Squier Classic Vibe '50s Telecaster - Butterscotch Blonde Reviews

This is the 4th Squire I've bought recently and there's a reason for that. They are building them really well these days (or I've just chosen well from the selection at Sweetwater). I'd been watching these OG style Teles for a while, reviewing the "chose your favorite" pics waiting for one that was just right. And I found it! Just the right butterscotch tint. No mismatched wood joints. Fit and finish is perfect. Frets were properly dressed. And I like the pickups just fine. You get the vintage Tele twang from the bridge, and rich bluesy tone from the neck pickup. But it's certainly worthy of upgrades if you wish. I was able to get the intonation dead on with the stock uncompensated bridge, but again, you can upgrade that too if you wish. But I love the tone right out of the box. All I did was polish the frets with micro mesh, lower the action a little, and put on new strings.

I've been looking for a basic single coil tele for some time now. This model checks all the boxes, and considerable cost advantage. As usual, Sweetwater ordering, service, shipping impeccable!

This really is a nice guitar for someone who is stepping up to the next guitar from a basic starter package instrument like a Squier Affinity Strat. I also is a great for someone like me who is on a fixed income. I do have a couple very nice, expensive guitars that I got over twenty years ago before I retired. There are some fine points that I took care of myself, mainly roughly finished fret ends. I used a fine machinists file to smooth them out. I will say, who ever did the check up and setup at Sweetwater did a fantastic job. It plays like butter right out of the box. The intonation was perfect, the string height was spot on and everything worked perfectly.

Everything was just right. Zero issues.
Everything one could really want in a tele!

Novice musicians or those who don't feel comfortable doing setup work should opt for the Sweetwater service.

After changing strings to a proper gauge and correcting intonation, I am 100% tickled with this instrument!

I got my Squire classic Vibe '50's Tele today literally the day after I ordered it. I just put it down after three hours because I had to give my fingers a rest. I love it!! I started guitar in 1961 on my 9th birthday. That's right, I'm 71 years old. I've owned dozens of guitars, majored in music in college played in bands for years and taught guitar over 28 years. In that time I've set up well over 150 guitars. I know some stuff. I was a little nervous about a Squire Tele. Not any more. This guitar plays like a dream and sounds like a Tele should. Everything works perfectly. Big thanks to the Sweetwater inspectors who set it up. You are GREAT!! What next? Well, strap locks and strap, maybe down the road, tuners, but I'll wait and see. In the meantime, my new baby's calling me, she wants me to play with her.................

I own an (original) 72 Thinline, but it has humbuckers and is more a blues instrument, so I was looking for a more traditional Tele sound at a reasonable price. I've had this guitar (butterscotch is beautiful) for a couple of weeks now, and have used it a lot on a couple of country and Americana songs. Great neck (and I'm a critic of necks), pickups are much better than the entry level Squires and I actually like them better than my friend's MIM Tele. The tuners are plenty good. The only thing I might modify is the bridge. A compensated brass bridge (about 50 bucks) would be a nice upgrade, but isn't necessary. The Sweetwater guys did a great setup, and it's no problem playing in tune up and down the neck. Give this on a good look. You won't regret it.

I bought this guitar several months ago...I had always wanted a Butterscotch one. The fit and finish on these Squiers is outstanding. No ragged neck edges or high frets, just a pleasure to play...most of the tuners had a good amount of lash to them so they just got replaced with a set of Kluson Supremes. Even one of them has some lash to it. Tonally, I threw on a 10 for the high end string to bolster the tone there but at this price point it is certainly a no brainer....go get some!!!!

I own 20+ guitars. Gibson LP's, Fender Strats, Rickenbacker, Gretsch, etc. About 3 years ago I joined a country band and figured it was time to get a Tele. I checked out quite a few Fender's and couldn't make up my mind. Then I saw this guitar on Sweetwater's website. It had tons of good reviews and looked great. I had been looking at Fender's that cost 4 times as much but figured hey, if I don't like it I'll send it back and get a Fender. When it arrived I unboxed it and was immediately impressed with the fit and finish. I plugged it in and after 10 minutes of playing I knew it was a keeper. This is now the guitar I grab when I gig or jam when all different genres will be played. This is a great guitar, period. Buy one, you won't regret it.

This is a great guitar after you set it up. I put brass compensated saddles on it to replace the ones it came with. I put GHS Lights .010 string set on it and set the intonation and filed and smoothed the nut out. I waited a couple of months to set the string height. This guitar is a real joy to play jazz on which I wasn't expecting. The neck pickup sounds warm and tonal. Highly recommend this guitar to any serious pro player. Guitar was shipped very securely and in mint condition. Thanks Sweetwater.

The only difference between Classic Vibe Tele and American -> American, you get a case. You get top end pickups. THATS IT!!! These are true Alnico 5 pickups btw, the neck/feets are literally PERFECT. Do not waste money on any Mexican Fender. IF a $ case and $ pickups are THAT necessary? Buy a USA Fender. Or, buy a Classic Vibe, a hard case, and upgrade the entire loaded pick guard, you're still under. Buy Mexican? Ok, you're only paying for the word FENDER. Not getting a case or upgraded pups.

