I have been searching for a review of this guitar. All the ones I've seen so far have the gain on their amps turned up so high that it all sounds like mud. Thank you for playing it in a way where I can really hear its capability.
You bet! I’ve since taken the tone knob out and added an EVH style kill button from TESI which makes it all the more fun and makes me feel a little like John 5 ha ha.
I love mine too!! My hand kept hitting the volume control so I looked inside. They gave me enough wire to just flip the whole assembly back to the normal position. I don't think about it now. If I settle on that I may reverse the wires on the switch, but that doesn't really bother me too much. It's a great guitar. It feels like a steal at around $450.00
They had me at roasted maple neck. Strat knob is a direct replacement for the one you hate, and is more accessible next to the tone knob. No need for luthier's knot when restringing! Don't forget the belly cut! Typical Squier PCB switch and dime pots. Eh, they work. Lots of subtle yet substantial improvements to an already great guitar. Thanks for the walk through!
@@oldguyjammin9732 Something I've not yet seen or heard mention of is the output jack. Stock images don't show it. My player tele has the recessed cup that sort of helps guide the plug. Also, The player has the newer bridge that doesn't screw down at the top. It is harder to restring because the string-through holes don't line up as well with the saddles. The variations and permutations make it hard to keep track. I ordered the Gunmetal Metallic. It has twice the metal. Cheers!
Awesome review, I play a Pearl white Telecaster of these in my covers. Initially the rail pickup got me into it, nowadays I hate to confess I play more this Telecaster than my Player series Strat. The finish is on par with the Strat Player series, a bit too much sunlight turned the white pearl color halfway into your golden color. I like the way the Rail pickup reacts to distortion and clean tones alike, there's a few covers in my profile in case somebody wants to listen, cheers.
Thanks Josh! Yep, I’ll be keeping mine. I’ve since swapped pups for a Dirty Harry bridge and DiMarzio Tone Zone neck and am pretty happy with it. I also installed a large button kill switch so I could feel a little like John 5 once in a while ;-)
I like what you just said because while I like the pickups as is, the bridge is my least favorite and seems a tad weaker than the neck. I just ordered a Lil 59 for the bridge. It’ll allow me to split the pickups as well which is sometimes a nice option. Thanks for commenting :) what did you put in the bridge? Quarter Pound?
I got one of the December 2020 builds as well. Modded the bejesus out of it, one of the mods being to go for a single coil in the bridge position. I used a Bare Knuckle Cobra-T bridge single coil mounted in a Babicz FCH bridge, combined with their Impulse neck humbucker. The pickup swap was great, the only real issues I had were the tightness of the channel from the bridge pickup to the control cavity with the cloth-covered wires on the Cobra-T, and I fitted a push-pull volume pot that gives a partial split on the neck pickup and a 250K/500K switch for the bridge pickup using a couple of cheap 470k resistors. Because I turned the controls around to the conventional direction I had to grind some wood out of the centre of the control cavity to clear the push-pull (if you keep it reversed this is probably not necessary). I also fitted Gotoh locking tuners, Gotoh knobs, and Gotoh control plate as well as Black TUSQ nut and string tree, together with some other mods. I changed the bridge so that I could run 12-60 strings for C standard tuning. I also used a Strat style selector switch knob. All of my pots etc are from Bare Knuckle now and I fitted a CRL 3-way selector switch.
@@XlouietheflyX - dang, you weren’t kidding with the whole bejesus thing, lol. I tried the 59 but went back to the stock because of the way it blended with the neck - very nice. I dumped the tone knob, moved the volume knob to the middle spot and installed a kill switch. Now I just need to figure out how the hell to use it, ha ha. I’m very happy with everything else - stays in tune like a champ.
I’ve got the gun metal one. Has a teal subtle colour depending on the light. Rare has hens teeth to get hold of one these in the UK. Everyone should get one.
Bought a used one over the weekend. The previous owner slapped on a pick guard but, besides that, it's a great guitar and does everything I need it to do. It might even become my main live guitar, replacing my 72 thinline.
All right! I’ve since added an EVH style kill switch from TESI - it’s awesome. Took the tone knob out and put the button there. Had to ream it out a bit, but super happy with the result.
Nice playing. Righto on the discount. Got 15% on one of these in Gunmetal Metallic back in the spring. Good guitar worth the money I think. I love cheap guitars especially when I find one I can bond with. This one is a keeper.
Thanks and congrats Carpathus! Yep, proving to be simply awesome. A whole bunch of fun and strikingly beautiful. I’ve heard the gun metal looks really sharp \m/ thumbs up dude!
@@oldguyjammin9732 Almost wish I had got the gold. Yours looks super sharp with that roasted maple neck. I may still get the gold, why by one when you can buy two at twice the price ;)
Yep, and the roasted neck is awesome. I may... not sure, but I may swap out the bridge plate for one that takes a humbucker cause I’ve got a pair of humbuckers that I pulled out of an older ESP (put EMGs in it) that are really amazing. I’m thinking I’l slip those into this tele for an awesome rock machine... I’m really just a dual humbucker sort of guy. Owning a tele for me is just kidding myself... I don’t and never will chicken pick, lol and if I do play a country song it’ll be on my acoustic.
