Fender vs Squier Offset Telecaster SHOOTOUT (Feat.Cody Jung) | Working Class Music

Today we compare two different Offset Telecasters: a Fender made in Japan, and a Squier Paranormal series. The guitar is basically a Jazzmaster mixed with a Telecaster so we asked our resident Jazzmaster afficianado, Jason Mays of course, and our local Telecaster specialist: That's right, Cody Jung is BACK! Does the offset body work with his well-honed Nashville chops? Gota watch to know! This was from the day when we had Cody's vintage 50's Tweed Fender Champ miced up so you know the tones are sweet.
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[@dongonzulman6478]

DBZ is universal

[@deztruct0823]

Please do the red one with the humbucker! It looks so cool and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it

[@AndrewStottisTheIndiWerWlf]

Yes!!! I want one of those so bad

[@petevadelnieks]

@@AndrewStottisTheIndiWerWlf I bought the Rosewood one from Sweetwater, and it's an amazing guitar.

[@petevadelnieks]

It's a rad guitar, I got the mocha one from Sweetwater and cannot put it down.

[@TheCommonSenseProfessor]

I just wished that the Sweetwater ones had maple necks.

[@Great-Documentaries]

@@petevadelnieks There is no "rosewood" ones from Sweetwater nor anyone else. They are Indian Laurel. It has been many years since Squiers had rosewood.

[@Ochoduckie]

Squier shootout would be dope, but that FSR shootout is too cool, especially with the WRHB in the neck!

[@cyberpunk409]

The U-Shaped neck on the Fender Japanese Offset Telecaster is my favourite neck out of my 6 guitars

[@cyberpunk409]

Here in Australia, the Japanese version cost me the equivalent of $840 USD brand new. Very happy with the price to value ratio. The Squire comes in at around $530 USD here. I should add that I've spent about $300 USD modding it... Firebird neck pickup, Seymour Duncan antiquity bridge, a custom made pickguard to fit the Firebird neck pickup, and a new control harness. It's a great modding platform. Now I have the exact guitar I wanted

[@martianmurray]

Not a Tele guy but offset it and now I’m interested

[@cutronixxx]

THANK YOU! You all are always awesome, but your mind reading was on point this episode. Get out of my head!!!

[@bjornbroekert]

So glad I found this channel, finally some useful demoing with nice chords and sounds instead of the obnoxious soloing on most demos. Good stuff

[@SD_Marc]

Cool vid. I'm building a parts offset Telecaster currently. Now I'm impatient to finish, good review. Thanks!

[@PedalPlayhouse]

With Tia in the middle I was expecting a referee situation haha but having her lead the conversation with guitars she’s familiar with was great. it was also interesting to hear the differences between all of them and also the styles of playing.

[@petevadelnieks]

The FSR Offset Tele's are being sold at Sweetwater. I got the one in Mocha/not Rosewood Okume finish, and it's the best Squier I've ever played. You really should review it.

[@WorkingClassMusic]

*noted*

[@frankpike3684]

Excellent demo thanks very much, need to get my hands on the Squier. Nice to see some straight forward chords and no twiddling:)

[@chrisparker5278]

Now I’m building an offset tele, working class musician is awesome for informing my design direction

[@ScottJamesHicks]

I was so surprised by a pink Squier offset I tried out, I bought it. After some time playing, I changed the bridge ashtray/saddles and bridge pickup. The stock configuration was almost as good as the replacement. The guitar neck is a little sticky but, I believe it gets better the longer the guitar gets played. It’s such a great guitar that I no longer like Telecasters as much as Offset Telecasters.

[@bradruhfel4883]

I have the Japanese mahogany version with the p90 in the neck. Got it for a steal… new for $720 from MF. Totally worth it and a great guitar.

[@taylornutt]

When are we getting the dedicated Cyclone 2 video? I have seen it hanging around for a while. You could do a comparison with the newer Squier models. We also need some Toronado videos. Love the content. I finally got my Squier CV Mustang completely setup and it plays on par with my vintage parts Mustang.

