Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster 50S Electric Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

I have been playing for almost 25 years, been owning various fender and gibson products in the past. Since i have been constantly gigging in the local venue in the past; i roughly have the experience on what would work or not. This tele is the best thing for your money. It wont beat any vintage tele or suhr or any of the boutique guitars. But, it holds its own as workhorse and the go to for many workman musician and students alike. Sound quality wise, it is exceptionally best for its price. Workmanship, definetely top notch for its price. This tele works best with light to mild overdrive for classic rock, blues and pop music. It might not suitable for heavier stuff, in which you can look elsewhereBlurborg

I choose this guitar over the sunburst MIM Telecaster and I am glad I did. Don't let the Squier thing fool you , this is a quality guitar right out of the box. Mine was perfect , no complaints. great look , great tone. The neck is thinner then a C chaped standard Tele neck , some may not like that but for those of us born without "Chuck Berry" length fingers it's a God send.If your a lefty grab this guitar as soon as you can. They won't be in stock long.MOONROCK

I already knew I was goint to love this guitar. I also own a Squier Modified Tele Custom, which is basically a Deluxe without the contoured body, and with a maple fretboard, vs the rosewood fretboard on this model. I say all that because THAT is what piqued my interest in THIS guitar. The different fretboard and the contoured body. They both share many characteristics. They both have the "Les Paul" electronics on board. Meaning, separate volume and brightness controls for each pickup, thereby allowing you to "blend" the sounds of the pickups. They both use very potent sounding humbuckers, and they both play, feel and sound fantastic. Like I said, I already knew I was going to love this guitar, and I was right. Lol Great guitars, both of them.brucekbfunguy

I've owned a squier affinity and a classic vibe. I absolutely hated the affinity…it never stayed in tune, intonation terrible, pickups thin sounding, and it felt cheap. I absolutely love the classic vibe telecaster… worth every penny above the affinity. It sounds epic, pickups phenomenal. I played it against my core PRS custom 24, Gibson Les Paul, 335, American standard strat, and Chris Robertson, etc. and it's shocking how good the classic vibe sounds in comparison. The pickups are even clearer than my strat pickups which are single coil too… and much clearer than all of my other guitars. They are plenty punchy too for lead playing. The build quality is rock solid… and pickups are perfectly balanced. I don't think you can get a better sounding telecaster no matter what the price… but maybe you get less sharp frets and nitro finish. The poly finish on this guitars doesn't effect resonance on this guitar at all though ..it resonates for days… just as much as any of my nitro guitars. I don't care what the name on the headstock is… If a guitar sounds this phenomenal I'm proud to display the company name on the headstock…who cares that it doesn't say fender… squire deserves high remarks for this one. No reason to spend a penny more for anything else. As long as you don't get a dud… but that can happen with fender, Gibson, and other guitars too…Thaddeus

I got this instrument for christmas last year in butterscotch blonde, and boy does it pack a punch! The thing i love most about it is the vintage style tint of the neck; blends really well with the butterscotch color. Even the pickups; they have a lot of that tele twang i was looking for, though I may change the neck pickup to a stratocaster neck pickup bc i am mainly a strat guy. The nut was cut pretty well, no frets are hanging out, and the craftsmen really treated mine like a fender. Don't let people fool fool you just because it says squier on the headstock; this thing is very indistinguishable amongst mexican or even american made fenders(proven fact: just listen closely on youtube). It is a bit on the heavy side for some, but it is not too much for me to carry around. Some may see the classic vibe as a great series to start with and modify in the long run. Overall, I love this thing. May modify it a bit in the future but will never sell it.Adrian

I have been playing for almost 25 years, been owning various fender and gibson products in the past. Since i have been constantly gigging in the local venue in the past; i roughly have the experience on what would work or not. This tele is the best thing for your money. It wont beat any vintage tele or suhr or any of the boutique guitars. But, it holds its own as workhorse and the go to for many workman musician and students alike. Sound quality wise, it is exceptionally best for its price. Workmanship, definetely top notch for its price. This tele works best with light to mild overdrive for classic rock, blues and pop music. It might not suitable for heavier stuff, in which you can look elsewhereBlurborg

I choose this guitar over the sunburst MIM Telecaster and I am glad I did. Don't let the Squier thing fool you , this is a quality guitar right out of the box. Mine was perfect , no complaints. great look , great tone. The neck is thinner then a C chaped standard Tele neck , some may not like that but for those of us born without "Chuck Berry" length fingers it's a God send.If your a lefty grab this guitar as soon as you can. They won't be in stock long.MOONROCK

I already knew I was goint to love this guitar. I also own a Squier Modified Tele Custom, which is basically a Deluxe without the contoured body, and with a maple fretboard, vs the rosewood fretboard on this model. I say all that because THAT is what piqued my interest in THIS guitar. The different fretboard and the contoured body. They both share many characteristics. They both have the "Les Paul" electronics on board. Meaning, separate volume and brightness controls for each pickup, thereby allowing you to "blend" the sounds of the pickups. They both use very potent sounding humbuckers, and they both play, feel and sound fantastic. Like I said, I already knew I was going to love this guitar, and I was right. Lol Great guitars, both of them.brucekbfunguy

I've owned a squier affinity and a classic vibe. I absolutely hated the affinity…it never stayed in tune, intonation terrible, pickups thin sounding, and it felt cheap. I absolutely love the classic vibe telecaster… worth every penny above the affinity. It sounds epic, pickups phenomenal. I played it against my core PRS custom 24, Gibson Les Paul, 335, American standard strat, and Chris Robertson, etc. and it's shocking how good the classic vibe sounds in comparison. The pickups are even clearer than my strat pickups which are single coil too… and much clearer than all of my other guitars. They are plenty punchy too for lead playing. The build quality is rock solid… and pickups are perfectly balanced. I don't think you can get a better sounding telecaster no matter what the price… but maybe you get less sharp frets and nitro finish. The poly finish on this guitars doesn't effect resonance on this guitar at all though ..it resonates for days… just as much as any of my nitro guitars. I don't care what the name on the headstock is… If a guitar sounds this phenomenal I'm proud to display the company name on the headstock…who cares that it doesn't say fender… squire deserves high remarks for this one. No reason to spend a penny more for anything else. As long as you don't get a dud… but that can happen with fender, Gibson, and other guitars too…Thaddeus

