Is Squier by Fender Bullet Stratocaster a solid guitar for a newbie ?

[McKnight]

I'm considering buying Squier by Fender Bullet Stratocaster, because I like the price, plus I've heard and read very positive reviews about it.
I'm new to the world of music and this would be my first electric guitar (excited as hell ^^).
Please tell me what do you think about it and if you know any alternatives, I'd love to hear them.
Thanks for all answers.

 

[Norm Jones]

Hello there,

On Yahoo Answers you will find a lot of folks who like to trash talk the Squier line of guitars. Just warning you what to expect on here.

The Squier Bullet series Strat is a fine first guitar. It plays well. It has a good neck. The body is light weight (basswood) but has a decent tone to it. I do not mean to say this is a great guitar and it compares well to other great guitars. It is a lower cost guitar so it cannot compare well to the high end guitars. But when you compare it to the other similarly priced guitars from the major brands, the Squier Bullet is as good as any of them. It is fine to learn on.

Do look to see what used guitars are available. Used guitars sell for 1/2 to 2/3rds the price of new. So for the same money as a Squier Bullet ($120), you might find a Squier Standard. The Standard is a much better guitar, but it costs more. However, used, it is around the price of a new Bullet. The newer Squier Deluxe and Classic Vibe Strats are great guitars. They cost a lot more than the bullet. But if you happen to see a used one in your price range, grab it. Those are great sounding Strats.

One bit of advice. Don't buy a beginner pack. The amps are not very good in those. Most beginners under estimate the importance of the amp and speakers in how they will sound. A great guitar played through a lousy amp or lousy speakers will sound lousy. A mediocre guitar played through a good amp and good speakers will sound decent. If you can find a used 1x12 combo amp from Fender, Peavey, Marshall, Vox, Crate, or Line 6, that would be a very good 1st amp. A combo amp is where the amplifier and speaker are in the same cabinet. 1x12 means it has one 12 inch speaker. A used 1x12 will sell for about the same price as a new small practice amp (10 to 25 watts with a 6 or 8 inch speaker). The 1x12 will sound so much better. The Fender Mustang II 40 watt 1x12 and the Line 6 Spider iv 30 watt 1x12 are both very good first amps. Even new they are not expensive.

Later,