Squier Stratocaster

Squier standard stratocaster with maple neck. Nice 2 tone sunburst. Neck is way off, partly fixed that with truss rod adjustment. Horrible tremolo, it takes the guitar 5 minutes to get back in tune after use. It looks nice though...

Thin, buzzy, treblish-one of the worst sounding electrics I ever did play. Strumming a chord is even worse than playing single notes. Chords sound like 10 differently tuned guitars playing at the same time. Pickups are so bad I can't find a word for it. This guitar plays better unplugged than plugged in and still sounds so bad it's useless.

Action is crap, but can be adjusted. Finish is allright and it looks nice. Frets are way too small and harsh.

Wouldn't know-sold mine a week after purchase...

Who knows?

Playing for 20 years. This guitar is terrible. Buy a mexican Fender, it's 10 times better and at least it's usable. I own or have owned at least 15 guitars, all in the above 700$ price range. Bought this as a jam session guitar, but sold it straight away. I bet there's better guitars out there for 250$, but I won't ever take my chances again. Fortunately I sold mine, but if it was stolen I'd pitty the guy who did it. Yes, it's so bad...

It's a black strat with white pickguard. It was built in the US in 1989, and I bought it new for 500 dollars in 1990.
It has gotoh style tuner, maple neck, and all the rest is a mistery.
The setup is a standard 3 single coils strat and the usual strat controls.
Materials used are all good quality. The electronics are low standard.

I play Goth Rock, and, I looked for a guitar that would deliver good clean tones for me to "ruin" with a little overdrive.
Well, the tone was clean, but, too much on the trebble side, and, strange enough, with very soft atack. Not the twang I was expecting to hear.
The sound was also afected by too much noise by any standard, always humming, and I later found out why. For some reason there is no shielding anywhere around the circuit.

The wood work and finish are very good. After 16 years the paint has no cracks the neck is still in top shape, and the hardware has only minor spots of rust, mostly on springs and screws.
I don't like the neck, never did. It's a bit too thin, and for some complex chord playing as I used it for, it requires a lot of efford on the fingers. But, this is part of the design, I just didn't consider it before buying the guitar, and I regret it.
As for the string action, I used to play with 08s and it rattled a bit, and when I moved to 09s and 10s the bridge almost jumped out. Adjusting the truss rod made no difference with the 08s, and reseting the tremolo springs didn't do much with the 10s.
Even from the store it came with the bridge "jumping" out with the string tension.

This guitar has suffered in my hands for 16 years, gigged with it, carried it all around, all sorts of punishment and it still looks as good as new on the wood parts. No paint cracks, no mechanical problems. Excelent. But all the screw rusted within the first 2 years of use, and that was just the beggining.
The electronics, on the other hand didn't even last 1 year before I had to start fixing things... Pots and the knob sounded like fried potatoes cracking when you used them, the hum never gone away, even with combined PUs in the selector, and with the hands on the strings or bridge. I had to improvise some shielding, and replace circuit wires that cracked, replace the PU selector (just stoped working), and finaly decided to buy all the electronics, new and rebuild everything.

No contact with them...

I play for 18 years now, and have had this guitar for 16 years.
If it were stolen I'd buy something else. There are better single coil sounds out there. Even within the same price tag! I just didn't realize it when I bought it. I have to say I love the woods used, and the flexibility of the PU cavity being a big flat hole, which allowed be to rebuild it as I wished. The neck works better with 09s or 10s strings, but, it needed to have 2 extra springs attached to the tremolo.
I own this unit, along with an Epiphone LesPaul Custom.
For effects I use a GT-6. I have a Marshall JCM-900 1945 Dual Reverb, and a Marshall 1936 cabinet. And a Sennheiser e606 mic for recordings.

21 frets, 5 way tone selector, Rosewood neck, and a tremelo bar. I got the package deal that came with a tuner that enjoys breaking, a terrible amp, and some headphones. A great setup for when I first started and didn't know what a pull off was but I found it lacking around 6 months after purchase.

