Surf Green Electric Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

I picked up the Surf Green Ltd Ed. Bullet Mustang a few days ago off the rack. They had two. One had rusty strings and sharp frets but the one I picked was almost perfect. These Mustangs are great for smaller learners and older guitarists that may enjoy the lighter string tension due to the short scale. I love the sound of both humbuckers. The bridge one gives you a nice grungy Nirvana like tone while the neck is smoother but both love to be driven. I picked up the Imperial Blue Mustang HH a few weeks ago. They both use the same humbuckers, The only difference I believe is the wood type, Basswood vs Poplar. Both guitars are quite light with the Basswood Surf Green one being somewhat lighter.These Mustangs are ideal for modding but for now I've only changed the cheap pickguard on this Surf Green one, putting a Tortoise Shell on it. So far I'm loving both of them and my Fender P90 Mustang is getting quite lonely.Tingman

First of all, this is a ton of value for the price. I got it on sale which made it even a bigger steal. Now, this guitar needs a lot of setup out of the box. You should polish the frets since they are as coarse as beach sand. Otherwise, string bends will be impossible and will most likely damage the cheap supplied strings (which should be changed immediately as with most new guitars). Expect some fret buzz, so be ready to adjust the saddles and the truss rod (I like my action quite low so this was a minor tweak for me). The intonation was actually quite close to perfect, it only needed a bit of tweaking on the A string. The nut and string trees are the ones you typically get on Squiers, which are good enough but won't do wonders for your tuning and should be replaced unless you are patient enough to tune your guitar every so often. Be sure to change these first before changing the tuners/bridge if you have tuning problems, I haven't changed the tuners or bridge on mine and don't plan to – they just work. Finally, the pickups are surprisingly good for the price, not too mellow and you can get some nice tones from the bridge pickup. You might soon outgrow them, though, and might opt for better humbuckers or P90s. For all these reasons, this guitar is not the best as a first guitar or for beginners unless it gets a proper setup first or if you're really planning to learn how to setup or change electronics/other parts in a guitar. However, those are the same reasons (plus the low price and simple design) that make this a really fun modding platform, and if you don't feel like modding it, with the right amount of work it's still amazing. It's light as a feather and the neck is very fast; you can probably muscle through hours of playing with barely any effort at all. The stock tones are reasonable enough, and in my opinion it looks awesome. You can't get a better deal for the money once you're aware of the above.Carlos, M

I like this guitar because of the 24" scale length. Everything else was pretty bad out of the box. The strings were a 1/4" off the fretboard. The fretboard was super dry. There was fret sprout. The frets felt like sandpaper on bends. The E strings are too close to the edge of the fretboard. When you play you're constantly hitting the pickup selector switch. The finish on the neck is supposed to be satin but it looks unfinished to me and there are light and dark areas on the neck which look bad. It is the worst finish on a neck I've ever seen on a guitar and I'm going to have to put some kind of finish on it. Trying to load strings is tricky and not as easy as on most other guitars you have to bend the end of the strings to get them to load. So that is the bad. The good? The tuners are your typical Chinese tuners that come on all cheap guitars these days, and they are fine. The pickups sound good. The 24" scale is great and really fun to play bends on!Steve

Ultimately, this guitar is terrific! It seems to be one of the few Squiers that has better than not appointments (considering the fact that they are generally "bare bones" in terms of body woods, etc …) If you're new & want a good single coil strat sound…..yep…….if you know what you're doing already & want a strat you can woop on……yep…..if you want a nice sounding guitar that would normally cost a few $$ more for equal quality?? ……..still yep…… Automatically, add a couple sets of strings to your cart too (I snagged a couple DR Blues 10-46 sets, although the stock Fenders don't sound bad at all honestly) & stretch em on! The only tuning issues I experienced was due to needing to stretch em out a few times to stay tuned (***….tug the string from bridge to nut, back n forth like you were playing a chello with a bow hahaha ….., while also continuing to tune them back up repeatedly). From there, you should be dialed & throughly enjoy this killer, cost efficient strat just about as much as you'd appreciate one that cost a grand!!! Cheers!!T Dogg

This is an incredible guitar ! I bought it as a modding platform, but after having spent a few hours with it, I quickly decided it what mostly stay untouched. These are economic tuners, but man do they stay in tune. After polishing and dressing the frets, graphite-ing the nut, and replacing the strings, I had to tune twice in a 2 week period ! The original plan was to replace them with vintage style tuners, but why waste the money, they're great ! I bought the shell pink, and the color, fit and finish are perfect. It weighs 7.5 lbs, so on the lighter side, which I love. The neck has a better looking wood grain than my Vintage Modified '70s, and about the same feel, at least I don't feel a difference. I don't know if it's because of the top load hard tail bridge or what, but this guitar is VERY resonant, and sustains forever. The pick ups are definitely not top of the line, as the price implies, but they sound really good. My original plan was to replace them with Kent Armstrongs, but I really liked the neck PU a lot, and while I don't have strong opinions either way about the middle and bridge, I thought I would try replacing the electronics first. I installed a Gunstreet Wiring Shop Blender harness (blends neck and bridge PUs), and now I get all the tones I could possibly want. I'm definitely keeping the stock PUs ! Like I said, with a little fine tuning of the set up, it plays and sounds like a dream, looks fantastic, and is priced incredibly well. I couldn't recommend it more.Playin for fun

