animalfarm Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 One of the secretaries knows I play, she brought classified ad to me: "Nice Fender Stratocaster" $150.00" I called, gentleman says grandson has had it 6 or 7 years, wants to sell it to"buy something fancier", can't tell me anything about it as he isn't a Git player. Have 6:30PM appt TODAY to check it out. Grand dad says "good condition". Serial Number located? Decal on headstock? Neck plate? 2000+ will start with..."Z" (2000), Z1 (2001), etc.? Mexican will be marked with...? MN? MZ? Haven't TOUCHED a F*nder in 10+ years, just have to base decision on condition, playability, neck, etc. Hell' don't even know if it has a case, as the gentleman I spoke with was unable to say. Hopefully this ain't a "Starcaster.....". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matiac Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Starcasters are the bomb.:- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Starcasters are the bomb.:- I SAW your photo, but no git info- year, special edition, standard issue strat...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midiman56 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 When did Fender start making Squires? You never know ... this could be one of those amazing cases of being in "the right place at the right time"! Hope its a good one! JIm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 When did Fender start making Squires? You never know ... this could be one of those amazing cases of being in "the right place at the right time"! Hope its a good one! JIm A squire iz a cheepie fender, no? Ahhhrrggghhhh!!!!! Nothing but horror stories, starcaster, squire!!!! "Fender acquired U.S. guitar string manufacturer the V.C. Squier Company in 1965; by 1982 the Squier name had resurfaced as a low-cost “value brand” alternative initially manufactured and distributed in the Japanese domestic market and soon offered to Europe, North America and the rest of the world. To maintain and control costs over the years, Squier instruments have been produced in several nations, including Japan, Korea, India, China, Indonesia and Mexico. While the brand has produced its share of innovative designs over the past 25 years, its main focus and most successful approach has always been to be the “value brand” alternative to its big brother, Fender." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSDx Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 A squire iz a cheepie fender' date=' no? Ahhhrrggghhhh!!!!! Nothing but horror stories, starcaster, squire!!!! " [/quote'] Likely not too different than the Epi/Gibby relationship, no ??? I've played a couple of Squire Teles that were dang nice guitars........one was a .....hmmmmm... Squier something something modified thinline Telecaster..... maybe this guy had a great one, but.... I was impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I saw a "Fender Japan" Strat on Craigslist for $150 once, so I went to the store advertising to check it out. It was a Japanese Squier. Nice guitar, but not enough improvement over my Chinese Squier to be worth the $150. A month later I spent $600 on my Fender. People here advertise their Squiers as Fenders on a daily basis, but you could get a surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexygibson Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I recently picked up a Squire Double Fat Strat with a nice soft shell case for $100. It was probably the best guitar purchase I've ever made in ratio to guitar/cost. Squires are no different than any other brand; you'll find your keepers and you'll find your dogs. Hope you get a good one. Gonna move this to the " Electrics " section where you may get some more good advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hungrycat Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 The early 80's Japanese Squires are almost identical to Japanese Fenders. Just a different decal really. Mexican Fenders will have(on the headstock) an 'M' followed by 1 letter and 1 number indicating year of manufacture, an then between 5-7 numbers I.D.ing the individual instument. an early 2000's instrument should have 5-6 numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 This is getting weird... I waited until 7PM, then called the gentleman (thinking that he had written my number down incorrectly) - at the same time I pressed "dial", my phone showed an incoming call from the same # I had just dialed. Fella says Just got my marching orders from my daughter, won't be home until about 8:30, is that too late? I said "Of course not", (if it's a REAL F8NDER STRATOCASTER!!!), and thank you for calling! Sooooooo, wait, wait... However, if opportunity is'knocking, I'd hate to miss it. If it should turn out to be something I'm not interested in, I'll go ahead and tell the "seller" everything I know about the guitar, just to make it easier for him to answer questions from any other callers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbberry Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 i'll defend squier just a bit... i have a classic vibe 50's strat that plays better than any mim strat out there. played it against a highway one and i was surprised which one said squier on the headstock. maybe i just got a gem but i havent read a bad review about one yet. as for other squiers out there, yeah, alot of just. as for the classic vibe series great value. bar none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 i'll defend squier just a bit... i have a classic vibe 50's strat that plays better than any mim strat out there. played it against a highway one and i was surprised which one said squier on the headstock. maybe i just got a gem but i havent read a bad review about one yet. as for other squiers out there' date=' yeah, alot of just. as for the classic vibe series great value. bar none.