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Post subject: Korean Squier Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 11:28 pm
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Back in the early 90s I purchased a used white Korean Squier Strat. I rescued it from a pawn shop and cleaned it up. I took it completely apart and, put it back together. It came out very nicely. I sold it to a friend, who gave it as a present. I wish I never sold it. I have only seen one used Korean Strat since and, it was gone right away. Any of you have experience with these. They are not around anymore. The MIM Strats around that era were not so bad either from what I remember.


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Post subject: Re: Korean Squier Stratocaster
Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 4:32 am
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Hello Juan, good to see your post. I have a 1994 Squier made in Korea, purchased for 100 USD with a dilapidated case, a pawn shop relic. :lol: Great instrument with many hard miles, new electronics and covered with an American flag
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post this subject on the Squier Forum. :D

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Post subject: Re: Korean Squier Stratocaster
Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 7:44 am
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If I'm thinking of the right ones, was that the Pearl White model?

There's always a big rave about the Japanese Squiers, but I have a few Korean Squiers that I think compare with the Japanese models.

The Squier Esprit could easily be considered the best model Squier ever produced. My old Esprit was as good as the new Schecter Tempest and Solo. Those are going for $600-700 new.

I'm a big fan of Korean guitars. I have been for years.

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Post subject: Re: Korean Squier Stratocaster
Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 12:55 pm
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Thanks for posting back. I have a hard time on this new site getting to Squier, Strat, etc forums. I just posted I don't come on here that often. I'm into many different brand of gears. I'm a big lover of Fender products. My first nice electric is a 78 black Mustang I got when I worked at the plant in Fullerton. I had to wait a few weeks for them to make a black run when I ordered it back then. I believe we got something like a 40% discount. I wish I would have picked up a Deluxe Reverb back then as well.


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Post subject: Re: Korean Squier Stratocaster
Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 3:17 pm
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JACSTRAT wrote:
I'm a big lover of Fender products. My first nice electric is a 78 black Mustang I got when I worked at the plant in Fullerton.


Very cool Juan 8)

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.


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Post subject: Re: Korean Squier Stratocaster
Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:36 am
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These are strictly my own opinions and should be taken as such.


It's been my experience that the Korean made Fenders and Squiers were always hit or miss...there have been a few really good instruments that have come out of Korea, however MANY were little more than canoe paddles. Particularly in the Squier line, a great many of the Korean made Squiers from that era had very poor, low quality hardware, the pickups and electronics were crap and many didn't even have solid bodies...a lot of them used a really cheapo laminate. Please understand that I have nothing against imports in general and I do in fact have 3 Squiers in my current arsenal (2 CIC's and an MIJ), however I really believe those early Korean made Squiers are perhaps one of the biggest reasons there's such a stigma against the name. When you can find a good one, they're usually worth keeping, but you do have to look at those suckers VERY closely and KNOW what you're looking at.

As far as the early to mid 90's MIM's...personally I love them! My 3 favorite Strats consist of Ol' Blue, a '96 Standard (heavily modified), Blue 2, a '95 Standard (set up for MIDI) and "The Ratt", my '93 "Squier Series" (...fun little guitar). I also have a '99 Fat Standard ("The $@!&*"), an '04 Standard that's a lefty setup to play righty and an '07 Standard (also modified). My only real complaints about the Mexican Strats are the pickups (I really do NOT care for Fender pickups in general...I'm a Duncan guy) and the zinc trem blocks...both of which are easily replaced. Otherwise, in my not so humble opinion, those 90's MIM Fender Standards provide some of the best bang for the buck...personally I'll take a 90's Mexican over an American Strat -ANY- day.

Again just my own personal opinions....enjoy!


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Post subject: Re: Korean Squier Stratocaster
Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 10:05 am
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Here's an interesting insight to Korean Squiers: Planetbotch blogspot


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Post subject: Re: Korean Squier Stratocaster
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 8:28 am
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lomitus wrote:
These are strictly my own opinions and should be taken as such.


It's been my experience that the Korean made Fenders and Squiers were always hit or miss...there have been a few really good instruments that have come out of Korea, however MANY were little more than canoe paddles.
Again just my own personal opinions....enjoy!


That was my experience back then (helping a co-worker find a Squire Strat for her daughter) and that of a friend. He tried a dozen or more Squire Teles at several music stores and none worth buying. He then went to a small but very honest local guy. He opened 7 (of the 9) Tele Squire boxes he'd gotten in, pronouncing #7 a decent build and something he could work with. An hour later, my friend had a nice Squire Tele ... and he still has it. But the other 6 were headed back to the distributor and from there "hopefully for scrap wood" said the honest dealer.

My experience was similar: we went through 20 or more Squire Strats at 3 different music stores until I found one that was surprisingly well made and finished. A little setup and good to go. Daughter soon lost interest in becoming a rock star, so mom still has the Strat (still in good shape) to this day.

So what I suggested back then (if someone was in the market) was: you can definitely find a decent Squire (or Epi) but you have to be prepared to keep looking and trying. You might not find one on your first ... or 2nd ... etc. weekend out looking.


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Post subject: Re: Korean Squier Stratocaster
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 9:48 am
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philipk wrote:
lomitus wrote:
These are strictly my own opinions and should be taken as such.


It's been my experience that the Korean made Fenders and Squiers were always hit or miss...there have been a few really good instruments that have come out of Korea, however MANY were little more than canoe paddles.
Again just my own personal opinions....enjoy!


