Why My Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster Has Become My Go To Guitar

[@chrishyde1216]

Thanks for the important point about hand strength. Another issue can be arthritis especially in fingers of older players. Guitar playing is actually helpful for keeping them moving.

[@MitchRossMusician]

@@chrishyde1216 I agree.

[@8wheeledassassins.]

Wow! So you are the other guy who owns the Ibanez Montage! Good to find you😂

[@MitchRossMusician]

I guess I am. 😁 I love using this guitar live. It's very versatile. Do you play yours often?

[@deadbang241]

The Telly has , up until recently, been my third choice for reasons that I can no longer justify ! In all fairness, with upgraded nut, pickups and a customized setup, just like my LP’s and Strats , the Telly has fast become a favorite !! Super cool . Thanks for the vid.

[@MitchRossMusician]

I’m glad you enjoyed it. My Tele is always nearby. I’m currently rehearsing with a show band and it is perfect for that.

[@paulthurston2883]

Thanks Mitch. I have developed severe arthritis in all my fingers the past few years making it really hard to form chords, especially bar chords, scales ..... I'm just trying to play on regardless and find new ways around it. It really sucks.

[@MitchRossMusician]

I'm sorry to hear that @paulthurston2883. The times I have not been able to play due to injury or health issues have been heartbreaking. Have you tried open tunings? Many open tunings allow for one-finger barre chords which would let you play rhythm guitar at a minimum. Just a thought. I do not know how severe your arthritis is.

[@robertsguitarsandgear]

I was numb in both hands. It turns out it was carpal tunnel in both. Had them fixed six months ago and all is good. I was strumming a few days after the procedure. Lead playing is coming fully back now.

[@MitchRossMusician]

I’m very glad that worked for you Robert. I checked out your channel. You have a real enthusiasm for guitars, and I liked what I watched a lot. Looking forward to seeing more from you.

[@robertsguitarsandgear]

@@MitchRossMusician Mitch, thanks for your kind words and checking out the channel, best of luck to you.

[@MitchRossMusician]

To you as well.

[@shea086]

Hi Mitch.I live in Europe and I understand how you must feel.Im a multi t but people want me to play Bass,so I do. Mm I,ve had ihrjurues which affected my playing for awhile but it hralled 9/10.. Take care Mitch. Shea Stadium Cafferkey.

[@MitchRossMusician]

@@shea086 I’m happy to hear that you found a way that works for you to stick with it. Congratulations!

[@Robowx]

I'm a KZbin stumbleuoponer. I'm looking into this particular model.

[@MitchRossMusician]

I would be happy to answer any questions I have about mine.

[@OldBiker]

Are you saying then if I put bass strings on a guitar it will still sound like a guitar? Of course you get tone from different size strings.

[@MitchRossMusician]

Bass strings are not just thicker, but they are also tuned an octave lower. Tone primarily comes from the way your body contacts the guitar. Strings might play a slight role, but it's your hands that make the biggest impact. Restring one of your guitars and try it out for a few months. Record yourself along the way. That's the only way you’ll know for sure.

[@deadbang241]

Your fretboard looks dry ?

[@MitchRossMusician]

It looks like it, but it's not. That's just the colour of the wood.

[@MikeTerry62]

Awesome job, Mitch!

[@MitchRossMusician]

Thank you Mike.

[@tracypartin7408]

Tone is in your fingers, your right about that Mitch. Great video.

[@MitchRossMusician]

Thank you very much Tracy Partin. I'm glad you liked it.

[@TommyDaleCooper]

I played for 8 hours straight one time and woke up and couldn’t move my wrist or hand. I tried to keep playing but had to stop for like 3 months. It was devastating as I was in a band.

[@MitchRossMusician]

I'm sorry to hear that @TommyDaleCooper I don't have a lot of details about your incident, but I know many of us injure ourselves by not building up the endurance to play that long, and not having a proper warmup routine. Hopefully, you healed fully and did not have any repeat incidents.

[@adrian_V99]

In parallel. Sorry to hear about your hands. I've similar problems. Tendonitis and arthritis here.

[@MitchRossMusician]

I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing these problems. Lighter gauge strings, changing the way I play (especially reducing pressure and tension in the left hand) and warming up have all helped. I play every day.

[@adrian_V99]

@@MitchRossMusician Thanks, Mitch. I best lay off the legato technique then.

