New Squier SSH 3C$ Tele, and Thinline... WOW!

[Tony Prior]

and I also said;

"Now I know I'm right..when it comes to "MY" opinion.. (laughing allowed right here )"


The arguement has never been whether you can play better or worse on brand X or brand Y..but the fact still remains, Fender Heads still come up to the bandstand and talk Strats or Tele's..but so far I have not run into any Korean or Chinese SQUIRE Heads.

When I, we, any of us ,go to Guitar shows , you can always run into someone who has some cool Fender Guitars, and you can talk experiences with that person for hours..the ones you found, the great ones you had, the ones you let get away..all that stuff..including the ones you still have...

The arguement is not and has not ever been about what guitars you play better on...I also have two very nice Korean born Guitars , they just don't happen to be Telecasters.

A month or two back I was in driving thru a very small town in SC and I noticed a very small Guitar Shop. I stopped in and got to talkin' with the guy running the place, who was about my age. Next thing you know he goes to the back and comes back with a 57 Strat and from there he and I sat and talked Fenders stories for about 2 hours , even had coffee, even jammed a few tunes together.

thats what I am talking about....

Now that may not be a lifestyle but it is not a choice of Guitars either.

Over the past 4 decades,even up to current days, I have a whole basket full of Fender stories/experiences..just like countless others.

Like I said, playing nice Fenders is not just about playing Guitars...the "playing" part is only part of the picture.

It's also my understanding that there are a few around here that have a handful of old PP's..or Sho-buds..and won't play anything else. Is that a choice or a lifestyle ? Who can say...

ok, here's one story from abround '99 or 2000 which my daughter will verify, she was with me..

I went to a show in SC with a USA B-Bender, I decided to let it go, it was way to heavy. I wanted another Strat. At the show I saw the Strat I wanted but the guy did not want to trade ,so..off I went around the room..I traded the B-bender for another USA Tele, then traded that for another USA Strat, then SOLD that USA Strat and bought the Strat I wanted and still had a $20 bill in my pocket when it was all said and done ! The two Strats were California Lone Star Strats, they had a Humbucker in the bridge position. The one I ended up with was Black with a tortoise shell guard..(It matched my 62 J-bass) the one I sold was Sunburst...My daughter (11 or 12 at the time) was lauging all the way home, she said she had more fun just being part of the negotiations..We still talk about that day now and then...Now SHE has a Fender story too !

I have since sold that Black Strat on EBAY...and thats yet another story...

tp

[Eric West]

Well anyhow..

I got one...

I haven't EVER seen a better finished fretboard, and that's no &*^%. I don't know how or why they make them like that.

By the way, it's Made in India. I guess they have prisons there too...

I got it right out of the box, and tried it next to my GLASAT. One of those 1000$ Fender all tube amps (which BTW I better keep away from, or I'll buy one..)

It didn't have any more "punch" than the GL MFD pickups, (not many do) but the miniHM at the neck was hotter and a slight bit bolder. I'd say a little more clarity than my ASAT, but just a hair.

Also the middle pickup isn't appearantly "out of phase" with the bridge, because the two together sounded just thinner. Not "stratty" like the "mid/bridge" did. If swapping a couple leads doesn't get me there I have a really hot "'51 Squier" mid that I'll slap in it.

It's unbelievable what I got for 300$. "gig bag" too. Portland Music is still a good place to deal with. I bought my first Federico Garcia there 40 years ago. (Seems like 50..)

The Squier logo is in gold flake, the finish is beautiful thick gloss, with not a SINGLE little minute "pinhole" anywhere. The tuners are standable, but will probably get "planet wave lockers". Maybe even another Hipshot Drop D. They also dropped the "by", before Fender Telecaster". Not a single edge on a single fret, and not a single one up, down, or hammered.

Quarter sawn, perfect grain, and it looked more "birdseye" than "figured". You can read a dollar bill in the reflection of the fretboard. ( of course I've memorized what it says on them anyhow..)

Pix of closeup details that blew me away when I get a chance.

The 'rep/consultant' that I'd talked to in a local store said that they were "moving the squiers up". With this rig, I can see they certainly are..

Other than putting a set of 11s on it and taking the slots down just a hair on the nut, I didn't have to touch anything including the intonation, to my surprise. As close to "specs" as my feeler guages can tell. Maybe I'll pull the neck straighter a titch when it settles in. It had .09s on it. (Still at fender specs.)



