Julian Cope's Squier "Fake Fender" Jazz Bass listed for sale on eBay UK

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I'm a big fan of Julian Cope, so when I saw this listing  on eBay UK for his "Fake Fender" Jazz Bass (actually a re-badged Squier circa 2004), it made me sit up and take notice.

To quote from the auction listing:

Here for auction is a bizarre experimental Squier Jazz bass from about 2004/5. The item was inherited by singer/author Julian Cope, who removed the original pick-ups and added several different types during his years of ownership. Why? The body of the bass is so heavy that it works well as a platform for whatever is installed. Cope recorded the bass with its variety of pick-ups, then also added genuine Fender 50’s-style anodyzed gold aluminium scratch-plate, plus genuine Fender pick-up covers.

Thereafter, the bass was abandoned as a musical instrument and the pick-ups were removed. The item became a focal point for Cope’s press photos during 2008 (see main photo). A genuine Fender waterslide decal was added to the newly painted gold headstock, and the body was coated with the kind of hellish glitter (in the style of the mid-60s Irish Showbands) that sparkles in the sun, whilst a chrome iron cross was installed in place of the original neck plate.

I'll post the final price when it sells. Note, it's for UK bidders only.

EDIT: It eventually sold for  £313.36. I was so tempted to bid myself, but had to ask myself, realistically do I need another bass right now?

G L Wilson

© 2018, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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(Allegedly) The World's First Self Strumming Guitar - Heavily Modded 3/4 Squier Stratocaster

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What are we to make of this alleged World's First Self-Strumming Guitar, a Frankenstein's monster of a creation built from parts of an old Squier Mini and a computer printer? It's currently listed on eBay UK with a Buy It Now price of £300, although the seller does note that "Although I have set the buy it now price high, I will entertain sensible offers, just offer whatever you think its worth and you might get (un)lucky!"

He also says that:

Please bear in mind this is a prototype and as such isn't finished nicely where I have been working on it, and while the self strum mechanism works perfectly laying flat on a bench it is a bit temperamental when the guitar is held in a playing position. I can suggest a simple modification to the buyer to correct this but it is not something I plan on doing myself as I am now busy working on the mark 2 self strumming guitar - the follow up to this.

Think of this a piece of mechanical art rather than an instrument you would use every day, putting all silliness aside this thing with a bit more development could actually be useful one day to a person who has either lost or lost the use of an arm. I'd like to sell this to fund further development into the concept. Check out the following video to see me building this contraption and to see it working.

AND there's a video!


G L Wilson

© 2017, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Batman "Ker Pow" knock-off Precision Bass

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This Bat bass features quite a neatly executed home-made finish, with a decoupage of Batman comic strips on the body itself. It's a bit of a pity about the counterfeit decal applied to the headstock when the bass isn't actually a Fender but consists of a Squier body married to a no-name copy neck. Yes, I appreciate the details are fun what with the wholly appropriate serial number and the "Made in Gotham City" legend, it's just a pity that the Fender logo was used. The etching (if that's what it is) of the Batman logo on the pickguard is a nice touch though.

Currently being auctioned on eBay UK with a low starting price.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Squier steps up their game with cool new additions to the Vintage Modified series

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Squier Vintage Modified Cabronita Telecaster

Squier Vintage Modified Cabronita Telecaster with Bigsby

Squier Vintage Modified Cabronita Precision Bass

Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass V

Squier Vintage Modified Bass VI

It looks like this is a long-overdue bid for Squier to be taken seriously with these latest guitar and bass offerings, and showing that they are not just about entry-level instruments.

Me, I'm a little peeved that they brought out this new version of the Bass VI which is far more faithful to the original than the Fender Pawn Shop Bass VI released earlier this year. The Squier also retails for under half of what I paid for the Pawn Shop version here in the UK.

I'm also very interested in the Cabronita Tele with Bigsby - at last an affordable Tele... WITH a Bigsby. How cool is that?

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Squier Vintage Modified Telecaster Bass and Telecaster Bass Special

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Here are a pair of new basses from Squier's Vintage Modified Series, the new Telecaster Bass and Telecaster Bass Special (pictured top). These are not to be confused with the original Fender Telecaster Bass which in itself was based upon the original slab-bodied Precision design before it was redesigned to have a more contoured Strat-like body. 1970s examples of the Telecaster Bass (of which the Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass is quite an accurate representation) featured a huge humbucker pickup in the neck position instead of the centre-position singlecoil pickup. It also had a twin-cutaway body, rather than the same basic shape as the Telecaster guitar as we see here on these new Squier offerings (although it seems to me that the body has been lengthened). I guess that Fender/Squier must have decided that bassists wanted the same shape as the Tele guitar but I can't imagine it'd balance anywhere near as well balanced as the double-cutaway P-bass shape.

