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Sorry if this has been discussed before, but all the talk of the relative success of Asian archtops had me thinking about the possibility that solid body guitars might also prove decent in quality. Does anyone have anything good or bad to say about inexpensive solid bodies? I'm assuming that any factory guitar in the $200-400 range is going to need an electronics do-over as well as a proper set up and fret levelling. I can do all that myself so the question is, is there a marked difference in fit, finish and feel between these cheaper guitars and ones costing $1000+? Has anyone changed the electronics, done a good set up, and found cheaper guitars sounding and playing just as well as more expensive ones?
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06-25-2015 11:43 AM
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Road Worn tele. Used. Set of 11's, Bob's your uncle.
I hope Tim doesn't mind me posting this. He's a fave of mine and pretty much nails everything in this video.
The earlier ones had somewhat larger necks from what I've seen. Mine's a 2008. Slightly chunky.
Best bang for the buck IMO. The necks feel great if you get a good one.
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I bought a Squier Affinity Tele about five years ago. I had to look at a half dozen of them to find one that didn't have significant problems (twisted necks, etc.). Out of the box I put .012s on it, adjusted the nut for playability and set up the action, relief, etc. Plugged it in, rolled off the tone about halfway and voila! Instant jazz Tele.
Of course I couldn't leave well enough alone. It's a sickness. The neck was too narrow so I got a Warmoth 1 3/4" neck, then I changed the pickups and electrics, shielded it, etc. It sounds great- I get compliments every time I play it out- and the thinner lighter body is nice for standing with a strap. I just bought a mahogany and maple Tele body and a Vintage Vibe CC pickup from a forum member, so that will replace the Affinity body in the near future. Then it will be like my grandfather's axe that has had two heads and three handles over the years...
All that being said, the sound of the thing basically stock was really very good. If the neck had been wider I probably wouldn't have messed with anything. But once I started, it was a slippery slope. I'll put all the original stuff back together once I get the new body finished and assembled
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^^ cool! are you still using the same hardware? bridge plate and tuners still working for you?
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Went to GC about 18 months ago during a 20% off sale to look for a tele. Had a budget of about $800, was thinking maybe a baja or MIM, but played all 30 teles in the store just for comparison sake.
I went home with a Squier standard for $180 as the guitar of my choice. I haven't done a single mod or tweak, just change strings. The honeymoon still isn't over, it's all I've played since I got it. 3-4 times a week, gigs, rehearsals, jazz, blues, funk, country, big band, there's not a thing I can't use it for.
The only question is why I didn't do it 40 years ago.Last edited by cosmic gumbo; 06-26-2015 at 02:58 AM.
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BT, basswood isn't a bad wood for a solid bodied guitar. The grain is a bit non-descript which is why it's mostly used for solid colours.
Gutherie Govan's Charvel prototype is basswood
Basswood is found throughout the world and is readily available which means it is cheap! This is why it's used for lower priced guitars.
I wouldn't worry about wood tones this-swamp ash that, all the descisions Leo made about selecting wood was purely for money reasons and availability. After all he was an engineer first.
Cosmic Gumbo has proven that you can walk away from a music store/shop with a peach of a guitar for little coin.
I always check the necks on Fender types for straightness of grain, IMHO it adds to stability.
Check this out...
It's a bit cheesy but it plainly shows there is little difference in playability of all Fender/Squier Tele's.
So don't get hung up on wood and price=quality mindset as you will give yourself a headache!
Tele's are the modders delight!
Good luck
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I posted it before already, hope I'm not getting boring, but here goes:
Fender's Modern Player line (made in China) is very good IMHO. I have a Modern Player Thinline P90 body that I got for $200 off eBay and put a Squier Rosewood neck (I think from the Classic Vibe series), slammed some .012 flatwounds on it and the result is simly wow! For that money you can't get a better jazz-Tele i think. The P90s are even more than decent and electronics feel and look solid (normal sized Alpha pots and a good switch).
With a fellow student of my jazz school we went out to buy her a Tele and after comparing lots of lower budget Tele's we ended up with the same Modern Player Thinline P90 as the best sounding for jazz (they come only with maple fretboards, but the diffence in sound that made compared to mine with the rosewood neck is neglectible).