This is my first electric guitar. It is well made and arrived in great condition. The Scan set up is a real plus and ensured it was ready to play straight out of the box. Everything you need to start your guitar journey is in the package. The included amp is small and simple to use. More than adequate for practice and home use. The Fender Play Instruction is well worth looking into. Overall an excellent package worthy of serious consideration.Heathpk

I bought my black metallic Squier Bullet eight years ago when GC was having a Columbus Day sale. I was looking for a guitar to which I could permanently mount my Roland GR-33 guitar synth's GK2a pickup. Previously I had the pickup mounted on my '96 Strat, and I didn't like this fit because I couldn't close my Strat's case with the pickup installed. I have a gig bag for this Squier, and it fits fine in the bag with pickup installed. Anyway, about the guitar. Right out of the box, it played great, requiring only a minimal amount of action adjustment. I was surprised at how good the pickups sounded, it being a Bullet and all. But the humbucker sounds especially nice when playing the guitar through my Marshall. The neck pickup has a decent sound, but not quite up to the snuff of a good alnico pickup. Still, for what the guitar cost, I really can't complain. If I want to, at some later date, I can always change out the neck pickup to a better alnico model. One thing I especially like about this black Bullet is its looks. The photos here at GC don't show it off all that well, but the guitar body's finish is metallic and the pickguard is a heavy metal flake. It looks spectacular under the lights. And the black hardware does a great job of completing that black look. The Bullet's body is thinner than a typical Strat or Squier Affinity or Classic Vibe body. The result is a light weight guitar, but there is no sacrifice in tone.Michael

Purchased the Squier Affinity Telecaster from local GC store. They had this and a bullet in stock. I chose the Affinity due to the overall feel and fret ends we're more smooth. For a sub 250ish price guitar you cannot expect it to play like a 1000+ price guitar and I totally get that. Now I did expect it to at least stay in tune. One thing to add however is I am uncertain how long this particular guitar had been in stock. Now after a few hours of playing I noticed I could not get this guitar to intonate. No matter what I did the low e and a string always sounded sharp. I ended up replacing the stock tuners with locking tuners, cleaned the fretboard, gently filed and lubricated the nut, and replaced the strings with Ernie ball 9's. Now she is in tune, intonation was a breeze and she stays in tune. Sounds like a whole new guitar.Steven

Although the antique olive was not necessarily my first color choice, it looks amazing in person. The finish is much thinner than the finish on my MIM Standard telecaster or strat – I can very faintly see the join lines and grain through the finish, and the instrument itself is very resonant unplugged. Out of the box, the action was basically perfect – I set intonation and tuning and have not had to adjust saddles or tweak the truss rod at all. The neck profile is very comfortable for me – far more than either the 2002 "American Fat Strat Texas Special" or 2012 American Standard I had previously – hand-filling and substantial without sacrificing easy chording and bending. In terms of tones – it really nails all of the bell-like tones strats have become famous for. I am definitely more a fan of the three pickups individually than the 'in-between' settings, but it also has the 'quack' you want if you are an aficionado of those tones as well. The vibrato is light and easy – I don't do a lot of dive-bombing, but it's perfect for adding a bit of shimmer here and there. I know I'm still in the 'honeymoon' period, but I believe it's going to be a long and happy marriage!Robert

I'm a Gibson player usually – I have a Les Paul Standard Faded from 2005, which has been rewired with a '59 harness, Alnico 2 PU mags and PIO caps (it's an absolute tone monster), and is the yardstick by which I judge all other guitars. 99.9% of the time, nothing comes close. I've never really found a Stratocaster that I felt completely at ease with, or that sounded right to my Gibbo ears. But the American Pro is different. I don't know what they've done with the pickups, but there's loads of soul in them, with tons of dynamics on offer. I never thought I'd say this, but the Strat is fast becoming my favourite guitar. This guitar just sings in all PU positions. It's got a cool '60s vibe to it, but with with higher output – not too high that it loses it's classic tones, but high enough to cut through lots of high gain (if that's your thing). The neck is the new tapered C shape, which is very similar in feel to my '60s LP neck (my hands are too small for the '50s necks), so I felt right at home with it. This guitar will be a lifer for me. I need look no further.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I've owned a couple of Stratocaster's over the years and they've never really just felt like me. They're nice enough, just not my thing. I decided to give Fender another shot as I've heard good things about the new ranges and the specs on the American Professional sounded like they were right up my alley. But I was trying to justify that vs the new Mexico made Player series which, on paper, was close enough for several hundred dollars less. Then I stumbled on this deal and my decision was made. Once I got it in hand, the differences were very apparent, the neck feel being the biggest. I love the satin finished back with the gloss finger board. And the new carve is wonderful, not too thick, fits the hand very well…comfort city! The new Tim Shaw designed V Mod pickups sound great, every position is useable from my perspective and Lake Placid blue is spectacular. I never knew I wanted a guitar in Lake Placid blue! It's quickly becoming my favorite behind my Gibson ES-339.Patrick

