Fender Squier Affinity Series Strat

1999 China model. 21 frets. Standard Strat type electronics.

It sounds nearly as good as any american Strat I've ever owned, and I've owned about a half-dozen, from an original '64 to a '93 American Standard, and a bunch in between. The sound won't knock you off your feet, but it's got a decent clean sound.

I got this used, so I can't comment on the factory settings, but I can tell you that the nut was WAY too high, and the frets needed to be levelled to get any type of decent action. The finish on the body is weird. It looks like it was dipped in some sort of plastic coating, rather than painted.

The tuners were the worst I've ever seen. I practically had to turn them with pliers, and then it'd only stay in tune if you didn't bend a string. The nut is soft, and I don't see it holding up for years like a "normal" Fender nut. The pickups, bridge, strap buttons, pick guard, etc, seem fine. The body is incredibly light, probably the lightest Strat I've ever had, but the tradeoff is that the body is easily dinged. It has several dings in it right now. But it's a tradeoff. Want it bulletproof? Get an ash or maple body guitar. Want it light? Here's it is!

None needed (used).

I'm a complete guitar snob. I have a pile of nice guitars, a Martin M38, a '64 Gibson SJ, a '77 Tele, a '71 Les Paul Deluxe, an '83 P-Bass, a '79 Guild X-500, a '64 Melody Maker, and a Hopf Saturn 63. I don't have much tolerance for cheap guitars. I bought this guitar so that I could have a guitar that I wasn't afraid to leave in the car overnight in 30 below weather, and something I could take in to work to noodle with on my lunch break. The price was right ($60). I promptly trashed the tuners in favor of a used set of Gotohs I had kicking around. I also levelled the frets and adjusted the pickups and intonation. I'm really impressed with the way it plays and sounds NOW. For the money, I would rate this head and shoulders above most other guitars in the "under $300" range. If you have any luthier experience, it is a great bargain, because I can assure you, you WILL need to do a significant amount of setup work, and at least replace the tuners. I bought this as a disposable junker, but I just consider it another one in my fleet, that will (now) stand up against a much more expensive version of a Strat. I wish this guitar had been available when I took up guitar 30 years ago, when we were playing Teiscos and Kays with baseball bat necks. It is definitely a "diamond in the rough" and can be a great guitar if you want to tinker with it. Don't expect much when you take it out of the box, though. As more of these show up on the used market, mainly at garage sales, because of all the 14 year old kids who bought a "Strat-Pak" and gave up on guitar after a month, this will be one of the great used bargains of our time.

Indonesian made model, check out squierguitars.com for details of the hardware for this model.

The neck and bridge pickups are really nice. I'm not too crazy about the middle though. Bridge pup has a nice, bright sound. The neck is best though. Very warm and responsive and sounds great when played with a clean setting on my amp. I compared it with an MIM Fender Strat recently and the Squier has a much better tone. Unplugged, the acoustics are very strong and that surprised me.

I had to raise the innotation and action slightly due to fret buzz on the high E. But it still has a surprisingly fast action. For the first few weeks she was a bit bad about staying in tune but she's settled in a bit and will stay in tune. I don't use the tremolo so I don't know how badly it goes out after diving a lot. I suspect it's a bear to keep in tune when using the trem a lot. Beautiful workmanship on the body and neck though. The fretboard is a little dull but hey, for the price it looks like a gem. Tight fitting neck with NO gaps. Neck is VERY straight! Strings should be replaced soon after purchase though. I really didn't like the originals.

Solid construction on my model. I would, however, suggest that anyone wanting to buy the Affinity Strat, buy after trying out at the store. I think that it may be the luck of the draw if you purchase online, sight unseen. The hardware seems to be sturdy. Let's face it, if you are going to abuse your equipment it's going to fail. Thrash away if you like, just don't whine when stuff breaks. Get my drift?

No customer support needed. Check out squierguitars.com or fender.com and follow their Mr. Gearhead links to get info on wiring schematics, setup guides, and repair/maintenance tips.

Overall, very satisfied. Bang for the buck is super high on this guitar. I have found it to be better than Fender's MIM, MIK and MIJ Strats in many ways and I am very glad I bought this guitar. The only way you can get a better Strat is to go with a top of the line Fender brand Strat. It was a super value out of the box. With new strings and a carefull innotation, it got even better. I'm considering having new pickups and a set bridge installed professionally but it isn't something I have to have. This guitar offers a lot of tone for exploring and having fun. LOVE it!

My squier affinity strat is a china-made 2001. It's got 21 frets, laminated top, black finish, a 5-way selector, 1 volume, 2 tone, S/S/S, tune-o-matic bridge, basic non-locking tuners, solid hardwood body, a bolt-on maple neck which is reasonably thin, 25.5" scale, dot neck inlays, and a 60s style headstock. The number of frets is dissapointing. I keep on running into the last one, and needing to go higher. It has a cheap but functional tremolo, which can take some abuse, but not much. It's pretty bland, but it functions most of the time.

I do mostly classic rock. . . anything from Led Zeppelin to the Beatles. It fits the style ok, but it needs a lot of help from my RP100 effects processor (which is a great buy, by the way). I am using that, an Ibanez DS7 distortion pedal, and a small crate 15-watt. The sound is definitely nothing to write home about. There are some nice clunky lowtones if you select the neck pickup and put the amp gain up in the high frequency levels. Other than that its nothing special. The score here is so low because I have a recurrent problem. After about seven months, the neck pickup started to periodically cease to function. No real reason, I've been careful not to bump the thing around much, cause its real new. It's a major pain in the @$$, and I need to send it to customer service, but I'm reluctant to do so, cause its my only guitar and I'd have nothing to play.

The factory set up is cheap and pretty bad (see above). The action works fine, I guess, but not great. The pickups (actually, just the neck pickup) keep screwing up at me. There were, however, no visual factory flaws, except a slightly loose input jack that is only mildly annoying.

This won't survive much, its pretty weak, electronically. On the other hand, it is physically strong, because there is not much to it to break. The strap buttons were awful, and I got straplocks. I would definitely not use it at a gig at all. It's great for practice and performing for friends, though.

Never done it yet, but I'm gonna need to soon.

I've been playing guitar for 9 months, and had this one the whole time. I also own an RP100 effects processor, a distortion pedal, a practice amp, a gig bag, cords, strap, etc. I wish I'd done more research about guitars before getting this one. If it were stolen or lost I'd probably not be heartbroken, 'cept I'm short on cash, so I'd be pissed anyhow. Its really not a great guitar, but its dirt cheap, and it is a great beginners' guitar. I was deciding between an Epiphone Bully and this, and I picked the Squier for 2 reasons. 1 - The Squier had 3 pickups instead of the 2 that the epi had. 2 - a friend told me that the Bully was, more or less, a piece of $h!t. which is probably true. I really wish that this thing had a humbucker, or at least that the neck pickup would stop screwing me over. My advice for anyone who'll listen, and others too, is to buy the Squier affinity fat strat (with the humbucker that I wish I had) as a beginner guitar. Don't bother upgrading - the thing's expendable. If you are any good at learning how to play, you should graduate in a year to a year-and-a-half, and get a better guitar. I'm looking seriously at the Jackson DK2. . . Anyways, I think against all the guitars on the market, this would probably only get a 1!!! But, being fair, I'd give it a 4 against all beginner and low-end guitars.

Stratocaster body style, 22 frets, 3 x single coil, 1 x volume, 2 x tone conrol, 5 - way selector switch, rosewood neck.

I play punkrock, rock music and this guitar sounds good for this style. Pickups are noisy with distorsion, I fixed this on BOSS ME5 multiple effect with noise supressor.

Setup of guitar was neutral. I set strings lower and pickups hihger.

There's nothing to brake on this guitar.

2002, "crafted in China" Body is extremely light, even for a Fender prouduct. Very standard h/s/s configuration. Sherwood greef finish / rosewood fretboard. "old School" 6 point trem... It's a strat.. you know the deal

I'm a professional Musician with 20 years experience. Playing through a 86 Marshall 1/2 stach ( tube ) and an eary 60'2 vox ac-15. I am a standard rock guy for the most part, but need a sceamer once in a while.. In short, this bitch is nothing short of amazing for stock Fender.. Little alone a humble Squire. Through the little vox with the volume maxed, itr sparkling clean with the vol. pot at 5, and gets nasal/nasty with a turn of the knob. This thing is already making my custom shop strat look like a chump. Pickups are a little overly hot, and will feedback like hell if you let it, and the humbucker is just too bright for most players who don't like to use the tone knobs on their amp. Look.. stock fender pickups are notorius for "overly bright" sound.. I have never kept a set in for over a week. I like these things though. Most people who trash fender tone either don't know how to yous their amp, or they are playing thru solid state garbage. Put some Duncans in this thing and you'll be in love.

Sherwood green paint is nicely done, no major flaws, smooth, great unfinished neck. I will comment on setup. I have no idea who the schmuck who set this thig up, but he had no clue. However, a couple of hours with an great chromatic tuner, and refitting the pickup hight to femder standards, and it plays like a champ.. neck feels great. Gets a bad rating for dropping the ball on setup.. would have caused a beginner to give up & play piano in less than an hour

It's a strat.. Squire but a strat.. built like a tank.. It's a $200 ax. lots of cut corners on tuners, wiring, & overall finish, but will it hold up ? Did you ever know a Fender prouduct the DIDN'T...

Have delt with fender in the past. will bend over backwards for you

I only bought this thing for one show, ( my custom shop strat needs a re-fret & wont be done ) but will keep using it. Hell, it looks great, plays well, and sounds "stratty" with stock pickups. if someone stole it, I'd have my bass-player rip out his lungs with a tuning fork and feed 'em to my dog. I need to drop some good Duncans or lace sensors in this thing, and think I'ts a keeper. You want funny.. you should see my snobby vintage gear collecting band members drop jaw when I fired it up for a "black Crows" number. It stole the show.

One hint though.. you want max tone out of this thing... BLOCK THE TREM ( an old 9-volt batt. works great ) changes the whole feel/sustain our the guitar. Throw the arm in the trash and forget it !!!!

Bought this guitar in 2000. Was looking for a bargin strat and here it was. Standard strat features with 70's stlye tremolo bridge. Neck is maple with rosewood top. Body is alder I believe. Hardware is chrome. Pickguard, pickup covers, knobs and switches white. Body is galactic purple ( that is cool ). Had to purchase all accessories seperate.

