The all-new Squier '51 is a value-priced screamer offering unique looks and functionality. Its clean appearance belies its true nature, with tonal possibilities galore (via its rotary selector and push-pull coil tap).
Featured review by:
Ippon, on may 26, 2008 5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 70
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: This model was Made in Indonesia in 2006 (or earlier) and was discontinued in early 2007. It's a Standard 25.5" scale, solid Basswood body with a Maple/Maple neck and generic tuners that are surprisingly well-made and kept tune. I won't go into the specs since those have already been covered below. Instead, I'll focus on the things that haven't been mentioned or have only been touched briefly. I bought my '51s for $69.99, call it $70, during the Memorial Day close-out sale at GC and MF of 2007. So, it's way past the honeymoon stage and all the flaws and shortcomings of this model have been discovered, and addressed. // 9
Sound: I play Blues, Classic Rock, Metal, Jazz, and almost everything else in-between. With the Basswood body, thin Maple/Maple neck, H-S pickups, coil-split in the bridge Humbucker, you have an excellent platform for a stealth weapon on your hands. It became a stealth weapon with awesome sonic excellence, only after some inexpensive mods: replace the plastic nut with bone or something better or man-made such as Corian, Tusq, etc. and then, replace the stock Humbucker and SC with something with more clarity and punch. I replaced some with DiMarzios and some with Seymour Duncans, Lace Sensors, and even the inexpensive GFS pickups. Played through my Fender Hotrod (valve/tube) amp or through my friend's H&K and Mesa RoadKing, this inexpensive beast with slight upgrades will slay from Blues to Classic Rock to Metal. Metal? The slim neck with it's slightly rounded fret edges helps a lot. The coil split allows you to experiment with the tonal combinations. If you decide to stick with the stock PUs, prepare to do some major EQing on your amp because they sound really bright, quite brittle. Some may prefer this tone and it does cut through the mix but I find it painful to my ears. With the stock PUs, I rated it a 7, with the upgrades, it'll be a 10. // 7
Action, Fit & Finish: Straight from the factory, the action came set-up very nicely - medium height. This allows you to immediately play it with a slide, if you're into it. For those Who prefer very low action, good luck! The bridge it came with makes it really tough to bring the strings a lot lower. Your option here is to go with an after-market bridge and there are a lot available for the Squier '51 fanatics or modders. Overall, the fit and action were pretty decent straight from the factory. This model comes in SunBurst, Black, and Blonde and most were Made in Indonesia (MII). The Poly finish was decent, for such an inexpensive guitar. Since becoming a member of the UG, I've been bitten hard by the modding bug - check out our very own Guitar Building & Customizing forum at http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/forumdisplay.php? s=f7179e3e4036a677d44b0fbdd7ddf791&f=53 I've installed Fender and Tokai necks to Squier '51s and these have turned them into absolute beasts! Note, the stock necks are an absolute joy as is. As mentioned earlier, the stock PUs were on the bright side and no amount of PU height adjustments seem to work to tame it a bit. Taken as a whole, without tweaks/adjustments or slight touch-ups, it's a solid 8. // 8
Reliability & Durability: Like most modern guitars, manufacturers have to be complete sleazoids to turn out absolute cr4p. With CNC machines, the reliability of most electronic components, and the amazing chemistry that goes into modern finishing supplies, the only requirements to produce and deliver decent or amazing guitars are opposable thumbs. This model is built extremely well and I expect that it will continue to deliver reliable performance no matter how many gigs you perform. This guitar will outlast you and me as long as you give it the proper, regular guitar maintenance and care. The Poly finish is bright and shiny and tough. Like most dedicated guitar players, I replaced the stock strap buttons with straplocks. Although the guitar is pretty solid, I wouldn't dream of performing without a back-up, even if I was using my Fender Strat or Gibson LP, it just doesn't make sense to go to a gig or performance without a back-up. // 9
