Squier Guitars, the world's best selling brand name of electric guitars and basses, announces today that it will be giving its Standard, Deluxe and Affinity series instruments an upgrade. Stunning new colors, new pickup options, and new quilted or flame maple tops on certain models highlight the updates to Squier guitars, all of which will be available in early January of 2004.

The updated lines will continue to be the best value in the industry for both retailers and consumers, offering unrivaled quality and the affordability that guitarists have come to know and expect from Squier, but with contemporary features and new cosmetics that will appeal to an even broader range of musicians.

In addition, new pickguard templates have been designed to follow those found on Fender guitars so that it is easier for musicians to customize their instrument with different pickguards and pickups.

Says Justin Norvell, marketing manager for Squier guitars, "With Squier, we've always tried to give consumers the best possible guitar for their money, and we've succeeded. However, while we want to give consumers and retailers guitars at great price points, we want them to be more than all of the other instruments on the wall. Squier guitars have their own personality and players like that, and with these updates, we've taken that to another level for today's musicians."

"Without sacrificing an ounce of quality," adds Norvell, "we're now able to offer a lot more guitar at the same prices."

Squier Standard Series New to the Squier Standard Series are the Tele Custom II and Tele Special guitars. Both models feature relevant updates drawing from dealer and consumer requests for different pickup configurations and sleek styling, while maintaining the overall "vibe" of the classic Telecaster guitar's design.

Based on one of the most popular Telecaster designs of all time, the Tele Custom II features two Duncan Designed Soapbar single coil pickups with independent volume and tone controls. The Tele Custom II comes with a maple neck and 22 medium jumbo frets, and is available in Black and Blonde.

For a classic Tele with a little more edge, the new Squier Tele Special is the ticket. The alder body is equipped with a hardtail string-through-body bridge, and there is no pickguard on this model. It features one ceramic humbucking pickup in the bridge position, and one Strat Alnico single coil pickup in the neck position that is mounted directly onto the body, offering a wide range of unique tones. The maple neck has a rosewood fingerboard and 22 medium jumbo frets. The Tele Special is available in Black Metallic, Satin Pewter Metallic and Walnut Satin.

More significant updates for the Squier Standard Series can be found on its Stratocaster, Fat Strat, Double Fat Strat, Telecaster, P Bass Special and Jazz Bass guitars. The new Squier Standard Series guitars feature all new color options, including Satin Pewter Metallic with matching headstocks and matte black pickguards, Walnut Satin with black/white/black pickguards, and a new Antique Burst with tortoise shell pickguards.

Special Run Squier is also very proud to introduce its new offering of top-of-its-line Special Run guitars, which include new Black & Chrome Series Strat, Tele & P-Bass Special guitars with matching headstocks, and new Deluxe Series Stratocasters with flame maple and quilted maple tops with pearl pickguards.

The Black & Chrome Series combine modern looks with a classic feel, and never before has Squier offered so much guitar at such incredible prices! All of the instruments in this series feature a Gloss Black finish with matching headstock and chrome finished pickguards & hardware.

The new Squier Deluxe Stratocasters feature an impressive choice of either flame maple or quilted maple tops in a Sunburst finish, something rarely seen on guitars in this price range. A maple neck with rosewood fretboard and a white pearl pickguard round out this package.

Website: http://www.squierguitars.com/