Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster HSS Electric Guitar Candy Apple Red

nice feel and good sound fun to play

Very nice and sweet sound and very nice looking

Awesome guitar! I'm very happy with it. I've been playing acoustic for over ten years and never actually had he need to buy an electric. I've recently had the urge to get into it as I'm now venturing into the recording side of things on my own and wanting something decent to play solos with other than my Alvarez acoustic. The only issue I have come across so far is that it has a slight hum to all of the pickup positions but one. Which thankfully is the position I love the sound of most anyway. But other than that it's awesome!

This was my first electric after playing for 4 years. I love it. I have the black/silver version. I love the HSS pickups. It gives the guitar great versatility. Besides the extremely rare (once out of over 2 years of playing) pickup feedback, this guitar is great!

This instrument can be made to be a serviceable instrument for beginners. If you are new to guitars, set some money aside for a professional set-up. Sustain is lacking, pickups can be better, and tuners are mushy. That I expected and haven't a problem with. Two issues stood out to me. First, the frets were not finished properly and I needed to file them down at the edges. Second, while removing the plastic knobs from the pickguard (so as to remove the plastic protective sheet), a post pulled out of a pot, so I needed to replace that tone control. I've encountered this before and was prepared for it, but this would be a big bummer for a beginner. Again, cheap electronics are par for the course with an instrument at this price point. It's worth giving a pro $50 to make this the playable instrument it can be.

I own four HSS Squier Strats. They sound great and I love the satin finish on the necks much more than the more expensive Fenders with the glossy finish. The factory stock Humbucker is quite good and can handle a heavy metal sound if necessary. I've done many blind guitar sound tests of expensive Fenders vs higher end Squiers and I could not tell the difference. Some reviewers complained about needing adjustments. If you buy from GC, they will make all necessary adjustments for free in first month. The Affinity strat has a great sound to it and you'll save yourself a lot of money compared to American made. I even replaced humbuckers on two strats with Seymour Duncans and the strats are excellent. I called Fender support and they said all Squiers pass Fender's high quality control standards. There's nothing low quality about this guitar. Whether it's your first or extra guitar, you won't be wasting money on an Affinity Squier Strat. I also own an expensive higher end Fender strat and a telecaster. I invariably return to the Squiers. I've been playing guitar since 1974. I've owned MANY guitars over the years including Les Pauls, SG's, Ibanez. I'm pleasantly surprised at the quality of an Affinity Squier. It's definitely a keeper.