[/quote'] I'll keep an open mind, but am hoping for strat (maple fretboard is better)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ef_in_fla Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Too bad the grandson won't get on the horn and fill you in with some details. Might keep you from a wild goose chase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captmidnight Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Think this is bad, three days ago there was a made in USA strat with a Fender pro jr on my craigslist for 150 bucks! I called..it had been listed 2 minutes she said and some guy rushed to get it. I told her "I bet he did!" She said he had left about 15 minutes before I called. Capt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenrirlupus Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 oh, there's nothing wrong with fender. say the word. gibson doesn't care if you want to buy a fender second hand. they just care that you've already, or intend to, at some point, buy something from the gibson family of brands. fender comes up all the time in the "lifestyle" section of their site, and their comments are not negative. i suppose it's more or less because if you want the gibson sound, you'll get a gibson, if you want the fender sound, you'll get a fender. i mean, who cares if someone wants a thin, harsh sounding axe with virtually no sustain and tons of string tension on the high strings, plus a cheaply made bolt-on neck... seriously, somebody was playing a fender strat at a local "for charity" type of gig, through a marshall half stack, and he needed to use the neck pickup or it'd be way to harsh... (funny thing is, his bridge pickup was a humbucker... still really harsh/bright sounding...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpfan Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Fender Squires are the same as an Epiphone/ Gibson comparison. The Squires might be cheaper than a MIM Strat or an American series Strat but there are some really good Squires out there and there are some bad ones. Its just like the same thing we read on the forum about Gibsons and Epiphones. Go play it and see what you think. They might even come down on the price a little bit, but not much, if you have the cash in hand. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 UPDATE: Went to see guitar. Serial #VN571837 = Made in Korea by Seahan(Sunghan) in 1995 (VN5) Condition: Body/Paint - Good, Black with white p'guard, pups. Rosewood/ebony fretboard, maple bolt on neck, temelo bar works. Tuners - Showing rust, original cheapo, one broken inside. Electronics - unable to plug into amp, visually in good condit, Vol knob shaft broken inside. Spin, spin, spin... Neck is straight. Overall: Light as hell, no body mass. Just feels "inexpensive". Couldn't justify purchase, guitar still at seller's house, I'm the only "looker" so far. A 1995 MIK Squire for $150? I just don't feel the love based on what I held in my hands, but I also DON'T KNOW SQUIRE GUITARS! Input? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Flick Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 UPDATE: Went to see guitar. Serial #VN571837 = Made in Korea by Seahan(Sunghan) in 1995 (VN5) Condition: Body/Paint - Good' date=' Black with white p'guard, pups. Rosewood/ebony fretboard, maple bolt on neck, temelo bar works. Tuners - Showing rust, original cheapo, one broken inside. Electronics - unable to plug into amp, visually in good condit, Vol knob shaft broken inside. Spin, spin, spin... Neck is straight. Overall: Light as hell, no body mass. Just feels "inexpensive". Couldn't justify purchase, guitar still at seller's house, I'm the only "looker" so far. A 1995 MIK Squire for $150? I just don't feel the love based on what I held in my hands, but I also DON'T KNOW SQUIRE GUITARS! Input?