Best Squier Stratocaster Guitar (2024 Update)

A lot of the reviews posted here are for Strats, so I'm not sure what's going on. Anyway, I bought the red sparkle Squier Bullet Tele. The finish is gorgeous and that's what prompted me to do a spontaneous purchase. I have only experienced owning USA Teles, but I've played some Squiers that really impressed me. This one? Not so much. I don't detect any finish on the back of the neck although I'm sure it has a sealer of some sort. The body finish is nice, but the bridge hardware is cheaply made and I'll be replacing that for sure. Same goes for the tuners. I'm pretty sure it has some high frets because it goes dead starting at the 10th fret, but some of that was back bow. I loosened the truss and got rid if it, but now when I sight down the neck the forward bow is pretty obvious. I don't notice the frets being sharp on the ends. It now plays plays pretty good after sitting long enough for the truss Rod to settle, but I may need to tighten it just a little to get rid of some of the forward bow. The neck has a very comfortable profile. The body is thinner than my American Teles, but it doesn't bother me – in fact it's lighter which I enjoy. The body is Poplar and that's fine by me. I may leave the back of the neck alone for now because it actually feels pretty good, aesthetics are certainly lacking, but the body makes up for that. I'm sure with a little patience and help from my friends I'll have a nice instrument. All the basics are there. As is, it's not all that great, but still better than my first electric guitar! -!an old Kalamazoo single pickup thing with a bolt on neck back in the mid sixties. Like the title says, this thing has potential. I probably couldn't buy a finished body for what I paid.Ronnie

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

I would first like to begin with- I normally would be giving a 5 star rating of this unit/Squier, as I have typically never had problems prior to the recent/earlier this year upset regarding shipping containers/etc being paused/sitting in the ocean/etc, delaying container delivery. PLEASE READ ON FOR FULL EXPLANATION. Two imperative points- 1. The fret ends were so sharp, when I say it was not playable (both sides/neck in its entirety), I mean, it was not playable (THE DATE OF INSPECTION WAS EARLIER THIS YEAR, AND I IMMEDIATELY ASSOCIATED THE FRET ENDS PROBLEM BEING DUE TO THE SHIPS BEING DELAYED/SITTING IN THE OCEAN/ETC- It looked to me like maybe between March and July of this year, although, I couldn't quite make out the stamped month). As well, the serial # of the guitar, of course, was of this year/'22. I maintain/work on most all my guitars, and I normally would've tightened up the fret ends myself, however, there was a hairline crack on the red sparkle finish at the bass side neck joint (which i just couldn't accept, visually), as well as a small tooling gash along the top edge of the headstock. The replacement/reordered guitar arrives tomorrow. 2. THE NEWER UNITS (AS, ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS A 2022-BUILT UNIT) ARE TOP-MOUNT/STRING THROUGH THE BACK OF THE BRIDGE, NOT "STRING-THRU" as the description indicates (and, with Squier bridge mounting, these are 5-screw mount plates, which, if ever you want to upgrade your hardware, particularly, w/the bridge, you must find an aftermarket unit that is "string through the back", along w/the correct string spacing (with Squier, they're 54mm, typically), and you'll typically need to redrill given it's rare to find plates that have Squier mounting dimensions that provided string through the back holes. I'm upgrading to a Babicz, given the results found. Also, there are two string trees (the second being a tree for both the D and G strings), and it looks great, actually, with both. Overall, I was impressed with the finish, as it was nearly flawless (aside from the hairline finish crack mentioned previously). The fretwire/fretwork, felt great….I found maybe two or so "slight" dead spots, which weren't enough of a "ping", or string buzz to be of concern, or critiquing the fretwork negatively. Rather, I was impressed with the fretwork. As well, it's important to note that the mounting of the bridge, along with the neck positioning/etc, was spot-on. No misalignment of the bridge mount/etc (and the same goes for the nut spacing). I've always been impressed with what Fender/Squier/Jackson are putting out. The quality is typically quite high…as for this unit, the quality is high, but the results of the environmental dilemma with either being stuck in a container offshore, or, sitting in a facility for weeks/months/etc, have had quite the impact on this guitar. As an important example, I had purchased a Bullet Tele last year (the unit in Burst color offered here through MF), and it was/is flawless, and I completely upgraded every part. As I own approx'ly 53 guitars ranging primarily from ESP to Jackson (some of which in the better than $2K range), I love to take what's titled as a "beginner" guitar, and totally hotrod it with high end parts (such is the case w/this guitar). As mentioned above, I've reordered the guitar, as MusiciansFriend provided me a generous discount (without having to ask) to accommodate me. Upgrades- 1. Babicz Full Contact Tele "Ashtray" bridge Gold, 2. Genuine Fender Gold control plate, 3. Fender Infinity Gold strap locks, 4. Gold input jack Ferrule, 5. Custom built Gold Sparkle w/star cut-outs Tele pickguard, 6. Philadelphia Luthier Tools "Fat" neck plate/Gold w/gold neck mounting screws, 7. Earvana compensated nut (Ivory), 8. Philadelphia Luthier Tools Gold string trees, 9. Fender locking tuners, Gold, 10. EMG T-52 set (black), or, EMG T-set, Red., 11. EMG Gold Telecaster knobs. 12. Powder coated Red pickguard screws, 13. Gold pickup mounting screws. Beginner guitar?……no more (ha).Dave

