My fist and only electric guitar is a $300 Fender Stratocaster and it’s pretty good but I know there are better guitars out there like any of your collection @MusicIsWin
My kid has a Squier strat he's been playing for 3 years and I asked him if he wanted a nicer guitar for Christmas and he asked me why 😆. I handed him my American strat and he was like...oh this is nice!! But not 10x the price nice dad...gotta love kids man, they are wiser than some 40-50 year olds.
Wow ! I'm 16 (playing for 3 years) and I also have a Squier strat And it's amazing ! I put Gotoh locking tuners on it and some String Saver saddles and I love playing it everyday🙏🌎🍀
Hey! Guitars aren't about the price, they're about what you do with it! My first bass I'll ever have bought (I'll be buying it soon) comes from a 180 USD kit and I'm not upset about it. I hope you enjoy your guitars my man!
@@sedij2358 I do enjoy my guitars and you're absolutely right! It's all just a matter of what you're willing to spend. Don't get me wrong, there are so many high end guitars out there that are also worth the money. But I love my guitars and I just recently just added a 7th one to my collection. Putting some good mods on it soon 😁
Yeah, I think everything above 200 bucks, cannot be considered cheap. It's already a price point where you can have some expectations,given that it's obvious you can make a guitar for less than 100 bucks, meaning there is a lot of room for comprimises in quality of wood, work, finish and hardware, as well as wirering. I think the sweet spot for a good guitar is between 500 to 1000 bucks, everything above has diminished returns, and everything below has compromises.
Squiers have improved a lot in the last 30 years. I had one back in the 90s and it sounded fine but felt and played like a cheap guitar. I just bought a Squier Affinity and it is amazing for the price. Great fretboard and neck, great pickups and tone. The FMT top is stunning. I wouldn't trade it for guitars costing 2x as much.
I own three squiers: My first ever own Strat is a squier i got for christmas as a teenager. It was part of one of those beginner kits coming as a package with amp, cable etc. While all the stuff that was part of the bundle slowly fell apart over the years the guitar still holds strong and sounds absolutely amazing. Someone must have picked the perfect piece of wood for the body bc i never played or heard a strat that sounded as good as this one! My second squier is a tele i bought at an auction for a minimal amount of money. while not the best tele ive played it still holds strong and i surely played worst. The usual price wouldve been ~150€ and i doubt that ull find a better tele for that money. My third squier is another strat in mark-knopfler-red and this guitar has an amazing neck. Its so easy and awesome to play, its unbeliveable. I would recommend a squier for every beginner or player with a limited budget. Take your time picking the right one and ull have an awesome guitar for very little money!
i have the strat beginner set to, the cable is broke, the amp is kinda losing its sound when i play it loud, but the guitar itself is still good. def durable
I have the same one got the amp, cord tuner, stand. I just started playing again after having it sit in the closet 10 years. Got it restrung, new cord, and starting playing 2 weeks ago
There's nothing in the world wrong with a Fender Squier or any guitar for that matter as long as it makes you happy and gets you to pick it up and practice.
Get a Dean Vendetta, you'll change your mind lol that guitar blows hard. I had 3 of them (because i dont learn) and all 3 have the same story: spent 4 times its worth on repairs in the first year.
Some Squires are also absolutely trash, you'll see that with any "budget" guitar though. Good Squires are awesome but then the bullet series sucks and the affinity are hit or miss.
@@zakkmylde1712 I bought a bullet years ago it played great but sounded like crap I had some knock off pickups I installed labeled Texas blues they sounded great I don’t even know what company made them I still to this day regret trading it for a computer
Mike Rutherford from Genesis got stuck in South Africa during the pandemic and couldn't get any of his usual fairly high-end gear over to record demos and generally keep in practice with so he looked around, but all he could find was Squier Bullet Strats and liked them so much he's actually using them as touring guitars for Genesis' final tour
This is true, but I also read that his guitar tech did some modifications like changing tuning machines and the nut. Regardless these are still great guitars and would be just fine in their stock configuration for just about anyone that isn't doing a world tour with it.
That’s just as valid as strapping on a Fender Mustang or a Danelectro guitar back in the day… low budget or ‘student model’ tools used for their particular sound. Some people wrote hits on simple LP Juniors and Melody Makers.
