Sounds alright. Must be fairly well put together as well to last all those years. Its interesting they've gone for the 50s spec of the truss rod adjustment at the heel.
Yeah, seems to be a mix of different stuff - top loader circa 1958 too. Nice guitars, I have to say. I was surprised with the sound as I don't remember the stock pickups on the black one being like this.
Maybe it is because I was in my early twenties when the Squier guitars first made their appearance, maybe it was the affordability of them in comparison with their American made cousins, or maybe it is because I actually bought a 1987 Squier Telecaster, in 1987, fresh of the production line (blonde, thus named "Marilyn"), which I still have today (with IronGear pickups replacing the stock ceramics she originally had), but to me these are the most brutally honest and raucously desirable guitars in existence! 😄 There is definitely something about them that makes me remember all the striving and yearning, and vibrance of my youth. I am so glad you finally got the twin for the StevieCaster Dunsy 👍 I predict you will have a lot of fun with "her". The white pick-guards are just as traditional and historic as the Black Guards, so I would keep it that way if I were you... Oh wait, I did keep mine that way LOL. Great start to the New Year mate, may all your 2025 purchases be as cool and crucial as this.
Fantastic that you have a similar model, sir! I'm surprised by how decent these pickups are - I'm sure that the original ones in the Steviecaster did not sound like this. I suspect maybe my taste in pickups has changed in the intervening decades, mind you! Yeah, really great guitars, no frills, just Rock and Roll machines.
Got a Squier Tele back in 2008 when I was jonesing for a tele tone ( les paul guy, got 5 of them) and it turned out to be my go to-all for $250 in an open box deal, will never get rid of it!
I spent newyears eve listening to dunsy’s long obsesión with country widdling he said by time he stopped his southern rock jam his dog and wife left him pretty good stuff cant wait till next new year to play dunsy jams again absolutely best
Very Cool, Thankyou Dunsy. Awesome Demo/Review video, Interesting, Informative and Entertaining and Amazing playing as always, The "Extended Jam Track" is amazing, could have listened to (and played along with ... badly) that for hours. Some amazing techiniques/skills. WOW. Another Stunning old Squier, I really have become a big fan of the 'Blonde'/Cream/Vintage White etc since The Fender Player II was released in Haialea Yellow(so awesome). Sounded So Good, highlighted by them end Jam. (after years of typing Squier I feel I am now finally confident of spelling Squire correctly everytime ....... DOH!) All The Best. Cheers
I have one of these from ‘85. Same color as yours too. It was my first real guitar, cut my teeth on it. Great build quality and tone. I changed the pups to Seymour Duncan Hot for Teles about 7 years ago. She’s still one of my favorite guitars.
Yeah, they're great playing guitars - I have Seymour Duncan's in the black one. Sill unsure about what to do with this one pickup wise, as it sounds pretty good. My memory of the original one was that they were quite microphonic at gig volume.
Hi Dunsy. Lovely video. It sounds really good in your hands. I own an '82 JV '62 Strat (first edition with large Fender logo). It is amazing! Fullerton pickups. I owned one of those top loading 80s E Series Teles in the same colour as yours. I remember it being a truly great and undervalued guitar and I gigged with it all over the pubs and clubs of Guernsey in the late nineties. The thin single ply pickguard was seriously coming away from the body on the top edge and I used strong double sided tape to hold it down. Like so many others, I foolish sold it to buy something else. Oh well... Enjoy!
Those original JV Strats look fantastic and I hear are killer, super accurate instruments. Yeah, the E Series Tele is nice, a simple, no frills rocker! I was surprised by how hot the bridge pickup is in this one. I don't remember the black one sounding like this, but that was about 30 years ago, mind you!
Congratulations Dunsy, happy picking with the new axe! Looks and sounds great man. You can always change pickups/electronics if you'd like later. I thought the bridge and middle positions actually sounded quite nice as they were.
