Fender Squier Stratocaster

I have no idea what year it was made or anything. At a hunch i'd guess it was before 1996, but that's it. The guitar is the basic Korean Squier Strat, with 3 single coils, vintage style trem, 5 way selector switch etc. You get the idea.
It's supposed to be made from Poplar or something. The neck is a 22 fret stock maple job. I got it second hand in July 1997, with hard case (which was an extra #35).

Playing loads of stuff on it (from Bush to Pink Floyd), it's not that bad for the money. I first bought it with a Peavey Rage, and since selling both have also tried it with a Marshall Valvstate 30 watt reverb. The pickups are a little bit weak, which is to be expected from a budget Korean guitar, particularly on the bridge pickup. It's quite noisy with both tone controls quite high, so I used to play with both of them set below half-way.
Looking back, compared to my current setup (Epi LP & Marshall), it was pretty poor. The sound was thin and weak, you had pretty much no chance of getting any sort of Hendrix sound from it and the G string sounded lifeless and scratchy (something i've heard affects more expensive strats too). If you are a beginner, then fine, it does the job soundwise, but be prepared to get blown away by the sound of anything more expensive.

It was set-up pretty well, with only a few minor problems. The strap buttons are too small, making the strap slip off if you tried to leap around like some guitar hero. The tuning stability was pretty rubbish too, you only had to think about using the trem to knock it out of tune. String bending was also a little bit risky.
Apart from that, it seemed to be made well enough.

Live playing? With a #120 guitar? Do me a favour! Basically, if you want to play this at a gig, then you must have a deathwish or something.
It's not the sort of guitar that's going to last for 30 years and sound fantastic. But I suppose with care and attention it could last for a while.
If you didn't throw it beforhand, of course. I reckon it would be a great guitar for smashing up live. Cheap, easy to break. Heh heh.

Never dealt with the company. Six month guarantee from the shop. Sold it before then.

It was my first guitar, and was great for that sort of purpose. Comparing it to my Epiphone though, it just isn't the sort of guitar you cherish and long for, it's the sort you've gotta put up with till you get something better. If it was stolen i'd probably bawl, because I would have sold it to them for peanuts.

Standard strat setup , with rosewood fretboard, good sealed tuners, fender tremelo (5 springs, blocked), 3 single coil pickups. Made in Korea in '83, One Vol 2 tone, tones work on neck & mid PU, Creamy white colour with white/black laminated pickguard. High gloss finish on neck with larger style headstock & midline inlay at base of neck. Neck is beautifully thin Pickups are not as "hot" as Am Stand Strats.

Classic strat sound especially on the bridge & mid . Pickups are a bit low output ( may replace with Seymour D vintages) I play blues, some country and classic rock Beatles, Stones, CCR. Sound is fine for me except for low output. Useless for "metal" I have 2 amps , a little 15W Yamaha & an old Fender Reverb I rarely use any effects except for some light to medium distortion

I went out & looked at a brand new Am St Strat. My guitar is better quality ! The action is smooth & low. I bought it used and set the bridge & pickups myself. I also blocked the trem. No rust, All parts are well chrome plated (My bridge/trem is all chrome , stamped Fender and very solid. The new Am St Strat has a less substantial bridge and some of the parts are painted !
The guitar is 15 yrs old and has been PLAYED so there are some nicks & dents and the frets are getting worn, some of the "favorite" one will soon have to be replaced.
Best playing guitar I've had since a Hagstrom Sunburst back in '69

What can I say , 15 years and going strong

No idea

Been playing since 1964, sick of people bashing Squiers just cause they're Squiers. I have a '70 Framus 12 string Acoustic and I have had a couple of strats and a '68 Hagstrom. I don't know how anybody can LOSE a guitar but if my Squier was stolen I'd try to get another '83 or maybe a similar age Fender Stat or Tele. I think the new ones are not nearly as good. I especially hate the "satin" finish on the necks. I looked at Ibanez, Epiphone, Peavey, but always come back to the Strats
I love the action most, it's so easy to play. Pickup output is fair at best. I'll probably replace them with Fenders or SDs
I paid $250 for a guitar that plays & sound better than anything I've seen new for less than $1500

Standard strat setup , with rosewood fretboard, good sealed tuners, fender tremelo (5 springs, blocked), 3 single coil pickups. Made in Korea in '83, One Vol 2 tone, tones work on neck & mid PU, Creamy white colour with white/black laminated pickguard. High gloss finish on neck with larger style headstock & midline inlay at base of neck. Neck is beautifully thin Pickups are not as "hot" as Am Stand Strats.

