THE FIRST MIK SQUIER STRATOCASTERS

Towards the end of the 1980s, the market was invaded by a large quantity of Korean guitars, even cheaper than those made in Japan, such as the Merlin Sidewinder.  Fender, in order to compete with these copies, decided in 1987 to start producing new cheap guitars in Korea, at the beginning, for a very short period under the Fender brand, and immediately after under the Squier brand, which until now had only been used in Japan.  The new guitars made in Korea were first built in the Samick, Young Chang e Sung-Eum factories.
The Squier Standard Stratocaster, with the plywood body, had a very competitive price, unlike previous Fenders.  Consequently, for market logic, the Squier brand had become exclusively Korean since 1988.  Japan kept on producing Stratocasters, but in 1988 the MIJs were “upgraded” to Fender.  At first Korean Standard Stratocasters were fabricated in Black, Red and White finishes, followed by those Black, Midnight Wine, Arctic White and Electric Blue.
Besides these, between 1988 and 1990 the Squier Contemporary Stratocaster were made in the HSS configuration, without a pickguard and with side jack socket, rosewood fretboard, Schaller Floyd Rose Licensed bridge with locking nut.  The available finishes were Black, Razz Berry, Frost White, Flash Pink.
Both were replaced in 1992 by the second series of the Korean Squiers, available exclusively with the maple fretboard. 

It is interesting to note that the serial number of the '80s guitars from the Samick factory was "Sxxxxxx", the first number usually indicating the year of production.  Young Chang and Sung-Eum factories instead adopted the serial number "Exxxxxx".   However, in the '80s, the first number didn’t express the solar year but the Korean production period.  In 1987 and 1988 they used as first number "1", in 1989 "2", while only since 1990 they began to follow the classic numeration based on the year of production, and so, after the 1990 "E0" serial number, they repeated "E1" (1991) and "E2" (1992).  However, it was possible to distinguish them because the serial numbers "E1" and "E2" of the '80s were stamped on the headstock with a very light silver decal, while those of the '90s used a black decal.  In addition, it must be considered that sometimes the serial number of the Korean guitars consisted only of numbers, without letters, and that some rare Stratocasters from Young Chang in the first years of production exhibited the serial number E7 or E9 (and their body probably was not plywood but "solid" wood)!  Actually a great confusion! 

1989 "S" Series Squier Stratocaster made in Korea - it's interesting to note the distance between dots at twelfth fret (miurasv from photobucket)

1989 "S" Series Squier Strat headstock (miurasv from photobucket)

'80s "E" Series Korean Squier Stratocaster, reverb.com

'80s "E" Series Korean Squier Stratocaster; it's interesting to note the very light silver decal for the serial number (courtesy of reverb.com)

Squier Contemporary, first series made in Korea (Masillo Musica)

Schaller bridge of the first Korean Squier Contemporary series (Masillo Musica)

Fender Stratocaster made in Korea, 1987 (axerelics.co.com)

Korean Fender branded Stratocaster headstock: very light decal for the serial number (axerelics.co.com)

According to a legend, the components of the first MIK Squiers came from the FujiGen Gakki Japanese factory.  In reality, Fender guitars continued to be fabricated in Japan, so there was no surplus stock to send in Korea.  And, indeed, the differences between the MIK Squiers and the MIJ ones were considerable: the electronics, the hardware and the pickups of the Korean guitars were of inferior quality (Japanese ceramic pickups were better and had a trapezoidal shape, the potentiometers of the first Korean Squier were smaller), but above all the bodies were in plywood, built through the overlapping of several layers of wood.  This "trick" was cleverly hidden by veneering the body and using thick polyester paints, all of which cut costs considerably.  However, the tuning machines of the first "E" series MIK Stratocasters were the Fender/Gotoh "G", like those used in Japan, while those of the series “S” were unbranded or the more economic Jin Ho hexagonal covered.  Also the black roller string trees, used in the Young Chang and Sung-Eum factories, and the bridge, whose saddles showed the double-sided "Fender" unidirectional engraving, seemed to be the same ones employed in the early periods of the Japanese reissues.  Someone suggested that the Korean saddles came from America, but, apart from the contradiction implicit in this statement given that the FMIC wanted to lower the costs of MIKs, "Fender" engravings on the American saddles had reverse directions.  According to John Page, however, the saddles used on the Korean Squiers were produced in the Taiwan Ping factory. 
 

