Fender Squier pack.

fyreguy73

I have been playing accoustic for a little while now am I am wanting to up grade to an electric. Fender has a pack at the moment that includes-

* A Fender Aquier Affinity Strat Electric guitar
* A 15 watt Fender Amp (sells for about $469 alone)
* Strap
* spare strings
* picks
* headphones
* a tutoral book
* electric tuner
* and comes in black or sunburst

All for $599 Australian. ( Au $ is currently buying about .80 US cents for the Yanks).

Or there is a Fender Tele Affinity ( alder body) for $349,

Or a Fender OBEY graffic Tele HS propaganda electric with Shepard Fairey design for $469

Q1. Is this a good Guitar and amp for a starter.
Q2. Is this a good buy.
Q3. Or should I buy something different.

Thanks for your help fellow jammers.

Novawind

I personally think you're getting ripped there, that comes to about $479 USD which is a total ripoff for a Squier pack. The guitar and amp are decent for a starter but no way should you shell out that much for it. I personally bought a used Mexican Fender Strat for $232 USD and it's served me well for the 15 months I've had it. I started out with a little Roland practice amp (15W) but later I upgraded to a Traynor tube amp. I'd look around pawn shops in your area and see what you can find, sometimes you can strike gold.

I'm not sure what international shipping would be, or if it's even offered, but you'll definately get a better deal online, try musiciansfriend.com or guitarcenter.com.

seanw1010

i do not reccomend that pack at all

leethal

Fender gear is more expensive in Australia because it's all imported. Mexican, Japanese, etc. Pretty much all gear is cheaper in the US (even after exhange) we just don't have the same market.

I think you'll be happy with the guitar but not the amp; the extra stuff is nice but often you get picks and strings thrown in with any purchase. If you enjoy playing id encourage you to get a good amp. If you get a crap one you'll probably end up buying another amp in about 6 months anyway. (There is nothing wrong with practicing on second rate gear though so you may not care!) In my opinion you're better off getting something that will last. That said; my first guitar was an epi les paul pack and i was pleased with it at the time.

I'd suggest getting a good second hand strat or tele (the japanese one's are ok but the US's are the best) And a nice 30 watt amp. You may spend more but it will last longer. I spent a lot of many on my latest guitar but i will have it for a very, very long time!

The starter pack is a good option though, and if your like me I usually don't like browsing around for too long. Good Luck

ianvomsaal

Can't you mail order a Combo Package - You'll really save yourself a lot of $$$.
Take a look at all these Guitar Packages at Musicians Friend (3 pages of them).
And there are many more mail order companies out there:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitar/navigation/electric-guitar-value-packages?N=100001+306243&page=1

I'm positive you can get something by mail order far cheaper.
However, these Guitar Packages are really for the true beginner - they don't typically have very good guitars or amps in them.
I'd suggest buying the guitar and amp separately through a catalog (especially if prices in AUS are that high).
You can probably even buy a new Guitar Pak on EBAY and get it shipped internationally far cheaper than buying it in AUS.
Cheers . . .

- Ian C.T. vom Saal

Drew263

Sounds awfully expensive for a Squier...I'd look at a mexican strat or epi LP and a small amp 1st

xtremehardy388

I got a pack-the squier electric pack for about 180. I love it but if you're gonna spend that much, I'd go for a Mexican too...

Pacomc79

Squire Affinities cost less than 50 american dollars to build in China. In fact less than that because that's GC's cost. That's highway robbery, especially considering you guys are a lot closer to China than we are.


I'd look for an aussie make.

fyreguy73

Pacomc79 wrote:

Squire Affinities cost less than 50 american dollars to build in China. In fact less than that because that's GC's cost. That's highway robbery, especially considering you guys are a lot closer to China than we are.


I'd look for an aussie make.

Are we?

fyreguy73

Thanks everybody for their input, I am still no closer in making a decision.

One more question, how do you tell an American Fender from a Japanese fender?

xtremehardy388

American's should say MADE IN THE U.S.A on it. I don't know what Japanese ones say. I have a Japanese Mustang though....I think. Usually they say MADE IN JAPAN on the back. The MADE IN THE U.S.A should be on the tail or back.

fyreguy73

xtremehardy388 wrote:

American's should say MADE IN THE U.S.A on it. I don't know what Japanese ones say. I have a Japanese Mustang though....I think. Usually they say MADE IN JAPAN on the back. The MADE IN THE U.S.A should be on the tail or back.

Thanks for clearing that up.

ianvomsaal

fyreguy73 wrote:

Thanks everybody for their input, I am still no closer in making a decision.

One more question, how do you tell an American Fender from a Japanese fender?

Agreed -
USA Fenders say MADE IN USA on the front of the headstock under the Fender Logo, or on the back of the headstock.
The Japanese one's say MADE IN JAPAN on the headstock (front or back of headstock).

- Ian C.T. vom Saal

lucylespian

Hey there, I can help you out a bit cos I know the local market way better than the US guys do.
Musicians Friend etc won't ship to you, and the freight would kill you if they did.

$500 odd for that fender amp is a marketting price. A much better buy for you would be a Fender GDEC , which has heaps of wounds etc built in. My nephew has one for college and it suits him really well, comes wiht built in tuner, drum beats, heaps of tones, and is not too loud. Another good option to look at is the Roalnd Cube series. They start with the Micro-Cube which is pretty cheap, and not crap, the 15W one is OK, but less than $500 gets you the Cube 30, which has heaps of built in effects and amp modelling, no tuner though.
Vox ADV30 is about the same price, again great tones and effects, and has a tube pre-amp stage which is a bonus for better tones.
Guitar wise, there are heaps of options.
PM if you like and depending where you are, maybe I can take you shopping and try to demystify things and find something decent.
I have an ugly old Sqier strat, which my nephew stareted on, which I am happy to give up on long term loan to a keen youngster trying to get started. It's staright, good neck, staays in tune, you just have to wear a paper bag when you play it , that's all.
Starter packs make good Xmas presents, cos they have everything in there, but a lot of it is cheap dressing with low actual value.
Last thing, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER EVER buy a guitar without a tuner. If you have one, great, otherwise you muct gfet one. Electriucs are much harder to tune by ear then acoustics, I find, and out of tune is fatal !!!

MLC2006

I'm not sure what all that comes up to in US dollars, but I'm sure for the same price, you could go to a pawnshop and find an obscure brand beater guitar that's no longer in production and a small amp. electric tuners start out at around $12. for $200, I could walk into just about any pawnshop and get a guitar/amp/tuner that's better than what youre talking about. and then at least you'd have an interesting guitar that is probably much higher quality than a Squier. all that other "bonus" stuff like strap, strings, and lesson book, that stuff's not much good.

I have a USA Fender Strat, only Squiers I've ever played are the display models like they sell in Sam's etc. but every one I've played is absolute shit and isn't even in the same ballpark as the real deal. but I've played some off the wall no name guitars in pawnshops that aren't all that bad. hell, Cobain got rich off playing pawnshop guitars (he never started playing Fenders until he was already rich).