VIDEO SECTIONS: 1. Where is it made, and does that matter? - 1:01 2. Is this guitar still a true classic? - 2:00 3. What does it sound like? - 5:20 4. One Minute Solo! - 9:46 5. Are they still built well? - 11:14 5. Classic Vibe or Player Series? - 15:00 Guitar Link - imp.i114863.net/kjzgxV Enjoy!

My dad bought a 50s Classic Vibe Tele. He loves it.

And I thought that the "made in Indonesia" ones were actaually rated higher by everyone lol. I really don't care where it's made, as long as they are quality guitars.

The Classic Vibe Series really was the start of the affordable, quality, import guitar renaissance that we are currently in

I have this exact guitar. Love Fiesta red with the maple board. Has all the classic strat tones you could ever want. Very comfortable to play. Definitely the best bang for your buck!!

My dream guitar since i was a kid is a red strat with a maple neck🎉

Classic Vibe feels like a high end strat to me, the only downsize is the sound of the pickups, but I just installed a Texas Special pickups on mine and it sounds and it feels so great!

I've got the CV 50s in sunburst, I can't play it worth a damn but it sounds sexy as hell when I practice scales

I have the CV 60's strat. Works great for me. Stays in tune great. For got to mention...it's an Indonesia CV.

I have a Chinese made ‘50’s CV Stratocaster in white, it’s a forever guitar. I’m not going to let it go, I want to get a 1960’s CV Strat to go with it, preferably in Lake Placid Blue because when I was a kid, we had a Cadillac in the same color.

Squiers have gotten insanely good these last few years.

My lovely wife bought me a brand new Squire 60s Vibe for Father’s Day. It is in my favorite color, Lake Placid Blue, AND it’s AWESOME!!! Definitely as good as the American Strat that I used to own. I have a lot of experience doing hobbiest level luthier work and really enjoy doing setups, so I took my time and tweaked the relief, action, intonation, pup heights and tremolo string positions/tension. The intonation was the only thing that needed some pretty significant adjustment. I also polished the frets (their ends were already perfect), lightly polished the nut slots (with 1000 wet dry sand paper), added graphite to nut and installed some E.Ball Super Slinkies. BOOM, plays perfect and no tuning issues! I frankly couldn’t be happier with this guitar, and it was only $430 new, with free shipping! Great stuff.

I bought a Classic vibe 50´s Sherwood green (China). Adjusted the bridge to floating and it stays in tune very well ( three springs). I have a couple Custom shops and I will say that this guitar is a very nice guitar for so less money. Rock on!

My daughter has a HSS classic vibe 70's she loves. My son has a great classic vibe 60's SSS that is flawless. Hard to imagine a better buy for the dough.

I took the plunge and bought a classic vibe and my results were somewhat different. Having bought and set up many guitars over my 43 years of playing I was hopeful I wouldn't have to do a lot for my $400 bucks. The reality is that I did have too: 1. Straighten the neck (and added a tiny amount of relief) 2. Replace the trem block & saddles (the OEM are junk) 3. Replace the tuners with EZ lock tuners (the original ones were maddening, they constantly would slip tiny bits, even after string & block/trem replacement) 4. Leveled, dressed, crowned and polished the frets, which we're really bad especially in the 1st position 5. The fret ends we're sharp and needed polishing all the way up the neck 6. The bone nut hung up on the low E string, so it needed a bit of filing, in addition to smoothing out and lubing all of the string slots. 7. Out of personal preference I rounded the fretboard ends a little, for a smoother feel Overall: The pickups sound great, classic Fender strat sound The color and body finish are excellent The hardware and electronics work good So new buyer's just be aware that if you pick one of these up either you or your guitar tech may be in for a few fixes & mods, to get not only that classic Fender sound from the Classic Vibe but a few mods to make this feel & play like a truly a "pro" guitar. Would I buy it again 🤔 NO.

I bought my Squier Classic Vibe 50s made in China in fiesta red in 2013. 8 years now and it remains my favourite guitar. I do have a proper USA Fender with maple neck and ash body and still I prefer my Squier whenever I am asked to play.

