squier by fender
maddrummer
Posts: 93
can somebody please tell me the difference between squier by fender, and the real fender? they look the same but ino ther nt, but i dont no HOW ther nt the same!
Fuck The System
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You get what you pay for...
American fender strats are $1-2k for a reason.
They are worth their weight in gold.....
Squire are a cheaper Made in china or Mexico version of Fender.
decent guitar for a beginner, but no pro uses a squire...
"I am ahead, I am advanced, I am the first man to borrow Stones leather pants."
Stone Gossard: Is the height of fashion. More poeple should take note, and learn from a master
Well unless you are going for something fancy or a signature guitar, American Fenders are in the $800-$1200 range. Also Squire is only Chinnese made, all guitars made in Mexico carry the Fender name.
But yes, the more you pay, the better guitar you get.
EDIT: Then again you are in Australia, so the prices are a little higher.
Ya. hence the price difference, but ya get the point
Yeah, Mexican strats start @ $Au800, American strats start @ about $1500
"I am ahead, I am advanced, I am the first man to borrow Stones leather pants."
Stone Gossard: Is the height of fashion. More poeple should take note, and learn from a master
Affinity is made in china out of laminated poplar and sweatshop labor.
Squier Standard is built by Samik in Korea, the same factory that builds everything else in Korea.
Ensenada, Mexico is 20 miles south of Corona Ca. (Fender Headquarters)
this is the current state of the art factory for fender and where they build all Fender Std. (made in Mexico) guitars.
Corona Ca. is Fender Headquarters. They build all USA Strats there, including Custom Shop Models.
The more expensive the guitar, the more they pay the builders, the better the wood/tuner/hardware/pickup quality, as a general rule.
Now to relate this to Pearl Jam. Ed's current Touring Amps (2 1950's vintage Fender Tweed Deluxes) and Mikes 59 Strat were built when Leo Fender still owned the company pre 1967 CBS buyout.
Later on Leo started another company with his friend George Fullerton in Fullerton CA, known as George and Leo or G&L.
does anyone know anything about the old squier 2 line?
mine is is a beautiful, korean-made solid ash 1996 Squier Pro Tone strat with turquoise transparent finish and pearloid pick guard, all hardware is gold with vintage style fender tremolo bridge...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/psycosmic/synergy/squire1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/psycosmic/synergy/squire2.jpg
(actually, the pictures don't do it justice)
compared to mine, mexican strats feel cheap and i've never seen another squier like this... it sounds amazing, even compared to guitars that cost 4 times as much... great blues guitar...
do any of you gearheads know anything about this type of guitar? all i know it's not your typical squier...
Some days you wake up and sit on a park bench next to an eighty year old Russian architect, and some days you don't. I think this is my new life philosophy.
http://epplehausradio.blogspot.com/
pearl jam @ the astoria, london, 20/04/06
It's made by Samick in Korea. There are some very good luthiers over there, you probably got one of the better ones. It may also be a different pickup system than the usual squires. If it is solid ash (probably 2 or 3 piece) it is much more resonant than the typical laminated poplar squire body this would make up the difference in tone.
thank you for the quick reply!
my guitar was a little bit more expensive than the typical squier but if it wasn't written on it, most people wouldn't think it's a squier from the feel and sound of it... bought it new for about $300 (i think?) in '96... i guess i made a very good deal... would have paid at least twice as much if not three times the prize for a comparable guitar where i live in europe...
Some days you wake up and sit on a park bench next to an eighty year old Russian architect, and some days you don't. I think this is my new life philosophy.
http://epplehausradio.blogspot.com/
pearl jam @ the astoria, london, 20/04/06
OK. There are Squiers and Squiers.
Originally they were made in Japan (MIJ) when Fender Japan first started in 1982. I am lucky enough to have one of the very first '52 RI (3 piece solid ash) with Fender on the headstock and Squire in tiny letters. Very rare I believe & worth over US$2000 these days in good condition. These models were called JV (Japanese Vintage - the serial numbers started with JV) and 2 basic Strat models were made: a '57 reissue and a '62 reissue. I have the '52 re-issue. The early ones had USA hardware as well I believe.
Make no mistake, these are superb guitars and the number of offers I have turned down for this guitar is ridiculous. Mostly from USA Strat owners too! They also made the Squier Silver Series around late '80s-early '90s, which I don't know too much about but I also believe they are also great guitars - for the price.
If you have a chance of getting a genuine JV series Strat, Tele, P or J bass. BUY IT. IMHO they are way better than anything from Mexico and rival most of the more standard US strats - especially the '80s Strats from USA when the Squiers first came out.
Check out this site: http://www.squierjv.info/index.htm
They also have a section on Pro Tone and SQ Squiers.
Later they switched to Korea and the Cort factory - the serial nos start KC for Korea Cort (not the Samick factory I believe or maybe it was just the Pro Tones that were made by Cort?) The Pro Tones were pretty special too and made Fender USA rather concerned about the good quality for the price. Lots of gold hardware, bridge humbuckers, Floyd Roses etc (see the link earlier). They were only made for about 2 years in the late '90s before Fender pulled the plug and decided to make Squier more low end so they didn't compete with the pricier MIM Fenders. In fact The Pro Tone Thinline Tele is an awesome machine and rarely goes for less than US$500. For the record I usually play Stingray, USA JB, Status basses but I have just bought a Pro Tone 5string Precision for US$150!
Later they switched to Mexico when the factory started up. These aren't too bad.
Later still the Squiers were made in Indonesia and then China.
So summing up, if you can get hold of a MIJ Squire buy it straight away! Pretty much the same for the Pro Tone MIK series. Not all sellers will realise how good these are, after all they are Squiers aren't they & not "real" Fenders?
The rest of them?? I think the Indonesian ones are a bit better than the Chinese ones but they are improving all the time. Like most mass produced guitars there will be a variance in sound even with the same model. Not all wood will be the same etc. blah blah. So try out as many as you can and get the one you like most. The guitarist in my band uses an Indonesian Squire Strat and that is a nice guitar - not a patch on my JV tho.
Basically DON'T be a guitar brand snob! Try everything in your price range. In Oz we have a cheap brand called Ashton (made in China now) and some of their guitars are great. I have a beautiful FMT bound Tele (MIK). However, I would try to avoid laminated bodies as they rarely are as good as good ole solid wood. And a lot of Squiers play well but sound average, a set of decent pickups would make a huge difference. Check the neck carefully as costs are often cut here too.
Really the main differences are QUALITY(!) woods (laminated or basswood not ash/alder) and labour costs. Basically you DO get what you pay for. Oh, one more thing. Resale value! A real US Fender will hold its price far better than any other. But the JVs are definitely becoming collectable once you get over the Japanese made stigma.
As for effects.... it really depends on what music you want to play. Or stick to drums??!! Ever wondered why drums have greatly different prices? Same but different for guitars.
**Drop the Leash on my Garden Porch, Downunder 06'**
China - Squire Affinity
Korea (Samick factory) - everything else by Squire
Ensenada Mexico - all Fender MIM's. It's 40 miles south of Corona (Fender USA) and the factory is state of the art.