The Classic Vibe series of electric guitars and basses from Squier is mildly new, coming out in the last few months. As you might suspect, its guitars are recreations of older, “classic” Fenders.
They all cost around $300 new and feature yellowed white plastic controls and pickups (minus the Tele), maple necks, and bodies of alder, pine, or basswood.
The one people are talking about, I think, is the Duo Sonic. From Squier:
“The Classic Vibe Duo-Sonic ’50s boasts cool, classic Fender® vibe. Originally conceived as a student-level guitar designed to capture the attention of rock ‘n’ roll 1950s youth, the Duo-Sonic became a sought-after model among collectors, musicians and Fender fans.”
I had the chance to play one at my buddy’s place and I liked it a lot. I think this series could definitely take on some of the Mexican Fenders’ market share. The neck felt like a vintage guitar, the sensation to palm, grip, everything. It was light just like the old antiques. The pickups had a vintage sound too. Those older Strats can be noisy, but these look to be clean reproductions.
Ok, that’s all for now. Have a good one.
July 31, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Ok, I am a fan of fender. I do have a fender squire strat from 1986. But I need to play this one to be satisfied. Just knowing the knobs are plastic is a turn off. Of course I can replace components if I want to. Going to check more info on this one.
July 31, 2008 at 7:49 pm
what material are the knobs on your 86 squier made of? i’ve never played a squier from the 80’s….how’s the quality?
August 15, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I was under the impression that most knobs like these were plastic. What were you expecting? Ivory?
August 30, 2008 at 11:14 am
I have the classic vibe tele in the blond. Has Alnico 3 pups and without a doubt one of the finest tele’s i have played bar none. Sound is excellant from everything from grunge to blues, especially blues. I am playing it through a cheap old Crate 65w amp and have to say it matches my custom made strat for sound, and I ain’t kiddin. This tele exudes old style classic Fender guitar craftsmanship even though it is a Pac Rim made guitar. I imagine that over the next year or so these will become harder to obtain due to demand when everyone finds out about them. PUPs are indeed noiseless but have large output and absolutely crystal clear sound when played through the clear channel, and excellant tele twang on the bridge pickup. Add a little gain with just a bit of fuzz and a slight reverb and you are Texas blues heaven on the neck pup. Middle pos. is the best of both worlds.
Neck is perfect for me. Intonation was very close out of the box. Just put some heavy nonwebs on it, lowered the action slightly, adjusted the pups accordingly and voila a tele I will be keeping for sometime to come. The guitar is a bit heavy on the shoulder but I like that and it balances well. Fender finally hit the nail on the head with this Squire, which I never thought I would own just cause of the name. I own a LP standard, my custom made Strat(high end luthier parts, all American made) and a PW 310 acoustic. This guitar is every bit as good as the previosly mentioned. thanks
September 12, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I have both the 50’s strat and the duo sonic from this series and they both sound like I should have paid more for it. The finish on both of these instruments are absolutely immaculate, especially on the necks.
I bought the duo sonic first and once I heard it through my Epi Valve Junior Stack, I went ahead and bought the 50’s
strat a couple days later.
I’ve played all of the guitars in this line and The pick ups are indeed ‘quiet.’ Even at higher gain and volume. My only beef is that it does not come with a case. Can’t have it all, I guess.
Try the Classic Vibe side by side with some of the expensive strats and teles and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.