I swapped my neck pickup with a Heretic-90s from Widdershins Guitars; the Atomic Humbucker was great out of the box I just wanted to get a P90 mid sounds from my neck position. I have much more expensive guitars but this is the one I consistently grab to play on.
I like it too, stays in tune as good as any other with a really nice neck. My neck Tone Zone has always been a bit too hot and nasally, even with it lowered below the ring… I’m off too check out the Heretic 90 - thanks \m/
The fret board radius on this model is 12 which is a lot like most Gibsons. However the scale is still a Fender style so if the strings are 9s they will feel stiffer more like 10s. On Gibson guitars I have used 10s and sometimes 9s. On my Fender Telecasters I like 8s. They feel like 9s on them. With the pickups I have on them and the amp I use I don't have problem with sustain or tone.
Interesting, I have other 25.5 scale geetars but recall having the same reaction. Great food for thought, I’m off to look at the affect of scale length on strings :) thanks - and I guess I’ll try some 8’s on this one... never tried them on anything so it should be interesting.
Nice review, I bought a white one as my first guitar a few months back. Love the RH, not loving the neck as much yet. I would be interested to see you split or series the neck, if that what you decide to do. I was very interested to hear you say it was likely no be discontinued- might make them collectors’ items!
Thank you and how lucky are you to have this as your first guitar! I mean, Fender has been mis-matching bits and pieces of nice appointments here and there on different runs but this time they all ended up on the same guitar, lol. You really lucked out :) I actually prefer the neck pickup to the bridge and after tossing a few thoughts around decided to get a little 59 in that position, it’ll allow splitting both pickups for some swanky spanky twang. Re being limited... you know how info goes, we’ll see. I checked prices on the Orange Jim Root head and they are still between $5-600 right where they were years ago :( So I guess collectibles not only have to be limited but have a really desirable quality, something desirable and unique. While the Root is pretty awesome it really doesn’t do anything that most other amps don’t. Enjoy!
Dude you like the same things I like I have the same guitar same strap different colors I had mine on back order for a year, then canceled it then seen they had them in stock so I got it, before I got it I put a Hot-rail in a infinity telecaster I had and it has its own tone and I really liked it also 👍
Thank you for the review. How much does the guitar weigh? I've been spoilt by headless guitars in terms of weight but want to add a light-ish tele to my guitars.
Yes you have, some of those headless guitars get down into the 5 and 6 pound range - how nice. This particular one is 7.5 lbs. which is not too bad. I don’t deal with anything over 8 anymore, don’t care how nice it might be :)
Thanks for the review yet I’m not sold on this guitar. Perhaps if it had true five way and locking tuners. I like the solid utilitarian looks. I see its available at many online sits…all for $449.00. Thanks again.
Right on, I know what you mean about the 5 way switching, would have been nice. However, I just posted a “Final Mods - Contemporary Telecaster...” and ended up with a Dirty Harry single coil at the bridge and an old Tone Zone at the neck, put a kill switch in it and a push/pull coil tap Volume knob and dang if it ain’t a ton of fun. Mine stays in tune no matter how much a yank on it. It is utilitarian for sure, it could get chucked down a flight of stairs and come right back up to rock.
Nice to see a good review of these. I don’t need another guitar, but that Squier is impressive looking. Those tuners are technically locking tuners. Once the end of the string goes in the shaft, it’s no longer a pressure wrap or force wrap. I haven’t finished your video, but is it a full thickness body?
@@oldguyjammin9732 Man if it’s a full thickness body, it’s even more tempting to buy😅. Also, if those tuners are the ones that are on the other Contemporary models with the Floyd Rose, then they are quality. I took at Contemporary Squier Roasted Maple neck and put it on a Fender body and it’s solid. I’m thinking the neck profile on the entire line is similar if not the same because of your description. The one I have feels like a Wolfgang or Charvel profile.
Got mine last week and I love it. One thing I will say is that on mine the tuning stability is absolutely awful. Terrible nut, awful tuners. Definitely getting swapped out for a locking set and a Tusq nut!
Thanks for commenting, that’s really interesting because one of the things I like most about it is how well it stays in tune! That’s so bizarre!?!? I did file my nut down a bit, but other than that...?
@@oldguyjammin9732 It could honestly just be the cut of my nut, which is actually genuinely bad - most likely what's throwing it off, but if I'm doing that work anyway I might as well throw a set of locking tuners on!
So you found the neck a little thick? Im living abroad and looking to buy an inexpensive guitar as a sweet spot for bluesy stuff all the way through fast crap…any thoughts on that perspective vs this guitar? Amazing video.
Hey there, thanks for asking - the neck is great, I’m just trying to let people know what to expect so I said more “tele like” cause that’s what it is. Some people are really particular about neck size, me not so much. I have thin ones and thicker ones and I just play them all. My go to guitar, my favorite after all these years, are the Wolfgang’s (trying to find an older Standard right now in white or Miami blue) and you can them used for the price of this one new. The Fender Special Edition Telecaster is also worth a look and can be found on the cheap $$ but it has medium frets which is a turn off to some, but really nice and with a set neck which Fender just doesn’t do!?!? Maple cap on mahogany body like a les paul. For me to be more specific you’d have to list the options you’re looking for - but the Squier is certainly a fun a quality instrument.