[@MitchRossMusician]

@@adrian_V99 It’s really about minimizing the amount of tension in your hands. Guitarists tend to muscle their way through things when we first start playing, but we don’t think about using less and aiming for endurance as we progress.

[@adrian_V99]

@@MitchRossMusician How true. Simply look at how light a touch Gilmour uses.

[@MitchRossMusician]

@@adrian_V99 Very good example.

[@tracypartin7408]

Great video.

[@MitchRossMusician]

Thank you Tracy Partin. I appreciate that.

[@KRAZEEIZATION]

Hi, i own Fender USA/MIM/MIJ models. I bought the Squier CV 50s and 60s Esquires. Out of the box I find them far brighter, maybe a little harsh, and a little less comfortable to play. Does anyone else notice this?

[@MitchRossMusician]

Most people find them on par with the Made in Mexico. Did you do a proper setup? Most stores don’t with lower priced instruments and that will improve the playability. As for the tone, I don’t find much difference. A new set of pickups is fairly inexpensive.

[@KRAZEEIZATION]

@@MitchRossMusician I do my own set ups and I’m good at it! This one is just too harsh. Still looks amazing though! I’ll put on brass saddles and maybe do a better pickup. Thank You.

[@MitchRossMusician]

@@KRAZEEIZATION you show up on my wall, make disparaging comments about the guitar I’m playing, which sounds fine to everyone else btw, and then get pissy because I don’t know you set up your own guitars. Please take your attitude else where.

[@KRAZEEIZATION]

@@MitchRossMusician My apologies, I was also corresponding with another Squier owner and I thought that comment was from him. I have an Esquire and I find it harsh and thin. I’m asking does anyone else find that with these? Im sorry you misunderstood my angle. Im a guitar geek just like everyone else here.

[@MitchRossMusician]

@@KRAZEEIZATION I understand what you were talking about better now. Thanks for clarifying. Some people label all sorts of Telecasters as Esquires also. To me, and Esquire is a Telecaster style body with a single coil pickup in the bridge position. If that’s the guitar configuration you’re talking about, I’d try replacing the pots and cap with something that will remove more of the high end brashness your experiencing. It’s an easier mod to make, and less expensive than replacing the pickup. Let me know what you try and what works for you.

[@denismorissette7318]

I have this one. Extremely hard to make chords in tune. I play G and C, no problem. But D will be awful. I guess I’ll have to ask a technician to set it up properly.

[@MitchRossMusician]

I’ve no complaints about this guitar, intonation or otherwise. I’ve played guitars with price tags over $4,000 that had serious intonation problems, overly high action and problems with the electronics. I’ve also played $200 guitars that should have played the way the $4k guitar should have. A good setup makes all the difference. There are a lot of great videos out the there on how to do a setup, but if this is outside your comfort zone, then find an experienced luthier to do it for you.

[@denismorissette7318]

@@MitchRossMusician You’re correct. I found out about the necessity of setting up the guitar, which I’ll do soon. I’ve also found a good way of tuning the guitar which starts with the matching in pitch of the strings 5 and 6 by playing their harmonics on the 19th fret.

[@MitchRossMusician]

@@denismorissette7318 Many people use harmonics in tuning. I’m a big fan of whatever works best for each individual.

[@michaelnewsomegreen5500]

Sounds like peripheral neuropathy to me, are you a diabetic? As far as strings I remember an interview with Billy Gibbons from years ago, claiming that he prefers to use light string & by light he means 8's. Now I am tempted to try this for exactly the same reason as you Mitch, I am diabetic & I have severe neuropathy in both hand & feet. I am no longer able to play guitar whilst standing & my right hand has constant pins, needles & numbness.

[@MitchRossMusician]

Peripheral neuropathy does not go away, and I have regained most of the feeling in my hands since this video was posted. The rest I’ve figured out how to work around and nothing has gotten worse. I feel bad that you are having problems playing. Have you ever had your vitamin D and B12 levels checked? Read up on those two vitamins. Especially with the diabetes. The very light strings helped me a lot, but I had to do a fair bit of work to adjust my playing. Be patient with yourself. Let me know if you have any questions.

[@MrAnderswt]

The guitar will not get chipped or dented as easily when it has binding. That's a plus.

