Squier Vintage Modified Tele SH And Strat HSS Review

Many guitarists use budget Squier models as a bottom for their own custom instruments, swapping away the hardware, pickups and other areas. With Squier's Vintage Modified Series guitars, the modifications have been made, so you won't need to shell out extra bucks after your preliminary buy. The Squier Tele SH includes a variety of custom touches, like a Duncan Designed HB102 Alnico 5 throat humbucker, a Duncan Designed TE-103B Stack bridge pickup, a six-saddle bridge, dark chrome knurled knobs and a reverse-configured control plate (the three-position pickup selector is situated near the bottom of the low bout instead of close to the bridge pickup). However, the guitar also retains the classic features you'd wish in a Tele, just like the 21-fret throat with maple fingerboard, 25 ½-inch scale and 9 ½-inch radius. Aside from some truly bizarre Givson-yes, Givson-versions that Billy Gibbons showed me about a decade ago, I've never seen a guitar manufactured in India before. Another 1st: the body is made from Indian red cedar (apparently the wood doesn't have to travel too far to the factory). best budget beginner electric guitar -weight, resonant wood is also used to make dhol drums in India, so its changeover to guitar materials makes musical feeling.

The neck is certainly carved from nice-looking maple that has tight grain, and all of the wood parts are covered with a durable polyurethane finish. Most of the Squier guitars I've auditioned over the years have playability much like Fender's more expensive axes, and the Vintage Modified Tele SH is no exception. The throat offers a conservative C-form profile, and the medium jumbo frets provide that"just right" balance of heft for bent notes and low resistance for shredding. This model's weakest hyperlink is its hardware. The tuners feel flimsy and fragile, and the bridge sucked apart the notes' maintain and body. Consequently, best electric guitar brands for beginners seemed to receive enough signal to attain their sweet place, and the tone appeared somewhat thin. Add in a few extra bucks to update the tuners and bridge, and you will possess a killer ax that performs and also many versions costing twice the purchase price.

Like the Tele HS, the Squier Strat HSS is made on the foundation of a classic guitar body and neck, but it features a modified pickup configuration. Squier dropped a Duncan Designed HB-112 humbucker in the bridge position, while Duncan Designed SC-102 Stack pickups replace the standard neck and middle single-coils. Beyond that, the Classic Modified Strat HSS is a traditional Strat to the core, with a vintage-design tremolo, five-position pickup selector, 21-frets with a rosewood fingerboard, and that timeless Strat look and feel. The handles remain the same as well: master volume, throat tone and middle tone. There's no tone control for the bridge humbucker, which is normally mainlined to the get better at volume for maximum treble and gain. Like its Tele companion, the Strat has a body created from Indian reddish colored cedar, which gives an easy attack and resonant tone of voice even though played unplugged. It felt a little heavier than the Tele, perhaps because of the tremolo bridge and the Strat's slightly larger body size. As on the Vintage Modified Tele the throat includes a 9.5-inch radius, C-designed profile and moderate jumbo frets.

The neck plays almost identical to the Tele that I evaluated, although the rosewood fingerboard gave the neck a somewhat slinkier, sexier feel. Plugged in, the Strat HSS delivered great traditional rock tone from the Duncan bridge humbucker. It taken care of clarity even through high-gain amos, with focus on the bass and treble. I had to boost the midrange slightly a lot more than we do with additional humbucker-equipped Strats, but that is probably because Indian crimson cedar creates a brighter sound than ash and alder woods. The single-coils produced bit and bark which will please most blues and Hendrix supporters. Unfortunately, as on the Classic Modified Telecaster, the tuners were a letdown. I would recommend upgrading them with an excellent group of locking tuners, that may improve the guitar's tone and in addition let you abuse the tremolo as much as you want, without going out of tune. With its mix of classic features and customs improvements, the Squier Vintage Modified Tele SH offers what contemporary players want. Best of all, it plays such as a great Tele should, and purists will surely approve. And should you like the tone and vibe of a classic Strat but need a high-octane bridge pickup, the Classic Modified Strat HSS offers you hot-rod overall performance at an overall economy car price.

S - 3 single coils are regular on Fender Stratocasters and Stratocaster copies. S - used on Stratocasters which are often called Extra fat Strats to distinguish them from the typical three one coil Stratocaster. The pick-up at the bridge is replaced by a humbucker. A favourite with guitarists who would like the clean tone of one coils and the hum-free fats tone of a humbucker. H - the typical configuration for the Gibson Les Paul. Also called the Double Extra fat Strat configuration when mounted on a Stratocaster body. H - on the Steve Vai signature model by Ibanez and a favourite pickup arrangement for metal guitarists. Stratocasters using this construction are called Super Strats. Every electric guitar, except those with an individual pickup, has a pickup selector. Guitars with two pickups have a three-way switch that allows the guitarist to select either the throat pickup or the bridge pickup.