Older Squier guitars worth getting
There are a few older Squier models out there that are actually pretty cool if you can find them in good shape...
...with emphasis on if. Most Squier guitar owners do not treat their guitars well. Most do either a) beat the crap out of them or b) not play them for months or years before finally parting with it. However, sometimes you'll come across one that's in decent condition.
At this point in electric guitar history there's now a whole swath of guitars from when Squier reinvented itself (more or less) in the 2000s. In '04 the Vintage Modified Series was launched and in '08 the Classic Vibe Series came into existence. Those two series of guitars that still exist to this day is what make guitarists - myself included - take notice.
Here are a few that are no longer made that are worth picking up if you can find them.
Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster Special
Top-loading Jazzmaster with no vibrato system at all, concentric controls and a Stratocaster "football" output jack. 25.5" scale length. Decent guitar to own if you want an uncomplicated Jazzmaster that has the tone without all the extra electronic and vibrato bits.
Squier Vintage Modified Telecaster Special
I regret not buying this new when I had the chance. It's a Tele with a Jazzmaster neck and a Jazzmaster front pickup. This is one I actually played in person. It played and sounded very nice.
This only came in butterscotch with the black guard. No other color was ever offered.
Squier Vintage Modified Tele Custom II
This is another I regret not buying. Love the headstock treatment and love the big P90 single-coil pickups. I'm not a fan of the skirted amp knobs but that's forgivable here. And the vintage white (looks yellow) looks simply amazing.
Squier Simon Neil Stratocaster
This is basically a Squier Classic Vibe '60s Stratocaster with one exception. It's Fiesta Red. It is as far as I know the only Classic Vibe Strat (arguably the best Strat Squier makes) to ever come in this finish, and that's what makes it worth getting if you can find one in good shape.
To note, this is not an easy Strat to locate. It was a very limited run and I've never seen one in person. But it did exist.
NOT out-of-production, as it's still being made new at the time I write this. This is the only Squier Strat made that has the satin urethane neck finish just like the Mexico and USA made Fender Strats. It's also the only Squier Strat that has the modern 2-post bridge with brushed saddles.
Want to know why you never see this model in a guitar store? It's because it sells real quick. Guys who know Squier Strats know this is one of the best out there. It has almost every appointment that a USA Fender model has at a bargain basement price. Is this "the ultimate sleeper Squier Strat?" For the moment, yes it is.
This is an older model but totally worth getting if you have the cash for it. You won't be disappointed.
Fender Classic Player Jaguar Special makes an appearance with the pau ferro fretboard
The Fender Classic Player Jaguar Special is a weird Jag, and now it comes with the pau ferro fretboard.
As I mentioned a little while back, Mexico-made Fender guitars are now featuring fingerboards in pau ferro wood material. On the 3-color sunburst Classic Player Jag, the look works. On other body colors (like black) it doesn't, but the 3TSB carries it nicely.
As for why the Classic Player series Jag is an oddball, it's for 3 reasons.
First is the Adjust-O-Matic bridge. In this Jag setup, it's basically a floating Les Paul style bridge with edge saddles instead of the traditional grooved Jaguar/Jazzmaster saddles.
Second, the vibrato system is physically positioned closer to the bridge, making the length of the string from bridge-to-plate significantly shorter. I presume is to decrease "unwanted" string ring. I personally think the ring is part of Jag tonal character, but on this one it's gone. Whether you think that's better or not is up to you.
Third - and this is what truly makes this guitar an oddball - is the fact the truss rod adjustment is done at the heel and not the pegboard, yet the neck is a modern shape with 9.5" radius with medium jumbo fret wire. This means you've got vintage-style and extremely inconvenient rod adjustment location combined with a modernized neck shape. This makes no sense at all. If the neck was a vintage-spec 7.25" fingerboard radius with small fret wire, sure, I could understand a heel positioned adjustment location. But on a modernized neck? Again, it makes no sense at all. It's just a weird mish-mash of vintage + modern.
Is this is decent "player's Jag"? If you're okay with the Adjust-O-Matic bridge and can deal with the stupidity of the truss rod adjustment location, yes this is a decent Jag.
This particular Jag has what Fender calls "hot" single-coil Jaguar pickups in it. No further description is given by Fender than that other than it sounds "fatter." I assume that means a pair of midrange-heavy Jag pickups with strong alnico 5 magnets in them. And that's totally fine.
Another perk to this Jag is that the neck pocket is specifically cut to have "better pitch" which should cut down on buzzy notes after the 12th fret, and the vibrato arm (Fender calls it a tremolo arm) is screw-in so it won't fall out.
Overall, good guitar. But still an oddball Jag.
Epiphone Lee Malia Les Paul Custom
This is definitely an oddball Les Paul, but the fancy dress actually works...
...and I'm talking about the Epiphone Lee Malia Les Paul Custom.
Fortunately, this Paul is not just an appearance package. It does have the '59 neck profile, the 84T-LM humbucker in the rear and what's known as a "P-94" single-coil in the front position. The pickups are USA-made, by the way.