Basically, it's just what I wanted - a beautiful butterscotch blonde Tele that kind of looks like it came out of a time capsule from 1952 or 53. OK, OK I admit it…I also like that it reminds me of Roy Buchanan's famous axe!
Fit and finish on mine is perfect and that Sweetwater 55 point inspection is no joke. I can't find a flaw on it and it even appears/sounds set up. I'm impressed and my expectations have been exceeded.
Now, is it the be all/end all of Telecasters? No, of course not. However, for the money it's got to be one of the best bargains going (of course, most people already know this). Do I need to mod it? No, absolutely not. Will I mod it? Yes, probably, but that's only because I want to have fun with it and it's a great mod platform (and again, most people already know this too). All I can say is that I really like this guitar and it's a great value - I think I might pick up a CV 50's Strat eventually as well. If you're on the fence about the CV 50's Tele, I say go for it!
Finally, a big thank you to my Sales Engineer JD Shamoun who made the experience super easy. Great service - thanks JD!

I've been playing for 40+ years. Never paid much attention to Telecasters. I was a Strat and a LP driver for a long time. Just recently did I give a Tele a chance (way too **** long) - and now all I play are Tele's. I love the fact that you have to work it a little to get the sound that you're looking for, but a Tele will do it - you just have to coax the ol' girl a little. There's not a guitar sound that the Tele can't emulate - and it's so simple... just a slab of wood and some screws and wires. Leo Fender knew what he was doing for sure!!!! Anyways - back to this review. I'd recently purchased a Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster Deluxe from a local music store and was way impressed with the quality, sound, ease of play - it just worked. So I went looking for an older Tele and found the Classic Vibe '50's Tele in Butterscotch Blonde (my favorite color for a Tele). 3 piece symmetrical pine body - I couldn't believe that and had to contact my Sweetwater rep - Eric Matthews, and ask if this was the guitar that I'd be receiving. Eric assured me that it was, so I ordered within moments of receiving his email. Shipping was fast and the guitar arrived IN TUNE! After a quick adjustment of string height and intonation I got to know this guitar very well. Fantastic finish - the pine body comes through the lacquer in the most beautiful way - and the neck.... no fret sprout, frets were finished so good it's funny. The tuners are great, the pickups on this are fantastic - it's a Tele. She'll twang and she can get downright gnarly with some gain added. Both neck and bridge pickups are great. But that 3 piece body with the 2nd piece splitting perfectly down the middle - what an added bonus!!! Should you get one??? Absolutely!!!! Squier has their game face on and is giving Fender a huge challenge. I have a Fender Tele, Strat and Jaguar. These Squiers are just as good if not BETTER than their Fender counterparts - especially at this price point. I'm a believer in the Classic Vibe series and will be purchasing more of these excellent guitars from Sweetwater and Eric.

Nice vintage tele. I added the ashtray to complete the look.

Recently received this guitar! Had to sell a number of instruments because of high medical costs , including an early 2000's fender standard tele. Been wanting a tele again eversince. Kept the strat. Read good things about the classic vibe and recently purchased a affinity precision p/j bass that was great. Prices keep going up but this tele went down so I knew knew I would never find it lower prices so I ordered it. One WORD! BEAUTIFUL!!. Upon inspection I found no issue s at all. Action was so low I was concerned about fretting out. But it did not. Wasn't expecting gloss fingerboard but won't be a problem and I'm finding the gloss, and frets to be quite a contrast from my 12" radius strat, but enjoying the difference. Intonation was so good up the neck I realized I need to adjust my strat!. Thrilled with this purchase. This is my 4th order from sweet water and Trey Stebbins and his team (Nick) have been smooth and efficient every time. Thanks very much.

I am a bit amazed at the product coming out of Indonesia lately. This guitar is no exception. The sound, playability, weight, are all really inline with guitars twice the price.

As good as any Telecaster I've ever played and being 62 years old I've played quite a few. Fit and finish is beautiful. Better get yourself one before they become unaffordable.

I've had one of these for a year, had it looked over by a luthier, a bit of adjustment. Superb guitar, great sound. I use it for Jazz with 11s.

This is my first Squire and my first Telecaster and I am very happy with my purchase. Is it perfect? Not at all. I had to polish the frets, they were really rough but after a few minutes they cleaned up nicely. No fret sprout though. I had to adjust the string and pick up heights which is not a big deal. After those minor issues were taken care of the guitar actually sounds and plays great. The finish is amazing. If there was a con, for me it would be the glossy neck, not a fan. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it, especially at this price point.

My guitar tech turned me on to the squire vibe telecaster
said if I didn't love it he would buy it off me ,he had two of his own he did say get the lightest one available I did ,the pickups especially the bridge pickup is super hot I would recommend it to any one who plays out professionally

This guitar is simply "Stunning"!!!!! The wood grain and finish are flawless. The sound is amazing and with the EHX Satisfaction, this Squire sounds just like the Yardbirds and the Stones. I'm really impressed with this guitar. The setup was perfect out of the box from Sweetwater. This is my 4th Tele, the other 3 expensive Fender's, but this little Butterscotch is becoming my favorite.

I'm a beginner at guitar and I wanted a decent guitar to start. I absolutely love my Telecaster. This CV 50's Tele is the best. I love the " Twangy" sound of it and it's perfect for the older country style (Bakersfield sound). I play mine everyday for at least 3-4 hrs. lol!!!

I own a Classic Vibe 50s Tele, and it has been my #1 guitar since the time I bought it. I cannot recommend them highly enough!