Korean electronics and pickups coreani (reverb.com)

Japanese JV ST30 electronics and pickups (ebay)

Early MIK double Fender stamped saddles (reverb.com)

MIK pots, on the left, and MIJ ones, on the right (courtesy of Planetbotch)

Fender G Tuning Machines on a "E" Series Korean Strat (Daniele Zurma)

Unbranded uning machines, "S" Series Korean Start (reverb.com)

After a bubbly start, with good sales, due to the low quality of the Squiers MIK and to the strong competition from the Korean copies, like the even lower priced Vester, sales collapsed, and towards the end of 1991 Fender decided to once again make Squiers also in Japan, like the  ​Hank Marvin or the Squier Silver Series.​
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1992 SQUIER STANDARD AND CONTEMPORARY

1992 Fender Squier Stratocaster ad: logo and bridge were wrongly the old ones

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.

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The new low budget bridge

The new headstock, with the black Squier logo and "CN" or "VN" serial numbers

Low budget Jin Ho Standard Covered Hexagonal tuning machines

With the third series, the ​Squier Standard Stratocaster's fretboard returned to rosewood, at least until 1996, when maple also reappeared in the catalog and the Sunburst finish became available.  The serial number was moved to the neck plate and the decals on the headstock were redesigned while maintaining the black Squier logo. 

1995 Yamaha Pacifica advert

1996 new Squier Standard Series advert

THE END OF PLYWOOD

The new gold Squier logo

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.
They were available in the SSS and HSS models, under the name of ​Squier Standard Fat Stratocaster.
In spite of everything, they were not well built (it wasn’t sufficient to change the body to make them better) and were surpassed in sales by the excellent Squier Pro Tone, which only cost a little more, and to which the entire next chapter is dedicated,
It should be remembered that already in 1996 some Squiers started to be made first in China and then in Indonesia, and that only in 1998 the production of the Standard Squiers was temporarily moved to Mexico, where the "Black Label" Squier Classic Stratocaster and the Mexican Fender Squier Series, which we discussed in the chapter “The hybrid Stratocasters of the 90s”, had been made some years before. 

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The Squier II: made in Korea and made in India

With the intent to offer instruments with an even more affordable price, between mid-1988 and 1992 the Stratocasters Squier II were also made, built both in Korea and in India, in the Madras (now Chennai) Greeta factory.
Their body, available in Black, Torino Red and Frost White finishes, was probably always in plywood even though the Fender catalog spoke of "hardwood", and it was thin and usually heavier than the other Korean guitars, and the hardware was definitely cheap.
It was possible to find the Squier II Standard Stratocasters both in the ​SSS (of Korean and Indian origin) and HSS (only made in India) versions.  The Indian models immediately stood out for their headstock, the shape of which was very different from the Leo Fender original ones, and for a three-layer pickguard that had little in common with the classic Stratocaster pickguard.
The ​Squier II Contemporary Stratocaster, equipped with one humbucker and two single coils, were instead of solely Korean production and they differed from the HSS Standards by the absence of the pickguard and for the side mounted jack socket.
The Indian instruments did not always have the “made in India” decal on the headstock, while their serial number, which followed an American-style numbering ("E" for the '80s and "N" for the '90s), was printed on a sticker attached to the neck heel that often peeled off.
The serial number of the Korean Squier II Stratocasters was put on the headstock and began with "E" or "S", depending on the production plant, though some instruments with the "M1" or "J1" serial number had been produced in 1991.