Classic strat sound especially on the bridge & mid . Pickups are a bit low output ( may replace with Seymour D vintages) I play blues, some country and classic rock Beatles, Stones, CCR. Sound is fine for me except for low output. Useless for "metal" I have 2 amps , a little 15W Yamaha & an old Fender Reverb I rarely use any effects except for some light to medium distortion

I went out & looked at a brand new Am St Strat. My guitar is better quality ! The action is smooth & low. I bought it used and set the bridge & pickups myself. I also blocked the trem. No rust, All parts are well chrome plated (My bridge/trem is all chrome , stamped Fender and very solid. The new Am St Strat has a less substantial bridge and some of the parts are painted !
The guitar is 15 yrs old and has been PLAYED so there are some nicks & dents and the frets are getting worn, some of the "favorite" one will soon have to be replaced.
Best playing guitar I've had since a Hagstrom Sunburst back in '69

What can I say , 15 years and going strong

No idea

Been playing since 1964, sick of people bashing Squiers just cause they're Squiers. I have a '70 Framus 12 string Acoustic and I have had a couple of strats and a '68 Hagstrom. I don't know how anybody can LOSE a guitar but if my Squier was stolen I'd try to get another '83 or maybe a similar age Fender Stat or Tele. I think the new ones are not nearly as good. I especially hate the "satin" finish on the necks. I looked at Ibanez, Epiphone, Peavey, but always come back to the Strats
I love the action most, it's so easy to play. Pickup output is fair at best. I'll probably replace them with Fenders or SDs
I paid $250 for a guitar that plays & sound better than anything I've seen new for less than $1500

nothing special im aware of.

i play various types of music. ive only been playing 2 1/2 years but im very dedicated tolearning. this guitar buzzez uncontroably the pick ups are horrible but do u expect for 200$

poorly cut nut, rusting hardware, frets look bad thc chinese cant make decent guitar

please save up your money and bye a better guitar

My Squier is one of the old Japanese ones. When I bought it, they aprroximated it was a '79 model. Fender's website has this "axe-dater" thing that tells you when your Fender guitar was made and it said '83 for my serial number. However, I don't think it was made to find dates for Squier guitars, but I'm not sure. It has all the "normal" strat features. If you don't know what they are, look below. Another strange thing is that mine has the late '60s large headstock (it's looks so much cooler than the new ones.) It also has a maple fingerboard. The body and pickguard and knobs and pickup covers are all black on mine. It looks really classy. I had never seen a Strat like this before. (of course, the previous owner could have set it up this way). I really would like to know when my strat is from and what specific model it is, so if you can help me, please E-mail me. I think it might be some kind of late '60s reissue because of the headstock.
I can't really rate it on features; sorry.

I play all kinds of music. Basically along the lines of funk/blues/rock/surf/ska/jazz. Strats are very versatile. I plug my strat into a Crate GXT210 (great amp, hybrid, 100 watts, 2 10 in. speakers). My old amp's distortion wasn't very good, so I never really noticed the weakness of single coils under heavy distortion anyways. Now that I have an amp with good tube distortion, it is a slight problem, not anything major. I usually play with slight bluesy crunch overdrive or completely clean.
Sometimes this guitar is kind of noisy, other times it's really quiet. This is greatly affected by what lights are on in my room. It has a bright sound in most of the positions. These pickups are great "bell"-sounding pickups with a healthy bite when you pick with the right force. You can get so many different sounds depending on the pickup combination you're using and your picking attack (or lack thereof). The neck position is beautiful. I am not at all bothered by the sharp bite of the bridge position, I really like it with a little overdrive. I hate playing chords in positions 2 and 4, they are way too jangly. However, they're really cool for little funky riffs. There is a very wide variety of sounds.
When I play this guitar, it sounds like a real guitar. When I play the new Squier Strats (and even Fender mexican standards), they sound like puny little toys . Don't confuse this guitar with that kind.

I really can't comment on how it was originally set up becuase I bought it used. It was okay then though.

I have played live _many_ times with this guitar (and without a backup), it is my only electric. It sounds great (with a nice amp). It's withstood many years so far and it seems fine for many more too. I have installed Schaller Straplocks, not becuase anything happened to the old ones, it just seemed like it might be a good thing to do. (not that I would have that much of a problem if this guitar fell on the floor)

No experience here. I have no information about a warranty, so I probably don't have one unless they are a totally cool company willing to service any guitar with their name on it (probably not too likely, huh?)

I've played guitar for almost 3 yrs, but am a more experienced musician becuase I have played violin for almost 10 yrs.
If this guitar were stolen or lost, I would not get the same kind becuase the new ones totally suck. I would look for another used strat for under $500. I do sometimes wish for a humbucker, but I won't single coil sounds for a humbucker. If I get the money I'll get another guitar.
Again, these old Squiers are really nice, if you see one, get it! Also, if you can identify my guitar (see features section), please E-mail me.

I bought this guitar new in 1989, so the date of manufacturing should be '88 or '89. Korean. 21 vintage frets. Vintage strat controls: vol, tone1, tone2 the bridge pickup alone has no tone control, 5 way selector. In the in-between positions (2 and 4) the pickups are parallel wired to get the quack strat sound. The pickups are three Squier Standard single coils with the bridge one slightly inclinated. Passsive electronics. The body is plywood, the neck is two piece maple (the headstock has a little piece of wood glued 'cos the original piece of wood was not big enough to make a one piece neck). The neck is nitrocellulose lacquer finish (like vintage strats) and the body is black with white one ply pickguard. Squier strat tremolo. Standard Squier tuners. The included accessories was one or two tools to set up bridge and truss rod.