Impression: Although it'll never replace the sonic awesomeness of the Stratocaster's SCs or the iconic tone of the Gibson LP's Humbuckers, the now discontinued Squier '51 will deliver the versatility of the Humbucker and SC combination that a musician needs at a very inexpensive entry point. I use this to play Blues, Classic Rock, and old school Metal (Metallica, Iron Maiden, GNR, etc.) and it delivers. I've been playing seriously for 3 years and while developing as a musician, I've accumulated the typical gear (effects: Wah, tubescreamers, octave, compressors, flangers, etc.). With the slight upgrades that I mentioned earlier, you will not be disappointed. If this were stolen or lost, I'd cruise evilBay and CraigsList to get replacements. This guitar is such an awesome platform I'm not sure why Fender discontinued it. If I were to re-design it, I would have made it stringthrough, with a compensated saddle bridge, slightly thicker (Modern C or you profile) and wider neck with a 12" radius, and a Bone nut with the same width as a Fender Tele. Even if this $70 guitar is now only available at $150 or so at evilBay or elsewhere, $150 is still a huge bargain, cheaper than the generic Squier Strat or Tele, and definitely more versatile and less generic in looks. This is an amazing guitar, for the price, and they do show up in some online music shops once in a while. If you get the chance, buy it! // 9
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on july 25, 2005 1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Features: The Squier '51 electric guitar is a value-priced screamer offering unique looks and functionality. Tonal possibilities galore between it's single coil neck pickup and it's Hot Humbucker in the bridge position. Control your sound via the rotary selector and push-pull coil tap.
- Series: Squier Vintage Modified series
- Body: basswood
- Neck: maple, C-shape with polyurethane finish
- Fingerboard: maple, 9.5" radius (241 mm)
- Number of frets: 21 medium jumbo
- Scale length: 25.5" (648 mm)
- Width at nut: 1.650" (42 mm)
- Hardware: chrome
- Machine heads: standard die-cast tuners
- Bridge: hard-tail 6-saddle bridge
- Pickguard: 1-ply white
- Pickups: 1 single-coil Strat pickup (neck), 1 hot humbucking pickup (bridge)
- Pickup switching: 3-position rotary selector Switch, (on master tone pot), push/pull coil selector Switch (on master volume pot)
- Controls: master volume, master tone
- Strings: Fender Super 250L, (.009 to .042) nickel plated steel
- Unique features: Telecaster headstock, Vintage tinted neck, 1-ply '1 style pickguard, chrome '51 control plate, knurled chrome-dome control knobs, dot position inlays. // 6
Sound: For me, the '51 is quite a nice guitar. I'm not all that great of a player, I play mostly power chords, and it does that pretty well. I use a Crate amp with it, and it doesn't sound great, but I can deal with it.
The humbucker is the only way to go when playing with distortion, the single coil buzzes way too loudly. Also, the tap for the humbucker is cool, but somewhat useless.
I would describe the sound as bright, but a scratchy kind of bright. Not the best tone. The variety of sounds that is made with the guitar is quite nice. With only 2 pickups, you have 5 different settings. The single coil is somewhat bassy and is excellent for clean stuff with maybe some reverb. The humbucker sounds like your everyday cheapo humbucker, not the best, but isn't too shabby when playing easy punk stuff with a moderate amount of distortion. The tapped humbucker is kinda twangy, but buzzes alot. It's fun to use when playing rockabilly stuff, it has that '50's stlye twang. I'm quite happy with the tonal range of sound of the '51. What I like about the sound of the '51 is the variety of sounds it can produce, and what I dislike is the loud buzzing with the single coil and tapped pickups when playing with distortion, and the harsh tone. // 6
Action, Fit & Finish: I haven't modified it at all since purchase, and I'm pretty happy with it. The action is quite nice, not so low that it touches the frets, but not so high that you have to use much force to press a string down. There were no flaws when I purchased the guitar. // 6
Reliability & Durability: // 6
Impression: I play mostly punk stuff from the '70's (Ramones, Misfits), and it's not too shabby at that kind of stuff. I've been playing the guitar for close to 4 years, and in the past I've owned a Squier Bullet, an Epiphone Les Paul Special II, and an Epiphone acoustic (can't remember the model). Ampwise, some crappy 10 or 15 watt Squier amp, a Marshall Mini Stack, and now a Crate XT65R. If this guitar was lost/stolen, I would probably buy a different one, not because I think the quality of this one isn't good enough, but because I like variety, and it's an opportunity to try out another guitar. Overall, this guitar is A+++ for $150-$200. I reccomend it to anyone on a budget and is looking for a decent guitar. // 8
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on december 27, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 150
Purchased from: used
Features: After 20 years without a guitar I wanted a simple yet versatile electric guitar, and they don't get much simpler than this. Or more versatile; with the pull-tap switch to single coil on the bridge, I can experiment with both a Gibson and a Fender sound. I also like the narrow Gibson-style sting spacing because it's easier for an incompetent like me to find the notes than on a Strat-style neck. I also like the Strat-style body, which conforms to my body better than a slab-sided Tele body. It's also is much prettier than the Tele. // 9
