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Squier Classic Vibe 70s Telecaster Custom Review: Is It Worth It?
The Squier Classic Vibe '70s Telecaster Custom is a different guitar from the standard Classic Vibe Tele. The key difference is the neck pickup: instead of a single-coil, it has a wide-range humbucker, which gives the guitar a noticeably warmer, fuller neck tone and makes it a more versatile instrument for players who want Telecaster snap at the bridge with something thicker available when they roll back to the neck. Landon puts the black version through a full teardown and tone test, and throws in a side-by-side comparison against an actual 1970s vintage Telecaster Custom for reference.
Get the Squier Classic Vibe '70s Telecaster Custom
What Makes the '70s Telecaster Custom Different
The Telecaster Custom is a specific model with a specific history. Fender introduced it in 1972 as an answer to players who wanted the Telecaster's snap and twang but with more warmth available on the neck position. The solution was a wide-range humbucker in the neck, designed by Seth Lover, the same engineer who created the PAF humbucker at Gibson. The result is a guitar that covers a lot of tonal ground from a simple two-pickup layout.
Squier's Classic Vibe reissue captures that spirit well. The body shape, the black pickguard, the binding, and the wide-range neck humbucker are all present and correct. At its price point, it is one of the more historically accurate budget reissues on the market.
Full Specs
| Body | Poplar |
| Body finish | Gloss polyester |
| Neck | Maple, C-shape |
| Fingerboard | Indian laurel |
| Frets | 21 medium jumbo |
| Scale length | 25.5" (648 mm) |
| Nut width | 1.650" (42 mm) |
| Neck pickup | Squier wide-range humbucker |
| Bridge pickup | Squier single-coil Telecaster |
| Controls | Master volume, master tone |
| Pickup switching | 3-way blade |
| Bridge | 3-saddle strings-through-body |
| Hardware finish | Chrome |
| Country of origin | China |
Inside the Guitar
Landon pulls the pickguard at 5:20 for a close look at the wiring, shielding, and construction. At nearly six minutes of coverage, this is one of the most thorough internal inspections in any budget guitar review. It gives you a realistic picture of what Squier is doing at this price point and how it compares to what you would find in a more expensive instrument. If you care about build quality beyond what you can see on the surface, this section is worth watching in full.
Vintage '70s vs Squier Reissue Comparison
Tone Samples
The tone samples section covers four scenarios starting at 13:53: clean, mild gain, max gain, and dirt from pedals. With two distinctly different pickups, the tonal range on offer is wider than a standard Telecaster. The bridge single-coil delivers the expected Tele snap and bite, while the wide-range humbucker at the neck adds warmth and body that a standard Telecaster neck single-coil simply cannot match. The middle position blends the two for something in between.
Pros and Cons
- Wide-range humbucker adds serious tonal versatility
- Historically accurate to the original '70s Custom spec
- Excellent build quality for the price
- Black finish with binding looks genuinely classy
- Vintage comparison holds up surprisingly well
- Great option if a standard Tele feels too bright
- Poplar body rather than alder or ash
- Indian laurel fingerboard rather than maple or rosewood
- 3-saddle bridge limits intonation adjustability
- Wide-range humbucker is not a true Seth Lover design at this price
Verdict
The Squier Classic Vibe '70s Telecaster Custom is one of the more interesting guitars in the Classic Vibe lineup because it does something a standard Telecaster cannot. If you want Tele character with more warmth and versatility built in, this is a smart buy. The vintage comparison section of the video makes a strong case that Squier has done a genuinely good job capturing the spirit of the original at a fraction of the cost.
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