For my playing style, this guitar is well suited. It will handle blues and classic rock quite well, wouldn't recommend for the shredders out there. I use a Fender Power Chorus amd the seems to fit perfect with this guitar. This guitar is as noisy as any 70's or early 80's Strat, but a noise gate would take care of it quite well. Then tone is real mid-rangy on it own and the presence control on my amp gets cranked wide open to compensate.

Played well when i bought it, lowered the action and adjusted intonation and haven't messed with it since.

This guitar seems durable enough, I play it every day. I would use it without a backup if i had to, but i take several guitars with me when gigging, all have differant tones.

Never dealt with Fender.

Overall I'd give this guitar good marks for the price range. If stolen or lost I'd probably buy another Squire, but a standard next time. I'm going to replace the white plastic parts with chrome/silver WD replacement parts just to dress it up more. With the Galactic Purple paint, that seems to be the best customizing that it needs. The shinnier, the better. I wish the bridge was more like the 2 point standards, I'm not real found of Fenders 6 point bridges.

i kinda like it, ive been playing for 2 years and i think im ready to get a new guitar. i play it through a Peavey Bandit 112. it makes a lot of noise and thats the only thing thats actually a minus to me, everything else is fine.

i like fender instruments and the only thing i have against this is the plug in jack was loose but thats not a big deal at all.

if i were to use it in a gig, i would use it as my back up because my bands really not gunna play anywhere soon. the finish has worn a little after 2 years and ive put some niks in it.

since my parents help me with buying a new guitar ("uve already got one u dont need another") i sometimes imagine the different ways it could be destroyed accidentaly on purpose, i know thats kinda mean but yeah i like the bridge pickup for some cool grungy licks and stuff. its alright i guess.

This review is an attempt to give a more balanced view of the Squier Affinity Strat. I've owned mine for some time now.

It's hard to know what sort of rating to give for features. About ninety percent of all Strats ever made are like this, so in theory they should all have the same score. It would seem that a lot of Affinity Strats are bought in the Strat pack and given to teenagers who want to use them for music where humbuckers and a dive-bomber Floyd Rose would be more appreciated. Maybe Fender should release a "SuperStrat" for people like that? As it is, many of the complaints here seem to stem from this.

There is no evidence of where the Affinity has had significant corners cut. It is obviously not a Fender Standard Strat or an American Series, and the price and quality reflects this. But given the price, the Affinity is much better than you'd expect.

The reason for this is that few guitars are hand-made any more. Machines exist that will turn out perfect necks and bodies from wood blanks, and people like Fender are putting them in countries like China and Indonesia and reaping the benefit of low labor costs.

I've been through three stages with this guitar. The first was with an amp made for keyboards. The sound wasn't that great, because the amp wasn't meant to make the treble sound prominent. This seems to be a common experience, especially with people who own very cheap amps. These amps wouldn't sound good with any guitar, but the guitar gets blamed.

The second stage was after I bought a POD, and for a long time I thought that I had the sound I wanted. Although I had a large number of perfectly good sounds, what I was doing was put a low-end guitar through an emulation of an expensive amp. Since most of us want the sound of an expensive guitar with an expensive amp, I wasn't getting all the sounds I could. However, I'd suggest that unless you have a very low-end amp to try an amp emulator, because even the cheapest emulators seem to give a good sound, even if they're not quite as accurate as the more expensive models.

I took the final step very recently when I upgraded the pickups to Bill Lawrence L-280s. These are stacked humbuckers (available from Bill direct at www.billlawrence.com) and cost $40 each. The sound from these is little short of amazing and certainly sounds as good as any Strat I've ever heard. I didn't mind that a set of three costs almost as much as the guitar did in the first place - in my case, I paid $15 less than the set of pickups because mine was a $105 "scratch and dent" special.

It is worth the money and it certainly shows that a low-end guitar can be radically improved with better pickups.

I chose my Affinity Strat from about a dozen in the store. I was looking for the lowest action and there was definitely a variety. I ended up with a choice between a maple fingerboard or a rosewood fingerboard - the action was about the same.

I don't know whether the ones I didn't choose could have been adjusted to suit but I didn't see any that I would have rejected out of hand. I've looked at Affinity Strats from time to time and the quality is generally the same as when I bought mine.

One thing is certain - the woodworking on these guitars is so good that they can be as easy to play as an expensive Strat. I prefer the bigger frets of the more expensive Strats, but the frets on my guitar are the same size as 50s and 60s Strats. If you're looking for a low-end guitar with bigger frets, try the Yamaha Pacificas.

Because the guitar is so easy to play I had no misgivings about investing in better pickups. Right now I can't see what I'd get from a $700 Made in America Strat, and I've played a few. Maybe the more expensive guitar would stay in tune longer, but I don't use the tremelo arm so it's not a problem.

This is the only area where I can fault this guitar. The wiring is very fragile. I had a ground wire break which caused a low output and a lot of hum. I think that some complaints here about hum are because of this. I never found the stock pickups to be particularly hum-prone.

Some people have complained about other problems which seem to be mainly to do with quality control (knobs falling off, etc.). Apart from the wiring, I can't see any area where the guitar is unreliable by design.

I've never dealt with the company directly because of this guitar. I did have it repaired under warranty because of the broken wire, but this was done by the tech at Guitar Center.

However, I've spoken with people up to Vice-President level at Fender through the Fender Forum (www.fenderforum.com) and they have been remarkably forthcoming.

I have been involved with guitars and bands since the late 50s, and I've played numerous guitars, including several Strats from the 1950s. I believe that what I have now, for a total of $230, is at least the equal of those 50s Strats. I can't see how it could be easier to play nor (with the new pickups) how it would sound better.

It isn't the right guitar for you if you want to use the tremelo arm to radically affect the notes. It isn't the right guitar for you if you want something where you expect the pickups to sound as good as a guitar costing $1,000 (and you're very unlikely to find anything around this price where you will). It isn't the right guitar for you if you expect everything about the hardware to be as good as a $1,000 guitar.

But if you want a guitar in this price range that will be the most you can get, the Squier Affinity Strat is going to be among the best you'll find. Don't let the price fool you - this is definitely a guitar that you can (with some replacements) use at any level of playing. I certainly can't see why I'd ever need to change it.

1999 Fender Squier Stratocaster Affinity Series made in China. Finished in polished Sunburst, maple neck, 5 position selector switch, volume and 2X tone controls, 21 frets, 3 standard pickups.

As a general purpose guitar the Affinity is good for beginners or just for practising. Im using it on a Rickenbacker amp which compliments the guitar well even if played in anger. The selector switch is pretty poor quality often giving much more static on changes than Fender Strats.

The guitar at standard as per factory set up was satisfactory but needed slight adjustment for optimal sound. The nut was always very loose and often vibrated giving a poor sound, I've now reseated it and locked it in position with superglue which has stopped the vibration. The finish of the guitar I found to be ok but it is VERY prone to chips and scratches. All screws on the guitar were far too loose, the lead input was often falling out until i rebuilt the guitar with bigger screws and refitted the lead input.

The guitar is fairly reliable, I'd use it as a spare if my main guitar (60's Strat) failed. The finish as previously stated is very thin and cant take much abuse compared to 'real' strats.

Ive never tried using customer support as any problems I've had I've dealt with myself. Warranty at the shop I bought it from was 1 year depending on usage.

A good all rounder for beginners, copes well with most styles and tastes and is easily modified. I am going to fit a humbucker as the top pickup and 2 Fender lace sensors to give a more unique sound as well as a genuine Fender neck to give it a more authentic look.

1999, made in chin, 21 frets, 2 tone 1 vol. 5 way switch.. basic strat setup.

it sounds really good clan, but distorted, the pickups are too weak. and chords often sound weird under distortin

neck is really good, finis chips easily, though

if you know what you are doing is very reliable, if you give it a stup...set the ation..set the intonation,,etc.. it will work perfectly..i never have a problem with it coming out of tune since i did the setup, it has a straight fast neck, so you can prettymuch do any type of playing on it but it has a cheap pickguard that does crack a lot

never had any problems

It is a basic strat body. but cheaper, it has some nice playability but it isnt a great thing with the features just three single coils and soem tone knobs. medium neck .

This is were my review will differ from others, it is not a great guitar ill give u that but it doesnt matter what it is cause the personb behind it makes it good. iv had this for two years and im told that i am as good as people who have been playin for 5 theres kids in my school who have been playin for five and i blwo them away. itll give u good distortion but u have to know what u exactly want. i have this goin into my ibanez smashbox going into my crybaby into a fender delux 90. i can get the deftones, creed, korn, bush,offspring sound easily. if i want a cheaper guitar thatll do the trick get this cause it will.

Action was really high when i got it i screwed around with it and got it lower. finish is a sweet ferrari red. and the fits liek a strat nice to ur body.

it will withstand live playing ive played live with it already 7 times and have had no prob. everythings workin pretty good.

never dealt with it

i think its a good guitar for the price and if ur a begginer this is all u need to become good what it really takes is a good sense of rythum and practise. i wont be using as much anymore because i am getting an ibanez gax75 for christmas so this well be my backup and thatw ell be my main.

2001 Crafted in China,21 frets,3-solid pieces,2x tone,1x volume,S/S/S, Alder body, Maple neck,Fingerboard made of rosewood,Sunburst (nicer than Fender standards),Non locking tuners and a Fulcrum one-way tremolo.
Really the wessential what you would except from a Strat.

I play rhythm and blues,blues and rock and similar,mainly older stuff.No Limp Bizkit or the new things.In metal up to Iron Maiden a.s.o. I played it trhough the George Dennis Mighty Mouse.It is quite buzzing on the first and fifth positions,as all the strats do.But you can survive it.It has the clasic rock and roll tone a little craped but nice.The tone pots are working very fine,you can change the tone from "enveloped" or Muted to clean, bright.I was really surprised, with the price paid.It is a great made axe.

I do not know how it was set in factory, but it was excelently done in the shop I suppose,because the octave pitch is tuned perfectly, the action is more than comfortable andthe Fender 150's are on.No flaws on the whole gitar, the neck is perfectly routed and the frets are clean and do not tear your handy anywhere on the neck.Nothing to complain to.Wood is nice, you can hardly find,where it is glued together as it is 3 solid pieces.

I can say it withstands live playing,but you have to adjust your whole gear no to hum and buzz.The Hardware will last, but I think you will have to replace the pick ups for a Noiseless ones,even though the stock have good output.The buttons are Ok.The finish is hard enough.I only do not know how long the tremolo arm will hold its position, cause you have to tie it rather well to have it in a psoition you want.I am affraid if it is not made form too soft metal and the screw could chew.Time will show

The shop are quite helpful and the dealer here,too.Never delt with the Fender company.