I own that exact CV 50s Strat, bought in late 2019 and I can confirm what he says! Just one addition: the frets higher than 15th fret are pretty fine on mine as well. The entire neck has a really decent fretjob. You can't go wrong with this guitar!

I am still waiting to get the Ibanez prestige!

I just got a 50s classic vibe strat , tobacco burst , maple neck & maple fretboard . Just a beautiful guitar that plays incredibly good and sounds great 👍 I also have a custom shop strat that is my main player but lately I've found myself with the Squier strapped on & plugged in more & more. Love it , awesome guitar 🎸

LOVE my 3 year old Chinese CV Strat - came set up and in tune from SW for $350; was concerned about my new 50s CV Tele made in Indo but was pleasantly surprised to see excellent construction, a wicked nice Pine ( a 9.1 lb obviously raccoon fed Pine) body and super fast glossy like the Strat neck - a jewel just like the Chinese CV Strat!! These babies play above their pay scale. 🎸 💥Edit: almost a year later - the CV Tele had some fret sprout and the 9th fret actually pulled out - caught an edge. I had it repaired by pros here in hollywood JUST before the warranty expired. 55 point inspection couldn't predict this, Indo made though? Chinese CV Strat is still perfect.. Don't know but the irony is because of the fix needed it's back to a KILLER guitar, just a pleasure to drive - FAST. 🚀

Been playing just shy of 50 years; my two #1 guitars at this point are '96 American Standard Strat and '00 Mexi standard strat with an American Standard rosewood neck and 2-point American Elite trem. Absolutely wonderful guitars, among the best I've ever owned/played. I tell you that to tell you this Just yesterday, I found a 2000 Classic Vibe 60's Strat at a pawn shop. Lake Placid blue. Brought it home for $160 out the door with the intent of giving it a good cleaning and complete setup, and then flipping it. But after doing the work....this guitar is absolutely amazing. Plays better than both my #1 Strats, and sounds better than one of them. Everything about this guitar punches well above its price range. The fretwork is quite good, with not a high or low fret to be found - all I had to do was polish them - and unlike yours, the fret ends were acceptably finished. The neck profile overall is super comfortable. The pickups sound _fantastic_ . The tuning stability is rock-solid, which surprised me, but which can probably be attributed to a combination of the properly-cut bone nut and the split tuning pegs. If there is one glaring weakness, it's the tuning machines themselves, which are crap; lots of slop/lash in the gears which lubrication doesn't help. But overall...my goodness, what a jaw-dropping bargain this guitar is even, IMO, at full retail. So now I face a dilemma - flip it, or put one of the others up for sale...?? We'll see how I feel about things in a few more days....

I'm quite impressed. In terms of general construction and quality in most aspects this guitar seems very good for the price. Even the pickups, which on budget instruments often tend to sound quite dull and uninteresting, give it a lively and bright sound as you would expect of a Stratocaster with the only glaring down side being the trem. Having said that, changing the way a trem is set up or even replacing it for a higher quality unit is both fairly easy and affordable.

I love my 70's hss strat. Thing rocks!

I bought one. It was so great I bought another. Then another. Then another. Fiesta Red, Black, White Blonde, and a '70s-style in Vintage White. Love 'em! PS: I never use trem on these or others.

I’ve got a Squier Strat built in February 2012 in Indonesia. Dark blue with a white pick guard rosewood neck. It plays beautifully very bright and twangy all for the low cost of $120.

Got mine in February, it is very addicting to play. It plays and sounds great, hard to put down. It was great right out the box after about a quarter turn on the truss rod (due to the winter weather I'm sure). Anyway after that I haven't done anything to it besides play it. I haven't even changed the strings yet! That is very unusual as I always do that right away. They are the gauge I use anyway and they're good Fender strings. This strat is a terrific value and a very nice guitar, mine is flawless and comfortable to play. I stole mine for $399, before they raised the price $30! haha! I was a little skeptical about the tinted gloss neck, but I actually love it, looks and feels great, and I like how it's one piece. Get one and you won't regret it!

The Classic Vibes are rock solid guitars. I have a couple Chinese CVs and I play them just as much as my $1000+ guitars, at home and live.