I have read tons of impressions about Squiers and have tried myself a few. There are people that bashes this guitar as the worst axe ever made and others that acclaim it as even better than real USA strats! (Yes, read the Strato.FAQ!) The reason is simple, they made this guitar for many years and during this long period they built Squiers of a broad range of quality. In effect I found some Squiers to be near to useless, and others (mine for example) that are not bad at all. The common problem seems to be the tremolo, really weak. My Squier sounds very similar to a real Strat. Obviously I'm talking about "tone", since acutal USA strats has several things that made a better sound: less noisy pickups, the mid is RP/RW so the in-between position do hum cancelig, and the tone controls, TBX acting on all the pickups. My Squier has not any of these features but, as I said, it has the typical "strat" sound. I dislike that the tone controls doesn't affect bridge pickup, wich sounds too bright when overdriven. The strat can be used for near all music styles, with the usual limitation of being single coil equipped only. For heavy metal and jazz, the sound of SC should be not suitable. However, with a good effect processor you can tweak the sound enough to be acceptable even for those styles. The rating I give to Squier sound is about the "tone" alone, not regarding hum and other problems. I'm aware that out there there are al lot of Squiers that sounds not as good as mine. My actual amp is a Marshall Valvestate 40V 8040 and the effect processor is a Boss GX-700. One interesting thing that I found on all guitars I tried is that the hum increases as you turn up the guitar volume, and than lowers again, so at mid volumes the hum is maximum. Why? I like the overall design (is a stratocaster!), and the veins of the wood of the neck are really nice. It is a heavy guitar (3.8 Kg), my other guitar is a Manne Taos HSHF mahogany maple top and weigths only al little more: 4 Kg!

The original setup was really bad. Pretty high action, bad strings, medium bridge setup. The pickups were pretty low. The truss rod was OK and the fretboard was quite good for a low price guitar. The flaws of the guitar was: oxide "scratching" hardware (just use a pot cleaner to get rid of it), very weak bridge. The bridge is sure the worst part of this guitar, it makes the guitar to go out of tune if I use the tremolo bar (not if I bend notes, as other people stated) and the bar is screwed and soon the screw gets bad and the bar starts to move inside the hole. The overall construction is good for the price, I will gave it a 9 for quality/price ratio but the rating I gave it is overall.

The body finish gets easily scratched and now is not shiny anymore in the parts of the body in contact with the arm and "my" body. The finish of the neck is much more durable and is still perfect after nine years. I must say that I used it only at home, never playing it live. Also I'm a very careful person and lots of people told me that the guitar is in very good condition to be nine years old. It's going to be a... good vintage Squier! The bridge does not seem to "eat" strings like other cheap bridges, and I don't think that something terrible should happen live. if the guitar falls and gets broken, this can happen even at a thousands dollars handmade axe, so a bake up should be a common problem. The bridge is the first thing that will get broken if you play hard, expecially if you are not careful with the tremolo bar. In nine years the only things I replaced, except strings of course, are bridge springs and the plastic cap of the selector that gets broken. Changing the springs, helped somewhat to keep in tune the guitar after using the tremolo.

Never dealt with it. I didn't remember how long was the warranty. The guitar never broke down.

I play since 1989. I also own/ Sisme model "A" acoustic guitar (1973 or so). Marshall Valvestate 40V 8040 guitar amp. Boss GX-700 rackmounted effect processor. Manne Taos HSHF mahogany flame maple top I bought in april '98 and is my new guitar. Handcrafted. It's just fantastic! At the time I bought it I haven't much money and I'm happy I bought the Squier I can still use (Now that I have a new guitar, i will use the Squier for hardware experiments). Today I didn't suggest to buy one, cause the Squiers are now made in Indodnesya and the quality is very bad. I didn't suggest anyone to buy a guitar cheaper than, say, 500$. In any case go to the shop with an experienced player and try out the guitar you want. I expecially liked how easy you can bend (note that I have tweaked a lot with the bridge and I set up .008 Hard Rockin' Steel strings). I like the Fender tone, and the strat shape. I didn't like the bridge, that is by any mean the weak point of the guitar. I wish it had tone control on bridge pickup (that I will add soon). The noise of pickups is pretty high, expecially when playing the guitar with the clean channel of the amp. Every time you touch the strings or the bridge, the hum gets lower and this is annoying. A costant amount of noise should be better. A good noise gate can help but the better thing is to shield the guitar. Changing pickups is too expensive, better buy a professional axe. I played with lots of cheap guitars and near all of them are not better than mine. As i sayed before, the actual Squier production is not a the same level as ten years ago, and the Japanese ones are even better.

