Telecaster Dilemma: Squier CV 50's v. Fender Graham Coxon

[chutneyfarmer]

So my wife said she'd get me a new guitar for Christmas and has €400 or so put aside for it. Been wanting a tele for a while now but not too sure what to get. Have it narrowed down to these two:

Graham Coxon Signature Tele €800

https://m.thomann.de/ie/fender_graham_c ... ef=msg_a_0

Squier Classic Vibe Tele €420

https://m.thomann.de/ie/fender_sq_class ... 1448567507

To be honest, I've always wanted a blonde 52 but there's no way in hell I can afford one, even used. From what I can see, the Squier seems to come the closest within my budget. However, I have about €400 lying around after selling some pedals so I was contemplating throwing more cash into the pot and getting a Graham Coxon tele. The only thing REALLY putting me off is the Rosewood neck. Not mad on the pickguard either but that's easily changed. Is it worth paying the extra cash for the MIM Coxon? Have no experience with Mexican Fenders or the Classic Vibe series of Squiers. The guitar shops here don't seem to have these in stock either so the obvious solution of trying them out is a no-go unfortunately.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

[Spiteface]

I wouldn't say no to the Coxon tele, being a fan of the man's work myself. Never played one though.

I have a Classic Vibe 50's Tele, and it's a good tele. I'm currently trying to reduce my guitar collection (Money and space concerns), and I'm considering keeping it over my Baja. Mine's in the older white blonde finish, and I understand the specs on the newer Butterscotch ones are slightly different, but generally Squier's CV stuff is good stuff. You could do a hell of a lot worse!

[chutneyfarmer]

I wouldn't say no to the Coxon tele, being a fan of the man's work myself. Never played one though.

I have a Classic Vibe 50's Tele, and it's a good tele. I'm currently trying to reduce my guitar collection (Money and space concerns), and I'm considering keeping it over my Baja. Mine's in the older white blonde finish, and I understand the specs on the newer Butterscotch ones are slightly different, but generally Squier's CV stuff is good stuff. You could do a hell of a lot worse!

Thanks for the input! Out of curiosity, why are you thinking of getting rid of the Baja?

Been thinking today, I could possibly get the Squier for Christmas, amd save up to pick up a second hand Baja. They seem to go for about €500 second hand. Then I can lash a humbucker into the Squier to have a bit of a range between the two guitars.

[Spiteface]

There's nothing wrong with it, but I kinda like the hotter sound of the CV sometimes. The Baja's still great though. Love the chunky neck on it.

[GuitarSlim101]

I had one of the CV Squiers in the shop a couple of years ago and spent a lot of time playing it. This particular one was very heavy. I never put it on a scale to get an exact weight, but comparing it to my own guitars, it came in between my 9 pound Airline and 13 pound Les Paul. It sounded great, though. Had a real sweet sounding neck pickup. The neck was pretty comfortable, though I'd have preferred a bit more girth. I would've happily bought the guitar for myself if I didn't already have a parts tele I'm happy with.

However, one of my regulars bought it, played a few shows with it and the bridge pickup shorted internally, the switch died, and the jack cup fell out. But I rewound the pickup for him, put in a better switch, and swapped the cup out for a regular jack plate and it's been working well for him now. I'm guessing the pickup issue wasn't indicative of an issue with the guitars in general, but just a pickup that got poked a bit too hard at some point along the assembly line, and the switch and jack cup are easy fixes.

Haven't played the Graham Coxon model, but it does look nice.

[colossus]

I'd go CV and spend another 100 getting a real nice setup and some fret work done. They are fantastic. That said, I haven't played the Graham Coxon so....

[SPACERITUAL]

Get that coxxxxxx

[repoman]

I have a 50s CV Tele too. Never played one of the Graham Coxon ones.

I have the Butterscotch one, this has been the last budget/intermediate guitar I've had that I was truly impressed with (I've gone through about 5 budget/intermediate guitars after this which were all way worse instruments). Much nicer than the VM jag I have. Sounds great, plays great, hardware appears to be a bit nicer than other Squier stuff. Probably the same stuff they stick on MIM fenders.

There is routing in the Butterscotch 50s CV for an easy humbucker swap.

[chutneyfarmer]

Thanks for all the input guys. Decided to go for the Coxon tele in the end. I can save up again and get a Squire or even a 2nd hand blonde Baja easily enough. Ain't ever seen a Coxon around these parts so decided to go for it. Looking forward to it. Been a good while since I've played a tele. Been playing various offsets the past few years. Looking forward to having a solid, sturdy slab of wood to play with again. Twss.

[rfurtkamp]

The high end MIMs are *very* nice. You'll be happy.

I'm not a Tele guy though, so no help there past "They make my forearm cramp like I'm going through detox"

[chutneyfarmer]

The high end MIMs are *very* nice. You'll be happy.

I'm not a Tele guy though, so no help there past "They make my forearm cramp like I'm going through detox"

Nice to hear, thanks! Kinda glad I went with the Coxon as it appears to have disappeared from the site. Must have gotten the last one.

[BitchPudding]

Pics n shit when you get it. The Coxon looks like a mean machine for sure.

[popvulture]

Coxon being pretty much my favorite guitarist, I've always wanted to check one of those out... never have seen one in the wild here in the US, though. Were they only released in UK/Europe? Curious to hear how you like it...