@@mais5762 - you bet man, I was going to include a couple of more things 1) it’s much easier to get softer, bluesy tones out of a rock machine than going the other way... getting hard rock or high gain goodness out of a guitar designed for jazz or blues 2) and this is invaluable... make your purchases based on what you play 80% of the time, you’ll be infinitely happier with your gear and you can fake what ever it is you play the other 20% of the time \m/ enjoy the journey!
It was nicely set up but I probably did a little tweakin :) the nut was low enough and intonation was on so I probably adjusted the neck a bit flatter and dropped the saddles a full turn, maybe half a turn. There is such a thing as “too low action” About 1.2 mm at the 12th fret is about right for pretty much everything. My Jackson is at 1 mm but my LP is at 1.5mm - it needs to be higher for some reason, but it feels right.
Thanks for the cool review and sharing some extra bits like the 2 conductor bridge. I wanted ask also, is it the recording or these pickups are quite dark sounding, especially for tele? 🍻
Sure man, you’re welcome. It’s not particularly dark like my Wolfgang, must be the recording but the pickups are much hotter than you’d get in a standard Tele. They’re bright enough, but not very ‘twangy’.
@@bluwng - hey there! Technically I’ll agree that ‘dark’ references light more so than sound, but in the guitar and tone world the term ‘dark’ is used to describe tones that lack treble and mid frequencies. Guitars might be a great example; Telecasters and Strats are notoriously ‘bright’ as opposed to Wolfgang guitars that are rather ‘dark’ by comparison. The pickups decide :) Blackstar amps tend to be dark (hard to get enough treble or ‘brightness’ out of them) while Fender amps and Marshalls are ‘brighter’. Yes... I still have the guitar, and plan to turn it into a San Francisco 49er tribute, lol. Just looking for scarlet electrical tape.
Pleasant Grove Pumas in Nor Cal, the body is popular with a roasted maple neck. I still like and can tell it's going to mature nicely. Thanks for coming by!
my old man used to throw the breaker switch and cut the power when i was jamming with my friends ☹️ I bet if your kids were jamming you'd grab your axe and rock the neighborhood (don't worry i got over it)😉
That’s funny, my folks just ended up taking 4 hour drives on Saturdays, lol. Sucked a bit cause my dad was a guitar player but couldn’t get over the “folk to rock” hurdle I guess. Glad you got over it \m/
@@oldguyjammin9732 I can certainly tell by the tones and the smile !! I like it alot. I agree with the knob change to chrome tho too. Hehe bring out the black more and the other accents. They must have lost money making these so they stopped. I often see these one run deals becoming some really good ones.
Humbucking pickups have to single coils that are attached in one way or another, most are attached in series so that the ‘out winding’ of the firs coil is tied to the ‘in or start winding’ of the second, however in a parallel situation both start windings would be tied together as well as both finish windings. A split coil ties the series connection to ground so that only the first coil is in play... ooops, couldn’t do it with just one sentence.
The invader is over 16K, the Hot Rodded set is almost 17K, as is the Black Winter, the Lil 59 for Tele’s is like 11K or something, so… ya, they’re out there. I’d say these stock pups are middle of the road as far as their output goes.
It is a good guitar. I have mine, and I really enjoy it. But, I have some concerns. 1rst, the electronics are not shielded, which is ok for the humbuckers but it tend to have pick some electric static. It should be shield painted. Also, I got some dust in the potentiometers ( I have to flush it). And, the blade switch is cheap. I am thinking to get the 6 way switch for coil split.
Good thoughts here Pablo, mine’s alright, no buzz or hum from either pickup. I believe they are both humbuckers, it’s just that the bridge has the coils attached internally so it’s not easily split. I’m putting a lil 59 in mine this weekend with a push/pull tone knob for splitting. I’m really enjoying it.
I painted the guts of mine with nickel shielding paint, and also ground away most of that wood in the centre of the control cavity so that I could fit a push-pull pot in the middle there. Rewired the whole guitar with Bare Knuckle components and with the shielding the bridge pickup is pretty quiet, even though I replaced the bridge pickup with a Cobra-T single coil. I used a CRL 3-way switch and fitted a partial split mod on the neck pickup (I used an Impulse, which is 4-conductor) via the push-pull, and added a 470k resistor to the bridge pickup lug on the selector switch that is switchable via the other side of the push-pull. I haven't decided whether I want the resistor to be active in the up or down position yet. Currently it is up but I am thinking I might change it so that the resistor is on normally and off when I pull the knob up, that's easy to do.
What’s up Shaleen!?!? Not sure what you mean... a guitar better than THIS guitar but still a Tele or just any guitar that’s better? Charvel Pro Mods are better, Wolfgang Special is darn amazing, or if you want to stick with Fender check out the Fender Special Edition Telecaster - wow. Let me know
@@hindigenius - at this price point, I really don’t think there are any. Sire Larry Carlton is a new line that you might look at, hard to be the real thing ‘Fender’ so check out used MIM (Made In Mexico) offerings. Reverend makes very nice guitars and has a few Tele offerings and then there’s ARTIST guitars! Their TC59 is simply awesome for $179 but heavy at about 9-10 pounds. If you sit down to play, no problem, standing though - ouch. G&L Bluesboy is also a very nice guitar and you can find them used for about the same as this Tele. Good luck
Not me, but grounding issues are usually pretty easy to remedy. It's most likely the wire that should be in contact with your bridge plate, but open it up and check that every switch and pot has a ground wire soldered to it. Lastly pull the pickup plate off and check it. Does it go silent when you touch the guitar?
