Squier Tele Custom Electric Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

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

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 the 70s Telecaster Custom for the CuNiFe wide-range humbucker, but the bridge pickup is every bit as stunning.If you only could have one electric, you would be covered with this one. The wide-range humbucker has clarity that you won't find in many humbuckers. It rivals my Gibsons for articulation. The bridge pickup is pure Telecaster! It's twangy, and rings like a bell without being icepicky. I rarely choose the middle position in my guitars, because I feel like they lose bite. Not in this guitar! The middle is where the magic happens, it brings a fat, 3-D tone that is unique to the custom. It is a higher priced Fender, but seriously worth every penny. You can buy a cheaper Tele, but you'll be chasing THIS tone!Jeff

I had recently purchased a Bullet model (red sparkle) excellent guitar I might add. I always had a desire for a sunburst tele with a maple neck. Skyler at the Wichita store found a used one at another store and, had it sent to Wichita. I went to check it out and, it was just exactly what I wanted. Had a couple of chips on the backside of the body but, the front was perfect. A little black laquer and, the chips barely showed. All the cosmetic issues resolved, I set it up with a new set of strings and, I was astonished at the sound of this instrument, the humbucker has probably the best sound of ANY humbucker that I own, very powerful, full, deep throaty twang! I had to lower it because it was so powerful but, that was the key! Mix it with the single coil in the bridge and, the sound is fabulous! Each pickup on its own is excellent. Bridge has nice snap and, slap just like a Tele should and, that humbucker just is ballsy as you would ever want in a Humbucker. I am very pleased with this guitar. While I was at the store I checked out a Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster, really liked it but, way out of line in price. Even used they are out of sight. I wish Squier had one, I would bet it would be just as good and, a heck of a lot lower in price. I really love Fender but, they are pricing themselves out of the market for musicians like myself that would love to own and, play a decent guitar at a reasonable price point. Before I found this classic vibe Tele I purchased an Affinity sunburst model which after about 3hrs. trying to get it setup I boxed it up and, sent it back and, continued my journey to finding this classic vibe sunburst tele which is just an excellent guitar! Highly recommended!!!!terrygh

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

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 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

I like the Tele style. Not a huge fan of the all black (the other color was orange and that's fine but it doesn't really match anything else I have). Plays great, no issues so far. Slight buzzing but I expected to need to have it set up to my liking anyway and I can only hear it a bit on clean settings. I like the dual humbuckers a lot (as compared to another Tele I returned that was slightly nicer but semi hollow and had single coil or p90s).Tyler

Ok I bought this guitar (black/black affinity HH) AND a butterscotch Squier bullet telecaster (the HH was on sale) on the same day. They both arrived on the same day. Also, my daughter has the standard affinity tele with maple neck. Couple of things I noticed: the rosewood fretboard top was dry as a bone. It also had some nicks here and there. The back of the neck was never treated. "Satin" finish? I don't think so. Raw wood finish more like. I got the lemon oil out and got to work. Much better now. The BIG flaw, however, is the paint flaw on the back of the body. As you may know, these bodies are made of of three pieces of wood. Unfortunately, it is VERY obvious when looking at the back of my guitar where one of these joints meet. A clean line down the back of my guitar when looked at in certain light. Kind of disappointing. I really do have a theory that solid paint guitars get the crappier pieces of wood. I mean, the mfg can just sand it and paint it and you will never know (most of the time). But on natural stains and sunbursts, the real grains of the wood show thru. Anyhow, it does have decent fret work, the action seems fine. The matching headstock does look nice. The black tuners are GARBAGE. The chrome tuners on the Bullet and maple neck Affinity I own are much better. These will be the first thing I swap out. I'm going to keep it because the major flaw is on the back and doesn't seem to affect tone. Still, you all are crazy if you think this is a 5-star guitar.Daxmo

It's amazing how good the overseas factories have gotten. There was almost nothing to nitpick on – the frets might have felt just a tiny bit "gritty" but after a couple hours going up and down the neck picking notes and doing bends, it sorted itself out without any other intervention needed. I have another "typical" telecaster with single coils and I wanted to see what a tele + humbucker would sound like and I was not disappointed. NO NOISE and NO HUM even when I cranked it up well into overdrive. Tuned to drop D and was just AMAZED at the overall tone and sustain. I just kept shaking my head and grinning. It holds up very well to parts that are easily 2 and 3 x the price I paid. Fender MIM, Ibanez RG, etc These may be the best electric guitar value for the money anywhere on MF. Excellent upgrade chassis for when you inevitably swap the pickups out and maybe get locking tuners and a TUSQ nut and at that point you could tour with it. No kidding. It's that good.EVH wannabee

