Squier Bullet Strat with Tremolo

Ive played guitar for probably around 5years now, and ive also played quite a number if higher-end guitars. The "Bullet Strat" from Squire is probably one of the best that I have had my hands on (Literally) The pickups had a little noise to them, and i knew this going in, but i had a friend who had one identical to the one i bought (brown sunburst). He changed the pickups and it took care of the problem, although dumping an additional 100 bucks to the note I left it alone and played it "as is" and delt with it.

UTILIZATION

From the comfort in your hands to the smooth action, to the signature "Strat" sound, I believe this is a great guitar all around even though im still early in my guitar playing career.

SOUNDS

sounds great, couldnt ask for more out of one of my first guitars!

OVERALL OPINION

Overall, if your looking for a guitar to start out on or to give to you kids this is the one. When i first got this guitar it use to buzz and pop really bad when you would touch anything metal. This was caused from lack of shielding. actually there was no shielding inside i opened it up and it was just bare wood. however with a roll of aluminum foil tape from the local hardware store and three hours later when i plugged it back in there was absolutely no buzz or pop at all except for when you touch the actual pickup slug itself. this now a amazing sounding guitar. my only complaint is that when turned to the bridge pickup it tends to get way too hot and can pickup sound coming out of the speaker and squeal. the selector probably should be replaced because of when selecting a single pickup (neck, middle, or bridge position) it tends to hum a little more then the other slots

These guitars were recently introduced by Squier as a slightly lower market guitar for those who weren't quite ready to spring for a Squier Affinity Pak or a Standard series Strat. It looks and feels very much like an awesome 60s era Stratocaster. It features all the classic appointments of a Strat such as the double cutaway body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard and 21 frets, 3 single coil pickups with volume and two tone controls, as well as a 5 way selector switch for the pickups, fulcrum tremolo bridge and the classic Strat styling all around. These guitars are made in China and sell for about $100 new so obviously the quality of the parts won't be quite to the level of other high end guitars, but for what it is it has a decent feature-set.

UTILIZATION

These guitars are quite light in their construction, so they're easy for a beginner to hold and grasp, and they also balance quite well. Picking one up, I was shocked at how easy it was to play right out of the box. I understand that the setup on these is probably hit or miss but I guess I tried a really nice one. The upper fret access on this guitar is fairly good, if not a little bit clunky because of the Strat bolt on heel.

Getting a good tone out of this guitar is surprisingly easy considering how cheap it is. The pickups have a decent sound and it's worlds above many of the el-cheapo Strat copies from about 10 or 15 years ago. I could set it up for bluesier textures and it worked well, and then I added some gain and it was a decent facsimile of Yngwie or other shredders. Cool!

SOUNDS

I've tried this guitar through various cheaper Fender practice amps as well as some higher end tube rigs (Mesa, Orange, etc) and was very impressed. This particular white one had a very cool Ritchie Blackmore type vibe to it and a convincingly fat bite that I could've sworn wasn't allowed on a $100 guitar. The clean tones are a little bit weaker than they could be, but that's probably the lower output pickups that are installed here. Where this guitar shone for me was in the mid to higher gain tones doing more SRV and Yngwie type textures. Sure the pickups buzzed and hummed, but underneath all of that was a good clear tone that really shocked me time and time again. The guitar sounded like a proper Strat, which is always something I look for in a facsimile of a popular guitar. The pickups offered a genuine punch and heft that I really associate with a true Strat tone. Excellent.

OVERALL OPINION

All in all I was very impressed with this guitar. I liked it so much that I later acquired a used but mint black model in a trade. It wasn't quite as nice, but it still played well and sounded excellent. Interestingly the cleans were better on the black one I owned whereas the drive tones were superior on the white one that I tried out. For $100 you really can't go wrong. They seem to be set up well out of the box, and I'm sure the shop where you buy it will give it a once over before you walk out with one.

Squire has a huge product line of cheap and affordable guitars. Most of them range for well under $300. This makes it very affordable for kids or beginners guitars players to buy an electric guitar. These guitars are not going to be of the quality or workmanship of an American made fender Stratocaster but they will do the job for someone exploring their skills.

This is the Baltic Blue guitar which has a bit darker color that the standard blue. Still the same build quality. Same wood and specs as the others in this series. This guitar is fit for someone starting out on the electric guitar.

UTILIZATION

Squier Affinity Blue Series Stratocaster Electric Guitar Features:

Contoured solid alder body
Die-cast tuners
Maple neck
Classic '70s "big" headstock
Vintage 6-screw rocking trem
Rosewood fingerboard
21 frets
3 single-coil pickups
5-way switching
One volume, 2 tone controls
Single-ply white pickguard

SOUNDS

This guitar steps on the same ground as a First Act guitar. The tone of this guitar is well above average, The reason for that is the quality of the pickups. If you put quality pickups in this guitar you would be able to get a much more playable and usable tone from it. The humbucker is not good at all and the single coils have so much buzz and noise that it would make a lot of people be turned off to the electric guitar.

If you must play is at least switch out the pickups. The humbucker is not good at all and the single coils have so much buzz and noise that it would make a lot of people be turned off to the electric guitar. Then you will be more satisfied with the results of your playing. Play in through a decent amp like a Fender twin or Princeton. Let the amp mask some of that terrible tone from this guitar.

OVERALL OPINION

At new these guitars come in at around $180, which isn't a bad price for a guitar for beginners. I would only recommend this guitar to someone exploring their talents or taste of the electric guitar. This isn't not for someone just practicing or whatever. You will not be able to tolerate the feel and sound of this instrument. This is an instrument some parent buys their kid who is trying their hand at music.