1989 USA Squier? 

With all the time spent on this already, you'd think that a careful but quick application of CA glue into that crack would have been so easy to do before rubbing polish into it.

I have one of these! Bought it new at a guitar store in probably 1991. Serial number is similar as well. It sat in a gig bag unused for the better part of two decades before I got it out during covid, so it's in pretty good shape still and plays and sounds great! I didn't realize the back story or that Squires weren't normally made in the U.S., so it was great to come across your video and gain your insight! Thanks for sharing!

Nothing I love more than sitting down with a guitar that has been neglected or orphaned and give it a complete working over. Therapy for me. Loved the video man

Love how the video starts off right away, no goofy intro with overly exaggerated awkwardness or sponsoring lol

This guitar has SOLD!!

Fender at the time was restructuring. getting out Japan after all of Fenders guitars were made in Japan for a couple of years while they moved the plant from Fullerton to Corona. They set up a plant in Ensenada Mx to build Squires but long story short a fire in Mexican plant,Squires are selling good and they had a huge new factory just across the boarder so for a minute they made squires in California with Mexican parts.After that Squire went to Korea and the Mexican plant now produces everything that Fender sells that costs less than two grand

Love the vidyas, Dane. Lots to learn, and fun seeing what you get in.

Truth on the USA Squiers! These actually command a bit of a following among collectors and players alike. Appreciate how you give these old misfits a new lease in life.

Hey Brother thanks for taking the time to speak with me today about the USA SQUIRES AND MY 60TH ANNIVERSARY HAVE A BLESSED DAY MY FRIEND,RUSSELL GUY 🙏

This was a cool video. You went beyond the call of duty with this guitar and gave it some love that it probably didn't think it would ever see again. I hope whoever winds up buying it appreciates it for what it is. Keep up the great work!

Correct. Fender made Squier in the US for a period of 9 months from 1989-1990. These were made in the Fender USA factory on the same machines as the American made Strats while the Squire factory was rebuilt.

Hey I found your channel again! Glad to see your good!

You are correct Sir, Squire was made in the USA factory for 9 months in 1989 to 1990. The overseas Squire factory was being rebuilt. I deal in alot of vintage guitars, in that realm 30 years is considered vintage. Not necessarily high dollar vintage. RULE: the vintager the exspensiver. Too bad it's not all original in todays Reverb market somebody would want Millions$ for it.

I’ve got a MiK ‘89 Squire II in olympic white with a maple board that I put three hot rails in and blocked off the trem. Thing chugs pretty good and cleans up really nice in position 2 and 4, all I need to do now is put locking tuners on it and shim the neck a bit 🤣

That notch came out great , I would have never known Had I not watched the whole video, sounds ,and looks great ! Thanks for that band audition tip , have to get the headstock tuner !

I used to be a guitar snob and laugh at Squiers back then. Then I did a gig and Daniel Ray played after our set and he was playing a Squier Strat and I had to rethink my snobbery lol.

I have one! Black with a satin maple neck with a separate fretboard laid on top. No skunk stripe! Bought it in early 1991 and it has had several different pickups installed over the years, as well as graph tech saddles, string tree, and a steel trem block. The tuners remain, and it has always stayed rock solid in tune. It has made me thousands of dollars and I would never trade it. The plant was not in Japan, it was in Mexico and there was a fire, so the production moved to the US for a few months. Mine does not have a swimming pool rout. I would say that your guitar's body is possibly an after market, non-Fender body.

I just acquired a 1989 Korean made silver label squier that someone put Wilkinson pickups in along with a David Gilmour mod switch and it is incredible, the neck is Flawless and on par with any American strat I've ever played

Really digging your channel man

reminds me of the Cobain vma’s strat! enjoying learning things from all your videos brother!

great info! nice job

I have one of these. When I worked at Guitar Center in 2004, some homeless drug addict came in trying to sell it without any strings on it. I told him we can't buy it if we can't test it. He hands the guitar to me and says "take it, I don't want it" and left. The electronics in it suck, but otherwise it's a good solid guitar.

reminds me of the Black logo Fender Mims basically a Squier with large Black Fender Logo ,, actually great guitars

You can put a Fender pickguard on a Squier without too much trouble, it fits. I put a American Deluxe loaded pickguard on a Squier Affinity Strat. I also put better tuning machines on it from a Classic Vibe, and a bone nut. If one already has some of the spare parts-build a partscaster.

It is a USA Squier neck and body with a loaded MIM Pickguard. Not technically a partscaster since the body and neck are original to each other.

