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As a long time musician, whenever anyone asks me 'what guitar should I buy for my kid' my answer is nearly always "squire". They're solid instruments for the price, and are easily modded.
The two bottom Squier Stratocasters, currently named Sonic and Affinity, are less straightforward to modify because their bodies are thinner than standard. I would recommend an Ibanez AZES in this price range, though I always recommend humbuckers to beginners because repositioning to avoid hum is not conducive to learning proper ergonomics; similarly, I recommend that people start with a hardtail.
The Squier Classic Vibes are much easier to mod since parts are easily sourced, especially when factoring in fitment. The prices are a tad more though, but that does scale with the overall quality of the instrument.
I'm a pro musician and I own 3 used squier strats with loaded pick guards and klusson tuners installed, setup and fret sanding done by me. Voila I now have 3 guitars that sound, play and stay in tune like a $1500 strat for the price of a MIM strat.
The beauty of a massively popular modular guitar like the Strat, is that you can easily upgrade ANY spec of Strat to any other, given time, money, and knowledge of what you want, and you can do it at the pace that suits your situation.
Everyone talks about the guitars. For me its about the knowledge. I didnt have access to unlimited free lessons. Because youtube was well over a decade away from existing when i learned, i was lucky to catch glimpses of chord shapes pausing mtv videos. The 90’s were hard for cheap gear. But even harder to learn songs. Made me develop near perfect pitch from having to retune to every tape
@@Ottophil Exactly. This is why there is such a glut of very flash youngsters on YT. It was all handed to them for free. We had to buy books, magazines, lessons. There were very few ways to learn with no cost involved. Plus beginner level instruments were by and large a load of poo.
The tech hasnt changed much in over 70 years... but manufacturing has grown lightyears. This is the same energy as the first digital calculators costing serious money, compared to them being a free app on nearly every device and nickle favours in arcade machines.
I feel that Leo Fender would be proud to know that his Strat is still affordable for anyone to own these days. He made it for the working man musician after all.
Playing a G&L FULLERTON ASAT CLASSIC, it's a much better built fender 🇺🇸 telecaster..... I DOUBT THAT LEO WOULD BE PLEASE WITH HUMAN SLAVERY IN CHEAPER GUITARS ‼️
Mike Rutherford of Genesis played a couple of Squier bullet strats on the last Genesis tour. He bought them in lockdown, when he was stuck in South Africa without a guitar, but liked them so much, he carried on using them. I think his tech upgraded the hardware, but kept the stock pickups in at least one of them.
Unless you're a gigging pro who is making money as a musician, I don't see any reason to buy higher-end guitars. For me, $1000 is the absolute limit for a guitar, and you can get fantastic name-brand axes for that. But you can also save money and get lower-priced but well-engineered guitars like this Squier. I have a Classic Vibe 50s Squier that I paid less than $400 for, and it is as good as any $1000 guitar that I own. Great video!
@@dontrapani7778 Great take on things! I completely agree with you. As a younger musician (17) who has made maybe 100$ from playing. I have found so much love and respect for cheaper guitars. My most expensive guitar is an 800$ Flying V. And I get a better feel and even tone out of my Jackson JS-22 7 string King V which I got for about 225$. Money does not equal quality 🙏🏻
The Classic Vibes are out of this world for price vs performance. When I was looking for a bass (primarily a guitarist), I tried a used Mexican JazzBass vs new Squier CV JazzBass and walked out with the CV which was a $100 cheaper. The neck was nicer, the pickups sounded fuller, and finish was nicer too. 🤷♂
Going to be honest, I'd feel a lot more comfortable playing a Squier on an average gig than a PRS that I'd be worried Things will happen to (by things I mostly mean theft, but I've also gotten too close to the drummer once and bumped a cymbal and discovered they can be sharp)
@@dontrapani7778 Agreed. I mostly gig on sub 500 euro guitars. Usually ones I bought used ones or parts-casters I put together myself. I wouldn’t need a ”high end” expensive guitar to gig paid shows with. But like most of guitar players at one point yli just want to own a really fancy higher end instrument. Just because how it makes you feel. I too, have a gibson sg standard and a fender player plus meteora as my ”expensive” guitars. I play them live too at times. And yes, they are fantastic instruments. But they definitely are not 2-4 times better as my cheaper ones. If I somehow get like millions of cash to spend, yeah I’ll get custom shop guitars. Otherwise I’m fine :D
I bought a Mustang in this same range for someone who was just beginning to learn and she loved it. I was amazed at how well it was made given the price point. With new electronics, it could be great. I chose the Mustang over the Strat because I was afraid the cheap trem would be a nightmare. Even though yours seems to be working well, I'd still recommend a hardtail for beginners. Cheers!
This is your Platform if you're a Fender/Squire person. Harley Benton does a good job at this, but for American Buyers, this might be the better way to go, Free Shippiing Saves $70-$80 that could be spent on a set of Locking Tuners or a Pickup. It's already routed for any setup you want, what more could you ask for?
yup i got a sonic Esquire tele, put a p90 in the bridge and a tele bridge pickup in the neck (yes, angled too) and it is my favorite guitar now so fun to play!
@@frankcooke1692 I have a JA60CC in every color, and 2 years later they're flawless still. The neck and frets are still better than my $600 made in Mexico strat, and I paid $150 each for the JA60's.
My wife bought me a Squire Strat in 2002 for Christmas. I still have it and play it daily. It was $199, but it came with a gig bag and a practice amp that was surprisingly good for the price.
Just discovered the channel and really like the format. You play enough to hear the different settings, but not too long so you forget the beginning of the previous riff. Cool review on an inexpensive guitar.
For such price you can't complain. If you need a cheap strat - you've got it. Pickups is something that can be replaced later. To have a playable neck with properly levelled frets is more important. I'd prefer a version with a bridge humbucker to be satisfied fully and I see that routing here allows such mod but it's easier to go with Bullet HSS then.
I've bought a Squier Sonic in Olympic White, changed almost everything on it, it's a nice instrument, the neck is a bit slim for my long fingers. The truss rod hexagon screw-head is messed up from the factory, I had to watch out not to make it worse when setting the relief. Installed Gotoh keys, SD, Dimarzio pickups and a new Göldo, 500k volume pot on it, changed the nut, it wasn't the best slotted nut in the world, did a fret job and it's ok now. I like it alot.
Contrast this with the Malmsteen Signature Strat I bought direct from Fender, about 15 years ago. The setup was so bad from the factory, I couldn't get it working myself and had to take it in to my tech.
Bought a 2nd hand Affinity Strat for £75 last week as a project guitar. The pots needed replacing. Nothing else needs doing. Beautiful neck, v lightweight which suits me perfectly. I own 9 other guitars, 3 of which are each worth over a grand. I have gigged the Squier and it is now my #1 instrument!
Loved positions 2 and 5 - especially through the Katana! The Neck pickup on the Squier sounded more Strat-y than the Player's Series in the head to head. Are you sure you had the pickup heights correct on the Player's? To the electronis, grab a preloaded pickguard from Guitar Fetish (Under US$40) and - Bob's your uncle (actually, Bob's my father in law)!
Often getting a few of these in a row coming across my workbench for sales prep, I get to compare several of the same model. They can look alike, yet each one has stronger and weaker points and once in awhile one comes through with everything cooking. The "Oh Yeah!" specimen.
@@PeterElla Strats were$475 for one with a maple fretboard and $425 for the rosewood fretboard back in 77. Either you're exaggerating or you got overcharged!
Wish I'd bought my son one of these. I bought him a cheap 'Rock Jam' Strat last year and it was a hateful piece of junk. It actually set his playing back as he didn't pick it up much and stuck to his acoustic. Got him a second hand MIM Fender Tele a couple of months ago and he hasn't put it down.
