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MagicBaller21
December 29th, 2005, 10:55 PM
Hey guys, I've been surfing Musiciansfriend periodically, and saw the Squier Telecaster Custom and Custom II. I dont know if they are new additions, but they look pretty nice! The Custom has humbuckers and Custom II has P90s (for those of you who dont know). Ive heard pretty good things about both, though the Custom II seems a bit more interesting to me. Have any of you heard about these? Im thinking of going to my guitar shop and trying these out (along with the '51). Ive always wanted a humbucker-ish guitar, but as you all know, the cost of these guitars are far out of reach for any budget player. In reviews, people have said that the Custom II can have warm tones, and also have the tele- twang. Ill hopefully be making a killer snag sometime soon!

Spudman
December 29th, 2005, 11:36 PM
Duuude! If you check out a Squier Tele Custom II let us know what you think ASAP. I'm really jonesing for one. So far everything else I've heard sounds really good about them. And now with MF offering 1 1/2 years no interest it is even more tempting.

As for the 51..I tried a couple today at my local store and I am far more impressed with my Tele Special Walnut. Same pickups just different switching and a lot more body. The tele feels waaaaay better on the neck too. No stores around here have a Custom II to check out. :(

Tim
December 30th, 2005, 06:30 AM
Magaic/Supdman,

I bought the Tele Custom about 6 months ago. I love this guitar. A store was going out of business and I picked it cheap. It plays like a dream. It may not be a “Fender”, but at least it is a cousin.

I am still a beginner player, but this guitar has motivated me to play it more than the Jay Turser Strat copy that I also own. I am not good at writing reviews as some of the more gifted individuals on this form. The best I can say is, you will not regret buy a Squire guitar. It has the Fender name attached which hold close to the quality control.

Read the reviews for yourselves:

Tele Custom -¬ http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/Fender/Squier_Telecaster_Custom-1.html

Tele Custom II - http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/Fender/Squier_Telecaster_Custom_II-1.html

The following is from the Squire Website:

Telecaster® Custom
0327502
A new member of the Squier® family, the Tele® Custom is an affordable hybrid of two popular Telecaster® designs. Fusing a ’72 Tele Custom with a Tele Deluxe, this guitar has two high-output humbuckers, a three-way pickup selector switch, and independent volume and tone controls. The Squier Tele Custom features a solid Agathis body and a bolt-on maple neck with a maple fingerboard.

SPECS:

Model Name - Telecaster® Custom
Model Number - 032-7502-(Color#)
Series - Vintage Modified Series
Colors - (506) Black (Polyester Finish)
Body - Agathis
Neck - Maple, C-Shape, (Gloss Polyurethane Finish)
Fingerboard - Maple, 7.25” Radius (184 mm)
No. of Frets - 22 Medium Jumbo Frets
Pickups - 2 Chrome Covered Humbucking Pickups (Neck/Bridge)
Controls - Volume 1. (Neck Pickup),
Tone 1. - (Neck Pickup),
Volume 2. - (Bridge Pickup),
Tone 2. - (Bridge Pickup)
Pickup Switching - 3-Position Toggle:
Position 1. - Bridge Pickup
Position 2. - Bridge and Neck Pickups
Position 3. - Neck Pickup
Bridge - 6-Saddle Strings-Thru-Body Tele Bridge
Machine Heads - Standard Die-Cast Tuners
Hardware - Chrome
Pickguard - 3-Ply Black
Scale Length - 25.5” (648 mm)
Width at Nut - 1.650” (42 mm)
Unique Features - Dot Inlays
Strings - Fender Super 250L, Nickel Plated Steel, (.009 to .042), p/n 073-0250-003
Accessories - None
Introduced - 7/2003


Tele® Custom II
0327602
The Custom II is a super-affordable temple of tone with some tasty Tele tweaks that include a pair of blistering Duncan Designed P-90s with indepedendent tone and volume controls. The agathis body snugs up to an all-maple neck/fretboard with dot inlays, medium-jumbo frets, and a 25-1/2" scale.

