Squier CV 60s Thinline Tele MN NT

The Fender Squier range has been a respectable brand ever since its introduction in the 1980's. This Thinline tele is no exception. I cannot understand how such a quality instrument can be produced for such little money.

It is not perfect. There were two scratch plate screws missing, but that was all. The finish is pretty flawless. it weighs next to nothing (2.7kg), the acoustic tone (which is frequently a good indicator of the eventual electric tone) is loud, bright and twangy, it has a comfortable, excellently finished neck with perfectly serviceable Kluson style tuners and the whole guitar generally looks the business.

They leave the truss rod slack for shipping, but this is a two minute adjustment and otherwise, intonation was well set and there really is nothing to complain about.

Of course the pickups could be improved but honestly, it still has the sound. It still sounds like a Telecaster. The bridge pickup is acceptable and the neck pickup typically weak — but good enough when both pickups are selected.

I gave up on trying to be responsible years ago, so these days my guitars are rarely less than a few thousand pounds. But I want a guitar that can get a scratch or a dent or two without giving me palpitations. Upgrade the pickups and it will be a solid and reliable worker.

Purchased for blues, clean & o.d. vintage tones.

Bulid & finish is phenomenal for a guitar at this price point, im really impressed with fretwork and overall feeling, great work! On par with my Yamaha PAC 611 HFM, for sure.

Set up, intonation & action was pretty good, absolutely playable since day 1. Mine has some issues with the toggle switch and the volume pot, sprayed some conduct cleaner and its ok now. But im gonna upgrade electronics anyway. Keep in mind that these are cheap components most likely to cause problems after some use.

Guitar is very light, due to semi cavities, and thats a plus if you have problems with your back or giging for many hours.

Tonewise, the traditional tele sounds mixed very well with the semi nature of this guitar, there is more "air" in the sound and slightly less of the "woody" & percussive quality of a solid body. Great combination!

Pickups are ok, they manage to capture a wide range of frequencies, bridge is definitely more hot than the neck.

Neck is fantastic, very comfortable for bends and chords. Tuners are...ok, i mean they can hold tune but there is some play and different tensions. Thats the second thing to upgrade.

Worth to mention that this guitar is vey loud unplugged, you can play easily without an amp for practice.

Summary: Its an excellent VFM guitar and pretty upgradable to, I guess with some minor tweaks this thing has some serious potentials!

(+) Pros

-Finish & Build
-Fretwork
-Neck shape very comfortable
-Tones

(-) Cons

-Pots & toggle switch on the "cheap" side