I bought the this same guitar a few months ago, but in natural finish with a tortoise guard. I have barely put it down. I have an Epiphone ES-339 and a Classic Vibe 50s Tele, and the 70s Squire Strat gets the bulk of the practice time. I bring this guitar to our Friday night jam sessions, and it holds its weight - my playing being the limiting factor. This guitar is awesome. If your want a Strat for about half the price of a Fender Player Series, definitely check out the Squire Classic Vibe.
Here's my review of this same guitar, but in natural finish, Bea in mind I was only playing for 17 months at this point. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VjnTE9-bOJo.html
@@landonbailey You know what, I never thought to weigh it. Just weighed it, and it's approximately 7.8 pounds. As a comparison, using the same scale, my Epiphone ES-339 PRO is 7.4 pounds, my Squire Classic Vibe 50s Telecaster is 8.8 pounds, and my Sigma DM-15 acoustic is 4.6 pounds.
one of the most pleasing to watch! specially the unboxing and inspecting it in detail. thanks for this kind of review coz it shows us what we really dont do when we walk in to a guitar store or even after owning it.
@@skabetty97 if I was buying new, I'd probably go for the classic or a paranormal, but I got my player strat for $250 with a hard case. Only scuff on it was done by me when the strap fell off while walking. But it's a working guitar so it's whatever 🤷
Squier's been knocking it out of the park lately with their Classic Vibe offerings. I've noodled around with some basses at my local, and I picked up a Classic Vibe Starcaster earlier this year, and it's been a dream to play. Neck & frets are awesome, pickups sound great, just a few minor wiring tweaks needed.
Got my 70s vibe a couple yrs ago and it’s so easy to play , tones are out of this world 🌎 and best of all I added my mxr fuzz pedal and play Sabbath all day long or MXR fullbore metal pedal and Metallica tones are in my living room.
I have to say that has some great unplugged sustain, and when plugged in the pickups sound very full and clear. Probably better than a lot of actual fenders.
I can vouch for that... the unplugged sustain on my 70s is incredibly good. For perspective, a decade or so ago, I bought a Bullet Strat because it seemed to be relatively well-made for a then $99 guitar. The pickups had the quack, but way too much overall and sounded super-thin (very cheap ceramics). Decent intonation, but tuning issues and my playing at the time was pretty bad. I upgraded to an Ibanez Hollow-Body with Humbuckers, which was more forgiving of my playing & never thought to own a Squier again until I started watching these reviews for the past year or two. Took a chance and was not disappointed. The Alnicos used today are so much better than those early ceramics
from this classic vibe line, the deluxe and the 50s teles were the ones that impressed me the most, and that's coming from a strat guy (maybe because I already own a really nice strat style guitar).
Nice guitar and review as always. The pups are alnico as you note. They are much clearer than ceramic. Individual notes are more distinct. Don't change them. I have several strats with one or the other. Good to record songs with the time correct pups. I particularly like alnicos with flatwound D'Addarios (i use a plain 3rd string). The vibratos are all good (expensive or not). That is one of the secrets of the strat sound. String bending causes the bridge to pull up slightly giving a softer, more resonant sound. Also the string vibrations travel through the block and springs to the body and back through the strings again rendering resonance (subtle). Heavier blocks transfer more sound. Both heavy and light have their own values for sound. I use both for recording needs.Sinthetic nuts feel like plastic, but erode differently, more like bone. Good material actually. Playability is important, period correct appearance is silly. Use a fine abrasive and take off the neck finish. I now say any guitar above $150.00us is foolish. I have a room and a half full of all price point guitars after 58 years of play. The inexpensive ones gig, record and play just as well. Just massage them and make them your own. Thanks again sir for letting me rattle!
Synthetic bone is Micarta, which is phenolic resin impregnated fabric (or paper). So it is not plastic, but a composite material. Personal choice for me would be Tusq XL, which IS plastic, but quite dense and self lubricating.
I'm loving this channel. I'd love to see you play more music as well. Loving these dad jokes by the way. WOW, just saw you subscriber count. The quality made me think you had much, much, much more subs! Good job!