[@MitchRossMusician]

Thank you for that piece of information. I did not know that was part of the reason behind guitar body binding. For decades, I just thought it was purely aesthetic. Now I know. 👍

[@WizardOfCheese]

you do get a different tone (i know which video you are on about), but the pros/cons are basically its better to go with 9's if that helps you bend. strum a guitar with the amp off and you'll hear the difference. the pickups / amp decide how much of that tone gets picked up. but yeah, its such a small difference you might aswel just play 9's.

[@MitchRossMusician]

SlR Thanks for your comment. I agree that there is a tonal difference between a set of 9s and lets say a set of 13s. But in the long run, I think that finger placement and how a note is attacked has a lot more to do with tone. When I went to the 9s, I worked at readjusting my left hand finger placement so that I could maintain the sound I wanted to hear,

[@WizardOfCheese]

@@MitchRossMusician I agree. and its tricky to strum light gauge hard for sustain without getting that strange warble effect. then again who does that very often? not many, so for 95% of guitar playing 9's are the best choice i think. I just wish the top E wouldn't snap so often, usually end up replacing with a 10

[@MitchRossMusician]

@@WizardOfCheese I've experimented with string gauges off and on for a long time, and recently started getting back into it. For example, I have a set of strings I custom ordered from Stringjoy (I haven't tried them yet, so this is not an endorsement) with a wound 3rd string. I'm going to be putting them on my Swingster when it's new bridge arrives. I used to put wound thirds on my electrics, and tried to keep the electric string gauges as close to light gauge acoustic strings so that when I switched guitars on stage, there was as little difference in string tension as possible. I should do a video about all of this sometime. I forget other people might find these things interesting and maybe even useful.

[@WizardOfCheese]

@@MitchRossMusician that would be very interesting, i didn't even think of doing such a thing. that'd be a good video to link to from this one.

[@MitchRossMusician]

@@WizardOfCheese I will add it to the list of videos I’m working on.

[@zaneleslie6932]

I am picking up one of these guitars very soon, I am a complete beginner but fast learner which I sound a bit stuck up saying I am anywho. There was a few to choose from my other main options where a j-mascis signature guitar and personally in my opinion it was a bit of a one trick pony it wasn’t very diverse which I think I need as a beginner, the other ones where Ibanez brands which my father hasn’t had much luck with and I connected emotionally with this guitar, but all this I wanna know if u think I am making the right decision

[@MitchRossMusician]

Hello Zingzong_ Zane. I can’t tell you if you are making the right decision or not because there are a lot of factors involved in answering a question like that. I can tell you that my Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster is one if my most played guitars. I do have plans for eventual upgrades, but I had plans in mind for those before I even bought the guitar. I would suggest you pay to have a professional do a guitar setup for you, and to have any fret sprout you may have removed. I would tell that to anyone looking to buy a new or used guitar. Also, make sure you know the return policy and warranty being offered with the instrument. I hope that information helps you and happy learning.

[@zaneleslie6932]

@@MitchRossMusician Thank you for that information!

[@sixstring4]

Your experience playing those huge strings most likely damaged your hand strength.

[@MitchRossMusician]

That is not correct Xavier. It has nothing to do with using heavy strings decades ago. I used those super thick strings for a couple of years in the 80s.

[@sixstring4]

@@MitchRossMusician I've been a successful guitar teacher for the last 21 years, I also play music locally here in Los Angeles and know numerous guitar players profesional and beginners. I've never heard of any of them losing strength in their hands, a few with tendonitis. Good luck

[@MitchRossMusician]

@@sixstring4 I’ve been playing since 1975. I’ve taught for about 20 years. I’ve also studied classical guitar for a decade at a post secondary level. Muscle and neurological issues start to be more common in people starting in their mid-40s. As I said in the video, people lose abilities after strokes, but there are other health issues such as MS, Parkinson’s and a whole host of other issues that can cause loss of movement and loss of muscle that will effect a person’s ability to play. A lot of people give up playing. I’m working on ways to help keep them inspired and playing to whatever degree they can.

[@kathrinunbehaun5404]

dont talk play !

[@MitchRossMusician]

Thanks for the advice. If you look at the rest of the comments, many people seem to benefit from the things I say as well.

[@dallastoto3189]

I actually had the selector turned around. It’s great and works great for volume swells. Cheers Dallas Toto

[@chrishyde1216]

At the start, he says he's "going to talk about" his Telecaster. That's clear, and I found it interesting.