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

My bass looks to be excellent quality for the price point. The neck and frets are perfectly smooth with no sharp edges. Straight out the box all it needed was a quick tune. I love the sound. I'm only a beginner so I can only compare this bass to my Ibanez which is also great. This is a perfect bass for a beginner that wants that P bass sound and for great value.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

After umming and arring about Squier guitars I figured for the price I couldn't go too wrong. I've owned many epiphones in the past and figured the Fender subsidiary should be of similar standard. I was not let down! For the price I paid, the instrument is absolutely magnificent. It looks, feels and plays like a telecaster should and is well setup out of the box. The only downside? Try putting it down after you get playing. Impossible!Anthony L.

It's a great beginner guitar but it cannot play drop D tuning. When I finished tuning and went back to play the first string that I had tuned it had already gotten noticeably far out of tune. Great for the price I guess but if your serious about playing maybe invest in a guitar of better quality.Ben

besides the weird booming sound coming from the amp when strumming, and the guitar constantly being out of tune. i would suggest this to a friend when starting out. however if you have more prior experience, get a better guitar and amp than this one. other than that, the price is somewhat equal to the quality of the guitar.thao

…so I purchased this as an alternative to my acoustic guitar. The 1st thing I noticed is how light it was. The maple neck was a different feel and gave me more accessibility to the frets. Once I got the guitar in tune I was surprised how nice it sounds. The amp is not the best, but if you don't have one, you won't notice. Overall I like this guitar. Thank you Fender for making an affordable electric guitar. I would get this again for a beginner. As I progress, this guitar is pushing me to upgrade to another Fender. It's that good. I have a lot of fun with this G-tar.No name

I have always been pleasantly surprised at the quality of these cheaper Squier Affinity and other similarly priced Squier guitars. I have played Squiers for decades, including jazz basses, Teles, and of course this Stratocaster. It plays as well as a guitar can play. It looks absolutely gorgeous. It sounds like any much higher priced Strats and the humbucker is a great go-to for playing leads without having to have a pedal boost or having to go to the amp controls for boost. It set up as well as any Fender I have worked on and I have worked on quite a few over the years. I would not hesitate to use this guitar on any stage or in any studio production. The frets needed no top or side dressing and no leveling.bobvarns

