I think the knobs selector makes a lot of sense to me to he's just thinking with the Gibson mindset where it switches from backwards to forwards bottom-to-top
The rotary selector set up makes perfect sense. roll it to the right for the pick up on the right and left for the pick up on the left and middle has both.
@@Trog -- "Right" and "left" having no meaning with respect to a rotary switch. Which is which depends on whether you're looking at the knob from top (nearest the bridge) or the bottom (nearest the lower edge of the body). The words "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" work from either vantage.
@@Trog - But you were saying in the video "All the way counter-clockwise = bridge pick-up", which to me is the same as "roll it to the right" (when looking at the side of the knob closer to the camera)! 🙂
The old Squier '51 was a great mod platform and when they were being phased out you could nab a brand-new one for about $70. This one is essentially a Tele with a downsized P-Bass body but without a tone knob.
The pickup switching knob makes more sense if you look at it from a playing position, instead of from the workbench. When you need the neck pickup, you are turning the knob towards the neck pickup. When you want the bridge pickup, you turn the knob towards it. It's certainly less comfortable / intuitive than a regular switch, and I personally would rather have a tone control, but one can see the logic of how it works from a playing point of view.
Fender of Japan once again knocks it out of the park with their guitars. They're so much better than Fender US. I would say the American Fenders aren't terrible but they're definitely not worth their price tag. However these Japanese guitars definitely are worth their price.
It totally sucks that you have to jump through hoops to get anything like this-if you can at all. If you're in the U.S., you can have virtually anything ELSE Fender makes. It's B.S. that they aren't more widely available.
@@wammons007 go ahead and grab one dude im sure you'll be happy once you've become familiar with its simplicity..Keith Richards was happy with his all those years ago...happy Tele hunting from New Zealand ,🤘
Of all things, this model reminds me of Prince' Hohner Tele copy, especially when you kick on the distortion. I would probably simply do the stacked volume and tone controls and leave the rotating switch as it is. On the other hand, I'm used to the rotating switch on my J-Bass which is customary for basses with active electronics.
Austin. I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. You always play and sound better on a fender (especially tele). I think the scale length must work better for ya.
Austin, if you've not already reviewed one you should consider documenting any Fender guitar with a real CuNiFe Humbucker. The work Seth Lover did during his time at Fender was as amazing as the innovations during his time at Gibson. Great review, this Fender '51 is pretty great.
@@Silverjubilee666 Not sure what you mean, I did watch the video first. I thought the Fender '51 was OK. The short clip mentioning the Jazzmaster with the CuNiFe pickups had me wondering if Trogly had ever reviewed a guitar with a set of those, I don't believe he has, thus my comment.
That is one cool guitar! I LOVE Squier 51s and have two of the original early 2000s Indonesian ones. I love them. They're the very best thing I've ever found for playing slide - even the stock pickups sound fantastic. I fitted my main one with a Hipshot Trilogy multiple tuning bridge and locking tuners and it's been with me now on 1,000-plus gigs. I love it. The only thing I would change about mine is the body thickness, which is a bit thinner than a standard Strat body and the weight - for a thin body, it's heavy! The lack of through stringing isn't a problem since the strings effectively top-load through the Hipshot anyway. I like the rotary selector switch, too, though I have a black chickenhead knob on mine so you can see which pickup is selected (and a matching black knob on the volume). By other 51 has a standard bridge and I took off the white pickguard as it the sunburst finish on that one looked really good without it. I'd love to try one of these, though I don't think I'd be swapping one for mine in a hurry!
I just sold a 2012 72 pawn shop guitar. First of all… Japan makes amazing guitars. I’ve got 3 Japanese Gretsch guitars and they’re my favorites. Secondly, that pawn shop guitar was super unique. It has the same blend control. It sounded really cool. I would’ve kept it if I could’ve afforded my 3rd Gretsch without selling it. Ha
Austin, about the pickup selector “potentiometer”, 09:26 if you swap the each pickup’s hot/lead wire to the other input lug of the stacked potentiometer, you can easily reverse the direction of where you turn the pot to select the neck or bridge pickup.
