Hi Peeps
I thought I would ask for some advice here give the wealth of knowledge of some of the fellow members on this fine forum.
My Daughter has taken up playing the guitar, and has decided she wants to concentrate more on Electric. She has a Squire Fender kit that she has used for almost 2 years but would like to move on and is really hankering on a Fender Stratocaster (Sunburst) with vintage pickups given her budget (350>400 and possibly a small top up from bank of Dad).
She has chosen Music as her main Option and has played in a few school concerts and is a little gifted in the art of playing the guitar although I’m biased but her Tutor seems to support my comments (she’s a natural).
As I don’t have an ear for music and couldn’t ever play the triangle when at school, I am somewhat limited as to how best to guide her with a new purchase. I’ve looked on line and read many horror stories about copies or Frankensteins etc and wondered if you could offer some advice.
I would ideally like to purchase from a store but given the markups they place on older guitars when compared to private sales she will need to save for a couple more years.
Any advice is welcomed.
Thanks
B
If she has lessons it might be worth having a chat with her tutor.
Our eldest plays electric and bass and the advice I got off his tutor was that the Sire Larry Carlton and the Sire Marcus Miller are fantastic for the price.
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A fender strat with vintage pups is likely to be more than the budget.
I went down this rabbit hole recently and the general consensus seemed to be that the Fenders really aren't worth the additional lay out.
Which squier is it? You could likely spend £200 on some awesome pickups, have it set up professionally and you'd probably have a "better" guitar than a similar priced guitar with Fender on the headstock.
If it must be a "new" guitar, The MIM (made in Mexico) Player series will fall into your budget, but many will say the Classic Vibe Squiers will be a better bet...
Don't overlook Vintage either. I picked up a V6 reissued for £150 on ebay and all the Wilkinson hardware makes it a lovely instrument. I'm currently repainting it as I wanted a pink one!
It's a rabbit hole indeed, but try not to be blinded by what is on the headstock.
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Might be able to find a second-hand Mexican Strat for £400 or a bit more. Actually some of the Squier guitars are really very good and depending on which one it is, she's not going to be able to move on very far for that sort of money to be quite honest. Another consideration is that if buying second-hand, it's always worth taking it to a luthier for a check-up and set up, and of course that costs money as well.
Hi
It’s great that your daughter has taken up guitar. Music is wonderful for children to get into.
Re buying a guitar - you should be able to buy a used Fender Strat for that type of money. Maybe a made in Mexico one. You may not get the exact pick ups you want but these can always be fitted afterwards.
Yes there are fakes etc but have a look through Reverb which will give you an idea of what’s out there and also have a look on EBay. There are lots of people that sell guitars for various reasons and if you take your time you’ll find something suitable for sure.
I’m not that up on the current Fender range but there may be ones in the range that fit the bill.
Are you planning to factor in a new amp as well?
You’ll definitely get more for your money buying used and privately. As additional advantages, you may strike lucky and find a Mexican Strat that the owner has upgraded with US parts- plus in my view a guitar that is a few years old and hasn’t warped its neck is generally unlikely to do so.
Most important of all, as you’re not a player, is to try to find a local experienced player to check out an instrument you’re looking at for you. That said, a Fender guitar is a very tough machine- little to go wrong and every component is removable and replaceable.
My other advice is to find a local guitar technician and budget for a setup, which will get it playing as well as it possibly can.
Have you got a decent local guitar shop? Near me I’ve got a couple of good ones who I’d be happy taking advice from, and when I used to play they gave me plenty of free advice.
You may get lucky on eBay. As a drummer I look on there to gauge prices. A drummer friend of mine who resumed playing a while back has had some great buys starting with his kit.
Does she or her tutor know any players? Guitarists I've worked with are always changing guitars or even building them out of parts. A good guitar player should be able to advise altho the row that eminates from my guitar players amp makes me wonder. But we have played together since 1989 so must be some affinity there.
I really like the Squier Classic Vibe series. - I have two Thineline Telecasters and they both played brilliantly out of the box. I’ve also played a friend’s Sire Tele and it’s a lovely thing, with a great rolled edge neck: personally, I don’t think its pick ups sound as good as the Squiers, but there’s not much in it. Loads of choice and configurations in the SCV range too, so going to a big music shop and playing a few is well worth it.
Having children talented at music is both a blessing and a curse.
Our 16-year-old has had a horrendous final year in GCSE music as the head of music left and the school had a nightmare recruiting a new one. It was chaos.
He was set to do A level music but all our local 6th forms have now dropped it as they have no music teachers. It's a London-wide problem.
Sorry, can't help with the guitar choice but you said your daughter wanted to do music as her main option. I just hope the provision is better wherever you are, and good luck to her
There's the Fender Player series at about $850 US and converted is UK668.00 New name for the Mexican made models. Got a good review
Small bank of dad top up.
Checked Ebay and a load of them for sale in the UK
The best and most simple advice I can give, having been playing guitar for 20 years at least is to take her to a big guitar shop and try as many as you can (within budget) and let her choose the one she likes THE LOOK OF the most. If she likes the guitar as an object, she will probably be more likely to pick it up and play more often (and hopefully, never put it down!).
There's nothing like a good Strat.
I'd say go for a Fender Mex Player. She's already got a Squier and wants a Fender.