I am playing about 15 years now,I have got another electric made here and an acoustic.This is gona be my premium guitar.I would surely buy another if gets lost.I love the design and color and I have to admit I have always wanted a Strat in sunburst with a rosewood fretboard.So my wife decieded to get me one.I only wish it had the Noiseless pup's .But for the price paid it is simply awesome.

97-98 model(dont really know).22 frets, 3 single coil pickups, 5 way selector, and tremolo. fast and slim neck with rosewood fretboard. honestly the best neck I've ever tried, very comfortable. What else do you want for the price?

If you were expecting a Fender or a Gibson then why the hell do you bought this one.

right now I play in a punk band (usually play Millencolin, Bad Religion, Pennywise, Goldfinger, Operation Ivy, Rancid, etc.) and it really sounds great on every song. some people have even come to ask me how can I make a single coil strat sound so good distorted. I play it through a Marshall 80 watt amp.
In my case there is no buzzing, of course you bunch of assholes, you can't play good distortion through a single coil, but come on you can switch to use two at the same time.(thats the idea of a humbucker). other thing, first learn to play right, then criticize. Honestly I have tried it against 300 buck guitars, and mine kicks ass. It has a great clean sound, not like that crappy Ibanez sound(I really hate this guitars)and it has a good distortion for its price. If you are about to buy a guitar between 100-300 buy better this one for 150. Its the best guitar you can get for this price, listen to me, I know what Im saying better than this bunck of loosers that just play alone in their houses while masturbating.

up to know the only problem I have faced is loose plug srew. It only took me one minute to repair it and it hasnt given me any problems again. I have seen guitars that are much more expensive and contain more flaws. great quality, really, really solid guitar.
great fast and soft neck. for this price I haven't seen a guitar with a better neck. Even my friend's Gibson 61'SG neck is not as comfortable.

It can withstand anything. Ive been playing in my band live for one year and still It hasnt given me any problem. Really solid guitar, and dependable. the finish, pretty red covered with stickers. I have never used a backup guitar. as I said, you got to know how to play guitar. Other thing, strap buttons get loose if you jump too many times, have a screwdriver around and problem solved.
It can last an eternity, no way to get rid of her.

not a problem yet

Ive been playing guitar two years and consider myself very experienced. I dont play like hendrix but come on, I know a lot about equipment. this is the best buy Ive ever made, great started guitar and so on. and what the hell more do you expect of a 150 dollars guitar. If you dont like it shove it into your ass! If you have money to buy a Gibson, good for you. I am pretty happy with my squier strat. Other thing, I dont have to worry to much about this guitar cause it doesnt cost that much, so I enjoy it even more.

bought it a month ago, and now it is time to say something about it... the sound is ok. i compared it to a 60`s us strat, and the squire sounds thinner, a bit louder and not that well balanced. actually, i find it more twangy anb bity than the fender. it is a bit on the noisy side, especially with distortion, and sounds unfocused when playing chords.
at this price, though, this is a brilliant guitar!

wow!
the affinity strat is really a nice player. the first time i rehearsed with my band with this axe, i didn`t realize it was
a squire - it plays even better than my 60`s strat.
no problems with tuning stability, unless when i use the tremolo big time (and then all guitars would be in trouble).
i think the finish is really nice.

any instrument is reliable if you take care of it

no probs. good guys at my store.

i`ve been playing for 10 years. i own a fender us 60`s strat, an ibanez blazer and a larrive acoustic.
i really like this guitar. i wish it had pups with more warmth and less edge... will probably replace the stock pups.
at this price: brilliant stuff!

Dunno exact year my guitar was made, but its crafted in china.
21 frets
solid top mine is black
Controls 1 volume, 2 tone, 5 way pick-up selector
Pickups - 3 single coil buzzers, probably made by squier
Alder body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard
Good copy of a Stratocaster
Tremelo bridge, strings go through the body
Tuners lock well, unbranded
I didn't get any accessories

I love to rock and its good for this, however for clean music with picking the pick-up buzz gets annoying.
I use it with a 15 Watt Fender Frontman amp and a Boss ME-30 multi effects pedal.
It does make a lotta background noise when distorted, not that bad otherwise.
Sounds quite nice for rock and solos
You can get punky, trebley sounds with the bridge pickup, smoother sounds with the neck pick up, hollow sounds in-between the pickups. The tone controls give good response, but more tone = more humming.

The guitar wasn't set up brilliantly, I raised the bridge to raise the strings, as my strat's frets near the neck seem to high, and playing these notes hard distorted then as the string buzzes off the next fret. This is BAD! Also I think some of the wiring might be dodgey, as tapping around the pick shield causes the buzz to get louder and quieter - something is loose? Apart from this the guitar is good, solid, no visable flaws. I know quite a lot of people with Squier Strats and they don't have a problem - mines just a bad example.

One great thing about the squier is that it is indestructable! I have banged it and there are no visable flaws. It keeps on playing.
I think this guitar will last forever. However I find the rosewood fret board gets skanky much easier than a maple one does. The strap buttons are solid but could be bigger as if the strap twists it does come off, and the guitar falls to its doom, so be careful!
I would use it at a gig without a backup. It seems reliable, has never randomly broken whilst playing.

Never had to deal with Fender/Squier, although a well known company like them would probably be ok.
I got a poorly stuck in fret fixed at Andersons, Guildford, where I bought the guitar. There was no problem, they didn't charge me for it.
Can't remember how long the warrenty is, a couple of years probably.

I've been playing about 8 months, this was my first guitar. I got it with a 15W fender amp. I also have an ME-30 Effects unit.
If it was nicked of lost, I'd probably get a new guitar, as the strat really is a learners guitar, and the buzzing is starting to anoy me.
I love the authentic look and feel, value for money and durability.
I hate the finish of the fretboard and the pick up hum.
I got this guitar because it has the word Fender on it, but is cheap and good to learn on. I wish it had better pick ups, I just can't be bothered to buy any myself. Thats it. Thankyou,
ROB!

Squier Affinity Strat,made in Indonesia.I bought it used from a pawn shop so I am not sure what year it was manufactured.I would guess 1999 or 2000 because it still looked new.3 single coil pickups,21 fret rosewood fretboard,black alder or agathis body.Standard fair strat features:everything you need and nothing you don't..

I mostly play rock and blues.This guitar does most rock well and is perfect for blues.I have a Fender Frontman 15 reverb amp and have occasionally borrowed a vintage,all tube, 100 watt,Ampeg half stack when jamming with a drummer and bass player.I have also played this guitar through a Mesa Nomad and Marshall JCM combo amp.
The pick ups are somewhat noisey(especially with high gain)due to poor sheilding but the hum is not unbearable.I have heard much worse and what can you expect from an inexpensive single coil equiped guitar?
The sounds this guitar makes is my favorite thing about it.It gets alot of good strat sounds.The pick ups are very bright and touch sensitive.The bridge pick up sounds a little thin to me but does have a nice spank.The brige and bridge/middle positions have a Telecaster type sound in my opinion.This is good if you like a Tele sound but bad if you are a fan of fat sounding humbuckers.The middle pick up is ok.Nice brite sound but not alot of character.The middle/neck position is great.Nice Fender chime sound.Sounds good clean or with a little overdrive/distortion.The neck pickup seems to be slightly hotter.This is my favorite position on this affinity.The sound of the neck pick up is slightly fatter but chords are still clear and inteligable.There is more bass in the neck position but the bottom is tight and not too boomy.It is a bell like tone with alot of top end and vibrant harmonics.
It gets a few good strat sounds and with the bright touch sensitive pick ups it is easy to accent notes for feeling and do pinch or natural harmonics.The tone is not bad but lacks a little when compared to a Fender or Squier Standard Strat.
It sounds more like a Fender than any other cheap strat copy I have owned or played though.

The guitar seemed well put together.Fit and finish was more than exceptable for the price.Everything was in its place and tight.The paint was really nice,the rosewood used on the fretboard was dark and dense,and the satin finished neck and headstock were well done.The frets could have been finished a little betterbut they are not real bad.
I spent a week working with the neck because it had a slight forward bow when I got it.When I got it straight and stable I set the action up to my liking.I lowered it slightly and made it uniform height(following the fret board radius contour).It only took minor tweeking to improve the action.I also set the intonation and adjusted the pickup hieght to match volume on all pickups.

I would not gig with this guitar unless I absolutely had to.It would be ok for a back up.It would take some work to make one of these stage worthy:#1 sheilding the pick up cavities #2changing to high quality tuners#3 changing or filing the nut and bridge saddles#4polishing the frets.
I think it is reliable and durable enough for practice or jamming with friends but would take work to use for performing live.
I would say it rates high when compared to other brand guitars in this price range.Don't try gigging with a cheapo guitar.

Bought used,no warrantee.No clue about customer service...

I played for about 5 years,Then sold all my equipment & took a sabatical for 7 years,and started playing again about 3-4 months ago.I bought the Squier Affinity strat one day on impulse when I saw it hanging in the pawn shop.It was cheap,played and sounded good and I was itching to start playing again.I played the Squier for about two months then sold it to a friend who needed an extra practice guitar and back up for his stage strat.
After playing for a couple months and getting my fingers working again I decided I was into it enough to invest in the guitar I always wanted but couldn't afford when I was a teen ager.So I upgraded to a Fender MIM standard Strat.
I would not buy an Affinity strat again because I have a Fender now.I would consider buying a Squier Affinity Telecaster though.I would like to add a Tele to my arsonal but do not want to invest big bucks in one because I will need to buy a gigable amp sometime soon as well as puting a few bucks towards customizing my Fender Strat.Can't afford it all.
Overall I'd say the Affinity strat is a good value for the money.They sell for $179 new in my area and I have seen them for $149 mail order.I think they are better than other strat copies in this price range.They would make a perfect first guitar for a beginner or for a novice on a budget that wants a strat sound for practice,jamming with friends or even home recording.For anyone wanting to gig I'd save up a little more and get a used MIM or MIJ fender or at least a Squier standard series Strat.
My list Equipment as of this writing:Fender MIM standard Strat with maple fretboard and midnight wine paint,wine colored Lotus Les Paul copy with Dimarzio PAF type pick ups,Fender Frontman Reverb amp,a few guitar effects pedals I haven't used in years,a compact rack mountable DBX soft knee compressor(usually for vocals but I use it for my guitar),and a Yamaha Keyboard/synthasizer wich currently pulls duty as my drummer and bass player.