It all seems a bit silly to me. What's next, the Stratocaster Bass? And no, the Precision is not already the bass equivalent of the Strat. It was originally the bass partner to the Telecaster, and if anything, the Jazz Bass was the Strat's opposite number in the bass camp, although some would argue that with its offset body shape the Jazz Bass's natural sibling would be the Jazzmaster/Jaguar. But of course these days there's a Jaguar Bass too. I wonder how long it is before Fender/Squier issue a Jazz Bass-bodied 6-string guitar? Hey, I reckon I could work for Fender marketing too with ideas like that.

With the Squier Telecaster Bass having a singlecoil pickup similar to that in the original P-Bass, and the Deluxe version having a 70s Telecaster Bass humbucker in the neck position and a J-Bass unit nearer the bridge, no doubt these new Telecaster Basses will appeal to players out there, although for me the designs are far too Frankenstein-like; for example that pickguard design is quite patently created for a guitar and not a bass. But never mind my nitpicking, if you're interested get yourself over to the Squier website and check out the specs for yourself.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Squier goes Superstrat: the Stagemaster

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This Squier Stagemaster is quite an unusual guitar, for it is both a strat and a superstrat: it has a classic Fender Stratocaster body (just a little but thiner though), but all the attributes of the superstrat - no pickguard, H/S/H pickups configuration, Floyd Rose tremelo, reduced electronics, 24-fret neck, contoured heel, neck-through-body construction, and even a reversed headstock...

The Stagemaster was shortly released in the early 2000s and is based on the mid-1980s Fender HM Strat (HM stands for Heavy Metal), a previous attempt at the shredding market of the post-CBS era, poorly received at the time. But it is different enough from the HM to be considered as an original Squier model. And the colour is unique!

Bertram D

Edit: a comment allows me to precise that this model is actually the Stagemaster HSH Deluxe - the regular Stagemaster had a bolt-on neck a just 2 humbuckers. A 7-string version of this guitar was also available. 

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Sawn-off Squier Strat is John Mayall tribute

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I guess that this sawn-off and relic-ed Squier Strat is one of those love it or hate it modifications. Compared with John Mayall's own modified Strats, the body surgery is actually quite conservative. This guitar is currently listed on eBay UK with a Buy It Now price of £295.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Can't afford the Fender Custom Shop? Buy a Squier and DIY...

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Simon writes:

My elder son Thomas has been playing bass and guitar for about three months - we got him a bass and amp for Christmas, and he's been using my old Squier Affinity Series Telecaster through a little Orange Micro Crush amp as well. His 13th birthday is coming up, and my wife and I decided to get him a (low-priced) six-string of his choice. Like me, he isn't keen on Strats, but he wanted something with a trem. Initially he wanted an Bigsby-equipped Epiphone Wildkat, but these are now impossible to get - I think they've been discontinued. Then, while browsing on Ebay one evening we found a Bigsby kit for a Telecaster, and a plan began to form. Thomas would get a unique customised Tele.

We bought a new Squier Affinity Tele - metallic blue - from Thomann. Unlike my old through-body Daphne Blue one, this one has a maple fingerboard and a top-load bridge, the latter of which suited our project perfectly. We also bought an emerald-green pearloid scratchplate for £10 on Ebay (Thomas' choice - not mine!). My wife and I were a bit apprehensive about a cobalt-blue guitar with a bright green scratchplate, but it does grow on you, and it looks very smart. Plus it's probably the only one like it in the world! We got our local guitar shop (Twang Guitars in Penge, London SE20 - gratuitous plug!) to order and install a Bigsby Licensed trem and bridge unit (£120 plus £25 lutherie, paid for by Grandpa), and two weeks and just over £300 later Thomas has a one-of-a-kind Telecaster that looks like something from the Fender Custom Shop but cost 10% of the real thing. He chose the specifications himself, and the guitar looks and plays like a dream. I'm almost jealous...

Squier Affinity Telecaster - £150
Pearloid scratchplate - £10
Bigsby kit - £120
Lutherie charges - £25

Simon

This illustrates beautifully the brilliance behind Leo Fender's designs for guitars like the Stratocaster, the Telecaster, and Precision and Jazz Basses. That is, you can take a screwdriver to it and swap and change parts so very easily. And of course, the whole concept behind the bolt-on neck was that it could be changed easily should it become worn out.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Quiz: the mystery guitar strikes back!