I got this instrument for christmas last year in butterscotch blonde, and boy does it pack a punch! The thing i love most about it is the vintage style tint of the neck; blends really well with the butterscotch color. Even the pickups; they have a lot of that tele twang i was looking for, though I may change the neck pickup to a stratocaster neck pickup bc i am mainly a strat guy. The nut was cut pretty well, no frets are hanging out, and the craftsmen really treated mine like a fender. Don't let people fool fool you just because it says squier on the headstock; this thing is very indistinguishable amongst mexican or even american made fenders(proven fact: just listen closely on youtube). It is a bit on the heavy side for some, but it is not too much for me to carry around. Some may see the classic vibe as a great series to start with and modify in the long run. Overall, I love this thing. May modify it a bit in the future but will never sell it.Adrian

So this is billed as a beginners guitar, but it needs a lot of work before it's even playable. The frets are scratchy as all get out, the bridge saddles were wildly in disarray, and the neck isn't finished. A professional setup and fret job would be necessary, as well as finishing the neck. The tuners were OK, but the pegs were loose within the mechanism. The string trees should also be replaced with either graphtech TUSQ XL or rollers as the sharp edges will tend to break strings. Only after this work would I recommend it for beginners. For modders like myself, it's an excellent platform. The neck is true, the neck pickup is routed for a humbucker if one chooses. I thought this was supposed to have a string-through body, but it is a top loading bridge. No matter, I'll make that mod. For the price, it's worth it especially for modders, but also for folks that know they will need to have some work done to make it playable.Anon

SO many things I like about this guitar, I'll take it one at a time. 1. SOUND – no fret buzz, action is balanced and even, pickups somehow sound better than review videos i have seen/heard on Youtube. Each note rings perfectly. 2. ELECTRONICS – pickup selector is smooth, no frizz, no static friction sound, pickups are solid in place, not loose. Cable input also has no frizz, no buzz. Signal is constant and no issues. 3. HEADSTOCK & TUNERS – although my headstock is different than the photo above (mine doesn't say BULLET) so instead it says SQUIER bye FENDER TELECASTER, which i actually like better. I'm personally not a super fan of the 70s font, but that is a minor detail, however happy it came out this way. Nice surprise. Tuners stay in tune better than those i purchased over 10 years ago. Quality is higher than chinese models i got before, which i had to return. 4. BODY & FINISH – the pictures here do not do it justice, mine is a super high glossy , and see-through finish that brings out the wood grains which since they are curved and natural reveal a single block of wood and not just flat pieces glued together (although there are some of these on the back, but when looking at the side view they are not "even" which indicates that it is a single piece), which gives it an almost marble appearance. I am shocked and ultra impressed by the aesthetics. Body weight is a major advantage as it is light weight yet still sold enough to give adequate sustain. 5. NECK – the solid maple neck is amazingly smooth, hand is able to glide as fast as i am able to move. 6. NUT – nut is fine for now. it's been over 1-2 months so although it is a short period of time, there is no issues, the measurements are fine and correct, cut to the proper depth. 7. FRETS – i read conflicting specs from musician's friend VS fender website, but it seems that my frets are narrow tall frets, which i totally appreciate as there is more actual fret material which will extend the life of the frets. i had to re-fret a previous guitar and the price tag on that was…substantial. HOW I USE THIS GUITAR the main purpose for this guitar was to replace an acoustic guitar for songwriting purposes of multiple genres for other artists, and also needs to stand up to extensive international travel. had a more expensive guitar stolen while on tour previously (fender stratocaster player), so want to have a great sounding / multiple genre capable guitar which IF STOLEN AGAIN can afford to buyback without spending/losing over 1K USD. Also on a previous tour, had a guitar literally snap in half at the neck (brand new epiphone SG style) when it fell off the guitar stand just 1 time. if i could convince my girlfriend to let me buy 2…i might just buy another one , BECAUSE this is a FSR which stands for Fender Special Run … i can see that these will sell out and only go up in value. but not sure that i would get a rosewood fretboard because from the videos i've seen, these tend to have more issues, this is just my limited observation. however, something to note about indonesia….i've played at clubs in asia owned by indonesian's. they have a small but very dedicated art scene. and have come a long way in the last 15 years. where i see more "quality fade" from the chinese, some first are good, but then they diminish the quality over time to save money once they get contracts, by contrast, the character of the indonesian people i have met is that they get better. again this is just my observation and true for my personal experience. last note, i have done EXTENSIVE research into ALL telecaster models, from the BULLET all the way to the CUSTOM shop models and compared ever single spec and dimension and building material and country of origin and multiple videos for each model available. yes i do take this to the extreme. BUT…among all that, i still landed on the maple neck bullet. true – there is some kind of a "gamble" with lower priced guitars made outside of the US, but there came on this guitar at least 4-5 quality control stamps. i can say that the people who made this guitar did an excellent job and i can't say enough good things about it. i bought it assuming it might be stolen again like before, but i REALLY hope i can keep this one for life. good job and thank you to whomever made this. sincerely, cousin paulcousin paul

Pros: thinner lighter body (poplar) some may consider this a con, but good for me. Body fit and finish is better than expected. Pickups are a pleasant surprise for budget ceramics, sounds like a Tele should. Pots are smooth and reactive. Cons: The necks all need varying levels of TLC. All frets require polishing, very scratchy out of the box, some fret ends need filing, but not bad. Mods I have made….sanded, steel wooled necks, satin finish was rough like overspray and quite a few finish drips. Replaced tuners, barely acceptable stock. Replaced plastic nut with bone. Replaced bridges and/or saddles, stock bridge is junk. So now I have 3 tele partscasters, all could be played professionally now. Also put threaded inserts and stainless steel bolts on necks, one tele came with 2 screws stripped.Keith

