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Post subject: Re: SQ squier vs MIM
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 1:08 am
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Rock Star
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Lace Sensors: great pickups. This is of course a personal opinion, some just don't like them - but qualitywise, they are in the top end.

Niteshooter, tell the missus that a guitar needs to breathe once in every 20 years, and you have to take the pickguard off for that. :wink:


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Post subject: Re: SQ squier vs MIM
Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:28 pm
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Joined: Tue Oct 01, 2013 11:44 am
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Was able to talk her into letting me lift up the pick guard but it was strung so couldn't get a great photo. Also discovered two screws are stripped and would not retighten, the joy of old wood, since I've only had it off one other time and am super careful. Going to have to put a dab of wood glue in the holes so they don't fall out! Then I will be in trouble!

It may well have Japanese parts and not US if the bridge is any indication, does not have the opposing Fender stampings.

This is a JV serial numbered Strat purchased new at a shop just outside of Toronto in Feb of 1984 according to the bill.

Image

Here is the best shot I can get of the the electrics with a little P&S stuck in the gap.

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Post subject: Re: SQ squier vs MIM
Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 2:58 am
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Rock Star
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Looks nice - and I still can't be sure if those electrical components are MIJ, MIA or mixed :lol:
That "Fender-Fender" bridge: according to internet wisdom (= proceed with caution) it can also be "real" Fender or Ping made Fender.

But actually, this 'quest for knowledge' is just that. 80's MIJ's rule.

Play on, play LOUD.


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Post subject: Re: SQ squier vs MIM
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 4:32 am
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Almost any Fender/Squier Japanese guitars are way better than Mexican standards. The Mexican standard Strat/Tele is the cheapest feeling versions you can get.

Hell I'd rather play a Squier CV than a Mexican standard.


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Post subject: Re: SQ squier vs MIM
Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2014 1:12 pm
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jmattis wrote:
Looks nice - and I still can't be sure if those electrical components are MIJ, MIA or mixed :lol:
That "Fender-Fender" bridge: according to internet wisdom (= proceed with caution) it can also be "real" Fender or Ping made Fender.

But actually, this 'quest for knowledge' is just that. 80's MIJ's rule.

Play on, play LOUD.


Owed you some pix so here they are finally. Wife wanted new strings and some repair work to the 5 way switch so was finally able to pull it apart and have a look under the pick guard.

The switch was having some contact issues my original plan was to hit it with some contact cleaner but instead I just used some 800 grit wet/dry sandpaper and buffed the contacts. Also very gently pushed a couple down and now it's 100%. The darn thing looked brand new.

It was ridiculously clean under there, I didn't even bother blowing out what little sawdust was in the routes since I didn't want to take away any of it's originality! :mrgreen:

Will also add these to my other post.

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Image

Image

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Post subject: Re: SQ squier vs MIM
Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 2:39 am
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Thanks for the pics. Surprised to see how the guitar looks almost brand new under the hood. And referring to the topic, that particular Japanese will stand proud against any MIM. :wink:

Now I'll throw a wild guess on the question of hardware origins: the pots, switch, caps are (I'm just short of sure about this) Japanese, but the pickups seem to be US AlNiCos.
Someone wiser on this?


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Post subject: Re: SQ squier vs MIM
Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 7:14 pm
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jmattis wrote:
stratele52 wrote:
More expensive guitar are better.

Yep, that's your view and you can keep it if you wish. Maybe tone down a bit when you badmouth cheaper guitars, please..?

But I beg to differ.
After a certain quality point, a good player can achieve anything he wishes on a guitar. Jack White on a Highway1, Duke Robillard on Squiers, Roy Buchanan (you can substitute almost any name here) on a standard Tele - I won't even begin the list of numerous standard Strat players...
(BTW, SRV sounded just like SRV with a Squier...)
Let's face it: those multithousand-$ "handmade" guitars (by Fender CS or other makers) are not bought because of the instrument's musical properties... :lol:

jmattis, you sure are right.. Just watch some youtube of the diff cats playing the squire. Whew.. Just unbelevable talent and tone. "Its not what you play, its how you play it."