Love the channel Lando! I’m a fender fan and player from way back. I own many strats and teles and i bought the exact same guitar when they first came out. Still plays great today. You were talking about alpha pots and how they’d do after some time well i will say that they do hold up quite well after years of abuse so this isn’t an issue, like you said, just a cost cutting measure. As an electronic tech, there’s better quality pots for sure but as a rule of thumb, they’re all built to certain standards and the tests that they go through before leaving the factories are pretty endured. Only drawback is that alpha or mini pots tend to get “scratchy” more quickly than CTS or better ones.
I have to say I enjoy your run-through videos - full of information but concise. However, I prefer your comparison videos - especially the blind comparisons. You're an excellent guitarist but your air-guitar playing would win championships :-))
Thanks, nice review. You can certainly see where they made the savings; pots, tremolo block, strings. For the money, it's not a bad guitar at all though. Like you said, trying to pick one up on sale may be best.
That is what I did. Looked for the deal & found one about $100 under market on Reverb at Sims Music in NC. Brand new, not a second or blem. This has become my favorite player since earlier this year. For perspective, I have Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, and Gretsch electric guitars besides the Squier. I actually bought the Squier based on the consistently solid reviews the CVs were getting, here, Shane's channel, Phillip McKnight, and others.
I got this guitar used online at Guitar Center in excellent condition for $269.00 in the natural finish. I put new strings on it, a black Tusq XL nut, replaced the trem with a fender vintage Tremelo, I replaced the wiring with the Obsidian wire kit, and taped the entire inside of the body with copper foil tape, and oiled the frets/neck with lemon oil. Prob a total of $150 in upgrades, and this guitar sounds and plays beautifully. Best purchase I ever made. Don’t be afraid to look online for used guitars!
You really do have an advanced degree in plastic removal OCD. I can appreciate it and also marvel at it. FYI, those nutty Canuck Amazonians have this guitar in black for 403.22 piastre today. Hmm ... yet an actual ash bodied Fender 70s is about 1K at my LGS ...
Hey buddy , I enjoy your Chanel and your honest review. Don’t change into a gear reviewer that is “bought” by the company who donated the gear. If I were you I would return this ASAP and get a player series Stratocaster. It is miles ahead in all aspects. Trust me
@@landonbailey but do you have a player series strat? Mine is in the little circle on the left. If anyone can help me get it out of there, I'd greatly appreciate it.
I had a 50’s and felt the quality was higher than Fender Players’ Ive bought. I dont understand whats goin at Fender hq but Classic Vibes are getting better reviews on EVERY Channel! Always dig your content Landon. I might pick this 70’s up. (A warmoth Jumbo neck wouldnt even be $300 more) still less than a Player series haha.
J'ai acheté en 2021 le même modèle, mais je l'ai prise en black avec le pickguard perloïde... Elle est magnifique ! J'ai remplacé les mécaniques par des Gotoh étagées + Sillet Graphtech Tusq XL + vibrato Fender Mexico + Potards CTS 250k + condensateur 22 Orange Sprague + prise jack Switchcraft + Dimarzio HS4 Neck + Dimarzio HS3 Bridge. Maintenant j'ai une incroyable Squier CV Strat 70's, bien meilleure que plein de guitare à plus de 1000€. Je ferai un changement de frettes d'ici 2 ans, je ferai mettre des frettes Jescar... J'ai 48ans, et ma Squier m'accompagnera jusqu'à la fin, je n'en changerai jamais. 👍🎸
Incredibly cool review... I have the Natural version of this same guitar. I felt a little put off by the tone at first too. I got some high end Fender strings, and a little set up on it from a good luthier... It really sings now. Also I use a Boss Katana for it, and it really compliments it well. I agree w you- Tone wise things weren’t the best there. Had a slightly muddy/too bright thing going on. Wondering if you ever got this to a place where you liked it more?
More like a '70 Strat w/a pre-'71 single string tree; it shoulda had the truss rod at the heel as well as the 'with synchronized tremolo' and 'original contoured body' decals on the headstock. Speaking of tremolo, that thin tremolo block is SOOO out-of-place and yes that nut is definitely plastic; imported Squiers are not known to have bone nuts unless they were installed after purchasing. Those pickup magnets are far from being Alnicos cuz they look more like ceramic bar magnets...but I'd still rock it. To me Alpha pots are cheap but better than any cheaply made pots around; my Indonesian '02 Squier Bullet Strat hardtail has 500K Alphas that requires a treble bleed capacitor on the volume as it loses a bit of highs when rolling down past 10 and would definitely benefit with those pickups (anything's better than these noisy metal bottom PU's!).
i have found a second hand version of this but with a maple Fretboard and as a lefty. I took the Neck and installed it onto a Vintage White Righty Strat Body. The Neck feels amazing, the Frets feel amazing.
