Fender Squier Affinity Series Strat

I'm updating my previous post to include my upgrades. I installed a Seymour Duncan Scorcher rails pickup in the bridge and had it rewired to bypass the other two pickups and the tone knobs. I always really liked this guitar but now it rules. The sustain and output is insane. The only other mod I may make is a nice graphtech nut. Since the mods this is the only guitar that I play. I know that they even make a model of Squiers that have all three pickups with the Scorchers now. Good move Squier!

Mine was made in 1998 and I bought it as a sacrificial lamb to wiring experiments and the like.

The single coils measure, from B M N, about 4.75K, 4.80K, 4.70K ohms (a little weird ...)

The pickups are sort of okay, but a little thin and generally lacking in character compared to a truly crappy brand that has also served as wiring slaves (an Academy brand strat-style guitar, from XS-Cargo). Also, I was not really as successful in eliminating 60 Hz hum on the Squier by shielding as I was with the Academy.

Why the sound is better with the other is just the materials used ... differently wound pickups with different wire and different magnets on the bottom of the pickup.

You can't really get much in the way of good punch or nice quack. It's just sort of vague and uninspiring in it's tone.

Anyway, it's okay ... but that's about all I'll give it.

Very good, no sharp frets, fairly durable and attractive.

It seems reliable and durable.

Notwithstanding that it is tonally chalenged, I would use it in a live situation without worry of it failing and without worry of it being damaged (double meaning intended - it's durable enough to not be damaged, and I also wouldn't be concerned if it was damaged).

Note that this was not bought with the intention of being a legitimate, or my MAIN, guitar. It was bought for experiments, with low expectations.

Bearing that in mind, it has exceeded my expectations as far as fit and finish goes, and has not met my expectations as far as tone goes.

I think it's a fine guitar for a beginner, but it looks the tone to be a legitimate source of strat tone if you want something cheap for use only when you need it.

I aquired this guitar from a friend when i was only 14, and i really like it. 21-fret, which is no big deal since most of my playing is lower on the neck, 5-way selector, pretty much the most standard strat you can think of. year is a 97 or 98. Pretty sure it was made in japan, but my serial number and manufacturer location have long ago been covered up by stickers.

I have a fairly diverse style, i play pretty much anything, mainly alternative/rock or jazz. It's generally loud, except sometimes really quiet with only the back pickup turned on, but thats fine with me because it gives me a change in volume without muting or pedals. I play it through a Fender Champion 300, usually without pedals, and so far i've been able to get any sound i want or need out of it. It's bright, but at the same time i can make it bellow out lots of bass. I usually have some reverb on it and lots of gain, but it sounds great at any setting i put it on. It's got the classic Fender sound through pretty much any amp.

I don't know how it came from the factory, because i got it from a friend. But i love the way it's set up - really low on both ends, I'm able to move very quickly up and down the fretboard. Granted, i do have a little buzzing, but only with low notes on E or A. When i got it from my friend, it had a few knicks in the body, and on the headstock, but that was due to being under a bed without a case for a few years. I've since covered the body completely in stickers, so if there were any blemishes, i can't remember. It's a navy blue color, white pickguard. I need to get a new bridge soon, but i broke the original nut and put a new one on. It has a beautiful rosewood fretboard that's still in perfect condition, and i haven't had to touch the truss once.

I've played it live a couple times, and i love it. It's incredibly lightweight, even compared to other strats, and it can take a beating! (I once tripped over a cord and fell, and the headstock and tuning knobs went right through drywall in my basement, no damage to the guitar), I've played it outside in the rain and had a brother spill soda on the body and i've had no electrical problems at all. problems, and it's also been dropped several times before i got straplocks on it. the only repairs i've made were replacing the nut (because i was an idiot 14-year old and tried to string it backwards) and I got the input jack and wires replaced with Fender ones (as opposed to Squier) after i dropped it one to many times.

Love it! I call it Blue, and it's my go-to guitar for pretty much anything because it doesnt HAVE to sound like anything. All i have to do is make a couple tweaks to it and i can make it sound like a completely different insrument. I'm planning on adding a Squier Telecaster to my collection, because i've been so impressed with this Strat. It sounds like a Fender, not a Squier, and it's a lot cheaper. Plus i know i can upgrade it at any time. I also have a Fender acoustic, an Aims acoustic, and as far as electric i use this one, a Fender Strat, an Epiphone Les Paul special, and a Gibson SG (not mine, my friend lets me use it though). I like the strats best, and i prefer the Squier for live shows because i don't want to ruin the Fender, and the Squier is a lot lighter.

Squier affinty made in china, I will start of by saying the maple neck on mine is amazing nice fretwork beautiful piece of maple nice profile. The body is nice also its not super light but not super heavy lets say solid feeling to it. The single coil pickups are ok little microphonic i plan to up grade to duncan pickups. Tuners work fine keeps the guitar in tune well enough. Just so you know affinty bodys are Smaller than standard squier stratocaster by a good 2 inchs and the depth of the body is 1 inch less than the standard squier, How do i know this? I own a standard squier stratocaster also and was bored so i measured them for the hell of it. its still a nice stratocaster but if you want one like a made in mexico model id go with the standard and not the affinty. But I like them both.

If you like single coil pickup guitars its really good through the right amp. im upgrading the pickups.

needed a set up no big deal.

set up and good set of Duncans in this guitar and its ready to gig for sure. Id put locking tuners if it was going to be played at shows.

Long LOng LONG Time ive been playing. i own a bunch of guitars and then a bunch more guitars I Love Them! This is a Fine Guitar to play with im not into brand names on my electrics like i am with my Acoustic guitars because thats where workmanship and the type of wood really matters...no amps to plug them into and cover little things about with distortion overdrive and such.. id say decent strat for the money.

Thi is a follow up to my precious post. I have two Affinity strats. Strats are renowned for their versatility and these deliver.
I have "corrected" two missing pieces to the sound potential (of all off the shelf strats). First, I installed a mini switch just above the five way switch to allow the bridge and neck pickups to work in unison. Now you can have the sweet telecaster in-between sound. Very good sound. Second, I changed the pickup/pot wiring (one) to allow using the tone pot for the bridge pickup. Much more versatility.
You can search how to do these changes on any strat. Several sites explain and show these easy mods.

Strats have most everything you might ask of a guitar. The sounds are available if your experience is up to it.
Squier strats are much maligned for absolutely no good reason. First, they are usually not set up well and beginners usually buy them and have no idea that this is the key to making these (and any guitar) sing boldly. Second, they usually come with poor, too small strings that are pathetic sounding. Third, a novice just can't expect to make a guitar sound good. We all climb the ladder of gear brands and think that they are better if they cost more, when it's usually our skills that are better.
There should be a law that a beginner must buy only a high-end guitar and learn to play for a few years and then he/she has permission to buy an inexpensive guitar. Then you'll know the difference is very small or nonexistent once you set up and play the cheapo. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

Here's the most important part (after learning to play well). First, replace the strings with high quality ones. Preferably a set that starts out with .010" or .011" thick first strings.
Second, Adjust the tremelo "claw" behind the rear body plate. You'll have to check on-line or buy Dan Earlwine's guitar repair book. This adjustment is critical to bold, clear sound and accurate intonation. No guitar I've seen comes preadjusted at all! Third, Adjust the neck truss rod and string action height per the same sources.Fourth, adjust the pickup heights per the same sources. Not too close to the strings, and slant the pups further away under the bigger strings.
NO guitar even at 2000.00 is set up correctly or at all. These are critical if you want a great guitar regardless of pedigree.

People say, well aren't the Squiers thinner in body thickness than a standard Fender? Yes, by a whopping tenth of an inch! That's hard to see. Actually, I've measured the vibration magnitude and duration of my squiers and my MIJ strat. The Squiers are more resonant and have more sustain. One of a couple of factors is there is less body wood to dampen the vibration!
Fender only made the corporate decision to narrow the bodies of the Squiers so people would differentiate the two products. You know they need things to keep the notion that you get more if you pay ten times as much.
The hardware differences between the high and low models is real, but unless you just wear out the squier hardware over several years, the difference in playability and sound is minimal and hard to hear if the player is very experienced.

Since 1957? Just about everything.

Very good buy if you read, understand and do what's written above. I f you don't, you may never know what potential these guitars have.

Have no idea when this thing was made. Serial number cy03056687.Made in China( crafted in China lol).2volume, 2tone, 5-way selector. Two single coils.not sure of wood but a really nice fast neck with a rosewood fretboard(21 frets).usual tune through body bridge.

I ve been playing since I was 12 yo and I'm now 18.Got a Jansen 20wattnz through a modded boss ds-1 and an Alron50watt(terrible lol) Mostly play alot of blues, funk,punk,classic rock,classical,pub band songs( NZ rock, from New Zealand brought guitar on holiday), prog rock,50s rock(Chuck Berry ect),not into metal but play it anyway for hand practice. This guitar was my first electric back in 2005 and I didnt really know alot about them. For the price this guitar has got a really nice clean sound and its very bright. If you play this guitar with distortion the single pickups can be a little weak and harsh(played it through Marshalls and still had same problem). The second option on the pick up selector can get quite a nice solo tone think David Gilmore but this guitar as others have pointed out is very noisey on pick up options 1,3 and 5. The thing I like about this guitar though is that its very versitile compared with some les pauls and sgs which can have **** clean

When I got it, this guitars intonation was pretty rubbish but not the fault of the makers, was secondhand. The action on this guitar is really sweet. Real real low and not a bit of fret buzz. Does have terouble with Hendrix like bends at the high end but not noticible loud with distortion. Tunners are pretty bad, like you do a giant bend on the high frets and use your whammy bar to get that shreadder sqeal out of it and the g string will go out of tune every time. I dnt have a problem tuning a guitar in about ten seconds but it does get annoying. As i said buzzy pick up selector.

I would gig this guitar to thrash it but would be weary of feedback from the single pickups playing at live volumes. This guitar has been absolutly thrashed for about 4 years and its still going good, all except one problem. When I first got the guitar their was a tiny crack on the body between the place that the neck goes on on both sides of the guitar. When I was playing a tottaly rockin performance of Voodoo Chile for a school performance the guitar dropped(no strap locks stupid me lol) and the cracks got bigger. Its been a year and a half since then and its still good. Im just going to play it intill it falls to bits lol. Wouldnt gig without a back up. Finish looks like a dogs breakfast now but dont really care.

Havnt needed it

For the price these are defiantly worth it. People complain that these cant do metal and all that rubbish but who cares. If you want to do metal get an Ibanez or something. If you want a good value guitar buy one of these

2008 Affinity strat. Standard strat features, 21 fret.

Nice tobacco-burst finish, refigerator-white pickguard and pickups.

All cheap Squier features. But it doesn't matter, as the guitar was bought as the base for a project. Only the neck and body will survive the cull.

The body is strat-shaped, but I think is a 1/4 inch thinner than a Fender.

The best thing about the guitar is the neck. Satin-finished, good profile, and made of beautifully figured and flamed maple, it looks and feels absolutely wonderful.

Gets a good rating not because of the quality of the components, but because it is a strat, and any guitar with volume, 2 tone, vibrato, 5 pickup options and so on simply MUST get a good rating.

The sound is not so great. It sounds stratty, I suppose, but it is a thin, weak strat sound. Thinner and weaker than even a 50's strat. Lots of hum on options 1, 3, and 5, eliminated on settings 2 and 4. The pickups are going to be swapped out, probably for mid-quality GFS pickups.

The pickups are weak, and the pots and cap are also awful. The pots only seem to have 3 settings: 0, 3, and 10. Pots, cap, input jack, and pickup selector switch will all be swapped out also.

I use the guitar through a cheap Marshall MG-10, but the amp is not to blame, as other guitars I have sound just fine.

At this stage, the sound doesn't matter. But if I had bought the guitar without intending to modify, I would be VERY disappointed.

The store I bought the guitar at had only one left, and it was the display model, and had already been set up, so I saved some money there.

It's well set up, the frets feel good, and the strings are still bright.

One major problem is that it goes out of tune EXTREMELY quickly and very badly when using the vibrato. This is probably a problem with the tuners more than anything, but they will be swapped out too!

Like most Squiers, despite the quality of the individual components, the guitar is solidly, and well built in China.

It would stand up to gigging in terms of sturdiness, but not in terms of sound. It's just not good enough. I would not use it without a backup because of the tuning problems.

I would not trust the hardware to last long-term. Well, I would, but I would not want to have to listen to it long-term.

The finish is pretty good, but it is going to be sanded back and sprayed Graffiti Yellow. I'm building my dream guitar out of this thing :-)

I have no idea. I've never needed it.

Ok, I've been playing 9 years, but have only started to take it seriously and get good in the past 8 months. I own 3 other Squiers: an 07 Jagmaster, an 01 Affinity Tele (which is MUCH better than the strat), and a 51.

If I wanted a better guitar, I would have spend $50 more and bought a Squier Standard strat. But I bought the cheaper version knowing it was going to be torn apart anyway.

If it was lost or stolen, I would probably abandon this project for a while. Or maybe just buy a secondhand Bullet.

Loves and hates. I love the neck, it is absolutely wonderful. I was originally going to swap it away with the rest of the parts, but now it is going to stay. What I don't like is the sound of the guitar. Weak, and devoid of personality.

As I have stated elsewhere, everyhting is going to go. It is going to be painted Graffiti Yellow, and I want to swap on a pearloid pickguard. The project could take a while, but in the end I will have a high-end guitar that still has 'Squier' written on the headstock.

Made in China!! S/N CY21012107.. A lefty Strat, standard ,except the Affinity model bodies are thinner than the Fenders but made fm solid quality woods.Mine is a sunburst so I can see the grain of the wood, 2 pieces. Bridge is the vintage style saddles. I am NOT a LEFTY!! But I had to get this guitar...

I use it with a '63 Vibroverb RI, Marshall 1987K RI, Roland JC-120 and Orange TT!!! Let me tell you..The 30 min.s I tried it at the shop, comparing to various Strats, this one had me begging to buy it!!! It was so cheap, a lefty, but had the sound of a REAL STRAT!!!like the ones we hear on classics...couldn't beleive it,so I bought it on the spot..I had to change the nut (just reversed it) and the strap button on the horn, thats all.Oh, reversed the bridge adjustment, too.Not only it sounds way much authentic to old Fender Strats, I became addicted to playing a reverse Strat!!I dunno about the low E strng being longer shit, it is the fact that it is REVERSE!! You can not rest yr palm on the bridge like before, so it makes you play it differently, which makes it so sexy!!Ole' Hendrix could have used lefty Strats but he didn't!!Th way it looks and plays is the secret I guess, I am addicted!!

Well, I did adjusted the truss rod to my liking, it is just perfect now!! I almost can not go back to regular Strats anymore..Altho I painted it white, it was a sunburst, but to me WHITE is the color of the Strat..So I readjusted the action to my liking, perfect!!

I will be re-painting it-what with my Duplicolor spray cans, very amateurish, otherwise, built like a tank, no worries there, I am using it live!!

No opinion..

Been 40 yrs playing..I have a 62 original Stratocaster and two American Standards.Hell of a good ones..But this little puppy is something else!!I thought about getting a propere lefty Strat, but in the end I think nothing will beat this one..BUT!! Try a bunch, because they are cheap, they are not made consistently I think, as I said, there were three Squires at the shop and this one was the special one!!I was very lucky I guess, indeed..

My Squier Affinity Strat was made in 2001 at the "Yako" plant in Taiwan (China) accourding to the serial No. The usual 21 frets compound radius "C" shape rosewood fretboard with medium frets on a maple neck with a late 60 style Fender Headstock. A 3 piece Alder body (acourdin to the Fender Fronline Catalogue) and since it has a Tobacco Burst finish, I'm pretty certain the body is Alder and not Aghatis. The typical 5 way switch, S/S/S config. and the vol and 2 tone controls as found on most strat's. Modren "cast" saddles as oposed to the vintage style stamped saddles with an open trem block and 3 springs. So, nothing out of the ordenairy here.

Ah, here is where imo the Sqiuer differs from the other copies. The pick up's have ceramic magets as oposed to Alnico on the real thing, but Sqiuer somehow managed to make these sound pretty good. The have a somewhat higher output then their Alnico counterparts but they seam to be in the same tonal regions, as oposed on those found on most other strat copies, which was a pleasent surprise.
Although, the controls seam to lack here, as they offer very little tweakability. I'm thinking of replacing the pots in the future. The "2" (neck and middle) and "4" (middle and bridge) pu congig are noteably quieter on my example. Bridge on it's own lacks a bit, which is rather typical on a S/S/S strat imo.
Overall I'm pretty pleased with the stock pu's. They only lack a bit of bass, but just dial in a bit more bass on your amp and you're fine. I usally play with lots of Fender tube reverb and a bit of OD, these pups seams to handle this very good. I even can make the Behringer "Hell Wah" sound nice with this Strat, something my other (way more expensive guitars can't seam to handle well).
So in all a very Stratty sound out of the box.

I can't comment on the factory set up as I bought the guitar used and did my own set up. However, the match of the bodywood is better then on my Sunburst Fender Jazzmaster!
No (unusual) flaws on the guitar in this pricerange.

I originally bought the guitar because I needed a neck for another project. The Squier Affinity Strat fitted the bill perfectly as it was cheap and Made By/For Fender, so parts are interchangeable. I now have a one piece "54-57" Al Parts "licensed by Fender" maple neck on it (which fetted like glove btw) and this neck made the guitar even better.I also "blocked" the trem the way Eric Clapton has on his sig Strat's, so I have the sound of a trem, but not the usual detuning usually associated with a cheaper trem. It now looks, plays and sounds like a "54 RI Stratocaster at a fraction of the price. No doubt this guitar will whitstand live playing and abuse. I usual don't gig without backup, but I'm pretty sure I wont need it.

No idea, never dealth with them. It's a used guitar, so I guess no more warranty

This guitar is a true surprise as I originally bought it to canabalize it. But once the All Parts neck was mounted there was no way I was gonna let this guitar go. It gets more playtime then my real Fenders nowadays and it's hard to put down. It looks good and sounds great for it's price!
Should I wanna hold it against a real Fender Stratocaster, then it will need a pick up change, but I like the stock pu's a lot, so they'll stay. It suits my "Strat" needs more then I could ever dreamed of!
Been playing guitar for about two decades now and own a lot of gear. This Squier Affinity Strat is the best bang for buck, hands down.
I guess if it ever gets stolen, the thief will be dissapointed as he probably thought he stole the real thing...and his turnout would be very small, not even enough to score his shot! So, you decide what's it worth. let your hands and ears decide intead of all these snobs.
Just my humble opinion, ofcourse!

A 2007 Fender Squier Strat, I believe its a Special Edition as I got it in the Fender Squier Special pack with a Fender Frontman 15G, for ??180.

Maplewood neck, very smooth felt, factory set up suprisingly good, usual factory 3 pickups, nice 21 medium jumbo frets, and as part of the pack, got two straps, bag and cable, although the cable got quickly replaced.

The Strat does everything. You can do metal with it, you can do country with it. In this respect its great; but you do get the feeling the Strat is not a master of all trades. My musical style being usual indie and altrock, Radiohead, Bloc Party, with some heavy stuff chucked in like Metallica means that this guitar will do all of them but not perfectly.

Firstly, don't let people get down the Squier Strat. Sure, its common as muck but the pickups are nice and do the job nicely. The bridge pickup, what I like to call the telecaster pickup since thats the sound I like to get out of it, seems to only have two settings: bassy and super twangy. Great that you can pull off some proper telecaster esque stuff but the lack of control does annoy. The middle pickup does little other than weaken the strength of the bridge or the neck pickup, the neck giving that bluesy strat sound or straight up bassy stuff for when you're doing heavy.

Theres hum on the bridge pickup but any old noise reducer (like on my Zoom multieffect G2.1u) will quickly eliminate that, but chuck on the distortion and its gonna annoy you. However, the pickups do take a lot of gumph and I like that; the Fender Frontman 15G is a by-the-by amp but its nice almost electronica fuzzy distortion really suits the Strat. If you've heard the song New Born by Muse, you'll know what I'm talking about.

This is a perfect sound for guitarists finding their sound. I got this as my first guitar and decided telecaster was the way to go, but I still come back to this because it just feels and sounds so great.

Really really surprised about the action. I had my guy on hold told him that I was getting this and it would need setting up but it didn't, saving me ??50 at least. It was properly luck of the draw.

Looks very nice, and the neck in particular feels silky smooth even after all this playing and I haven't even had to mess with sanding it down or whatever.

Nothings rusted yet, but the pickup selector sound does grate a little and the input for the cable will occasionally need a bit of tightening but nothing end of the world.

The wood is great, very comfortable. I like my guitars to have the retro beaten up type look and this strat didn't do a very good job at that, so that can only be a compliment. I had to get some stickers, leave them for a week, then take off the stickers and the remaining marks made it look nice and old; but if you want it to look factory fresh, it won't be difficult.

Generally, everything is in order, if you've held a strat before you'll know that its just right and there is no change here.

Very very reliable. My Legend Tele, my first-choice guitar, isn't very reliable but this is just right. As a backup guitar its always ready and as a first guitar it would do very happily. I don't play gigs or anything but I've had no trouble with it. Seems like it would last for a long time.

I wouldn't NEED to have a backup by any means and I think this guitar will last for a long time.

N/A

My setup is newbieish but it does very nicely. Zoom G2.1u with backup reverb machine running through to a Fender Frontman 15G. I bought this online - you should never do this, but it was my first guitar, I'm allowed that mistake. But, I never looked back since.

Every newbie has a Squier Strat it seems, its true, but there is a reason why. Its reliable, its easy to handle and it can handle anything.

As a first guitar for people discovering their sound, its perfect. As a guitar for someone who likes the Strat sound but isn't willing to pay over the odds for the Fender badge, go for this. The Affinity as well as my Affinity Special holds up against the normal Squier Strat and I argue against the MIM Fender Strat too.

Its by no means perfect, but for a cheap, reliable guitar that can do anything you want it to, you cannot go wrong. It is never a mistake buying a strat, and especially not this one.

But, look before you jump. Its not going to make the perfect metal sound or the perfect tele sound; so pick carefully.

I have two. One Arctic white, the other is black. All the Strat appointments with three single coils. Just what a Strat should be. I wish someone could tell me why all strats have no tone control for the bridge pickup.

I use all five pickup combinations for various recordings. I have many two pickup guitars and always feel short changed with the lack of selection. Make those other guitars seem like "Johnny one notes".

I play all kinds of genres. Strats are versatile and admirably fill the need. I like single coils since they don't strangle the broad harmonics of a guitar. The stock single coils are just fine. It's the player that makes the music. On a bad day I can sound like ****. On a good day, I'm a happy camper.

Both strats are easily playable. The fret work is perfect. Smooth action. Of course all guitars come with poor set-up. One must set the thing up as you wish and re-setup as your play changes. Fit and finish are excellent.

The two guitars have a different neck shape. The white one is a standard "C" Fender shape. The black one has a much thinner "C" neck like a Rickenbacher. These were purchased several years apart and I choose them for their differing neck shapes. I prefer a small neck for lead work and a standard shape for chorded rhythms.

I am in the entertainment business and work with long-term giging musicians. I am not a giging musician personally. Many play Squier Affinity strats and teles on stage night after night throughout the years.

Playing guitar since 1957. Own lots of gear. I have and have had guitars ranging from 99.00 to 2300.00. Believe it or not, I play these Squiers much more than two American strats and one MIJ strat plus a bunch of current and vintage brand and off brand guitars.

