The Stratocaster is one of the longest-produced guitars in history and remains to be one of the most versatile and sought-after guitars on the market today.
Having been played by some of the world’s most famous artists—such as George Harrison, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, and Jimi Hendrix (who’s
. While some of us may be able to dish out several months’ paychecks on an instrument (who needs to eat, anyway?), it just isn’t practical for everyone, and with prices ranging from $600 to several thousand dollars, depending on the year and model, a nice Stratocaster can be extraordinarily elusive.
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Here’s the good news… Fender’s child company, Squier, makes a cheaper version of the famous axe that’s more accessible for the Average Joe.
Bullet Stratocaster HT HSS | Fender Designed for players seeking an affordable, stylish and versatile instrument, the Bullet Stratocaster HT HSS sports the classic looks and tone that made the Strat® one of the most popular guitars of all time. Check Price Check availability on Reverb We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Stratocaster guitar, this isn’t the Medieval times) comes in a variety of models: different fingerboard wood, with or without the tremolo bar, different pickup types, and so on. But this review will be on the Squier Bullet Stratocaster with Tremolo bar.
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The newly redesigned Bullet Strat is ideal for first-timer players looking for an easy-to-play, affordable electric guitar. Its sleek neck provides fast and smooth playability while the improved tuning machines and hardtail bridge ensure rock-solid tuning stability.
The first question I always get when discussing Squier as a cheaper alternative to Fender is: “Well, is it the same as Fender?” The answer to this question is: NO… but, well, kind of.
Back in the ‘60s, Fender bought V.C. Squier, which at the time was primarily a string manufacturer for violins, guitars, and banjos. Founded in the late 1800s by Victor Carrol Squier in Michigan, it’s remarkable that the company remained independent until 1965—the big year when Fender purchased Squier.
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The string manufacturing continued, but under the name of Fender, which meant the Squier name became buried in history as a bygone brand… that is, until 1982, when “Squier by Fender” produced its first guitar: the Squier JV, or “Japanese Vintage”.
Ever since, Squier has been the more affordable cousin of Fender guitars, being produced in China, Indonesia, India, Korea, Mexico, and Japan with cheaper materials and lower labor costs. Because Squier is owned by Fender, it is allowed to produce the Fender trademarked guitar styles—the Stratocaster and Telecaster, for example—but the
The most fundamental difference between the guitars—the choice of tonewood—is the primary component to thank for the decrease in both price and tone. Squiers typically use a basswood body, which we discussed earlier. In contrast, Fender Strat bodies are usually made of ash
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Ash typically delivers more brightness on higher frequencies, while alder provides a deeper low-end. Comparatively, basswood may sound a bit blurred-out across the frequencies, with less acuteness in the tone production.
That said, basswood is nonetheless a reputable wood for electric guitars and has been used not only on budget guitars, but by high-end guitar manufacturers as well.
In the neck department, the Squier Bullet’s maple-rosewood combo is basically the same as the Fender neck, and there’s no noticeable sound difference. Where the difference lies is not in the choice of tonewood, rather in the amount of detailed attention paid to quality control during the manufacturing process.
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Fender necks will be pristine and flawless basically every time. Squier necks might have some imperfect frets, off-kilter inlays, or a sub-par finish job. But the wood is the same and should deliver comparable tone.
Also, it should be noted that Squier tuners aren’t quite as reliable as the Fender ones. When jumping on the Squier boat, replacing the tuners with some higher-quality ones will be a quick and cheap upgrade that you’ll thank yourself for later.
The Squier Bullet Stratocaster is not identical to the Fender Strat. But, it’s pretty damn close. And for the affordable price of $150, what’s not to like?
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, and the finish job will be less pristine. The hardware is slightly lower quality, but replacing the tuners and pots at some point is a small price to pay when you’re already saving hundreds of dollars.
And displays less tonal complexity, but it’s not by a huge margin. Throw on some good distortion or modulation effects and the difference will be even less noticeable.
Over the years since Squier was acquired by Fender, there have been some huge improvements in the quality of budget guitars, and the line between cheaper high-end instruments and high-end budget instruments is getting blurrier every day.
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The main difficulty to overcome with the purchase of a Squier is… gulp… your pride. Everybody wants to be seen with Fender written in classic, gorgeous calligraphy across their headstock. It’s an image thing (read a companion review of the Fender Strat).
But just remember: when you’re shredding and the crowd is going wild, nobody is going to pay any attention to the fact that you’re playing a Squier instead of a Fender. Consider swallowing your pride and trying out a Squier Bullet Strat. For the price, it absolutely cannot be beat.
The Guitar Space team is a crew of dedicated players. Led by Ed Lozano, working musician, teacher, and author for over four decades. Ed is joined by other bonafide classic players, bringing real-life guitar-playing testers, buyers, and writers to the crew. We'll tell you what you really need, what we'd buy & give you real-deal advice from decades of playing.The Fender Stratocaster is one of the most iconic electric guitar designs in history. Iconic guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Stevie Ray Vaughan are almost always seen holding a strat. The Stratocaster has been so popular that you don’t have to look far to find one of the countless copies out there.
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Fender acquired the brand Squier in 1965. In 1982, Fender started using the Squier brand as a way to produce low-cost Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars. Squier became popular as a budget alternative to a ‘proper’ Fender Stratocaster.
In the past, there was a clear distinction between a Fender Stratocaster and a Squier. Today, the range of guitars under both brands is far more complicated and blurred.
In this review, I will explain everything you might want to know about Squier Strats, how they compare against Fender Strats and answer common questions.
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There’s often some confusion among guitarists over what Squier is and how it compares to Fender. Is a Squier strat really a Fender? When you see “Squier by Fender” printed on the guitar’s headstock, what does that mean?
While it doesn’t really matter if a Squier is really a Fender or not, it’s important to know the differences between the two brands. It’s important to look past brand names and take a look at what really matters.
Squier is owned by Fender, so technically a Squier is a Fender guitar. But that is like saying the drink Fanta is the same as Coke because the Fanta brand is owned by Coca-Cola. Just because Fanta is owned by Coca-Cola, it doesn’t mean it’s the same thing as a Coke. It would be ridiculous to think they’re the same.
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It’s the same with Squier and Fender. Just because the Squier brand is owned by Fender, it does not mean a Squier is a Fender guitar. While a Squier strat may look the same as a Fender strat, they’re not the same in many ways. While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it is important to know that they’re not the same.
The major difference between a Squier Strat and a Fender Strat is one is made in the US or Mexico (Fender), while the other is made in Asia (Squier). This means different people and factories make the two brands’ guitars. There are different levels of quality control between countries and different standards.
The other major difference used to be the quality of parts and price of the guitars. The difference between a Fender Stratocaster and a Squier used to be obvious as soon as you looked at the price tag. Today the lines are blurred.
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In general, Squiers cost less than Fenders and use lower quality parts. But there are some Squiers that cost more than a Fender, and some Fenders use lower quality parts than some Squiers. Squier has really improved in quality over the last decade and it’s now quite common to find a Squier that plays just as well as a Fender, if not better in some cases.
Some guitarists see Squier guitars as a “licensed copy” and a way for Fender to compete against all the other Stratocaster copies you see with weird brand names. That’s mainly why you see the name Fender on a Squier’s headstock. It’s not
In the above photo, you can see how similar a Squier looks to a Fender. If you ask most guitarists which one they think will be the more expensive guitar, most people would say the Fender. But in the above example,
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