SPECS:

Model Name - Tele® Custom II
Model Number - 032-7602-(Color#)
Series - Vintage Modified Series
Colors - (506) Black, (Polyester Finish), (507) Blonde, (Polyester Finish)
Body - Agathis
Neck - Maple, C-Shape, (Gloss Polyurethane Finish)
Fingerboard - Maple, 7.25” Radius (184 mm)
No. of Frets - 22 Medium Jumbo Frets
Pickups - 2 Duncan-Designed P-90 Pickups (Neck/Bridge)
Controls - Volume 1. (Neck Pickup),
Tone 1. - (Neck Pickup),
Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup),
Tone 2. (Bridge Pickup)
Pickup Switching - 3-Position Toggle:
Position 1. - Bridge Pickup
Position 2. - Bridge and Neck Pickups
Position 3. - Neck Pickup
Bridge - 6-Saddle Strings-Thru-Body Tele Bridge
Machine Heads - Standard Die-Cast Tuners
Hardware - Chrome
Pickguard - 3-Ply Black
Scale Length - 25.5” (648 mm)
Width at Nut - 1.650” (42 mm)
Unique Features - Dot Inlays
Strings - Fender Super 250L, Nickel Plated Steel, (.009 to .042), p/n 073-0250-003
Accessories - None
Introduced - 1/2004

I hope this helps in lowering the GAS attack both of you are having. When all else fails, feed the habit.

Nelskie
December 30th, 2005, 11:04 AM
Sorry to have to be the one to rain on the parade, guys, but here's my take on the Tele Custom II.

I bought a blonde Telecaster II in Nov. '04, and ended up selling it on Ebay a few months later. The cool, retro looks and P-90's are what lured me in, too, and I'm sure that this is the case with a lot of players buying these. However, I am sad to report that the quality level of this particular instrument was nothing short of disappointing.

The first guitar MF (Musician's Friend) shipped to me did not have a protective ring around the top toggle switch. As such, it was smashed during shipping, and arrived to my door completely un-functional. After uttering a few perfunctory expletives, back to MF it went! About two weeks later, the second one arrived - same thing, though not as severe - the switch still worked on this one. After calling MF again, they agreed to pay to have the switch checked out, and for whatever repairs were necessary (of course provided that they weren't costly, or unnecessary). As luck would have it, it ended up being a cheap fix. But while at the shop, my tech pointed out a bevy of potential problems / issues with the guitar. Instead of being flush with excitement, as one normally is upon buying a new guitar, I walked out of the shop a bit disgusted that I had just dropped $230.00 on a axe that my tech described as "sub-par", and potentially problematic. But hey, what's done is done - I went home to plug her in, now that she was fully operational.

Since I haven't mentioned that the factory set-up was horrible, I will now. That was another thing my tech adjusted when I brought it in to have the switch checked out - that along with changing the strings. The set-up thing wasn't a real issue, though, cuz' any guitar you have shipped through parcel will definitely need a set-up after you get it. Anyways, I'm now finally at home actually playing it, and experimenting with the tone / vol knobs. As I do, I'm hearing this "scratchy" sound, and I do not like it one bit. This is about 3-4 minutes into the program. And the frets - they're like tiny little razors. Since I can't deal with either of these issues, back to my workbench she goes. Again, here I'm spending more of my time filing down the frets, and putting some graphite on the pots to ease the "scratchiness", rather than ripping through a few bars of Mountain's "Mississippi Queen", with the P-90's blazing in all of their glory! Yes, very aggravating. So, about an hour later, I'm finally back at my amp. The pots are still a little scratchy after my TLC treatment, but a lot better. So, I play for another five minutes or so, and not once could I get the guitar to stay in tune with the stock tuners. Not ONCE! After that, I'd had enough. I put it back into the gig bag, and into the closet it went.

I found some Schaller-type Fender script tuners on ebay later that week, and though that it might solve the problem. Got 'em about a week later, dug it out of the closet, and had the tuners put on (nothing like being forced to waste a fresh set of $6.00 strings!) And lo and behold, sweet Mother of Mercy, it stayed in tune!! (read: this is about two and a half weeks after this, the second guitar, had arrived at my door!) Sooo, now that I was actually at this point, I was literally chomping at the bit" to see what this guitar could do. Well . . . was it everything I'd hoped it would be? Sadly, it was not.

