i decided to order one of these when i got green light at my new job in Cologne - sort of to celebrate "welcome in Germany" gift of some sorts. from me with love to me.
the release date was pushed farther back, until i unexpectedly got a SMS from DHL that it'll be delivered this evening.
it arrived pro-packed in another HUGE box (thanks MusicStore!), in it the Squier box.
my girlfriend was starting the "you know we're moving to an (expensive but quite small) apartment in Cologne next month" kinda argument, not very amused about me getting yet another guitar. but as soon as it came outta the box we both were speechless... THE BEAUTY!!! kinda like an "aaaaaahhh" moment, with God's sun rays and stuff.
the color on this thing is just BEAU TI FUL in a way i can't describe! i think pretty impossible to photograph but just definitely a head-turner. makes me wanna lick and chew it, no shit.
1st overall inspection of the construction, i was quite impressed. all solid and nicely done. frets are PERFECT 100%, with no sharp edges or anything else.
vintage japanese-style classic Kluson tuners feel solid.
vibrato first looked and feeled like an AVRI - it does not have the cheap "clank" of the CIJ Fenders. but when i got the vibrato arm out i realized it's actually a screw-in, which goes in pretty deep, so it has the same feel of the original ones. you can still have it swinging if you want it, but it won't fall out. good job, Mr. Jarman!
the vibrato lock has been tightened so hard that at first i thought that it was just a look-alike, but in the end i got it moving, and it works as it should... if you ever need it (not me).
the TOM bridge is solid, standard.
another nice evidence of some user-oriented thinking is the slider switches. they are kinda recessed into the guard, so only about 1.5mm is sticking out, so you won't be kicking them all over the place when rocking hard (like on the original Mustangs). another BIG thumbs up to Jarman!
the kill switch i something i thought was kinda cheap, but later -when connected- i realized it can be pretty fun to fool around, too. it stays in place, i mean, i was suspecting it had a spring in it or something, but no. it's an actual (solid metal, feels sturdy) 2-way switch.
there are only two things where i can see "why it's not an expensive" instrument:
- the nut. it's been cut quite crudely - but correctly, thankfully. it also has some of the lacquer at the sides, and on top it has been sanded away very, well, crudely, too. but it does not affect playability.
- the main thing that kinda bothers me, yes... the pickguard.
i realized immediatly that the stings were too high and the pickups too low.
so to lower the bridge, i wanted to turn those little wheelies, but i wouldn't be able to put it as low as i needed on the treble side. so i had to take out the screwdriver and do it from the top, which was quite difficult cuz the guard is cut out too tight on that side (dunno if you get what i mean). i had to turn the wheelie until it was "in" the guard, and it scraped some of the plastic off. you'll understand later with the pics...
so then i wanted to raise the pickups. no prob with the humbucker, but the neck pickup won't move: it's STUCK in the pickguard - just like you'd have it with a shrunken 60s guard--- but this one is brand new. they just cut the pickup hole too tight. so i'll have to take the whole thing off and sand it a bit or something. i tried just pushing and pulling, but didn't get it to the height i want it to be. oh well.
other than that, the guard has also been cut nicely, with no sharp edges or such.
the humbucker also appears to have been assembled a bit in a hurry, as the black tape around it is now set evenly and comes all the way up to the top in one half. no biggie, but just letting you know about it.
btw, the date on the hang tag is 2016 - 07 - 08, so it's not even 1.5 months old. i can understand it must've been made in a hurry, but all in all you really wouldn't be able to tell.
the body is small-ish but VERY comfortable, nicely cut and the finish is just PERFECT. smooth, absolutely no flaws. again, i LOVE the color. neck pocket and all is tight. very smooth and sexy belly-cutout.
the neck. OH MAN THE NECK. dunno, but i might suspect Mr. Jarman ordered they copy the Jag-Stang's (KC) neck? as soon as i put it in my hand i felt that "oh god yes i'm home" feeling. can't really describe it but smooth smooth smooth. soft C i think?
the fretboard is a slab one, which i guess is pretty unusal these days. it also has been built just perfect - and i mean, NO FLAWS. nothing. the plastic dot inlays are nice and the strings go arrow-straight from the bridge to the nut.
even after lowering the bridge about 4mm (yes, setup was kinda slide-ish), there's no fret buzz or anything.
i had ordered some .11 strings, as this one comes with 10s, i think. but they really feel JUST right, so i'll leave them on for now. why fix it if it ain't broken?
now as far as the sound goes, again, i can't say too much, as the neck pup is too low right now, and i don't feel like taking it all apart RIGHT now.
