why not just get a squire?

amitamit Posts: 73
edited September 2006 in Musicians and Gearheads
Man I love the blues, and I'm really getting into my blues jamming and improv, and since I am in need of a new guitar anyway I decided I would like a strat.

But is it really worth paying for an original Fender Strat when you can get a Squire for waaay cheaper?
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Comments

  • andychandych Posts: 130
    depends what model strat you are after.
    some squires are actualy better then the originals..
    i have a squire and it blows a lot of strats ive played to hell.
    i did have a 95 strat that was a monster but ive played certain models that really have sucked.
    its not only just the name.
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  • brain of cbrain of c Posts: 5,213
    Squire's rock. so what if the snobs turn their noses up at them?
  • andych wrote:
    depends what model strat you are after.
    some squires are actualy better then the originals..
    i have a squire and it blows a lot of strats ive played to hell.
    i did have a 95 strat that was a monster but ive played certain models that really have sucked.
    its not only just the name.
    What he/she said. Just make sure you play the guitar first. If it plays nice, and sounds good, who cares what names on the headstock?

    I have a Squier right now, and I'm super happy with it. That's not to say I haven't been eyeballing the Telecaster Deluxe FMT lately. Damn, I want that guitar...
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  • moster78moster78 Posts: 1,591
    A MIM Strat may be the way to go. I know a lot of people on here recommend the Jimmy Vaughn Strat.
  • I have a strat squier and it sounds amazing. Sure, I've had to do some work to it, but to be honest, after a few years, it sounds like a vintage 50's style. It's one of the best sounding guitars I have ever heard. Get a squier but be prepared to work on it...
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  • mca47mca47 Posts: 13,282
    I have a strat squier and it sounds amazing. Sure, I've had to do some work to it, but to be honest, after a few years, it sounds like a vintage 50's style. It's one of the best sounding guitars I have ever heard. Get a squier but be prepared to work on it...

    Exactly!
    A good friend of mine has pretty much gutted his, put new components in and it sounds a lot better then the real deal for a whole lot less.

    Be aware though...the acoustic Squires are absolute shit!!
    For $50 more, you can get a Fender DG-10 and it is leaps and bounds better.
  • amitamit Posts: 73
    I'm not really too keen on modifying my future strat too much. Mainly because I don't know too much about that kind of stuff. I just want a reliable, really nice sounding and very comfortable to play guitar.

    I'm just worried that I'll lose the ability to pull out a heavey humbucker sound which I also love. I think I just need to go out and try some for myself.
  • If you want the humbucking sound too, you can probably find a MIM fat strat (humbucker in the bridge position) for only a little more than what you would pay for a Standard Strat ($450?).
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  • amitamit Posts: 73
    Maaaan now I have to figure out what pick up set up I want. I'm looking at some mexican strats actually, there's NO way that I can afford and American one.

    I'll probably have a humbucker at either the bridge or the neck, and leave the middle single coil. Not sure which way to go though.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    do not put an hb at the neck. a single coil at the neck is part of the strat's charm. put an hb there and you lose a great tone.
  • voodoopugvoodoopug Posts: 1,011
    exhausted wrote:
    do not put an hb at the neck. a single coil at the neck is part of the strat's charm. put an hb there and you lose a great tone.

    depends what you are playing...you can get a good Stones/Black Crowes Sound out of a Start with a HB, but I agree with the notion that this is for a "secondary guitar". Keep the single coil on your "main Strat"

    As far as squires go, some of the Japanese squires sound very good, I'd advise changing the tuning hardware as the factory ones do not hold tune very well at all, but as far as tone goes, you can get some great tone from them. The "bullet Strats" with the single pickup are not good enough to use on stage though without some major work done to them and even then, it does not work well for anything more than a "learning guitar", which in that case it is very good for.
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  • After Playign vintage, modded, and deluxe strats, its hard to even pick up a squire. no offense but they just feel cheaper overall. But i agree, if the guitar feels nice, plays nice, sounds nice, then its nice, regardless of name. but im a strat guru and squire just doe not cut it
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  • amitamit Posts: 73
    WOW there's some really interesting and varying views on this so far.

    I'm going to have to try out a lot of different strats it looks like, and really think about this one.

    But I've gathered that I can' really use a strat as an all purpose guitar, if you say that I should really keep the neck single coil. So in that case I might as well just leave it as three single coils, and use my current guitar for humbucker sounds.

    Don't ask me what guitar I have at the moment, I don't even know. It looks like an Ibanez, but its made by a company called Gb&A.
  • from my experiences, I've never played a Squire that comes remotely close to my standard MIM strat. Try finding a MIM strat and you won't end up paying much more than you would for a new Squire.
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  • I have a Squier fat strat; it was my first electric, after I had played my acoustic for about a year. I was bored with acoustic and wanted something more fun, so I went for the Squier. Eventually I upgraded to a Fender Tele HH, which I LOVE, but I still play the Squier. I couldn't bear to sell it, not yet anyway. Oh yeah, and the acoustic's gone back to being the most played. :D I keep the Tele and the acoustic in my dorm room (obviously I play them too lol) and leave the Squier at home for when I want to play there. Works fine for me and I know I'll always have one at home waiting.
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  • amitamit Posts: 73
    I ended up getting a fender squire actually. I realised that I wasn't really too keen on paying double the price for a strat when I'm not really in a situation where I need that that much. And I would rather spend that money on a good Amp.

    But I'm very happy with what I got, I EVEN GOT ZAKK WYLDE TO SIGN IT BEFORE HIS CONCERT YESTERDAY!.

    And whoever it was that said that I should really have a neck coil, I totally realise what you mean. Its an awesome sound that you get from that.

    Peace out
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