[@realxandercuck]

That's my guitar and I never play it lol. I have been asking the team to do a video with it so I can sell it soon but we have a lot of things on the list before it

[@oldasrocks9121]

The wide range humbucker is actually just a regular humbucker in that big w.r. cover which to me is, for the most of the most part, being lied to. So I have always been immediately put off by the newer squiers and fenders that have those pickups in them. A smarter thing for squier to have done would have been to just put a straight humbucker in that guitar so folks could swap pickups if they wanted to but if they want anything different as is or if they want something that's actually closer to a wide range they have to pull that pick up send it off to a winder who's specializes in rehabilitating them with a different number of wire turns and different wire and a different magnet and blah dee blah. The other thing that's worth saying is there's a bit of sorcery involved in matching a humbucker to a telecaster bridge pickup. You need to pick the bridge pick up first that's going to be the focus of your desires sound and then debut some PAF oriented copies. The custom shop has got this completely figured out and they're occasional release of a small run of 1951 SH Nocasters is the proof. Simple recipe, Mr Seymour and Mrs Duncan Seth lover 55 in the neck and a hand wound custom shop Nocaster in the bridge (significantly different than the production version of the Nocaster pickups.) That is one dirty dirty beast. But you also get really juicy custom shop stuff with that like a u neck or a soft v-neck or whatever ancient profile it is that they decide to bolt on and absolutely spectacular heavy relic job and everything that you would expect to get for your $5,000. But here's the funny thing about that, and it is related to the two paranormals you're reviewing: that custom shop guitar sounds exactly like you would expect it to from just looking at it. And it's strange because telecasters seem to be more susceptible to this phenomenon of sonic expectation than any other fender guitar. You can put those exact same pickups in that paranormal and you might actually say "This thing is unplayable" because there's this weird phenomenon of sonic expectation linked to the look that telecasters can never seem to free themselves from. Personally that is why I gravitate towards the ones that look like a door on a barn that has not been painted in 70 years. They can sound like whatever you want them to.

[@oldmanzen6682]

I love these models, however as the rarity that doesn't love tort on white, I don't like the finish. The natural finish of Em's is gorgeous though! Thanks for the comparison. As always, was fun to watch.

[@jmCodinach]

Yes, a wanna see the one with humbucker 😜

[@AndrewStottisTheIndiWerWlf]

Sonic Blue surely... Right? Because sometimes sonic blue is basically a cool white.

[@WorkingClassMusic]

Prolly

[@donzapanta4071]

I picked up the butterscotch one for around $200 bucks, slapped a mim roasted maple neck and a set of twisted tele pickups in her and i love it

[@donzapanta4071]

@neonthunderbird the difference was small really, every squire i've played through have great sound out the box. I just have fun tweakig my gear to make it my own thing

[@elevenAD]

Great comparison! Im actually kind of shocked at the outcome! Squire punching well above their weight class these days.

[@lunamatic9775]

Thanks for the highly informative review. I'm still kicking myself for not picking up the Offset Tele when Fender had that Squier sale a few weeks ago and they were briefly priced at $300. The interesting thing to me is that they do come with a neck humbucker rout. Now that you mentioned the great quality, I'm probably going to get serious about picking one up.

[@WorkingClassMusic]

glad we could help

[@WannesVDR]

Squier shoot-out yes please! I need an excuse to buy one 😁

[@Frank-in-NY]

I love Offsets. My first was a brand new white 1966 Jazzmaster my parents gave me when I was 15. I also own a 1965 Reissue Jazzmaster, which is identical to the 66, except for the Color. Though they call it Antique White, it looks like the Fender Offset Tele Color you have there, I consider Bright White. Anyway, when the Squier Paranormal Offset Tele came out, I had to get one. The quality of the build is outstanding. I prefer a Rosewood fretboard, but this Maple neck impressed me. Notice there is no "Skunk Stripe". The neck is Maple with a Maple Cap. Very nicely done. Fretwork is excellent. The only things that I wasn't happy about was the Neck Pickup and a couple to tuners felt weak. The Neck Pickup sounded muddy to me. Bridge pickup was fine. I ended up throwing a $100 at this guitar. I installed Tex-Mex Pickups, and replaced the Tuners with Gotoh Vintage Locking Tuners. I put a set of Daddario Flat 10's on, and wow! What a great guitar. From Jazz, Rock, Blues to Country Twang it can do it. Enjoyed your review!

