Squier Vintage Modified Stratocaster

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Home Blog Guitar-Stuff Guitars Review: Squier Vintage Modified 70s stratocaster


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RobC




May 25, 2014 8 Comments
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I have long been a dedicated fan of the Fender Stratocaster. My first electric guitar was a USA Standard Strat in 1988 and it is that guitar on which I taught myself to play. The Strat just fits me and I find it to be the most comfortable, ergonomic and natural-feeling guitar in existence.
I am not a purist when it comes to the tone of the Strat. I can equally appreciate a traditional Strat tone or something that sounds very unlike a typical Strat, which is why I now have 3 Strats that span a very wide range of tones from that of a traditional 50s Strat through a later, more aggressive one (think Hendrix for example) to something closer to a Gibson SG tone.
As long as it comes in the package of a Strat body and neck – lightweight, ready to rock – I’m happy.
So the latest addition to my Strat family is the Squier Vintage Modified 70s Strat . Here is a detailed breakdown of what it has delivered so far, what I have subjected it too and the verdict.
This is a bone of contention among many players, that these budget instruments can be a let-down because of the cheaper hardware installed being determined by lower costs of manufacture. I guess this is true depending on the kind of player you are and how fussy you are about certain details.
I have a Custom Shop Fender and have played mostly USA made and real vintage guitars most of my playing life (26 years to date) and I do not feel that the current Squier range are a let down in any way. I would never put it as dramatically as that.
Yes, the vibrato block under the bridge is of far less mass than an Original Fender and of a cheap alloy rather than solid steel, which does play some part in the quality of the tone, but tone is subjective anyway. Also it is possible to buy a solid steel block and fit to the existing bridge, or a whole new bridge assembly for relatively little money.
The tuning stability out of the box may not be as good if you use the vibrato more than a little, but again, a setup by somebody who knows what they’re doing and that imbalance can be accounted for too.
So that leaves the inferior electronics… really? Are they that much worse though? In my experience with two Squier Strats now, that is not the case. The stock pickups are good and the pots and switches all perform as they should. I am a tweaker, so I have already rewired my Vintage Modified Strat because I like to play around with switching options.
The finish of this guitar is excellent. The only visible flaws I can detect are two, tiny black specks on the neck: One on the headstock and one on the last fret, near the neck pickup. They appear to be small splashes of black paint that must have got onto the neck before finishing, because they are under the lacquer. Not a big deal really, unless this was $2000 custom shop guitar!
The frets are all finished perfectly, no sharp edges. The setup was perfect out of the box and I have not needed to adjust the setup yet. It is a bit heavier than my Classic Vibe, which I was a little disappointed by. I love lightweight guitars and I was under the impression that Basswood (which this Vintage Modified Strat is made of) was lighter than the Alder that the Classic Vibe is made of. In any event, it’s not a heavy guitar.
The body finish is beautiful – glossy black with a black pickguard. One cosmetic modification I will make will be to add a single-ply. black pickguard as I prefer the simpler lines of that compared to the 3-ply black-white-black format.
So all in all. This Indonesian-manufactured guitar is very-well made and has no function-inhibiting issues. You could walk out of the store with this guitar and take it straight to a gig, no problem.
After a few weeks of playing this guitar and with the novelty of having a new guitar lessened, it’s time to objectively assess how this guitar plays.
Right now the Vintage Modified 70s Strat is the nicest guitar to play of the three Strats I have.
Well to be fair, my USA Custom Shop Strat needs a bit of work. The vintage-size frets are getting worn so it isn’t at it’s absolute best. The classic vibe has been extensively modified too, by me and I am not a luthier by trade. It could probably feel better than it does if I got a professional to take care of it. However, the setup VM Strat remains untouched since I took it out of the box on delivery day, so that is testament to how this guitar comes as standard. It is a joy to play.
