NGD - Squier 51

pottolom

Just got this via eBay.

2005, so one of the original run with the fatter neck, top-loader bridge, etc. All original with Vintage Blonde finish and blackguard.

Seems great so far. In excellent condition, neck is 0.86" at the first fret 0.88" at the 12th, a nice full C shape. Not excessively fat, but certainly not what I'd call slim.

7.25 lb, which for its size (it's a very slim body) actually feels nicely substantial. Spanky and resonant. 

Seems to distort really nicely into a tube amp, but I haven't had much time with it yet to really describe exactly how it sounds. 

Stock tuners seem to hold tune well, and the bridge (which gets a bad write-up on the web) seems stable and isn't buzzing (I guess as it's over 15 years old it's had plenty of time for the previous owner(s) to set it up well, though). Fit and finish all very similar to a MIM Strat I had last year.

The plastic nut (which also gets a bad write-up) seems well cut and perfectly fine to me.

I absolutely love its Tele meets Strat meets 50s P-Bass looks.

Definitely recommended for the price they're still going for used, an absolutely ridiculous bargain. 

ThePrettyDamned

I really like these. When they first came out I thought they were hideous but that's a cool little guitar. Hngd! 

Funkfingers

pottolom said:
Seems to distort really nicely into a tube amp. 

That’ll be the disproportionately high output humbucker. 

For me, the biggest bugbear is the control layout - that silly rotary pickup selector and no tone control! (There are various solutions to this.) 

The MIJ version has a Texas Special as the neck position pickup that suits it extremely well. 

Enjoy.

pottolom

Funkfingers said:

pottolom said:
Seems to distort really nicely into a tube amp. 

That’ll be the disproportionately high output humbucker. 

For me, the biggest bugbear is the control layout - that silly rotary pickup selector and no tone control! (There are various solutions to this.) 

The MIJ version has a Texas Special as the neck position pickup that suits it extremely well. 

Enjoy.

Funnily enough, I'm finding switching between neck and bridge pickups isn't resulting in much of a difference in volume at all. They seem to balance well.

The rotary knob is.... interesting. With no visual indicator, you have to trust your ears to know which position you're in, and of course it's more cumbersome than a switch. I think I'll just keep this guitar stock, though.

Wouldn't mind picking another one up cheap though, sticking a P90 in the bridge, getting rid of the neck pickup and rewiring it as a Squier "Junior"!