Ok I've had this guitar for almost a year now. It came with 3 single coils which i replaced with a semour duncan SH-8 invader and 2 seymour duncan single coils. I nearly completely rewired it and bought some new knobs which are chrome so now it has 1 volume and i tone knob. I got the body repainted from torino red to seafoam green but then I plastered the body with stickers. I replaced the tuners with schallers and put schaller strap locks on it. It came with a tremelo brige which I replaced with a hardtail. so after all the changes which cost about 300 bucks it is a awesome guitar

I have a DOD distortion pedal and a marshall micro stack. I had to change all the original pickups which sucked balls and put in some semour duncan humbucker at the bridge and semour duncan single coils. I adusted some of the settings and now i get a very blink 182 type sound which is very nice. I dont get any buzz either and i get a very nice rich distortion. since I play punk and grunge this guitar suits me great. But all the ajustments cost me more then the guitar itself

when I got it with the strat pack the nut was extremely poorly cut which made the playibilty horrible so i had to fix it and now it plays better than my friend's gibson marauder. The finish sucked so I had to refinish it and re paint it. On of the tone knobs were loose but I replaced that and the tuners were plastic? I give it an 8 eight because after all my effort in trying to make this guitar good, i did and now it plays great.

this guitar will defiantely withstand live playing. The hardware better last and the strap buttons I replaced so it never falls. I gig with it all the time. It is very dependable.

i give it a four because before i nearly remade the whole thing it sucked more than a hooker in new orleans on mardi gras. but if your willing to pay for ajustments then it has a lot of potential. I ve only been playing a year and have 2 guitars, this and a fender standard strat but this one plays better, sounds better and looks a hel of a lot cooler then the fender.

I've had this 99' Squier for about 3 years, and it has served me well. It's your basic Strat, just cheaper. The tuners are a bit cheap (Ok, really cheap) but what can you expect for about $120.

I play alot of stuff, and this guitar is good with most styles of music. Hell, I run it though an Ibanez Soundtank fuzz distortion, and I'm starting a metal-type band. Only real problem is feedback, but that's mostly my fault. It may take time, but with the pickups raised a bit, and some decent-gauge strings, you can play anything from "Come As You Are", to "Sweet Dreams", and go straight into a blues jam.

With the exception of the tuners, it has pretty descent hardware for a beginner's guitar. The screws on the headstock seem a bit stripped, and a fan has sent the high-E tuner across the room more than once. Good straplocks, bridge, the jack was a bit loose, but all that took was a minute or two with a wrench. All-in-all, pretty well, built.

Like I said, this thing seems solid enough. The straplocks have lasted longer than my strap has. The irony. The finish seems to chip a little easy, but hey, I don't play nice, so if you're good, you shouldn't have a problem. I really have to depend on this guitar, and I'd feel comfortable at a gig w/o a backup. (Like I have the option anyways)

Never talked to the guys. Seems easy enough to fix yourself anyways.

This guitar has seen my highs and lows, and been through a lot of abuse, and still manages to suprise me now and then. For a beginner, this will serve you well, until you outgrow it. I personally should have gone for a Stagemaster or something, but it gets the job done. If someone stole it, I would take away everything that is dear to them, and take it back.

not sure what year
probably China
21 frets
1 volume 2 tone selectors
non locking tuners
Black Strat

It suits my style awesome good for price
I use little crate 15
not really noisy
I love the color and everything
Pickgaurd made of dinky plastic but hey really good price

It was ok i dont really know mush but it looks really godd together wise

It might i mean all im doing is learning the chords but it is a really good and pretty solid guitar
Srap bottons are hard as a rock
i can depend on it with a little more work on pickups and stuff
maybe if i put a little work on the pick-ups and tone control
strings break easily

no comment only been playing 2 monthes

2 monthes im ok but i need to practice a little more but i love my Strat

Squier Affinity Strat, Made in 98 i think, in China (first clue). 21 frets w/ 2 tones, 1 volume, and 5-way selector. Rosewood neck w/ black body. POS tuners (plastic covered). Came with nothing except strings & some allen wrenches.

Sound is not bad, actually. Decent for the price. I mainly play it thru my little practice amp, a fender bullet reverb. Sounds halfway decent clean, pretty good distorted (haha...you cant hear the random bad crackling sounds if you turn up the gain) . The five-way gives you a good selection of different sounds, i like to keep it in the middle. Not really fair to compare it to more expensive guitars, its fine for beginners and for general abuse. I give it a 7 because it is a good value for the price, tone wise.

THIS is where this guitar sucks nuts. The guitar HAD been adjusted, but still buzzed and was generally loose. Pickups were ok. FINISH SUCKED, but what can you expect for this price? The pickguard actually had milling marks (hadnt been sanded) and burrs of plastic on the chamfered edges! Woodgrain is pretty damn ugly (open), especially the "maple" they claim to use for the neck. Tuners are loose, goes out of tune quickly. Tremolo is f-ed up too, it doesnt always return to proper pitch...VERY NOISY 5-way switch. Worst of all, im sure the wiring is very poorly done, as I have already had the guitar cut out twice (see below), and i only play it at home!

This guitar will NOT withstand aggresive playing. I've got my fingers crossed on the finish, it seems to be ok. Strap buttons are fine. It is not reliable, in my opinion. Cheapo non-stainless screws (not even countersunk) have already begun to rust. As I mentioned earlier, the wiring is faulty. I have had to dismantle the damn thing several times to resolder poorly made connections, specifically to the mickey-mouse output jack. Would I use it on a gig without a backup? Well, im not in a band, but I'd say....NO Then again, a serious musician wouldnt even consider it.

Alas, I haven't spoken with the folks at Fender. I figured it wasn't worth the down time and every time it broke, I fixed it myself. Luckily, its easy to repair. Haha.

Compared to my other guitars (Martin and Silvertone)....well, that's not a fair comparison. But hey, it got me started, and I've played it on and off for 3 yrs. If you are a beginning guitar player who is not sure he really wants to keep playing, buy this guitar. Its fine for just learning, and if you decide you don't like it, you only lost like a hundred bucks (its pretty damn hard to get a decent return on a used Squier). But if you are reasonably certain that you want to really get into guitar, cough up the extra cash & get a better instrument; you'll grow out of this one.

This guitar is made in China, it have 21 frets have 1 volume , 2 tones and 5 way selector

This is a guitar made by fender a great company I think this guitar is great for beginners , for the lovers of distortion this wont be your guitar, I have a amp Peavey Bandit 112 of 100 wats and this guitar having it in lead channel not in clean with distoprtion doesnt sound with distortion so later I needed to buy a oeda to final hear distortion.
Ths is a great guitar for beginners bcause its simple and clean.

It was well finished I think so!

The guitar I have protcted it a lot and i think that its durability is very poor I think FENDER could make a more durable guitar

I have played guitar for more than 1 year, If it were stolen or lost I think I will buy a Fender stratocaster american series, a Ibanez
or a ESP
what I love about this guitar is the good moments I have with it
I wish this guitar could have more durability
a last comment will be:

If you are a begginer buy this guitar because is not too much expensive and sounds okay for a begginer

2000 made in china. Standard 5-way selector, 1-volume, 2-tone, etc. It definitely has all the basics of any good guitar. Nothing is missing. I give it an 8 only because of the quality of some of the components.

This is my first guitar and I have been playing only about a year. My real opinion about the sound is that this guitar sounds as good as any that a beginner may pick up. In other words, at least I don't play well enough to complain about the sound difference. Now that isn't to say that I can't tell the difference between other guitars, but for me this has been a great guitar to learn on. I will also say that the sound definitely can be improved by upgrading the electronics and the hardware, but by the time you do all that you may as well by a better guitar and just keep this one around for practising.

The action definitely needed adjusting. So did the intonation. There were no flaws in it, however, and the finish has held up very well. I got the black one with the white pickguard and it still looks new although I play it every day.

This guitar is built well but has some cheap parts. I think it will last forever, but the hardware definitly is going to wear out on you. I have already had to replace the saddles because the 6th string saddle broke (the threads for one of the "legs" was totally stripped). The saddles were cheap and I am actually glad I replaced them because they have made the guitar sound better.

I haven't dealt with the company.

I think this is a really great beginner's guitar. It will do just about anything you want and will let you get a feel for what you want to play. I agree with all the other reviews that say that you will eventually want to upgrade. I know I am thinking about it already. But I also know that when I bought this guitar I didn't really know what kind of a guitar I wanted and what kind of music I would be playing. Bottom line, if you know what kind of music you want to play and know what kind of guitar you eventually want, just save up and buy that one. If you aren't sure and are just learning like me, then buy this nice guitar and play it until you do know what you want to get. Then buy the one you really want.

It has 21 frets, 2x tone, 1x volyme, five-way switch, 3x single coils, rosewood, body is solid hardwood, a standard fulcrum bridge, a "big" 70-ties style fender strat head and vintage sunburst finish. I bought it as new, and there didn't come anything special with it, just a cardboard box, tremolo arm, one year guarantee and some tools to adjust the neck.

Whell, I'we noticed, that many of the people that call this guitar a piece of crap, are guitarists that play metal. That's why I think it's a little bit underestimated, because this guitar isn't that great when playing heavy metal! So go buy a guitar with humbuckers and stop whining if you want to play metal :)

But the sound is eccelent if you play blues, jazz, "classic" rock and that type of thing. But still it's a very versatile guitar. I play heavy metal myself, and I usually use my Les Paul for the rythm and more power-chord songs, and then this guitar for more lead/melodic songs. That's why you can't compare single coil pickups with humbuckers, because the single coils just give more bite to the sound when you add distortion, while humbuckers become metal-roaring-monsters :)

But I have seen crappier guitars for this price, and this guitar almost sounds and looks like it's 400$ more expecive than it really is!

But one thing that bothered me was the bridge. I use sometimes very extremly hard vibratos, so I should acctually install a floyd rose into it so it won't drop the tuning all the time. But that isn't the guitars fault, you should expect the guitar to drop a few steps down when one does a drop-bomb on a standard strat-bridge :)

It just looks lovely! I fell in love with it when I first saw it, I just knew that I have to buy it! :) The finish is perfect, exept one very small dot on the lower body, but I think that's from the wood that they used (maybe a small branch have been there before??). I am a huge fan of 70-ties style fender heads, so that's also one reason why I "had" to buy it :)

The only thing I'm not that keen about is that the wood they used to make the neck has long stripes on it. Looks weird but it doesn't really matter because you'd have to look pretty close to notice them.