I didn't buy mine from Sweetwater, but I know that Sweetwater does an excellent job of selling (what you see is what you will get) but also a great job of setup and fast shipping. All with very competitive prices.

I'm seriously thinking about buying another, since this one was modded, and I would like to have an all original one!

Many thanks to everybody at Sweetwater for being so trustworthy. This gorgeous Tele was perfectly set up and I had nothing to do but plug and play. I am a simple man and this kind of stuff makes me so happy!

Not much to say other than I live this guitar. Huge bang for the buck. Feels great, looks great, it's just great.

I bought this classic vibe a couple years back and its a awesome guitar,I did put a set of danny gaton pups in her and wow what a guitar .It plays great .one of my favorite s.I play this 1 more than any other (I have 10 )even more than my american strats and prs If your thinking about this guitar go for it sweetwater s my go to music store they rock

I recently purchased this 50's Vibe Classic Telecaster and I am very happy with it. I couldnt find a thing wrong with it. It plays well and is a nice looking guitar. The price was great but other that theres nothing cheap about it! Sweetwater got it out of the store and into my hands pretty quick.
I will likely buy another one and put a humbucker in it. If you have interest in one of these guitars just go ahead and buy it.

Just a few months ago I owned a Gibson Les Paul Traditional, a Gibson SG Standard and a Fender Strat American Professional. I don't play live anymore and it seemed like overkill. I sold all of them and bought an Epiphone Les Paul Custom and this Squier CV Tele 50's. And I don't regret it one bit. This Tele is fat, heavy, looks great, sounds great and plays great. I got over my ego and insisting on the "big" names on the headstock and just went for feel and tone. This guitar has plenty of both, and now I have a few thousand dollars in the bank and still have some great guitars...
This is just a great Tele.

I bought one of these and loved it. It was beautiful, perfectly intonated, and a joy to play, but … I thought "what if," and I ordered a set of Seymour Duncan hot rails and Emerson prewired pots and kablooy! Clark Kent turned into Superman! I realize that most won't buy one of these just to mod it into something else, but if you can't afford that tele you've been lusting after and don't really care what name is stuck on the peghead, this Squire opens doors you may not have imagined..

Well, this was my 1st purchase with them... I always favored in-store purchases, normally Guitar Center.

But because of the 55 points of inspection and that they had the instrument I wanted, in the color I wanted, promptly available... I gave it a try...

I couldn't be happier... Excellent experience and service!

My guitar arrived and it was absolutely perfect! Thanks so much for the great service and attention to detail. I recently purchased a different guitar from another online vendor and the instrument was not even close to what Sweetwater would have shipped! Y'all were out of stock and I was impatient, so I took a risk. I won't do that again for sure!

This guitar looks and sounds amazing would recommend 100%!

First of all shout out to SW for the usual out of the box instant gratification of a perfectly playable set up guitar. I own a 3+ year old Chinese CV 50s Strat bought from SW so I had a little worry about the $ price bump since and switch to Indonesia for the new CVs. FORGET IT. The CNC machine doesn't care where it works - this Tele is a 9.1 lb Pine speed machine that plays like butter or buttah depending on where you are from. Neck is wicked fast. Buttahscotch with nice Pine grain showing through, black guard, string through - doesn't get much more classic than that. For the jack or even a hundred more this guitar will not hurt your feelings AT all. It makes you want to play it - and that's the sign of a guitar for you. ☮ ☮ ☮ ☮ ☮

You will not be disappointed!! I was a little hesitant on picking up one of these Classic Vibe Telecasters and read all the great reviews on it. I honestly had my sites on one of the player series Fender Teles but changed my mind at the last minute. I was iffy about the narrow tall frets over the med/jumbo and also the gloss finish on the neck opposed to the satin finish of the Fender. I had Sweetwater change the bridge out for me to a Fender 3 brass barrel ashtray bridge and also work their magic on the plecking machine. I was blown away when I received this guitar!! Setup was spot on and it absolutely plays like butter. The narrow tall frets and gloss neck is of no concern and I actually love both!! Kudos to Sweetwater guitar techs!!! If you are looking at this guitar do not hesitate...just get it plecked and buy it. You won't be disappointed!!!

One hell of a guitar! Plus the extra $60 for a great setup by Sweetwater was money well spent!
Thank you Sweetwater . You never disappoint !
My tele-pro brother picked it at his show last weekend.
Played the duration of his last set. Said nothing but great things about this Squire 50's vibe. Keep up the good work fender.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this CV Squier Telecaster. I was hesitant on buying this model, but after reading 36 reviews on SW, I decided to take the plunge. Great value for the money.

Sounds great! Fit and finish is great

I've had this exact guitar in buttersctoch blonde for close to 3 years now, purchased from Sweetwater. There is NOTHING wrong with it. Everything, from the finish to the frets and the neck to the electronics, is on point. In fact I have an older buddy who's been an on-stage player and who owns several Fenders play it and he couldn't put ti down, and he said it's every bit as good as his Fender tele. (I know, we read stuff like that all the time in Squier and Epiphone reviews, but it's true). Mine seems to have more of a deeper creamy yellow than the one pictured on the site here, and I much prefer mine to the one shown here. That's the beauty of buying from Sweetwater- you get to pick your exact guitar from those in stock, I love that feature here! I also own the Squier Classic Vibe HSS strat and it's a charmer as well. Guitars from Sweetwater always come very well packaged too. Two thumbs up to Squier Classic Vibe and Sweetwater!