[@everennui1]

I thought I wouldn't like pau ferro necks, but it's really not so bad. I have it on my p bass, but yeah rosewood is special. That being said, ebony is still my favorite. That first chord progression Tia played should be a whole song! It sounded really good! Great demo, guys! Gig bags bum me out too. Especially when you're forking nearly $1500 for a guitar. One thing I wonder is whether or not it will appreciate in value since it's kind of a rare guitar. Probably might.

[@FilmFlam]

Squier ranking episode. Yes, please.

[@ecantalk]

That was a great and honest review. I liked the sound of the Japanese Telemaster/Jazzcaster a bit better but like y’all, I’m partial to rosewood. I think a Squier shootout would be cool. I recently bought a Squier CV Mustang and I’m impressed by the sound, feel and build quality.

[@cutronixxx]

Do you prefer CV to MIM?

[@ecantalk]

@@cutronixxx I’ve never had nor played a MIM Mustang so I can’t compare. Finding one to play in a store near me is like searching for Big Foot right now. 😂 I just bought this one on a whim since the price was decent.

[@ecantalk]

I will say that my only beef is that there is no belly and forearm contour. All my other electrics have that.

[@AndrewStottisTheIndiWerWlf]

Some people are really still trying to call it a Telemaster huh 😉

[@ecantalk]

@@AndrewStottisTheIndiWerWlf It’s a habit. I do like the shorter, one word name, too. Lol

[@Tcoldsteel]

Excellent review and comparisons. I have the Squier mocha version and I’m very happy with it all round. 👏🏻 👍🏻 I think a ranking vid would be good. I’ve bought 3 in the last 3 years and am happy with 2 for different reasons , the other one not so much - strange how price doesn’t always match the quality with Squiers.

[@ACWraith]

I want an Ibanez YY20 every time I see one and was late to discover the much cheaper Talmans which I would have felt much better buying and modding if they were still officially sold. (I see some from third party sites, but lack the funds right now.)

[@Kulturmatt]

So cool to see you guys back in the studio! Hope it’s been a good summer. Jason has mentioned a bunch of time which alt-tuning he normally uses. I can’t remember what he said. Can you remind me?

[@JasonTMays]

Thanks bud, it feels awesome to be back. Typically I'm Drop D or Drop C.

[@Kulturmatt]

@@JasonTMays thanks Jason! Enjoy your Sunday!

[@jackbaker5620]

I'd really like to see a review of the FSR with the WR humbucker. This was a really great video! I have one of the pink Squier Offset Teles that I got on a blemish sale (if there's a blemish, I sure can't see it), and I had the exact same reaction to the pickups. I bought it thinking I'd swap them out, but they really do sound that good. Especially the neck pickup. It might be my fave Tele single coil neck pickup I've played in my 30 ish years of playing. The only mod I did was swapping the mint green pickguard for a tortoiseshell. They're also routed for a middle pickup, so you could get your Nashville Tele on with one of these super easy. This is the second video of yours I've watched and I plan on checking out more. Liked and subscribed and I'm totally appreciative of your unique perspective. Rock On!

[@robphillips8351]

Squiers as basic mod platforms are straight up addicting lol.. I have 1 bullet Limited edition telecaster, 1 affinity limited edition telecaster, 1 affinity telecaster deluxe, 1 paranormal offset telecaster, 1 paranormal tornado, 1 paranormal custom Nashville Stratocaster, a classic vibe 60's limited edition telecaster SH, 1 40 th anniversary telecaster.. all go through pup and bridge or brass/stainless steel saddles, I do a fret level, crown and polish, truss rod adjustment saddle height adjustment, intonation , sometimes replacement of pots and switches, electro socket, output jack and or jack plate. And sometimes Pearl pick guards and knobs. Total amount spent on each guitar including price of the squier itself ranges from about 270 to 500.. so what is accomplished in the end is a guitar that is right at custom shop level, which would normally cost from about 1200 to upwards of say 2500 bucks.. and it's a no brainer with a little bit of time and elbow grease. All in all I have less than 4000.00 in guitars and parts. Of which is a lot less than purchasing 8 custom shop or mim/ American/Japan telecaster jagmaster or strats which would run probably in comparison say $9000.00, of course the American, mim or mij would have more resale value etc, but I don't plan on selling any of them so no issue there.. I can Walk into guitar center and not find a better playing or sounding equivalent costing 800 and upwards of 1300.00 tele than my squier bullet telecaster that I only have about 270.00 bucks and some time and fretwork setup elbow grease into.. maybe some more expensive teles have fancier grained flame maple tops etc, but my little hot rodded squier bullet telecaster slays them tonality and playability wise lol.. a basic platform with mods and setup is truly the way to go. You customize it exactly how you want it, and meticulously set it up, do the fretwork perfectly and it will scream, sustain, and be phenomenal for lack of better words lol..

