Squier Pro Series advert, 1996 Fender Frontline
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The Squier Pro Tone Stratocaster and the Squier Pro Tone Fat Strat (1996-1998) were guitars made in the Cort plant and no doubt represented the only quality guitars from Korea.
Available at a moderate price point, especially if compared to the other Squiers (£339.95 in the UK), they had anywhere from a one piece to up to four or five piece ash body and were available in six finishes: Vintage "see through" Blonde, Trans Crimson Red, 3-Tone Sunburst, Trans Sapphire Blue (which on many models turned to green over time), Trans Green, Olympic White with matching headstock for the SSS model and Black with matching headstock for the “fat” model with Floyd Rose. |
The Crimson Red, the Sapphire Blue and the Black had gold hardware. All these guitars featured a white shell monolayer pickguard, with the exception of the blonde maple neck model, whose plastics were "aged" to give the guitar a vaguely vintage look, and the Olympic White one which had a red shell pickguard.
The headstock differed from the other Squiers thanks to a new type of logo, used only for these guitars, and to the "Pro Tone SERIES" decal. The tuning machines were the Precision Die-Cast tuners. The headstock had only one butterfly-shaped string tree, or, in the “fat” model, a single bar string guide with locking nut, and access to the truss rod at the nut.
The satin maple neck had a skunk stripe in the rosewood fretboard models. The fretboard of the “fat”strat was flatter than the one of the SSS model (12" versus 9.25") and had twenty-two frets instead of the twenty-one of the SSS model.
The Pro Tone single coils differed from the other Korean Stratocasters pickups for their staggered pole pieces in alnico.
The headstock differed from the other Squiers thanks to a new type of logo, used only for these guitars, and to the "Pro Tone SERIES" decal. The tuning machines were the Precision Die-Cast tuners. The headstock had only one butterfly-shaped string tree, or, in the “fat” model, a single bar string guide with locking nut, and access to the truss rod at the nut.
The satin maple neck had a skunk stripe in the rosewood fretboard models. The fretboard of the “fat”strat was flatter than the one of the SSS model (12" versus 9.25") and had twenty-two frets instead of the twenty-one of the SSS model.
The Pro Tone single coils differed from the other Korean Stratocasters pickups for their staggered pole pieces in alnico.
The vintage style bridge had Fender double stamped bent steel saddles; the “fat” model was equipped with a Floyd Rose Licensed bridge.
The “Crafted in Korea” decal was at the neck heel, just above the serial number, which could begin with “KC” and be followed by eight digits whose first two indicated the year of production, or could simply be seven-digit numeric, of which only the first one was related to the year of production.
The high build quality of these guitars, however, was not enough to erase the aura of negativity that had surrounded the Squier brand in Korea.
The reason why the Pro Tone disappeared from the catalog since 1999 was, strangely, their success: “They were so good that we were losing sales from our Mexican made guitars,” as Joe Carducci, Squier marketing manager in the 1990s, remembers. This thought was reflected in the words of Mike Lewis, who had been at Fender since 1991: “The Squier Pro Tone series was extremely popular, but some of its price ranges were in the same ranges as Fenders out of Mexico.” In fact, on the 1997 price list the Mexican Standard Stratocaster cost $429.99, the one with the Floyd Rose $519.99. The price of the Pro Tone, in the same year, fluctuated, depending on the model, from $499.99 to $639.99. Between a Mexican and a Pro Tone, guitarists chose the last one. But Fender was focused too much on Ensenada's guitars to allow this.
The “Crafted in Korea” decal was at the neck heel, just above the serial number, which could begin with “KC” and be followed by eight digits whose first two indicated the year of production, or could simply be seven-digit numeric, of which only the first one was related to the year of production.
The high build quality of these guitars, however, was not enough to erase the aura of negativity that had surrounded the Squier brand in Korea.
The reason why the Pro Tone disappeared from the catalog since 1999 was, strangely, their success: “They were so good that we were losing sales from our Mexican made guitars,” as Joe Carducci, Squier marketing manager in the 1990s, remembers. This thought was reflected in the words of Mike Lewis, who had been at Fender since 1991: “The Squier Pro Tone series was extremely popular, but some of its price ranges were in the same ranges as Fenders out of Mexico.” In fact, on the 1997 price list the Mexican Standard Stratocaster cost $429.99, the one with the Floyd Rose $519.99. The price of the Pro Tone, in the same year, fluctuated, depending on the model, from $499.99 to $639.99. Between a Mexican and a Pro Tone, guitarists chose the last one. But Fender was focused too much on Ensenada's guitars to allow this.
Antonio Calvosa
Vintage Blonde Pro Tone Stratocaster
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Pro Tone Fat Strat
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New Squier Logo on the Pro Tone Series
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The beautiful Sapphire Blue finish
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"KC" serial number
Seven-digit numeric serial number
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