Fender Squier Stratocaster Beginner Electric Guitar, Dakota Red Matte

Especially if you're a beginner like me, this is a really great guitar. The price was definitely right and so far as I can tell, it;s very good quality. Looks good, feels good, sounds good and seems to be very well built. Nothing shoddy at all. I had read somewhere that the tuning keys were a little sloppy and that it required frequent tuning. That has not been my experience at all. It's rarely off by more than a little and the keys are sensitive enough for tuning in very small increments. Even if you're experienced it would be a good guitar for situations where you might not want to use one of your more expensive instruments. I've had it for a month now and if I could give it more stars, I would.

The Fender Squier Debut Series Stratocaster Electric Guitar is an excellent choice for beginners, especially those just starting their musical journey. The quality is impressive for the price—well-built, comfortable to hold, and easy to play, which makes learning more enjoyable and less intimidating for new players. My daughter purchased this guitar using her Christmas money, and it has been such a joy to see her so happy and motivated. Instead of spending her time on screens, she’s choosing to practice and explore her passion for music, and that alone makes this guitar worth every penny. The sound is great for a starter guitar, and it truly captures that classic Stratocaster feel Fender is known for. The setup is beginner-friendly, and it feels like a guitar she can grow with as her skills improve. My only wish is that cases and straps were more easily available or offered alongside the guitar, as those are essentials for beginners—but that’s a small detail compared to the overall value.

I would say for a beginner this is an excellent guitar, the one I received anyway. Very good action, surprisingly very good tuners. The nut was cut well and the intonation was spot on. Well constructed very solid instrument. I would suggest as with any new guitar to go around it with a Phillips screw driver and make sure everything is snug. The one I got was fine. Also raise the pickups to about 1/4” to an 1/8” away from the strings, the ones on mine were very low. It’ll improve the sound when plugged into an amp. Also the frets could be polished but for a beginner it’s neither here nor there. I bought this to modify after seeing all the hype on YouTube and it’s an excellent platform to do so. Bone nut, leveled a few frets ( very slightly ) polished them, new tremolo bridge ( the stock Squire ones have a very thin block ) and new pickups. Very fun to play and sounds like a Stratocaster. The thinner body makes it very comfortable ( keep that in mind when replacing the block and or bridge as you need a short one ). I’m actually a bit shocked that for little money you can have a very reliable, useable guitar.

My particular guitar did not have any sharp fret ends and the fret tops looked to be polished, or at the very least did not feel rough at all. It was very playable right out of the box. Action was 1.5mm on low E at the 12th fret and even lower on the high E with no buzzing on any fret when played without a heavy hand. Intonation was spot on, on all but one string which wasn't off by much. The bridge was decked when I got it, floating it was the only change I needed to make. Truss rod did not need to be adjusted at all, there was a very slight bit of relief in the neck already. I didn't check the gap between string and first fret or closely examine the nut but there was no indication that the nut was causing any problems. The back of the neck, as YT reviewers have noted is pretty rough feeling. The satin finish looks and feels great and doesn't show finger grease like a glossy finish would. It weighed in at just under 7 pounds. Guitar seems to hold tune when lightly using the tremolo but the tuners are the real weak point of the guitar. They do work, and the guitar stays in tune, but the tuners are not very smooth feeling at all. Sometimes they'll feel very difficult to turn but then loosen up, sometimes it feels like the knob turns without doing much before having an effect. Sometime a slight twist of the knob makes too much of a change, so it is a bit difficult to make minor adjustments. They're not good but they are serviceable. They are the first thing I'd consider replacing. The tremolo block is also very thin so that's something else to consider swapping. I didn't play it a whole lot through an amp yet but initial impression is that it sounds decent. Bridge pickup seems a little shrill but dialing back the tone control makes it acceptable. For the beginner that this guitar is aimed at, I don't think you'd need to change anything right away. It is perfectly playable out of the box, all a new player needs to do is tune it up and start playing. That's the way it was with my guitar but of course this could vary. However, since some reviewers had the same experience it's clear Fender must be making some effort to setup the guitars before shipping them. The initial out of the box experience, in my opinion, is better than any Indio or Firefly I've had and better than or equal to most IYV or Harley Bentons that I got. Considering you get a very competitively priced guitar, from a major brand, that may not need any work at all (unlike most budget instruments) and the free 3 months of Fender Play I think this is a real winner for a beginning guitarist. I have no problem recommending it to any beginner or even experienced guitarist.