Having a couple guitars I was curious about the short scale. Came across a Mustang P90 in surf green with maple fret in the open box section. Awesome deal , guitar is a joy to play. Sounds great clean or with overdrive. What an fantastic bang for the buck fun. Fun to play blues , metal , punk thrash…etc Cannot say enough good things about this guitar.Michael P

Overall: I can't believe there aren't any reviews of this guitar yet!I have the Burgundy Mist version of this with the pao ferro fretboard which, sadly, zZounds no longer carries. It's pretty, really pretty, and it exudes a seriously vintage vibe. (I saw an antique Burgundy Mist Chevrolet last week and I immediately thought of my feisty little Fender.)The hardware; bridge & tuners, is your standard MiM Fender quality. They're more than up to the task. The Strat-style bridge makes this an easy guitar to keep in tune. (I once had a 1978 Mustang and keeping it in tune was a nightmare that not even Edgar Allen Poe or H.P. Lovecraft could imagine.)The MP-90 pickups are capable of so much that it I could fill a whole page trying to accurately describe them. They are beefy enough to really drive a good tube amp. (My main amps are a Marshall DSL1 and Vox AC4-C112.) On a clean setting the neck pickup on its' own isn't particularly impressive, kinda dark, but the middle and bridge positions are really versatile if you tweak the volume and tone controls.With distortion, in my case a Boss MD-2 Mega Distortion (it's more of a gargantuan fuzz than a distortion pedal), all three positions sings with a tone that would make Leslie West smile broadly.I'm not a big guy (5'9", 150 lbs) so the small offset body and short scale neck are really comfortable.There is only one real drawback to this marvelous axe but it's something that shouldn't for even a second dissuade anyone from adding this guitar to their guitarsenal, and that's the pickup selector switch. It's junk. It cuts out and is rather staticky (is that a word?). It's a cheap piece of junk but it usually works so I can deal with it. (And you can as well.) I'll eventually replace it but there's no need to right now.My particular specimen had a truly beautifully grained pao ferro fretboard, with the frets being smooth and very well dressed. I love a big monstrous tone and this little wonder genuinely delivers.(Fender's prices have gone up since I bought mine but this particular axe is an absolute joy to play and for the price is still a true bargain. It loves, LOVES, full six-string power chords so if you're in a Mountain tribute band then you'll find a lot to like in this guitar.)I am first and foremost a "Telecaster guy" but I love pulling out this little dude and blasting away like Han Solo in a cantina full of Greedos.I've gone on for far too long here but it's only because I really, really like this guitar.[In my 'stars' rating I give this guy five stars in the 'manufacturer support' column because I own a bunch of Fenders and have never had a problem.]Mark

Excellent craftsmanship! The neck feels really great. Had no sharp fret ends and the satin finish is top notch. It came with a really nice set up and low action out of the box. Electronics are really decent to. Bridge pickup got a bit muddy with heavy distortion, but did well under a crunch setting. Middle and neck positions were buttery smooth with clear differences in tone. The 3-way switch is excellent quality as well, which is usually isn't the case. Wiring is great, but I opted to switch it out with Emerson wiring harness anyways. Overall, you can't beat this guitar. I bought a Vintera 60s Jazzmaster before this one and I would pick this Squier over the Vintera any day..Diego

I'll second the review that says he'll leave her stock. I do like it as is as well, and I also hear Strat/Teleish sounds out of this thing. I thought when buying it would be a heavy rock type guitar not so it's very fender single coil like w/ out the hum… nice! I will say the amp makes loads of difference tube vs solid state. It sounds great through a tube amp and mehh through the other. Had some fret buzz that needed adjusted out but other then that I like it. It's a good buy in either color I'd say.👍🏼🤘🏼✌🏼Brado

This is the first Acoustic/electric that I have owned that I actually love playing. The action is great even with the large gauge acoustic strings on it. Comes with a very nice gig-bag/case. I love the way the neck and back of the guitar looks. I also love the Strat 5-way switch that selects the degree and type of acoustic sound. The only downside with this guitar is the cover that serves as a cover for the electronics and pick guard. It looks cheap, more like a decal than a cover. I think Fender can do better on this detail for the price of the guitar. However, if you can get past that then it is a fine playing and sounding guitar. I have owned several Acoustic and Acoustic/Electric guitars. The action on even high-priced acoustics was so terrible I just ended up selling them. I also do not like the large back ends of most acoustic and acoustic electric guitars, but this guitar is small and easy to play. I would give it an A-.Bill