The neck is similar to the Classic Vibe profile, but I wonder if it feels just a tiny bit fatter. I have stripped the original lacquer off the Classic Vibe and it was very thick, so maybe that is the difference I am sensing! The maple fingerboard is great (I prefer maple to rosewood for feel). It’s nimble, smooth to play and the whole guitar feels like it’s working with me rather than against me. The best style tuning pegs ever invented (in my opinion) make this a breeze to change strings and holds tuning properly. The nut seems to be cut to perfection and there is no binding on any of the strings.
My initial expectation before the guitar arrived would be that the nut would need replacing with something like a Graphtech, but so far I see no need to change it – If it ‘aint broke, don’t fix it” as they say.
Before I go into the sounds from this guitar I will mention again that I rewired this thing almost as soon as I got it; not because I was unhappy with it, but because I am not a big fan of some of the typical Strat sounds – namely the neck+middle (my least favourite) and the middle by itself (I don’t mind it, but hardly ever use it). I do, however love the neck+bridge together, using that for most of my clean tones and spending almost the rest of any given performance on the bridge pickup.
I wired a 4-way switch to give me the following selections:
Before I changed the wiring, what I can say about the pickup combinations that I sacrificed were that they won’t disappoint any player who is in the market for this guitar and likes to use those settings.
These Pickups were the biggest surprise of all to me. I assumed they would be adequate at best before I took delivery of the guitar, so I was quite impressed when I first plugged it in and it sounded pretty good. After having used the guitar in most situations now: Home playing, rehearsal and live performance with my band I can honestly say that the stock, Duncan Design SC101 pickups are fantastic. Maybe I’m just lucky in that they speak to my inner tone freak! I imagine they won’t be for everybody because as we all know – tone is subjective.
What I find with these pickups is that they are quite bright, but not ice-pick harsh at all. The neck pickup retains clarity with heavy overdrive playing chords, which I haven’t really experienced before with any Strat I’ve played.
I produce music and in general I like a warm, rounded overall sound reminiscent of the days of vinyl. the 70s especially. However when it comes to my guitar I like it to be bright. it’s easier to take treble away than to add it and a guitar needs to have a certain amount of twang in order to convey it’s rock ‘n’ roll attitude. Too warm and it’s jazz, which is nice if you’re a jazz player, but I am no jazz player!
I’m considering putting noiseless pickups in this guitar to overcome bad-grounding and other noise issues in most venues that I get to play. I’m afraid that I might lose the mojo that these pickups have if I do though. It’s not worth spending too much on new pickups. I’m sure if I were to get Kinman Woodstocks I’d be very happy, but they cost as much, if not more than the guitar itself!
However, these pickups haven’t caused me a problem yet in terms of hum, so they may stay. I’ll certainly be keeping them in case I miss them later on down the road. They are absolutely fantastic sounding pickups to my ears. I prefer them to the pickups that came stock in my Classic Vibe 60s Strat.
In terms of the amount of guitar for the money spent, this is probably the best guitar I’ve ever owned. It looks beautiful, it sounds world-class and it plays like a guitar that I would expect to cost at least 3 times as much. It compares favourably to my Custom Shop Strat, although the Custom Shop Strat is in a class of it’s own in terms of the actual finish: nitro lacquer, hardware etc. In terms of function though it is equally as good. In my opinion, the main difference between the expensive guitars and the budget ones nowadays is the wow factor of the finish, not even the finish itself – but more a question how expensive it actually looks and feels.
The Squiers, don’t look as expensive or feel as expensive, but once recorded or coming through a PA, they sound like equally adept guitars, because the end result is that if a guitar is playable and inspires you to play your best, it’ll sound great.
I love all my Strats, but presently the Vintage Modified 70s Strat is my favourite as it is the easiest to play well and sound good on!
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this review was very helpful, im thinking of getting this guitar, I like the fat headstock and the all black colour, thanks for the review.
Thanks for visiting the site Ben. The VM 70s Strat is well worth the money in my opinion whether you leave it stock or if you want to use it as a mod. platform.
Very interesting review.