This guitar is the Squire Stratocaster Bullet by Fender. The guitar is an excellent guitar for the price. The tones have a wide range. You can get a very clean sound, a very bluesy sound, and good distortion when running through a pedal. I use a Zoom II 505 effects pedal and a Marshall practice amp. When I do not want to disturb the neighbors I can use just the pedal with headphones. Bright sharp sounds are crisp when run through the pedal. This is great for rhythm and leads because the guitar can get clear notes on distortion when playing from the Double Humbucker position. Playing from the neck pickup results in a rich tone that can sound like Iron Maiden. The fret board has a good feel to it. The frets are not as good as on higher end guitars, but a good player will feel comfortable with the smoothness in playing this guitar. The guitar also stays in tune remarkably well. I have not played in some time so I have yet to be adventurous with the Tremolo. So I do not have an opinion of how it stays in tune when using Tremolo. When holding the guitar on the lap it tends to slide on the leg. Strats are best played while standing up, moving around and playing with your whole body involved. The light weight of the guitar allows a freedom to move. The neck is a good shape and easy onthe hand. The body has a great finish and the wood grain comes through the lacquer. This makes for a very attractive instrument that will look good on stage or in front of your friends in the living room. Disclaimer: If you are a good guitar player you will get a great sound. If you are not a good guitar player you will get a sound like someone killing cats no matter how expensive the guitar is. That is what makes this guitar such a great guitar. For a starter guitar, you won't spend a lot on it. If you give it up then you haven't wasted a lot of money. If you get better and make the guitar sound great, you will want to keep it even when you buy a more expensive guitar. Why, because this is a great guitar with great sound, great feel and great look at a great price!!!chuckamania35mm

Overall great beginner or budget guitar, sounds great with both the single coils and humbucker, quality wise there were a few issues I found with the fret work on my particular guitar but nothing a little filing can’t fix. Superb service from PMT as always, arrived exactly when they said it would and packaged great.George F.

I had been looking for a first guitar for a while. After lots of research I decided to go for the Squier, knowing the build had a relation to Fender. I'm happy with the guitar. You can see where they have cut corners to save money, things like the volume and tone knobs are quite plasticy, but for a first guitar I'm very happy. I went for the hard tail option as I didn't feel I needed a tremolo. Overall very happy.Jack H.

I got one of these in the Burgundy Mist color. It's a beautiful guitar! I was very interested in a Strat-style guitar with only humbuckers. I must say, that for the price, the pickups sound very good. I'm guessing swapping them out for Seymour Duncans or DiMarzios would be an improvement, but probably not a big one. So I'll keep the stock pickups. Unfortunately, out of the box, the action was WAY too high, the intonation wasn't even close and the tuners were unreliable, at best. I ended up getting a pro setup and swapping out the tuners for Fender locking tuners. That cost another $180. So the total price of this guitar ended up being around $460. But it's still a pretty good deal, compared to what you'd pay for a Fender version of this (around $1,900). This guitar, with the new locking tuners and pro setup, plays and sound very nice.Russell

The guitar I purchased passed my own multi-point inspection (weight, neck joint tightness with no gaps, action, vibrato functionality, smoothness, etc) with a much better subjective score than all the other much more expensive guitars that I had been auditioning for months and months before deciding what to buy, including some from prestigious brands . Not a fan of high output humbuckers, tonally, therefore I was already foreseeing changing pickups and pots/electronics any way. Tuners will also be upgraded. Regardless, this is an excellent chassis from which to build an excellent guitar that really works, and this is very cost-effective. To me this is much, much better than buying a vintage or boutique guitar, no matter the model, that is going to be undeniably overpriced simply because it unavoidably will need to be changed to suit my taste in different areas. Must say that I am not the typical guitarist who is constantly changing components due to perpetual dissatisfaction, but I know very well what I want in an electric guitar, long before i begin shopping for it. The Stratocaster is the best design for this approach.Sonic Alchemist

Pretty great guitar overall, especially for the price. The only issue I've had is some ringing on the G string when muting after strumming forcefully. It seems to be happening because of the angle of the strings going from the nut to the pegs, which is preventing the string from muting properly in that region. Changing the strings might fix it, but I just tied a ribbon around the G string upwards of the nut to attenuate the vibration. I have no idea how widespread this issue is though, so I might've gotten unlucky.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I was pretty impressed with this little guitar. I bought some I could learn how to install pickups, do light fret work, and luthier type stuff. However, I found this guitar already had really nice frets and good sounding pickups. So, I just swapped out the saddles and the tuners…this guitar is great now! For the money, it's well worth the price!Shane

