2021 Squier Classic Vibe Esquire vs Fender Telecaster | Who needs a neck pickup?! Guitar Shootout!

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Today we’re comparing the 2021 Squier FSR Classic Vibe Custom 60s Esquire in Lake Placid Blue against my 2014 Fender Satin Standard Telecaster (made in Mexico, and modded by me over the years!) in Ocean Blue Candy.

I’ve always wanted an Esquire, because I love the simplicity and the pure rock and roll attitude of single pickup guitars, plus I’m a huge Tele fan. So when the 2021 Squier Esquire line came up in the specs (and color) I wanted, I jumped at it.

Get the 2021 Squier Esquire here:

And now it’s time to shoot the Esquire out against my number one guitar, my beloved 2014 Tele. I’ve had that guitar since new, and it’s had some changes made to it over the years (I explain it all in the video), but I love pretty much everything about it.

So can the Esquire match up? How does 2021 Squier quality match up to 2014 Mexican Fender quality? Will I miss the neck pickup in the Esquire? Can you chug on single coil guitars? And can a laurel fingerboard ever really be as good as a rosewood one?

These are just some of the questions I answer in the video, alongside playing a bunch of riffs and tones on both guitars in all my favorite styles. Enjoy!

Note: as some people have asked, you can’t get a Fender Telecaster with the specs exactly like mine right now, but the closest is the American Performer:


Here are some links to the various playing samples and info bits:

00:00 Hello!
00:41 Introduction and what we’re doing today
01:29 Squier Esquire specs and info
03:48 Fender Telecaster specs and info

Clean Channel on Amp
06:54 Clean tone reference chords
07:36 Poppy barre chords
08:08 Country pop cowboy chords
08:49 Country ballad arpeggios
09:14 Country lead riff
09:30 Country twang descending lead riff
09:41 Ringing open pop chords
10:08 Folk pop rhythmic chords (Tele on all three pickup settings)

Clean Channel w/Greer Lightspeed
11:21 AC/DC inspired classic rock riff
11:55 Hendrix inspired classic rock riff
12:28 Airbourne inspired classic rock riff
13:01 Greta Van Fleet inspired rock riff
13:25 Indie pop barre chords
14:16 Indie droning open string riff
14:41 Indie art pop arpeggios (Tele on middle/bridge pickup settings)
15:18 Indie octave chords riff (Tele on all three pickup settings)
16:05 Indie chord progression

Lead Channel
16:34 Classic hard rock riff
17:10 Glam rock riff
17:38 Modern alt rock riff
18:05 Chunky alt rock chords
18:58 Foo Fighters inspired modern rock riff
19:31 Modern rock palm-muted riff
20:11 Pop punk riff
20:37 Pop punk melodic lead riff
21:08 Rage Against The Machine inspired groovy riff (Drop D tuning, Tele on neck pickup)
21:40 Progressive rock riff (Drop D tuning)

Clean Channel w/Revv G3 Distortion Pedal (all in Drop D tuning)
22:10 Hardcore chugging riff
22:39 Thrash metal riff
22:59 Hardcore punk riff
23:29 Mastodon inspired metal riff with country twang (Drop D tuning)
23:53 Heavy metal lead sound
24:18 Classic heavy metal/sludge riff

25:22 My thoughts
25:49 Remember: the Esquire is box fresh, the Tele is totally played in
26:33 Esquire: build quality, action, hardware, weight
28:29 Telecaster: build quality, action, hardware, weight, my mods
30:27 Differences between the necks
32:22 Sounds
34:30 Which guitar is best, and which would I buy (again)?
36:13 Final conclusion and goodbye




Here's my full review/demo of the Squier Esquire, where there's loads more tones to hear:

I ran the two guitars into my Hughes & Kettner Black Spirit 200 head, using my Greer Lightspeed and Revv G3 pedals for the overdrive and distortion sounds. The amp went from the Red Box DI straight into my Focusrite Scarlett 2i4, which went into Logic Pro X. That's it. No post-processing on the sounds was done.

Here’s some links to those bits of gear:

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H&K Black Spirit 200 head:
Greer Lightspeed:
Revv G3:
Focusrite 4i4 (this is the newer equivalent of my 2i4, which they don’t make any more!):
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Enjoy!


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Backing music from the YouTube Audio Library: Controlled Distress – Biz Baz Studio.

#Squier #Esquire #Telecaster #FenderEsquire #SquierEsquire #FenderTelecaster #


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