2011 Squier Vintage Modified (Modded) Thinline Telecaster Electric Guitar

Update 2020: This guitar's back in for sale so I've updated the entire post.

I bought this guitar out of the back of a peddling Geo Metro on New Year's Eve in 2015. At the time it was filthy and someone had steel-wooled the Squier script off of the headstock. Since then it's had a couple of transformations -- different pickups, a new wiring harness, a new pickguard, someone put on a Fender decal at the headstock, better retro-style tuners were added, new knobs, new saddles, a Bigsby had been on-and-off-again, and whatnot...

Currently it's a nicely worn-in instrument (there are dings/scratches and filled mounting holes for the Bigsby) and features a Guitar Fetish Alnico-mag P90 pickup at the neck (no cover) and a double-rail humbucker at the bridge. You get a warm, fat, midsy sound out of the P90 and a snarly, clean tone out of the bridge pickup that pushes an amp nicely. The middle position on the selector is out-of-phase which gives an almost Fender-like chimey/jangly tone that's great for strumming chords and distinct from the other two. This thing covers a lot of bases.

It's an oddball Squier, too, with a Gibson-style (24 3/4") short scale neck (it won't bolt-on nicely to other models without changing bridge positions) and a round neck profile that feels very '60s Gibson, too. Immediately, folks who've picked it up in the shop noticed how much more relaxed it feels because of that.

Like all Tele Thinlines, the body is chambered for weight reduction. It does feel a bit easier on the shoulder than your average modern Tele.

Repairs included: previously it got new (Gotoh?) Kluson-style tuners at the headstock, replacement pickups, a replacement (pearloid) pickguard, and fitting of compensated aluminum 3-saddle Tele saddles. It's had a Bigsby installed and then removed and that's why the back of the bridge has been ground-down. Since it's been back here, I've cleaned it up a little and replaced the wiring harness and knobs as the harness had been damaged. The new harness has 500k pots, a Mallory 022 cap, and a Switchcraft jack.

Setup notes: it plays perfectly with a straight neck, working truss rod, and 1/16" action overall at the 12th fret. The strings are 46w-10 lights.

Scale length: 24 3/4"

Nut width: 1 5/8"

String spacing at nut: 1 3/8"

String spacing at bridge: 2 1/16"

Body length: 16"

Lower bout width: 12 3/4"

Side depth at endpin: 1 3/4"

Body wood: mahogany-family but not mahogany

Fretboard: rosewood

Bridge: original (but modded) w/3-saddle load

Neck feel: slim C-shape (fast), ~10" board radius

Neck wood: maple

Weight: 7 lb 2 oz

Condition notes: clearly it's not fresh and new, hee hee. The back of the bridge is ground-down (does not affect playability), there are patched mounting-holes for a Bigsby whammy that's been on and off the guitar, and there are a number of smaller nicks and dings along the edges of the body. The headstock's Fender logo is aftermarket -- it would've had Squier in black originally. The back of the neck has been lightly speed-necked via a light rub-down with #0000 steel wool and feels good. The original 6-saddle bridge setup has been modded to 3-saddle. The pickups are replacements and the pickguard is non-original but the original comes with it. The knobs are unoriginal but are new, Jazz Bass-style ones. The string tree is unoriginal but an upgrade. It has a new wiring harness and replacement jack plate, too. The neck plate has been swapped for an upgraded, serial-number-style Fender plate. The body has been drilled-out for weight relief behind the pickguard.