Landon dude, Mike here....ya know since Fender "cut" the Squier line (no more Vint. Mod or Standard Squiers,etc.), Classic Vibes are no longer the quality they used to be. I remember when the Classic Vibe series came out "aboot" ten years ago and the quality was far, far superior...on another note, stuck at home, work done via vid con or sometimes skype a lotta free time so I make music vids and post 'em and I buy gear cuz I totally suffer from G.A.S. Today I was thinking of ordering that same guitar, same color from Thomann - izzit worth the 355 euros??? ...or 500 Can Dollars ...
hey there! I don't think this model is worth the full price (bought mine on sale from Amazon) . I'm planning a video comparing the 50s and 70s CV. There's definitely a different feel to them
...I need to stop watching your videos, can't stand anymore! I feel now like buying one like this as well, haha Jokes aside, love your channel, thanks for all the videos. They do help to make a decision were to spend the money, particularly the fact you open the guitar up, so gives me an idea about the upgrades needed! Thanks a mill!
How do you feel it'd do as a first buy for a beginner? I don't wanna compromise on quality in order for me to have fun and practice, and I could afford a Fender Player, but for the same prise I could get a squier, amp and everything else I need. My impression is that this guitar will be a solid beginner guitar but I'm unsure
Just bought one in natural. Weight is 7.62lbs. Great quality, fit and finish. Just wish the neck was thicker. Can you get a thicker neck with the large headstock to fit this guitar?
I just sold my CV 50s strat I have a Greco super real strat now that has a nice fat soft v shape beautiful guitar but so was the CV ! Fender vintera strat has similar neck to Greco but they cost 1000 euro. You can get 3 secondhand CV's for that !
This seems to be a good Squire guitar. They have the Classic Vibe 50's Stratocaster, and the QUALITY??, Man! Feels like an American made Strat. I don't know what's going on?
Hey Landon I really appreciate your honesty in your videos. I've been looking at a lot of RU-vid videos the last few weeks and this one today. I bought the same guitar today but its black. My very first guitar. Would love to have an actual Fender but being on a budget I went with this guitar. I'm hoping it will be a good guitar to learn on. Keep the videos coming bro, love them.
@@landonbailey I haven't weighed it but it seems very light. Sound wise it sounds good to me. Its going through a Fender Mustang LT 50. Salesman recommended that amp.
@@ydtube5856 hey, I'm not using the tremolo much but it seems to be working pretty good and the guitar stays in tune. I got this guitar for $315. They gave me a really sweet deal on it. It feels good and the sound is really good also. Hope this helps yd.
Hi man. Do you still have both the 70s and 50s Classic Vibe Strats? Which one do you like better in terms of sounds? You had mentioned that the 50s one seemed to have more solid switching. How was the necks on each?
I don't know if this could work for you but I found out that using velcro just a nice piece of it between the strings like a clamp helps me out when I have to take the strings off to work inside the guitar. I use left over velcro strips one side under the strings the other on top making a connection/clamp and it keeps the strings from tangling and it helps to put them back on more quickly.
The last two Gibsons I played (one of which I kept and one I sent back) were a LP Standard Goldtop and an ES-335 and each left my fingers black after playing (without changing the original strings) for the first few sessions. P.S. - I thought the tone sounded pretty good for $400.
I would love one of these at some stage Landon but that skinny trem block would have to go. Also the pups and electrics. Is there neck dive with that light body? Thanks for another thorough and entertaining review 😊👍👍
They’re better balanced for tuning stability if you float the trem. Also the type of metal can really improve sustain. A few years ago I changed one on an SX Strat from a soft crappy what my Dad calls “pig iron” to a fatter brass one and it made a huge difference. Especially the sustain.
