Thank you for sharing your experience! I also got this one. And i'm fine with the glossy neck and the string tree. No modding needed in my opinion. Only changed to brass saddles and i'm so happy with my CV Tele! Sounds and looks great! Greetings from Cologne, Germany🙋🏼♂️
I just got my Squire Classic Vibe Tele from Sweetwater a month ago and it was great out of the box. their 55 point inspection is something I don't think anyone else offers. You mentioned the string tree. I got a tree from Music City Bridge that holds down the E, B, and G strings.
just ordered same guitar today after thinking about it for quite a while. I have a 92 mik squier strat as well as a bullet strat which I'm gonna use as a learning tool on doing mods, that interests me. can't wait to get my hands on this tele! thanks for a great video!
I just bought my first same squire. I have few guitars, but they are on much higher level around $2k-$4k. So, I’m looking forward to make this guitar gig playable.
Had mine a few years now and only thing I did was replace the saddles with Gotoh brass saddles and have near perfect intonation with it now. I also put a new pre wired harness in with CTS pots and switchcraft jack. It’s on par and in some ways better than my Mexican player series and I actually prefer it. The tuners are very stiff even after 2 years so I may replace them soon.
I really wanted a belly carve and to lighten the body, the Affinity is the only model that has the belly carve and the body is also much thinner. Cut a new hole in between the two existing holes with a hand drill then mount a toggle switch in the third hole you don't need. Everyone will ask what the toggle switch is for (?)
Just got one today. I'm a Les Paul man and needed something with twang. Never liked strats. Really sweet axe. I may swap out the neck pickup, not sure yet. A/B'd it with a Fender Player and it was better than the Fender minus the pickups. Liked the neck better too. Cheers from Canada
I changed the string guide and replaced the saddles with a compensated brass set. But instead of swapping out the control plate, I replaced the knobs with a set with just slightly smaller diameter that also had a dot on the top edge to eliminate the search for a previous volume or tone setting. I also replaced the stock 3 position pick-up switch with a Freeway switch. That added a series and parallel out of phase tone plus a dramatically different bridge tone to the original 3 choices.
I've got one of the first run squire telecaster vibes. Mine has big pots and 3 brass saddle. I've also got a squire 2022 stratocaster vibe little pots ! that was kind of a bummer. They must have changed after the first couple years! Thanks 🤘
Mine wasn't a "truly pull out of the box and play guitar". The "plastic" non-bone nut was cut way too low. Bought a TusqXL to replace it. Had to reset, level, file several frets, and polish them. Replaced the saddles with gotoh compensated. The crappy thin wiring was replaced with proper cloth pushback wiring. Replaced the pots with CTS, the switch with Grigsby, Fender caps, Allen Bradley NOS resistor. The control plate had to be drilled out to slightly larger size, as well as the jack plate. (I have a drill press). New knobs to fit the larger CTS pot shafts. The grounding was poor, so replaced the bridge plate with a Fender vintage. I have a 50's Custom Deluxe tweed amp (5e3 circuit), and found these stock pickups to be ho-hum. Installing a set of Fender pure vintage 64 tele pickups. Will copper shield the pickguard, and ground everything properly. So far, I have $721 dollars into this tele, and except for the weight (mine weighs 9.1 lbs), really think this stands toe to toe with Fender's $1700 dollar tele's. I plan on routing out a sizeable cavity on the back and installing pickguard material for a cover, to reduce the weight a pound or so. There's a guy on youtube who stripped all the poly coating off his Classic Vibe tele. The scraped off finish weighed in at 8oz. Half a pound!
Agree about the Weight. At 9 lbs 6 oz it puts my 66 Jazzmaster to shame which sits at 8lbs 4oz. The gloss neck wouldn't bother me, putting compensated brass saddles on, excellent! Guitar sounds great though. Looking forward to see the improvement after the upgrades. Good Job on this review!
