Squier Mini Strat

When my nine year old son decided he wanted to learn to play guitar, I began looking into 3/4 size intstruments that were more appropriate for his size. Ultimately, I decided to take a chance on a Squier Mini Strat, having been impressed with the quality of a number of the latest offerings from this "budget" division of Fender.

When this little red guitar arrived from Sweetwater Music and Pro Audio, I expected it to be more toy than guitar. Imagine my surprise and happiness upon finding it to be a "real" guitar!

Right out of the box, played acoustically, the Mini has a zingy, springy resonance and tone that will bring out your inner Beach Boy. Tuned to standard pitch, it compares to a full size guitar being tuned a half step (or maybe even a whole step) down. The tuners are probably the weak link in the whole setup, but they are really quite serviceable and would probably hold better tuned up higher than standard, although slippage is really minimal.

The neck, with its rosewood fingerboard, is fast and finished well. No extremely sharp fret ends, and the slightly smaller than normal scale and width lends itself well to those "lengthy" chord voicings that those of us without long fingers struggle with. It's perfect for my son's hands. No buzzing or fretting out that I've been able to find, except when really digging in and bashing the strings a la Stevie Ray Vaughan. The neck pocket is tight and upper fret access is just fine.

The body is light and the finish is flawless. The pickups are more than ok. Of course, single coils are noisy, and these are no exception. But they give the full Stratocaster tone experience, thanks to the five way switch, so your youngster can get his Clapton, Stevie Ray, Knopfler or Mayer on-or in the case of my boy, his inner Def Leppard can come out. The hardtail bridge won't allow for any whammy antics, but I don't think it's missed on this guitar at all.

My son enjoys this guitar. With its low action and quality construction-especially considering the price-the Squier Mini Strat gives him a big advantage in learning to play. Plus, this just might become mine when he "outgrows" it and graduates to a full size guitar.

Guitar Review: Squier Classic Vibe 60's

This guitar, the Squier Classic Vibe 60's, was a nice surprise. At a street price of around $300, I really expected to be disappointed in this crafted in China hunk of wood and wire. The CV (as it's referred to on various guitar forums) exceeded my expectations in nearly every way.

Let's start with the guitar's finish. The3 color sunburst was done quite well. A glossy polyester gives this guitar that showroom new look. I could not find any imperfections in the finish at all. A really pretty guitar.

On to the neck. The modern "C" shape of this guitar's neck felt really good in my hand. Definitely something to grab hold of, but pretty fast, too. The glossy polyester is applied to the neck also. I prefer more of a satin finish or no finish on the neck, but the gloss didn't seem to affect playability at all. A rosewood fretboard looks nice, although some may not care for it. The neck is one piece maple.

The fretwork was superb. Sometimes on lower end guitars, the edges of the fretboard feel like a saw blade. Not so with the CV. The guitar I tested was set up with a pretty low action, but I could detect no fret buzz whatsoever. Played like a dream.

The vintage style tuners look cool, and stayed in tune reasonably well. The vintage style tremolo was smooth and worked like it should. But don't expect to do Van Halen style dive bombs and expect this guitar to stay in tune without upgrading tuners and/or trem. But if you're considering this guitar, dive bombs probably aren't your main priority.

On so-called "budget" guitars, the pickups are usually the weak point. The pickups on this guitar were quite serviceable. The tones from all 5 pickup selector switch positions worked for me. The single coil hum was most pronounced in the bridge pickup only position and would most likely be the reason to change out the pickups, but tone-wise, the pickups sounded really good.

I compared the Squier Classic Vibe 60's side by side with a Made in Mexico Fender Standard Stratocaster that cost $100 more. The CV won hands down. Workmanship was much higher on the CV. If you are on a limited budget, getting started on guitar or just looking for a decent, playable guitar that's made well and sounds good, I highly recommend the Squier Classic Vibe 60's.

Thanks to Jimmy's Music Center in New Albany, Indiana for providing the test instrument.

Coming Soon: An Actual Guitar Review

In the next few days, I hope to be trying out a few of Fender's Squier line of guitars. I'll post full details of the guitars' setups, tones and the like. Check back often for my budget conscious consumer guitar reviews. If there's a particular budget line guitar or amp, effects pedal or other piece of gear you're interested in, leave a comment and I'll try to test it out and post a review.

With the economy like it is, guitar and amp purchases may have to go on the back burner for a lot of us. But it's nice to have information to help in choosing an affordable guitar or other piece of gear when the budget allows.

Vintage?

One thing that has really been getting to me lately is the use of the word "vintage" in regards to gear. I know that technically if a guitar or amp, etc. is over 20 years old it can be considered vintage. But you and I both know the ebay crowd uses the word to increase the price an item fetches. Case in point: The Peavey T-60 guitar. A great guitar! I used to own one; I wish I still had it. But there's no way that "vintage" guitar should be worth now what it was worth new in 1980! Yet, that's what I see all the time. Certain "name" guitars and amps carry a premium value because they're associated with musical icons for the most part. How many superstar T-60 players can you name. I know Jerry Reed played one for a while, but who else? Ok, Louise Mandrell played one practically every week when the Mandrell sisters were on tv, but that's about it. No, wait. Bluesman Johnny Copeland played one, too.

Maybe I'm just miffed because I let mine get away years ago and can't afford to replace it. But I seriously think this "vintage" stuff has gotten out of hand. My Electro Harmonix chorus pedal is as cheap as they come, but maybe I can get a mint for it because Kurt Cobain used one just like it.

Guitar and Amp Reviews For Normal People

Well, ok, maybe those of us afflicted with G.A.S. (Guitar/Gear Acquisition Syndrome) aren't exactly normal. But if you're like me, you don't have unlimited funds to actually acquire those things that strike your fancy. So you make do with off brands, used gear, budget buys and the like. Here is a place where you can feel comfortable talking about those sonic delights that don't have the F- or G- word on their headstock. A place where Peavey carries as much cachet as PRS. If your affinity is for Squier(get it? Of course, you do!) this is where you belong.

Affordable amps, cheap effects, pawnshop prizes and yard sale beauties are the talk of the town here. So get comfortable, crank it up to 10 and yell into those microphonic pickups! All hail cheap gear!