Squire Guitar And Amp For Sale (2024 Update)

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Overall, this is a good guitar. I'm having a good time with it, the neck is comfortable, the pickups sound really good and handle high-ish gain surprisingly well, and the color (I got the Daphne blue) looks incredible. Taken as a whole, if you're in the market for a Jazzmaster with all the classic JM features but don't have a ton of money to spend, I'd recommend it for sure. If you're going to buy it though, just be aware of a few things… 1.) It'll need a setup. Out of the box, the tuning stability was fine but once I used the vibrato a little bit, it went way out. The action wasn't bad but could be better and the neck may need a half degree shim. I'm probably going to end up putting a Fender AVRI vibrato on it eventually but a decent setup should make the stock one perfectly usable. 2.) It needs a good cleaning. This could very well just be the specific one that I got but the neck and headstock had a lot of dust and a slightly cloudy residue on them, the fretboard was very dry, and the frets were scratchy. None of these were anything that a little lemon oil, fretboard conditioner, a microfiber cloth, and some 0000 steel wool couldn't take care of but it's still something to be aware of. Note though that, while the frets were scratchy, their weren't any sharp fret ends. 3.) It probably isn't a great first guitar. I've seen this said a few times in other reviews and I completely agree. That's not to say that it isn't a good guitar because it is. More that it's not the most user-friendly instrument right away and could be off-putting to a beginner. A pro setup will do it a world of good and make it much easier to play but if you're in the market for a first guitar, look elsewhere. Am I glad I bought it? Yes. I mean, it's a Daphne blue Jazzmaster with a comfortable neck and awesome pickups! I don't mind working on my guitars a bit though, so none of the problems I talked about above bother me in particular. However, if you're looking for a plug-in-and-play guitar right out of the box, this one might not be for you.Jackson

I waiting on this on backordered for a few months (shell pink) and started to worry after looking at a bunch of YouTube reviews. Action, fret ends and leveling were great out of the box (which I really am not up for fixing; esp on a bound fingerboard). Frets could prob use a polish, but that's a lesser concern to me. No shim needed with 09s so far. I feel like recent shipments corrected some of the common complaints of this line… YMMV. I think the the nut is pinching a bit and the trem pivot is jumping a bit so I might go in and see if I can smooth it out. Pickups are microphonic under gains and comp… and I'm not sure if they are RWRP yet. One of the reason I went with MF is that if I wasn't satisfied I could go right into GC and trade towards and CV Jazzmaster. But overall pretty satisfied and think this will be a good first offset and short scale add to the collection.David

I want to love this guitar. Unfortunately however, I will have to be taking this one to a luthier to be set-up due to the neck. Everything for the most part is beautiful, it's a Jazzmaster. Fantastic dark, spanky jazzmaster tones, beautiful tortoise-shell guard, and the very eye-catching very elusive shell pink finish. Switches all seem to be in working order, though due to the position of the neck pickup to the strings right out of the box, the rhythm circuit will be noticeably quieter. Easy fix. I am unsure about the stability of the bridge, which is a Mustang bridge- a HUGE improvement, as I've seen in other reviews that the screwposts loosen by vibration. Vibrato does not return to tune. There is a very strange, unclean grime of some sort on the metal plate of the vibrato piece. I was unfortunate enough to receive a poorly conditioned neck, with glue residue left behind surrounding the tuning pegs on the face of the headstock. The lacquer finish is beautiful and is fine to play on. The fretboard is noticeably dry as well as the frets are unfinished, both feeling scratchy, and the frets being too rough to perform clean bends on. Not sure if it's the neck, the frets, or the bridge piece, or any of the three in combination that is causing the strings to be unable to bend even a half note without losing vibration, or being pinched off. Fret markers are a dark, cheap pearl. Overall, the fretboard itself just feels like Squier Affinity line quality. My impression is that most of the cost of this guitar- to keep it in line with the technologically cheaper instruments (telecaster the same price as a jazz, etc)- went into the body finish, and electronics. However, in the end I still love this thing and cannot wait to hear it sing once I get it set-up.Tyler

