Fender Squier Affinity Series Strat

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.