JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Guitars and Guitarist Forum Review Your Guitar Thread

How about a review on your guitar ? Bass, Acoustic, Electric,, whatever.

I'll start off with my '08 Squire Classic Vibe 50's

Over on the Strat forum, there is a Classic Vibe data base type thread. Out of about 51 or so listed with pics and S/N's, 38 or so are the Classic Vibe 50's sunbursts.

This one is used in near mint condition.





Alder body, and the maple neck is amazing. I've only seen my own and the CV 60's in the same shop I got mine in a trade deal. The neck on the 60s CV was just as nice.

I dunno, looks scary good for a China import. The grain, flame, and the vintage tint ... and the gloss finish brings it out.

For capo lovers, the Paige works well all the way up to the 9th fret. And it rests on the nut at an angle that keeps it out of the way. Doesn't touch the strings as they clear the nut on the tuner side, so no tunning issues. It's just there ready to slide in place quickly. And the precision adjustment allows for firm holding of the strings with light bending. The Paige will tighten enough to keep the strings from sliding under the capo sleeve. And it's not "too tight". For heavier bending, it will handle it. Even if a string does pull sharp, a quick loosening and re-tightening of the adjustment bold will allow the tension of the string to pull it back in line. The capo remains seated, and the adjustment can be done on the fly. Sweet.










Even the name China looks good on this marking lol. Very cool.



All these need are switch, tone and volume pot upgrades, the bridge tone control mod, and a trem bridge upgrade. The block is zinc and sucks tone and sustain. Hope this Callaham drops in
http://www.callahamguitars.com/bridges.htm

Sounds great as is, but the ultra cheap parts have to go lol. No pup upgrade needed on these. Just move the middle pup tone wire to the bridge.

Check 'em out

50's CV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFGENe48Tlw
60's CV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTMx8UDPguA

I got it Monday, and haven't had so much fun with a new guitar ever. Funky, swampy, surf, twangy, whatever, it's there.

But for crunchy warm overdrive, the CV 60's with the tad hotter pups would work well. The shop had one, and I played it as well, and may go back and grab it today. Crazy quality for peanuts if you buy a used one. Worth every penny for a new one I'd say.

http://www.squierguitars.com/produc...tratocaster&subcat=classicvibeseries


Next.............


Edit : I grabbed the 60's CV today. I'll update the OP after I get my amp back from the shop. The 60's is much heavier than the 50's. More later....

Good review, Tony. I have had my eye on the CV Tele which also gets good reviews. I think I am going to have to thin the herd before I can add another.

I will think about one to review.

Wow! We get a review of the Paige capo - two reviews for the price of one! good job indeed.
Have you done the upgrades yet, or is it still stock?

Hi Colin, I forgot about the tele CV. The shop probably has one, I'll check 'em out.

The Tele forum probably has some threads on the Tele CV.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/index.php

Let us know

Still stock Tom. Just got it Monday. Yea, I've got the Paige and a Shub. Shubs are nice, but the Paige is my fav.

Paige actually has a new model called the Clik just released this month, and they have a model for electric guitar as well. I haven't checked out either, but plan too.

If that Callaham is a drop in, they have a distressed model, and I have some parts from an old Bronco that are naturally "distressed". We'll see. Not sure how the distressed parts will look with the new gloss finish though.

I picked up a tip on the strat forum on how to tone down the brightness of the white pick guard. Soak it in coffee for a day or two. Supposed to give it a parchment look.

I really liked my Paige capo, also - until the plastic over the bar disintegrated. I'm now trying to find a material to replace that plastic. I could buy another plastic tube from Paige, but why buy something that is just going to disintegrate again in a couple of years and monetarily reward the people who have such a lousy design? I want a permanent solution.

Has anyone tried the Kyser Capo? Saw it in Musician's Friend Catalog. There are others also.