2007 Fender Squier Affinity Strat, Black body, White pick gaurd, White pickups and knobs, maple neck w/ rosewood fret board. Came as a package with a soft case, a Fender Frontman 15g amp, a tuner, a cable etc... Had 3 single coil pickups, a five way switch, 2 tone knobs, and a volume. I switched the coils and pots out for active pickups and 500k pots.

This guitar came setup perfectly. That has more to do with the shop where I bought it than anything else, but with a good setup these guitars can be VERY playable. With the stock coils there was a bit of hum, but the sound was pretty good. I wanted a different tone so I went with an active HSS setup that sounds absolutely incredible on here! With a little EQing I can get everything form blues to thrashing metal and verything in between.

Everything was setup great for me, but that was done by a tech at the shop. I havnt found any flaws yet.

I dont gig and dont really plan on it. I use this mainly for playing around, recording some original stuff, and jamming with my friends. As far as I can tell it will last forever.

Over all this guitar is a great value. Even If you upgrade a few things like electronics and tuners it will still cost you a great deal less than a lot of other guitars. I love mine as do my friends who have ben playing guitar for 20+ years. If it were lost or stolen I would probably try something else just to see what all the hype is about.

it has all the regular strat fetures.this guitar has a alder body.very nice maple neck.it has a very nice blue finish.iv'e had two of these guitars the first one got stolen.this is the older version with the skunk stripeand plug in headstock.the first one i had was the same.the nut is an 1.650 (42mm) not the (41mm) like the new ones.this guitar reminds me a lot like a 1964 fender mustang i use to owm the neck feels very similer.the body is about the same thickness,weighs about the same.7.8 pounds acourding to my scale.the pickups sound very good for stock squier.i paid 125.00 for this guitars with a nice case fender cord ,and a fender strap,the stock tuners are very smooth and hold tune very well.this guitar was made in 2001.

this guitar sounds very good with the stock pickups.i play rockabilly music mostly.buddy holly is my favorite guitarist and the fender strat is my favorite guitar.this is definitly a fender.this guitar is worth every penny.this is the one made in indonisesia way better than the chinese ones.

this guitar needed sone setup but was very easy to do.made from very nice woods.the maple neck has a lot of nice figureing in it.the finish on the neck is way better than the newer versions.the laquer is thicker and better applied,the neck pocket is very tight,all the routing is very clean.the finish on the body is very well done.i can't find any flaws on this guitar.

i just bought this guitar a couple days ago so don't know yet.but i have owned one of these before and it held up just fine.i bought one of the chinese made standard strats new and it wasn't made as good as this one.the way they do the truss rods on the chinese ones is not very good.this one and all the other indonisia ones i have owned had very well done truss rods.the chinese one you can not remove the truss rod nut try it for yourself.very shoddy built.

this is a great guitar for such a low price.my first one got stolen and i told myself if i could find another one just like my first one i would buy it.luckily i found this one.i looked at the new ones made in china and they are complete garbage.they feel and sound very cheaply made not this one.

Basic budget entry level Chinese made Squire Strat - exactly the feature set you'd expect from a strat everything that should be there nothing fancy nothing unexpected (plus most of the reviews already list these in enough details

Surprisingly good for a "pocket money" budget guitar... a little thin at the bottom end but nice clean sound just the thing for classic 50's and 60's rock, rockabilly and country..

5 position pickup selector so you get that classic out of phase sound.

Later on I'll probably find an old set of fender pick ups (just got to remember where I put them) but it's not so bad as to make me want to run and find them ASAP.

I guess the main reason for me not being to concerned with the pickups is that this was purchased specifically to be strung Nashville style (top 4 strings re strung with high octave stings from a 12 string) so there's no bass strings, strung like this its sound is full chiming and beautiful.

If I was playing it standard strung I might want to upgrade the pickups sooner but the couple of days I had it before stringing it Nashville I was still happy (over all) with the sound quality, certainly no totally dud pickups here

7 is a good score for a guitar this cheap

purchased second hand(used) so can't say what the factory set up was but the action and set up was nothing short of excellent when I bought it, so even if it was out from the factory this model looks it should be good to go with a shop setup.

neck playability is nothing short of a shock - it's _very_good_, a real pleasure to play - better than some guitars I've played that cost 5 to 10 times as much (in fact better than some of my US made guitars)

fit is average to good which is a marked improvement over the earlier non Japanese Squires (which at best were average) obviously come a long way on build quality control

the tone and volume pots are a bit nasty, this one's less than a year old and they are already scratchy and drop out... so replacing the pots and the switch is obviously a higher priority to replacing the pickups but I'll probably do both at the same time.

Tuning pegs look good and stay in tune but I'm guessing they are plastic heads on the keys(?) if so then for live work you'd probably want to replace them later down the track before you bash one and snap the key head off (been there done that with a SIgma acoustic - then you have to tune every thing to that one string (and the rest of the band then have to tune to you - doesn't make you the most popular person on stage).

it's been jammed and recorded with but no live playing, but appart from the possibility of the tuning keys breaking I don't think it would have any problems with live work.

used so no warranty - I'm a regular at my local shop so they look after me annyway

Played for more than 25 years, everything from rockabilly, heavy metal, punk, indi pop to top 40, and "classic" rock.

Own several high end guitars and basses from Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, Epiphone, Motsumoko made Arias, Tokia's as well as more than a few MIJ Squires and Fenders oh yeh and a Danelectro and an Itallia just for fun ;)
Amps range from VoxAC30 , Laney VC30, a couple of Fenders, a Marshall JCM800 and a couple of Line 6 Spiders

What do I love about it? - actually what I hate about it is that this wasn't around when I started playing 30 years ago when the equivalent "then time" money bought you, at best, a total rubbish toy guitar, and this is neither a toy nor rubbish.
OK it's cut price and the body's a bit so-so and the electric's could be better but this is exceptional value for money. Heck I've paid more in the 80's just for a 3rd party strat neck that was no were near as nice as the neck on this "entry level guitar"... I'd buy this just for the neck if I snapped one on my strat copies.

as for if I'd buy one to replace it.. yeh sure maybe I'd step up a model or try the telecaster but I have no shame owning this and taking it to jam sessions and it's already been used to recorded some radio jingles and no complaints from the guitarist who used it there.

Typical Squier, Crafted in China, but I have the blond, Ash type body, very rare, so I bought it.

I have 5 elec. guitars, from this Squire, PRS, LP, Two US Strats...I was told sometime back it's the player not the guitar, now I understand. My setup is a Marshal TSL100 halfstack and I run all my guitar through that for a reference.

I like this guitar, I set it up and did some adv. Luthier type stuff, I luv it. I'm into it $75!

No one would believe me if I told you this is one of my favorite sounding guitars, except those who know.

As good as any other fender.

Fine, stays in tune.

Who knows.

I know as a response to this review everyone won't go out and buy Squiers, and sh$tcan thier USA strats.

If your into tone, sound, know how to setup a guitar, have a nice amp setup try it out against your mega dollar setup, find out for yourself.

No one wants a piece of junk and honestly this was so cheap, I just wanted to know how it stacked up, a guitar that I could mess wish, not worry about, relax on the couch with..and I won't be selling this soon, trust me.

This is the guitar I had to play for a year before I got my Epiphone. Saved up for it (and the Epiphone that would come later) by skipping lunches and saving the money.

Made in China, and has everything a Strat normally has: 21 frets, 3 single coil pickups, bolt neck...You get the idea.

It gave me the Strat sound thru the amp that I got it with (the Squier SP-10). With the Zoom 505, I was getting most sounds I wanted covering video game music. Single coils didn't work for me, too twangy and thin for me, ultimately wanted the power of humbuckers, but it lasted me well.

When I got it a year ago (classifieds) the guitar was in dire need of a good setup. The previous owner was some kid who was quitting guitar because he didn't have the time for practice. Didn't want that happening to me. I rescued it and tried to set it up.

Buzzes madly on the lower frets. Raising action didn't work well to stop buzz. Everything else is OK. Probably will replace the nut and saddles, and after I'm done, I'll up it to a 7.

It lasted me. That's all I can say. Were it not for the buzzes I'd give it a 10.

This was my first, and it lasted me well.

I have been playing since Christmas '05, age 14, after a failed attempt on a $10 yard sale special around '98.

Compared it to an Epiphone LP/SG Special, chose this because if I really wanted an Epiphone I'd save up for one with a set neck. Finally got one about a month ago and like it more than this one.

If it got stolen, I wouldn't miss it much, unless I replace the nut and saddles.

Hate the buzz, but for the good times I had with it, I will up the score to an 8.

Broke a string on one of my high end guitars and pulled this out of its bag. Permit me to laugh all the way to the bank again on this one. I'm updating my review here of Dec. '02 (Has it been that long?). I purchased it new from GC in '98 (based on the SN), selecting it from about 25 they had in stock of various levels of quality control (some were pretty bad). "Crafted," not "made" in (mainland?) China, as the decal states. I couldn't decide between this red one and a white one, so I bought them both.

The tuners are generic, but they're pretty good: not much play, but the gear ratio may not be that high. I've concluded that the nut and basic string retainers are the source of tuning difficulties; once tuned, though, it holds up well. I don't use the trem and keep it flat against the body as it came. Not recommended for dive-bombing.

The body likely is some type of ply, I'm guessing, based on the price. But it sounds good, and it's the full size/thickness. The neck is a good-looking, solid piece of maple, and maple is pretty much maple, right? The red one has an exceptional chunk of rosewood for a fingerboard, and as you know, not all rosewood is created equal.

The 5-way switch wants to add in the neck pu in position 3 (not true with the white one), but a little jiggle cures that. It feels solid but I'm sure it's not the best. Must be one of those PC types because the tone controls do not "overlap" in position 2: tone 1 covers positions 1 & 2, and tone 2 covers positions 3 & 4, while neither is engaged in position 5 (bridge pu only)- a handy arrangement.

Thick, single-ply white pickguard - no warping.

All the features of a basic Strat, whatever that means, what with Fender's myriad of versions; just the beer rather than the champagne materials. So, what can I say? I give it a good rating, especially for the bucks.

This guitar suits "Strat music," 'nuff said. The pickups are single coils with the associated hum in positions 1, 3 & 5 (not well-suited to high gain situations), but are quiet, relatively speaking. Of course, no hum in positions 2 & 4 due to the reverse wound/polarity middle pickup. They sound great clean - clear, full, balanced, excellent "in-between" sounds, and not overly shrill in the bridge position - pretty much everything you want in this type of guitar, and I tested them against some of the best Strats at GC at the time. Apparently there's no treble saving circuit, so backing off on the volume a little will help with cutting a little treble from the bridge pickup if needed. Stacked "Noiseless" pickups? Ha! These sound like a Strat should through my Reverend Hellhound, Carvin X-60, and take on a different sort of richness through my solid state Champ 10 (especially the neck pickup, but the in-betweens suffer here). Whatever these are, it was probably cheaper to do these right than to try to screw up an electronic circuit. Excellent bang for the buck.

I haven't changed a thing...yet. Pickup heights, string heights, and intonation all appear to be in order. Whoever worked on these did their job. Minor adjustments at most would be required. The neck has remained straight. The fretwork is good. The workmanship is good. There is a little crease in the body of each one where the finish sunk into the grain a little, but you have to really look. Otherwise the finishes have remained mirror-like. Hardware still looks new.

Solid and dependable with the exception of the selector switch.

Don't know.

I don't think you can beat this model for the value if you can find one. I own a number of guitars of various ranges, including some high-end Strats. I bought these with visions of fancy mods, but I've grown to like them just as they are. The red one is the the most outrageously pure red I've ever seen - apparently, they know red in China. They're a lot of fun.

This guitar is black with a white pickguard, has 21 frets, and is made in China. I bought it new for $169, and it came with a Fender gig bag. (which I'll never use, I don't trust gig bags.)

I'll forgo going into how many pickups, configuration, etc. as that's been covered in the other reviews and would be redundant.

I also bought this so I'd have at least one guitar with a fixed bridge again. It feels good to change strings without having to use allen wrenches and mess with locking nuts and fine tuners!

I do have some trouble stringing this guitar because the strings go through the bridge, as opposed to through the body, and it's hard to get the strings up through the saddles.

I bought this guitar because I've always liked Teles, and because it is completely unlike my other 3 guitars. I play it through a Digitech RP80 or Zoom 505 directly into my soundcard.

I've recorded with it, and was surprised that it's not noisy at all, even with the single coils. The bridge pickup sound is very bright, and it also has a very full sound with the neck pickup. I tend to play it with the selector in the middle position for the best of both worlds.

There is definitely a lot of variety with the sounds, I primarily play instrumental rock, ala Satriani, Vai, but I also play hard rock, classical, and my own hybrid style. It's also great for Andy Timmons-style music.

The action is good overall, however I'm going to have to take the guitar in for a setup. When you bend at the 15th and 19th frets on the high E, it goes out due to the string touching higher frets. I'll have to find out whether the answer is getting some frets filed down, or if raising the action a taste can alleviate it.

The pickups are set pretty high, I'll have to play around with them, lowering them a bit, but the guitar sounds nice the way it is.

As far as the hardware, there is a spot on the bridge and one of the saddles where the finish looks rubbed off.

There are odd-looking "streaks" I don't know how to describe them, these lines that look like they're in the wood itself under the finish.

The intonation is great. The guitar had some rusty .009's when I bought it, I immediately restrung it with some .011's, stretched them out, and this guitar stays in tune amazingly well.

I don't know why this guitar wouldn't "withstand" live playing, since it stays in tune.

I don't care for the strap buttons, but also I would never play with ANY guitar without changing the buttons for straplocks, so I plan on putting on a set of those soon.

The finish, as far as the actual paint, seems like it will last. I don't tend to bang my guitars up anyway!

I wouldn't use any guitar on a gig without a backup, but since this one has a fixed bridge (obviously), I'd trust it without a backup if necessary.

N/A (I just bought the guitar yesterday) I have a 30 day warranty with the music store I bought it from.

I've been playing for about 16 years. I also own an Ibanez S470, an Ibanez EX series, and an Alvarez electric.

There's nothing I wished I'd asked about (except I should have thought to get a free set of strings to replace the rusty ones, rather than purchasing a set as I did!) I researched the guitar for about a week online, reading reviews and asking around.

If it were stolen or lost (how do you "lose" a guitar?), I would definitely buy another one.

What I love about it is the stability of a fixed bridge. And I love the look of the guitar, there's always been something about the Tele style that I like, even though it's not normally associated with the types of music I play.

What I hate are the imperfections in the wood (luckily you have to look very closely directly under a light to see them.) The only thing I don't like about fixed bridges in general is that I can't vibrato all my chords as I can with a trem.

I didn't compare it to any others. The only thing I could compare it to would be a Fender Telecaster, which would cost much more than I'd be willing to spend for this type of guitar.

To be honest, I picked it out of 10 at GC for sale for 150US apiece. Standard Strat SSS type arrangement. Offshore bridge with (gulp) cast saddles, a decent steel sustain block, and bent steel bridge plate. I replaced those saddles with the Dunlop ones that are made from Delrin (Stringsavers)...amazing how much the change the tone...alot like the original bent steel saddles but with 1/2 the string breakage (in fact...I've yet to break a string since). Neck is wonderfull, narrow nut width (< 9.5?), frets had to be dressed, but overall, very comfortable...mind you, I dress the back of the neck with 250 grit sand paper to mimic my hand shape as I climb the neck. Pickups are standard wound mexi style (not overwound), I potted them, they have that typical Fender bell tone...cool...more on that later. Finish was the usual polyurethane crap...Torino Red, bad for tone...polyurethane sucks the life out of the wood...I stripped it off and left the guitar with only it's clear sealer coat. And guess what I found, real wood!!! Granted it's a sandwich, but it's not "agathis" (pressboard...uhg!!!)...and it's got decent tone...alder I believe.

This guitar was a project guitar...I've always modded my guitars because I've never been able to afford the Tom Anderton, Pensa Sur, or Paul Grosh I really want. So as to tone...the stock pickups, after potting, were pretty decent...so I added a Dimarzio "Steve's Special" ( a paf with the mid hi "freq boost" leveled out), and wired it "Lifeson" style...3 position Gibson on-on-on... (1) Neck and Middle wire together in series (2) ALL COILS ON (3) Humbucker only...what you get is (1) a "fatter" Split neck/ middle tone (2) a very "tele" sounding split with more drive, (3) PAF from hell humbucker...I also removed all the tone controls, and changed the vol pot to a 500k ohm...more signal is passed, and it sounds less "choked". I also lined the entire body rout with tin foil, and grounded it...no noise, or static.
The fit of the neck to body was questionable so I "weldwooded" he neck to the body and then put the screws permanently into the net...glued in permanently...changed the tuners to locking Planetwaves...and voila'...stable tuning, 3 great tones, barebones, beat-on-able strat...it's just a tool anyway, right?

The guitar was typical mexi...not as nice as my Japan built (it was stolen...had a Carvin neck on it...you see it...it's mine).

I've used it on hundreds of gigs without fail. And sound men rave about it's tone...Brighter and stringier than my G&L, but just as articulate. I don't use a ton of distortion so it plays real well with dynamics. PS: the strap is a Dunlop cam lock with glued in end peices...it'll never come out unless I break the strap :)

Never delt with Fender...I'm a little guy

I've been playing 30 years, have owned dozens of guitars...Fenders are cheap, reliable, and easily replaceable...if this got ripped off (GF), I would buy another, mod, and not look back...although I have grown attached to this beast for sentimental reasons...+ I can't find a neck this comfortable...I have small hands.
For the record, my rig is: Rack tuner/ original Chameleon/ Tubeworks Mosvalve into 2 custom bult 2x12 cabs + midi control.
MIM Fenders are pound for pound as good as the American built stuff for 1/3'd the money...buy one...

S/S/S, white p/g, 2 tone burst, 21 maple neck, plywod body (agarthis - this stuff is a member of the mahogany family as is basswood eitherway both are appaling), synch trem, 2 tone, 1 vol,5way switch, plastic nut. NICE FINISH!!!!

Well I had this Special edition model from GAK i paid ??150 2 years ago and.... Its sound was ok not the best but adequate. I beefed it up with some GFS vintage alnico staggers. Mistake they are sh*tty pick ups!!! I thought this thing was the bee knees - how wrong i was the stock pick ups are not worth it. Sell em on Ebay i say!!!

Action was great as was the neck. Really nice feel. smooth fret ends and a great back shape MAPLE!!!!

hmmm.... wat can i say?? Well the tone pots are ok and the volume sucks, to get full blast needs 10 then as u go down through the numbers u expect to get lower volume however it dosnt it stay at full the at 7 it lowers alot again same vol until 5 where it lowers again and then at 3 no sound at all!!! the pickup selector was fine the tuners where p*ss poor!!!

No experiance

Yeah ok guitar cheap body but comfy an ideal guitar if you want to have a go at modding but if you really want a good strat get a vintage V6!!!

This one was made in China in 2005 and is a Guitar Center special (metallic red finish on body and headstock).

Sound quality is incredibly high for a guitar in this price range. The pickups are strong and, if properly adjusted, sound just as good as you could expect from stock.

The action, fit and finish are probably the biggest surprises of this guitar. Based on what I've seen in the past I was not expecting anything of even decent quality to carry the Squier name. Also I didn't think much of guitars built in China. For whatever reason last year I walked into Guitar Center and they had several of these by the front door. I have built guitars myself and have an appreciation for precision. I looked at 4 of 5 of these and they were all extremely well made. Most of the parts were obviously built and assembled using CNC lathes which assures a much more uniform quality than you can get even compared to handmade guitars although for most musicians there is such a stigma around 'machine-made' vs. 'handmade' instruments that it's kind of insane. The use of machines to built most of the parts of guitars like this is a huge benefit in my book and this guitar is a great example of that--it's tremendously well-made to a degree that would have been impossible just a few years ago in this price range. The tolerances appear to be extremely tight and everything fits and feels just like it would on the far more expensive American strat with very few exceptions (such as weight and depth of the body wood and the poly matte finish on the neck). There were no flaws in the finish, hardware, tuning pegs, saddle, nut, etc. I have been extremely impressed with the quality of this guitar. I could afford an American made Strat but I'm no longer hypnotized by the need to have the word "Fender" in big letters on the headstock so this one does just fine and gives me plenty of money left over for other equipment.

This has been a very reliable instrument so far. I don't play live so I can't give an objective opinion on that. The finish is not quite as durable as it would be on a more expensive guitar (it has chipped out in a couple of places exposing a yellowish undercoating). It will look pretty ghastly as it wears off but it would be more expensive to repaint it than to just get another one, at this price.

Never tried to contact the company.

I've been playing guitar for 25 years and have owned a LOT of different guitars both electric and acoustic. Right now I play a Martin OM-28V, this Squier strat, and an Epiphone LP standard. I play the electrics through a Digitech GNX3000 into my recording software.

If you can just get past the stigma of "Made in China" and "Squier" long enough to try one of these out, you will be very impressed. Overall, this is a 10 in terms of value. You couldn't begin to approach a guitar of this quality for $125 bucks when I started playing. Perfect for the beginner, home recorder or weekend warrior.

i have no idea when it was made. a 90s thing probably. i think its MDF. no joke. standard strat configuration, hardware etc. pickups... well, we'll get to that. passive electronics (if u want to call them that), thick plastic varnish, a bit like one of my old woodwork projects. tuners are strange beasts, dont go out of tune, but thats probably because the strings are so old they're fossilised. neck is the standard strat 'c' shape, though the quality is lightyears off. no included items as i remember. it gets a '3' for effort.

if you enjoy shredding your ears with a ludicrous amount of toneless treble, this is the perfect guit for you. use it with any amp whatsoever, and you'll be at best slightly disappointed. used it through an old fender blackface (drool, drool) and i cried. not with glee, i can tell you. tinny, nasty sound, this guitar can make sounds i'd never thought could exist. not good ones. after i'd moved on, many, many issues of guitarist and several guitars later, it came to me (in a dream) that i cud change the pickup height, so i lowered the treble side on all the pickups, and raised the bass just below where the strings might connect, and it actually sounded bearable! it put my little brothers amp into a reasonable distortion (tho, it is a 10 watt crappy carlsbro) and the treble wasnt deadly anymore. 4, after the adjustments

this guitar was scary. i thought it was a dream come true, in xmas '99. then i realised that my brother had a better one. and i realised that he'd bought his for about #35 more. hmm. everything is not particularly good, tho i dont expect it to be. noise and crackling is commonplace. as well as 60-cycle hum, it gives a LOT of microphonic feedback. i scratched it up in anger, before giving it to my little brother, who expressed much shock, and attempted to play metal numbers on it. to no avail.

i think it wouldn't withstand MY version of live playing (well, at least my rage filled version playing this) but i wouldnt have the audacity to take it on stage neway. i really wouldnt depend on it, except for jimi hendrix style guitar burning... tho i am afraid of the fumes that thing might release. and demons.

never ever dealt with any guitar companies, only distributers, and i do all my own modding. equal or (probably) better parts are on wd music.

ive been playing about 6/7 years, since i was 14, and im addicted to blues and jeff buckley, sometimes of which go together (live at sin-e, ooh yeh). i looooove telecasters, own 2, and am looking at a 3rd. if this guit was stolen, i would jump for joy and then choose a decent guitar for my parents to buy my little brother. i really dislike this guitar. can you tell? i wish it wasnt what it is, then it'd be gd ;-)

I have three. One in the late 90's, one in about 2001 and one in 2005. Why three? I dunno. Why do I breath oxygen? I dunno.
I just like them. I hand picked each one at our local Guitar Center. The first has an ultra slim neck. Just a few thousandths thicker than a Wizard neck. Why? I dunno. But I had to have that git when I picked it off the rack at GC. The neck is FAST! Has a skunk stripe too! Frets are smooth with no issues. It's a 9.500" radius. I like it.