I couldn’t agree more! I like to call them “moderately-priced” or “intermediate” guitars. A little better resale value, I suppose, as well.@@tommysanfilippo3165
Lol I have the exact same Rock Jam strat you're talking about and it's terrible and it's the reason I've stopped playing for the past few years. I'm probably going to buy this squire soon.
I'm so impressed by these new Squiers (I used to have a JV 57 Strat back in the day) that I'm going to buy the Sonic Strat with maple board as a modding platform. I'm knocking on a bit so a small, light guitar is a good idea and I love some of the colours available in the limited run. And, as for the price - just £20 more than this one. What a time to be alive.
I modded two Squire Telecasters with a Graphite nut and a T kit from EMG. Total cost for Guitar and electronics was a little over $250.00. One went to a professional player who loves it. You can save a lot of money and still have pro quality sound. EMG kits are simple to install with hand tools. Squire guitars are much lighter and comfortable to play.
I've got a Squire Standard strat I bought new in '01. Adler body, maple neck, did a little fret work on it and put copper tape shielding inside and that's it. Sounds and plays great, I will never sell it, it's a sweet guitar.
Yeah, we old guys (I’m in my 60s myself) remember those acoustics oftentimes without a truss rod, steel strings that could slice a tough cut of meat, and action that would make you scream in pain because you had to apply 2500 lbs. of pressure to get the strings about a quarter of a block down to the neck - and now you’ve pulled the strings about a quarter tone sharp!
I've recommended several Squier Strats to beginners, and they all have been great. I myself have an old Squier from decades ago when I was poor, and that thing sucks. I keep it for others to beat on. And I've done tons of set-up; it just was never great. Even though quality can vary, I think overall Squiers and MIM's have improved immensely. In fact, other than electronics, any MIM I have played have been better than American mades. My favorite electric is a MIM Tele that I put Seymour Duncans in.
This sounds like a solid mod platform for a hobbyist or even for a beginner who wants to take it to a shop in a year or two and make some upgrades to it and keep it going.
What a fantastic starter guitar or a modding platform! I have a Squier Tele that has been modded to within an inch of its life! 🙂 A 2nd hand Squier Strat that I paid 40 euros for as a non working guitar for modding. I have have changed the trem system and the nut. It has now relegated my MIM Fender Strat to the case for years now!
I have a squire affinity strat, and squire affinity tele, both in the Olympic white, and I love them both. Those were $300 ea before tax Beautiful budget Fender guitars. They're well made and work fine for me. I also have a 2003 First Act strat that I bought at Walmart for my oldest son when he was 6 (he lost interest in learning) and it is a great guitar, built well and sounds fantastic, and for what I paid $60 I was delightfully surprised, it holds up perfectly to my affinity series guitars.
Was a tiny spring in the bag with the trem arm? There should be one that goes into the trem arm hole to push against the arm and stop it dropping when you 'let go' of it.
I have a 24 year old Fender standard Strat that I replaced the pickups in a few years back, and it still plays and sounds great. I have a Squire Jazz Bass that I bought new awhile back for around $150 and put some good active Seymour Duncan pickups in it, and its been very good for the money. It needs some repairs to the jack at this point, but that is my fault when I replaced the pickups, the solder was weak. Overall the hardware is always solid. Even Epiphone makes some good mid-tier guitars. The Wildkat is probably my favorite of the few I own. It also needs some repair to the jack, but its pretty typical for lower end guitar to have some issues long term. Nothing I cannot fix. Not a beginner by any means, but my budget isn't high enough to spend what I would really want, and I don't see much of a difference between the $150-400 range vs the $600+. You just don't get a huge increase in value for the money.
Awesome review. Agreed, great as a starter guitar. It has potential though for a curious/handy person who could get their hands on a fully loaded Strat pickguard and get some humbucker action in there. Cheers!
I'm staggered. Even the tone on those pickups is good! That lovely twangy mid/top end is pretty nice. Get a good setup and some new strings on it and it would make a cracking guitar, whether you're a beginner or not. I wish these had been around when I started what, 30 years ago or so. I'd have been immensely happy!
It's good to have a wizard at the controls. I played a Yamaha Pacifica for a year and a half before I had it set up by a real Luthier. I'm an idiot! Having the guitar set up made a world of difference. Should be done immediately, especially for new students.
I got a Squier Sonic Mustang last fall and had to send it back for a large crack, then got a replacement and spent a couple hours working on the frets and set up, then plugged it in to discover the output jack didn't work. Sent that one back, too, and just asked for my tiny bit of money back. I was shocked to see they released even cheaper guitars for Amazon. I put the money towards saving for a better one, and got a Fender Strat this Spring. Very happy with my new guitar. The very budget guitars are kind of a lottery. Great when you win!
@@frankcooke1692 Well in this case, after spending two hours on the guitar and being very disappointed with everything about it, I was almost relieved to have a reason to trigger a return. It wasn't worth fixing the output jack.
@@sagittated Fair enough. I have my suspicions that Squeir doesn't even know where these things come from. They're just sourcing it from AliBaba to compete with the Harley Benton business model.
@@frankcooke1692 they are definitely made to compete for the business of people in the market for the least expensive possible guitar. And/or people willing to put a ton of work into getting it in shape. (And even then...) I would highly recommend people save up longer and get Squiers at the next level up, or the level above that. The Affinity are ok, and the CV level stuff is honestly pretty good. They often go on sale, and are worth the increased price tag.
I love your reviews (and content generally) - thanks for another excellent honest appraisal. As an absolute beginner (and hopeless STUFF hoarder and tinkerer, for whom guitars are the latest runaway hobby/obsession) I gravitate to reviewers, commentators and tutors who strike the right chord (sorry) and you're up there with the best IM(VH)O. In a very short space of time I've gone from 0 to 7 guitars of which 3 are Squier - an Affinity Tele, Classic Vibe Tele, and a Classic Vibe Strat. And (albeit as a total noob to this world), they seem the most astonishingly good bang for the buck! I've got a long way to go before I can actually play anything, which makes me even more appreciative of those with the knowledge and skill to not only make a guitar sound great, but talk about it intelligently and entertainingly at the same time. Thank you!
Squire is crushing it these days. Seriously, Never thought I’d own one, now I have 3 that I love a double bound sunburst 60s CV Tele, a LPB 60s CV Strat, and a LPB Paranormal 12 string Jaguar. All three play and sound amazing. I’ve upgraded the two CVs with locking tuners, Fender pups and full sized pots, etc. though they were great before all that.
@@Lez325 gee, thank you soooo much, for clearing that up. I mean a bunch of people probably thought I was talking about a 14 year old male, from the Middle Ages, on his second step toward becoming a knight. Imagine their confusion had you not hopped on my ridiculous type-o, like a duck on a June bug. I surely feel lucky and relieved there are English experts, like yourself, Lez325, here to police these posts and maintain an impeccable level of accuracy and clarity. Without your corrections, this forum would devolve into a lawless back alley filled with riffraff and generally poor spellers. Your diligent corrections are appreciated more than an ice cold beer on a hot summer day. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you!
You just pointed out the same problem I have with my Squier (my only guitar). It has a 40mm neck and no matter what I do, I can't get my fingers on the strings properly. Yes a 42mm neck is technically only 2mm difference split up between the 6 strings, but for some reason, this particular neck I just can't do it.
Glad you're having such an enjoyable experience with this guitar, sadly I didn't have the same first impression with the telecaster model (seems to be a Europe exclusive as far as I can tell). The neck pickup was broken beyond repair and I had some issues setting up the bridge (the break angle of the top-loaded strings was too shallow which led to bad buzzing. Had to shim the neck to raise the saddles and that fixed it). So I wouldn't recommend the debut tele to a beginner. Might have to check out the strat as well. But the neck was pretty much flawless with fretwork that's similar to what you described here. Would be interesting to see a comparison if you can get your hands on the tele model.