I really think it would last quite a while on gigs and so on. I haven't had it for so long, but it seems very stable and trustworthy.

Never dealth with them...

Great guitar! It's better than most strat-copies that I've seen. But then it's not really a copy while it sorta is... Because it's Squier by Fender, kindof like Epiphone by Gibson. A little cheaper than the real thing, and way better than most other "made in china" strat copies! So if you want a beautiful, cool and elegant guitar, but don't want to pay huge $$ for a Fender, then definately go buy this guitar!

Thia guitar has fairly good features for $130. It has 3 pickups,SC; 5-way pickup selector,21 frets, volume two-tone controls. It has a very good neck, thin easy to play. When I first got the guitar it was decently set up but I set it up myself and now it kicks a**. YOu have to set up everything yourself,not for it to be playable, to be to your own liking. I love this guitar, it is the most awesome thing ever. I have had it for about 3 1/2 years and never had a gig bag, case,etc... I have never had any problems with it that are not normal wear and tear. I have abused this guitar heavily but it has never broken down.

It sounds awesome. I play it through a Peavey Rage 158 and a Fender Princeton Chorus DSP. It sounds great through both. of course you can't be a lazy ass and not adjust the controls on your amp for different songs, bands, sounds, etc... I also use a Digitech RP200, it can turn this already great guitar into one of the best. THe only problem I have found with the soundis, when jplaying at high gain settings it gives alittle abnormal amount of buzz on all the pickups except the middle one. Everything else is great.

The finish is great. I have got the Baltic Blue finish with white pickguard. It is great craftmanship on my guitar for the money. Its not a Gibson or Fender but it is very well done for the money. As far as how the action was factory, I don't really know. As soon as I get something I always f*ck with it to get my own sound. It does have a bit of buzz on the 2nd fret on the two middle strings but nothing significant.

This guitar is very durable, as I said earlier I have never protected it much. I have taken it to school many times and have dropped it many times. I would take it on a full tour without a backup. It has been my best guitar so far and I don't plan on selling it ever. It is completely stock as far as the hardware, etc... but it is completely customized as far as everything else. The strp buttons are solid, but are not quite big enough. You can fix that by putting a washer on after the strap, yes you must take off the button to do this. The only problem with the hardware is that it seems t0o rust fairly easily.

If this guitar was stolen I would want to find this guitar. Their is not another one like it. It is t he coolest guiter I have ever owned. I am 15 and have been playing for 5 years and have always been in some sort of garage band. My worst problem with it is that I break strings fairly frequently, but that is because I play very hard. I try to get the best tone out of it. I have almost fixed the problem by using only Ernie Ball Reguler Slinkys. The one thing that I wish it had is a Humbucker in the two positions. I like humbuckers alot more than single-coils. I like this guitar alot though. The thing I want to stress though is that you can,t be a lazy fuck and expect a $130 guitar to be perfect right out of the factory. You must work on your own stuff to get what you want out of it. you work on your equipment, you get the best out of it . Its trial and error.

I honestly have no idea what year my squier strat is, but it must've been a good year cuz mine seems alot better than the other ones reviewed. Mine doesn't have a wide headstock, it has the normal one. Mine has 22 frets, too. Also, the tuners I have are actually decent and stay in tune (but from the back, they still look cheap), even with heavy trem use (which doesn't happen often, I'm not really a trem person). Other than these things, the rest is pretty much the same, an alder body, 25.5" scale, torino red, etc., etc., etc.

Well, this is my backup guitar (actually, this was one of my first guitars, but then I bought another one). I play punk, and while this guitar sounds like a country guitar (even with the gain cranked up) with about half the output and twice the buzz of my fender cyclone (these rock!), it sounds punk enough to be a backup. The sound is too clean and single-coily, even with distortion, but it's functional, it's just not for me. If you are more of a single coil person, this is pretty good for 200 bucks.

the action was perfect (maybe the person who had it before me fixed it...), and the pickups were as good as anybody would be able to get them (but they still sounded like pickups that belonged on a 200 dollar guitar). The fretboard felt unfinished, but I kinda liked that, it felt kinda comfortable. The paintjob sucked, though, it kept chipping, so I covered the body with stickers.

The guitar seems pretty well put together. It'll probably last a while without any problems. The finish, like I said, is crap, but that's what stickers are for, and the strap buttons dont really grip all that well, but those are replaceable. Like I said, this is a backup, I don't care that much about it.

n/a, all I can say.

It's a great value at $200 (I know you can get it for 140, but mine was half decent and came with picks, extra strings, and a fender deluxe gig bag). This isn't really a guitar one would use for gigging, but it is a cheap, decent backup. Not much else to say. It wouldn't be a big deal if it got stolen, cuz like I said, it is just a backup.

Features - I'm not shure what year it was made in, probally 2000 or something like that. It was made in Korea(Just like everything else) and has 21 frets, Red finish w/white pickguard, 2 Tone, 1 Volume, 5 Way selector, deep dish cabe input. It has a SSS pickup config like most Strat's do. The pickups are actually quite decent on for Squier, but unfourtunatley the pickups are the only decent things on this guitar. Everything honestly on this guitar sucks ass. Defintely don't buy this guitar. Even if your a beginner, get some like a cheap Ibanez, ESP, Jackson, or Epiphone. Although, the neck was thin and flat, so that's a plus. I got this with a Squier Strat Pack, and it came with a Champ 15 Wattage Amp, Gig Bag, Strap, Two Cables, Video, some extra accersories, and picks. All I have to say about the bridge is, DO NOT HIT A DIVE BOMB!!! The strings will start breaking a minutes afterwards. And also dont play alot of Palm-Mutted shit, cause will break the strings as well.

I usually play Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and other heavy metal, and this guitar definetly does not suit those needs. I played it straight through a VOX Guitar Effects processor and the Champ amp it came with, and acutally got some good distortion from the pickups. You can actually get a somewhat good range of sounds with this guitar, from SRV, to Kirk Hammett(Not Really..) It's also a pretty noisey guitar, even with barely any gain.

Those worthless Koreians did a decent job of scrapping together old Fender parts to build me a guitar, and the action was ok. The saddle's where poorly fitted, and frets where poorly glued into the fretboard, and pickup selector is easy to hit while playing and makes alot of noise.

This guitar is not for playing live, hardware isn't lasting, the finish is ok, the strap buttons suck, I couldn't depend on this guitar, and would even consider using at a gig, even if I had a backup.

I have been playing for about less than a year, I also own a Fender Acoustic, which has withstanded years. Also, I own a VOX guitar effects processor(plan to replace it along with the guitar), and all the other crap that came with a "Crap" Pack. I wish I had asked for another guitar before getting this one. If it were stolen, I'd hunt the wonderful person down and personally thank them for stealing it, and go buy something else. My Dad said I should get this for begining to play electric(My Dad has been playing for over 15 yrs, so I figured he would know right from wrong.) I also wish the "Crap" Pack thing had came with a better guitar.

got it second hand so no idea when it was made, but it was "crafted in china". 22 frets solid body, 1 volume and 2 tone knobs, five way selector and three single coil p/ups. fairly basic amount of features but all that you really need

the sound is no good for lead because it doesnt hold a note for long. its good for power chords or fast heavy riffs though as long as it doesnt need to hold a note for long. its loud, but its loud even when you arent playing anything it buzzes like crazy. on lead the sound is very dull and dead. for playing rythm or riffs and stuff its quite good because the three pick ups mean the tone is quite varied

action is nice and low. i never had any problems with pickupsa or anything. the tuning pegs are rubbish though. i was doing a school concert and in practice i had to tune it up every 10 minutes or so. fortunate3ly i only had one song to play. its dead heavy though kills your shoulder. my new epiphone must be half the weight

one of the volume controls has gone bonkers and keeps on comuing loose so then it stops playing. the finish dents easily but battered is more rock n roll isnt it

n/a

its ok because theyre dead cheap which is what you want for a beginner. to be honest though theyre made quite poorly and dont sound that great. if i was starting again as a beginner with hindsight, id probabnly work a few weeks longer in the summer hoilidays and get an epiphone instead because theyre more money, but tons better to play and the sound of them

i dont know why everyone is shredding this guitar cuz its better than any Gibson ive ever played. Ive played SGs and Les Pauls and this guitar sounds just as good as those. Its a Chinese 50th Anniversary model red and white.. i bought it used at World of music. It cost me 280.00 in american dollars. I play Hard Punk and its perfect its a loud guitar and it kicks... i dont know if someone put different pickups in it but they dont look new or anything. I liked it so much i got an affinity tele. thats got twang just like the actual fender tele.. so all you guys calling these guitars crap are idiots. If i had the choice between an SG special or a Squier strat id take the squier. It doesnt go out of tune i dont use the tremolo, the neck is smooth and fast its a maple neck with rosewood fretboard. it has single coil pickups and the five way selector switch i use the bridge position. Its standard when it comes to electronics and controls but who need anything fancy.

very loud high output not QUIET IN THE LEAST. all you guys ripping it are just guys who'd rather spend 3,000 on a Gibson which has oh wow pickups and tone nobs.. WOW big deal. I use a PRO CO RAT and Ibanez tubescreamer. Its loud not noisy i dont have feed back probs unless in standing 3" infront of my amp. Its bright sounding not rich not muddy and it sounds like a guitar they dont need to have variety

it doesnt have any flaws its smooth, well built and tough... ive had to replace the selector switch and the nobs make a fuzzy noise when turned but i dont mess with them i jack the volume and and leave the tone controls at ten... people who cant notice the changes when the nobs are turned are tone deaf... they are extreme thats all. The nut doesnt cut me and the bridge isnt sharp either, no rust.

ive played several shows and havent had to change anystrings or had anything fail.. Ive never had any insults on the sound of the guitar everyone says thats a squier i thought it was a fender. ive used it without a back up and never had probs.

never needed support.

i have a yamaha AEX-500, Squier Strat and Tele, and a washburn acoustic. If it were stolen id be ticked. id hunt the man down and beat him. Its only flaw is that people think squier is cheap. Its just a fender built in China. Its not some strat copy it the real thing.

