Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Full Review 

Hey everyone, For this video I used my PRS Archon and PRS 2x12 cab. Thank you for the review requests.

synthetic bone nut? That's what we used to call "plastic" back in the day.

looks like you found my first guitar THANK YOU

I bought one of these in metallic red solely for use as a mod platform. I don't really do humbuggerers on Strats so I bought a set of Fender Pure Vintage 59 Strat pickups. The guitar plays great and the thin satin neck is a joy to behold. Anyone looking for a good Squier for modding, you should seriously consider this model.

I've still got my MIJ Contemporary Strat HH that I bought in the fall of 1984. I think it's cool that Squire has put the design back into the spotlight and people are digging it. It's a shred machine when you want it to be but it can also clean up really nicely. I prefer the contemporary model because it's what I'm used to.

Thanks Phillip for reviewing what is actually my first Strat! You're right it did sound good, but I added a single coil in the middle and swapped out the zebras for double white alnico 2's with 4 conductor wiring. Can't wait to get it back from my guitar tech friend.

I really like the "how hard is it to fix" aspect of the review. It's something us non-techs appreciate.

Just string the guitar up via the string locking method, file the nut slots a little wider and replace the string trees with rollers, guitar will stay in tune 10x better.

I just bought the active HH Floyd Rose, version in Olympic White. It has the reverse headstock which is truly diggable. It was new, in the box, but I bought it from ChicagoMusic Exchange and they un-boxed it and checked it out before shipping it to me. I paid $245 shipped to my door.

I went for the pearl white HSS model because I prefer the rosewood fretboard. I was afraid that the single coils will be noisy but they weren't. I am happy with this instrument, it was really worth it price. The nut seemed to be a bit tight on mine too (but I will fix that anyway when switching for 0.10 strings) but otherwise I could not find any quality issues. Good fret job, no sharp edges, very comfortable neck. The body is quite light but resonating well. The 12" radius fretboard is a great improvement for me compared to my previous 9.5" radius strats.

Phil they sell tubes of graphite powder (3 gram tube) where the keys are in Wal-Mart (probably other stores as well). I buy a couple tubes and they last over a year! And it's about $3.

Phil it's videos like this one which make me rely more on you than any other guitar channel on RU-vid. It's your honesty about gear. If it sucks you let us know. If it's good you let us know. While it probably doesn't seem like a big thing to you it's a HUGE thing to me, and I'm sure to others as well, because I lack the knowledge you have about guitars. So, I would like to say thanks for all your efforts and please continue with the videos.

These look to be $349 on Sweetwater. Great bang for the buck I would say.

I've had mine for well over a year now. Customized the hell out of it. My contemporary has not disappointed at all.

I have arthritis so I haven't played any of my old Ibanez Jems and Universes regularly in many years. On the rare days when I can still play a few bars, I'll take a random one out of its case and try to relive happier times. Each of them is always still in perfect tune. I don't know what the big guys' catalogs have now for "sub-$1000 Super-Strats," but I'd encourage people to explore the market in used guitars before automatically heading to Guitar Center. A brand new $1000 guitar of any brand or model is not necessarily superior to what you can buy on the used market for the same price.

Tons of reviews on the HH, would like to see the HSS.

I've wanted an HH strat, but the Charvels are around $850. Based on Phil's recommendation, I ordered one of these, and it's exactly as reviewed. I like a real forceful clean sound, to bring out the percussive nature of the instrument, and this delivers. Gets dirty too, and pairs up well with a Vox Valvetronix. Thought I'd post this, because I like the idea of Phil checking out new guitars from a techie standpoint before we buy them, like having a mechanic look over your new car. It was good to go right out of the box, and I'm really pleased with it. Thanks for the heads up, Phil.

I love the matching headstock

I have the Fender Japan Contemporary from 1984. Didn't know they were doing them again.

I use high gloss SC1 clear coat to lubricate the nut slots. This stuff is insanely slippery. Just spray a bit on an ear scoop apply it to the nut slots and your good to go. Enhances the tuneability and tuning stability drastically on all my guitars and it lasts for months. Great review, btw...

