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If you hear someone say that Squier only makes guitars that are good for beginners, kindly draw their attention to this puppy right here – the Classic Vibe Thinline Telecaster.
As one of our picks for the best blues guitar under 500 dollars that you can find on the market today, this things boasts some serious components and quality performance. We took it our for a little test run, our thoughts await in the review below.
This guitar essentially combines the power of the Tele with a semi-hollow body, combining the punchy thin rock vibe with the natural resonance of the hollow models.
The guitar is crafted from mahogany, and also utilizes a single piece maple neck, a pack of 21 medium jumbo frets, a bright maple fingerboard and a set of standard black dot inlays.
You'll of course instantly notice the charming F-hole, as well as the classic Tele headstock. Available in four colors, this guitar does not only look gorgeous, but features some top-quality components that secure the sound is bright, punchy, but still booming on all fronts.
The instrument utilizes a thru-body bridge with a set of three chrome-barrel saddles. Also included in the mix are vintage style tuning pegs and a gorgeous pick-guard stretching across almost half of the frontal side. The only drawback of this beauty is that while it looks great, replacing that pick-guard in case of breakage can be an arduous and pricey task (by pick-guard standards, that is).
Apart from that, the guitar stays in tune just fine and the fret job is more than decent. Some sharp edges, bits of minor fret buzz, but that's about it.
As expected, we are looking at a pair of standard Tele single-coil pickups packed with AlNiCo V magnets and routed to single Tone and Volume control knobs. For additional tonal control, the company threw in another standard – a three-way pickup selector.
This seems like a fairly basic mix, but combined with the previously listed features it does the job magically.
So, the mixture of bright Telecaster pickups, the rather booming nature of the mahogany tonewood and extra resonance that a semi-hollow body brings turned out to be a match made in heaven. In a natural way, this guitar takes that gorgeous punchy and clear sound of the Tele and gives it an extra mahogany punch and mellow vibe. When you add the semi-hollow organic resonance the final result is one of the best guitars for blues under 500 bucks, hands down.
Objectively, this is a pretty good six-string, but when the value for money factor is taken into consideration it becomes an amazing guitar. This is not a beginner guitar, it's even more than an intermediate one – this is an item that jazz and blues professionals can use when combined with a proper amp. For the listed price within the given niche, it's a living proof that Squier can make pro-level items too. Good stuff!
For more info about the Squier Classic Vibe Thinline Telecaster, click here.
For more Blues electric guitars, click here.
John k says
Just got one myself after months of research. It was classic vibe vs vintage modified and from forums everyone was saying that classic vibe is better.
Also there aren’t 4 colors to choose from, it was either mahogany for classic vibe or natural ash color for vintage modified. Anyways, I love this guitar. It is so light that it doesn’t make my back ache like the solid telecaster I have (so heavy it’s even heavier than my strat).
Lastly, this thinline has a fast neck which I love, compared to the thicker neck on my other tele. I love this thinline so much that I have a hard time putting it down. Definitely pick one up if you can because it plays well and is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship!
Neil kraft says
I had a healthy expectation before I finally acquired one of these so my first impression of it is a bit tainted. It thought being semi hollow this guitar would resonate and bleed the classic vibe. In reality if this guitar is so great then it would not cost under $500.
But I figured I’d install better pickups and upgrade the hardware right off and there would be no excuses that this guitar would satisfy my classic vibe craving. I was so wrong in this approach. I actually should have left everything alone and accepted it as stock equipment. It sounded better with all the original parts. That being said, I believe the unsatisfactory results from this guitar stem from the light body. There’s is ultimately zero sustain and resonance. I have a heavy American tele that drags my shoulder into the depths of Modar but has awesome tone. But I paid double price for it, the squire ended up costing the same after upgrades. Just goes to prove, no matter how much you polish a brown nugget it’s still gonna stink.
ross says
I also own one of these awsome guitars. I do some on the side guitar teching and my thinline was one I had in to repair (no output when plugged in). I played it for a while before I fixed it and thought it sounded very good unplugged but when I got it all up and running again what a very pleasant surprise I had. I found it very clear sounding, even with some pretty heavy overdrive and fuzz It still has very good string definition, I can hear everything. unfortunately I had to give it back to the owner but told him if he ever wanted to sell I will buy. so, a few weeks later it came back to me and I pick it up every day. I have many guitars, some cheap some quite expensive but this is the one i use along with a parts built squier strat. Squier are definitely not just for beginners.
L. R. Hutch says
I bought one for 2 main reasons which are I love a Telecaster, and my back can’t take the heavy weight guitars amymore. I got it be a off the showroom wall. It sounds and plays as good as my American Telecaster and better Craftsmanship than the MIM crap. The mods I did as my own preference, i installed a middle 70’s Strat pup and installed a 5 way Super switch.