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 have a few guitars that are worth thousands, but they are all Telecasters (except for one 1977 Mustang). I had a Stratocaster, but I sold my it over 15 years ago. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on another guitar, so I thought I would give this Squire Bullet a try. I have never owned any type of Squire so I figured why not? My first impression was that it is a very pretty guitar. The finish is good and the neck feels smooth. The NECK feels smooth. I would like to emphasize that. Some of the FRETS on the other hand, are so sharp that I cut a groove in one of my fingers while sliding up the neck. To be precise, it was the 11th and 12th fret. Several others are sharp as well, but those two could be put in a Ninja's arsenal. I actually expected to see blood when I pulled my hand away from the neck. Jeez. Sharp frets suck, and should NEVER happen no matter what the price of the guitar. But, I can fix that. The only other issue I had with this guitar was the volume pot didn't want to work correctly. Being that it is a new guitar and I did not want to void any warranty it might have, I took it to the local Guitar Center (across two towns from me). The tech pulled the pick-guard off and sprayed the pot with cleaner. Easy solution. It works great now. No charge. I can't say enough about that particular Guitar Center. The folks there are always helpful and friendly. I will take care of the sharp frets myself. I could send the guitar back, but then I would not know what I was going to get in return, so I will keep it unless some other problem pops up. Why did I want to buy this thing in the first place? I missed the "Quack" of my old Strat. This might not be the best Strat out there, but it is serving it purpose. I just wish somebody would take care of those knife edge frets before selling these things. :p I would not hesitate to recommend this guitar friends, but I would warn them about the frets.JACB

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

I was initially a little disappointed, the neck seemed really “dry” and not pleasant to use, the frets were really rough and scratchy and there was an audible “ping” every time I bent the the 1st and second strings. I oiled the neck, polished the frets and eventually replaced the nut (after much filing). Now it plays really nicely but before that was not great. For an experienced player it is no problem to have to do a bit of work to get a guitar playing well but for a beginner it could have been off putting and demotivated them from playing this instrument.Phil C.

I bought the Squier Classic Vibe '70s Stratocaster Electric Guitar Natural. The fretboard is rough and extremely dry. Frets seem too tall, or something?? — my fingers seem to be pushing to hard, doesn't feel good. Strings were rusty. I've spent a couple hundred at luthier trying to get it right, and it's still not quite there. I had pickup switch replaced. I've been using Fender Super 250 10s. I'll try 9's. NOT impressed with fretboard at all. The trim where neck goes into body was loose and dangling. OTHER THAN THAT — It's a beautiful guitar. Sounds nice. I'll figure it out eventually. The quality control people were asleep on this one.Michael

These are Fender's best kept secret for quality entry level guitars. I've been playing guitar for nearly 40 years and I own many guitars. These are Alder (body) and Maple (neck) for durabilty and tried and true tone. The pickups sound surprisingly good and no noise in the electronics. Btw, these are great to mod. If you know what you're doing, you can take an used Squire Affinity, mod it, and turn it into a guitar that that plays and sounds as good as any thousand dollar guitar. Fun guitars…great priceaxe541

After after 30 + years and many many strats over the years some of my favorite guitars have been Squires. But I would stay away from the Affinity series. They are poorly made, The Product coming out of Indonesia is far superior. I bought a Package deal for 80.00 That had not ever been used. It included an Champ amp the Stratocaster ( unplayable other then for a REAL beginner ) Chord, Strap picks, cleaning supplies. I sold the guitar for 90.00 The amp crapped out after about 4 months which annoyed me .Great practice amp with a headphone jack for my apt. Just get a reg Squire not an affinity. each. They are great guitars All you need unless your a Pro BUT if you can get a 20 th anniversary its is one of my favorite practice guitars. I play it all the time.I,m just guessing but they may have used better wood and upgraded the pups or wired hotter or i just got a really good one. Good luck Keep Playing !hblock321

Squier Strats w/China maple neck is best neck/fretboard that plays and feels identical to my original vintage '59 Fender maple neck/fretboard. I change out the p/u's to Noiseless and its a player. Own 3 modified China maple neck/fretboard Squier strats (2 gold) and this black one. Fender would do well to duplicate these neck shapes/fretboards on their U.S. built strats.ro_rued