First, the P-90's it comes with are "Duncan Designed", and I'm not sure what that means in a literal sense. I do know that it means that these things aren't the "real deal", but rather, a facsimile design of the original article. Believe me, I've played Les Paul Juniors, G & L's, and PRS guitars with P-90's, and these p'ups aren't even in the same league as those were. For a guitar in this price range, however, they're OK - over-driven, that is. Yep, went to the candy store right away. I played it through my Peavey Classic 30 tube amp, and through a Crate solid-state that my buddy had left at my place, and it sounded pretty decent on both of 'em with the gain up full throttle. A little noisy, but still gritty, and full of character - a raw, rock n' roll tone. Then we tried the *clean* channels. And once again, the disappointment became evident. The cleans were very flat, lacking that typical Fender clarity and sparkle. True, P-90's are not like traditional Tele single coils, but it seemed that no matter how I adjusted my amp(s), or set the controls on the guitar, I could not get anything that even remotely resembled a decent, usable clean tone. The clean tones I got on the bridge were OK, though certainly not what I'd hoped for; and in the mid and neck positions, flabby, bassy, and generally uninspiring. I don't know if I got a lemon or what, but honestly, I couldn't believe that this guitar couldn't, or wouldn't, sound good clean. The other thing that I wasn't too fond of was the chunkiness of the neck. It seemed very "fat", in comparison to other Teles I've owned / played. This seemed to hinder my own playing style, though I'm sure there are other players who prefer a fatter neck. Not me, though. The frets weren't what I would call great (if you can call razor-blades great), but after an hour of filing and TLC, not too bad (due in no part to the folks at Fender Indonesia!)

Well, after I FINALLY got everything sorted out, I played this guitar at a few jam sessions. Sure, I got the obligatory oooh's and aaah's from my fellow players, though it was never the axe I thought it would be. It can't grind like my Seymour-Duncan equipped Les Paul (nor does it even play one-tenth as good), and it doesn't have that sparkly-clean Fender sound I dig, either, so it soon became relegated to occasional home practice duty. When I'd discovered that I hadn't picked that guitar up in a month or so, I decided that it was time to send it to Ebay. Good-bye, my sweet retro Tele II, may another find your charms more accomodating.

Bottom line: 1.) Quality and finish issues - plan on spending some extra time, and if your not mechanically-inclined, some extra dough getting this rig in proper order; 2.) Horrible stock tuners - THE worst tuners I've ever gotten on a guitar - a defininte MUST replacement item; and saddest of all, 3.) Marginal tone - I expected so much more. If you like rippin' distortion, that's about all that this model has to offer. The cleans were what I would describe as "lifeless".

Yes, the cosmetics on this guitar are super-hip - but trust me, a guitar needs to be much more than pretty to be a prime-time player, at least in my book. If you dig the P-90 sound, my suggestion is that you pony up $200 or so more, and get yourself a G & L, or a PRS, which are FAR superior guitars in my eyes (hence the extra dough). Hamer also has some P-90 double-cutaway models in the $300 range. But if you want to go all-out and get the genuine P-90 article, $400 or so more will get you into a decent Les Paul Jr. In the case of the Telecaster Custom II, at least in my experience, it's pretty much hit and miss.

marnold
December 30th, 2005, 11:21 AM
With cheap guitars you can pretty much anticipate two things:
1) You will need to replace the tuners
2) You will need to replace the pups

Then you have to balance whether the price difference is worth it or not. I could probably live with sub-standard pups, but not being able to keep the guitar in tune would drive me up a wall. That's why I'm considering spending about $300-350 to upgrade my Tele. It'd be about as much as buying a MIM Tele, but this one would be EXACTLY the way I want it. Plus, it sounds like a fun project, although I may repent about that later :)

Re: ordering from MF. I bought my Fender from them. Originally a $899 retail guitar, I got it for $249. A screaming deal, to be sure. It came in the original box that it came from Fender in, so obviously no setup had been done on it. I needed to set the intonation and the nut was too high on one string, making the fretted notes sharp. One I forked over a few shekels for a setup, it plays like a dream. I can do anything I want to it and it stays in tune. It's a Fender, but with a set neck and a humbucker, it doesn't sound like a typical Strat, but that's fine with me. I've been very pleased with the Atomic II humbucker it came with.

