The Squier Venus Guitar aka the Venus Vista

In 1997 my local music store had these unusual Fender guitars hanging up for display. On closer examination, they bore the Squier brand name. Under the Squier name in small type was "by Fender." Both instruments had a surf-green paint job and bound maple necks with rosewood fretboards.

One was a six-string model with 1956 Fender style headstock. The headstock was painted the same color on the front. The other was a 12-string version that bore a headstock similar to the 12 string Stratocasters that were marketed in the 1990's.


The pickup arrangement on the Squier Venus 12 was much like the Fender XII's pickups. The 12 string also had a tone control.


I learned these were Squier Venus guitars or Vista Venus made by Fender.

The guitars bridge was Fender's version of a tune-o-matic bridge. The strings went through the body and held in place with rivets on the guitars backside.

I learned these were guitars designed in conjunction with Courtney Love.

The six string version had a single coil strat-type neck alnico pickup with staggered pole pieces and an open humbucking pickup near the bridge.

The wiring scheme was simple; one volume control, a three-way throw switch for the pickups and a top mounted input jack, all of which were on the pearloid pickguard.

The twelve string version was a much different instrument. The headstock had one string guide. The bridge/saddle unit was similar to the one on the Fender XII.

This guitar also had a single volume control, but it also had a single tone control, plus the three-way throw switch (unlike the complex Fender XII's switching system) and a top mounted jack. All were mounted on the guitar's pearloid pickguard. The bridge and saddle was one unit with a chromed base plate, Fender style bridge saddles adjusted by turning a screw at the distal side of the bridge. The strings appear to go through the body.

Surf green was not the only color for these instruments. They were also produced in Black and Sunburst.

The shape of the guitar is different from anything Fender has produced. The guitar was made of basswood that had two offset cutaway horns and an asymetrical carved lower bout as on a Jaguar. The body was more compact than other Fender instruments.

It was also unusual in its price point, which was suggested as $999.99 with a gig bag. Squier was Fender's import line at the time, so the asking price was rather high. Perhaps that is why it was only produced for two years. It was discontinued in 1998.

Ms. Love's personal instruments must have been built by Fender's Custom Shop, since they were different from off-the-rack models. Of the two she played, one had a sky blue body with a tortoise shell pickguard and the other was pink with a white pearloid pickguard. Her guitars had only a single Seymour Duncan '59 neck pickup.