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

I'm not a great player but enjoy guitars and have a few. The box says, "Everything you need to start playing." That's true! Here's some detail: It's made in Indonesia, not China. The guitar is a beautiful candy apple red (limited edition – though "bullet Stratocasters" are available in other colors too) with a great paint job. Like most Stratocasters it has a contoured body, very comfortable unlike most squared off Telecaster bodies. The neck appears to have little to no finish on it but is very smooth and quite playable. The fret ends I'd describe as normal on a budget guitar, no sharp ends, but some weren't very smooth either. I noticed no high frets, and after fingering every fret on every string, no fret buzzing. It comes with a spare tremolo spring, tremolo arm, and two Allen wrenches one to adjust the truss rod, one for adjusting string height. Even came with 2 owner's manuals and 3 months of Fender Play online guitar lessons – which are great! The only thing I had to do was tune the guitar and it stays in tune pretty good during practice sessions. The pickup switch, tone and volume controls, and input jack were all fine. It came with what appeared to be a cheap Fender strap, but upon further inspection it's made of sturdy nylon with leather ends that were easy to install on the guitar. It's rather short, so I extended it as far as it would go, which was good enough for me, but if you're tall of play with a guitar hanging way down, it will be too short. It came with 3 Fender tortoise-shell-colored medium picks. Also came with a 10' (9' 10" is what I measured) Fender brand guitar cord. I think the cord is high quality. The amp is a Squier 10G which is the same as a Fender 10G, just with a different logo (I have a Fender 10G also). The amp cord is about 5' long, which is nice and better than the short cords on my Marshall MG15FX amps. The amp has a 6" speaker and provides 10 watts of power into 4 ohms. Most guitar speakers are 8 or 16 ohms, so it really is a small solid-state amp (would have 5 watts into an 8-ohm load). The size of the amp is amazingly small. It will take up less space than a pair of shoes in your closet, fit under your bed easily, in a backpack, school locker, etc. You'd think it wouldn't be able to produce any good sound because it's so small, but it's quite surprising. I own two to of these amps and smile/giggle every time I play them. I know one professional music school that uses only these amps for numerous students – it's all they need to learn to play in a small classroom. If I put the amp on volume 5 and the guitar on 5, it's plenty loud in a bedroom for practice (actually I prefer "4" on the guitar). If I put the amp volume on 8 and the guitar on 10 its way too loud and uncomfortable in a bedroom environment. The tone controls on the guitar when set from 1 to about 4 or 5 sound bad, horribly muddy. But from 5 up (mostly 8 to 10) it sounds good. Want to play "Sunshine of Your Love" and need a little "crunch?" Put the gain on 7 and push in the button to select the gain channel (it has clean and gain channels – it's so small you have to be careful not to knock the amp over when you push the button in) and voila' it has crunch and sounds better than you'd think! Will it sound like a Traditional Gibson Les Paul with Gibson "57" pups through a Marshall Origin 50 cranked or an American Fender Strat Ultra through a Fender Deluxe Reverb (tube one)? No, it won't, don't expect it too, but you won't be paying thousands for it either! Look at the price! All I can say is, WOW! For the money if you don't own any guitars at all, or if you're a curious collector like I am, I think it's an amazing value. The Affinity Strat packs are nice too!Nigel

I haven't had an electric guitar since I was a teenager and wanted an inexpensive one just to get back in the game. After reading many positive reviews and watching several videos on YouTube, I thought I would give it a chance, although I had very low expectations given the price point. Boy, was I right. This thing is junk! It will not hold tune even during the tuning process. By the time you get all 6 strings "tuned"…the first string is already flat. And don't even think about actually playing it in tune. It ain't happening. I hate that they call this a "beginner's" guitar. I'm sure many kids have completely given up on the guitar, as I did, because the lousy Chinese piece of wood with strings was just too frustrating to enjoy learning. Now, you could do what all the bloggers and Youtubers suggest and put another $300 worth of upgraded parts in this piece of junk to make it close to playable. Or, you could save yourself, and/or your child, the frustration and just pony up the money for a good guitar. Also, the amp in this kit is about as good as the backseat speaker in your grandmother's car. If there is anything good I can say about this guitar, it is a nice color and seems to be painted well. I wanted a white guitar to offset my black Yamaha APX600 acoustic. Which, by the way, is a much better guitar.GSW1

