Fender Squier Affinity Series Strat

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