The Squier Classic Vibe '50s telecaster is an excellent addition to my collection. It is economically priced without suffering quality. It looks beautiful, sounds excellent plugged in or unplugged (it is very resonate). Would buy again and enjoyed the overall Sweetwater experience immensely.

First off a shout out to Ed Nystrom and the good folks at sweetwater who make the buying process fun and easy.
I love this butterscotch CV squire Telecaster. It has a surprisingly good build and is very attractive looking. What impressed me the most though were the single coil alnico pickups. This thing really sounds as good as any fender guitar that I have played.
Buy this...you will not be sorry!

looks like the one i played in 1966 but that one was 51 that les paul had in his studio i recored there for 7 months with my band he saw us play in greenwood lake ny gene paul was the enginer

First kudos to awesome sales rep Mr. Yuval Fuchs. Helpful, friendly and the 'silver-tongued devil' has the best voice this side of radio! Now the two Squier Classic Vibe 50's BSB Teles I just purchased, couldn't be happier, they look, play & sound amazing. Nothing I am not in love with about these guitars and I used to play the real Mccoy, an (actual) '52 blackguard but that is another story. Every good thing musicians say about these instruments is true and then some and when your not playing them, sit 'em on a stand, crack open your beverage of choice and just sit and marvel at the genius of Uncle Leo's classic simplicity baby. Love the fact we get to pick ACTUAL instruments by serials at Sweetwater as well! I picked two on the light-side with beautiful pine bodies to boot! Thank-you Sweetwater!

This is the second guitar I've bought from Sweetwater. The 55 point inspection offers confidence. The Squier Classic Vibe 50s arrived in fine shape, was well set up and with no adjustments necessary. Everything was great and it was even pretty much in tune. Sweetwater would always be my first choice when buying a guitar.

This guitar now plays like a 5 star rating, but was in need a good Luthier's attention when I first received her. The frets were a little sharp and pronounced buzzing in certain spots on the neck. With a little sanding and adjusting that issue was resolved. I changed the bridge saddles to Wilkinson compensated brass saddles for better intonation and better resonance and also changed the tuners to Kluson vintage. With the bone nut, brass saddles and pine body, the guitar rings beautifully and plays comparable to my American Telecaster which costs about 4 times the amount. I really enjoy the way the pickups sound on this guitar, with great lows, mids, and highs. This guitar was made in Indonesia and I was disappointed to see that they did not put the shielding paint in the pickup cavities to reduce the hum. My guitar tech said it would not make much difference, and would be unnoticeable. Good size frets, not vintage style which are very low. These frets are tall and easy to stretch the strings with. I own much more expensive Gibson's, Fenders, and I was looking for a guitar not to have to worry about and just pick up and play at a moments notice. Great guitar in which I enjoy to play very much. In this price point, I highly recommend this guitar, but keep in mind it may need a Luthier's attention before you can enjoy playing her.

I love my new Squuer Telecaster. It sounds and played wonderfully. Sweetwater shipped it, and I got it in two days. All of my experiences with Sweetwater, and their sales engineers have2

If you're like me, you go through different phases in your musical tastes. I came back to the world of guitars after a 40-year absence about 3 years ago, picking up my first electric guitar ever at the age of 64. I didn't spend much for a couple of reasons: 1) I'm not made of money and was on the verge of retiring 2) If I stunk at it, I wouldn't have wasted much money.
As it turned out, I took to it quickly. It was a Yamaha Pacifica 112J purchased from another company. It got me interested in guitars again and through that, I came to learn about Sweetwater. I ordered an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top Pro, then a Yamaha FG830 acoustic and then a Yamaha FS-TA Transacoustic. All are fantastic guitars. I play them usually in rotation, trying not to ignore one so as not to hurt its feelings.
The Pacifica is my Strat copy. It's a terrific guitar for the money. The Les Paul is my hard rock guitar. When I feel like blistering paint, that's the one I plug in. (Okay, I play over headphones through my amp, so the only things I really blister are my ears.)
But I started to long for a Telecaster. That country twang. That clear, clean lead sound. The simplicity of the controls. The Squier Classic Vibe '50s Telecaster fit the bill perfectly: the classic look, the specs, the price and the reviews, which are overwhelmingly off the charts.
And so, dealing with the umpteenth straight month of Pandemic Lockdown 2020 and a little bored (but also grateful after recovering from COVID-19 in the hospital), I decided to pull the trigger on a guitar that had been tempting me for over a year.
One of the beautiful things about Sweetwater is the ability to pick the actual guitar you'll receive. I picked the one with the wood grain that was the most appealing and hit the button and two days later, my Tele arrived via the friendly FEDEX man.
I've read great reviews for years about the entire Squier lineup and this Classic Vibe Telecaster in particular. After playing it for a couple of weeks, I can report it's no exaggeration. These are terrific guitars. Seventy years ago, Clarence Leo Fender designed the first commercially successful solid body electric guitar, the Esquire/Broadcaster/NoCaster/Telecaster, and it's still with us today and still as relevant, as vibrant, as simple and yet sophisticated as any guitar on the market. And the Squier version, while affordable, captures the essence of the original Tele: pine body, simple and yet elegant and sounding great.
It plays wonderfully. I was a little unsure about the maple fretboard after experience with only rosewood, but in fact I think I prefer it. The tuners are fine. I love the pickup selector switch (they should all be positioned there) and the volume and tone pots. Everything is right where it should be.
Oh ... and that Tele tone!
This guitar will do anything you want it to, from jazz to heavy metal. And you don't have to sell a kidney to afford a really, really nice electric guitar.
If you're sitting on the fence, wondering about the Squier Classic Vibe '50s Telecaster, climb off it, go to your computer or smartphone and order one now. I guarantee you won't regret it. It will last you a lifetime and bring you years of smiles.