I used a dry graphite to lube the slots and have had great results . My wife picked it up a year or two ago as she works at Home Depot and I asked her to grab me a tube which will last me another 10 years or more unless it goes bad . I love this guitar same color and everything only problem I had was fret sprout unlike Phil ? I plan to install a Hotter pup in the Bridge eventually but it does 80's Metal and Glam Metal proud and that's my area so yeah great Guitar for the price you will be surprised in a good way ! I still want a Charvel San Dimas but for now this is just fine with me \M/ !!!

I have the 2016 model of this guitar. I love it! It is my first electric guitar and I am very pleased. Mine holds a tune well.

I appreciate you doing videos on affordable models. Love watching the pricey ones too but it's nice to see one I can go get myself. Keep up the great work!

The 2021 Contemporary Series is a huge step up from this.

I don't have a Strat yet. Looking for something less expensive than my other guitars that I wouldn't be afraid to knock around with for taking on trips, etc.. This seems to be right up that alley, plus I love the finish..painted head stock is sweet! Thanks for the review Phil! As always very enjoyable video with great information!

I was going to request this vid 😂, glad you've done it 👌🏽

This is fine if you’re just a metal head. However, I think you should have reviewed the HSS model so we could hear how versatile this series can be for those who play ALL genres of music.

I like that the light parts of the zebra pickups are white and not that horrible cream color. All zebra pickups should be that way in my opinion. Great video!

Thanks for posting this review on this Squier guitar. I have a 20th anniversary edition Squier stratocaster, and Ive enjoyed it.

I put locking tuners and pearly gates and voila it’s a monster. Mine is pearl white! I’ve owned it for about 3 years and it’s still a keeper!

Love the Classic Player JM in the background, I have one and its great! Also not surprising to see a Schecter hanging along all those expensive axes, they make amazing value instruments

Phil, quick question: When you request these for demo / review, do you ask for them to be a literal 'out of the box' (as in do you really believe that Fender wouldn't have given it a thorough 'once over' before sending it out?) - simply by way of comparison that I have found the squier series Q.C. to vary quite a lot here in Australia. Compared to the 'out of the box' Ghost Fret, how do you feel about this squier being a 'supplied' guitar as opposed to being one of your independent internet purchased instruments? Your review of this strat draws a similar conclusion to my experience of checking them out locally at different stores, except that the instruments Q.C. isn't as consistent between different stores (read into that what you wish)... Having said that for the price, they are an absolute ripper. If I had kids, this would be a no-brainer first guitar.

I wish they'd make a Contemporary Telecaster with a Floyd Rose. I had an 80's MIJ Contemporary Tele with HH pickup configuration, but that Schaller trem was a nightmare. Fender has an opportunity to do it right for this generation, and I hope they do.

Seems like a great guitar at the price, love the matching headstock (big fan of matching headstocks). Cosmetically, the only flaw for me is the 'zebra' bobbin look. I think all white would have looked better. And since it's a Strat, all white would, I think, give it a weird doubled up single coil appearance, which I think might look cool.

Just ordered a used one in white to mod. The 12" neck radius was very appealing on a stratocaster to me and overall It's a good deal even at the retail price. Hate to say it but I've been loving these higher end Squier's way more than the Mexican Fender's lately. If anyone thinks a new nut and maybe some graphtech tusq string trees would be beneficial I would love to hear back from you. Thanks

My first guitar was a black Squire strat with a Floyd Rose style tremolo and locking nut. It had a rose wood fret board and really small frets, back in 88. I have never seen one like it since.

Wow! If I would have known that a syringe worked so well I would have used one a long time ago. Thanks for turning me on to them, Phil! Gee, I wonder what other uses there are for a syringe in music?

That actually has really good Clean sounds for high output ceramic pickups. I'm kinda impressed

Thanks for the review Phil! As always very enjoyable video with great information!

I have a Contemporary Telecaster. The problems I had with it was the tuners weren't the best, one of them you'd be turning and wouldn't even start tuning the string until after a few turns. Also the frets were all over the place. To fix these I upgraded to locking tuners, and took it to a guitar shop to get a fret job. Other than that all it needed was a good setup, which all brand new guitars need anyway straight out of the box

Thanks for the review. I think a lot of people judge Squier by the $100 to $150 models. The better Squiers are really good. I have the expensive "F" and "G" models but just the name no longer has any mystique for me. If it plays good, sounds good, and looks good, I buy it.

