Squier Standard Stratocaster

2009, Indonesian made, 22 frets, cherry burst, rosewood neck, rather thin neck, die-cast tuners, medium jumbo frets, tremolo bridge.

Good for blues and old school rock, typical Fender bell like sound, rather bright, can become fatter if tone control set on 3-4. I like how the guitar sounds, EXCEPT that the higher E string does not resonate as well as the others, its annoying ! Tried to clean the nut, set different pickup heights, no improvement.

The neck feels great in the hand. Frets are fine, but badly cut, rough at their ends. Its so difficult to tune the guitar with its floating bridge, almost impossible.

The guitar gives a good impression of durability. I havent played it live yet, but sure it will be fine.

I like this guitar, i just wished all strings would sound the same manner...am not asking for Texas special Fender sound, but if Cort manages to get a guitar of a similar price range, and identical origin, with a regular sound, then Squier has no excuse.

2008 Squier Standard Stratocaster. Indonesia. 22 frets. Antique Burst finish. Rosewood fingerboard. Very light atin neck finish.

I don't wanna make it cry or sing. Wide range of rhythym tones.

Action was way too high. Pickups adjusted well. Flawless finish.

Yes, on all counts

Playing longer than I care to admit. I love the non-gummy satin finish on the neck.

This is an update to my previous post (see below, post by Paul).

Okay - now I have had this guitar on two gigs since I bought it. I also upgraded the bridge pickup to a gfs lil' killer rails pickup. I am going through a fender texas-red limited edition blues junior amp. this is what I have to say: I never had to pick up my other guitar. period. This guitar sounded great (I got compliments) looked great (I got compliments) and felt great ALL NIGHT LONG. The music we play is (for example) GnR, Scorpions, SRV, Foo Fighters, Ray Charles, ACDC, ZZTop, Skynyrd, and a bunch more obviously.. Anyway, this guitar covered everything and sounded amazing. Remember, the mods I did were: Neck=GFS Lil' Killer Rails Pickup, Neck+Mid=GFS Overwound strat pickups. That's it. Aside from cosmetic tweaks (I put on black knobs) and a fair setup on the neck and bridge, I did nothing else, and it screams. better than my les pauls, better than my mexican strats. So there it is, my road-test entry.

This is an update to my previous post (see below, post by Paul).

This is an update to my previous post (see below, post by Paul).

This is an update to my previous post (see below, post by Paul).

This is an update to my previous post (see below, post by Paul).

Standard Squier Stratocaster. Deep vintage sunburst, black guard, white knobs and pickups (sss configuration), rosewood fingerboard, tremelo, maple neck, large 70s headstock. Rates a 10 because, feature wise, it is what it is - a stratocaster. I see people rate things here as a 5 because there is no more or less than the standard features. Well, what do you expect? To buy a standard stratocaster and to FIND hidden random undocumented features? HEY BONUS! IT COMES WITH A HIDDEN KEG OF GUINNESS - I NOW* RATE IT A 10!!!

Before I get into it, for all the Fender Snobs that say "hey ot ISNT a real fender strat, so therefore dont compare it to one" - go away, you are name-snobs and have no idea what you are talking about, so go back to jamming in your little bedroom like you usually do!

Didnt sound awesome when first bought - low output vintage style pickups. But I expected that. rate a 7 to start on that. Any chinese low end guitar isnt going to come with high end duncans. However, they did sound good for what they were - vintage output strat pickups, nice tone, not a lot of noise (some, but eh, of course). The first thing I did was call my buds at GFS and loaded this with overwound pickups. NOW that's more like it. I might add that: The bridge this came with is no stamped-tin run of the mill indonesian crap bridge - no, this came with the heavy saddles! AND AND AND!! it also has the two-point fulcrum bridge, but more on that later. This guitar NOW sounds tasty - my band was AMAZED that this was a 200 guitar!! HAH. I love doing that to them!!!

Here is where I have some fun. I used to set up and modify guitars for a living. I have to admit that for a cheap chinese guitar, I am amazed -- first, the neck felt good and was straight. No blems, no stress cracks, tight fit, etc. The bridge was also an upgraded bridge - full block saddles (not the stamped tin crappo ones), TWO POINT (YAY) fulcrum tremolo that stays in TUNE! That says way more than my real fender strat! The body is a nice deep vintage sunburst, that even my girlfriend thinks is absolutely beautiful! Against the black pickguard, it looks awesome. I did replace the hinky white knobs, pickup covers (well, I replaced the pickups too) all with black and now it looks really good. So, I have a guitar that looks great, feels great, has wonderful action, sounds tremendous (with the gfs pickups) all for 200 bucks. Hell, I have been playing 30 years... gigging for about 25.. and I absolutely LOVE this guitar now. We have our next gig coming up, and I cant WAIT to play this SQUIER and have people ask about it - "what, a d*#@m SQUIER??? afert seeing me with upper end Ibanezes, Gibsons, PRS, etc. HAH. I am loving this guitar!

