It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:11 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 21 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
Post subject: 1980's Squire bullet 1 series tele style body
Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2010 8:25 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:31 pm
Posts: 205
Went to an auction today that had a bunch of guitars from a closed music shop. Anyhow seeing Squiers is no big surprise at auctions.....but then I knew I found something different parked alongside a Kramer Focus. What popped out was the Fender stamped vintage style saddles, Fender script tuners with a Gotoh "G" below, and a Squier Bullet 1 logo. Serial # starts with E6. Just a few scrapes and bruises. Looks to only need new strings and an input jack mount. hEAvY as hell! Must weigh 8lbs!

$70 and it was mine. So now the question is how much do these old Squiers sell for on average?



Looks exactly like this one:

http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz13 ... ers007.jpg

http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz13 ... s016-1.jpg


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 3:54 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2007 12:32 pm
Posts: 701
They usually go for about 100-200 bucks for that model. They don't seem to fetch as much as the Earlier Japanese ones which generally fall in the 100-300 range depending on condition. I bought an '82 SQ serial one for 59 bucks, but that was a steal.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 1:28 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:31 pm
Posts: 205
Yogi wrote:
They usually go for about 100-200 bucks for that model. They don't seem to fetch as much as the Earlier Japanese ones which generally fall in the 100-300 range depending on condition. I bought an '82 SQ serial one for 59 bucks, but that was a steal.


I wasn't really expecting mine to be a money in the bank investment, but I'm just looking forward to getting the input jack-plate replaced tonight to test it out. It's in Very good shape overall...and to be honest when I spotted it at auction, i decided to buy it simply cause the neck felt great (less baseball batish then other fenders) and Gotoh tuners were in excellent shape. Pretty much a donor for parts.....but if it ends up sounding good on my Blues Jr. I'll make it a player.

I'm guessing Korean era Bullet 1, no Japan labeled on it anywhere. Must be plywood construction due to the weight. It's a brute. Everything else seems nice quality.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1980's Squire bullet 1 series tele style body
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 8:22 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 8:19 am
Posts: 7
What do you both think of this ebay guitar that's on sale? It's the same model and it's going for 349.99? They say that it's a rare Japanese-made guitar? In '84 - '87? Is the E6 really Japanese-made? This is an important point. Just thought I'd share this.
Rare 1984-1987 Fender Bullet 1 Squier
Made in Japan E6xxxxx Serial Number
Black Tele Style Body with Stratocaster style maple neck.
SSH pickup configuration 1 volume 1 tone, Toggle Switch

This guitar has been lightly played and is in great condition.
Frets have light to no wear on this beautiful Maple fretboard!
It is in great overall condition with just two dings as shown in picture 5. Otherwise excellent.
Fender branded saddles on bridge and also Fender branded Tuning Keys.
This guitar is capable of producing some really sweet tones!
Excellent early Japanese made Fender!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-1980s-Fender-B ... 4706320618

Is it really rare and is it really Japanese-made? Or is it US-made? Or Korea?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1980's Squire bullet 1 series tele style body
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 9:20 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:31 pm
Posts: 205
SquierBulletGuy2 wrote:
What do you both think of this ebay guitar that's on sale? It's the same model and it's going for 349.99? They say that it's a rare Japanese-made guitar? In '84 - '87? Is the E6 really Japanese-made? This is an important point. Just thought I'd share this.
Rare 1984-1987 Fender Bullet 1 Squier
Made in Japan E6xxxxx Serial Number
Black Tele Style Body with Stratocaster style maple neck.
SSH pickup configuration 1 volume 1 tone, Toggle Switch

Is it really rare and is it really Japanese-made? Or is it US-made? Or Korea?



When I get home I'll send you several links I've got built up on this oddball. For the record I love this guitar! I have yet to really toy around with my pedal settings to make it sound even better, but it sounds great right now through my Blues Junior, delay pedal and Boss BD2 Overdrive. It's good distorted to. I plan on putting a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder in the neck position, but will leave the mid and bridge pickups as is.

When I first saw it at the auction I noticed the Gotoh tuners, Fender stamped saddles and the quality of the fretwork and neck (basically that's why I bought it). If you don't like baseball bat Fender necks, this is my recommend, or atleast to aquire one of these necks and slap it on another body. After a little cleaning and minimal setup it has nice low action and the combination of the high quality neck (hard rock maple?) and the body gives great sustain. Don't confuse the body as being made of 2-3 pieces of wood like early 80's Japanese Squier line...this is actually a hardwood layered body and idk if this is any different than plywood. The one plus about this is that it does not get effected by temp changes and humidity as would a normal bodied guitar. However this wood sustains and sounds great and I was really shocked to see how it is constructed. I have a good picture of a similar era Squier that shows the body minus the paint I'll upload that to here later. Regardless I decided after plugging it in that I will keep this guitar as it is and not steal the neck.

