Fender Red Electric Guitar For Sale (2023 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

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

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

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.

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

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 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

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.

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

i think the fender highway one is a great guitar, i have had several of them and liked them all, if u don't find the pickups suit u just change them out with a set that fits your needs, thats one thing that makes strats so great they are easy to change to suit your needs.its a good way to get you a usa made star without spending a fortune. thanx rock on!!!kidtown7205

The American Special strat is one of Fenders best bang for the buck guitars – IF the price is right. This is a great deal at $700 but at the current price of ($) – not really. The quality of MIM strats has improved to the point where they are a better buy unless you are stepping up to a Fender Pro series guitar. This HSS strat is a quality instrument but will still need a better humbucker and a set of staggered locking tuners to complete the package. The Texas Special singles are outstanding but I found the Atomic humbucker to be meh – it's a perfectly capable balanced pickup but just does not have the punch and bite to go with the Texas Specials. The locking tuners are mandatory, if you are even thinking about floating that vibrato bridge. The neck is a fat "C", which is still pretty slim compared to a typical Les Paul neck. Weight is relatively light – in the seven to eight pound zone.Anthony

I thought it sounded a little glassy until I plugged it into my Bass amp. Wow I thought I was John Lee Hooker. This is a fantastic guitar and I haven't done any upgrades yet. Nothing but guitar and Bass amp no gagets and it sounds hot. I can't wait to get an amp with some distortion, echo ect. I can't put it down.jowomac9

Sound: The vintage tone noiseless pickups are perfect for what I wanna play on this guitar. All my other are humbuckers, high gain passive and active humbuckers at that, so the vintage tone single coils give me that sound I simply cannot get from my other guitars. Granted, my other guitars have split coil options, but there is a noticeable difference between a split humbucker and a noiseless single coil. Features: The S1 switch serves me no purpose, just turns the tone into mud. Ease of Use: It's not rocket science, but I'm used to 3way pickup selectors, and an all or almost nothing attitude when it comes to my other guitars volume controls, and never touch the tone controls, so for me personally there is a learning curve when it comes to all the tonal possibilities that come with a typical Strat setup.If I could change one thing on the guitar, it would be using 6100 jumbo frets, but generally speaking the guitar is a breeze to play, after a day or so… It's very stiff out of the box.The tremolo has a very nice feel to it, and the pop in arm should be standard on all trems at this point. Quality: The guitar is very well made. This is a professional guitar! Value: This is where my issue is… I just can't see how this guitar is worth $400 more than the Professional series. With everything being made on CNC machines, that little contour on the cutaway and the compound radius fingerboard seem like an unjustified mark up, the only thing on this guitar that should be a logical price mark up are the locking tuners and the pickups, neither of which equate to $400 in parts… But I liked the finishes more, and didn't feel like swapping out tuners and bridge saddles. Manufacturer Support: Never had to deal with Fender customer service. Overall: This guitar is a purists nightmare, but it's a dream to me. Compound radius fingerboard and satin neck finish are up my alley.Rob

First things first, the manager and the guys at Guitar Center in Pensacola were very helpful. About 3 weeks ago I bought the Plus Top Stratocaster and I loved the guitar but wanted to upgrade to the Ultra so I started shopping around for one and found one at a different music store down the street for a significantly lower price than what was advertised at the local Guitar Center. So I figured I would have to return my guitar to the store. When I got there I asked about the price match guarantee that Guitar Center provides and I brought it up to them that I found the Cobra Blue Ultra guitar at a lower price at another store and after a few minutes and the manager doing some research he pretty much told me " if you're are going to buy this guitar, I would rather you buy it from us " I was very surprised. In my mind I thinking that he was going to come up with some sort of excuse to not match the price. That is what customer service is all about!!!! Middle finger to other stores! From here on out I am a lifelong customer of Guitar Center. Oh and this guitar is the best of the best!! It's like being handed the keys to a brand new Corvette ( or a Ford Cobra, whichever you prefer). So, hands down the best guitar and the best customer service you could ask for!! I'm already looking forward to getting an Ultra Tele this year!Steve