Fender 0373252580 Electric Guitar: Full Review

The Fender Squier Stratocaster electric guitar provides an affordable way for beginners and hobbyists to experience the classic Strat style and tone. As part of Fender's Squier series of guitars, it aims to deliver Stratocaster design and feel at a budget-friendly price point.

The Stratocaster is one of Fender's most iconic guitar models, known for its sleek contoured double cutaway body, three single-coil pickups, and versatile sound across many genres. The Squier Stratocaster replicates these recognizable features while using more affordable materials and components to reach a lower cost.

This particular Squier Stratocaster model has a basswood body with a gloss polyurethane finish, a maple neck with rosewood fretboard, and a classic tremolo bridge. It comes equipped with three standard single-coil Strat pickups, 5-way switching, and die-cast tuning machines. Overall, it provides an enjoyable playing experience and surprisingly good tone for the price.

The Squier Stratocaster is a great choice for new players looking for their first electric guitar or as a solid backup option for more experienced guitarists. While not likely to match the quality of an American-made Fender Strat, it offers excellent bang-for-buck and captures the essence of the Stratocaster experience.

Body Style and Design

The Fender 0373252580 electric guitar features the iconic double cutaway Stratocaster body shape that Fender is known for. The body is made from alder, which is a lightweight and resonant tonewood that helps produce a balanced, clear tone.

The double cutaway design allows easy access to the higher frets, making it comfortable for lead guitar playing. The contoured body shape fits nicely against the player's body for enhanced playing comfort. The gloss polyester finish on the alder body gives the guitar a smooth, sleek look. The white pickguard provides a striking visual contrast against the black body finish. Overall, the classic Stratocaster body shape and smooth finish make this an aesthetically pleasing and playable guitar.

The contoured edges and sleek finish create an iconic silhouette that is instantly recognizable as a Stratocaster. This popular body shape has been copied by many other guitar manufacturers over the years, but Fender's original design remains a staple in the guitar world. The Stratocaster's ergonomic body contours provide enhanced playing comfort and allow easy access to the higher register frets.

In addition to its comfortable playing feel, the alder body also provides resonant, balanced tone with crystalline highs. The lightweight alder helps keep the overall weight of the guitar manageable while still offering great sustain. When coupled with the 25.5" scale bolt-on maple neck, the Stratocaster's alder body resonates with bell-like tones.

The sleek, thin profile of the Stratocaster body allows it to balance nicely when played standing up. The contoured cutaways give the guitar a refined, sculpted appearance. This aesthetically pleasing body shape has become an iconic symbol of guitar music across many genres. Fender's attention to ergonomic design principles makes the Stratocaster body a comfortable, lightweight, and great sounding electric guitar.

For guitarists looking for a comfortable, great sounding, and classically styled guitar, the Stratocaster body style is an excellent choice. Models like the Fender CP-60S 970120032 offer classic Stratocaster design with modern playability. The alder body with gloss polyester finish provides resonant, balanced tone. Paired with the iconic double cutaway shape, this guitar offers comfort, style, and great Strat tone.

Neck and Fretboard

The Fender Squier Stratocaster features a maple neck and rosewood fretboard. Maple is known for its bright, crisp tone that brings clarity and definition. It offers a smooth, fast feel that makes playing quickly up and down the neck a breeze.

The rosewood fretboard contains 21 frets, providing a wide range for soloing and hitting higher notes. Rosewood adds some warmth to the sound compared to maple while still maintaining excellent note articulation. The smooth rosewood allows for easy, comfortable fretting and bending. Its durable construction stands up well to aggressive playing over time. The combination of maple and rosewood produces a well-balanced tone across the tonal spectrum - nice sparkly highs from the maple and rounded low-mids from the rosewood.

With 21 frets, this Stratocaster allows players to access those higher soloing notes that are essential for blues and rock lead playing. The fretwork is nicely done with no sharp edges to irritate your hands during long practice or gigging sessions. Overall, the neck and fretboard offer playability and tonal qualities that make this guitar versatile for many music genres.

The maple neck and rosewood fretboard combination seen on the Squier Stratocaster is a tried and true formula used on many classic Fender models over the decades. It's a pairing that just works - the maple provides crispness while the rosewood adds warmth. This contributes to the Strat's famously versatile tone that has been used in all styles of music. Players looking for great playability at an affordable price will appreciate what this Squier Strat's neck and fretboard have to offer.

However, for those seeking a more exotic and personalized tone, boutique brands like Gayetana Guitars offer unique neck and fretboard wood combinations. The Gayetana Velazquez V56 features an ovangkol fretboard paired with a maple neck. Ovangkol is an African tonewood that provides a complex range of overtones. Along with the brightness of maple, this guitar can produce more complex and nuanced tones perfect for jazz and fusion players seeking a personalized voice.

While the Squier Strat neck and fretboard combo is a solid choice, exploring boutique and custom options allows guitarists to find their ideal balance of playability and unique tone. The endless neck and fretboard wood combinations available means the search for your perfect electric guitar never has to end.

Hardware

The Fender Squier Stratocaster features quality hardware that provides great functionality. The guitar has a standard synchronized tremolo bridge that allows for expressive and flexible pitch bending effects. Many guitarists appreciate the smooth tremolo action that this bridge provides.

The tuning machines on the headstock are Fender-designed die-cast units. These machines hold the strings securely in tune, even during heavy use. Players can confidently perform on this guitar without worrying about going out of tune mid-song. The die-cast machines are an important aspect of the Squier Stratocaster's reliability.