Are you going to do a review of the Squier contemporary Active Stratocaster? I'm really interested in how versatile that would be, also how would that compare to the sound of a Les Paul?

That bridge pickup sounds freaking killer for what it is..... I'm like this guitar.

Ehh whaat? I love your channel but "there aren't a lot of superstrats onder $500"?! Dean Kramer LTD Jackson Ibanez Schecter Chapman ... All of these brands have several superstrats in the under 500 category, and really great ones at that. It's ok to push a fender but c'mon man...

Wow ..... that is great fiddle. Squier has been uping their game since the CV series. I never thought nut sauce would have so much impact on a std trem. Zero to hero ..... great vid Phillip!

I own one and absolutely love it~! Mine is in ocean blue. I've also done a few upgrades.

Great review of a reasonably price guitar that is a good value as long as it’s the style you’re looking for and plan to keep it. I love the looks of the matching headstock.

Love my Archon. I had to send it back a couple years ago due to an odd problem on channel 2. Doug hooked me up and they fixed the issue plus a couple of other mods. I am looking at the white squier right now.

Played one recently and it was fantastic. Really liking the recent Squires

Thanks Phil! I appreciate your informed concise opinions.

I'm kind of Ride or Die for SSS when it comes to Strats, but a friend of mine bought the HSS Contemporary about 6 months ago and it's nothing short of awesome - there's not a single thing I can find more than the tiniest most nitpicky fault with on it. Looks amazing, sounds amazing, plays amazing They could change not one thing on this guitar except for putting a Fender logo on the headstock and double the price - if they added a coil split and a third tone knob (a mod my friend is working on right now) this would be a $1000 guitar

I just bought a new contemporary telecaster, and its excellent out of the box. Get more tele-shirts Phillip Mcknight.

Tried this at the weekend and wasn’t really different to my Cort G200DX. In fact the Cort was more resonant. Ended up picking up a used VM 70s Squier and it’s far superior. In the same quality bracket as a MIM fender.

One of my regrets is not getting an mij fender contemporary strat when the market was a little cheaper. Back in 2005 I could pick one up for sub £300, now I'm looking at £550+ for the model I like. I'd did get a nice 90s mij photo flame strat with Floyd Rose many years later tho.

You mention the neck pickup has a strat type of sound but I was surprised to hear a strat-like tone from the bridge humbucker as well. Pity there’s no coil tap. Sounds like a good guitar, although for me I’ll be wanting 3 single coils and and a five way switch from a strat type of guitar but that’s just my opinion. I owned a Squier strat back in the day and it was a really good guitar for an amazing price before some bastard burgled my place. I had the last laugh since he left the much more valuable Yamaha classical, not cool enough I guess.

I have that exact one color and everything . I love it I put a Graph Teck self-lub Nut on it and Staggard Slipshot open gear locking Tuners . Paid $400 plus $50 for the Tuners and $11 for the nut and it's a Shred worthy BEAST !!! I love it and prefer it over my Schecter SVSS which was more expensive and has EMG 70's in it . I was never a Strat guy until this Guitar but its got that feel that we all look for ..

For lubing the nut I like a product called Tube-o-Lube. It's powdered graphite. Discovered it when my son was a Cub Scout using it to lube the axles on his pinewood derby cars. Under $10 on Amazon, or you can find it other places too. A little dab will do you, so basically enough to last for several years unless your working on guitars for a living. Check it out!

Hey Phil. They currently make an HSS pickup configuration of the Squier Contemporary. Would you please do a review of that one since it is the most versatile. I'd like to see what kind of clean tones it puts out because it also has a 5 way switch instead of the 3 way.

Thanks Phil for this review, I will get one on these in pearl white. This Squire rocks!

08:08 I Love The Matching Painted Headstock ! ! ! It just looks so AWESOME ! ! !

