Fender Electric Guitar Red For Sale (2024 Update)

1 month review with guitar being setup professionally: Great pickups and tone and overall good sounding guitar after a proper setup, gorgeous nitro finish and paintjob. Relic effects are beautiful. The nitro finish feels thin enough for you to eventually make your own marks from repeated playing – a perfect way to tell a story and give the guitar character. Worn in neck feels amazing to play and not sticky to touch. Worth noting that the Pure Vintage 59 pickups on these don't have a reverse-wound middle pick, so there will be hum including positions 2 and 4. If you are easily annoyed with single coil hum, these pickups might not be for you. Also worth noting that these pickups do sound a bit warmer than a stock Fender Player pickups. These respond so MUCH better to high gain type of playing, all while still sounding amazing on low-gain and clean playing. Despite the pros, there are still some areas are lacking and needs improvement. The guitar had razor sharp frets along the binding that could easily cut you, meanwhile I have a $700 MIM fender player didn't have this problem straight out of the box. It's crazy to think that $700 guitar went through better QA than a $1200 guitar, but whatever, the frets are bound to be polished and worked on anyway with your initial setup regardless. CME's shipping page policies say "Every guitar gets a full inspection, as well as basic setup." Guitar came with an inspection card that had overall playability specs checked but some of it was questionable. The guitar was not playable at all out of the box despite letting it acclimate for over a day before opening BUT that is a given considering it spent time in a delivery truck trunk in freezing winter. However, it was a bit bogus how they even checked off volume output when the pickups were NOWEHERE near the appropriate height out of the box and there was BARELY any audible output on the treble side of the guitar. I highly doubt weather and temperature fluctuation will make the pickup screws spin by themselves to the degree at which the pickups came out of the box. Secondly, the tremolo springs at the back also weren't ******* in the appropriate depth for a either a floating or flushed trem setup – it was just sort of in the middle of the cavity. Weather fluctuation from their shop and may have affected string tension, but I also don't think it would make the claw springs in the back unscrew themselves to the degree the guitar came. Makes me wonder how thorough the inspection was. These might not matter as much to some especially those who will get their new guitars setup anyway, but it's good to note that you may still need to budget for a setup if you aren't doing it yourself. Although there could've been improvements on Fender and CME's part that I don't think could be blamed on external factors such as weather and climate fluctuations, overall, I would still 100% recommend this guitar, and it's a gem. The guitar played well after a proper setup, so I'm happy with it now. The price may be too expensive for some considering it's not made in USA, but it must be considered that this is the cheapest proper nitro-finish guitar you will currently find. The next best thing are Fender custom shop, so this guitar is perfect for those looking to enjoy vintage style paint/nitro body finish, and vintage specs without paying custom shop prices. The appearances are just a plus, since they sound and play amazing after a proper set up.Carlos T.

I've been playing for a little while, I rehearse with my band once/twice a week so my guitars definitely get played quite a bit, I've preferred Stratocasters from an early age. The shape is legendary and the tone is versatile. I own Chinese, Japanese, U.S. and Mexican Strats. This one is very comparable to my American Professional Stratocaster, the neck profile, the weight and intonation. Electronics are great, single coils produce a sweet twangy clean tone and the humbucker roars really nice with the right amount of gain/distortion. Makes it a very comfortable instrument that plays as easy as mantequilla on a hot tortilla. Only issue, (hence the 'almost comparable to MIA strats comment in the headline) are the frets… They are a little bit on the sharp side, I'm guessing it comes down to a player's preference? A competent luthier can dress the fret ends and make this one a real player/main axe. Other than the sharp frets, everything else is pretty solid and straight, the vatos down in Ensenada MX do great work producing these!Benjamin