Same. I bought a sunburst and a black one from musicians friend for $99 each and gave one to my dad. It was my only working guitar at the time and was unreasonably great for the money. I gave it away a few years later to my friend's son. I really hope he kept playing because I miss it . Haha
I have one of the originals too. I bought mine used for a great price before the second Squier version came out. I really wanted the Japanese Pawn Shop one, but I just couldn’t afford it at the time. There definitely were $179 when they first came out. A lot of the big stores did $99 sales on them around Christmas. Wish I had gotten mine for $99, but it wasn’t much more than that.
I can't see why they couldn't put in a tone knob in a switch I think the guitar is fine but I really don't like that I would rather have a switch and a tone knob so happy to see that you got one from Japan again
Love this, id totally rock it. You need to check out the made in japan Fender Telecaster korina. Its actually a jazzmaster body made out of korina with p90 pick-ups. Personally i would have called it something different.
Same here, they originate from a Copyright Free source for use on RUclips. There are actually short videos for both the Intro and the Outro. I had them saved for a while and found that when I listened to the intro song without an episode to follow it kind of brought me down!
That actually sounds far better than any Gibson I've heard you play! It reminds me of a copy of Tommy Bolin's guitar that Japan put out. It also has an old tele style headstock on a strat body but it's got the strat 3 pickups and controls. Do they still have any of those?
...i hear u but who knows what POTATO microphone /PC intface/DAW Trogly uses, as its NOT A PROPER consistant sound. sometimes will sound like a crappy practice amp then other times a Spark amp lol. its the only bad thing in this cats videos...........
Austin, please get and document one of the Mike Ness deluxes. Pancake body, maple neck, volute. This is what the 70s deluxe should have been last year. Now we know they can build it.
I have one of the Fender PawnShop ones and Love it! The Bridge „Enforcer“-Humbucker sounds fantastic - and ist sustains pretty well! And, as far as I know, the neck-Pickup is a Texas Special and sounds really good too. 🎸
You know, I like this. Always wanted a Tele style guitar with a Strat form factor. Make it a lightweight ash body, and "Thunderbirds are go!" Nice one, thanks. 🎸👍
Fender Japan, makes so many more interesting guitars! The new fender line up has a few more guitars from Japan and it’s been awhile for NGD, so I’m hoping to makes this one happen!!
And I liked the guitar's look a lot better as soon as the pickguard came off! Even though I'm a fan of early 70's Custom and Deluxe Telecasters with *their* massive pickguards 😀
I had the second Squier version of this guitar and I still regret selling it. The splittable bridge humbucker is essential to this model in my opionion.
I'm curious what the bridge pickup sounds like. Probably typical Tele. I own a Fender 51 Pawn Shop Made in Japan. I was blown away when I bought it brand new back then. The sound of the bridge Enforcer humbucker pickup with split coil option is part of the huge draw because of the incredible bark in the pickup. Between that, and the split coil, and the different options create a plethora of tones I have never experienced in a Tele or a Strat. I'm sure this is an incredible guitar also mostly due in fact with the meticulous builds coming from Japan. The exactness is incredible. There was even a butterscotch one sitting alongside of the black one I bought. Even the neck came with a decent amount of flame maple in the neck. The bridge on yours with distortion sounds great. I can't help but mention that in the clean tones it is kind of thin the way Strats are usually thin in the bridge. With my Fender 51 Pawn Shop with the Enforcer Humubucker in the bridge it has a ton more depth, and the split brings it close to the Tele sounds. You have a sweetheart there. Rumor has it that they asked the guys building them what would they like to do if they could pull out all of the stops and custom design the build they want. So the Pawn Shop Tele/Strat was born. The reason why they removed the tone knob and converted it into a selector switch was because tone knobs bleed off some tone, unless you get a no-load option tone knob. Keeping it clean with the least amount of controls/switches is desirable also. Oddly enough my 51 had a price of $1100 on list, and it went on sale for $795, and the day I saw it, they marked it down to $575. I was going into the store to pick up a guitar I ordered, and upon seeing the 51 and even moreso hearing it, especially the bark out of the bridge, I grabbed it. Precision is the key. I think part of the reason that it was not a popular seller was that the Squier 51 like you said was selling for $150 and finally they put them on sale for as low as $60. So, that created a bad impression in peoples minds, and the pickups weren't anything to write home about. The ones on my 51, and on yours also are great. It's a whole different guitar. Looks similar but...
My grandson's fiancé has a Fender Strat her dad bought her, it had a ding on the upper edge and the music store practically GAVE it to him for a hundred bucks!! It's in mint shape except for the ding. Great guitar!!