So I would promote the Fender MIC Modern Player Thinline P90 as great low budget Tele for jazz!Last edited by Little Jay; 06-26-2015 at 08:59 AM.
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There's a lot of love all over the internet (bulletin boards, customer reviews, etc.) for Squier Teles, and especially for the Classic Vibe and Vintage Modified series. But as Cunamara and cosmic gumbo demonstrate above, there's also plenty of love for the Affinity and Standard series. For example, it's quite common for folks to state that they actually prefer their Classic Vibe Squiers--in terms of both finish and playability--over their Fender MIM Teles, and even their Fender American Teles. And the top-of-the-line Classic Vibes regularly sell brand-new for $325-350 (or about $50 off of the MAP of $380-400). And given that they're actually Fender products, parts interchangeability and the ability to easily modify are maximized. For example, the bodies of all Classic Vibe models are routed at the factory to accept a humbucker in the neck position, should you ever want to change to one. Given the value and the Fender lineage and "DNA," it's hard to find a better brand of Tele-style guitar that regularly sells brand-new in the mid-$300 for the top-of-the-line models.
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Think I might head off to the local GC this weekend.
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Be sure to check out the Squire site to see all the current models (you can specify a particular series, such as Classic Vibe or Vintage Modified, in the upper left):
Originally Posted by TedBPhx
Telecaster | Squier Electric Guitars | Squier by Fender®
Brick and mortar GCs generally don't stock or display many of the models--in fact, posters were commenting recently on one of the Tele forums that they hadn't seen a Classic Vibe on display in a GC for quite some time. But they're all available from the larger internet retailers (including GC, MF, Sweetwater, etc.) with liberal return policies if you aren't satisfied (and Sweetwater, of course, lets you see photos of and actually pick out the specific guitar you order). Just be sure to call and ask for a discount--10-15% is pretty standard from these large internet retailers, if they're not already running some sort of sale or promotion.Last edited by Wes Fan; 06-26-2015 at 11:31 AM.
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Yep, my Jazz Tele choice is a Squier classic vibe 60's... Originally Posted by Wes Fan
Over the top shielding by yours truly!
Vintage vibe CC Rider in humbucker size + 5 way switch mod = sonic ambrosiaLast edited by jazzbow; 06-26-2015 at 11:47 AM.
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Squier Classic Vibe owner here ... and extremely pleased with it. I got it for $260 on TGP, put a cheap bridge on with brass saddles, changed the nut to black tusq, electrosocket, and swapped the pickups w/ a new black pickguard. I really enjoy playing it. The setup was great. The neck is comfy. The fit and finish are awesome. The stock tuners and electronics are good quality. I can't imagine paying thousands of dollars and getting a better guitar.
I end up swapping between a Mojotron (Filtertron from Mojo UK) and an EMG H1 in the neck every other month.
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I should have said "if you ever want to change to a humbucker-size pickup." Originally Posted by jazzbow
Would love to hear how that sounds, if you ever feel like posting a video or recording.
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I haven't finished modding it. The original Squier bridge pickup is good but it's no match for the vintage vibe CCR. Originally Posted by Wes Fan
I should have said "if you ever want to change to a humbucker-size pickup."
Would love to hear how that sounds, if you ever feel like posting a video or recording.
I'm after a G&L classic. When it's all done I will post a thread and tunes.
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Years ago I bought a USACG custom fender neck. You can (or at least at the time could) spec everything on the neck. I spec'd a 25" scale 1 23/32" nut, compound radius, fatback with really moderate taper. It plays with low even action right up to the last fret. You can play stretchy chords anywhere on the fingerboard.
I go from guitar to guitar with it; just buying the body, or a complete guitar and selling the neck on ebay. I have had it on a jazzmaster, a strat, and currently on a black road worn 60s tele with a CC neck pup, changing the guitars just for fun. It's best to buy used; ideally from someone who has put expensive USA electronics on a chinese guitar, and knows that they have to take a loss on the deal.
If the neck and electronics are high end, the body wood does not matter.
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Reverb always has partscaster from guys buying Warmouth "seconds". Once in a while you can find ones cut out from old barn doors.