The second is a 9.500" radius board with a standard C shape/dimension. The body is a little heavier than the one above. There is nothing I dislike about this guitar.

The third is essentially the same as number two above, but with larger frets and a slightly flatter board, say 10.500" radius. Why?
I dunno. It is advertised as 9.500" but measures flatter with my gauges. There is nothing I dislike about this guitar.

I smoothed the fret edges on #3. They were 'ok' but needed a slight deburr with my Dremel and fabric wheel.

All have very good tuners that stay in tune. I don't use the whammy (Tremelo). All have good switches and pots that are linear. I've adjusted the truss rods to suit my low action requirements and have not needed to readjust them. The intonation has stayed perfect after initial adjustment. I've used a variety of strings but I keep going back to Fender 250's @ .009 and sometimes .010" size. They seem to quack and sting better than others and seem to be better after the first couple of sessions.

They sound good! I use them clean and with all sorts of effects and have no complaints. Higher end models may have higher-end electronics, but the gap is closing. Effects and good amps do the trick anyway.

Adjust 'em the way you prefer and you'll be happy!
Check out the fret edges and look over the neck in general (straight/fret seating) and you'll be happy.

Well built. Same basic engineering as all other Strats. I am in the entertainment business. A good (long time)friend is the owner of a band that plays literally 300 nights per year. He uses Squier Strats and Teles.

No Issues.

Playing close to fifty years. I currently have a Fender Standard Strat (It's fine too). Squier Tele, Eastwood Sidejack (one hell of a guitar!), Dano, Yamaha Pacifica, Squier Bronco bass, Ibanez bass.

Fender Princeton (original). My wife has instructions to build the coffin to include the Princeton! :) G-DEC which is an over-achieving piece of equipment that I'll never live without for home entertainment. Squier Champ (crisp sound). Dano Dirty Thirty. Digitech JamMan (another terrific tool)!

BTW, I hand picked the Squier Tele too. It plays perfectly!

You would think a guitar fanatic like me would just have too own a >$1200.00 Strat. Why don't I have one? I dunno. I can afford one, but after playing several of them for endless hours over the years (and many other designs such as Gibson and others), I see them as very nice instruments but they are built and deliver essentially the same goods. To each his own! Everyone should play what they like to play!

20th Anniversary Affinity Strat, Black, Rosewood fingerboard. 3 stock single coil pups, vintage style tremelo, 5 way selector switch, 2 tone, 1 volume, 21 frets, stock tuners, can't remember the body wood, but it's not Alder. All standard stuff. Came with a 15watt Fender Frontman amp, strap etc. no bag.

I think 8 might be a bit generous, but I can't think of a real mark. I play it through a wasabi overdrive - Boss DS-1 - Boss BD-2 - Boss ME-50 - Zoom 505 MKii - Behringer PB100 - Fender Frontman amp. Clean it's amazing. Every pickup combination sounds different, you get 5 different sounds. The bridge pup is VERY bright when tone and volume are on tops, but they all get pretty dud when you turn the volume down. Distortion is where things get a bit pear shaped, every time I use distortion I get this high pitched ending to everything I play, almost like its squeeling and it's bloody annoying. With chorus, flange, phaser etc. it's a treat. The distortion sound itself is pretty good and you can get a variety of sounds (good for me - I play everything) it's just it squeals. The middle pickup gets quite mid rangey, good for Rock, and the neck pup sounds a little bit like a Jag. Like the sound at the start of Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers. With light distortion its pretty cool!

I haven't done anything to this apart from agusting the pickup's height now and then. The action is fine and everything else works. The finish is still perfect after almost 3 years, apart from an area on the back which is all scratched, last time i used that belt... Everything else was perfect.

I've used it once live, and the amp fucked up - wasn't mine. :( It all seems pretty solid and I can't see it falling to pieces any time soon. I've never yet gigged without backup, although that's just because I don't want to change strings in the middle of a gig! It would survive on it's own with fresh strings no problem. The strap buttons are solid and wont fall out.

Never dealt with anyone so I can't say. Don't know anyone who has.

I've been playing almost 3 years and own 4 guitars (squier, fender japanese telecaster - best guitar I know!), Ibanez Talman Acoustic, some cheapy classical guitar. If it was lost I wouldn't need to buy another guitar as I have the tele. It does sound very different to the Tele, so I do use them for seperate styles but I could cope without it. Overall a good started instrument, but once you get past that stage I would start to think about changing pups - already am thinking because of the distortion issue. Overall I think I've been a lucky one and got a good one. By friend has one aswell, from Argos, and we can't work out if it's affinity or standard, but that is amazing, he got really lucky.

Got this as a gift. I don't know what features warrant a ten besides the thing making me play like Hendrix or Page or insert guitar hero here/I thas all of the normal strat features. I would like to get new tuners for it though, and that should be happening soon. i would also recommend a new strap lock for these guitars as the buttons provided aren't that good.

I play a lot of rock. I replaced the pickups with a prewired mighty mite s s s pickgiard. The new pups were a little more lively. It was my first guitar mod. I know its not an american or signature strat, but it wasn't $1000+ either. The single coils hum, but thats why they're not called "hum" buckers.

Beautiful guitar. It needed to be adjusted after a year due to changes in humidity, but the fretboard and frets are nice, and the color is beautiful. I got the metallic blue version

Has been dropped and smacked into things, and keeps on ticking.

Some hardware will probably need to bechanged like the input jack and I would like new tuners and a strap lock system

NA

I have been playing for more than three years, but I am not an expert. Solid purchase for the money, but you should do a little comparison shopping when it comes to these things.

2004 Fender Squier Afinity Strat (indonesia).
Stock Features:
21 fret maple neck and stained fretboard.
Arctic White.
Volume, Tone, Volume knobs just like on most any Strat.
3 single pickups (5 way selector).
Maple body with resin finish.
Wilkinson Bridge.
Stock chrome tuners with string guides for every string.
Custom added features:
All wiring redone with gold plating.
Noise gate swich added.

It Suits most every style that i play. from metal to blues, its all there.
Assuming that you are using a good amp it hums very little and not below 8 or 9 on the knob.

The only flaw that I can think of is that the bolt that holds the plug to the jack plate and strap knob screws loosen after constant use.

Fender's are bullet proof and although this one is a Squier it is no different. The only reason for me to have a backup it incase i break a string so that i can swich instead put on a new one and retune.

I bought the guitar through a guitar shop and not through fender so i couldnt comment. Although i do know that you cant get their paint without having to go to a body shop to get it scanned for a paint code.

I compared it to an SG before buying but i rpefered the Strat

I don't kow what year it was made, but I think, this guitar is an older one. Made in China. 21 thin, nice frets, S-S-S stock pu config, vintage style vibrato, simple, non die cast tuners. Black color, one ply white pickguard, the smaller Fender headstock, may be rosewood fingerboard, or something like that.

Read along, and you will see how it became 10!!!
This guitar is an old, broken down Squier, with the followig negative things: very cheap tuners, wich are placed not properly! It means, that the holes were bored little too close to the first fret - that's why the first tuner doesn't fit well on the headstock. But it stays in tune anyway - OK I don't use the vibrato. The bridge is also not placed properly on the body: it's not straight-placed enough, so it's now impossible to adjust more the E sting octave at the bridge. It's now on a correct position - luckily! The elektronic parts are very tuch-sensitive: It gives a light hum, or something touch noise if I touch the plastik knobs. But no special hum from the pu-s during playing. When I got this guitar from a friend, it had a .008 string set on it. I plugged it in a very cheap Fender Frontman 10 W combo amp, and I just stood there with an open mouth!!!! It sounded unbelievable!!! The clean sound was just as I allways dreamd of!! Believe or not: it's fantastic! May be GOD wanted to give me some gift, but even it is an old, and cheap chinese made guitar, it sounds clean just great!!!
I played on several Squier Strat, and no one was even close to this tone!!!
The string set was very old on it, so I replaced it soon to a .009 set - and that gorgious clean tone was gone. I have to change it back to a new .008 set. But this guitar can give me the clean sound I like: so it's a 10!
The distorsion tone is of course not a humbucker fat sound, but very great overtones with this stock pu set. Only to thing for this: The volume pot is too close to the strings and the bridge - disturbig my feeling of playing comfort. The second one: there is no tone control on the bridge pu. I prefer the common tone control of all pu-s. But it's just a matter of personal taste ... I like the neck of the guitar, the thin frets even if this is not the best neck I've played on. But it's 10 for me anyway for the clean sound.

No! It was and is not the best action on this guitar, the neck and the bridge allows not to adjust to a really comfortable hight of the strings. As I said before: cheap, badly placed tuners, badly placed bridge - but the strings run straight on the fretboard, and the tuners stays in tune if I don't use the tremolo bar - wich I did not get with the guitar from my friend. And it's not hard to play on this guiar.

I play live with this guitar but I think there is a need of changing the tuners. I wonder how great it could sound with vintage pu-s! And I wonder if it is worthy to spend that much money on this cheap guitar. Anyway: the body, the neck, and the neckjoint looks like it would last for a while. Strap buttons are all right. I'm not jumping with this guitar, and I don't use it like an axe or sg. So no problems with the strap buttons. I have to depend on this guitar, becouse I don't have any other. An that means: I use it on a gig without a backup. It's a simple instrument, so too big troubles I don't count with. But OK it's not a first class guitar, but I am not a first class guitarist either. If I was Mark Knopfler, I would use something else!!! I like the guitar, not the name, the brand!!!

Never dealt with them.

I've been playig 20 years. I hade som e good guitars: Charwel, Ibanez Roadstar II (A perfect guitar!!!) and a Peavey Backstage 110 - a friend of mine have lost them all!!! That's why I play on his Squier and Frontman 10W of my friend. No I have an Ibanez PF 10CEDX el.acoustic, and that small Frontman 10 W combo. I hope it wouldn't be stolen, 'couse it's not mine guitar, I just use it! If it was stolen, I would have to buy it for my friend. Anyway I'd like to buy an Inbanez SAS32 FM DRS, and may be a Mexican Fender Stratocaster Satin Candy Apple Red wich are beatiful looking and sounding guitars for me. I love the great clean tones with the .008 string set, and the great overtones on distorted use. I don't hate anything on this guitar, just I would change the tuners, and may be the pickguard to a tortoise one - just becouse of estetical grounds. I wish it would have a common tone control for the pu-s,and the the wolume pot placed not this close to the bridge.
It is a good learner guitar, but can be used on the stage also.

A right handed model, bought as a Christmas present for my fairly competent left handed 15 year old son. Chinese made, gloss black finish white pickguard, maple fingerboard, 60's oversized headstock... in fact a doppelganger for the Hendrix 'Black Beauty' CBS strat.

Played through a Jim Dunlop Crybaby Wah and an Ibanez Tubescreamer it certainly floats my son's boat...and I'm not asking him to keep it down, must say something?

I maybe just lucky, or perhaps there's a bit of snobbery about non-American built Fenders, but the quality of this Chinese built guitar is really good! No flaws to report. Mind you this guitar went straight to a guitar tech. for alterations. First flipped to left hand (upside down Hendrix style) a new strap button fixed to the smaller horn, new nut and new strings and set-up. Not easy to judge the factory set-up in this case.

Don't know yet it's new!!

No opinion.

I've been playing for 25 years; however, this guitar was purchased for my son. His favourite axe up to now has been his beloved lefthanded Epiphone Les Paul. Being a Led Zeppelin fan (I know it's mad isn't it!!??) of course he favour the Les Paul; however, he has taken to the strat. and come to appreciate the difference.

A nine because this has everything you would expect on a real Strat.

This guitar makes a quite unique sound. It has a tone that I haven't from any other guitar, that is apart from an expensive Fender -that is not to say that this guitar sounds like an expensive Fender though- rather a muffled kind of sound that is of very poor quality. Each of the pickups sound very similar, but nevertheless, you can get a fairly pleasing sound out of this.

This was my first electric after an acoustic, so I was in no position then to comment on the setup. Now, this guitar has worn in nicely and fits comfortably, like you have been playing it for absolutley years.

The agathis body is a bit dodgy, as is the neck, which I can assure you (no matter how many times you are told) is not maple, nor does it have a proper rosewood board. It seems to be some cheap laminate.

My guitar is positivley awful to play. I my experiance, all Squires are. They reek of that desperatley low quality feel that I would recognise if i was blindfolded and handed any Squire. They desperatley want to be good to play, but unfortunatley fail.

Will this guitar withstand live playing? No. My friends and I take great pleasure in throwing heavy objects at the poor thing and covering it with stickers, and the finish has suffered greatley.

However, the trem unit is extemely stable, with an almost Floyd Rose like ability to stay in tune after being pushed flat to the body constantley.

Have never gigged it. It's too embarassing.

First things first: THIS IS NOT A FENDER!!!!! I am sick and tired of people saying that 'I've got a Fender Squire'. There is no such thing! The Squire occured when Fender was sick of all the strat copies on the market, so they endorse this. They do not manufacture it. It's more or less what an Epiphone is to a Gibson (except poorer quality). Just because it says 'by Fender' on the top does not mean it is a Fender. Please belive me.
An example:
WANNABE GUITARIST (Squire owner): 'What guitar did Hendrix use?'
ME: 'A Fender Strat, of cause'
WANNABE: 'What, just what I have?'

If I'd have had his Squire, I'd have smashed it over his head right then.

I own an Epiphone G400 Vintage, a REAL Fender Strat, and a PRS Santane SE, alongside various basic acoustics.

Despite all the negativity, this guitar is much loved and you would be hard pushed to make me sell it.

My recomendation: Buy a Strat. Even to a basic Mexican, the quality jump is astounding. There much more playable and sound a hell of a lot better.

P.S. The Fender 15R amp included in the starter packs with these guitars has a GREAT clean tone!

Just bought it from Sam Ash and it's the metallic blue one with rosewood fingerboard. so I guess it's the most current version available. Made in China. blah blah. You guys all know the features so I won't go into it. Has more than what I expect for a $150.00 guitar.

My main axe is a gretsch hollow body but I really wanted to get a practice guitar to thrash around. I've always liked the strat "feel" so I decided to go with something made by fender. I looked at the mexican strats and the american strats and a bunch of different squiers. I had to remind myself it was going to be a practice guitar so pulled myself away from the american standard strat that I tried out. (loved that one). The mexican ones I tried out really weren't that much different from some of the squiers I played. I tried out the squier 51's, the affinity tele's, affinity standard strat and on and on. I must have went through about 30 of 40 different squiers before I found one that felt real nice and sounded good. Like many have said before me, it's a numbers game with these guitars. MOST that are hanging in the music store will sound and play like their price tag. However, if you get lucky and find a good one, you get a guitar that's worth WAY more than what you pay for. I found one like that. It sounded great. Didn't seem to have any problems with the electronics, the tuners were pretty accurate, the action felt very nice after I did some adjustments, and the intonation was right on. It sounds bright and shimmery clean through my set up and it can also get going with some nice overdrive. My rig is: Barber LTD Silver>Monte modded Boss SD-1 (modded to TS808 specs and sound. It's very nice)>Line 6 Tone Core Space Chorus>Danelectro DJ-5 Tuna Melt Tremolo (Only use this for 2 sounds and it's great at what I use it for)>Ernie Ball VP Jr. 6181 Volume Pedal>Line 6 Tone Core Echo Park Delay>Powered by Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus (Eliminates all hum on line 6 pedals. It's a must have)>All connected with George L cables>Fender HotRod Deluxe. It's not an amazing rig but it sure does get the job done. Through this guitar, each position has it's own character. Positions 1, 3, 5 have a little hum to it, but that's to be expected with single coils. 2 and 4 are dead quiet. I like 4. Someone mentioned that it wasn't ballsy enough. Sounds good to me. I am a professional jazz saxophonist with a passion for guitar as well. I've been playing guitar on the side for the last 15 years when I'm not on my sax. As a wind player on a "lead" type instrument, I know what sounds good as far as timbre goes. In fact I have a lot of buddies who are amazing guitarists who are always trying to emulate the saxophone, riffs and all heh. If you find the right one, this guitar is a STEAL. I give it a 10 because in this price range, it rocks EVERYTHING else I tried out. It even rocks guitars that are several hundred dollars about it. I won't compare it to the american strats though...that's just not fair, although this guitar is not THAT far off.

Well, there was some annoying buzz when I first got it on the G but the guitar sounded real nice and played well so I overlooked that when deciding to buy. The pick ups were fine. I wanted to go to a lighter guage string so I had to make some adjustments to the saddle/bridge and truss rod. After the adjustments, this guitar is butter. Intonation is right on. In fact, it stays in tune better than my gretsch...go figure. I suppose if you wanted to, you could upgrade the PUPS and change out the tuners, etc...but for me, it's a practice guitar so I won't go that far. My next guitar will be that American double fat strat I was playing. Feel wise, this guitar was pretty similar.

Well, I just got this guitar so I can't really say. From what I hear, it's a Timex.

Not sure yet. Haven't had to talk to em yet.

I give this guitar a 10. It is truly a fantastic value if you find the right one. When I went shopping for my horns, I didn't just buy the first one I tried out. Much like saxes, you gotta try out a bunch of guitars to find one that YOU like. All squier affinities are NOT created equally. Spend some time looking. I visited 4 guitar centers and 3 sam ash stores to find this one. I think good squiers are the best kept secrets for guitarists who want a nice guitar without breaking the bank. This one does everything I want from it. If I didn't know any better, I would have easily spent much more for the sound I can get from this thing. Just make sure you try out a bunch. Don't settle for a dud. I do gig on guitar once in a while and I have enough confidence to use this guitar as a back up. I am not sure I would say that about any other $150.00 guitar out there. I also really love the color. If it were stolen, I'd buy another for sure.

2004 Squier Strat Affinity series, urethane alder body with maple neck & rosewood fingerboard. S/S/S pickups, volume + neck & mid pup tone controls. Tremelo tail. Everything stock as from Fender.

Pups are garbage and tremolo is a pitiful joke (just leave the trem arm in your case). Get used to having fret buzz.

I set this guitar up to the tee, but there is really not much that you can do with it due to its extremely poor construction. If you bow the neck to properly align the strings, forget staying in tune. You can't lower the action to even moderate height without getting massive fret buzz on the lower strings. The bridge is lousy, and the tuners are fairly poor. Even the pickguard doesn't line up properly with the body holes, so it's kind of warped. This guitar is no better than a Lotus Strat copy that I had 20 years ago. There is absolutely nothing about this guitar that I would think Fender would want to put its name on.

I have been playing for 25 years. It seems that you have to buy an American Strat to get something that is decent from Fender. However, you can buy their Jagmaster for around 300 clams that compares in sound and quality to the Amercan Strat. Does something smell fishy here? Apparently, Fender charges twice as much as they need to for their Strats, simply because of the demand for the shape. In my opinion, you really need to spend a grand or more for a good Strat from Fender.

Average strat

5 way pickup switching, two tone sunburst.

Cheap and tacky, but i love the feel of it.

Bright sound on single selections, richer "fat" sound on 3 and 4.
I mainly play PEARL JAM!!!, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Rage against the Machine and Cream.

Bitchin' tone through my Marshall if you put the selection on 3, turn up the tone on the amp and all the way down on strat.

Crapee strings, thin as.

Lasted about one bloody week before they snapped.

Set up OK, needed some serious tweaking of whammy bar before it would stop detuning heaps.

Stood up to many beatings.

I've thrown this beauty off many stages, it's my shitty little back-up.

Covered in marks etc., but never needed any fix ups with electronics etc.

Had it for ages, never given me trouble.

Never dealed with Squier, but Billy Hypde (australia)

LoVE it, best puchase ever made.

All begginers should buy this guitar.

SHITLOADS better than my friend's real fender strat.

Good feel, grat tone if you play it right, looks sweet.

Had to put up with friend's tall poppy syndrome.

(they can't admit i can play better than they ever will)

Bought mid-late 90's. Alder body (painted arctic white), maple neck, with rosewood fingerboard. Pre-CBS shaped headstock (I like that). Usual Strat set up s/s/s single volume, two tone controls (by the way, for those of you who didn't work it out yet, the tome control doesn't affect the bridge pick-up - live with it, or get a mod). Music shop "couldn't find" a tremelo arm that fit. No matter, never could get the hang of those things, so it has the tremelo unit, but it's never been used (if it's good enough for Eric...hey!). Neck is fantastic. Tuners are junk (to be replaced). P/ups are pretty average (to be replaced with Fender Fat 50's). Fret dressing is actually excellent - It's that 1 in 10 thing that seems to haunt Fender as a whole. One in ten instruments is a gem. Didn't get anyhting with this except the strings (oh, they were changed pretty quick too). $99.00 out the door....Has a great acoustic tone, and a nice enough tone plugged in. The pickups - as mentioned - are average, but I've made some nice sounds recording.

I use for home recording, so it suits me fine - when I need a strat sound. Noisy on single pickup settings - single coils will do that - but quiet enough when two are slected together.
Back two p/ups is a favourite setting for rhythm tracks, as it's quite clean and twangy. Neck pickup, verb, and a little crunch, and it's David Gilmour city.

Set up was nice when I got it. Still one of my favourite git-fiddles to play. They'll have to wrench this baby from my stiff, dead fingers. I love the way it feels.
Pickups are adjusted just fine, but they're not fabulous to begin with.

Live? Haven't done that for ages. I'd still play it, if the song warranted a Strat sound (it's all about the song...)
Hardward...hmmmm...tuners are junk. I'll eventually replace them.
Finish has one little nick in it, but I'll live. Anyway, there's something odd about a pristine strat....
Strap buttons? What an odd question. Yes, it has two. They are lovely. You can hang the guitar on a strap with them. Fancy that!
Wouldn't use without a backup (who gigs without a backup?).

errrmmmmm? N/A

Bass player turned guitar player (well, basses are not so much fun when you're on your own). Been playing......a good while....
I'd hate to lose this puppy. It feels so nice. But, at $99.00 it's not the end of the world. Sad, though.
Did I compare it to other guitars? No. It was there, it was pretty, it was $99.00. I played it, I liked it, I took it home. "Show me all the other guitars you have for $99.00 please!" - will get you thrown out of the store!
Anything I wish it had? A new set of pick ups, new tuners, a red tortoiseshell pickguard, and chrome knobs. It'll happen one day.
Anything else you'd like to share? Nope. Not sharing. It's mine.

brand new, features already mentioned below. beautiful two tone sunburst finish and pale maple neck with big headstock. it's plain and simple. what you expect from a strat.

tested it in a shop and compared it to my stock main guitar which is a jimmie vaughan tex-mex(best strat ever). it misses the high end sparkle and output of it, but sounds way better than some american made 5-times-the-price strat. it hs all the sounds you expect and want from a strat. not more, not less. if i'd give my main guitar a 10(what it is), than this is surely a 8.

the two tone finish is very accurate, not as "authentic" and neatly crafted as the american or mexican classics but the job's well done. the neck is a little bit too average for me, I prefer a little bit more character here, but will suit fine the average player.

it's a fine job. it's not high end but solid. not cheap. healthy middle-class.

playing for 15 years. owned and played many various guitars from all manufactures and styles. I ended up on strats and simple tube amps when I found out, that the sound comes from me and not necesseraly from the equipment. it's a good guitar for beginners as well as for a backup for pro's. it's not as cheap and crappy as some may presume and I had to test it myselve to be surprised how good it is.