@@rossdonnelly3951 I was just reading about this too in an interview with Mike's guitar tech. He swapped the tuners to Gotohs (for obvious reasons) but Mike actually said to him he wanted to keep the original pick-ups as he likes them so much. However, they had to be swapped for some Fender Noiseless purely as they interfered with Genesis's 80ft video screen! But other than that its a stock Squier Bullet. In his rehearsal for the tour he played just a Bullet through a tiny Blackstar Fly 3 amp. Go figure!
My first guitar was a 1996 Squier. It's the first year squier was made in China. it was $79 on sale. Basic strat, 3 single coils, whammy bar, rosewood fingerboard. Here we are 26 years later and I still play it. It survived high school, college, and a young child in the house. All original equipment, totally stock and it's still a great, fun guitar to play. The only issues with it are a few battle scars from over two decades of gigging.
@@nick-fl3xd Oh for sure. I'll eventually upgrade components as the they go bad, but I'll never get rid of it. Not just because of what it is, but mostly because it's where my guitar journey first began. It's funny cause it's not much to look at anymore, but it's hanging on my wall dead center, mounted higher than all the others. Seems silly a Squier presented more prominently than my PRS and Gibsons, but it makes sense to me. LOL
Picked me up a 60' Classic Vibe Squier Strat in 2011... Tobacco Sunburst , tortoise shell pickguard, cream knobs. It's still my favorite, and my guitar nerd friends can never believe it's a Squier. "What did you do it?" Is the usual question... Just stock as purchased. Real happy with it.
All of my guitars are either Squiers or Epiphones, and I’m plenty happy with all of them. I’m just a bedroom musician, but the quality is solid throughout. Glad to see you play some of these Squiers! Get your hands on the Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster, and be prepared to be impressed!
Oh yeah, the epiphones especially. If you're careful with your choices, they're every bit as good (and sometimes better) than their full-on Gibson counterparts for less
Those Squier classic vibe strats seem to be pretty good. Doesn’t Chris Buck play one? If it’s good enough for him, you bet it’s good enough for just about anyone.
I have a classic vibe Squier, in the store it sounded way better than the slightly more expensive low end Fender strats. But the quality of materials isn't as good. My frets have dents and my bridge has eroded slightly.
I've had my classic vibe strat for 2 years now. It has honestly been my most consistent guitar I own. I haven't done anything to it except for hardtailing it and sanding down the sticky neck
I've heard Mike Rutherford has been playing a Squier Strat he purchased while in quarantine, on his most recent tour. Not sure if it was with Genesis or Mike And The Mechanics.
I really like the ability to mod guitars, effectively making partscasters out of Squier strats and teles. And they also take a lot more chances than Fender with colors and different models overall. Dollar for dollar Squier provides a great value to beginners as well as people like me who have been playing for years and love tweaking things to their liking. Right now my shell pink bullet strat is one of my favorites, even compared to my stock '94 Fender strat.
Couldnt agree more. As a Bassist, Squires are such modifiable platforms. I turned my £219 Affinity Jazz bass in Metallic Charcoal Grey into a Beast of a Bass that could rival custom shops from Fender. I swapped the Pickups for Seymour Duncan SJB-2 Hot Pickups. Both neck and Bridge Fully lined the control Cavity with Copper EMI tape, Bought a custom made Pickguard off of Etsy, Not super original but man it does alot for the Bass. Black and White Paisley pattern. A Blasphemy Control plate that provides a Master Volume and Tone knob and a 3 way selector switch. 1 Fender High Mass Bass Bridge 1 Brand new Jazz Bass neck made of Maple with a Rosewood Fretboard. with a custom Decal on the headstock from Rothko and Frost Schaller BMF Nickel tuners. and 1 Hipshot detuner machine. She is my Baby and apart from the application of the Headstock Decal, I have poured by Blood, sweat and Tears into my Bass. Not lying. Copper Tape can be REALLY Sharp if you catch it at the wrong angle
The squier J Mascis Signature Jazzmaster is the best squier I’ve ever played there’s just something about it, it’s a amazing guitar. It sounds crazy but I’m proud of own a squier
It’s the greatest guitar I’ve ever played. It just hits every mark. Every aspect of it is great design. Neck, bridge, saddles, pickguard pickups.....everything just works well together. I love it
In the late 80's, the Squire brand was the only way we could afford a "Fender" Strat...So we bought a Squire, lowered the action then saved up $ and put on a Floyd Rose, saved some more $$ and changed pick-ups, saved up some more $$$ and changed the tuning pegs, saved more $$$$ and got a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal (or DOD FX55) and we were rock-n-roll legends in our own minds. (BTW - most of us had Gorilla amps in those days).