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Don't look at the lower picture, just focus on this one and try to guess what famous brand released this bizarre guitar, with a carved Telecaster outline, uncovered humbuckers, a strat fixed bridge, minimal controls (including a split coil push/pull tone knob) and glossy metallic blue finish. 

Usually when I show this kind of hybrid guitars on Guitarz, people protest in the comments that they are pointless, if you want a Tele, you take a Tele, and if you want a LP, you take a LP, but I like it and to be honest, I only read dithyrambic reviews about it, though it's been very short-lived (it seems that it's been a prototype for an also short-lived model from a more high-end brand) - it's from the early 2000s - and stayed mostly unknown...

So did you find what it is? It's a Squier Double Fat Tele Deluxe!

Bertram

PS. Usually I don't do that, I don't talk here about my personal blog, but yesterday I posted on it a new series of guitar design sketches that I quite like, and I want to invite Guitarz readers to have a look at them - partly with the hope that one day I will meet a guitar maker - a luthier, or a company, or an amateur - looking for new guitar designs, since I'm still a debutant maker and won't use a 100th of the ideas I have - and willing to collaborate...

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Squier M-80

guitarz.blogspot.com: 

At first sight, this M80 doesn't look much like a Squier - isn't Squier supposed to just released budget versions of Fender guitars? -, but more like these Matsumoku guitars from the early 1980s that prepared the guitar world to the metal era: unspectacular outline and wood, transparent finish, Gibsonesque gear and pickups - even an Ibanez-style headstock! But the M80 is a real - though short-lived - Squier guitar from the mid-2000s, about which there is little online information, but several very positive reviews. 

This one has seen its Duncan Designed HB replaced by Seymour Duncan open ones - like many Squiers, it seems that the M80 has been a good base for upgrades and modifications! It's easy to overlook this guitar - though it has a refreshing feel of honesty that made me want to know more about it -, but when you read what Tod Krause, its designer, says, you may reconsider:

“I’ve been working on the M-80 for a long time. I designed it for somebody who was playing at a club, working with a label, about to be signed, or had been signed. I wanted to build a “workingman’s” guitar for a new generation of players. That guitar evolved from many years of seeing things in guitars that I like or dislike. A lot of designs on that guitar are my gut-level reaction to what I see people playing, my playing, and what players tell me they like and dislike – or find comfortable and uncomfortable.

 “There’s a lot of design in the M-80 that doesn’t meet the eye. For example, the body comes from a shortened Mustang guitar. If you put a longer-scale Neck on a Mustang, you have to shorten the body so it feels right. I placed the strap buttons, so that when the guitar is hanging, it feels familiar. Let me put it this way … I’ve got 25 years in the business, and the M-80 is the accumulation of 25 years of designing and building guitars for the world’s most discriminating players.” – Todd Krause

Strange that the guitar was discontinued so quickly...

Bertram

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

How to fit 12 strings on a Telecaster without swapping out the neck

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The Fender Telecaster has a small, compact headstock, so it's hard to imagine that same headstock being used for a 12-string version of the Telecaster. However, this enterprising eBay seller has developed a very cunning and neat way to fit 12 machine heads onto a Tele headstock. The converted Tele also includes a bridge conversion with Gotoh 12-string saddles.

Neat, but I wonder how fiddly it would be to change strings?

This Squier Telecaster 12-string conversion is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $529.99.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Courtney Love's signature Squier Vista Venus

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I'm happy to have found a decent picture of a Squier Venus, for I wanted to show one for a while now. Though it's not overwhelmingly creative or new, it's still one of the last few efforts of Fender to produce a new design (that's so rare that for example the new release of Fender recycles the 1960s Marauder prototype).

Well actually it's not exactly a Fender effort, since while searching information about the Venus, I uncovered a story of blatant plagiarism, that you can find extensively detailed here. To make it short, some guys created a guitar based on the idea of blending the cool design of a Rickenbacker with the playability of a Fender, and they came up with the Mercury, producing a few handmade models. They sold one to Courtney Love (though they were actually trying to present it to Kurt Cobain), and she enjoyed it so much that she ordered some more, but their small company collapsed and they quit he guitar business.

A few years later they figured out that Squier had released the Venus, allegedly co-designed by Love, but obviously a copy of the Mercury with a Fender-ish headstock (knowing that you cannot patent a guitar shape, but only the headstock, as Fender knows very well for having issued the most copied guitars ever). Tim George who designed the Mercury and tells this story says that he cannot blame Courtney Love as much as Fender. You just have to have a look at these pictures to judge if this story is convincing or not!

Mercury vs Squier Venus

I don't know or care about this copying issue, but I really like Courtney Love, she's much more than what tabloïds show, she's a powerful and struggling woman and an inspired artist who opened the way for many others. And I do love women playing guitars, there are never enough of them - I cannot understand how could anybody ever consider that electric guitar is a male domain!