The pickups in these inexpensive Squier's are fine if you simply upgrade the small stock electronics. Just install quality full size pots and a orange drop cap, add a switchcraft selector switch and a PureTone output jack. About a $65-$75 investment If you do the work yourself. Quality solder and GAVITT cloth wire is also very important for long lasting connections that won't crack. It only costs about $15 bucks for a guitar tool setup kit. Every guitar player should own one. Cheers! .
i’ve done SO much research on this guitar for my first guitar. This video really helped me! I love your videos and I didn’t expect you to do a video on this!
Get a Boss Katana 2 amp $239(50 watt). I wish I had. My 10 watt Fender amp is ok $80. But I wish I had done some research on amps first. Squire also makes guitars with humbuckers and single coil pickups in same guitar. My first was an epiphone les paul with 2 humbuckers.
I remember a buddy of mine in the mid-80s buying a brand new white superstrat (no idea what brand) and it was incredible to play - it didn't shred your fingertips, it stayed in tune, the action was a flat as a pancake, it had 24 frets (!) and it wasn't a Gibson or a Fender. He's been a professional musician for over thirty years now, with his own studio etc.
Had a slim body squire for 30 years, the neck is the best I've played. The quality is not of Fender, absolutely. But, I love the crunch I get out of the squire. That warm tone you get from a Fender, you can't get that from a squire. As a starter guitar, they're amazing. Also, having the routing for humbuckers is super convenient for upgrading. I got squire showmaster pickups transferred in mine for the humbucker, mid and neck. Sounds great! 👍
HI Mr GuitarGeek The thin neck would be perfect for kids like me. I tried out the Katana 100 at a music store. WOW. The Squier and Katana 50 would be an amazing starter package. Something I would love to try out.
I’m not sure you would be able to put standard fender electronics in it, if you were set to upgrade it, because of the thickness. Have an old Affinity Tele with a thin body, and the cavity won’t quite fit the new electronics (I’m not an expert on strats tho)
So glad you made this video. As a singer song writer and someone who is hosting a Sunday (acoustic) afternoon jam at my house, I still have been wanting a Stratocaster guitar as they are one of the best clean setting and low volume sounding guitars. The lead guitarist who was going to join us has joined a performing band, so I am going to (play the hand) no pun intended, that this jam has given me and start playing lead also. Here we go! I hope to get a 2-color sunburst version. Thanks. I think such a guitar will fit my needs perfectly and if any part eventually fails, I will simply replace them with better parts. I too like the satin finish. I found your videos instructive, unbiased, honest, informative and interesting, I watched this one from end to end. Have another question. I have a electric arch top with no manufacturer name. I had a friend (luthier) go through it and replace the tuners, make sure the electrics were all OK, replaced the battleship grey plate behind the knobs and missing pick guard with tortoise shell ones. He also found NO Mfg. name anywhere. The plate on the back of the guitar is all zeroes except for a few letters. To date NO ONE has been able to figure out the history on this guitar. Do you know someone I could send photos of what I call "Tobacco Road" (because of the beautiful Tobacco sunburst finish) also has"V" inlays in the neck to, who might be able to help me discover it's lineage? Brian Gardner bgardner2323@yahoo.com.
I think you nailed it, and so did Squier -- a solid guitar with cheap electronics (the other way round would be a total waste of money). Top grade electronics can be had for around 250€, a medium-to-top grade Wikinson bridge for another 100+€, and you'll end up with a fairly good guitar, IF the newbie decides to go through. Looks like a decent offering to me.
I bought a cheap Squire as my first guitar, I think that changing the strings made a huge difference in how it sounds. It seems obvious that they'll not be installing any $20.00 strings on a $129.00 guitar.
I recently bought a kit from Amazon .. which was marked down significantly to $113. It required paying premium price to buy four cans of decent lacquer and a whole lot of time to finish painting and sanding and polishing it. * When you measure the complaints .. against what you paid for it .. this $119 guitar is a dream and should warrant zero complaints. * Does not seem fair to measure it against the sound of a much higher price Fender that has premium pickups and electronics. * The old axiom "you get what you paid for" holds true.
I just bought a black sonic Squier. I absolutely love it. And the best thing about it is that it plays very well and if you don’t like the pick ups you can always replace them. And the HSH routing is great, talk about versatility!
I would always recommend Squier for a beginner who wants to buy a budget guitar. I got my father-in-law a second hand Indonesian Bullet, put fresh strings on it and set it up nicely; excellent guitar for 80 euros. I had it in my house for over a week before I could give it and I just kept playing it because it was genuinely a joy to play.
The Squire has a little bit more brightness in the tone than the classic; that could be due to age of the pickups though too. I really enjoyed the sound of that Squire, I'm going to have to look into one of those little guys sometime, thanks.
Those indonesian Squire basses are pretty fantastic after a fret leveling. On some of those models they don't put all that heavy lacquer on the necks so you get this lively, smooth, and fast playing neck.
Dude, I'm a drummer and don't pay guitar (can't get past the sore fingers on the first day.) I watch your videos mainly because you are fair, thorough, and you obviously enjoy what you are doing----makes it a pleasure to tune in. HOWEVER-- all I want to do is turn on my electric kit and play along to your testing. Question: where can I get some videos of you simply playing guitar so I can get through a complete song with you? Keep on doing what you do!
Great tone your getting from the squier and your amp. Once you set the springs to match the string tension these bridges will stay in tune untill you change the tunning. then ya have to tune it several times while the springs settle. Everyone should learn this. Maybe you should use your channel and tell people how to adjust the springs
I went ahead and ordered one (supposed to be here tomorrow) because it's only $120 and I already have a loaded pickguard with alnico v pickups and a wiring harness with upgraded pots and thick braided wires laying around and a set of locking tuners that are unassigned as of right now, so why not? I kinda have to. I got the 2 tone sunburst one. I'll probably just keep the stock trem because I'm not much of a whammy bar guy anyway, but I'll still leave it floating. I kinda like that it only has one string tree and the slim headstock. Traditionally, the cheaper ones have two trees and the fat 70s headstock, so it gives it a little bit more classic look. I'll probably swap the tree out for a roller tree. I've heard good things about these, I have to imagine Fender's profit margins are extremely low, but it's a good way to take back some business from the cheap copycats. I mean, who's gonna pay $90 for a Glarry now when they can get a real Strat for $30 more? This will be Strat #6 in my current lineup. I also have a Fojill mahogany light relic Strat, two Squier Affinity Strats, a DIY kit built Strat and a 2007 MIM Fender Standard Strat, all of which I heavily modded or restored.
This is a really cheap but good guitar. For about 150€... I don't need it, but it could be a fun project to make it a lot better. First I would add the shielding. New potentiometers, switch and maybe the pickups, but I would change the pickups only if it still sounds not good to me. The tremolo block is still an option. A bigger block will sound better. Also the strings could make a slight difference. D'addario NYXL 10-46 or XL Cromes 10-48.....😊
I've have many guitars that ive collected over the years. The squire that my dad bought from one of his soldiers for me in 82 is still somthing I wouldn't trade for anything. I put a dimarrzio super distortion in it. Its been painted EVH black and yellow and now like Texas flag. It's my absolute favorite to this day. oh yeah ,I forgot the hipshot bridge and tuners I added a few years back
what a killer deal - also love that they did the Squier logo with the gold script instead of the plain ugly black. This font is so superior and although it has zero effect on the tone whatsoever, I think the looks got such an increase with that smile detail. I still remember my Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster from 1996 cost me $163 and it had pretty trashy pickups as well, but worse tuners that absolutely sucked. This is leaps and bounds ahead of that and yet somehow CHEAPER! I love it for the next generation....
