I bought the famous Amazon Stratocaster Guitar by Fender
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2024
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Beginner equipment has gotten so much better since "my day" in the 90s. If only I could get my kids interested in playing guitar.
I understand your feeling. My daughter studied keyboard for two years but then she quit.
Man it was the opposite situation for me. When I was in middle school my parents asked if I wanted to learn an instrument, and I said guitar. Their response was "welp thats not an option for band" and that was the end of it. Now I'm 25 and teaching myself
can i be your kids daddy?
The hardware used mostly hasn't gotten better, if anything the mid priced versions use the same lower quality hardware making you assume it's better. The pickups are often the same as well until you get into that overpriced guitar range where "brand name pups" are installed. If it doesn't stay in tune, it's junk. One thing that has improved is they rarely seem to use plywood laminates anymore. But some are now using inferior wood, odd named species', that have no business being an instrument. You would have better tone with a reglued section of a pak barn floor with some Duncans and a Warmoth.
You should have been around, in the late 60s. The selection was next to nothing. I had to scrounge broken guitars, to make one.
I had a squire for years, put a bit of work into it, came into some money so decided to treat myself to a proper Fender strat, took the fender back after a week and bought a Squire, I realised I was a guitar snob.
Wouldn't a snob rather keep the Fender because everyone in the industry tells you that you supposed to?
@@AnthonyChhan He means thathe got over the snob-ness after seeing that the fender didn't offer much more:)
@@AnthonyChhanthat’s the joke.
@@AnthonyChhanthe real snobs care about quality and return on value. Most serious players/builders i know have cheap bodies (epiphone, squier, schecter) but set up, finish them, and change the guts to their preferences. Plus it's easier to find and replace than a $10K Fender, Gibson, PRS, etc.
Always stick with the one that inspires you to play!
Ripping on $120 is wild. People would love to have this guitar back in the 1950s. The price point for a guitar even of this quality is crazy.
@@austin33785 it's crazy to see how these sub 200.00 guitars can hang easily with say an 80's strat.. that's precision CNC machinery for you though..
It's made from about 60$ worth of material that it cost to build
It's about 60$ that it cost to build...
especially since most $120 guitars have no handwork done to it, this guarantees playability at the very least
No... that is a complete waste of money... this is the worst production strat I've ever heard of...
Just received my "kit " from Amazon about three days ago. Haven't touched a guitar since I was ten years old. I'm 60 now and starting over.
That's AWESOME! Good luck getting back!
I bought a Squier Affinity Strat for $200 (new) anout 5 years ago. I was shocked at how comfortable the neck was, the quality of sound, and most of all the tuning stability, which shocked me. Pickup switch went out and I got that fixed and a piece of paint chipped off the bottom inside that no one can see. My whole cost is still under $300 and I have gotten so much enjoyment out of it. Huge fan and I also had very low expectations. The Indonesian factory seems to really have come into its own.
Got an Indonesia Jackson bass it was like 250$ a few months ago and i had the exact same thought
There is no longer a definite connection between price and quality in guitars. Even the Chinese are doing well at making them. I got an excellent SG style from a no name brand. Chinese made, and came set up for low action. The only thing I'd do is change the tuners. You have to tune every few songs. The Squire versions are great for the price. I have 2 tele models. They have that great tele sound. Nice looking finish.
Yes..l am very impressed by the Indonesian Tele l bought for my grandson..great guitar for the money..he's in High School, with a good music department.
Same experience. The tuners aren't great but I went back and got a second one. The first I got for 107. Even the Chinese stuff is very good quality. The feel, the sound, its all there.
If you can find an early 2000s "gold top" or "gold label" from Indonesia, they are $300-350, but they rival any MIM strat I have ever played or seen that is at least twice the price. I own a black/white guard 2001 to this day. It love it so much I don't see the need for a Fender if I'm not gonna seriously gig and make money with it. Learn to decipher the serials, and you can find a goldmine of amazing and cheap guitars.
