Squier’s Limited Edition Classic Vibe models came out with a bit of a whisper this year. That’s a shame, because the drop included one of the nicest-looking Telecasters of recent memory – this Sherwood Green example, which arrives with a colour-matched headstock, tortoiseshell pickguard, and an Andy Summers-style SH configuration.
It’s easy to get in a hot flush over an aesthetically pleasing guitar only to be disappointed by its performance, but straight out of the gates, it’s clear we have an impressive player on our hands.
There are no surprises in the components. There’s a poplar (rather than alder) body, maple neck and 9.5”-radius Indian laurel fingerboard – but they’ve been put together nicely, and that tinted urethane-finished C-shape neck is dreamy (and, dare we say, even reminds us of our Fender American Vintage II).
This Squier is incredibly resonant, with some intangible tuning fork-esque harmonic overtones that embellished its timbre, especially when playing unplugged. There wasn’t a fret to be found that offered any nuisance, and the surprisingly well-finished fingerboard offered no resistance when navigating up and down the neck.
Tone-wise, it was good. It’s certainly got some of the cleanest tones we’ve heard in a Squier Tele, and the fact they’re Fender-designed pickups is very nice. They aren’t ‘thin’ or ‘metallic’, which some budget single-coils are guilty of, and the neck humbucker is addictive: big with a lot of warmth that can deliver some juicy rhythms and throaty leads.
When played through some Neural DSP Captures, it can cover all the bases, but sounds particularly classy when run through a regular Blues Junior with just a touch of reverb and overdrive, for that classic edge-of-breakup tone. But, yes, if you wanted to, you could do the woolly riff thing on this.
The only downsides on this example were an ill-sitting tuning peg – the washer was weirdly raised (admittedly, something a simple DIY fix could cure), and a slight scuff on the cutaway that blemished the otherwise perfect finish. Talking of which, in a forest of ’bursts and tradition, we need more Sherwood Green guitars, Squier.
This reviewer’s go-to guitar is an American Vintage II Thinline Telecaster, putting us in a good position to see the direction this Squier is shooting for. Having put it through its paces, it passed almost every test with flying colours. First and foremost, it’s a tidy thing to play with a great-sounding range of tones on offer.
Will it make you put down a more expensive Tele? Possibly not, but if Fender’s native models are out of reach then Squier yet again proves that it’s capable of putting out impressive alternatives.
Specs
- PRICE: $449/£399
- BODY: Poplar
- NECK: Maple
- SCALE: 25.5”
- FINGERBOARD: Indian laurel
- FRETS: 21, Narrow Tall
- PICKUPS: Fender Designed Alnico Single-Coil (Bridge), Fender Designed Alnico Humbucker (Neck)
- CONTROLS: Master Volume, Master Tone, 3-Position Blade
- HARDWARE: 3-Saddle Strings-Through-Body Tele Bridge, Vintage Style tuners, nickel
- FINISH: Sherwood Green, Black (with matching headstocks)
- CONTACT: Fender