Speaking of cheap guitars, I've had this First Act les paul looking axe that I picked up from a garage sale a few years back and I swear this thing is so fun to play. Sounds great too. Weirdest part is the whole thing has Volkswagen insignias on the knobs and and neck, and after looking it up I found out this guitar came bundled in certain VW cars back in the day. The little booklet it comes with is hilarious too. It talks about the hazard lights being a perfect 120 bpm metronome and the car horn being a perfect A to tune your guitar to.
Thats actually really cool. If it were me i would take it to a luthier to maybe switch out some of the insides and go for a pick up swap. I think that's how to get the best out of a normal guitar.
That's not a Chinese made first act, thats a mid priced mid range first act made in Korea. They are pretty good and if you didn't know first act had an American custom shop.
The quality of Squire guitars has gotten really high. The “feels light” deal, must be common to the Paranomal Series. I have a 60s Vibe Strat (gorgeous Lake Placid blue with white/black/white pickguard) that cost $429 new, with free shipping. It feels and plays just like an American Strat. Really amazing.
I’d say the new “squire” is harley benton, they make some good stuff for really cheap, and since squire is moving up in the world of quality I honestly regard them as more of a fender without the expensive price tag.
I got a Squier Stratocaster a year ago, and I can say that it is a great guitar. It’s got a humbucker bridge pickup for starters, and it just plays smooth and is set up quite nicely. It was around 400ish bucks but I got a deal for it, it honestly gave me the opposite impression of what people normally associate squires with, guess it’s just better than your average 150 dollar squier.
That’s cool. Also, Phillip says what people have to look out for is maybe one in 20 or 50 examples of a cheap import Guitar will really be exceptional… That’s down to luck more than consistency. You have to check the brand new stock and grab the nice one first…
I have to say, my daughter's Squier Bullet Mustang plays better than my MIJ Fender Mustang. It has a better finish on it as well. Such a great axe. She plays it through a Blackstar Fly3 and it sounds incredible.
Nah, squier classic vibes are practically as good as the majority of fenders now. It's just elitist bloos dads who want to justify spending twice the money for a brand name who say they suck
@@falcongunner33 It's a weird thing to say, most of the time when I hear a guitar in a modern song its country or doing some retro 70's thing. I feel like most if what sets "modern" guitar tones apart are the huge range of pedals.
I absolutely love squire for making guitars that are easily purchased for an epic price. Honestly if fender wants to lend its name to something your guaranteed a certain level of quality
No point of buying a Fender when you can buy a Squier and replace the pickups with pickups made from the same material that Fender makes theirs from or just buy used pickups and you can save a fortune.
Squier has definitely improved since I started playing. I had a Bullet Strat HSS from 2011. That wasn't the best but it was something. The past year I've bought the Classic Vibe Jazzmaster, P-Bass, and Bass VI. I was thoroughly impressed. Even though they need some adjustments, they are worth it for those looking for a affordable and effective guitar/bass.
Thanks again for swinging by the shop! Hope you enjoyed your time here in Utah where the views do not suck. I'd just like to chime in and say that I (Kameron) bought a Squier Antigua Baritone Jazzmaster a few years ago that i adore.. it also helps that it's worth like $1100 now. \m/
I love my Squire Strat. I bought mime for 299, had it for four month, and its my first guitar. There is a girl I know at church. She askes me what I name my guitar all the time. She would kill me though if I actually told her the name I gave my guitar. She was the one that inspired me to play in the first place
Squiers are pretty hit or miss, but I have a Squier strat that I got from a thrift store that was apparently "broken" but just needed a wire to get sauterized onto the input jack, and let me tell you, the few times I've gotten to play an actual Fender made me realize that I hit a jackpot with that strat! Sounds as good if not better than any Fender I've played and the fretboard feels great on my hands! I can't tell if the person who had it before me modified it in any way, but gosh I love that guitar!