I ordered the bundle set for $199, comes with a gig bag, frontman 10g amp, clip on tuner, extra pack of strings, 3 picks, cable, extra tremolo spring, and a guitar strap, and a standard stand. what I will say, the strap is very flimsy, I replaced it with a hard locking strap. But everything else is really good for beginners. The guitar is the matt black one you have, and it's really good. And the tuner comes with settings for bass, guitar, violin, ukulele, and any chromatic scale string instrument. I use it with my micro bass as well. The frontman amp does have a bit of a hiss when the strings aren't being touched on the guitar or bass, but it's pretty good for quality sound when the strings are being touched to mute the hissing. The gig bag is padded, and while thin, would hold up to basic travel in a secured spot in a car, but not something I'd use for regular travel with. I'd save up for a proper gig bag, or a hard case if you need to actually travel with the stratocaster.
all and all, the $199 bundle is perfect for people with absolutely nothing and are looking to start learning guitar on a budget. But I do recommend replacing the strap as soon as possible, or just don't ever wear it, the ends are like costume foam with fake plastic leather over the top of it. I did not trust it to actually hold up my guitar, and replaced it with the locking strap I bought instead.
I love the middle pickup on Strats. It's not too bright and not too dull. It's especially fun for blues. I'm pretty happy mith my Yngwie Strat so I'm not about to buy one of these even though I only have a 3-way switch.
I went ahead and ordered one (supposed to be here tomorrow) because it's only $120 and I already have a loaded pickguard with alnico v pickups and a wiring harness with upgraded pots and thick braided wires laying around and a set of locking tuners that are unassigned as of right now, so why not? I kinda have to. I got the 2 tone sunburst one. I'll probably just keep the stock trem because I'm not much of a whammy bar guy anyway, but I'll still leave it floating.
I kinda like that it only has one string tree and the slim headstock. Traditionally, the cheaper ones have two trees and the fat 70s headstock, so it gives it a little bit more classic look. I'll probably swap the tree out for a roller tree. I've heard good things about these, I have to imagine Fender's profit margins are extremely low, but it's a good way to take back some business from the cheap copycats. I mean, who's gonna pay $90 for a Glarry now when they can get a real Strat for $30 more?
This will be Strat #6 in my current lineup. I also have a Fojill mahogany light relic Strat, two Squier Affinity Strats, a DIY kit built Strat and a 2007 MIM Fender Standard Strat, all of which I heavily modded or restored.
You mentioned Firefly, I do love my blue FF338. Beautiful guitar. Though I did get some humbucker size P90s to replace those microphonic pickups with. They sound great on my Les Paul Special, so I figured they'd sound good on a 338 too. Eventually I'll stop procrastinating and get them installed. 🤣
Glarry aren't that bad for 90$ comparable to the squire affinity series stratocaster. Had both guitars and squire affinity series stratocaster are nothing special. They aren't bad but don't think it's anything absolutely amazing or anything.
I always use the Graph Tech string trees. Strings just seem to stay in tune much longer.
Question! What did the routing under the pickguard look like, could I get a dual humbucker preloaded pickguard and it go right on? Or is it only routed for single coils
@@Koty244 sure you could it depends on if the routed out compartment for the pickups are big enough part under the pick guard is big enough to fit a humbucker sometimes it is sometimes it's not, if not it's not that hard to rout it out and make it a little bigger all you need is a drimile don't take that long to do...
TOUGH FACTS: This will piss off some people - but poplar is lighter and sounds warmer, like mahogany. Buy one of these and swap the electonics, wiring and tuners... and you have a better sounding Strat than even some of the Mexi's. Throw in a good HSS prewired kit, and it's suddenly a REALLY broad axe, for studio leads OR rhythms.
A lot of people forget that wire quality and pots make good pickups sound and perform better. Especially when dealing with digital amps that need the sensitivity of a better input, (as opposed to live tube amps where you can kind of just crank up and push through).
OPINION: More guitars should be made out of poplar.
Squiers are made in Asia by OAM factories where they use the metric system and Fenders are made using imperial units. The size and placement of the tuning machine, pickguard, and bridge holes are slightly different so it isn’t quiet as plug and play as MIM and MIA fenders.
The pickups and pots and switch can be replaced with MIA, but buying a loaded pickguard requires you to fill in the existing holes and make new holes because the pickguards are not interchangeable.
I prefer balsa wood
Poplar is lighter and sounds warmer than what exactly? And any strat man knows that ash and pine are the preferred body woods and that poplar is a cheaper alternative...