[/quote'] Squiers can be awful or they can be great. I would stay away from the Korean ones, the ones I've seen have laminate bodies. I must admit, I do have a laminate MIK body that I bought because it was a cool looking pearl white. I use a MIC Squier Standard neck for my projects. They have a large '70s style headstock, rosewood fingerboard and no skunk stripe. I built 4 guitars with these necks, they play great and have a nice feel. Here's my main Strat that I made: The neck pickup is a Kent Armstrong, the middle and bridge pups are Seymour Duncan 1/4 lb. Jaguar pickups. The body is a Fender, I don't know country of origin, the matching pickguard is from WD Music. Wilkerson trem. Squire Standard neck. A really spiffy Squier is the Jagmaster. I have five of them in various configurations. Here's a few of them: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoop Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I must sound like a broken record, I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I own both a Squier Stratocaster, and Telecaster. They're both California Series guitars, positioned above the Bullet Series, which is made of crappy laminated wood, and below the Affinity Series (which has no discernable difference over the California Seris as far as I can tell). Both guitars are great, and constructed of Solid Alder. I purchased the Stratocaster new, for $300NZ, and it is finished beautifully, so shiny. The standard tuner are of excellent quality, and the neck is very nice. And it has that classic warm, single coil Strat sound too. I paid $400NZ for my G-310 SG, and it's not finished to anywhere near that standard to be frank. I bought the Tele used, so the finish is pre worn, but ones I saw in the shop were finished nicely too. The tuners are the same ones as on the Strat, and the neck is very nice too. The pickups are a bit weak, but again, for such a cheap, nicely finished guitar, you could still afford to spend a few bucks at GFS upgrading them, and it'd still come in under equivalent offerings from other good manufacturers. I will agree with you that the Strat is pretty light. I noticed it today, I was playing my Les Paul, then switched to the Strat. However I can't say I was surprised, the Strat body is considerably thinner, more contoured, scallopped, and cut away, than the LP. And as I said, still sounds pretty damn gorgeous for the price. Sure, there are probably better Strats out there. The higher spec Squier and Fenders probably offer a bit more, but for a lot more money too, but I personally don't think it's enough to warrant such a jump in price. If you really want something that has that classic Strat (or Tele) style, look, feel and sound, there ain't nothin' wrong with a Squier. And like I said, if it doesn't quite sound the way you want, you could fit a $200 set of boutique pickups and still come in under some of the more expensive models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpfan Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I would offer them $100.00 cash or $125.00 at the most. Because you are going to want to upgrade the tuners and the pickups. A prewired pickguard assembly is 37.95 from Guitar Fetish and your pickups are gonna run around $70.00 from Guitar Fetish. Gotoh style machine heads will be around 21.95. So you will end up spending about another $140.00 bucks doing upgrades with decent stuff from Guitar Fetish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpfan Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 By the way I think you can get a new Fender Squire Strat for around $175.00 from Musicians Friend. I might be wrong but I think you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I have no problems with squires, think they're good quality low end guitars that can be improved a hell of a lot as LP Fan has pointed out but what you're set to get for that price, IMHO isn't worth the money. Especially if you weren't "feeling it" when you saw it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epinder Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I happened to be visiting a Sam Ash yesterday and had a couple of Squiers' stand out and say look at me. They were very nice looking guitars. Here is a photo of one of them: They has another one that was "Sienna" burst that I had to do a double take when I noticed the headstock. If it was a lefty, I would have pulled it down and tried it out. They had a couple of hot looking Squier Teles also that were right handed. Of course the selection of lefties was sparse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 If you're looking for a dirt-cheap "Strat" then forget about Squiers and track down a Yamaha Pacifica instead. I still have one of the old-style ones which I bought new in Rushworth's Music Store in Liverpool, U.K. [remember them AS90? down in Whitechapel...], around 1994 or 1995. I only paid about 170 British Pounds for it as I recall, so it can't be worth much (in money) today. This isn't my guitar, but it looks just like this one: They still make Pacificas today. The main on-line dealer for Yamaha in the U.S. is Andy's Music: http://www.andysmusiconline.com/categories/yamaha-electric-guitars/112.html According to their site, even a brand new Pacifica 112 sells for $199. Or you can even buy this beast from GC/MF for $179: Some people say that the single coils with a humbucker at the bridge arrangement is a bit too '80s. But I still like my Pacifica a lot (and still play it from time to time). I think as cheap Strat copies go, Pacificas are hard to beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 When I was first playing electric guitar everybody I knew had bought a pacifica! Cracking guitars for the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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