Tyler: Parallel Universe? 03:15 Anthony Kiedis: Giverrrrr away Giverrrrr away Giverrrrr away now By The Way: you should have demo a Squeir classic vibe series, they are top of the line
Good on ya as someone who normally demos higher end gear for giving Squier a video. The Bullet series is inexpensive, but even there the Mustang one has a good rep. The Classic Vibe series is just plain good, and I bet pros could use them straight up or as a platform for upgrades
I have this on my wish list for Christmas this year. I have wanted this Jazzmaster over any Fender JM for a long time. Beautiful and plays so nice (I played one at CME a couple months ago and fell in love with it. I have so many guitars that I can't justify buying another one at this time, or this would be my choice).
I was able to grab it off GC and with a 20% off coupon it was only 400$! It is my first and only guitar with single coil pickups and the pickups are definitely on a level above most Squiers because Jay picked them out
I picked up a Squier Affinity Tele last year, as I don’t want to take my American built Tele to gigs in case it walks away. The affinity isn’t as nice, but it’s still a very good guitar and great value at about 1/4 what I paid for my ‘52 reissue. I haven’t modded the Squier at all, and probably won’t.
I have four Squiers, one of them being a Jazz Bass. I think that of course having the more expensive gear is nice, but with the level of quality Squier are putting out now, as well as them being a good price point to modify, I don't think that you NEED anything more expensive than the top level Squier stuff any more.
That has been a reality some years and continuing. I have never spent more than $480 on a guitar (new or used). I have been tempted to do the low 48 months monthly payments for Gibson's but at the end of the day, all guitars get scratched, dented and need mechanical and electronic maintenance.
Squire guitars had a reputation for being a bit janky and low quality when they first came out which stuck with them from their first release in the 80's through the 90's at least but it seems like they have been slowly but consistently upping their manufacturing quality while increasing their range since the turn of the century. These days they produce quite a few guitars that even a professional musician wouldn't be displeased with. The pickups and sometimes the tuners (on the cheapest models) are usually the only real low points - both of which can be easily upgraded.
Not so accurate. The first Squier guitars were Japan, and astoundingly good JVs and similar can resell for well over a thousand today. I have an 85 and a 92 that are nice. But these early to mid 80s weren’t very profitable to Fender at a low price point. It’s when Fender cheaped them out in Korea and other places that the spec & quality fell apart. Planet Blotch explains this very well…
Hahaha. The MIJ squiers of the 80s were not janky or low quality. I put my MIJ vista series guitars on the same level or higher than most of my MIA fenders and the QC was certainly higher than the random trash Gibson sells at a premium.
I’ve had a Squier Telecaster since 2018, and it’s done an incredible job. At a fundraiser dinner for my highschool rifle team last weekend, a guy was donating a 2007 Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall combo amp. My dad passed away in September, and my friend’s parents decided to get it for me. I love the new guitar and amp. It’s a true upgrade. But my point is that Squiers can be amazing if you take care of them. I moved across the country with it and played countless Sunday evenings and nights at my church with it. I will still continue to use once when I do some modifications to make it a little better and to fix some issues it has developed after hundreds and hundreds of hours playing it. My point is, don’t sleep on Squiers. They can sound really great if you have some average or nice gear to go with it.
I never thought I would buy a Squier until I saw the Sweetwater-exclusive 5-string Jazz bass in matte black with a maple fretboard. It's like $550 so it's definitely not a low end Squier, and it's beautiful and sounds great.
Jack Pearson hands down one of the best guitarists ever loves playing Squiers that cost under 90$. It's not about the instrument, it's about your ability to make it sing.