2:47 - That's 'Kayleigh' by Marillion, isn't it? 😃👍 Just in a different key 🙂 And when the fretted note at the 12th fret sounds flat to the harmonic, the saddle needs to move closer to the neck, not bridge 😉 And I could imagine the vibrato bridge's springs being set rather tightly in order to make tuning easier for beginners 🙂 Nice guitar, too! 😀👍 There was nothing available with _that_ kind of price/quality ratio when I'd started to learn the guitar myself, in '83! 🙂
@@robertblair-uk4ph - Thank you for the info, Robert! 😀👍 I had not heard that one before 🙂 But yeah, it's the same chord progression like in that Marillion song, just in F instead of A. 🙂
I've been playing for over 25 years now and personally, I love the squires sound and feel. I got a mini squire and a sea foam green squire which I find myself gravitating more on playing than my more expensive instruments like my gibsons goth or Dean dobro
I recently came by a Squire Mustang and swapped out the magnets in the pickups… out went the nasty ceramics, in went a pair on Alnico Vs. A very cheap mod but one that paid off. The difference was night and day.
Checked my Amazon account and had $75 in credits that I didn’t remember so picked one up! Been playing an American Precision Bass for the last 40 years, figured I’d buy my first 6 string! Couldn’t help myself at this price.
I’ve seen whole custom electrical assemblies using decent pickups, switches and pots etc for sale on eBay, usually comes fitted into a standard strat pick guard ready to go. Could be the shout for one of these.
Great review Andy and I thought I should add my take on "cheap" guitars. For a learner = Great! For a new budding musician = Doubly Great! For a professional musician making a meager existence in the trade = Absolutely bloody lovely For a professional musician doing big gigs - well = listen to your sound crew, roadies or producers. Reasoning: Cheap is not rubbish. Nowadays it is quality, sometimes excellent quality, at an excellent price. Why take a 1000£$ € bit of kit on public/dodgy transport to a local gig? For better sounds from a low cost guitar: use lower volumes and get the gritty sounds from a pedal. Sometimes (all times) compression pedal is a must (Boss is your friend here) It is better to trash, by over use? over practice? experimental hardware 'improvements' on a low cost instrument than on a trophy cost instrument 🙂
Really decent guitar. One of my jobs at a 2nd-hand store was the guitar guy starting in the early 90's first hit and I had to get my bosses to stop buying Squier Bullets because they were so bad. 30-some years later I have no problem recommending even the Sonics , though I also recommend that very new player should have their first guitar set up by a pro. I bought my daughter an Affinity series Squier Tele with zero regrets and it only need a small setup that I did myself. The jack issue can be solved with some PURPLE (only!) thread locker of any brand. What happens is the nuts come loose and they're easy enough to fix but the wires start getting twisted around and eventually break, especially on some inexpensive guitars where they often use cheaper wire. It's $7 vs a repair or buying the $$ StewMac gadget that lets you tighten jacks without twisting the wires around. New strings need to be stretched before playing. That's why they were less stable before a few yanks on the whammy, and more stable after. Trem bars should be hidden from new players until they're intermediate players. They're guaranteed several trips to the store to replace snapped strings from newbies reefing on the whammy, goofing off and not learning how to play.
Great point on the trem bar and especially stretching the strings. That's some good info that a beginner should know because tuning is so frustrating when you're starting out and not knowing the string need to be stretched is such an easy thing that guys should point out more in these type of videos.
@@zigsrig I rarely see the guys on YT stretching strings. They just inform people that they're going to do, or did, a string change and there's a hard cut and everything is perfect.
Great review, really showed that you don't need to spend a fortune when you start. I play a Fender P bass but bought a Squier Sonic as a modding platform - it was great out of the box.
I've never liked my acoustic guitar, Hurts my fingers when playing, Sounds too loud so im always self conscious when playing, I've always wanted an electric guitar for so many reasons. I'm definitely picking this up.
Hey buddy, I own two Squiers classic vibe Stratocaster and telecaster and I love them both. You buy what you can afford especially if you find a brand that has no problems except for the loose output jack now and then. Good video.
That awesome matt finish and the bright pickups make the Squier Debut a most attractive option for anyone. I preferred the amplified sound of the Squier Debut to the Fender Player and your Hendrix sounds were very pleasant to the ear indeed!?
I am not one who plays electric guitars a lot. I work more with acoustic. So I don't have a lot invested in electric. I bought a Strat Squire about 30 years ago and still love it. It has served me well over the years. It recently needed a repair, which is not bad for a 30 year old instrument, and the music store had nothing bad to say about it. I would recommend Squire to anyone learning or, like me, who simply wants an electric without the high price tag.
Hispanic guy, from the U.S. here… I love your channel, you do an awesome job of equipment review and evaluation! Not to mention, you have a very “Posh” English accent..which makes me think to myself “ Subscribing to your channel is as close as I will ever get to being a Peer of the Realm” 😅 Keep Punch’n
yeah, I have seen a few other channels review this guitar , the pick-ups are not that good.. they just don't sound good... so they have to be changed out with a better fully loaded pick guard. There's no way in my opinion for the price point this is gonna sound super great..
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@@TheGuitarGeek could one upgrade the hardware pick ups etc?
As a long time musician, whenever anyone asks me 'what guitar should I buy for my kid' my answer is nearly always "squire". They're solid instruments for the price, and are easily modded.
The two bottom Squier Stratocasters, currently named Sonic and Affinity, are less straightforward to modify because their bodies are thinner than standard. I would recommend an Ibanez AZES in this price range, though I always recommend humbuckers to beginners because repositioning to avoid hum is not conducive to learning proper ergonomics; similarly, I recommend that people start with a hardtail.
The Squier Classic Vibes are much easier to mod since parts are easily sourced, especially when factoring in fitment. The prices are a tad more though, but that does scale with the overall quality of the instrument.
I'm a pro musician and I own 3 used squier strats with loaded pick guards and klusson tuners installed, setup and fret sanding done by me. Voila I now have 3 guitars that sound, play and stay in tune like a $1500 strat for the price of a MIM strat.
The beauty of a massively popular modular guitar like the Strat, is that you can easily upgrade ANY spec of Strat to any other, given time, money, and knowledge of what you want, and you can do it at the pace that suits your situation.
I started on MIJ Squier Strat in black gloss. I still miss it, and wish I hadn't traded it in, and just spent the extra money.
The quality of modern cheap guitars is phenomenal. A great time to be a beginner.
Lucky for me, I've been a beginner since 1978
Everyone talks about the guitars. For me its about the knowledge. I didnt have access to unlimited free lessons. Because youtube was well over a decade away from existing when i learned, i was lucky to catch glimpses of chord shapes pausing mtv videos.
The 90’s were hard for cheap gear. But even harder to learn songs. Made me develop near perfect pitch from having to retune to every tape
@@Ottophil Exactly. This is why there is such a glut of very flash youngsters on YT. It was all handed to them for free. We had to buy books, magazines, lessons. There were very few ways to learn with no cost involved. Plus beginner level instruments were by and large a load of poo.
The tech hasnt changed much in over 70 years... but manufacturing has grown lightyears. This is the same energy as the first digital calculators costing serious money, compared to them being a free app on nearly every device and nickle favours in arcade machines.
@@shadowhenge7118 Progress in manufacturing? I would rather call it acceptance of slavery.
I feel that Leo Fender would be proud to know that his Strat is still affordable for anyone to own these days. He made it for the working man musician after all.
Yet the Strat wasn't affordable when it was introduced. A 1954 Stratocaster when introduced would be about $2600 in today's dollars.
Fender guitars were extremely expensive for their time.
You were meant to nick em.
If he was for workers rights, too ...i dont think he would be proud that it is sold on amazon. 🤷🏻
Playing a G&L FULLERTON ASAT CLASSIC, it's a much better built fender 🇺🇸 telecaster..... I DOUBT THAT LEO WOULD BE PLEASE WITH HUMAN SLAVERY IN CHEAPER GUITARS ‼️
Mike Rutherford of Genesis played a couple of Squier bullet strats on the last Genesis tour. He bought them in lockdown, when he was stuck in South Africa without a guitar, but liked them so much, he carried on using them. I think his tech upgraded the hardware, but kept the stock pickups in at least one of them.
