Sheepdog1969 Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 I have never owned a Stratocaster. The only "Fender" I have is a tiny Starcaster Strat, which a friend bought for my daughter when she was born. She never wanted to learn to play, so she gave it to me. Despite it being "set-up" and somewhat playable, it is more of a curiosity and rarely gets touched. I do own a '96 US made G&L Legacy HSS, which plays great and is "Strat-esque". But, even with it's coil-split switch for the bridge Seymour Duncan Humbucker, it fails to produce the complete single coil tone that a SSS strat can. Don't get me wrong, the neck and middle SD single coils meet and exceed all my tonal expectations, and the Humbucker truly delivers in the double coil mode, (and is adequate in the single coil mode.). However, I eventually wanted a SSS Fender strat, which would provide it's unique tonal offering, that was absent in my current collection. My daughter turned 18 on Dec. 1st, and being a good dad with a great daughter, I spent a good bit of money on her big day. She is also heading off to the University of Alabama's Aerospace Engineering school next fall, and her tuition/housing costs (which I will be paying) are beginning now. With Christmas fast approaching, the last thing I was considering was buying another guitar. That was until Fender sent me an offer on a Limited Edition Squier Sonic Stratocaster HT for $126.00 + tax and free shipping. Yup, nothing is more tempting than a urine yellow, poplar bodied, ceramic single coiled, hardtail, base model Squier "Strat", manufactured with parts and labor costs below $126.00 US per unit. But hey, it does say Fender on the headstock, albeit in tiny print below the large "Squier" logo. It was in my hands 3 days after I inexplicably clicked the "submit order" button. After 4+ hours of filing/polishing every fret end, 2 hours of action and intonation adjustments, 1 hour of pickup height adjustments, and 30 minutes removing the factory "9's" and restringing it with Ernie Ball "Fat Bottoms, Skinny Tops", I had a guitar that played great and sounded pretty good, (as long as I left the bridge p/u out of the mix). I just ordered a loaded pickguard with new Fender Tex-Mex single coils, for just over what the guitar cost, and I plan to have them in before the New Year. https://www.fender.com/en-US/squier-series/squier-sonic/?prefn1=refinement-color&prefv1=Yellow&start=0&sz=12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Nice. I've never played a Squier but I've played many MIM Fenders (all have been excellent) and Squiers are made in Mexico too, right? I've always been impressed by Fender's Mexican output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 I just bought a bright lime green Squier Esquire for $139 shipped. Pretty amazing guitar for the money. I get what you’re saying about typically needing to spend a good amount of time polishing the frets but I find it to be hit or miss. I won’t need to do much to this one but a Squier Jazzmaster I bought last year had frets that were not only razor sharp but looked like they had been sanded with 240 grit. Luck of the draw. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Congratulations on that fabulous yellow Stratocaster! And happy Christmas to you and the whole family. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Congratulations, great colour 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 I played an American Standard mid/late 90's Strat for a few years. Loved it. It sounded thinner than my Gibsons, but surely had it's place on many occasions. Eventually sold it, but I still own a Tele. Never owned a Squier, but I knew a guy who gigged all over Nashville with an Epiphone Les Paul that he'd tinkered with. This guy could afford a real one, but he loved that darned Epi until he died. Good picker, too. If the scale and intonation are correct you can make any guitar work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Maybe fretwork is what differs between Squiers and MIM Fenders? I have to say, haven't played a single MIM Strat with a single fret issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 4 minutes ago, Pinch said: Maybe fretwork is what differs between Squiers and MIM Fenders? Surely electronics, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 2 minutes ago, Murph said: Surely electronics, too. Forgot about those, you're probably right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 1 hour ago, ksdaddy said: I just bought a bright lime green Squier Esquire for $139 shipped. Pretty amazing guitar for the money. I get what you’re saying about typically needing to spend a good amount of time polishing the frets but I find it to be hit or miss. I won’t need to do much to this one but a Squier Jazzmaster I bought last year had frets that were not only razor sharp but looked like they had been sanded with 240 grit. Luck of the draw. What are you doing with them? Hot-rodding and flipping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 14 minutes ago, Murph said: What are you doing with them? Hot-rodding and flipping? Nope. Just an impulse purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 (edited) nice ... nothing wrong with Mexican Strats. I like their beer ... I've been thinking about getting a Squier Tele Deluxe for slide stuff Edited December 21, 2023 by Karloff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 SheepDog - although I've never worked in Marketing - I would have gone with Modelo Yellow instead of Urine Yellow. Just sayin'. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Put some Van Halen stripes on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody78 Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 I still regularly play a Squier Affinity at jams/ open mics as I don't have to worry about it getting knocked etc. Cool guitars...it always played well and sounds ok considering it cost me £99 in 2001. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Again, I have to agree. Pee Yellow looks great. ... though Squire went a bit OTT with that beefed up neck joint! I have a Squire Esprit and a Squire Jazz Bass. The JB is standard. The Esprit isn't. