All the guitars in this video are good to varying degrees. I'd say if you're thinking of buying a strat, buy the highest end one you can afford without screwing your finances. They're works of art these guitars and you'll have something you can love playing for the rest of your life. Wether you have a squier or a CS you're gonna have a blast!
Fender is for rich guys or snobs. Squier is for working class hero - put DiMarzios in, change the nut and you're good to go. Of course, tonewood is just a myth. If you put Cruisers, no wood is gonna compete with that output. If you're obsessed with tonewood, play acoustic or violin.
Your comment about the psychological playing is so true. Just picked up a 2008 Tele Standard that makes me play differently. I play it slower so I can hear the tone of each note. It sounds awesome in my mind. As far a relics go, not my bag so I bought used to get the played in feel. A lot cheaper and it’s genuine wear. Do like the art aspect to relic custom shop but my wife tells me I can’t afford it full stop. Nice review. 👍🇦🇺
I love the Player Series as well. And if I'm not wrong, they updated them so that the Player series is more or less the exact same guitar as the previous Fender American Standard. Doesn't matter to me, as long as they play awesome :)
I was kind of underwhelmed trying out the Player series - I guess maybe it could have had something to do with the setup in-store, but they really just felt mediocre to me. I love my Squier Vintage Modified Strat (precursor to the Classic Vibe series) and at $299, it’s much more appealing to me than the Player Strat. I do love the Player HH Jag, though
@@jclarkfii I had a CV Strat and loved it. Some of the parts were stripping through and not many color options. I got other guitars above 1k and did not enjoy them as much as my CV! I then ended up getting the Player and love it the most. It was like a refined CV!
At the end of the day, we have to remember that 99% of the tone from guitars are because of the amplifiers. I would rather play a Squier Affinity Strat on a Vox Conquerer amp than say a Gibson Les Paul on a crappy little practice amp
Yes, I think we’ve all seen enough videos dispelling the myth of ‘tonewoods,’ ha ha. Check out that one CZcams video where the guy just uses a piece of 2x4, then no neck at all-or body… just strings, stretched across two work benches. They do look cool, really inexpensive, and sound good. I didn’t finish watching the video. But probably like he said, the type of wood used-and also a lot of inexpensive parts, and just the overall craftsmanship and time spent on the guitars-make them so much more affordable. A 10 or $15 bridge, smaller frets that will not be dressed that nicely, $10 tuning keys, all that adds up to a very inexpensive guitar. But that’s all no secret, and pretty cool to get such a good guitar for such a low price. And if it’s your first guitar, or first ‘Strat,’ you won’t know the difference. And you’ll have a blast playing some SRV. 😝🤘🏻🎸 And if you’re really good, you can make that $150 guitar sound pretty close to an SRV million dollar number one! 😝🤘🏻🇺🇸🎸
i met a guy at guitar center once, who said he was trying to go to every store in the US and get his list signed, he showed me a list that went from Alaska up to where i lived and he had really went to every single one don't know if he ever completed his journey but i hope he did
@@shivagautamachristchan9710 i've met him a few times cos i'm from the north east and he's a great guy! When the whole pandemic is over i'd love to ride on down to Newcastle again
I hope you own PMT Dagan (or at least have a share) , cos ur working ur ass off on this channel - great videos mate - super informative AND entertaining :)
It's always been difficult for me to explain the feeling I got when I picked up my Clapton CS strat, and you nailed it. I'll be refering my mates to this channel, great vid. PS got the EC CS strat 12 yrs ago and still get that feeling, thank you.
It’s worth pointing out that the old fenders wore in and got played in so well because they were finished in nitrocellulose paint; only the American Original series and the Custom Shop guitars offer nitro from Fender nowadays, so even if you bought an American Professional and played it for twenty years, it wouldn’t wear so beautifully.
I stated in another comment that last week I bought a new Squire Bullet Strat HSS HT and it's scary because after I smoothed down the frets on the side of the neck and I can't stop playing it. I always stated that I keep my guitars quantity down so I can play equally but I went to play my Epiphone LP and the Squire felt better! I'm not practicing what I preach!
Personally my favorite Fenders are made in Japan. Same feel and sound as the American made but priced much cheaper and usually have a higher resale value.
The Squiers are actually NOT made by Fender, but are made by Cort, Samick, and Yako overseas under contract with Fender, to Fender's specs and using parts specified and/or supplied by Fender. Only guitars made im Mexico and California are technically made BY Fender, because they own and operate those two factories. Even Japanaese Fenders, as amazing as their quality is, are NOT made by Fender either, but are made by Japanese factories under contract with Fender also. The Squiers made since 2019 have Indian Laurel boards instead of rosewood, just like Fender ones have been Pau Ferro since then too. Only American and Japanese Fenders still use rosewood boards. Also, very few production guitars use ash anymore, since the species is being destroyed by an infestation of beetles. Because of that, guitars made of ash are in very limited quantities, and only on a select few models and CS guitars.