Brandon i have had same guitar, i have replaced pickguard to mint one. Looked lovely. Regret selling but i got now FSR Squier CV 70 Vintage WHite MN :D
I thought the video and guitar were good Landon. I had a Classic Vibe 50’s Strat from a couple of years ago, it had Tonerider pickups from the factory, it sounded awesome, even had a flame neck lol perhaps they don’t use Toneriders anymore? Anyway’s foolishly, I sold it, but I’m not sad, I have had the MIM Players Strat for a while now but I haven’t taken the plastic off even though I play it all the time. Some expensive guitars are using Poplar now, my MIJ Strat is Poplar, that’s light too. Have a great day.
I saw one of these at the local guitar shop. It was a natural colour with this horrid looking cardboard like fingerboard. But here it looks ok ! I got a VM Squier 70s strat with laural fingerboard and it looks really nice.
I got same guitar... but when I activate the "Bridge" pickup (shown in 14:17) and then use the Overdrive channel in my Marshall MG 100DFX I get that weird "static" noise not sure if it's the Amp or what... I didn't hear that noise while you were playing... any advised? :( Thanks!!... sorry for my English... I hope that made sense... Nice review btw...
Not too long ago I bought a Player Strat. I find it won't hold tune at all. I have bought locking tuners to try and deal with this but haven't put them in yet. How does this Squier hold tune?
Maybe you have to change your nut firstly. Its super mod for playabilty. You can check graphtech or natural bone nuts. Nuts are very important for the tuning stability.
Friction at the nut is the no.1 culprit. Imo nut material bone or plastic, makes little difference . The slots have to be cut properly to begin with and use some pencil lead (graphite) in the slots . Make sure you stretch your strings thoroughly. On a Strat that's set up correctly with good tuners , I find if the tuning does wander , a few gentle pull ups on the bar will rectify it.
I don't have any of those expensive nut files. I did try both but lube and pencil but that didn't help. I thought the locking tuners would eliminate any excessive winds that might slip.
Nice review man! The dirt is the strings probably, they are always like that when they are new on Fenders or Squiers. I actually tried one of these in black a year ago, and they had a real 70's Fender hanging next to it in the exact same colour so I tried them both and I was surprised that the body of the Squier was the same size as the Fender. However much like you, I didn't like the sound of the pickups. Many people say that these Fender designed Alnico 5 are an upgrade from the Duncan Design, but what many people don't seem to know is that the DD are Alnicos too. Anyway, I didn't like the sound of the pickups nor do I like the neck. The guitar overall looks really beautiful but I just can't stand that neck for some reason.
I have cv 70s hss strat black..maple wood one and I play it through blackstar idcore 40w v2 and a eleven headrush....you can't believe it's just doing revolution on stage..Mexico made standard strats couldn't cope with it...I believe setup plays the game and also last but not least..hands of the player.
would you suggest to me buying this classic vibe for my first electric guitar? ive been playing acoustic for years im between this and an affinity; is there a big difference between these 2 for buying a classic vibe? or i get a cheaper guitar?????????
The squier affity butterscotch is a solid choice for affinity, otherwise they can be hit or miss. Classic Vibes are good all around but it depends on your level of experience. Id suggest going to guitar center and see if thwy have some ypu can play
Hello Landon ! Thank you for your video ! what do you think about changing my CV 50's strat (one piece body, sunburst 2015 chinese) for this CV 70's indonesian OW. il love the sound avec my CV50's but fed up with sunburst color.... and i love the Olympic white or very soft vintage white. Better to keep my older CV 50's ?
So this video is 3 years old. I wonder if the classic vibe 70’s, as of February 2024, is still a light guitar. Like below 7lbs. I suppose it would have to be an SSS. I just got a Classic Vibe 50’s and it’s fantastic. It plays beautifully but it’s pretty heavy. I would guess it’s closer to 8lbs. I would like to get a second Squier Strat if I could get something that is nice and light.
I weighed my CV 50’s yesterday and it’s 9lbs 6oz so it’s my heaviest guitar by far which kind of sucks. But it plays beautifully so I think I’ll keep it. It doesn’t seem like you are 100% sold on the sound of the CV 70’s. The 50’s has the perfect Strat sound and I would put it right up there with my Fender Tele Thinline and my Gibson 335 so even though it’s so heavy I think I’ll keep it. L&M has a 30 day return policy but it’s too nice to let go. The cost of the CV’s are relatively cheap so I think I might just buy a 70’s too. I’ll get the store to weigh it first, just in case.