Volume control on a Squier 51 is a push/pull to split the humbucker coils. It's a more versatile instrument than the Fender version if you have one that is good. I have a 2004 model.
Cool guitar, I love the idea of a bridge humbucker and being able to split it is icing on the cake. That said there is something special about a good Telecaster bridge pickup, played through a Marshall they are single-coil magic.
@@pawnmack 100% agree I would not want 1 guitar that could do everything. Part of what makes an individual guitar special is how its differences inspire. In 45 years of playing guitar I've not found a single guitar that didn't inspire me in some way. Some more than others (obviously) however even the worst of guitars can usually be wrangled into a convincing Delta Blues riff.
I’ll stick w/ my Whiteguard Strat. It was what I intended to do to one of em older Squier/Pawnshop 51s once upon a time anyways (Plus, got it for practically half off! So, technically cheaper, w/out the case) They need to put the master built version with the Tele head carved into the Strat into production
@@Bliggick Yup yup! Them Nocaster pups ain’t no joke! It’s what I’ve been testing my fake Teles and Partscaster builds against Hopefully I can put together one or two just like the Whiteguard but with Squier parts I got lying round someday
Very cool guitar! Darn ya, Fender Japan, for not making these available in the US! I’ve had a couple of Japanese Fender Teles, an ‘85 Rosewood Tele that was way better than the US-made ones, and a sunburst ‘60s-style Custom Tele with binding, that I put a Seymour Duncan flat-pole Strat middle pickup in, to go along with the Duncan AlNiCo Tele set that a previous owner had put in. Killer guitars, both of them. Regarding the 51, I’d put in a Strat middle pickup, route the pickguard tongue and body for a 5-way switch, and replace the rotary pickup selector with a tone control.
The only thing '51 about it are the PU's that have historically been the not so popular models. I love the neck PU as you pointed out it has killer slashing highs.
@@xavierandradev Bass yes, I know better.. The body is a Strat, 1954. There was a guitar designed in 52 for 53 but it never was made. I got the specs from a very famous assistant of Leo and had it made. This 'guy' is still alive and wants his animinity. Leo felt his guitars would be like cars. In other words the Tele was going to be dropped and there would be a new look '53 Tele. The back half of the body would be identical to the Tele but the bass wing would look very similar to the P-Bass. The treble wing would be chopped off like later was used for the 1958 Jazzmaster. The pickguard would look Strat like. It would have the hardtail 6 saddle bridge which was already prototyped. The bridge PU would be the standard Tele but the neck would be what ended up on the Strat. The knobs were Strat looking. The switch tip was a Tele barrel shaped one. The jack was right in the pickguard.The headstock looked Strat like but was small like the Tele. I had one made. The big surprise is it has perfect balance.
I got so tired of my Strat's Tremolo bridge knocking it out of tune (every day) that I got rid of it. Locking tuners didn't help, only lessened the problem. So, I got rid of it. But the Strat sound is so iconic. So, now I'm building a hard tail Strat.
I have the blonde color squier version. I love the 51 model. I bought a tortoise shell pickguard for it and when you said that, my ears perked up. It absolutely looks amazing with a darker tortoise shell pickguard
At our shop, we had the Fender MIJ 51 that Austin references (the one with humbucker bridge pup). It had a Texas Special in the neck pickup and it was the strat desing, not the tele metal cover like the one in this video. They're amazing guitars!~ We agree, no pickguard looks killer!
I do really like the 51s, but even the old Squier ones are going for like £300 on eBay now! Not worth it for what you’re getting. I’m glad to see Fender bring these back, even if it’s just a little limited run like this. Hopefully we’ll see a more mainstream run so that I can grab one that’s not 3x what the parts are worth
I have the Squier version. If the S/N is date-coded, it's a 2005. Made in Indonesia, 3 piece body, all-black silkscreen logo, top-loading 6 saddle short bridge, neck pickup looks like a Strat, uncovered bridge humbucker. Made VERY cheap, about like a Squier Affinity, but only cost me a C-note. Not really something I'd take to work, but an interesting conversation piece. Looks to me like Fender Japan got the quality, fit and finish up to snuff.
