Squier CV 60s Custom Tele 3-SB

The guitar arrived in Greece very quickly, in 7 days. The package was very secure and tight. The guitar came with loose strings, and no setup at all. I had to adjust the truss rod, fix the action, pickup height and intonate. No big deal for me, but someone else would pay for this kind of service.

The guitar is just beautiful. Looks like a single piece body, and the overall quality is very high. Frets have no sharp edges, and the indian laurel has a very pleasant interaction with the fingers.

The sound is very nice, for guitar that cost 400 euros, but pickups could be better, as they are very compressed and lack of spark. Bridge is nice, but the neck is too "loose" sounding, very bassy and lacks definition. That affects middle position, also. Pickups sound very good in recordings, but they don't give a good feedback in the finger. No attack at all. I immediately replaced them with a handmade Q pickups set, and the sound was shiny and clear.

This tele has a very high playability. It is very light (around 3300gr) and plays like butter, compared to a MIM one. The C shaped neck is very pleasing in playing. I have large and fat finger, and this type of "slim" neck makes my playing just as easy as breathing. Narrow tall frets, also, help a lot for bending and vibrato. The easiest playing on a "fenderish" guitar, ever, for me.

There only problem that I noticed, and affects my playing, is that the 3-way switch is very very tight and difficult to change position. I lubricate the plates inside, but I found no diffrence. It is very noisy, too.

Overall, I'd say that is a fine guitar, whose value exceeds the price paid. I would recommend it to anyone, without second thoughts.

I have several Teles from USA and MiM Fenders to Harley Benton T styles. They're all great in their own ways. This one I bought purely on impulse. I have always loved the look of bound sunburst Teles and when I saw this at £322 inc delivery, I just bought it. No other thought process than that.

It arrived within the week (4 business days) and was pretty well packed. When I opened the box and took it out, I couldn't believe how much better it looked in the 'flesh'. But then I thought, I suppose I'd better play it and see what I need to do to it. So I tuned it up and noodled around on it for a while. My first impressions playing this were that I don't need to touch anything. It is like it was set up for me in the shop. The neck feels great, the action is perfect, there are no sharp frets, the intonation is as close as you could expect with the vintage style bridge saddles (may well swap them for compensated saddles at some point), it's an incredibly nice instrument to play. The tones are just what you buy a Tele for. Maybe a little bright at the bridge for my liking, but usable and certainly nothing that a few minor adjustments couldn't sort out.

I'm not going to compare this with the USA models. There is no comparison, the USA instruments are better finished in every way and the hardware is much better. It is not a fair comparison. But this does compare quite well with my MiMs. The fit and finish are very similar, the weight is about the same and the playability is spot on. What did surprise me is that I got a guitar that is very close in quality and tone for less than half the price of my MiMs. It might be that the difference may well be due to the hardware. If it is, I don't think paying twice the price is worth it just to have Fender on the headstock.

Overall I have fallen in love with this guitar. It is the best impulse buy I've made in a very, very long time.

This is a very well built guitar, the body and neck feel solid and of high quality. The fretwork is surprisingly good for a guitar of this price range and the finish looks absolutely beautiful too! The double bound sunburst body just looks amazing and the tint on the neck goes really well with it. The neck is also very comfortable to play. It does require a full setup out of the box to be perfectly playable like most other guitars.

The standard hardware that comes with the guitar (tuners, bridge and saddles) is okay, they're sturdy enough although they tend to make the guitar go out of tune frequently so I will be changing them.

The pickups: the bridge pickup has all the classic Tele tones you need, and definitely holds its own in different genres where a bright or distorted tone is wanted. The neck pickup however leaves much to be desired, its sound is way too hollow for my taste and will be swapped out for a pickup with more versatility for playing jazz and blues. The wiring inside the control plate and the other cavities is pretty messy and dirty but this is not something you would ever have to interact with if you didn't want to.

All in all, considering the differences between this guitar and its "high-end" alternatives, there is very little to complain about, especially at this price. If you're going for a Squier Tele, the price/performance ratio of this guitar, even with its few minor imperfections, makes it a no brainer. Squier has really brought back that 60s vibe with considerable quality. Think of this guitar as a solid starting platform, waiting to be raised to its full potential. With a small amount of effort, this guitar can go from good to amazing both in looks and sound!