The research I did on trying to learn more about this instrument via general internet, YouTube, assorted standard Music Company's like Sam Ash; Sweetwater; Guitar Center; Alamo; and other assorted Music Guitar critics provided a good array of opinions and product test results that produced a positive majority with impressive perspectives for the instrument I purchased. The Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster Acoustic-Electric Guitar Cocobolo I purchased from Sam Ash was not a disappointment. Aside from the 10 different options of Guitar unique sounds it provides from Acoustic and Electric mixes. The one-of-a-kind Cocobolo wood identifies a further fingerprint in supporting its own private one-of-a-kind signature sound with relationship to the Cocobolo wood unique to it alone. That just blows me away with how special the sound of specialty signature sound it produces with the ten different built in technical sounds the Fender Guitar company developed with this special edition. I feel overwhelmed in learning to continue how to play this guitar. It allows me so many more possibilities with playing soft country to hard rock a really strong guitar enjoyment experience.Guitar Enthusiast

Overall, I am very happy with this guitar. It exudes classic Fender looks and tone. The quality and craftsmanship are decent for the price point. I have a US Tele and, after putting some TLC into this player strat, it feels and plays almost as good as the Tele. I would give it five stars if it were not for fretwork that was needed. Body – The finish and surf pearl color are gorgeous. The wood grain is barely visible (raised) so I would not say the finish is flawless, but the grain is very subtle and adds character in my opinion. The routed cavities for the electronics (top) and the tremolo springs (back) are precisely cut and clean. The electronics cavity was even finished with black paint. Neck – The finish and appearance are great. However, all 22 frets had sprouted; some as much as 1/32". I can't say this is a craftsmanship issue as the frets were probably fine when it was assembled. It must have been a very high humidity environment, though. Nevertheless, after painstakingly filing and redressing all 44 fret ends it feels good. The frets themselves were well seated and leveled. The 3rd and 11th frets were a few thousands of an inch high, but not enough to cause any buzzing issues. The frets were well rounded and polished. Hardware – The tuners are just okay. One of them feels a little rough turning, and they seem to have a low turning ratio making it very touchy to dial in perfect pitch. The 2-point fulcrum tremolo bridge seems like a better design than the traditional (six screw) bridges, but I did not test it. I prefer to block them for more stable tuning, which worked great with this bridge. I have upgraded electronics I had planned to install in this guitar, but the stock pickups aren't bad. They are very quiet and have good tone – there is no rush to replace them. Setup was a breeze. Truss rod adjustment was smooth, nut slots were to spec, and intonation was perfect. The action needed adjustment since I blocked the tremolo, but that was easy.Dave S.

I was skeptical, having never heard of the brand, but am very happy with what I paid. It has a very solid feel to it, bridge and everything was already set up, and after a quick tune was ready to go. I am no expert by far, but I am happy with my purchase. Clean, quiet, has some weight to it, plays well, stays in tune, decent intonation, sounds somewhat like a tele, and I have no choice but to say this guitar is fabulous for the price.crafter4life

There are way……way better guitars out there in this price range. Mine was damaged on arrival due to terrible packing. Neck needed shims, tuner are terrible. Frets are very rough.Adam

Overall its a cool looking Strat and a great sounding Strat even with the bad that I pointed out…many of the bad are things you would have to look very closely at to see and the other things can be corrected with a good setup. I played this thru my Bugera Vintage 22 Amp and My Heartbreaker Little Giant Amp/cab and it sounded great!! I would have no problem buying another one of these…maybe the red one! I own many of the latest Squires and I find they are great guitars that will last a lifetime Its your good Old Stratocaster with Lip Stick Pickups With cool Surf Green Paint! Lets start whats bad about this Strat…I'm a big fan of Fender and Squire Guitars and own many. First I pull this out of the carton and notice the frets were a little Sharpe and the rosewood fingerboard had file marks on the edge of the board. And the fingerboard had a little spot that looked to be filled in. As I inspected the paint I notice sand marks and small imperfections in the paint. And the Bridge as one reviewer pointed out needs to be set up. Mine had the bridge screw tighten against the body and the screws for the spring claw was tighten as far as you can go…even the mighty Hecules couldn't use this tremolo. Also the bridge saddles were out of alignment. As I was finishing setting this Strat up I was wiping it down with a soft micro cloth with nothing on it, I looked down and notice smuge mark on the volume knob, the gold paint was wiping off the volume knob…now I have a white volume knob with no gold paint. Anyway these are minor things for me as I will change the knobs to a chrome with pearloid tops. This is the bad…now the good! Great tone from the Semour Duncan (Designed) Pickups. These pickups have great balance between the bass and treble and they sound warm with clarity…if you like a Strat with Quack! dont pass this up!! The notes seem to jump off the board..guitar has a nice weight and overall is a wonderful Strat. For the money its a great Strat and you cant beat the Semour Duncan Designed Lipstick Pickups.Electrixblu