Made in 2005, China possibly. 21 medium jumbo frets, rosewood 9.5? radius fretboard. Solid alder body, maple neck. The usual Stratocaster controls/pickups/electronics/tremolo.
The tuners are standard OEM-stuff, probably by Gotoh or Schaller, but good quality anyway. No need to replace them for along time yet.
It doesn't come with any extras like gigbag/cable 'n' stuff.
Body is painted in what the retailer calls "Torino Red" (whatever that is) but Squire themselves call it Metallic Red, with finishing layers of polyurethane (same as used on the vintage Les Pauls, ya know). Makes the air breath, doesn't shut the moisture in & lets the colour age with grace.

I play basically blues & blues rock. This guitar combined with my handmade tube amplifiers (I built them myself) is perfect for that. How it sounds? If you've ever played a Stratocaster through a Marshall JCM800 you know what it sounds like.

Can't really say how well it was setup at the factory, since the importer in my country goes over every instrument & makes every necessary adjutments. As does the shop I bought it from. So it's been properly setup/intonated/adjusted twice since it left the Squire factory. Sure, I may have to do some adjustment to intonation when I change the strings, as well as move the pickups a bit. But that's no big deal.
Bodyfinish is perfect, as is fretboard & fretwork.

As I mainly play for my own enjoyment, this guitar will last a lifetime.

He, never dealt with Squire.

Been playing since I was 15 (1985). Always wanted a Stratocaster 'cos I love the sound Richie Blackmore has on the Fireball LP. Had one once, but had to sell it due to unemployment. Won't happen again.

its a 2005 made in china 21 fret s/s/s 5way yada yada black body maple fretboard simple strat copy designed by fender.what make this guitar differant is teh pick ups this year fender copied there custom 69 pick ups for the squires and hav ethere knock off american standard bridge which is great. i have had many guitars in the past high end guitars but had to sell because of med bills and this guitar makes them feel impotent

I play Blues and classic rock even brit and punk and mod stuff but were this guitar flys is with the 60's hendrex stuff.i mean the way through a plexi or even a multi fx this thing sounds great the key is to set the pick ups low and set th eaction low as you can take to were in is abit clanky and rattles just abit cos with overdrive the rattle dissappers

i know how to properly set up a guitar and intonize well co sthis guitar does need it plays well but had to sand down the edges of the frets unless you like cuts on your hand heres were it get interesting because i came from playing more costly instruments i couldnt liv ewith the squire logo on th ehead stock so i fixed it lol well i changed it.keep in mind this in not for resale as that would be wrong and illeagel i sanded down to bare wood the front of th ehead stock and onc ei got rid of the logo (well it still leave a white lite shadow of squire ) I then varnished witha three lite coats of spray .then go on th egood ole internet and either order you a fender logo off ebay (very costly) or find and fit a logo online and go to your fav hobby store and get water slide decal inkjetpaper anr print stick and seal with a another coat of varnish and to untraind eye it looks toobe a fender strat but lol doe try saling it cos lol the can tell (remeber this was what i did co si couldnt standinging at the old logo so im not telling you to do this and if you do be sur eto carefuly read the instrutions that you can find on internet cos you could ruin you logo that came with it but if youon paid 75 nucks like i did who cares

built like a flipping tank but the finish on this one is thin im thinking of relicing it some time in the future but now that i got the headstock the way i like (lol hint hint) id gig with it

havent used em but i think they wouldnt help me and way seeing now it has a late 60's fenderlogo on it and a custom shp decal on the back and serial number is my license plate lol

ive been playing since i was 15 im 23 now so awhile ive had gibson and cs fenders and even a rickenbacker and i have to say this little thing stacks up lol i even took it to samash to try out some amps and even though the sales guy knew it was fake he still offerd me 800 bucks (kicks myself fo rnot taking it )but i workd hard on th eheadstock an dif i had to compare it to another guitar id have to say a mexican 70's reissued but with out the ash weight

Made in Indochina 1998. Maple, skunk stripe neck with satin finish, 21 frets, 7.5 radius (I think). Fairly thin neck body. Black finish. Large headstock. Standard 5 position switch. Body unknown, but feels like alder. I use the guitar with a nice 220V Euro-procured Sunn SR-25 amp. Take this advice at your own risk, but I didn't convert the amp to 110 and simply fitted a 110V plug to it. I found that starving the transistors really gave it a nice, aggressive distortion not found in that style SS amp. If you have access to a 220V amp and a variac, you might experiment with dropping the voltage and see if you get a similar result. I also use it with a Fender Deluxe 85.

I'm a sit-around-the-house player of modest abilities, but I've played quite a few different guitars over the years. I'm pretty impressed with the sound. It has a fairly standard Strat sound. Interestingly enough, the top E string has a slight "sitar" sound (think the Coral Sitar style solo in the "Flowers" song on This is Spinal Tap). I suspect that it's a setup issue. I actually like the slight extra twang that it gives.

Strings are set up a little high. Don't know about the pickup height, although it might be the cause of the E string sound previously noted. No quibbles about the fit and finish. The black finish seems pretty normal with nice deep gloss. The satin finish on the back of the neck feels nice, the grain is relatively straight, and the fretside finish has a nice feel. If you looked at the body alone, you'd have a hard time distinguishing it from a normal Stratocaster. No issues in terms of fret dressing or seating - everything is tight and flush. Neck is straight and there are no fret buzzing or dead fret issues.

Everything seems solid enough. Typical Stratocaster toughness. I don't play live though and have only had the guitar for a few months but nothing seems fragile or prone to unusual breakage.

N/A

I've been playing off and on for 25 years, but mostly off :chuckle: I have several inexpensive acoustics and a very nice Carlo Robelli CRB1955 (Gretsch copy). Over the years, I've had an Epiphone Sheraton, a Squier Telecaster (both stolen) and have had roommates with varied guitars - a 1963 sunburst Strat, a '62 Les Paul (SG style), a mid-70s goldtop Les Paul and other unremembered models. I have played a few US made Strats in my time, and I don't find this one very different, although the neck is a little different (not as clubby, which I like). I would prefer the smaller headstock, but I'm getting used to it. It doesn't seem to be an exact headstock copy of the large mid-60s models either, so it's sort of a mongrel look.

I would DEFINITELY get another copy of this guitar if it were stolen, especially for the price. However, I know that not all copies might be as well made as this one.

I love the price/quality ratio and would have paid "normal price" for it if I had had to.

I can't think of anything that I'd change on it, except to have better tuners, I suppose.

The main reason for giving this a 10 is because of the amazing value that this particular guitar offers. If you take price out of the equation, I would easily give this an 8, but wouldn't feel uncomfortable with a 9.

I just wanted to update my previous review. I swapped the standard Fender Bullet strings that come with the guitar for a set of DAngelico flatwounds... you wouldn't believe how much this completely altered the sound. Richer, fuller, mellower... like switching from schwag to the chronic. I always found it to be a bit shrill for any semi-jazzy sorts of things before the swap, but now it it sounds almost like a dream when I struggle through some modal passes. I still suck but the guitar sounds terrific, like somebody with a learner's permit revving a sport's car.

basic strat features but slightly thinner.

OK here's the thing. everyone rags on these things. They treat their guitar like shit and then complain about it. If I treated an American Deluxe Strat the way people typically treat a Squier it to would sound and feel like shit. Now you're askin why the hell is he comparing high end strats to this one? SURVEY SAY"S..... because i can. these are not bad guitars in fact they are beter in some cases than the aforementioned deluxe strat. Why?? well no one has any qualms about replaceing the neck or something on a squier strat but b people think i'm crazy to replace the neck on an american strat. Leo Fender invented the bolt on process so that everything could be replaced easaily and modularily. edn of tangent. The stock pickups give a good generic strat sound. they sound different for each player. they are noisy because they are singal coil pickups. the elcetronics are sub par. the plus side is that every one of these things are easy to replace.

Squiers have a great track record of being great playing guitars. I know a guy who got an american strat then swaped necks because he prefered the squier's feel. Always do your own setup. fender usualy gives a decent every man set up but dont expect it to be perfect for you. It happens that i do like fenders stock setup and do minimal tweaking but thats me and does not reflect you. the finishes vary enough to be disapointing at times but since it's a bolt on neck it the joint isn't great get your screw driver and redo it.

Fender= reliable and rugged.
after a typical punk band tour this guitar will still work but will need a very very very good cleaning(thats where i come in)

yeah right if you need customer support for a guitar like this then
ya know maybe you ain't cut out for this.

i have been playing for about 10 years. I have had so much experiance on these guitars that i think i could make one do any thing. bottom line budget guitars are great for beginners or professionals but need little touches. new pickups here and there replacement parts etc... these thing are great bases for custom creations. also if you dont take care of them then of course they aren't going to sound good but no instrument is. Clean intruments sound and play better than dirty beat top hell rusty stringed instruments so every one quit complaining. In the words of Frank Zappa " Shut up and play yer Guitar"

I don't own this guitar but I have played it plenty of times.

You know the drill...S/S/S, Tone/Tone/Volume, Alder Body, maple neck w/ rosewood fretboard, crappy blue finish, Fulcrum style tremolo.

It is decent for the price but you would be better off with a Jay Turser JT-300. The tremolo bar is useless because if you use it once it throws the whole guitar out of tune. There are a number of dead frets and the neck is rather wierdly shaped. I probably wouldn't buy this even for a begginer guitar. Instead buy a Jay Turser JT-300.

Crappy blue finish looks hazy and dull.

N/A

Built in 2003, Indonesian, supposedly alder body, 21 fret rosewood-topped maple neck. Metallic navy blue finish. CBS style headstock. Standard single coils, 2 tone pots/ volume knob and Fender-style trem.

Does all of the things you'd want from a Strat with all of the drawbacks too. People griping about the "thin" tone or buzzy pickups should have considered what they're buying. I like the quack you get from it because I WANTED a Strat. The noise... hey, man, they're single coils!?! This guitar has a nice bright sound, decent feel (I love the neck, just wish it had 22 frets), good sustain (better than a lot of other guitars I've messed with, even some acoustics) and a decent fit and finish. I honestly don't understand those folks that are griping about the shortcomings on a $160 guitar.
That being said, I am a long term beginning guitarist (I've started and stopped playing on multiple occasions with long stretches of time in between) so my demands are fairly simple: make me sound OK & stay in tune. I am really only interested in playing the blues so cannot speak for trying to shred on this instrument or gigging with it or really even driving it through a JCM-9billion. If that's what you want to do, this probably is going to come up short because it is a cheap guitar.
I intend to do some work on mine: improve the grounding, swap out all of the pots (these ARE shitty and have some wack tolerances), put in some insulation under the pickups. Nothing too special, just some tweaks to optimize performance. Putting a lot of work in these guitars is like tricking out a Kia with boosters, spoilers and ground effects... at the end of the day it's still a cheap ass substitute for something else.

The action was fine (some buzziness on the low end). Nothing major was wrong with mine but I got it at a store (East Coast Music in Melbourne, FL-- Brevard County, represent!) and was able to shop for the one I wanted.
I have no idea about bodywood because of the plastic-like coating on it. I don't care if it's plywood, it sounds good acoustically and has sustain for days. It's acoustically better than a friend's LP, which seems wholly unfair.
The frets were all finished on mine, the tuners are cheap but work fine, the trem... well, it's better than a Bigsby but I think I would prefer a hardtail.

I really hammer on mine. I'm not playing live but I pound the hell out of it.
Will it last?
Who knows?
It's not meant to be the last guitar you ever play. The finish will outlast roaches after a nuclear war, feels like they melted tupperware over the body but it looks great.
It is dependable in that you can come home and strap it on and just play until your fingers are sore and your mood is better. It stays reasonably in tune (again, I really do play hard) and has a tremendous amount of balance (it doesn't slip around when wearing it).

n/a

I have this one and an Epi acoustic. I've previously owned Charvel San Dimas (EVH style w/ Duncan humbucker and Floyd Rose trem) and a Martin D1 (I thought that if I sank a ton of money into my guitar I'd play more). For my budget (limited) and abilities (even more limited), this is a great instrument. No complaints from the wife on its price and it suits me because this is what I wanted (minus the 22nd fret).
If you're already talented enough to play like Hendrix or SRV or Gilmour, you need a better intrument than this one. But if you're starting out or looking to expand your sonic palette, this is a great place to start. You get all of the wonderful honking, quacking Strat tones and get them for cheap. It feels good in your hands and looks cool.

bought brand new in 1999 made in china 21 frets has volume 2 tones 5 way selector s/s/s stock pickups body maple neck rosewood color yellow/white stock tuners bought off internet recived in box no accessories

this gutiar has a unique sound to it as is out the box i new it could deliver what i needed but not without some tweaking of course
i play funk gospel rock and had beed playing a jasmine tackimine accoustic electric and a conquer bruno f body style and these were warm low bassey sounding so i just tweaked my strat to do the same put it to my fender ultimate chrus amp and rp50 effects unit and pow im playing custom with a beatiful stratocastor resonance i can get a rich/full sound and a bright sound i tweak it to give me a rich full sound see thats were it is knowing your style and tweaking your instrument to git your style then adding the right effects and amps to play it is wat i fouhgt to learn in my 10 years of playing electric guitar im still learning how to make this thing sound better without spending an little by little i find ways this guitar can play some good funk the way i got it setup sorry setup is a secret i best like the light fit the body contour of it and when its time to dazzle use a little wammy bar i dislike the restringinging this thing so i removed back plate is easier and looks custom

i hated the flat paint jobs and i hate the cheap looking plastic pickguard and the plastic pickup covers i removed my pickup covers and just let the black mold looks unique sounds no differnce i replaced my knobs with some neat silver allow from an old 80's stereo
beautiful color i thought was white looked yellow terrible decieving this is were i lost it wanted the jimi hendrix white not i wound up buying a custom pickguard from pickguard fx and spraypainted the body sparkle brown and a few clear coats right over the yellow it looked nice but it wasnt long after till the brown paint begin to chip away well guess u figured im into looks nowi have to gig and i decided to stripp the whole thing and stain it butterscotch withe gloss finish and bought really nice buttersctch pearl pickguard now this 150.00 toy looks like a $1200.00 vintage customized strat i decided to leave the squire logo on to show a little customizing can make all the differnce whish i could show u a pic and supplies costed under 100.00

as this is the best guitar ive ever owned i have no fears about giging with this i played a friends gutar dont rember what it was some old vintage model and that thing was out a sight so i no there are better gutars but when theres no money theres no honey
in the mean time this squire is my honey and if the dad blasted thing blows up on stage so beit i dont like how the harware tends to loosen often oh well

havent had to

if this were stolen id be raging i got a one of a kind custom squire
if had the money id buy a better gutiar but else wise i will sit and play some of the other models that are in the same price range next time around before i buy i might be missing out on something if not ill get me squre back chap

2004 China-built Squier Affinity Series Strat, in Aztec Gold--not listed as a standard finish, but seen occasionally in the field (other Aztec Gold Affinity Strat reviews can be found in the "Special Edition" listings, but my guitar was just mixed in and priced with all the other Affinity strats on the floor at GC). All basic strat features in place. It's interesting to note how the designers created a collage of Strat features from various eras. Big headstock w/twin string trees and big black logo from 60s/70s; one-piece maple-neck capped w/separate maple fretboard and no skunk stripe as per post-CBS 60s examples; single-ply white pickguard w/eight mounting screws as used in '54-'59 models; vintage-style tremolo like pre-70s/post CBS version (i.e. with separate, screwed-in intertia block instead of the one-piece casting used in later CBS Strats); flat pole-piece pickups a la 80s-90s American models; classic Strat electronics as per '54 to date except for 500k v/t/t pots substituted for 250k. Hence the Affinity name--the guitar is a collection of allusions to earlier Stratocaster concepts. The Alder body (as in most Strats after the first few years of ash bodies in the 50s) differs from MIM and higher Strats by being thinner overall and more radically contoured--look at it edge-on and be startled. *Very* light guitar, one of its virtues. Fits and feels lovely to me but might seem too light to others. Gig bag purchased separately, and I had to remind the salesman to include the whammy bar. A nine because it's a pretty interesting Frankenstrat for $150.

I play in a two-piece band dealing in obscure and not-so-obscure covers (we asked ourselves, "What's the least cool thing we can do?" and decided to be a cover band, though yes we do know how to write good songs)--anything from the Carter Family to the Violent Femmes is fair game. I'm not trying to nail anyone else's tone besides my own, and if you are, this isn't the guitar for you unless you are prepared to drench it in effects. Recently I've been using a Behringer Vampire 112 modeling amp, set to do impressions of either a Blackface Twin, a tweed Champ, or an early (non-top boost, dark sound) AC-30. Other amps in the collection are a Vox Valvetronix VT15, a '61 Gibson GA-18 Explorer, and a mid-60s Lectrolab R400C (single EL84 tube amp not unlike a small Vox combo of its era). Minimal effects: guitar to Boss DS-2 Distortion (occasional rhythm helper) to Vox Distortion Booster (occasional lead helper) to Ernie Ball volume pedal (so I can max the guitar output to the buzz boxes without over-the-top clean volume)to amp (where built-in vibrato, reverb, and/or Leslie effects are sometimes dialed up, sparingly). There's something to be said for ceramic-magnet pickups on a Strat; the sound is very bright, light on the bass end and with some more sustain than Strats with the usual Alnico pickups. Palm muting brings out lots of chiming harmonics, and with the volume control backed off there's a very useful acoustic vibe. The 1, 3, and 5 positions have clearly differentiated sounds but the differences aren't as pronounced as they are on higher-end Strats. Inbetween positions 2 and 4 are harder to distinguish from the regular settings and don't meet the usual sonic expectations. As a rhythm guitar it sounds very clear but thin; with the older tube amps with no on-board EQ beyond treble-cut, it's tempting to chain in an EQ pedal. But I like the way its airy delicate tone layers over my bandmate's darker, thicker electro-acoustic (Takamine w/onboard pickup/preamp) sound. Crank it to 10 for leads and it provides a satisfying and unusual snarl/skirl, emphasizing upper harmonics. Inherent hum from single coils that are probably without any shielding (haven't opened it up to verify that, but consider the price point), but given that they're pretty quiet--low output might make them less sensitive to computers and dimmer switches. Depending on what the source of interference is and where you're positioned, you can sometimes cancel the hum by turning the volume to 10. Mysterious but true. Some of the tone qualities may be due to the use of 500k pots for volume/tone/tone controls as opposed to the usual 250K pots; the substitution probably has to do with maximizing the tone from the minimalist pickups. If you ever want to swap in a Vintage Noiseless set, then the standard 500k pots that come with those are already in place here. I've thought about swapping pickups, but the Seymour Duncans I bought for that purpose ended up in another guitar--for this guitar I prefer the non-generic-Strat stock sound. Not for all, or maybe even very many, ears, but I like it--it's like watercolor as opposed to acrylics (or house paint). It would have sounded cool in Galaxie 500. 10 for me, 8 for the world at large which might want a bit more bass response and more quack from position 4.

This is a beautiful guitar. Flawless metallic gold finish (Aztec Gold entered the Fender menu just prior to the end of the CBS era, but it's indistinguishable from previous metallic gold finishes that go back to the 50s--compare with the illustrations in Tom Wheeler's *Stratocaster Chronicles*), and the coating seems thinner than on other models (like the solid color MIM Strats and Teles which remind me sometimes of candy apples, not in color but in coating), which to me is a good thing. Not so thin as to be worn away any decade soon, at least by me. Neck and fingerboard have nice flowing grain and are precisely joined; back of neck is clear-coated up to the headstock like MIM guitars. Tight neck joint, flush pickguard (can't get a pick under it), smooth even fretwork with no protrusions. Everything works like it's supposed to, including the tremolo, which I seldom use but which springs the strings back to tune with no issues. On this guitar it was set flat against the body at the factory, which is fine by me; three springs are installed. The die-cast machines, unbranded clones of modern Fender tuners, are well made and work smoothly, though when not changing strings I hardly have to move them at all--the guitar will stay in tune for weeks when left in its bag and only needs slight tweaks on some strings when played more frequently. The neck is dead straight, the action is a little low--a little extra care is needed with the left hand to keep chords clear, but I haven't brought it up the needed 1/64" or so because lead lines play with such snaky fluidity that I'm reluctant to mess with it. I've lowered the pickups a little--again, they could be adjusted further for a clearer sound, but I don't want to lose the aforementioned skirling and harmonics. When purchased the guitar was missing one height adjustment screw from the high e-string saddle. Most of the Squiers I tried out were also missing one or more saddle adjustment screws; I don't know whether this is a Squire quality control issue or an in-store phenomenon...weird. But easily remedied.

I don't gig nightly--more like once/twice a month with frequent practice and rehearsal inbetween. In my hands I don't foresee any durability issues, but my hands are small and I tend to shoegaze on stage. After eight months, used in rotation with various other guitars (and so sometimes zipped away in its bag for weeks) the dependability record is perfect, but if I was banging it on the floor every night in a neothrash band neither the Squier nor a Custom Shop Closet Classic at 20x the price would be holding up very well. Strap buttons are smallish but tight, hardware is a little lighter than mainline Fenders but not flimsy. I always bring a backup because I hate changing strings on stage, but the Squier hasn't behaved in any erratic way that makes me feel that I might need that other guitar for any other reason.

Never had to and wouldn't try unless I discovered a serious warranty issue. Squier website claims one-year limited warranty, but GC routinely sells Squiers without manuals and warranty cards, so unless you press them for the paperwork you're on your own.

I've been fooling with and collecting guitars for a long time but playing seriously for just the last six years. Other instruments: three Danelectros, MIM Tele and Strat (both with Seymour Duncan replacements for lame buzzy stock pickups), two Epiphone Gibson knock-offs, and a coupla basses. Obviously not a fan of more costly gear--in most cases I think the prices aren't justified by the increase in quality over good examples of lower-priced instruments. I would probably feel differently if I played the viola, but solid-body electrics are kind of abstract things--planks with strings and pickups. I'll invest a lot in pickups if I need to but otherwise I don't rate guitars by their headstock logos, and I don't have much respect for people who use those logos as their primary criteria for judgement. Like the person in another review here who dismissed the Affinity as a child's guitar and said "Not a good ax for a serious musician." Wrong--though a good Squier would be a good guitar for a beginner of any age. I love the Squier's high frosty tonality and easy action, its lighter thinner body and deeper contours. Now this guitar gets some of the worst reviews around, and I don't doubt many of them (except the ones written by disappointed wanna-be shredders and anything written entirely in upper case). Squire quality control, shame on Fender, is far too uneven. I purchased mine on a whim--I had a big unexpected credit at GC and at the time of purchase didn't own another Strat-like object and so I began to try out the dozen or so Affinity and Standard Squiers on display. Many of them had whack action, electrical problems, missing screws, loose components--not good guitars, though all perhaps redeemable with some degree of after-purchase work. I was hoping for something red and was initially dismissive of the gold ones (there were two). But then I played this one and couldn't put it down. Moral is--try a lot of them before choosing any guitar, regardless of price point. And at this price point, you probably shouldn't order off the web--you really need a hands-on trial to separate the good examples from the majority of not-so-good ones. That said, there's no reason, given the sheer numbers of these things, that you couldn't, in time, find an Affinity Strat that's as cool as mine. I A/B'd it recently with a '96 American Standard. The Standard felt clunky and sounded comparatively bland. You'd probably want the Standard if your goal was to emulate a guitar hero or a style from a bygone era or to earn your bread as a sesson player. But if you think for yourself, and don't care what musos think about you (some will inevitably sneer when they see the logo), then a well-chosen Affinity Strat may be something for you. Think of it as that eccentric Italian guitar from 1963 that you always covet but you never buy, because you know most of the buttons don't work any longer and it will never stay in tune....