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

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 have wanted an American made Strat for the longest. Not just any American Strat, but The One built to my specs from the looks right down to the pots and of course the feel and sustain. This is it and AMS made it easy and in reach just as they've helped me to make other musical dreams to come true! This guitar feels great, sounds amazing, beyond my hopes & expectations, and even the price tag was a pleasant surprise! Tech has come a long way, but in a lot of ways we've lost craftsmanship. Well, not out of Corona California. Crisp tones, nuanced variation, and that wonderful Fender sustain! I have some other expensive guitars, which I love, but at under their price point the Professional II is going to be a close lifetime friend. If you are looking at these and don't need boutique trimming of the Ultra line or the royal treatment of the Custom Shop, look no further and pay no more. Strat-Halla is right here at a reasonable price point for a heritage worthy instrument. I won't waste time going over the specs. It's all here. Get acquainted with your new best friend!Pete

This is my second American Stratocaster. My first is from 2007 and it has a rosewood fretboard. I wanted a maple neck strat as well. I bought the Miami blue version and love it. To me, Strats are each very unique in the way they play and sound. My other Strat has Dimarzio Area pickups in it (which I love), so I’m having to get used to the stock single coils. I love the bridge, but to my ears the neck pickup it too muddy. The trem system is good, and the overall construction is good. I had to re set it up because I use heavier strings. I may end up changing pickups before it’s all said and done. Only time will tell. I wish Fender would have put Locking tuners on from factory! That’s a must for me.Justin

I purchased this guitar about 3 weeks ago (working with Zach), it has quickly become my favorite guitar I own. The full rosewood neck is incredibly smooth and the the deep C shape is extremely comfortable. I mostly play through a Helix Stomp and have been really happy with the sound and tone variability I can get with it using the various pickup selections especially with the push/push for adding the top pickup to the mix for positions 1 and 2. The pictures in the listing look great, but it looks much better in person. The pictures have a lot of light which makes the blue appear lighter than it would in a normal room. The picture where the guitar is positioned in the case is a great representation of the color in a normally lit room.Kevin

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

I am extremely pleased with this guitar. The quality is very high, looks good, sounds good, and all set up ready to play. For the price, it is remarkable, and a truly welcome addition to my collection. The best buy of the year for me. I love it.!!!!!Reviewed by Kenny's Music custom

Kudos to Fender/Squier for the paranormal concept. I love Telecaster style guitars and this one with a thinline body and jazzmaster pickups is really cool looking. The guitar is superlight (less than six pounds) and has a really resonant sound when played unplugged. Overall the build quality is really good at this price point. No issues with fret buzz or sharp fret ends. Plugged in this thing almost sounds like an electric/acoustic guitar, works really well for chords in the middle position giving it a bright and airy sound. It's not a true Tele but the bridge pickup on its own can get you somewhat close to a Tele sound. The tuners are just ok but will be looking to replace as they seem to slip a bit. Needed to file the nut slots down just a tad and overall the nut is probably something I'll also replace in the future. I have never owned a Jazzmaster so not quite sure I know what the pickups should sound like but I think these are a good pairing. The neck pup is a bit darker sounding and more suited for jazz type sounds. The middle position yields a nice country rock sound great for rhythm guitar playing and the bridge pickup is brighter and I have found it useful for solos. This is not a rock guitar although you could get by with it as that, more of a nice sounding rhythm guitar for someone looking for an airy acoustic type tone. Lead tones are suitable for blues or jazz. I did put some pedals in front of this guitar and you can fuzz it up with some success but overall there are better guitars if you're looking for a metal or hard rock type sound. Guitar plays great and the light weight is a big plus. The neck has a nice thin C shape and it's got a bit of a heavy gloss but its not tinted like a lot of squiers are and the grain int the maple on mine is really nice almost quilit like in some spots. Overall a fun guitar with some cool factor to it.Mr Mustang

I have this Thinline in Olympic white. It's a beautiful guitar, very lightweight with the hollow body. The tone is amazing out of the stock Jazzmaster-style pickups (which are actually p90s in disguise). I play through a Vox AC4 and can get anything from crunchy blues to ballsy stoner rock and everything in between. I brought it to a guitar tech for a setup and the only upgrade he recommended was swapping the output Jack for a Switchcraft with an Electrosocket mount. He was impressed by the weight and sound, and he said the tuners are great quality. He had to reduce some relief in the neck and dress the frets, but it was well worth the $100 setup as this guitar is a keeper. Love the slick maple neck and string-through body too.Brendan