I know this was 2 years ago I got one just like this. $288 I went to Amazon and ordered 2 scratch plates for single coils. Which were like $5.00 both combined. They are aluminum. Yes there is an empty routed middle pickup. The 2 post bridge is a selling point for me. Ive been afraid to sink money on a strat. I always hated the volume knob location. As soon as I got it I was regretting my purchase. I also got the nut juice also. I'm blown away. I can't put it down. I'm deciding on what to build my scratch plates with. But I've got options. Seems the red is always out of stock. I got mine off reverb I found the best deal. Thinking I would hate it. It's absolutely awesome. I've never been a case hauler but the finish is awesome perfect. The neck It was almost like the preferences I have. I'm guessing the nut is tight so I can go either way with custom string sizes. I prefer unfinished necks. This is satin. It's fine. The frets. Oh my goodness. I've never got a guitar with perfect frets they are. Level and no sharp edges. They are rounded and 👑 ed nice. I love this guitar. Through the years. The shop I always got picks and strings at was a fender dealer. I didn't like them so I didn't try them. They were sharp edges I found on the shelf. Oh yeah the strings are great factory strings to. I even got my daughter a grey EVH 5150 shape. I changed strings and adjusted everything. This Squire I did lower the action. With a half turn on the truss rod. I did adjust the springs to lay the bridge down. And adjust the saddles. It's perfect. I'm really happy. It feels like an expensive American guitar. It's made in China. If you haded this to me out of the box and said it's an American Fender stratocaster what's your thoughts. I'd have believed you. It freaking rocks.

Man they look so classy, I hope they make more colors.

Sounded like a good honest review. Well done.

Sounds very similar to the Squier Bullet Mustang. Might be the same pickups.

Don't use wd40 on a door hinge, it's more of a cleaner than a lubricant. Previous homeowner here used the graphite dry lube, so some of the trims have those little black dust lines. I prefer simple white lithium grease as it's thick and won't leak out. Tap out the pin, wipe it down, clean out the hinge a little with compressed air or a qtip. Then a thin coat on the pin and tap it back in. Gone are your noisy door hinges. :)

If I'm not entirely mistaken, a Stratocaster with the HH configuration used to be known as a "Big Apple Strat" (?)

If the playabilty of the guitar is very good , at this price point you could stick a set of Fender Select PU`s and some locking keys and have a giant killer for a song. That`s a pretty good deal.

The red paint with the zebra pickups are awesome

The cool part about Squier is, sometimes they come out with some really odd designs, and sometimes those designs end up as Fender models. I will say though, the lower end Squiers (Bullets and Affinitys) are kind of crap. Once you get up into the standard and above, you get a good guitar. It's funny though, they've brought back the "Contemporary" name. They originally had 2 versions of the Squier Contemporary Bullet HST in the late 80's, I had one of the second version, interesting guitar, 12" radius, HSS, no pickguard, strat shaped but smaller than a strat, and the string spacing was what we'd call "Vintage" now, and it came in just 2 colors, White or Black.

Really dig the contemporary series. Great video Phil

Hey, loved the video and thanks for the review. One point, that I see is already being made, is that it would be more useful to the average consumer if you just walked in your local guitar store and used one of those models for the review. This may not be practical, and I understand if that's the case. Just throwing it out there.

Phil the type of guy to send a guitar back to Fender covered with nut sauce. 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼Nuttin' but love, brother. ❤️🎸❤️

Phillip I found the hottest pickup in the neck position and the lowest ohm in the bridge. I just reversed them, what a big difference.

I never thought I'd hear a Zaza riff in one of your videos.

You should check out michael kelly guitars. They have mid priced guitars that seem to have great specs for their cost, and i heard they're made in korea, which is actually good

I wish they did the tele model with a Floyd and hss

I love the red, matching headstock is always great, but like the contemporary Tele I wish it had a rosewood/dark fretboard.

I like this series, looks promising.