I got a Squier for my first guitar cause I wanted something affordable but named brand, and Squier delivered that for me. I love music and already had played the drums, but I wanted to learn something new during covid, so I decided to buy me a guitar to get me through the boredom and all that free-time I had. It was one of the best decisions of my life! I've been playing for a year and a half now and it's crazy how much I've gotten better. From 0-3-5, to some of the best Metallica songs. I appreciate you Tyler. Not only your an amazing guitarists, but you inspire me and other young guitar player's to "keep going". Plus you make me laugh and I enjoy watching you play the craziest guitars I can't afford. HaHa
it's usually a bit of a coin-toss with Squiers. At their worst, they're "OK", at their best, they're at least as good as their Mexican-made big brothers. If you go for the more expensive brands/models the baseline is probably a bit higher and you're less dependent on luck to get a great instrument. So with low-priced instruments, play them before you buy them. I got myself a Squier Deluxe Jazzmaster some years back and I absolutely love it. It did have a couple of issues (e.g. a shoddy bridge) but nothing major. Oh, and I think you'd like it, Tyler, it weighs in at just about a metric ton. Then back in January '21, I bought one of those Paranormal Offset Telecasters online (couldn't resist a tele with my favorite body) and I gotta admit I was a fair bit disappointed. The frets were literally cutting my fingers, and it was so poorly adjusted that fretting anything from the 9th fret and up didn't actually give me a tone; only fret buzz. When I finally got it set up properly and filed the fret ends down a bit, I realized exactly how poor the pickups are. They sound incredibly dull and they hum ... a LOT. The other aspects of the instrument are fine-it plays well, the neck is straight, it holds tuning, etc., so I guess I'll just have to invest in some better pickups now...
@@davefx7949 Largely the difference is that American made guitars are generally a lot more consistent in terms of quality. You can get a quality Mexican made guitar, but it's a lot of chance as to whether you actually will. If you order online, best make sure they have a good refund policy in case you get one with spicy fret ends, buzz, shoddy electronics, etc. It's honestly best to just find a physical store that has the guitar you want so you can try before buying, you'll have a better chance of finding something you actually like, because most of the time online music retailers have absolutely shit refund/exchange policies.
Good way to show that you no longer need an expensive guitar to get very decent, even professional level tone. You can always measure your size and compare all you want, but that doesn’t have anything to do with creating music.
My J Mascis squier jazzmaster is the perfect pick up and play guitar I own. Honestly once it's set up properly it's hard to fault it, incredible value for money
bro whats up with videos like these from guitar youtubers... "DO BUDGET GUITARS SUCK??!?" like lmao its a $100 guitar of course its not gonna be the same as a $1000 one but its still a playable instrument and something someone gets to start the hobby. There were even some high end squiers that performed the same as really expensive fenders and fender stopped making them lol. I really dont get why people feel like they need to have this explained and why I see so many videos like this..
Classic vibe has got to be the best value guitar around. Wish I would’ve gotten the 60s instead of the 50s but I still love my black 50s classic vibe strat. It’s a little bright for my taste but sounds great and plays PHENOMENALLY (probably has more to do with the amp but I’m still learning about gear, even though I’ve been playing about 5 years now)
The only good one is the one that made in china, wich is discontinued, the recent made in indonesia classic vibe is garbage, i mean really i'd rather spent $150-$250 more on secondhand mim fender to get much better tone, much better neck feel, playability, durable parts etc.
@@PK7796 Well I have played genuine Fender stuff but to be honest I’ve never owned any. Never saw fit to buy one of that high quality while I’m still just learning. Here we are going on six years later and I’ve still got it and don’t really care to upgrade. I don’t really know how to describe it, other than that I’m happy with it. Maybe others think it’s not great but hey I’m the one playing it 😂
@@trentmckenzie343 with the squier line, even on the highest grade wich is the classic vibe, you cannot get the exact same quality within their product, yes even on other brand like fender alike, QC is still an issue, but with squier it is more noticable really, maybe i'm just having a bad luck to get one of the worst batch of classic vibe
Nope. Not at all. Some of the recent guitars that Squier have brought out are insanely good. The Classic Vibe range in particular is ridiculously good. Also a mention to the Affinity Series. I recently bought a Skyburst Blue Contemporary Strat with a roasted maple fretboard and it's beautiful! I guess it just depends which Squier you buy... There are still some very cheap and affordable ones around for beginners.
Once you see Max Ostro set his Squire Stratocaster on fire you can never blame your abilities, or lack thereof, on the Squire again. They are obviously making great guitars these days. I loved that p90 equipped baritone Tele! Cheers P[>
Mike Rutherford, of Genesis fame, stated in a fairly recent interview, that he discovered how versatile the Squier he picked up in South Africa became when he needed a guitar and found himself to be without a guitar to play. Granted, he did admit that his tech did mod the Squier, a little, but Mister Rutherford stated in the interview that he actually tours with his Squier, and said it's fun to play with it, on stage.
weight being seen as a sign of quality is the silliest thing.... i play primarily Skervesen and Ormsby (both premium customshop brands), all of which are incredibly light, because that is objectively more ergonomic.