Made in japan or korea or something, not sure. 3 crappy stock single coils,loose 5 way pickup selector, 22 frets, dot inlays rosewood fretboard non locking stock tuners

Boy good thing i only had this guitar when i was a beginner. I play metal, and unfortunately didnt know about the difference bewtween singles and humbuckers.But i wouldnt reccomend this guitar for any style really, pickups are noisy as hell and have no tone

action was very high,finish was poor and sccratched easily

Would not use this guitar at all, period.Good for a beginner to finsd out how to put there hands right on the fretboard and use the pickup selector and learn how to tunew it, other than that its worthless.Pickup selector is very loose, input jack is very loose, tuners loose

never tried contacting them about this guitar, but have contacted them before about a big apple strat, answered quickly, i think the guitar has a one year warranty, if anyone can stand to hold on to one of these for that long

I own a kramer v, a jackson kelly, line 6 flextone amp, and vox wah wah pedal, if it were stolen id probly expect it back in a couple of days from the robber, that is if i still had it now

Made in japan or korea or something, not sure. 3 crappy stock single coils,loose 5 way pickup selector, 22 frets, dot inlays rosewood fretboard non locking stock tuners

Boy good thing i only had this guitar when i was a beginner. I play metal, and unfortunately didnt know about the difference bewtween singles and humbuckers.But i wouldnt reccomend this guitar for any style really, pickups are noisy as hell and have no tone

action was very high,finish was poor and sccratched easily

Would not use this guitar at all, period.Good for a beginner to finsd out how to put there hands right on the fretboard and use the pickup selector and learn how to tunew it, other than that its worthless.Pickup selector is very loose, input jack is very loose, tuners loose

never tried contacting them about this guitar, but have contacted them before about a big apple strat, answered quickly, i think the guitar has a one year warranty, if anyone can stand to hold on to one of these for that long

I own a kramer v, a jackson kelly, line 6 flextone amp, and vox wah wah pedal, if it were stolen id probly expect it back in a couple of days from the robber, that is if i still had it now

The features on this guitar just suck. It has only 21 frets eventhough you can't play past the 17th hardly. It has 3 single coil pickups, two tone knobs & one volume, and a 5 way selector switch which all had two be replaced.The body wood is plywood for the worst tone possible. The tuners will keep the guitar in tune for a while, unless you use the tremolo or a bend any greater than 2 steps. Accessories included were extra springs for the tremolo and two allen wrenches. The fretboard is rosewood, and the neck is very thin. The finish on the guitar is not very thick and it scratches easily.

This guitar does ot suit my style of playing at all. I play hard rock/heavy metal songs and it is impossible to play solos high up on the fretboard. I use Marshall amplification along with Marshall, Boss, Zoom, and DOD. So far the DOD fx86 death metal distortion has sounded the best. The pickups don't have a very high output but it's not too bad. Because of the single coil pickups it has a reall thin tone. There is not much variation between the sound of the pickups. The tone tone knobs make a bit of difference but not much.

When I first got the guitar it had a real low action. Everything else was fine except for the high e string. As it goes up the fretboard it gets closer to the edge and at the end it is over the edge of the fretboard.

This guitar could not withstand live playing. If you are rough on your guitars like many people are it wouldn't last long at all. THe hardware lasted me near a year, then the wiring became loose and all sorts of electrical problems occured. The finish is very thin, but it hasn't worn yet. After five years signs of wearing would become somewhat visible. I had to replace the strap buttons with straplocks because the old one would not hold a strap on. I would recomend not using this guitar without a backup because it won't last long.

I haven't dealt with the company yet. And I never did bother to get it repaired because it would just fall apart. It was under warranty for 90 days or a year or something. I don't remember.

I have been playing for two years and I own a Marshall amp and a DOD effects pedal. I wish I hadn't bought this guitar in the first place and if it was stolen I wouldn't get another one. I hate everything about it... I compared it to a Jackson Dinky, Gibson Les Paul Standard, and an Epiphone Les Paul. They all outdid everything in comparison.

It looks like any other Fender Strat..only the material is ofcourse less quality..but..it gets the job done....the Tone doesn't do crap.. the volume control works at least.

The sound buzzes a lot. The pickups are the worst thing on it, and the most important thing on any guitar.

I had to take it to repair (in warranty at least) because the inside collapsed (though I think this is a regular FENDER problem because my friend with a regular strat experienced the same)..the pickups, again..suck. the wood isn't good..the redwood is too rough and buzzes on the lower strings.

Well, this guitar DOES get the job done. But its not worth getting even as a practice guitar. It does give the feel of a fender strat at least. The machine heads are nice and firm and doesn't untune (at first it does of course..like hell). If you put this guitar on a really nice amp, you'll get decent enough results. Its not the worst thing out there( there really is worse).

I got my warranty from Fender..so, this is a pass or fail thing. Nonetheless, Fender doesn't exactly give you a ton of stuff to help out (like numbers..only 1 in the very back of the manual in small print)..so it sucks in the end

Look. If you're broke as hell, and need that first guitar, and only have 200 dollars and are desperate to start (in other words thats how I started) then plunge in. Otherwise..STAYYY AWAY!!!

It looks like any other Fender Strat..only the material is ofcourse less quality..but..it gets the job done....the Tone doesn't do crap.. the volume control works at least.