I bought a 2009 CV 60's used back in 2016. I lucked out it was in stellar shape, and the most beautiful flame maple neck (looks quarter sawn) with rosewood FB. The finish coat on it is very thin, and it had 3 small chips in the paint (no extra charge for the relicing) It is the 3 color sunburst or "clown burst" as some might call it. It really is a wonderful guitar and has that great well made feel when you pick it up and play. Also updated the electronics and put full size steel block in.

Just got a 60’s classic vibe strat a week ago and i love it, so so playable

I still love my CV 50s Strat (2-tone) and Tele (blonde black guard) from years ago, made in China and still amazing. I’ve been tempted to upgrade sometimes but these are great and if I’m comfortable why bother? I’d love to check out a made in Indonesia to compare.

They look very nice, but importantly they sound like a Strat, I see players using these on their live gigs, value +!

Lefty here. I got a China-made CV60 Strat almost two years ago, came straight from the factory right out of the box setup absolutely perfect. Almost two years of gigging, still plays like a dream. Ordered an Indonesia-made CV70 HSS Strat, absolute junk - wiring was a total wreck, pickups were a straight up mismatch, no shielding under the pickguard, and no amount of nut, fret, and/or saddle/trem work/adjustment would get rid of the buzz - not to mention some kind of sawdust everywhere inside the guitar and in the neck joint. Traded the Indo CV70 in and ordered a China-made contemporary HH Strat, came straight from the factory right out of the box setup absolutely perfect. Unless I get get my hands on an example that says otherwise, if all Squiers are now made in Indonesia I'll probably never buy another.

Bought a used 50s Classic Vibe Tele, Butterscotch, a number of years ago for $360 CDN. I also have a MIA 1994 Strat and 2011 G&L ASAT. That said, I absolutely LOVE this guitar. I upgraded to CTL pots, USA made switch, Switchcraft jack and push back wire. I did NOT upgrade the pups. Then I took a sanding sponge, great idea Darrell, and went to town on the back of the neck almost to bare wood and sanded and filed all fret ends. This makes it feel a million years old (it actually "rolls" the fretboard) and the back of the neck actually looks like a reliced guitar. The upgraded electronics made a huge difference in tone, so much that I haven't yet replaced the pickups. Bottom line is this is a great guitar and is now my #1, play it every day.

Hey Darrell. I’m hearing a lot of good things about the IYV guitars, especially the Les Paul copy. They’re cheap, ($182 for the Les Paul copy) but everyone I’ve seen seems to be very impressed. Would love to see a review from you!

We all have our preferences. A glossy fingerboard is a no go for me. It's a great looking and sounding guitar though. Good price too.

if you take out the middle spring in the trem and move the end ones straight and the float it slightly that trem will work great...

stupid comment so apologies in advance - bought a second hand peavey copy strat from 90s. partially made in Vietnam. replaced tuners with grover, pickups- Wilkinson voice pickups. easy wheel truss rod setup . fret already leveled. same dimensions as Mexican fender strat. really comfortable to play- total cost with mods - US$300. professional players cant tell difference between US fender and my guitar when blind tested. save your dollars. you may not have luck, time and energy for all aforesaid. classic vibe is an extraordinary value. sweetwater selling white strat for 399.

I have the china 70s classic vibe, and I still love it.

always loved the classic vibes. great guitars for the money for sure.

I just got one. I LOVED IT!!! It is a blonde white (something like that), it is a little pinky...well nothing is perfect, still love it!!

I have this guitar in the 60's version in Blue and the more I play this guitar, the more I love it. My end goal is to own a legit Stratocaster, but until then, I actually love this guitar and is indeed is a really great guitar for this price range.

I have a CV 60's, and the pickups are incredible, alnicoV

Darrell: You're not going to play this with that much gain... Bryan Adams: *stares*

I bought two. I put a 60s Squier Strat neck on one of them. I set them up so they're a 'perfect' fit for me. Nice guitars.