Sound: I'm finding my music style and the versatility of the guitar allows me great latitude for experimentation. I can make pretty much everything from Black Sabbath and ACDC to Pink Floyd and Johnny Cash sound sort of like music. I've only owned one other electric guitar back in the mid-1970s, a cheap no-name brand that was such a complete P.O.S. that it was unplayable. Until I got this guitar, I thought I just sucked; now I realize that the crappy guitar at least played a role in the suckage. The funny thing is that I paid almost twice as much for the P.O.S. guitar back in the 1976 as I did for this '51, yet the '51 makes a larger variety of sounds than my nephew's $800 G&L. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: This guitar was originally owned by a talented professional musician, and he set it up nicely. It still has the cheap plastic nut, but he tuned all the noise out of the bridge. It doesn't break strings, but it also doesn't stay in tune very well. I think I'll replace the heads with better quality items as my first upgrade. The paint is top notch, but the input jack was loose. That was easily fixed by adjusting the nuts on the jack. // 3
Reliability & Durability: Now that everything has been tightened and adjusted it seems to hold up pretty well. I don't think I'd want to use it in a Live performance without replacing the heads because it would get knocked out of tune pretty quickly. But for the price, I can afford to replace those. // 5
Impression: I played an accoustic twelve string for about 10 years back in the 1970s-1980s, but have only been playing again for about one month. Before I played folk/pop/rock/classical type stuff; now I've been focusing on classic rock. So far the '51 has been a great match. I don't know if I'd replace this if it was stolen because I doubt I could get one set up as nicely as this. I'd probably buy a Schecter C1-Plus, which has similar features and is set up extremely well right out of the box. It costs a lot more, but seems to have high-quality components. It also has a very nice neck, which is one of the features I love about the '51. The other is the sound. My favorite feature is the versatility of the available sound. I'm not so crazy about the overall quality of some of the hardware, though. I'd compare this most closely to the C1-Plus, but for the $400 price difference I can put a lot of quality components on the '51, making the Squier one heck of a value. If I paid a Schecter price for this, I'd be a little disappointed, but for this kind of money it's a great value. // 10
Reviewed by:
Eggness, on june 04, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Guitar Center (Online)
Features: I like the features of this guitar a lot, I use the pickup splitting a lot and I use all of the pickups in different settings. // 10
Sound: I play a vairiety of music on this guitar, mostly blues but I also play some metal on in. It actually does alright on the metal although the reason I use it for metal is because I like the neck so much. I use it with my Boss Metal Zone and Boss Distortion pedals through my Cube 15 amplifier. For stock pick-ups they're fairly silent and they are somewhat bright (which is what I expected). I can get a pretty full sound for some clean, harmonically rich playing and I can make it a little punchier for some soloing, it's sustain is decent. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: The action was set-up pretty well when I got it, the pickups were also well set-up. The intonation is actually pretty bad, I adjusted it as well as I could and it is still off a little bit, but I have a feeling I'm unusually picky about intonation. Everything about it is put together fairly well and the guitar didn't have any flaws when I got it. // 8
Reliability & Durability: The guitar is pretty sturdy, the hardware is going to be replaced eventually so I can maintain tuning better and so I can get the intonation dialed in. My worry with the hardware is not that if it will last or not, though. I'm not worried about the strap buttons but I suggest strap-locks anyway, just in case. I don't really gig but if I did, I would bring my other guitar not because this one is unreliable but because I don't want to be caught without an instrument. // 10
Impression: I am very satisfied with this guitar overall, it was very well priced. I own an Ibanez Iceman that doesn't get played too much anymore because I've fallen in love with the way the '51 plays. I would have to say my favorite feature is the neck, it just plays like butter. The reason I bought this guitar is because I heard great things about it and it was priced right. If it were ever stolen I'm not sure if I could replace it because it was discontinued but, if I could I would in a heartbeat. In the future I plan on replacing the pick-ups with Seymour Duncans and replacing the tuners and bridge. // 9
