.
Sell both and by yourself a Guitar. 😎😂
Sell both and by yourself a Guitar. 😎😂