I am a 59 year old guitar player, had expensive and cheap gear over the years. I don't think I'm technically great but know how to get a good sound. When looking for a cheap guitar to sit with, my Les Paul and even my '88 Strat often got a bit uncomfortable , I decided to try one of these, you can return them after all, no trouble. What a great little guitar! Obviously GAK probably don't get these out of the box to check them, my box was still stapled shut from the factory, and this is OK at this level but I worry a beginner would be put off if the guitar is poorly set-up. First off the finish is superb, no rough edges to the frets, the colour and gloss on the body was perfect, the unvarnished neck just sits comfortably in the hand, I picked this above the more expensive 'Affinity' as apparently the nut width is a little wider. I didn't need to adjust the neck, I just cut the nut a little lower on the G,B and E strings for comfort. The frets needed a light rubbing with fine wet and dry and that was it, a perfect, light practise tool. I would even gig with this no problem. Each and every one of the tuners work smoothly and firmly. Sound wise, it sounds like a Tele to me and this is always a very subjective and personal thing anyway, I don't like overly powerful pickups (my Les Paul has '57's) I prefer to push the sound with pedals. All I can say is, if not sure, 'Buy one'. I have done nothing but played this to death since I got it 4 days ago, hard on the finger tips as I haven't played regularly for a while. I hope I haven't just got a 'good one' and would like to think any of them would be as good, all the reviews I read suggests so.Customer

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

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

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

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

The guitar arrived with no tool kit or case candy, labels, etc. There was a piece of thread where a label should have been, but no label. I restrung it and tried for two days to get the tuning and intonation right, to no avail. (I have been playing a lot of years…not a beginner). Worst of all looking around the guitar there was a patch of, what appeared to be, dried blood. My conclusion was that this guitar had been sent out to someone else. They had possibly pricked a finger whilst stringing it, then realising it was badly made had returned it. When I ordered, PMT just sent the returned guitar out to me hence no label or tool kit. Like my review title says…very disapointed.Hugh C.

Incredible guitar in all respects. Plays very nicely. Plenty of volume, and killer tone. Built like a truck! Finish, and look are stellar! Light weight, and balanced. Great for rock, blues, and jazz! Neck is really nice! A simply super quality guitar thats worth every penny. Way above a starter guitar. Used for pro recording, and concerts. Fender has this one done right. If you want more tones, go the the 399 model, but this one is great, and versatile enough for me. Gets many comps from the crowd, and other musicians! Very original cool design!Jack

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I started looking for a “real” Strat with Fender on the headstock. My budget would work with a Player Series Strat so i started doing my research. The first couple I played weren’t overly impressive, the necks didn’t feel great and the switch & pots felt just like the Squier guitars I had. I saw a couple Squier CV models but I was determined to have the name Fender on my next guitar. I finally picked one up and was blown away! I loved it so I checked the specs and tried another CV and came away impressed. That night I placed my order with AMS, used their payment plan and a couple days later had one of my own. My other guitars are not seeing much use these days – just too fun and easy to play my real Strat! Thanks Squier/Fender.BigBuzz

Sound: If you're looking for the Strat sound this will obviously work. Features: I'm impressed with the quality of it. It stays in tune and it came perfectly set up right out of the box. Ease of Use: It is not playable at all for me. This guitar would be much better suited for a small guy or a female. Certainly not for somebody with big hands. Quality: I managed to get a good look at the pickguard when I dropped a Seymour Duncan JB Jr pickup in the bridge position. Everything looked good. My only complaint is that the output jack was loose. Value: Yes, but I wouldn't pay more. Manufacturer Support: N/A The Wow Factor: I got it because I wanted to have a lefty Strat. I had planned on painting it and making modifications to it anyway but the neck is too thin and it's unplayable. Overall: The checkout, delivery and everything with the zZounds went fine. But be warned that this has a VERY thin neck and every time I play it, it makes my hand hurt so I have to set it back down after two minutes.Craig

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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