Guitar plays ok (after a prolonged set-up), but there are some problems with the quality. For example, instrument cables don't fit snuggly into the input jack … they just fall right out. Not an insurmountable problem, I know, but I have never had that happen on ANY guitar I've owned. Also, the pickup selector doesn't stay in the bridge position (it also has an electrical buzz when you hold it there). Again, not something that can't be fixed, but I bought this new and I shouldn't have to deal with such problems right out of the gate. Where was the quality control? Buyer beware!Joe

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

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

I got the black/gold model of the Squier 40th Anniversary Telecaster – stunning to look at and a joy to play. The electronics and hardware elements are rock solid and the neck, body and fingerboard all make this a great addition to any guitarist's collection. I have a much cheaper Squier Tele (Lake Placid Blue, Bullet Model) and, although that one is a nice guitar (at 1/4 the price of this one), the 40th Anniversary model is in a whole different (and superior) level. This would be an ideal guitar for players of any experience or skill level. It's a very versatile instrument; a beauty that plays as good as it looks. Highly-recommended!Russ

This guitar is a Squier and is absolutely fantastic! I changed the strings to .010-.046 and adjusted the bridge settings and the tremelo tension and oiled the fretboard and smoothed the frets a little. The guitar sounds really good with stock pickups and is a joy to play. This is the second Squier I have bought recently and the quality is amazing for the price. Highly recommended!!Gerry H.

I got this guitar cause it looked vv nice but I was kind of disappointed. The pickups are too high so anything i played had an annoying and harsh sound of the strings hitting the pickups. I tried to lower the pickups but all of the screws easily stripped and idk what to do about it 💔Christian

I'm not a virtuoso fast lead player. That said, I'm quite happy with what I can do on guitar. I will likely never be able to justify spending big money on a guitar. Right now, if I like how it looks, I get it. I hang them on a wall and they look great. This Squier looks incredible. The workmanship on these is very good. I have noticed some fret-buzz, but I'll bet this could be remedied. Other than the fret-buzz, to me it feels and plays well. I own a Fender Players Series Telecaster in a white with a white pick guard and maple neck, just like this Squier Affinity Series Tele. I knew each guitar's white color would be a little different and they are. The Squier's white is whiter than the Fender's. Same goes for the pick-guard. To me this difference is great. Also, the Fender's maple neck has a lacquer-varnish on it which makes it look a bit darker than the Squier's The Squier's maple neck appears to not be coated with anything as it looks like bare maple. I like the look and feel of both, so again this is welcomed by me. For $229, you can't go wrong. Even with the fret-buzz, I had to give it 5-stars. I typically play with palm-muting, and noticed it decreases or eliminates the fret-buzz. I was going to return it, but the more I look at it and play it, the more I want to keep this one. If you're not super picky and you're not looking for a really good Tele to gig with, get this. I can also say I've read plenty of reviews of these $229 Squier Tele's written by guys who are picky and need a perfect neck for playing out and they rank these very high.qzgitwyx

The price was awesome so I thought I'd take a chance. WORTH IT! It looks, plays and sounds like the real deal. It had a little buz on the bass E at the second fret but that adjusted right out! I had sold my American Tele years ago and really missed it. Now I have an affordable replacement and I'm very happy with it. So glad I bought it!oblio23

Here's the lowdown. I've got one of these Squier Tele's. For some reason, they decided to put the Indonesian made Tele's in these packs with the cheap little amp. This is opposed to the a la crate one which is the Chinese made. The Indonesian one has a skunk stripe on the back of the neck, through hole string feeds, a simulated bone nut compared to the black plastic one on the China model, and an extra fret. Mine is so solid and has such great quality that I can't imagine blowing a lot of money for a Fender one just to knock around with. Sound is great, stays in tune…mine was a refurb, probably came out of one of these packs. You'll see them offered up. They usually have a red serial number taped over the original because for whatever reason they can't be sold as new even thought they are. Usually there was a scratch on the pick board or some other minor thing, not a doing or a hole. They also have a stamp at the top back above the tuners that faintly says "used". If you find one, buy it. Great deal. If not, buy the one in the pack. It's worth the extra few bucks.pleiva