Squier Vintage Modified '72 Telecaster Thinline review

For a lot of players, 1972 was the year the Telecaster Thinline grew up; the model was originally introduced to bring down the weight of the Tele, following a shortage of Fender's go-to light ash bodies, but the addition of two Fender Wide Range pickups transformed it into its own entity.

Squier has now seen fit to introduce the '72 to its own range, and it looks the business, with white pearloid scratchplate, finely carved f-hole and Fender- embossed humbuckers.

While you'll find the gloss-finished modern C neck across much of Squier's range, you're unlikely to find tones quite like the Thinline's anywhere else, certainly at this price.

Cleans from the neck and middle positions are punchy and persuasive, not dissimilar to fat P-90-ish single coils, but flicking over to the bridge humbucker yields a burly, resonant voice that screams for big open chords and an overdriven valve amp.

Whichever pickup position it's in, there's an open, slightly hazy midrange, which makes the Thinline just at home with fingerpicking as it is with big distorted powerchords - indie and alt-rock players will find plenty to like here.