Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 886 Location: SF Bay Area
Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2005 11:36 am Post subject:
I think this is a big marketing faux pas on Fender's part. They seem to be testing the market by re-introducing bunches of different things under the Squire lable. Including those "DeArmond" guitars. I remember DeArmond making pickups, but never guitars. It must be cheaper to tool up for a new model in Korea than in the US.
Problem is, nobody takes the Squires seriously. They had one RF in the local independent store and it sat for months. Great guitar, but the manager told me that he wasn't bothering to order any more. The kids who buy Squires want to pretend they're getting SRV's guitar, or whatever. Serious players head for the high end models and bypass the Squires and Epi's.
Then to top it off, they don't offer a case for a traveling musician to use.
This model appeals to Robben fans, and folks into a woody LP sound. Not the customer base for the Squire nameplate.
Killer guitar, bad marketing.
IMHO of course. _________________ There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com
Joined: 29 Jan 2004 Posts: 1504 Location: Methuen, MA
Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2005 2:02 pm Post subject:
Aeolian wrote:
Problem is, nobody takes the Squires seriously.
Agreed, 100%. I bought one of the "limited-run" Squire Affinity Telecaster Specials about 6 months ago for the small sum of $160-something, and I think it's a great guitar, especially for someone like me, a goof-around wanna-be musician, who just wants to have a Tele to mess around with. It not only looks great (butterscotch blond, maple neck, black pickguard), but it plays and sounds just fine. I'm sure that, to the discriminating musician's ear, it can easily be improved with some better pickups, and that's a relatively cheap upgrade. But for the money, it's a great deal, as is or with a mod.
Now that I'm thinking of it, I certainly would love to buy an Esprit. [Picture wife in the back of my mind saying, "Get a job first!"] _________________ Soul on Eleven
The people at Fender/Squire said the reason they didn't make a case for the Esprit was because they wanted to see how it would sell first.
To me, that's like GM making a car but saying, "We didn't want to make seats for it yet until we found out if people actually wanted to ride in one."
And if the guitar is well made, plays well and sounds good . . the name means nothing. I don't go for the expensive guitars anymore. There are too many cheaper ones that are good to pay lots of $$$ for the name.
I just ordered one of these from my local shop to try out. It's $530 CAD. Should be here in three weeks, and I have no obligation to buy it. It's black. I was considering buying an original Baker, but it's just too expensive and risky to buy a guitar without having played, heard or even seen it. I always see them on ebay for around $3200 and up, but they never sell. Guess no one knows the name.
I just ordered one of these from my local shop to try out. It's $530 CAD. Should be here in three weeks, and I have no obligation to buy it. It's black. I was considering buying an original Baker, but it's just too expensive and risky to buy a guitar without having played, heard or even seen it. I always see them on ebay for around $3200 and up, but they never sell. Guess no one knows the name.
I hear ya'. I never buy unless I can try it out ....and return it if I don't like it.
But I think you'll like the Esprit . . .
Well, the Squire esprit that I ordered came in yesterday and I had a chance to try it out. Sorry to say this, but I was really not happy with it at all. I hated the neck, the feel. I expected better after all the raves it was getting here. I have a few guitars, and I've tried a lot of other models in the last few weeks, and this was just the worst, for me, of the entire lot. To me, $600 CAD is way too much for this guitar.
It could also be that I bought a Parker mojo last week and this has spoiled me, but it doesn't even play as well as my Hohner Steinberger, which really surprised me, because the Hohner is not easy to play at all. Oh well, I guess I should be glad I didn't like it, because I already spent all my money on the Mojo.
Joined: 10 Jan 2005 Posts: 16 Location: Bozeman, MT
Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:39 am Post subject:
Hi Spatzi,
Well, that's interesting -- good thing you're not out any loot. Speaking from my own experience, whenever I try out a guitar that's way different from what I'm used to, I'm thrown by it. Other than the Esprit, I only play strats (or strat-like animals). So the Esprit felt VERY odd to me when I first played it -- very clunky feeling neck. I also wasn't used to the finish on the neck. But then, after a few hours, it was like, "Oh, OK, now I get it!" And I was hooked.
So I can certainly see that your reaction to the Esprit might vary a lot depending on what you're accustomed to playing. Or perhaps you just got a badly set up guitar or even an outright lemon. Fair or not, the Korean-made guitars are generally regarded as being inconsistent in quality, so an occasional lemon is entirely possible. I like to think that the Fender/Squire team probably exercises more diligent oversight on their imports than some other companies might. The workmanship on mine is superb, and apparently the one Guitar Player reviewed was also exceptional.
Anyway, good to know that you made another purchase that you ARE happy with!
Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Posts: 916 Location: Fairhope, AL
Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 1:07 pm Post subject: Esprit breakin
Bert's got a good point. I am also a mainly Strat player, so the Esprit was a lot different. I was one of the first on this forum to get one and I love mine. I still gig with it a lot. I swap it out with my Gibson Blueshawk for my second guitar. The Esprit has a totally different sound from anything I have ever played before. The neck is wider by 1/4" at the nut than my Strats, so it does feel different. Still, right now, I can't see that I'd ever get rid of it. But I'm glad you had the option to send it back and not be out any money. In the end, it's the guitar that pick up and a smile lights up your face that's the right one for you.
Frank
It's interesting to read people's perspective of the Esprit's neck. Most say that it's chunky. I have a Fender strat and tele, and the neck on the Esprit feels pretty much the same to me.
I have small hands. But this neck feels great.
Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 8:15 am Post subject: well
When i played this guitar for the first time , besides the fact i am a guitar^player obsessed by " *. " master of guitar, first thing i felt : how easy is to play this thing and the neck is great , looks big but it's shorter than a strat. I like the wideness of the neck around the nut , i mean the first 3 frets, make it easy (for me) to articulate open E string riffs/licks.
It's like a real breeding between LP & Strat.
I am still really happy with this guitar , sure it might be the robben Ford side effect in my case, BUT i'll say when you have a recipe from really dedicated people the dish can't be that bad even with not premium components. urk urk urk. barf. barf. OMG what happens to me do am i really advertising for squier ?????? Kirk don't forget my royalties on this one.................Anyway this Spatzi guy he was not clear _________________ http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_music.cfm?bandID=147748
Joined: 06 Dec 2006 Posts: 246 Location: San Mateo, CA
Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 2:27 pm Post subject:
(This thread is pretty old, but I thought I'd just add to it rather than starting another.)
Just bought me a used satin red wine finish Squier Espirit. I'm very happy with it so far. It was stock except for a Tone Pros bridge.
In the weeks leading up to getting this guitar, I'd played my Telecaster almost exclusively, so it wasn't too surprising to find that the neck took a little getting used to. But it didn't take long to decide I really like how the neck feels.
It sounds and felt great unplugged, which is usually a good sign. Plugged in, it just sings, with a nice complex tone, not at all muddy or dark to my ear.
After the Squier Esprit came out and this thread started, despite it being a great guitar and a fantastic bargain, despite the Editor's Pick selection from Guitar Player magazine, I guess they didn't sell enough and the model was discontinued after one year. I don't know how many are out there, but I can add my voice to those that have said that this is one terrific deal. If you can find one used, buy it!
Re a bag or case (which I didn't get with the guitar - the owner had one gig bag for multiple guitars, so he kept it), I found that it fits very well in my Body Glove Series 1 bag that I bought recently for my old Gibson L6-S. So I went online to look for another of those, and found that they seemed to have ceased making them. I did find one still in stock at Sam Ash, and it is now wending its way across the country via FedEx ground.
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