We Need to Talk About Squier Guitars...

Squires are fine until they fall apart in a few years... But for beginners they are great... Sound wise there is little difference...

It will sound even better when you take the plastic film off the pick ups. ;)

The Affinity Tele was my first Squier purchase and helped me test the waters with teles and single coils in general. I probably would not have tried an affinity were it not for many Johan Segeborn videos where he's playing his Affinity Tele and making glorious sounds with it. I eventually got a Classic Vibe Tele, and the 50s Strat. Both great guitars even though I've sold them off for other guitars. The Affinity Tele I still have and did my best fret polish so I am gifting it with the upgraded pickups to my nephew. He'll get an old interface I have so my brother in law can set him up with some plugins

I bought an FSR Squier Strat from Andertons back in June '23. Sadly my experience was not great - the guitar came sealed in the box from the factory so hadn't been inspected and immediately I noticed the jack plate was loose and on further inspection the hole was drilled too big. Not living near Andertons sending it back would be a pain so I contacted them and they just advised putting a matchstick in the hole to tighten it. After a few months of trying to figure out why I had some fret buzz I realised the slot the nut sits in had been cut too deep on the low E, so had to put a makeshift shim in it to raise the nut. So not a great experience for me, but I'm sure there are some great examples out there and probably is a little pot luck what you get? Certainly won't buy from Andertons again as while this might be a cheap guitar - I think I paid around £349 for it - I would expect even a cursory look over to make sure it's of a decent standard.

The most I ever spent on a guitar was £1000. The one I play every day and would never sell cost me £20. There is a lot to be said for cheap guitars.

I've owned plenty of Rickenbacker's and Fenders in the past, and now I play a classic vibe 40th anniversary p bass. I've gotta say that it's probably one of the best basses I've ever had. It easily rivals any of my previous basses.

Squier Paranormal Series FTW. I feel like Squier guitars are Fender's playground, where they can just go nuts with ideas.

Reggie Wooten slayed with Squier.

Max Ostro playing Malmsteen is very good!

I have a Squier Offset Tele one of the Paranormal series and it is a great guitar. I wanted to get a Tele but this is more comfortable than a Tele since it has the Jazzmaster body.

I would be hard pressed to think of a worst place to store a guitar, than an Amazon warehouse. If one wishes to purchase a budget friendly guitar, first I suggest you go to a proper music store (online or in person). Second if you don't know how to do it yourself, I suggest you have the store change the strings and setup the guitar. IMHO, you cannot expect any guitar that came across the ocean on a container ship to be "ready to play" out of the box. And yes, my family has four Squiers. None from Amazon, and all setup by the store. All are a joy to play.

I prefer mexican fender,not Chinese!

You need to stop saying ‘we need to talk’

My first guitar is an 🇺🇲 strat and still have. Then I got an used 2018 fender player telecaster. Recently I bought a blemish Squire affinity FMT telecaster and I have to say that the squire is a good guitar.... The only issue is the neck humbucket sounds muddy
I tried Squire before and the necks were sticky BUT this Squire the neck is 👍
my favorite is the Mex telecaster.

Good quality instrument helps so much but, the most important " in my opinion" is the playability of the hands. You're in the right way !!!! Unfortulately, guitars are expensive here in my country. You got an average of 2000 in a month and must pay 1800 in a squier bullet. 4700 mexican fender. 10k in american standard. 30k to 40 k custom shop.... gibson in the same way !!! I have today 2 squier. A 2001 hard tail and a squier mini. Built to be Ship i know, but, After some new hardware and adjustments, i'm Love and peace with both!!!

I had an amazing Squier affinity Tele. It was the rare Squier that played better than my $800 strat. As for my favorite budget guitar, I think AIO and Wolf guitars are some of the best you can possibly buy for the price, and they come with a full setup to your specifications. Give them a try sometime

My G&L ASAT Tribute is pretty good. I have Guild that I don't like quite as much but it's grown on me. It required some fret work and I had to reflow a dry solder joint that came loose.

Let me guess: "We need to talk about Squiers... they're awesome!"

I love the necks on Squier guitars! I first discovered how good they were when I played my son's Squier Bullet strat. I was like holy sh*t! What an incredible shred neck! Currently my favorite two partscasters that I own have Squier Showmaster necks. I love the added look of the reverse headstock on the Stagemasters too.

Other notable Squier players include Dave Edmunds, Jeff Healey (whose Squier Strat was the Trigger's broom of guitars), Marillion's Steve Rothery and a little-known Liverpudlian called George Harrison. I had a Squier JV for a number of years that was my number one touring instrument and is the only guitar I ever regret selling. I'd happily play an Affinity or Classic Vibe today - you get a lot for your money.

From 1982 a company from South Korea, YOUNG CHANG was brought in to help build the Squire gtr. Their relationship ended in the late 80's BUT after Fender terminated its contract, Young Chang decided to utilize the knowledge, equipment, and expertise gained from producing guitars for Fender to create its own brand, FENIX. @2014 I played a early 90's Fenix Strat and was blown away by the craftsmanship...i later found out that that ones from 90-92 were made from some of the Fender parts and all were made on the same Machinery that Fender built for the Squire's. I have been on the hunt for years and at present i have 3 that I love all from 91 n 92. Some of the best necks ive ever touched and whether they meant it to be or not are compound radius, play like butter!! There are a healthy number of these in England actually. All I've ever had to do was replace the pickups and while each of these gtrs never cost over €350 the results are wonderful...i have toured for years with these and they are fun and reliable! Would love to send you some pics if possible...look for one, it may surprise you! I check you everyday, thanks for sharing your talent n hard work!! Cheers

Good shout. Francis was one of the first guys to ever make me want to play guitar, way back in like 1994.