I bought a couple of Japanese made Squier Strats brand new in the early 80's and still have one of them (an '84 , I think, with a SQ serial no prefix). It has a black body and scratchplate, maple fingerboard, large headstock with truss rod adjustment at the nut. I think that there was a peel-off sticker on the scratchplate that said 'Pickups Made in the USA' , but it was a long time ago.

Hope to visit your shop next winter. Snow bird guitar nerd here. Love your videos. Transition period for Fender USA. Who knows?

This is just a bit younger than my Strat and my Jazz Bass. I have a pair of MIJ 88 Fenders. Basically, in the late 80s, that was the equivalent of the MIM stuff now. This neck could have been done over here while they were re-working the factory for the Standard models in Japan.

No one seems to be able to spell Squier. I bought one brand new in maybe !989. I've owned Strats from the 60 all the way through the 90s. I've had reissues even one made in 1982 in Fullerton. Well i traded most of those, but I kept my mia squier. It's by far the best guitar that I have ever played. I stripped the black paint with a heat gun and stained it brown. Keep in mind that these guitars are all different The one you have is totally different than mine

Really enjoyed this. New subscriber!

Dude I'm loving yer channel......😁👍

I just bought a black made in the USA squier strat from the original owner. I couldn't believe my eyes, so I just checked that the neck was straight and nothing was broken and I bought it for what they were asking. It has a maple neck not rosewood like this video. The body also has a swimming pool route, so the body in this video might be correct. Mine doesn't need a shim though. Mine was all original but the pickguard was so warped it was unplayable. I had a new pickguard custom made because I didn't want to drill holes in the body like the person who previously owned the one in this video. Honestly, the neck is so ridiculously comfortable it's so fun to play - better than alot of strats out there, especially the newer guitars. I have heard that these USA Squiers are hit or miss and I'm not sure if mine is a hit, but it is to me. I like the stock ceramic pickups too. Great guitar and I've been playing it a lot ever since I bought it and fixed it up.

Hey, great video & cool guitar. I've never seen any of your videos before, but I think I will check them out after seeing this one. I actually remember seeing ads for the U.S.A. Squier models in late 1989 or 1990; I was 19 years old, busy trying to get a good band together and play as much as possible at the time & could barely keep myself in strings, so I was not shopping for new gear then and don't ever remember playing any of them. As far as the FujiGen (Fender Japan) factory goes, my understanding is that they had to completely replace the machinery on the factory floor to bring the production quality up to the required level. I happen to own a 1989 Squier Jazz Bass made in that factory before the upgrade, and it is pretty fucked-up looking, although it does sound nice. It plays o.k., but it just looks completely wrong. My 2009 Indonesian Squier Jazz Bass, on the other hand, looks and feels like a real Jazz Bass. I will need to replace the cheap pickups if I ever want to record with it, but aside from that it's the best J-bass I've ever played, and I've played a few- old U.S. Fender Js ('64, '66, '72, etc.), a couple of late '80s/early '90s Japanese Fender Jazz Specials, new (i.e. 2000+) U.S. & Mexican Fender Js, and too many Squiers to even remember. I always tell younger players the same thing: it doesn't matter who made it, or where, or when; you just have to pick it up and play it. You never know, because it might look like a cheap, ugly piece of junk, but then feel & sound so amazing that you can't live without it...

Thanks Dane! Cool video Awesome

That was the year that Fender put the squire Logo on their first HSS HT American made strats and its probably what happened on the squires.

The timeframe seems to match up with the production of the "Heartfield by Fender" era of the Japanese production facility, explaining the "retooling/upgrading the factory" story....

Ty for the content

So much WRONG info about these. They were made from 89 and discontinued in 92. There are a few different versions. First few had a 4 digit serial# on the headstock, next 6 digits on the neckplate, then E9 on the headstock. These had a pool route, vintage 62 style rosewood neck, or maple cap and a slightly smaller body. Then the N serials (91-92) had truss adjust at the headstock and standard rout & body size. (These are the ones discussed in the Squier Book). This was a time when the Fender Japan contract ended and labour costs there were too high to compete with the copies. It had nothing to do with a fire in Mexico which was in 94. Fender was producing Squiers in Korea, India, US, for export and Japan for domestic sale during those years. Soon after came Mexico Squiers. The construction was mixed between US & Mexico (which was doing stuff like finishing and pickups) and then assembled in the US, hence the "Made in USA" designation.

I have the same guitar. Bought new in early 90s at age 13. I sold it when I was 20 and just bought it back at 45. All original, mint, 1989. No extra drill holes or tape. The pickup covers are faded off white. Those tuners don't appear to be original, unless they were just using random parts. Wish Fender would tell us why they were made in the states for that time.