I bought this guitar used at GC. Looks great and sounds great. I brought it home and took it to my first gig with it. It kept going out of tune. I had new strings on it that I stretched out and it should of stayed in tune. The tuners on the headstock are bad. I couldn't find a set of locking tuners that would fit on this guitar without looking like a hack job. I brought it back to GC and got my money back. Honestly, Sire guitars come with locking tuners. Fender………Squier. Outfit your guitars with locking tuners!!Kent

So, I received my cv 70'ssquier tele thinline as an early Christmas gift from my wife, and for just a hair under $500, this is a monster of a guitar. The neck, despite a poly finish, is fast and slick and your hands won't stick to it. There were not fret spouts and no adjustments were needed. The pickups are powerful, yet very clean and makes it perfect to run effects through. The semi hollow body is much and light, and the guitar is not really that neck heavy. It's just a joy to play. It's now replacing my Nashville tele as my number one guitar. In fact, I loved it so much, I went out the following week and bought a second one. Don't let the name on the headstock fool you. This is equal to a (mim) fender, and is just a great value overall.John Dashuta

I have played for 50 years. Have owned and traded all kinds of expensive Fender, GIbson, PRS, and boutique brands. All lovely guitars. Thought I would try a Pawn Shop weirdo a few years back and got a HH Strat made in Japan. Incredible. So I ventured further and got this HH Tele in natural. I can't say enough about how good it looks, sounds and plays. No string buzzing issues for me. Feels like the frets are rolled beautifully on the fretboard sides. Stands up really well to instruments 5x the price.Frank

I am a 59 year old guitar player, had expensive and cheap gear over the years. I don't think I'm technically great but know how to get a good sound. When looking for a cheap guitar to sit with, my Les Paul and even my '88 Strat often got a bit uncomfortable , I decided to try one of these, you can return them after all, no trouble. What a great little guitar! Obviously GAK probably don't get these out of the box to check them, my box was still stapled shut from the factory, and this is OK at this level but I worry a beginner would be put off if the guitar is poorly set-up. First off the finish is superb, no rough edges to the frets, the colour and gloss on the body was perfect, the unvarnished neck just sits comfortably in the hand, I picked this above the more expensive 'Affinity' as apparently the nut width is a little wider. I didn't need to adjust the neck, I just cut the nut a little lower on the G,B and E strings for comfort. The frets needed a light rubbing with fine wet and dry and that was it, a perfect, light practise tool. I would even gig with this no problem. Each and every one of the tuners work smoothly and firmly. Sound wise, it sounds like a Tele to me and this is always a very subjective and personal thing anyway, I don't like overly powerful pickups (my Les Paul has '57's) I prefer to push the sound with pedals. All I can say is, if not sure, 'Buy one'. I have done nothing but played this to death since I got it 4 days ago, hard on the finger tips as I haven't played regularly for a while. I hope I haven't just got a 'good one' and would like to think any of them would be as good, all the reviews I read suggests so.Customer

Seeing this guitar intrigued me — it is beautifully designed, natural glow finish on neck and body, pearl-look pick guard and tinted neck and headstock. I had been looking for a new Telecaster because – well, who doesn't want a really good Tele. I was a bit unsure because I wasn't sure if the thin line models still had the 'REAL' Telecaster tone. I got this one from AMS in 2 days, opened it up and was amazed ad the workmanship, finish and playability right out of the box. AND.- it is ALL Telecaster! Light, easy to play with tones for days! What else could you ask for? If you are thinking about getting one — do it now.BigBuzz

TL;DR: I'm still rather new to playing electrics but this is my eight in about a year. Having had it two days, it is already my favorite. The neck is the most suited to me of any guitar I own or have tried. It is on the thinner side but not at all extreme. For reference, I'm also quite fond of the Fender Player neck. This is just a little thinner. The fingerboard is nicely rolled. This guitar sounds great (clean and crunch on Katana 100) and the fit/finish is spectacular. This is my first semi/hollow and I still can't get over how light it is, without negatively affecting the feel or tone. I passed by this guitar many times on the wall of my local GC until recently it spoke to me. I played it for a while and was quite enamored with the feel of it. I bought the demo unit and took it home. After a little more playing, I learned that the top end of the 13th fret was bad/unlevel. The issue could be very much heard and even seen. But, I was in love. I took it back to the store and there was no fuss at all having them order me a replacement. The replacement, new in box, is in perfect shape. Action and intonation on mine were spot on out of the box. No blemishes whatsoever and while I was rather turned off by the aesthetic of this guitar for a long time, thus having passed by it so many times, it is growing on me. Regardless, she's got a great personality.Kenny

I used to own a 1953 Telecaster that I sold in a moment of stupidity so I have first hand knowledge of this vintage instrument. I had heard that they had successfully recreated a match to the vintage instrument in the Fender American Vintage '52 Telecaster. Mine is a late 2017 model and the workmanship is first class. It also has the "U" neck with the 7.25" finger board radius, the blonde butterscotch paint and the modern wiring. It has the same look and feel of the old one. It has the same twang and sustain as the old one too. I did have the adjust the bridge so the strings are just slightly higher off the fingerboard. The main difference between the old one and the new one is that the old one, the paint was highly worn on the back of the neck and I did miss that on the new one. If you are trying to decide what guitar to buy, I would highly recommend this one.todadamson

P'ups not excellent for dry playing at a loud gig if you need silence from your instrument. Outside of that, this is the best dang guitar I've ever owned, (out of 29). Neck is extremely comfy, might not be for you but it's okay to be wrong. Both pickups sound like keepers, and the hardware and case are high quality as well. Needed some additional time for set-up, but was well worth the effort.Andrew M