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepdog1969 Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 7 hours ago, Pinch said: Nice. I've never played a Squier but I've played many MIM Fenders (all have been excellent) and Squiers are made in Mexico too, right? I've always been impressed by Fender's Mexican output. Per the back of the headstock, my Squier was "crafted" in Indonesia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Gibson Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 11 hours ago, Sheepdog1969 said: I have never owned a Stratocaster. The only "Fender" I have is a tiny Starcaster Strat, which a friend bought for my daughter when she was born. She never wanted to learn to play, so she gave it to me. Despite it being "set-up" and somewhat playable, it is more of a curiosity and rarely gets touched. I do own a '96 US made G&L Legacy HSS, which plays great and is "Strat-esque". But, even with it's coil-split switch for the bridge Seymour Duncan Humbucker, it fails to produce the complete single coil tone that a SSS strat can. Don't get me wrong, the neck and middle SD single coils meet and exceed all my tonal expectations, and the Humbucker truly delivers in the double coil mode, (and is adequate in the single coil mode.). However, I eventually wanted a SSS Fender strat, which would provide it's unique tonal offering, that was absent in my current collection. My daughter turned 18 on Dec. 1st, and being a good dad with a great daughter, I spent a good bit of money on her big day. She is also heading off to the University of Alabama's Aerospace Engineering school next fall, and her tuition/housing costs (which I will be paying) are beginning now. With Christmas fast approaching, the last thing I was considering was buying another guitar. That was until Fender sent me an offer on a Limited Edition Squier Sonic Stratocaster HT for $126.00 + tax and free shipping. Yup, nothing is more tempting than a urine yellow, poplar bodied, ceramic single coiled, hardtail, base model Squier "Strat", manufactured with parts and labor costs below $126.00 US per unit. But hey, it does say Fender on the headstock, albeit in tiny print below the large "Squier" logo. It was in my hands 3 days after I inexplicably clicked the "submit order" button. After 4+ hours of filing/polishing every fret end, 2 hours of action and intonation adjustments, 1 hour of pickup height adjustments, and 30 minutes removing the factory "9's" and restringing it with Ernie Ball "Fat Bottoms, Skinny Tops", I had a guitar that played great and sounded pretty good, (as long as I left the bridge p/u out of the mix). I just ordered a loaded pickguard with new Fender Tex-Mex single coils, for just over what the guitar cost, and I plan to have them in before the New Year. https://www.fender.com/en-US/squier-series/squier-sonic/?prefn1=refinement-color&prefv1=Yellow&start=0&sz=12 Cool color, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen another guitar colored like that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Gibson Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 6 hours ago, ksdaddy said: I just bought a bright lime green Squier Esquire for $139 shipped. Pretty amazing guitar for the money. I get what you’re saying about typically needing to spend a good amount of time polishing the frets but I find it to be hit or miss. I won’t need to do much to this one but a Squier Jazzmaster I bought last year had frets that were not only razor sharp but looked like they had been sanded with 240 grit. Luck of the draw. I like the color of this one too, I guess I’m tired of all the standard colors of guitars these days. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narwhal6 Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Nice score! My parts-caster has a Squier neck and it's very comfortable, I've grown to love maple fretboards. The 9.5 radius feels a little odd to me still. It's good up to the 7th fret but then after that I miss the flatter radiuses of my other guitars. I love being able to play something different every once in awhile, but some guitars just feel like home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 19 minutes ago, Mr. Gibson said: I like the color of this one too, I guess I’m tired of all the standard colors of guitars these days. Sometimes I hope for a cheap but decent solid body to show up so I can paint it some crazy color. Specifically one that had already been butchered. I would question “restoring” a 15 year old Affinity but I would have no qualms about picking up some rattle cans in an obnoxious color. Fender beat me to it this time. I like my Fenders made in California but when they can crank something GOOD out like this on the cheap, and it makes a kid (or adult) pick up a guitar, then I don’t care where it came from. This is SO much better than some of the entry level trash I encountered in the 70s. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 2 hours ago, Sheepdog1969 said: Per the back of the headstock, my Squier was "crafted" in Indonesia. ah ... I'm not familiar with Indonesian beer ... I'll give them the benefit of doubt ... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 6 hours ago, Sheepdog1969 said: Per the back of the headstock, my Squier was "crafted" in Indonesia. Ah. Didn't know that. For some reason I thought they were MIM too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 On 12/21/2023 at 4:12 PM, Sheepdog1969 said: Per the back of the headstock, my Squier was "crafted" in Indonesia. Yes, I recall they 'craft' in Indonesia. My Rics & Gibsons are 'made' in the USA, my PRS SE was 'built' in Korea., my Fingerbone is 'handmade' in England. So far I've never found any country that 'fashions' a guitar. Not yet anyway. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 Yellow is my favorite color for a strat. My dad used to have an old 80s or 90s strat in “graffiti yellow” and I loved the way it looked. I ordered this body from warmoth and had it and a neck finished by a forum member from here who I haven’t seen in a long time. It has a warmoth neck but I ended up putting this neck from an old American deluxe strat on it I get bonus tone points from my iconic wiring under the hood 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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