This is my second telecaster (my first was the Squier Affinity Special bsb). I love the color and finish. The neck feels way more comfortable than my Strat, and I love the sound of the pickups. I'll be getting the Mojotone solderless wiring harness for telecaster to upgrade the pots, switch and wiring, did that with my Strat and am really pleased with the results. I'd highly recommend this CV 50s telecaster, it's such a great guitar.

A big thank you Ryan and everyone else at Sweetwater. You guys rock. The smarties were special, you read my note!!! You guys are doing it right. Thank you.

As for the Squire Classic Vibe 50s Telecaster, that is Keith Richards fault. Cruising around on Youtube, I came across a short asking Kieth "If you could only have 1 guitar what would it be", and hardly pausing to think he responded, "My Tele". I have never had any interest in owning one as I mistakenly thought it would be redundant to my Strat, and Les Paul and I wasn't sure about it's looks. I was very wrong. This Tele has made me a believer. The butter scotch wood grain finish is beautiful, but the sound and play-ability right out of the box are stunning. Pretty standard with guitars in this price range I anticipate the need to upgrade pots, bridges, saddles, nuts, etc to help them shine. I have already received a set of modern 6 string brass saddles, tele bridge, 2 new CTS pots and brass nut for it. These parts will never go on this guitar, It is perfect as arrived. Maybe I got lucky, although I listened to many Telecasters on Youtube and zero'd in on this model. The body on mine appears to be one piece and acoustically it is spectacular. Amped it is transcendental. I currently now own 20 guitars in a very eclectic collection, many of which have not been built in years, but to the best of my recollection any new current guitar I own, has been purchased from you at Sweetwater. A few of these guitars are investment grade. I have a genuine D'Aquisto Jim Hall, D'Angelico 1940 A1 and custom shop older Gibson's and a Martin from some of their best years. I say this only to underline, when a guitar like this stuns me with how right it is in every aspect, I am comparing it to some very special guitars.

Thank you Ryan and Sweetwater, once again,ru
George

This thing feels amazing! It is everything I was expecting and more! I could not be happier with it!

I think at this point how well built these Squier Classic Vibe products are is quite well established. There are tons of detailed reviews on Youtube, and they hold true.

There are a couple of things I was concerned about.
The first thing was the glossed neck finish. Some Youtubers commented that it's kind of sticky. I didn't find it sticky at all. It's smooth and very playable.
The other thing was the slim c neck profile. Again, some Youtubers said that it wasn't optimal and could be hard to wrap your thumb around the top. It feels very comfortable for me but I am a 170cm tall Asian dude so your milage may vary.

The guitar is really thoroughly inspected. It came in tune (not perfect but it did take a week to arrive in Australia). It's action is perfect, everything polished. The neck needed a tiny bit of adjustment but considering this is winter in Australia and it's summer in the US, I have no doubt that it had a perfect neck relief when they shipped it.

The packing was better than I could ever ask for. Because I've only bought guitars offline, or local vendors online that ship all guitars with free gig bags, I didn't know what to expect. The guitar was very well protected! That's why I've uploaded photos of packing.

Also the fact that I was able to see the actual photos of the actual guitar and the weight was listed, was very helpful. The guitar looks EXACTLY like the photos I saw, with the wood grains and all.

Very impressed.

I was concerned I might not like the sound as much as my "nicer" Mexican Strat, but I sold the strat so I could try out this Tele. It sounded nice going directly into my Bugera 5 watt tube amp, but I was blown away at its sound going through my Wampler Ego Compressor and JHS Morning Glory. Neck/Bridge/both, everything sounded so thick. The guitar resonates FOREVER.
I love the old look of the neck and how the Squire logo is only noticeable up close (if you care about that). I prefer a satin finish on the back of the neck, but this gloss is so smooth, it feels better than the satin to me. Don't hesitate to buy this.
Warning: Look at the different options available, some have weird imperfections in the body or neck that you may not like.
Complaint: the Sweet Water sales engineer (who is so helpful) suggested upgrading to a bone but when I asked if brass saddles would be better for intonation. I paid $... to get this installed (along with professional set up) but later saw the guitar already came with a bone nut... I don't think he would have known that off the top of his head because this is just a low level guitar, but it's odd that I haven't heard back after leaving 2 messages. Either way, I'll be back. Sweetwater and this guitar are fantastic!

This is a review for the 2020 classic vibe 50s telecaster. I'm very impressed. Great build quality and great tone. The narrow tall frets feel great and the bone nut is also a welcomed upgrade. The alnico 5 pups are the real deal. The pine body resonates quite impressively. Put all that together with a 55 point inspection from Sweetwater and it's great out of the box. Highly recommend to anyone wanting a quality instrument at a very good price.

