I bought another Squier Telecaster

This one is actually a re-buy but at the same time not.

This guitar, the Squier Bullet Telecaster (which is pretty much always in stock), is one I've owned before. In fact, it looks exactly like the one I owned before. It's just a dirt cheap no-frills import.

Is the guitar exactly the same as the one I used to have? Almost.

There's one rather major difference between the current model and the one sold a few years back, which is this:

She's a top-loader.

You might be thinking, "So? What's such a big deal about a top-loader Telecaster vs. a string-through?"

Oh, believe me, this affects the guitar more than you know.

Top-loaded strings make for easier string bending because the break angle is decreased.

In a regular Telecaster, you have 2 to 3 break angles depending on which string it is. The first angle is at the string saddle. Second angle is at the nut. Third is at the string tree for strings routed under those. If you have a single string tree, B and high-E have 3 break angles. If you have 2 string trees then it's D, G, B and high-E that have 3 break angles.

Strings routed through the back of a Telecaster have a rather sharp break angle after the string saddle. Top-loaded strings however have a significantly lessened break angle.

When you bend strings on a top-loaded Tele, oh yes, you will notice the difference. A top-loaded Tele is, without question, the "slinkiest" feeling Tele you can get...

...but will you actually like it?

Personally, I much prefer top-loaded.

Other players feel a top-loaded Tele makes it feel too "loose". Those who do chicken picking and/or use thumb picks may not get along with a top-loader. Or, if you're the type to snap back strings with fingers on a Tele a lot, you may not get as much snap as you'd like.

In the end, the best thing about the Squier Bullet Telecaster is that it's one of the cheapest ways to get top-loader Tele.

If you've played the Bullet Telecaster before, everything else more or less feels the same. It's fat-necked with some decent shoulder to it, and the neck finish is a barely-there satin urethane coating which feels almost like unfinished wood (don't worry, no splinters or anything like that).

Does the Bullet Tele qualify as a "cheap 1958 Telecaster", as that particular year was top-loaded? No, because you don't get the woods used back then, nor the barrel style saddles (as in two string per saddle), nor the ashtray style bridge - BUT - you do get a fat-necked top-loader for cheap.

Prior to how the Bullet Tele is made now, your only option for a low-cost top-loaded Squier Tele was the Affinity Series (which is now no longer top-loaded). But now you can get top-loaded at a real nice price.

I'm glad I got mine.

Published 2023 Jul 6