[@Mayyde]

great video! Jason found me out immediately LMFAO I have a Squier offset Tele always tuned to FACGCE for that americ anfootball vibe whenever I pick it up. I love Fenders so much, but this Squier is genuinely incredible and stands on it's own. I've played MIM Fender guitars that don't even feel anywhere near to how nice this Squier feels, granted that may have been because I put a lot of work into the setup and fret work, but it's a great guitar nonetheless. I did have to replace the bridge and pickups on my offset Tele. The look of 3-saddle Tele bridges is really nice and classy ngl, but getting intonation with it is a nightmare, especially if the saddles aren't compensated. Getting one string "close enough" makes another string not too close at all, so it's just battling between two strings at a time until it's just barely in tune. I swapped mine out for a black Tele bridge with 6 saddles to get more accurate intonation across all the strings. The pickups were wayyyyy too far in each extreme, one too bassy, one too shrill, and mixing them still didn't sound right. Swapping them made this guitar sound absolutely incredible. It's a solid platform to mess around with, and definitely just waiting for people to customize and modify it to their liking. Great guitar, and great manufacturing put into it.

[@jasonulsh564]

I've had both, and the MIJ had much better fit and finish overall. The fretwork was excellent, it had locking tuners, and the pots were full-sized. That said, I agree that it's not 800 bucks worth of difference. Also, I want to join the chorus of folks enjoying the SH version of this, it's fantastic all around to the point where I'm selling the MIJ now

[@guilletjean-jacques5107]

j ai toujours acheté des Squier de la serie classic vibe et je les aient toujours amelioré avec un nouveau chevalet , nouvelle electronique et nouveau micros ....et meme avec ca je suis tres en dessous du prix d une fender ....., ma CV50 telecaster m est revenu au total a 750 euros avec pickguard fender perloid , electronique mojotone usa , deux micros dimarzio twang king et chopper et chevalet gotoh/wilkinson , pour ce prix j ai tous juste une Fender mexique , alors que la j ai un instrument customisé au top , et je n ais pas changé les mecanique car elles sont tres bien .

[@robphillips8351]

Lol the input jack was funny

[@youngmountain664]

More DBZ references!!!!!!

[@robphillips8351]

Have the offset squier paranormal telecaster SH made in China and love it.. I did change out the bridge for a heavy solid brass one and put a fleor tele rails pup strictly due to preference for heavier distortion lead tones.

[@sockit6584]

THAT HUM RIFF

[@everennui1]

What about scale length and radius specs?

[@SD_Marc]

It's normal Tele scale length, 25.5, or whatever. It's a Tele. I believe the radius is 9.5.

[@everennui1]

@@SD_Marc they do make short scale teles you know. Pretty rare, but so is the offset telecaster.

[@YincentVanGogh]

SHE THINKS SHE MISSED THE TRAIN TO MARS

[@ThePonDePon]

Tricot is why I want an offset Tele lmfao

[@AndrewStottisTheIndiWerWlf]

Also there's no way the humbucker in the Sweetwater SH model is a WRHB. They sell those for $200 individually. I bet they're just humbuckers in a tuxedo.

[@JasonTMays]

We know those aren’t actual WRHB. We did an episode prior on the reissue WRHB that fender started selling.

[@petevadelnieks]

It's a normal humbucker. The only true "WR Humbucker" is an actual Cunife one. There's a some other videos on YT if you want to go down that rabbit hole like I did, but in short, no, it's not.

