Help this bassist choose a guitar

[Kacey Y]

There's a lot of Squier Strats and similar models from other brands in that price range, new and used, that will sound fine and get the job done for you. The variance in QA is mostly going to be about the feel in your hands. Any individual guitar might have some sharp edges or a weird setup/tuning stability issue that takes more than the average amount of time/money to fix. I'd try to just actually play as many individual guitars as you can and see what feels good to you. You might find some oddball brand or model you didn't consider that sounds and plays great in your budget or you might just confirm which individual guitar between your current choices works for you best

If you don't want or need the tremolo (I know, it's actually vibrato), you can lock it down fairly easily, but if there's a hardtail model that fits, just go with that

 

[P. Aaron]

I’d like to have an electric guitar to help me flesh out demos for song ideas so I’m looking to buy a cheap Squier Stratocaster. My guitar skills are beyond rudimentary so I’m keeping my budget to $200 max. At the moment I’m interested in a ‘99 Affinity Strat made in the Dalian Dong Fang factory in China and a brand new Sonic Series Strat.

To me, the advantage of the ‘99 Affinity is its nice-looking dark rosewood fretboard. The advantage of Sonic is I’d prefer the hardtail bridge over the Affinity’s trem bar that I’ll never use and also the fact that it’s brand new.

The price of these two guitars is in the same ballpark, one new, one used. Any opinions of which one is likely to be a higher quality instrument?

As a long time guitar player, I've always used guitars I've seen the players I admired use and with only varying degrees of success. Questions I ask going forward now is, Does this guitar fit my hands and playing style? Can I play this guitar and not choke off other notes I also want to ringing at the same time? As an (old) adult, my body's done growing.

It's been about how a guitar looks and for me, it's been a mistake to a degree. As much as I like old Fenders, the newer ones have a wider nut width, bigger frets and my fingers are still fat & often clumsy. I'd like an electric, acoustic, and a 12 string with ridiculously wide nut widths to accommodate my fingers.

The rub is that's largely a custom request. Most electrics & acoustics & 12 string guitar are built from existing platforms & materials, and most makers aren't without great expense, going to alter much.

Ibanez, or some of the other 7-8 string guitar makers may built a 6 string solution on a wider neck but then there's bridges, pickups, nuts, whammy bars, drilling new headstocks & whatnot.

Most of us just compromise with what's on the rack but, I'm looking at the widest necks these days...FWIW.

 

[Stewie]

From another who just doesn't pay attention to directions: Buy a Telecaster, every one else plays Strats.

 

[Michedelic]

I’d love one of those Harley Benton Les Paul Jrs but I can’t find one that isn’t way more than I’m willing to spend. Tried talking my friend into selling me his. Then after I asked, he started playing it again and decided he liked it too much to sell. So close lol

I would suggest looking at a Tele style guitar instead of a Strat. It’s a straight ahead, no nonsense configuration. The Strat vibrato(AKA “whammy”)assembly will be a distraction. A Tele will keep you honest if you persue guitar as a parallel side instrument. You can get into Strats later if you like.

 

[singlemalt]

There’s nothing quite like the tele spank and funky hi end. But ergonomically? Not so much..And I really like the tele. Looks so cool, and super light, but hard edges everywhere.

I just switched this morning from the tele to a Sterling Cutlass, a strat style SSH.

(The guitars get rotated on the first of the month)

The cutlass is so much more comfortable to play.

The soft edges, rounded sides, the belly cut, the arm relief… and better balance. The thing is about a pound heavier, but hangs perfectly on a strap and sits nice in my lap.

But there’s all kinds of ways to go. Strat shaped with tele pickups and neck. Tele’s loaded with strat singles or p90’s.

I’m into cheap, used, and easily modified. If it plays well enough, everything after that is changeable.

 

[jj4001]

Guitar Center seems to have a lot of Squiers around your price point:

Used Squier Guitars | Guitar Center

Save money on Used Squier Guitars at Guitar Center. All pre-owned items are rated and scored. Buy online or at your local store today!

www.guitarcenter.com

This is ultimately the path I took.

My old bandmate had a modded Squier Bullet that played quite well.

I ended up ordering a $99 Squier Bullet off GC’s website. Hardtail, rosewood, and my favorite Fender color, Torino/Dakota red. It’ll match my ‘66 Mustang bass. It’s a 2000 so it’s got a laminated body. I cheaped out. Hope it’s not a total piece of junk!

Great looking burgundy mist squier strat on there.

I was going to buy that! I noticed on their website Saturday that it was actually sitting in my local GC. I stupidly decided to wait until Sunday morning to go buy it in person, but by the time I woke up, the listing had been taken down. I called the store and was told someone in California had bought it late Saturday night. The irony is that if it hadn’t been within a 15 minute drive from my house, I’d be the owner of that guitar. It was gorgeous. Haven’t been able to find another of the new Affinities in that color.

From another who just doesn't pay attention to directions: Buy a Telecaster, every one else plays Strats.

Ha! Believe it or not, I actually lived on Telecaster Island for well over e decade. I’ve played with so many almost exclusively Tele players over the years that it seems so foreign and exotic to me that the guitarist in a group I’m playing with now plays a Strat. 30 years of playing in bands where no one wants to play a Strat because “they’re so common” that it turns out no one ever actually plays a Strat. It’s the weirdest thing.

 

[Dan1985]

I’d like to have an electric guitar to help me flesh out demos for song ideas so I’m looking to buy a cheap Squier Stratocaster. My guitar skills are beyond rudimentary so I’m keeping my budget to $200 max. At the moment I’m interested in a ‘99 Affinity Strat made in the Dalian Dong Fang factory in China and a brand new Sonic Series Strat.

To me, the advantage of the ‘99 Affinity is its nice-looking dark rosewood fretboard. The advantage of Sonic is I’d prefer the hardtail bridge over the Affinity’s trem bar that I’ll never use and also the fact that it’s brand new.

The price of these two guitars is in the same ballpark, one new, one used. Any opinions of which one is likely to be a higher quality instrument?

I think Sonic has a Tremolo.

 

[jj4001]

I think Sonic has a Tremolo.

There’s ones with and without.