Fender Squier current status & availability - IMPORTANT INFO - HMX update to OP 6/27

[mrgarychong]

I got this news from a vendor, when I tried to order the Squier from them.

Anybody knows the detail of that?

If the a Squier ver. 2.0 is coming out?

or Fender will just never manufacture it any more?

QC issue?



***OFFICIAL HMX EDIT 6/9***

Community & the senior team are at E3 right now but they've reached out to Fender to find out what's up. This is the first we've heard about this and we'll dig in with Fender for more info ASAP.

***OFFICIAL HMX EDIT 6/13***

Hey gang. Thanks to everyone for your patience while all the Community / PR folks were out in LA for E3. We're all back in the office now so we'll be able to devote a lot more attention to discussions on the forums.

As HMXcj mentioned in an earlier post, this is the first we've heard of any plans to discontinue the Squier. We've reached out to Fender (who is handling all the production and distribution of this hardware) for more info and we'll follow up here as soon as we get the full scoop from them.

Initial responses from our contacts at Fender indicate that the Squier has not been discontinued at this time, so there may be some confusion at the retail level. There are still Squiers in the retail channel and MadCatz is still producing Mustangs, so there is still plenty of support for Pro Guitar and Pro mode as a whole. We don't have any plans to discontinue support for Pro Guitar DLC, and there are still charts being authored months out for upcoming releases.

Since there hasn't been any official announcement regarding the status of the Squier, we're looking for any and all details regarding where this info is coming from. It appears to to be coming from the retail side, so if anyone has been told that the Squier is being discontinued please PM me the name of the retailer, the location, the name of the agent you spoke with, the date, etc. Any info would be helpful to forward along to Fender so we can get some clarity as soon as possible.

Thanks again to everyone for sitting tight while we wrapped E3. We'll post more info as soon as we have it.

***OFFICIAL HMX EDIT 6/15***

There shouldn't be any doubt that we're taking this seriously. We've had regular contact with Fender since returning back from E3 and we've passed along feedback provided by posters on the forums and in PM. They're reaching out to retailers, customer support reps, production reps and business reps and unfortunately that takes a bit of time (longer than I'd like, that's for sure). As soon as we've heard back from all the parties involved we'll make a follow up post. Thanks again for your patience.

***OFFICIAL HMX EDIT 6/18***

Hey gang. Thanks to everyone for your patience while we made the rounds to get as much information on the Squier as possible. Hopefully you can all appreciate why we wouldn't want to post partial information that ended up causing even more confusion.

Here's the situation as I understand it: due to significant manufacturing lead times and the quantity currently available in the retail channel, Fender has decided not to place any more back orders for direct fulfillment. That would explain why, as some posters in this thread have pointed out, some music stores are unable to take back orders, but Squiers generally appear to be readily available at Best Buys.

What this means for you, the people still looking to pick up a Squier, is that Best Buy (specifically Best Buys with Music Centers) is currently your best bet. There should be a sufficient quantity in the pipeline to meet the current demand, and when we get back into the office on Monday we'll begin next steps with Best Buy and Fender to help you track availability and assist in getting stock where it needs to be.

As I mentioned in my previous posts, the crew at Harmonix is still fully committed to supporting Rock Band 3, Pro Mode, Pro Guitar and Pro DLC. Between the Squiers and Mustangs currently available at retail, as well as the upcoming Pro Guitar DLC upgrades, there are still plenty of options for people looking to get into Pro Guitar and we've got some awesome stuff coming up that we think people will be really excited for.

I'll continue to collect feedback from this thread and from PMs, and thanks again to everyone that contacted me with specifics. I'll follow up here once we have contact info for Best Buy or more information on international solutions.

***OFFICIAL HMX EDIT 6/27***

I changed the title of the thread because, for a large number of people, the word "discontinued" gives the impression that 1) the product is no longer available and 2) the situation is permanent, which may not be the case. With stock currently available in the retail channel and other options still on the table, I'm not comfortable leaving a thread title that could shut the door for a lot of people.

While most of the people on the forums are informed enough to understand the specifics of DLC support, Pro guitar alternatives, Fender's role in production, etc. we also have a responsibility to the thousands of people who aren't regulars on the forums and who aren't as plugged into the details. So, to avoid any additional confusion, I changed the title of the thread, but left all of the content of the thread (including my comments in the OP) entirely unchanged.

We're talking with Best Buy and Fender to provide as much retail support as possible right now, and I'm asking about international options. It's awesome to see so many people in this thread helping other posters locate Squiers at Best Buys near them, and we're asking what we can do to make that info more accessible to people. Thanks to everyone who has assisted others in the search for hardware, you're an amazing asset to this community.

[Herr_Bass]

Maybe you should order from a vendor that doesn't insist that it has been discontinued.

[mrgarychong]

Someone in below forum got the similiar news: (#331)
http://www.avforums.com/forums/xbox-...rb-3-a-12.html

It should be someone in UK or Europe.

[jimhenry]

It is still listed on the Squier website: http://www.squierguitars.com/product...tno=0348000506

[Rednaz]

Never listen to retailers. They are either idiots or misinformed (or just going off the information they were given). Go to the source. If Fender says it is discontinued then it is discontinued. If Gamestop says it is discontinued you light the representative on fire (in a polite way of course).

[Doom878]

I wonder if HMX will chime in on this

[TheRainbowTrouts]

It has only just been 'launched' outside of North America this week. That doesn't indicate the product has been discountinued...

Look at other retailers!!

[Yanahlua]

I was in my local Long and McQuade (in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) today and asked when they were getting some in. The guy behind the counter had no clue so he placed a call to their purchaser. The purchaser confirmed they were not getting any more in past what they had already ordered and were awaiting delivery on since Fender had discontinued them. I asked why they were discontinued, and the counter guy asked the purchaser. The reply was that the software developer had no further plans to support the product so updates and patches would not be forth coming so Fender has ceased production.

Perhaps if someone from Harmonix could confirm this or deny this. But if you deny this it would be great if you could give us some kind of timeline as to when they might be available in quantities enough for me to purchase with out having to auction off a kidney to buy one off of E-Bay.

[Rednaz]

Wait, who did they call? Did the cashier call Fender? Unless you hear Fender saying that they have ceased production, I wouldn't believe them.

[powerofyates2]

I just called Fender, and the rep said they can't make enough of them fast enough and are definitely not discontinued.