THE SQUIER’S CALVARY: THE MADE IN KOREA AND THE MADE IN INDIA

In order to lower costs and prices, the Jin Ho "hexagonal" tuning machines started to be mounted on the Korean Squiers, first on those made in Samick, and then, in 1992, on the new Squier Standard Stratocasters, that had been redesigned in the Cor-Tek (Cort) and Saehan (Sunghan) factories, respectively, distinguishable by the serial numbers in "CN" and "VN".
Also the new 1992 Squier Contemporary Stratocasters, still HSS, were renewed without using the Floyd Rose Licensed bridge. The new guitars were easily recognizable thanks to the maple fretboards that replaced the rosewood ones and to the new completely black Squier logo. The finishes were reduced to Black, Arctic White and Torino Red and the vintage style bridge was replaced by a new low budget type with die-cast block saddles. The pickguard was monolayer, with a slightly different shape, and the body began to be thinner and to depart from the classic Stratocaster contour. So, not only did the Squiers continue to have a plywood body, but a further cut in costs was achieved by reducing the body thickness and saving even more on the “wood”! The Squiers now had really hit bottom. |
The use of plywood for the bodies of the Korean Squier Stratocasters made these instruments easily attacked by other brands’ competition, with a consequent slum in sales. So Fender ran for cover and decided to redesign these guitars. In July 1996, in order to revive the Squier brand, the fourth series of the Korean Standard was inaugurated with a thicker alder body, and was available in the new Midnight Blue, Midnight Wine, Black, Arctic White and Brown Sunburst finishes (the last three only in the SSS version). The bridge, a Synchronous Tremolo with six screws and CBS style die-cast saddles, was much more efficient. These guitars could be distinguished immediately from the previous ones for the three-layer pickguard that fitted better to the body and for the gold Squier logo.
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The HM Strats were not only Japanese or American guitars: between 1989 and 1992 also Korea carried out five models of these superstrats, all of them with a small body, twenty-two frets, black hardware, without pickguard and equipped with a 2-pivot bridge, under Floyd Rose license, or, from 1991 on, an authentic Floyd Rose. The headstock was very distinctive: aggressive, edgy, and with a big "Swooshy" Squier logo.
The HM I and HM II had one humbucker and two single coils; the HM III, HM IV and HM V two humbuckers and one single coil. The neck of the I, II and III was screwed to the body through a 4-bolt contoured neck plate; on the contrary, IV and V were neck-through. Unfortunately, even these guitars were of far lesser quality than the MIJ or MIA versions of the HM Strat. |
In an attempt to revive the Squier brand also in Korea, in 1992 the Fender Squier Series Stratocaster, under the Fender, not Squier brand, were inaugurated. Produced on and off also in Japan, they were replaced by the Mexican Squier Series Standard Stratocaster (also called Black Label Squier Series Stratocaster) and later by the Traditional Stratocaster and the American Traditional Stratocaster, which we have discussed extensively in the chapter dedicated to the "Hybrid Stratocasters". According to the Fender company they were a step above the other Squiers: "For musicians who want the quality and the performance of a Fender guitar but don't think they can afford it, the Fender Squier Series is the answer", as an advertisement of the time said.
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The first two models built at the Corona plant between 1981 and 1982 were the Standard and the Deluxe.
Neck and body (even if thin) resembled that of the Telecaster, the pickguard was equipped with two Mustang pickups oriented like those of the Duo Sonic: with an oblique one at the neck and straight one at the bridge. On the Standard the hard-tail bridge was mounted on the metal pickguard, while on the Deluxe was fixed to the body and the pickguard was made of plastic. The switch was the three-position Switchcraft, the jack socket was perpendicular to the top and the volume and tone knob were those of the Stratocaster. Both models with a rosewood fretboard and a maple fretboard were produced. |
The first real Stratocaster of the Bullet series was the Squier Bullet Stratocaster, born in Korea in 1989. It was a decidedly cheap guitar which, in perfect Korean style, had a plywood body; the tuning machines were the economic Ping that replaced the "Fender Stamped" of the previous Bullets; the bridge was two-pivot with die-cast saddles and the pickguard had an atypical shape that resembled that of the Indian Stratocasters. The absence of the second tone knob, instead of which there was the jack socket, stood out.
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