I've had one of these HH squier strats in a metallic grey sparkle for the past year and it's been my go to since I bought it, even after buying an EC-401
This video just goes to show how Squire have really upped their game great quality budget friendly guitars for beginners and professionals alike you can never go wrong buying one
I bought the gun metal version of this squire and honestly it plays and holds it's tune amazing. I've had no problems with the tuning stability of the bridge , it's pretty damn good compared to the high quality Floyd roses . It goes a bit flat after dive bombs but that happens with a ton of other floating bridges so there is nothing wrong with this guitar . I've only had to use the fine tuners a couple times after months of playing , it can take more abuse than You think!
I have this guitar, its pretty damn nice. I swapped the FR for an OFR and its a direct drop in. set it up for drop d and its really easy to play. the pickups aren't as hot as I wanted but hell you can just up the gain and be fine
I have a set of Black Winters I’m planning on putting in one. I’ve been looking around at guitars forever lol I was looking at the EVH Wolfgang Standard with quilted maple but fell in love with the Squier in gunmetal finish
My first electric was a 2001 Squier Stagemaster. It was midnight black, HSH config. Had a licensed floyd. It was easily one of the coolest guitars i ever had. It was stolen from me. I miss it. Used they go for what my older brother payed for it new, lmao its wild. Those were most certainly made for metal heads.
Borrowing one from a friend and it is such a cool guitar, I never thought it would be so easy and nice to play. Sounds great and the floyd rose unit is stable as can be.
Floyd specials need some TLC. The fine tuners are rough but if you remove the string locking bolts and file the bottom of the tuner screws flat they work a lot smoother. The locking nut clamps are soft and they slip. Replace with original Floyd clamps. Other than that they're okayish. Don't over tighten the string locks in the bridge and they won't strip. Gotta be gentle...
Ray, can't say I have played too many of the "licensed floyd rose" systems but from what I gather they aren't much different if any from the floyd 1000 and special. That being said there are a few things I would look at. Provided the knife edges on the trem aren't all beat up the main thing I would look at is spring tension, especially being in a drop tuning. I will tune using a block on the trem to keep it locked into position, then adjust the springs until the block becomes loose enough to basically fall out. Then I will check the tuning, if my low strings become sharp once the block is gone I will release some tension and vice versa. Doesn't usually take me more than 20 minutes to get to a super stable floyd.
I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but I'm sure he knows all of what you said already. I have used "licensed Floyd rose" systems before several times, and they are not up to the same standard as the Floyd 1000. They just aren't. You can woodblock them all you want during setup, they just won't hold tuning like the real thing. Also, when using a Floyd 1000, I have never had an issue where drop tuning had any dramatic effect in tuning stability during a setup. I'm honestly curious to hear what you think, and if you have had any extreme differences from what I just said.
@@MrSneakyPants lol David, the reason I comment on Ray's videos with floyd tips and tricks is because he is self admittedly a novice when it comes to the system. We all need help from time to time and a little friendly advice from folks who have used them for well over 20 years can never hurt. Best of luck to you bud 😁.
@@MrSneakyPants as for there being a difference between some licensed and the floyd 1000 and or special, like I said in my origional comment I haven't really had a ton of experience with them. Some I hear are great, but I hear around the same amount of negative comments. In my own personal experience with all of the floyd systems, once setup properly they all hold their own. One major difference between the low end Floyd's and the high end ones is the knife edges tend to hold up better on the higher end. I have heard that a lot of the floyd licensed systems use brass knife edges instead of steel. Not a problem if they are worked on and maintained properly, but if by chance someone decided to set their bridge height under tension... well bye bye knife edges and hello stability problems (why I mentioned making sure the knife edges were good). All in all besides some cheaper materials in some places and a slightly different look, most if not all licensed Floyd's should perform just as good as the 1000 or special. On a side not my mention of drop tuning was because in a lot of occasions the spring for the low strings side will be slightly less tension to make up for the loss of string tension on that side, provided you aren't making up for that with a larger string. We are all a part of a community here David. Helping each other is what we should be doing. Not slamming one another for making suggestions.
