Is FENDER still worth it, when a SQUIER is this good?

Fender Player Series Stratocaster vs Squier 40th Anniversary Vintage Edition Stratocaster: Is Squier now competing with Fender on Quality?

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[Gkm]

Over a decade ago I picked up a Squier Standard Stratocaster for $229. Sunburst, rosewood fingerboard. The frets are perfect, the action is great, the satin finished neck feels great, and the sound was also great. A few years ago I changed the entire pickguard assembly to one with the Fender noiseless pickups and the S1 configuration that provides additional switching/sounds. That was $200. So for $429 total I have the equal of a $1800 American Professional Stratocaster.

[boxerfencer]

First time watching your channel and impressed at how thoughtful and methodical this video is.

About the anodized pick guard being noisy, there's a video on Puisheen's channel where he compares two otherwise identical offsets, if i recall, and the one with the anodized guard is quieter so i dont think them being noisier is a rule.

The Squier is probably noisier for some other reason, such as the wiring or electronic parts, not the least of which might be the pickups. The fact that the Squier has less highs is the dead giveaway, and the solution, as someone noted here in the comments, is probably rewiring it to old specs, if that's not already done, experimenting with other wiring configurations, replacing pots, trying different capacitors, or if youre really lazy, buying vintage soundng pickups.

Even If you buy new pickups, it'll still be a better deal than the Mexican Fender, due to the vintage spec'd hardware, in my opinion.

I suppose if you're acounting oriented, you'd have to consider how much a trio of vintaged voirced pickups and install will set you back, and tack that onto the price of the Squier to see if thats cheaper than buying the Fender, if you think you'll be happy and not mod it.

And even if moding the Squire elevates it to the same price as the Fender, does the moded Squier have more value than the stock Fender? Id argue that it does, and does so even if its more expensive. Just how much more expensive still offers more value than the Fender is debatable, and only each individual can answer that.

[MetalWolfz]

I'm a new guitarist, as my first guitar I made the rookie mistake and splurged on a relativity expensive Fender Player Series(thinking better guitar means ill play better boy was I wrong..). I really do love it, it play amazingly, looks great, and does what a guitar does. Recently I wanted a change of pace and a 70's vibe squier tele caught my eye and the deal was too good to pass up. The difference in quality is apparent when looking at it under a microscope but its plays just as good as my Fender. You're really not getting twice the guitar for twice the price of a fender, a squire gets you 90-95% there.

[CornedWalls]

Those 40th VEs are no joke. People will long talk about these guitars and the days they were selling for 250 bucks.

[Check-lvku]

I played one these new Squires last weekend at my local Guitar Center. I own several American Fenders and also a 2020 Classic Vibe Squire Strat. I was quite impressed with the feel and build quality of this green Squire. Love the satin matte finish on the body, and the satin neck surprisingly felt of the same texture and quality as my American Fenders. Much prefer it to the heavy gloss on the Classic Vibe Squire neck. Squire is really stepping up!

[grahamnunn]

As an older player (but not quite a boomer!) I have a mix of US, Japan and Mexican Fenders and love them all. My main stage guitar was put together with a boxed Fender neck and body and the quality it great.
Where Squire really score for me is for the more esoteric models. I have always fancied a Jazzmaster and could be tempted by a Squire to see if it works for me.

[GraemeCampbellMusic]

I've got the Squier 40th Anniversary Vintage Tele. Mine needed a wee bit of set up and fret work, but now that's done its a fantastic guitar. Eventually I'll upgrade the neck pickup (bit muddy), but very happy with it.

[davidburns]

I got a squier CV60 strat. £350 and its great. Neck profile is the best I've ever played. Sunburst finish is immaculate. Alnico 5 pick-ups give the classic strat, bright tone. I did change the tuners for locking ones, and pickguard for a black one.over all, it sounds just as good as a player strat at half the price.

[Sheldyck]

it's hard for me to process this because while my fender strat is pristine, every squier I've ever owned is classed as a mod platform. they all get 3rd party locking tuners, pickups, bridges, pots and switches changed, without exception. I think they turn out better than many fenders, and it's much cheaper to do it that way.