Anyway let's go back to the Venus. It was short-lived - released in 1997 and terminated in 1998 - and existed in 6- and 12-string versions. It had a characteristic Tune-o-Matic-like bridge and string-through-body holes, and if the commercial versions had two pick-ups - bridge humbucker and neck single-coil - and three different finish, Courtney Love's stage custom models had various finishes and only one pickup, different ones in different positions as much as I could judge from the pictures I found...

Bertram

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

The Telecaster who wanted to be a Jazzmaster

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Il like this Squier Telecaster hybridized with Fender Jazzmaster pickups and tremelo (plus a Mustang bridge), it's simple, honest, the previous holes and cavities have been left how they were, probably because aesthetics was not an issue. the tone pot has been replaced by the jack output, something I appreciate since I have little use for tone pot and favor front jack, much handier when you have the proper cable... I'd be curious to hear this one!

Bertram

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Custom-built plexiglass-bodied Precision Bass with Fender and Squier parts

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Here's one for the bass player who prefers a traditionally-styled bass but at the same time wants something a little more individual. Here's what the seller has to say about it:

One of several Fender precision bass replicas made for me from parts (some original Fender/Squier) by Bailey Bros. of Bristol. Used extensively as a back-up touring instrument with Who's Next - a tribute to The Who.

Here is an ultra rare plexiglass Precision Bass. The body is made of lucite acrylic. See-through plexiglass. The neck is a 1997 Fender USA Precision Bass Classic series bass which features a slim Jazz Bass profile maple neck with a rosewood board. The original Fender tuning pegs are present. The pickup is a white capped EMG AXL passive Precision Bass Unit. The bass is finished with an amber-sparkle coloured pickguard.

Apparently John Entwistle himself had one like this in his enormous collection, and it is also similar to the bass used by Charlie Jones who has played for Robert Plant, Goldfrapp and Siouxsie Sioux.

Currently being auctioned on eBay UK with a starting bid of £250. A word of warning: it's going to be very heavy which is most likely the reason that this was the seller's back-up bass and not his main instrument.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Mutant doubleneck Strat with additional shortscale bass neck somehow shoehorned into place

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I think I said it all in the title. More or less. I'd give this DIY doubleneck guitar and bass customization top marks for resourcefulness and inventiveness but zero marks for elegance and design. And I can't imagine that bass neck is going to sound too great with an ultra-shortscale length which is less than the Squier Strat neck that its been grafted next to.

Thanks to Greg Cadman for alerting me to this monstrosity via our Facebook page.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Squier Strat modded for stereo

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Wow, just look at this great confusion of pickups, knobs, switches and THREE output jacks! I'll let the eBay seller tell you about it:

Middle pick-up on Strat has been replaced by 2 slanted Fender pick-ups, one covers the 3 bass strings and one covers the 3 treble strings. Fuller sound as 6 coils cover 3 strings. [I think he means 6 "pole pieces" - GLW] The signals are then fed out through 2 separate volume controls to 2 jacks - one going to the left amp and one to the right giving a fantastic stereo sound. Each jack can of course, have its own effects foot pedal like reverb, chorus or octave box etc. Special offer - on one Fender Stratocaster Squier (as opposed to Mexican) - $745 + $45 shipping. Will build to your own specifications [...]

Normal Strat pick-up coming from 3rd jack.

This can be used for normal Strat playing with volume, tone and switching between the neck and bridge humbucker. Playing the 2 together is not a feature found on normal Strats as they are usually combined with the middle pick-up. You can of course have a third amp for surround sound.

Once you hear the amazing sound you'll never want to play a mono guitar again (unless it's a Martin). If you are not happy please send it back as we really don't want to sell it. The guitar has been modified to professional standards by the Guitar Guru of Toronto, who has finely tuned the action and fantastic sound.

Hey, I'm sure it works beautifully, and would be a great guitar for recording with. But all those switches look a bit much, and can you imagine try to play that at a gig with three cables coming out of it?

Thanks to Caleb who spotted this one on eBay.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Non-standard Standard Strat by Squier

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I thought I'd keep the Fender theme going a bit if that's OK. I've been promising myself for years that I was going to buy a Fender. My shopping list is "pre CBS Strat" (which I came within a hairs breadth of attaining once - 59 body 60 neck, metallic green respray out of a can £100), Telecaster Esquire, Thinline with bound body, Jazzmaster with anodised gold scratchplate (which I came within an eBay's breadth of attaining last year £3000 and some change (1958, excellent-mint condition - almost unbelievable).