Like most, I was drawn to the surf green color and the unusual pickups. Why Fender does not offer this very popular color in their American models is beyond me. It is only available in the Jeff Beck signature models or the 50's Strat model. First, let me get the minor gripes out of the way. The guitar arrived dirty as if it had been in an Indonesian dust storm. I basically had to dismantle it and vacuum the dust out of the pickup cavities as well as give it a complete wipe down. Also, there were a few paint chips around the neck place but no big deal. There was also a slight bulge on the finish of the back of the neck but I've grown to appreciate it since it's exactly at the 7th fret and helps me find my way around the neck without looking at the fretboard. The good stuff… Aesthetically, the guitar is overall beautiful. Both the pickguard and the backplate are pearloid. The rosewood fretboard has a smooth grain with decent fretwork. The "Duncan Designed" lipstick pickups are a bit weak but manageable and sound great through a tube amp. If you want to replace them with the real Seymour Duncan lipsticks, look for the Duncan SLS-1 pickups. I have already worn the logo off the neck and middle pickups from how much I've played this guitar.GeetarMan

I love this ASAT Special. Mahogany body, mape neck with rosewood fingerboard. Picture a Tele that sounds giant and is much more versatile. It's not the US model, but the feel is comfortable and the electronics and hardware are much better than similarly priced guitars. I can actually get a useable range of tones with the controls. They don't have to be wide open to sound good. The only thing that irked me was the pick guard cut around the control plate looks like a kindergartener did it. This wasn't listed as B Stock, so I'm not sure how it passed QA. I'm playing it, not staring at it, so I won't send it back, but I expected a new guitar to look 100%. Would rate looks excellent if not for that.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

So this is billed as a beginners guitar, but it needs a lot of work before it's even playable. The frets are scratchy as all get out, the bridge saddles were wildly in disarray, and the neck isn't finished. A professional setup and fret job would be necessary, as well as finishing the neck. The tuners were OK, but the pegs were loose within the mechanism. The string trees should also be replaced with either graphtech TUSQ XL or rollers as the sharp edges will tend to break strings. Only after this work would I recommend it for beginners. For modders like myself, it's an excellent platform. The neck is true, the neck pickup is routed for a humbucker if one chooses. I thought this was supposed to have a string-through body, but it is a top loading bridge. No matter, I'll make that mod. For the price, it's worth it especially for modders, but also for folks that know they will need to have some work done to make it playable.Anon

SO many things I like about this guitar, I'll take it one at a time. 1. SOUND – no fret buzz, action is balanced and even, pickups somehow sound better than review videos i have seen/heard on Youtube. Each note rings perfectly. 2. ELECTRONICS – pickup selector is smooth, no frizz, no static friction sound, pickups are solid in place, not loose. Cable input also has no frizz, no buzz. Signal is constant and no issues. 3. HEADSTOCK & TUNERS – although my headstock is different than the photo above (mine doesn't say BULLET) so instead it says SQUIER bye FENDER TELECASTER, which i actually like better. I'm personally not a super fan of the 70s font, but that is a minor detail, however happy it came out this way. Nice surprise. Tuners stay in tune better than those i purchased over 10 years ago. Quality is higher than chinese models i got before, which i had to return. 4. BODY & FINISH – the pictures here do not do it justice, mine is a super high glossy , and see-through finish that brings out the wood grains which since they are curved and natural reveal a single block of wood and not just flat pieces glued together (although there are some of these on the back, but when looking at the side view they are not "even" which indicates that it is a single piece), which gives it an almost marble appearance. I am shocked and ultra impressed by the aesthetics. Body weight is a major advantage as it is light weight yet still sold enough to give adequate sustain. 5. NECK – the solid maple neck is amazingly smooth, hand is able to glide as fast as i am able to move. 6. NUT – nut is fine for now. it's been over 1-2 months so although it is a short period of time, there is no issues, the measurements are fine and correct, cut to the proper depth. 7. FRETS – i read conflicting specs from musician's friend VS fender website, but it seems that my frets are narrow tall frets, which i totally appreciate as there is more actual fret material which will extend the life of the frets. i had to re-fret a previous guitar and the price tag on that was…substantial. HOW I USE THIS GUITAR the main purpose for this guitar was to replace an acoustic guitar for songwriting purposes of multiple genres for other artists, and also needs to stand up to extensive international travel. had a more expensive guitar stolen while on tour previously (fender stratocaster player), so want to have a great sounding / multiple genre capable guitar which IF STOLEN AGAIN can afford to buyback without spending/losing over 1K USD. Also on a previous tour, had a guitar literally snap in half at the neck (brand new epiphone SG style) when it fell off the guitar stand just 1 time. if i could convince my girlfriend to let me buy 2…i might just buy another one , BECAUSE this is a FSR which stands for Fender Special Run … i can see that these will sell out and only go up in value. but not sure that i would get a rosewood fretboard because from the videos i've seen, these tend to have more issues, this is just my limited observation. however, something to note about indonesia….i've played at clubs in asia owned by indonesian's. they have a small but very dedicated art scene. and have come a long way in the last 15 years. where i see more "quality fade" from the chinese, some first are good, but then they diminish the quality over time to save money once they get contracts, by contrast, the character of the indonesian people i have met is that they get better. again this is just my observation and true for my personal experience. last note, i have done EXTENSIVE research into ALL telecaster models, from the BULLET all the way to the CUSTOM shop models and compared ever single spec and dimension and building material and country of origin and multiple videos for each model available. yes i do take this to the extreme. BUT…among all that, i still landed on the maple neck bullet. true – there is some kind of a "gamble" with lower priced guitars made outside of the US, but there came on this guitar at least 4-5 quality control stamps. i can say that the people who made this guitar did an excellent job and i can't say enough good things about it. i bought it assuming it might be stolen again like before, but i REALLY hope i can keep this one for life. good job and thank you to whomever made this. sincerely, cousin paulcousin paul