Now to hide it out for a while...



EJL

[Greg Cutshaw]

Eric,

You are costing me a lot of dough these days. After buying the G&L blueburst (you made me do it) and reading your post here, I just bought the tele SSH and of course another stand to put it on. Well, anyhow, I didn't have a BLACK tele so now I do. So many great economical choices in instruments, this is a great era for guitar pickers.

Greg

[Eric West]

I'm playing it again this morning and I STILL can't believe that neck. My ASAT Tribute neck looks like cottonwood next to it. I did actually find a SMALL wrinkle in the finish just below the nut, but there's no way to see it if you don't look REAL close. Still havent found a rough edge on a fret or the slightest fret irregularity.

Next, I'm going to post questions on how to set it up like Brent Mason's setup, since it has similar pickups.

Also letting the neck set in with the .011s on it and see if it changes. Maybe one flat on an allen wrench eventually like my ASAT.

If you aren't careful, I'll post a link to that all tube Fender amp I tried it through. Actually just because of the mood I'm in today...

You can kiss another Grand Goodbye.. HEHEeheheehe.....

Well it's off to "Pergo Hell" in the Kitchen.

I'll see if I can get a "BM Config Conversion" thread going with some of these guitar wizards here.

Funny, I've gotten more info here than on the Telecaster Forum.

Anyhow, Greg.

There are things that are more important than money, but then you know that..



EJL

[Donny Hinson]

The magic is in your brain, not the brand of guitar or where it's made.

Oh no!!! You mean there's two of us now???

[David Mason]

The magic is in your brain, not the brand of guitar or where it's made.

This kind of inflammatory bearbaiting would seem to imply that a major infusion of cold hard cash can not overcome a profound lack of talent & practice & perseverence. What a poopy-head.

[Dennis Schell]

I bought a Squier Strat when they first appeared in the 80's. (Canadian price was $599 if I remember...) I was AMAZED at what a good axe that "cheap copy" was. I'd still be playing it if someone hadn't ripped it off...

Recently, my daughter has shown an interest in playing and so bought an "Indonesian" Squire Strat from a friend of her's. After a half hour of setup it's a fine guitar to start on. Much better than the U1 Danelectro I started with in the early 60's!

I recently heard a "demo" of a Squier "Vintage 51" on YouTube and with my previous Squier experience had no qualms about ordering one to mess with. (They're hard to find now that they're discontinued) When it shows up, I'll post an impression....

FWIW, I've seen a lot of "real" Fender guitars over the years that were no better than the "cheap" Squire line. In fact some "real Fenders" I wouldn't even bother to bring home! (Especially during the 70's)

Dennis
(who's first Fender in a long line of them was a '64 sunburst Tele....)

[Leslie Ehrlich]

In fact some "real Fenders" I wouldn't even bother to bring home! (Especially during the 70's)

Fender electrics built from about 1976 to 1979 were especially bad.

[Tony Prior]

Give all them bad Fenders to me, I'll take them home

[Tony Prior]

Eric, I think the Tele forum is full of younger members who were not around when Fender was good, then it was bad, then it was ok, then it was good again..

The first thing they do when they get home from GC with a new guitar is join the Tele forum, thats not a bad thing by the way...

Over here we are a bunch of old dogs who can't remember where we layed our car keys down, but we remember the 50's, 60's and 70's like they were yesterday , along with all the Instruments from the era..

I was reading the MF flyer today, Gibson has reissued the Melody Maker for $399...that was my first electric back in the 60's...I may get one just to look at it !

[Eric West]

Actually TP I did find a glitch in the "Indian Nashville".

The M/B combination sounds like it's in series, and I've been so busy I haven't had time to take it down and trace everything out.

It's got "stacked" PUs, and I'm not sure how they "phase", if that's the word. I've got an email out to Deaf Eddie, if he gets to it. No schematics on the FS website yet.

Another advancement is the nylon string acoustics. The guitar player I worked with on a casino gig this weekend has a 300$ Acoustic electric that a few years ago you couldn't get a plain guitar that good for 3 bills.( I want to say "ramirez", but it was something like that. Not the Ramirezes I remember..)

Gotta run. Another 13 hr day, and about a dozen listens to "smokin section". BTW I saw your name on the credits.