I just got a lefty for $350 or so and man it is impressive. Set up pretty well out of the box. Finish is perfect trans butterscotch blonde. Neck feels great and I love the finish (wont need dressing). Bridge looks fine, tuners are so so. A bit on the heavy side with the pine body no contour. With some mods this will be a player fo sho. This guitar is nice enough that I couldnt care less about the Squire branded headstock. If you want a platform to mod this is probably it. Feels better than any MIM Tele Ive held. Get one today if possible!-c.luckee74

So this is billed as a beginners guitar, but it needs a lot of work before it's even playable. The frets are scratchy as all get out, the bridge saddles were wildly in disarray, and the neck isn't finished. A professional setup and fret job would be necessary, as well as finishing the neck. The tuners were OK, but the pegs were loose within the mechanism. The string trees should also be replaced with either graphtech TUSQ XL or rollers as the sharp edges will tend to break strings. Only after this work would I recommend it for beginners. For modders like myself, it's an excellent platform. The neck is true, the neck pickup is routed for a humbucker if one chooses. I thought this was supposed to have a string-through body, but it is a top loading bridge. No matter, I'll make that mod. For the price, it's worth it especially for modders, but also for folks that know they will need to have some work done to make it playable.Anon

SO many things I like about this guitar, I'll take it one at a time. 1. SOUND – no fret buzz, action is balanced and even, pickups somehow sound better than review videos i have seen/heard on Youtube. Each note rings perfectly. 2. ELECTRONICS – pickup selector is smooth, no frizz, no static friction sound, pickups are solid in place, not loose. Cable input also has no frizz, no buzz. Signal is constant and no issues. 3. HEADSTOCK & TUNERS – although my headstock is different than the photo above (mine doesn't say BULLET) so instead it says SQUIER bye FENDER TELECASTER, which i actually like better. I'm personally not a super fan of the 70s font, but that is a minor detail, however happy it came out this way. Nice surprise. Tuners stay in tune better than those i purchased over 10 years ago. Quality is higher than chinese models i got before, which i had to return. 4. BODY & FINISH – the pictures here do not do it justice, mine is a super high glossy , and see-through finish that brings out the wood grains which since they are curved and natural reveal a single block of wood and not just flat pieces glued together (although there are some of these on the back, but when looking at the side view they are not "even" which indicates that it is a single piece), which gives it an almost marble appearance. I am shocked and ultra impressed by the aesthetics. Body weight is a major advantage as it is light weight yet still sold enough to give adequate sustain. 5. NECK – the solid maple neck is amazingly smooth, hand is able to glide as fast as i am able to move. 6. NUT – nut is fine for now. it's been over 1-2 months so although it is a short period of time, there is no issues, the measurements are fine and correct, cut to the proper depth. 7. FRETS – i read conflicting specs from musician's friend VS fender website, but it seems that my frets are narrow tall frets, which i totally appreciate as there is more actual fret material which will extend the life of the frets. i had to re-fret a previous guitar and the price tag on that was…substantial. HOW I USE THIS GUITAR the main purpose for this guitar was to replace an acoustic guitar for songwriting purposes of multiple genres for other artists, and also needs to stand up to extensive international travel. had a more expensive guitar stolen while on tour previously (fender stratocaster player), so want to have a great sounding / multiple genre capable guitar which IF STOLEN AGAIN can afford to buyback without spending/losing over 1K USD. Also on a previous tour, had a guitar literally snap in half at the neck (brand new epiphone SG style) when it fell off the guitar stand just 1 time. if i could convince my girlfriend to let me buy 2…i might just buy another one , BECAUSE this is a FSR which stands for Fender Special Run … i can see that these will sell out and only go up in value. but not sure that i would get a rosewood fretboard because from the videos i've seen, these tend to have more issues, this is just my limited observation. however, something to note about indonesia….i've played at clubs in asia owned by indonesian's. they have a small but very dedicated art scene. and have come a long way in the last 15 years. where i see more "quality fade" from the chinese, some first are good, but then they diminish the quality over time to save money once they get contracts, by contrast, the character of the indonesian people i have met is that they get better. again this is just my observation and true for my personal experience. last note, i have done EXTENSIVE research into ALL telecaster models, from the BULLET all the way to the CUSTOM shop models and compared ever single spec and dimension and building material and country of origin and multiple videos for each model available. yes i do take this to the extreme. BUT…among all that, i still landed on the maple neck bullet. true – there is some kind of a "gamble" with lower priced guitars made outside of the US, but there came on this guitar at least 4-5 quality control stamps. i can say that the people who made this guitar did an excellent job and i can't say enough good things about it. i bought it assuming it might be stolen again like before, but i REALLY hope i can keep this one for life. good job and thank you to whomever made this. sincerely, cousin paulcousin paul

Pros: thinner lighter body (poplar) some may consider this a con, but good for me. Body fit and finish is better than expected. Pickups are a pleasant surprise for budget ceramics, sounds like a Tele should. Pots are smooth and reactive. Cons: The necks all need varying levels of TLC. All frets require polishing, very scratchy out of the box, some fret ends need filing, but not bad. Mods I have made….sanded, steel wooled necks, satin finish was rough like overspray and quite a few finish drips. Replaced tuners, barely acceptable stock. Replaced plastic nut with bone. Replaced bridges and/or saddles, stock bridge is junk. So now I have 3 tele partscasters, all could be played professionally now. Also put threaded inserts and stainless steel bolts on necks, one tele came with 2 screws stripped.Keith