The sound buzzes a lot. The pickups are the worst thing on it, and the most important thing on any guitar.

I had to take it to repair (in warranty at least) because the inside collapsed (though I think this is a regular FENDER problem because my friend with a regular strat experienced the same)..the pickups, again..suck. the wood isn't good..the redwood is too rough and buzzes on the lower strings.

Well, this guitar DOES get the job done. But its not worth getting even as a practice guitar. It does give the feel of a fender strat at least. The machine heads are nice and firm and doesn't untune (at first it does of course..like hell). If you put this guitar on a really nice amp, you'll get decent enough results. Its not the worst thing out there( there really is worse).

I got my warranty from Fender..so, this is a pass or fail thing. Nonetheless, Fender doesn't exactly give you a ton of stuff to help out (like numbers..only 1 in the very back of the manual in small print)..so it sucks in the end

Look. If you're broke as hell, and need that first guitar, and only have 200 dollars and are desperate to start (in other words thats how I started) then plunge in. Otherwise..STAYYY AWAY!!!

It was made in Mexico, but I don't know the year. It has 21 frets, 1 volume and 2 tone controls, and a 5-way selector. Three single-coil pickups, I imagine they are passive. I think the neck is maple, don't know about the body. Black satin finish. Cheap tremolo bridge and cheap chrome tuners. Neck scale feels the same as any standard Strat. Came by itself.

It suits my music style pretty well, I play rock, blues and some jazz. I use a 15W Fender Frontman, a Zoom 1010, and a Boss CE-2 (I'm on a budget). The guitar is pretty quiet, the Zoom is pretty noisy. Has a twangy Strat sound. Makes a huge variety of sounds, like most strats. From metal to jazz. I really like this guitar. Actually, I'm writing this because I see so many reviews knocking Squiers. I've played a few standard strats, a Tex-Mex and the Eric Clapton Signature strat, so I do have some experience with "nice" guitars. It feels just like a standard strat, though it doesn't sound quite as clean and pretty (what do you want for $120?). My biggest complaints are the tremolo (definately needs new springs), the cheap tuning keys and the way the low E string buzzes if you don't hold it right at the fret.

Set-up and pickups are fine. Flaws are: loose tuning key for the G string, week tremolo springs, and it crackles a little when switching pickups.

It would take a live performance just fine, but I am not a real wild player, so you'd just have to decide for yourself. I'm pretty sure the hardware (except the tremolo springs) would last until I die unless I really abuse it. The finish has only one scratch, and it has been banged around some since I don't have a case. Strap buttons are very solid. I can, and do depend on it (until I get some more $$$). To tell the truth, I'd be embarrassed playing a Squier at a gig. =)

Never dealt with them. I don't know if it has a warranty or not.

I've been playing 1 1/2 years. Besides this guitar, I have a Segovia acoustic. I wish I had asked them to fix the tremolo springs. If I could afford it, I would buy a "real" Strat if it were stolen or lost. I love it's playability. I hate it's tremolo springs! My favorite feature is the whole guitar. I compared it to a Peavey Raptor and a Yamaha Strat-Clone when I bought it. I chose it because it played the best and had the nicest sound of the three. I wish it had a bridge humbucker. I'd just like to say not to condemn Squiers from playing just one. If you take the time to look around, there are Squiers that will play nice and sound good.

This guitar was made in japan, probably 1997. It's got 21 frets on a maple neck. The body is made of poplar (I think). There are three SC-pickups, a three-way selector, a master volume and two tone-knobs. The tremelo bridge is vintage-style, with die-cast saddles. Very cheap tuners. Black finish.

Uhm, my style would be blues and bluesrock. But I sure don't mind playing some hardrock or metal. I'm using this guitar with a Dunlop JH-1 wah, a Boss Bluesdriver and a Boss Fuzz. My amp is a Fender Champion 110.
The bridge-pickup sounds a little too harsh, especially higher up the neck. However, rolling down treble controles on my effects and my amp helps a lot. Sounds very good with fuzz. The middle pickup sounds fine, and so do the pickup-combinations. The neck-pickup is great! Altough these are really cheap pickups, the sound of this one is very good for blues, jazz or 60's/70's rock, All pickups are pretty noisy, but I don't really mind.

The setup sucked! The nut was WAY to high. I had it replaced with a ivory nut, and now it's fine. Pickups were setup fine, I just set 'em up a bit higher to get more output. I also put five strings in the back and tightened the bridge as much as possible, because when using the tremelo, it refused to stay in tune. Even bending strings caused problems.
The tuners are very cheap. The high E-string tuner is, like, twisted or something. One moment it's almost impossible to move, the next moment it shakes whenever you move the guitar. I guess I will have to replace 'em.
The rest seems fine, very tight neckfit.

Now that i'm not using a tremelo anymore, it's pretty reliable. I'd play it live (I ain't got much of a choice really, my other guitar REALLY sucks). Hardware is fine, except for the tuners. The finish isn't very good. It looks nice, but it chips of easily. Not that that's a bad thing of course, I mean, look at SRV's Number 1, or Claptons' blackie.
Overall, I think this guitar can take a good beating.

