If Squiers Were Rebranded Fender

thegummy

dogload said:

Not bothered particularly.

My main 'live' guitar is a Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster because it is a superb guitar. I've got a 'proper' American Jazzmaster as well but the Squier is the better instrument for playing in the band, and I don't really give a toss if people are snobby about it being Squier.

In fact I've always played Squiers - my main Tele is a 1986 (or is it 88? Anyway...) Squier, and I sold my Japanese Fender Jag because I preferred my Squier VM one.

If it's a case of getting a good quality instrument for a fraction of the price of a 'better'-branded one, give me the cheaper option. 

Incidentally, I also apply this approach to mushy peas. I find that the cheap, Morrisons branded mushy peas are much better than the more expensive options such as Bachelors. They have that traditional, chip shop taste and the snot colour that more expensive brands eschew in favour of vivid green and a more-solid consistency.

Funnily enough, this is pretty much the one instance where I just give in to the illogical feeling. Even in other guitar brands - I'd buy an Epiphone but I just know that if I bought a Squier it would always be in the back of my mind. I think it's because I grew up having a Squier, knowing it's the cheap option and desiring a Fender so it's ingrained.

If it really was the case that a Squier was as good as a Fender and I was buying a new guitar I think I'd have a lot of inner confusion but thankfully I don't believe that is the case.

When in the supermarket I only buy branded foods if they're actually better, which isn't the case too often actually. Incidentally, tinned peas is something I too prefer the value option!

thegummy

prowla said:

Having Fender is the premium product and Squier as the budget one gives a clear line of demarcation.

After all, the Squier brand was set up to compete against the cheaper copies.

When they blur the lines then it only gets confusing.

To me, a Squier is a sub-£100 instrument, regardless of people selling cherished VM-whatevers for £00s...

However, cheaper Fender branded instruments just cheapen their range and add confusion.

I think the whole brand is in a mess.

Take it it's been a while since you looked at the price of any Squiers?

SteveRobinson

Player, Performer, Professional, how about Fender Plebeian series? 

hollywoodrox

My contemporary HH squier  is wonderful to play.neck is quite pro mod like .

NelsonP

dogload said:

NelsonP said:

dogload said:

My main 'live' guitar is a Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster because it is a superb guitar. I've got a 'proper' American Jazzmaster as well but the Squier is the better instrument for playing in the band, and I don't really give a toss if people are snobby about it being Squier.

Interested to hear more about why you think the Squier is better than the US jazzmaster.

I have a j mascis with upgraded pickups, tuners and trem and it's great.  I played a Vintera '60s mod in a shop, but preferred my j mascis, mainly because the action on the vintera meant that it was more of a cheese cutter than anything else. 

I feel like they may have discontinued the j mascis because it was too good and was blurring the lines between squier and fender. 

I've modded the Mascis I use in the band - it now has a Fender trem, roller bridge, a Mojo pickup at the bridge and replaced wiring. I didn't say it was better than the US one, just better for band requirements. 
Apart from not wanting to gig my (pricey) US one, the JMJM has a more comfortable neck with fatter frets and the pickup combination is adaptable enough for our whole set. 

Thanks. Mine is heavily modded too, Seymour Duncan's, cts pots, switchcraft jack, new wiring, gotoh locking tuners and fender trem.

It's very nice, and i actually quite like that it says Squier on the headstock - it's a 'sleeper'.

prowla

thegummy said:

prowla said:

Having Fender is the premium product and Squier as the budget one gives a clear line of demarcation.

After all, the Squier brand was set up to compete against the cheaper copies.

When they blur the lines then it only gets confusing.

To me, a Squier is a sub-£100 instrument, regardless of people selling cherished VM-whatevers for £00s...

However, cheaper Fender branded instruments just cheapen their range and add confusion.

I think the whole brand is in a mess.

Take it it's been a while since you looked at the price of any Squiers?

I see people with their £700-better-than-any-Fender Squiers and I don't get it.

Meanwhile, in the real world, I'm just doing up a Squier Strat I bought for £7.50 a few weeks ago.

thegummy

prowla said:

thegummy said:

Take it it's been a while since you looked at the price of any Squiers?

I see people with their £700-better-than-any-Fender Squiers and I don't get it.

Meanwhile, in the real world, I'm just doing up a Squier Strat I bought for £7.50 a few weeks ago.

Any "better than Fender" claims are obviously exaggerations, I think saying "are good enough in every way for what I need" would be a more realistic way to praise Squiers.

But my comment was because even the cheapest Squier is over 100 quid and the dearest is under 500. So none of them are sub-£100 instruments, never mind all of them.

rossi

At a local blues jam a guy wanted to borrow a Fender  to join in ."not a useless Squier " he said .Oh well .

prowla

thegummy said:

prowla said:

thegummy said:

Take it it's been a while since you looked at the price of any Squiers?

I see people with their £700-better-than-any-Fender Squiers and I don't get it.

Meanwhile, in the real world, I'm just doing up a Squier Strat I bought for £7.50 a few weeks ago.