Got a Classic Vibe 50s Stratocaster over the holidays. The fit and finish is every bit as good as my Fenders. An incredibly good guitar for the price.

I bought a Squier Mustang from Amazon for £119, with a bit of a truss rod tweak and a fret polish it played great, The electrics were extremely low rent but for a beginner playing through a cheap practice amp the playability would be the most important thing.

Incidentally, Frank Dunnery was playing a Tokai Strat at the time of the 1st It Bites album

Jeff Healy played a Squier....'nuff said!

I have an older Squier. Alder body, rosewood neck. As good as anything. I put an EMG David Gilmour set in it and gave to my son.

With squiers, their frets wear out quickly though. Yet, they remain great guitars.

I bought a Mexican strat as a back up guitar in the late 90s and hated it. Maybe i should try this for a few days or weeks. It’s cheap enough. I want to try the Jeff Beck vibrato thing.

What’s the best color. I like the mat red look.

Ive played a hss squire strat live many times. Bought a squire anniversary jazzmaster last year and its a fabulous guitar. The qc is better than fender

The older classic Vibe 60s ive a 2015 that is amazing. Alder full body thickness. Rosewood fretboard. It is absolutely every bit a stunning guitar ..

That action looks lethal

Jack Pearson played with later renditions of the Allman Brothers band, and he frequently played a Squier he bought used for less than $200. Yamaha Pac or a Squire could be a great guitar for a new player. I got my first guitar around 1970. It was a strat clone. All white with a rosewood board. I can't remember the brand of the guitar but I recall it felt good and played well. I think it was around $100-$125. I bought a used tub amp for around $40. They were both great and a lot of fun. Oddly, I can't remember what happened to the guitar or the amp but things were kind of a smokey haze in the 1970s.

I bought a Squier Affinity Telecaster a year and a half ago. The neck and fretwork is excellent, as well as tuning stability. The stock pickups were fine. I did replace them with Tone Rider Alnico Blues 2 pickups and the guitar sounds really great. But that was just personal choice. There was nothing wrong with the stock pickups. It’s also the most comfortable of my guitars. A bit thinner than a normal Telecaster and with a belly cut. Really nice to play and my favourite, and also cheapest guitar. I would definitely buy another Squier from the Affinity series.

Just grabbed a classic vibe Tele, love it. I’ve been a gigging touring professional for almost 20 years. This thing is ready to go to work 🤘

I own a Squier Affinity Telecaster model and love it.

I like squier's paranormal series.. can get some cool guitars with the classic vibe series quality..
Just got the squier toranado lately and enjoy it. Put a seymour duncan 59 in the neck, and it sounds great. will be putting the JB in the bridge here soon.

Awesome playing and video! 😀🤘🏻
I think this is a great topic. I have a Fender Starcaster strat which is practically a Squier. I updated the pickups on it and added fender locking tuners on it and it plays just as good, if not better than expensive strats I’ve played. I have gigged it many times and it sounds great.

Additionally, as far as good budget guitars go, Epiphone has some quality budget guitars. I own and always recommend getting an Epi LP Special ii as not just a starter guitar but as one to have in the collection. I’m always surprised at it’s quality when I pick it up to play it. Also, Harley Benton makes some great budget friendly options. I own a CST and love it. It’s a great guitar that won’t need upgrading to compete with high end guitars in honest opinion.

Any guitar should be playable no matter how much money you pay for it

Hi John. If you've never played a first edition '82 Squier (Fender Logo) then you deserve to have the chance. They are legendary. Mine is among the best guitars I've ever played and I've sold USA Strats for this. The late great Alan Murphy (Kate Bush, Level 42, Go West) had a number of them.

You just proved that in the right hands, a cheap guitar can deliver. I also agree that a Squier strat is very beginner friendly, and less likely to frustrate a new player.

Those pickups sound really really cheap.

I picked up a Squier Affinity for $100.00 at a garage sale new, still in the box. I liked the feel of it so I replaced the pickups with Wilkenson alnicos, swaped out the guts with top grade parts and a paisley pick guard. Now I have a great guitar that feels better than my Fender American from the 90's. Even with all the mods I'm still under $450.oo for a brand new custom strat. I did polish and dress the fretts as well as hand rub a finish on the neck.

I have a Chinese Squier CV 50s Telecaster that I love the feel of so much I put custom shop twisted tele pickups in it. Doesn’t matter about the name on the headstock

I have a bullet strat and just have a neck pickup on it. I even had a custom pick guard made at warmoth. I'm using a Seymour Duncan five-two on it and just have a volume knob for electronics.

I picked up a sonic strat and like it very much. All I had to do was tightened truss rod and it brought the action in to where I play. I will change the pups eventually but I'm very impressed on how it plays.

I've had bad experiences with Squier guitars. I bet if you put better tuners and pickups on them they might be pretty good.