My (older?) Chinese CV-50's Tele has full-sized pots, and I wouldn't describe its frets as "tall", I think I'd prefer it if they were taller. Like yours, it's heavy, and has a thick butterscotch poly finish. It does have a gorgeous quarter-sawn neck. For some reason the pick guards on these have a larger gap between the bridge plate and the guard than Fender Teles which bothers me a bit. I bought it used (circa 2016) for $200.00 and modded it with an upgraded bridge and jack receptacle-the stock receptacle had a tang for the jack tip on it that wasn't the right length, so my right-angle jack cord (which I prefer on guitars with receptacles on the body edge) would not seat properly.
@@Dirtbiketrike72 I didn't get the impression that the guy I bought it from was a modder like me. I'm inclined to think that, unlike most of the modern Squier line that I've opened up, the Chinese CV's originally came with full-sized Alpha pots like those in mine.
I had been on the fence about one of these since they came out. I found them for $279.99 over labor day weekend. That pushed me over the edge. Haven't really got to play it yet having been sick but it looks great.
If you purchase from Sweetwater they let you choose the exact guitar you'll get and they list the weight for each of them so you can make sure to get one that comes in at an acceptable weight for you. It's crazy how much the weight varies on these, Sweetwater has some in stock as heavy as 9lbs 14oz. It must largely be the pine used in the body that varies so much. I got one from a different site during a recent sale for $280 and I got lucky that mine only weighs in at 8lbs 1oz.
I don't know why this came up in the feed now but how are the fret edges and fret level? My paranormal had beveled and smooth fret ends and I don't think had any buzzing. I think it has the same pickups as the cv telecaster.
This seems a little different than the one I bought in 2013. It was made in china, has brass (looking) saddles, round dome knobs, and the neck finish is not heavy. The guitar itself doesn't seem heavier than any other solid body guitar I have. My complaint is the volume and tone knobs are VERY stiff and don't move as easy as I would like. The neck is a little too easy to bend (if you're holding to tight, you'll pull yourself out of tune). Other than that it has been an awesome guitar.
Fantastic review earned a sub from me. So I have been mulling over picking this up as my first tele. Would rather a quality piece of kit for an extra 100 to 130 that's gonna last longer than a bullet or affinity series. But I have some questions I'm hoping people can help with. Is the weight that much of an issue? Are the barrel saddles that much of an issue when it comes to intonation? Or is it somthing I can learn over time to do myself?
Thanks Kristian! I can tell you the Classic vibe is a mega leap up in quality from the lower end Squires for sure. As far as the weight on the CV I don’t think I would want to have it hanging around my neck for an all night gig. But that’s mainly because I’m older now. : ) I couldn’t actually “Hear” the intonation out. I think it’s just a mental thing knowing it’s a bit off. Plus I just wanted to put the cool looking brass barrels on.
@@Dirtbiketrike72 thanks for getting back to me. Tbh I've only started taking guitar back up as a hobby around the time of the first uk lockdown. Bought a nice washburn acoustic. Now I'm looking for a tele as my sort of first electric bit like I said somthing that's going to last. I'm getting one for sure most of the time ill be sitting whilst playing so the weight isn't an issue for me. Just enjoying actually learning to be a guitarist in my mid 30s lol. As apposed to the poser rhythm guitarist I was back in the day. Just playing covers in a band that my friend showed me. Anyway great video thanks for the reply dude.
New Sub, and Thanks for the info on this great guitar. I own this one, I’ve only added a “in tune” Gotoh bridge so far. I would love to change that control plate, but where it is the most problematic is on the Squier Esquire I just picked up. For obvious reasons on that model it is just plain, non functioning😬
I have the same model and mine weighs a little over 6 lbs. if you go to Sweetwater, you can pick the one you want out of the 4 or 5 they display. I picked the lightest one they had. All guitars weigh different.