The problem with both the squire 51,and now this fender model is no tone knob,I have a sunburst and a blonde squire 51 and I always miss not having a tone knob,but the blonde is one of my favorite guitars,the humbucker in it sounds awesome, and the neck has some great grain figuring,funny that the neck on the sunburst is a little fatter then the blonde, and the whole guitar just feels different, I use it to test pickups out and the guitar looks great without a pickguard.
I have the original first-run Squire '51 in blond. I love the satiny neck and it's profile. I thought about putting better pickups in it, but never got around to it. A dedicated tone control would have been nice as well, but overall it was nice for the price at the time and I am surprised they have actually appreciated in value.
Hey! I love you videos a lot it’s great to see what guitars are out there! I wanted to recommend looking into the epiphone phant-o-matic. It is a signature guitar with the body of Wilshire, they are some nice playing guitars and they look beautiful. They’ve been rising in price recently as I’ve purchased mine a year ago for 600. Now they fetch 900-1000 and come around on reverb once in a blue moon.
![SahBabii - Viking [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/D37cL92JX0I/mqdefault.jpg)
the knob direction actually makes a lot of sense to me. you turn it towards the pickup you want
and it also mimics a regular 3 way selector switch, you push the switch forward its goes to the neck, you rotate this forward, same thing happens
You could loosen the switch and rotate it 180 degrees to swap the bridge and neck positions if want them the opposite way.
Welcome to bass controls, just wait till you have a built in pre amp and 3 switches
@@kevinconaty6921
I think the knobs selector makes a lot of sense to me to he's just thinking with the Gibson mindset where it switches from backwards to forwards bottom-to-top
The rotary selector set up makes perfect sense. roll it to the right for the pick up on the right and left for the pick up on the left and middle has both.
I agree! Rolling the control *back* results in the *back* pick-up being activated 🙂
except what you're saying is not how it is. Roll the knob to the left, you get the bridge (right.) Roll to the right - you get the neck (left)
@@Trog -- "Right" and "left" having no meaning with respect to a rotary switch. Which is which depends on whether you're looking at the knob from top (nearest the bridge) or the bottom (nearest the lower edge of the body). The words "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" work from either vantage.
@@Trog - But you were saying in the video "All the way counter-clockwise = bridge pick-up", which to me is the same as "roll it to the right" (when looking at the side of the knob closer to the camera)! 🙂
This is ace.
Funny, the pickup selector is exactly how *I'd expect it to be, all the way back- back pickup.
Same here! 🙂
The old Squier '51 was a great mod platform and when they were being phased out you could nab a brand-new one for about $70. This one is essentially a Tele with a downsized P-Bass body but without a tone knob.
Love my squier 51! They're great.
That funky pickguard shape near the bridge pickup is to accommodate the '51 P-Bass pickup cover.
The pickup switching knob makes more sense if you look at it from a playing position, instead of from the workbench. When you need the neck pickup, you are turning the knob towards the neck pickup. When you want the bridge pickup, you turn the knob towards it.
It's certainly less comfortable / intuitive than a regular switch, and I personally would rather have a tone control, but one can see the logic of how it works from a playing point of view.
Fender of Japan once again knocks it out of the park with their guitars. They're so much better than Fender US. I would say the American Fenders aren't terrible but they're definitely not worth their price tag. However these Japanese guitars definitely are worth their price.
im not a fender guy but thinking of gettin a tell can you give me reason cause easier to get use or mim
@@wammons007 I can't help you with that. I wish I knew of an easier way to get one as well.
Absolutely, some great guitars come out of Japan
It totally sucks that you have to jump through hoops to get anything like this-if you can at all. If you're in the U.S., you can have virtually anything ELSE Fender makes. It's B.S. that they aren't more widely available.
@@wammons007 go ahead and grab one dude im sure you'll be happy once you've become familiar with its simplicity..Keith Richards was happy with his all those years ago...happy Tele hunting from New Zealand ,🤘
The my corona intro sounded unreal real. Your guitar skills improved a lot over the years. Greetz from Belgium.
Of all things, this model reminds me of Prince' Hohner Tele copy, especially when you kick on the distortion. I would probably simply do the stacked volume and tone controls and leave the rotating switch as it is. On the other hand, I'm used to the rotating switch on my J-Bass which is customary for basses with active electronics.
Austin. I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. You always play and sound better on a fender (especially tele). I think the scale length must work better for ya.
Austin, if you've not already reviewed one you should consider documenting any Fender guitar with a real CuNiFe Humbucker.