Body is walnut with gloss coating, hardware is gold, and the inlay work is in an artisan floral style pattern.
Now for those of you out there that know your Gibson history, this Les Paul is inspired by the Gibson Les Paul Artisan model from the 1970s. There were 2-pickup and 3-pickup versions of it. The Epiphone is kind of a mix between the two models.
The original Gibson Artisan model from the '70s, truth be told, is fugly as hell. It just looks bad. The cut of wood they used for the body back then for the walnut and tobacco finishes had awful grain lines and the headstock treatment just didn't work. Oh, and the triple humbuckers they used were all-gold. Very tacky looking. While the tuxedo look of the Black Beauty looked right (Epiphone makes that too!), the Artisan that Gibson made definitely did not.
This Epiphone Artisan Les Paul however actually looks nice. The "blackback" pickups suit the body very well, the ornate inlay treatment is done much better this time around, the grain in the body looks correct, and this guitar really gets the look right.
In addition, the curvier shape of the Epiphone headstock suits the Artisan so much better than the squared-off Gibson headstock ever did.
This special Paul does truly look like a special edition that's worth flipping over a few extra bucks for. This is what the original Artisan Les Paul should have been in the first place.
Alnico 2 vs. alnico 3 vs. alnico 5 Stratocaster guitar pickup magnets
Take the DiMarzio DP416 a.k.a. Area 61 pickup for a Stratocaster guitar. It uses an alnico 2 magnet. Why would you want this over the DP117 a.k.a. HS-3 with its alnico 5 magnet? Let's find out.
Alnico means a pickup magnet composed of aluminum, nickel and cobalt. Take the first two letters of each and you end up with al-ni-co. I've stated this before but am stating it again to remind readers that alnico refers to materials and is not a company name.
In a general sense, the number next to alnico refers to magnet strength. The higher the number, the greater the magnetic pull.
More often than not, Strat players prefer the stronger alnico 5 pickup magnet, and I'm of the same opinion.
Why would anyone want the 2 or the 3 when there's the 5? Pickup voicing. With the DiMarzio Strat pickups in particular, the choice of the magnets with less pull in the Area 61 mentioned above, Area 58 and Area 67 make for a tone with reduced bass and midrange but a ton of crisp treble on top.
The DP117 on the other hand, while having a lot more "blare" to it with more pronounced midrange and bass, has significantly less treble...
...which may be exactly what you want, depending on your play style.
Vintage style '50s and '60s electric guitar tones have tons of treble on top, so the choice of alnico 2 in the vintage-voiced DiMarzio pickups totally makes sense. More modernized tones for guitar soloing and blaring rock chords that the DP117 provides also totally make sense.
The only thing that wouldn't make sense is mix-and-matching alnico 2 with alnico 5, because one pickup will always be overpowering the other either in output or treble, resulting in a tone that really won't sound that great.
As for the alnico 3 magnet, that's also found in certain Strats as well, even for Squier.
For example, the Squier Classic Vibe '50s Stratocaster does in fact have pickups with alnico 3 magnets in them, while the Squier Classic Vibe '60s Stratocaster has pickups with alnico 5 magnets. In other words, a Classic Vibe Squier with the 1-piece maple neck has the alnico 3 magnets in the pickups and the one with the rosewood fingerboard has the alnico 5 magnets.
Which should you use for your Stratocaster?
Alnico 5 is the go-to magnet when not using ceramic because it agrees with most players. But for something that suits '50s and '60s rock along with super-twangy country tones, the alnico 2 and 3 magnets suit very nicely there.
This is not to say that alnico 5 can't do '50s/'60s/country sounds because it totally can, but when you really want that "sparkle" on top, the alnico 2 and 3 magnets really make a difference - provided the pickup is voiced correctly. Squier does voice their CV Strats correctly, and DiMarzio's Area series pickups are also voiced very well for what they are.
My 3 favorite guitar coffee mugs
Most guitar themed coffee mugs suck, but these don't.
Simple, to the point and is the standard 11oz size. Also comes in all white, two tone red, two tone green and two tone yellow. Safe for microwave and dishwasher.
Another simple design, this time in a larger 15oz size. The best part about this mug, other than the fact it's microwave and dishwasher safe, is the easy-grip handle. A mug isn't worth anything if the handle can't be gripped properly. This one passes the grip test very easily.
This is one of those hand-wash-only mugs but it definitely has character to it. Fortunately it has character without looking overly goofy and actually has a proper handle to it (other guitar themed mugs have guitar-shaped handles that are just awful). It's a bit on the small side but it definitely gets attention.
"This is a Sharp # Not A Hashtag"
I threw this one in as a bonus mug. It's not guitar themed but still music themed. If you're a music geek, band nerd or whatever, this is a good mug to have. Standard 11oz size, proper handle and totally dishwasher/microwave safe. In fact, this one is the most dishwasher/microwave safe of the lot due to its simplest design. You'd probably have to run this through a dishwasher several thousand times before the print wears out (if ever?)