Nice demo, thanks for ripping on that thang :-) Ill fix the Floyd, I think I know what the issue is... Gonna refinish it in a swirl, headstock and all woot woot !
Bought this model, in shell pink too, I really like it, but I am only a bedroom player, it's absolutely fine for me, the Floyd is OK, I don't really go .mad on it, I did drop the pick ups down a bit, they where a bit to hot and ice picky for me, but overall a great guitar for the price, great review man
Great review man, I got one of these last year and love it for the playability and looks. Though it is my first and last floyd rose guitar - such a pain in the arse to maintain!
I sold my guitar with a Floyd last year. Even though it takes 40 minutes to change the strings I'm missing all the cool tricks you can do with the tremolo 😂
so would you say the "Slim C" neck shape in the specs is inaccurate? Or do you mean it's just thicker than an Ibanez etc ? Is it thicker than your typical slim Squier neck?
Your playing was great , the pickups sounded great. Makes me want to get one of these squires 70's Head stock . Upgrade the Floyd , for the money $$$$$👍💯% worth it .
I received an offer on reverb for one of these at a low price of 197 dollars. If I had money at the time I woudve def got it bcse that’s 200 less then what they had it listen in the first place.
Have you tried different strings to make the tuning stable? I've had good luck with daddario nyxl strings in the Jackson v floyd rose and affinity strat with a stock trem.
I’ve been interested in the Hardtail Squier Strat Special with the cool pickup placements and roasted maple neck. Kills me they only matched the neck with a roasted maple fretboard on the ones with a trem, the HTs get an Indian Laurel board. If I could have the HT with the roasted board that would be so awesome.
This guitar with a Duncan JB's in the bridge or the Jackson SDXMN Adrian Smith Signature with one of the earlier mentioned premium pickups in the bridge, soooo hard to decide =( The Squier is a bit cheaper, but the Jackson comes with a nicer compound radius neck, so it is more space where you play your chords and faster and thinner where you play solos. Hmmm it is sooo hard to choose between these two, HELP ME PS. After seeing this video, with the tuning not being great and so on, maybe the Floyd Rose Special in the Jackson guitar is a bit more stable and better quality than the licensed FR in the Squier ?
I've had one of these HH squier strats in a metallic grey sparkle for the past year and it's been my go to since I bought it, even after buying an EC-401
This video just goes to show how Squire have really upped their game great quality budget friendly guitars for beginners and professionals alike you can never go wrong buying one
I bought the gun metal version of this squire and honestly it plays and holds it's tune amazing. I've had no problems with the tuning stability of the bridge , it's pretty damn good compared to the high quality Floyd roses . It goes a bit flat after dive bombs but that happens with a ton of other floating bridges so there is nothing wrong with this guitar . I've only had to use the fine tuners a couple times after months of playing , it can take more abuse than You think!
He had that early deftones tone LOCKED! Ray congrats on the new axe
I have this guitar, its pretty damn nice. I swapped the FR for an OFR and its a direct drop in. set it up for drop d and its really easy to play. the pickups aren't as hot as I wanted but hell you can just up the gain and be fine
I have a set of Black Winters I’m planning on putting in one. I’ve been looking around at guitars forever lol I was looking at the EVH Wolfgang Standard with quilted maple but fell in love with the Squier in gunmetal finish
My first electric was a 2001 Squier Stagemaster. It was midnight black, HSH config. Had a licensed floyd. It was easily one of the coolest guitars i ever had. It was stolen from me. I miss it. Used they go for what my older brother payed for it new, lmao its wild. Those were most certainly made for metal heads.
Borrowing one from a friend and it is such a cool guitar, I never thought it would be so easy and nice to play. Sounds great and the floyd rose unit is stable as can be.
