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 Squier Classic Vibe '50s Stratocaster Price:: $300 Year Manufactured: 2007 Specs: Adler body, 1-piece maple neck, vintage-style tuning machines, chrome hardware, three Custom Stratocaster AlNiCo III pickups, 5-position pickup switch, vintage-style bridge (6 saddle, tremolo). Sound: 4/5. The sound is magnificent, making the first runs of this guitar remarkably underpriced. The difference between this guitar and a Mexican Fender is difficult to tell, and only at relatively high volumes, at least on the bridge and neck pickups. The neck one, particularly, gives a rather deep, magnetic sound much on par with what's expected from a Fender. The only problems are found when recording in any of the middle pickup positions, which produce significant noise through line-in. A microphone and USB interface are needed if you want to enjoy the full tonal range of this guitar in your recording sessions. Other than that, it's remarkably versatile with the stock pickups, and the construction justifies replacing them before you consider buying a Mexican Fender, providing you don't mind the headpiece reading "Squier" instead of the more fashionable "Fender". Instrument Quality: 4/5 The guitar has an excellent finish, and manufacturing quality is pretty high for a low / middle range factory product. Action was low enough out of the box, although I quickly had the strings replaced for a heavier gauge, which naturally required readjusting the instrument. True to real Stratocaster tradition, it keeps tune brilliantly (with two hours of daily practice, it takes two to three weeks until one of the strings get too close to being a half tone off), even with aggressive bending and tremolo usage. Bear in mind though, three luthiers have so far confirmed that the high Squier / low Fender lines are generally very good in the first few months of production to gain market popularity, after which manufacturing quality is substantially decreased. All three luthiers also agreed that this one model's 2007 units were "above par" and "underpriced", although they added that the Telecaster of the same series and run is even better. Playbility: 5/5 This is what makes the guitar for me. Having tried several $400 - $500 - range Epiphones, a $600 Gretsch Electromatic, this guitar excels in ease of play. The neck is smooth, fast and agile, and thin enough to allow easy chords, even using your thumb. The action can be set rather low with no fret buzzing, making barre chords and hammer-ons a breeze, even on relatively heavy string gauges. Overall Value: 5/5 If I had to give the guitar an average mark I would have gone for a 4 out of 5, since "perfection" is not easily reached. However, considering "overall value" as a cost / value relationship, I would have gladly paid 100 more bucks for this guitar and still be satisfied. If you can get your hands on a 2007 unit, by all means do it. Further reinforcing my point is the last friend of mine who used it, the director of a Conservatory of Music in Spain and a guitar teacher himself, and a severe Gibson fan, who admitted the guitar was a steal at the $300 mark and quite especially praised its playability over similar and even supposedly superior Epiphone models.
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Jul 20, 2009 03:52
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 10:08 |
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