A lot of the reviews posted here are for Strats, so I'm not sure what's going on. Anyway, I bought the red sparkle Squier Bullet Tele. The finish is gorgeous and that's what prompted me to do a spontaneous purchase. I have only experienced owning USA Teles, but I've played some Squiers that really impressed me. This one? Not so much. I don't detect any finish on the back of the neck although I'm sure it has a sealer of some sort. The body finish is nice, but the bridge hardware is cheaply made and I'll be replacing that for sure. Same goes for the tuners. I'm pretty sure it has some high frets because it goes dead starting at the 10th fret, but some of that was back bow. I loosened the truss and got rid if it, but now when I sight down the neck the forward bow is pretty obvious. I don't notice the frets being sharp on the ends. It now plays plays pretty good after sitting long enough for the truss Rod to settle, but I may need to tighten it just a little to get rid of some of the forward bow. The neck has a very comfortable profile. The body is thinner than my American Teles, but it doesn't bother me – in fact it's lighter which I enjoy. The body is Poplar and that's fine by me. I may leave the back of the neck alone for now because it actually feels pretty good, aesthetics are certainly lacking, but the body makes up for that. I'm sure with a little patience and help from my friends I'll have a nice instrument. All the basics are there. As is, it's not all that great, but still better than my first electric guitar! -!an old Kalamazoo single pickup thing with a bolt on neck back in the mid sixties. Like the title says, this thing has potential. I probably couldn't buy a finished body for what I paid.Ronnie

I bought my black metallic Squier Bullet eight years ago when GC was having a Columbus Day sale. I was looking for a guitar to which I could permanently mount my Roland GR-33 guitar synth's GK2a pickup. Previously I had the pickup mounted on my '96 Strat, and I didn't like this fit because I couldn't close my Strat's case with the pickup installed. I have a gig bag for this Squier, and it fits fine in the bag with pickup installed. Anyway, about the guitar. Right out of the box, it played great, requiring only a minimal amount of action adjustment. I was surprised at how good the pickups sounded, it being a Bullet and all. But the humbucker sounds especially nice when playing the guitar through my Marshall. The neck pickup has a decent sound, but not quite up to the snuff of a good alnico pickup. Still, for what the guitar cost, I really can't complain. If I want to, at some later date, I can always change out the neck pickup to a better alnico model. One thing I especially like about this black Bullet is its looks. The photos here at GC don't show it off all that well, but the guitar body's finish is metallic and the pickguard is a heavy metal flake. It looks spectacular under the lights. And the black hardware does a great job of completing that black look. The Bullet's body is thinner than a typical Strat or Squier Affinity or Classic Vibe body. The result is a light weight guitar, but there is no sacrifice in tone.Michael

I would first like to begin with- I normally would be giving a 5 star rating of this unit/Squier, as I have typically never had problems prior to the recent/earlier this year upset regarding shipping containers/etc being paused/sitting in the ocean/etc, delaying container delivery. PLEASE READ ON FOR FULL EXPLANATION. Two imperative points- 1. The fret ends were so sharp, when I say it was not playable (both sides/neck in its entirety), I mean, it was not playable (THE DATE OF INSPECTION WAS EARLIER THIS YEAR, AND I IMMEDIATELY ASSOCIATED THE FRET ENDS PROBLEM BEING DUE TO THE SHIPS BEING DELAYED/SITTING IN THE OCEAN/ETC- It looked to me like maybe between March and July of this year, although, I couldn't quite make out the stamped month). As well, the serial # of the guitar, of course, was of this year/'22. I maintain/work on most all my guitars, and I normally would've tightened up the fret ends myself, however, there was a hairline crack on the red sparkle finish at the bass side neck joint (which i just couldn't accept, visually), as well as a small tooling gash along the top edge of the headstock. The replacement/reordered guitar arrives tomorrow. 2. THE NEWER UNITS (AS, ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS A 2022-BUILT UNIT) ARE TOP-MOUNT/STRING THROUGH THE BACK OF THE BRIDGE, NOT "STRING-THRU" as the description indicates (and, with Squier bridge mounting, these are 5-screw mount plates, which, if ever you want to upgrade your hardware, particularly, w/the bridge, you must find an aftermarket unit that is "string through the back", along w/the correct string spacing (with Squier, they're 54mm, typically), and you'll typically need to redrill given it's rare to find plates that have Squier mounting dimensions that provided string through the back holes. I'm upgrading to a Babicz, given the results found. Also, there are two string trees (the second being a tree for both the D and G strings), and it looks great, actually, with both. Overall, I was impressed with the finish, as it was nearly flawless (aside from the hairline finish crack mentioned previously). The fretwire/fretwork, felt great….I found maybe two or so "slight" dead spots, which weren't enough of a "ping", or string buzz to be of concern, or critiquing the fretwork negatively. Rather, I was impressed with the fretwork. As well, it's important to note that the mounting of the bridge, along with the neck positioning/etc, was spot-on. No misalignment of the bridge mount/etc (and the same goes for the nut spacing). I've always been impressed with what Fender/Squier/Jackson are putting out. The quality is typically quite high…as for this unit, the quality is high, but the results of the environmental dilemma with either being stuck in a container offshore, or, sitting in a facility for weeks/months/etc, have had quite the impact on this guitar. As an important example, I had purchased a Bullet Tele last year (the unit in Burst color offered here through MF), and it was/is flawless, and I completely upgraded every part. As I own approx'ly 53 guitars ranging primarily from ESP to Jackson (some of which in the better than $2K range), I love to take what's titled as a "beginner" guitar, and totally hotrod it with high end parts (such is the case w/this guitar). As mentioned above, I've reordered the guitar, as MusiciansFriend provided me a generous discount (without having to ask) to accommodate me. Upgrades- 1. Babicz Full Contact Tele "Ashtray" bridge Gold, 2. Genuine Fender Gold control plate, 3. Fender Infinity Gold strap locks, 4. Gold input jack Ferrule, 5. Custom built Gold Sparkle w/star cut-outs Tele pickguard, 6. Philadelphia Luthier Tools "Fat" neck plate/Gold w/gold neck mounting screws, 7. Earvana compensated nut (Ivory), 8. Philadelphia Luthier Tools Gold string trees, 9. Fender locking tuners, Gold, 10. EMG T-52 set (black), or, EMG T-set, Red., 11. EMG Gold Telecaster knobs. 12. Powder coated Red pickguard screws, 13. Gold pickup mounting screws. Beginner guitar?……no more (ha).Dave