I play primarily 80s metal(Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Scorpians), industrial metal(Ministry, Skinny Puppy),a bit of thrash(Slayer), classic rock(Deep Purple, Black Sabbath), and some gothic rock(Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy). It had an OK sound when I didn't know any better and first started learning, though I've found it lacking because I've been unable to get a decent, full sound out of it.

The E string and A string buzz on it, particularly between the 3rd and 9th fret. As well it doesn't have the "heavy" sound I'm looking for now that I know what I'm doing.

I'm still using the horrid 5 watt amp that came with the guitar, the one that picks up radio signals and can oftentimes I cannot hear what I'm playing over the static, expecially with distortion. I would get a new AMP but I'm saving up for a new guitar that will, hopefully last me longer than this one.

I needed the action lowered asap due to it being nearly impossible for a bigginer like myself to play. After a friend told me how hard it was to play I brought it into the shop and had it adjusted which help a huge deal.

Despite my best efforts the cord imput keeps coming loose along with the screw on it. Before I start practicing I need to tighten everything. I actually find myself looking for a screw driver before even thinking of grabbing a pick.

I've never played live so I don't know about all that, though I wouldn't take this guitar live even if I did.

My tremelo bar is bent and slightly broken after a few hours of use; the cord imput is sketchy at best, if I move it will stop working. I've dropped my guitar because of the strap buttons coming off. My pick guard is scatched up from me trying to thrash, I guess that's why they call it a guard. The strings go out of tune after about twenty minutes of solid playing, and they break constantly, granted this could be from the thrashing.

If I had to play live, this guitar would be my backup's backup's backup. Even then I'd see if anyone in the audience had one I could borrow for the set.

I've been playing for ten months, about four hours a day. I recieved this guitar as a gift when I made an off hand comment that I'd like to learn to play, but I wish I could have had a chance to try out other bigginer's guitars but I wouldn't know what to look for. If it was stolen I'd use that as a very good excuse to get a new one. I really do love this guitar in all its shoddy glory because I learned how to play on it and I've done so a lot in a short amount of time.

I've played other guitars: an gibson SG, a BC Rich Warlock, and a real Fender Strat. All of them felt better than my squier, but they were also about 200-700 dollars more than my squier. The old addage is true, you get what you pay for.

My advice, if you play guitar aleady, don't buy it, get something better. If your getting this for someone who has never picked up a guitar before it's perfect because it's cheap, it plays OK, and if you get the package deal everything you need is inluded. Though if you do get it for someone as a gift you can expect one of two things, either they stop playing after a month and you've just saved a bundle on expensive guitars or two they're going to want a better guitar in about a year which fine and dandy as long as they play.

Same things as you might find on a normal strat, a bit cheaper pickups but that's really all. I switched the neck for a lefty fender neck ( Hendrix!!!!!), and it plays on.

Sounds fine for what I use it for. i use this for everything as it is my only elctric. it handles those sounds good. Roll off neck tone for jazz, bridge for country, middles for Funk and Tool's clean tones. It gives a fat sound on some settings and thin in others. It is good. I can get maybe 4 different sounds out of it, before you get into the tone knobs. I'm using a big yellow digitech distortion and a weeping demon wah into a Fender princeton chorus my dad got from one of his coworkers when he went acoustic. Sounds phenomenal with that setup. you can't really go wrong unless you are looking for shred tones. You won't find em. Thank god I'm not a yngwie disciple or else i would hate this rig. everything is there, all you need to rock.

I've had it for a while, so I can't remember how it was set up, though it must have been good because once i got it I played from when I got it to when I had to go to jazz camp that morning. Likewise, I do not rember how the pickups were adjusted as I change them a lot, you know, raise one for this gig, lower another, vice versa. The wood is OK, but not stellar. The only finish flaws I came across was spots where my arm was against it after a year of devoted playing. The hardware was a bit rusty as I had bought it used, but that doen'st matter to me unless I seem to need a tetanus shot every gig. then I have a problem. Only Flaws. the neck comes out of the pocket a tad when you play heavy guage strings. This is not a SR Vaughanabee's axe, 11s are the max. I tried 12s for a more 50s vintage blues sound, the body and neck satrted to resemble a banana. I use 10s and they work out fine.