I bought mine 5 years ago, made in China, seafoam green, Classic Vibe for 400$ Canadian, its a wonderful guitar, really. I bought a Fender Player Series last week and, yes the Player Series is GREAT but followed very very close by the Classic Vibe for 50% less. I like both.

Yeah those guitars are great. Got that fiesta 50s and waiting for the 60s fiesta red. Something about FR with "rosewood" board. Looks killer,also mintgreen pickguard. Going to upgrade it alot,handwired pickups made in Sweden ala SRV,Gotoh NS510 trem,vintage gotoh tuners. Gonna be a killer guitar.

If you want the same guitar as the old made in China Classic Vibes, look for the Farida F-5050, F-5051, and F-5150. They are made in the same factory that made the old Chinese CVs.

Just got one of these in two color sunburst. They are blowing them out all over. $224 free shipping and it’s spot on. Had to adjust the action and low e intonation, but that’s all and ready to rock. Pine body and not a flaw on it. Only upgrades needed are tuners and bridge in the future perhaps? But they function find out of the box.

You went into some details that no one really talks about for some reason so thank you for that!

I had the same issue with the tremolo causing the guitar to go out of tune. I had much better stability after lubricating the slots on that vintage style string tree. You can use vaseline or chapstick. Also good to check that its aligned correctly looking at the string tree slots VS where the strings go. No issues after that, great guitar!!!

i have the burst version, its better than any strat ive ever played and im a les paul player but i love this guitar. great sound great fret work and board. unreal for the price

I was contemplating getting one to restart playing guitar after quite a few years and your video was the thing that made me go for it. A great guitar for the price tag. Thank you for going over it so thoroughly.

I just know that the "Yako" guitar factory in China does excellent work, from my experience. My Chinese 2011 CV 50's Strat has very lightweight Alder and is phenomenally well made and came with a stock/factory perfectly Quartersawn neck(?!). Luck of the draw on that piece of Maple that day. They were only about $299 in 2011.

They look and sound superb. The CV range overall can't be beaten on price and style. I bought the CV FSR 60s Tele Custom Esquire and it's awesome and looks amazing.

So my question is ... get a Squire (vintage vibe or otherwise), get a kit guitar, or a cheaper one (firefly, glarry, et al) ... for a strapped for cash guitar newbie, who is very handy at wood work and wiring, what in your opinion would be the best way to go to get a really well playing instrument to last for a few decades? I would love to see you do an episode of the ultimate cheap guitar build or buy / comparison / DIY ... for a strat type, tele, les paul, gretsch, etc etc etc .... pick a type(s), I am sure you'll kill it !!

bought one instead of a Mexican.....new 5 way switch needed after 3 months USA one fitted...removed lacquer from back of neck to the wood a quick oil finish .replaced bridge pickup with a jb mini humbucker.... a quick rub down the side of the neck with some scotchbright ...all the work took about one hour ...i wouldn't part with this strat know its amazing for the money .....ive played alot of custom shop strats in the local store and can honestly say i prefer mine ....

My son bought me a second hand Squire Strat 23 years ago for $60 and it still works fine. I've never had to take it to the guitar store. If this Classic Vibe is anything like the one I have, then it's definitely worth the money. I looked up the numbers and it said that it was made during the '90s in America.

Great job with this one, and the playing examples sound awesome. I remember the classic vibe feeling very solid and well constructed. I got to try a player series strat for the first time last week and it didn’t seem like it was as quality as the classic vibe. Not for the extra money really. But they are both nice anyway. Great to see you revisit this guitar for sure.

Gotta say the g&l tributes, literally any of them takes it for me at roughly the same price. No stiff trem problems and the tribute pickups are the exact ones used in their higher range guitars. Also cant forget the ptb system, so you get some tone control for the bridge. These do seem cool though, just a personal preference.

I've got a 2019 Squier Standard Strat (Indonesian made) and it's excellent. Two-point trem, satin finish on a maple fretboard and it plays brilliantly.

I own a 50's CV Strat and a 50's CV Tele and they are 2 of the best in my collection which includes Fender, Gibsons, Gretsche, Kramer, Charvel, Schecter, etc. I did have to do fret jobs on both guitars to bring them to my personal standards. The pups in these guitars are very good.