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Post subject: Re: SQ squier vs MIM
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 9:06 am
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Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2008 2:01 pm
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Niteshooter wrote:
Another good quote from Tony Bacon's book, Squier Electrics 30 Years of Fender's budget guitar brand.

"Sugimoto says that when Fujigen made Greco copies, in each case they first acquired a real vintage original to work from. "We bought the actual guitars, broke them down, measured the whole thing," he explains. "We discovered exactly how they would make something like that, in order to precisely make the Greco instruments. So when we came to make the Fender Japan guitars we knew what we were doing. We could be critically accurate, with dimensions just right, exactly as our own drawings. The US-made Fenders at that time were not so accurate". Fender knew this too. "At the time'" Smith says, "the US product was of questionable quality, and the Japanese-made product was of unquestionably better quality." (Pg17)


That's actually been my experience with the mid-80's MIJ's that came out of Fujigen...the infamouse E-series. Just incredible instruments with phenomenal craftsmanship to say the least. I have 2 - an '85 and an '87 and looking at the body cavities and neck pocket, you seldom see tooling work that is THAT clean...even on American made instruments (Fender, Gibson or otherwise). The fit and finish of these instruments is truly some of the best that I've ever seen.

Quote:
More expensive guitar are better.


Sorry but I too have to debate this. This is analogous to that whole "you get what you pay for" mentality that seems to proliferate around here and those mid-80's Fujigen instruments are a singular prime example of where this just is NOT true. The Fender branded instruments and Squier branded instruments that came out of Fujigen in that era came off the exact same assembly lines, used the exact same parts and were crafted by the exact same factory workers to the same specifications. The only significant difference was the headstock decal. Yet the models that say Squier typically only go for $250 to $350 (give or take) where some of the Fender branded instruments go for as much as $500 to $700 or more...based almost exclusively on the perception of "a name".

Issues regarding global economics and often anal nationalistic pride aside, the name Squier as a whole tends to get a rather bad, undeserved rap and has a rather negative stigma attached to it and this if very often reflected in the pricing of instruments (particularly used guitars). It is NOT however an accurate representation of instrument quality as a whole.

Very simply, "more expensive" does NOT always mean "better".

_________________________________


To address the OP's original question, in my not so very humble opinion, I suspect either would serve you well, however without seeing or playing the instruments in person, it can be a hard call. I'm not specifically familiar with the SQ series the way I am with the E-Series instruments and right here on Fender's website they do clearly state that info on these earlier instruments is a bit patchy at best. That said, my general experience with the Japanese made instruments (Fender, Squier or otherwise) is that they do tend to be very well made and are usually an exceptional value. As I mentioned above, I do have an '85 and an '87 E-Series and both are exceptional instruments. I also have a '73 Conn F12 acoustic that is again beautifully crafted and a wonderful sounding/playing instrument.

Now that said, I do love my Latina's too! I currently have 6 MIM's in my lineup...an '04 Lefty Fender Standard (strung righty), an '03 Fender Standard, '99 Fender Standard "Fat Strat" (HSS), '96 Fender Standard, '95 Fender Standard and a '93 Fender Squier Series. With only a few relatively minor exceptions, the MIM's have a wonderful consistency to them and are very good quality (give or take the hardware on the Squier Series).

Personally I think the Geisha's (MIJ's) tend to be better quality instruments generally speaking...the only reason I lean more towards my Latina's is that both of my Geisha's have the '62 neck profile which is a bit chunkier than I prefer (nothing wrong with it...just a personal taste thing). That said, I've proudly used most of those on stage at one point or another, depending on the night, the gig, the music, the venue, etc.. My '96 is still my all time fav, however If I happen to be doing a lot of Clapton stuff, I especially lean towards my '87 Geisha. If I'm doing heavier stuff (and or recording), then I lean towards my '96 and '03 Latina's (although the '99 has been getting A LOT of use lately and I even did some recent recordings with the '03). That said, my main gigging Strat (at the moment) is actually my '95 Latina which I have rigged for my Roland guitar synth.

So with that all said, my suggestion would be to play both/any guitars you're interested in and simply decide which you like better! Only your hands, heart and ears can tell you what's really right for you. As always, what may be the perfect guitar for me (or amp, pickup, string, pedal, etc) may be completely wrong for you!


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