1996 Chinese Strat (Fender sothing aniversy edition) Bright Red, 3 single pickups, 1 volume, 2 tone, 5 way selector, rosewood neck. Trem
Came with strap, cable + Yamaha amp

Nothing fancy, just a basic learner package

Playing ranges from Blues, Folk and R&R to Indie and Grunge

Quiet, used to almost always use it on a dulled neck pickup, nice range of sounds, only problem is that it was not powerful enough to get distortion out of a Boss stomp-box so we had to use another guitar for the part.
In the 2 inbetween pickup positions, the sound is great
Raised the pickups so much easier to OD and get a rockier sound. Good for all things that don't geed a humbucker

Finish was good until the strap fell of making it swipe a chair.
Action good, it all works and its only cheap

Ony concern with the guitar is that the pickup selector is dodgy and occationaly cuts out the sound if in the wrong position. Used at gigs before and reliable. Almost never breaks a string.
Best moment witht he guitar had to be bringing it along to a jam session when a rather anal guy brough along his 2 day onld Fender American strat and we started playing and within ten minutes his secelctor switch had lost its plastic. Something that never happened in the 6 years I had my guitar.

Never needed it

Its a good cheap guitar with everything you need except volume. I like the sounds that it can make and far better that the guitar I bought to half replace it (Encore Les Paul, now a memory). How ever it cost 40GBP more than my Danelectro which has better electrics and a good image. If it were stolen, I'd probably claim the insureance money and buy a stagemaster or something with a HSH set-up
For the price and for what it was ment to do, it is a good guitar.

k, this one was made in indonesia, solid body electric, a pretty unimpressive 21 frets with three single coil pick ups just like the fenders but not as good! Its the standard strat shape mine is a sunburst with maple fretboard.Not really anything amazing here.

The sound is OK, i think its pretty good for what it cost but soundwise it isnt too versatile.I find on my 5-way pickup switch i get a nasty humming on all except for 1 setting which is very irritating! I play it through a peavy 158 rage which sounds ok.I got a danelectro fab tone distortion pedal - that thing is pretty awesome and the guitar sounds pretty good w/ distortion.I would recommend getting an epiphone or ibanez if ur looking for a gd heavy metal type guitar in this price range though.

not a bad set up

Mine was pretty well put together, im always dropping it and banging it and its held up pretty well!I have had it a year and its very sturdy and strong, but the output jack often comes loose and i have to screw it back in, only a minor flaw.It has a reasonably fast neck - not too many complaints there.Strong strap buttons, id probably be ok using this for a gig.make sure u got a backup though just in case! The finish is very strong, ive made some big guages that havent gone through.

Its a good guitar for beginners, i dont think there is really anything available in this price range.Ive been playing about 3 years, this guitar probably suits less heavy metal style playing, stuff like chili peppers - john frusciante uses a sort of fender equivelent.A good guitar for the money - shame about the buzzing from the pick ups!

circa 1999 Chinese
21 Fret
Solid Body electric guitar.
Usual control layout.
Standard cheap & nasty electronics and pickups which I had replaced with some Kent Armstrong alnicos.
Not sure of the body wood, but it's nice and lightweight. Beautiful bright red! Bridge has been tightened down as the trem. arm is not required - this makes it like a hardtail and stops it going out of tune (well, a bit!). Nice Rosewood fingerboard, and my son (who I bought the guitar for) has changed all the control knobs, switch cover, and pick guard from standard white to black. The axe now looks great!

My son (13 years old) has been learning guitar for about a year, and LOVES the same old shit I used to listen to in the 70's - Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, etc., plus all the "new boys" who play the heavy stuff. He thinks it sounds cool - I just wish he wouldn't hit the strings so hard! He plays through a Roland Bolt 60 combo with full overdrive, and for a "cheap" guitar, the sound is pretty good. I think the upgraded pickups must take some credit here!
I have an American Series Tele and a Mexican Standard Strat (which has also had the pickups & electronics upgraded), and whilst the Squier Strat can't hold a candle to the Tele, it all but matches my Mex. Strat which cost 4 times as much. To be fair, I think the Squire has an excellent sound for the money. Just make sure you invest in better pickups.....

A friend of mine who is a professional musician took the axe straight home and set up the action nice and low (it plays like a dream) and installed the alnico pickups etc., so I didn't get chance to play it as it had been when the previous owner traded it in. The finish is first class, and the only slight problem we've had with the hardware was a piss poor bit of soldering on the jack socket which was quickly remedied. Everything seems to fit fairly well no complaints here.

I don't think my son is quite ready for gigging just yet, but he has started to put together the beginnings of a band. However, he carts the axe off to school most days to practice, slung over his shoulder
in a Fender deluxe Gig Bag (hell - are they expensive or what?). Whilst a hard case is obviously recommended, there are no signs of any knocks and scrapes to the guitar. Too early to comment on the hardware, but the finish looks really robust. The strap buttons are solid but typically crap, as the strap seems to fall off at will. I think this guitar would be fairly dependable, and I would have no problems taking it out as my backup.

Never had to deal with anyone to date - I'm lucky enough to have a friend who seems able to turn an "average" guitar into a good one. Hope he doesn't move out of the area!

I have been playing - on and off - for about 30 years and I own a houseful of guitars. Other than my American Series Tele and the Mex. Standard Strat, I have an Aria Pro II bass, and several acoustics - Ibanez Artwood AW30, Epiphone EJ200, Yamaha FG335, Yamaha FG3?? 12 string, Eko Jumbo Ranger VI (1971 - still like new) and a Harley Benton CG45. Add to that 4 Spanish guitars, an early 1900s Temlett Zither Banjo, a ukelele banjo, a ukelele and a mandoline, and you can see why my wife gets annoyed...

Frankly, if this guitar were lost or stolen, I would probably buy a better guitar for my son, simply because his playing is improving all the time, but if another Squire Strat was all that was on offer, I'd snap it up.

I love the guitar for the value, build quality and overall playability. The sound is superb, and although it belongs to my son, I just love playing it. I wish it had strap locks and much better pickups as standard, but as we've already upgraded the latter relatively cheaply, that is not an issue.

it has many standard features that you would expect out of ANY guitar...nothing special at all

the sound can vary a lot depending on the amp...generally though, you have to tweak quite a bit to get an OK sound. the pickups are very low quality. by very, i mean VERY low quality.

intonation was off, action was WAY too high. finish looks fine.

i have banged this around a lot accidentally and nothing has happened to it. the strap buttons are not solid. the 1/4 input jack keeps wobbling around. i tighten it but it loosens again.

never dealt with fender, but i don't think they give a shit about squier anyway.

i bought a fender stage 112 amp which is GREAT. 100 watts. so it sounds ok through that. but if you are going to use it with an amp less than 65 watts, you should think again.

earlier, i thought this was a Great guitar. i thought it sounded perfect for blink 182 and everclear and incubus and nirvana...i was thrilled. then, i went to a music shop and played on some of their real guitars. the difference was completely amazing. at that point, i realized that i was playing on a piece of shit for all of this time.

something to consider: you will need to get a nicer guitar sooner or later in the future anyway. why not start out with one? why should you get a crappy guitar, then get a better one when you are better? just start out with a good one and you won't regret it.

Yes it has a neck, and a body but so does a chicken!!!

I'm learning to play heay rock but This guitar sound is dull, seriously. Although I've been able to getsome o.k. sounds from it the guitar goes out of tune all the time. It's more on the bright side but it's not bright it's just dull. I just hate most of the sounds of coming from this guitars. The pickups are crappy!!!!. Only things this guitars seem ok for is playing a few notes and some power cords.
Do not think a great amp will fix the horrible sounds.

The action was poor. It was way to high, so I adjusted it then retune it. After playing it for minutes, it went out of tune again.
intonation was a bit off too. As for the finish the nut was cut poorly
(It will break your string easily). But from my limited experience Everthing else seem ok.

Do not Depend on this guitar for live playing, do not depend on this guitar for any type of playing. it just unreliable.
After about 5 mins of playing it goes out of tune. The strap buttons
what strap buttons!!! Straps keep falling off.

I'm learning to play and this guitar is not aiding in the learning
process. It can actual discourage you if you did not know any better.
Don't waste your money if want a Fender get the real deal not this
cheap immatation. I would just like to thank Harmony central For giving a place to vent!!!!

From a Strat Pak, rosewood, 21 frets, the standard stuff.

Thin pickups. From what I've read and seen, even American-made Fender Strats have crappy pickups. The pickups also carry a lot of noise. Don't get me wrong, it's not horrible, but it's not that great.

Low action that I had to raise, tons of string buzz. Even now it still buzzes if you strike the strings too hard. It looks a lot better than it plays -- it looks like it should play great. (I guess I should say "sound" great; a self-playing guitar would be a hoot.) It stays in tune pretty well; I don't use the tremolo, so I can't say how that affects the tuning.

Handle it gently and never do any real playing and it will last a lifetime. No good for gigs, not even as a backup.

I've been playing off and on for about ten years, mostly off. This seemed like a good beginner guitar to get back into the swing of things, but I don't think so now. I'm disappointed with it and would like a new guitar. There's no point in buying a cheap guitar that is of cheap quality when there are many out there that are cheap and of high quality. It's not worth replacing the pickups with better ones, or any feature, for that matter. The money is better spent on a new guitar. No one need steal it; I'd give the damn thing away and never miss it. I bought it for the Fender name, albeit from the lowest rung on the shortest Strat ladder. Such a company should be able to produce a quality guitar for a reasonable price. If it's not going to be quality, why bother tarnishing your reputation, regardless of how cheap or expensive it is? I had thought of buying a higher echelon Strat, but I don't think so now. I've heard a lot of complaints about them as well, many of which are the same ones I've had with this one.

2000,
Indonesia,
20 fret,
laminated top,
volume, tone, 2nd tone, 5 way selector,
Tremalo,
Fender,
Active,
Body is Basswood neck is Beech,
Flamed top,
Strat,
Tune o Matic,
Locking brand of tuner is Fender,
Thin neck
Hard case, Fender strat strap, Ibanez jack lead, wah pedal

It suits my music style well i like modern punk rock eg Offsring,
Marshall amp and a wah pedal,
You can choose what sound you want on the guitar body,
rich and full,
a clear sound, a muffled sound, a slight distortion sound, a classic guitar sound and a heavy distortion sound,
I like the variety of sounds this guitar can make,

A well consructed guitar,
Very well,
This guitar had a properly routed bridge,
A slight low fret for 6th string gave a distorted sound

Yes,
Yes,
It is good enough to last as it is Blowtorched deeply,
Yes,
Yes,
Maby it depended on the songs,

Very helpful and freindly,
it never has broke so dont know,
3 years,

2 years, Marshall amp and an ibanez Jem 770,
No,
The same model,
I love most things about this guitar i hate nothing about this guitar apart from the low fret on 6th string My favourite feature is the blowtorched body it addas texture and looks,
No,
Buy this guitar you get the best looking guitar in Blowtorched Blue (mettallic) this adds a little extra to the price,

ho boy! another chino wanna-strat! I have to admit though, Fender made a decent attempt to make an affordable strat for beginers. pickguard was warped. one of the tone knobs didnt work. lousy exuse for a tremelo. tuners reminded me of the quality that is put into happy meal toys at mcdonalds.

sound?!? ha! I hear better sounds when I take a sh*t.

for being under 200 dollars it was accually put together rather well. good paint job. solid. but I wouldnt ever want to put it through too much abuse.

it would never make it live, EVER. stricktly for learners.

pointless to repair. just throw it away and buy a new one.