Sounds great Ray! Definitely looks like a good Strat to play around with and mod for fun. Definitely still on my project guitar list!
Floyd specials need some TLC. The fine tuners are rough but if you remove the string locking bolts and file the bottom of the tuner screws flat they work a lot smoother. The locking nut clamps are soft and they slip. Replace with original Floyd clamps. Other than that they're okayish. Don't over tighten the string locks in the bridge and they won't strip. Gotta be gentle...
Ray, can't say I have played too many of the "licensed floyd rose" systems but from what I gather they aren't much different if any from the floyd 1000 and special. That being said there are a few things I would look at. Provided the knife edges on the trem aren't all beat up the main thing I would look at is spring tension, especially being in a drop tuning. I will tune using a block on the trem to keep it locked into position, then adjust the springs until the block becomes loose enough to basically fall out. Then I will check the tuning, if my low strings become sharp once the block is gone I will release some tension and vice versa. Doesn't usually take me more than 20 minutes to get to a super stable floyd.
I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but I'm sure he knows all of what you said already. I have used "licensed Floyd rose" systems before several times, and they are not up to the same standard as the Floyd 1000. They just aren't. You can woodblock them all you want during setup, they just won't hold tuning like the real thing. Also, when using a Floyd 1000, I have never had an issue where drop tuning had any dramatic effect in tuning stability during a setup. I'm honestly curious to hear what you think, and if you have had any extreme differences from what I just said.
@@MrSneakyPants I’m not trying to be a jerk here. But even the official floyds suck compared to a hard tail
@@Ottophil agreed. All of my current guitars are non-floating for a reason.
@@MrSneakyPants lol David, the reason I comment on Ray's videos with floyd tips and tricks is because he is self admittedly a novice when it comes to the system. We all need help from time to time and a little friendly advice from folks who have used them for well over 20 years can never hurt. Best of luck to you bud 😁.
@@MrSneakyPants as for there being a difference between some licensed and the floyd 1000 and or special, like I said in my origional comment I haven't really had a ton of experience with them. Some I hear are great, but I hear around the same amount of negative comments. In my own personal experience with all of the floyd systems, once setup properly they all hold their own. One major difference between the low end Floyd's and the high end ones is the knife edges tend to hold up better on the higher end. I have heard that a lot of the floyd licensed systems use brass knife edges instead of steel. Not a problem if they are worked on and maintained properly, but if by chance someone decided to set their bridge height under tension... well bye bye knife edges and hello stability problems (why I mentioned making sure the knife edges were good). All in all besides some cheaper materials in some places and a slightly different look, most if not all licensed Floyd's should perform just as good as the 1000 or special.
On a side not my mention of drop tuning was because in a lot of occasions the spring for the low strings side will be slightly less tension to make up for the loss of string tension on that side, provided you aren't making up for that with a larger string.
We are all a part of a community here David. Helping each other is what we should be doing. Not slamming one another for making suggestions.
badass guitar any plans to review the harley benton squire baritone clone?
Nice demo, thanks for ripping on that thang :-) Ill fix the Floyd, I think I know what the issue is... Gonna refinish it in a swirl, headstock and all woot woot !
I can’t wait to add one to my collection just an awesome unit with that roasted neck ❤
This might be my favorite little demo you’ve done.
Lol that trem squeal demo ending tho 🔥🔥😂
Bought this model, in shell pink too, I really like it, but I am only a bedroom player, it's absolutely fine for me, the Floyd is OK, I don't really go .mad on it, I did drop the pick ups down a bit, they where a bit to hot and ice picky for me, but overall a great guitar for the price, great review man
I have this guitar for my D Standard Mötley Crüe jams 🤘🏼🥰
Great review man, I got one of these last year and love it for the playability and looks. Though it is my first and last floyd rose guitar - such a pain in the arse to maintain!