Not much I’d say, if I said ‘tone knob’ it was a mistake, if you’d basing it something you saw, I may have reversed the switch plate and then moved the volume knob in closer…? But you are correct, no use for a bleed on the tone knob \m/ cheers
I looked into that but the conversion plate has a different screw layout which meant I’d have to drill and stuff. Also, I’m pretty darn happy with Dirty Harry pickup. I sometimes do a double take to see if someone actually slipped a humbucker in there lol
@@oldguyjammin9732 yeah i noticed that you’d have the open it up, im thinking of just swapping the bridge to a dimarzio super distortion t and the neck to a seymour duncan invader
Just btw...the bridge pickup is a humbucker, there's two coils hiding under that single-coil Tele size cover. Similar to the S-D Hot Rail for Tele. DiMarzio makes one too, both rail and stacked coils. The DiMarzio stacked coil style can be too tall for the pickup cavity but the rails fit fine without modification. (I know this is an old comment, just for people passing along as the years go by. :o)
@@bushcry1 - the GC site said ‘more on order - reserve...’ so I did and 3 months later a manager called and said that GC only had one ANYWHERE and it had such a bad chip out of the bottom he didn’t want to sell it and that he didn’t see that they planned on getting anymore. Apparently the vendor stated no more would be available. It could be that he just wanted to wrap this particular transaction up and move on... can’t say for sure. I thought I explained it in the video, guess not. There’s a few on Reverb I believe.
So I played one of these pretty extensively, and it's a good guitar, but wasn't for me. Here's a quick breakdown of what I liked, and what I didn't: Liked: 1) Neck. Oh my, it's a *wonderful* neck. Roasted maple, bound neck, super, super fast! 2) Bridge pickup. Has a *ton* of meat to it, but yet still sounds like a Tele! 3) Color choices. All very non-traditional, yet very sleek. 4) Price. On the lower end of mid-tier Squiers. Did not like: 1) Neck pickup. I found it weak, bland, and just overall unenjoyable. 2) No series/parallel switch/coil tap. This guitar really could have used a sneaky tone pot pull switch. 3) Poplar body. Eww. Far too soft, and will end up dented and dinged in no time.
Isn’t it funny how good tone is in the ear of the beholder...er, listener :) there’s some top end sizzle in that bridge pup that bugs me a little bit, but it is a beast. The Lil 59 was even beastier but that sizzle was even more prominent so while I said “leaving it stock is the way to go” I have to tell you that I ordered a Rio Grande Dirty Harry P90 for the bridge - hope it’s perfect. So, aren’t neck pickups always sort of just ‘meh’? What do you usually expect from one? I always just want it to blend well with the bridge, you know... not too drastic a change from click to click. I also ordered a small shaft push/pull to allow series/parallel for that neck pup. That’s a good call. Take care
I have been searching for a review of this guitar. All the ones I've seen so far have the gain on their amps turned up so high that it all sounds like mud. Thank you for playing it in a way where I can really hear its capability.
You bet! I’ve since taken the tone knob out and added an EVH style kill button from TESI which makes it all the more fun and makes me feel a little like John 5 ha ha.
I love mine too!! My hand kept hitting the volume control so I looked inside. They gave me enough wire to just flip the whole assembly back to the normal position. I don't think about it now. If I settle on that I may reverse the wires on the switch, but that doesn't really bother me too much. It's a great guitar. It feels like a steal at around $450.00
It is a graphite nut according to fender and it sure feels like one.
Just got one, Got it from watching your video! God bless brother
Awesome - still have mine with no plans of getting rid of it.
They had me at roasted maple neck. Strat knob is a direct replacement for the one you hate, and is more accessible next to the tone knob. No need for luthier's knot when restringing! Don't forget the belly cut! Typical Squier PCB switch and dime pots. Eh, they work. Lots of subtle yet substantial improvements to an already great guitar. Thanks for the walk through!
Yeah buddy \m/ great guitar stock and/or easy to mod up to something totally different
@@oldguyjammin9732 Something I've not yet seen or heard mention of is the output jack. Stock images don't show it.
My player tele has the recessed cup that sort of helps guide the plug. Also, The player has the newer bridge that doesn't screw down at the top. It is harder to restring because the string-through holes don't line up as well with the saddles.
The variations and permutations make it hard to keep track. I ordered the Gunmetal Metallic. It has twice the metal.
Cheers!
Awesome review, I play a Pearl white Telecaster of these in my covers. Initially the rail pickup got me into it, nowadays I hate to confess I play more this Telecaster than my Player series Strat.
The finish is on par with the Strat Player series, a bit too much sunlight turned the white pearl color halfway into your golden color.
I like the way the Rail pickup reacts to distortion and clean tones alike, there's a few covers in my profile in case somebody wants to listen, cheers.
Thanks Josh! Yep, I’ll be keeping mine. I’ve since swapped pups for a Dirty Harry bridge and DiMarzio Tone Zone neck and am pretty happy with it. I also installed a large button kill switch so I could feel a little like John 5 once in a while ;-)
Got one of the first ones 3-4 months ago. I liked it. Put a single coil in the bridge and is much better than the fender custom S H. Much better.