The work Seth Lover did during his time at Fender was as amazing as the innovations during his time at Gibson.
Great review, this Fender '51 is pretty great.
@@Silverjubilee666 Not sure what you mean, I did watch the video first. I thought the Fender '51 was OK. The short clip mentioning the Jazzmaster with the CuNiFe pickups had me wondering if Trogly had ever reviewed a guitar with a set of those, I don't believe he has, thus my comment.
Sorry
That is one cool guitar! I LOVE Squier 51s and have two of the original early 2000s Indonesian ones. I love them. They're the very best thing I've ever found for playing slide - even the stock pickups sound fantastic. I fitted my main one with a Hipshot Trilogy multiple tuning bridge and locking tuners and it's been with me now on 1,000-plus gigs. I love it. The only thing I would change about mine is the body thickness, which is a bit thinner than a standard Strat body and the weight - for a thin body, it's heavy! The lack of through stringing isn't a problem since the strings effectively top-load through the Hipshot anyway.
I like the rotary selector switch, too, though I have a black chickenhead knob on mine so you can see which pickup is selected (and a matching black knob on the volume). By other 51 has a standard bridge and I took off the white pickguard as it the sunburst finish on that one looked really good without it. I'd love to try one of these, though I don't think I'd be swapping one for mine in a hurry!
I actually think the selector knob is where I would put it- like I'm moving my thumb the way the pickup I'm selecting is- If that makes sense
Very cool. The Tele headstock looks fantastic on any Fender body. I love the Pawnshop series
The Taxi. I always enjoy a Fender walkthrough with Trogly
I just sold a 2012 72 pawn shop guitar. First of all… Japan makes amazing guitars. I’ve got 3 Japanese Gretsch guitars and they’re my favorites. Secondly, that pawn shop guitar was super unique. It has the same blend control. It sounded really cool. I would’ve kept it if I could’ve afforded my 3rd Gretsch without selling it. Ha
I love Fender Fridays and that guitar is awesome!
Austin, about the pickup selector “potentiometer”, 09:26 if you swap the each pickup’s hot/lead wire to the other input lug of the stacked potentiometer, you can easily reverse the direction of where you turn the pot to select the neck or bridge pickup.
Trogly's in the HOUSE!!!
Greg in the house.
Wow! Those Neon Red, Yellow and Green Stratocasters are *Gorgeous*
I got one of the first Squires when they came out. $179 if I remember right.
I love that little guitar!
Same. I bought a sunburst and a black one from musicians friend for $99 each and gave one to my dad. It was my only working guitar at the time and was unreasonably great for the money. I gave it away a few years later to my friend's son. I really hope he kept playing because I miss it . Haha
@@davidgirst5399 Mine's black to match my wifes MIM Fender Mike Dirnt bass..It's a great guitar.
I have one of the originals too.
I bought mine used for a great price before the second Squier version came out. I really wanted the Japanese Pawn Shop one, but I just couldn’t afford it at the time.
There definitely were $179 when they first came out. A lot of the big stores did $99 sales on them around Christmas. Wish I had gotten mine for $99, but it wasn’t much more than that.
@@sentforth5 No sarcasm. That is adorable.
I can't see why they couldn't put in a tone knob in a switch I think the guitar is fine but I really don't like that I would rather have a switch and a tone knob so happy to see that you got one from Japan again
I love the creative stuff you see coming from Squier/Fender Japan and the Gibson Mod/Demo Shop
I'm surprised at how good that guitar sounded.
It sounded insanely good. Intonation was great, it tunes up better than a lot of guitars he demos. Sounds great
I Own a First Run Squire and Love it !
Now that’s my type of Telecaster!
Love this, id totally rock it.
You need to check out the made in japan Fender Telecaster korina. Its actually a jazzmaster body made out of korina with p90 pick-ups. Personally i would have called it something different.
That jingle at the start of the video brings a smile to my face
Same here, they originate from a Copyright Free source for use on RUclips. There are actually short videos for both the Intro and the Outro.
I had them saved for a while and found that when I listened to the intro song without an episode to follow it kind of brought me down!
The knob direction is proper as is. I'm sure others have or will say the same.
Puts me in mind of the Parallel Universe white guard but with a tele neck. I want one!
