• Not what I expected

  
  As reviewed by Clone on 10/29/2008

  As a Gibson/Epiphone player from the start, I've never had much respect for the stratocaster. I thought that the whammy bar was a nice sales gimmick and its bolt on neck, 21 frets, and odd input jack nothing more than a joke. So, when I went into the local pawn shop to pick up a guitar that I could just fiddle around with, I was kind of sad that the only thing in my very small price range was a black, 2007 squier affinity stratocaster. I fiddled around with it, paid for it, and took it home. I then plugged it in. When you have such low standards, you expect to be blown away. But this destroyed all of my low opinions. The whammy worked wonders; you really have to abuse it to put it out of tune. The bolt-on neck doesn't get in the way, in fact, the cutaway style makes it comfortable. The single coil pickups get a nice clean, although they don't get quite the same distortion as humbuckers. All in all, I would reccomend this to any starter, or intermediate in need of a beater. This guitar will take all of your abuse and walk away screaming for more. Although I still hold Epiphone in a higher regard than Squier, I definitely give Squier their props for desgning such a nice guitar at entry-level. If I can get great sound out of a used beater, you can surely learn on a new one. If you're just learning guitar, this would definitely make a nice starter piece. Keep on rockin'!

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• this is a toy.

  
  As reviewed by Evan B on 8/9/2011

  this is a hunk of plastic on a stick. The list of problems are endless, the pickups more or less are the worst pickups I've ever seen or heard. They make noise that you can hear from miles away. The neck feels like sandpaper. The tone knobs dont do anything. The 5 way switch BARELY does anything. It stays in tune, for about 5 seconds. The best part of the guitar is in the back. Under the pannel thing. Ther are some springs in there that are good. I out them in my real stratocaster to fluxuate the bridge. I'm 15, and this was my first guitar. I own an SG, a strat, and this. It is a toy and unplayable. Youre better off buying 200 chocolate bars. If youre a real guitarist and youre considering buying this, DONT. if youre a beginner, well I guess you could buy it. but I outgrew it in 5 months. buy a real strat, or a cheaper epiphone or something, it'll save you time if youre actually going to be good at guitar.the only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of one is to experiment because every 1 star review I've written hasnt been posted.

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• Great guitar for the money!!!

  
  As reviewed by Eric C....not Clapton on 6/5/2011

  I've been playing guitar for about 20 years, by no means Steve Vai virtuoso, but I do know my way around the neck. I own a 1994 American Standard strat and seriously can tell you that they both sound ver similar. I was looking for a 200 dollar beater guitar and tried almost all guitars in that price range and can honestly tell you that this one sounded the best. Yes single coil pickups are noisy..they are on my American strat, however they give you a bright and clear punch that can handle a multitude of genres. Most of the guitars in that price range have very muddy pickups. Any guitar can sound great in the right hands...there is no substitute for lessons and building the chops. This guitar matched up to a line 6 spider 4 can give you some great sounds and keep you learning for under 300 bucks. For experienced players..just try one you'll be impressed and using it at your next gig...that is if you ego will let you! I bought the tobacco burst with maple fretboard. Pretty guitar and nice wood grain...all yours for under 200 American....get one before fender raises the price!!

  1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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