Squier '51
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Squier '51 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Manufacturer | Squier |
| Period | 2004 — 2006 |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on neck |
| Scale | 25.5" |
| Woods | |
| Body | Basswood |
| Neck | Maple |
| Fretboard | Maple |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Fixed |
| Pickup(s) | 1 Single-coil, 1 Humbucker with coil tap |
| Colors available | |
| Black, Vintage Blonde, 2- Tone Sunburst | |
The Squier '51 is an electric guitar made by Squier, a subsidiary of Fender. The '51 is notable for being one of the few original designs made by Squier, which normally manufactures less expensive authorized copies of Fender's popular guitars and bass guitars.
[edit] Construction
The '51 combines aspects of several of Fender's best-known instruments. The body and neck pickup resemble that of the Fender Stratocaster, while the single-ply pickguard and the control plate is borrowed from the original incarnation of the Fender Precision Bass. Finally, the neck and headstock design is reminiscent of a Fender Telecaster.
The '51 uses a humbucker in the bridge position and a Stratocaster-style single-coil pickup in the neck position. The bridge of the '51 is slightly narrower than most US-made Fender guitars in order to line up better with the polepieces of the humbucker, which are respectively designed for the narrower string spacing of Gibson-style guitars. The bridge pickup has a coil tap, set in the volume control, to switch between single-coil and humbucker configuration. The second control, which normally would operate as a tone control on a Telecaster or early Precision Bass, is a three-position pickup selector switch for choosing between the neck alone, combined neck/humbucker, or humbucker alone. It has a six-saddle hardtail top-loading bridge.[citation needed]
The guitar features a basswood body, with a maple neck and fretboard. The '51 is offered in three colors: 2-Tone Sunburst, Black, and Vintage Blonde (a cream-yellow). The pickguard is white on the sunburst and black models. Although all Squier promotional pictures depict the Vintage Blonde model with a black pickguard, they have been manufactured with both black and white pickguards.[citation needed]
[edit] Sales
The Squier '51 originally sold for around US$150 through most large music retailers and catalog outlets, although various incentives and sales further reduced the sale price at times. In late 2004, several large music chains were selling the '51 for US$99.99, and even as low as US$69.99 in "Guitar Center" stores, as recently as July 2007.[citation needed] Its low price and unique style made it very popular with players who like to tinker with and modify their guitars. The Squier '51 is now out of production and as of 12-2007 are selling for $150-$200 used.
