Hi
You know Fender guitars right? They have a 'child brand' called Squier that you've probably also at least
heard of.. and here we will explore the history of Squier according to my memory/all iirc. Dava
Update: I found out CBS sold Fender to FMIC in 1985. Which makes
a lot less sense to me but
facts are facts and I don't spread misinformation. The information here came from (mostly) a rare documentary I watched some years ago.
It doesn't detract too much from what I have written..
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The Beginnings of Squier
Fender was sold by CBS to FMIC around 1979/1980, but FMIC only got the IP/Blueprints and all names.. nothing physical.. no factory. Once they had this they were like 'hmm..' we need to start making sure we begin producing something so we 1. make money on the millions we just spent 2. so people don't forget us'.
Around first half of 1980, they managed to keep production going in the US but it was expensive, they had seen loads of Japanese Strats flooding the market for a few years now, so they struck on an idea.. why not get a slice of this themselves?
Now the initial run is up for some debate on WHO they got to do that first 6 month run of Squier JVs.. most people will say Fujigen.. and that
well may be right.. but other contenders are; Matsumoku, Yamaki and Terada. Let's
suppose it was Fujigen..
The initial run had gone so well; demand was very high, they were selling out.. but Fujigen (or who/e) was getting chocolate buttons out of the deal and it was harming their production, a dispute broke out between Fujigen (or whichever company it was) and FMIC, so production of Squiers halted.
In fact Squiers were SO popular, Fender couldn't just let the business go so for 6 months they *had* to make Squiers in the US alongside the the USA Fenders. wow..yeah.. today these guitars have a rep of not being worth the money but as a slice of Fender history, idk perhaps. FMIC saw the figures for Squiers and minds were blown! People were eating them up.. so sometime around the end of December 80 to the end of January 81.. they went back to Japan. This time we know for 100% who they dealt with; Fujigen.
Production was slow through '81 even though demand was high, but that might be in hindsight, as we know they ramped up production in 1982 and again for every year until 1985. Fender even made Fender Japan, a dedicated Japanese division.
People think 1982 was the first year of production, but if you know your stuff you can find these earlier examples.. there were even Fender branded early runs and it is suspected some bodies and neck for the US guitars came from the same initial japanese factory to be reworked in the US.
'JV Squiers' are the 'Pre-CBS' of Squier. JV stands for Japanese Version.
And by that I mean.. what Pre-CBS is to
Fender.. JV is to
Squier.
The first 6 month, June/July 1980 to Jan 1981, run is known as 'The Gold Series' and you will pretty much never find one.. why? because their serials were weird due to FMIC not having serials worked out yet, they just didn't know what to do with these. In fact.. The 'Silver Series' Squiers are Squier 10 year anniversary models 1991 to 1995. (Although like Gold Series, you CAN find a 1990 Silver Series)
The Fall and Rise of Eastern Oriental Fenders
Around 1985 Fujigen saw all the serious bank Fender was getting from their work, not only this but new labour laws in Japan and workers rights were becoming popular and gaining traction, they wanted to renegotiate with FMIC but Fender were.. reluctant. Fender decided to try out Korea as a cheaper alternative, they made an initial run sometime around spring summer of 1986, they shipped the bodies and hardwear from Japan to Korea and had that plant do the rest of the work. (I don't know which plant, but I rem Sung-Il was involved at some point.. who are Gibsons
goto for Korean parts).
Well Fujigen found out and was pretty mad about this.. they stopped all Japanese production of Squiers but not Fenders. FMIC quickly tried to smooth the situation over by offering another 6 month contract to Fujigen, which they accepted.. but Fender were leaving and that was to be that.
By spring 1987 Fender moved production of all Squiers to Korea.. players were devastated, they loved their Japanese instruments.. and now some usurper was in the chicken coup.
The Transition from Japan to Korea
Well it was a total disaster.. people had gotten used to getting a certain level of quality and the new Squier Koreans just weren't cutting it compared to Squier Japan.