I did have to buy a spring to go in the Trem hole it would either be to floppy or to tight . The spring got it just right after I cut a bit of the spring off . The spring also came with a nice Silver magnet to cover the trem hole so you dont lose your spring and it looks great when the Trem is detached its nice strong magnet so its not gonna fly off . You can find them on E-bay for $3 bucks worth it just for the magnate hole cover piece lol Otherwise Fantastic Budget price Guitar . After 40 yrs of being a Guitarist I would easily put it over more expensive Guitars I have owned . In my Top 3 for sure and totally Gig Worthy after fixing the Nut issue Phil Mentioned !! If ya see one for sale under $400 grab it you wont be sorry !!! Oh I play Metal , Thrash and Shred mostly 80's early 90's . Not a Fan of todays stuff but it could handle it easily ...

If the place you buy this guitar from has a luthier just request that they file the nut for you as a condition for your purchase.

Cool video! The guitar looks pretty sweet. I bet Fender did a double take on their qc when they sent you this guitar ESP since they sent you a Classic Vibe which you reviewed that was poorly set-up.

How about the one with active pickups?

I'm digging the matching headstock paint. Though I kinda think that it would be better if the logo was white to match the pick guard.

Quite pretty... I think it´s going to be a best seller this year, specially this Strat.

just let someone work on the nut or even swap with a nice good cut bone nut. Other solution, take fine sanding paper and just file a but in the nut slots that are too narrow (carefully)...

Thanks for the review and it sounds great. It just doesn't sound like a Stratocaster. But, if you can change out pickup configuration, the possibilities may be endless.

I just got one of these! Pickups are a little muddy but plays epic

I have a contemporary Tele, and it's my main guitar. Though I'm wanting a guitar with a trem system on it. So because of that, I'm thinking of saving up for one of these, upgrading the tuners to locking tuners, and possibly upgrading the term system if I feel like it needs it (though it might not need a new trem system). I ended up upgrading the tuners on my contemporary Tele to locking tuners because the ones that came with it were noticeably cheep, one or two of them you'd be turning it before the post would turn and cha he the pitch of the string. So I'm definitely upgrading the tuners if I get one of these

I have the HSS version of the new contemporary. Love it to death.

Thank you so much for this review. I had the chance to try that same strat at GC but the guitar was missing a string so I couldn't get a good impression of it. :D

I wanted to have flatter radius on my next strat and was going to get one from Warmoth but then this model came out and I jumped on it. I got the Pearl-White HH with black strike plate version and I love it, right out of the box the action is low the pickups play great on my clean blastar with Tight Metal pedal and all I am thinking about it locking tuners. So considering the neck from Warmoth was going to cost me 300 bucks this was a steal!

I think I might get one and one of those Spark aps. It will l help me to learn. Soo, that would be active pickups. Sounds so clear. I love it. I can hear that. I think I could choose a sold state amp. Just so long as it's good and clear in the clear section, you can mess with tone at the amp. That's for now. One day, I'll just buy a head separate and build the speaker. I can do that. We'll see where I'm at in five years. I have a little music. Grade two. I love rock n roll. I used to play E flat concert tuba.

I bought one of these used with a missing neck pickup, and a half disassembled bridge pickup. I had all the electronics replaced with USA parts and and Van Halen matching pickups from guitarfetish.com . This thing sings, it sustains for days, Kossoff style.

I think the pickups have the leads in there for splitting the coils. These are great mod platforms.

So how does it compare to the other HH Strats on your wall? What would it take to make it competittive to them using the "Sharpen My Axe" process - $350 Squier HH Contemporary Strat + $XXX in upgrades to get a guitar similar to the other HH Strats?

A little of Zaza's I'm Alright. Classy.

Awesome video! I just got one the other day in the white finish. I put in a mex strat bridge block and it transformed the sound. So much sustain and clarity! Btw I never hear you say anything about bridge blocks. One question thought, should I change the pots and caps?? Or any other kod that you would suggest. Big fan of your work!

Do the HH active contemporary Strat!

I want a Squier Contemporary Strat in that ocean blue metallic in HH but that guitar is only available in HSS. The red metallic color looks great. Just wish there was an HH version of the blue Strat.

Even higher end guitars need to have the nut slots lubricated. I don't know why manufacturers can't spend more time cutting the nuts, considering how integral they are to guitars staying in tune. Good video. I confess these Contemporary models look super cool. I have lots of USA made Fender Strats so I don't "need" one of these, right? ;-)