So my story goes like this, I flew into Portland Oregon for work and immediately drove from the airport to Guitar Center. Upon walking in, someone was shredding on a guitar and it went on for a good 10 minutes. The guitar he was playing was the Candy Red Burst Fender Stratocaster Player Series. After he was done, I grabbed it and saw why he played it so long. It felt just solid in the hands. The strings, fret board and neck were silky smooth; Super easy to glide up and down with no fret buzz. The pickups are all Fender Player Stratocaster series which I have had no issue with and perform great out of the box. Also, just holding the guitar is a treat in the hands. It's a beautiful guitar. The Candy Red Burst has a very high functioning coat that gives a deep black fade anyway you turn it. It also fit my bill for something to remember Oregon by since the guitar is a deep Rose Red and Portland is know as the City of Roses.The Pau Ferro fingerboard is also eye candy as it has black veins that run through the grain matching the black hardware of the guitar. Other then that, I have had this guitar for 5 months as of this review and absolutely love it. The guitar holds its tune very well I enjoy playing it every time. Wait, you still reading this? Go get one already!Allan

PMT service is fantastic, ordered it on a Sunday had it buy the Wednesday that week. Unpacked it gave it a quick tune and of I went started playing. This is my first fender and what can I say it's a lovely looking guitar, well finished and sounds great . There is a lot of variation you can get from switching between the different pickups which I love.John O.

The guitar came in faster than expected. The service at Sam Ash was excellent, and the salesman was very helpful with putting my order together. After unboxing, I looked the guitar over closely before plugging to my amp. The fit and finish was flawless. The neck relief, string action, and pickup height were spot on. Then I plugged in and cranked up. This guitar comes with Player Strat pickups, and Player Strat neck. And it flat out Rocks. Everyone says the Korean guitars are so good for the money. But these Mexican made Fenders are every bit as good. Personally, I'd rather have a guitar made in the American continent than one made in Asia. Good job Fender. And Kudos to Sam Ash.michael

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.

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

Sound: I can get any sound I want just through the pickup selector, tbx and midrange boost controls, and the master volume takes it over the edge for extra crunch. Playing by myself I preferred the middle pickup, but in a band situation the neck pup cuts through brilliantly with lovely clean treble twang. This is a great guitar for biting blues or rock tones, or dial it back for a nice soft clean tone. I mostly play through a Blackstar TVP 60 or Marshall DSL40, but I keep both mostly clean where it's just starting to break up, which I can control by my attack. Features: The best feature for me is the playability of the neck. The satin finish combined with the low vintage frets is just super smooth. I played about a dozen different Strat models before finding the EC, and once I played it there was no other choice to make. The noiseless vintages pups are a breeze, and the controls do everything Fender claims. Ease of Use: The EC just fell to hand for me immediately, like no other guitar I'd played before or since. 'Nuff said. The pups allow me to keep tight control on feedback only when I want it. Quality: This is a pure quality instrument, and I love everything about it. Having said that, after 2 years there's quite a bit of fret wear from bending, so I'll need to refret with stainless steel wire for longer wear. The volume pot has started to get a bit dirty and noisy, so it needs a clean, even though I've only played in clean environments. Value: Worth it's weight in gold. I have not played another guitar that makes me want to buy it. Manufacturer Support: Haven't need manufacturer support, but in Australia I have Fender-registered luthiers. The Wow Factor: This is EC's guitar, as close as I'll ever get, which is a big selling point. But sheer playability, quality, and value for money, plus pride of ownership, make it simply the best. Overall: Just a fabulous, playable guitar, the best I've ever played.Peter