I've had several in my hands and they're all heavy as an anchor, are you sure the one you had was a Squier Classic Vibe 50s? Not another older Classic Vibe from China or something or Affinity series or something?
As a used buy around $275 it's a slam dunk. At $425 it's better to go ultra cheap and upgrade everything or spend more and get a Schecter PT or a Sire.
Already has a bone nut. Tuners are suspect on both of mine. Electronics are OK...no need to change. Disconnect neck pup from tone pot to rid any muddiness and improve clarity/output (I do this to all my Teles)...drop in either Lollars or Fralins (perhaps Bootstraps, got a set coming my way to test out at $50)...brass saddles...yes, my first CV50 had a super sticky neck...the second (from Andertons) had less poly, less sticky, and it was very hard to sand down. The Harley Benton TE-52 I got this week has an amazing neck and body, and the Roswell pups are a bit better than the CV50's pups. It's getting Bootstrap Palo Duros.
The biggest problem with this thing by far is the weight, it's way too heavy, playing it sitting down is fine but as soon as you wear it on a strap you can immediately feel all the weight on your shoulder, maybe you can wear it on your waist like Steve Albini and that might help
Another glossy neck complaint in a demo. Folks, it’s not a problem. If you buy from Sweetwater, they generally have more than one in stock and there are various weights. You can choose your individual guitar. I paid $385 for mine. Mine only weighs 7 lbs. 6 ounces.
A bit 'dark'. So, disconnect the neck pup from the tone pot....a popular mod.... I got two CV50....one has Lollar the other Fralins and they both sound AMAZING! Of course, brass saddles too....
@@robertbennett6418 I prefer the tone of 3 brass vs 6 and as for intonation...I've not had an issue...as most folk don't, ergo why they are so popular with 3. Irregular for inconsistent finger pressure can just as easily impact a perfectly intonated guitar.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I also got this one. And i'm fine with the glossy neck and the string tree. No modding needed in my opinion. Only changed to brass saddles and i'm so happy with my CV Tele! Sounds and looks great! Greetings from Cologne, Germany🙋🏼♂️
Thanks my friend! I agree totally. I’m really growing to love this guitar.
I just got my Squire Classic Vibe Tele from Sweetwater a month ago and it was great out of the box. their 55 point inspection is something I don't think anyone else offers. You mentioned the string tree. I got a tree from Music City Bridge that holds down the E, B, and G strings.
I love watching your videos. They are very interesting and worth listening to as well as learning from. Looking forward to the next one.
Thanks!!
just ordered same guitar today after thinking about it for quite a while. I have a 92 mik squier strat as well as a bullet strat which I'm gonna use as a learning tool on doing mods, that interests me. can't wait to get my hands on this tele! thanks for a great video!
Great plan for practicing your mods. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with this Tele. I’m really starting to like it more and more!
I just bought my first same squire. I have few guitars, but they are on much higher level around $2k-$4k. So, I’m looking forward to make this guitar gig playable.
I’ve grown to really like this guitar!
Had mine a few years now and only thing I did was replace the saddles with Gotoh brass saddles and have near perfect intonation with it now. I also put a new pre wired harness in with CTS pots and switchcraft jack. It’s on par and in some ways better than my Mexican player series and I actually prefer it. The tuners are very stiff even after 2 years so I may replace them soon.
It’s a great mod platform for sure.
Great video love honest opinion and sensible criticism. Keep it up .
Thanks
I really wanted a belly carve and to lighten the body, the Affinity is the only model that has the belly carve and the body is also much thinner. Cut a new hole in between the two existing holes with a hand drill then mount a toggle switch in the third hole you don't need. Everyone will ask what the toggle switch is for (?)
Just got one today. I'm a Les Paul man and needed something with twang. Never liked strats. Really sweet axe. I may swap out the neck pickup, not sure yet. A/B'd it with a Fender Player and it was better than the Fender minus the pickups. Liked the neck better too. Cheers from Canada
Awesome!! These things are so underrated! I think the Bridge pickup sound on these is amazing.