Overall, this is a good guitar. I'm having a good time with it, the neck is comfortable, the pickups sound really good and handle high-ish gain surprisingly well, and the color (I got the Daphne blue) looks incredible. Taken as a whole, if you're in the market for a Jazzmaster with all the classic JM features but don't have a ton of money to spend, I'd recommend it for sure. If you're going to buy it though, just be aware of a few things… 1.) It'll need a setup. Out of the box, the tuning stability was fine but once I used the vibrato a little bit, it went way out. The action wasn't bad but could be better and the neck may need a half degree shim. I'm probably going to end up putting a Fender AVRI vibrato on it eventually but a decent setup should make the stock one perfectly usable. 2.) It needs a good cleaning. This could very well just be the specific one that I got but the neck and headstock had a lot of dust and a slightly cloudy residue on them, the fretboard was very dry, and the frets were scratchy. None of these were anything that a little lemon oil, fretboard conditioner, a microfiber cloth, and some 0000 steel wool couldn't take care of but it's still something to be aware of. Note though that, while the frets were scratchy, their weren't any sharp fret ends. 3.) It probably isn't a great first guitar. I've seen this said a few times in other reviews and I completely agree. That's not to say that it isn't a good guitar because it is. More that it's not the most user-friendly instrument right away and could be off-putting to a beginner. A pro setup will do it a world of good and make it much easier to play but if you're in the market for a first guitar, look elsewhere. Am I glad I bought it? Yes. I mean, it's a Daphne blue Jazzmaster with a comfortable neck and awesome pickups! I don't mind working on my guitars a bit though, so none of the problems I talked about above bother me in particular. However, if you're looking for a plug-in-and-play guitar right out of the box, this one might not be for you.Jackson

I waiting on this on backordered for a few months (shell pink) and started to worry after looking at a bunch of YouTube reviews. Action, fret ends and leveling were great out of the box (which I really am not up for fixing; esp on a bound fingerboard). Frets could prob use a polish, but that's a lesser concern to me. No shim needed with 09s so far. I feel like recent shipments corrected some of the common complaints of this line… YMMV. I think the the nut is pinching a bit and the trem pivot is jumping a bit so I might go in and see if I can smooth it out. Pickups are microphonic under gains and comp… and I'm not sure if they are RWRP yet. One of the reason I went with MF is that if I wasn't satisfied I could go right into GC and trade towards and CV Jazzmaster. But overall pretty satisfied and think this will be a good first offset and short scale add to the collection.David

I want to love this guitar. Unfortunately however, I will have to be taking this one to a luthier to be set-up due to the neck. Everything for the most part is beautiful, it's a Jazzmaster. Fantastic dark, spanky jazzmaster tones, beautiful tortoise-shell guard, and the very eye-catching very elusive shell pink finish. Switches all seem to be in working order, though due to the position of the neck pickup to the strings right out of the box, the rhythm circuit will be noticeably quieter. Easy fix. I am unsure about the stability of the bridge, which is a Mustang bridge- a HUGE improvement, as I've seen in other reviews that the screwposts loosen by vibration. Vibrato does not return to tune. There is a very strange, unclean grime of some sort on the metal plate of the vibrato piece. I was unfortunate enough to receive a poorly conditioned neck, with glue residue left behind surrounding the tuning pegs on the face of the headstock. The lacquer finish is beautiful and is fine to play on. The fretboard is noticeably dry as well as the frets are unfinished, both feeling scratchy, and the frets being too rough to perform clean bends on. Not sure if it's the neck, the frets, or the bridge piece, or any of the three in combination that is causing the strings to be unable to bend even a half note without losing vibration, or being pinched off. Fret markers are a dark, cheap pearl. Overall, the fretboard itself just feels like Squier Affinity line quality. My impression is that most of the cost of this guitar- to keep it in line with the technologically cheaper instruments (telecaster the same price as a jazz, etc)- went into the body finish, and electronics. However, in the end I still love this thing and cannot wait to hear it sing once I get it set-up.Tyler

I am a 59 year old guitar player, had expensive and cheap gear over the years. I don't think I'm technically great but know how to get a good sound. When looking for a cheap guitar to sit with, my Les Paul and even my '88 Strat often got a bit uncomfortable , I decided to try one of these, you can return them after all, no trouble. What a great little guitar! Obviously GAK probably don't get these out of the box to check them, my box was still stapled shut from the factory, and this is OK at this level but I worry a beginner would be put off if the guitar is poorly set-up. First off the finish is superb, no rough edges to the frets, the colour and gloss on the body was perfect, the unvarnished neck just sits comfortably in the hand, I picked this above the more expensive 'Affinity' as apparently the nut width is a little wider. I didn't need to adjust the neck, I just cut the nut a little lower on the G,B and E strings for comfort. The frets needed a light rubbing with fine wet and dry and that was it, a perfect, light practise tool. I would even gig with this no problem. Each and every one of the tuners work smoothly and firmly. Sound wise, it sounds like a Tele to me and this is always a very subjective and personal thing anyway, I don't like overly powerful pickups (my Les Paul has '57's) I prefer to push the sound with pedals. All I can say is, if not sure, 'Buy one'. I have done nothing but played this to death since I got it 4 days ago, hard on the finger tips as I haven't played regularly for a while. I hope I haven't just got a 'good one' and would like to think any of them would be as good, all the reviews I read suggests so.Customer

Seeing this guitar intrigued me — it is beautifully designed, natural glow finish on neck and body, pearl-look pick guard and tinted neck and headstock. I had been looking for a new Telecaster because – well, who doesn't want a really good Tele. I was a bit unsure because I wasn't sure if the thin line models still had the 'REAL' Telecaster tone. I got this one from AMS in 2 days, opened it up and was amazed ad the workmanship, finish and playability right out of the box. AND.- it is ALL Telecaster! Light, easy to play with tones for days! What else could you ask for? If you are thinking about getting one — do it now.BigBuzz