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you know, I never thought in those terms for solid bodies. I always just assumed the body and neck had their own important and equal sonic functions, but really how the guitar feels, how the strings lay, the subtleties of sustain and decay, attack, speed, even reasonance mostly come from the neck and the bridge hardware. Pickups give you the amplified tone but the body kind of serves as a balast for weight distribution, ergonomics and aesthetics. Originally Posted by nopedals
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I have several cheap Teles. My favorite, and main electric, is a blonde FSR Ash Mexi-Tele, maple fretboard, 3 barrel brass bridge. Lollar Special-T neck and J-Street bridge.
Fender Special Edition Deluxe Ash Telecaster | GuitarCenter
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Oroginal bridge plate and saddles, pickguard and body. Everything else has been replaced (and is in a box). Originally Posted by BigToe
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In the last few years, until I went 100% hollow body, I've owned only inexpensive solid bodies. I learned long ago that you don't have to drop ridiculous ammounts of cash for a great tone. Squier has done a great job getting quality sound in a low budget instrument. The affinity Tele and the strat are great. You might want to overhaul it but it isn't necessary. The most expensive solid body that I recently had in my collection was a MIM strat; toward the end of my solid body stint, I preferred the stock squire strat over the MIM. I don't know exactly why, or if any other squire would be the same way, but "that" one was everything I needed in a solid body.
Even now I'm sometimes tempted to look at the Gibson semi's and HB's but I've yet to find a Gibson that will do things or that even sounds better than my Epi Sharaton or my Ibanez ak85. So now I play an Epi and Ibanez through a Peavey Basic 50 with a Boss GT10 and I'm set with the best tone so far in my 25 years of playing.
There was also an earlier post about tonewoods. People often associate wood with sound quality and that is off base. In my time as a builder, I've realized that the wood provides sound "characteristic"; workmanship, electronics and THE PLAYER determine the sound "quality". There is a stigma with Basswood because it's inexpensive wood thus making it more economic for inexpensive models but that in no way indicates that the sound quality it produces is bad. I like it because it's light and has a nice low-end register. Don't look as wood first, play the guitar and see how it feels and how it makes you feel when you play it, the rest is just minutiae.
Yes, I strayed slightly off of the solid body topic but the point being: Great sound doesn't require lots and lots of money.
-Happy PlayingLast edited by mattm; 06-30-2015 at 11:34 AM.
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The ultimate in cheap flexibility is the Peavey Generation EXP with ACM. The ACM is an acoustic modeling circuit that sounded better than my 80s Ovation balladeer. The electric side has three pickups with 5 way switch to provide three single coil option and two humbucker options. The coils sounds great IMO.
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OK. I know these are apples and oranges, but I wondered if anyone was familiar enough with these or similar:
Squier Vintage Modified Telecaster Custom - 3-tone Sunburst | Sweetwater.com
Squier Vintage Modified '72 Tele Thinline - 3-Color Sunburst, Maple | Sweetwater.com
I started off looking at just getting a classic vibe and started looking at these models with humbuckers. They're pretty different, I know, but are similarly priced. Don't know that I'd be able to find these particular models locally to try out.
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Not quite in the $200 range but they can be found in the $4-600 range.
I picked up a G&L Tribute (import) Bluesboy almost a year ago. Set up nicely out of the box, well done fret ends, etc. I was going to swap pups but grew to like the ones it came with. I swapped out the pots and output jack right away... might not have needed to, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. The humbucker sounds quite good although I do have a CC I'll try in there if I ever sell the guitar it's currently in.
Mine looks like this but I only spent $400 at GC with an old pedal trade-in. I don't love the color but it plays and sounds great for not much $ and the hollow body keeps the weight down. Note these have slender necks.Last edited by AlohaJoe; 12-12-2015 at 08:32 PM.
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The Squier VM Custom is pretty nice. I got one for my boy over a year ago, he plays rock on it but when I pick it up it can produce a jazzy tone.
I haven't tried the thinline or classic vibe yet.
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Why skip $500-$900 range. That is where all the used American Standard Telecasters are. Why waste time on copies when you can have the real thing? Originally Posted by BigToe
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