Affinity Stratocaster FMT HSS

For many years I bought Epiphone Les Pauls instead of Gibsons because I'm an engineer and often need to drill some holes. I feel a bit nervous about doing such with a $3K guitar, so, well, that's what started it. And then I discovered something: there's really no difference in quality nor tone between Gibson and Epiphone. I've got some (unmodified) Epiphones that I dearly love - as good as anything I have from Gibson, in fact. So I bought this Squier for much the same reason. I love my Fender Strats, but I needed something to drill holes in, and I've always liked Sienna Sunburst with a maple fingerboard. And, guess what? This is a fine, fine guitar. I would say, except for the pickups, it's as good as an equivalent Fender, and I need to swap those out anyway. Fit, finish, factory setup, quality overall - no issues. This is a flat-out bargain! The only thing I'd change, in fact, has nothing to do with the instrument itself. Amazon should double box these - the box was so damaged upon receipt, in fact, that I was sure I'd find only sawdust upon opening. Nope - just fine. But that's sheer luck, I think. Anyway - get one. Even if you decide to change the pickups it's still an amazing bargain.

I have been playing guitar - electric & acoustic - for over 55 years. I have owned incredible guitars in my past - an original 1954 Les Paul Custom, a 1971 tobacco burst Telecaster, a vast variety of collectible Stratocasters, an R9 Les Paul, etc. Last year we moved to Panama and I took my Yamaha Revstar with me along with my RainSong OM Acoustic. However, I initially figured I would not get into a band here and ended up selling my Revstar to a young guy. WRONG! What a mistake... I have had electric guitars all my life and now I didn't have anything except my acoustic. A dear friend of mine who is a revered blues guitarist from the USA said... 'if you want to get something cheap that's still good, you can't beat the Squier Affinity... I got one, changed the pickups, tuners and 5-position switch and I love it!" So I took his advice and purchased this particular guitar as I like the sound of a humbucker in the bridge position. I purchased a 'used - like new' version (thereby saving about $50) from Amazon and it arrived down here in relatively short order. I gotta say... I was blown away! I had always stayed away from any guitar built in China, but I have to admit... this guitar, for the price, is unbeatable. It plays really nice... pickups sound pretty good... guitar finish is beautiful... stays in tune (so far). I will change out a thing or two down the road, but I just love it! For the price it is really quite incredible. If you are new, or even a seasoned player like myself, I think you will really agree with me that Fender really have hit a home run with their Squier Affinity series Stratocasters!

After playing a friend's Squire, I began looking for a sunburst Stratocaster with a maple neck to replace an early 1955 strat I foolishly sold in 1975. This Fender Squire Affinity Stratocaster with HSS, 5 way pickup switch, beautiful sunburst finish, and the light maple neck looks very similar to my first strat. The action and sound are both excellent, and the modern pickups maintain the traditional strat sound without the hum and noise of the early strats. The humbucker pickup adds a new dimension. In my opinion, this is an excellent guitar for a very reasonable price for both performance and recording.

This is an interesting budget priced Chinese made Fender Squier Stratocaster, sold as having a maple veneer flame pattern top. But rather than go on about budget priced guitars and how they differ from more expensive models, or grouse about setup details -- I have never ever had a new guitar from any brand at any price point that did not need some adjustment out of the box -- let me point out a specific aspect that might be of interest to a buyer. That is: The example I received, and all the photos I have seen of other examples purchased by other buyers, DOES NOT LOOK LIKE THE PRODUCT PHOTOS! The product photos show a very prominent flame top in a lovely orange tinted burst. The burst on the actual guitar in reality has a much more subdued flame, and the color is a strong yellow gold hue. The edges of the top and darker outline are much darker and redder than in the photos, which show an orange hued burst tapering off to a darker orange hued surround. It's more like the color of a regular Strat burst over maple with a reddish surround instead of a black surround. So if you're expecting an orangish warm maple flame burst finished top you will get a yellowish not so flaming burst. It's OK and quite attractive in its own way. But it does not match the product photos. The neck on my example is slightly stouter and more rounded than most strats that I have had. But it's very nice at this price point and plays great. The ceramic pickups sound cheap, which can easily be fixed with an upgrade using a $30-$40 set of Chinese made alnico pickups. The selector switch doesn't feel as premium as on higher priced Indonesian or Mexican strats. But end of day all the main details are in order and the guitar plays just fine. For me it's a keeper, the price was right (about $240 on sale) and it's very nice looking in its own way, even if it doesn't look exactly like the product photos.

This guitar is amazing, it arrived on time and in great condition. It was set up very well. I tuned it and it sounds great it feels very smooth and comfortable in my hands. The finnish is amazing absolutely beautiful. All the elements work great. Tuners are smooth. Overall I absolutely love it. Highly recommend.

Awesome guitar !!

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Very nice instrument! It has the signature Strat sound and a paint job above average for a guitar of this price range. A little darker (more brown-ish) than the pictures but just as beautiful. If you have played the original Fender Stratocaster you'll notice this guitar is much lighter. The body is slightly thinner as well. The two-point bridge is a great improvement from previous Squier models. But, why this guitar is so less expensive than the Fender model? Well, first of all, the fret job is not great but still above average for a budget guitar. However, it is not hard to DIY the fret job yourself. There are tons of videos on YouTube showing how. The tuning pegs and the five-way switch are very cheap! These accessories are very affordable and easy to replace. So I'm considering replacing them really soon. The pickups are ceramic ones, which is not top-notch but they have an excellent sound. But if you intend to make that heavy fat sound, like Stevie Ray Vaughan, you surely will need to install some alnico pickups. Finally, my guitar is "Made in China", not "Made in Indonesia" like the picture. Otherwise is an excellent guitar for the price. A clear improvement from previous Squire Affinity models. It is budget, but yet "Fender" enough for your enjoyment! UPDATE: I installed locking tuners on this guitar. Quick and inexpensive mod made a huge difference! Highly recommend!

La guitarra llegó en muy bien estado, creí que vendría con el cable para amplificador pero fuera de eso me ha funcionado de forma increíble. Maneja los graves y los agudos a la perfección y si es la primera guitarra que compras te aseguro que es una buena opción.

Die Gitarre lässt sich gut spielen, und klingt hervorragend. Ein phantastisches Preis - Leistungsverhältnis.

Brilliant. So pleased with this guitar! Highly recommended.