Unless you're a gigging pro who is making money as a musician, I don't see any reason to buy higher-end guitars. For me, $1000 is the absolute limit for a guitar, and you can get fantastic name-brand axes for that. But you can also save money and get lower-priced but well-engineered guitars like this Squier. I have a Classic Vibe 50s Squier that I paid less than $400 for, and it is as good as any $1000 guitar that I own. Great video!
@@dontrapani7778 Great take on things! I completely agree with you. As a younger musician (17) who has made maybe 100$ from playing. I have found so much love and respect for cheaper guitars. My most expensive guitar is an 800$ Flying V. And I get a better feel and even tone out of my Jackson JS-22 7 string King V which I got for about 225$. Money does not equal quality 🙏🏻
The Classic Vibes are out of this world for price vs performance. When I was looking for a bass (primarily a guitarist), I tried a used Mexican JazzBass vs new Squier CV JazzBass and walked out with the CV which was a $100 cheaper. The neck was nicer, the pickups sounded fuller, and finish was nicer too. 🤷♂
Going to be honest, I'd feel a lot more comfortable playing a Squier on an average gig than a PRS that I'd be worried Things will happen to (by things I mostly mean theft, but I've also gotten too close to the drummer once and bumped a cymbal and discovered they can be sharp)
@@dontrapani7778 Agreed. I mostly gig on sub 500 euro guitars. Usually ones I bought used ones or parts-casters I put together myself. I wouldn’t need a ”high end” expensive guitar to gig paid shows with. But like most of guitar players at one point yli just want to own a really fancy higher end instrument. Just because how it makes you feel. I too, have a gibson sg standard and a fender player plus meteora as my ”expensive” guitars. I play them live too at times. And yes, they are fantastic instruments. But they definitely are not 2-4 times better as my cheaper ones. If I somehow get like millions of cash to spend, yeah I’ll get custom shop guitars. Otherwise I’m fine :D
Buy an old Ibanez
I bought a Mustang in this same range for someone who was just beginning to learn and she loved it. I was amazed at how well it was made given the price point. With new electronics, it could be great. I chose the Mustang over the Strat because I was afraid the cheap trem would be a nightmare. Even though yours seems to be working well, I'd still recommend a hardtail for beginners. Cheers!
Short scale is great too. Might be one of the cheapest ways to get a short-scale neck!
Me also, the sonic mustang is a lovely guitar ❤️🎸.
All of my guitars are in a short scale for many reasons but the biggest is playability.
This is your Platform if you're a Fender/Squire person.
Harley Benton does a good job at this, but for American Buyers, this might be the better way to go, Free Shippiing Saves $70-$80 that could be spent on a set of Locking Tuners or a Pickup.
It's already routed for any setup you want, what more could you ask for?
yup i got a sonic Esquire tele, put a p90 in the bridge and a tele bridge pickup in the neck (yes, angled too) and it is my favorite guitar now so fun to play!
Harley Benton is the same scam though. They sound good long enough to make an Amazon affiliate video, but they are junk after a year.
@@frankcooke1692 I have 4 Harley Bentons, had them for a few years now, and every single one of them is doing just fine.
@@frankcooke1692 do you have experience with that happening?
@@frankcooke1692 I have a JA60CC in every color, and 2 years later they're flawless still. The neck and frets are still better than my $600 made in Mexico strat, and I paid $150 each for the JA60's.
My wife bought me a Squire Strat in 2002 for Christmas. I still have it and play it daily. It was $199, but it came with a gig bag and a practice amp that was surprisingly good for the price.
Just discovered the channel and really like the format. You play enough to hear the different settings, but not too long so you forget the beginning of the previous riff. Cool review on an inexpensive guitar.
For such price you can't complain. If you need a cheap strat - you've got it. Pickups is something that can be replaced later. To have a playable neck with properly levelled frets is more important. I'd prefer a version with a bridge humbucker to be satisfied fully and I see that routing here allows such mod but it's easier to go with Bullet HSS then.
I've bought a Squier Sonic in Olympic White, changed almost everything on it, it's a nice instrument, the neck is a bit slim for my long fingers. The truss rod hexagon screw-head is messed up from the factory, I had to watch out not to make it worse when setting the relief. Installed Gotoh keys, SD, Dimarzio pickups and a new Göldo, 500k volume pot on it, changed the nut, it wasn't the best slotted nut in the world, did a fret job and it's ok now. I like it alot.
Contrast this with the Malmsteen Signature Strat I bought direct from Fender, about 15 years ago. The setup was so bad from the factory, I couldn't get it working myself and had to take it in to my tech.
Bought a 2nd hand Affinity Strat for £75 last week as a project guitar. The pots needed replacing. Nothing else needs doing. Beautiful neck, v lightweight which suits me perfectly. I own 9 other guitars, 3 of which are each worth over a grand. I have gigged the Squier and it is now my #1 instrument!
Loved positions 2 and 5 - especially through the Katana! The Neck pickup on the Squier sounded more Strat-y than the Player's Series in the head to head. Are you sure you had the pickup heights correct on the Player's? To the electronis, grab a preloaded pickguard from Guitar Fetish (Under US$40) and - Bob's your uncle (actually, Bob's my father in law)!
Often getting a few of these in a row coming across my workbench for sales prep, I get to compare several of the same model. They can look alike, yet each one has stronger and weaker points and once in awhile one comes through with everything cooking. The "Oh Yeah!" specimen.
I brought my Strat back in 77 and paid $895 and I still love it and mainly use it when I am not playing my 12 string
@@PeterElla Strats were$475 for one with a maple fretboard and $425 for the rosewood fretboard back in 77. Either you're exaggerating or you got overcharged!
Wish I'd bought my son one of these. I bought him a cheap 'Rock Jam' Strat last year and it was a hateful piece of junk. It actually set his playing back as he didn't pick it up much and stuck to his acoustic. Got him a second hand MIM Fender Tele a couple of months ago and he hasn't put it down.
I always try to get people to buy their beginner kids as good an instrument as they can afford cause crappy cheap guitars don’t get picked up much.
@@tommysanfilippo3165 It's definitely the best advice.
I couldn’t agree more! I like to call them “moderately-priced” or “intermediate” guitars. A little better resale value, I suppose, as well.@@tommysanfilippo3165
Lol I have the exact same Rock Jam strat you're talking about and it's terrible and it's the reason I've stopped playing for the past few years. I'm probably going to buy this squire soon.
I'm so impressed by these new Squiers (I used to have a JV 57 Strat back in the day) that I'm going to buy the Sonic Strat with maple board as a modding platform. I'm knocking on a bit so a small, light guitar is a good idea and I love some of the colours available in the limited run. And, as for the price - just £20 more than this one. What a time to be alive.
I modded two Squire Telecasters with a Graphite nut and a T kit from EMG. Total cost for Guitar and electronics was a little over $250.00. One went to a professional player who loves it. You can save a lot of money and still have pro quality sound. EMG kits are simple to install with hand tools. Squire guitars are much lighter and comfortable to play.
I've got a Squire Standard strat I bought new in '01. Adler body, maple neck, did a little fret work on it and put copper tape shielding inside and that's it. Sounds and plays great, I will never sell it, it's a sweet guitar.
New Guitar Players today....have it so much nicer than when I was starting out 55 years ago! What a great intro guitar!
Amen.
Yeah, we old guys (I’m in my 60s myself) remember those acoustics oftentimes without a truss rod, steel strings that could slice a tough cut of meat, and action that would make you scream in pain because you had to apply 2500 lbs. of pressure to get the strings about a quarter of a block down to the neck - and now you’ve pulled the strings about a quarter tone sharp!