The Whiteguard does come w/ a Tele neck. Funny nuff, I got one on a deal and swapped the string tree for the disk, too
It’d be cool if that knob wasn’t a switch actually blended from side to the other
An easy modification, 100% doable.
definitely a nod to the original broadcaster wiring with that idea too!
That actually sounds far better than any Gibson I've heard you play! It reminds me of a copy of Tommy Bolin's guitar that Japan put out. It also has an old tele style headstock on a strat body but it's got the strat 3 pickups and controls.
Do they still have any of those?
...i hear u but who knows what POTATO microphone /PC intface/DAW Trogly uses, as its NOT A PROPER consistant sound. sometimes will sound like a crappy practice amp then other times a Spark amp lol. its the only bad thing in this cats videos...........
Also, the original Precision bass was later renamed into 'Telecaster Bass', which fits into this picture, too 🙂
Austin, please get and document one of the Mike Ness deluxes. Pancake body, maple neck, volute. This is what the 70s deluxe should have been last year. Now we know they can build it.
Probably mondays video
I think the reverse knob is so you can manipulate with one hand movement up and down between the knobs. .
I bought a bunch of MIJ fenders from several dealers back the late 90s, early 2000s. They were all delivered with 3-4 days. Crazy
I have a mint squier version. I love it. It's a great design.
I dig everything about this guitar from looks to sounds.
So happy to see a new vid I love to watch...so relaxing and I can 🤤
I have one of the Fender PawnShop ones and Love it!
The Bridge „Enforcer“-Humbucker sounds fantastic - and ist sustains pretty well!
And, as far as I know, the neck-Pickup is a Texas Special and sounds really good too. 🎸
That thing sounds killer. A guitar I didn't even know I desperately wanted! I think it looks kickass too!
Love the Janes Addiction riff! You surprised me!
Warmoth offers a very similar guitar body called the "Hybrid Strat". If you don't care about resell value it's a good option.
Not to mention with the Warmoth you could choose an Alder or Ash body (much preferable IMHO).
Not to mention Warmoth are NOT "Japan exclusive exclusive"! 😄
I had a Squier 51. It was a fun guitar. It was heavy. Picked it up for $60 off Craigslist
That thing sounds great! Looks great, too. As the owner of three MiJ Strats (an '85 and two '86, all in Burgundy Mist), I approve.
Fun Fender Friday. So exciting!
You know, I like this.
Always wanted a Tele style guitar with a Strat form factor. Make it a lightweight ash body, and "Thunderbirds are go!"
Nice one, thanks. 🎸👍
Fender Japan, makes so many more interesting guitars! The new fender line up has a few more guitars from Japan and it’s been awhile for NGD, so I’m hoping to makes this one happen!!
And I liked the guitar's look a lot better as soon as the pickguard came off! Even though I'm a fan of early 70's Custom and Deluxe Telecasters with *their* massive pickguards 😀
Thumbs up for some Janes Addiction!
That clean tone 👌
The selector knob is perfect lol you turn it towards the neck pickup or bridge in the correct direction, makes perfect sense to me
I had the second Squier version of this guitar and I still regret selling it. The splittable bridge humbucker is essential to this model in my opionion.
still got mine!
@@Ottophil me too, think I'll go dust mine off
Trog...you got funky with that 51 fender
You got great vibe love your show
Stay funky trogly
That black pickguard and yellow body reminds me of Batman! 🦇🧔🏻♂️
🙄🤦🏼♀️
😂😂😂
I'm curious what the bridge pickup sounds like. Probably typical Tele. I own a Fender 51 Pawn Shop Made in Japan. I was blown away when I bought it brand new back then. The sound of the bridge Enforcer humbucker pickup with split coil option is part of the huge draw because of the incredible bark in the pickup. Between that, and the split coil, and the different options create a plethora of tones I have never experienced in a Tele or a Strat. I'm sure this is an incredible guitar also mostly due in fact with the meticulous builds coming from Japan. The exactness is incredible. There was even a butterscotch one sitting alongside of the black one I bought. Even the neck came with a decent amount of flame maple in the neck. The bridge on yours with distortion sounds great. I can't help but mention that in the clean tones it is kind of thin the way Strats are usually thin in the bridge. With my Fender 51 Pawn Shop with the Enforcer Humubucker in the bridge it has a ton more depth, and the split brings it close to the Tele sounds. You have a sweetheart there.