EJL

[Greg Cutshaw]

My Squier SSH finally arrived. It DOES have a MIRROR finish on the fretboard and it's extremely light compared to the Fender Nashville Telecaster. Mine has no sharp frets at all and the setup and intonation is good enough to play as is, no adjustments! Between the Fender Nashville Tele, the G&L blueburst and the SSH I really don't have a preference. They are all great guitars, but the SSH is only $300 and it has by far the best finish and workmanship of the 3 guitars.

Greg

[Dennis Schell]

Over here we are a bunch of old dogs who can't remember where we layed our car keys down, but we remember the 50's, 60's and 70's like they were yesterday , along with all the Instruments from the era..

Yep.

I'm finding in my advanced age that I still have a really good memory, it's just much shorter than it used to be....

(Now, where the hell did those keys get to?)

Dennis

[Jim Peters]

More food for thought: I own a Nashville Tele, paid 350 for it, I haven't changed a thing on it in 5 years. I own a black ash stew-mac Tele that I built, best sounding guitar I own, mini at the bridge, 2 stacked single sized mid and bridge, ash body, strat neck.
I am a big believer and buyer of inexpensive guitars like MIM Teles, and Godin(especially). However...
A week ago I bought a used 97 American Standard Tele, Light bluish green(Inca gold?), with extra pickup(SD lil 59). This guitar seriously out Teles the MABA(made anywhere but America) Teles, at least 50 that I played in the last 2 weeks, while out shopping. I have returned it to bone stock, stainless powder bridge and everything else as it was made. The previous owner had acid sweat and every last screw was rusty, so I polished everything back as good as I could, leveled and recrowned the frets, it is truly a great Tele for the grand sum of 400 bucks!
Now Eric, to adjust those Tele/Strat PU's, pick neck or bridge 1st, adjust it how you like it, lower=more treble, higher= more punch and mids. Then adjust the middle PU to whicheverone you just did for maximum "quack". Adjust the last one(either bridge or neck, depending on where you started) for maximum quack with the middle one. If you don't like the sound of the last PU, you can change it's height, with some loss of quack. Pickup height is MOST critical for the quack factor. I love Brent style Tele's, and although I bought this new one to "Masonize", it sounds so good stock, I'm gonna leave it be.
Like the looks of the new Cedar top Tele, but the one I played just didn't have "it".
Good luck with yours, JimP

[Eric West]

JP. I'm with you and others on most everything I've read here. I feel a special love for SHo~BUds, notwithstanding the lousy ones I've seen, and the birdsht welds that are their hallmark..

Now.. The SSH Quack-mire:

What I found was that like the first one that I saw and played at Portland Music, the M/B position delivered a MUCH thinner sound than it should have, less than either soley, and I had a thought that it might be the wiring from the Madras India Factory.

Sure enough, the second one, (which I bought) did the same thing.

I got an email from Deaf Eddie on the TDPRI that I should try switching the leads on the bridge PU, and sure enough..

It Quacks in the second position, just like my couple nice "strats" ( one a 'wayne II' and one a Squier).

I sent word up the line, and I'm sure they'll be wiring them differently as time goes by. I'm told that Guilds, and even some Fenders would sometimes come from the factory that way.

Anyhow, I'd like to look into one of those BM "Duplex" Bridge PUs to clean up the lower strings, but I doubt if I'll do a complete Masonic Induction on this one.

I'll just play it for a while...

Maybe through a VK 112 if Seymour cuts me a good deal on one.

<:0)

EJL

[Tony Prior]

This guitar seriously out Teles the MABA(made anywhere but America) Teles,

ah hah Finally !

This is not to say there are not some nice other than MABA Teles out there, because there are..but like brother Jim so elequently states..the nicer ones..and probably 3x the price ones..have good ole' USA dust on them before they pack em' in the crates and send em' to market.

Last week, after about 5 years, I finally stuck a pair of Noiseless on my 89/52RI, they have been sitting on my Music desk in the little plastic box for well over a year now.

I have always thought this Tele was special, now it's special and Noisless ! Just a tad less hi end bright but I normally roll back the treble a tad anyway. I think the overall tones for front and back PUPS is seriously improved with the new Noisless pups over the stock vintage pups.