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on november 04, 2005 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 158
Purchased from: Avenue Guitars
Features: It's pretty cool, it has a Strat body and single-coil neck pickup, humbucker at the bridge, Tele neck (maple with maple fretboard) and control plate, 21 frets, and a basswood body (mine has a black finish). It also has a push/coil tap on the the volume knob for the humbucker, which is sweet. One thing I don't perticularly like is that instead of a tone knob it has a rotary pickup selector, but whatever. // 8
Sound: The humbucker is really sharp, which is ok for some things. The neck pickup is alot warmer, and sounds awesome on clean or with a little bit of distortion, but gets really buzzy with tons of it. With the distortion up, you can bring the buzz down by mixing it with the the bridge pickup, split or not. The bridge pickup split is really twangy and is great for country and stuff. The pickups aren't the top of the line, but the guitar was fairly inexpensive, so thats what you would expect. // 7
Action, Fit & Finish: The action is pretty good. What was really annoying is that the pickup selector knob pulls right off! I had to glue gun it on so it wouldn't. Also the screws on that hold the input in place keep striping out so I had to put bigger screws in every once in a while, but hasn't lately so I'm hoping it's done doing that. One other thing is that the base which the knobs are mounted on came loose, so once the knobs are all the way up or down, it will still turn a bit, but thats not a big deal. // 6
Reliability & Durability: I think it would withstand live playing, and seeing that I don't have another guitar I would have to play it without a backup. The strap buttons seem solid enough, and the finish is quite good though it will dent. Really my only concern is that the tuners go out of tune real easy, so that could be a bit of a problem if you do alot of major bends. // 9
Impression: I play mostly lite to normal rock, and some folkier stuff, too, and this suits it pretty well, it being as versetile as it is. If it were lost or stolen I would buy a Fender or PRS, but I don't buying this and havn't had any major trouble with it yet and have had it for almost a year. I had alot of fun with it, and it is a good guitar for the price. // 7
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on august 08, 2005 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: This is a 2004 Squier 51 with 21 medium-jumbo frets, C-shaped maple neck, Telecaster headstock, Strat body, with a 51 P-Bass Pickguard. Basswood body with a HardTail bride, 2 single coils, and one humbucker at the bridge. 3-way rotary Switch, one volume control, and push-pull humbucker splitting coil tap. Lots of bang for the buck. // 10
Sound: I play this with my 50 watt Marshall, the single coils sound great, with the Fender sound to it (twangy, great for blues) while the humbucker has a modern sound to it, bright and punchy. With gain it can sound Van Halen-ish so to say as it gets good clean distortion. Excellent range but the coil tap doesn't make too much of a difference, a nice feature nonetheless though. A bit of hum from the single coils but thats expected. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The action was low but not really low, no fret buzzing, even action all across, no real flaws but since it was new the frets felt kind of rough on the edges. It evens out after playing it for a few months though and it stays in tune pretty damn well. Nice sunburst finish to boot. // 10
Reliability & Durability: This guitar seems extremely reliable, the strap buttons are solid and I wouldn't be scared to take it to a gig without a backup. The finish seems great and like it'll last. // 10
Impression: I play from blues, (King, Clapton) to heavy rock (Led Zeppelin) and some metal (Testament, Metallica) and it works wonderful for most of it. Paired with my Boss Metalzone though it's perfect for anything. I've been playing for 8 years, own a Gibson SG Standard (my main axe, beautiful), a Fender Fat Strat (Mexican made, awesome though), and bought this one as a backup to the Fat Strat and as a beat around guitar that I wouldn't be afraid of ruining. I chose it due to the price and features and I'm glad I did. I'm not ashamed to say that I love a $150 Squier! // 10
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on august 10, 2005 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Features: // 10