I bought a VM 70’s Strat (vintage white/rosewood neck) nearly 1 year ago.
I think the Duncan designed pickups (SC-101) are ok – but I do find them a little too harsh/brash and a bit kind of out of control/unpredictable if that makes sense?
This is the first Strat I’ve owned so not sure if the pick-up heights need adjusting to temper the issues I have or whether I should replace the pickups (I’m more of a Telecaster man!)
I’m looking for a sound that is very “stratty” but maybe a little hotter than vintage output. Want it to be clear, but not overly bright but also not too dark (as when pickups get output that is too high – then you lose that Stratty character and the sound gets darker and becomes more like a Gibson/humbucker sound….which I don’t want).
Based on your personal experience and knowledge what pickup change would you recommend? I am familiar with most of the Fender and Seymour Duncan strat pickups – if that helps…
I bought the Strat to try and learn a little lead guitar. Kind of Hendrix/Gilmour/Beatles/Blues/Classic Rock/a little alternative/jangly rock. So looking for versatility with a great Strat tone. Metal and very high gain is not my thing! Hope this information all helps.
Hi Mike,
I’m not sure I’ve sampled enough Strat pickups to really know what to advise. I hear that the Duncan SSL5/6 is pretty much what you’ve described and still retains most of the Strat character in the bridge/middle position and also still has that single coil character whilst sounding close to a humbucker. It certainly has the output of a humbucker.
I currently have Tonerider Alnico II Blues in both my Strats and I like those a lot. The bridge pickup is not really high output, but it is a medium-wound set. It has plenty of bite and clarity and not harsh at all (due to the alnico II poles I imagine).
On the whole the Toneriders seem less mid-scooped, so they sound fuller without really being high-output. I’m tempted to try an SSL5 in the bridge position of one of my Strats to see how I’d get on with it though.
Great review! I was deciding between a vintage modified strat and a classic vibe 60’s (since I prefer rosewood). Since I’m on a tight budget, I think I will just go with the vintage modified. Thanks!
Yes, I like both. I have both. Somedays I prefer the CV60s, some days I prefer the VM70s. The way I made them both valuable to me is that they are now quite different from each other (I wired them differently), so they each give me sounds that the other one doesn’t as well as each covering the most common tones I use playing live.
Both are excellent value for money.
Hi, this review really helps a lot. Well, i played classical guitar for 1yr and 4 months and got the guitar for about 3-4 months (my very 1st electric guitar). I listen a lot of blues ( Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton) and some Deep Purple stuff, is this a suitable guitar for these kind of genre?
I just purchased a Squire VM 70s Strat – White vintage. I have to say I am impressed with this guitar. I got it for $225 Canadian off Kijijii and am amazed. Once I got it home, I plugged it in checked it out – I sanded the back of the neck to get rid of the gloss (not very much, just a little with 1000 grit paper) and now it feels better to me. I also adjusted all three pickups for optimum clarity on all switch positions, locked in the bridge and added two springs, took off the back plate (I always remove them) and screwed in the bridge plate all the way, adjusted the saddles for the height I like, a little truss rod adjustment and presto – this thing sounds amazing. I recorded it direct to my Boss BR900CD using COSMs and it really did a wonderful job – which is great for my wife – no noise from an amp. Overall I am extremely impressed with this guitar – stays in tune great as well. I use 010-046 on it. The rosewood is very light on it but no big deal. It is a solid guitar and very well built. As mentioned, I love the neck – it seems larger than most these days and I like that. Very nice frets and one of the first guitars that I could get the intonation bang on 440 all the way up the neck. Bridge, middle and neck pickups are a bit noisy so I may switch out the bridge for a humbucker (they are precut to do that) just so when distorted it is noiseless. A great buy at 409.00 plus tax in Canada – get one – you will not be disappointed – especially if you like blues, country or classic rock.
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The author is a guitarist and bassist with over 35 years of experience as a musician.