Any "better than Fender" claims are obviously exaggerations, I think saying "are good enough in every way for what I need" would be a more realistic way to praise Squiers.

But my comment was because even the cheapest Squier is over 100 quid and the dearest is under 500. So none of them are sub-£100 instruments, never mind all of them.

My bad - I tend to think in terms of used prices, not new...

I think Squiers are pretty good at their price point, even remarkable at my under £100 valuation.

BTW, the one on the right here is the one I bought a couple of weeks ago (just re-adding bits from my parts box).

NelsonP

prowla said:

thegummy said:

prowla said:

Having Fender is the premium product and Squier as the budget one gives a clear line of demarcation.

After all, the Squier brand was set up to compete against the cheaper copies.

When they blur the lines then it only gets confusing.

To me, a Squier is a sub-£100 instrument, regardless of people selling cherished VM-whatevers for £00s...

However, cheaper Fender branded instruments just cheapen their range and add confusion.

I think the whole brand is in a mess.

Take it it's been a while since you looked at the price of any Squiers?

I see people with their £700-better-than-any-Fender Squiers and I don't get it.

Meanwhile, in the real world, I'm just doing up a Squier Strat I bought for £7.50 a few weeks ago.

Mine was 2nd hand. I paid £380 for it. 

A lot for a 2nd hand squier, but the upgrades alone would have cost about that.

prowla

NelsonP said:

prowla said:

thegummy said:

prowla said:

Having Fender is the premium product and Squier as the budget one gives a clear line of demarcation.

After all, the Squier brand was set up to compete against the cheaper copies.

When they blur the lines then it only gets confusing.

To me, a Squier is a sub-£100 instrument, regardless of people selling cherished VM-whatevers for £00s...

However, cheaper Fender branded instruments just cheapen their range and add confusion.

I think the whole brand is in a mess.

Take it it's been a while since you looked at the price of any Squiers?

I see people with their £700-better-than-any-Fender Squiers and I don't get it.

Meanwhile, in the real world, I'm just doing up a Squier Strat I bought for £7.50 a few weeks ago.

Mine was 2nd hand. I paid £380 for it. 

A lot for a 2nd hand squier, but the upgrades alone would have cost about that.

I'll be putting £15-20 into the one above...

KevS

The quality of the metal parts are usually not as good on the Squiers..
I had a Tele Custom 2 for a while..
Great guitar,but the Agathis wood didn't hold the screws too well..
It sounded good,Duncan Design Pickups..it played well..
Longevity is what bothered me about it..
Now if it had an alder body and better hardware,that would be a bit more money and into Fender's territory..
There were a couple of high frets..
Then again my American Special Series has a problem with a high fret..
Unfortunately the shop where I got it went bust..

My Earlier Squiers were not that great to be honest..
I loved them at the time and played them to death though..
When I got my first USA Fender,long time ago now..
I realised you got better quality parts on it..

There are Squiers if they cost a little more for better hardware,,I would buy..
If I see a player up there playing great on a Squier instead of a Fender,
I somehow think,this player really has the skills,they can do it on a real less flash guitar..

Fenders are pretty robust..
For more wild gigs,an Epiphone is a good Gibson Substitute..
Factor in a fret level..A pick up change if you are partial to that..
I have Gibsons I've done that to though..
An Epiphone has a Scarf Joint and a less fussy finish..

So an Epiphone is in many ways more robust than a Gibson..
A Fender is more robust than a Squier on some of the more recent models...

I Love Fenders and Gibsons by the way..
I do worry about my headstock with a Gibson though..
I probably like my Les Pauls for playing the most though..

hollywoodrox

prowla said:

thegummy said:

prowla said:

thegummy said:

Take it it's been a while since you looked at the price of any Squiers?

I see people with their £700-better-than-any-Fender Squiers and I don't get it.

Meanwhile, in the real world, I'm just doing up a Squier Strat I bought for £7.50 a few weeks ago.

Any "better than Fender" claims are obviously exaggerations, I think saying "are good enough in every way for what I need" would be a more realistic way to praise Squiers.

But my comment was because even the cheapest Squier is over 100 quid and the dearest is under 500. So none of them are sub-£100 instruments, never mind all of them.

My bad - I tend to think in terms of used prices, not new...

I think Squiers are pretty good at their price point, even remarkable at my under £100 valuation.

BTW, the one on the right here is the one I bought a couple of weeks ago (just re-adding bits from my parts box).

That’s real cool 

Lewy

I think they'd be missing a trick if they were ever to rebrand Squiers as Fenders because Squier has it's own intrinsic brand value, which is about aspiration and workmanlike function-over-fluff. There is something very cool about a competent player playing a modded Squier and sounding great that would never be there with said player wielding a bottom of the line Fender. 

thegummy

Lewy said:

I think they'd be missing a trick if they were ever to rebrand Squiers as Fenders because Squier has it's own intrinsic brand value, which is about aspiration and workmanlike function-over-fluff. There is something very cool about a competent player playing a modded Squier and sounding great that would never be there with said player wielding a bottom of the line Fender. 

That's interesting, I don't have that perception of Squier at all.

I wonder how common that is.