I have a Kyser which works pretty well but I was talked into trying a G7 which is expensive but cleverly and well designed and made. The G7 is now my go to capo. You can squeeze it very tightly to the neck or less tightly and it stays where you put it so you are not depending on spring tension which can cause strings to go sharp.

I like the Keysers, for the fast transition. We should always retune after putting a capo on.

Hey Tony, I noticed you store the capo on or near the nut. Does that position affect or influence your tuning?

Me too, the CV Squiers seem to be awesome guitars at that pricepoint

This thread got me reading about the Squire Jagmaster - and the offsite reviews looked good and it fits most of what I wanted in my next guitar, so tonight, I picked one up at our local GC for $199. Very well constructed and plays wonderfully. I had an online show to do tonight, and instead of pulling out the Martin I just did it on this thing and had a blast. I have small hands so the 24" scale is great for me (and it's not as wide either). 2 decent sounding Humbuckers "designed by" Duncan, I'm planning on leaving it stock at least for now. I was looking for something short scale (I like the Gibsons too) and w/ a trem. This joins my Korean (but Fender Labelled) Tele (mid 80's) and Epiphone Les Paul Classic.


And, yes the protective film is still on the pickguard.

Hmm, mine is 8 years old, and the sleeve is still fine. But I don't use it that much either. When I do, I only tighten it enough to stay put. Now, on an electric, I tighten it more to hold the strings firmly enough that they don't slide when I bend the strings. Since I'm using it on an electric now, mine may wear out faster. Could be several causes for one to go bad in a year.

There is a shop here in town that sells the sleeves for 1.25, but they are back ordered. Next time I run out there for strings, I'll check and see if they have them back in stock. If so, I'll grab 3 or 4 of them and send you one if you like. They would probably be fine to mail in an envelope.
http://www.firstqualitymusic.com/c_36/p_P-RS6.aspx

I'm assuming you have the standard model, not the one specifically for electric guitar.

Hi Rick, this is one of my replies from a thread on another forum..

...I've got the original one, but they have one designed just for electric called the Extreme Bender with a sleeve that is supposed to eliminate tuning problems with bending. I've just recently bought my first strat and I've never used capos on electric in the past, but this thread roused my curiosity.

I've got a Shub and the original Paige, so I tried them out on my Squire CV 50's. The Shub worked well up to the 4th fret, then it became a pain to line up. The pad that rests against the neck began getting too off center. The Paige worked like a dream all the way up to the 9th fret. Centered properly, almost right on top of the fret, but just "behind" it, I could tighten the adjustment bolt enough to hold the strings tight to the fret so that they stayed put with light bending. Adjustment was fairly snug, but had a ways to go before I'd say it was too tight. No tuning issues after a couple of minutes of heavy handed rhythm and 1/4 step bends. The Extreme Bender model may be even better. Haven't tried one and didn't know about them until I saw this thread.

They can be moved behind the nut, ready for use when needed. The Paige "wants" to sit at a slight angle, which is fine because the player is caressing the neck from the treble end anyway. More room. Cool as can be.



No tuning issues at all, just consider the nut a fret. The capo sleeve doesn't touch the strings as they extend beyond the nut toward the tuners.



Side view : Capo sits out of the way, and even still allows the "behind the nut" bends..




continued...

.....continued

Besides all that, the beauty is in the design. The adjustment bolt allows for precision adjustments after the capo is seated, and ensures even pressure treble side to bass side.



The Shub is a well built, heavy duty capo, but the profile is huge compared to the Paige. The Paige weighs less as well.



****, I took a look, and the SE has a C neck like the CV 50's. You should try and find a store that has both the Paige and G7th and try them on your SE before you buy. I just spent some more time with the Paige, and it's sweet.

The G7th Performance looks good, and I'd like to check one out, but having the Paige ready to slide right up the neck makes it easy. Just guide it in place, and then just grasp the top of the neck with your left hand (or right if you're a lefty), and hold the capo seated with your index finger while you tighten the tension bolt.





