2020 Squier '70s Classic Vibe Jaguar Electric Guitar

Update 2023: this guy's back in-shop for resale -- the owner has moved-on to mostly playing acoustics. This guitar is still basically brand-new as in these photos from '22. It now has a nice gigbag included with it as well.

Squiers have, for decades now, been very good buys. The current generation of Squier gear is stupidly good value. Whether building these cheap overseas is a sustainable (or even desirable) practice is another question, though, entirely.

Take this instrument, at any rate: it's nearly every bit as good (handling-wise) as the original beast. The neck definitely has that "vintage Fender feel" with its medium-C, narrow-nut approach and curvy fretboard. It also has the benefit of modern, medium-bigger wire, too, which makes it feel more slick than the originals were when fresh from the factory.

Hardware is heavy-duty and well-made throughout, the finish clearcoat is not overbearing or "drippy-thick," and the sunburst looks good. It handles well and, after a glorified setup, is playing spot-on and super-fast.

Owners of modern Jaguars often complain of strings "leaping" the slots in the saddles (in this case, the original adjustable saddles were replaced with Mustang-style ones when it was made). This is due to not enough downward tension on the saddle to lock the string in place. Adding that tension is easy -- simply shim-back the neck joint to increase back-angle and then adjust the bridge upward. Or... go to thicker-gauge strings. I find it better to increase the back-angle, myself, as the guitar will also "come alive" with a steeper string break-angle on the bridge.

During setup on these modern Jags (and also Jazzmasters) I also often "lock" the bridge posts in place by adding spare tuner ferrules from my parts-bins that wrap the posts tightly and sit flush in the bridge-post sockets in the body. This seems to help tuning stability and ease-of-use for the "average Joe" playing these guitars. They don't go out-of-tune while palm-muting them, either, once the posts are "locked" in place.

I've talked about feel -- but how about tone? It sounds authentic. Factory-supplied Alnico-magnet pickups help a great deal, of course, and give the (super-clear-sounding) pickups a bit of "vintage warmth" to their response.

Repairs included: glorified setup work.

Body wood: poplar

Bridge: Mustang-style

Fretboard: rosewood-style

Neck wood: maple

Pickups: 2x Squier Alnico-magnet single coils

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast)
String gauges: 46w-10 with wound G

Neck shape: medium C

Board radius: ~7.5"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-bigger

Scale length: 24"

Nut width: 1 5/8"

Body width: 13 1/2"

Body depth: 1 5/8"

Weight: 8 lbs 6 oz