My main guitar for pop is a Squier Classic Vibe 60's strat since 2018. I have tried many fenders in my days but I feel very little difference between a Squier or a fender. It does not matter if it costs 1,000 or 3,000. The tone is in the fingers =)
No ive been playing for bout 5 years now and have passed the time you would usually upgrade to a better guitar. Ive just grown so used to 90s squire strats im sticking with them. Dont know about the new ones tho still too much money for me hahaha
I have a squire bullet strat hss, supposed to be the lowest end of the lowest end, I use it in my churches student band and it does the job, it could definitely use some modifications to help it stay in tune longer but it does the job. Really in the end it's all in the amp lol
Bought a squire strat as my first electric around 6 months ago. The frets are all bending and it’s almost unplayable at this point. It’s left me very upset because I don’t have the money for a new one, and I loved it while it lasted
I needed this video! I've just started looking at Squiers as I'm a relative beginner. Awesome reviews. The Jazzmaster looks right up my street and budget! I wish I could triple like your vid' lol.
Hi there fellow person! Got one a couple months ago and only have nice things to say about it as a first electric: the neck is super nice, feels better than anything I've ever picked up that was under $500, is quite straightforward to set up, and the pickups fit all of my needs as a clean/delay player!
@@EPmager Quick question! Does it cover a few bases sound wise? For instance I love playing blues more than anything but I like to crank some rock out too.
Just bought a bullet Stratocaster last week. I'm honestly blown away by how it sounds and feels for just 130 euro's. What surprised me most is how easy it is to play. I learned how to play on a rip off strat for a pretty similar price, and this is just a million times better. Closer to the real deal than to the knock off.
I’m seriously considering the Contemporary Strat with the Floyd Rose as my next guitar purchase. I play an Epiphone Les Paul and would like to own a guitar with a tremolo system.
You know, reading some of the comments shows very clearly how good it is to have guitars that play well, that are cheap enough for us to all learn on and then lean on once we've learnt a thing or two. I had no idea there was as much variety in Squires which is also great. More sweet content, thank you.
I have a Squier 60s Classic Vibe Mustang and I love it, plays nice and sounds great. Pickups in particular are lovely. I also have a Squier Affinity Strat that I picked up more or less for nothing (part of a deal) about a decade ago. It has always been poor. Over the years I've adjusted just about anything that can be adjusted, upgraded the pickups, the tone cap, the pots and added an out of phase switch and I still don't like it. Currently I'm in the process of making it a proper hardtail, filling in the spaces and fitting a top mount, rear string bridge; fingers crossed. In short, I would strongly recommend the 60sCV Mustang but wouold tell folk to stay clear of the Affinity Strat.
Look at rounding off the edges of your fingerboard on the affinity and giving it a thorough fret level including a very attentive polish afterwards. It'll make a big difference to reduce the 'cheap' feel, a LOT of that comes from the neck profile and the transition to the board. $20 worth of sandpaper, fine wire wool and ebay files will do the trick if you're willing to give it a go yourself.
My 2007 Custom Telecaster with chrome humbuckers is my favorite guitar. Even afer playing fender tele's and strats. Hell I own a fender strat and It just doesnt compare IMO. The Tele is just LOUD without an Amp, it is so resonate. I attribute it to no belly cut and its minimal routing. Such a great guitar, thinking about finding another one but the 2007 models still go for 300 to 400 bucks.
After 4 months of playing an extremely cheap acoustic of about 40 bucks, I’m goona upgrade to a squier bullet strat, most probably…hopefully it’s good🤞🏻
You can't go wrong with a Squier. The first guitar I ever brought was a lovely looking Squier Stratocaster with a shiny metallic blue paintjob. That thing has taken a beating over the years and is covered in dents, dinks and chips now, but it's still my favourite guitar. She's my ol' trusty axe. It would be the first thing grabbed in the event of a house fire lol
i love the classic vibe, paranormal, and contemporary series, and i believe with a bit of work any guitar can feel good, and i think with the right player, any guitar can sound great!
