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Has The Fender Squire brand improved ?


bernardo gui

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Do you have an 82 MIJ ?

 

 

no but a guy I grew up with had a bunch of those old squiers, they were all very nice. I dont think they were all better than the current classic vibes though.

 

his number 1 to this day is his CIJ Yngwie Strat he got like 20 years ago. That thing is sweet. He also has an original grey DOD250, and it does sound better than any other ive heard.

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its an easy mistake since its a guys name,and most probably assume its squire the newb knight. then add in esquire and it gets even more confusing.

 

 

Meh...I wouldn't make excuses for folks. An interesting question though...if someone isn't detail oriented enough to take notice of the correct spelling right on the headstock, are they detail oriented enough to recognize any other subtle differences between guitars?

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Squier

 

 

I'll never understand why people write it "Squire;" especially players who have been playing for years. One English guy said "Wot, wot, how droll. You stupid American. We spell it Squire here in Britain." Which is stupid because it's a brand name. Maybe I should spell Rickenbacker "Rickenbacher" because I pronounce it that way?

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man ive had MANY squiers.....the best are the MIJ 80s stuff, prob the worst is the 90s Indo stuff, the late 80s MIK is pretty sweet too, especially the necks (e9's).....but todays squier is (feel-wise) almost comparable to mij's....but ull need new electronics n pups if u wanna record

i still ahve some of all i just mentioned

totally 'WORTHY':thu:

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In answer to the OP's question, yes and no.

As some have mentioned, Squier began life as high-end reproductions of Fender's 50's and 60's classics. After the 80's buyout, the new owners built a new US factory, moved Squier to Korea and made it a budget brand. Quality suffered in the transition

These days Fender seems to have put the Starcaster in the low-end and moved Squier up the food-chain so it's coming out with some kewl well made instruments. As good as the original JV? Probably not, but for price, current offerings offer tons of unique configurations for very little coin.

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whats better about a a mij vs a classic vibe?



and dont say made in usa parts , lol.


its just as blanket to say all 1982 squiers are better than classic vibes-they arent. Both lines are as good as each other.


i say classic vibes are better because they are us spec.

 

 

Also note I said half year of 82, its only half year that it was US parts, I did not say all 82s.

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I've never played the connoisseur's Squier, just the ones made from about '95 til now. They are certainly better than they were, but so are all the other budget guitars. Squier Classic Vibes sound and play great, if you like the smaller necks, and there are lots of cool-looking guitars with nice features in Squier's line. Comparing price point to price point, though, they're still not necessarily the best bang-for-buck in every category... not when you can get Epiphones and Ibanezes in the same price range that are nicer.

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Depends, I guess.... a friend's son has a Squier Strat (dunno what model/level), felt and played like a lightweight pos .... demo'ed a couple Vintage Modified Thinline Teles, nice and light but were great players ... wife thinks I have enough guitars....for now ;)

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Agree that they're better than ever. I have an Affinity Strat that I bought for a travel guitar which is very nice...though I must say it lacks soundwise and I wouldn't gig it without lots of work. The CV series are also nice (I like the teles better than the strats). I think MIM is better than all of them.

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The '82 JV series was built in the same factory that was making the Ibanez Roadstar models at the time.

 

It was during the period when Japanese manufacturers were really putting pride and effort into their productions. The Ibanez guitars of the day are of comparable quality to the early Squiers and can, of course, be found at a much lower price.

 

The reason why the Japanese guitars were better than the American guitars in the early '80s is because manufacturers were only making guitars as good as they had to. Hendrix sold more strats than the entire Fender sales team so CBS could keep finding ways of making them cheaper. The only way Ibanez and Yamaha could be taken seriously was by building outstanding guitars and in doing so they developed high standards of quality control.

 

When Paul Reed Smith wanted to start mass production of his innovative guitar ideas he went to Japan to learn how to do it.

 

 

 

 

btw - when I type Squier on my computer, the spell checker wants to change it to Squire.

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I'm going to go with yes they have improved overall in the past few years, but no they are not the best they have ever been, not by a long shot. I had a Japanese made JV that was an extremely well made guitar (such a dope, getting back into playing and I traded it w/cash for an Ibanez Lawsuit LP cause it had a Gibson correct headstock and didn't say Squier on the headstock). I currently own the only MIM Squier I've ever seen and it's a total beast with a one piece body and perhaps the most comfortable neck in my entire collection of ten. This is a dopey impromptu vid but I still think it's the best sounding quack on Youtube and I played the MIM Strat directly through a Fender Pro Jr with absolutely no effects including reverb.

[YOUTUBE]yvA9BOCir_k[/YOUTUBE]

I should add that I have been very impressed with a few of the "Vibe" Series Squiers I've tried, but I personally didn't get on well with the necks. I do think they give today's MIMs a run for their money though. The latest Squier I auditioned was a lipstick offset job that my buddy won from Sweetwater. That one had a really sweet feeling neck, with the wider Fender spacing at the nut (really important to me), with action that wasn't bad (after set-up) but a little higher than I prefer for a non-slide guitar. Unfortunately, I don't know if it was the pickups or what, but it was all treble harshness and really didn't sound good to my ears even through my friend's Deluxe Reverb. My friend's response was that he prefers bright guitars, still I doubt he'll use it much as is.

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id say they are good as US AVRIs...

 

 

Absolutely! For example as movie props, boat paddles, home defense weapons, target practicing, wall decor, loan out to friends, Tele chunkin' contests, etc. You name it, a Squier is just as good as an AVRI - well maybe except for tone and feel. But really, that's minimal. Besides, it's easier (cheaper) to fill a wall full of Squiers than it is of AVRI's!

 

[note: ashtray has owned probably 18 Squiers over the past 25 years including JV, Protones, MIA, CV, MIK, MIC, MII, MIM, etc. Their quality varies based on their price point. I own a CV double bound Tele, as well as a Fender MIJ 60s RI Custom, and an AVRI 62 Custom. The Squier doesn't get thrown away, but the neck feel, hardware quality, pickups, and overall craftsmanship of the $400 Squier does not match the $1,800 AVRI.]

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I have a Squier J5 Tele. I can't speak for other Squiers, but mine is a solid guitar. It needed a few tweaks when I first got it (nut needed to be touched up and wiring was funky), but now it's one of my main guitars.

 

If you want a mod platform they are awesome.

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