I like what you just said because while I like the pickups as is, the bridge is my least favorite and seems a tad weaker than the neck. I just ordered a Lil 59 for the bridge. It’ll allow me to split the pickups as well which is sometimes a nice option. Thanks for commenting :) what did you put in the bridge? Quarter Pound?
I got one of the December 2020 builds as well. Modded the bejesus out of it, one of the mods being to go for a single coil in the bridge position. I used a Bare Knuckle Cobra-T bridge single coil mounted in a Babicz FCH bridge, combined with their Impulse neck humbucker. The pickup swap was great, the only real issues I had were the tightness of the channel from the bridge pickup to the control cavity with the cloth-covered wires on the Cobra-T, and I fitted a push-pull volume pot that gives a partial split on the neck pickup and a 250K/500K switch for the bridge pickup using a couple of cheap 470k resistors. Because I turned the controls around to the conventional direction I had to grind some wood out of the centre of the control cavity to clear the push-pull (if you keep it reversed this is probably not necessary). I also fitted Gotoh locking tuners, Gotoh knobs, and Gotoh control plate as well as Black TUSQ nut and string tree, together with some other mods. I changed the bridge so that I could run 12-60 strings for C standard tuning. I also used a Strat style selector switch knob. All of my pots etc are from Bare Knuckle now and I fitted a CRL 3-way selector switch.
@@XlouietheflyX - dang, you weren’t kidding with the whole bejesus thing, lol. I tried the 59 but went back to the stock because of the way it blended with the neck - very nice. I dumped the tone knob, moved the volume knob to the middle spot and installed a kill switch. Now I just need to figure out how the hell to use it, ha ha. I’m very happy with everything else - stays in tune like a champ.
@@oldguyjammin9732 Interesting, I *loved* the bridge pickup, and found the neck pickup really boring and bland.
I’ve got the gun metal one. Has a teal subtle colour depending on the light. Rare has hens teeth to get hold of one these in the UK. Everyone should get one.
So you’re super stoked then, NICE!! I like mine and it’s affordable enough to mod, put stickers on, etc :)
Bought a used one over the weekend. The previous owner slapped on a pick guard but, besides that, it's a great guitar and does everything I need it to do. It might even become my main live guitar, replacing my 72 thinline.
mine is currently in rotation and I really like it. STAYS IN TUNE!! haha
First thing I did was stitch the knob plate around. Happy days!
All right! I’ve since added an EVH style kill switch from TESI - it’s awesome. Took the tone knob out and put the button there. Had to ream it out a bit, but super happy with the result.
Nice playing. Righto on the discount. Got 15% on one of these in Gunmetal Metallic back in the spring. Good guitar worth the money I think. I love cheap guitars especially when I find one I can bond with. This one is a keeper.
Thanks and congrats Carpathus! Yep, proving to be simply awesome. A whole bunch of fun and strikingly beautiful. I’ve heard the gun metal looks really sharp \m/ thumbs up dude!
@@oldguyjammin9732 Almost wish I had got the gold. Yours looks super sharp with that roasted maple neck. I may still get the gold, why by one when you can buy two at twice the price ;)
The contoured neck joint hugely important.
Yep, and the roasted neck is awesome. I may... not sure, but I may swap out the bridge plate for one that takes a humbucker cause I’ve got a pair of humbuckers that I pulled out of an older ESP (put EMGs in it) that are really amazing. I’m thinking I’l slip those into this tele for an awesome rock machine... I’m really just a dual humbucker sort of guy. Owning a tele for me is just kidding myself... I don’t and never will chicken pick, lol and if I do play a country song it’ll be on my acoustic.
I swapped my neck pickup with a Heretic-90s from Widdershins Guitars; the Atomic Humbucker was great out of the box I just wanted to get a P90 mid sounds from my neck position.
I have much more expensive guitars but this is the one I consistently grab to play on.
I like it too, stays in tune as good as any other with a really nice neck. My neck Tone Zone has always been a bit too hot and nasally, even with it lowered below the ring… I’m off too check out the Heretic 90 - thanks \m/
The fret board radius on this model is 12 which is a lot like most Gibsons. However the scale is still a Fender style so if the strings are 9s they will feel stiffer more like 10s. On Gibson guitars I have used 10s and sometimes 9s. On my Fender Telecasters I like 8s. They feel like 9s on them. With the pickups I have on them and the amp I use I don't have problem with sustain or tone.
Interesting, I have other 25.5 scale geetars but recall having the same reaction. Great food for thought, I’m off to look at the affect of scale length on strings :) thanks - and I guess I’ll try some 8’s on this one... never tried them on anything so it should be interesting.
Nice review, I bought a white one as my first guitar a few months back. Love the RH, not loving the neck as much yet. I would be interested to see you split or series the neck, if that what you decide to do. I was very interested to hear you say it was likely no be discontinued- might make them collectors’ items!
Thank you and how lucky are you to have this as your first guitar! I mean, Fender has been mis-matching bits and pieces of nice appointments here and there on different runs but this time they all ended up on the same guitar, lol. You really lucked out :) I actually prefer the neck pickup to the bridge and after tossing a few thoughts around decided to get a little 59 in that position, it’ll allow splitting both pickups for some swanky spanky twang. Re being limited... you know how info goes, we’ll see. I checked prices on the Orange Jim Root head and they are still between $5-600 right where they were years ago :( So I guess collectibles not only have to be limited but have a really desirable quality, something desirable and unique. While the Root is pretty awesome it really doesn’t do anything that most other amps don’t. Enjoy!
