OK, last time I mentioned Squier on this blog I absentmindedly referred to their instruments as “beginner’s guitars,” which turned out to be a really bad idea––I got an earful from some very rabid Squier fans!
Hehe… my apologies, I promise not to make that mistake again ;)
Anyways, today Squier announced what appears to be their three new top-of-the-line models for 2008––the Squier Deluxe Series.
This latest family consists of the classically-styled Deluxe Strat (in Daphne Blue & Pearl White Metallic no less,) the modded-out Deluxe Hot Rails Strat (packed with a trio of extra-hot single-coil-sized Hot Rails Humbuckers, and a fat ’70s headstock,) and the new five-string Deluxe Jazz Bass Active V.
In typical Squier fashion, all three instruments are selling for exceedingly reasonable street prices hovering around just $250… and they’re apparently already available at the major online guitar retailers and brick & mortar stores, to boot.
I’ll be interested to get out to my local “big box” guitar store and take one of these for a test drive.
- Fender Introduces Squier Vintage Modified Series
- Fender Announces Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster Thinline & Custom
- Squier Continues Its Push Into “Vintage” With Telecaster Thinline
- New York’s Music Zoo Gets Exclusive Ultimate Relic Series Strats
- Unique Hand-Carved Archtop: Eastman’s El Rey Deluxe Rock
- Fender Unveils New Highway One Strats, Teles, And Basses
- Fender Shows Off ‘Road Worn’ Series, New Amps @ NAMM 2009
- Gretsch Debuts White Falcon Long Scale Bass
March 4th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Man, guitar people are really touchy. I just got an email from a guy who said I wasn’t qualified to review the Fender Fretless jazz bass, an entry I wrote the better part of a year ago.
Not to mention the reaming I got when I said that “I don’t like the feel of the old Ernie Ball Axis neck”.
March 5th, 2008 at 12:24 am
I’m gonna try and get my hands around one of those Deluxe Strats. I’ll let you know what I think.
March 5th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Not bad for Beginner guitars..
*runs and hides*
(^_^)
March 7th, 2008 at 12:43 am
I’ve seen some sad Squier’s in my day. You can’t expect terrific hdwr for the price, but some were just impossible to tune. I ran a high school guitar class for a few years. Kids came in with these horrible Squiers, and the best I could do to salvage the student was make sure they didn’t think something was wrong with them– it was the guitar.
I usually recommended Yamaha & Ibanez low end solid bodies because they at least had decent intonation and were tunable.
It’s a sin when an entry level guitar isn’t playable, and the beginner thinks it’s him.
I hope Fender is improving the basic playability of the Squier line.
May 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am
I’ve had a a Squier built in China and a MIJ Squier Bullet, among other guitars including USA and Mexican Strats
The Chinese made Squier was garbage. The neck pocket was too large. The finish was poor. The neck had a hump in the fretboard. It had no sustain. Kind of banjo like. Weak as heck pickups. It had no character. I tried to salvage it with Bill Lawrence pickups. It was still lame. Sold it to someone who didn’t care and loved making noise with it. He loved it no matter how much I apologized for it’s lack of character. He would allow his little girl to walk on it. He felt that it added to it’s vibe.
The stunner was the MIJ Squier bullet. It came with this funky push button pickup selector. Odd yet interesting humbucking pickups and a really sweet neck with maple fretboard.I played it for 2 years before I modified it and installed EMG pickups. Then the thing would sustain like nobody’s business. After the EMGs it had a meaty tone and was a versatile and wicked fusion axe. I later sold it because I decided to to give up playing for a while. (That was a bone headed idea too)
I like cheap axes because I don’t feel guilty when I tinker with them. I’ve had some pleasant surprises and only a few total clunkers that defied any attempt at improvement.
When you bottom feed you have to expect less than stellar quality. I’ve been happily surprised by Squiers at the music stores in recent years.