I remember getting my first guitar for christmas when I was 7:
a brand new 3/4 sized classical guitar ! The brand? TEMPO... 75$
Korea made, in 1976! You know what? I still own the guitar and actually pick it up sometimes to play. It has seen rains, camping fires, flights of steps, baby hands, crayons and even spray paint cans...but most of all it inspired me to learn the basics of the instrument and 35 years later I am still as passionate about music.

Thanks to my dad and my 1976 Tempo.

So yes we need entry level instruments out there!

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Fender Custom Shop Masterbuilt (GF) 50th Anniversary Strat

Great story!

Just got a Carlo Robelli 3/4 for my 6 year old a few months ago. I'd say it was a waste of money or too soon, but....he's intrigued by it. I'm astonished at how nice this $60 guitar is, and what a warm, rich, full sound it has, clear, ringing, no buzzing, nice fretboard. Is it a great classic acoustic guitar like a grand old Guild F-50 or Martin D-28? No. But is it a surprising nice beginner's guitar, one you can play for years? Is it fun to play? You bet!

(and I'll sneak it out every now and again for a turn around the block!)

To be the beginner option.

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BOSS ST-2 POWER STACK
BOSS ML-2 METAL CORE
BOSS MT-2 METAL ZONE
BOSS MD-2 MEGA DISTORTION
BOSS DS-2 TURBO DISTORTION
BOSS DS-1 DISTORTION
BOSS OS-2 OVERDRIVE/DISTORTION
BOSS OD-3 OVERDRIVE
BOSS SD-1 SUPER OVERDRIVE
VOX TONELAB ST

Squier's new J. Mascis Jazzmaster has caught my eye. I'd love to try one because I'm thinking that it costs less than half of what my CP costs, but isn't much less and looks fantastic. I also like their Classic Vibes series

Because they're great and people still buy them. I don't see why Squier couldn't be blended into Fender Mexico, because a lot of them are the same guitars with different labels. (Maybe a few differences, but they are still equally as playable, and still give you your full money's worth.)

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Probably the simple answer is that Fender can sell more with two lines nearly the same than with one line. Simple business logic.

It could be the brand name too.

Like catering for the lower price market, without de-valueing the current brand. The easy solution would be to create another name for the guitars to compete with eastern cheaper brands- yet still maintaining the high quality american products for the higher end of the price spectrum.

Think what would happen if 'Fender' was to appear on guitars that cost around $199? what would that do to the brand, and also the competition's brand?

I guess that is why there is "Customshop" too..

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Nothing wrong with a low priced guitar. Ibanez does it and they were terrible anyway. Not to say Fender is terrible, I just think Ibanez has some poor pickup configurations that don't really do the job for me. I have yet to see one with 3 single coils.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

As others have said a well set up Squier Standard, or CV is a nice guitar especially for the price. I attend a weekly blues jam and there are a couple of guys who play Squier Strats that can flat out blow the doors off some of the guys who think they need a Custom Shop Strat to sound good. Sure the upper end Fenders are better guitars but the real key is in the hands of the player. I have a couple of MIA Strats, 4 MIMs, and 2 Squier Standards. I love all of them including the Squiers.

I put my 2 cents worth in a couple of times way back in this thread and I'm amazed that it's still being chewed over more than a cow's cud.The plain and simple answer is to give people a quality low cost alternative to Fender guitars.Now what's too bloody hard about that to understand?It burns me up that there are people here too obtuse to see that.

Squier guitars although cheap can be great players and sound great too.One day I was tempted to buy 2 beautiful Squier Teles-a custom and a deluxe instead of the Jimi Vaughn I bought.In fact I could've bought 3 Squiers for the price of the J.V.

Jeff Healey adhered to the Squier brand even after he made it big and could afford the best of the custom shop Strats.

Squiers then simply exist to be a low priced quality guitar for people who can't afford a full priced Fender-simple as that.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Classic Vibe Squiers are amazing and the jump from those and mim's are only around 125-150. I'd take a cv squier any day of the week.

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2001 MIA Trans White, 2006 MIA Hss Sienna Sunburst, 92 SRV, 94 Black MIM w/CS 57/62 pups, 94 Red MIM, 08 MIM Sienna Sunburst w/texas special pups.
Hot Rod Deville, Hot Rod Deluxe, Champ 600, Marshall 59slp ri, Marshall Class 5 Head, and Peavey Windsor.

I believe Squire was the most profitable part of the company for the longest time. I don't personally like them but hay if I didn't have the money to buy a better guitar i'd sure be happy with one of those. A Harmony was the first guitar I purchased out of my own pocket as a kid, and I still have it.

i like the cv guitars a lot but honestly how bout the vm guitars???? these guitars are awesome, a good bang for the buck yet i feel they don't get enough attention... honestly the whole brand except for the bullets and affinities is awesome for the price (including the SE strats which i find to be a very awesome modding platform cause these guitars have the body dimensions of the fender strat how bout getting more colours for this strat *hint hint)...

Squier exists for the one reason which is to allow me to make those that paid $1000s for their customs, MIAs to feel like utter crap when they pick up my guitars. I like to mod. Period. If I'm going to mod my guitar anyways, why would I spend the kind of change for a MIA Fender? Especially a MIM Fender?! I recently purchased (which I know I've brought this up before) an 89 MIK E series Squier with new electronics (Semour Duncans, new pots, etc) for $150. The name on the headstock is just a name. Still the same company and the same design for the most part. This Squier blows away many MIA Fenders that I've played.....hands down. Guitar snobbery will get you one thing....broke. Good luck finding a neck as sweet as is on my Squier, plus it has American hardware. Yet, I paid $150. I'll change out the tuners and pickguard and knobs just for personal preference and will have one sweet $@! guitar for less than $250. This is why Squiers exist. Although I don't have to mod this guitar much myself since it's almost perfect already, Squiers are every modder's dream guitar. I've traded and sold guitars that I modded that people would swear that I took off the Fender logo and replaced it with a cheap brand logo just to screw with ppl. Don't knock it till you try it. The key is to find a nice neck and body. Everything else is easily replaced for personal preference.

I also have a Fernandes strat that I modded (and will probably mod more in the future) that I'll never part with. It just feels right to buy the bones of what you want and build one to your personal preferences. When it's finished, it's like you just squirted out a baby. A piece of you is with it and even if you let it go, you have a little immortality knowing it's out there.

I don't know the stats but I'd say there are 2 or 3 Squiers sold for every Fender, probably more than three. I don't even know why I responded to the silly question. If you don't like Squier's just order 3 or 4 CS Strats and leave us poor vagabonds alone...duh!

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08 Fender Highway One Tele-Sunburst
09 Squier Custom Tele II-Blonde
04 Squier Standard Strat Antiqueburst
07 Washburn D10SCE natural with Rosewood backing
Fender Mustang II amp


Experience is the best teacher