Huh?

I've been playing for about five years, and this is my second electric. This guitar is a lot better than my first one (a Hohner). I love the way it looks and plays, I just wish I could use the trem. Sounds are pretty good.
I don't even think i'll buy a better one. I'll probably just replace the hardware and electronics over time. This guitar seems easily upgradable.

My Strat is a Korean-made '96 model with all the standard hardware - 3 single coils, tremolo bridge, 1 volume & 2 tones, 21 frets etc etc. I went for the cream finish, maple neck and white scratchplate. This guitar still has all the stock stuff. Let's face it, the Strat's features have survived for half a century - there can't be much wrong here.

I play through shielded Whirlwind leads, a Zoom 505 floor multi-FX and a Marshall VS100 combo. As with all single-coil pickups, there is an element of noise, but this isn't noticeable while playing on clean or overdriven. Anyway, I'm planning to buy three DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups to eliminate the noise and improve the tone even more! The Strat gives really, really rich, full tones when clean for picking etc, and sparks can really fly when it's heavily driven. My only reservation is the too-harsh sound of the bridge pickup, but then I rarely touch metal (I prefer rock, blues, even country). I can honestly say I prefer the sound to any other guitar I have ever played. It's not godlike or anything, it just sounds really good in any situation.

When I first took this baby home to try out, the third fret was a little buzzy, but the whole guitar has settled in very nicely. There was also slight but noticeable noise when flicking the pickup selector switch, but that's gone now too - nothing major. The rotary controls are silent (although I never use the tones, I'm just not that way inclined) and the rest of the guitar is very well adjusted.

This guitar has now seen two years of daily use for at least half an hour per day - that's 365 hours. It tunes up very quickly and the pegs hold the strings really accurately. There are a few tiny imperfections in the finish thanks to my clumsiness and a few walls, but the finish is pretty tough. The strap buttons are rock solid, and I've used it at several gigs with no problems. Very dependable, just keeps going.

I've never even thought of calling Fender - there was just no need. However, my local shop have always given me advice when I needed it - I'm happy so far.

I've been playing for around five years now, and this is my second guitar after a very, very bad little Encore. The best things about this guitar are 1) It's better than a US Strat - I was very lucky, 2) The finish and sound really suit me, and 3) The way it really sounds better each time I use it, like it's getting used to me! Anyone with the money for a US Strat should try about ten of these and pick the best Squier instead, they really are great value. I would never swap this for a US model.

1997 Squire Strat made in Japan. This thing is a piecs of crap. There are worse guitars out there, but this is not a good guitar. Im kind of embarassed that i own one. When i bought it, i said, Hey its a Fender! It must rock! um.....no

Terrible sound. It has a 5 way selector switch and the thing hums like a fishing motor. It only is quiet on the #2 setting. Its good for playing clean stuff like the intro to Lithium or Come as You are by Nirvana, but when it comes to rockin out, forget about it, you'll get booed off stage.

Its a damn good looking guitar with a finish that has enough wax to wax my car with. The tuning pegs are hard to twist. But its reliable. It hums and then i throw it on the ground and it still works.

very reliable, except for the humming

never dealt with the Fender company. It has a 1 year warranty.

I will never buy another Fender Squire Strat. I advise you to do the same. I recently upgraded to a 1987 Gibson Les Paul Standard. Now that is a beauty. I treat it better than i treat myself.

MAde in Korea. 21 frets. all the same electronics as an American Strat, but with a humbucker in the bridge possition. Grover tuning machines

I play mostly hard rock. Expecially into the Seatle grunge sound. I use an Ampeg ss70c. I get a great sound from this particullar set-up. Sounds range from a rich accoustic feel to screaming distortion, and a bluesy kinda sound is posible to.

The only thing I had a problem with was the factory tuning machines. everything else was perfect.

this is one of my main stage guitars. very reliable. No backup needed with this one....

I'm 26 years old now, and I've bee playing for about 20 years. I would buy another one of these, if this one came up missing.. I compared it to an American Strat and liked this one better, not only was the price better, but playability was astounding.

My Squier (I would rather call her Squier than Fender because Fender guitars are usually good...) was made in China and it was probably made in 1996-7. It has 22 frets. The controls are pretty simple; volume, 2 tone controls and a 5-way selector. The pickups are all singles (s/s/s). The pickups came with the guitar so they are probably Fender pickups but I don't know the specific name, I do know they are passive. I don't know what wood she's made of but from what the sales person at the store told me she's not a one piece, the woods are stuck together or something (I'm refering to the body). My Squier has a sunburst finish, looks good on it's strat body style. I don't know the name of the bridge... it's that usual Fender strat bridge... The names of the features are missing on the guitar...