Rumor has it that they asked the guys building them what would they like to do if they could pull out all of the stops and custom design the build they want. So the Pawn Shop Tele/Strat was born. The reason why they removed the tone knob and converted it into a selector switch was because tone knobs bleed off some tone, unless you get a no-load option tone knob. Keeping it clean with the least amount of controls/switches is desirable also. Oddly enough my 51 had a price of $1100 on list, and it went on sale for $795, and the day I saw it, they marked it down to $575. I was going into the store to pick up a guitar I ordered, and upon seeing the 51 and even moreso hearing it, especially the bark out of the bridge, I grabbed it. Precision is the key. I think part of the reason that it was not a popular seller was that the Squier 51 like you said was selling for $150 and finally they put them on sale for as low as $60. So, that created a bad impression in peoples minds, and the pickups weren't anything to write home about. The ones on my 51, and on yours also are great. It's a whole different guitar. Looks similar but...
My grandson's fiancé has a Fender Strat her dad bought her, it had a ding on the upper edge and the music store practically GAVE it to him for a hundred bucks!! It's in mint shape except for the ding. Great guitar!!
Here We Goooooo!
Volume control on a Squier 51 is a push/pull to split the humbucker coils. It's a more versatile instrument than the Fender version if you have one that is good. I have a 2004 model.
Cool guitar, I love the idea of a bridge humbucker and being able to split it is icing on the cake.
That said there is something special about a good Telecaster bridge pickup, played through a Marshall they are single-coil magic.
@@hkguitar1984 I have a Telecaster as well and know what you mean. Each guitar has it's place.
@@pawnmack 100% agree
I would not want 1 guitar that could do everything. Part of what makes an individual guitar special is how its differences inspire. In 45 years of playing guitar I've not found a single guitar that didn't inspire me in some way. Some more than others (obviously) however even the worst of guitars can usually be wrangled into a convincing Delta Blues riff.
I’ll stick w/ my Whiteguard Strat. It was what I intended to do to one of em older Squier/Pawnshop 51s once upon a time anyways
(Plus, got it for practically half off! So, technically cheaper, w/out the case)
They need to put the master built version with the Tele head carved into the Strat into production
I got a Whiteguard Strat also at a great price and I'm so happy with it. It is a superior guitar to a 51 in every aspect.
@@Bliggick Yup yup! Them Nocaster pups ain’t no joke! It’s what I’ve been testing my fake Teles and Partscaster builds against
Hopefully I can put together one or two just like the Whiteguard but with Squier parts I got lying round someday
Very cool guitar! Darn ya, Fender Japan, for not making these available in the US! I’ve had a couple of Japanese Fender Teles, an ‘85 Rosewood Tele that was way better than the US-made ones, and a sunburst ‘60s-style Custom Tele with binding, that I put a Seymour Duncan flat-pole Strat middle pickup in, to go along with the Duncan AlNiCo Tele set that a previous owner had put in. Killer guitars, both of them. Regarding the 51, I’d put in a Strat middle pickup, route the pickguard tongue and body for a 5-way switch, and replace the rotary pickup selector with a tone control.
The only thing '51 about it are the PU's that have historically been the not so popular models. I love the neck PU as you pointed out it has killer slashing highs.
@@xavierandradev Bass yes, I know better.. The body is a Strat, 1954.
There was a guitar designed in 52 for 53 but it never was made. I got the specs from a very famous assistant of Leo and had it made. This 'guy' is still alive and wants his animinity. Leo felt his guitars would be like cars. In other words the Tele was going to be dropped and there would be a new look '53 Tele. The back half of the body would be identical to the Tele but the bass wing would look very similar to the P-Bass. The treble wing would be chopped off like later was used for the 1958 Jazzmaster. The pickguard would look Strat like. It would have the hardtail 6 saddle bridge which was already prototyped. The bridge PU would be the standard Tele but the neck would be what ended up on the Strat. The knobs were Strat looking. The switch tip was a Tele barrel shaped one. The jack was right in the pickguard.The headstock looked Strat like but was small like the Tele. I had one made. The big surprise is it has perfect balance.
Fender Friday 👍
MIJ rules. I have a 52 blackguard U series serial number and it is just plain wonderful.
Finally a Fender. Thanks for the great review.
I like it with no guard but yeah tortoise would be awsome
I got so tired of my Strat's Tremolo bridge knocking it out of tune (every day) that I got rid of it. Locking tuners didn't help, only lessened the problem. So, I got rid of it.