Must admit there were some pretty decent guitars made back in the 1980's. Today perhaps not so much but having companies such as Harley Benton, Hex Instruments etc... do offer more affordable and budget friendly instruments. Thanks for sharing mate. Mine would be the copper Hamer "Steve Stevens" or perhaps the Westone "Pantera" models. 👍🎶🎶🎶🎶
Sounds fine to my ears Dunsy thanks for the clean sounds mate a lot of RUclipsrs just use distortion so you cant really tell much I'm an old small valve turn it up and use the volume control ( much more musical !) when i gigged i mostly used a 20w Marshall head into various cabinets turned up full ( late sixties amp) still got it, though in later years i ued a Peavey Bandit. Now I'm retired so i use a small modelling amp and ive treated myself to a Squire Danish Pete's purple Tele ( te cheap one lol) that plays nicely, a Hofner shorty violin bass , a Squire debut strat and Tele no issues or sharp frets play great with new strings and minimal set up mind you i have many other instruments nice jam btw 👍😀🤘✌️
I love the look of Pete's Tele, really classy. For amps these days I pretty much just use whatever the backline in the venue is - long gone are the days of me humping around cabinets and the likes, not with a back this age! I just take a wee cheapo Donner multi effect that has overdrive, chorus and delay and that's me. Fits in the pocket of my gig bag! Thanks a lot for checking it out, Sir. These are really nice, well made guitars that you can still pick up for a bargain.
Never understood how u can save much on p/up manufacture - it's a spool of wire attached to one or 6 magnets - I love my squier tele, chinese and £150 S/H, sounds great and is my easiest guitar to play, Thanks for another grand video fella
I think they maybe used lesser quality wood on the body as well? Although I'm not even sure what difference that would make other than cost. I'm genuinely surprised by how good it sounded in the jam, as I don't remember the original pickups in the black one sounding like that. Maybe black isn't as good a Tone Colour, lol!
I think those pickups are ceramic,the pole pieces are energised by the magnets at the sides..That is a hot bridge..My friend has a blonde like yours he refinished white 30 years ago,he now regrets it..I've played it,,great guitar,,very easy to play too,the pickups sounded beefy too through a Marshall Combo..You probably know already a dab of clear nail varnish will keep the saddles in place once adjusted..That type can be nippy for moving all the time..I think Tim Bricheno from All About Eve had 2 of those as well that he used in his set up...
I think so too. That would explain the rough soldering work on the volume pot. Alnico slugs ARE the magnets, there is no need for any others. Plus, it reads and sounds rather hot for a Tele.
I had the Made in Korea version ('89), it was my first guitar. Mustard. Even came with a case! Traded for a black Charvel strat with a pointy headstock, now long gone, but I wish I still hade that tele!
Ive once had one like that, it sounded amazing, but at that time flipping guitars was my thing, i still rhink about it quite often...it sounded super good, in its own way...and toploaders rock
@@DunsysGuitarWorldhmm interesting question, from my experience I wouldn't say so, it's more the distance between saddle contact point and nut that makes the scale and the tension I guess...my jazzmaster is hard to bend even with 9s but my other Tele with string through is super easy to bend
I wouldn't mind one of these, E series were well thought of. I have a couple of JV Strats but I would really like a JV Telecaster. Prices are through the roof, so it looks like I missed the boat on those.
Yeah, I really don't remember the original pickups in the black one sounding like this at all - my memory is that they were pretty weak and that's why I changed them. Maybe my ears have matured!
Hey dunsy, I was wondering what overdrive you use? I have a squire made in Japan silver series circa 1990-91. I want that sound but my current equipment just ain't quite there. Peavy transtube red stripe bandit I believe should be up to the job but my shonky old vision fx pedal that I bought in 1986 I my memory serves is possibly the weak link. Any suggestions?
For recording on youtube I usually just use my Kemper, usually just with the stock profiles, so I don't really have a drive pedal for that. But for this video I used a Fender cleanish profile and the Bogner La Grange Overdrive. That is really fantastic. It has a 10db boost switch as well. Maybe try something like that? I think you can pick them up for just over £100 used. Check out some videos (Pete Thorn did a really good one) to see if that's what you're maybe looking for. It's a great pedal.
I’d say the switch has been replaced but the pots look stock, I doubt they would’ve used that mechanical switch it probably would’ve came with an import style switch with the circuit board on it, that’s probably why the solder looks like my poor solder work and I’m not the only one who has trouble getting the ground wire to stick to the back of the pot.
Got a 83 JV butter scotch tele... I did have a JV strat...but I sold it years ago 😢 Another one you should try is the California strat.. I see that they've been re-released 👍
Yeah, I was pretty surprised - I remember not being too kean on the tone of the stock pickups when I got the black one. Maybe my ears have changed over the years!
