Dewy wrote:
That said... I agree with Mike that pedals and other gear substantially affect the tone, and am a stickler for certain "sounds". Most "distortion" pedals and almost EVERY modeler I have toyed with has a very unpleasing distortion. I personally insist on tube amps... with some sort of tube "screamer" in front... effects generally patched thru the effects loop.
Are you sure you two really agree on this? Best not reveal the pedals you use for your pedal choices otherwise Mike might unleash the fury of the Lord Of The Pedal Nerds on you. By the way, in case you can't tell, Mike's main hobby is building pedals. I'd bet he has 10 Dist pedals. So which would you say he prefers? Not so sure you two are on the same page here.
Having looked at your pedal board I see some great pedals there... but I can almost assure you that I... and probably several folks who have an ear I respect could mess with your setup and get a more pleasing tone "TO OUR EARS"! Who knows... you might even notice the difference yourself. I'm not saying it matters live... I'm not saying it matters to you. I AM saying that it can make a noticeable difference.
How do you know that?? You've never heard my rig. And by saying that, you are basically saying that I'm not as professional with my own rig as you or people you personally trust. What are you basing that on if you know nothing about me? I can assure you that there are many people here in Vegas who trust me to do that kind of thing for them.
I agreed that Squires can be fine guitars, if you sink enough time and cash into them... but that me and most folks who are qualified to do that sorta thing generally start upgrades on a better piece of wood. Not downing your choice... its a personal thing.
This might surprise both of you here Dewey.. But I have a degree in woodworking. I've been a custom woodworker by trade for 20-years. The Squiers I use were selected for a reason. In fact, one of my Squiers is made up of Fender US parts from when they took over the plant in Ensenada. Even has a flamed maple neck. Cost me a whole $80 and certainly worth upgrading. The pickups I use now are custom made and cost a whole $25 a piece. The parts I use to wire them up really don't cost as much as most people think. A few CTS pots, good switch and a Sprague cap doesn't put much of a dent in ones wallet. I do all of my own wiring, neck setups, bridge adjustments, etc..
My Stagemaster guitars have necks that are every bit as well crafted as my high end Fenders and are neck-through designs. Too many people consider necks to be rocket-science when it's just not the case. Now that's not to say that every model of Squier is built with the craftsmanship of a Fender. But the are without a doubt certain models from certain periods and Countries, that do match the craftsmanship of Fenders that I consider pro guitars. The only real differences being the guts inside, smaller bridge width, and maybe inferior bridge saddles and tuners. Most definitely the cost. I don't think Fender offers Squiers in Nitro finish, but they use poly on Strats now as well. All replaceable and upgradable. I can honestly say that my MIK Stagemasters have been my most consistent guitars I own as far as staying in tune, and being very durable. I ran over one of them last year and it barely made a dent in it. The neck is still perfectly straight, bridge is fine, just had to replace the pots and switch. Not once have I even had to make a truss-rod adjustment on either of them. Alder bodied, neck-through, full thickness, solid guitars that really are very good. They weigh more than any of my other Fenders. Didn't pay more than $150 for either of them.
If you don't think Fender pieces together guitar bodies the same way Squier does, you might not want to strip the finish off of one of the painted ones. You might be in for a real surprise.
This one even has a 1" piece sandwiched in it.
Even My 57AVRI has a pieced together body, and the neck isn't as well crafted as 3 of my Squiers. I had to file the frets on the side myself. And one of the bridge saddles was defective. So even the heavyweights have their flaws.
I'm not going to sit here and argue that Squier makes guitars as well as a lot of the high end Fenders do. There are a lot of cool bells and whistles that come with high end Fenders, but I know enough to know That I can squeeze out every bit as good of a tone out of certain models of Squires for much less of a price. And I DO know good craftsmanship when I see it. My CV Squier necks really aren't as good as a few of my other models, but they're as good as a MIM Fender.
I don't need a roller-nut, I don't need S-1 switching, I don't need a fancy paint-job, I don't need a V-neck (although I do like them), and I really don't care for a lot of their mass produced machine wound pickups. It would suit me fine to pick up a MIM Fender and pimp it out the where I want it for much less, which I can contend that the Squiers I own are already easily as good as or better than a MIM stock in the woodworking craftsmanship, wood selection, fretwork, and bridge dept. Most have smaller diameter tuners, but I haven't found that to be an issue so far. And being that I have smaller hands, it doesn't bother me to have a smaller bridge width.
My major issue is the fact that you and Mike were "debating" in a heated fashion over something that is subjective to a personal ear. On that point, I agree with Mike, tone suck does occur, Cheap tubes can sound better in some amps than gold tips, and you could have a better chunk of wood to bolt all of those parts onto than a Squire.
On the tube issue.. I can't agree with you on that for reasons I've already given. On the tone sucking, we ran my pedal board to hear a difference in the recording studio, and found no noticeable difference. You would have to either be a dog or have a measuring device to come to any other conclusion.
COULD I find a better chunk of wood than what I have with my Squiers?? Maybe. I do own a couple high end guitars. I already have the pleasure of enjoying both spectrums. My Squiers can be used for any pro application. We used 5 distinctively different guitars and 5 different amps (tube and solid state) to record our album. I'll be sure to offer the challenge of picking out the higher end from the lower end when the time comes.
If your biggest issue is that I don't bow down to Mike and his bullshit, then I don't know what to tell you. Feel free to deal with his punk-ass all you want.
mistermikev wrote:Still I will take your point and try to hold back a little longer before hurling insults.
That should have given you a clue here. Had you continued to disagree with him about anything technical, that's exactly where he was intending to take your conversation.