I've got the 22 fret model. I got it as a gift from a pawn shop so I don't know where it was made, how much it cost or what year it was made. The frets had a little wear and there was a chip or two but nothing major wrong with it. I did not get a wammy bar with it, but I imagin it normally comes with one.

Normal features for a strat.

I do wish strats had mutiple volume controls.

The sound is a general strat sound. Nothing amazing, but not bad either. I will say it takes a good amp to really make this shine. I played out of a Peavy Special 130 solid state amp for the first two years and I hated the guitar! Running it into a good tube amp changes everything! It seems to be very particular of the amp you play.

(any wonder why it sounds like crap on a $15 amp?)

The sound on the bridge was a little bright for me, so I rewired the tone control from the middle to the bridge. This pickup also sounded a little lacking in bass for my taste. The Neck is nicely filled out, but can be a little muffled on some amp settings.
Overall, there isn't a lot of lower tones but it is workable.

For awhile, this was my only guitar into a tube amp that only had a volume control. (Harmony H-400). Using only those two, I was able to get a wide range of sounds out of it. Hard-core and hard rock were out of the question but most other styles could be simulated with a little work. With a fender amp and reverb, it approches SRV. Not perfect by any means, but enough to get by.

I'm considering replacing the pickups with the custom '69s.

The stock guitar has a tolarable level of hum. The pickups squeal like pigs under high gain!

Following the instructions I found here... http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/electrical/index.php
http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php

I potted the pickups with wax and I added shielding to it. The shielding reduced the hum to below my Penco LP copy with stock humbuckers! The pickups will still squeal, but only at really high gain and high volumes and with the guitar shoved up against the speaker. I've never had feedback problems under normal playing conditions. I highly recommend doing this as the guitar isn't worth enough to worry about damaging it.

The action is low which is nice for solo work, but sting buzz can be a problem. I had it adjusted but it's still not quite right.

The edges of the fret wires aren't rounded off very well and it's uncomfortable to slide your had up and down the neck. The moron before me tightened the spring holder of the tremolo so far that it cracked the wood. The tremolo is laying flat against the body and cannot be used without a wammy bar.

The overall body and neck feel is that it's well constucted. It feels solid.

The pickup selector is crap. I replaced it with a standard strat version for $15. This selector is many many times better! No problems yet.

All three controls were loose as was the jack. Once properly tightend, they were not a problem.

I have played at least once a week for over a year, often without a backup. I have only broken a string once in that time period. I replaced the strap buttons with straplocks. The wood was not stripped out so these are holding nicely.

The finish still looks as it did when I got it. Plenty thick.

I have used this a number of times without backup. As I mentioned above, the pickup selector needs to be replaced as I did have it cut out on me before fixing that.

The jack needs tightend as this can cause it to cut out.

The body, neck and tuners are all good.

Never had to deal with them

Compared to my LP copy, I like the sound of this better. I go back and forth on the feel between them. I do love the lightness of this guitar. Its got a decent feel. Definatly worth it's price.

If it were lost/stolen/damaged, I'd probably try to get an American strat. I recommeded this to a friend just getting into guitar. It's a good starter guitar, but make sure to get a good amp with it! The strat pack does not count as a good amp.

I give it an 8 for value. Probably a 6 for overall. Therefore, a 7.

2000 crafted in china strat-standard strat setup-rosewood fretboard-70's style headstock

mainly play bluesy rock-running dod 250 overdrive preamp through '64 fender vibro champ-extremely clear sound-brightest sound of my 3 strats-(also own an early 90's japanese 50's reissue strat and an early 2000's mexican satin strat)-arguably the nicest sounding strat i have played.

bought this at garage sale with cheapo boss amp for $40-jerk had tightened strings so tight the neck was warped badly-and used a brillo pad to remove stickers from body-so...action was baaaad at first-tweaked the truss rod-and...perfect! GREAT action-i was surprised how smoothly this played-still haven't removed the scratches from body, but let's call that personality and move on...all components fit great-quiet-even intonation-very happy

stays in tune with hard playing-well built-not afraid to be rough with this guitar-and it is so forgiving-pickup selector switch seems to be thinner guage metal than my other strats-but i have had no problems whatsoever, so...very dependable-a workhorse

garage sale-yeah-

i love this guitar-best i can say-this thing has a great BOUNCE when you play it-very resonant and expressive-extremely easy to play-clear, bright, loud sound, responds well to your fingers-this is what a strat-or any guitar-is supposed to be-an extension of YOU. obviously from reading other reviews this can vary guitar to guitar-but do not be afraid of the squier name-try them out-if it feels (and sounds) as good as this one did to me buy it-

El-Cheazo Chinese 'crafted' Squier affinity Strat. 22 frets, made out of some kind of oddly-colored dried piece of lumber barely good for kindling coated in the most horrendus of finishes, asthmatic classic triple single-coil 'strat' pickups, hardware seemingly made out of pot metal and plastic. Most horrendus tuners since my 1960-something Teisco Del Ray I bought at K-Mart back when it was SS Kresge. Rosewood (I think) fingerboard on lightweight (Pine?) neck. This guitar is sad, sad, sad......

Sound? Well, I guess it SOUNDS like a strat. A weak, raily pathetic Strat. Pickups producing whistling microphonics the moment I take my main volume past 1.5. Actually, at low-volumes it doesn't sound too bad, so I can't be too unfair.

Action was surprisingly good. That's why I bought it. I want the neck and nothing else. As for the hardware (bridge, switch, pots, tuners) IT IS HORRIFIC. I removed the 'tuners' and the collars were made of chrome plated plastic. They literally disintegrated in my hand. The tuners are

Just to give my musical interest a new impulse I decided to look for a guitar. As a bassist I had the experience that the first bass I bought (cheapest model Yamaha) did not have the sound of the basses I heard on so many music I liked. When I got my Fender Jazz USA I stepped into a new world.
When I bought my Squier Strat I expected the same. Therefore I was astonished that this quitar sounded so good. Of course I do not know how it will sound after 10 years. For now it's great.

My guitar sounds not quite different from their famous examples.
I use it mainly on my Boss BR864 multitracker. In combination with the effects it sounds perfect to me.

Everythings looks and works o.k. to me.

I can't tell this for now.

I am surprised about the negative comments. My quitar works perfect and sounds great. Very good guitar to start with.

Basic strat features like 3 single coil pickups, 5-position selector switch, tune-killing whammy bar, 2 tone knobs and a volume knob. This one was made in china and has 21 med-jumbo frets on a rosewood fretboard, i believe the body is alder.

I bought this as my first guitar (well before buying an amp) because it had a really loud accoustic response, I played for a few months before I decided to make the investment in an amp (make sure I didn't just THINK I wanted to play the guitar). With my fender cyber-champ amp and this guitar I can make just about any classic blues tones come alive, along with most classic rock and a few more modern rock tones. However, as I have played I found that I gravitate towards more aggressive musical stylings than this guitar is suited for. The pickups are not very good for making individual notes within a struck cord stand out, but all in all an excellent beginner guitar.

If you like the low E and A strings to buzz then the set up was awesome; I have messed around with the setup enough over the last year to get the buzzing to go away. Volume knob has a short in it, I will fix that at some point but since i have other guitars now its not critical. For a beginner guitar it was real nice looking, the pick guard was seated against the body better than a lot of new fender mexican strats and the finish was as good as guitars costing much more.

In its current state I would not play live with it, but it could be tweaked without much monetary investment to be a decent live guitar. The tuners would have to be changed and I would put in a new volume pot.

Mr. Gearhead at fender.com helped me cope with the fret buzz, but to actually call on this guitar would be like calling bic and asking for help with a disposable lighter

For a beginner this was the right guitar at the right time, but I outgrew it fairly quickly. I still like its bluesy sound when I want it, but the neck seems smallish to me so I prefer not to use it for any playing that involves a lot of chords. I also have an epiphone LP and ibanez rg570 that i play much more than the squire now, both because of the neck issue and the fact that I like the humbucker sounds better. If this guitar were stolen i would not replace it, but am eventually going to buy a strat with texas special pickups anyway so this guitar would probably be given to a homeless person beat rats with or something anyhow if it were not mercifully stolen (I don't want too many guitars laying around or the old lady will start wondering how much money I spend on guitars and related equipment).

Made between 2000-2002

-21 fret rosewood neck
-Torino Red finish (I suggest you dont get this color)
-Standard Strat-style 3-single coil electronic setup
-Stock tuners were not stable. I swapped them for Grovers
Newer Squier Strats have updated tuners
-Plays amazing now after new Grovers, new nut, and a couple
of bridge adjustments. The typical Strat 'twanginess' can be
corrected with heavier gauge strings (Daddario 10gauge)
-Didnt like how the ground wire actually sticks into the tremelo unit.

-Very ambient with heavier strings. The volume unplugged is fuller than
any other solidbody ive ever played.
-Very full rock sound when using bridge and middle pickup with
tone pots rolled to zero
-I play through a Fender Deluxe Chorus, and Crate MX-65

-Came outta the box pretty crappy. Invest in getting this guitar
fine tuned and upgraded. I bought the guitar for 150 then put about 60 or 70 dollars into it. It plays better than all the $350 Fender Mexi-Strats

-I love how light the body is.
-Strap buttons are fine
-Finish is fine
-Very reliable
-This has been my only electric guitar in my 6 years of playing

Never had to deal with them

-6-year player of Classical, Jazz, BLues, and Rock
-Would probably buy another if this were stolen
-DONT get the red finish! Any other is fine. Unless you like a
bright red guitar, its up to you.
-THe best started guitar 150 dollars can buy

made in china in 2002, 3 s/c pickups, 21 frets, sunburst etc etc
i think it has schaller tuners but im not sure.

I bought this strat not expecting much, but the sound is very good in relation to the price.
The bridge pickup was a bit noisy (like on most guitars) so i replaced it with a seymour duncan screaming' demon mini humbucker and it sounds brill now.
I use a marshall mg50rcd with it and its a great combination. I only use my dunlop wah with it and it works a treat.
The sound is top notch for this price range

I had to lower the action when i bought it but apart from that it was fine.
The pickups were quite good but as i said i replaced the bridge pickup because of buzzing.

I've played a few gigs with it and dropped it a few times and the finish looks like it fought in the war but i like the fact that its starting to look like a rory gallagher :-)

Never dealt with them, theres a cheap repair guy at my school.

I've beem playing for 3 years (this was my first guitar) and it reached my expectations but i'm looking to buy a new, more expensive guitar soon ('72 custom tele) because im starting to "outplay" it.
This is the perfect guitar for beginners and gets a 10 in its price range.

made in 2004, "crafted" in indonesia
22 frets
i got that stupid strat pack thing
here, from the website
MODEL NAME Squier Strat Pack
MODEL NUMBER 033-0800-(Color#)
SERIES Squier Affinity Series
BODY Agathis
NECK Maple, C-Shape,
(Polyurethane Finish)
FINGERBOARD Rosewood, 9.5? Radius (241 mm)
NO. OF FRETS 22 Medium Jumbo
SCALE LENGTH 25.5? (648 mm)
WIDTH AT NUT 1.61? (41 mm)
HARDWARE Chrome
MACHINE HEADS Standard Die-Cast Tuners
BRIDGE Synchronous Tremolo
PICKGUARD 1-Ply White
PICKUPS 3 Single-Coil Pickups
PICKUP SWITCHING 5-Position Blade:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup
Position 3. Middle Pickup
Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup
Position 5. Neck Pickup
CONTROLS Master Volume,
Tone 1. (Neck Pickup),
Tone 2. (Middle Pickup)
COLORS (506) Black,
(525) Metallic Red,
(580) Arctic White,
(595) Metallic Blue,
(Polyurethane Finish)
STRINGS Fender Super 250L, (.009 to .042) Nickel Plated Steel p/n 073-0250-003
UNIQUE FEATURES Dot Position Inlays
ACCESSORIES STRAT Pack Includes:
Squier STRAT p/n 031-0600,
Fender Frontman 15G Guitar Amplifier,
Full Enclosure Stereo Headphones,
Chromatic Tuner,
Gig Bag,
Cable,
Guitar Strap,
Pick Sampler,
Set of Fender Strings


it seemed like a good deal, until now

i play mostly rock
you plug it in and allyou hear is buzzing, its horrible

came already put together , the finish was nice, everything seemed to be good, i loved the color, a nice red

i would never play this live, its got a horrible buzz, theres a lot of times that the strap slips, it goes out of tune from 5 minutes of playing so this thing is not going to last

never delt

ive been playing for about 2 yars, i wish i had not bought this guitar...its horrible

This is a 2001 Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster. It was crafted in Indonesia. It has 21 medium sized frets with nice rolled edges. It has an alder body and the standard Strat features, 3 single coils.
Tuners are Schaller look alikes, but keep it in tune just fine.

This guitar is well suited for rock, metal, punk, country, R&B and just about any kind of music. I'm playing through several amps and it sounds good through ALL of them. The 5-way pup selector is solid and allows for a wide range of tone !

The guitar was setup okay, however I tweaked it, and now it plays really fast. I lowered the action a bit. The maple neck is a two piece, the body is also two piece, but it is a lot lighter than my Fender Strat, which I like !

The strap pins and hardware are very solid, as is the switch and basic features. I would and have used this guitar without a backup. It's got Fender's name on it, so it's durable. They don't put their name on junk !

Customer support at Fender is top notch. Mr. Gearhead (on the Fender site) is also extremely helpful.

I'be been playing for 35 years and wanted a guitar to experiment with different pickups, etc. This guitar sounds and plays so nice, that I've decided to leave it as is. Maybe I'll get another brand to experiment with ?

Made in 2004 in China. 21 frets, 3 single coil pickups,
5 way switch, solid body, candy red color--which is very
well done. Lifetime lubricated tuners, Maple neck with
rosewood fingerboard.

It has a typical strat sound, maybe slightly brighter than
my American Fender Strat. The pickups--for stock and
relatively inexpensive ones--sound just fine. Not as
good as an American or Mexican Fender--but better than
many strat copies that are out there. I have been pleasantly
surprised to find the pickups to be quiet for single coils.

The fit and finish of this guitar are absolutely amazing
for the price range! Everything is well assembled--and
the paint job is as good as my Mexican Fender! The guitar
needed a "professional setup" (in fact, every guitar does--
even expensive ones--if you want it to play well) which was
about $59.00 dollars--so figure this into the cost--you won't
regret it!

This is a very good beginner or second guitar--provided it is
setup properly! I use it in church--and it sounds just fine.
The strap buttons seem solid and the guitar is well balanced.
Many reviews I've read don't take into account the importance
of a proper setup! Before I had this done--the guitar had
troble staying in tune and the action was high. The factories
just don't put the time into fine-tunning these. But once you
have it done--you'll be amazed how good it sounds and plays!

I've always had great luck with Fender! A friend of mine who
builds and repairs guitars for a living says these are great
inexpensive guitars once you have them setup correctly. Fender
backs their products--if they didn't--they wouldn't have been
in business for over 5o years!

I've been playing guitar for about 15 years. You will not find anything in this price range that compares! Once you have it setup properly it plays very well! Many parents buy these for their kids and then don't spend the money to have it tuned up! Make sure you do that! There's nothing about the guitar that I hate--of course it is not as good as a Mexican or American Fender--but it still a fine guitar! Squier in late 2004 updated the standard and affinity series guitars with good tuners, better paints, and overall better craftsmanship. The guitars coming out of Squiers plant in China are a fine value. Yes---I would buy another--and have it setup properly!

You've read the above reviews, so you know what's strapped to this shit machine, sucker. My particular version was black with a rosewood fretboard. A regular strat set-up gets a regular strat set up rating in my silly book.

It's the kind of abrasive neck snapping sound that's not even consistant. Like having one ear drum rubbed with steel wool and the other with sand paper... While you're sexually assaulted, yeah, why not? But, that ain't all bad, bubba. It's still better than the complete worst.

High, uneven action. Well, that's fun for working out your fingers... Or something... Actually, come to think of it, most seven hundred dollar-ish Fender guitars that I've played need to be adjusted for action, pickup height, and intonation. So, that's not a big deal if you throw comparison into the equasion. The pickup selector and pots keep in character with the screeching, raccoon being tortured style of sound; they're unpredictable, noisy, and harsh. The finish isn't all that bad, not all that good, though. Better than the $600 Highway 1, suprisingly. The neck is wide and slows you down with it's "I don't know what the hell is wrong with this thing" type of attitude. The tuning keys though, oh mamma, they are what makes this thing a pig. But who likes to keep consistantly in tune? Keeping is tune is for people who like to sound good. Those fairies.

One good thing about this thing is that its makers seem to have intended for it to be treated like a slave. Not to say that it's dependable or anything, but for the price, you can lay a pretty harsh beating on it without much guilt. Not the type of guilt that comes with buying it, anyway.

Imagine the conversation:

Customer support: "What seems to be the problem sir?"
Customer: "Everything about this guitar, you bastard!"
Customer support: "Well, what did you expect?"
Customer: "Oh."

Whoever dares steal this thing from me must have a sick personality or be a cop. I've carved so many horrible, degrading, morally dispicable little phrases and symbols into this guitar that it's general appearance has managed to fit it's sound. And believe it or not, I'm sort of proud of myself for doing it. Like a scarlet letter that covers its whole body. I think, with this guitar, that if I played live, parents would cover both their child's ears and eyes.

2004 made in China. Metallic red with rosewood fingerboard. For such an inexpensive guitar, and for being a Strat, the features are outstanding. Everything that is supposed to be on a strat--jumbo frets, thin maple neck, 5-way selector switch, very impressive high-quality finish, alder body--for an extremely low price.

This guitar has a very nice traditional Strat tone with the slightly lower output that is typical of stock single coil pickups. That being said, there's nothing wrong with the pickups, they're just your average run of the mill single coils.

Compared to a Tex-Mex strat, the out-of-the-box tone is not quite as scooped out in the middle and has more richness and sustain. Compared to an American Standard strat with stock single-coil pickups, it's very close--a bright clean sound.

It sounds better right "out of the box" than any other guitar in this price range. Of course you've got to keep your strings fresh and tweak the action to your preferences just like any other guitar on earth (contrary to the assumptions of some other posters here), and yes you may want to try medium gauge strings to get a beefier tone or replace the stock pickups with something more suited to your taste. But just as far as the inherent tone of this guitar it's much better, due to the heavier body weight than in the older Tex-Mex series and many other low-dollar knockoffs.

Not one flaw or quibble with the action, fit or finish. Every detail is clean, sharp, perfect. It looks really nice. Selector switch moves firmly and without noise and the tone and volume knobs rotate very smoothly. Action is perfect at the nut and the bridge. Frets are level and polished and the neck is dead straight. The finish seems to be polyurethane satin. Deep shine on the body, looks just great. Chrome bridge inserts don't look as bottom-of-the-barrel as what Fender was using on the Tex-Mex guitars.

This guitar seems very solid. The hardware seems just fine. The finish looks very strong and durable. Neck joint is nice and tight. It will probably outlive me.

I've been playing for over 25 years and my main guitar is a Martin OM28V. I use the electric for home recording. If it were lost or stolen I'd grab another one. This is a great guitar for the money if you can overcome the hypnotic effect of thinking that it should be inferior just because it's from China, it's under $150 bucks or it says "Squier" on it instead of "Fender Made in USA".

last year model basically everything has been said bout its appearance

uggh terrible sound everytime i plug it in it has this buzzing sound that wont go away the sound on some frets are very bad

there was somthin wrong with it right when i bought it one of the screws were loose on the pick guard because the whole was drilled improperly had to have it fixed at a local music store uggh terrible

not to durable the a string got a bump on the 13th fret making it sound hollow replaced string and decided why not change them all and couldnt get in tune for a while took me a while to figure how to tune this crazy thing

i own a les paul and i like it much better if this guitar was stolen o well that piece of chunk is theres then

21 frets,5-way selector(best part of the guitar).Made in indonesia.s-s-s configuration.

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH. Whistles way too much, i try to play tab on my computer and it picks up anything electric. Also on high gain it whines. The 3 single coil pickups suck crap. My guitar sounds really dead. If your want a strat go for a Fender. They sound much better. Oh ya i almost forget dont go about playing anything with power cords or bends and dont use the whammy bar. The tuners are a disgrace.

My guitar came working perfect. Not the fastest guitar ive tried, but the is an excellent guitar for begginers. I play hard rock and metal. My friends jackson warrior was waaaayyyy faster.

Maybe the best part of the guitar. It's very durable, and fairly reliable but if you were gonna play it live you would some mods. Pickups, electronics,tuners, bridge.

Never had problems

Overall a beginners guitar. Ive tried many guitars, jacksons, bc rich's,fenders,gibsons,esp. Im probably going to trade mine in for an esp ltd.

2000 model made in China...and the Chinese ones are much better than the Indonesian ones. I had a $100 credit at a store in CT. Cna't get much for a hundred bucks I thought...but hey...gotta spend it so go and see what is there. There was a Squier Standard Tele that had been given a big whack and had a chunk of the paint and wood chipped off. It was going for $150 as is....and then there was this shorworn Affinity Strat in black with rosewood board...very classic looking...and it was going for the same price....played the both of them....and the Tele felt like total crap (made in Indonesia)...the Affinity felt very much like a Mexican Standard...same feel to it...so I bought that one....took it home cleaned it up...tweaked the neck relief, lowered the strngs, intonated it...and put on a set of Ernie Ball .010's...and plugge it into my Gibson Les Paul Jr. Amp....whoa....and more whoa...this guitar has the snap, crackle and pop....and the quack of a full fledged Strat...in fact...I sanded off the decal...and restained the neck.....left it plain....I am replacing the tuners with Gotoh mini's.....and guess what? I now got me a custom assembled strat.....and I may not even change the pu's...cos they seem to have all the snap needed....
all for under $200....not bad....kinda like the old days when Strats and Tele's cost $140 new.....(the late 60's for all you non-Boomers).
Peace

Made In Indonesia, 21 frets, two tone knobs, one volume and a lever thng with five notches. I bought it bareley used, perfect cond. the only misuse would be the way they turned the tuners, Usually I dont mind if they tune out instead of in but they were all mixed, some out and some in, other than that everything was fine. Came with Case, Cable, Whammy Bar, Strings and complimentary picks. I dont use picks often though, just for power chords.

Great sound, It picks up well, I have a Bheringer cheap $100 amp, it works pretty well all kinds of settings and effects and the guitar picks up well. I had a problem with it cutting out but I tightened the nut on the cable output on the guitar, now it is fine. Only bad thing is when you get near electrical devices, I cant look at tabs on my computer and hold the guitar at the same time. I can't even play next to my amp when I have the drive up (Hi Gain). Other than that, Great sound, and the whammy bar makes it too easy to mess around and sound cool, only problem might be adding grease to the place you screw in the bar, if you crank it too far in, when you play it will "stick" and vibrate the guitar giving you unwanted sounds.

Finish is awesome, Only problem I had was using thick picks and going a little far with the power chords, because the red part above the fingerboard is a bit scratched. Other than that, awesome set up, everything is functional and pretty. I suggest using Armor-all on it, it works wonders not only on cars, but on guitars!

Havn't played live yet, but I hope to someday, I havnt had any big problems, Just broken strings, I would be fine without a backup. Strap buttons could use some tightening from the way I bought it but other than that, It is fine for live shows, Bring strings though.

Havn't had any trouble, no reason to call the company.

I have only been playing guitars for a few years, maybe four. Mostly bass but I have just started guitar again. I have an old kay bass, no Idea what model or anything, passed down family, I also have a cheap gremlinn acoustic, it is crap. I also play my dads alot, very nice red to cream transition with a specialty pick guard, awesome sound. I love it.