99% sure that sometime between 1986 and 1987 the Squier line of Bullet 1 guitars went for manufacture in Korea. Korean ones have the Rounded Stratocaster tipped headstock, while earlier Japanese Bullet 1 have a Telecaster shaped headstock. I have not seen any of the specific body style we are talking about with anything other than the Rounded Strat headstock. I have not pulled the pickups out of my guitar so I don't know if there is any markings in there that confirm where it was made. There is no other markings on outside of guitar saying where either. I'd say this was Korean. I don't think the ebay seller your checking out can confirm either or, and I don't think him labeling it Japan can be said as dishonest. Price wise I'd say (unless mint) that would be high price to pay. Of course they don't pop up much, yet I don't think anything suggests they will be collectible like earlier 80's Squier's. I think those who have played them before are who would pay the extra cash. I have seen some well played ones sell for $150.

There was one of these that sold recently for $399 and it had a ridiculous amount of flame in the neck http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-MIJ-Japan-S ... 563ec04dec

There was also a Stratocaster equivalent sold recently that clearly said "Korea" on the headstock. http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Squier-Bulle ... 51970138f1


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1980's Squire bullet 1 series tele style body
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 9:41 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:31 pm
Posts: 205
p.s. I have this link for one for sale for $225

http://www.centaurguitar.com/storefront ... uct_id=414


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1980's Squire bullet 1 series tele style body
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 11:00 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 8:19 am
Posts: 7
Hey warmachine, thank you as I would just like to have a deeper understanding - maybe we need to look up old factory-workers. One of those on sale has a completely different body - it looks tapered and on the headstock it says, "Made In Korea". Otherwise, it looks similar. In yet another ad, a guy says "easy access at the heel to the truss rod" but my Bullet 1 has a plate but all the plate is, is 4 screws, no truss-rod. In fact, I was fooled into buying the guitar, thinking that there was a truss-rod in there. So we need to find out, do any of the Fender Squier Bullet 1's have a truss-rod - among other questions we might have.
Yeah, taking it apart is a good idea - I believe I have photos from my checkups on wiring, if not, I'll have to look in there again when I dewarp the neck. But mine is an E6xxxxxx on the plate at the heel of the neck. I'm sure it weighs less than 8 lbs, like 6 or 7, but it DOES feel pretty beefy, it's no piece of eastern white pine. My tuners say Fender on them and there's a little curlicue arrow on each one. Does that help any?
Well, I'll look forward to your posts, later on!


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1980's Squire bullet 1 series tele style body
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 11:11 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 8:19 am
Posts: 7
Just thought I'd mention that the E6xxxx series ARE in fact Japanese-made between 1984 and 1987. The following site has all the serial numbers, perhaps you've already seen this:
http://www.guitarnucleus.com/fenderserial.html

So we each have a Jap-made guitar but apparently, it's not early 80's, it's mid-80's.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1980's Squire bullet 1 series tele style body
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 11:38 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 8:19 am
Posts: 7
There's something that bothers me about that site though: they never mention Korea. Are they lumping Korea and Japan under Japan? If so, then we have a problem. Or did they just leave it out? Mystery there.
http://www.guitarnucleus.com/fenderserial.html


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1980's Squire bullet 1 series tele style body
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 12:53 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:31 pm
Posts: 205
SquierBulletGuy2 wrote:
There's something that bothers me about that site though: they never mention Korea. Are they lumping Korea and Japan under Japan? If so, then we have a problem. Or did they just leave it out? Mystery there.
http://www.guitarnucleus.com/fenderserial.html

I think the situation is this is similar to what Fender did with there USA made guitars in the 80's. They put whatever they had left over from prior years on there guitars, despite the fact the serial number used doesnt correlate to when it was "exactly" made. They even applied 1984 and 1983 serial number stickers to guitars actually built in 1988! lol I had an Epiphone Les Paul with a Korean made sticker, yet the tuners and electronics were sourced from the previous years when they were made in Japan. I believe this is why the neckplates are not 100% reliable to country of origin. Probably just cheaper for them to do.

