Squier Sonic Series Stratocaster

For the price this is a bit of a bargain, budget models can be a bit hit or miss but this one certainly hits close to the bull.Its a nice light weight body with a flawless gloss finish, the satin finish on the neck and headstock is pretty damn good as well, purely from a viewing perspective it really looks the real deal.The strings, 9's were actually in good nick and won't need to be changed just yet, the action was set quite low and there was no fret buzz and the intonation was pretty near the mark, for a budget model factory set up there can be no complaints. The frets had no rough edges and were fine.The nut, most likely plastic was well cut and will do its job well.Although they looked like cheap tuners they held the tuning very well so again no issues there.Unplugged it was quite nice but plugged in it again reached higher expectations, there was a nice warmth on the neck pickup, the middle was quite bright and the bridge pickup had considerable bite, both inbetween positions were very good with the neck and middle together being quite outstanding, again not bad at all for a budget model.Add a bit of reverb, delay, overdrive or compression and it really comes alive, nice sustain very nice indeed.All in all a very bargain.

In terms of value for money, this is a great guitar. Built solid, nice enough neck ok sound, but remember that this is an entry level guitar. I bought this while waiting to get my fender back and there is no comparison.

There's a lot of hype about these so called "beginner guitars" and as a professional musician, I was curious to see what all the fuss was about. I'll be honest, I've been playing top shelf instruments for years, so I had extremely low expectations for this guitar. Out of the box, it needed a set-up to suit my preferences but that's common with all guitars, regardless of their price range. However, I wasn't expecting it to surpass the playability of my top shelf Gibson's and that's why I'm shocked. The fretwork is impeccable and almost feels Plek'd. .60/.40 action, .004 relief in the neck and no buzz. How is this possible on a budget brand notorious for producing bad guitars? The neck is chunkier and the body is slightly thicker than the previous Bullet range, which is what Sonic's used to be. The pickups are perfect for aggressive tones and that suits me just fine because I'm a metal musician. The tuners are actually rock solid and turn easily, with no issues. The Bullet series had vintage style tuners that'd often get stuck in their sockets and refuse to turn. So they've definitely made advancements since then. The wiring, as expected, isn't so good and the laurel fingerboard is an unpleasant shade of brown. But I could easily stain it and replace the circuitry later. The finish is flawless and the truss rod is fantastic. The nut was slotted wonderfully. I can't really find anything to complain about.

Great value for a casual guitarist. Stays in tune, sounds pretty nice through a basic amp. Lighter than I expected because my old guitar is about 30 years old

Great guitar. Nicely made, good action, good natural tone. Almost as good as my 1979 American Fender strat.

Very good value and a good practice guitar. However, it was 'tinny' when played at a local gig through the amp.

Great value starter guitar

I thought long and hard, read reviews- and then went for it and ordered it.Wow! I was blown away by the quality and finish. It shines as if the lacquers still wet and the chrome work glistens.But does it play? You bet it plays and sounds terrific. Sure, it needed tuning but l found no need for changing the strings or a professional tweak.I really cannot fault this guitar and it represents stunning value for money.