Star Shaped Electric Guitar For Sale (2023 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

Bought this guitar wanting a lightweight comfortable player with a good setup. And thats what i got. The chambered body keeps weight down (7lbs 8 oz) and balances well. Fretwork was fine and action can go very low with minimal buzz, unlike a lot of higher priced Fenders/Gibsons. Gretsch guitars with this bridge assembly seem to behave nicely regardless of price. Vol/tone are fine but three way selector might want an upgrade (as well as the strings of course). The chambered body gives u a slight semihollow vibe, but it takes the pickups into muddy-tone territory. I just eq it out with a clean drive/eq pedal for now. Heck, for the price, no tragedy to upgrade the pickups down the line.Go_Pats

I love the look of this guitar. I did have to adjust it a little as I am very picky. It came with a little fret buzz. So I adjusted the neck relief by slightly loosening the truss nut with the supplied Allen wrench. Then I tuned it up and did some slight adjustments to the intonation and bridge height. The fret work, inlays, paint finish and hardware are all really nice. The quality control is great. It just needed a little attention to get the action as low as it can get without fret buzz. It wasnt really bad either out of the box. Like I said I'm picky and check all my new guitar purchases. For the price its definitely a standout cool guitar. I like the stock p.u.'s. Cool look and they sound great to me. I play everything from country to metal. I would recommend this instrument as a first or to add to the collection. Oh fyi it has great sustain and a nice neck joint.Expro70

It has been awhile since I had an electric guitar (10 years), and I was ready to get one. After reviewing options of my preferred design and price range, I automatically gravitated to this guitar. I knew Gretsch was a top of the line brand, and saw the good reviews on this guitar. Since I have been playing it I have been loving the tones and feel of the neck. This is my first upper tier electric guitar and I can tell the quality is up there. I soo wouldn't change my mind on this purchase. To top it off I get on a deal! Love this Gretsch!Anthony

I couldn't be more happy with this guitar! It is solid and has great sound. I have a lot of electric guitars and this is my favorite by far! The curved neck makes this guitar so easy to play. Kramer hit this one out of the park!Christopher

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

Chitarra davvero sorprendente. Ottimi toni, e davvero versatile. Visto il prezzo non si può chiedere di meglio. Inoltre i minihu le forniscono un timbro particolare. Servizio StrumentiMusicali.net: eccellente.Marco Squillino

Overall: I'm a Fender fan and thought I'd try this guitar, it's Fender scale and style. I also like the 9.5" radius and most other makers use 12". This is a 10" radius which sounded close enough.First thing I noticed was the weight – in the pictures it looks light and thin, however it is a good sized slab of solid mahogany and it's wider than it looks. It's very comfortable and balanced and the top arm sticks comfortably in my ribs – it's a good fit.The hardware looks substantial, and simple, the neck is a set neck and the fingerboard is a very thick slab of pau ferro. The 10" radius is more comfortable for me than the 9.5" actually. The peghead angles back, no string tree. These things all contribute to the tone which is surprisingly rich and smooth. It reminds me of the Les Paul Studio I used to have, but clearer and more bell-like. It doesn't sound thin like a Fender, there's a lot of gravy around the notes, and sustain until next week. It adds legato to your playing and I think it smooths out flaws in my playing, one of those instruments that plays itself. Setup was perfect out of the box, I haven't had to do a thing to it. Plays easier than anything else I have.Case is good quality (gig bag) but is a little large, seems to be made for a semi-hollow of which I believe Guild has several. I would like a case that doesn't allow the guitar to slide around inside. But my closet doesn't care. It is a thick, padded gig bag.Considering the price, I'd have to call this a great value. It sounds and feels pro. Only problem is fitting it into a genre, it is a very nice sound for pop, clear as a bell, but not exactly twangy or gritty or jazzy. Kind of in the middle of everything. Some artist needs to make it famous.Jon