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Made in the USA Squire???


Vibroluxman

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well the funny thing is that the dept. secretary didn't even know that the department owned a guitar. It's kind of cool, has a Roland midi hook-up on it and everything. In desparate need of a set-up. Anyone ever heard of these things, possibly a date when they were made? I'm betting early 80's.

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Weren't the original Squier USA's refered to as Squier "Bullets"? I know I had an american made Squier P-bass at one time that has a really small Squier logo on the headstock and very large "Bullet" letters on it. Believe it was either 1984 or 1985.

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Bought it new in 1991...It is black with a maple neck, white pickguard...It says "Made in the USA" on the headstock...I had a black Duncan Hot Rails installed in the bridge position when I bought it and put black pickup covers on the middle and neck pups...Sealed Gotoh style tuners, five way switch, newer style saddles...I also put Schaller straplocks on at purchase...It came with an SKB style molded case...After the Duncan and tax, the price was about $500...Guitars are cheaper now than they used to be...

 

I have played the {censored} out of the guitar since the day I got it and it has been a great "working" instrument...It is very versatile...I have the Hot Rails wired so position one is both coils (humbucker) and position two is one coil plus the middle pup for the quack tone...The remaining positions are standard Strat setup...The Hot Rails SCREAMs and it great for rock stuff...Using both coils in position one, it is useless, however, clean...In position two, the quack tone is perfect...

 

I can string this guitar, tune it, put it in the case, and when I get to the gig and plug into the tuner, I don't even have to touch it...Very stable and solid...The only real repair ever done was replacing the pickup switch after the original got a little dodgey...I have considered putting GraphTech saddles on it, but so far the originals are fine...I do have a graphite string tree for the high E and B strings...

 

The neck is smooth, gunstack oil finished...The only thing that makes it look a little cheaper is that the fretboard is glued on top of the rest of the neck...This is no big deal and eliminates the "skunk stripe" on the back of the neck as the truss rod was placed in first...It has the traditional smaller Strat headstock instead of the 60s style headstock used now on Squiers...

 

The guitar plays and looks great and I will never sell it...I have a PRS Custom, an EB Axis SuperSport, and a Strings and Things Blues King III...The Squier is a guitar that I can count on to do a little of everything when I can only take one guitar along, say for a jam or sit-in...

 

Other than saying Squier on the headstock, you would never know it wasn't a "real" Fender, whatever that means anymore...I would put it up against most of what passes for a "real" Fender today...

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miasquiers.jpg

 

I have two; the black one is awesome. They were made in the late '90s as indicated by the serials. Poplar bodies, slab maple necks, trussrod adjust at the heal, ceramic P/Us, sealed die-cast tuners and I think swimming pool but am not sure. Many say they were made later but original owners have come forward that purchased their's new in 1989-90. Red was $180 w/ case and Blackie was $140.00 w/ gigbag.

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Originally posted by misterhinkydink

miasquiers.jpg

I have two; the black one is awesome. They were made in the late '90s as indicated by the serials. Poplar bodies, slab maple necks, trussrod adjust at the heal, ceramic P/Us, sealed die-cast tuners and I think swimming pool but am not sure. Many say they were made later but original owners have come forward that purchased their's new in 1989-90. Red was $180 w/ case and Blackie was $140.00 w/ gigbag.

 

Ah it was you I was thinkin of that had two!

 

Those features are rather MIM, you think they are really MIM's?

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I used to see them pretty often, but havn't for a few years. Had a couple (including a pair of teles and a P bass). What other Squires did the make in the USA? Any Jazz basses or anything like that?

 

Havn't had one for years, but I don't remember them being any better (or worse) then a USA Fender strat from the same period.

 

As a sidenote, the Fotoflame Jap stuff they had was pretty cool as well, they go for more then I'll pay right now, though.

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Originally posted by batotman



Ah it was you I was thinkin of that had two!


Those features are rather MIM, you think they are really MIM's?

 

 

The slab maple necks seem like late '60s leftovers which I've heard these are. They aren't like any MIM necks I've ever run across. The rest of it could easily be MIM.

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wow thanks I had no Idea. I'm a student at the college and I don't really need another strat, let alone a budget one. I am concidering seeing if they'll let me fix it up just to see how it sounds. It looks a lot like that black one in the photo, just with a roland midi controller and pickup attached on the bottom.

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  • 7 years later...
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I came across one at a guitar center in San Francisco. The thing played better than any guitar there. There's a lot of rumours about these. They where made in 89-90 and have serial numbers starting with e for eighties or n for nineties. The mexican factory burnt down and they had to use american parts. It's basically a 62 mia reissue. I have the black one thats beaten up. They are not collectors items but are very rare and probablly should be collectors items. I've only played one strat i liked more in my life. Some custom shop around 2001. I payed $400 for it and felt like I was robbing a bank. Jim O'rourke from sonic youth plays one sometimes. It's almost like the squire logo is a joke. It will remain my main guitar untill I can find a real 62 strat for 10 or 20 grand or whatever those go for. You won't find one. I played every guitar in the bay area and NYC just about looking for the right guitar and was amazed it cost $ 400 as money wasn't a issue(under 2 grand anyway). Those who do find them keep them. It's like the pot of gold in strat land. Some say they play no better than a mim strat but they probablly have not actually played one. Some even say they don't exist. Interesting bit of guitar history. Also a guitar is like a violin. A good violin played by a bad player turns it into a worse violin and a bad violin in a good players hands will improve the instrument. I also suspect some who claim to have one could be partacasters with just the neck. That could contribute to the confusion over these guitars. Definately a perfect candidate for being modded.

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