TL;DR: I'm still rather new to playing electrics but this is my eight in about a year. Having had it two days, it is already my favorite. The neck is the most suited to me of any guitar I own or have tried. It is on the thinner side but not at all extreme. For reference, I'm also quite fond of the Fender Player neck. This is just a little thinner. The fingerboard is nicely rolled. This guitar sounds great (clean and crunch on Katana 100) and the fit/finish is spectacular. This is my first semi/hollow and I still can't get over how light it is, without negatively affecting the feel or tone. I passed by this guitar many times on the wall of my local GC until recently it spoke to me. I played it for a while and was quite enamored with the feel of it. I bought the demo unit and took it home. After a little more playing, I learned that the top end of the 13th fret was bad/unlevel. The issue could be very much heard and even seen. But, I was in love. I took it back to the store and there was no fuss at all having them order me a replacement. The replacement, new in box, is in perfect shape. Action and intonation on mine were spot on out of the box. No blemishes whatsoever and while I was rather turned off by the aesthetic of this guitar for a long time, thus having passed by it so many times, it is growing on me. Regardless, she's got a great personality.Kenny

I have always wanted a Telecaster. This Squier Tele is the BEST brand new right out of the box guitar I have ever purchased. It's Incredible sounding and good playability. The neck and bridge pickup sound great. Not only do they sound great played in the just the neck or bridge position but together they compliment each other like no other guitar I own. This Squier has a black Nut that looks like it's made from Graphite. The Bridge is not a traditional Telebridge. It has 6 individual string saddles like a Strat. No Tremolo. The only thing I will upgrade on this guitar will be to Locking Tuners if I can find some with a set screw in the (four) eight o'clock position Don't let the "Squier name discourage you. Will a Higher priced Fender sound better than this entry level Squier?Jman

I purchased 4 Squiers over the past year, a surf green Bullet Tele, a butterscotch Bullet Tele with maple neck, a surf green Bullet Mustang and this sunburst Affinity Tele with maple neck. I had no problem setting up the 3 Bullets, the Mustang is the best but the butterscotch with 9s is a blast to play. This Affinity has been a major let down. After trying every trick in the book to get the high E string to stop sounding like a sitar, and fret buzz in odd spots all over the neck I'm at a point where it's going to need new parts and some serious surgery just to make it playable. That's a chance you take when buying a bulk guitar online, you get what you get.GrandpaPete

I purchased this guitar in hopes of getting an inexpensive tele sound for recording and for live audio. The guitar came quickly and upon initial inspection, I liked the guitar. The fretboard was smooth and I thought the playability would be great. However, upon plugging the guitar in, I noticed the pickups were likely not secured as the selector switch produced no tonal differences and the tone itself was buzzing and awful. Okay, that's frustrating but I can understand these things happen. When I called musicians friend customer service, they said they don't ship return boxes and that I would need to pay for a box to have it returned. That completely goes against what I believe principally. I would rather burn the guitar for firewood than pay nearly fifty usd for a box to return it at no fault of my own. I will not purchase from musicians friend again because of their lack of clarity on this issue. It appears most people have not had the same issues so this may not be a common experience, but why take a risk when they aren't willing to correct it.Owen

This is truly the best current production strat by fmic you can get outside of the custom shop. And not just for the money, like overall. I've tried/owned Strats from the player, vintera, performer, pro, american OG, ultra, custom shop. Outside of the custom shop this is the crown jewel of the line. The Cort factory knows what they're doing and does it better than american line guitars at 3-4 times the price. It has the same narrow tall frets they're putting on the american pros, which make bends go off like butter. It's an extremely fast feeling neck without being too skinny (I have large hands and generally prefer a bigger neck, but I love this neck. It's like a medium c with the slightest hint of a v, not a baseball bat but not a toothpick). The back of the neck is lacquered but it never gets sticky when sweating. The fretwork is immaculate, better than all the fender Mexican guitars. The frets are polished to a mirror finish, the fretboard edges are rolled. The tuners are smooth turning vintage style. Bone nut, steel saddles, perfect semi-light weight… it literally ticks every single box a vintage strat enthusiast could want. Oh and the pickups? Don't worry about having to swap them out for some expensive after market pups. They are PERFECTLY voiced for this instrument. Plenty of low end but not overwound, striking clarity and glassiness, middle positions quack properly, and the bridge pup is even wired to the tone control stock! I'd wager to bet this will become your #1 strat…JT

I am a 59 year old guitar player, had expensive and cheap gear over the years. I don't think I'm technically great but know how to get a good sound. When looking for a cheap guitar to sit with, my Les Paul and even my '88 Strat often got a bit uncomfortable , I decided to try one of these, you can return them after all, no trouble. What a great little guitar! Obviously GAK probably don't get these out of the box to check them, my box was still stapled shut from the factory, and this is OK at this level but I worry a beginner would be put off if the guitar is poorly set-up. First off the finish is superb, no rough edges to the frets, the colour and gloss on the body was perfect, the unvarnished neck just sits comfortably in the hand, I picked this above the more expensive 'Affinity' as apparently the nut width is a little wider. I didn't need to adjust the neck, I just cut the nut a little lower on the G,B and E strings for comfort. The frets needed a light rubbing with fine wet and dry and that was it, a perfect, light practise tool. I would even gig with this no problem. Each and every one of the tuners work smoothly and firmly. Sound wise, it sounds like a Tele to me and this is always a very subjective and personal thing anyway, I don't like overly powerful pickups (my Les Paul has '57's) I prefer to push the sound with pedals. All I can say is, if not sure, 'Buy one'. I have done nothing but played this to death since I got it 4 days ago, hard on the finger tips as I haven't played regularly for a while. I hope I haven't just got a 'good one' and would like to think any of them would be as good, all the reviews I read suggests so.Customer