I've never believed that the brand or model of guitar mattered, any guitar can sound and play amazing if you want it too. I never bought a guitar and kept it original, I've always picked and choose the pickups and fretboard I think compliment each other no matter the guitar. Don't settle for a mediocre sound because you don't want to replace original parts, that being said you wouldn't turn Lucille into a Frankenstein guitar. But a $200 squire is nothing special, unless you take the time to make it special and it's an amazing feeling when you turn a cheap guitar into an amazing and beautiful sounding work of art.
I mostly agree and it always comes down to the player but there are undoubtedly guitars out there that are garbage. I’ve had hundreds of guitar students many of them young beginners so I’ve definitely seen some that belonged in a dumpster. The guitars that is. Not the kids. ;)
Well said. I had this absolutely no info les Paul model that was pretty cheaply made. But i took it to a luthier. And he swapped out the guts, installed my chosen pick ups, and made little detail changes to the knobs and strap hinge that it became my best guitar ever.
I just got a contemporary tele and it's mind blowing how fucking good that guitar is. I love teles but wanted something with a rail in the bridge and it was the first thing I found so I got it on a whim and it's replaced all my other guitars (some 4x the price of it). Never thought I'd be a squier guy, but here we are.
Squier and epiphone are both amazing and dare I say, better than fenders and gibsons. You may need to do some work on them but trust me it’s worth it. The main thing with squier is that they don’t really have the greatest necks but if you can get a squier and happen to come across a good fender neck (or a nice alternative) for cheap, you are set.
I've got...maybe 20 squires... Bought them all used...paid as little as $30 and as much as $90... They are going to increase in value while I play them, enjoy them, and continue to add more to my collection....
Squier Classic Vibes are probably the best bang for the buck across the board. I've owned a number of Tele and Strat CV's and they've all been solid. They also mod very easily with Fender parts, unlike the lower lines of Squier where parts almost fit.
Had my CV 70’s for about 3 or 4 years now…. It is rock solid. It actually is better from a playability standpoint than a 1000 dollar guitar I have. 🤷♂️ And it surprisingly holds tune with very aggressive play.
It seems from my experience that the Squire Classic Vibe guitars and basses are a higher quality, value, fit and finish that the Fender Player series. You’ll need to get into the Vintera and Player Plus series to match that, which is literally double the price and up. Change the pots for long term reliability and you’re good to go! I am a very happy owner of a brand new Squire Classic Vibe 50’s P-Bass. I made my own black “Bakelite” pickguard so my custom shop Broadcaster has a friend. Other than that, it’s perfect.
It was never the guitar, it is always the setup of the guitar, and the amp. You don't even need pedals if you have the correct amp like a Yamaha thr10x. Just learn how to dial the amp in. 🤘
I bought a $99 Epiphone Les Paul Special in TV Yellow 7 years ago for a joke gift. The pickups were ... unimpressive but the neck. I have never felt a neck on an Epiphone, let along a Les Paul, like this before. Butter smooth, the action was dang near perfect. I put hand wound Porter Pickups (probably then about $500) in it because I loved the neck SO much. Played that thing for a number of years as my main guitar. Needless to say, I ended up keeping the guitar and got my buddy a poo brown squire instead. Same price. He ended up using that guitar to cut 3 albums.
Fender Principal Custom Shop builder, John Thorn, stated that one of his favorite guitars ever is a Japanese Silver Series Squire - and he's the guy that could probably have any Fender Custom shop guitar he wanted. I own, and have owned, many a Gibson, Fender and ESP guitars but one guitar that I will never sell is an early 90's Squire strat. I worked Saturdays at the local guitar store and someone bought it in for a trade. 5 minutes later I bought it. It sustains for days and after a lengthy setup it played like a monster. That was 28 years ago and the only way you'll take possession of it, is prying it from my cold dead hands. I stopped caring about weight decades ago. The only two things I worry about when I try a guitar for the first time are: 1. Does it resonate and is it loud acoustically and 2. Is everything straight and most likely accepting of a good setup.
Recently Squire has really upped their game.I bought a Squire 70s Classic Vibe Jaguar in surf green and the quality and build is amazingly good .Squires certainly are not junk guitars anymore.