The nice thing about Agile guitars is that the tuners and workmanship are very good. If you buy it realizing you'll need to swap the pups, you get a sweet guitar for very little coin.

One other minor point, I absolutely HATE the gloss finish that is on most Fender necks (and a lot of other necks for that matter). I'm sure it protects the wood like nobody's business, but it makes playing a PITA, especially in high humidity. My Fender's neck is painted but it has a satin finish so it doesn't have that problem. It also has an unusual (for Fender) 16" radius fretboard. Very flat.

MagicBaller21
December 31st, 2005, 07:58 PM
i went to the music store today, and i tried out a few guitars. first, i tried out the Squier '51. It felt nice and all, but it just didnt have the sound i was looking for. the humbucker wasnt as warm as i had hoped, but for those of you who want a strat/tele sound, go for it! i also tried out a Epiphone G-400 Vintage SG. It was really nice, a lot more of the sound i am looking for, but the neck was soo dang heavy, it got annoying. I just didnt like the feel of it compared to my MIM strat. Then, i tried a faded Gibson Sg, i didnt notice much of a difference between that and the Epiphone. the pickups on the gibson were a little more powerful though. if i had to choose, i wouldve gotten the Epiphone, if it wasnt for the fact that i dont like the feel of gibsons/epiphones.. i guess.

Ive tried my friends Les Paul Jr. and i didnt like the feel, but i thought it was just the guitar, but i guess it's all gibsons. (im a fender man, what can i say?). well, after much discussion with the salesman, im thinking about just sticking with my strat, but putting new pickups in it. i was thinking about 2 texas specials (neck and mid) and a Seymour DUncan JB Jr. in the bridge, to fullfill my humbucker needs.

on a side note, i dont know if i dont have a sophisticated ear, but i didnt notice much a difference between my MIM strat and an american strat (back when i got it, about a year ago). stupid me, forgot to try an american while i was there, but a year ago, they didnt sound much different. this was also true with the Epiphone and the Gibson. but forget epiphone and gibson.. i dont like the feel of those guitars. i guess it was just another affirmation of the fact that im a fender kind of guy!

It seems like the 2 texas and 1 jb jr setup would be nice, has anyone tried it? or are there other setups that i should check out. (i want a warmer-smoother bridge, like a humbucker) and also, keep the strat tone with the neck/mid. is it possible to coil tap the single-coiled humbuckers? thanks for any input, hopefully this hap-hazardly put together post will make sense to someone...

SuperSwede
January 1st, 2006, 05:06 AM
Perhaps you should look at the double fat strat? It sounds really good and is still a real "player"...
In my opinion bridge pickups never sound warm and smooth, you would need a good neck pup for that..

Just my 2(euro)cents...

MagicBaller21
January 1st, 2006, 02:52 PM
ive looked into that, but i dont want to make it a humbucking guitar, just one that can get some humbucking tones at the bridge and some strat tones at the neck/mid. im sorry if this thread is going wayyy off into a tangent.

tremoloman
January 1st, 2006, 06:31 PM
With cheap guitars you can pretty much anticipate two things:
1) You will need to replace the tuners
2) You will need to replace the pups

If you plan on having a solid guitar for gigs, this is 100% accurate. Every Fender/Squier guitar I own has locking tuners and some combination of upgraded pickups.

I'd also add:
3) You will need to replace the nut

Most low-cost guitars have really tone-sapping plastic nuts. My Squier '51 was cut incorrectly so I installed a Trem-Nut. It brought the guitar alive and got rid of the ear-piercing buzz I got on my high E.