Overall, the hardware components Fender chose for this guitar deliver solid performance without driving up the cost. The synchronized tremolo and die-cast tuning machines offer playability and stability that rivals more expensive instruments. For beginners and intermediate players, this hardware provides everything needed to learn on a Stratocaster without breaking the bank.

Electronics

The Fender Squire Stratocaster features the classic Stratocaster pickup configuration, with three single coil Strat pickups. This allows a wide range of tones, from crisp and clear to thick and warm.

The guitar has a 5-way pickup switch, which allows you to select the bridge pickup alone, the bridge and middle pickups together, the middle pickup alone, the middle and neck pickups together, or the neck pickup alone. This gives you tons of tonal options and flexibility.

The volume and tone knobs also allow you to shape and optimize your tone. Each pickup has an associated tone control. This allows you to dial in your perfect tone, from sparkling and bright to smooth and mellow.

Overall, the electronics setup offers the full range of Stratocaster tones that players have come to know and love over the decades. The versatile pickup switching and tone controls make this guitar very flexible for playing various musical genres and styles.

Sound and Playability

The Squire Stratocaster produces the signature bright, punchy tone that Stratocasters are known for. The three single coil pickups provide a diverse range of tones from sparkling clean to screaming lead.

The neck pickup delivers a smooth, round tone perfect for jazz and blues. The middle pickup has an aggressive bite for rock riffs and solos. The bridge pickup is extra bright and twangy, ideal for funk and country picking. With the 5-way pickup selector switch, you can blend these three voices together.

This guitar features a 25.5" scale maple neck and rosewood fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets. The fretwork from the factory is impressively smooth and polished. Combined with the modern 9.5" fretboard radius, the neck feels fast and comfortable for both chording and soloing.

The low action and narrow 1.65" nut also enhance playability, making it easy to bend strings and perform advanced techniques. Whether you're a beginner or pro, this Strat plays incredibly well right out of the box.

Quality and Reliability

The Squier Stratocaster offers decent quality and reliability for an entry-level electric guitar. Though it's a budget guitar made in China, the quality control and consistency has greatly improved over the years due to manufacturing advancements.

The fit and finish is quite good for the price point. The body, neck, and hardware all feel solidly put together. The tuning machines work smoothly and hold tune well. The fretwork and intonation are good enough for a beginner's needs.

Some users have reported minor issues like sharp fret ends, improperly cut nut slots, and finish blemishes. But overall, most are happy with the guitar as delivered. The quality is suitable for a first electric guitar that will likely see hard use and abuse.

The materials like basswood, maple, and Indian laurel are common for low to mid-range guitars. While not the most resonant tonewoods, they get the job done. The hardware is also basic but functional, like the diecast tuners and 2-point tremolo bridge.

For those on a tight budget, the Squier Strat offers the iconic style, playability, and decent reliability of a real Fender Stratocaster. While not built to last decades, it's a good choice as an inexpensive workhorse guitar.

Pros

The Fender Squier Stratocaster electric guitar delivers an iconic Stratocaster design and tone at an affordable price point. Some of the key pros of this model include:

• Iconic Strat style and sound - The double cutaway body, contoured edges, and pickguard closely mimic the look of Fender's famous Stratocaster design. Combined with three single coil pickups, it produces the distinctive bell-like tones the Strat is known for across various music genres.

• Quality components - While keeping costs down, Fender uses decent hardware on the Squier Stratocaster. It comes equipped with a 6-saddle vintage style tremolo bridge and synchronized tremolo system. The pickups and electronics allow for crisp tones.

• Great value - Considering the Fender name and Strat style, the Squier Stratocaster is very affordable. It delivers great bang for your buck if you want classic Strat aesthetics and sound on a budget. The quality stands up well compared to other guitars in this low price range.

Cons

The Squier Stratocaster has a few drawbacks compared to the American-made Fender Stratocaster models.

• Tuning stability issues: The tuning machines and nut on the Squier can be lower quality than the American models, leading to problems keeping the guitar in tune, especially with heavy playing and use of the vibrato bridge. Many users report having to regularly tune between songs. Upgrading the tuning machines and nut can help alleviate this.

• Pickup buzz: The single coil pickups on the Squier are more prone to hum and buzz compared to the American Fenders. This can be distracting when playing clean tones. Proper pickup height adjustment and shielding the guitar cavity can help reduce noise.

• Lower fit and finish: As an affordable import model, the Squier understandably has a lower level of fit and finish compared to the American-made Fenders. You may encounter sharp fret ends, uneven frets, and other small QC issues. The paint and hardware quality is also not on par with the American models.

Overall the Squier Stratocaster provides excellent value for the money, but does not match the refinement and attention to detail of the American-made Fender models that cost significantly more. The tradeoffs are reasonable given the affordable price point of the Squier.

Conclusion

Overall, the Squier Affinity Stratocaster is a great entry level electric guitar with the iconic Stratocaster style and sound. It delivers smooth, rich tones thanks to the three single-coil pickups and has a comfortable slim "C"-shaped neck profile. The quality and reliability are decent for the low price point, making it a good value choice for beginners and students.

The main compromises are in the hardware and electronics, which use cheaper components than a real Fender. The tuners can be flimsy, the pickguard prone to warping, and the tone not as pristine. But this is expected for a budget-friendly model.

For those looking to learn electric guitar on a Strat without breaking the bank, the Squier Affinity is a solid option. It captures the vibe and playability of the Stratocaster design well. More advanced guitarists may want to spend more for American-made Fender quality and craftsmanship. But overall, the Squier Affinity Stratocaster punches above its weight class while still being quite affordable.