The Strat is by far my best guitar, not including my dads acoustic, If stolen, I would probably get another if I got such a good price but its always good to try something new, so I would probably get something else. I only wish I had smaller fingers so I could switch chords faster without touching other strings. I'm improving.

was made in china in 2003. 23 frets, bit different to most 21 fretted strats. rosewood neck,
came with a whammy bar. has 2 tone knobs and a volume knob.

i am a punk and alternative rocker. i use it with the squier amp it came with, which whistles when near anything electrical. to counter the whistling, i turn the tone knobs down to 0, but this causes the sound to have 2 much bass. not bad when it isnt whistling and is turned up properly. clear distorted sound.

guitar set up perfectly in the factory, especially considering its an asian made model.

have noticed that the screw on the lead input comes loose alot. nothing to worry about ut, just tighten it with my fingers and it is right. has 2 1cm sqaured chips in it which i dont know where they came from, and it is always stored correctly when not in use, so id say my squier had pretty lame paint job. strap buttons are rock solid. strings arent rusty and ive had the guitar with daily use for a year. i would definitely use it for a gig without a backup.

didnt buy it off the manufacturer

have been playing for 3 years, also own a telecaster and gibson persephone. both mint condition. if i lost it, i wouldnt care too much and would buy a new and better guitae

Made in korea, 21 frets, 1 volume, 2 tone, 5 way switch, 3 singlecoils, alder body, vintage style vibrato, slim maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, came with some tools that i lost before i had a chance to find out what they did.

I play a range of styles from metal to some bluesy stuff, and the three pickups and vibrato unit give it a great versatility, and the tones available are classic strat, made better by the use of a marshall MG30DFX, although the bridge pickup gives of a lot of feedback, and all pickups hum a bit, but they are singlecoils.

A very slim neck and deep cutaway provides easy access to all 21 frets, with a low action to help fast playing and shredding and a vintage style vibrato set up with 3 springs that returns to pitch well, exept when used for kerry king style exessive divebombs, but it's not a floyd rose, so don't go crazy with it.

this guitar has withstood many a live show, all without a backup, i may add, and always delivered. beware of the screechy bridge pickup though, so try to turn down the volume when not playing. You could get it potted, at least i'm considering it, or buy a replacement. the scratch plate can chip easily, but replacement ones should be cheap, and it is still a dependable lump of guitar, easily playable.

never needed any help from them.

i have been playing for 3 years now, and it is great for starters, and with replacement pickups, intermediate and semi-pro too.

Korean Made. Basic Strat setup. Alder body. Three single coils, 21 frets, rosewood fretboard, maple neck, standard tuners. Has a red finish. Think Jack White of the White Stripes Airline guitar. That's the color. 5 way selector. Basic tremelo bridge. It's reliable. Not the greatest, not the worst.

My nusic style is basically classic rock/blues rock with some modern stuff and early 90's. It fits all of these pretty well. I play it unpluggd alot, but I also play it thru my small 10 or 15 watt amp. I also have a Digitech Rp50 effects processor and this works well with the setup. It makes it sound alot better. The guitar has the slight hum of a single coil when not using an out-of-phase setting, but all single coils are like this. The pickups are pretty good, especially for the price paid. The bridge pickup is really good. It has that classic Strat sound. The neck pickups is also good. It gives you that nice bluesy feel. It sounds pretty good clean and distorted. Good sound. I like to use the bridge-middle pickups together and cranks the tone volume down to get that sound. I can't really explain it that well, and it doesn't sound as well clean like this, but with the distortion on it has a nice sound, almost like a humbucker. Really good rock tone. Once again, not the worst, not the greatest.

The action and intonation was set up at the factory. The action is medium or so, I don't know the exact measurement. It's sorta high I guess. I like my action a like that, so I am very satisfied. The pickup hieght was fine. No dents or anything out of the box, although there are some now from all the usage it has been thru. Bridge and saddles set up fine. Very good set up.

This is one tough guitar. Very durable. It has some minor dents and very minor, almost undetectable scratches, most of which are my fault. It has been thru one talent show gig and will go thru another in a couple of days. Hardware seems good. It has a little rust, but that is ok because this is a player, not a looker. You can't really see the rust unless you are looking closely. Finish has no cracks or chips. Very good finish. Strap buttons are rock solid. Never had a problem with them. Very dependable. The only problem I have had is that one of the screws holding the selector plate in would fall out. A little tape or a sticker fixes that however. This doesn't affect the playability whatsoever, so its fine. I think is could do a gig with out a backup. I would bring extra strings of course, but who doesn't when playing a gig. I use 49-11's so I don't break a whole lotta srtings. Reliable guitar.

Never dealt with the company. I can give no info. No use even gining a rating.

I have been playing for 1 1/2 - 2 years. I also own a vintage Gibson acoustic. I have been told ny many people that I sound like I have been playing for longer than I have, even from other guitarists who have been playing for a long time. Not to brag, but a am probably at least a year ahead of most people who have been playing the same length of time I have.
This is my first electric and it has served me well. I have learned alot on this and I plan to keep it as a backup for quite some time. I should be getting a new guitar, hopefully and Agile, pretty soon, so this will sink down to my number two axe. If it were stolen, I would probably kick the persons ass, and then laugh at them, partially because they stole a Squier which can be bought a a low price anyway.
This is a very good guitar for beginners and intermediate players, and even advanced players. Not the greatest guitar in the world, lso not the worst. Good axe overall. If you have any questions feel free to email me.

2 volume knobs, 2 tone knobs, and a 5 way selector switch. Pretty standard for any strat. It also has a whammy bar.

This thing sounds more or less like crap. It picks up almost any electrical device you come anywhere near. I tend to keep the tone switch all the way up, or in the middle, and the tone knobs around half, to try to combat this problem, which doesn't work well, since it's still quite noisy. The output on the guitar is very weak as well. I generally only bring it for one or two songs during my set, if at all.

The guitar was set up all right at the factory. I'm more used to set necks, so I don't really bother with adjusting it too much.
One thing I did do, was put extra springs on the tremelo arm which I took from my old Lotus strat imitation. I'd rather use the Lotus, except that it's about twice as heavey.

This guitar seems to hold up pretty well. I generally use this guitar to literally "throw around" at the end of my set from time to time. So far nothing has broken that I couldn't fix, or live without. The paint's chipped in two or three places, the headstock has a dent in it, and the "high E" tuner is slightly broken, but still works well enough.

Never dealt with them.

I bought this guitar about 3 years ago so I'd have a guitar I could dink around with and not worry about damaging my les paul. If I could go back, I'd spend the 150$ on a different guitar with better electronics, or a good effects pedal or two.
If it got lost or stolen, I probably wouldn't notice for about a week or so. And I sure as heck wouldn't buy another one. You're better off going with some cheap SG imitation with halfway decent humbuckers than this thing.

My Squire was made in China. The year on the neck says 1996.It has 22 frets, 5 way selector, alder(I think)body, rosewood fingerboard, strat bridge and wammy bar,generic tuners(I plan to get better ones),and medium frets. When I bought this guitar, I took off the origional white finish and repainted it light blue. I also took out all the electronics and put in a Fender 57/62 pickup for the bridge, lace sensor for the middle, and I left the stock squire pickup in the neck position because it has quite a beefy tone.I also replaced the origional switch and the pots. I personally think the origional electronics are garbage.

I play mostly country, blues/rock, and surf. For amps, I use a 1979 Peavey Mace with Celestions for gigging, and an old 60 watt Lab Series for practice. For effects,I use a Boss CS-2 compressor, Boss super overdrive, Boss Turbo Overdrive, and a Crybaby wah. Soundwise, the only thing I don't like about this guitar is the weak bridge pickup. It has a nice, bright tone, but no balls. I would eventually like to put in a Seymour Duncan Hotrails for the bridge. Other than that, the guitar sounds great with all my modifications. Like any other strat, It's very versatile. I,m mainly a Telecaster man, but I think that this guitar lends a lot of variety to my sound. Good backup guitar as well.

Like I said, I found the electronics to be garbage, and I would recommend them to be replaced. I think the wood is fabulous, nice and light. Whenever I shop for an electric, I try it out unplugged first. If it has a good, resonant tone, then I know it's going to sound great plugged in, whether or not the electronics need to be replaced. I have small hands, and I find the neck to be pretty thick in the upper register. I like maple fingerboard better than rosewood, so I would like to get another neck.

All things considered, I find it to be very solid and durable, just like any other Fender electric. Definitely a good backup guitar. LOTS of potential for upgrading.

NA

As an overall rating, I would give this guitar a 6 in stock form. To belabor a point, the rating gets better with better electronics. I would give my guitar an 8 with the mods. I have been playing for 26 years. My other guitars include two TElecasters, a 1976 Ibanez Les Paul copy, A Fender copy bass, 1977 Yamaha acoustic and a 1950's Kay archtop electric(my first guitar when I was 16) I bought this guitar because I couldn't afford an America made strat, but with all the mods, I was able to turn this guitar into a good sounding instrument. The only things it really needs is a more powerful bridge pickup and a neck with a maple fingerboard with better tuning gears. If it was lost or stolen, I would't consider it a huge loss compared to my other guitars, but I still would be disappointed.

Made: 1996, in China. 21 Frets. Basswood as far as I can tell. Traditional Strat S/S/S layout & controls. Rosewood fingerboard. Arctic White finish. "Vintage tremolo." Smaller headstock shape--not like today's big CBS-style pegheads. Gave a "10" for features because it is a dead-on copy (aesthetically) of an American Fender.

I like Classic Rock, and it did okay for that, but the pickups were very noisy at higher volumes. 60-cycle hum killed the fun. I had to play in the in-between settings on the five-way switch (positions 2-and 4) to keep from deafening the audience with squeals and interference. Other than that, the guitar is in the Stratocaster ballfield--but is thin and weak. However, you cant really expect more for the price.

Straight out of the box, this guitar played lovely. When I'm sitting around the house, it is still my go-to guitar to play unplugged. For a asian-made guitar, it is quite solidly built. No neck-joint issues. All frets cleanly dressed--no burrs. The only gripe I have with the craftsmanship is that the dot inlay-markers are not perfectly straight. It is noticable up-close (although I didn't notice it at the guitar shop.

As with nearly any entry-level guitar, the electronics left much to be desired. After a year or so, the pots became scratchy and the switch got finicky. I really had to set it so that it didn't screw up, and then NOT TOUCH IT. A couple of years ago, I replaced the entire pickguard/electronics assembly with a drop-in unit I bought on eBay. It cost me $59.99USD (+ shipping), and had no-name "Texas Rockem" pickups. They actually sound beautiful. So, for the price of a Squier and replacement pickups, I have a great-playing, great-sounding Strat. Finish is great--nice and slick. Solid strap buttons, etc.

Never had to deal with Customer Support. Never worried about warranty either.

I've been playing for eight years. I have this Squier Strat, A custom built Stratocaster, Dean acoustic, and a Strat set-up for slide. If it were stolen or lost I would buy another, because these are GOOD and cheap (I'd still replace the electronics, though). I like the fact that these guitars are well built structurally. If you can get past the chincy electronics (or replace them) the make great guitars. They have the Fender pegheads (decals are available, boys). They are actually better than most 70s Fenders I've seen. With my new pickups and electronics, this makes a killer Fender clone.

This is a Squire strat with the standard strat setup: 3 pickups, 5 position switch, one volume control, two tone contrls, and strat wammy bar. These are basically the same features as on the 1962 strat I used to play in college back in the 70's, so I rate it a 7. Locking tuners and Floyd Rose setup would bring it up to a 10. So I rate the Squire a 7, which is what I'd give a standard strat.

This guitar has the standard strat sound but with slightly less output than a "real" strat. If your trying to overdrive your 40-year old tube amp that's been retrofitted with some crappy East European 12AT7 tubes, you won't be happy. But if you have a modern amp you can get that standard strat sound by cranking up amplifier gain a bit. So sound is like that of a standard strat, an 8.

Here is where the Squire falls short of a standard strat. Quality is pretty variable on the Squires I played, and I'd say they range from 1 to 8. The one I bought is an 8, but you there are plenty with quality probalems and bad setups out there. But if you play a few of them (like I did) you should be able to find a good one. So I score my strat an 8 in this dept.

Hey! This guitar is a big block of wood and metal. WHat could go wrong?

No idea.

I'vw been playing for 30+ years. Bought this guitar for my son and we both love playing it. (I play this baby more than my Les Paul Custom.) It';s got all the strat karma at 1/3 the price and that rates an overall score of 9 in my book. Back "in the day" I gigged with a '62 strat into a Fender Twin, a setup that could set you back $10,000 today. To be honest, the Squire strat through a Princeton Chorus sounds 95% as good at 10% the price.

If you can hear the difference (or think you can) sell the car and pick up the 1962 strat. But if you can't afford it, just buy the Affinity and lie.

This Squier Strat Affinity Series model was made in 1999. It is a glossy olympic white, with a maple swirly neck. It has 21 medium jumbo frets and a tremelo that stays in tune (during *normal* use)!
I did not expect such a fine instrument when I bid and won this beauty on eBay for $78. This guitar is my favorite (of six) and I love the skinny, fast neck and low profile on action.

This guitar suits my style perfectly. I am a rock musician and use this guitar when I don't want to bring my expensive guitars, for what it is, it holds it's own !

The action was a perfect .067 off the 12th fret and the pickups are powered with 500KOhm pots, so a lot of mid & high end. The whammy bar is the best I've ever played on a non-floyd guitar !

This guitar will take a lot of abuse, misuse, refuse, beer baths, parties, clubs, halls, gigs, champagne and a good old lickin' and just keep on tickin'

Very helpful, the best !

I've been playing since the Beatles were thinking of starting a band. They came out and blew me away, I learned my chords from listening to them harmonize ! Then I started getting into Steve Cropper and the Stax sound, then came Danny Gatton, Jeff Beck, Clapton, etc.. This guitar can do it all !

Crafted in Indonesia with parts from Japan (like the Sony TV's, etc..) this is a great player's guitar. You can leave it around, no one will rip you off. Who wants a Squier, I want a Fender. Well boys and girls, let me tell you...put $500 back in your pocket and buy the Squier and you'll be glad you did. It is a solid sounding guitar !

The sound really comes from my effects & amps, so ya, the sound is fine. The whammy is great, stays in tune pretty good ! Solid hardware and electronics, nice finish (alder), maple neck, sleek & fast !

Perfecto from the factory, just plug & play - and don't worry !

Could drop off a truck and would still play in tune !

Greatest people in the world (is my endorsement ready ? ) no, but seriously, The Squier is 2nd fiddle to the strats, but a very decent guitar that can hold it's own amoung the other $150 guitars from Ibanez, Epiphone, Yamaha, Cort, Hohner....

Been playing 'bout 20 years, singin' 'bout my fears,
Had I not this fine guitar, my eyes would be filled with tears;

GREAT !

This gittah was made in 2002, got 21 frets, made of plywood as far as i can tell, 3 singles (shit ones.) Its got a pretty standard tremolo bar too. The headstock is like a normal strat only a bit wider, the bride is pretty standard, normal tuners too. i got it in a pack with dodgy 15 watt frontman, plys a gig bag and some cables. yeah its got plenty of features i spose, so 6

ok. This guitar was fine when i started out and didnt really care what i sounded like as long as i had a guitar. But now i know a little more, it's really no good for me. the sound is really thin and whiny, sounds almost synthetic somehow with distortion. i use a boss ds 1 pedal and an old school wah from ebay, it sounds fair bodgy. i think its got alot to do with the amp too. I spose you can get a fair variety of sound, neck pickup can give you a decent bluesy sound, while the others all have their decent points. I almost always use the neck or bridge in conjunctiuon with the middle however, cos either of them by themselves has waaaay too much buzz. They hum more than an abo in an electric fence. Anyway, its fair shit

yeah the guitar really didnt have any bad problems, the finish was ok, pickups were alligned good, the tuners arent bad either. The only problem was a loose input jack, which had to be constantly tightened. other than that, twas ok

ah its pretty shit
the strap buttons are ok, the finish is still fine after a year and 3 months, the hardware as i said is ok. However i wouldnt gig with it cos it sounds like shit, i always borrow guitars, gonna get a new one soon. this is strictly a practice guitar

been playing a year and a bit, if it was stolen i wouldnt repleace it. I dont really regret getting it, because it was cheap and it worked for me. It holds a special place in my heart and i dont think ill ever sell it or give it away, cos its the guitar i found my feet on. If some coon stole it id run him down and take his nuts and attach them to the headstock as a trophy.

Your basic strat features. 3 single coils, 5 way selector switch, large 70's tyle headstock, standard bridge, etc. the only thing i was dissappointed in was the pickguard... one ply... makes it look kinda amatuerish. when the bridge is loosened a little you can do dive bombs with the whammy bar, and it stays in tune pretty well.

i'm more of a humbucker man, the single coils that came stock just weren't enough. i replaced the bridge pickup with a seymour duncan hot rails pickup. heavy. but for what came stock on it, i didn't like.

great action. best i've found on ANY fender made guitar. nice smooth playing neck. standard finish. black with white pickguard. rosewood fretboard.

this guitar seems pretty durable, although, it hasn't been tested adequately yet.

been playing 9 years, just got rid of a fender american strat because this one plays just as well, if not better, than the fender. and, since this guitar is so affordable i would definately replace it if stolen, although, not sure if i got a special guitar out of the squier bunch or what. love it's playability, smoothness (billy d. williams), and sound now that i improved the pickups. i hate the fact that this is the cheapest guitar anyone can buy at any guitar store, and it doesn't really seperate me from the crowd. but you can't beat the feel.

Just your standard strat setup. Solid body, 3 single coils, 5 way switcher, 22 frets.

Sounds good for a beginner guitar. I personally like to play it through the bridge pickup, it has a nice bright sound. Anywhere else and it tends to get muddy.

I had a few sour frets, and had to adjust it some, but other than that no comlaints really.

The strap falls off the buttons all the time. It fell off it's stand once and two frets broke. This is not what one would call a quality guitar. The low E string has a problem with staying in tune.

N/A

I've been playing this guitar for three years due to a lack of cash. I need to get a job, and I'm getting a car, so money's a little tight and I'll just have to ride this guitar out until I have money for a better one. For all intents and purposes, it suits me very well. I would not buy another one and it's still broken and not worth repairing in my eyes. Any repairs would be worth more than the guitar. Great guitar for the beginner, but once you get going with it, it's not so good anymore.

Standard Strat features, made in Indonesia, not sure of year. Alder body, which is nice as opposed to poplar, 3 single coil pickups, magnetic blades under the pole pieces, tremelo, rosewood neck.

For a beginner guitar, very good. I bought this guitar to modify as funds are a question and I liked the alder body. Actually the guitar plays nicely, and despite the cheap pickups, the sound isn't really that bad. I plan on installing better pickups soon. The thinner body acutally helps as it keeps that nice strat treble bite, despite the rosewood neck.

Bought at a pawn shop, it needed a setup as well as new strings.

Seems pretty solid.

I give it a good rating as the guitar is actually quite playable, with the modifications I plan on doing, I feel this is going to be a fun guitar to use.

Mine was purchased around 2001, made in Indonesia. There are 21 frets, thin neck. S/S/S pickups, most strats are. The 5 way pickup selector is very noisy. Positions 1/3/5 are noisy, 2 and 4 aren't bad (I'm assuming that is standard for most S/S/S guitars). Pickups are stock pickups from either Fender or Squier. I'd like to replace the pickups when I can afford. I think the body is alder. The tuners aren't the best, one day I may replace them. The tremelo sucks, it detunes the guitar pretty easily. The input jack rattled the first few weeks of owning it. I tightened that up and is fine now.

The sound lacks the higher treble and lower bass. Right now I have 9 guage EB's on them, I plan on switching to a heavier guage soon (Hopefully that'll help the sound). I play the blues, Beatles, Rolling Stones. The guitar suits that style pretty nicely.

The action on this thing is incredible. The pickups were setup pretty good.

The guitar seems like it'll withstand the test of time. I have never dropped it nor treated it badly, though I haven't cared for it like I should a guitar. I changed the strap buttons to strap locks. I would use this guitar as a backup. It's rather reliable, except for the tuners which can be inconsistent.

I have had no problems that needed customer support.

I would buy this guitar again if it were ever stolen or lost. I like it's great action and ease of playing. I strongly dislike the tremolo bar, but that's alright (I keep mine off). I didn't have much money at the time of buying it (still don't) and didn't both comparing it to many other guitars. I have played a few Les Pauls, a few American Strats, and a couple Ibanez. This guitar does compare with the $700+ range.

22 frets, vol and 2 tone dials, candy apple red, strat, string thru body bridge, non locking big, gumpy tuners, got a gig bag with it

Not so great. I played my dads mexican fender strat and now hate my squier. Doesn't stay in tune, shorts out, puts a lot of extra hum through my amp. The only thing I really like is the bridge on my squier is better than what comes on a mexican fender strat and not much worse than that of an american fender strat.

The bridge is nice. The tuning pegs are just not very good looking, too big. The pick up switch shorts out frequently. I have heard all squiers have short problems with the wiring. Easy to fix though just take your pick guard off and resauder. Also, the guitar is awckward feeling to hold compared to other strats.

Never could you play this live! Hardware has lasted the two months I've had it so far and the kid i got it from had it for a year with no troubles. The finish is good and the strap buttons are sturdy. Never would I gig with this just do to poor sound quality. It has shorts in the wiring or pickup switch.

haven't dealt with them

Not a great guitar. I've been playing just a month and already i can tell all the flaws. Pay the extra few hundred bucks to move into a mexican strat because you wont want to keep this guitar very long and you'll end spending money again.

Pretty sure it's and Affinity (for some reason they sanded off the series name and the country it was made in). Blue w/ white pickguard. 3 single-coil pickups. I got it for free. My mom picked it up and gave it to me. Don't know how much she payed for it. I guess it has all the features that a Strat should have.

I mostly play rock or blues. Sound is good to me. I run it through a Boss DS-1 into a Crate GFX-20. I get real bright sound from the bridge pickup and real crunchy distortion. I use the bridge and middle pickups together and mess with the tone knobs a little to try and get that "Hendrix-type" sound. The neck pickup can be used for some lead stuff. Just depends on what ya like.

The setup was bad when I got it, but that was kind of a good thing. Learned how to do the setup my self. Action was way too high. Pickups were too low. Slight truss rod adjustment too. Wouldn't stay in tune. Intonation was way off. After I adjusted everything (action, pickups, neck) it is great. The guitar player in my band couldn't beleive how easy it is to play now. Stays in tune really well for me and I really like to bend the strings.

I have a kid and it still works. Enough said.

Haven't dealt with them.

Got my 1st guitar when I was 16 and just messed around with it. Mostly played acoustic up until 2 years ago. As for the guitar, if it was stolen I would probably try to get an American Strat. I love it because it suits my needs right now. As much as I love SRV and Hendrix i'm not quite at that level yet, so this guitar is fine for me. If you can get one for around $100, I would pick it up if you didn't have anything else. As for value, I get it a 10. Mine was FREE!

Well here we go, mine is not very standard anymore. I bought it because it was cheap and it looked good. It had a rosewood fretboard, a 3 colour sunburst body end a white pickguard. Now it has an original Fender stratocaster USA neck with a flatter radius, new machine heads, a bronze topcam and jumbofrets. The rest i left original. From the factory it is a poor guitar, at least the neck is.

