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Post subject: 80s Fender/Squire Bullets
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 3:36 am
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Hey everyone,

Basically I've got the opportunity to buy either an 80's Fender bullet or a Squire bullet - both are nice guitars with a strat shaped body but the Fender's about £75 more - however, I can't seem to find a definitive set of specs or history for these guitars to allow me to compare the two. Can anyone give me idea how the Fender and Squire models differ in terms of materials and quality (i.e. which would be the better buy)?

Thanks


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Post subject: Re: 80s Fender/Squire Bullets
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 6:19 am
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Don`t quote me on this but I am sure the original fender bullet was made in the USA to try and keep the price low until fender Japan got off the ground. Didn`t they have the jack located on the pickguard instead of the second tone knob?? ( just going from memory here) :!:

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Post subject: Re: 80s Fender/Squire Bullets
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 6:40 am
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Yeah its jack is where the second tone knob on a strat would be.


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Post subject: Re: 80s Fender/Squire Bullets
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 8:09 am
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That is true; the original 1981 Tele-style models and the 1982 model line were made in the USA under the Fender name. If the Fender Bullet you're looking at has a Strat-style body, then it is a 1982. In 1983 the Bullet series was changed to the Squier name and was made in Japan - but the models were the same as the 1982 USA series. I believe it was dropped for a while after the 1983 Squier Bullet series was sold out.

When FMIC brought back the Bullet series it moved through various Far Eastern production - Japan, Korea, Indonesia, and China - and have different specs from the CBS-era series.


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Post subject: Re: 80s Fender/Squire Bullets
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 8:28 am
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Would the production values be better on a Japanese built Squire than an American built Fender from this period then? Also I heard something about the early American built models having Telecaster necks, so would this be true of an '82?


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Post subject: Re: 80s Fender/Squire Bullets
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 2:43 pm
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joe2517 wrote:
Would the production values be better on a Japanese built Squire than an American built Fender from this period then? Also I heard something about the early American built models having Telecaster necks, so would this be true of an '82?


I would think that they would be about the same - remember, these were the bottom of the line models and were built to a low price point.

Regarding the necks - it was the other way around because Fender found a few leftover USA-built original Bullet necks and slapped them on some Tele bodies to build them out in 1983.


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Post subject: Re: 80s Fender/Squire Bullets
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 2:53 pm
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I thought the Japanese built Squiers (i.e. post 1982) had strat shaped bodies rather than tele shaped ones though.


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Post subject: Re: 80s Fender/Squire Bullets
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 2:55 pm
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Sorry I might have misunderstood. Do you mean that there are some 1983 Telecasters with USA bullet necks on them?


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Post subject: Re: 80s Fender/Squire Bullets
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 6:29 pm
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joe2517 wrote:
Sorry I might have misunderstood. Do you mean that there are some 1983 Telecasters with USA bullet necks on them?


Supposedly there were some Fenders made in early 1983 that had Bullet necks and Tele bodies - but they were considered Bullets, not Telecasters and only made because Fender found a stash of unused Bullet necks and had some left-over Tele bodies (of the style used on "regular" Teles from about 1972-1982). I've never seen one either in person or in photos.

And there were USA Bullets with Strat-shaped bodies in 1982 - but only 1982; in 1983 they became MIJ Squiers.


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