Even today.. there is a stigma on Korean guitars due to Fenders handling of this situation, doesn't matter what you buy.. if it's Korean Squier or Fender or pretty much other brand, if it's Korea and you just bought it.. you just lost money on it. There are caveats to this.. Korean Eastwoods, Korean late 90s/2000s Fenders (not Squier) but that was I feel.. a 'sorry' from fender to Korean guitar manuf. for messing up their business.
I own a a 1998 Fender Korean Showmaster.. nick named 'Fender Korean Custom Shop Strat', it is ultra high quality on par with many high end US Fenders.. but you get bunk for selling it.
They have figured tops, Seymour Duncans, set neck.. and regularly go for £300/350. If it was Japanese it would go for £2000 easy.
I digress slightly..
In 1989 FMIC stopped all production of Squiers from Japan.. and in response Fujigen stopped making Japanese Fenders.. FMIC wasn't happy.
Production was very mixed, FMIC trying to take the work to Korea but Fujigen having such pull with them and with fans.. it was hard for FMIC to leave. Educated guess but from 1987 to 1989 80% of Eastern production for Squier was done in Korea.
FMIC were embarrassed on how they treated the company that had helped them out in the early years of Squier.. so they offered them a contract to make Squiers again, this production didn't kick off until late 1990. Fujigen are a well established company (1969) with much honor within the muso community.. it wasn't right for Fender to treat them that way and Fender recognised it, and begun repairing the relationship.
The Silver Series
FMIC and Fujigen had been working on getting the price point to quality correct, as often Fujigen had been providing higher quality for the price point, but now they both had experience in what each other wanted.. Fender knew Fujigen didn't want to ruin its reputation and so honour within the muso community but likewise Fujigen knew Fender didn't want their US sales diminished due to overseas production.
Fender must have told Fujigen about their Fender Mexico and they would perhaps be making some of the Squiers.. the Fender Mexico Squiers started production in 1990 and went almost as long as the other 'Silver Series' but were branded 'Squier Series'.. 1990-1994. Because if Fender had slighted Fujigen again.. they would have kicked off a fight and halt in Japanese production.
Fujigen also got a contract from Gibson around this time to make Orville. So perhaps this was a reaction.. Fujigen accepting the contract from Fenders greatest rival.. so perhaps FMIC didn't tell Fujigen about the Mexican Squiers.. I don't know.
The Silver Series was a success.. I own one. It's almost 100% on par with a 90s Mexican Fender.. which I own one of those also, it was my first Fender*, the two guitars are very similar. With an edge of quality going to Fender Mexico.
I can see what FMIC was thinking when examining the Japanese Squiers vs the Mexican
Fenders.. man they got some high quality production over there!
*1994
Fender Mexican Contemporary Special Stratocaster vs my 1995 Silver Series Squier Stratocaster.
*FMIC ran the Squier Series out of their Mexican plant from 1990 to 1998 (and yes I am aware others say 1993-1998.. I've seen in pictures a 1990 one so.. yeah. And a 1991.. and a 1992.. so there's that. I imagine the early ones were limited to not aggravate Fujigen. Imagine FMIC sneaking them out in limited runs.
Fender Korea
Around 1995 FMIC tried Korea again, but I imagine this time Fujigen saw it coming.
They used Young Chang, who is one of the companies that is guessed at, that FMIC used in their initial Korean runs of 1987-1989.
Quality was OK.. much to Fender's pleasure, meaning it wouldn't drive people away from US Fenders. But all was not well in the 'House of Squier'..
Young Chang had started using Chinese plants and not going solely Korean.. whether it was FMIC or Young Chang, I don't know but 1995 was the year of the first Chinese Squier, my then-friend had one.. they were AWFUL. Imagine the worst version of a Strat you can buy today, then stick a razor blade neck in it o_O ..looks traditional, but ultra weak pickups and a razor blade neck.. truss rods that don't work properly.. you get the idea.
Fender only ran these for 2 years.. and I imagine they just about '
took an imodium' when they saw the quality of these pieces of trash, that was aptly trashing their brand they worked hard to build up.. with ultra low quality gear.
