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Post subject: Buying Fender online - can I trust it's all Fender?
Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 2:50 pm
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I'm thinking about buying a Fender Esquire online that's been modified. The price is alright and acceptable and the seller has a good reputation it seems. All parts are claimed to be Fender and not Squire. I really have no reason to doubt this. But when I google the color (metallic orange) and design seems more common in Squire Bullet series than Fender.

This is what the seller had to say:

Quote:
It's a Fender Mexican made neck, body, bridge, pickup and wiring harness. So all Fender and not Squire.

The neck was a telecaster neck but the previous owner had the Telecaster decal replaced with an Esquire decal and then the hole neck re lacquered. I suspect it was after he had this done that he chipped the paint in the body work (it's bolted rather than glued) when he put it back on. But it was like this when I bought it, I loved the colour and the sound so it wasn't something that bothered me.

Fender doesn't really make Esquires anymore, most of the ones you see are just Telecasters with an Esquire pickguard and humbucker in the bridge. And Esquire necks are really hard to come by - but they're exactly the same as a Tele neck anyway.

Springsteen uses an Esquire as does Rick Parfit. But like I say, apart from the single pickup they're essentially a Telecaster without a neck pickup.


I really want the guitar but I really don't want a Squire or no name parts.

Specifics:
    Metallic Orange
    Fender black bridge humbucker pickup
    Fender Six saddle bridge - through body and top loading
    Fender Telecaster Maple Neck with Esquire Decal (re-lacquered)
    Fender vintage style Kluson tuners
    RI of the original 1959 Esquire
    Alder body
    Mexican made Fender
    2012 model
    Includes Hiscox Liteflight Hardcase

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Post subject: Re: Buying Fender online - can I trust it's all Fender?
Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 9:23 pm
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No, you can't 100% trust it's a Fender and it would be unwise to do so. Especially if a decal has been applied, you could be buying any piece of worthless junk, whether the seller knows it or not. Seller says it has a Fender pickup but how would you know? Could be Ironstone or some cheap generic Chinese no-name garbage.

Personally I would never buy a partscaster online and I'd be very careful about buying one in person. Unless the seller is willing to pop the neck off and show pics of the pickups, neck heel and pocket to verify provenance then it's a waste of money.

Also bear in mind that resale value will be very low.

And I would never buy a guitar with a fake decal. That will wear on your nerves every time you look at it and remind you that you should have saved your cash a while longer and bought something you have no doubt is the genuine article. Decals are for idiots who want to pretend their Squier Affinity is a Custom Shop.

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Post subject: Re: Buying Fender online - can I trust it's all Fender?
Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 9:29 pm
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I would add that from the spacing of the 12th fret dot markers that neck looks very suspicious to me. Difficult to tell for sure from the pic but I doubt it's even a Squier.

Then ask yourself, why did the original owner build an Esquire instead of a two pickup Tele? I'd be inclined to think that he wanted to save money at every opportunity so only bought one pickup. If he's built the cheapest guitar possible AND put a decal on it then that tells you a lot about how good the guitar will be.

And the "Fender top and through body loading bridge" ... I'm no expert but I don't recall seeing a modern Fender Tele bridge that loaded from the top.

"Fender black bridge humbucker pickup" ... a lot of Fender humbuckers have three mounting screws, not two.

"RI of the original 1959 Esquire" ... take a hike buddy. Esquires don't have humbuckers. It's a cheap knockoff that you're trying to talk up.

The more I look the more I see wrong with the guitar. Nothing about that guitar says Fender to me.

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Last edited by GilgaFrank on Fri Oct 10, 2014 11:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Buying Fender online - can I trust it's all Fender?
Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 10:17 pm
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GilgaFrank wrote:
Esquires don't have humbuckers.


+1 for the reissues and vintage originals.

The Scorpion, Celtic and GT Customs are a notable exception.

Unlike the original Esquire these guitars are back routed, lacking off the pickguard.


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Post subject: Re: Buying Fender online - can I trust it's all Fender?
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 1:56 am
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Thank you guys. You have been really helpfull and I am glad I did question the owner. I did pull out since I couldn't trust the guitar 100%. It seems a bit shady to me to have "changed the neck and put an Esquire logo" on it. Why would you do that. I suspect it could have been a no name neck that was fitted with a Fender logo.

I love the design however and I love one pickup designs (humbucker in bridge) but I have a hard time finding one. They're all Squire basically and I really don't want a signature model like Avril Lavigne or something like that *shrugs*.


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Post subject: Re: Buying Fender online - can I trust it's all Fender?
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 2:21 am
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One thing this forum is very good at is stopping people from wasting their money on faked Fender guitars. Save your money, buy a real Fender. Even a real Squier would be better than the junk Tele in the pics.

And post pics here when you do buy one.

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Post subject: Re: Buying Fender online - can I trust it's all Fender?
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 4:10 am
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Indeed. I'd be better off buying a new Esquire and modify it to my satisfaction. Thank you again.


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Post subject: Re: Buying Fender online - can I trust it's all Fender?
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 5:26 am
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...And on top of all else, check how the G and highE bridge saddles are adjusted on pic #1...
Tells me the guy who did that ain't up to the job.

Oh, BTW - what's the idea behind getting specifically an Esquire and modding it to something else..? :lol: (I'd go via a MIM or MIJ Tele.)


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Post subject: Re: Buying Fender online - can I trust it's all Fender?
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 11:47 am
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jmattis wrote:

Oh, BTW - what's the idea behind getting specifically an Esquire and modding it to something else..? :lol: (I'd go via a MIM or MIJ Tele.)


Why not?


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Post subject: Re: Buying Fender online - can I trust it's all Fender?
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:38 pm
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If you like the idea of a bridge humbucker in a Fender guitar you could try getting a good new or 2nd hand Fender Telecaster and for another $150-$200 you can buy a seymour duncan (I'm not sure of the exact name) pickup that is shaped like a single coil but acts like a humbucker....Hmmmm...I wish I could think of their name!! Sorry, I've drawn blank on their name but maybe another reader out there will know what I mean and fill you in.
The reason anyway, that I think this is a good way to go is that you won't have to change the body to get in and you will get the sound you're after of a bridge humbucker. Either way, it will cost extra dollars to cut a hole and put a proper humbucker in as well.
If money is tight and you want a REAL Fender then I'd buy a new Mexican Standard Tele and put that Seymour Duncan pickup ini it. Steer well away from partcasters. They are just money pits...you might as well have bought the real deal by the time you are finished and you will never sell it for anything near the same as what you've spent.
8)

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Post subject: Re: Buying Fender online - can I trust it's all Fender?
Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 5:18 am
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The neck has never seen the inside of a Fender factory, that's for sure!
The neck's not on straight either - you've done the right thing by passing on this guitar.

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