Fender Youth Electric Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

I got this guitar on September 14th, 2021, and have had some minor issues with it. When I receive this guitar, it was perfect. Not a single case of fret buzz, the nut was perfect, and it was an all around great guitar. However, after about a month. I realized the tuners were a bit out of wack. I would be a bit flat, and turn the tuning peg over and over and over, only to not tighten the string at all. Then when I finally did one last turn, I'd be sharp by a whole note! Whatever, just replace the tuners. I had been putting that off. The next issue was a bit weird. I play really hard, and over time, the bridge pins were starting to get loose, and eventually a whole screw came out, and I had to take the guitar to a tech. I know this is probably user error, but still. I eventually just decided to turn it into a Jonny Greenwood tele, with lace sensors, a kill switch, and all. And let me tell you, this guitar is perfect now. The neck is (and always was) exactly what I was looking for. It's a bit thinner that my Squier Affinity Strat, but I like a thinner neck. Bottom line, I would recommend this guitar if your okay with getting new tuners. No one else I know has had problem with the bridge, so consider that. (P.S. I forgot to say that the stock pickups are amazing! I almost just kept them, they sound really good)Cory

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

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

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

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

I have always wanted a Telecaster. This Squier Tele is the BEST brand new right out of the box guitar I have ever purchased. It's Incredible sounding and good playability. The neck and bridge pickup sound great. Not only do they sound great played in the just the neck or bridge position but together they compliment each other like no other guitar I own. This Squier has a black Nut that looks like it's made from Graphite. The Bridge is not a traditional Telebridge. It has 6 individual string saddles like a Strat. No Tremolo. The only thing I will upgrade on this guitar will be to Locking Tuners if I can find some with a set screw in the (four) eight o'clock position Don't let the "Squier name discourage you. Will a Higher priced Fender sound better than this entry level Squier?Jman

I purchased 4 Squiers over the past year, a surf green Bullet Tele, a butterscotch Bullet Tele with maple neck, a surf green Bullet Mustang and this sunburst Affinity Tele with maple neck. I had no problem setting up the 3 Bullets, the Mustang is the best but the butterscotch with 9s is a blast to play. This Affinity has been a major let down. After trying every trick in the book to get the high E string to stop sounding like a sitar, and fret buzz in odd spots all over the neck I'm at a point where it's going to need new parts and some serious surgery just to make it playable. That's a chance you take when buying a bulk guitar online, you get what you get.GrandpaPete

I purchased this guitar in hopes of getting an inexpensive tele sound for recording and for live audio. The guitar came quickly and upon initial inspection, I liked the guitar. The fretboard was smooth and I thought the playability would be great. However, upon plugging the guitar in, I noticed the pickups were likely not secured as the selector switch produced no tonal differences and the tone itself was buzzing and awful. Okay, that's frustrating but I can understand these things happen. When I called musicians friend customer service, they said they don't ship return boxes and that I would need to pay for a box to have it returned. That completely goes against what I believe principally. I would rather burn the guitar for firewood than pay nearly fifty usd for a box to return it at no fault of my own. I will not purchase from musicians friend again because of their lack of clarity on this issue. It appears most people have not had the same issues so this may not be a common experience, but why take a risk when they aren't willing to correct it.Owen

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

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

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

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

The neck on the AHJ Strat is one of the most comfortable I have ever played and this includes nitro finishes 60's vintage models. The pick ups are fiery and take high gain really, really well. It is also surprisingly light weight and boy, the Olympic White and big 70's headstock is just a chef's kiss!Reviewed by Absolute Music custo

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

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

I got this guitar on September 14th, 2021, and have had some minor issues with it. When I receive this guitar, it was perfect. Not a single case of fret buzz, the nut was perfect, and it was an all around great guitar. However, after about a month. I realized the tuners were a bit out of wack. I would be a bit flat, and turn the tuning peg over and over and over, only to not tighten the string at all. Then when I finally did one last turn, I'd be sharp by a whole note! Whatever, just replace the tuners. I had been putting that off. The next issue was a bit weird. I play really hard, and over time, the bridge pins were starting to get loose, and eventually a whole screw came out, and I had to take the guitar to a tech. I know this is probably user error, but still. I eventually just decided to turn it into a Jonny Greenwood tele, with lace sensors, a kill switch, and all. And let me tell you, this guitar is perfect now. The neck is (and always was) exactly what I was looking for. It's a bit thinner that my Squier Affinity Strat, but I like a thinner neck. Bottom line, I would recommend this guitar if your okay with getting new tuners. No one else I know has had problem with the bridge, so consider that. (P.S. I forgot to say that the stock pickups are amazing! I almost just kept them, they sound really good)Cory

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 guitar on sale for about $590, which, let's be clear, is an absolute steal. It's a gorgeous instrument, the electronics are great for the price point, and the craftsmanship is superb except for one small thing… the nut was on backwards. I ordered the instrument online and drove about an hour for curbside pickup where I did my best to check for any obvious damage or crafting issues, but the sale tag was tied around the B & E string so I didn't notice the nut issue until I got home and heard a pronounced buzz on the B string. I took it to a local guitar shop and had the nut replaced with a hand-slotted bone nut for about $40, rather than dealing with a return or exchange at the nearest Guitar Center. In truth, I had been planning to replace the nut with a bone nut anyway so I didn't really care that much. Aside from this pretty glaring error, though, the guitar is just a delight. There was no fret sprout, no sharp frets, and no fret buzz, like I've heard some people mention. The neck was perfectly straight and smooth, electronics were sturdy-feeling and sounded awesome (I expected more hum and a thinner sound from stock pickups). The saddles were also incredibly easy to adjust for intonation and the instrument is just generally comfortable to hold/play. Also, this guitar looks absolutely incredible in Surf Pearl. Moral of the story, if you find this guitar on sale for less than $700, the value is pretty hard to beat. Just make sure you give it a thorough look-see before taking it home or that you're prepared to spend ~$50 extra for some additional work. If not for this manufacturing error, this would be a 5-star instrument.Carson C.

I've had this beauty for some weeks now. It's been played through a Fender HRD with Private Jack for speaker, a Marshall DSL40 and Vox AC15. Sounds beautiful in all these mediums, including Tube Screamers, Chorus, and Fuzz pedals. I see no need to change the PUs or Tuners. I only changed the strings to Elixer 9s. Neck feels great. Had one fret that was buzzing slightly, but a minor truss adjustment and minor fret filing solved that little issue. NOT FOR NUTHIN, but guitarists should learn how to perform some mechanical adjustments – it feels good fixing some problems on your own. Although I'll steer clear of electrical issues. Anyway, the guitar is beautiful. I've got the blue. It's almost a work of art. If I needed another Tele I would buy this one again. I bought it while it was on sale, but I would have bought it at regular price anyway. If you're on the fence, hop off and pick up one of these. They're worth the investment. No need to spend Fender Pro money.Hans-Dieter

This guitar is built extremely well, and is a great platform for modifications. The body has a tummy cut that makes it really comfortable compared to other telecasters. The tuning stability is great, and never seems to go out of tune. When I received the guitar, the action was set too low and the neck was back bowed. After adjusting the truss rod to .010" of relief and raising the action to 4/64" the guitar played like a dream. The one downfall for this guitar is the stock pickups; I ended up swapping mine out with an f spaced Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck. I love this guitar and will never part with it.JP