In 1997 they did a short run of
Fender Japanese guitars as
I imagine a opener for Fujigen to say.. 'hey you can come back Fender' but that never materialized. So Fender backpacked to Korea..
FMIC, as stated above.. started thinking how much they had hurt the Korean guitar manufacturing plants.. and they were running out of options, Young Chang were a decent company..Sung Il too decent company. There was also World Musical Instruments.. WMI have a good rep.
Those are the suspects..
They ran
Fenders out of Korea for a few years, but Squier was having troubles..
I imagine the Korean Manuf. had got wind of the damage Korean Squiers had done to them and didn't want to touch Squier with a hermetically sealed barge pole.
FMIC tried to start up Squier in India.. these guitars were a flop, big time.. ohw today you get the odd person who will say the Indian Squier replaced their first born in terms of love.. but those people are probably GAS crazy or something. Personally.. I don't have the experience of them. Picture: Necks look OK online, the rest however looks like that 1995 Chinese Squier.
(you
can get Indian Squiers dating back to 1989.. these seem
to me to have been tester runs.. 89/90.. idk about 1991.. but again in 92/93/94/95 all in super limited quantity.. so much so you won't find much
if anything online about them)
FMIC was shopping around for a plant.. everything they had tried after Fender Japan was disastrous.. they gave up and just went shopping around China for a plant.
Meanwhile.. Cort had a bad rep for their Korean guitars at that time, but also due to Korean guitars in general having that mentioned stigma. Cort wanted OUT..
They moved to Indonesia. BEST MOVE EVER! Smart person/s!
FMIC released the Squier Vintage Modified Squier series around 2003. Some had been made in China to decent quality.. some in the Indonesian Cort factory to.. for the price.. staggering quality. Not enough to derail buyers from 'proper Fenders' but enough to pique the interest..
The Squier '51 and Rise and Rise of Squier
So around 2003 a new head took over Squier (sorry can't rem his name.. Bob?) he said why only do 'copies' of Fenders?.. why not something .. new!
FMIC had been skittish for years about new designs after watching Gibson's new designs flounder in the 80s and 90s..but the pitch was.. this is Squier we SHOULD be providing new things.. the tagline being 'Squier is Fenders bratty little brother'.. while of course Squier is the child company to Fender, that ideology stuck in the minds of FMIC and at Squier in general.. FMIC suggested that Squier should be its own company with its own wokings. Squier was 'properly' established around 2002..
The first guitar Squier ever designed from scratch was the Squier '51.. styled after a Telecaster Bass/Early Precision but in guitar form. It is without a doubt Squiers flagship original design.. they rest were modified Strats and Teles.. but this was something *new*.
In 2005 Squier moved pretty much the bulk of production to IC.. Indonesian Cort, and that has been their main place ever since.
2005 the Internet exploded as a '
thing' that pretty much every household had it.
2006 The Squier '51 fell to rock bottom prices.. putting them in the hands of people who didn't mind 'taking a punt' on them just to try them out.. then soon after a community arose of musos raving about this guitar.. I was one of them. Squier '51 modding sites and accessories started to appear in certain shops.
Today
Squier does runs from various companies, from around South East Asia and China, FMIC have had four decades to perfect the goldilocks zone of QC.. and for this.. they pretty much stick with IC, Indo-Cort, smart. Don't tick off your partners.. or you will end up with no partners.
Additional.. slow and calm voice, like at the end of a cop show:
Fender and Fujigen did make up but the relationship is often rocky, inthat it jumps on the swings and roundabouts of good to bad. Excellent to frosty.
Fender Korea never recovered from the damage FMIC did to them.
Gibson still get all their Korean parts from Sung-Il, it wouldn't surprise me if this is where they got the Firebird Zero and SG Fusion stuff. Gibson and Sung-Il have a good relationship.
Korean guitars are still worth bunk. Except Eastwood Koreans.
Eastwood have certain plants they will use, that are the source of the following brands: Alden, Guild, (some) Jay Turser. you can id them by the abalone gong on MOP horns.
I collect (set neck only) Alden guitars.