I truly believe the squier classic vibe are amazing and modding them is a huge plus change/ upgrade of pickups and wiring harness also tremolo bridge and maybe upgraded tuners and last a great setup and its a working axe guitar

Still think the Fender player series are the sweet spot between price and quality. Got both my strat and tele of those. But for my jazzmaster and thinline tele i went for SQ CV, it’s a really good alternative.

Jack Pearson, one of my favorite guitar players, is famous for playing Squires, even Bullets!!

I got one this past winter .. a 60's CV Strat.. love it

Indonesia Makes Amazing Guitars

I really feel like indonesia makes really good guitars. The Larry Carlton’s Sire serie guitars have great reputation for instance.

I’ve played the CV a couple of times, and was more impressed with it than any Mexican Strat that I’ve played

I sent two American Original '50s Strats back this week due to structural issues. Dropped by a local used store today and came home with a fantastic Squier CV '70s Thinline Tele. I'm doing a setup right now, but it played and sounded great even before I started tweaking - much better than the two AOs.

This guitar shines brighter than my future

For $500, you can get a used/pre-own Fender player series.

Here we are a couple years later still talking about CV strats. Have a couple of new Indonesian built Bullet strats, a made in China SE strat, a VM made in India strat, a Fender standard strat made in Mexico and Player series Telecaster. I’m a permanent beginner level player, pretty bad actually, and what I have found is that if you can play, the guitar pretty much doesn’t matter. In the right hands a Squier Bullet can be just as effective as a Fender Player series guitar. Having said that I just bought that exact same guitar, CV strat in Fiesta Red with maple neck not because I need it or can actually play it competently, I got just for what it is, a modern made 50s strat that doesn’t cost a fortune. Lucky for others I practice with a Mustang Micro and headphones so they are not subjected to those crazy casbah sounds. Cheers!

When ppl played my 1991 Korean gold label strat they cant believe it's a Squire, then I put a ste of Fender custom shop fat 50s pickups and added as series/parallel switch in and now they're completely blown away with it! Honestly can say it's my first instrument that I can say I'm 100% satisfied with and 100% comfortable playing

In my experience, the Indonesian Squiers are truer to the Fender shapes and profiles than the Chinese variants. I had a 2009 Deluxe Stratocaster (just like the faded Daphne Blue that Darrell reviewed), and it was pretty much identical to the Mexican and USA fenders in body shape and Modern C neck profile. The Chinese Classic Vibes of the time had noticeably thinner necks and slightly different body contours. Looking across multiple brands, I'm far more impressed with the quality and consistency coming out of Indonesia.

Hey Darrell you should try out the squier contemporary strat special next.

I enjoyed my Squier Classic Vibe. I loved it so much I gave it to someone who could really use it, and they're loving it as well. Since I have too many instruments, I don't miss it, but I do still love that instrument. It's not my favorite S-type for the money (that would be the Michael Kelley CC60 Burl Burst), but it's still a great value.

I've had my chinese CV strat 50s for a decade now and it's such a good value. I highly recommend giving these a try if you ever aren't sure if a strat is right for you

They're good, but for me the Player Series is the best bang for buck.

I'd really love to know more about the working conditions in these overseas plants. They sure do keep the cost down.

I have an Indonesian CV P bass, workmanship is great and sounds exactly as good as the Player series for less money, ver happy, now I want a Strat.

My first strat will be a classic vibe, especially with a laqured fretboard, love the feel of pure silk under the fretting hand l

Hey Darrel, with regard to value for money strats, have you checked out Swing guitars? Its a Korean company. I personally own a S-1 series strat and it sounds way better than its price range suggests. Would love to see you review one and tell us what you think!

What's more beautiful than a red strat?

I really love this special kind of vintage tuners. If you wind your strings properly, tune always up to pitch and make sure the nut is well lubed, the tuning stability is very good. No need for replacing the tuners at all.

I just bought a CV 60s thinline tele. Love it! Great guitar for the money.

