2020 Squier Classic Vibe '72 Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar
Each new generation of Squiers I play gets better and better and better. This '72 Tele Custom -- with a "wide range" humbucker in the neck and a standard Tele bridge pickup -- is dang good at its price point both used and new. I took this one in trade and it had already been adjusted a bit, but a quick restring, setup, and minor cleaning later and it was playing on-par with the fancier Fenders and boutique guitars hanging-around the shop.
The strength of this one is the simplicity -- the neck is a carbon-copy of a late '60s/early '70s Fender feel so to me it "fits" right-off. It's familiar. The pickups also sound good, too -- the bridge is classic Tele and the Squier-branded "wide range" gets a lot of the feel of the "real thing" but perhaps without the sort of airy, almost DeArmond-like thing on the upper-mids. It's really hard to make a proper copycat of that sound.
The downside of this guitar is its cheaper pickguard -- which compared to the nice deep black of the body comes-off as very deep charcoal grey -- and, really, not much else. Purists could complain of the poly finish but the "originals" also had poly slathered all over them and it's not distracting, here. The headstock boasts all "vintage-style" hardware and the truss rod access even has a rosewood (rather than plastic) "plug" at its end. The bridge is vintage-style with 3 "straight" barrel saddles, but a previous owner bent the adjustment screws so when you turn them the saddles "wobble" into different angles and so you can dial-in compensation pretty easily. I do that quite a lot, actually, on older Teles and Tele copies, to get them to compensate nicely.
So -- it's ready to go, fairly light (especially compared to actual '70s Teles), and plays like a champ.
Repairs included: minor cleaning, restring, setup.
Body wood: poplar
Bridge: vintage-style 3-barrel
Fretboard: maple (one-piece neck, vintage tint)
Neck wood: maple
Pickups: 1x Squier "Wide Range" bucker, 1x Squier Telecaster bridge
Neck shape: slim-medium C
Board radius: 9 1/2"
Truss rod: adjustable
Neck relief: straight
Fret style: medium-modern
Scale length: 25 1/2"
Nut width: 1 5/8"
Body width: 12 3/4"
Body depth: 1 3/4"
Weight: 7 lbs 2 oz
Condition notes: it's pretty clean though there are small nicks, dings, and scuffs here and there on the body. It looks like it was played a little while and then stowed. The frets are like new.
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