Saw an old friend at a show the other night - he's a life-long working guitarist, but not a gear-head and never cares to talk about gear - all the stuff he has he has had for years. Th first words out of his mouth, excitedly, were, "Have you heard about the CV Squiers?! My wife just got me the tele for my birthday and I can't put it down. I've hardly touched my electrics for the past twelve years, and I play this thing two hours every morning - you can't believe what you get for under $400 - I like it better than the $2000 tel that was at the shop; my friend over there (another long-time player) got the strat."

I'd guess that neither of those guys was in the market for another electric, period - but they went for the CV's. I bet Fender is selling thousands in similar circumstances.

Of course, it all made me want to go out and get myself a CV tele.....