Dont forget the short lived A serial number that came after the JVs and before the SQs. There isnt much difference in quality between these and the JVs.There were low medium and high spec versions of both the JVs and E serial numbered guitars. Even though these are the lowest specced of the bunch they are stlll high quality guitars !
I remember we used to have a Hologram of Shakespeare on our bank cards in the late 1980s early 1990s i wish they would bring those back , Natwest was the bank i was with , Also i had a Squier made in Korea Telecaster Black and White with a Maple neck and Alder body it was as good as any Mexican or US Tele of the time but sadly it got stolen from my local pub , I literally went to use the toilet , the guitar was in its case i left it behind the bar , came out after 5 minutes and it was gone , no one dobbed in who took it so i never went back to that pub again and that was in the early 2000s so yeah sadly bad people been around a long time , Heck even in the 1950s Jimi Hendrix had his first guitar stolen from a place he was performing at .
@DunsysGuitarWorld Sadly common place where I used to live on a council estate where as in Jimi's case apparently it was racism at work 😕 aa back then people were not nice in the USA sadly
I have an 83/84 mij tele in blonde semi transparent....I purchased it in June 84 and it is an SQ series...a 1954 copy....bridge is 6k and neck is 7k which is historically accurate....its been kept in a hard case and is pretty well "brand new" in appearance although a friend decided he didn't like the neck varnish and sanded it clean....I re coated it with a hard wax finish. The neck plate has an SQ serial number which dates it as Dec 84/ Jan 84. I rarely play it due to ongoing arthritis or tendonitus in both thumbs....prefer short scale now....but love it nevertheless.
They are o.k. but still have 21 frets and a nasty crummy huge 9.25 radius. You are much better off getting a cheap China guitar with 22 frets and a flatter radius. Sorry to shatter your illusions.. they are heavy and the pickups blah. Ceramic pickups are much better !
Nothing better than getting a guitar you've wanted for a while. Congratulations.
The best things come to those who wait, as they say!
Sounds alright. Must be fairly well put together as well to last all those years. Its interesting they've gone for the 50s spec of the truss rod adjustment at the heel.
Yeah, seems to be a mix of different stuff - top loader circa 1958 too. Nice guitars, I have to say. I was surprised with the sound as I don't remember the stock pickups on the black one being like this.
Maybe it is because I was in my early twenties when the Squier guitars first made their appearance, maybe it was the affordability of them in comparison with their American made cousins, or maybe it is because I actually bought a 1987 Squier Telecaster, in 1987, fresh of the production line (blonde, thus named "Marilyn"), which I still have today (with IronGear pickups replacing the stock ceramics she originally had), but to me these are the most brutally honest and raucously desirable guitars in existence! 😄 There is definitely something about them that makes me remember all the striving and yearning, and vibrance of my youth. I am so glad you finally got the twin for the StevieCaster Dunsy 👍 I predict you will have a lot of fun with "her". The white pick-guards are just as traditional and historic as the Black Guards, so I would keep it that way if I were you... Oh wait, I did keep mine that way LOL. Great start to the New Year mate, may all your 2025 purchases be as cool and crucial as this.
Fantastic that you have a similar model, sir! I'm surprised by how decent these pickups are - I'm sure that the original ones in the Steviecaster did not sound like this. I suspect maybe my taste in pickups has changed in the intervening decades, mind you! Yeah, really great guitars, no frills, just Rock and Roll machines.
Got a Squier Tele back in 2008 when I was jonesing for a tele tone ( les paul guy, got 5 of them) and it turned out to be my go to-all for $250 in an open box deal, will never get rid of it!
That's a sweet deal!
I spent newyears eve listening to dunsy’s long obsesión with country widdling he said by time he stopped his southern rock jam his dog and wife left him pretty good stuff cant wait till next new year to play dunsy jams again absolutely best
lol! Thanks for checking it out buddy! There's always an elongated jam just around the corner.