I changed the string guide and replaced the saddles with a compensated brass set. But instead of swapping out the control plate, I replaced the knobs with a set with just slightly smaller diameter that also had a dot on the top edge to eliminate the search for a previous volume or tone setting. I also replaced the stock 3 position pick-up switch with a Freeway switch. That added a series and parallel out of phase tone plus a dramatically different bridge tone to the original 3 choices.
Awesome upgrades!!
Thanks, and thank you for this video. In it, you answered all my concerns about buying a '50's Vibe Squire.
I've got one of the first run squire telecaster vibes. Mine has big pots and 3 brass saddle. I've also got a squire 2022 stratocaster vibe little pots ! that was kind of a bummer. They must have changed after the first couple years! Thanks 🤘
Mine wasn't a "truly pull out of the box and play guitar". The "plastic" non-bone nut was cut way too low. Bought a TusqXL to replace it. Had to reset, level, file several frets, and polish them. Replaced the saddles with gotoh compensated. The crappy thin wiring was replaced with proper cloth pushback wiring. Replaced the pots with CTS, the switch with Grigsby, Fender caps, Allen Bradley NOS resistor. The control plate had to be drilled out to slightly larger size, as well as the jack plate. (I have a drill press). New knobs to fit the larger CTS pot shafts. The grounding was poor, so replaced the bridge plate with a Fender vintage. I have a 50's Custom Deluxe tweed amp (5e3 circuit), and found these stock pickups to be ho-hum. Installing a set of Fender pure vintage 64 tele pickups. Will copper shield the pickguard, and ground everything properly.
So far, I have $721 dollars into this tele, and except for the weight (mine weighs 9.1 lbs), really think this stands toe to toe with Fender's $1700 dollar tele's. I plan on routing out a sizeable cavity on the back and installing pickguard material for a cover, to reduce the weight a pound or so.
There's a guy on youtube who stripped all the poly coating off his Classic Vibe tele. The scraped off finish weighed in at 8oz. Half a pound!
All good upgrades!! The weight varies wildly on these guitars also.
Agree about the Weight. At 9 lbs 6 oz it puts my 66 Jazzmaster to shame which sits at 8lbs 4oz. The gloss neck wouldn't bother me, putting compensated brass saddles on, excellent! Guitar sounds great though. Looking forward to see the improvement after the upgrades. Good Job on this review!
Thanks! Yes the neck really isn’t a big deal. I had a guitar when I was young and it had a heavy gloss finish. I Got used to it quick.
Mine weighs a tad over 7lbs.
@@jimmy5634 Nice! Really Nice!
My (older?) Chinese CV-50's Tele has full-sized pots, and I wouldn't describe its frets as "tall", I think I'd prefer it if they were taller. Like yours, it's heavy, and has a thick butterscotch poly finish. It does have a gorgeous quarter-sawn neck. For some reason the pick guards on these have a larger gap between the bridge plate and the guard than Fender Teles which bothers me a bit. I bought it used (circa 2016) for $200.00 and modded it with an upgraded bridge and jack receptacle-the stock receptacle had a tang for the jack tip on it that wasn't the right length, so my right-angle jack cord (which I prefer on guitars with receptacles on the body edge) would not seat properly.
Do you think the previous owner put the full sized pots in? If not and they were stock that’s pretty interesting.
@@Dirtbiketrike72 I didn't get the impression that the guy I bought it from was a modder like me. I'm inclined to think that, unlike most of the modern Squier line that I've opened up, the Chinese CV's originally came with full-sized Alpha pots like those in mine.
I have seen people buy like 3 or 4 different versions of these like 50s, 60s, thin line, Deluxe for a price of 1 Fender Tele. Great Value.
No doubt one of the best bang for your buck!!
I had been on the fence about one of these since they came out.
