Squier '51 - Construction

Construction

The '51 combines aspects of several of Fender's best-known instruments. The body and neck pickup resemble that of the Fender Stratocaster, while the single-ply pickguard and the control plate is borrowed from the original incarnation of the Fender Precision Bass. The neck and headstock design are reminiscent of a Fender Telecaster.

The '51 uses a humbucker in the bridge position and a Stratocaster-style single-coil pickup in the neck position. The bridge of the '51 is slightly narrower than most US-made Fender guitars in order to line up better with the polepieces of the humbucker, which are designed for the narrower string spacing of Gibson-style guitars. The bridge pickup has a coil split, activated by pulling out on the volume control knob, to switch between single-coil and humbucker configuration. The second control knob, which normally would operate as a tone control on a Telecaster or early Precision Bass, is a three-position pickup selector switch for choosing between the neck alone, combined neck/humbucker, or humbucker alone. It has a six-saddle hardtail top-loading bridge.

The guitar features a basswood body, with a maple neck and fretboard. Some rare specimens of the necks were constructed from two pieces, with a maple fingerboard laminated to a maple neck. Most were solid maple. Some specimens showed a significant amount of birds eye figuring.

The '51 was offered in three colors: 2-Tone Sunburst, Black, and Vintage Blonde. The blonde model has a cream-yellow hue and typically, a black pick guard. The sunburst and black models have a white pick guard. Although all Squier promotional pictures depict the Vintage Blonde model with a black pickguard, they were manufactured with both black and white pickguards.White pickguards were standard from the beginning of production until October 2004, during which month the color was switched to black until the end of production in January 2007. It has been rumored that the white pickguard was dropped because many seemed to be prone to warping. Because of the much smaller production and relative rarity of the blonde body/white pickguard '51, these have become the most sought-after and highly valued '51s according to many fans. See the Area 51 thread in the Squier section of the FDP (Fender Discussion Page) Forum website, for over 800 entries of information and comments, and the Squier 51 Modders Forum for detailed illustrated information on modifying the guitar.

Read more about this topic:  Squier '51

Famous quotes containing the word construction:

    There’s no art
    To find the mind’s construction in the face:
    He was a gentleman on whom I built
    An absolute trust.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    The construction of life is at present in the power of facts far more than convictions.
    Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)

    No real “vital” character in fiction is altogether a conscious construction of the author. On the contrary, it may be a sort of parasitic growth upon the author’s personality, developing by internal necessity as much as by external addition.
    —T.S. (Thomas Stearns)