P.S. they can be quite heavy, so it's great you can pick your guitar from Sweetwater. Mine is a bit over 8 lbs and it's perfect.

Plays as good as my Fender Telecaster
at about half the price it's a no brainier

This is a great guitar for the price. The fit and finish are quite good. Fret work is better than some much higher priced guitars I've had. The glossy neck finish might be a minus for some, but I'm okay with it. It sounds great in that lower power single coil Tele sort of way - seems true to the 50s vibe intent. I'm sure the electronics could be upgraded to better pots and such, but I don't see the need. I think any new guitar player would be thrilled with the guitar and vets will be pleased to add another solid player for such a great price. It looks fantastic and is an easy player with a pleasing Tele sound. If you can just get over the fact that it's made in China and any old bad associations or embarrassment you might have about playing a Squire, this guitar might be the one you're looking for. I'm completely satisfied. It was packed perfectly and arrived quickly. I decided to buy this from Sweetwater based on their inspection policy and reputation. I'm glad I did.

Normally a Strat guy, this is new territory for me.

Before plugging it in, I checked the neck relief and string height - perfect.

The fretwork deserves a standing ovation - buttery smooth, with no sharp "gotcha" ends anywhere.

The rest is as advertised, and I'm now a Tele guy too. It has some nice growl!

Oh, and in parting, the fretwork... yes, again... it's simply outstanding. Whoever did the work, "Good on ya, mate!".

I HAVE OWNED 2 AMERICAN STANDARD TELECASTERS , AND NOW A 2008 CLASSIC-VIBE. THE "VIBE" FEELS, SOUNDS AND LOOKS AS GOOD OR BETTER THAN ITS AMERICAN COUSINS, PERIOD! ITS THE BUTTERSCOTCH MODEL AND LOOKS/PLAYS FANTASTIC—SOUNDS JUST LIKE JAMES BURTON WIYH RICKY NELSON!!

I'm a newbie to this whole music thing. The Squier Classic Vibe '50 Telecaster is fun to learn upon. I still sound like I'm killing cats, but I hear and see small improvements on a regular basis. The beautiful appearance of the guitar is motivating for me; it's tough to look at it and not want to pick it up and give it a try. The guitar arrived in perfect condition, and I was happy with Sweetawater's level of communication. Lovin' it!

The staff at sweetwater made this an easy buying experience and made sure the guitar was everything I wanted before it was sent out. There inspection process speaks for itself. The guitar is flawless and the setup is not bad for out of the box.

Not sure how Fender does this without undercutting their more expensive Telecasters. This is a super nice guitar that can even be used professionally.

As a new guitar after a long time of trying to learn guitar I was looking for a guitar that I did not have to spend over a 1000's for after having my Tetecaster from Squier wow they hit this one out of the park if you are looking to get a great guitar and you do not look at classic vibe's from Squier you would being your self a dis service so take a look them you won't be sorry

I really like the way this guitar feels. It plays superbly, very smooth. great tone.

The guitar is a beauty, just like my previous purchase from Sweetwater, (Gretsch 2655T) not a flaw on either one. This is my first maple fretboard, and it does feel a little strange to me, but I'm getting used to it. The action and intonation was great out of the box, the volume & tone controls are very responsive, and the guitar sounds great. I'm very pleased with my new addition.
My sales engineer, Colton Smiricky, was on top of getting my order taken care of and responded right away when I had a question about my shipment. Love their dedication to customers. I would not order a guitar from anyone else.

Very impressed with this telecaster. Came set up right out of the box! Has that great tele sound . I like it better than some high end fenders I highly recommend buying from Sweetwater music !

Better than I expected. A true keeper. In my opinion as good as an American fender.

The Classic Vibe Telecaster is an amazing value. I'd have been happy to have paid twice the price!

It has the classic look and the all classic tones. The guitar came perfect right out of the box, I haven't had to do any setup at all. The intonation was perfect on all frets.

I will never buy a guitar online anywhere but Sweetwater. My Sales Engineer, Chris Moseley, is always super helpful and great with communication. I ordered this guitar at 4PM and it was in my house at 10AM the next day.

Literally could not be more pleased with this purchase and all my experiences with Sweetwater.

This is rapidly becoming my favorite guitar in my collection. Easy to play, great tele sound straight out of the box. As good as my American made Strat.

I PURCHASED THE TELE CV SEVERAL MONTHS AGO PER MY SWEETWATER TECH MICHAEL BOLTONS ADVISE, WHICH IS SO VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE IN ALL FACETS OF MUSIC.! HE WAS RIGHT ON, THIS GUITAR LOOKS AND PLAYS LIKE A MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE
TELE.! QUAILTY, PLAYABILITY AND FIT AND FINISH IS OUTSTANDING.! I HAVE PURCHASED 4 GUITARS FROM SWEETWATER TO ADD TO MY COLLECTION NOW 34 GUITARS, SEVERAL AMPS AND ACCESSORIES.! IM 70 YEARS OLD, PROFESSIONAL PLAYER FOR 55 YEARS AND SWEETWATER IS ABSOLUTELY THE VERY BEST MUSIC COMPANY I HAVE EVER HAD THE PLEASURE DOING BUSINESS WITH.!!!
GOD BLESS SWEETWATER, OWNER-CHUCK SURACK AND ALL ITS EMPLOYEES...!!! MUSIC IS FOOD FOR THE SOUL...!!!