Pros: thinner lighter body (poplar) some may consider this a con, but good for me. Body fit and finish is better than expected. Pickups are a pleasant surprise for budget ceramics, sounds like a Tele should. Pots are smooth and reactive. Cons: The necks all need varying levels of TLC. All frets require polishing, very scratchy out of the box, some fret ends need filing, but not bad. Mods I have made….sanded, steel wooled necks, satin finish was rough like overspray and quite a few finish drips. Replaced tuners, barely acceptable stock. Replaced plastic nut with bone. Replaced bridges and/or saddles, stock bridge is junk. So now I have 3 tele partscasters, all could be played professionally now. Also put threaded inserts and stainless steel bolts on necks, one tele came with 2 screws stripped.Keith

I bought the Honey Burst because I didn't have a burst and honestly not a big fan of "bursts." But when I saw this honey, and it lacking a really dark edge like most bursts do I decided to play it. Sounded fantastic, played so sweetly, just as fine as my Miami Blue American Pro II, and my American Showcase. Don't spend the extra money on one of those if you're on a budget, tryin to save some money, but want USA made, this performer stacks right up with them, you won't be missing much if anything. I uploaded a YT vid, its my American Showcase, In the process of making a vid of this Performer, like sub and stay tuned! If you mention this review and leave a link to on of your vids I will reciprocate!CHARLES

Manufacturer Support: Did not contact manufacturer. Overall: I just got done demoing the floor model at my local big box store and I have to same I'm really impressed. For comparison, my main Strat is an American Special with three single coil Texas Special pickups and the new Yosemite pickups and the Doubletap humbucker have a lot more output. I used a floor model Boss Katana amp (distortion) as well as a Marshall amp (clean). The Doubletap humbucker sounds great with light to heavy distortion. Even with max distortion, it is very clear and pronounced and I was able to distinguish all the notes being played without it sounding muddy (first position and coil split off.) The second position (coil split off) sounds amazing. Even with heavy distortion, I was able to get some great sounding blues solos with the first and second position. With positions three, four and five, I was able to get those classic Strat tones that everyone loves. Going from humbucker to the single coil via coil split, the pickup still seemed to have a higher output than the Texas Specials. Just to make sure it wasn't the coil split, I also demoed the traditional three single coil setup and still, they seemed very hot. I played the opening riff and the solo to Paranoid and was very happy by the sounds the guitar made but the clean sounds are what really sold me. I played various chords (major, minor, 7th, different positions, coil split on/off, etc.) and was not disappointed at all by what I heard. To me, it sounds very different from any other Strat I've played. I use my current Strat as an all round guitar but that's soon to change. The finish is satin and for those who haven't played a guitar with a satin finish, the finish may feel a little rough as if it needs to be sanded but it doesn't. I prefer a gloss finish myself but that aspect can be easily overlooked if you want an amazing sounding guitar.Russell

Tim Shaw double tap humbucker with yosemite pickups great combo! Covers a wide range. The humbucker in the bridge gives you that fat extra distortion. And when you want that single coil sound pull up on the tone knob and split the coils. Well balanced. Plus you can still get that Sweet Home Alabama sound in position 2 with the HB in single coil mode ! Yosemite Pu's have classic Strat tone in clean channel. The rosewood neck plays and feels good. Came set up out of the box. Fender did a nice job on their Performer Series. Definitely worthy. Kudos!Mikeb

Great buying experience! CME does a tremendous job checking the guitar over and making sure it’s totally right. This Fender short run exclusive was exactly what I was looking for! It does what a Jazzmaster is supposed to do … once you take the time to dial in your setup! The setup is a bit tricky for sure because everything has to be balanced and intonated just so to prevent the strings from buzzing on the adjustment screws OR on the bridge itself. It also helps to have the absolute tiniest amount of relief possible in the neck and to raise the bridge and angle it to the sweet spot for ideal string vibration and a high enough break angle to anchor the strings within the slots. Once you do these things and set the pickup height, the guitar truly sings, rocks, plays great, and stays completely in tune, even with serious tremolo arm use! My pickups are set to spec: 3.5 mm on the bass side and 3.2 mm on the treble side. If you aren’t comfortable doing a detailed setup, be prepared to locate a professional. I have set up MANY Fenders so I was able to do it myself in a couple hours of tinkering. The 65 pickups sound amazing! Cleans are shimmery and huge. Dirty sounds are fat and ringing. Perfect for indie and shoegaze styles. You can also roll off the tone for a darker, blues or jazz lead tone and, unlike the original jazzmaster bridge, the strings will stay PUT and allow you to pick hard and bend as much as you like even with 9 gauge. No need for a rhythm circuit in my opinion. This wiring setup keeps it simple, lowers the cost, and still gives you the full Jazzmaster experience. Buy one before they are gone! Love it!Joseph