Yeah, I would gig it w/o a backup. All you need to do is screw in the strap pin tight before each show and you should be fine. Finish is thin but I like it that way. The hardware will last longer than many of my relationships will, and it overall seems pretty damn solid

I haven't had any real trouble I couldn't fix.

I've been playing for five years and I've had it for 3. I'm 15 and I play in wherever will let me in and play. i also play with guys around town and at dances. I have played school talent shows and do comedy and writing as well. I have a used takamine I got early last year and it plays real good. If it were stolen, I'd probably get a diferent one. It's nice, but something with more of a jazz pedigree would be in order. I wish it had those dimarzio stack coils to stop that damned hum. I like the distorted tone in those settings, but all you hear then is BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ under it. I got a sweet deal for $89

I have a Japenese Squier which I use live with a fender princeton amp and usually a pod with a foot controller. I bought it as I play a wide range of music and I find it very versatile.

I bought it used and had to do a bit of adjusting on the neck but everything else is ok

This guitar gets some serious abuse and it keeps on taking it & I never have to worry about loss or damage as it is not valuable and would be easily replaced although I've grown quite attached to it and I love the fact that I am doing most of my gigging with a guitar that cost ??100.

bought it used so no experience in this area.

I have been playing for 25 years and own a gibson les paul, and an epiphone sheraton both of which are rarely played whilst i play the squier every day. If it were stolen or lost I would buy another one definitley buy another although it would have to be JAPENESE as I've played the Korean ones and I wouldn't touch one of those

left-handed
3-single coils
5-way selector
2 tone, 1 volume
poorly assembled bridge
right-handed, poorly fitting trem arm
fat and lopsided neck
unlaminated
made in indonesia

Very weak pickups. Impossible to fingertap. No difference in tone adjustment, very little sound variety.

Guitar is left-handed and made in Indonesia. Black sparkle finish. White pickguard. One of the tone knobs was never connected at all. Came with an ill fitting right handed trem from a Fender which neither fender nor squire could properly finish. Horrible action and intonation. Cracked neck at the 13th fret. goes out of tune at the 14th. Tuners are horrible. The neck is very thick and uneven which is horrible since my fingers are small and more suited for a duosonic or a jaguar.

This guitar needs a backup. Electrical and tuning problems are constant. Can hold out but it's best to keep a screw driver, soddering iron, and several strings a foot away at all times.

No warranty available. Needed extensive repair because it was never wired properly and the tone knobs were never wired at all. Squire could never provide a proper trem bar since their lefties were wired at a different gauge from righties which they have conveniently stopped making.

This was my first electric and i've been playing it for about 6 years. I've put up with it simply because the industry discriminates against lefties and basically charges huge markups for poorly assembled pieces of crap like this (up to 400%). I generally play it through a cheap Crate GFX amp of some make with a Danelectro delay, boss ds-1, ibanez flange, digitech death metal, and digitech multichorus. great effects, horrible guitar. Basically, I should have sued Squire or Fender for false advertisement, misleading statements, and discrimination.

It's strat body, maple wood neckboard. Five way pickup selector. Three single coils. I thinking it is mexican. 21 frets. The rest is just standard strat. The frets are too close together. I don't like rosewood necks.

They're is some hum if you use the neck pickup. Though the sound is metallic dud sound that no one could like. The only thing that makes it even ok is about between the fifth and tweleith fret on the e b and g string is clean and nice. When playing chords even at a gently strum it sounds like someone is beating the crap out of it.

The action is way too low (for me) and if you play it like a normal peson you come down with too much force the string will bend or make a bad hammer on tone.

The input jack dies about every month and a half. Everything else I have no problem with beside the tuning machines. Very often when making the slightest tuning the string will become disalinged and slip oout of the nut and drop in tuning.