@@snickpickle i'm i n my 70s! Times have really improved the entry level guitars.
I've recommended several Squier Strats to beginners, and they all have been great. I myself have an old Squier from decades ago when I was poor, and that thing sucks. I keep it for others to beat on. And I've done tons of set-up; it just was never great. Even though quality can vary, I think overall Squiers and MIM's have improved immensely. In fact, other than electronics, any MIM I have played have been better than American mades. My favorite electric is a MIM Tele that I put Seymour Duncans in.
You could do a follow up video upgrading the pickups with an affordable set below €200 and see how it stacks up. And a proper setup, of course!
Because that's what beginners do?
@@NeungView it's what beginners might do after learning to play and wanting to improve their tone on the cheap.
Put Fender pickups in it. If you dare!!
I honestly don't think pickups are the issue here. It sounds like a Strat should.
@@NeungView Yes, it's much cheaper to be able to upgrade your guitar piece by piece than to outright buy a really expensive one.
Thank you. I've been looking for a good basic guitar to learn some chops on, and this fits it. I think I'll be getting one
This sounds like a solid mod platform for a hobbyist or even for a beginner who wants to take it to a shop in a year or two and make some upgrades to it and keep it going.
What a fantastic starter guitar or a modding platform! I have a Squier Tele that has been modded to within an inch of its life! 🙂 A 2nd hand Squier Strat that I paid 40 euros for as a non working guitar for modding. I have have changed the trem system and the nut. It has now relegated my MIM Fender Strat to the case for years now!
I agree with that. Fender Play has been a great resource for me. I’ve been doing the yearly subscription for 2 years now. I really recommend it.
I have a squire affinity strat, and squire affinity tele, both in the Olympic white, and I love them both. Those were $300 ea before tax
Beautiful budget Fender guitars.
They're well made and work fine for me.
I also have a 2003 First Act strat that I bought at Walmart for my oldest son when he was 6 (he lost interest in learning) and it is a great guitar, built well and sounds fantastic, and for what I paid $60 I was delightfully surprised, it holds up perfectly to my affinity series guitars.
really nice clean intro, sweet reverb and did hear the touch from your fingers, hope the tuners bold up. cheers
Im currently gigging a squire bass and all i did is put on flat wounds, really happy with it.
Was a tiny spring in the bag with the trem arm?
There should be one that goes into the trem arm hole to push against the arm and stop it dropping when you 'let go' of it.
I love your straight forward reviews. You don't sugar coat things when something is outright bad but, you are fair about things for the price point.
I have a Squire Tele with double humbucker pickups called an HH model. Love it.
I have a 24 year old Fender standard Strat that I replaced the pickups in a few years back, and it still plays and sounds great. I have a Squire Jazz Bass that I bought new awhile back for around $150 and put some good active Seymour Duncan pickups in it, and its been very good for the money. It needs some repairs to the jack at this point, but that is my fault when I replaced the pickups, the solder was weak. Overall the hardware is always solid. Even Epiphone makes some good mid-tier guitars. The Wildkat is probably my favorite of the few I own. It also needs some repair to the jack, but its pretty typical for lower end guitar to have some issues long term. Nothing I cannot fix. Not a beginner by any means, but my budget isn't high enough to spend what I would really want, and I don't see much of a difference between the $150-400 range vs the $600+. You just don't get a huge increase in value for the money.
Awesome review. Agreed, great as a starter guitar. It has potential though for a curious/handy person who could get their hands on a fully loaded Strat pickguard and get some humbucker action in there. Cheers!
I'm staggered. Even the tone on those pickups is good! That lovely twangy mid/top end is pretty nice. Get a good setup and some new strings on it and it would make a cracking guitar, whether you're a beginner or not. I wish these had been around when I started what, 30 years ago or so. I'd have been immensely happy!
The variety of sounds from that guitar is phenomenal
It's good to have a wizard at the controls. I played a Yamaha Pacifica for a year and a half before I had it set up by a real Luthier. I'm an idiot! Having the guitar set up made a world of difference. Should be done immediately, especially for new students.
I got a Squier Sonic Mustang last fall and had to send it back for a large crack, then got a replacement and spent a couple hours working on the frets and set up, then plugged it in to discover the output jack didn't work. Sent that one back, too, and just asked for my tiny bit of money back. I was shocked to see they released even cheaper guitars for Amazon.
I put the money towards saving for a better one, and got a Fender Strat this Spring. Very happy with my new guitar.
The very budget guitars are kind of a lottery. Great when you win!
Dude it takes like 5 minutes to fix an output jack. If you're gonna play guitar, you'll have to learn how to use a soldering iron at some point.
@@frankcooke1692 Well in this case, after spending two hours on the guitar and being very disappointed with everything about it, I was almost relieved to have a reason to trigger a return. It wasn't worth fixing the output jack.
@@sagittated Fair enough. I have my suspicions that Squeir doesn't even know where these things come from. They're just sourcing it from AliBaba to compete with the Harley Benton business model.
@@frankcooke1692 they are definitely made to compete for the business of people in the market for the least expensive possible guitar. And/or people willing to put a ton of work into getting it in shape. (And even then...)
I would highly recommend people save up longer and get Squiers at the next level up, or the level above that. The Affinity are ok, and the CV level stuff is honestly pretty good. They often go on sale, and are worth the increased price tag.
I love your reviews (and content generally) - thanks for another excellent honest appraisal. As an absolute beginner (and hopeless STUFF hoarder and tinkerer, for whom guitars are the latest runaway hobby/obsession) I gravitate to reviewers, commentators and tutors who strike the right chord (sorry) and you're up there with the best IM(VH)O. In a very short space of time I've gone from 0 to 7 guitars of which 3 are Squier - an Affinity Tele, Classic Vibe Tele, and a Classic Vibe Strat. And (albeit as a total noob to this world), they seem the most astonishingly good bang for the buck! I've got a long way to go before I can actually play anything, which makes me even more appreciative of those with the knowledge and skill to not only make a guitar sound great, but talk about it intelligently and entertainingly at the same time. Thank you!
I'm exactly the same. My problem is it's hard to turn down a good deal.
2:48 Waves from Mr. Probz…I just went down in my guitar room to try this. It is a nice practice lick…😊
Yes I got the sunburst version and the action , intonation and sound was much better than expected!Very wise purchase!
Squire is crushing it these days. Seriously, Never thought I’d own one, now I have 3 that I love a double bound sunburst 60s CV Tele, a LPB 60s CV Strat, and a LPB Paranormal 12 string Jaguar. All three play and sound amazing. I’ve upgraded the two CVs with locking tuners, Fender pups and full sized pots, etc. though they were great before all that.
@@bldallas Squier not Squire
@@Lez325 gee, thank you soooo much, for clearing that up. I mean a bunch of people probably thought I was talking about a 14 year old male, from the Middle Ages, on his second step toward becoming a knight. Imagine their confusion had you not hopped on my ridiculous type-o, like a duck on a June bug. I surely feel lucky and relieved there are English experts, like yourself, Lez325, here to police these posts and maintain an impeccable level of accuracy and clarity. Without your corrections, this forum would devolve into a lawless back alley filled with riffraff and generally poor spellers. Your diligent corrections are appreciated more than an ice cold beer on a hot summer day. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you!
You just pointed out the same problem I have with my Squier (my only guitar). It has a 40mm neck and no matter what I do, I can't get my fingers on the strings properly. Yes a 42mm neck is technically only 2mm difference split up between the 6 strings, but for some reason, this particular neck I just can't do it.
Glad you're having such an enjoyable experience with this guitar, sadly I didn't have the same first impression with the telecaster model (seems to be a Europe exclusive as far as I can tell). The neck pickup was broken beyond repair and I had some issues setting up the bridge (the break angle of the top-loaded strings was too shallow which led to bad buzzing. Had to shim the neck to raise the saddles and that fixed it).