[@AndrewStottisTheIndiWerWlf]

Oh I went down that rabbit hole and ended up putting a CuNiFe wide range humbucker in the neck position of a custom Telecaster I was building. Those things are incredible and if nothing else that offset tele would be easy to upgrade to a real wide range humbucker.

[@petevadelnieks]

@@AndrewStottisTheIndiWerWlf hell yeah! I put 2 of those in a Tele Deluxe and it's the glassiest guitar I own and I love it.

[@petevadelnieks]

@@AndrewStottisTheIndiWerWlf by the way, I bought a Cunife reissue for this Offset Tele, very excited to drop it in soon

[@EastCoastDave]

I bought a used classic players 60s strat off ebay about 12 years ago. The price was good, and I thought, "A white strat with a rosewood board and CS 69 pickups? I'm there." When I unboxed it, I was like, "What's this blue bullshit?" Not really. I love sonic blue, but it totally looked like a white/cream finish in the pictures. On a more serious note, it saddens me to see that even the MIM series guitars are no longer within the economic reach of a growing number of players. Buying used is a necessity, not an option, for most gigging musicians now. It seems the upper level Squires are where the bang for buck sweet spot is, when buying new, at least.

[@realxandercuck]

The cool thing about buying a used guitar is you're usually helping a musician pay their bills or a music store pay their workers. Used guitars are more ethical than new ones.

[@EastCoastDave]

Absolutely! Plus, you get more value for your money when buying used. It's a win/win!

[@eclipse1018]

Tia, was that some Julien Baker at 3:50?

[@WorkingClassMusic]

that's a solid reference

[@billyfairhurst5712]

I would love to see a squier ranking video!

[@billyfairhurst5712]

Commented before finishing the video - Also would love to see the shootout between the FSR and the regular model.

[@JasonTMays]

@@billyfairhurst5712 Oh, we plan on doing both!

[@robphillips8351]

Squiers only need a handful of parts and maybe some basic fret level, crown and polish and you have a custom shop level guitar..

[@sockit6584]

THE HUM RIFF MADE ME FALL OVER

[@Brannington]

JASOOOON, i heard you playing Stars by Hum 👀👀👀👀

[@Brannington]

crazy that after all these years, she's still there holding daisies 😔

[@FilmFlam]

Great episode. Do you have a recommendation for a gig bag that would be a good fit for a Squire Classic Vibe Mustang which I just ordered? Thanks.

[@realxandercuck]

Mustangs are smaller than most guitars but almost any normal sized gigbag will fit. I used to play a BC Rich Warlock and needed a bass bag for that pointy boy

[@FilmFlam]

@@realxandercuck I'm wondering if a regular sized bag would be too big and the Mustang would be too loose in it which could lead to issues. I would guess a snug bag would be best. But maybe that's not possible. Fender does have a short scale bag but it's half as thick as it's regular size bag. Thanks for your reply.

[@realxandercuck]

@@FilmFlam Fender ships them in the same size bags as Teles and Strats. It's only a little smaller, you don't need a custom special bag.

[@lueysixty-six7300]

You colourist....seein' "white" e'rywhere! Jk!😆 But seriously, there's a Daphne blue one (Fender MIJ Offset Tele)...AND Theres a white one. Otherwise , identical. There also a butterscotch & Fiesta red,but they are slightly different (maple neck, brass barrels, ash body. Daph + whitey are Rosewood, steel barrel, and alder.) I bought butterscotch,me...but could have just as easily [and very nearly did] gotten the red or the blue. Anyway. I just thought...I couldn't leave that roast go begging!

[@manuelavendano3891]

Hey guys, I am very confused...I´m kind of a newbie and don't know whether I should get an offset tele, a Strat or a Jazzmaster. I don't do metal and whichever guitar I get, I will use amps and pedals simulators for everything I do in my guitar. I'm planning to do guitar covers of Coldplay, Oasis, and some rock anthems like comfortably numb. Also, I´d love to create chill/pastel songs (those ones that are trendy, I think they are called Lo-fi or something like that) and experiment with other new genres. Tbh I don´t like the generic look of a strat, but if that's really my best bet, I´ll go for it. I love the look of the jaguar, the JM and the offset tele… Which one should I go for? Thanks in advance!

[@WorkingClassMusic]

If you can try both, do that, and whichever feels like a better choice for you will be correct