Squier is a second-line brand of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Squier produces models mostly derived from the Fender line of products but at lower cost, and are marketed similarly in providing high quality instruments at affordable prices for novice players. Squier guitars are now also sold in stores that do not specialize in musical instruments.

Fender, under the ownership of CBS, acquired the Squier brand name in the mid to late-1960s when it bought a USA based string-making firm, but Squier lay dormant for many years.

In the early 1980s, several events were pushing Fender to produce a second-line brand. Firstly, CBS had sold out to new management without the factories in California. This meant there would be a drop in production before new manufacturing plants could be constructed and commissioned. Also, there was a demand for an inexpensive range of guitars that could not be manufactured in the USA at a low enough cost due to the cost of manpower and raw materials. Furthermore, companies were producing Strat copies at affordable prices to cater to a large market of novice guitarists, and this trend was eroding Fender's share of the market, especially in Europe and Asia.

As a solution to the aforementioned problems, the Squier brand name was resurrected in the early 1980s to distinguish a series of classic reproductions called the known as the Squier JV series. These were surprisingly accurate reproductions of classic 1950s and 1960s Fender guitar models. Soon, a second series followed and these were called the SQ series as seen from the prefix to their serial numbers. They were generally reproductions of 1970s models, the main difference being that they were completely made out of parts made in Japan, whereas the initial JV series used USA-manufactured pickups.

Over time, Squier slowly evolved to be positioned as the budget brand of Fender and the attention to reproduction of classic designs was dropped, Fender instead taking up that area of the market through with new series, such as the Classic series and Custom Shop series. However, out-of-production Fender series like the Esprit and old Guild models have also been available under the Squier brand at some point in time, alongside several original models.


When initially launched in Europe in the early 1980s the Squier range offered classic reproductions of Fender's most popular models: '57 Stratocaster and '62 Stratocaster, '57 Precision Bass and '62 Precision Bass, '52 Telecaster and '62 Jazz Bass. These were made in the Fuji Gen Gakki factory in Japan - then also used by Ibanez - using original factory blueprints. These early Squiers are referred to as "JV Squiers" due to those two letters being the prefix on the serial number stamped on the neck plate that stand for "Japanese Vintage". Initial shipments to Europe had Fender's logo in large script on the headstock with a small "Squier Series" decal but quickly this gave way to a large Squier logo with a small "by Fender" decal. These early JVs are extremely accurate reproductions of the classic models and are highly sought by guitar collectors, especially in Europe.

from Wikipedia,licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Squier Bass  Guitars