disappointed in current stratocaster models

I was dead set against every kind of fretboard except Rosewood and Maple... Then I bought a Bullet Mustang with Indian Laurel. I gambled and it's great. I got a Ibanez RG with Jatoba wood fb. It's a Wizard III neck. It's amazing.

 

I love mine, sorry you got burned, should have taken it bake and picked up a good one. Did you buy new or used?

VM70s Indo!


CV70s Indo!

 

It's good to know what you like and what you don't. The "reason" doesn't matter -- i.e., it need not be justified to others. Only to one's self.

Nothing on your list would in and of itself make me reject a guitar, unless I played it and found it personally wanting.

What's odd is that any Strat is to me "wanting." Fender. Squier. No name brand. The shape. The controls position. None work for me. But Squier Teles? I've yet to find one I don't like. And the VM offsets are to me shear bliss.

Again, that's just me. Interesting differences though, no?

-don

 

That's the beauty of the free market system; if enough people share a similar opinion for long enough and stop buying, Fender will need to reassess the Squier line, or certain models in the line, and see what they can do to improve upon things.

Either that or another maker's guitars around the same price point will start getting more business.

I'm in favor of replacing employees with capital then putting the money saved back into the product, but every company has their methods.

If guitarists are unwilling to pay what the owners of many other types of instruments do then there's no getting away from the possibility of occasional dips in in quality, construction, and materials, in my observation.

 

The items you mention fretboard wood and body wood, if you are just concerned about the wood type go here https://www.guitarfetish.com/Factory-Buyout-Clearance-Sale_c_410.html but Chinese electronics, and over all workmanship is like everything else they produce over rated and most of it is just good for spare parts.

Here in NY City the pawn shops are full of cheep Chinese Strats for little money and you can see just after a few years the thing falls apart. Frets loose, fretboard cracking.

Like I said buy new from Fender, if you get a “bad” one they take it right back.

 

If ya arent liking the new stuff ya might wanna spend some spare time uploading images of Japanese Squiers from the 80's into your brain... Ive seen folks from your parts of Europe just get crazy deals on old MIJ Squiers and post threads about them on this site. Seems that sometimes there just isn't the massive group of people ready to pounce on a used Squier like there is over here. I forget what his name was but the guy lived pretty close to where you are. And must have scored like 5 or 6 old early JV Squiers for like 250 bucks or less per pop. He was finding one like every 6 months or so... For almost nothin...

 

So much depends on how things are used and cared for.

No offense, but people who put things into 'hock' often have what can kindly be called a 'care free' approach to much of life.

None of my 5 Squiers has had any failures. Not one.

The oldest -- an Affinity Tele -- dates from `04. It has been played enough that the bare wood is showing in some areas of the maple fingerboard. It is as "good" now as the day I got it 15 years ago.

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And mind you it has been not only played, but out on a stand in a non temperature or humidity controlled space for all that time. Never cased.

-don

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Flaws? Do you not like these characteristics because you've tried them?

These are my relevant guitars...

I have a 2018 MII Bullet in Sparkle Red. I had a 2018 MII in Seafoam Green. I have a 2015 MIC in pink.

These are my relevant opinions...

Bullet:
- Basswood. It's guitar wood. A bazillion basswood guitars, especially shredder guitars.
- Cheap tuners. They are, they're sloppy and annoying. Strung correctly, they work fine.
- Body size. A fraction thinner. Doesn't matter. Sometimes too shallow for a standard switch.

Affinity:
- Small nut. I switch between my fat-necked Baja 50s Tele and my Affinity Strat.
- String spacing. The same, and I play cowboy chords.

Standard:
- Agathis body. Guitar wood. It's a connifer like the pine they used in MIC CV 50s Teles.

Contemporary:
- 12 inch radius. You like it or you don't. I don't.
- Colored headstock. You like it or you don't. I do.

Indonesian CV's:
- Weird body wood. None of it is weird. It's all guitar wood.
- Nato. One of a dozen close cousins of mahogany. Lots of "mahogany" guitars are nato.
- Pine. What they've made those great MIC CV 50s Teles out of since the mid-2000s.
- Poplar. My favorite guitar is a poplar '97 Fender James Burton Standard Tele.

Take time and observe as the new stuff gets bought, played, and posted about, fellow member. As these guitars are released, and taken for "shakedown" cruises by their owners, and initial manufacturing issues are resolved, things will be clearer. Please don't be hasty to judge features without trying them. Play on!

 

I just got an Indonesian CV 70s Strat, and although a few things aren't as nice as the Chinese CV ones (bridge saddles, vibrato action, pickup covers, switch), for the most part it's just as nice, and there are some things I actually prefer (neck profile and playability, pickups, overall sound quality). It does feel a little cheaper than a Chinese CV, so it's maybe more like a VM, but like a VM, I prefer the slightly beefier neck, non tinted gloss finish on the neck, and lighter weight. And, I don't know if it's the poplar body, the new pickups, or a combination of both, but I love the sound of this guitar. It has the same overall tonal balance of alder, but seems a bit warmer and sweeter, more delicate, and more expressive and dynamic than my Chinese CV 60s Strat, without the sometimes strident and brittle sound that alder can have. Since I got it I can't put it down, and it really seems to bring out the best from all my favorite overdrive pedals. The IL looks a little light and dry, but, after I oil it, it may look nicer. And, like PF, it feels a little harder under my fingers than rosewood, but might sound a little closer to rosewood than PF, which to me has a slightly brighter and harder tone than rosewood. We'll see if I'm still just as much in love after the honeymoon ends.

 

If you didn't know the label of wood from which they are made, would you care? I am lusting after a new Standard with the Indian Laurel fret board. In truth, I seldom press hard enough to feel the wood, but for reasons unknown, certain fret boards feel physically cold to me.

 

Sometimes I wish there were a "Lust" button.
Those two make me drool.

 

I too have had zero quality issues with any Squier I've owned, one going back to 1999. As far as body wood goes, magnets don't pick up how wood sounds. If you start talking acoustic guitars, thats a different story. It's meaningless on electrics. Then why does "so and so" use "such and such"? To justify cost, to make you think you're getting something super special.

In the end though, its your cash...you do you. Personally, I'd rather have a bunch of cash in the bank than a flashy name.

 

I guess I am not good enough player to really see a difference. About the only guitar I have that I cant deal with is a mim squier with trap tunners. It just will not stay in tune. But even that doesnt bother me to much.

 

I have a VM Jaguar, but that is about top end for me. I'm very satisfied with my NC Squier Strats, P-Bass and my YN Tele & YN P-Bass Special. They will do far more than I'm able. As far as age, all NC/YN's are at least 22 years old. NONE are falling apart, body, fretboard, electronics, tuners, pickups, etc. I have Chinese & Indonesian Squiers. All are serviceable, but I do prefer the Yako built Chinese.

We just have to hope it doesn't rain in NYC or GA or there might be a drowning. Shame.

 

Both my Squier strats were made over 10 years ago. Nothing's fallen off , or broken, in fact they tough as nails and look in showroom condition, I do baby them a bit but they both had previous owners and no issues whatsoever

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Thanks

 

Correction- I mistakenly said that my new CV 70s Strat has tone control on all 3 pickups (since corrected). In true vintage fashion there is no tone control on the bridge pickup.

 

I'm down to three Squiers at the moment: a Bullet and two NC's. I think I've owned over a hundred Squiers over the past two - three years. I've tried lots.

I've tried the upper tier Squiers. None stuck. CV, VM, Contemporary. None felt like I wanted them to feel.

But I'm always on the lookout for more NC's ... and the occasional Standard. Hoping for some pre-holiday panic sales.