I bought a modded 2003 Squier standard a few years back. Better tuners, titanium trem, and bone nut for $200. Not sure if the maple neck was replaced too but it plays really nice. Stock pickups are pretty good in these. Couldn’t pass it up at that price.

I've sent 4 Fender player Strats back to the dealer, quality control sucks for the price and boy it's increasing in price. Squire seems to be finished better from what I've seen in stores and maybe one day they can move the player series to Asia also.

I just bought an Indonesian 70s cv strat from Sweetwater earlier this year. It blows my Chinese contemporary away. So light and the fit and finish are flawless

I have found a lot of quality issues recently with squier, raised frets, sharp fretboard edges, bad finish, exposed glue, etc. The fingerboard edges are very sharp, I prefer a rolled edge. Not a lot of hand work on these instruments. Also the glossy neck is very sticky. Most people take the electronics out and upgrade anyways so not a great value IMO

Why didn't you show the electronics? What kinda pots, caps, soldering, etc.?

I have a Classic Vibe Thinline Telle H H . love it, plays great, capable of very low action. very "tight" solid feeling. Tones are great, tones controls are exceptionally versatile.

I have played Classic vibe Strats, Tele's and P-Basses....EVERYONE OF THEM played like beautiful golden butter. At the store. No special setup required. The only other time I have experienced that is with the Ibanez SZ series. (for some dumb reason discontinued).....Squier is a 100% legit company.

Indonesia guitar craftsmanship is waaaayyy better than China.

I’m first! I think 🤔

Great idea for a video, Darrell! Love this. For me, I'd have to go with a used Mexican Standard, but that's coming from someone who isn't dying for the vintage thing. For those who don't know, the old Mex. std. is a mix of vintage and modern specs (and some weird stuff, i.e. the body shape is not quite a true strat). Darrell's got LOTS of great videos covering them. If I WAS looking for a vintage Strat, I think I'd still start with a Mexican Standard and then build it out myself from there. That's just because I'm seeing them (in my local market) starting around $100 lower than MSRP on this CV. That $100 would go nicely towards upgrades, plus big upgrades like a replacement vintage-accurate neck would free up the existing neck to be sold off, recouping some cost... but of course that's a lot of work. This is surely a great option for someone who wants a nice vintage Strat straight out the box. Careful though, to any parents! If you're eyeing this for you kid, make sure they understand it's a *vintage*-styled instrument, and that doesn't just mean aesthetics. There are features on modern guitars that many players prefer over vintage designs (HSS/HSH pickups, 2-point trem, flatter neck, updated knob layouts, larger/more/stainless frets, more contoured body/heel joint, etc.). Of course that sounds like a lot to expect on a $460 guitar, but some brands are making it happen. I think the Fusion-III does most of that, and can be had, shipped, for $100 less than the CV; I don't own any HBs, I can't vouch for them, I'm just saying that $460 can get you a LOT of guitar today if you know where to look. A Vintage Strat is a great fit for lots of players, just don't be hypnotized by the fact that this is a nice quality, affordable, mainstream guitar; it needs to also be a good fit for the individual's musical tastes and playing style. Good luck!

I'm so glad you said that.. I just bought a use one made in China for $180 , just today.. thanks so much for sharing. Great information..

"Bridge pickup is exceedingly bright..." Bah, KZfaqrs and their hyperbolic statements. *starts playing position one* Aghhh, holy hell, i can't look or listen to it, it's too bright, give it a college degree allready!

The one I bought looks like it'll be a good one. 50's burst cv that has an interesting story. Looks like a band member had it or the frets were just soft for the type of playing the guy did. The trem claw screws were sticking through the cavity of the inner body so I'll have to re-direct the screws and angle. Like a kid may have done the qc on this one. So, once I fix the badly worn frets and the trem claw floats for the first time ever, I think it'll be great! It's the maple fretboard so I'm really glad to own it. I passed on a super nice one with a rosewood fretboard. (Update) it's awesome! Oh my golly!

Almost 300 views in 4 minutes. That’s awesome. Congrats on continued awesomeness, Darrell!

Last days i saw lot of CV and Squier Strat Vids. This is the only one with that i saw and hear details i wanted. Very good Video.