The 2019 version of the Squier Classic Vibe 50s Telecaster just shipped and I got one of the first ones. Have only had it for a couple of days, but I'm loving it!

Looks: It has a classic 50s look with Butterscotch finish. Unlike some of the Fender branded butterscotch re-issues which have mismatched looking white maple necks, the Squier neck looks like it might actually be roasted to give it a real vintage look. This also brings out the wood grain on the fingerboard and the look is just wow! The body on this is pine, which some of the very earliest Fender guitars used. It shows a really nice grain through the finish. A lot of the other Squier or Fender butterscotch finishes show very little grain. I was a bit concerned in that pine is a bit of a soft wood, but they have a pretty heavy polyurethane finish on this which I think will help offset any softness of the wood.

Playability: It plays great. Came set up really well from Sweetwater with correct radius on the bridge to match the fingerboard radius, neck with just the slightest bow as it should have, action set to 4/64 on treble side of the 12th fret and 5/64 on the bass. No high frets or buzzing (I usually have to do some fret leveling, not on this one). Only 2 things I had to do was a) raise the pickups slightly to meet my preferences and b) there was one overhanging fret on the treble side that the string would actually catch on when picking up or putting down the guitar, but a quick touch up with a fret file fixed that.

Electric sound: Sounds great too. Pickups are running about 9K resistance in the bridge and neck. Puts out enough output to not sound anemic, but has a classic tele sound.

I've been playing guitar for over 50 years and starting as a Gibson guy, but lately getting into Fender. This a great way to get a classic 50s Telecaster vibe!

This guitar is sweet! It sounds great and is easy to play. Great guitar for the money, no doubt.
As always Sweetwater is the best at getting your gear to you on time and backing their gear with a great staff.
Always easy to work with.

I'm just a hobbyist and I've always wanted a Telecaster because I've always enjoyed the tones it produces from my favorite artists.

10+ years later I finally pulled the plug and Got this model. They sponsored a youtube from someone that I forgot his name where he modeled 5 Telecasters from cheapest to custom higher end. This Squier sounded closer to where I'm wanting my sound to be at when I FINALLY learn to PLAY!

I've bought from either GC or MF and A local shop in Houston for my Stratocaster and T Bucket 300 acoustic in the past. So I looked like everyone on the internet and Sweetwater had the same prices as Amazon so, So I decided to give a Music shop my business over the Internet/GC/MF people who don't really seem to care that much... IMO.

Shipping was fast. It was over labor day weekend so I was pleasantly surprised when this showed up in a bout 2 days.

WOW, talk about care in packaging. I honestly believe you could have driven a tank over the box. Loving wrapped and boxed in multiple layers of padding and bubble wrap. Then put into another box with yet more padding.

I also LOVED the candy inclusion. Nice touch and tasty!

Something about this guitar - it's hard to put down. And, I chose a beautiful grained 9.5 lb one so it's hard to pick up, too ! lol So nice - I wear it like a glove; plays like greased lightning. Of all the guitars I have - 2 of my favorites are the 50s CV Strat (Chinese) and this 50s CV Tele (Indonesian) - just plain ol' simple big boy hot rods they let you blow instantly - blues, rock, chicken pickin', Holdsworth - anything you come up with this neck will accommodate easily.. I purchased both from Sweetwater with their usual outstanding service and the help of Charlie Davis it's all peace of mind good and the candy doesn't hurt either. •••••

I wanted a Tele but couldn't afford the higher end ones. I originally was looking for the base model Squier as a project guitar, but upon doing some research found that it'd be less expensive to just get this version. So I did. I wanted the string-through-body bridge and didn't want to mess with drilling that stuff myself. I've been extremely pleased with this. It was pretty good right out of the box. I added a 4-way switch and an electrosocket jack, got a professional setup, and now this thing cooks. I was jamming with a guy who is a Tele aficionado and he was really impressed with this machine. I really like the neck on this thing too. Very playable, in my opinion. If you're on a budget and want a great sounding Tele, this thing is worth the price of admission.

Everything about is exactly what I was looking for. It sounds great and the Butterscotch is timeless.
My only complaint is it slips out of tune very fast. Cheap tuners or maybe the strings just need to settle. Time will tell. Still highly recommend.

Purchased this guitar to mod but after playing it for about 5 weeks it doesn't need to be modded. Great service and a great setup. Mike from Sweetwater is fantastic.

It seems like the long held old school bias toward USA made guitars could use some tuning itself. I watched a YouTube comparison between this model and the Fender Player and American series, and the tones and cost savings were such that I decided to pick one up From Sweetwater. I received the usual requisite 5 star services from Nick Graham and the gang, and like the SW reviews reflected, the guitar did need to benefit from a professional setup in that frets needed some more smoothing. I guess that's how they sell for less by not spending as much finishing time on them. Afterwards, it feels, sounds, and plays at least as well as the Players series and I really don't miss the Fender decal.

The guitar is a great telecaster overall. The volume potenciometer stoped working in a few months. Had to replace them but it is totally worth it. This is the second one that I have bought, I had the older version made in China(had better pickups) but this newer model for me, the neck feels nicer.