Mine arrived looking beautiful but had a lot of hum/noise and I figured it had something to do with the pickups or 1 meg pots. I opened it up to shield it and the bridge ground wire was never soldered to the ground wire on the pot. After soldering it I plugged it back in and it was silent. I went from thinking it was ok to being my favorite guitar at the moment. This guitar looks, sounds and plays great and its priced very low too. It nails that classic Jazzmaster tone and does what a Jazzmaster should do. Before you jump into the Jazzmaster pool understand that these guitars require tinkering with. Saddle rattle can be fixed by adjusting the screws on the saddles. They tend to loosen and tighten when changing strings and if they're even slightly uneven they will rattle. Another way to fix this is to shim the neck so there's a slight backbow to it like a Les Paul. This will increase the break angle and put more pressure on the bridge preventing rattle. Using 11's or 12's helps too but the nut on these ones is perfect for 10-46. The 4th position is actually very usable and I find myself using this position more than I thought I would. This is a great guitar at a great price and CME is the gold standard in online purchases. Besides the ground wire mine came set up perfectly and almost in tune. The ground wire was never even tinned so I know it was never attached but again, it took me 5 minutes and 0 dollars to fix. I'm sure had I complained they would have fixed it for me. I bought the Silver Blue Metallic. The Shell Pink was definitely my favorite color but I wasn't secure enough to buy a pink guitar.john g.

I just received this guitar today. There is a lot of negative talk about the noiseless pickups, but it sounds phenomenal to me. Many complaints include that it sounds too "dark", but it sounds terrific through my 1966 Bassman. There is a tremendous range of fantastic tones that are possible with this guitar, but it is definitely not for metal. It gets a great tone for classic rock, alt rock/indie, jazz, funk, and stoner rock. I've gotten a great Gilmour tone to Hendrix to QOTSA, and it honestly doesn't take long to learn the guitar's wide tonal capabilities. The neck plays so well that I found myself inspired to get into new sonic territories and genres. I own a lot of guitars, and this is my favorite one currently. It's my pick over my Les Paul Traditional, Telecaster, Ibanez S Premium, and the others. Do yourself a fiver and try it out with an open mind. Don't listen to the naysayers. This thing rocks!The Hammer

Love the satin finish and the rosewood fretboard was beautiful once I put enough oil onto it. *really dry. Fretwork was rough at best, my MIMs and Squires were better out of the box. The fret edges caught my hand on both sides plus I could see scratches on the frets 7 – 12, really rough on bends. The action was high, but neck relief was good. I'll change the strings soon and file/roll the fret ends as well as deeply polish the frets. Plays nicely and I can see this becoming one of my top three to pull down from the hanger and play. While the setup was sub-par, the electronics were well done – great pups and pots.Aarron

I have the Honeyburst telecaster, The feel of the set up right out of the box is great!! The neck pickup, nice and warm the bridge is not too hot but hot enough to get the growl when in overdrive. This guitar needs no pickup changes. The middle position still gives the tele sweetness of the twang. The neck feels awesome, It comes with a fender gig bag but I would suggest getting a hSC for the baby shes definitely a keeper. Great guitar!!!spider59504

I have wanted an American made Strat for the longest. Not just any American Strat, but The One built to my specs from the looks right down to the pots and of course the feel and sustain. This is it and AMS made it easy and in reach just as they've helped me to make other musical dreams to come true! This guitar feels great, sounds amazing, beyond my hopes & expectations, and even the price tag was a pleasant surprise! Tech has come a long way, but in a lot of ways we've lost craftsmanship. Well, not out of Corona California. Crisp tones, nuanced variation, and that wonderful Fender sustain! I have some other expensive guitars, which I love, but at under their price point the Professional II is going to be a close lifetime friend. If you are looking at these and don't need boutique trimming of the Ultra line or the royal treatment of the Custom Shop, look no further and pay no more. Strat-Halla is right here at a reasonable price point for a heritage worthy instrument. I won't waste time going over the specs. It's all here. Get acquainted with your new best friend!Pete

This is my second American Stratocaster. My first is from 2007 and it has a rosewood fretboard. I wanted a maple neck strat as well. I bought the Miami blue version and love it. To me, Strats are each very unique in the way they play and sound. My other Strat has Dimarzio Area pickups in it (which I love), so I’m having to get used to the stock single coils. I love the bridge, but to my ears the neck pickup it too muddy. The trem system is good, and the overall construction is good. I had to re set it up because I use heavier strings. I may end up changing pickups before it’s all said and done. Only time will tell. I wish Fender would have put Locking tuners on from factory! That’s a must for me.Justin

I purchased this guitar about 3 weeks ago (working with Zach), it has quickly become my favorite guitar I own. The full rosewood neck is incredibly smooth and the the deep C shape is extremely comfortable. I mostly play through a Helix Stomp and have been really happy with the sound and tone variability I can get with it using the various pickup selections especially with the push/push for adding the top pickup to the mix for positions 1 and 2. The pictures in the listing look great, but it looks much better in person. The pictures have a lot of light which makes the blue appear lighter than it would in a normal room. The picture where the guitar is positioned in the case is a great representation of the color in a normally lit room.Kevin