I sold my guitar with a Floyd last year. Even though it takes 40 minutes to change the strings I'm missing all the cool tricks you can do with the tremolo 😂
I keep forgetting the contemporary line exists and I really wish I didn’t because they look awesome
loved the deftones style song you came up with in the video
They make this in a gunmetal color which I love but I can't stand that it has a Floyd on it I wish it was a hardtail I would buy it instantly.
Love a pink guitar with a Floyd! Love your videos and seeing the subs increasing. Happy Halloween.
pink...floyd
so would you say the "Slim C" neck shape in the specs is inaccurate? Or do you mean it's just thicker than an Ibanez etc ? Is it thicker than your typical slim Squier neck?
it is slimmer than vintage but not a wizard.
luckily sandpaper is cheap at your hardware depot
2:28 someone forgot to edit... hahah
2:27 lol I thought I skipped back or something
Your playing was great , the pickups sounded great. Makes me want to get one of these squires 70's Head stock . Upgrade the Floyd , for the money $$$$$👍💯% worth it .
That was some beautiful riffage. Really inspiring stuff
I love that you wear a Gibson hoodie in a Fender review video! HAHAHA
I received an offer on reverb for one of these at a low price of 197 dollars.
If I had money at the time I woudve def got it bcse that’s 200 less then what they had it listen in the first place.
Have you tried different strings to make the tuning stable? I've had good luck with daddario nyxl strings in the Jackson v floyd rose and affinity strat with a stock trem.
Wow! That sounds so good!
That demo track reminded me alot of Deftones. 🤘
I’ve been looking for something with a Floyd, gonna have to throw one of these into the running!
My single humbucker Bullet Strat Special is a fun guitar to bust out!
I’ve been interested in the Hardtail Squier Strat Special with the cool pickup placements and roasted maple neck. Kills me they only matched the neck with a roasted maple fretboard on the ones with a trem, the HTs get an Indian Laurel board. If I could have the HT with the roasted board that would be so awesome.
Thing is I'm the opposite, I was a trem version with the white finish on laurel board.
@@TrickyPickins simple solution, you get yours, I’ll get mine, we can swap necks.
@@jeffleecust but they don't make the trem version in white, only the HT :(
@@TrickyPickins dang it. Well heres to hoping some shop does a limited run on the exact ones we want, lol
This guitar with a Duncan JB's in the bridge or the Jackson SDXMN Adrian Smith Signature with one of the earlier mentioned premium pickups in the bridge, soooo hard to decide =(
The Squier is a bit cheaper, but the Jackson comes with a nicer compound radius neck, so it is more space where you play your chords and faster and thinner where you play solos.
Hmmm it is sooo hard to choose between these two, HELP ME
PS. After seeing this video, with the tuning not being great and so on, maybe the Floyd Rose Special in the Jackson guitar is a bit more
stable and better quality than the licensed FR in the Squier ?
I have two squires one strat and one tele put better pickups and electronics and are both fun to play.
If there's a hardtail version of this, I'd buy 2
Sounds great! Awesome playing as well! Did you go to a thicker gauge for Drop C#? I like that tuning… Crypta, Tainá Bergamaschi uses that. 🤘😎
10’s are fine for C#.
I Dig "The Rover"@ 9:27
That one looks sick
Still so inspiring. Maybe one day I’ll finally start my channel 🤣🔥
Does sound good, b better in a hardtail version imo
Was thinking about getting one
You ever review the kurt cobain guitar
Do think changing the string gage to lighter strings would help with the tuning stability?
Yeah I hope so! This currently has 10’s on it so I’ll try 9’s again
I would block the trem
So you’re the one who beat me to buying it haha
ngl i had that guitar for an hour before i returned it, it felt soooooo cheap.
Block that damn trem! I love strats but I always block the trem.
when will you clean the headstock? lol
What's happened with that band mate who plotted to murder you? I take it you filed charges. When was he arrested and when is the court trial?
>Made for metal player
>Has 22 frets
🤔
Typical squire... always outta tune. Pass