SquierBulletGuy2 wrote:
Hey warmachine, thank you as I would just like to have a deeper understanding - maybe we need to look up old factory-workers. One of those on sale has a completely different body - it looks tapered and on the headstock it says, "Made In Korea". Otherwise, it looks similar. In yet another ad, a guy says "easy access at the heel to the truss rod" but my Bullet 1 has a plate but all the plate is, is 4 screws, no truss-rod.

Should be an accessible truss rod adjustment when you remove neck from guitar body. Pretty annoying if your neck needs more than a little tweak to get it in playing shape.
Pic is of a Strat, but it shows you relatively how far down that truss rod is hiding.
Image

SquierBulletGuy2 wrote:
One of those on sale has a completely different body - it looks tapered and on the headstock it says, "Made In Korea". Otherwise, it looks similar.

If you mean the one with the Stratocaster inspired body that sold on Ebay, well it was just to point out that it has a similar styling theme to the Bullet we have been talking about. I'd imagine exact same electronics. The serial # also starts with "E" yet it is made in Korea according to headstock.
Image
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1980's Squire bullet 1 series tele style body
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 1:08 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:31 pm
Posts: 205
SquierBulletGuy2 wrote:
There's something that bothers me about that site though: they never mention Korea. Are they lumping Korea and Japan under Japan? If so, then we have a problem. Or did they just leave it out? Mystery there.
http://www.guitarnucleus.com/fenderserial.html



Damn! Speak of the devil! A white one just appeared on ebay!
http://cgi.ebay.com/FENDER-SQUIRE-BULLET-1-MADE-JAPAN-ALL-MAPLE-NECK-/190485757173?pt=Guitar&hash=item2c59d5fcf5


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1980's Squire bullet 1 series tele style body
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 3:25 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 8:19 am
Posts: 7
Yeah, warmachine's right, there's a truss-rod adjustment in there somewhere (on his strat).
On my Squier Bullet 1 (MIJ), one must remove the neck, revealing the Phillips screw. A little pressure and some clockwise turning and my neck should straighten. I am about 5/64" off at the eight fret. According to fender, it should only be about .01" = a hundredth at the 8th fret with the 6th string depressed at the 17th fret. I'll tell ya - I'll even take 1/32" or 1/64", any of those is an improvement over the 5/64" I measured. Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankyguitarwatson/5324625889/


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1980's Squire bullet 1 series tele style body
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 6:06 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 8:19 am
Posts: 7
I've now improved the action by turning the Phillips screw and putting the neck back on. The guitar sounds better and plays better but I still have a little ways to go. It was easy putting the neck on my lap and simply pushing on the midpoint of the neck while turning the screwdriver. So don't worry, each time you turn it doesn't do a whole lot. I forget whether or not it's a 10/32 screw, you might want to check the manual. I can feel the neck flex a lot as I push so it's no problem - most guitarists have enough in their arms to do this.

But while doing it, I noticed how loose my machineheads were - so I took a Craftsman ignition wrench (10mm) and tightened them all. I think that's why the guitar might sound a little cleaner. And it plays a little faster with the lowered action but I still have to do more until it's perfect.

Now it's time to fix another guitar now that this one's ok.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1980's Squire bullet 1 series tele style body
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 7:44 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:31 pm
Posts: 205
HERE'S THE LINKS I PROMISED!

Image
?1986 to 1987 Tele like body / Strat like headstock:
:arrow: http://www.instituteofnoise.com/squier5 ... IC_ID=5665

:arrow: http://www.strat-talk.com/forum/squier- ... quier.html

:arrow: http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive ... 01679.html

:arrow: viewtopic.php?t=33646&highlight=bullet+star

Image
?1986 to 1987 Stratocaster like body / Strat like headstock:
:arrow: http://www.guitarscanada.com/guitar-tec ... aster.html

Image
1981 to 1985 Squier Bullet history (USA and Japanese made):
:arrow: http://fenderbullet.info/history/index.html

:arrow: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/guitar-owner ... lub-5.html


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1980's Squire bullet 1 series tele style body
Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 6:56 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Fri May 06, 2011 6:50 pm
Posts: 1
I've had a few early 80"s Squier Bullet guitars as a kid.I just found another one on craigslist.I really like these guitars.This one that I just got is a 1984 made in japan model.
Here's a link to a video of it if you want to hear it!
http://youtu.be/Tfow-RoYlB8


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 21 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: