Affinity Series Stratocaster FMT HSS, Maple Fingerboard, White Pickguard, Sienna Sunburst

This guitar is amazing, it arrived on time and in great condition. It was set up very well. I tuned it and it sounds great it feels very smooth and comfortable in my hands. The finnish is amazing absolutely beautiful. All the elements work great. Tuners are smooth. Overall I absolutely love it. Highly recommend.

I have been playing guitar - electric & acoustic - for over 55 years. I have owned incredible guitars in my past - an original 1954 Les Paul Custom, a 1971 tobacco burst Telecaster, a vast variety of collectible Stratocasters, an R9 Les Paul, etc. Last year we moved to Panama and I took my Yamaha Revstar with me along with my RainSong OM Acoustic. However, I initially figured I would not get into a band here and ended up selling my Revstar to a young guy. WRONG! What a mistake... I have had electric guitars all my life and now I didn't have anything except my acoustic. A dear friend of mine who is a revered blues guitarist from the USA said... 'if you want to get something cheap that's still good, you can't beat the Squier Affinity... I got one, changed the pickups, tuners and 5-position switch and I love it!" So I took his advice and purchased this particular guitar as I like the sound of a humbucker in the bridge position. I purchased a 'used - like new' version (thereby saving about $50) from Amazon and it arrived down here in relatively short order. I gotta say... I was blown away! I had always stayed away from any guitar built in China, but I have to admit... this guitar, for the price, is unbeatable. It plays really nice... pickups sound pretty good... guitar finish is beautiful... stays in tune (so far). I will change out a thing or two down the road, but I just love it! For the price it is really quite incredible. If you are new, or even a seasoned player like myself, I think you will really agree with me that Fender really have hit a home run with their Squier Affinity series Stratocasters!

Looks amazing, well built and sounds great as is and with minimal upgrades!

This is an interesting budget priced Chinese made Fender Squier Stratocaster, sold as having a maple veneer flame pattern top. But rather than go on about budget priced guitars and how they differ from more expensive models, or grouse about setup details -- I have never ever had a new guitar from any brand at any price point that did not need some adjustment out of the box -- let me point out a specific aspect that might be of interest to a buyer.That is: The example I received, and all the photos I have seen of other examples purchased by other buyers, DOES NOT LOOK LIKE THE PRODUCT PHOTOS! The product photos show a very prominent flame top in a lovely orange tinted burst. The burst on the actual guitar in reality has a much more subdued flame, and the color is a strong yellow gold hue. The edges of the top and darker outline are much darker and redder than in the photos, which show an orange hued burst tapering off to a darker orange hued surround. It's more like the color of a regular Strat burst over maple with a reddish surround instead of a black surround. So if you're expecting an orangish warm maple flame burst finished top you will get a yellowish not so flaming burst. It's OK and quite attractive in its own way. But it does not match the product photos.The neck on my example is slightly stouter and more rounded than most strats that I have had. But it's very nice at this price point and plays great. The ceramic pickups sound cheap, which can easily be fixed with an upgrade using a $30-$40 set of Chinese made alnico pickups. The selector switch doesn't feel as premium as on higher priced Indonesian or Mexican strats. But end of day all the main details are in order and the guitar plays just fine. For me it's a keeper, the price was right (about $240 on sale) and it's very nice looking in its own way, even if it doesn't look exactly like the product photos.

This Squier Stratocaster has a great look to it, and plays really well. I have owned several guitars over the years, and I needed a good practice guitar. This guitar works great for my practice needs, and sounds good enough to perform with. Besides tuning and a few minor adjustments, this guitar was basically ready to play right out of the box.

Pros: Beautiful, comfortable, versatile. Classic look. Flame Maple Top is an attention grabber.Cons: Mid-range hardware and electronics. Some may not like the vintage headstock. Frets need a little polish to be perfect.Great looking guitar set up well out of the box. The neck has a silky smooth satin finish with very slightly rolled edges and smooth fret ends. The frets themselves could use a good polish to be perfect. I like the warm sound of the ceramic pickups. The bridge humbucker gives wide tonal range options when contrasted against traditional single middle and neck pickups. The tuning machines don't feel sloppy or loose and the guitar holds tune well. The finish is mid-way between cherry and tobacco. Looks more brown in dim light, looks more cherry in bright light. Haven't tried the trem bar yet but the two point design is supposed to be an improvement. Overall nice value.