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King Loudness « Great tiny Stratocaster »
Published on 08/14/11 at 09:03The Squier Mini Strat was designed to offer a smaller version of the iconic guitar to younger or more diminutive players who loved the Strat asthetics and tone, but need a smaller sized guitar. It is what many would call "3/4 sized" and other than its size it is a lot like a typical Strat. It features an alder body, a maple neck with rosewood fretboard and 20 frets, sealed chome tuners, a hardtail bridge and a slightly stripped down take on the Strat layout with only one master tone control to augment the volume, 5 way switch and of course the 3 single coil pickups. They are presemtly made in China though I've seen them built in a variety of different factory locations overall. It comes in a stealthy Black finish as well as a brighter, more striking Torino Red colour.
UTILIZATION
The Squier Mini Strat is a small guitar that is fairly ergonomic I would say. It's reasonably light and good for a child or smaller person to hold and play for extended periods. The neck is thin and comfortable and the whole thing is very proportionate despite being a different size than the full scale Fenders and Squiers. The upper fret access is decent on this guitar. It doesn't have the full 22 frets of most Strats nowdays, but even having 20 doesn't deter the guitar from having good access to higher register notes and chords.
Getting a good sound out of this guitar is very easy. It is designed to sound just like its full sized cousins, and it does a great facsimile of the classic Strat tone for sure. Cleans or overdrive tones both work quite well and are easy to dial in, especially with a decent amplifier.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounds great for a variety of textures and styles, from strumming open "cowboy" chords using a clean tone to some great blues and rock type sounds when using a mild to heavy overdrive sound. The tone of these pickups is surprising for s $100 guitar. They retain a great Stratty snap and quack to the pickups, and it's that chill inducing treble that to me makes the mark of a good sounding Strat. Clean tones go from a great blues/R&B tone to a wonderful Mark Knopfler esque sound from Dire Straits to some great throaty SRV tones to some cool surf and rockabilly sounds too. Kicking in some overdrive brings the guitar to be a great rock machine that works surprisingly well for some heavier blues and classic rock textures. It's not really a metal or shred guitar but you can bust out some harmonic minor scales a-la Yngwie with ease.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Squier Mini is a wonderful starting guitar for a child that just happens to be a killer scaled down version of the iconic Strat. I got my first at age 5 and later got a second one as a gift from a televison studio at age 6. They are great guitars... I used one to gig with from ages 5-8 and had no problems getting a good and steady stream of different tones out of this guitar. For the $100 new that they cost, it's a great deal and well worth getting as a child's or traveller guitar.
UTILIZATION
The Squier Mini Strat is a small guitar that is fairly ergonomic I would say. It's reasonably light and good for a child or smaller person to hold and play for extended periods. The neck is thin and comfortable and the whole thing is very proportionate despite being a different size than the full scale Fenders and Squiers. The upper fret access is decent on this guitar. It doesn't have the full 22 frets of most Strats nowdays, but even having 20 doesn't deter the guitar from having good access to higher register notes and chords.
Getting a good sound out of this guitar is very easy. It is designed to sound just like its full sized cousins, and it does a great facsimile of the classic Strat tone for sure. Cleans or overdrive tones both work quite well and are easy to dial in, especially with a decent amplifier.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounds great for a variety of textures and styles, from strumming open "cowboy" chords using a clean tone to some great blues and rock type sounds when using a mild to heavy overdrive sound. The tone of these pickups is surprising for s $100 guitar. They retain a great Stratty snap and quack to the pickups, and it's that chill inducing treble that to me makes the mark of a good sounding Strat. Clean tones go from a great blues/R&B tone to a wonderful Mark Knopfler esque sound from Dire Straits to some great throaty SRV tones to some cool surf and rockabilly sounds too. Kicking in some overdrive brings the guitar to be a great rock machine that works surprisingly well for some heavier blues and classic rock textures. It's not really a metal or shred guitar but you can bust out some harmonic minor scales a-la Yngwie with ease.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Squier Mini is a wonderful starting guitar for a child that just happens to be a killer scaled down version of the iconic Strat. I got my first at age 5 and later got a second one as a gift from a televison studio at age 6. They are great guitars... I used one to gig with from ages 5-8 and had no problems getting a good and steady stream of different tones out of this guitar. For the $100 new that they cost, it's a great deal and well worth getting as a child's or traveller guitar.