I also added the "TONY" wire to this guitar and to 2 or 3 of my bandmates Teles last week. It's a ground wire from underneath the chrome bridge plate ( mechanical connection under one of the mounting screws) and is soldered to one of the POT bodies( hard ground) in the control area. Say goodnight to that annoying hum that Tele's are so known for.

If you decide to add the "TONY" wire use a very small guage wire and strip it back a just enough so it does not cause the bridge plate to be raised.What I did was to TIN the stripped part( solder) and then flaten it down as best as possible with the needle nose . Make a small loop at the end where it will sit under the plate mounting screw.

Magic !( silence)



Matt plugged in his 52RI last Saturday ( after the TONY wire addition) and looked at me and then I got my big reward...

he said I was a "genious"...

of course he's only 21 and knows nothing about life on the planet other than Tele pickin', but the genious part may be accurate

My #2 Tele is a MIM 50's classic, but it doesn't really compare to the #1. But it looks real nice

tp

[Mike Perlowin RIP]

Numero uno. If I could only have 1 guitar, this would be it. Made in Fullerton in 1968, right after CBS took over, and probably from old pre- CBS parts.




New Ravenwest semi-hollow variation. This picture came from a catalog, but my guitar looks exactly like it.




Music Man Sabre (with active electronics) made by Leo Fender. Arguably the best guitar he ever made.




New Ravenwest neck through Tele. This too is a catalog picture.





Squire Tele converted to a mandocello. I call it “The Mandocellocaster,”

[Jim Peters]

OK, here is a short clip of my Nashville Tele, thru a tubescreamer and SF Deluxe. This is bridge middle, treble rolled back 1/4 turn,my favorite solo tone. Hit the link, go to Nashville Tele, JP

http://www.swirlband.com/songs.html

[Ken Lang]

Here's an old picture of myself with an original Goldtop, and a couple friends.

To bad I didn't keep that guitar, it would be worth a ton of money now.

[Jim Peters]

Tony, which PUP are you regrounding, neck or brige? Which noiseless PUPs are you using? Thanks, JP

[Tony Prior]

I'm grounding the chrome BRIDGE plate and the PUPS are the FENDER Telecaster Noisless.

These PUPS are standard issue in the American Deluxe Telecasters.

Interestingly, the specifications for these PUps
refer to them as Vintage Noiseless...

Uhhmm..
Vintage and Noisless...at the same time ...????

Is that kinda like a stock 1952 Chevy with factory Air , powered leather seats ,CD player and a Sun Roof
?

These pups are well worth the cash...several of my certified nuts tele player pals have these in ALL of there tele's...and now I fully understand why.

[Stephen Gambrell]

I've got an American Deluxe Tele, and it's my understanding that the Noiseless pickups are actually humbuckers, voiced to sound like single-coils. Whatever, THEY WORK!!!! Sounds like a Tele, and I really like the fat guy cutout on the back .

[Eric West]

Actually the Duncan Design Bridge and Mid PUs in the SSH are "stacked" (humbuckers, from my understanding), and the neck of course is a mini HB. I'll find out at the Truck Stop tonite, as it's a "buzzy" place. I did notice a copper plate under the bridge.

Also the inspection tag on the SSH says "Harmony Musical Instruments" in Madras. Strange. I wonder how many other instruments they farm out.

Anyhow, it's right up there with my GLT..

Gotta run.. you know the drill..



EJL

[Stephen Gambrell]

Boy, bringing up an old thread!!!
I just got my Squier SSH Tele yesterday, and all I can say, is WOW ! Eric, the've fixed the wiring (at least on my guitar), the finish on the guitar is TOO white, and I'm gonna put a 5-hole pickguard (white) on it. But the neck? One of the best necks I've ever felt! No jagged frets, they're all level, the intonation was dead on---Man, this is a KILLER guitar, not for the 250 bucks I paid for it (new!), but it's a killer guitar---PERIOD! Dudes and dudettes, if you want a great guitar, and don't have a lot of money to spend, get one of these. And if you DO have a lot of money to spend, get one of these, and a Vox amp! You will not be disappointed!

[Mike Perlowin RIP]

Congrats on the new guitar Stephen. I guess you could call it a belated birthday present.

Fender isn't just a guitar manufacturer. It's a cultural icon in a way that no other company (except maybe Gibson) will ever be. Nobody is ever going to tell stories about their PRS or Anderson. Certainly not about their Asian knock off.

As I said earlier, if I could only have one guitar, I'd keep the tele.