I found them for $279.99 over labor day weekend.
That pushed me over the edge.
Haven't really got to play it yet having been sick but it looks great.
That’s the deal of a lifetime!
I took advantage of the deal too. It saved money for any mods you'd like to do.
Nice Don Williams lick at the beginning
Thanks.
If you purchase from Sweetwater they let you choose the exact guitar you'll get and they list the weight for each of them so you can make sure to get one that comes in at an acceptable weight for you. It's crazy how much the weight varies on these, Sweetwater has some in stock as heavy as 9lbs 14oz. It must largely be the pine used in the body that varies so much. I got one from a different site during a recent sale for $280 and I got lucky that mine only weighs in at 8lbs 1oz.
I love how they made in Indonesia now days with 8lb 1oz definitely spending $600 and not the American tele anymore lol
I don't know why this came up in the feed now but how are the fret edges and fret level?
My paranormal had beveled and smooth fret ends and I don't think had any buzzing. I think it has the same pickups as the cv telecaster.
Fret level is great on mine. They were definitely gritty. As for the fret ends they are covered by the thick poly coating so they are smooth on mine.
By far the heaviest classic vibe i've come across.. my cv strat's under 8 lbs..
the first production Classic vibe telecaster 50s had brass saddles. I don't understand why they changed them.
This seems a little different than the one I bought in 2013. It was made in china, has brass (looking) saddles, round dome knobs, and the neck finish is not heavy. The guitar itself doesn't seem heavier than any other solid body guitar I have. My complaint is the volume and tone knobs are VERY stiff and don't move as easy as I would like. The neck is a little too easy to bend (if you're holding to tight, you'll pull yourself out of tune). Other than that it has been an awesome guitar.
The latest ones are built in Indonesia and the quality is superb.
I haven’t tried the Chinese models. I want to check one out for comparison.
Fantastic review earned a sub from me. So I have been mulling over picking this up as my first tele. Would rather a quality piece of kit for an extra 100 to 130 that's gonna last longer than a bullet or affinity series. But I have some questions I'm hoping people can help with. Is the weight that much of an issue? Are the barrel saddles that much of an issue when it comes to intonation? Or is it somthing I can learn over time to do myself?
Thanks Kristian! I can tell you the Classic vibe is a mega leap up in quality from the lower end Squires for sure. As far as the weight on the CV I don’t think I would want to have it hanging around my neck for an all night gig. But that’s mainly because I’m older now. : ) I couldn’t actually “Hear” the intonation out. I think it’s just a mental thing knowing it’s a bit off. Plus I just wanted to put the cool looking brass barrels on.
@@Dirtbiketrike72 thanks for getting back to me. Tbh I've only started taking guitar back up as a hobby around the time of the first uk lockdown. Bought a nice washburn acoustic. Now I'm looking for a tele as my sort of first electric bit like I said somthing that's going to last. I'm getting one for sure most of the time ill be sitting whilst playing so the weight isn't an issue for me. Just enjoying actually learning to be a guitarist in my mid 30s lol. As apposed to the poser rhythm guitarist I was back in the day. Just playing covers in a band that my friend showed me. Anyway great video thanks for the reply dude.
New Sub, and Thanks for the info on this great guitar. I own this one, I’ve only added a “in tune” Gotoh bridge so far. I would love to change that control plate, but where it is the most problematic is on the Squier Esquire I just picked up. For obvious reasons on that model it is just plain, non functioning😬
Thanks! The control plate is the “Must have” upgrade on the CV.
@@Dirtbiketrike72 it really shows how disfunctional🥴it is on that Esquire, where you player may want to make changes often... Thanks
I have the same model and mine weighs a little over 6 lbs. if you go to Sweetwater, you can pick the one you want out of the 4 or 5 they display. I picked the lightest one they had. All guitars weigh different.
I got mine at a local shop.