This tele was well set up right out of the box. Exactly as shown and described on Sweetwater. This looks and plays as well as my previous MIM telecaster that is twice as expensive. The pickups are awesome. Don't think I will change them. Don't be deterred by the Squier name. This is a quality guitar

I have bin playing for over 50 Year's, built 6 guitars of my own.
I love this guitar. I have a 94 American Telecaster and the Squire Teleis just as good if not Better then the American made.
Fast delivery. Right out of the box it was set up perfectly. I did lower the bridge pickup to try match the output.
The only thing I would change is the tuners, nut and neck pickup or both pickups.
Only played her for a few hours. Just got it yesterday.
Time to Wake the neighborhood!
Peace Stevie

I've only had the guitar in my hand for a few hours, but a few things stood out immediately to me (good and bad).

I purchased this guitar over a weekend, and had it in my hands by Wednesday. I am super pleased, as it arrived 2 days earlier than expected!

The finish on this guitar is absolutely beautiful, I chose my specific serial # because the neck seemed to compliment the body. I've attached the picture Sweetwater sent me while it was being shipped, I would add my own personal photo but my iPhone really doesn't do this thing justice. The guitar is exactly as it was photographed by Sweetwater, so I'm stoked about that.

Construction actually feels pretty solid for a $~ guitar. Volume and Tone knobs as well as the pickup selector all feel really solid. Pick ups sound great, and I am actually enjoying the neck pick up way more than I expected (as someone who uses it sparingly). Fret work is good, however there is small amounts of what I believe to be glue residue on a few frets. Honestly not a big deal and my fingernail was enough to get it off.

Onto the bad...I wish Squier would have put a tad more effort into the nut and/or tuners. Truthfully I don't know which is the culprit, but this thing has horrible tuning stability compared to my other Squier and my Schecter. The tuner hardware feels pretty solid, and better than my other Squier so I'm hoping its a simple nut issue.


All in all, this guitar is definitely worth the price. I don't foresee the small issues I've found costing me a fortune, and it still provides me a good playable platform that I can customize if I want.

Is this a good guitar out of the box? YES. do you need to make upgrades to it? NO. Now, needs and wants are two different things. Im extremely impressed at the quality of this guitar out of the box, will I "want" to make some changes? I will, but thats personal preference. Im talking about the tuners, and electronics primarily. Surprisingly enough Im pretty satisfied with the pickups, i dont see myself changing them in the near future. I do want to highlight the neck, this to me the most important part of any guitar and this neck is GREAT, fretwork is great, neck size is good, the poly finish doesnt bother me one bit, i dont find it sticky (this is personal preference of course). I will go as far as to say that this Squier has a better neck than my previous Tele a Nash t63. If you change tuners (the squier ones hold tuning fine, they just feel uneven) and electronics this Squier feels overall better than a 2k dollar Nash, that to me is astonishing.
Buy with confidence, this is great guitar. If you are handy you can make this guitar sound and feel like a guitar 5 times its price.

I bought the Fender Classic Tele pickups to put into this, knowing that the stock pickups aren't something Squier is putting money into on these guitars. The neck pickup obviously came out easily, though the wire snapped right off at the solder joint on the pickup itself, so.. make of that what you will.

The only really problem I had was that the screws screwing the bridge into the body were torqued waaaaaay too much, and were basically impossible to do with hand tools... So a simple pickup swap I can handle all day, turned into a costly setup.

D far enjoying it.

The FedEx guy dropped the box on the corb.
1 week later and the temperature here hit the high 90's.
The back of the neck, between frets 2 and 4 have developed an issue.
The strip has raised up enough to be noticable to my left thumb.

So far not a big deal though.

I've had three Telecasters throughout 45 years of live engagements. Two were early 60's and an early MIM. I've sold and traded so many guitars during those years I can't remember all of them. A few of my old friends and some past band mates are all doing the home studio stuff these days and I didn't have a classic Tele sound. I didn't want to be making large investments at this point in my life so I took a chance on a Squire. Here are some pros and cons.

Pros_It's a great price for what you're getting.
Hardware and electronics are acceptable.
Finish is good no flaws in mine.
Classic sound is acceptable.
Overall it works for me and does what I was needing it to do.

Cons_fretwork was good but number eight on mine was high and fretted out totally when bending even a half step ahead of that fret. Having built and worked on guitars for many years I fixed it myself and now it's fine.
After doing a complete setup I'm happy. Sounds like I want, it plays like I want, and it's a great value. I would definitely gig with this guitar if I were still active.

Trouble with tuners. High E tuner had 1/4 free play rotation. I mean it spun freely after bringing to tune and backing off. B tuner had same issue only half free travel as the high E. G tuner keep clicking when you tuned down and tuned up. That is until the head fell off the the tuner stem. Don't know how these issues could have been missed in the 55 point inspection. Frets are soft. Two weeks old and D string is marring lines in the fret when bending. Other than that fit and finish was acceptable.

buzzes really bad and not just because it's not a humbucker guitar.
the internal shielding was not done right. I had to correct it myself by taking it apart and coating the cavities with
shielding paint where it was missing. sloppy application of shielding paint at factory.
won't stay in tune no matter how much the strings were stretched. Again had to fix the tuning problem myself. I would have sent it back but it was so hard to find one that was this light and didn't have any other issues. the neck to body fitment
still leaves something to be desired, the gap between the neck and body much more than it should be, that I can't correct.
I have to live with that.

15 frets fell out they stuck out to far cut my string had to have the neck re done