Played bass and electric guitar in high school, I recently retired, and got back into playing with an acoustic guitar about 4 years ago, and I wanted a electric guitar just for playing around. Strings were dirty, and some minor adjustments needed to be made, but overall a good guitar. As long as you remember it's not a $800.00 guitar and don't have any unrealistic expectations, and know how to do minor work on it, you'll be just fine with this, you can't beat the price.Anthony

A lot of the reviews posted here are for Strats, so I'm not sure what's going on. Anyway, I bought the red sparkle Squier Bullet Tele. The finish is gorgeous and that's what prompted me to do a spontaneous purchase. I have only experienced owning USA Teles, but I've played some Squiers that really impressed me. This one? Not so much. I don't detect any finish on the back of the neck although I'm sure it has a sealer of some sort. The body finish is nice, but the bridge hardware is cheaply made and I'll be replacing that for sure. Same goes for the tuners. I'm pretty sure it has some high frets because it goes dead starting at the 10th fret, but some of that was back bow. I loosened the truss and got rid if it, but now when I sight down the neck the forward bow is pretty obvious. I don't notice the frets being sharp on the ends. It now plays plays pretty good after sitting long enough for the truss Rod to settle, but I may need to tighten it just a little to get rid of some of the forward bow. The neck has a very comfortable profile. The body is thinner than my American Teles, but it doesn't bother me – in fact it's lighter which I enjoy. The body is Poplar and that's fine by me. I may leave the back of the neck alone for now because it actually feels pretty good, aesthetics are certainly lacking, but the body makes up for that. I'm sure with a little patience and help from my friends I'll have a nice instrument. All the basics are there. As is, it's not all that great, but still better than my first electric guitar! -!an old Kalamazoo single pickup thing with a bolt on neck back in the mid sixties. Like the title says, this thing has potential. I probably couldn't buy a finished body for what I paid.Ronnie

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

I would first like to begin with- I normally would be giving a 5 star rating of this unit/Squier, as I have typically never had problems prior to the recent/earlier this year upset regarding shipping containers/etc being paused/sitting in the ocean/etc, delaying container delivery. PLEASE READ ON FOR FULL EXPLANATION. Two imperative points- 1. The fret ends were so sharp, when I say it was not playable (both sides/neck in its entirety), I mean, it was not playable (THE DATE OF INSPECTION WAS EARLIER THIS YEAR, AND I IMMEDIATELY ASSOCIATED THE FRET ENDS PROBLEM BEING DUE TO THE SHIPS BEING DELAYED/SITTING IN THE OCEAN/ETC- It looked to me like maybe between March and July of this year, although, I couldn't quite make out the stamped month). As well, the serial # of the guitar, of course, was of this year/'22. I maintain/work on most all my guitars, and I normally would've tightened up the fret ends myself, however, there was a hairline crack on the red sparkle finish at the bass side neck joint (which i just couldn't accept, visually), as well as a small tooling gash along the top edge of the headstock. The replacement/reordered guitar arrives tomorrow. 2. THE NEWER UNITS (AS, ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS A 2022-BUILT UNIT) ARE TOP-MOUNT/STRING THROUGH THE BACK OF THE BRIDGE, NOT "STRING-THRU" as the description indicates (and, with Squier bridge mounting, these are 5-screw mount plates, which, if ever you want to upgrade your hardware, particularly, w/the bridge, you must find an aftermarket unit that is "string through the back", along w/the correct string spacing (with Squier, they're 54mm, typically), and you'll typically need to redrill given it's rare to find plates that have Squier mounting dimensions that provided string through the back holes. I'm upgrading to a Babicz, given the results found. Also, there are two string trees (the second being a tree for both the D and G strings), and it looks great, actually, with both. Overall, I was impressed with the finish, as it was nearly flawless (aside from the hairline finish crack mentioned previously). The fretwire/fretwork, felt great….I found maybe two or so "slight" dead spots, which weren't enough of a "ping", or string buzz to be of concern, or critiquing the fretwork negatively. Rather, I was impressed with the fretwork. As well, it's important to note that the mounting of the bridge, along with the neck positioning/etc, was spot-on. No misalignment of the bridge mount/etc (and the same goes for the nut spacing). I've always been impressed with what Fender/Squier/Jackson are putting out. The quality is typically quite high…as for this unit, the quality is high, but the results of the environmental dilemma with either being stuck in a container offshore, or, sitting in a facility for weeks/months/etc, have had quite the impact on this guitar. As an important example, I had purchased a Bullet Tele last year (the unit in Burst color offered here through MF), and it was/is flawless, and I completely upgraded every part. As I own approx'ly 53 guitars ranging primarily from ESP to Jackson (some of which in the better than $2K range), I love to take what's titled as a "beginner" guitar, and totally hotrod it with high end parts (such is the case w/this guitar). As mentioned above, I've reordered the guitar, as MusiciansFriend provided me a generous discount (without having to ask) to accommodate me. Upgrades- 1. Babicz Full Contact Tele "Ashtray" bridge Gold, 2. Genuine Fender Gold control plate, 3. Fender Infinity Gold strap locks, 4. Gold input jack Ferrule, 5. Custom built Gold Sparkle w/star cut-outs Tele pickguard, 6. Philadelphia Luthier Tools "Fat" neck plate/Gold w/gold neck mounting screws, 7. Earvana compensated nut (Ivory), 8. Philadelphia Luthier Tools Gold string trees, 9. Fender locking tuners, Gold, 10. EMG T-52 set (black), or, EMG T-set, Red., 11. EMG Gold Telecaster knobs. 12. Powder coated Red pickguard screws, 13. Gold pickup mounting screws. Beginner guitar?……no more (ha).Dave