I have a made in Mexico Squier Stratocaster made in 1990. Because of this video I took her apart to see if I can get her playable again. It has the same cavity as you have one that white one. I had to replace the pickguard and pickups...interesting enough the floyd rose II caused me more problems than anything...next up I'm replacing the tuners with vintage looking tuners..

A 30 year guitar not necessarily is a vintage guitar. It's just an old guitar. There are some specific topics in consideration. Fantastic video!

There was one I went in to buy at a pawnshop that was similar to that but the story on it was that is was USA made neck and body spares that where sent down to Mexico to help fill in when they had problems with one of their machines. The electronics on it where definitely the same as the stuff you get from Mexico at that time but both the body and neck where marked made in USA

I once found in a pawn a Fender Les Paul with a set neck and Duncan designed pups and a set neck tele with Duncan designed pups also. Both were manufactured in Korea. I think they bought D’Armond guitar or something and re-branded them for a second?

I have one of these usa made Squire guitars. Bought it in 1992 Woodsys Music Kent, OH. It's black with white pick guard. Plays great, in mint condition.

I always replace the jack socket with a switchcraft one.Also the nut can be bone for not much.the pick ups look a bit low

The backing music is well done. Sounds like a mixture of Oriental and American!

I think they were changing from japan to Korean factories and had to do some in cali guitars til the swap was complete.

Hiya. Fraid they did. Nearly bought one in Andy's in Denmark Street, London. Think it was near £400 about 25 years ago. From memory, the reason I didn't get it was exactly as this video explains. It just a kit guitar. Different parts put together. And the guys right. Squier guitar parts generally don't match Fenders. For example, I can't get a replacement scratch plate for my Silver Series Jazz Bass.🎸🎸🤓

I just started learning to play a couple years ago and I bought a Squirer for $150 on NewEgg. It's held up great considering the price. Now I'm learning to maintain it.

Just a thought about the date written in pencil on the base of the neck: The date 24-3-90 would be written 3-24-90 in the US. 9:25

I have one of these in original shape except for the locking tuners I put on there...I still have the originals. MIne has a maple neck instead of the rosewood.

I have a '89 Japan Squier. I'm not sure if it's Dakota or Fiesta red but it's absolutely better than most MIM Fenders.. I put Lawler pickups in it&now it is the bee's knees(except for thae routed pick guard I had to make where I put a P90 in the neck position so I can have warm sweet Duane Allman Style lead tone!..... rest assured the original pickguard with the original pickups is sitting in a nice cardboard bag inside of a sealed plastic bag inside of the guitar case put away nice and safely so I can restore it to original if I ever wish to do so).

Great video. I learned allot. I have an '85' Japanese Squier Telecaster ( all original ) that rocks. Someone told me they were doing hand wound pickups back then in the factory. Does anyone know? Thanks for posting.

Mine is 50 lower on the S/N! Great too see here sister! Mine is a Maple fretboard tho...

You fo nice videos, thank you

I got a 90-93 look a like but its made in Japan its stil in good working condition and it was my first real guitar. The action was to high but i did not know at that time. So its about 30 years old now and all original. It still looks like new too but it has been used quite a lot. Still happy with it 😊

Black, white and yellow leads with the two ceramic bars, definitely looks like my MIM Standard pickups. Actually the whole pickguard looks like my MIM's.

You spent so much time and effort. Had it all stripped down and neglected to try to glue that headstock crack. 2 minute job.

Watched the whole thing . it was fun dude. Good job on that Squire stratocaster ...USA HUMM

Fender was moving Squier from Japan to multiple Korean manufacturers. They made some at home during the move and startup to help keep production numbers up. There was no Fender Mexico at that time. The non-USA Fender models were made in Japan until that became less profitable and then not profitable with Japan's rise in quality and wages. I have a Korean '89 Squier II Stratocaster (my first guitar), so i've done some research on it. P.S. if anyone has a Korean Squier (some years/models), changing the pots from 500k to 250k will make your Strat sound more like a Strat, instead of overly bright.

Cool guitar Dane! 🤘🎸😎🐦🥒

Dig it! 🤙🏼

Well how about that, the markings on the body and neck matched perfectly. Thank you sir for a for a well done job and video. I'm renovating/mending old violins and acoustic guitars and as a hobby i like to build partscasters, Teles, basses and some customized superstrats. I recognize much of what you are doing with the cleaning and polishing work and My guess is that you've put on some lemonoil for the finishing touch on the gripboard right? 😁 Where can i find the green polishingpaste that you were polishing the guitar with earlier? I like the fact that you can use it on both wood and metalsurfaces and doesn't seem so oily. 😀 Thanks for now! Greetings from Rob Nilsson residing in Stockholm.

