I've been gassing for a Tele Deluxe/Custom for a while now. I had seen the Squier Tele Custom, but it only comes in black. Then, not long ago, I saw the Custom II come out. Similar to the Custom, but with P90s and available in Vintage Blond. Well heck, I was sold! I figured I could buy a Custom I pickguard and load it up with some good humbuckers and swap it out for the stock one.

I ordered my Custom II on Sunday night from American Musical, and it came on Wednesday morning. Pretty fast, considering that Monday was a holiday. I also ordered a Fender hard case, their "economy" model. I figured they'd ship the guitar in the case, ala Rondo Music, but that was not the case (pun intended). Here's the case:


Untitled by FrankenFretter, on Flickr

I was not terribly impressed with the case, it feels cheap. The latches feel pretty shoddy, and it's not especially sturdy in general. That said, it does fit the guitar snugly, and I don't plan on any world tours this year, so it's fine for my purposes.

The guitar was packed well in two boxes (box inside a box, not two halves). I was a bit disappointed at first, as the switch tip seemed to be missing. This wouldn't have been the first time that I'd had a switch tip break in shipping. Fortunately, I found the tip in the box, rattling around the bottom. The other immediate concern was the sharp fret ends. I've heard that these Squiers are hit and miss with the frets, and I guess I got one of the less-than-perfect ones. They're not horrible, but I will have to file them to smooth them out. The neck is unfinished, which is my personal preference, so that was a nice plus. I checked the guitar out thoroughly for any damage, but it seems to be flawless. At that point, I decided to go plug it in.

I have to say, I love the way this thing sounds! The P90s are very meaty, sounding far more like humbuckers than single coils. I don't get that trademark Tele "twang", but I wasn't expecting to. The bridge pickup is articulate and chunky, and a little warmer than I expected. Not muddy at all, but not overly bright. The neck pickup is sweet and smooth, with just enough bite. With the tone rolled back, it does the "Woman" tone pretty well. I'm extremely happy with both pickups, and now I don't know about replacing them with humbuckers. I may just have to buy another one of these for that purpose.

And now the photos, because I know the rules:


Untitled by FrankenFretter, on Flickr


Retro-style photo! by FrankenFretter, on Flickr (This was meant to look "retro")

If we ever get any more sun in Oregon, I'll get some good outdoor photos. Right now. we're loading up the arc. Up to our elbows in water around here right now.