Sound: I play styles of music ranging from: SRV, BB King, The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, Satriani and Santana. I'm using the 51 through a Roland Cube 60 and it sounds great on the British Vox setting and also on the Clean setting. The '51 is somewhat noisy using the single coil, it buzzes intermittently through the Roland. This noise doesn't happen in humbucker poistion. The sound is amazing for a guitar of this price, very versatile. I truly believe it compares with Mexican Fender gear, and for a third of the price! The Humbucker is good, though its best for warm distortion (a la the Vox, Tweed Tube settings on the Roland). So it works great for a smooth "British" sound - mixtures of open chords and solos. Also great for mellow/howling blues.
When trying to get a more shred vibe the guitar is not so chunky as youd like, so heavy metal or thrash people would be advised to look elsewhere. Saying that, the '51 can howl and wail some of the classic Fender sounds, and is simply superb for Blues, Rock or Alternative. This baby does Strat and Tele, for a smidgen of the price of either. The humbucker is good, twangy and loud, but I prefer the neck pickup for a more mellow jazzy groove. A combo of both is good, you can Foray around in the warm wailing of the Neck pup, and then cut through with a quick flick to the rough twang of the Humbucker A la SRV's Lenny. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: A word of warning! I played a few 51's before I bought and the first few didnt play very well. It appears that these guitar vary in quality from guitar to guitar! So test before you buy! I love the neck on this guitar, as far as I know it's a Tele neck and it feels kinda unfinished (which I love) my friends tell me it's slightly thinner than a Tele neck, but it feels great. The setup was ok, but I think the intonation is somewhat out, so be prepared to shell out a bit more for a proper setup. // 8
Reliability & Durability: // 10
Impression: This is a great match for my style of music, but at this price who cares? What a great addition to ur guitar library, sample both Strat and Tele for next to nothing. I've been playing for around ten years, the last three more seriously and this guitar killls my Jackson (piece if crap) and its almost a quarter of the price! I wish my dad had bought my sunburst rather than black as it is somewhat boring, but I aint complaining. I would definetly buy this guitar again. Just a few more important points. The Vintage blonde (yellow) really doesn't look very good in person. In contrast the sunburst looks great in person (on the Squier site it looks terrible). These guitars vary greatly in quality, so don't be ripped off with a dodgy one. I'm already thinking of modding this baby out, maybe Tele pup at neck and beefy hummer at the back. // 10
Reviewed by:
thewho65, on august 07, 2006 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Sam Ash
Features: Made 2005, on the back of the headstock it proudly declares "Made In Indonesia". 21-22 frets, made of a very solid slab of basswood (the kind they sell in arts and crafts stores btw). Had a nice 2-tone sunburst. The interesting features are the coil-tap and tele neck on a Strat body. The bridge on mine was never any good due to constant buzzing. This guitar substitutes a tone control for a 3-way rotary knob that is also pulled to engage the coil tap. Oh, and it has decent humbucker in the bridge and sing coil in the neck. // 8
Sound: When I had this guitar I was running it through a Marshall MG 10 which isn't that great. At the moment I don't have any pedals or effects to run it through. Sound was prety good, it was a rich, full sound. With the coil tap on you can get plenty of highs. This guitar also had a nice way of feeding back, no sqawking or high-pitched screaming. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: When I first got it it was okay (low action, neck straight, etc.) A few monthes later the neck got so convexed for no reason (no temp change, never taken out of house). No matter how much I toyed with the truss rod it would stay that way. In addition to that it also made the action very high and it buzzed a lot from the saddles? The finish holds up very well though. // 3
Reliability & Durability: You could easily gig with this guitar and, just in case, fight your way out with it. The body is very durable but a few whacks on a cement pavement or whatever would definatle crack it. Strap buttons very reliable, bridge is a piece of shit though. Strings seem to ever break on this guitar. // 6
Impression: Interesting looks. 50's P-bass controls and pickguard on a Strat body with a Telecaster neck. I play a lot of classic/hard rock and some alternative. This guitars sound is pretty good, if it had been playble. I also have a Jay Turser SG which is preety good, a Marshall MG 10 which I'm getting sick of, and since you asked, A Bach trumpet. If it had been stolen, well, I'd have to question the mental stability of the thief. // 7
It has a button u turn to switch pickup thingys? and u pull that button to make the humbucker a single coil? wicked.