So I wouldn't recommend the debut tele to a beginner. Might have to check out the strat as well.
But the neck was pretty much flawless with fretwork that's similar to what you described here.
Would be interesting to see a comparison if you can get your hands on the tele model.
Wow... amazing sounds, I often think of how my playing would be if I had such an instrument when I started to learn... some 60 years ago.
The pickups in these inexpensive Squier's are fine if you simply upgrade the small stock electronics. Just install quality full size pots and a orange drop cap, add a switchcraft selector switch and a PureTone output jack. About a $65-$75 investment If you do the work yourself. Quality solder and GAVITT cloth wire is also very important for long lasting connections that won't crack. It only costs about $15 bucks for a guitar tool setup kit. Every guitar player should own one. Cheers! .
Great video, particularly that you play with a clean tone as well, without effects camuflaging anything. Plus finger picking, my style. Thanks.
What kind of guitar hanger is that behind you holding those 6? Thanks for the video, great information and beautiful playing!
i’ve done SO much research on this guitar for my first guitar. This video really helped me! I love your videos and I didn’t expect you to do a video on this!
Get a Boss Katana 2 amp $239(50 watt). I wish I had. My 10 watt Fender amp is ok $80. But I wish I had done some research on amps first. Squire also makes guitars with humbuckers and single coil pickups in same guitar. My first was an epiphone les paul with 2 humbuckers.
@@philwood9760 I’m choosing this guitar because i’m broke🥲 I don’t got that one for an amp💀😭
I remember a buddy of mine in the mid-80s buying a brand new white superstrat (no idea what brand) and it was incredible to play - it didn't shred your fingertips, it stayed in tune, the action was a flat as a pancake, it had 24 frets (!) and it wasn't a Gibson or a Fender. He's been a professional musician for over thirty years now, with his own studio etc.
Had a slim body squire for 30 years, the neck is the best I've played. The quality is not of Fender, absolutely. But, I love the crunch I get out of the squire. That warm tone you get from a Fender, you can't get that from a squire. As a starter guitar, they're amazing. Also, having the routing for humbuckers is super convenient for upgrading. I got squire showmaster pickups transferred in mine for the humbucker, mid and neck. Sounds great! 👍
One of these and a monoprice tube amp with a cheap mooer multifx pedal,
and a beginner has everything they could need for awhile
HI Mr GuitarGeek
The thin neck would be perfect for kids like me.
I tried out the Katana 100 at a music store. WOW.
The Squier and Katana 50 would be an amazing starter package.
Something I would love to try out.
I’m not sure you would be able to put standard fender electronics in it, if you were set to upgrade it, because of the thickness.
Have an old Affinity Tele with a thin body, and the cavity won’t quite fit the new electronics (I’m not an expert on strats tho)
So glad you made this video. As a singer song writer and someone who is hosting a Sunday (acoustic) afternoon jam at my house, I still have been wanting a Stratocaster guitar as they are one of the best clean setting and low volume sounding guitars. The lead guitarist who was going to join us has joined a performing band, so I am going to (play the hand) no pun intended, that this jam has given me and start playing lead also. Here we go! I hope to get a 2-color sunburst version. Thanks. I think such a guitar will fit my needs perfectly and if any part eventually fails, I will simply replace them with better parts. I too like the satin finish. I found your videos instructive, unbiased, honest, informative and interesting, I watched this one from end to end. Have another question. I have a electric arch top with no manufacturer name. I had a friend (luthier) go through it and replace the tuners, make sure the electrics were all OK, replaced the battleship grey plate behind the knobs and missing pick guard with tortoise shell ones. He also found NO Mfg. name anywhere. The plate on the back of the guitar is all zeroes except for a few letters. To date NO ONE has been able to figure out the history on this guitar. Do you know someone I could send photos of what I call "Tobacco Road" (because of the beautiful Tobacco sunburst finish) also has"V" inlays in the neck to, who might be able to help me discover it's lineage? Brian Gardner bgardner2323@yahoo.com.
What a great review! I just ordered one from Amazon because of your high praise!
I think you nailed it, and so did Squier -- a solid guitar with cheap electronics (the other way round would be a total waste of money). Top grade electronics can be had for around 250€, a medium-to-top grade Wikinson bridge for another 100+€, and you'll end up with a fairly good guitar, IF the newbie decides to go through. Looks like a decent offering to me.
I bought a cheap Squire as my first guitar, I think that changing the strings made a huge difference in how it sounds. It seems obvious that they'll not be installing any $20.00 strings on a $129.00 guitar.
Great review.
I was thinking about pulling the trigger on one of these as a mod platform.
Seems it would be perfect in that regard.
Cheers!
I recently bought a kit from Amazon .. which was marked down significantly to $113. It required paying premium price to buy four cans of decent lacquer and a whole lot of time to finish painting and sanding and polishing it.
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When you measure the complaints .. against what you paid for it .. this $119 guitar is a dream and should warrant zero complaints.
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Does not seem fair to measure it against the sound of a much higher price Fender that has premium pickups and electronics.
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The old axiom "you get what you paid for" holds true.
Nice variation on "always on the run" Lenny Kravitz and slash! I love it, favorite song!
I just bought a black sonic Squier. I absolutely love it. And the best thing about it is that it plays very well and if you don’t like the pick ups you can always replace them. And the HSH routing is great, talk about versatility!
Got mine in sunburst. Mine plays great with no problems, just needed some small tweeks.Great for a beginner and you cannot beat the price.
It’s a no brainer in the USA. $119 shipped.
I would always recommend Squier for a beginner who wants to buy a budget guitar. I got my father-in-law a second hand Indonesian Bullet, put fresh strings on it and set it up nicely; excellent guitar for 80 euros. I had it in my house for over a week before I could give it and I just kept playing it because it was genuinely a joy to play.
The Squire has a little bit more brightness in the tone than the classic; that could be due to age of the pickups though too. I really enjoyed the sound of that Squire, I'm going to have to look into one of those little guys sometime, thanks.
Do you know if Fender has these matte colors available for the Player and American strats? I really like it.
Get one, and buy a proper strat neck!
😂
Those indonesian Squire basses are pretty fantastic after a fret leveling. On some of those models they don't put all that heavy lacquer on the necks so you get this lively, smooth, and fast playing neck.
Dude, I'm a drummer and don't pay guitar (can't get past the sore fingers on the first day.) I watch your videos mainly because you are fair, thorough, and you obviously enjoy what you are doing----makes it a pleasure to tune in. HOWEVER-- all I want to do is turn on my electric kit and play along to your testing. Question: where can I get some videos of you simply playing guitar so I can get through a complete song with you? Keep on doing what you do!
Great tone your getting from the squier and your amp. Once you set the springs to match the string tension these bridges will stay in tune untill you change the tunning. then ya have to tune it several times while the springs settle. Everyone should learn this. Maybe you should use your channel and tell people how to adjust the springs
I went ahead and ordered one (supposed to be here tomorrow) because it's only $120 and I already have a loaded pickguard with alnico v pickups and a wiring harness with upgraded pots and thick braided wires laying around and a set of locking tuners that are unassigned as of right now, so why not? I kinda have to. I got the 2 tone sunburst one. I'll probably just keep the stock trem because I'm not much of a whammy bar guy anyway, but I'll still leave it floating.
I kinda like that it only has one string tree and the slim headstock. Traditionally, the cheaper ones have two trees and the fat 70s headstock, so it gives it a little bit more classic look. I'll probably swap the tree out for a roller tree. I've heard good things about these, I have to imagine Fender's profit margins are extremely low, but it's a good way to take back some business from the cheap copycats. I mean, who's gonna pay $90 for a Glarry now when they can get a real Strat for $30 more?