How heavy is the actual guitar?
Excellent work
Thank Yee! I can tell it’s going to mature into a very comfortable and enjoyable guitar to play :)
@@oldguyjammin9732 I have mine on order, I am excited for the hot rails.
Dude you like the same things I like I have the same guitar same strap different colors
I had mine on back order for a year, then canceled it then seen they had them in stock so I got it, before I got it I put a Hot-rail in a infinity telecaster I had and it has its own tone and I really liked it also 👍
Well there you go, we're both just awesome!!
Take care \m/
Crap that thing screams just like a tele should. Great video and playing
And above all else… it stays in tune!!! I’ve added a kill button… great neck.
Sweet guitar! Hey, what kind of Tele is that on the wall? The Sunburst thinline with humbuckers? Looks sweet!?
Thank you for the review. How much does the guitar weigh? I've been spoilt by headless guitars in terms of weight but want to add a light-ish tele to my guitars.
Yes you have, some of those headless guitars get down into the 5 and 6 pound range - how nice. This particular one is 7.5 lbs. which is not too bad. I don’t deal with anything over 8 anymore, don’t care how nice it might be :)
Nice run man...lol I love it
Dude u nailed it it’s a Wolfgang meets a tele
YES! Exactly... maybe YOU nailed it?
@@oldguyjammin9732 only paid 200$ too
@@tmoss89 - freakin' STEAL \m/ leaves you some $$ to trick it out if you want. Everyone needs at least ONE guitar with a kill switch on it, lol
Thanks for the review yet I’m not sold on this guitar. Perhaps if it had true five way and locking tuners. I like the solid utilitarian looks. I see its available at many online sits…all for $449.00. Thanks again.
Right on, I know what you mean about the 5 way switching, would have been nice. However, I just posted a “Final Mods - Contemporary Telecaster...” and ended up with a Dirty Harry single coil at the bridge and an old Tone Zone at the neck, put a kill switch in it and a push/pull coil tap Volume knob and dang if it ain’t a ton of fun. Mine stays in tune no matter how much a yank on it. It is utilitarian for sure, it could get chucked down a flight of stairs and come right back up to rock.
Nice to see a good review of these. I don’t need another guitar, but that Squier is impressive looking. Those tuners are technically locking tuners. Once the end of the string goes in the shaft, it’s no longer a pressure wrap or force wrap. I haven’t finished your video, but is it a full thickness body?
Yes, full thickness - thanks for clarifying the “locking tuners” what ever they are I really like how stable they are.
@@oldguyjammin9732
Man if it’s a full thickness body, it’s even more tempting to buy😅. Also, if those tuners are the ones that are on the other Contemporary models with the Floyd Rose, then they are quality. I took at Contemporary Squier Roasted Maple neck and put it on a Fender body and it’s solid. I’m thinking the neck profile on the entire line is similar if not the same because of your description. The one I have feels like a Wolfgang or Charvel profile.
@@aaronsramblingreviews98 - the body is 1 3/4 inches thick. I’m not exactly sure what you meant so measured it.
@@oldguyjammin9732 yes, that’s what I meant (like is it as thick as a MIM or MIA Telecaster or is it Squier Affinity thickness?)
Got mine last week and I love it. One thing I will say is that on mine the tuning stability is absolutely awful. Terrible nut, awful tuners. Definitely getting swapped out for a locking set and a Tusq nut!
Thanks for commenting, that’s really interesting because one of the things I like most about it is how well it stays in tune! That’s so bizarre!?!? I did file my nut down a bit, but other than that...?
@@oldguyjammin9732 It could honestly just be the cut of my nut, which is actually genuinely bad - most likely what's throwing it off, but if I'm doing that work anyway I might as well throw a set of locking tuners on!
So you found the neck a little thick? Im living abroad and looking to buy an inexpensive guitar as a sweet spot for bluesy stuff all the way through fast crap…any thoughts on that perspective vs this guitar? Amazing video.
Hey there, thanks for asking - the neck is great, I’m just trying to let people know what to expect so I said more “tele like” cause that’s what it is. Some people are really particular about neck size, me not so much. I have thin ones and thicker ones and I just play them all. My go to guitar, my favorite after all these years, are the Wolfgang’s (trying to find an older Standard right now in white or Miami blue) and you can them used for the price of this one new. The Fender Special Edition Telecaster is also worth a look and can be found on the cheap $$ but it has medium frets which is a turn off to some, but really nice and with a set neck which Fender just doesn’t do!?!? Maple cap on mahogany body like a les paul. For me to be more specific you’d have to list the options you’re looking for - but the Squier is certainly a fun a quality instrument.
@@oldguyjammin9732 thank you so much for your perspective!
@@mais5762 - you bet man, I was going to include a couple of more things 1) it’s much easier to get softer, bluesy tones out of a rock machine than going the other way... getting hard rock or high gain goodness out of a guitar designed for jazz or blues 2) and this is invaluable... make your purchases based on what you play 80% of the time, you’ll be infinitely happier with your gear and you can fake what ever it is you play the other 20% of the time \m/ enjoy the journey!
Solid review. I'm assuming the action was that low when you purchased it or did you have to do any adjustments?