I already knew I was goint to love this guitar. I also own a Squier Modified Tele Custom, which is basically a Deluxe without the contoured body, and with a maple fretboard, vs the rosewood fretboard on this model. I say all that because THAT is what piqued my interest in THIS guitar. The different fretboard and the contoured body. They both share many characteristics. They both have the "Les Paul" electronics on board. Meaning, separate volume and brightness controls for each pickup, thereby allowing you to "blend" the sounds of the pickups. They both use very potent sounding humbuckers, and they both play, feel and sound fantastic. Like I said, I already knew I was going to love this guitar, and I was right. Lol Great guitars, both of them.brucekbfunguy

I've owned a squier affinity and a classic vibe. I absolutely hated the affinity…it never stayed in tune, intonation terrible, pickups thin sounding, and it felt cheap. I absolutely love the classic vibe telecaster… worth every penny above the affinity. It sounds epic, pickups phenomenal. I played it against my core PRS custom 24, Gibson Les Paul, 335, American standard strat, and Chris Robertson, etc. and it's shocking how good the classic vibe sounds in comparison. The pickups are even clearer than my strat pickups which are single coil too… and much clearer than all of my other guitars. They are plenty punchy too for lead playing. The build quality is rock solid… and pickups are perfectly balanced. I don't think you can get a better sounding telecaster no matter what the price… but maybe you get less sharp frets and nitro finish. The poly finish on this guitars doesn't effect resonance on this guitar at all though ..it resonates for days… just as much as any of my nitro guitars. I don't care what the name on the headstock is… If a guitar sounds this phenomenal I'm proud to display the company name on the headstock…who cares that it doesn't say fender… squire deserves high remarks for this one. No reason to spend a penny more for anything else. As long as you don't get a dud… but that can happen with fender, Gibson, and other guitars too…Thaddeus

I got this instrument for christmas last year in butterscotch blonde, and boy does it pack a punch! The thing i love most about it is the vintage style tint of the neck; blends really well with the butterscotch color. Even the pickups; they have a lot of that tele twang i was looking for, though I may change the neck pickup to a stratocaster neck pickup bc i am mainly a strat guy. The nut was cut pretty well, no frets are hanging out, and the craftsmen really treated mine like a fender. Don't let people fool fool you just because it says squier on the headstock; this thing is very indistinguishable amongst mexican or even american made fenders(proven fact: just listen closely on youtube). It is a bit on the heavy side for some, but it is not too much for me to carry around. Some may see the classic vibe as a great series to start with and modify in the long run. Overall, I love this thing. May modify it a bit in the future but will never sell it.Adrian