@Thundergun5 preferred to what, exactly? Any "Strat man" is a sexist comment based in the opinion of a closed mind. "Preferred" assumes you can't have an alternate opinion from the Church of You, as if no one likes their mahogany strat. Again, close-minded... and painfully arrogant. Especially since POPLAR IS LIGHTER AND SOUNDS WARMER.
The Technology has come a Long Way. I bought one nearly 30 years ago, and it's nothing like that one.
If a ‘Strat doesn’t say Fender on the headstock it isn’t a Strat’ and that’s just MHO.
Anyway, I bought one just like yours planning to send it back if it was a disappointment. I’m a self taught beginner thanks to the pandemic lockdown and have gotten very interested in guitars 🎸, playing and so forth. I have a few American 🇺🇸 Standard Strats, 2 MIM Strats and 2 Japanese Strats with one being my favorite guitar. I wish it had a matte neck like my Debut and HM Strats. I prefer that like you. Your video would have been helpful if I had seen it before the purchase but it’s kewl 👍 that I agree with you and still have my Debut Strat. I like to try new things and I walk around the house playing this guitar because if I knock it into something it’s not a big deal. Oh man! You have a Friedman amp? That’s awesome! 😎
👍☮️🌞🎸🎵⭐️
Thanks for checking it out! Glad you are a strat-head! The Friedman is actually a pedal =) no real amp was being used here
Still sounded really good. I subscribed so you have to continue putting up good videos 🙃.
@@secretdaisy6484 I'll do my best! Thanks so much 🤘
if you are doing a gig, & the audience are enjoying the music...they don't care who made your instrument or the price you paid for it.
It’s a Squier! Fender/Squier makes good shit. Their Contemporary Telecaster is amazing. I think people “try” too hard to hate on Squier and all they end up doing is loving them.
I bought one, modded it up and it is so good! I like it better than my MIM.
What did you change? Pickups, pots, and tuners?
@@drewwesley9506 yup, and put on the black aluminum pickguard. It looks great.
The neck angle (sideways) doesn‘t look overly exciting at 0:34. I hope it plays better than it looks.
If you try 0000.0 Steel-Wool on the back of the neck, it smooths any anomalies and use baby powder to coat and seal. My 80's Metal- shredder has a beautiful smooth sheen and proper used look even after40-yrs...👌👍
4:16 strats should come with a super switch that gives you neck and bridge in parallel for the middle position change my mind
or push pull neck on. I let it install on my strat voila
other idea: Strats should wire positions 2 & 4 in series so you can combine the single coils into humbuckers in those positions.
They actually already have this. The fender deluxe players series has a push button when the 5 way is in the neck position you push the button and it gives you the neck and bridge together. Kinda gives it a tele type tone to it. Look up the fender deluxe players series, you’ll see they have a small push button between the 2 tone knobs. It’s actually pretty cool
@@timpagliaro8623 I have an 2008 deluxe I removed the pickguard completely and installed a tortoise one with SD everything axe set. For some reason the original doent sound like a proper standart or mexican strat to me and I turned it to rocking machine but installed that push pull trick 👍🏼
That how I have my 1989 wired
I cant even begin to imagine how you can make and sell a guitar at $120
you pay next to nothing to the people that actually build it
@@tucabond= SCUMBAGS RUNNING THE BIZ 😈😈😈
The cheapest new guitar I ever bought was back in 2010 or so, a Rooster strat in my local supermarket for the equivalent of cca. $60. Lovely guitar, excellent build quality, of course cheapest materials, electronics and tuners, but everything works properly and even keeps tune decently. Just over a third of the price of the next cheapest, which is a Squier Debut Telecaster at cca. 150 Euro, should arrive next week.
@@tucabond good grief, a pack of strings is five bucks. Pick ups, tuners, a guitar neck, a body. I don’t even know how you can get the parts for that much.
I got mine in sunburst, I like the flat look as it reminds me of the early strats with the nitro finish.Played pretty well out of the box, no fret sprouts. Only changed the strings to Ernie Ball slinky 9s.Not comprable to my Fender 2012 American Standard Strat but at this price it would be good for a beginner or hobby player.