Purchased with expectation of needing setup (common with new guitars). Happy to report the guitar arrived in exclnt shape – virtually no setup needed. It plays smoothly, the string action is low and frets polished. This guitar's finish is impressive – I could find no flaws, pretty amazing for such an affordable instrument. The pickups sound great, very clear – again amazing for inexpensive import. Tuners are pretty stable, no tuning issues to speak of. Ive played it through a few diff amps and it sounds awesome. Happy to recommend the Squier CV Starfire – awesome bang-for-buck with these.hatterasgear

Actually better than 4 stars but the strings were horrid. At first I thought it might be the tuners. I liked it so well I would have replaced them if necessary but a switch to quality strings fixed it immediately. I can't understand why they do this; it seems this would lead to lost sales and returns from the beginner and intermediate players it is aimed at. The build is excellent. The shape is far more ergonomic than any other hollow or semi- hollow body especially if you set down to play. I've wanted one of these since the last millennium. The original was always too rich for me. I play acoustic almost exclusively but I changes coming. I gave away a Gib 135 a few years ago because I never bonded with it. Did I mention I like this guitar?Al

Sound: Fender pick ups sound good with good range on the pots. Set up out of the box needed no adjustment. Intonation was good, action set up low no strings buzzing or dead notes. Very little fret sprout and have not dressed. Features: Body is comfortable to hold heavier than I thought but OK. Finish on guitar is very nice, no extra glue or uneven binding areas. No over spray. Neck a little sticky I may hit it with a little steel wool#0000 to get rid of that new finish stickiness. Ease of Use: as for as sounds I play clean and it sounded great in my Tube amp and also my Fender 40 watt Champion. Value: Worth buying. The Wow Factor: guitar was appealing because of the limited hollow bodies in the price range Overall: I've been looking at this guitar for awhile and finally pulled the card out. No regrets at all. 1st thank you to zZounds for the quick service as usual. I recently went to buy a different guitar from the so called "Friend" site because Z didn't have one and paid for a new guitar and they shipped me something worst then a blem. Broken from being dropped and wrapped in bubble wrap. Someone else returned and sent to me as new. New guitars don't come wrapped in bubble wrap and damaged that a blind man could see. They lost a customer needless to say. The Starcaster WOW! Very nice, no adjustments needed. Played for 2 days at this time and can't believe the value. I have an Ibi Hollow body cost twice as much and the quality of this guitar is on par. Has a good rockin sound, clean, Tuning pegs appear solid, pots have decent range , neck reminds me of a tele I have 9.5 and thin, really sounds good and looks great. Go for it and add another to your collection.Peter

Got the Gunmetal metallic. Good guitar. Like how it looks and it appears to be well made. Only discrepancies were a tiny bit of glue squeeze out at the nut and some high frets. It's a keeper. Positives 1) Fit and finish is excellent 2) Really like the roasted maple neck and fingerboard 3) Nut is well cut 4) Like the blacked-out hardware 5) Pickup's sound good, no hum 6) Split shaft tuners 7) Setup was decent 8) Back body contour Negatives 1) 6 frets were a little high. Easy enough to fix with a fret crowning file and some micron polishing paper.9pointkid

This guitar feels and sounds great. The roasted maple neck is to die for and the aesthetic is MEAN. The rail humbucker is super aggressive with impeccable clarity ta boot. The only disappointment is the paint color. I ordered arctic white thinking it would be, well, bright white. But instead, the finish is completely made of glitter. Not just white paint with some sparkly flecks, but real deal glitter. It's almost like a Daisy guitar finish. It's so glittery, in fact, that the guitar looks silver at a lot of angles. I thought I was getting pure white, so I ultimately had to return what I thought was my dream guitar.Max B

This is hands-down the best new, sub $500 guitar I’ve ever played. I’ve been largely skeptical of Squier in the past, but the craftsmanship and playability of this guitar has absolutely flipped my opinion of the brand. Mine was playable right out of the box. Intonation, action, etc., were all excellent. The stock electronics aren’t too shabby either. I was thinking I’d have to swap the stock pickups, but they actually sound and articulate very well. It also looks sharp in the gun metal gray with black trim on the body and neck. All-in-all, this guitar punches way above its weight class. Props to Squire and Fender for releasing such a quality, affordable instrument.Ben Bohall

I bought my black metallic Squier Bullet eight years ago when GC was having a Columbus Day sale. I was looking for a guitar to which I could permanently mount my Roland GR-33 guitar synth's GK2a pickup. Previously I had the pickup mounted on my '96 Strat, and I didn't like this fit because I couldn't close my Strat's case with the pickup installed. I have a gig bag for this Squier, and it fits fine in the bag with pickup installed. Anyway, about the guitar. Right out of the box, it played great, requiring only a minimal amount of action adjustment. I was surprised at how good the pickups sounded, it being a Bullet and all. But the humbucker sounds especially nice when playing the guitar through my Marshall. The neck pickup has a decent sound, but not quite up to the snuff of a good alnico pickup. Still, for what the guitar cost, I really can't complain. If I want to, at some later date, I can always change out the neck pickup to a better alnico model. One thing I especially like about this black Bullet is its looks. The photos here at GC don't show it off all that well, but the guitar body's finish is metallic and the pickguard is a heavy metal flake. It looks spectacular under the lights. And the black hardware does a great job of completing that black look. The Bullet's body is thinner than a typical Strat or Squier Affinity or Classic Vibe body. The result is a light weight guitar, but there is no sacrifice in tone.Michael

Purchased the Squier Affinity Telecaster from local GC store. They had this and a bullet in stock. I chose the Affinity due to the overall feel and fret ends we're more smooth. For a sub 250ish price guitar you cannot expect it to play like a 1000+ price guitar and I totally get that. Now I did expect it to at least stay in tune. One thing to add however is I am uncertain how long this particular guitar had been in stock. Now after a few hours of playing I noticed I could not get this guitar to intonate. No matter what I did the low e and a string always sounded sharp. I ended up replacing the stock tuners with locking tuners, cleaned the fretboard, gently filed and lubricated the nut, and replaced the strings with Ernie ball 9's. Now she is in tune, intonation was a breeze and she stays in tune. Sounds like a whole new guitar.Steven