Squier 40th Anniversary Telecaster Gold Edition

DO YOU KNOW what’s 40 years old in 2022? For perspective, music lovers may be unaware that Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast and the Clash’s Combat Rock turn 40 this year. Feel old yet? And surprisingly, for musicians like me, I had no idea Squier is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year — because, if you ask me, the entry-level instrument brand is far from over the hill, but rather, coming of age. To commemorate the company’s Ruby Anniversary, the budget brand has released two collections of Fender’s most iconic guitar models in Vintage and Gold Editions that genuinely prove that Squier keeps getting better with age. I had the opportunity to wield Squier’s très chic 40th Anniversary Telecaster Gold Edition.

Some will say Squier has often been unfairly maligned yet also widely praised for offering the same upscale Fender guitar models at a fraction of the price with fantastic playability and similar tones. And honestly, that’s precisely the case here for this Anniversary edition with Midas touch adornments of gold-plated hardware and bridge, gold anodized aluminum pickguard, bound Indian laurel fingerboard with pearloid block inlays, vintage headstock logos and engraved 40th Anniversary neck plate — all of which make this Telecaster a true collectible. And if you don’t dig the glossy black finish, the guitar also comes in a classy Sherwood Green.

The Squier 40th Anniversary Tele is instantly charming with its black-and-gold motif, making it look a lot like a very blingy companion to my Marshall JCM800. The guitar has a player-friendly setup with low action that, I felt, is spoton. It’s also refreshingly lightweight and the comfortably slim “C”-shaped neck profile will appeal to all players. So far, so good. However, I find the Fender-designed singlecoil pickups with Alnico 5 magnets sound merely decent, dishing out serviceable Tele-twang for the bridge and airy roundness in the neck, but some players may want to swap them out for pickups with more pep at some point. Also, the vintage-style tuning machines look authentic but are prone to slippage, so you’ll need to keep an eye on tuning. Now, none of this takes away from the fact that this is a wellmade and memorable guitar that I love playing, but I believe with a few minor upgrades (that most players tend to do), this Anniversary Gold Edition can be poised to become a beast of a Telecaster. — Paul Riario

STREET PRICE: $599.99

MANUFACTURER: Fender, fender.com