i think i want 1, as i sayd, i want a guitar with good clean tone. POSTED: 09/27/2006 - 04:32 pm / quote|
OttovanZanten
: for the price, it sounds very good on clean, didnt test with distortion.
Also the capped humbucker that works as a single coil gives a nice sound, can't believe it only costs 180 euro's over here :P POSTED: 10/05/2006 - 03:43 pm / quote|
BobFromReboot
: You don't pull out the rotary pickup selector switch to split the hum bucker, you pull the volume nob. I played one in a store today and I was mad I don't live in the states where they're 99 dollars. POSTED: 11/08/2006 - 09:45 pm / quote|
firesofforever9
: this is a greatguitar. I bought it for 100 dollars, and it only needed new strings. POSTED: 02/09/2007 - 02:48 pm / quote|
LD1992
: is there a best set of strings for this or will any do? i was thinking of getting some .08 gauge ernie ball slinky
Amroth
: I tried one of these without amplification in my local store and I like it. It looks great and with a few adjustments it can be good enough. But I'm used to a fat Les Paul neck so the neck is a little thin for me. POSTED: 05/02/2007 - 06:43 pm / quote|
millerdrr
: anyone in florida, they got em at guitar center for $65. hate squier, but even i couldn't turn that down POSTED: 06/03/2007 - 01:18 am / quote|
Dizzydog
: For $149 retail they are a steal. Sounds better and is more fun than most $500 guitars I own. Excellent little axe IMO. POSTED: 06/05/2007 - 03:07 am / quote|
shift3448
: awesome guitar only problem i could find was a little extra plastic on the pickboard. beautiful guitar .looks better in black though POSTED: 06/06/2007 - 02:34 pm / quote|
Bucks Owin
: I just HAD to have one of these after hearing so much about them. Got mine from Sam Ash for $99 and now that I have one, I can say that you get what you pay for.....
They're cool looking with a decent neck, but the action is high (by necessity, the fretwork is only "fair" and my neck has a slight twist), the HB pup's pole pieces don't fit the string spacing and the bridge is a real POS! Other than that, get one and have fun spending money on mods! They DO "look" cool....
The $99 would have bought a better axe at the local pawnshop IMO... POSTED: 06/26/2007 - 03:04 pm / quote|
KurtCobain23
: i got one as my first guitar, i got two more cheap guitars but more than 100 bucks but this ones still my favorite. Im ordering new pickups for it though. theres a blog website all about modding it, ikk put the link down. http://www.instituteofnoise.com/squier51/forum/topic.asp?TOP IC_ID=1955 POSTED: 08/04/2007 - 04:07 am / quote|
Gibson*Fender
: This model is such an awesome platform for modding and experimenting. Because it's so inexpensive, the fear of messing up up is not as critical. POSTED: 05/30/2008 - 02:38 pm / quote|
Angelgiest
: sounds like it could use a tone control POSTED: 08/17/2008 - 02:54 pm / quote|
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