Squier Stratocaster ‘57 Reissue 1983

The first guitar that I ever bought and still my principal electric weapon of choice. For anyone that doesn’t know, the Squier range of guitars and basses, the first Fender instruments to be made in Japan, were brought out to compete with the high quality, low price guitars that were being produced in Japan by companies like Tokai and were having a detrimental effect on sales of Fender’s USA made instruments.

Squiers were built from original Fender factory blueprints and were very accurate replicas of vintage models. Such was their quality when they came out in 1982, that when some sample instruments were sent to Fender in the US for inspection, the management and staff were amazed by them, particularly as the quality of USA Fenders had deteriorated under the ownership of CBS (who had bought out Leo Fender in 1965) and by 1982 had reached a low point. The quality of these Fender Japan instruments may well have galvanised Fender USA staff into buying the company back from CBS in 1985 and once again producing top quality instruments. Squiers from this early period, especially ones with a JV (Japanese Vintage) prefix before the serial number, are now sought after and considered quite collectable. Current Squiers are made in China and, while they lack the very high quality of early examples, are still good instruments.

This one was built in 1983 (the date pencilled on the end of the neck is 9th April 1983) and is a ‘57 reissue Stratocaster. I got it when it was just over a year old and it was already second-hand, although it was in immaculate condition and had been fitted with a 5-way pickup selector. It has picked up quite a few battle scars since I’ve had it, it had a refret in 1995 and in 2001 I changed the pickups for Fender Vintage ‘57/’62 replacements as the old ones had become a bit quiet. The essential character of the guitar remains very much intact and it plays like a dream. The body is made of alder and is light, resonant and the guitar is surprisingly loud when played acoustically. The neck has quite a slim ‘C’ profile and is made of one piece of maple. The bridge assembly and tuners are all original and still work fine.

In a later post I’ll give you some tips about setting up and maintaining Strats, as it can be a little tricky to get them playing at their best.

There are quite a few Squiers of this vintage on eBay most of the time, so if you’re looking for a very high quality Strat or Telecaster for quite a bit less than you’d pay for a Fender USA made vintage reissue, you could do worse than pick one up.