Squier Tele Custom Review

Good Points
The neck feels great. The pickups aren't particularly hot, but sound good both clean and dirty. No hum (very important to me)! Didn't squeal either, but I'm not usually a high volume player, so I can't say if that would be true in all settings. Pickups nicely balanced and all three settings are very usable. The guitar looks great and is a lot of fun to play. Intonation was pretty good out of the box. Tuners OK.

Bad Points
Like many Squiers, the fret edges on this model were very rough. I have rudimentary guitar repair skills and some small files, so I fixed this between sets on a gig. Don't know why they can't do it at the factory though. The tone pots are pretty much on or off. Volume pots work well for the price range. Nut is cut a bit too high, so chords at the first fret play a bit sharp. I will fix this too when I get a minute.

General Comments
The Squier Tele Custom is a great guitar for the money. I play a lot of different kinds of music live, as well as studio work. With a pro setup and better pots I could show up for anything short of a major budget session with complete confidence. Guitar stays in tune pretty well, but needs to be whipped into shape. Would be willing to pay a little more for better factory setup, but I paid $169 plus tax for the guitar at Sam Ash, so I really can't complain.