[-TheOddity]

I keep hearing people talking about tonewoods, and it is hilarious because this has been proven time again that it makes essentially 0 difference. Get some good pickups and call it a day. I GUARANTEE you, that if you switched the pickguard from the fender to the Squier it would sound identical. About 95% pickups and the rest are the tone and volume controls

[renodavid]

Great comparison! I have to say though that I have a 40th Anniversary Squier Strat (Sonic Blue!) and absolutely love it. For me, the pickups have a certain airy quality that is perfect for my bedroom noodling, but I certainly get where you’re coming from. You nailed it with your vibe assessment — I love the aged hardware, satin finish, aluminum pickguard, and tinted neck. The guitar is fun to look at and even better to pick up and play. On the negative side, mine has a lot of sharp fret ends (thankfully no buzzes), and the knobs feel quite cheap. I’ll fix the fret ends eventually, but I accept the knobs as just part of the guitar’s charm. They work fine. The finish around the neck pocket on mine is perfect, so no complaints there. Again, great job on the review.👍

[jimmy]

Last year I bought an Indonesian-Built Squier Strat CV50 for $379. The newest iterations are very high quality.
Didn’t need to adjust anything out of the box. Nut slot was good and the set up was excellent, no buzzing. It plays as easily as any Strat I’ve ever touched. The pickups are patterned after the Vintage 50’s era type and sound great. I like the Amber tint. Mine is Fiesta Red…I love it!

[jacebeleren]

Here in Greece, a Squier Classic VIbe is 400€, and the Fender Player is 759€, almost double the price!

So what i did is, i got a Squier CV that plays really well (tried it in the shop), and put in some Fender Pure Vintage 65s (found a set for 150€at a local retailer), and with 550€, i have a guitar that smokes most Fenders, especially sound-wise.

[TheCommonSenseProfessor]

Thank you for the video, but I have to say that this comparison is pretty opinionated. This is my opinion, but I do not consider the new MIM guitars a good value at all, not close to a 7. Also, the build quality sounded pretty comparable. I have this exact same 40th Anniversary, and the fret work is much better than my MIM, and the overall feel of this neck is amazing! The frets feel more rolled on my squire than my MIM. Also, I get absolutely no buzz on the in-between positions, so you might want to check your wiring on yours. My only complaint is the Trem system, but other than that, My Squier is my go to guitar, and here in the states you can get them for $300, while the MIM Strats are going for $850. That's just not in the ballpark.

[michaelp]

Very technical - very thorough - very easily presented - thank you greatly!

[Koffieleuter]

I have that Squier as a Jazzmaster. Not my first thought when I went to the guitar store, but it found me! I love it. No fret issues. Awesome tremolo. Probably sounds better than the Strat equivalent.

[gabor]

It is worth to check out Squier's offers because they often have instruments that have nice features that Fenders don't have. For example: A few years ago they had the contemporary strat with 12" fretboard radius (which was rare on Fenders at that time), with a very comfortable modern-C neck, HSS pickups with only 2 knobs so the volume knob was better placed than on the Fenders. Still I had to fix some issues like bad tuning stability due to the nut and the cheap string trees and snapping e-strings because of a burr in the bridge baseplate.

[scott]

I just bought one brand new for $269 US and the guitar came in almost flawless. Super impressed. Squier is the real deal.

[scapegoatiscariot]

The Amber stain on The Squire neck is to give it the appearance of a 60-year-old piece of maple. I'd like to have it done to my Squier Starcaster but the job is like $250. I recently got the 40th anniversary Lake Placid blue Stratocaster with square fret markers and gold hardware. The work done on my neck was surprising. It's truly a fine finish. It is quite a fancy thing.

[michelvondenhoff]

Around €350 one can buy pretty ok guitars (Ibanez AZES, Sire S3/T3 as Yamaha Pacifica, Gretsch starts around €400 Electromatic series (hb or p90).

Just buy what talkes to you and be advised by somebody with experience in terms of gear and set up.