Arrived in great shape. So far, I love this guitar, and despite all the videos I watched and reviews I'd read, I was still amazed at the sheer number of tones you can get out of it. With the mid and treble boosts, you can really go from "typical strat" tones to get incredible sustain and hit the front of the amp quite hard to get good breakup.Pros:- American Strat quality, fit and finish is good, rolled fret board, etc.- The electronics – endless variety of tones. Not great for modern metal or hard rock, but anything else will work.Cons:- This would be a hard guitar to work into a live venue if you play with other guitars as well. It is LOUD, so much louder than my Les Paul or anything else I own that I have to play with the levels and EQ on the amp. In my house, no big deal. At a gig, that may be tough. That said, I don't own other guitars with active electronics, so maybe other active pickups are also this much louder?- Requires you to unscrew the back plate to change the battery. I'm sure this keeps costs down, but on my active basses it's a lot easier to open the battery compartment without screws. Make sure you have a full battery before a gig.- I was surprised at the amount of set-up I had to do to get rid of fret buzz. Given the amount of distance in shipping, time in warehouses, temperature/humidity differences, etc. my guess is that it was probably fine when it left the factory, but it's the first guitar I've bought online that had so many strings/frets buzzing. Luckily a couple turns on the saddle screws fixed it all without appreciably raising action.Neither good nor bad: – The neck profile is unique to the Clapton. It feels like "a more playable vintage profile" to me. It's definitely not a modern profile. You'll either like it or you won't 🙂 I found it really easy to adjust to, and it seems to work great for "thumb over"- The bridge is similarly vintage, and comes blocked. If you really want the newer Fender bridge, you are out of luck. Given my set-up experience (above), I'm not convinced I could just "remove the block" and have it playable without additional set-up.- Tweed case looks amazing, but is not form fitting like the new TSA case that comes with other American Fenders. I wanted a tweed case, and I don't fly with my guitar, so not a big deal to me.Overall I feel like I made the right choice in buying a Strat, and I can't put it down. If your goal is to make Clapton sounds (or any other great Blues/Rock sounds) – this is a fantastic guitar.Metal Head

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

I bought this for my son's 6th birthday. I checked it before giving it to him. It was filthy. It looked as though it had been handled by a car mechanic who had not washed his hands. I could see fingerprint patterns.The grime on the face of the pick guard was no big deal because of the cellophane covering, but the grime on the beveled edge of the pick guard was in the plastic. There was grime on the nut, on the back of the headstock, and in a few places on the body. The Musician's Friend customer service guy was great. He arranged an exchange, and was truly sympathetic. Since I couldn't give it to my son for his birthday, I decided to save it for another occasion. I left it unopened for a few months. Today, I opened it just to check it. Filthy with the same kind of grime. I checked the serial number against a photo I had taken of the original mini. It's a different guitar. Says a lot about the quality control at Fender. Too late to get an exchange, so I'm going to do what I can to clean it. I'm also going to write to Fender to complain. Musician's Friend was great on their end. I only recommend that they open some of the mini Squiers to check them for condition and give Fender some grief for any that they find to be less than clean.Joe with an old Strat.

Received this the other day bought for my Grandson. I am a starting Luther so I have some knowledge about guitar work. Overall I'm impressed tuned it up, stretched the strings a bit and plugged it in. Pickups not bad sounding , tone, vol and switch work fine. Tuners are not great but slippage was minimum and caused no problems. Intonation was close played in tune up the neck. It does have sharp fret ends (which I will take care of) in addition along with some normal set up stuff, neck adjustment maybe some work at the nut. Set up stuff is normal with guitars costing allot more so I consider this normal. The 3/4 body and 22" scale make this fun to play and a great guitar for kids and people with small hands. It is so much better than the minis with the 16" inch scale length as you can tune this to normal E. Over a very nice guitar for the price.Jimbo

This was my first guitar, and it served me well for a few years. Eventually it got a bit too small, but it's a decent guitar at a great price. The sound overall is decent and it's easy to play, but it's got serious fret buzz and mine never stayed in tune. There's really not much to say, if your 6-10 year old kid wants to learn guitar, get them this.Miles

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 previously purchased a Classic Series 60's Strat and had looked hard at the 50's since then. Musician's Friend had 15% off for Fender recently, so pulled the trigger on one. I had only one time before (not MF) bought online/sight unseen, but this one arrived in perfect condition, set up well (low action, intonation set, trem floated) and ready to play. The soft V neck profile is very nice, the pickups sound even better than the Classic Series 60's (even though they are supposed to be the same pickups). Fit/finish/appearance is spot on. My first Strat was a 1983 Vintage series '57 RI. This MIM Strat looks nicer, plays better and sounds better than that MIA I bought back in 1983. The Classic Series (both my 60's and this 50's) are GREAT guitars and real bargains. Do not shy away from them just because they are not MIA's. Let me repeat…..GREAT guitar!!64 Tele