If you want to darken up that neck and fretboard and headstock, stick it under some good UV light for about 72 hours. It'll take on that 15-year-old darker wood hue in no time at all.
I have one. Plays as well as my more expensive strats.
I bought the red matt flat debut it's really awesome the action was nice and low , frets were fine it rocks I've gigged with it I put 10's on mine, yeah the tuners might get changed out
Interesting. If you're going to make $120 guitar, a Telecaster would probably be a better choice. But everyone that doesn't know a thing about guitars knows what a Stratocaster is, so I guess it makes sense.
That makes no sense! Lol but hey your an Tele officiato ! ( I like my teles too but I don't subscribe to a " better " than ) Cool though
@@jaymelynnmcintyre8574 better meaning cheaper and easier to produce. Because it's much simpler. Less pickups, no trem, less curves...
Maybe they just simply like a Strat and not a Tele.
There is a telecaster version!
Telecasters are the bomb.❤❤
cries in lefthand
Without being an expert, I think the sound is pretty impressive. Can easily imagine the tuners being one of the first places they would start in order to keep the price low. Great review Steve! 🎸😊
In the UK we are charged £129.99 which is the the equivalent of $167.93 inc VAT, and you cant get a maple fretboard version!
You can get a much better specced Strat copy from say Harley Benton or Jet for that money!
0:44 "everybody shit on a strat."
I can't unhear this now 😂
I'm glad to be heard 🤣🤣🤣
Thanks for this review. I'll confess I'm looking sideways at this axe. To me, an amateur tech, it screams "upgrade platform" to me. I already see much I would and could do with this axe without shooting off too much money. I would love to check those pickups with a multimeter and see how they measure out; I might keep a couple. I already know what I would replace the nut, bridge and tuners with. None of those are likely to be that much trouble, although the bridge is often an unexpected adventure. I would round things out with roller string trees and roller bridge saddles; I have those on several guitars right now. I would also love to check out that neck to see if it needs any work. Deal saver: I looked and found that this guitar has a headstock accessible truss rod adjustment. Had this thing had that vintage spec "buried" adjustment where you have to remove the neck to reach it, game over. I straight refuse to buy those, but that's no issue here. I've already got something in the pipeline, but should that have problems, this might prove a worthy backup plan.
I like the "Camaelized" look of the Head with dark finger- board, very cool.
Amazing it played so well without extra set up! An amazing buy
Its called body-blocking, the obscene tremolo set up. It's not a "feature", it's a precaution. Body blocking is the quick way to set up a guitar with this style tremelo. It's done to better hide the hardwares inability to stay in tune (poor tuning key, flawed saddles, poor nut-crafting)... this is a poor way to get used to a stratocaster... burn that obscenity...
I prefer this set up in case a string breaks, the guitar doesn't go out of tune.
I think if I was just starting the Squire classic vibe would be a better choice.
I agree but they're more than double the price
@SteveSterlacci Yes but you will get a way better guitar. And you won't break your budget.
@TheBbtlegit I agree the ones I've played are probably better
Based on what? Have you tried the Amazon strat?
@thomasmalz4111 I think classic vibe feels a bit more substantial. My buddy has one and I like it a lot. But I would be happy with either!
Designed and backed by Fender. That says all you need to know about the quality of the individual parts. But, at the price point, live with it or do some inexpensive upgrades to the egregious components. (Tuners) It is an inexpensive offshore guitar. It isn't a ripoff or clone like the lawsuit era guitars. (of which, some were really good.)
I am a recovering addict, i sold almost all my instruments,MIM ,my bass ,midi keys etc .But now i finally have the courage to face the world without drugs.But i am broke af.I was a well respected guitarist in our town but now im a nobody.I could barely afford guitars at this price range and i need to buy onee to start teaching guitar online again.How would you rate this guitar compared to bullet and other entry level guitars like cort g100
My first guitar was a complete horrorshow compared to this one. But nowaways you can buy truly decent guitars for $400-$500. To me you're not really saving money if you have to start swapping tuners, pickups, etc. BTW I am enjoying the Silent Stage series--I just got an HX Stomp and am still learning the ins and outs.
I often use the middle pickup all the time on Squires. Neck pup is a little too bright.