I play more rock music but also jazz and it sounds bad for any style I tired to play on it... The guitar sound ok for the clean sound but there's always a BUZZ if you put the pickup alone (Which means 3 of the pickup settings buzz.. ) The worst part, in my opinion is when you put the guitar on distortion... The moment you do it starts to buzz stronger and that's when the volume is low... When you raise the volume a bit (So you'll hear the guitar pretty good- not loud but not quiet) it starts to scream but you can't stop her! Even if you put the hand on the strings like normal guitars! It can drive you crazy! The sound is ok if you just wanna play at home for yourself, nothing noisy just some clean sound, not loud... I don't like the guitar because of the sound...

Nothing broke or anything but the string knobs were pretty hard to turn.

I would not use this guitar at home not to mention a gig... I guess the guitar will survive- it's a Fender after all, but I don't think it'll sound better with time...

Never had to deal with them

I've been playing for almost 2 years now but I've checked a lot of guitars and I think I can rate pretty good, my tutor also thinks this guitar sucks and he knows... I would definitly not buy another one because this one sucks! I don't love anything specific about it but I hate almost everything about it. After time it's pretty comfortable. I wish Fender would make this guitar sound good because they are making a bad name for themself.

as stated above, a 1974 model 21 fret maple neck solid wood body, S/S/S pickups (usual strat setup really) Stock pickups, except for a seymour duncan custom 5 mini humbucker, in the lead... ph yeah, and it's got a good, wornin black paint job.

Besides the fact that it is a squire... (don't say it sucks just cause it is) it is also a great guitar. like all "older" strats, it's sound has gotten better with age, so it sounds really great... and withth eudncan pickup in the lead it's apretty vesatile instrument... it's got a nice clean tone, selction 4 on the switch (neck/mid) is my favorite, for that fat strat round sound... as far as hard rock tone, it's not all that great, but it does that Stevie Ray thing VERY well

Can't really say much in this category as I saved tyhe guitar from the ravages of a junk store, and from a few younger kids eyeing it up for decimation! as far as finish, it's pretty roughnow...

This guitar has been through hell and back, from my college days when I played very often, through moves all over onatario, and finally to it's new resting place as the main instrument in my collection, and through it all only regular maintenance and cleaning and it still shines... it's a diamon in the rough, but it sure sparkles!

As far as a warranty, "Omer's GUitars and Vacuums" doesn't really give much on their goods!
Never dealt with fender, but I am thinking of sending them the neck and having the custom shop build me a copy of it... flat worn spots and all!

I have a pretty extensive guitar collection... this instrument rocks... I doubt I could ever replace it... I am so used to it! I almost bought a brand new american standard, but after playing it and the strat plus, I think I am sticking withthis one... I guess I love strats because of Dave Gilmour... or Dave Murray from Miaden...

1994 Fender Squire Stratocaster, made in Korea. This is the low end of the low end of Strats. It has a plywood body (not sure which wood...alder??) with a maple neck and maple fingerboard with 22 frets. It has 3 single coil pickups with a 5-way selector switch. Standard Fender tremelo bridge.

This is a very cheap guitar that is really only for beginners and people wanting something to modify/upgrade. All the pickups are noisy, with the in-between (3/5) positions being even worse. It has a thin, nasal tone (very unmusical).

This was the only good thing about this guitar. It played well. The neck was great and the action was superb. One of the best playing guitars I have ever had...too bad about the sound.

I wouldn't trust this guitar at a gig at all (mostly because of the pickups) This is a cheap beginners guitar, so I don't think it really matters if it can be gigged.

I never really dealt with Fender. I worked on the guitar myself, so I am not sure if it has a warranty or not.

I have been playing for 10 years. I wouldn't buy this guitar again. I mostly bought it too have as a throw around. It is good to play on, as long as you don't plug it in.

1994 Fender Squire Stratocaster, made in Korea. This is the low end of the low end of Strats. It has a plywood body (not sure which wood...alder??) with a maple neck and maple fingerboard with 22 frets. It has 3 single coil pickups with a 5-way selector switch. Standard Fender tremelo bridge.

This is a very cheap guitar that is really only for beginners and people wanting something to modify/upgrade. All the pickups are noisy, with the in-between (3/5) positions being even worse. It has a thin, nasal tone (very unmusical).

This was the only good thing about this guitar. It played well. The neck was great and the action was superb. One of the best playing guitars I have ever had...too bad about the sound.

I wouldn't trust this guitar at a gig at all (mostly because of the pickups) This is a cheap beginners guitar, so I don't think it really matters if it can be gigged.

I never really dealt with Fender. I worked on the guitar myself, so I am not sure if it has a warranty or not.