P.O.S.

Same as all the rest. S/S/S, 5-way, string through body, etc.
Don't like single coil pickups, don't like string through body.

Twangy and difficult to get a decent sound out of. Incredibly
difficult to keep from buzzing unless you raise the action a foot off
the fretboard.

It looked nice enough. It was as well set up as it could be.

I wouldn't use it for any purpose at all, except possibly if you were
a beginner and had never played a guitar. The high E tuner did not
work properly and the middle pickup ceased to exist the way it had
been constructed through its own decision.

I replaced it with a LP special 2. Bad idea, yeah, I know. I would
not buy another, and i'm rather disappointed that Fender would allow
such a low-quality product bear their name. But for beginners, hey,
it's an electric guitar. It was my first and I played it for over a
year before it needed replacing. I cleaned it up a bit and am hoping
to sell it.

1999 Psuedo-Chinese
21 Fret
Solid Body electric guitar.

It came with cheap electronics and pickups which I have replaced.

I play a lot of blues and southern rock. This guitar sounded okay stock, though a bit flat. After upgrading the pickups to a custom blues set it sounds $1000! The original pickups have the infamous 60 Hz hum!

The original pickups had the 60 Hz hum that drives me nuts...they had to go!

The pickgaurd is missing some of the anchor screws that my 'Genuine' Strat has, but this is mor cosmetic than anything. Everything seems to fit nice and tight and there are no sloppy cuts anywhere.

I am half tempted to call the body lamenated plywood rather than solid. It is lighter than the Genuine by almost 10 ounces.

This guitar is definitely ready to be played. The finish has held up to my many friends and I banging it around the small house I live in (I bought it to be a beater). After a few smacks into a doorjam and a couple of bangs on the edge of my table there are still no blemishes.

I would say that you could depend on this guitar.

I have been playing for about 15 years and I own a few other guitars. I have two other Stratocasters (one Japanese that is awesome, and an old genuine Strat) and this one fits right in with the collection.

I love the guitar for the value and care taken in its production. The only drawback I have seen so far is the limited color that the All

It has a 21 fret rosewood neck with 3 single coil pick-ups and is arctic white. It also has 2 tone knobs and one volume knob. It came with a standard STRAT style bridge that was locked when I got it which is perfect for the music I play, not any of that BUTT rock lead solo super-hero music. The tuners are standerd and this guitar is pretty awesome. The only reason why I give it a 9 for features and not a 10 is because I know I will have to change the pick-ups in it but I knew that before I bought it. It came with a package with an amp, gig bag, cable, strap and strings. For $230.00 I believe I got the best deal I could have ever gotten. It is just like a standard FENDER strat but a little bit cheaper. For PUNK rock, this is the guitar.

Like I said before, I will need to get better pickups for this bad boy, but I did know this before I bought it. But, the overall sound of the guitar right now is pretty cool. Once I get some genuine FENDER pickups I think this guitar is gonna rock. I play PUNK rock and I don't think I could have gotten a better guitar then the AFFINITY strat. If I do not get better pickups for a while I will not be disapointed with it, cause the guitar still sounds good.

The action was actually set perfect, from the factory. I had to raise the bridge pickup to get a cruchier sound. The finish on this guy is flwless too, but all the stickers I put on it will help protect it from everyday wear. Everything is staight and cool. No other adjustments had to be made.

I have a feeling that this guitar will be with me for a while. It is very solid and looks like it can withstand a nuclear war. I have not played live with it yet, for I have not been in a band in 4 months, but it will be one of the better guitars that I will have played, and owned. I would use this guitar without a back-up at a gig if I had too, but as everyone knows, It is safer to have a back-up, just in case some drunk asshole rams into you while playing and smashes you cord and jack. I am now considering getting a squier AFFINITY TELE for another guitar just because I am so amazed with the quality of my AFFINITY strat.

I bought it through MUSICIANS FRIEND. I have been dealing with these guys for 7 years and I have never EVER had a problem with them, and if I ever did, which I doubt, they will be there to help me out. I do not know anything a bout the warranty because that kind of stuff is a bore to me. If I like the product I keep it, if I don't, they give you 30 days to return it, but I have always been happy with those guys. I recomend that EVERY one buy form MUSICIANS FRIEND. They rock!

I have been playing guitar for 8 years, mostly punk rock, 'cause big corporate music is stupid, and their prices are just as dumb too, and this guitar for the price is every punk-rockers dream. I have owned other genaric guitars and gear and this is the best I have ever owned. For the price you can NOT get any better. If it were lost or stolen, I would be crushed, but drunk as hell to let that happen, I would get the exact same thing. Why not, at the price who wouldn't. When I got the guitar from the UPS guy, I didn't know what to expect, but when I opended up the package I was stoked. FINALLY, I got a good guitar that isn't gonna suck. After a bunch of cheap crap, this is the best cheap thing I could have gotten, a perfect guitar for punk rockers ! Oi! to all the punx! CHEERS!

Ok made in china 2000 it has 21 frets has 5/way selector switch 2xtone knobs 1x volume pick ups are 3xsingal coil maple neck and rosewood fret board. non locking machineheads...

Personaly i dont really like the sound it does sound better with a marshall amp i use a GR15 or wot eva its called! its ok when it has alot of gain other wise it sounds a bit crap... but thats probably coz it doesnt match my style of music.

its the hardest bugger to play but if you learn with one you pick it up quicker and i have been playing 5 months now and people say im quite good!

aha! The squires best feature you cant knock it!

if your learning buy it! if not dont!

I have now aquiered another guitar, a 1998 Squier Affinity Strat. Very strange this Indonesian made guitar, it has the quality of my good ol' Japanese made Fender Jag-Stang. It's the usual strat/strat copy specifivations, 21 frets (Vintage size), solid body made out of some light wood (I don't know what kind yet, but I'm betting it's poplar or basswood), 1 volume and 2 tone controls, 3 single coil pickups (I took them out once to see if they were really Fender style, they were, not like the Lego-and-Refridgerator magnet pickups of the cheaper Korean companies), passive electronics (heard of any strat copy being active), maple neck with the fret slots cut into it (with a 70's style headstock, 70's strats REALLY had seperate maple fingerboards), black plastic inlays. The guitar is black with a white single ply pickgaurd with a yellow spot on it (people tell me it looks like someone peed on it, it really came from some kind of damage from a hot surface).

This guitar, as with just about any good guitar, fits with my style. I mostly play Various Forms of Rock N Roll going from A-ha to ZZ Top to Metallica (Yes, metal is a form of Rock N Roll). The amplifier I use (as seen in other reviews) is a Epiphone SC28 stereo chorus amplifier with a BOSS ME-6 Multi-Effects pedal. This guitar is glassy and bellike when clean, like any good Strat, but even more so because the body is only 40mm thick, whick I belive has an effect on the thickness of the tone, but the light wood of the body balences this cleaness out with a whomping bass. This guitar makes all the classic Strat tones just as Fender had specified in the catalog. There is a good variety of tones for all occasions, unless you are a tone freak like me, who likes multiple guitars for multiple tones. My only disklike is that the pickups squeal, but this can be fixed by wax potting them (be sure to use true paraffin wax for this). I like the stock pickups so well I have decided to keep them. I hate squealing so I am taking off one point.

I bought this guitar from a friend for $100.00, so he told me all of the problems before hand (which weren't much except for really old strings, a yellow blotch on the pickgaurd[unnoticable under certain kinds of light], a non-working tone control, and some much needed action adjustments). The first night with the guitar I took off all the old grungy 10's and took the pickgaurd off. Inside I noticed that the Capacitor for the tone controls was broken off at the joint to the capacitor, so I simply took out the capacitor and soldered in a new one. Then I put some new 9 gauge strings on and tuned it, set the intonation, setup the action, and viola, perfect, factory new. I did add one modification after I got the guitar paid off, I wired the middle pickups tone control to the bridge pickup, and that allowed me to get chunkier tones from the lead pickup.

This guitar has withstood live playing and some rehearsals and It does well at both (as long as you watch out for microphonic feedback squeals). The hardware will last, especially if the tremelo has been yanked and pushed all over "Pantera-Style" (which just happens to be one of those well unliked strat trems) and seems to stay in tune perfectly after all that abuse. The strap buttons were those cheapo Fender buttons that hold less as your strap weakens and ages. I put in straplocks (which will soon be superglued in). The problem with Squiers and straplocks is that the holes for the original strap buttons have screws that are conciderably bigger than the Strap-Lock screw. I would still keep a backup around because it's a Strat, and like all of those friggin' strats, it breaks strings something awful when the right conditions exsist.

My friend waited 5 months for me to pay him for the guitar, but is he concidered customer support though?

Overall, this guitar is another one of the guitars I like to play alot (Next to my Kramer and my Jag-Stang). Just look at my other reviews to see all the stuff I have. If it were stolen I would not be responsible for the things that would happen to the person who took it (and I have dealt with many people trying to take and/or vandalize my guitars at school [I had no choice, I was in a guitar class]). I am going to modify this guitar a little though, like add a black moto pickgaurd and black pickup covers and knobs and switch tip. I may also add a switch to allow all the possible combinations from the pickups to work.

2001, made in China. Standard Strat electronics. Alder I assume... Solid Blue finish. Strat Trem Bridge. Normal tunders. Allen wrenches included ;-)

I can't tell much of a difference between this and a Fender Mexican strat. Overall, I like the guitar, although it buzzes quite a bit (when you aren't touching the strings/trem). I don't like the position of the 5-way selector because I hit it a lot when I'm playing, but that's just a normal strat thing. Fairly large variety of sounds, but all single coils.