I would gig with this, and I would gig without a backup. I trust my work, and I happen to also carry a soldering iron, spare parts and strings, etc - but I do that with every gig, and for every guitar. This is a solid guitar. Why would it act any different than a 3500 prs? No reason at all. In fact, I probably will have this as my sole guitar on some gigts, but on others I will also bring another guitar, not for a backup, but for the drop tunings.

I never call companies. Unless it came to me with a broken neck, there is no reason to. Heck, 5 minutes after I buy a guitar I void the warranty anyway, since I always upgrade pickups, etc. Pish. Who needs customer supports except to get schematics and diagrams anyway?

10 all the way. With the caveat that the stock pickups might not be hot enough for you. But that is personal taste. As for the setup, any guitar will need a setup SOMEWHERE, whether it's at the store, at the factory, or in your hands. I can rate a guitar that wasnt setuup correctly simply because not everyone sets them up the same. No, this is a solid axe for the money, and in fact if you can squeeze out the money for better pickups, this will and DOES rival a 600 guitar anyway. It's all how you work it.

I had to review the Standard series Squier Stratocaster to set it apart from its crappy cousins, the Affinity and Bullet models. Mine is a 2005 and made in Indonesia. Standard Strat features: solid alder body, S/S/S, 3-way selector, 2-point trem bridge, alnico pickups, maple neck/rosewood fingerboard. Mine has a metallic black finish. C-shaped neck w/jumbo frets, nicely shaped and rounded (not the razorblades I found on the Affinity model I used to have). If you get a Squier, be sure you get a Standard if you want anything like a real Strat. THe Affinity's aren't TOO bad, but the thinner bodies effect sustain drastically. Classic 70's fatty headstock. The only thing I hate about this guitar is the tuners which are serious junk.

I play blues and indie/noise (mainly) and this guitar sounds great. Typical Strat 60-cycle hum, clean "quacky" tone yet nice and warm in the neck position. Haven't heard it with any decent distortion as the little 10 watt practice amp I got at the pawn shop sounds like dooky in the overdrive setting, but I can even squawk out a nice "Electric Funeral" with this thing. Very classic strat sound and compares quite well with the American and MIM strats I've played. (Note: I am NOT a beginner. You can trust this review.)

This is may main area of contention with this guitar. The action was AWFUL when I got it. I adjusted the neck bow, set the string height and intonation and still get a weird "G" chord. Also, the action is a bit higher than I care for. I like it low like an Ibanez S-series, but this thing approaches near-Hondo heights. Every time I take it any lower with the action, though, I get alot of buzz, especially between the 12th and 15th frets. I'd rather suffer high action than listen to that buzz which (unlike many guitars) is audible even when amplified.

This guitar is a rock machine and would easily withstand the rigors of live playing, though it'd have to be tuned after EVERY song. The finish is great but the die-cast hardware is less than what I'd want quality-wise and will probably be replaced eventually. I think the nut is also plastic or composite and that is being replaced immediately with bone. Strap buttons are the typical Fender funnels that will eventually leave your guitar on the floor at some point, but my Planet Waves locking strap makes this a non-issue. I'd use it without backup, as long as I had an in-line tuner running.

Bought it used at the pawn shop for $70. So, no exp. with customer service for this guitar, though I'd shot them an email with a question about a different guitar and got a response within 20 mins.

I've been playing guitar for 22 years. I've owned a Gibson Flying-V, an Explorer, and a Les Paul Studio. I've owned three Ibanez 540 SLTDs, a BC Rich Warlock (American made) and a Schecter Omen-7. I've also owned alot of cheapo guitars like a Briggs Music special, an Aria Pro II, a Squier Bullet Strat, a Squier Affinity Strat and a Squier Standard Tele. The Squier Standard Strat that I own now is as nice as my Ibanez's, and may be as good as my Gibsons once I replace tuners and die-cast hardware. Don't laugh, I'm serious. The fingerboard is select almost-coppery rosewood, not the cheapo almost black stuff on some of the other models. Mother of pearl fret markers, not plastic. Great fret dressing. Pickups sound great (better tone pots would make them sing). I was pleasantly surprised with this guitar, and I think you would be too.