I've had several in my hands and they're all heavy as an anchor, are you sure the one you had was a Squier Classic Vibe 50s? Not another older Classic Vibe from China or something or Affinity series or something?
Can you use some 0000 steel wool on the back of the neck to knock off that shine?
Yes there are vids on RUclips showing how to do it.
As a used buy around $275 it's a slam dunk. At $425 it's better to go ultra cheap and upgrade everything or spend more and get a Schecter PT or a Sire.
Absolutely
Please do one with the 40th anniversary!
I found those Gotoh brass saddles. Will they fit right in the stock bridge?
Mine did on two guitars.
Sand down the neck? Put in a bone nut. Switch out the tuners and electronics.
Appreciate your video.
All very good upgrades!
Already has a bone nut. Tuners are suspect on both of mine. Electronics are OK...no need to change. Disconnect neck pup from tone pot to rid any muddiness and improve clarity/output (I do this to all my Teles)...drop in either Lollars or Fralins (perhaps Bootstraps, got a set coming my way to test out at $50)...brass saddles...yes, my first CV50 had a super sticky neck...the second (from Andertons) had less poly, less sticky, and it was very hard to sand down. The Harley Benton TE-52 I got this week has an amazing neck and body, and the Roswell pups are a bit better than the CV50's pups. It's getting Bootstrap Palo Duros.
The biggest problem with this thing by far is the weight, it's way too heavy, playing it sitting down is fine but as soon as you wear it on a strap you can immediately feel all the weight on your shoulder, maybe you can wear it on your waist like Steve Albini and that might help
I agree. Some commentators have said they have 7lb guitars CVs. So evidently they vary in weight quite a bit.
Thanks for this video.
Welcome. Check out pt 2 soon.
I paid more for the single pickup Esquire model,
Great video!
Thanks!
How the heck could be so heavy and made of pine??
Pine is super lite.
I think the thick coating has a lot to do with it. The weight of these varies wildly from guitar to guitar.
Another glossy neck complaint in a demo. Folks, it’s not a problem.
If you buy from Sweetwater, they generally have more than one in stock and there are various weights.
You can choose your individual guitar. I paid $385 for mine.
Mine only weighs 7 lbs. 6 ounces.
The selector switch tip never touches the volume knob! It falls off as soon as you take it out of the box!
It's some kind of Squire practical joke. 🤣
😆 I haven't had that problem yet. Thankfully!!
How do you feel about the Neck pick-up ?
The addition of the Brass saddles made the neck pickup sound 100% better. Still not my favorite though.
I just bought one. The neck pickup sounds very good to my ears.
A bit 'dark'. So, disconnect the neck pup from the tone pot....a popular mod.... I got two CV50....one has Lollar the other Fralins and they both sound AMAZING! Of course, brass saddles too....
I got mine for $325 during the holiday season.
A steal!!
@@Dirtbiketrike72 Yeah, and a week later I found a Roadrunner case on sale for $99 when they normally go for $150.
How would you put a six saddle bridge on that tele?
I’m not sure. It would probably involve drilling new string holes for a new bridge. That would be my guess.
Think I'll just leave it as is.
What is the reason you want to swap out? If you don't mind me asking.
A couple reasons. I think it just looks cleaner and the intonation is easier to get accurate.
@@robertbennett6418 I prefer the tone of 3 brass vs 6 and as for intonation...I've not had an issue...as most folk don't, ergo why they are so popular with 3. Irregular for inconsistent finger pressure can just as easily impact a perfectly intonated guitar.
Buys 50s tele and changes the 50s elements. Meh
Indeed lol
If you're listening with headphones you will be ear ra4ed
If you play twang this guitar needs nothing changed other than the cheap pots and caps like all cheap imports.
True. It doesn’t actually NEED anything. It’s a heck of a guitar.
Mine is so freaking heavy
Mine too, it feels like 11lbs. : (
9.6 lbs? That’s a P-Bass.
Sounds really bad really bad