I haven't tried

I have been more than a year, the guitar came in the se-100 strat pack. It came with the Sp-10 amp. The tuner's input jack on it dosen't work sometimes, the mic isn't the most reliable and even with the cable the tuner sometimes dosen't work. Strap tore in about a month. Cable went out about 2 months. Gig bag ( I don't use it often) is ripped to shreds. I like the clean jazz like tones you can get on the the three bottom strings between the fifth and twelevth fret. I hate the feel of the fretboard, the extremly low action and the sound. I give it this low rating due to all the said above combined.

Black finish, white pickguard, three single coils, toggle switch, volume and two tone knobs. Has a trem bridge that works alright, but goes way out of tune with much use.

Not as bad as some beginner guitars I've played, but I don't like its sound much. The clean is ok, but it's not capable of producing a nice lead tone.

No real flaws that I found.

My only complaint is the input jack, which comes loose after a while, and is a pain to screw back in.

I've been playing a few years. This was my first guitar, and I run it through a Fender Stage 100 solid state amp. I wouldn't buy it again if it was lost or stolen.

Again, it's not a bad guitar for a beginner, but it won't fulfill your needs once you get better.

Made in 2002, my USA strat has 21 easily reachable frets (well, being a single cutaway strat shape, the high frets on the E,A and D strings are a little tricky to reach when playing but not impossible). It has a nice black satin lacquer which has a few chips but only what you could expect from 3 year's regular transit. There is a volume pot, 2 tone pots, a 5 way pickup selector, and a tremolo arm. The whammy bar works ok but can knock it right out of tune as there are no locking tuners. There are 3 single coil pickups (The factory pickups are quite noisy, I was considering putting some EMG buckers in there). The electronics are passive. Not sure what the wood is, but I took the scratchplate off to have a look around, and the wood looks like MDF! so not great sustain. The fretboard is rosewood but I have a friend who has it in maple, so there IS a choice. I bought this as part of a pack when i first started playing, it contained the guitar iteslf, a fender frontman 15G amp, a lead, a plectrum and a 'get started' video.

I loved this guitar as a beginner. Up until about 6 months ago I used it through the practice amp that it came with (Fender Frontman 15G) but then I needed to buy a proper amp to be heard over my drummer, so I got a line 6 hd75 head and an ashdown fallen angel 4x12 cab, which makes the strat sound just lovely. However, I dont think the sound is very full, this may be because i use super slinkys and need to get a thicker guage, but upgrading the single coils to humbuckers really would make the difference i think. The Squier can produce a fairly pleasing distortion, and makes an ok rhythm or lead, it is very versatile. It has a nice shimmering clean sound, not as good as the SG i played in my local music shop a few months ago, but it is sure good enough for a beginner.

The strat came in perfect working order. The intonation was perfect, the strings were even in tune! It came exactly as I had ordered it (I bought it off the net) with the right finish and fretboard wood. There were NO flaws in it (for a squier) except the pickup selector does make a slight clicking noise through the amp when it is adjusted, and recently the volume pot has started rustling when it is turned, I will have to look at the circuitry. The action is very low with no fret buzz. The jack socket is very sturdy and has never caused me problems.

I have used this guitar at band practise and it has never let me down. I would use it as a backup at a gig but not as my main guitar as it doesnt sound nice enough. It is very rugged and durable. The finish is immensely hard to remove. Only a heavy collision with something hard can chip it. The strap buttons are solid and do not move at all. The scratchplate does crack a little, but this may be because of over-tightened screws.

This guitar is a good little axe. I love the versatility and the durability. Please note: This is a BEGINNER'S GUITAR and does NOT match the sound of a real fender. If you've just started playing or are perhaps looking for your second guitar but are on a tight budget, this is a good guitar. You can do what you want with it without having to worry about it falling apart.

It's awesome if you love to rock out to metallica and ac/dc all day long. Very flowing sound. LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 years