I actually love this guitar. The quality isn't exactly 100% but it is an official Fender product made in China and overall it's a really good guitar for the price. Good for beginners (though I recommend you take it in for a good setup first). Out of the box it plays and sounds good. I haven't done a setup on this yet and it's almost 2 years old! It looks like a Strat, sounds like a Strat and that's because it IS a Strat. Squier isn't too bad a brand. My guitar does have a bit of fret sprout, however but I can easily fix that. The guitar is playable out of the box, overall. Pair this with the "blues" model of Vox Amplug2 headphone amp and a pair of Tascam TH05 headphones, and you're all set to do some private learning and practice without bothering anyone. Add an Orange practice amp for going to guitar lessons with. This is a fun guitar to play.

I'm a Les Paul guy but I just wanted a cheap strat because all my guitars have humbuckers or humbucker p90s I can say the price is great for a fender product, they're sub $200 strat copies that actually have a better value but they're generic brands and quality is a crap shoot. As far as this guitar it feels great, the fret work is excellent, the neck is actually bigger than I assumed it would be but it's not huge, tuners feel super cheap but work decent, the pickups actually sound surprisingly good but are very under wound relying on a strong ceramic magnet to make up for it but there output is very low they don't push the amp very hard so the gain needs to be cranked to get decent distortion, cleans it's fine. If you plan to upgrade it plan on a harness because it has cheap mini pots and tiny wire and trying to swap in Wilkinson pickups the harness was falling apart wires were popping of all over I chopped it out and tossed it, total garbage. All you need to do to hop it up is buy some decent $30 pickups and a $25 harness and your pretty much set, a $40 set of tuners is a good idea but not a must. The finish is pretty mehhh, it's matte which is fine but it's not silky smooth it has a very dry feeling. But whatever it's very low priced.

I think I got lucky, played well out of the box. Has personality to the fretboard with streaks, figuring on the maple neck too! I upgraded with a new pickguard, some active single coils, gotoh tuners, tusq nut and artec vtc boost. Then I leveled and crowned the frets just to ensure I had the feel I wanted. Overall an amazing little guitar, very budget very clear very LOUD when the boost is on. I think these are a great entry Strat and you may hit the lotto and get one that looks way above the price point out the box!

Ive played and repaired guitars for many years. I've had sharp frets on many guitars of all makes and models but I've never seen or felt such sharp frets. Some were literally like tiny razor blades. Possibly dangerous for someone who picks it up and wants to show off and act like a rock star and shreds their hand. I enjoy buying cheap guitars and moding them and for $120 I couldn't resist. I've modded many Squiers and some come out great and some don't. This one, at least this on, is a fantastic mod platform. The neck is nice and feels familiar and like a fender to me. The edges of the fretboard were nicely rolled which made me surprised about the rough finish on the frets. Tuners are actually usable, if you string the guitar well. Nut was horrible because it's bad material and cut improperly. Not all the strings would ring properly. I replaced it with a hand made bone nut. I had to spot level one fret, which is not bad for a guitar in this price range. I filed sharp frets and polished them. Copper tape on pick guard, in electronics and plug compartment. The pickups are fine clean but with dirt, not great but very usable. The pots, switch, plug, all are fine. After all these things have been dealt with, it's a really good guitar. I'm not a big fan of Squier bridges but this one is ok. I have three Charvel super strats in my personal collection and this guitar will be staying with me for at least a while. It's very good and I'm very happy with it.

Ottima chitarra per chi inizia a suonare. La qualità è davvero buona per essere un modello entry level Fender: ben costruita, comoda da suonare e con un suono più che soddisfacente per lo studio e la pratica quotidiana. Il manico è scorrevole e facilita l’apprendimento, mentre l’estetica è quella classica Fender che non delude mai. Rapporto qualità-prezzo eccellente. Consigliatissima a chi vuole avvicinarsi alla chitarra con uno strumento affidabile. 🎸

Item description did not mention if this is new or refurbished. It came in bubble wrappers with no original packaging. And the item was not in perfect order

Muy chula tal y como se ve

Calidad muy justa. El relieve de la veta de la madera de ve y se nota al tacto a través de la pintura. Puente muy malo. Pastillas básicas, poco volumen. Clavijas pésimas, cambiadas a los pocos dias porque no mantienen la afinación tras un par de bendings. Guitarra de iniciación para quien no sabe nada. O como es mi caso, segunda guitarra para casa de vacaciones.

Super, excellente guitare pour débuter. La qualiter fender en plus .