I have an 87’ Squier that says Made in Korea, but it has a Japanese serial number and is made with Japanese parts. New in the box even. Of course I took it out and played it but it still looks new.

I used to have one. Nice instrument!

I'm new to your channel.. Thanks For Sharing 🎸

I got mine in 1990. Played it live a lot and recording. N 910090 love it

I have the exact 1983 Squire Stratocaster Olympic White, Rosewood Neck and mine is an E Series but made in Japan Great guitar..👍

Nice guitar!

They sell the logo's on ebay, amazon, ect

11:00 ouch! Those are pretty serious cracks in the neck pocket, connecting to the swimming pool cavity.

I had one myself. One of the best Strats I ever had.

Correct!!!...I did have a red one, in the 90s.

There's a lot of oddball Fender Squiers out there. I have a MIK Fender, MIM Fender (Squier series) supposedly the body and neck are MIA...

Fender did manufacture (assemble!) SQUIER (NOTE THE SPELLING!!!) Stratocasters in the Fullerton plant between 1989 and 1991. The serial number on this guitar is consistent with Fender's numbering system. The "E" means it was manufactured in the 1980s. The "Made in USA" decal informs that this guitar (or at least the neck) was made in Fullerton.

Awesome! Subbed.

I've never heard the term "Partscaster" I luv it. Great name for a band

I had one

Did you look up the serial number with fender registry? What year is it? Where was it originally sold?

I have one, an 89,, brilliant guitar. 👍

Made in Jamerica. Those tuner knobs are huge!!!! Wonder what they cam off of?

I'm sitting here checking out my Squire Strat. It was made in Taiwan at the Yako Plant, for what it's worth.

I actually saw one of those in a music store in Philly. I'm pretty sure it was white too. Neato!

Wow. Those bring back memories. The year Strat went completely and irrevocably to Hell in a hand basket. Our band bought one to see if they were any good. All of us played it, hated it, pulled it apart to try fix the frets, pickups, torsion bar etc. It wound up getting Jimi Hendrixed at an outdoor show n front of 3000 bikers and their families. Good times!

The RimWorld music got me jammin tho

I presently have 11 guitars and they all under$ 300 but I have so many hours into making them all spotless and play like butter. But my apartment is a horrible mess. So I loved your dirty dishes remark. 😂❤

Its a Beauty!

Guitar center would charge 750 for that

That far in. Your welcome. Enjoy these.

That is so cool. If I'd have seen I'd have bought it.

Yes they made them in the 🇺🇸

I want that friggin squire!!!

See that swimming pool body route? That was done at the factory ya can tell from the factory paint inside but your USA fender model doesn’t do that. Also in 1996 after the Mexican factory burned down in 1995 they shipped up what they could salvage from the factory and made them in America along with using some USA parts.

Why do you prefer the backplate off? Pros?

I have two Squier bodies that have MIM necks on them. Both fit perfectly. Newer stuff. CNC machines now days. Pockets match.

I had a few USA squires. They still had high gloss finishes, heavy bodies and poor electrics. Necks were 60s profile and were not bad but again, gloss finishes that were clammy and thick coated.

double tab tuners, what is the brand? Schallers?

Does anyone know about a Strat built before Squire but at a Squire price. It did not have a angled input jack, instead the second tone spot was converted as the input socket. I bought one about 1985 in Australia and maybe it was for the Asia/Pacific market? It did have made in USA on the head stock. ???

ive got an early mim strat that came with the American body and neck assembled in Mexico..its a nice guitar!. the pickups wer not great..two ceramic bars on each side of the steel slugs, i pulled the slugs and pressed in alnico5 pole peaces witch made a huge difference! combining the ceramic with the alnico magnets did something..gave me more of what i wanted. and i happened to have a couple dead vintage strat pups that needed re winding, so i pulled another set of alnico5s and swapped out the slugs in the middle pos i was hoping to also solve the volume issue as ive a hot sd sh6 in the bridge that was alot louder than the stock pups..problem solved! i can say that it made a huge improvement! and im not sure if any other pickup out their can compare to these ones i modded. im quite sure the magnetic field is a different shape now and maby a lil bit bigger in areas..it did something pretty amazing.

-"Squier" for us poor guys !!!!!!! Yes !!!!!!!