I have been playing for 10 years. I wouldn't buy this guitar again. I mostly bought it too have as a throw around. It is good to play on, as long as you don't plug it in.

um.. i dunno.. same as your average strat i guess. global volume, and tone controls for the neck and middle PUs. oh, and your standard 5-way strat switch. the PUs are single coils, xcept for the bridge which is a humbucker.. um, i guess i'd have preferred a single coil in there. not because the HB doesn't sound fine, it's just that i'd like to have a guitar with single coils and another with HBs [eventually]. the pickups are standard fender single coils, and an unnamed HB. it's a passive-wired guitar, of course. um.. now that i think of it, the neck PU may or may not be wired out-of-phase because i took it out and put it in again w/o looking at the wiring. the neck is made of that dark wood [i don't remember the name right now but there's basically two kinds of strat: dark neck and light neck] which i really like and find really nice to the touch. i used to own a guitar with a light neck, but it had lacquer on it; this one hasn't, and i find that more comfortable. the body is made of some cheap wood of which i haven't seen much because it has an opaque black finish. i'll never buy another black guitar. i don't know what i was thinking.. it's so ugly.. it has the standard strat body shape and bridge. i don't use the whammy bar much, however, cause i find it greatly reduces string life. i had to have a couple springs added to the bridge when i switched from 009s to 011s. the tuners are really crappy, as un-smooth as they can get. i had a set of gotohs in my previous guitar, and they were amazing. the neck is not as fat as a les paul's i've played once, but fatter than a jackson [which i hate]. the neck is what i like more about this guitar.. it just feels so natural. the guitar came on its own, no case, gig bag, no nothing.. and it's made in korea

well.. i think strats in particular suit any music style because they're so versatile.. no wonder they've held up 50 years. i play whatever comes up, as long as i can, but never straying too far from standard rock. i'm using it with a boss blues driver, a zoom box, a practice amp and a couple of homemade fuzzboxes [not all at once, of course]. sometimes i also borrow this or that pedal.. oh, and a wah. of the 5 positions, only 2 are hum-free.. the bridge [hb] and the neck and middle combination. lately i gave up on the others cause hum is drives me nuts. not that it's particularly strong or that i play with ridiculous amounts of gain, but i just can't stand it. the sounds are really full.. the bridge pu has a mushy [as opposed to jangly] sound to it because of being a hb.. but i'm fine with it. it sounds much better for crunchy rhythm that my friend's all-sc strat, which has a somewhat disgusting clangy sound to it. otoh, single coils have this [particularly noticeable in leads] squeaky quality to the pick attack which i really like and it's not here. the in-between positions are really jangly and nice. the middle pu i don't use much on its own, i think it sounds pretty plain.. the neck pickup is nice though.. i often find myself rolling a bit of the tone off so that it sounds somewhat smoother, not so clangy.. on the whole, the guitar is on the brighter side.. it'd be even more if it was an all-sc strat. the sounds are really varied, but i won't rate it a 10 cause i know there are much better guitars out there..

i don't remember the particular way this guitar was adjusted the day i brought it home, but i guess it'd have been pretty normal since i don't recall having any problems with it. the pickups protrude about 1/4" from the body of the guitar, if that makes sense to any of you.. i never adjusted anything, wanting to keep it as stock as possible, my previous guitar having been tweaked to death .. i'll never do that again. one gripe i have about this guitar is that one of the frets must be badly filed because some of the notes cut out around the 12th fret.. i had it aligned once and it went away, but now it's back.. i hate it, really interferes with my playing. the finish is flawless, and has withstood pretty well over time, looking from a certain distance. the volume pot's shaft broke once, but that's about it.. my friend's strat is so much worse.. everything is loose on that guitar. oh, and one last thing.. one of the wires going to the pot came off once, but a 1-minute solder job took care of that..

well.. the finish has some pick scrapes, but nothing bad.. the hardware doesn't seem particularly strong.. in particular the tuners look some- what flimsy.. about the finish.. i thought about taking it off altogether, but i don't know what's it like under it and i don't wanna end up with a crappy looking guitar.. besides, it has withstood well, it'd be dumb to do so. the strap buttons must be amongst the worst things of this guitar.. both of them came off several times and i had to remount them.. they've settled down right now though. overall, i guess i can depend on this guitar, and other that perhaps a broken string it'd withstand a gig perfectly well.

no, haven't dealt with'em

let's see.. if i'm not mistaken, i must have been playing for about 5 years now.. when i got this guitar, i actually was looking for a stan- dard strat [black body, white pickguard] but they didn't have it in stock [this one has no pickguard btw.. rather ugly]. as i already men- tioned, i love the neck. i also love the fact that next time i buy a guitar i'll already know what to look for.. as for other guitars, i've played several, mainly friends'.. but then i'm no connoisseur, so .. but i sure love that neck this guitar is perfect as it is.. it definately has its own niche and has come to the perfect place in the perfect time.. if it got lost or stolen i'd get another strat.. just because they're great guitars on the whole.. but i'd also like to get a les paul-type guitar ..

21 frets, made in Japan, three single-coil passive pickups, tremolo unit, rosewood neck, 1 volume and 2 tone knobs

this guitar is good for those who want a cheap strat to mess around with or those who are just beginning
sound quality is nothing to write home about
guitar is noisy on all settings

action and intonation are generally poor and inconsistent all of the components and hardware are pretty cheap finish was nice though

I would never play a gig with this guitar the strap buttons don't hold the strap too well otherwise it's reasonable reliable

never dealt with them

this guitar is good for beginners and people who want a cheap Strat to mess around with