The Mexican made Strats can actually be a mighty fine guitar! I've bought a few guitars on Ebay and out of three, one was like brand new. One was ok, it needed some new strings and some twirling, and the third wasn't any good at all and makeover on. It now plays like an American Strat and is just a wonderful guitar. I got to learn a lot from that one and I think I'm gonna start getting into re-working cheaper ones and making them real nice guitars for guys or girls wanting something better while being on a budget. When buying a guitar on Ebay, make sure you can get your money back if it's no good. Ask questions! Don't overspend just be patient, the right one will come along. Study up about buying guitars on Youtube… Good Luckow2launch

I have been trying to find the ideal Fender on a non-Custom Shop budget. I tried a Highway One and it wouldn't intonate. Then I got a Chris Shiflett Tele, which is a great guitar except that it weighs about the same as a wheelbarrow full of bricks. Sent that one back. MF was good about that. Finally I looked at my wife's '59 Jazzmaster, which I love playing, and realized: Wait a minute, the neck radius on the J-Master is 7.25, not 9.5 or 12, and I get along with that neck, so…I ordered the 50s Classic. This is a good guitar regardless of where it is made. I put a 9-42 set on it instead of the 10-46 it comes with and the action became perfect. The Daphne Blue is so 1950s, and well it should be, it's a Cadillac color (Leo loved using auto paint for his guitars). Thankfully not anywhere near as heavy as other Fenders I have tried. The sound is classically Stratlike. Pickups are low output, as the originals were. So far I can't stop playing it. This is pretty much the Strat I have been looking for all along.werewolf

Comfortable guitar with a well rounded amount of options for most players. Maple neck felt smooth, very bright & crisp tones and it was thin enough for some speed when needing to move about the fretboard. Finish on the neck is light enough varnish to let you feel a bit of the wood grain. Sound from the pickups is old school classic strat twangy tone fitting for blues, country, classic rock, jazz, or folk players depending on which of the 5-way pickup selections you are in. One complaint is that the stock pickups have a noisy 60hz buzz when in single pickup positions. In combined 2-pickup positions most of the buzz is pulled out. Most people modify these pickups or control cavity because of the noise issues. Neck pickup, middle and neck/middle positions sound best for most players needs. The bridge pickup lacks any of the stronger mellow tones a humbucker might give you so certain players obviously will not like this for their style of music. Tuners were solid performers staying in tune for a long time and have an old school look. Tremolo is not very useful especially if you are a Floyd Rose type player. The body is very comfortable to hold while sitting or standing. Finish is sharp polished thick coating. Choose the Candy Apple red. Overall a great guitar in it's price range. If you wanted to modify it or customize there are a hundreds of options available to you. Have made a few mods myself.Humbuckers Rock

I've generally had a strat in the house since shortly after I started playing in 1977 or so, as an 18 year old. It's my "home" instrument – I can vacation with and enjoy other guitars, but I always come home to a strat. But I'm not and never have been a tremolo guy – I've always either decked or blocked the trems in my Strats. So the idea of a hardtail always appealed to me. This is my first actual hardtail and it's my favorite strat, probably not because of that, but it doesn't hurt! This is the best sounding strat I've ever owned – the pickups are great and whatever else contributes to the tone gets it right too. The feel is almost as good as the sound. I've had some really sublime feeling strats over the years – I wouldn't say this is better than all of those, but it's right up there. I tend to prefer maple fretboards to rosewood, but this rosewood plays great and the neck shape fits me really well. Bottom line – I'm a lifetime strait guy and I've owned a few and played a lot of them, and this is my favorite strat I've ever picked up. It's largely a matter of personal preference, but this one is a perfect fit for me. And the Inca Silver looks just wonderful too, particularly with a rosewood board and mint pick guard.Ray