.. bright sounding guitars (cheaper ones) can suddenly be bad frets and a bad cut nut!.. Fixing those two, can make huge difference!.
Laurel wood always darkens up after you feed it some lemon oil but you have to keep up on it as they dry out fast too.
I like the guitar but those pickups would be headed to the dumpster. Squier OEM Tuners have always been awful.
It can be a decent ride for sure!
Sounds really good!! Crazy that they can make that for 120$
They can't but the children in China sure can
The children in China can
I just got my ‘76 Strat back from my tech and it’s awesome.
If you know ways around a guitar in general, you can make a $100 guitar feel and sound great.
😎 👍 🔥
I have a very old squire strat that I want to renovate. That flat paint on the body looks good. I may go with that. Thats something I don't see too often.
Never been a better time to be a player, never been a worse time to be a collector
I ordered one of their Debut basses last week. It should be here in a few days.
This sounds really good ...I just ordered it in black.....For $120 it sounds REALLY good ....When I was a teen you could not get anything for 120......
how much was shipping + tax
I'll tell you this much- I cant make one of those sounds like that!
This 'Debut' series is not available in Canada. Even from the US version of amazon. Is that for all countries?
It doesn't take thousands to sound good. It just takes dedication and lots of practice.😅
No kidding. People forget that. Give me any guitar and I’ll make it sound like mine. For what that’s worth LOL.
I was astonished of the quality and feel of this in my hands, more than a beginners guitar by far.
If it’s properly intonated, then it came better set up than my MIM Fender Player which costs 6x more.
I hope they will come out with a different body style so I can try something different and mod the crap out of it. Already have too many strats. Lol.
Cool!
how would you compare it against a Harley Benton in the same price range?
locking tuners would help so much
Why does your neck look like it’s stained? It probably lighting but am hoping it’s darker vs pale white.
Definitely not pale white at all. It's laurel. I show plenty of it in the video
@@SteveSterlacci thanks, I meant the actual neck and headstock not the fretboard.
what happened to the affinity line? what makes a strat sound like a strat?
its not glossy is the only thing i hate about it. hopefully there is a way to polish it.
The tuners are probably loose. That's why my cheap guitar didnt hold tune.
If you try playing little wing in any guitar store in australia they'll throw you out the door on your backside
ceramic bar single coil pickups are good for starters who just want to run through pedals to get overdriven heavy distortion just to make noise I guess. Never cared for them at all otherwise
Sounds flat and muted . I have a 65 Strat with a neck. A neck is 1 1/2 inches wide at the nut. They were special order only . Not too many around
Nice! £129 in the UK which doesn't make sense unless it's down to freight?
It's basically an Affinity, right?
So I was wondering if you would possibly be able to compare this guitar to the sonic series. I think both are good for the money. Cheers 🤘💀🤘
The only reason I don’t play them is the nut width is so small spacing my big sausage fingers don’t like it. My ax of choice is an Ibanez, they are fantastic if all you’re after is a fine instrument not a name brand, God forbid Nike doesn’t start making guitars right.
Ibanez are great!
Yeah fire fly is cool but I've had some issues with that as well
That's the price point
Sounds pretty decent, though I think alnicos would improve it. How's the playability? Does one need to be a skilled luthier or setup wizard to get it playable?
I did nothing to it prior to the video on purpose. Playability and intonation are VERY good relative to price. I'd say it "needs" nothing
Guitar center sales them for about 150 bucks.
I jumped at this deal for my first electric guitar. The strings need to be turned each time I play it. I've never had an electric guitar and I got it for fun. I like the Fender lessons that came with it.
fyi who uses the middle pickup ? Eric Clapton plenty more but i think Clapton says enough
It’s probably just me, but there’s always a loss in articulation with lower quality, lower priced guitars of the (especially Stratocaster style) Fender variety. There’s a weird absence of mid bump that I definitely hear with better guitars. I spent my early years playing a moded mij strat that had SM live wires, so I’m aware that my ears were altered by 9v batteries, but many years and guitars later and my ears have become sharper and more accurate than ever. It does sound pretty good dirty, but the clean is where I’m missing that bump.
All the reviews i have seen say the frets are level and there's no fret buzz. It can be intonated, the tuning pegs are adequate.