Purchased this Telecaster Deluxe in December of 2016 thinking I was going to have to modify and update it. I was wrong! The only thing I had to change was the input jack which is pretty standard on Telecasters. It did that "giggle loose" thing and quickly and cheaply replaced it. After putting my preferred gauge strings and a nice set up…it plays amazing. Just as well, if not better then a guitar three times this price. Pick ups sound really good. They cut through really well in a band situation with ease…makes my Marshall really sing. I really love this guitar…very pleasantly surprised. I'm a Gibson guy and wanted to try something different but with a humbucker and fixed tail piece and this fits the bill. In my experience with guitars in this price range is that over time the switches, and volume pots tend to fail quicker with normal wear and tear. This is wear the $ is saved by the company producing it. This is by no means a reason to shy away from this awesome guitar! Plus….it looks really cool!kingadrock23

I decided to pick this guitar up during a sale. I’ve read many places how great the quality is lately of Squire instruments. For the money, we’ll worth it, but don’t expect it to be any kind of playable condition when it arrives, if your experiences are similar to mine: Price and shipping? Can’t be beat! Quality of workmanship? Uneven at best. While the paint finish is nice, the neck pocket looks very uneven at the edges, I would normally think of this as a factory second. The trimplate around the upper switches wasn’t flat and the screws were at a slight angle. I removed it to find that the drilled holes were never cleaned, the tops of the holes raised slightly and the screws put in at a slight angle because of this. It was easy to remedy by filling, sanding and redrilling the holes, but to me that’s a little extreme even at this price point! The action was terribly high, the intonation totally off and there was string buzz around the bridge. After watching a few Jag specific videos, I shimmed the neck pocket slightly with two small cut business cards to increase the break at the neck. Did a complete readjustment of the bridge and strung it with 11’s (per most articles I read). Now it’s a beautiful, beautifully playing instrument! So beware! P.S. no case or gig bag, I know these aren’t mentioned as being included but I was still surprised that it came “naked”. P.P.S. Surprising good tuners, I thought this would have the cheaply stamped crap you usually find on cheaper guitars, these are a decent facimily of vintage fender tuners!Drewfuss

Squier guitars have often been underestimated by many guitar players – myself included. I've always wanted a Jag but didn't want to pay the high price for a Fender American so I decided to try it out. Happily to my surprise this guitar, for the price, is a fantastic deal. It plays very well, feels good, and sounds great through my Fender Champion 100. It's well made and has all the hallmarks that made the Fender brand famous. As someone who owns a Fender Stratocaster, Gibson SG, and Gibson Les Paul Standard, I can honestly say this guitar appropriately joins the ranks of those favorites in my collection. I tweaked the setup to my liking and it's pretty easy to do. (There are plenty of online tutorials for doing this). Bottom line – if you've ever wanted a Jaguar and want a great looking, great playing, great sounding guitar at a great price – then you need to pickup this Squier Jaguar!minnesodamac

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 own a Gibson Les Paul Custom and a Fender MIM maple neck Strat. This is the perfect marriage of these two instruments. The humbucker gives extra drive you would expect from a les Paul type guitar while retaining the spankyness of a strat. It can't do all the mim does though in terms of that 2nd position quack and the 1st position single coil goodness. I would describe the classic vibes as more mellow than the mim and more suitable for Rock than mim. The alnico pickups sing and are alive. The mim ceramic pickups seem darker. mim has that Skynyrd vibe while the CV has more of a Molly Hatchet/BlackCrowes/Zeppelin/Aerosmith quality to it. If you're on the fence between a les Paul or a strat then get this. If you want straight up spank get the sss strat. If you're looking for a edgier strat then get this. I am not disappointed. It is different than a les Paul but on the humbucker it's close. The main feel difference between this and my mim strat is the CV had a smaller neck. The mim has a chunkier feel to it.JB

Maybe not in every case, but this particular guitar was immaculate out of the box, except for a single rough fret edge on the highest fret. Played and sounded great and I don't think this guitar needs anything for a beginner, nor will it give a beginner many problems. I'm a bassist and compared to other guitars I've held, the neck is a little on the chunky side… medium chunky. I directly compared the Squier Classic Vibes with Fender Player series model guitars and the difference in quality is almost imperceptible. I did buy this as a mod platform (image attached!). If you're doing the same, save yourself a few hunny and go with the CV. 🙂Seth

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.