But the Strat sound is so iconic. So, now I'm building a hard tail Strat.
Those Squire 51's were actually good.
I bought this guitar when it came out, and I haven't seen this model anywhere else. This guitar must be really rare.
Squire 51's are fun, great guitars. If you can find one cheap, get it. Worth every penny.
I haven’t seen one for cheap in ages. They sell for more now than they cost new.
I have the squier 51 in sunburst and I love it!
I have the blonde color squier version. I love the 51 model. I bought a tortoise shell pickguard for it and when you said that, my ears perked up. It absolutely looks amazing with a darker tortoise shell pickguard
It's really weird that they'd go with basswood from a Fender (as opposed to Squier). But still, I love that they went Tele style with the pickups too.
At our shop, we had the Fender MIJ 51 that Austin references (the one with humbucker bridge pup).
It had a Texas Special in the neck pickup and it was the strat desing, not the tele metal cover like the one in this video. They're amazing guitars!~
We agree, no pickguard looks killer!
That looks awesome.
I have a number of Renders. Every time I go back to one of my Gibsons, it just feels like home.
I do really like the 51s, but even the old Squier ones are going for like £300 on eBay now! Not worth it for what you’re getting. I’m glad to see Fender bring these back, even if it’s just a little limited run like this. Hopefully we’ll see a more mainstream run so that I can grab one that’s not 3x what the parts are worth
I actually really like this. The pick guard makes it work tbh. I’d totally buy one of these as I prefer the strat shape
Very cool guitar!
That's one nice looking guitar.
Nice
Welcome Cooper!!
Well done enjoy your Silver Medal for the day. Excellent job.
Congrats on the Silver Medal, Wooo-Whooo
Yess trogly is finally getting into his fender kick!!
sound fantastic
Its pretty awesome. A humbucker single coil without a pick guard would be my perfect guitar .maybe with roasted maple neck and stainless steel frets
So a Charvel?
@@jski718 pretty much but a made in Japan strat would be pretty cool
I have the Squier version. If the S/N is date-coded, it's a 2005. Made in Indonesia, 3 piece body, all-black silkscreen logo, top-loading 6 saddle short bridge, neck pickup looks like a Strat, uncovered bridge humbucker. Made VERY cheap, about like a Squier Affinity, but only cost me a C-note. Not really something I'd take to work, but an interesting conversation piece. Looks to me like Fender Japan got the quality, fit and finish up to snuff.
The originals basically were Squier Affinity models. They were exactly the same price.
I really liked that guitar looks
Those pickups are made in Indonesia. You can see the code at the bottom at the pickups "ptp.... "
It sounds amazing! Not a fan of the knob selector switch though.
I love that guitar. Neck pickup body mounted for that Tele twang too.
I believe it would look best with a white pickguard. I agree with you about the pickup selector.
Solid sound
The problem with both the squire 51,and now this fender model is no tone knob,I have a sunburst and a blonde squire 51 and I always miss not having a tone knob,but the blonde is one of my favorite guitars,the humbucker in it sounds awesome, and the neck has some great grain figuring,funny that the neck on the sunburst is a little fatter then the blonde, and the whole guitar just feels different, I use it to test pickups out and the guitar looks great without a pickguard.
It's a '51 with a Telecaster bridge and singlecoil ❤️❤️❤️
The pickup selection makes perfect sense to me
Although I’d miss the tone control
As a Strat guy who wants a Tele for the traditional tones… this is really neat. The Squier & Pawn Shop runs didn’t do it for me.
I have the original first-run Squire '51 in blond. I love the satiny neck and it's profile. I thought about putting better pickups in it, but never got around to it. A dedicated tone control would have been nice as well, but overall it was nice for the price at the time and I am surprised they have actually appreciated in value.
Man, I wanted one so bad back in 2011. They are kinda like the Miata of Fender guitars.
Trogly’s in the HOUSE!
Ramiro's in the House!
Hey! I love you videos a lot it’s great to see what guitars are out there! I wanted to recommend looking into the epiphone phant-o-matic. It is a signature guitar with the body of Wilshire, they are some nice playing guitars and they look beautiful. They’ve been rising in price recently as I’ve purchased mine a year ago for 600. Now they fetch 900-1000 and come around on reverb once in a blue moon.