The G7th appears to allow just as precise adjustment as the Paige, but for tweaking the capo by backing off on the tension, the Paige allows slight adjustments quickly. If, after a song, a string is sharp due to heavier bending, backing off the tension on the Paige slightly is enough to allow the string tension to pull the sting back in line. The capo is still seated, and a quick re- tightening puts you ready to roll.

Again, I haven't tried the G7th. Does the lever release all of the tension at once ? If so, I'd prefer the simple design of the Paige. Quite a history of the design too. It's stood the test of time .... http://web.telia.com/~u86505074/capomuseum/Yoke/Screw/yoke_scr.htm

The Paige causes the least tuning issues of any I've tried.

Hi Colin, does the G7th level release all of the tension at once ?

Especially if you find them used. I got my CV 50's and 60's via a trade deal, actually 2 separate ones, and I've got about 240 bucks in both of them total. Both came without the trem covers on the back, but I'd have taken them off anyway.

Good looking guitar Brian. Youtube has a bunch of demos on it. Here is one that's been modded w/Gibson pups..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzlsQ6n1jhw

Update - I wound up with both the CV 60's and 50's, but things have happened lol.

Here they were stock



Now I have this finally near completion after many hours of research, listening to pup demo clips, and the mandatory nooby soldering boo-boos lol.



So, I've got an '08 CV 60's neck and pick guard on an '08 CV 50's body. Stock CV neck plate, jack plate, pup covers, knobs, and tuners. Callaham Mexican Standard trem and aluminum shield plate, CTS 250k audio taper pots, Switchcraft jack and switch, Orange Drop .047 tone cap, Klein S6 pups. Salvaged strap buttons and string tree off a '75 Fender Bronco someone butchered. Weighs 6 lbs 15 oz. The body is very light and resonant.

The wood in the neck is very nice. Lot's of figure and flame.





I sanded the thick ugly over spray and seam glue in the spring cavity.









The Callaham trem is very nice, and the aluminum shield plate is great. You can tighten your pots securely without fear of tearing the foil shielding, and it also eliminates the need for the pop to pot ground straps, which tend to be ground loop friendly. Also eliminates the "need" to run a lug from the cavity shielding to back of the volume pot. Some may beg to differ, but mine is quiet without it.
http://www.callahamguitars.com/partsstr.htm

The Klein S6 pups are very low output, 4.3 k - 4.3 k - 5.0 k
Demo clips here.....
http://www.kleinpickups.com/p-146-s-6-low-output-stratocaster-pickup-set.aspx

I choose them because of the sweet tone, but also how well they respond to a heavy attack, more of a musical spank instead of an annoying muddy volume spike.

Anyhow, it's how I want it now and love it. I wouldn't trade it for an MIA Standard Strat, because even if I did, I'd still want the same pups and trem lol.

After owning 2 of these for a few months, the Squier Classic Vibe series is, imho, the best bang for the buck out there out of the box. The stock pups are rumored to be Toneriders, which are popular upgrades on import strats. It's at least been verified they come from the same factory, so who knows. They sound great and are alnico vs ceramic. And these CV's have created quite a buzz on the net forums. The pine body CV Tele even got Guitar Player's Editors Pick last fall. The hardware is cheap, but the pups, neck and bodies do overcome the stigma of Chinese built guitars.

A lot of Squier players here, huh? Me too.
I play a 1988 Squier Strat... built in Japan. I call her "Susan" (named after the friend who first encouraged me to write songs, by telling me she thought that I was good at it), and she's a workhorse!



As you can see, I don't have any real detailed photos, but I can tell you that she came with a terrible Fender locking trem, that I blocked. I also chipped the original bone nut and had it replaced with a graphite one. Also switched out the bridge-position pickup with a Chandler "Hot Rails" which I had fitted with a coil splitter switch.
No guitar that I know sounds like it, and none other plays like it. It's like silk.