That was my experience back then (helping a co-worker find a Squire Strat for her daughter) and that of a friend. He tried a dozen or more Squire Teles at several music stores and none worth buying. He then went to a small but very honest local guy. He opened 7 (of the 9) Tele Squire boxes he'd gotten in, pronouncing #7 a decent build and something he could work with. An hour later, my friend had a nice Squire Tele ... and he still has it. But the other 6 were headed back to the distributor and from there "hopefully for scrap wood" said the honest dealer.

My experience was similar: we went through 20 or more Squire Strats at 3 different music stores until I found one that was surprisingly well made and finished. A little setup and good to go. Daughter soon lost interest in becoming a rock star, so mom still has the Strat (still in good shape) to this day.

So what I suggested back then (if someone was in the market) was: you can definitely find a decent Squire (or Epi) but you have to be prepared to keep looking and trying. You might not find one on your first ... or 2nd ... etc. weekend out looking.


The one thing I would add to all of that is to emphasis that my issues there were in fact with the Korean Squiers specifically and not "Squier" in general. I've always had a great affection for the MIJ Squiers of the mid 80's (the Fujigen models that came off the same assembly lines as their Fender branded counterparts) and I currently own 2 CIC Squiers, a Standard Strat and an Affinity Tele and both have been great instruments and exceptional values. Likewise I've also found the Indonesian Squiers to be of very high quality for the price...in fact my "International Partscaster" has an Indo Standard neck on it. MIM Fender Standards are still my personal fav, but I've found many Squiers in general to be really excellent instruments...a lot of bang for the buck there.

My hit or miss issues really have been with the Korean made instruments. For example I had an '04 Lite Ash Strat for a while that was an exceptional instrument...VERY high quality and on par with the best Fender has ever offered in their production line instruments (just not to my personal taste...didn't care for the V neck or the overly bright sound). On the other hand, I've had 2 early 90's Korean Squiers that were VERY poor quality junk. The main reason I had purchased them was to use as practice pieces while I was teaching myself refinishing (one of which I traded for a low end Ovation acoustic-electric after it was refinished!).

In any case, I just wanted to elaborate that my issues aren't with Squier specifically, just some of the Korean made instruments.


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Post subject: Re: Korean Squier Stratocaster
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:52 am
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I agree with the great quality of Indonesian products in general. Their guitars are great. The Japanese have had it down for a long time now. They are great also. I find the China products to be hit or miss. I would go with Korean products over Chinese any day. I'm not saying this with an anti-China attitude, I'm going with experience. I do have some decent China products as well. I have a Peavey JF-1 which is excellent. I wound up making it that way with just basic setup skills. I believe I got lucky with it.


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Post subject: Re: Korean Squier Stratocaster
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 12:22 pm
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JACSTRAT wrote:
I agree with the great quality of Indonesian products in general. Their guitars are great. The Japanese have had it down for a long time now. They are great also. I find the China products to be hit or miss. I would go with Korean products over Chinese any day. I'm not saying this with an anti-China attitude, I'm going with experience. I do have some decent China products as well. I have a Peavey JF-1 which is excellent. I wound up making it that way with just basic setup skills. I believe I got lucky with it.


I honestly can't knock my Chinese gear, particularly considering the prices today. I have an '09 Affinity Tele and an '08 Standard Strat and both are truly decent instruments for the cost...and yes, I've used both on stage. I had gotten the Tele primarily as something of an "art project"...I did a custom laser etched acrylic pickguard and I wanted the Affinity for the cleaner, non-traditional routing. The Strat on the other hand, I picked up as something of an impulse buy...it was just one of the sweetest, prettiest finishes I had seen on a guitar in a long time (that cherry sunburst). It was $200 new, I had the money in my pocket so I snagged it right then and there. I did swap out pickups on both...as I do on most of my Fenders (regardless of pedigree)...but otherwise I can't complain about the quality of either...both of them are very good guitars.

Then there's my '09 Ibanez Artcore. I had gotten this guitar in a trade because I was looking for an inexpensive semi-hollow for some of the oldies/rockabilly stuff I do. Except for some clean up, strings and a setup, I haven't done a thing to this guitar...even the pups are just incredible! For a "cheap import", this guitar is just amazing to say the last...I've played a lot of guitars over the years at 3x the value that just do NOT compare...yes, this thing really is THAT good! The fit and finish, the sound, the feel...all just spot on.

Oh...then there's the Joyo tremolo pedal I picked up a few months back. WOW! I only payed $22 for that sucker and I gotta say the sound really compares to the vibrato channel on my old Fender Bandmaster...and at a fraction of the cost of most "boutique" pedals these days. Ok...sure I had to wait a month and a half for shipping from Shing-fang-fu (or wherever the hell it was, LOL) but for the price and the bang for the buck, you can bet I'll be looking at other Joyo pedals in the future.

Maybe it's just my perspective...I'm old enough to remember brands like Memphis, Cort, Lotus, Hondo, Series 10 and a lot of the cheap guitars that came out in the 70's and 80's (hell, I still have a Memphis and a Lotus, LOL), however even the low end instruments today, like the CIC Squier Affinities and such are VERY decent in comparison...and guitars like my Ibanez just totally blow them out of the water.


I can't speak to other people's experiences, but personally I can't complain at all about the Chinese gear you see these days.


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Post subject: Re: Korean Squier Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2015 11:02 am
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I had a Squire II Strat which I bought brand new in late 1989 and it was a total POS. The tuners were crap and the hardware was just horrible. The Indonesian ones that are out now, are really great IMO and I've had a couple in the past few years which were fun to both mod and play. I would not hesitate to get another one to be honest. IMO, they're right up there with the MIM Standards.


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