Alhough i changed the neck, i left the body and electronics orgiginal because it sounds great, believe it or not. I have several guitars, later on more about this, and this new born stratocaster does very very well. I mostly use my (faw faw faw) 3 Marshall 2500 SL-X stacks on wich this guitar really sings. The original pickups have great natural feedback now and then, you can really play with it. It happened often that people asked me where i got this really great vintage Fender Stratocaster sound hahaha, i normally keep quiet because i don't want to shame myself for playing a rebuilt squier.
For the rest, the trem is good, the knobs feel sturdy and the body is as i said, a great looking sunburst with wood patterns shining thru, looks great.

Factory set-up was really bad, i had my guitar tech place the new neck and do the whole guitar over, now it plays good but factory set-up was very poorly, i think fender should abandon squier and all these poor original low budget strats like the highway special and earlier american traditionals. Just go on with the best stuff, they may sell less but at least they don't need to be ashamed for this piece of junk with their name on it.

I would use it anytime anywhere. I would use it without a backup but i allways have more guitars with me anyway. The hardware, finish and knobs are sturdy. But, the hardware on the neck was very very v e r y shitty, replaced it so i give it a 7.

Never dealt with them.

I use all sorts of amps but mostly i play Marshalls, JCM900 2500 SLX amps, i also have 2204's, a 1987 and a modded Hi Gain Dual Reverb, i also use a Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue. I have a gibson LP with EMG's on it and a handbuilt Marco Messer guitar with ES135 pickups on it, a glued on neck and a hardtail (sound like a gibson LP but with more sustain and punch). Since i had this Fender Squier modded like i allready metioned i love it, it looks cool and sound great. I give it a 7 because of the poor neck and machine heads.

I don't know when this was made, I got it at a yard sale. It is for all intent the same as most strats, other than the fact that it is one of the indonesian ones, and as such far better made than most. The only differences between this and the vintage fenders I have had is that it has a 1 ply face plate (if that ever bugs me it is 30 bucks to get a 3 ply), the tuning machines are far better (they seem to be like Gotohs, which, are the best I have ever used) and, the neck stays where I put it (for some reason, every guitar I have had that says "Fender" on the headstock has had a neck that changed constantly, with the exception of my japanese made fender bass) The neck is not shaped exactly like the american made strats I have played, I am not sure how it is different, it seems more comfortable though. It is not a floating tremelo (thank God). It is painted red.

It sounds like a strat. I have another indonesian strat that I put EMG pickups in, and the pickups in this one side by side sound better. One of the guitarists in the band I am in has a Fender strat, it is an old one with the 3 way switch, and this strat sounds a lot like it, perhaps a little wider tone range. I use it in a variety of amps and recording situations. It has a very full sound that is kind of bright, it kind of leans toward the real bright but lower end balsy bright like a telecaster in the bridge position. The neck pickup has a very nice sound for blues, real fat sounding, and does not bottom out easily. I am afraid to so much as change a pickguard screw on this guitar out of fear it will change, it is the dream guitar. Best strat I have ever played for sound. The pickups are also pretty high output without being too midrangy or without grunging out. Very clean sounding, and at the same time with a lot of edge.

OK , here is my beef with american and mexican made strats. They seem to always have string rattle, even with high action (which, I set the action as low as I can, I get better intonation that way, and it is easier to play intricate licks). Every Indonesians strat I have seen that has been set up does not have that annoying fret rattle. They also seem to set up way lower, without the neck changing. This guitar stays in tune all the time, I can set it down for 3 days and pick it up and it is very close. The neck stays like I adjusted it to. I have had it for probably a year, and I set it up the first week I had it, then again about a month later (which I always do with my guitars, being as truss rod adjustments seem to take a while to fully settle in). I bought this guitar used at a yard sale, it was a filthy abused mess. I took it all apart, and cleaned it good (dirt was down in the pickguard pickup holes). I polished the body, and polished the frets, and the thing looks new now. It not only has no flaws, but seems to be the most accurately machined strat I have seen. I am not sure of the wood in it, but it sustains as good as the best strats I have seen, and is very well balanced. Some strats are just too light, and feel neck heavy, this one is just right. The saddles, nut, and tuners are all very well done, very precise. The electronics seems to be quiet for a strat.
This guitar has perfect intonation, that and it's overall nice tone make it the ideal guitar for recording.

I would use this guitar live in a heartbeat. Everything on it seems up to snuff, better so than as I say, any of the strats of the past I have owned. I am not real hard on my guitars, and I am not much into cosmetics either, so, I do not pay much attention to finishes, but, I have bumped this one a few times, and it seems to have a pretty durable paint job. I would not at all be afraid to use it without a backup, although that is not something I typically would do.
I use this guitar to record, and it is great for that.

As with most Japanes/Indonesian/Chinese/overseaswhatever companies, the proof is in the pudding. My experience has been that if a guitar is made in Korea or Japan, you don't need to worry about warrenty or customer support, they make it right the first time. They make musical instruments like they make cars, the best. The indonesian guitars seem to be made the same way.

I have been playing for something close to 40 years. I have a wide range of instruments and gear. I play bass in a local gigging band, although I am primarily a guitarist. I would replace this guitar with another indonesian strat in a heartbeat if something happened to it. The thing I really love about this guitar is, the neck is like the old tiesco necks, it does not change. Most strats I have had, Fender or otherwise, the necks always move. I had a Duo Sonic 2 that I even put 3 dowell rods through the body under the neck plate into the neck, so that the neck sit over three dowels tightly before being screwed on, and I'll be damned if it didn't still change. This thing is so consistant it amazes me, the neck and action and intonation are always the same, even with weather change. The neck seems to be made of reasonably hard wood. It's stability kind of reminds me of the Yamaha SG series guitars. If this thing was firewood it was worth 20 bucks, but it turns out to be the buy of a lifetime for me. It is the strat I always wanted but could never find. You guys need to make a "12" rating possible in this catagory just for me.

Mine is a Indonesian-made 2002 Affinity Series Strat 20th Anniversary model. Typical Strat, S/S/S, 21 frets, maple skunk-stripe neck w/ rosewood fretboard, vintage-style trem, sealed diecast tuners, 11 hole single-ply pickguard. I ordered it as 'Used B Stock' in January 2004 but it looks like they sent me a new guitar.

It sounded OK out of the box. Once I raised the pickups it sounded much better. It's noisy in postions 1,3 and 5 like any standard Strat. It sounds like a Strat.

The fretwork was a little uneven but they don't grab your hand. Other than that it's good. The neck is a bit narrow for me. I don't have big fingers but the strings are a bit close. It would be good for a kid. I adjusted the action and intonation. It took all of the saddle adjustment to get the intonation on the 6th string.

I'd play this live. It stays in tune. The finish could probably withstand neutron bombardment. I have no reason to think it is unreliable. I have other real Strats so I would have others as a backup in case I broke a string or something.

I never tried or needed factory support.

I've been playing 30 years. I have two Fender Strats, Jazz and Mustang Basses, Epiphone LP Junior, OLP MM4, Ampeg SBT preamp, Dynaco ST410 poweramp, 15" JBL cabinet, Crate BX50DLX and Behringer GM110. I think I got a good guitar. There's really nothing I don't like about it (except the narrow neck). It was well worth the money. If it were stolen I'd buy another for the same price I paid. For what they normally sell for, $150.00, I'd buy a used MIM Strat.

This was a 2000, made in Korea model.It has 21 frets & all the standard strat controls.3 single coil pickups, 1 ply white pickguard on blue finish, rosewood neck.
the hardware LOOKED okay but it really sucks.
I bought this for my daughter and the finish has held up alright. But I've replaced the tuners.
We still have issues with the tailpiece and pickups.

When she was playing Mel Bay it suited her style. Now that she can play a little bit, I'm hard pressed to find much that it's good for.
We've played it through several amps...Her Peavy 15 watt solid state amp sounds clear and punchy with other guitars sounds kind of muddy with this one.Also played it through my Crate GT80 tube amp and my old Fender Princeton 65. There are times when it gets a nice Hendrix tone for a little while. But it's very inconsitant and usually just sounds noisey and muddy.

The action is not half bad. The only complaint I have about the fit and finish: if you slide your hand along the side of the frets, you'll never play guitar again! It feels like a saw.
As far as playability, the frets were decent and the neck contour was pretty comfortable.

This is where the guitar becomes a joke.Let's start at the top and go down.
1 The tuners were crap. I replaced them with gotoh tuners.
2 edges of the frets were sharp and rough. I polished them to smooth them out so no one would loose a finger.
3 The pickups are pure crap, noisey, muddy, overall awful sounding.
4 switches and pots are scratchy and obviously poor quality.
5 The saddles cut through the strings at such a rate that any money you think you saved by buying this thing would be more than offset by replacing strings in the first month.
6 The tailpeice is brutal. As you tune each string, it stretches the springs and pulls the others out of tune. You could spend the rest of your life trying to tune this thing and never get it right on.
The finish still looks like new. But it's probably because out of the 10 guitars in my living room, this one is the least played of all.
I wouldn't use this thing on a gig at all. I don't even like to admit to buying it. I just wrote this to try and save other people from making the same mistake I made.

I've been playing for 36 years. I bought this for my daughter when she wated to learn to play. I wish I would have known before I bought this, how nice the Kramer Focus was for about half the price.
I also own a Kramer Focus, a Fender Telecaster, Fender Strat, Guild S300-D,Kent Les paul copy,Gibson Les Paul Custom,Takamine Sante Fe, Ibanez, Hamer Echotone,Martin, Fender Princeton 65, Crate GT 80, Peavy Rage, assorted pedals by DigiTech, Danelectro, Ibanez,Boss and others.
If this was stolen...Are you kidding? Who'd want to steal this? I'd give it to them.
Buy a Kramer Focus for half the price. It's 10 times the guiotar.

I bought mines in 98' this was my first electric guitar. This is great guitar for beginners. It has all the features that other strats have, just very cheap ones. If you are starting out i would definitley recommend, it's easy to learn on, good for almost any kind of music (even metal, if you have a good distortion pedal)

Ok this is where it gets tricky. If you get a cheap amp, a small solid state Crate GFX or Fender frontman, this guitar would sound pretty good in a home environment. However if you play it on professional Tube amps, or anything higher than 15 watts, this guitar sounds terrible. The pickups are extremely noisy, you can pretty much sing into them and you'd hear it in the amp. This is not a good guitar for gigging, unless you're playin in a sloppy style or punk(not that i have anythin against punk).

Action is good, but i think this guitar is very sensitive to temperature, when its really cold, the action is way higher. Maybe its just me i dont know, but thatwhat i noticed. Finish is ok, mine
s pretty banged up already.

Again this guitar is not suited for live performance simply because it doesnt sound that good cranked up. The hardware seems like it will last, but im sure it wont sound the way u first purchased it.

N/A

I've been playing for 6 years and since i bought this guitar i owned other better ones. I dont regret buying it because it was a good guitar to learn on (well besides my acoustic). If you are starting out and looking for a cheap guitar that would sound good in your bedroom then i would recommend it.

1999 squier affinity strat made in an obviosly foreign country. Contains 22 frets(that are sucky) 5 way selector , 3 single coiled pickups , 1 volume and 2 tone controls. I don't know the model of the pickups but they... suck.The finish is ok , but it sucks as well.THe tuners are also pretty cheap. Basically a pretty cheap guitar .. along with most other fenders.

ok this is where the guitar really starts showing how bad it truly is. I play mostly metal , classic rock , and blues. Basically it can't suit any style and the pickups really stand out ( IN A BAD WAY) when your trying to play. These things really suck ... the ones that make people want to quit.

THe action was set up ok at the factory. Again this is a 150$ guitar so the pickups were not adjusted correctly and the finish was pretty bad.

This strat defiently could not withstand live playing. In fact , it cant withstand playing in your bedroom. The hardware seems like it will last ... 2 months and the finish starts wearing off after the first week. IF u play punk or jump around alot ... i want to be there when you a playing a live show and the cheap strap buttons fall off. So basically , u cant really depend on this and i would rather quit a show then play this guitar AS a backup to save embarassment.

Well , i have been playing for 3 years now. After i bought this one and found the sheer stupidity of my decision , i quickly sold this one and bought a burns. IF this guitar was stolen ... the person who would risk getting caught to steal this guitar would be an idiot.
Pros of this guitar - i get to hear beginners who think they are great suck.
Cons of this guitar - i get to hear beginners who really want to play quit guitar forever.

I think It's an '03. Made in China. 21 frets. Controls: Volume, Tone, Tone. Pickups: humbucker at bridge, 2 singlecoils - it's a 'fat strat.' Presumably it's made of cheap woods, but I'm surprised by the quality of the hardware. The tuners, bridge saddles, volume pots, etc., are of excellent quality, and work very well. Jumbo frets, rosewood fretboard.

I play rock, blues, country, R'n'B. It suits all these styles well. I'm using it with a Balls M18 and a Vox AC30 TB and it sounds terrific through both. The humbucker is quiet as a mouse. Being a strat, it has a 5-way selector toggle switch, and the 'out-of-phase' settings are relatively quiet, considering that they are single coil pickups. The middle and 5th position setting hum like any fender guitar I've ever heard, even a 2000 dollar one. As for variety of tones, you can get classic strat tones, plus a more groomed les paul kind of tone out of the humbucker.

This guitar was expertly set up at the factory. The intonation is spot on. The action is not too high or too low. Everything as far as the setup is very neutral; the action is low enough to blay mellow singing blues, and tall enough to use a metal slide. Not a single flaw that I can discover. Never underestimate Chinese-made gear!

I'll find out how it does live tonight. It holds tune great. I could care less if the finish will last (laughs). It's a $169 guitar. I wouldn't use any guitar on a gig without a backup.

Don't know.

Been playing 20 + yrs. I have drums basses, keyboards, guitars, recording gear, PA. One thing's for sure, if lost or stolen, could be easily replaced! For the money, you just can't go wrong with this guitar. I've payed far more for much worse instruments, paying for name/status. Basically, I traded a 90s American Telecaster for a Farfisa Combo Compact organ and spent the cash remainder on this guitar. I couldn't possibly be happier with it.

Made in China, Red, typical standard stratocaster, he gave me an awful carrying case free

Though I am mainly a bassist in a local rock outfit, I play leads for a band that plays Indian Film Music etc, so I dont need the tremolo and distortion tone and sustains and for this, the guitar is pretty good. The tone is almost like a mexican strat that I have played on, never tried the real one, but someday...

Low action, and smooth fretboard, but the switch does let off some static noises now and then

Pretty reliable, and I have used it on a couple of shows without backup. Though I had a major problem, trying to use it with the Cordless Unit I have (The Samson L Shaped Jack mount). The unit stands erect on the guitar, and is pretty irritating since it lets out a horrible loud "KHATTTAK" kinda sound when your right hand hits it. :)

I lost my tremolo arm at a gig, and initially got a very cold response from the shop, but after some mails exchanged with Fender USA, they ultimately gave me a replacement, and the best thing was they didn't charge me for it!!! So I could give them an excellent rating for that!!

I've been playing for about 12 years now, and though I must say its pretty difficult to get a decent guitar in India, we now have Fender, Epiphone, Hamer & Ibanez selling some of their oriental make guitars, which are pretty decent. I still own a Peter Pereira (Thane) Explorer imitation which is still going strong!! I use Korg AX300 for effects & a regular Marshall 30W amp. I use the Samson AG1 cordless which is pretty cool too.

Like almost everybody else said, this is a very cheap guitar so the features are all cheapest stock. Nothing incredibly special about this guitar. 21 frets, 5-way selector, One Volume two tone controls. Mapleneck with a rosewood fingerboard. The nut is made of plastic.
I'll give the features a 6 because it's got all your average features, nothing special.

Omg, this is the worst part of this guitar. This was my first guitar, i bought it because i didn't know if i was going to stick with the instrument. So it's an absolutely great guitar to start on, this is only a BEGINNERS GUITAR. I play mostly neo-classical metal, and some blues and yet more metal, and this guitar is NOT good for that.. Not for anything i think. Crappy punk maybe..Anyway this guitar is absolutely worthless for live playing or even rehearsing with my band. At higher volumes the pickups (mostly at position 1,3,5 on selector)start to make a lot of noise. This goes for all pickups... And when you actually manage to play loud without the noise (kinda rare), then the pickups sound really bright and just very bad. Hard to describe really, the best way to tell you this is by saying that the pickups in this guitar are probably the cheapest stock singlecoil-pickups on the market! With lots of hum and noise.

Only thing i like about this guitar is that it is a really good practise guitar for it's price, when i play at low volumes for myself at home it sounds decent, still not good, but at this price what is?

The rest about the sound i pretty much only dislike, Sound is horrible, the tremolo can't be used because it will go instantly out of tune (why do they even bother putting that tremolo on???).. The 2 tone controls are also a bit unnecesary because if they are not on full, it will only sound even more horrible than it already does.

I'm using it trough a Peavey 112 combo-amp, and yes I know, it's not a good amp, but the guitar sounds just as bad trough my friends Marshall combo wich sounds great with his Ibanezguitar..

I give the sound a 3 because it really sounds bad! Too bright and noisy!

When i bought this guitar the action was low, wich i like, the pickup adjustment was ok i suppose although these stock pickups suck! The output jack is loose and tends to fall off. My biggest complaint are the low frets, almost as if there were no frets, but this is only my taste. I have owned it for about 4 years, and about a half year ago the low E string and the A string have started to "Buzz" against the frets, this is really annoying, especially when you play open chords. The pickup selector is as i said VERY noisy mostly at positions 1,3,5 ..
Oh yeah and the white knob on the pickupselector also falls off..

I rate this a 4, it's definately below average, things just should NOT fall off a guitar no matter how cheap it is!

I would never be stupid enough to play live with this guitar, this guitar is only good for practising by yourself at low volumes.
Otherwise it seems like it will last pretty well, strap buttons are regular but i haven't had any problems with them (mostly because i sit down and play) But they seem good.

I don't bother with customer support for cheap guitars like this one. So no opinion on this one..

I have been playing about 4 years, don't own any other guitars, this was my first guitar. If it was stolen i wouldn't cry very much, although i'd be pissed someone stole my first electric guitar!

I really think this is a good guitar FOR BEGINNERS, if you are unsure wether or not you want to continue to play guitar, then this is a great guitar for you! Because it's not that expensive, and the sound is decent if you just practise by yourself at low volumes. So if i could rate this as a practise guitar it would get an 8..

But if you want a good guitar to play with in your band with a good tone then DON'T BUY THIS GUITAR! The sound is bright and noisy in a bad way.. Ofcourse you could always change the stock pickups to hs-3's or something, that would severely improve the rating of this guitar.. So to sum up: GOOD PRACTISE GUITAR FOR IT'S PRICE, WORTHLESS FOR ANY SERIOUS PLAYER!

I got this guitar as a gift from my parents a few years ago (4 or 5 i think) to learn with, they bought this one because they figured I wouldn't stick with the instrument. It's got a 21 fret maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard and some pretty shoddy tuners which sometimes hold their tune and sometimes shoot right out with heavy bending...it's a crapshoot really.... It's got a 5-way selector switch, a volume knob, and two tone knobs. Three passive single coil pickups made by squier which, surprisingly, sound pretty decent. The body, I assume, is made of plywood, but may be agathis. It's got a pretty tough finish ( I used to drop it alot) and, of course, a strat style body. It also has a fender style tremolo bridge which shoots out of tune pretty quick if used extensively. It came with a little Squier amp, a Fender Cable, strap and Gig Bag. These are pretty bare bones features, I'd give it a 5, but I've gotta knock a point off for the lame tuners.

Here's the surprise: this little fella sounds alright! When I first got it I thought it was the greatest thing ever!( It was my first guitar remember) but I recently re-strung it and it's an alright little guitar. I play anything I'm required to, and it does an alright job for most. I'm playing it with a Traynor amp now, and it sounds pretty decent. The pickups are pretty noisy, but hey, this is a cheap guitar, wht do you expect? The sound is very "strat" ranging from bright on the bridge pickup to mellow on the neck pickup. It sounds pretty good clean, and alright dirty. Overall I'd say this sounds good as a beginners guitar, but pro musicians should look elsewhere.

The factory set-up, as I remember, was not good, my guitar teacher taught me how to set it up and after I did so, it was much better. It came with high action , horrible intonation loose tuning pegs and a lame nut. My guitar teacher helped me fix the nut, adjust the tuners, fix the action and re-intonated. Now that it's a few years later I am much better at doing this myself, and I feel that with a decent set-up this is an alright guitar to mess around on. It's a 6 or 7 now, but I'll give it a low score because it came from the factory in bad shape oh so many years ago.

This guitar can (and has) withstood live playing, although it's better used as a back up instead as a primary guitar. It built pretty solid, it can handle dings, it's got alright strap buttons, a tough finish and it doesn't mind taking a beating (and it's taken a beating so I'd say it's apretty reliable workhorse. Maybe with some better tuners it would be a suitable main guitar for someone with a limited budget.

Never contacted Fender, so I don't know. But the people at musicstop are great, I'll give them a 9.

I've been playing for a while now and I feel I know a good piece of gear when I play it. If stolen or lost I don't think I'd get another squier, but I would be pissed with the person who stole my first guitar. I like this guitar because it's good value for the money. I hate the cheap hardware, but with a little adjusting, it does the job. I couldn't compare it with any others because this was my first guitar and I didn't know anything about the instument, I got this cause' it looked cool.Overall I'd say it's a bad choice for an experienced musician (hence the 5) but for a beginner I'd give it a 9, with a little work, it's a damn good guitar to learn on.

Alder body
Maple neck 25.5"/Rosewood fretboard
21 fret
3 single coil passive pickups
5-way selector
Bought at Christmas 2001

All standard Strat stuff ie tremolo etc..
Bought in a package containing a tuner, strap, lead, bag picks etc.

Pretty good as far as features go

I play in a 4-piece alternative/rock band and it works pretty well with that. It can't get really warm, full tones, but you wouldn't expect that from Fender single coils anyway. I use a Squier Champ15 amp at home but I borrow various amps to play live. It sounds good through both. I also use a Boss OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion pedal.
The downside in terms of sound is that the various positions all sound pretty similar. The first three positions (using the neck and middle pickups) sound best in my opinion, but the neck pickup has a much greater output (better for harmonics).
On the whole I like the sound but I'd like a bit more variety.

The guitar came set up exactly how I'd like it from the factory. The pickups seem fine and the finish is great (I've chipped it in one place, its about 1mm thick). However somes major flaws.. one is that the hole for the tremolo arm doesnt have screw thread all the way up to the top, so theres no way to get the arm in. The nut is slightly misaligned at the high E string is prone to jump out. I've had a lot of trouble with the pcikup selector too - at times it has cut all sound from the guitar and I've had to jiggle it around for a while to restore the signal. The neck joint isnt too tight but that hasn't bothered me all that much. This gets a 7 cause the action was good enough to balance out the flaws slightly.

This guitar does withstand live playing very well. I have faith in the hardware except for the selector, which I feel may need replacing. The finish doesn't wear easily, but did chip thanks to its first few months being transported in a soft bag. Strap buttons are solid and hold the strap well, as long as you keep the guitar reasonably still. I sure as hell wouldn't trust them enough to throw this guitar around. I've gigged with this without a backup about 5 times since I got it, cause I didn't have a choice. Even I did I'd have confidence in this guitar though.

Haven't deal with anyone and I have no idea about the warranty.