Fantastic instrument. I compared it with Squier Classic Vibe 50s and – for me at least – there was no question which one to get. Yes, the Mexican tele is over 200 quid more – but it's well worth it. The bridge with individual saddles is much more comfortable than the standard 3-saddle one. Neck is not as heavily lacquered as on the CV. Pickups sound great, switch and knobs feels more solid. I did find a couple of blemishes in the finish, but realistically speaking – for a guitar that is mass-produced at that price point – that's sort of expected. I also preferred the colour of the Standard Tele, as CV had really intense forced yellow hue everywhere. I mean – everywhere, even the maple fretboard was stained yellow. There is a bit of fret buzz, but I believe it could go away with proper setup and maybe a bit of crowning?… All in all – great guitar. I was hesitant at first, but now it's my personal favourite and go-to instrument.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Overall: Always wanted a Nashville Tele but several things were stopping me from buying it. I could have made some mods myself but that kind of defeats the purpose of a new guitar. No bridge + neck pickup option was a biggie.No locking tuners. All my guitars have locking tuners. 3 saddles instead of 6 individual. I just prefer the 6 even for a Tele.No noiseless pickups. Now they've also done a couple of things I wasn't necessarily looking for but are nice addition. The rolled fingerboard edges are a really nice touch as well as the belly cut. Again, not expected but very nice additions especially since I can roll my own fingerboards but have never attempted my own belly cut on a Tele and probably wouldn't but they are really nice on my G&L's. For the not so great stuff. The neck had entirely too much relief in it but this was rectified with a truss rod adjustment. I did have to do a fret level, crown and polish. The guitar also had a bit of fret sprout and some sharp ends. I easily fixed these issues but would understand others might have to take it to their local tech for a fret job. After a little work on my part the guitar plays wonderfully. The neck is really comfortable. This is every bit as good a guitar as the US produced Fender's I have played recently. The sounds are exactly what you would and should expect from a Nashville Tele. Overall, this is a very well made guitar. Played 4 gigs with it over the New Year break and I gotta say, this is probably going to be right there onstage with my EBMM's. No, it's not as good as my Cutlass and LIII's but it doesn't need to be. I think this guitar is a great bargain and I'm pretty picky. Fender finally got the Nashville Tele right. It's really nice to see.Richie

What a absolutely beautiful instrument. I got mine surf green and the online pictures don't do it justice. Guitar arrived flawless and played great out of the box. Action seemed a little higher than I like, but still plays great with the vintage frets to my surprise. Definitely has that telecaster sound with very nice cleans and twang. Also hitting it with a tube screamer or distortion pedal it has a snarl. Playing through a PRRI, 78 SFDR and 67 Vibro Champ. The C shaped neck does seem slightly beefier than other C shapes on my AVRI strats, but I find it just as comfortable and a nice difference. Clay inlays look really good on the rosewood neck also. There is also a tint to the neck that's more than what was on the previous line of AVRI guitars but I think it looks good.Don

This telecaster is legendary. First, the noiseless pickups immediately distinguish this tele from others and result in ZERO hum and stays that way on all pickups. Second, the C-shape fretboard design makes for effortless phrasing. Third, this guitar is impressively light (much more so than my strat) and is therefore my go-to guitar for gigging. And I should add the unique color configuration makes this tele stand out from the rest. Apparently "Aged Candle Apple Red" is Fender's own thing. Finally, I should note that I run this guitar through my Marshall DSL40CR. The combination makes for great depth and a fullness that rivals my strat — including on clean tones. I'm very happy with this purchase and highly recommend it to anyone seeking a compliment to their rig (particularly if you have a strat and want to expand the universe of sounds).Chad the Bad

I love the LPB bodies, but I've discovered that my Fender standard LPB body is a 4 piece alder. Perhaps Fender decides to hide 4 piece bodies with their hottest-selling colors, while leaving the preferred 2 piece tone beauties to the translucent finishes. The MIM pickups sometimes are thin-sounding. If you've ever watched a video of construction of the MIM Fenders, you'll see that speed is their number one goal. Still, these are generally a lot of guitar for the money.banjophoto