Korean Squier II headstock with "S" serial number (reverb)

Korean Squier II headstock with "E" serial number (reverb)

Indian Squier II headstock: different shape, gold logo and no serial number (reverb)

Squier II made in India: hadstock and pickguard had a very different shapes from the Fender Stratocaser's ones

Squier II Contempoary Stratocaster, Korea (eBay)

THE M2’s MYSTERY

In 1992 some Squiers, both Standard Standard (SSS) and Contemporary (HSS) Stratocasters, with the silver edge logo and an "M2xxxxxx" serial number, were fabricated.  We know little about these guitars even though their build quality seems to be better than the other Korean Squiers of the same period.  They had been probably made only for a very short period between the first and second series of the Korean Standard and Contemporary Stratocasters, just before the "decline" corresponding to the Black Logo.

Squier HSS "M2"

Squier M2 headstock

Squier HM Strat

HM Strats

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.

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Squier Series Stratocaster

Korean Fender Squier Series Stratocaster headstock

In an attempt to revive the Squier brand also in Korea, in 1992 the ​​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. 
They were available, as well as in the classic "Korean" Black, Torino Red and Arctic White finishes, also in Pacific Blue.
But a vintage style bridge, a 3-ply pickguard, the Fender logo in plain sight, and the “Squier SERIES” decal were not enough to revive the Korean Squiers. 

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1993 Pacific Blue Fender Squier Series Stratocaster made in Korea (reverb.com)

Le Bullet Stratocaster

The Fender Bullet was a guitar conceived for a young and novice public with the purpose of replacing the Duo Sonic and the Music Master.  Designed by John Page, its components came from Asia and were assembled in the United States; however, Fender soon understood that the materials’ transport was not economically convenient and decided to move production to the US, using production waste. 

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.
These guitars’ headstocks stood out for the presence of a star near the Fender logo and for the inscription “Bullet” or “Bullet Deluxe”. 

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In 1982 the Bullet was redesigned with a body that resembled the double cutaway Stratocaster one, while maintaining a neck similar to that of the Telecaster.  The models were brought to five: Standard, Deluxe, S-3 (with three single coils), H-1and H-2 (respectively with one or two humbuckers and coil tap switches).

In 1983 Fender decided to give the Bullets to the Squier brand and to make them in Japan, The pickups used were ceramic and the available finishes were Black and Sunburst (while the American ones could be found in the White, Cream and Red finishes).  Some had a serial number that began with “SQ”, others with “E”.  The available models were the Squier Bullet H-2, Squier Bullet S-3, Squier Bullet S-3T (two versions) and Squier Contemporary Bullet HST (first version).

Finally, in 1987, the production was moved to Korea, with the Squier Bullet S-3T (third version, also in the red finish), 1987 Squier Contemporary Bullet HST (second version) and Squier Contemporary Bullet HST models. 

It is important to remember that so far the Bullet was not a type of Stratocaster, although the 1987 Korean S-3T models resembled it a lot.

First Bullet Stratocaster headstock (reverb.com)

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.
The "E9" serial number of the very first Bullet Stratocasters was on the neck plate and the headstock, on which the Silver Squier Logo and the usual star with the decal “BULLET” displayed, was equipped with only one string tree; however, the serial number was very soon moved to the headstock and a second string tree was added afterwards. 

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First Bullet Stratocaster (reverb.com)

Squier Bullet Stratocaster’s second model, produced between 1994 and 1995, distinguished itself from the previous one by the presence of a bridge with six screws and for the headstock with the Black Squier Logo with the "BULLET SERIES" decal, two string trees, but above all for the presence of the second tone control.

Bullet Stratocaster, second version, with made in Korea decal (reverb)

Bullet Stratocaster, second version, without made in Korea decal, that was engraved on the neck plate (reverb)

Bullet Stratocaster, second version (reverb)

Later on, other Bullet Stratocasters were produced in China and Indonesia, but no longer in Korea.

Antonio Calvosa