Very Cool, Thankyou Dunsy. Awesome Demo/Review video, Interesting, Informative and Entertaining and Amazing playing as always, The "Extended Jam Track" is amazing, could have listened to (and played along with ... badly) that for hours. Some amazing techiniques/skills. WOW. Another Stunning old Squier, I really have become a big fan of the 'Blonde'/Cream/Vintage White etc since The Fender Player II was released in Haialea Yellow(so awesome). Sounded So Good, highlighted by them end Jam. (after years of typing Squier I feel I am now finally confident of spelling Squire correctly everytime ....... DOH!) All The Best. Cheers
Aces! That bridge position slays.
Seems pretty hot - most definitely rocking!
I have one of these from ‘85. Same color as yours too. It was my first real guitar, cut my teeth on it. Great build quality and tone. I changed the pups to Seymour Duncan Hot for Teles about 7 years ago. She’s still one of my favorite guitars.
Yeah, they're great playing guitars - I have Seymour Duncan's in the black one. Sill unsure about what to do with this one pickup wise, as it sounds pretty good. My memory of the original one was that they were quite microphonic at gig volume.
Damn man, excellent jam y what a great guitar, Nice sounding pickups!!🎉
Cheers buddy!
Hi Dunsy. Lovely video. It sounds really good in your hands. I own an '82 JV '62 Strat (first edition with large Fender logo). It is amazing! Fullerton pickups. I owned one of those top loading 80s E Series Teles in the same colour as yours. I remember it being a truly great and undervalued guitar and I gigged with it all over the pubs and clubs of Guernsey in the late nineties. The thin single ply pickguard was seriously coming away from the body on the top edge and I used strong double sided tape to hold it down. Like so many others, I foolish sold it to buy something else. Oh well... Enjoy!
Those original JV Strats look fantastic and I hear are killer, super accurate instruments. Yeah, the E Series Tele is nice, a simple, no frills rocker! I was surprised by how hot the bridge pickup is in this one. I don't remember the black one sounding like this, but that was about 30 years ago, mind you!
@@DunsysGuitarWorld You're right. I remember the pickups being very good, if not the electronics. If you ever think of selling, let me know... 👍
Congratulations Dunsy, happy picking with the new axe! Looks and sounds great man. You can always change pickups/electronics if you'd like later. I thought the bridge and middle positions actually sounded quite nice as they were.
Oh and regarding the pickguard, I always loved the look of a white pickguard on a Telecaster.
Yeah, I'm kinda torn between which one to go with!
Sounds pretty good, looking forward to hearing a comparison with new pickups!
I'm thinking that these are damn good, so now ahm no sure!
Nice blonde nickscaster 😁 the radius contours on these ol teles make them comfortable and less clunky on the ribs! 🤠
Braw guitars, cannie beat the Tele!
Congrats! Sounds killer.
Well done Sir…I think I like the black pickguard 👍
Yeah, I'm gonna test them out, but I'm thinking the black one might be the winner.
Must admit there were some pretty decent guitars made back in the 1980's. Today perhaps not so much but having companies such as Harley Benton, Hex Instruments etc... do offer more affordable and budget friendly instruments. Thanks for sharing mate. Mine would be the copper Hamer "Steve Stevens" or perhaps the Westone "Pantera" models. 👍🎶🎶🎶🎶
Yeah, a fantastic selection of guitars out there these days for players, which don't cost the earth.
Bridge pickup sounds like a vintage broadcaster pickup.
I'd never change it out.
Yeah, I'm kind of on the fence about changing. Will do some sound samples and compare them, I think.
I like the Steviecaster II. I love the natural wear and tear on it. The bridge pickup sounds pretty good.
Yeah, I definitely don't remember the stock pickups on the black one sounding this good - but that was nearly 30 years ago!
Sounds fine to my ears Dunsy thanks for the clean sounds mate a lot of RUclipsrs just use distortion so you cant really tell much I'm an old small valve turn it up and use the volume control ( much more musical !) when i gigged i mostly used a 20w Marshall head into various cabinets turned up full ( late sixties amp) still got it, though in later years i ued a Peavey Bandit. Now I'm retired so i use a small modelling amp and ive treated myself to a Squire Danish Pete's purple Tele ( te cheap one lol) that plays nicely, a Hofner shorty violin bass , a Squire debut strat and Tele no issues or sharp frets play great with new strings and minimal set up mind you i have many other instruments nice jam btw 👍😀🤘✌️
I love the look of Pete's Tele, really classy. For amps these days I pretty much just use whatever the backline in the venue is - long gone are the days of me humping around cabinets and the likes, not with a back this age! I just take a wee cheapo Donner multi effect that has overdrive, chorus and delay and that's me. Fits in the pocket of my gig bag! Thanks a lot for checking it out, Sir. These are really nice, well made guitars that you can still pick up for a bargain.