I've been playing nigh on four years now. I have a Monterey classical guitar, a Boss OS-2 pedal, and a Squier Champ15 amp. If this was stolen I wouldn't bother buying another one as its essentially a (great) beginner's guitar. I'm looking at a Fender Jazzmaster reissue now for a little bit more warmth.
The Squier's a pretty good guitar for the undiscerning guitarists but after a while you start to look for better options. I couldn't recommend this to anyone other than beginners. If you like the features but have been playing for a fair while just buy the real deal and get a Fender.

pick ups: s/s/s
made in indonessia
5 way pick up selector
2 tone one volume knob
rose wood fingerboard
tremelo bridge
pearl dot inlays
20th anaversery special
21 frets
i bought it from a friend for 60 bucks, awsome deal, i took off that ordanary looking pickguard and bought a black one that is outlined with white, and with the white pickups and controlls it looks awsome!!!

i dig the strat sound. it seriously lack sustain though.

i play A LOT of AC/DC, and with the bridge pickup or bridge middle (acorrding to taste) you can get a good sound like ANGUS YOUNG'S.

it isnt really noisy, what do you expect from a squier strat

strats are one th most versitile guitars in the world, you can get a wide variety of tone from country music, to heavy metal. i do

the bridge pickup can get a little twangy sometimes, depending on how i'm feeling.

i use a KUSTOM KGA 30 and it sounds great to it. i don't use any efects, i am planning on buying a distortion pedal very soon, and then maybe a processor.

the strat can fit anyone, i'm a big guy and it is'nt to small for me and it certainly is'nt to big.

very very comfortable, siting and standing

the higher frets are a little harder to reach.

it's ply wood, what do you expect for so cheap?

i'd surely gig with it, the thing about squiers is that they go bad within a couple years, so don't expect to keep it for long.

the out put jack will go loose every once and a while so keep a wrench handy to repair that. and a screw driver to keep those strap pins tight. that is a big problem with mine.

this guitar might take a good bang, i don't really want to try it though.

since i bought it from my friend, if something went wrong i'd say: gimmie back my money jerk...

good cheap guitar,
actually squier is one of the best cheap guitar companies around

if it got stolen i get really pissed off and beat the crap out of the guy that stole it. but i would get over it and buy a new guitar.

a cheap guitar is a cheap guitar, you get what you pay for.

if you wnat a guitar bad, this is the one, or another squier with a humbucker. and even if you don't like it then you can always sell it to someone and buy something better.

Made in 2002 by underpaid Indonesians
All the usual Strat stuff, S/S/S, Vol, Tone on the neck & middle PU
Rosewood fretboard on a Maple neck, alder body
Vintage style trem, cast saddles
Black w/ white pickguard
Non-locking tuners
Came with cheesy gig bag, cable, saddle & truss rod wrench, xtra trem spring ,spare strings

Suits my style OK, string spacing a bit tighter than what I'm used to, so getting used to it. Right now, using with a Berhinger AC112 amp.

The electronics are OK, about what you'd expect from an entry level guitar, Switch positions 1,3,5 have the typical single coil hum, 2 and 4 pretty clean. I will probably redo all the electronics at some later date, could also use sheilding in the cavity.

Yup, sounds like a Strat. Decent sustain, decent sound all around.

OK, here's where somebody could go to town complaining that this was off, that was off, etc.. First let me say that this is a $150 guitar, don't expect miracles. Secondly, I'm becoming more convinced that the people who complain about a guitar completly sucking need to realize that every guitar (even the same model)is different, it's made of wood after all, many will come to life with a proper setup, and you run a big risk if you mail order and can't feel it in person before you buy. Ok, that's my rant for the day.

That said, I was looking for a basic Strat to tinker with and to get to know them, and I found one with a good neck and a good body. The tuners feel quite good. Pickguard was the single ply vinyl, didn't lay quite flat, replaced it with a Fender 3 ply. Didn't care for the Fender strings, replaced them with EB 10's (came with 9's) The nut is plastic, kinda soft IMO. The trem is the cast steel affair, could probably use a detailing, but no biggie. Electronics wiring OK, cavity a bit dusty and rough, but as I said before, I'll probably be doing some mods here. Some of the screws weren't drilled straight, but anyone with decent woodworking skills can correct this. But the trem screws were true; they must use some kind of jig to drill all 6 at once.
I did the standard Fender 'factory' setup routine, with the wedge and all, and I managed to get the action quite low. Also make sure that your bridge to body spacing is correct, having it off can kill your tone, as I discovered after I got it set correctly. Much more projection and sustain after that.

Of course it'll withstand live playing, I haven't seen many dead people playing the guitar..

Finish is a bit thin, but nothing to be alarmed about.

I'd gig without a backup probably, but I'd feel better about it after I rewired it.

N/A, do my own repairs..

For what it is and how much it costs, it's pretty good. Besides, I've seen some factory new MIM and MIA Strats that were in worse shape.

A tinkerer's guitar, not for those that don't know a nut from a saddle. If I still have it in 10 years, it'll probably have a different neck with an ebony fingerboard, a humbucker, tons of other mods, plenty of dings, and be referred to as "Frank N. Stein".

If it were stolen, I'd probably get another Strat, but I wouldn't cry about this one. At $150, it's meant to be used and abused.

Overall, a decent basic Strat. Just be sure to try before you buy, and get a decent setup done before you pass final judgement.

my strat has a three single coils, 2 tone, 1 volume, rosewood fingerboard, pearl dot inlays, tremelo bridge, i don't like the rather large 70's style head stock, but i can deal with it. and if you have a black strat buy the 10 dollar musiciansfriend pick gaurd and slap it on there. it looks totaly bad ass, i did it and it just feels like i am playing something better than a SQUIER.

i play alot of SABBATH AC/DC and ZEPPELIN, and you can get a good variety of those tones with the middle pickup, for other metal i use the neck position pickup, and for my southern rock i use the bridge pickup.

i'm not to hott for the rosewood fingerboard. the pickup selector is quite noisy. lotts of dead spots, i am meaning to get that fixed. dead spots on the 12th and 9th frets, two key positions for my playing. the necks a little smaller than it could be. despite all those flaws it is a great rythym guitar, the leads arent as great.

the finish is okay. i can depend on it for jamming and rehearsing, but i wouldnt use it in a gig without a backup. i put musicman strap buttons on it, but the old ones are ok.

i bought it from a friend

overall, a cheep guitar is a cheap guitar. if is sucks thats okay because it is just a cheap guitar. the guitar value depends on how much you bought it compared to the quality.
this guitar is a great guitar for a starter or an intermediate that needs something cheap to hold them off untill they can aford somthing good. thats why i got it.
if it were stolen i probably would not buy a new one. my favorite ting about it is the versatility of it, a strat can play anything. thats why i like them. i run my strat through a kustom kga 30, which is also a good amp for anyone that is in a band.

My Squire Affinity Strat was a 1998. Made in China
21 frets.
1 volume 2 tone controls
s/s/s pickup configuration
maple neck rosewood fretboard
gig bag included
The paint was thin and ugly when bumped or chipped

I played this guitar for the first two or three years when I was just starting out. Like many single coil guitars the pickups buzz when on neck, middle, or bridge. When I first started it sounded good to me. After awhile it just didn't sound good to me anymore.
Not much expression in the pickups, but to a person who is just learning it is descent.

The action was alright from factory.
Pickups, I can't complain as far as set up.
All parts were in good condition.

It played well. The action eventually got really good.
The finish was low quality, and very thin. After all this guitar is just a begginers guitar so i will take it easy.
Had no problems with it.

I have been playing quite a while, and for a beginers guitar I think this works good enough. If it blew up I wouldn't care.
It is a all around descent guitar, but the tone is limited.

See below, mine is baltic blue, made in 2002, Agathis-Body, maple Neck, Rosewood fingerboard

It's a strat ;)

I think the stock-coils aren't that good, I replaced them with three Hohner Entwistle-White Pickups (see the test here in Harmony-Central), now it has a great tone and it is humbucking in the in-between-Positions (the middle-Coil is reversed)

I also kicked out the tonepotis and use only a master-volume (replacement rockinger-poti). The very poor 5-Way-Switch was replaced by a better one out of an older Squier after it was broken

I bought this used but the action is unbelievable low, plays almost on it's own ;), very good for fast fingers and van Halen-tappings etc., i was positivly surprised
The finish is also quite good, no complains

What is to say that the Affinity has a thinner Body than other strats have, I heard no difference to my older Squier Bullet with regular Body... If you have small hands it can be an advantage beause you can reach the high notes more easily due to the thinner Body/Neck connection ;)

I think it is as reliable as any other strat AFTER you have replaced the electronics (switch, pots and pickups).
The stock pots and switches are very cheap and probably won't live long when heavy used...
If you gig you should have a backup guitar anyway, for any guitar

Never dealt with them

I'm playing for about 10 years now and I must say that this is a great guitar (with the replacements told above), it thinke the Chinese people must have made some progress in building guitars since my 1994 Bullet Squier...
Not only for beginners ;)

Fender Squire Afinity 20th Anniversary 2003 Stratocaster. Made in China. MODEL NUMBER 031-0603-(Color#)
SERIES Squier Affinity Series
BODY Alder
NECK Maple, C-Shape,
(Polyurethane Finish)
FINGERBOARD Maple, 9.5? Radius (241 mm)
NO. OF FRETS 21 Medium Jumbo
SCALE LENGTH 25.5? (648 mm)
WIDTH AT NUT 1.650? (42 mm)
HARDWARE Chrome
MACHINE HEADS Standard Die-Cast Tuners
BRIDGE Synchronous Tremolo
PICKGUARD 1-Ply White
PICKUPS 3 Single-Coil Pickups
PICKUP SWITCHING 5-Position Blade:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup
Position 3. Middle Pickup
Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup
Position 5. Neck Pickup
CONTROLS Master Volume,
Tone 1. (Neck Pickup),
Tone 2. (Middle Pickup)
COLORS (578) Aztec Gold,
(Polyurethane Finish)
STRINGS Fender Super 250L, Nickel Plated Steel, (.009 to .042), p/n 073-0250-003
UNIQUE FEATURES Large ?60s Style Headstock,
Black Plastic Parts,
Black Silkscreen Logo,
Dot Position Inlays
ACCESSORIES None
INTRODUCED 1/2003

I play rock and metal. I like 80's hair bands.
I only have a pignose and a Pandora PX2. Still sounds great to me!
The pickups are very noisy! In positions bridge, middle and neck. It was so bad i put in Fenders noisless pickups and now it sounds amazing!
With Strats you can get just a bought any type of sound you want. Just change pickups.
What I like about the guitar the most is the neck! The frets are Medium Jumbo!
I have to give it a 8 because of the pickups.

The guitar was set-up very well at the factory. Way to go Fender. The auction was good but I did raise the E and B strings a little because of string bends.
The finish is Aztec Gold and not a flaw in it. Looks great!
I have had this guitar for a couple of months and besides changing the pick-ups I sanded down the Fender Squire logo and painted the neck in clear. This is more to my liking. The neck I used up to 2000 grit wet dry sandpaper to sand off the over spray and its better than new. I want to add all gold hardwear. A little at a time.

Everything is soild on this guitar but the pick-ups. I would take and play this guitar anywhere.

Don't know

2002 20th aniversary affinity stratocaster,21 fret maple neck with rosewood fretboard, three single coil pickups,dark blue finish and "vintage style" tremolo bridge.pretty good guitar for my uses. i give it a 9 because of the lack of 5 bridge springs.

this guitar is my only one and compared to other guitars in this price
bracket it really stands out.i run it through a danelectro dan-o-wah,
a boss DS1 and then to my fender frontman 15G. the guitar can emulate
many distinctive tones such as S.R.V. hendrix and clapton which suits my style. i wouldn't play metal on this guitar however.nice neck pickup sound and not too much noise.

this guitar was not set up very well. lots of fretbuzz and it had poor inotation.finish is good on it. the only real problem is that the output jack continues to come loose. otherwise I give it an 8

I could probably rely on this guitar for many years to come.it probably wouldn't be the best choice for gigging.have dropped it many times and has held up extremely well

I have never had to deal with fender. the only problem is finding parts for this guitar.

this is the part of the review where old rich guys who've been playing for 30 years bitch and complain that their '57 strat blows this thing away or where some punk rocker comes to whine that this guitar sucks (even though they have only been playing for a week).Like the old saying goes a bad carpenter always blames his tools this can be applied to musicians too. people easily forget that this is a BEGINNERS GUITAR and it cannot be compaired to a vintage pre CBS axe. If this exact guitar design made hendrix,S.R.V. and Slowhand famous then it is good enough for me therfore I give it a 10

and if any of you cocky fuckers wanna protest that email me
at guitarman_sm@hotmail.com

22 frets, solid body (really solid! starts to hurt my leg while sitting down), volume, two tone,5 way selector, S/S/S, I'm not sure what kind of body it is but whatever it is I don't like it! I'm not sure what scale the neck is but another complaint I have with the guitar is its neck, its so big makes for playing hard Wasn't bad untill I played my friends Jackson!

Well the sound dosen't suit the stlye I play at all (Metal) I love bands like Metallica but Its pretty good for Jimi Hendrix and groups of the like. I'm playing through a Marshall amp a kinda cheap one but the sound isn't that bad but not the best. It you get just anywhere next to an electrical device It goes crazy! I could be all the way across the room (about 12') and it would still buzz. Its got a really bright sound on the bridge pickup so I tend to play it on the neck pick up where it plays much better for metal. I can't say it sounds bad and I can't say it sounds good either. I guess it depends on what style of music you play

I bought the guitar from musicians friend as a beginners guitar and I can't really tell you much about it because I got it over 2 years ago (I'm finally getting a new guitar and ESP KH 202!) but I did have a problem with the volume contol coming loose and the bridge not being able to handle the heavier strings and I had to put some more springs in it but besides that no problems

I don't know if anyone who is going to play live would have this guitar but it proably withstand it. The finish has withsatanded a lot I've only had one area with chipped paint and thats about it. I think during a live show I would just leave this one at home though! lol

Only delt with musicians friend and they're just as awesome as always!

I've been playing for almost 3 years now and Its been a good guitar but I finally moving up to a ESP. I'll probably take this guitar out only when I want to down tune or something like that. If it was stolen or lost I wouldn't buy it again now that I have a job and all. I have a little money to spend on a new one. I wish it had some better pickups though like emgs but I guess they wouldn't really look right on that guitar. I would althogh recommend it to a new guitar player who just wants to see if he has the intrest or not to keep playing.

made in china in 2001. 20 frets, s/s/s configuration. I've played a few of these in shops, and they don't have much to offer.

I mainly play hard rock (smashing pumpkins, radiohead, tom petty, van halen, etc) and sometimes a little neil young or CCR once in awhile. I've tried many of these out in shops before, and I didn't like the sound at all. Thin, frail, lifeless...this guitar offers nothing, really. The pickups feedback and hum like crazy, and the selector switch is weak. The wiring is no better than a cheap radio from the dollar store. Unfortunately, on the east side of the state, we only have a few guitar shops, and the ones that we have around my area only carry squiers, ibanez, and peavey...so as I'm going in to test pedals, I've had to test them out on the low-grade instruments.

If you're looking for fender sound, don't look at this...look at something that won't make you lose your dignity and respect for the company.

the body is light and solid, and the neck seems to be fit. the neck and fretboard are very clunky and uncomfortable. less than average tuners, poor selector switch, poor electronics, weak input jack. I really have nothing good to say about this guitar, except that it makes a good starter guitar...and if your 10 or 12 year old kid likes to bang it around, it doesn't cost a fortune to replace.

would I depend on it for a gig? yes.

would I depend on it for a gig without a backup? no.

This is an okay guitar to pull out for one song or two, but your options are pretty limited with this guitar. Pretty soon you'll tire of this instrument, (that is if you have others) and you'll want to switch.

the squier line is made cheaply. VERY cheaply, and on worklines in china. Chinese workers that get minimum wage. They don't get raises, and they don't get promotions. Just like any other citizen of any country, they figure "why put in extra work, if it's not going to get me anywhere in this job?" and that's exactly the attitude that squier puts out for the user...it's stubborn, it's not going to get anywhere, and it's a minimum wage guitar. I've said my peace.

nope.

For a beginner's guitar = great.

for a more experienced player = not so great.

I'm not saying that these squiers are totally bad, and that you should avoid them like the plague, I'm just telling you that you shouldn't use them for one of your main guitars.

To be totally honest, I would really recommend a Silvertone Strat copy over these...they're about the same price, maybe $30 less, and they have more of a "vintage" fender sound to them, or so I've heard. They're also constructed better, look nicer, and aren't a pain like many squiers are.

once again...great starter guitar. cheap price, carries the "fender" brand (unfortunately...ugh), and it will have a higher resale value over no-name or low-grade strat copies.

I currently own, use, and/or play a '73 Ventura SG (my dad's), and a 1993 MIM Fender Strat w/upgraded parts, as well as a Yamaha FG412-S Acoustic and an Austin AU341-S (kind of like Alvarez' squier brand; a budget line guitar from Alvarez) Acoustic. I have numerous pedals that I don't really care to list, and a couple amps as well.

Out of 10, I would rate an Affinity Series Squier Strat a 6. If you can, save your dough and get a genuine fender strat...SO MUCH better than any squier (except early 80's MIJ) strat and they aren't much more expensive. If you've already made up your mind on a squier, then at least get a Squier Standard Series, not this Affinity crap. Squier II's and MIJ Squiers are a fair shot too, worth checking out. Hope this review helped somebody in someway.

PEACE I'M OUTTA HERE!

first of all i'm tired of people bitching about their sqiers and comparing with les pauls. it's $160 guitar, so treat is as that. i had 2 of them in black. my friend sropped one and cracked the finish, still in good working order though. he bought me new on cause he's like a spoiled rich kid. the one he broke was made in indonesia and sucked, I sold it at a music store for $40. the new on is made in CHINA. huge difference. this model may be an exeption, but it's quality quality is that of a much higher priced guitar. the neck is super smooth and so is the fretboard. the finish looks good and i'm careful not to scratch it. it has all the standard hardware, no need to go into that. the only problem is the nut with is 1&5/8"
good for smaller hands and maybe ast chords, but not for bends.

the sound is pretty good. bass and treble. with the flick of a switch go from rythm to lead. what more do u need?

the action is incredible, better than any guitar iv'e owned or played. this may just be an exceptional piece, so try out a few at the store before buying. no flaws neck is AAA construction.

no problems so far

don't know

it's good for a first guitar. better spend the extra $60, and buy a fender rather than a no-name imitation. it's a great value for the money, which is why i give high rating.

My Strat has been my first electric guitar. The features are nothing special, but good. Pickups are "Strat style", S/S/S. 21 frets, fuckin' 21, i sometimes needed the 22th and i had to bend... The fret scale is really good, I had the Rosewood version. It is Made in China. The pickup switch breaks too easily...

I play Blues and Hard Rock (AC/DC style) and for that it sounds good. The Neck-Medium pickup setting is good for 6-string chords.
Little noise on Bridge-Medium position.

They Squire fucking bastards didn't give me the vibrato bar! I had to buy one!

I played it hard, I hit many many times on my bed, I used it to break a window and it is perfect.

N/D

A good guitar, for 250?...

Good basic guitar in classic Strat trim - 5-way selector, three single-coil pickups, whammy/tremolo. Not a wholelotta features, but not a wholelotta money, either.

I play just for fun and relaxation - keep it in my office and play it during meetings to keep folks off balance! Also jam with friends and neighbors.

It's very "hummy" which is typical of single-coil pickups, though this is maybe a bit more than normal. No tone control for the bridge pickup which is much too bright. If playing over the bridge, I use the selection for the bridge/middle and bass-up the tone for the middle pickup - sounds nice and fat for blues leads, southern rock, etc.

Decent set up at the factory, acceptably low, good pickup adjustment, etc. Don't like the fact that the plastic crap that protects the pickguard from scratches is bolted down under the knobs and can't be removed without disassembly.

Thin finish, dents/chips easily. Nice neck and fretboard though.

Seems solid, good construction, strap buttons, etc. - I play it all the time, it gets dropped a lot and still does fine. I used to gig a lot in high school and college and played worse stuff than this without a backup. Kind of like a Timex watch. Takes a lickin' keeps on tickin.

Couldn't tell ya ...

I wouldn't buy it again - but would buy another Strat - an American or Mexican strat rather than a Squier. Good beginner axe.

made 2000. in indonesia, has 21 frets, 5 selector switch, volume and 2 tone controls, 3 single coils, maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, the usuall strat bridge, pretty good stock tuners (no-name though).Neck is pretty much comfortable even though 14th fret just jumped out, so i had to fix this, and it's obvious that the wood isn't top of the class...nothing unexpected, but nothing fancy or well done at all so...

i can see this guitar in hands of a young punk musician (if they can be named that way), but certainly not in mine.i'm mostly a blues player and when you take this guitar out of the box forget about blues, first you should change the pickups then think about it otherwise it's very noisy.i'm playing it on a vox ac30 top boost (mostly anything sounds great on this) and with a marshall guv'nor plus distortion pedal.you can get very bright tones if you try hard, but don't touch the tone controls on the guitar cause the sound will get muddy.the in-between pickup selections are of no use neither until you change the pickup selector switch.considering the money and the quality you get what you expected...with new pickups and switch and possibly potentiometers i give it an 8, but for now:

factory settings are rough and unuseful, low action, poor strings, bad intonation and bad pickup height.my guitar got some finish flaws, so i managed to cut down the price a lot, but usually the finish is very bad, and some tuners were loose, not to mention the string buzzle, but the neck was good, and the body is well made too, it resonates very good which surprised me.

like i said before when you make some adjustments and spend some money on pickups you can take it wherever you want to, otherwise don't.finish allready (1 year) started to wear off, but i don't mind, it's lousy anyway, i'll buy some paint and draw something.strap buttons are solid and you could say that you can depend on it, but not without of backup on factory stuff.

no warranty, you're on your own and i never dealt with cust. support so...

i've been playing this guitar for a year now and i'm gonna change it.i'm stuck on a telecaster.overall you can buy this for a start, but don't think about it if you're expirienced.it's a very good deal if you find one with good finish and then get some pickups, you can get away very cheap and get yourself a great guitar, other than that get some more money and reconsider.

This gay guitar was made in 2001 in china it has 21 med. jumbo frets which doesnt mean anything much. it is black...really cheap paint job. 3 cheap fender single coil pickups. 5 way switching. volume tone, tone. maple neck and super cheap rosewood fingerboard. looks like plastic no kidding. diecast tuners. whammy bar. its ok with the number of features but i take points off for the quality.

it just barely suits my style of hardcore downstroking. i play punk. i am currently using a fender cyber-twin amp which kicks ass and is the only thing that keeps me going. if i had a fender frontman or something of that grade i would throw it in the trash because it has a dull noisy sound. very limited options with the switching. i give this just above half because i play music that really doesnt care if you sound not too great or awsome.

it was set up all right i guess. the input is a little loose. the bridge and pickups are satisfactory except for the noise factor. no major flaws. just a cheap practice guitar bearly worthy of gigs.

this guitar bearly withstands playing in my garage. the hardware is about as strong as a plastic army man. it will not last long. the finish is like spray paint. the strap buttons are reliable i guess. i would semi rely on this guitar. they say that cheap guitars are beginning to get better and this is true. i would only gig with this if my rick, les paul, amer. tele, and g&l were burnt to a crisp. this guitar was bought purely for teaching my little brother ryan michalko who doesnt know the difference.

never had to deal with them but i know that fender/squier has pretty good customer service. i did bring it into the shop once and they gave me a free repair :-)

I have been playing for about 17 years since i was about 9.
my gear list includes:
for guitar:
squier aff strat
gibson les paul classic
fender american tele HH
G&L commanche
Rick. 330
fender cyber-twin head and fender showman 412s
Bass:
squier aff. precision
g&l L2000
gibson thunderbird