OK, here's a couple of shots of the actual guitar.
The previous owner did NOT take good care of it. It arrived in a condition I'd expect for a 10 year-old guitar, not a 2 year-old one. Filthy, for one thing, but that cleaned up easily enough. The strings were rusted beyond belief, and several of the P/G mounting screws and the two bolts that hold the 5-way selector are rusted, as well. Those of you into relicing may find this kind of stuff cool, but a fussbudget like me definitely does not. A fresh set of D'Addario 10's took care of the strings, but the rusty hardware will have to stay, for now.
But the thing that surprised me the most was this head-shaker: Whoever removed the plastic protective film from the pickguard apparently didn't have the patience to peal it from around the pot knobs or remove the knobs to get at it underneath. Instead, it appears that they cut around the perimeter of each knob with a utility knife, cutting down into the pickguard underneath. They weren't even very careful about it, with a couple of obvious slips resulting in cut marks radiating out from the knob circumference. Fortunately, on a tortoise-shell P/G, they're not that noticeable, unless you look closely. But it surprises me that anyone would treat a new guitar this way, even a relatively inexpensive one.
The body wood itself is in pretty good shape, fortunately. There are a couple of digs on the perimeter of the upper right bout, next to the edge of the P/G, visible in the body shot below. Not too deep, though, and a little glossy blacky enamel daubed there should hide them pretty well. The back has a couple of scratches, but is fairly clean, overall.
Now on to the good stuff, of which there is plenty. After thoroughly cleaning and restringing the guitar, I'm certainly impressed with how the guitar plays & sounds. These CV series Squiers really are amazing for the $$. The action is set a little high, but the neck feels great and there's very little fret wear. Intonation is right on the money. No buzzing or any other neck anomalies that I can find. The tuner's are the vintage slotted Kluson style, and are very smooth & stable.
The electronics seem to be rock-solid--no scratchiness or other funny noises from the switch or pots--and the pickups sound REALLY good. These are Alnico 5's, and the bridge, middle and neck pickups measure out at 6.64, 6.24 and 5.91 Kohms, respectively. From what I read at the Fender and Squier forums, these are essentially Tonerider vintage-style Strat pickups (made in the same factory, though to slightly different specs), and they have great clarity & definition. I see no reason to upgrade them, since they are everything I look for in a vintage-tone Strat pickup.
So bottom-line: Once I got past the neglect/abuse the guitar had apparently suffered in it's first couple of years, it definitely lives up to the high expectations I had for it, based upon my first Squier CV guitar, the '50s Tele. I'll probably replace the rust screws and the gouged pickguard at some point, but they're fine for now. Now 'scuse me, while I kiss the sky.... :rockon:
oke
