subversion
Moderator
Squier Telecaster Custom
List: $550
The Squier brand name is a recognized Fender duplicate by virtue of its commission. The honourable mention dated back to 1982 when Japan’s Fujigen team crafted the Fender Squier series to appease the demand for quality Japanese imports into the European market. Subsequently, the dominant ‘Fender’ moniker was sidelined, in came the imperative Squier label which is the existing tag to date.
The Telecaster Custom featured here is Squier’s take on historical Fender fusion. The instruments in this series are amalgamations of popular past models, not an entire reproduction of a particular make per se. The Custom is a blend of Fender’s Telecaster Deluxe & Custom models which are peculiar selections of the 1970s; arguably the most idiosyncratic decade in the manufacturer’s history.
Construction/ fit/ finish
Let us proceed with this cognition; a Squier is never a Fender by class. With this in mind, we aren’t dealing with a below par product either, the current Squier breed hails from Indonesia but the end product has volumes to speak in terms of quality. The Tele Custom sports a 3-piece agathis body with a solid, one-piece maple neck (yes, you read that right…). A closer inspection reveals a fine maple veneer used as a fingerboard buffer/ laminate, the hue of which is a contrast to the neck wood, to the initiated eye. Both the wooden components of this guitar are finished superbly, the neck being the more worthy representative of favourable production. The body’s black finish is admirable but fails to cover the 3-block joints entirely.
The hardware of this guitar really reeks of budget commodity but they did the job well. Particular appreciation goes to the well fitted & crowned medium jumbo frets. The tuners need some screw driver tinkering to manifest the right grip as the entire set do not manifest an even hold. These are no major demerits to the guitar of course, but they are indicative of how much attention the guitar received back at the factory.
Rating: 89%
Playability/ tone
Despite being a budget alternative, the Tele Custom here is a very playable guitar, addictive as well. Thanks largely to the neck & an acceptable factory default action, it has one of the best feel in this price bracket; if you are expecting good things from a satin-finished neck, this might appease you. The nut slots could have been better incised to prevent tuning related chokes for the B/ E strings.
The Tele Custom sports the typical single cutaway body & in true Tele inheritance, devoid of ribcage bevel as well as elbow relief. If you aren’t too used to this slab-type body, it isn’t too repulsive especially when played strapped on. The only repulsive components here are the bridge string saddles; those protruding screws are ready palm stabbers especially if one is the predominant palm-mute player.
Moving on, what you get is a pair of chrome covered, high output humbuckers which are adequately potted (flip them over to see the amount of wax used… add a wick & it’s a candle). The control layout is a typical Les Paul affair; dual volume/ tone & a 3-way pickup selector over at the bass side upper body bout. The Tele purists deem these appointments as desecrations of Telecaster celibacy but as the manufacturer has assigned these units to reflect a vintage livery of the 1970s, the Telecasters of that era were indeed detractors from its initial incarnation. As such, no immaculate single coil tones could be procured from this guitar lest one replaces them with true single coils.
This departure aside, the guitar’s overall voicing is a little bland in its clean mode. As the pickups on board are high output units, no vintage sweet spots were present to engage the player in an extended jazz comping. We would have thought they would do better in a driven setting but things seem to be a little inadequate for that all-out drive/ distortion punch, regardless of whichever amplifier this guitar is plugged into. It takes an Ibanez Tubescreamer to conjure some performance magic, tone-wise. What you’d hear are some fine distortion coming from the bridge humbucker & that exquisite PAF-esque lure in the neck; at moderate drive injections, of course. The rather massive agathis body (it’s heavier than an Ibanez RG321MH, mind you…) does well to accentuate midrange definition & bottom end boom; nothing excessive, really, just enough to ensure a non-mud-out occurrence. The control knobs here would not facilitate speed dialing due to its conical top (again, blame the vintage inspiration for this selection) but all in all, they are fine.
If you are after a splendid dual humbucking player knowing a pickup swap would be in the works, this guitar is truly recommended.
Tone test gear:
• Amps: Fender Champion 300/ Ibanez ValBee/ Randall RG75/ Sound Drive SG-612R/ Marshall JVM head
• Effects: Ibanez TS9
Rating: 88%
Last say
The Squier Telecaster Custom is really a fine guitar. If you are dependent on the default pickups to deliver impressive tones; they aren’t quite spectacular & could have been more inspiring for the guitar-amp proponent. For the rest of us who employ effects, this guitar scores in effectiveness & value-for money. The Squier brand name is often relegated as a budget alternative for Fender benders but if you respect a guitar for what it is, the Squier Telecaster Custom is a worthy unit to own.
Overall rating: 88%
Likes:
• Overall construction/ built
• Neck feel/ playability
• Price
Dislikes:
• Nut choke
Available at:
• Swee Lee Co.
PS: Thank you Adam for the review invitation!
