Good Times Bad Times with Squier quality control

[GilmourD]

As it turns out, that’s my strategy. Thomann were very decent about it and offered me a discount around 15%. Since it’s fully functional and can likely be made better looking, I’ve accepted that.

Got a good bottle of Dunlop 65 lemon oil and some 0000 steel wool? It does wonders on laurel.

But a 15% discount surely doesn't hurt!

[Fiddy]

binding, oil and a fret level/polish?

[MattK]

On the money, there. After an hour of cleaning, sanding, wetsanding with oil, steel wool with oil, and buffing, I got it looking better. Still got a huge light area on the high strings:

The dusty look is almost gone. It's still covered in file marks (you can see the high E edge looks like it's been chewed) but I tidied up the frets and it looks OK from a few feet away:

Ironically I oiled the XII fretboard as well, and it did almost nothing!
XII is a knockout to play, a bit harsh in the pickups, and the Jag is pretty excellent with a similar glare, I don't know how a neck pickup can sound bright but it sure is bright. Both seem pretty high output, changing heights on the Jag pickups made it muddy and indistinct, maybe there is a happy medium.
Oh - the Squier nut had to be adjusted, the low E was about 2/3 the width of this (0.046) string.

[Futuron]

Looks like a streak in the wood to me. Seems there's knots near the 4th & 5th frets (strange for fretboards), the streak is right near them, as it would be ? ? ?

[Fiddy]

Have they already refunded you the 15%?

If they havent, and in your shoes, id still push for a refund I think..

[MattK]

Eh, it plays perfectly well, and the light patch is not too noticeable. When I get a chance I will experiment with some dye or stain to see if I can bring it a bit darker.
And Futuron - I agree, it's a streak, it's just a terrible choice for a highly visible part of a special-run instrument promoted for its looks.

[NICQ]

I buy a couple of Squiers each year (some used - some from thomann) and sometimes you get one that looks meh or has slipped through QC.. I'm very picky with streaks in the fretboard but when you order online you sometimes have to take the risk

Had one Bullet Mustang that also had a very dry and porous Laurel fretboard, some cracks in the fretboard somewhere between 14th and 16th fret and toolmarks.. I also sanded the glue residue and toolmarks off, oiled the fretboard a couple of times (one time wasn't enough) and it is a very cool neck now... I don't mind the cracks, never play upnthere anyways

The bright part is the wood - if you can live with it then good
If not Ebonizing the fretboard is an option - I did that with 3 of my Squier necks when I couldn't stand the streaks in the wood or the peau ferro light colour .. Fiebings Leather Dye worked well if you want to go dark

[MattK]

I actually have some brown leather dye somewhere, so I foresee ... darkness

[Embenny]

I buy a couple of Squiers each year (some used - some from thomann) and sometimes you get one that looks meh or has slipped through QC.. I'm very picky with streaks in the fretboard but when you order online you sometimes have to take the risk

Had one Bullet Mustang that also had a very dry and porous Laurel fretboard, some cracks in the fretboard somewhere between 14th and 16th fret and toolmarks.. I also sanded the glue residue and toolmarks off, oiled the fretboard a couple of times (one time wasn't enough) and it is a very cool neck now... I don't mind the cracks, never play upnthere anyways

The bright part is the wood - if you can live with it then good
If not Ebonizing the fretboard is an option - I did that with 3 of my Squier necks when I couldn't stand the streaks in the wood or the peau ferro light colour .. Fiebings Leather Dye worked well if you want to go dark

You got off easy.

I replaced my Bullet Mustang's neck entirely, because the wood was so soft that you could (no joke) bend a note upward by 4 semitones just by pulling the neck back. Just trying to play the damn thing felt like Kevin Shields was operating a vibrato independently of what I was trying to do.

The body was flawless, though, and was what I was really after, so it's now a fantastic guitar with a killer MIJ Jaguar neck.

[s_mcsleazy]

You got off easy.

I replaced my Bullet Mustang's neck entirely, because the wood was so soft that you could (no joke) bend a note upward by 4 semitones just by pulling the neck back. Just trying to play the damn thing felt like Kevin Shields was operating a vibrato independently of what I was trying to do.

The body was flawless, though, and was what I was really after, so it's now a fantastic guitar with a killer MIJ Jaguar neck.

so i've modded maybe 20-25 bullet mustangs since they were released and i've seen some absolute horror stories with QC. my bandmate devan has bought 4 over the years.

bullet mustang 1: came with 2 neck pickups. we were gonna change them anyway.
bullet mustang 2: arrived with a visible crack down the body and got returned.
bullet mustang 3: was fine for the first few months of ownership but after a while, the trussrod stopped adjusting. swapped it for a sonic mustang neck and it's way nicer.
bullet mustang 4: the tone pot wasn't wired in from the factory.

outside the bullet series. i've had issues with the CV to the point where i expect to keep aside £100 for mods/fixes when buying one. my main is my squier toronado and outside the bridge, the body, the neck and the neck pickup, everything's been changed.

[GilmourD]

Eh, it plays perfectly well, and the light patch is not too noticeable. When I get a chance I will experiment with some dye or stain to see if I can bring it a bit darker.
And Futuron - I agree, it's a streak, it's just a terrible choice for a highly visible part of a special-run instrument promoted for its looks.

Maybe this?

https://www.montysguitars.com/en-us/col ... -relic-wax

[MattK]

I checked that out from the previous recommendation ... from the name and the description I get the sense it's probably coffee grounds/oils in paste wax. I might try a home made version.
And, after all the fuss, last night I sat down with it and flipped the switch to the rhythm position, started playing little arpeggio figures and drones, for ten minutes I couldn't put a finger wrong and I absolutely loved it.

[GilmourD]

I checked that out from the previous recommendation ... from the name and the description I get the sense it's probably coffee grounds/oils in paste wax. I might try a home made version.
And, after all the fuss, last night I sat down with it and flipped the switch to the rhythm position, started playing little arpeggio figures and drones, for ten minutes I couldn't put a finger wrong and I absolutely loved it.

Sounds like you got a good one in all the ways that are truly important, then!

[MattK]

I mean, it’s a charcoal frost Jaguar! Come ON.

[BoringPostcards]

I wish those CFM Jags were available here. I wanted one pretty badly, but would have had to import it, so I settled for a CV70s.