My only issue is neck depth and of course the ceramic pickups - but that is really preference. One reviewer had a Fender spec loaded pickguard and it fit perfectly.
I never worried about neck depth or wondered about anyone else's. But yeah it's really a great mod platform
Great UNBIASED REVIEW THANK YOU
Its a little thinner sounding than my 72 USA...But they are great.Not a stage guitar though...Almost.
They aren't bad as far as tone goes they don't really have very good tuning stability, cheap accessories. It's okay but really it's about 60$ worth of material that it cost to build. It's nothing really to jump up and down about but really not worth that much i would never pay over 200$ for any squire. Put some Seymour Duncan in it you see a major difference.
You mean Squire. Been around for awhile.
I have an 83 MIJ
Do I not call it squire? 🤔 this is also called the "debut" series under squire
It is Squier, not squire
Why can't you just plug it into an amp and play it. Most beginner players will not understand any of the signal
Path blather. Thanks for reviewing the guitar.
It is literally just going into an amp lol it's called the Friedman IR X and saying it's going direct means there's nothing else
@@SteveSterlacci thanks for responding. My point wasn't
That there was anything misleading or deceptive
About the presentation. My
Point was that sometimes
Entry level musicians become
Wary of great sounding amps
And instruments that don't
Produce the same sounds
When they purchase them.
I realize as a musician presenting
On a video channel you want
To be giving as accurate as
Possible audio to your listeners.
If you can't do that by just
Plugging in to an amp just
Say so. It is what it is.
Bought the matt Red one.. really dig this I've used it on stage!!
It's a sweet axe!
Well, through the youtube here, that sounds really nice...
Is the body thin like the bullets and sonics?
Normal size as far as I can tell
"Whoever uses the middle pickup?" Excuse me?
It was a joke my friend 🧡 😃
If you can feel the "graininess" of the wood then it's garbage.
Its the satin finish not being "finished"
I was thinking about getting one till heard the Bridge pickup.. I'll pass
Sounds like an aluminum pop can
I've never played one of those
Its not availble at Amazon.
Sounds great for a guitar that's under 200 bucks
Just darken the fretboard with an ebony stain.🤷🏻♂️
Would never buy a squire. Just my opinion. I guess they’d be good if you want a starting platform for a lot of upgrades. Me I’d rather buy a better guitar to start with.To each his own. Everyone enjoy. 👍🏻
Sounds great to me .. awesome
I look for pre-2016 Squire Affinity Squire Stat's or Tele's with
ROSEWOOD NECKS "NOT inferior
indian laural....it's absolutely
"HORRIBLE" No matter how or what you treat it with...."Fact"!!!
I'll take a Schecter, thank you.
Not at that price you won't.
Yes I will, and have, for much less actually. @@RylanStorm
Not in Canada 😢
who is matt black
Matte black is the color
Guitars, pickups, amps, strings are irrelevant. Tory Slusher can make magic with a board, and rubber bands. She is the best guitar player in the world by 100 miles.
why is it that the American based UA-camrs never mention the fact that this debut is also offered as a Telecaster ? I only found out about it when Searching for this guitar on Amazon UK.. Guess the guitar Shills in my opinion don't make money telling the American retailer this
just my opinion..
Wtf are you even trying to say here? Shill? In a video I clearly state that I bought the guitar full price on my own? We don't have a debut telecaster on Amazon right now. Otherwise, I'd have bought it instead of the strat. Thanks for the comment
Also, just confirmed there is no debut series telecaster on Amazon US.
for certain types of music, these are fine. for metal, hard rock, etc it will not make it
I don't think any SSS strat would
I like my MIM better than the American. Neck is better.
I prefer super strats
…and I did!
Why is everyone hating on these guitars all of a sudden? Back in the day they were widely considered good instruments.... I dont understand. Everyday I get on youtube and watch the stupid oppinions of people, the less I pick up my guitar...
Music snobs are absolutetly the worst and ruin for tons of people they will never even meet.,
You wanted to hate someones piece of art before you even tried it? You wanted to hate for what was considered almost 25 years a great instrument?
it sounds like you just wanted to make some money off your video and the music snobs.
You may not have paid attention to what I said, but okay. If you feel good about this comment, then I support you