John 5: squier telecaster!

Introducing the Squier J5 Telecaster® Guitar:

John 5 with his Squier signature Telecaster: "I'm so proud of it."
Photo by Gabrielle Geiselmann




“The greatest guitars ever built, by far,” is how John 5 puts it. “Hands down.”

That would be the Telecaster, and John 5 ought to know. He’s a self-described “Fender fanatic” with a collection you wouldn’t believe—one from every year or something like that—plus a pair of distinctive Fender® signature models. Now, add to this impressive array his first Squier artist model, the devilshly alluring Squier J5 Telecaster.

The new J5 Telecaster has all the brains, brawn and beauty of its Fender big brothers, but with a standard Telecaster headstock and a very friendly price tag. It’s based on 5’s frequently modded workhorse Telecaster pieced together at the Fender Custom Shop.

“I wouldn’t say this if it wasn’t true, but the guitar is just like my main Telecaster, exactly,” John 5 said. “The exact same neck. The pickups are different, but it’s the exact same feel and it sounds incredible. You can’t really tell the difference of the sound, but the big huge difference of it is the price. And you can get a guitar that’s gonna last you probably the rest of your life if you take care of it. It’s an amazing guitar, and I’m so proud of it.”

OK, make with the features: The J5 Telecaster has a double-bound alder body with a gloss black polyester finish, a polished stainless steel pickguard and chrome hardware. That means it’s extremely cool looking. The one-piece maple neck has a modern C shape, a matching black Telecaster headstock and a 12”-radius rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets.

The custom-designed humbucking pickups use a special dual-volume setup with the bridge pickup control in the front position and the neck pickup control in the back position—John 5 prefers this setup because he spends much time giving the bridge pickup a workout. Rapid toggling the upper-bout three-way pickup switch gives you 5’s signature “kill” effect by turning off the neck pickup volume and leaving the bridge control full up.

Take a look at the video below to see and hear John 5 talking about his new Squier J5 Telecaster, see him play it here, and look for it at a dealer near you …