Plenty around second hand but not much use if you don't know what you are looking at.
I'd take her down the shop and let her choose a new one with the proviso that the shop sets it up for for her sorts out any fret ends etc.
If you want to do it mail order, Peach sets up every guitar that leaves their place (make sure you mention it) and have a massive range.
https://www.peachguitars.com/
Cheers,
Neil.
https://www.peachguitars.com/fender-...t-b-stock-.htm
Here you go. Quite possibly just what she’s after(?)
As Neil said get them to do a set up before shipping and you’ll not go far wrong
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(As background, I’ve been playing electric and acoustic guitar for 23 years, including studying practice and theory for a few years and playing live here and there in the past. I now just play at home for my own pleasure. I’’’ve had the good fortune to own various modern and vintage models from Gibson and Fender over those years, and to try out a wide variety of models from many other manufacturers.)
I’’m not convinced that buying a new or used guitar online is a great idea, especially without much playing experience. Each model (eg USA Fender Strat) will come in a variety of wood types, pickup types, fretboard radius and neck shapes. These all have a big impact on tone and playability and you need to know what works for you first.
Furthermore, even superficially identically spec’d models can often play and sound remarkably different due to a variety of reasons to do with construction, where the timber was sourced from, who was involved in constructing it in the factory and so on. It’s only when you get a guitar in your hands that you know whether it’s one you’ll get on with and enjoy playing.
I’m also not convinced by the earlier suggestion that your daughter should buy what she likes the look of (or at least use that as a key factor in deciding what she buys). As an example, when I started playing I absolutely loved the look of the Gibson Les Paul - it was THE guitar in my book. I ended up buying a USA Les Paul Standard in a beautiful honey burst finish and… barely played it. I could never get the tones from it that I wanted and didn’t like its playability. I bought a 1970s USA hard tail Fender Strat around the same time in a pretty flat and boring finish, more as a backup than anything else. I’d never hankered after a Strat or especially liked the way it looked, but I ended up gelling with it much more when it came to actually playing. The split in playing time when I owned both guitars was probably 80:20 in favour of the Strat.
Given your daughter’s price range and preference for a type of Strat, I’d suggest looking at G&L models based on the Strat or Fender “Made In Mexico” Strats (aka Fender Player range these days, I believe), either used or, funds allowing, new. I’ve been hugely impressed with the G&L guitars (G&L was founded by Leo Fender a few years after he’d left Fender) I’ve played and (many) of the Fender MIM ones. Their build quality, playability and sound make them a very good option for the money.
Whatever you decide, my main advice would be for your daughter to try out as many guitars as possible. Once she’s done this, she should find it much easier to realise when a guitar is the “right one”. There’s plenty of guitar shops which carry used as well as new guitars. Naturally there is a markup, but that’s better than shelling out for a guitar that doesn’t work for your daughter. So get out there and let her try as many as she can!
(At the very least, doing this will give your daughter a bit more experience of playing different guitars so that, if one does become available through a tutor / contact / other private source, she’ll be better placed to know if it’s right for her).
It’s also worth remembering that any guitar (new or used) will benefit from a setup by a good technician. That way your daughter can ensure the guitar has the right string gauge (thickness) and action (string height to the fretboard) for her and that everything is as it should be.
(Once you’ve got the guitar sorted, there’s amps, pedals, multi effects units, software interfaces, amp and effects modelling software etc etc - the possibilities, and expense, are endless!)
Last edited by CamCG; 14th August 2023 at 19:03.
Wow, the TZ community never fails to impress.
I have let my Daughter read the advice in this thread a couple times now and this has made her rethink her options with her new purchase.
She has tried a number of guitars (second hand) and hasn’t really found anything she really likes, although I suspect when she does she will know as others have said. I am now planning a trip or 2 so she can try before buying even to bolster her experience.
We will digest the information/feedback again as we are keen to avoid making a rash decision as it would wipe out her savings over the past few years.
Once again thank you all (sorry couldn’t reply to you all separately) for your honest comments and advice as this is greatly appreciated.
B
It turns out that Mike Rutherford from Genesis was playing a Squier Bullet Stratocaster during Genesis's arena tour..
https://www.guitarworld.com/news/mik...r-bullet-strat
Might make your daughter feel better about her existing equipment.
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Last edited by Bonny Marco; 14th August 2023 at 21:54.
There is no substitute for “road testing” a few guitars. A good shop will fully understand and appreciate that. Hopefully they will not pressure either of you into buying one because you have tried a few and used their time. Be quite prepared to walk away and think about it too.
And, in case you haven’t heard this previously, Mike Rutherford from Genesis toured using a Squier Bullet Strat a couple of years ago. Standard off the shelf guitar that his Tech had set up, changed the tuners, bridge and saddles to make it more reliable for touring. The Bullet is less than £150 new!
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Beat me to itOriginally Posted by Bonny Marco
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Hi Peeps,
I am wondering with the wealth of knowledge on this thread if someone could cast their eye over a guitar my daughter has purchased.
Having looked on-line there is a vast amount of information on the internet but am still unsure if it’s a copy or legit.
She did in the end purchase a Fender Stratocaster Mexico.
Thanks in advance.
B
Post up some pictures and we can have a look.
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