Sounds great!
Yeah, I'm not 100% sure it even needs new pickups. Sounds fine as is.
Nice guitar, congrats. The links to the Squier resources you mentioned aren't listed, by the way.
Ah, oops - I'll fix that now.
Never understood how u can save much on p/up manufacture - it's a spool of wire attached to one or 6 magnets - I love my squier tele, chinese and £150 S/H, sounds great and is my easiest guitar to play, Thanks for another grand video fella
I think they maybe used lesser quality wood on the body as well? Although I'm not even sure what difference that would make other than cost. I'm genuinely surprised by how good it sounded in the jam, as I don't remember the original pickups in the black one sounding like that. Maybe black isn't as good a Tone Colour, lol!
Looks like Eugene's Tele from "Crossroads".
Never thought of that - it does!
I think those pickups are ceramic,the pole pieces are energised by the magnets at the sides..That is a hot bridge..My friend has a blonde like yours he refinished white 30 years ago,he now regrets it..I've played it,,great guitar,,very easy to play too,the pickups sounded beefy too through a Marshall Combo..You probably know already a dab of clear nail varnish will keep the saddles in place once adjusted..That type can be nippy for moving all the time..I think Tim Bricheno from All About Eve had 2 of those as well that he used in his set up...
I think so too. That would explain the rough soldering work on the volume pot. Alnico slugs ARE the magnets, there is no need for any others. Plus, it reads and sounds rather hot for a Tele.
Yeah, definitely a hotter bridge pickup - very impressed with the sound.
That’s a damn fine Telecaster, Dunsy. It’s got some throat on the distorted tones. Quite punchy. Yes, stick the black scratchy on! It’ll look mint!
I think I'll do the sound comparison with new pickups AND change the pickguard to black - just in case that affects the sound!
I had the Made in Korea version ('89), it was my first guitar. Mustard. Even came with a case! Traded for a black Charvel strat with a pointy headstock, now long gone, but I wish I still hade that tele!
Get yourself onto Ebay and relive that Tele dream!
Ive once had one like that, it sounded amazing, but at that time flipping guitars was my thing, i still rhink about it quite often...it sounded super good, in its own way...and toploaders rock
I like the toploaders - did you find that they seem kinda easier to bend on?
@@DunsysGuitarWorldhmm interesting question, from my experience I wouldn't say so, it's more the distance between saddle contact point and nut that makes the scale and the tension I guess...my jazzmaster is hard to bend even with 9s but my other Tele with string through is super easy to bend
👍🏻👍🏻 Nothing wrong with your "widdling", Dunsy!
Smoke and mirrors - but no clever video editing!
I wouldn't mind one of these, E series were well thought of. I have a couple of JV Strats but I would really like a JV Telecaster. Prices are through the roof, so it looks like I missed the boat on those.
Yeah, I always keep an eye on the JV Tele's, but never seen one below £1K!
Bought a Road Worn Tele and love it
Quite a beefy bridge pickup! Still has bite and clarity though. Very nice indeed ❤
Yeah, I really don't remember the original pickups in the black one sounding like this at all - my memory is that they were pretty weak and that's why I changed them. Maybe my ears have matured!
That's a nice sounding guitar.
I'm really pleased with it - I don't remember the black one sounding like this with the original pickups.
What's the Las Vegas line on how long before there is a DiMarzio DP318 in the bridge position? 😂
lol! Maybe not that specific one, but very possibly something a wee bit hotter than the stock one!
Hey dunsy, I was wondering what overdrive you use? I have a squire made in Japan silver series circa 1990-91. I want that sound but my current equipment just ain't quite there. Peavy transtube red stripe bandit I believe should be up to the job but my shonky old vision fx pedal that I bought in 1986 I my memory serves is possibly the weak link. Any suggestions?
For recording on youtube I usually just use my Kemper, usually just with the stock profiles, so I don't really have a drive pedal for that. But for this video I used a Fender cleanish profile and the Bogner La Grange Overdrive. That is really fantastic. It has a 10db boost switch as well. Maybe try something like that? I think you can pick them up for just over £100 used. Check out some videos (Pete Thorn did a really good one) to see if that's what you're maybe looking for. It's a great pedal.