The store set it up, so everything was great in that respect. There weren't any real flaws, although the volume pot came loose fairly quickly, and I had to tighten it.

It's not the most durable guitar (being a Squier), but it's fine for me (as I don't gig around or anything). The finish chips quite easily. I put straploks on it, but they really aren't needed. It's my only guitar, so I have to depend on it :)

I haven't had to deal with the company, but I don't think it has much of a warranty.

I've been playing electric guitar about two years (but classical for 9 years), and I play though a Fender Champion 110 Solid-State Amp. I wish I would have tried some Teles before I bought it, but It's generally pretty good. I didn't compare it with much before buying it, but it's OK. I wish it had some more controls and maybe some humbuckers and a floyd.

Overall, it's a good guitar, especially for a beginner, or someone who wants an inexpensive first or second electric guitar.

7
I like the feel of this guitar and it stays in tune pretty good for a cheap guitar. It's based on the fender strat in almost every way except that everything is a lower quality.

for a cheap beginers guitar this is very good i had it as my first guitar it sounds pretty bad compared to my American strat but it also cost about 900 dollars less so for the price it sounds pretty good. the one thing that i don't like about it was the poor quality of the pickups. if i turned my amp up loud then it would give off alot of feed back.

not bad

pretty good i droped it quite a few times and it still sounded like when it was new. after i got a better guitar i had a little fun and tried to bang it into everything i could. i knocked it against walls and droped it but it still sounds like new.

i've never had to deal with the company because i've never had a problem with it that i couldn't fix myself

I've been playing for only about a year and a half but everyone says i got very good very fast i recently bought an american strat because i learned to play on this one and i'm used to this strat style of guitar. I replaced the pickups so i got rid of the anoying feed back and i now use this guitar as a backup for when i'm playing gigs. I only had to use it once when i broke a string and it sounded ok.

i just bought the 2000 model and they said they updated it and made it a whole lot better. well i did some inside work and i found out that the fender standard strat and this squier are pretty much the same only minor differences the guitar is exactly the same on the outisde as a fender standard
i got a nice artic white rosewood fretboard with basic tremelo
its a tite deal

its very clear if u buy a good chord and nice amp u got a good guitar to play around with
if your gunna go big tyme get a big guitar but this is a very replica of the strat

fast action frets nice fit
bueatiful finish realy good

i already killed it with hendrix style anthem and it did a good job no failure
like with every fender guitar if u treat this bad it will rust and stratch but i take good care of mine and it keeps showroom style

i got a limited year warranty and its nice

its a perfect guitar for a newbie and it will withstand the test of tyme if u treat it like a "baby"

Itz got 22 frets. Just like all strats volume, 2 tone, and 5 way selector. Its got 3 single coil pickups. An ok tremelo bridge. Non-locking tuners.

It suits my style just fine, which is all kinds of rock. But strats are well rounded on everything. it has ok dist. If i wasnt so cheap I'd go buy some seymour duncan pickups.

The guitar was used so i dont know how it was from the factory, but my local music store(guitarworks) set it up for me when i bought it. There was one little dent when i got it, but hardly noticeable. The pickup selector is a little noisy, but i wouldnt gig with this anyway.

I dont think id gig with this, i mean, its a squier strat! The hardware will last quite a while i think. THe finish is a little soft though.

havnt had to deal with them.

Ive been playing for about a year, its a great beginner guitar, but i think ill look into something a little more serious next time. I use it with a little fender frontman 15 reverb, they sound ok together. WHat i like about it is it has great sound variety.

Mine is a 1999 model, made in taiwan. Same as all strats, 21 frets, 2 tone and 1 volume, 5-way selector, triple single coils, standard tremolo, etc. The fingerboard is rosewood, the rest of the guitar is maple. Got it in the Strat Pack with the 15W amp, gig bag, cables, etc. The stuff on it is decent, but you can find better. Tuners look good but come out of tune fast. Oh yes - i believe the body is thinner than normal, which is nice - it's lightweight. The neck is standard u-shape. One caveat - the input comes loose alot - but i've found this can be solved, since the fender cable it comes with doesn't stay in there very well. I just got a cheap cable from Mars and now it's fine.

I play mostly punk rock, power chords, metallica, sublime, a lot of styles, always with mid-low powered solid state amps, a duncan wah, and a DOD supra distortion. The neck pickup sound is crap, sounds to sharp, but the more bassey bridge and mid pickups have pretty good tone. But that really limits your options for aggressive solos without the good neck pickup. But hey, it's under $200 for the axe, and the selector gives good range. I dunno what the tone knobs are for, they don't do much. Better sustain and clarity on bridge pickup.

Action's pretty good, but the lower frets are tough to get down and there's a little more buzz than I would like. I've never really gotten it messed around with. It's built really good, looks good, and after 2 years is absolutely perfect in terms of condition.

This thing's tough, and it will last. There's no reason why you would need a backup because if you have the money to get a backup, just ditch your squier. But it is really tough.

I've never had a problem with the guitar, and haven't had to deal w/ anybody about it.

It can compete with guitars $100 above it's price, and is a great first guitar. But it will be well worth the upgrade after you become more accomplished, you can get a killer ESP guitar for $400. If it were stolen or lost I would definately spring for a mid-priced Ibanez or ESP, since I've almost grown out of it. Still, there's no first guitar that comes close.

This is essentially a Strat based on the 62 configuration, that is rosewood fingerboard. Mine is a lefty and has a standard trem system, 3 sc pick ups. Not sure of the construction but what attracted me to it (bearing in mind the dearth of quality LH instruments) was the matt finish neck. I immediately felt an affinity with it - which I guess was appropriate.

I like to play anything from blues thru to more distorted stuff and, in that respect, the Strat has a wide variety of tones. I'm especially keen on the in between setting on the neck/middle pick ups. Speaking of pick ups these have a wide range of tones but are a little weedy and if, I were being fussy, I would change these for a set of Seymour Duncans. But for the money it was astonishing value.

The action was the best I've seen on a sub #200 guitar and I could find no flaws in the finish at all. I wouldn't say that the trem system was that clever; if you want to do any dive bombing forget it, but the guitar was properly set up.

I would have no problem gigging with this instrument. I started playing 17 year ago but have only recently taken it up again. I am absolutely astonished about the quality of this guitar, I already own a Tokai Telecaster I bought in 1988 which cost twice as much as this instrument and was set up nowhere near as well.

Strap buttons seem ok. I'm not sure I'd used any guitar at a gig without a backup and, yes I reckon I could depend on it - the small caveat about the pick ups excepted

Not dealt with

I hsave been playing for 17 years more off than on; I don't gig much but I'd definitely buy another one, I'm not terribly impressed with the trem system but the neck shape and finish is superb - well just right for me anyway. I nearly bought a jagstang but I'm happy I chose the right thing. I also own a Tokai Telecaster and a Fender Acoustic/Electric. I've read a few reviews about this and a lot of them seem to be quite negative. But what do you expect for this kind of money. When I looked at this guitar I was under the impression it was #100 more than it was - and I was quite happy to pay that.

it is made in china. it has 3 pickups 5 tone selector.1 volume 2 tone knobs. it has 21 frets. it has excellent features

i play heavy metal and it sound s the best. it has a good bright sound. i like everything about it.

the guitar wa sset up very well at the factory. it looks excellent and beuitiful.

the guitar will stand live playing.it will last along time.it is the best. i would use it a t agig without backup.

never delt with fender.

it is an excellent guitar. not just for begginers, u can do the same things on this guitar thet u can with any other guitar. it plays beuitifully!

Everyone else wrote about it. 3 single coil. 5 way selector. 2 tone 1 vol. etc etc

I bought it as a beginner guitar. It was okay then but now I don't really like the sound. It gets alot of noise/distortion. I'm thinking of changing out the pickups but am not sure whether to do that or just buy a new guitar. I used a fender performer 1000 but I always played at low volumes cause that amp is loud. I will try it with my new Tech 21 trademark 60 and see how that sounds.

The guitar seemed pretty nice when I bought it. The action was right. No flaws in mine. Seems like the some of the metal parts (tailpeice, pickups) have a bit of rust on them. I have had the guitar for about 3 to 4 years. Maybe it is just from taking bad care of it though.

I've had this guitar for about 3-4 years. I play every now and then. Its still in good shape. The finish is still good. My friend played it at one of his shows and he didn't like it because it got too much distortion. I also had to re-sauder the plug input about 2 or 3 times. The volume pod had to be changed too. The 5-way selector switch made pops when I switched also. I think they were all connected in some sort. I brought it in for repair and it seemed to fix that...

Haven't dealt with fender. I just brought it to a local guitar shop.

It is an okay guitar for a beginner. There are better guitars though. I (my parents) payed too much for it. Its alright for playing every now and then but not for gigging.

This Guitar is made in 1997 in China.
It has 3 single coil with 5 way switch.
All is a standard stratocaster feature.

I mostly play rock and blues. With this guitar's stock pickup, the output is not so clear and weak. The sound is also thin. This is not enought for my playing. So recently I've changed the stock pickups with Dimarzio Steve Morse Brigde Humbucker, a Dimarzio Multibucker in neck position and a Fender Texas Special in middle position. The sound became full and powerful!!! Additionally, I did some modifications on the wiring on the pickup configuration and I could get 18 useful sound right now!!!
After the modification, I can get a great crystal clear single coil sound as well as powerful huge distortion tone!!
This proof that with just a bit of modification, a squire strat will sound as great as a good guitar.

The set-up of the guitar from the factory is not so good. The action was too high. But after a few adjustment has been made, I can get the preety low action that I need.
The wood of this guitar is not too bad, not too good. But at least it's a solid wood.(Not a Laminated wood). Therefore, with a good pickups(Dimarzio,Fender..), the tone of this guitar is quite good. Of course, don't compare this guitar with others high grade model such as the signature model guitar... But I can say that my modified Squire Strat can easily beat the moderate model guitars(such as Epiphone strat, even the maxican standard strat.

This guitar is reliable after a few modification works. I always use this guitar during my regular gig in a pub and it can give every kind of sound that I wish for. It's versatile!!
The finishing of the guitar is quite good, the strap button is solid.
Is seem to be a real stratocaster after some upgrade.

Never deal with Fender...

I've played electric guitar for 3 years. This guitar is reliable and suitable for beginner.
My advise: If you really want to buy a strat type guitar but you are in a tight bugget, I suggest you to buy a Squire Strat. Once you own a strat, you can change the pickup or do some upgrade modification on it. Finally, you will get a reliable guitar besides you practice your guitar skills.