1st i must mention that the switching IS different than on the Mustang... which i don't know if it was on purpose or not (re: Jarman?);
on a mustang, you had 2 ways of getting the in/out of phase sound. something like both switches in (or out) gave you this or that sound... ugh, it has always confused me too. so anyways, on this one you get the OUT OF PHASE sound when the neck pickup's slider is pushed forward (towards the neck). so NO MATTER if you put the humbucker's switch to front or back, it's gonna be out of phase. now slide the neck pup to the rear (bridge side), you'll have the IN PHASE sound, etc. ...get it?
middle position is OFF, like on a Mustang.
it confused me at first, but now i got it. period. (...or., again.. is mine wired incorrectly, or was it intentionally?)
the humbucker (alone) is loud and punchy. i usually don't use humbuckers, so i can't say much about that sound, either, sorry. but it's chimey and sharp... maybe a bit heavy on the "middle", i think? once i turned the OD/Distortion on it sounded glorious... i mean, i'm gonna be using that one a lot i suspect. but i might wanna stick to the plan of putting a chorme cover on it, just for MOAR BLING. cuz fuck yeah.
the neck pickup... again, can't say much right now, but the in/out of sounds sound fun and, well, what i CAN hear of the pickup alone, it's warm and smooth.
(more about that one tomorrow)
the whole guitar weights 3,5kg (that's 7,7lbs), and that's enough to feel like a REAL guitar on your shoulder, even though it does feel, as i said, small-ish.
dunno what pots are in it, but when you lower the volume, it does NOT "clean up", but just lower the volume. tone is ... well, tone.
SO, ALL IN ALL:
you know me. i'm a gear whore. i played Squiers (80s MIJ Strats) almost exclusively for many many years, before i got into offsets big time (thanks to all of YOU b@strrds!!! ), and then drifted into the "vintage only" ... snobbery?
but then again, as soon as i saw this thing, it got my attention. i loved the Vista Series Squiers. i had an original Super-Sonic back in the day, and i still own a Venus.
i thought "i might get one and have it refinished", as i do already have a "girly" guitar (pink refin '65 Jazzmaster). but then i saw a live video of the Cribs and just fell for the guitar.
and in the end it was Mr. Jarman's personal reply here on the OSG that pushed me into the decision of actually buying it. these guys are offset lovers, gear heads and everything we are... except that they got to be famous, unlike most of us.
like their music or don't, but it's two guys who i guess anyone here would have fun having a couple drinks with and just talking gear. they could have just had another boring model with a signature on the headstock (there was something about a maple-neck Mustang), but c'mon, we would have all bashed it after a while.
now THIS guitar (and the bass) are something original. a perfect mix. a perfect Jag-Stang like Kurt would have loved it, i'm sure. and as Jarman said, still at a price that we can mod the shit outta it without having to cringe.
yes some people are cringing already about a MIC Squier close to $500. but believe me, they could've slapped a Fender logo on it instead, and with the quality i see, feel and hear, people would have shelled out even $800. just add some stupid diploma or something like Epiphone's Bonamassa Firebird...
it's something daring. it's been road-tested by the designers themselves--- that's almost unheard of.
i will be using this one. a LOT.
and i might be modding it. or not.
all in all, kudos to Squier for daring to do this. and a BIG thumbs up to the Jarmans. you could have done A LOT wrong, and not much better.
i raise my glass to them all, and to you, dear folks of the OSG!
rock on!
Pat.
pics, and maybe even a demo video will be up this weekend, i promise!