The '50s Stratocaster SSS is one of the amazing guitars in the Squier Classic Vibe Series
Squier by Fender Vintage Modified and Classic Vibe Series guitars have a lot to prove. Everybody knows Squier Stratocasters are an excellent choice for beginners. This is a brand that brings classic Fender instruments down to a price even newbies can afford.
In fact, the Squier brand is owned by Fender, which is part of the reason they are some of the best budget guitars on the planet. But traditionally, after a beginner got a little better, and had a little more cash in their pocket, they would leave Squier behind and move on to a higher-quality guitar. That changed with the introduction of the Vintage Modified and Classic Vibe Series.
Traditions, as warm and comfy as they are, can be broken, and Squier has done exactly that with their Vintage Modified and Classic Vibe Stratocasters. This is no longer a company viewed only as a budget brand for beginners. These Stratocasters are quality instruments that have impressed even veteran guitar players, including myself.
Somehow, Squier has still managed to keep the prices under control, which makes these instruments some of the best bargains out there. This means a newbie can afford to start out on a better instrument, intermediate players don’t have to bust their wallets to move up to a quality guitar, and advanced players can add some cool Strats to their collections and not have to mortgage their houses.
As for quality, these instruments give Fender’s Standard MIM Stratocasters a challenge. I’m a big fan of the MIM Strat, so I don’t make that statement lightly!
In this article, you’ll read about what I think are the most impressive Stratocasters in the Vintage Modified and Classic Vibe lineups. Consider this as a sampler platter where you can check out some tasty guitars and compare these two series.
When you're done here you should have a better idea of which Stratocaster in the Squier Vintage Modified and Classic Vibe lineups is the right choice for you. But don’t hesitate to look deeper into the Squier by Fender catalog. Squier has Telecasters, Jaguars and other classic designs in CV and VM Series, and some bass guitars too.
Back in the early 1950s, Fender introduced the first production solid-body electric guitar called the Broadcaster, which eventually became the Telecaster . The Stratocaster soon followed in 1954, and it was a pretty bizarre design for the day. It caught on when players like Buddy Holly adopted it as their main instrument, and the rest is history.
The Squier Vintage Modified ‘50s Strat is a throwback to those early days of the Fender Stratocaster. It features a nato body with a maple neck. Early Strats only had maple fingerboards, and so does this CV ‘50s version.
However, the 5-way switch is one way this guitar differs (thankfully) from ‘50s-era Stratocasters. Back then Strats only had 3-way switches, so players had to find ways to jam the switch in those in-between positions to get the 2nd and 4th position sounds we are familiar with today.
The pickups are Fender-designed Alnico Single Coils, and the bridge is a vintage 6-screw Synchronized Tremolo.
This thing oozes vintage Strat mojo while maintaining some modern appointments, and it’s a great choice for players who want that throwback Strat tone and vibe.
Here’s one more Classic Vibe Strat, this one with a ‘60s theme. It shares a lot of similarities with the ‘50s model with a couple of differences. The pickups are a Custom Vintage-Style Alnico V set controlled via a 5-way switch. These pickups should be a touch beefier than those on the ‘50s Strat, but I wouldn’t get too hung up on the Alnico III vs Alnico V thing.
To me, a bigger difference is the fingerboard. The ‘60s version has an Indian laurel fretboard, so your choice may once again come down to this vs maple.
Squier lists both the ‘50s and ‘60s Classic Vibe Series Strats as having “C” shape necks. This isn’t quite in line with guitars of the day, and depending on the years they would have had very different neck profiles. However, for modern times this is a very comfortable neck shape, and one more example of how these guitars walk the line between yesterday and today.
Squier Classic Vibe '60s Stratocaster
In addition to the basic model, the Classic Vibe Stratocaster ‘70s model features the same great Duncan Designed pickups, basswood body, maple neck, and St
https://robcooke.net/review-squier-vintage-modified-70s-stratocaster/
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Review: Squier Vintage Modified 70s stratocaster – ROB C MUSIC
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