This will be Strat #6 in my current lineup. I also have a Fojill mahogany light relic Strat, two Squier Affinity Strats, a DIY kit built Strat and a 2007 MIM Fender Standard Strat, all of which I heavily modded or restored.
I had a good one once. An Ashton strat copy. I had it in a storage locker for 6 months and it was still in tune.
This is a really cheap but good guitar. For about 150€... I don't need it, but it could be a fun project to make it a lot better. First I would add the shielding. New potentiometers, switch and maybe the pickups, but I would change the pickups only if it still sounds not good to me. The tremolo block is still an option. A bigger block will sound better. Also the strings could make a slight difference. D'addario NYXL 10-46 or XL Cromes 10-48.....😊
Squier basses are great, too. I switched out the stock pickup on mine with a Seymour Duncan, and it made a big difference.
I've have many guitars that ive collected over the years. The squire that my dad bought from one of his soldiers for me in 82 is still somthing I wouldn't trade for anything. I put a dimarrzio super distortion in it. Its been painted EVH black and yellow and now like Texas flag. It's my absolute favorite to this day. oh yeah ,I forgot the hipshot bridge and tuners I added a few years back
what a killer deal - also love that they did the Squier logo with the gold script instead of the plain ugly black. This font is so superior and although it has zero effect on the tone whatsoever, I think the looks got such an increase with that smile detail. I still remember my Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster from 1996 cost me $163 and it had pretty trashy pickups as well, but worse tuners that absolutely sucked. This is leaps and bounds ahead of that and yet somehow CHEAPER! I love it for the next generation....
2:47 - That's 'Kayleigh' by Marillion, isn't it? 😃👍 Just in a different key 🙂
And when the fretted note at the 12th fret sounds flat to the harmonic, the saddle needs to move closer to the neck, not bridge 😉
And I could imagine the vibrato bridge's springs being set rather tightly in order to make tuning easier for beginners 🙂
Nice guitar, too! 😀👍 There was nothing available with _that_ kind of price/quality ratio when I'd started to learn the guitar myself, in '83! 🙂
Waves by Mr. Probz. Have to say, not a song I ever expected to crop up on a guitar review channel, but it sounded good.
@@robertblair-uk4ph - Thank you for the info, Robert! 😀👍 I had not heard that one before 🙂 But yeah, it's the same chord progression like in that Marillion song, just in F instead of A. 🙂
I've been playing for over 25 years now and personally, I love the squires sound and feel. I got a mini squire and a sea foam green squire which I find myself gravitating more on playing than my more expensive instruments like my gibsons goth or Dean dobro
Nicce. I'm looking forward to reviews of the new offset tele and affinity offsets from fender squier
Making cheap guitars better is my thing...I love'em💚🎸thx for the content and sharing.
Yes! Same for me...
Was this guitar bought anonymously or sent to you knowing it would be reviewed? Just wonder if the setup would always be up to standard
I recently came by a Squire Mustang and swapped out the magnets in the pickups… out went the nasty ceramics, in went a pair on Alnico Vs. A very cheap mod but one that paid off. The difference was night and day.
Checked my Amazon account and had $75 in credits that I didn’t remember so picked one up! Been playing an American Precision Bass for the last 40 years, figured I’d buy my first 6 string! Couldn’t help myself at this price.
I’ve seen whole custom electrical assemblies using decent pickups, switches and pots etc for sale on eBay, usually comes fitted into a standard strat pick guard ready to go. Could be the shout for one of these.
The trouble with low end Squires is that they vary from guitar to guitar. Quality control varies. And fret edges are sometimes sharp not smooth.
Yes; and with a 'little age ,un-oiled (green) fret board....the board shirinks enough that the fret-edges can 'surface'.
Got a Squire Bullet on my birthday in the '80s. Virtually the same price. Sold it for more a few years ago; guess it was a good era for Squire.
Great review Andy and I thought I should add my take on "cheap" guitars.
For a learner = Great!
For a new budding musician = Doubly Great!
For a professional musician making a meager existence in the trade = Absolutely bloody lovely
For a professional musician doing big gigs - well = listen to your sound crew, roadies or producers.
Reasoning: Cheap is not rubbish. Nowadays it is quality, sometimes excellent quality, at an excellent price.
Why take a 1000£$ € bit of kit on public/dodgy transport to a local gig?
For better sounds from a low cost guitar: use lower volumes and get the gritty sounds from a pedal.
Sometimes (all times) compression pedal is a must (Boss is your friend here)
It is better to trash, by over use? over practice? experimental hardware 'improvements' on a low cost instrument than on a trophy cost instrument 🙂
Hi, Fran! I got my shirt a week or so ago. Mine is light green. I really enjoy it.
Really decent guitar. One of my jobs at a 2nd-hand store was the guitar guy starting in the early 90's first hit and I had to get my bosses to stop buying Squier Bullets because they were so bad. 30-some years later I have no problem recommending even the Sonics , though I also recommend that very new player should have their first guitar set up by a pro. I bought my daughter an Affinity series Squier Tele with zero regrets and it only need a small setup that I did myself.
The jack issue can be solved with some PURPLE (only!) thread locker of any brand. What happens is the nuts come loose and they're easy enough to fix but the wires start getting twisted around and eventually break, especially on some inexpensive guitars where they often use cheaper wire. It's $7 vs a repair or buying the $$ StewMac gadget that lets you tighten jacks without twisting the wires around.
New strings need to be stretched before playing. That's why they were less stable before a few yanks on the whammy, and more stable after.
Trem bars should be hidden from new players until they're intermediate players. They're guaranteed several trips to the store to replace snapped strings from newbies reefing on the whammy, goofing off and not learning how to play.
Great point on the trem bar and especially stretching the strings. That's some good info that a beginner should know because tuning is so frustrating when you're starting out and not knowing the string need to be stretched is such an easy thing that guys should point out more in these type of videos.
@@zigsrig I rarely see the guys on YT stretching strings. They just inform people that they're going to do, or did, a string change and there's a hard cut and everything is perfect.
Great review, really showed that you don't need to spend a fortune when you start. I play a Fender P bass but bought a Squier Sonic as a modding platform - it was great out of the box.
I've never liked my acoustic guitar,
Hurts my fingers when playing,
Sounds too loud so im always self conscious when playing,
I've always wanted an electric guitar for so many reasons.
I'm definitely picking this up.
Hey buddy, I own two Squiers classic vibe Stratocaster and telecaster and I love them both. You buy what you can afford especially if you find a brand that has no problems except for the loose output jack now and then. Good video.
6:42 is that a really basic version of Always on the Run by Lenny Kravitz?
That awesome matt finish and the bright pickups make the Squier Debut a most attractive option for anyone. I preferred the amplified sound of the Squier Debut to the Fender Player and your Hendrix sounds were very pleasant to the ear indeed!?
I am not one who plays electric guitars a lot. I work more with acoustic. So I don't have a lot invested in electric. I bought a Strat Squire about 30 years ago and still love it. It has served me well over the years. It recently needed a repair, which is not bad for a 30 year old instrument, and the music store had nothing bad to say about it. I would recommend Squire to anyone learning or, like me, who simply wants an electric without the high price tag.
Hispanic guy, from the U.S. here…
I love your channel, you do an awesome job of equipment review and evaluation!
Not to mention, you have a very “Posh” English accent..which makes me think to myself “ Subscribing to your channel is as close as I will ever get to being a Peer of the Realm” 😅
Keep Punch’n
Y'all have it good today when it comes to starter guitars! My first guitar was terrible with action about 1/2 an inch high!
yeah, I have seen a few other channels review this guitar , the pick-ups are not that good.. they just don't sound good... so they have to be changed out with a better fully loaded pick guard. There's no way in my opinion for the price point this is gonna sound super great..
Nice sounding guitar - you had me sold on this as soon as it was plugged in.