My sights have lowered significantly of late apart from the '94 aluminium body that I'd bid and paid for before the seller decided he couldn't send it to my unconfirmed address and backed down.

I've only ever sold one item through eBay so don't have much experience as a seller so maybe someone can help with me something. What is with this "unconfirmed address" thing? Sellers won't post to an unconfirmed address even though eBay says they are still protected. I'm not sure why eBay doesn't just drop the option as, in their FAQs, even they discourage sellers from stating it in their ads as it reduces the chances of selling. Also, surely it's us buyers who more at risk from "sellers" who don't deliver. After all, you receive our money before you ship so we are taking a much bigger chance.

Anyway, back to the guitar. I was checking out my local online classifieds (loquo.com) and found someone who was selling a 2005 Squier Standard Strat for €125 (£104). I went along, looked it over and bought it.

Maybe it was just my expectations but this seems to be anything but standard. I guess it's a copy of another, high-end, Fender. It's obvious this wasn't going to be a luthier's wet dream but it's not bad, by any means. The body is matt varnished, tinted mahogany (looking not too dissimilar to my Mum's coffee table), maple neck and rosewood fretboard (as I understand). Big old 70s headstock - nice. The fittings are Squier, enough said. The middle and neck pickups are very bassy and boomy and the tone controls don't seem make one iota of difference whatsoever to the tone. Anyone had the same experience? And, is there anything I can do to brighten them up without changing the pickups? The bridge humbucker is hard edged aggressive and has a bright, dry, shrieky tone. I love it.

I'm not a great trem user and this two point trem seems very delicate. It moves when I bend the strings! I'm going to add an extra spring or two and see if that helps. If not, I'll lock it in place with some blocks of wood. Any tips or comments on that appreciated.

I shall be using this experiment with so it may well begin to transform, Frankenstein-like over time. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Pass the soldering iron Igor!

Stop Press: Just seen a Squier Obey Telecaster for €150, hmmm Franken-Tele-Strat-stein-thing! Where is that saw? Seriously. Anyone have experience of these Teles?

David in Transylvania

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Squier '51 - stock and customised examples

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Fender's subsiduary Squier are mainly known for producing budget-conscious versions of Fender guitars such as the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Precision and Jazz Basses. Occasionally they have been known to do something more adventurous and issue an original model guitar not based directly on any Fender design.

The Squier '51 is one such guitar, and whilst I say it is "original" it very clearly borrows and combines elements from three Fender designs, namely the Strat, the Tele and the original '51 Precision Bass.

Essentially you could say that it has a hardtail basswood Strat body married to a Tele neck, with a '51 P-Bass pickguard. It has a single coil pickup in the neck position and a humbucker at the bridge. There is no tone control but a rotary pickup selector and a coil tap option for a range of sounds.

Judging by comments I have read about this guitar on the net, it seems it was a very popular instrument. Such a pity that it was only in production from 2004-2006. Of course, it was a guitar very popular with tinkerers and guitar modders, and judging by the number of photos I've seen on eBay and elsewhere I wonder how many stock examples are left in the world, because so many seem to have been upgraded.

Pictured above we see two examples in Vintage Blonde. On the left is an untouched stock Squier '51, and in the middle and on the right a customised example featuring upgraded pickups including a P90-style in the neck position, and a Dynamic Fender Vibrato as found on certain other Fender guitars such as the Mustang. (Finally, an S-type guitar with a tremolo that might actually work nicely!)

The Squier '51 was one of the guitars in my "500 Guitars" book, but the publishers unfortunately used an incorrect photo of a Squier Strat.

See the Squier '51 Modders Forum for more customisations!

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

A Squier Showmaster in distress

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The seller of this Squier Showmaster currently for sale on eBay tells us that:

I did the distressed green finish myself - I can guarantee there is only one like it in the world

You don't say?

G L Wilson

NB: There are a lot of blogs STEALING content and bandwidth. If you read this anywhere else but on guitarz.blogspot.com then you are reading a blog that STEALS content. Please support original bloggers!

When Relics Go Bad ... (again)

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At the risk of being accused of writing yet another blog post which has "content generated by other people" (apparently ALL my content is generated by other people - see the comment by "Guest" here), I'm going to share with you this rather inexpert "relic" job on what apears to be an otherwise perfectly good Squier Strat.

This horror was spotted by Suzanne, who comments that "Heavy relic is putting it mildly. That thing looks as if it belonged to Sloth from The Goonies."

G L Wilson

NB: There are a lot of blogs STEALING content and bandwidth. If you read this anywhere else but on guitarz.blogspot.com then you are reading a blog that STEALS content. Please support original bloggers!