It was nicely set up but I probably did a little tweakin :) the nut was low enough and intonation was on so I probably adjusted the neck a bit flatter and dropped the saddles a full turn, maybe half a turn. There is such a thing as “too low action” About 1.2 mm at the 12th fret is about right for pretty much everything. My Jackson is at 1 mm but my LP is at 1.5mm - it needs to be higher for some reason, but it feels right.
Thanks for the cool review and sharing some extra bits like the 2 conductor bridge. I wanted ask also, is it the recording or these pickups are quite dark sounding, especially for tele? 🍻
Sure man, you’re welcome. It’s not particularly dark like my Wolfgang, must be the recording but the pickups are much hotter than you’d get in a standard Tele. They’re bright enough, but not very ‘twangy’.
I didn’t find them dark sounding on this video. FYI dark is a property of light not sound.
@@bluwng - hey there! Technically I’ll agree that ‘dark’ references light more so than sound, but in the guitar and tone world the term ‘dark’ is used to describe tones that lack treble and mid frequencies. Guitars might be a great example; Telecasters and Strats are notoriously ‘bright’ as opposed to Wolfgang guitars that are rather ‘dark’ by comparison. The pickups decide :) Blackstar amps tend to be dark (hard to get enough treble or ‘brightness’ out of them) while Fender amps and Marshalls are ‘brighter’. Yes... I still have the guitar, and plan to turn it into a San Francisco 49er tribute, lol. Just looking for scarlet electrical tape.
@@oldguyjammin9732 my comment was for John. It’s just strange we guitarists use ever description for guitar sound but sound related terms.
@@bluwng - gotcha :) rock on bro \m/
nice video man you said black and gold where ya from man? whats the body wood on that if you know?
Pleasant Grove Pumas in Nor Cal, the body is popular with a roasted maple neck. I still like and can tell it's going to mature nicely. Thanks for coming by!
my old man used to throw the breaker switch and cut the power when i was jamming with my friends ☹️ I bet if your kids were jamming you'd grab your axe and rock the neighborhood (don't worry i got over it)😉
That’s funny, my folks just ended up taking 4 hour drives on Saturdays, lol. Sucked a bit cause my dad was a guitar player but couldn’t get over the “folk to rock” hurdle I guess. Glad you got over it \m/
I dig it man!!!!
Thanks my dude! It's proving to be rather fun to play.
@@oldguyjammin9732 I can certainly tell by the tones and the smile !! I like it alot. I agree with the knob change to chrome tho too. Hehe bring out the black more and the other accents. They must have lost money making these so they stopped. I often see these one run deals becoming some really good ones.
In a sentence explains parallel, series and split coil hum bucker
Humbucking pickups have to single coils that are attached in one way or another, most are attached in series so that the ‘out winding’ of the firs coil is tied to the ‘in or start winding’ of the second, however in a parallel situation both start windings would be tied together as well as both finish windings. A split coil ties the series connection to ground so that only the first coil is in play... ooops, couldn’t do it with just one sentence.
Nice review. Does it come with a rolled fingerboard edge?
No but the fret ends are not sharp or hanging off the edge of the fretboard :) nice and smooth.
What do you mean "not a high-gain"? It's 9.5 for the neck and 11.5 for the back! Let us know of a higher one...
The invader is over 16K, the Hot Rodded set is almost 17K, as is the Black Winter, the Lil 59 for Tele’s is like 11K or something, so… ya, they’re out there. I’d say these stock pups are middle of the road as far as their output goes.
@@oldguyjammin9732 lol fess thnx for the quick check
It is a good guitar. I have mine, and I really enjoy it. But, I have some concerns. 1rst, the electronics are not shielded, which is ok for the humbuckers but it tend to have pick some electric static. It should be shield painted. Also, I got some dust in the potentiometers ( I have to flush it). And, the blade switch is cheap. I am thinking to get the 6 way switch for coil split.
Good thoughts here Pablo, mine’s alright, no buzz or hum from either pickup. I believe they are both humbuckers, it’s just that the bridge has the coils attached internally so it’s not easily split. I’m putting a lil 59 in mine this weekend with a push/pull tone knob for splitting. I’m really enjoying it.
I painted the guts of mine with nickel shielding paint, and also ground away most of that wood in the centre of the control cavity so that I could fit a push-pull pot in the middle there. Rewired the whole guitar with Bare Knuckle components and with the shielding the bridge pickup is pretty quiet, even though I replaced the bridge pickup with a Cobra-T single coil. I used a CRL 3-way switch and fitted a partial split mod on the neck pickup (I used an Impulse, which is 4-conductor) via the push-pull, and added a 470k resistor to the bridge pickup lug on the selector switch that is switchable via the other side of the push-pull. I haven't decided whether I want the resistor to be active in the up or down position yet. Currently it is up but I am thinking I might change it so that the resistor is on normally and off when I pull the knob up, that's easy to do.