I think you can hear where they've cut costs- electronics (especially the single coils), setup, fretwork buzzing... that said, some of them sounded really great and I know from experience that many feel great, too (somehow the Affinity Jazzmaster in my local store sounds as great as the one you played).
The only people that say Squire sucks are the people that realize, too late, that they could have saved $1k on their Fender Strat/Tele purchase. They may have sucked in the distant past but now you’re just paying extra for the name on the head stock, and if that’s your thing and you don’t mind spending the money that’s fine. Luckily I grew out of that.
I wish they cost a $100!! Here in Brazil due to the decay of the economy the prices went above the ceiling, up to 4000 in local money, when it should be around 600 or 700 converting the dollars to Reais ( our money) plus a couple of hundred on the taxes. I’m a guitarist in my free time and I find the classic vibes squiers top notch!! I’d like to have one, as the amps and pedals digital simulators have gone a long way, you can produce a descent neat tone with those with your guitar
a Squire with a great setup and maybe some pickup changes can sound beast. I'm a Gibson guy, but that Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster was the best playing guitar out of the box I've ever played! I kid you not. Crazy tbh. its like 499 and played better than my Gibby did (out of the box of course). After a setup is a different story but still! For a fraction of the cost they can play great.
Got the one you're talking about in Placid Blue as my first electric 2 months ago, couldn't ask for anything more!) Although over here it's just over $400 because VAT + shipping expenses Yup the one at 4:34 !
I've got a sterling stingray shortscale, and I still prefer a Squire mini p bass I got for 150 bucks. Only thing done to the mini p is a pickup swap and fretless conversion and it's by far my favorite bass.
Just bought a Squier Affinity Strat from a friend of my son's last week and I was pretty shocked at how good it sounded and played after I threw a good setup on it. I just ordered a loaded pickguard from Planet Tone and I'm gonna polish the frets and roll the edges on the fretboard a little bit. That bitch is gonna rock🤘
I played a squier for 3 years ($100 used) and it wasn’t until this year that I purchased my first high quality guitar for $1,800 that I realize the difference. There is a *huge* difference to me between my squier and my American professional strat. The squier is fantastic for beginners and even now I could still play it with no issue. But once you get a high quality guitar in your hands, you’ll never want to go back to the squier. The difference is incredible.
My 1st guitar was a squire 2004 bullit strat hardtail, it's my #1. After complete American fender hardware swap and fender custom shop pickups I'd put it up against any American standard. 🤘🏻
Love the baritone Squier, I think its one of the best baritone guitars under €400. There's also Squier Baritone Custom, quite more expensive, yet it's the Cabronita that sounds better in my book. Weird thing with Squier guitars is that you might get either a decent batch or one with nastier fretwork, or some other minor, but annoying details. For Bullet and others, there are better Harley Bentons, although it's also a lottery, depending on the model, some pickups are close to the Squier, some require a replacement.
The problem with Squier and Epiihone is that when people see the name, they automatically think of their sub $200 beginner guitars. But both companies make some really solid $500-$1k guitars too. For example, I have one of the new Epi Modern LPs and it’s great!
Some older players that started 25-30 years ago also refuse to touch them because they started on a Squier that was absolute crap after the quality had been known to drop
My first electric guitar was a red squier strat and I still love it very much. My grandpa gave it to me on my 13th birthday almost 20 years ago. Compared to my Mexican Standard Strat it is much lighter and not as refined but it's a great guitar for noodling around or band practice sessions. I changed the pickguard to a black one and blocked the poorly made tremolo with a piece of wood and since then it stays in tune perfectly. I used it for gigging for about 7 years and it worked fine for me.
Update: I just hooked it up with a fender prewired pickguard with texmex singlecoils, put 5 springs in the trem and shielded it with shielding paint. Now it kicks some serious ball and stays in tune.
I just got my first electric guitar last week. It’s a Squier Affinity Stratocaster. Maybe it’s because I have no frame of reference but I’d say it’s a really solid guitar
the whole video is black and has like bugged pixels at the top of the screen, but the time bar shows the actual frames of the video. idk if im the only one but its rlly annoying.
I used to own a Squire and enjoyed it. That being said, at the current price point of a lot of these guitars, I'd pony up the extra $100 or so to get a G&L Tribute.