As I said before, this is my first lefty but I have been playing right handed for 29 years so I know a great guitar when I play one and this is a great guitar after I did a "set up" on it. You might not feel you need one, just go over it with a screwdriver and make sure everything is tight, as the quality control department is lacking but the guitar itself is great. I have never played an American Standard Tele so I can't compare them. If you don't have a lot of money but want the best built guitar for your money look no more, this is it. The maple neck is only gloss finish on the front and satin on the back, it has excellent fretwork. The pickups are actually pretty good with a three position switch. I was suprised to find the pickups are not noise cancelling in the middle position. The bridge is a string-thru body type and is very solid. The body has a really nice finish on it, mine is Lake Placid Blue and is a very deep metallic finish. It is a very basic guitar but built very solid. If you need a very basic guitar that is built very well, very solid and stays in tune then this is it. It is beautiful and built like a tank, the fretwork is excellent with no dead spots, the pickups sound really great so I won't be upgrading them soon. I had to go over the guitar with a screwdriver and tighten some screws, the neck bolts were loose letting the neck move around but that is poor quality control to blame, I can't fault the guitar for that. Once you go over it and make sure every thing is tight this is an awesome guitar. I've been playing for 29 years right handed but recently had hand surgery on my left/fretting hand and can no longer play right handed, so I am learning to play left handed and this is my first lefty. I wanted the best built guitar that I could afford that is basic in features, great tone, string-thru body for tuning stability, very solid quality and this is it. This is a very well built guitar for the price, not a lot of features, nothing fancy but it is high quality. I don't think you can buy a better guitar for this price, maybe more features but not this quality. You might need to have it "set up" if you don't know how to do it yourself, as my action at the nut was a little high, but I have nut files and was able to file down the nut slots myself and now it plays like a dream.Josh-xld-z

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

Pro – Great sounding pickups, wouldn't change a thing. It is really easy to get all of vintage Strat sounds you want out of this. Pro – Really well made. Pro – The neck profile is a lot closer feeling to that era Strat then Fenders previous reissues of this guitar. Pro – It has the 5 way pickup switch as opposed to the three way that was on the original. Much better option. Pro/Con – (Con) Having to pull the neck off to adjust it is a drag. (Pro) To be fair it is like that on the originals and as such needs to be like that to be an accurate reproduction. Con – The setup out of the box was pretty bad. Not a problem, but if you don't do your own setups factor it in as an additional cost. Con – I could not get the stock tuners that came on it to stay in tune for long. I kept having to retune it. I replaced them with some vintage replica locking tuners (like the ones that come stock on the Vintera 50's modified) and it is now perfect. To be fair the tuners are meant to be replicas of the vintage ones so if you are used to guitars with higher end tuners this will through you off. Again just consider it an additional cost if it bugs you. With the locking tuners and a set up this guitar plays and sounds great. I would recommend it if you are looking for class Strat tones.Included pics of stock -vs- locking tuners, it does not really take much away from the look and makes the tuning much more stable. I would buy it again without hesitation.phez10

I’m no stranger to custom shop strats. No, it doesn’t have the nitro smell or the perfectly rolled edges, but this is one spectacular guitar. First impressions out of the box, it felt really nice in my hands, kind of similar to the deluxe Lone Star Strat I used to own, but the neck on this one is a lot more comfortable to me. I couldn’t find any flaws in the finish or the fretboard and frets. And best of all is how this guitar resonates, it’s deep and soulful when unplugged. Plugged in it sounds just like a strat should. I see no reason to change the pickups. The setup was a little off. A minor truss rod tweak and trem spring adjustment were all it really needed. I always put .10’a on anyway. The fret ends were nice and smooth and the fingerboard edges, while not “rolled,” felt rounded and smooth regardless. It really does feel like a high end USA made instrument. I was worried about the lighter brown colored Pau Ferro, but it really looks fantastic on this guitar. Also, the mint green pickguard is much greener than the photos and matches really well. Also the tint on the headstock and neck is perfect. It’s nice and dark but not too dark. It’s just right to make it look old and classy. The fretboard was very dry, though and a bit of oiling really brought out the grain and made it look a bit darker and much nicer. The ice blue is a nice color but it’s kind of weird. Almost looks green in certain lighting. The vintage frets are not for everyone but I absolutely love them. Also the radius is just fine, no fret-outs anywhere like everyone tries to tell you. I can see why most people would want the modified version if you’re a speed demon, but if you like a luxurious and smooth feel, you can’t go wrong with this one.Michael R.