Can you suggest a better guitar in this segment? Please
What’s up Shaleen!?!? Not sure what you mean... a guitar better than THIS guitar but still a Tele or just any guitar that’s better? Charvel Pro Mods are better, Wolfgang Special is darn amazing, or if you want to stick with Fender check out the Fender Special Edition Telecaster - wow. Let me know
@@oldguyjammin9732 yes. I meant a better telecaster. Thank ls a lot 👍🏻
@@hindigenius - at this price point, I really don’t think there are any. Sire Larry Carlton is a new line that you might look at, hard to be the real thing ‘Fender’ so check out used MIM (Made In Mexico) offerings. Reverend makes very nice guitars and has a few Tele offerings and then there’s ARTIST guitars! Their TC59 is simply awesome for $179 but heavy at about 9-10 pounds. If you sit down to play, no problem, standing though - ouch. G&L Bluesboy is also a very nice guitar and you can find them used for about the same as this Tele. Good luck
just tried one,nice guitar but my hand kept hitting the knobs
Gotcha, I have the same problem with Strats and some Ibanez but this one I’m okay on :)
@Neon Thunderbird thank you Neon for your advice
You lucked out. Nice guitar, do you still have it?
Anyone have any problem with the guitar grounding?
Not me, but grounding issues are usually pretty easy to remedy. It's most likely the wire that should be in contact with your bridge plate, but open it up and check that every switch and pot has a ground wire soldered to it. Lastly pull the pickup plate off and check it. Does it go silent when you touch the guitar?
I’ve seen on a couple other sites that the black paint is not conductive. Thank you for replying.
What is the difference between a squier contemporary telecaster and a contemporary stratocaster?
One is a strat, the other is a telecaster...? Check the Specs at Sweetwater.com
Can it chug 🤘🏻🤘🏻
I suppose but for darker, chugging stuff I’d go with my EVH Standard, or old ESP fitted with EMGs.
Is the pickups in this better than the Wide Range in the Squire Classic vibe?
Not familiar with those, so can't say. I can say I ended up swapping out the stock pups for a Rio Grande Dirty Harry and Tone Zone at the neck.
Have you played it on that peavey invective mh?
I don’t think so, I may have but it wouldn’t be my guitar of choice for that amp.
Whats the use of a treble bleed on the tone knob?
Not much I’d say, if I said ‘tone knob’ it was a mistake, if you’d basing it something you saw, I may have reversed the switch plate and then moved the volume knob in closer…? But you are correct, no use for a bleed on the tone knob \m/ cheers
Have you tried Tagima Tele or Strat budget line?
No, I haven’t - good eh?
Does it come left handed?
Not that I've seen 😦
question, would it be easy to change the bridge to a humbucker
I looked into that but the conversion plate has a different screw layout which meant I’d have to drill and stuff. Also, I’m pretty darn happy with Dirty Harry pickup. I sometimes do a double take to see if someone actually slipped a humbucker in there lol
@@oldguyjammin9732 yeah i noticed that you’d have the open it up, im thinking of just swapping the bridge to a dimarzio super distortion t and the neck to a seymour duncan invader
The rail pickup in the bridge is a humbucker, no?
@@lindsayblack766 its a single coil size, so you would have to actually open it up a bit but i just ended up getting a headless pro gw2 eart guitar
Just btw...the bridge pickup is a humbucker, there's two coils hiding under that single-coil Tele size cover. Similar to the S-D Hot Rail for Tele. DiMarzio makes one too, both rail and stacked coils. The DiMarzio stacked coil style can be too tall for the pickup cavity but the rails fit fine without modification. (I know this is an old comment, just for people passing along as the years go by. :o)
How much did you pay for tele?
I $80 in gear rewards so got it down to about $360 to my door. It started around $419 but has since gone to around $449.
Not going to be produced anymore? Really?
Just repeating what the dude at GC told me when they refunded my money after having for 3 months.
@@oldguyjammin9732 Refunded your money? What happened?
@@bushcry1 - the GC site said ‘more on order - reserve...’ so I did and 3 months later a manager called and said that GC only had one ANYWHERE and it had such a bad chip out of the bottom he didn’t want to sell it and that he didn’t see that they planned on getting anymore. Apparently the vendor stated no more would be available. It could be that he just wanted to wrap this particular transaction up and move on... can’t say for sure. I thought I explained it in the video, guess not. There’s a few on Reverb I believe.
RNFL
So I played one of these pretty extensively, and it's a good guitar, but wasn't for me. Here's a quick breakdown of what I liked, and what I didn't:
Liked:
1) Neck. Oh my, it's a *wonderful* neck. Roasted maple, bound neck, super, super fast!
2) Bridge pickup. Has a *ton* of meat to it, but yet still sounds like a Tele!
3) Color choices. All very non-traditional, yet very sleek.
4) Price. On the lower end of mid-tier Squiers.
Did not like:
1) Neck pickup. I found it weak, bland, and just overall unenjoyable.
2) No series/parallel switch/coil tap. This guitar really could have used a sneaky tone pot pull switch.
3) Poplar body. Eww. Far too soft, and will end up dented and dinged in no time.
Isn’t it funny how good tone is in the ear of the beholder...er, listener :) there’s some top end sizzle in that bridge pup that bugs me a little bit, but it is a beast. The Lil 59 was even beastier but that sizzle was even more prominent so while I said “leaving it stock is the way to go” I have to tell you that I ordered a Rio Grande Dirty Harry P90 for the bridge - hope it’s perfect. So, aren’t neck pickups always sort of just ‘meh’? What do you usually expect from one? I always just want it to blend well with the bridge, you know... not too drastic a change from click to click. I also ordered a small shaft push/pull to allow series/parallel for that neck pup. That’s a good call. Take care