I decided, after months of thought, to try my hand at guitar playing once again. At the age of 66, I'm not anticipating being on stage. I simply felt like fiddling around with a decent guitar at home; sort of as a hobby of sorts. After checking out numerous guitars and amps, I decided the Squire Bullet series was a good fit. I bought the Limited Edition in red sparkle. I also bought a Fender Champion 20 amp. The pros: A really nice looking guitar. No visible flaws. Nice slim neck, excellent for those looking for a great starter guitar, especially if your hands and fingers aren't big/huge. Could be a potential candidate for modification further down the line. Super pick ups for a guitar in this price range! Cons: One, some fret buzz on the 5th and 6th string. Not 100% sure though that this is caused by the guitar or my novice playing skills.Joe G.

This was my first guitar and I must say the feel is better than my American standard strat. It's very light, the Finnish is stunning and keeps in tune pretty well. Although there were a few minor flaws for one one of the screws running heads popped off. I was just playing and I popped off. Another thing the pickups are really really sensitive and playing through an amp will make it sound dirty. Also the frets will buzz a bit.Lastly some of the fret ends were minor lay sharp. This guitar is good but it had a "cheap" fell to it. I would only recomend this for beginnersColin

It's a cheap guitar. Don't kid yourself – this isn't some custom shop rarity. But: with the red metal flake finish and playing the ones in the inventory to find the best one, it's a bargain and a ton of fun. I've always wanted a red metal flake electric guitar, but that's not exactly everyones cup of tea. But this is the sort of axe that will dazzle the audience – it looks like a much more expensive guitar. It plays nicely enough after some time for basic setup. Just do your homework before you plunk down the cash.Rowdy

Purchased this guitar thinking that I could cross a lot of musical boundaries. Installed new strings and allowed for substantial break-in but the limitations began to surface after attempting a second intonation and realized you get what you pay for. With even a Mexican Strat or tele the limitations are minimal and I have handily moved from ballads to jazz and raunchy rock. The Squier series would be fine in the mix with other instruments. Just dont expect a silk purse from a sow's ear. Not going to happen. I have heard of a lot of players buying better necks and switching them out. So that is one option and for a Jaguar today you are probably going to save 2-300.00 by going that route as opposed to moving up to the MIM Jag Special series which is in 900.00 range. Conclusion. This is a fine entry level guitar.Randall

For the price I think this is a pretty damn good guitar. It came nicely finished with no visible cosmetic issues. Set up well out of the box and accurately intonated. Plays well and sounds very Jaguar like – suitably bright and dark in the right places using the many switch combinations. Once tuned, perfectly playable out of the box. Of course it looks a beast too. The pickups seem qood quality. Machine heads are perfectly serviceable and it holds tune reasonably well for a guitar with a trem system that allows such deep dives. The frets are well finished, sufficiently level and not rough at the ends (although they could be always be better, if being really, really picky). 12th fret action was around 2mm (0.080") and comfortably playable (nut end is a slightly different matter, see below). Only negatives or areas that need attention are the strings, nut and bridge (all well known issues if you do a Google search). It comes with a very light set of 9s – from what I've read Fender originally intended Jaguars to have 11s, so that's what I've now fitted. The nut is cut conservatively high, particulalry on the heavier strings, so could do with some filing to make really super comfortable (not something the inexperienced should probably have a stab at without some research and the – expensive – correct tools). I replaced the nut with a Zero Glide zero fret system and the action is now very low and comfy. Not the easist or indeed the most difficult job (some skills and tools required) but the benefits are manifold – I like a zero fret anyway. The ('Mustang' style – no string jumping like the earlier type) bridge is designed to float back and forth when using the trem – that's fine and works OK but after (only) playing for a few hours I found it had sunk down on the height adjusting screws (i.e. the screws are effectivley loose and due to the vibrations wind themselves up over time) causing too low action, loss of tuning and string buzz. Once all set-up to my liking and at the correct height I applied a drop of loctite to the bottom of the threads to just stop them moving too freely. One other thing is that the neck PU doesn't seem to want to adjust up very much – not yet taken it apart to see why exactly that is or if even it supposed to be like that. Doesn't seem to affect the sound for now though. In summary: great value, good enough out of the box and with a little set-up/some mods or the attention of a luthier not that far off a 'real' Fender Jaguar, for a fraction of the price. I've had vintage semi/hollow bodys before and I like this slightly non-standard solid body. A good project for somebody who likes/wants to tinker and end up with a really good playing/sounding guitar at the end (but isn't too shabby to start with) and that doesn't look like yet another Tele, Strat or Les Paul.Mr D. C.

I am extremely pleased with this guitar. The quality is very high, looks good, sounds good, and all set up ready to play. For the price, it is remarkable, and a truly welcome addition to my collection. The best buy of the year for me. I love it.!!!!!Reviewed by Kenny's Music custom