@DunsysGuitarWorld Thanks Dunsy I will look into that.
Dunsy,
How does the neck and fretboard compare to your old black Stevie Tele ?
Feels exactly the same, other than the black one has been refretted with medium jumbo frets.
I have a 1982 blonde one that i just love.
I'm sure that the 1982 will be a very cool instrument! Sweet.
I’d say the switch has been replaced but the pots look stock, I doubt they would’ve used that mechanical switch it probably would’ve came with an import style switch with the circuit board on it, that’s probably why the solder looks like my poor solder work and I’m not the only one who has trouble getting the ground wire to stick to the back of the pot.
Yeah, I think you might be right with the selector switch - looks a lot like my soldering too, to be honest!
Nice! Do you still have the avril lavigne tele?
I ended up getting rid of both of them to free up some room!
Got a 83 JV butter scotch tele... I did have a JV strat...but I sold it years ago 😢
Another one you should try is the California strat.. I see that they've been re-released 👍
I’d love to get a JV era guitar - quite pricey these days. But the best of gear.
Well if you ever need to review one..yer more than welcome to borrow mines 👍
Ah, now that's a very kind offer, Sir - I may well take you up on that!
@@DunsysGuitarWorld no problem... I take it from yer accent your in gods own country 🏴 😁... fae Hamilton myself 👍
Born in Glasgow, grew up in West Lothian, now live in Edinburgh - if I get any further west ahl be in the North Sea!
Nice tone, It has that bling like sustain .Also, a chicken licking picking sound.
Yeah, I was pretty surprised - I remember not being too kean on the tone of the stock pickups when I got the black one. Maybe my ears have changed over the years!
Dont forget the short lived A serial number that came after the JVs and before the SQs. There isnt much difference in quality between these and the JVs.There were low medium and high spec versions of both the JVs and E serial numbered guitars. Even though these are the lowest specced of the bunch they are stlll high quality guitars !
Ah, indeed. I'm watching one of the A Series Tele's on Ebay. Not for buying obv, just "research".
@@DunsysGuitarWorld indeed !
I got one of those. Neck was a surprise, flat, d shaped i would say…
Yeah, I find it pretty comfortable to play.
I remember we used to have a Hologram of Shakespeare on our bank cards in the late 1980s early 1990s i wish they would bring those back , Natwest was the bank i was with , Also i had a Squier made in Korea Telecaster Black and White with a Maple neck and Alder body it was as good as any Mexican or US Tele of the time but sadly it got stolen from my local pub , I literally went to use the toilet , the guitar was in its case i left it behind the bar , came out after 5 minutes and it was gone , no one dobbed in who took it so i never went back to that pub again and that was in the early 2000s so yeah sadly bad people been around a long time , Heck even in the 1950s Jimi Hendrix had his first guitar stolen from a place he was performing at .
Man, that’s brutal, stealing a player’s guitar - hope they got some bad karma going their way.
@DunsysGuitarWorld Sadly common place where I used to live on a council estate where as in Jimi's case apparently it was racism at work 😕 aa back then people were not nice in the USA sadly
She's a beauty, Dunsy. I've always had a thing for blondes...even though I married a brunette.
I got the blonde guitar to match my wife!
I have an 83/84 mij tele in blonde semi transparent....I purchased it in June 84 and it is an SQ series...a 1954 copy....bridge is 6k and neck is 7k which is historically accurate....its been kept in a hard case and is pretty well "brand new" in appearance although a friend decided he didn't like the neck varnish and sanded it clean....I re coated it with a hard wax finish. The neck plate has an SQ serial number which dates it as Dec 84/ Jan 84. I rarely play it due to ongoing arthritis or tendonitus in both thumbs....prefer short scale now....but love it nevertheless.
I've read that those SQ Tele's are fantastic guitars - very accurate too. Love to try one some time.
They are o.k. but still have 21 frets and a nasty crummy huge 9.25 radius. You are much better off getting a cheap China guitar with 22 frets and a flatter radius.
Sorry to shatter your illusions.. they are heavy and the pickups blah.
Ceramic pickups are much better !
Thanks for watching, much appreciated