I've played a lot of Stratocasters and this is the best vintage feeling guitar I have ever played. For being vintage I have no fretting out and the neck plays smooth and fast for me. I don't understand the complaints about this guitar, if your into a modern thin uncomfortable c shape and hum buckets or noiseless pick ups with jumbo frets that go out of intonation with hardly any wear than this isn't for you. If your looking for the absolute best bang for your buck that fender has ever produced than this guitar is for you. I've played American strats and deluxe and I don't like where my creative mind goes. You really get the authentic feel of what a Stratocaster is. Only recommendations I have as far as upgrading would be electronics. 65's would fit this guitar perfectly. But if your playing clean tones alot then the clean tones on this guitar are beautiful. Fender hit a deer spot here. I have 17 years of experience playing stratsEd

For over 10 years, I've been casually searching for just the right Telecaster. I've tested out many over the years (new and used), and with the wide variety of neck styles on different models and series, I just never found the right one. When Fender announced this 70th Anniversary Broadcaster earlier this year, something told me this might finally be the one. So I decided to roll the dice and order one from MF without first playing one and I'm thrilled to report that it not only met but also exceeded all of my expectations. I was most concerned about the U-shaped neck – not being a fan of so-called "baseball bats" of the early 1950s. It's just slightly more chunky than a modern Tele, but it's extremely comfortable and it only took me about a day to get completely comfortable with it. Now I absolutely love it. The action is perfect and there's no buzzing whatsoever up and down the neck. The Custom Shop Blackguard pick-ups sound fantastic. They are super-hot and give that classic Tele tone. Before playing it, I was a little disappointed that Fender decided to include the wiring kit to duplicate the original Broadcaster blending-mode as a user-installed option instead of wiring it this way at the factory, but after hearing these pick-ups the way they are, I won't be re-wiring it anytime soon. I had mixed emotions about the lacquer finish with the see-through wood grain when looking at the photos online, but in person the guitar looks fantastic. My only reservation is that the lacquer makes the back of the neck a little tacky but over time this should work itself out. I've already noticed that after a week of playing it has already improved. One other thing about this guitar that still amazes me is the weight. It is perfect – not too light and also not a boat anchor hanging around your neck. I also love the custom American-made G&G deluxe tweed case. Do yourself a favor and order this guitar while you still can!Lou Z.

I bought this in order to not duplicate what I left behind during a 3000 mile move last month, after doing enough research to learn that an Esquire is significantly different from a Telecaster. Indeed, this guitars sounds quite different, and in my view can stand in for a Gretsch but with better feel. The chunky neck is vintage and not 70's style as some have stated. I have tiny hands so was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it feels up and down the neck. Not slippery at all either. The natural finish is darker than in the photos, but it's still nice to see pine grain. Heavier shellac than I expected, but it sounds great. Not as much tonal range as other Fenders, but I didn't buy it for that. I'm going to try all-nickel strings when I get it set up, for an even more vintage sound, but it's great with the Fender nickel plated steel strings.mhschmieder

I finally have a Telecaster, and not just any Tele, but possibly the nicest one I've come across. I absolutely LOVE the color scheme (though I wouldn't mind a slightly lighter colored fret board – rosewood or pau ferro)! Everything about this guitar screams quality and attention to detail. It plays well and sounds fantastic! I have a Gibson SG, Epiphone Sheraton, Fender Jazzmaster, and now this Tele Ultra and so far, I think this is the best sounding guitar out of the bunch. It's certainly the best playing and best feeling out of all of them. The Jazzmaster is close, but this Tele simply kills it! Don't sleep on this one, folks.Devin R.

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