They started in 1989 before that they packaged strings at the MIM plant. it did burn down and they rebuilt it in the late 90's the 1997 Calif series were the first ones to have the wood cut in the USA and finished in mexico and shipped back to the USA for final assembly and also the first Classic MIM series of Teles and Strats 1998 were made this way wood cut in the USA shipped to the MIM plant just for finishing and back to the USA for the final assembly. Now this is Just something i found on Google, but if this makes you tell me im awesome and thumb this up i will be glad i spent 3ish minutes searching about
I play a 1987 Squier strat and it is my favorite guitar of all time. it's #E1001116 which means it's the first-ever run of Korean squiers!. It's better than every other strat I've ever played and heard. something about the way those Korean strats are built that is so so so good
I would love the next incarnation of the American elite/ultra series to feature roasted woods, 24 stainless steel frets, luminescent inlay material and maybe even neck-through construction. After all, if it's supposed to be the result of the most modern features a manufacturer can reasonably put into a guitar all at once, those are some really great (and popular) features.
My first electric guitar was a 1984 Ibanez Strat copy only the headstock was different. I don't know if they had Squiers then...I'm a middle aged dude always a guitar player forever.
Dagan, Dagan, Dagan ... (shakes head sadly,) Squier is not a sister company of Fender. It never was. It's a BRAND owned and run by Fender. There was once a VC Squier Co. that supplied strings to Fender in the 1950s; It became a Fender subsidiary in 1965, but Fender dissolved it in the 1970s, years before releasing the first Squier guitars. The VC Squier Co. never had anything to do with making Squier guitars.
@@zydanj He could have skipped the history, and just said that Squier is Fender's budget brand -- accurate, and sufficient information for the purpose at hand. Also too, Dagan said that Affinity is the lowest rung of Fender's product series. We all know that's Bullet. These factual errors don't look good for a guy who's supposed to have deep product knowledge.
@@amirkhalid5449 this same guy is talking about tonewoods and the sounds certain fretboard give...an old myth thats been debunked recently again by youtubers playing glass and aluminum necks.
Awesome awesome awesome breakdown man! Such a comprehensive breakdown, I love my fender Stratocaster but would love to try a customer shop 🤣 ..btw did your watch change wrist half way through??
I have an early 00’s Squire Strat. It’s total garbage. But oh, have I modded it over the years from tuners, to pickups, to bridge. All done for a reasonable price. It also has a great neck. It would cost me a fortune to replicate it. Lesson is Strats are great, great, modding platforms.
I really enjoyed listening to you play but at 12:30 my two cats did not like that sound lol. It really upset them! Well I thought it sounded great anyway lol. I'm learning to play (slightly later in life) and would love to be able to play like you some day :)
Hello PMTVUK, greetings from Germany, yes, you're right, Strats don't have to come from Fender. But I can understand that American musicians are very proud of Fender and Gibson, just as Germans are proud of Mercedes Benz and BMW, that's all right! But when it comes to Strats and Teles, many German and European musicians don't think the same way as their American colleagues. I'm not saying anything against Fender and Squier guitars, but I recommend assessing the whole thing qualitatively. As far as I know, with Squier you don't currently get an alder body, but alder has its own sound, its own frequency spectrum, which is typical for the 60s Strat, while ash has the sound of a 54 Strat, etc. a 53 Tele, woods sound typical if these woods have a minimum quality. Fender has made it a condition of its subsidiaries that they are not allowed to build the bodies from the original wood, precisely because these subsidiaries sometimes delivered higher quality work, so that they do not have the same authentic Fender sound in the guitars produced there should hear that this is not an original Fender! This only changed for the Fender factory in Mexico after the 2000s, and the Mexico people were finally allowed to use alder for the Classic 50ie and Classic 60ie. Therefore, it can be reduced to the question: How do I get an authentic sound for cheap money? The solution: I play BLADE Texas Classic and BLADE Texas Standard Pro, which, for example, are very cheap used, have an alder body and a dense maple neck, a tapered neck-body-joint resulting in better playability, covered fret slots, the best workmanship and wood selection, and you can get it used for 300 to 400 Euros. So then I recommend swapping the pickups and then putting DiMarzio True Velvet in there, maybe only in the neck and middle position, in the bridge position I would recommend a Seymour Duncan SSL-1. Great combo, nothing Fender-like can match it!!! In terms of quality and sound, the BLADE guitars stand out in the high-end series production, and sometimes also in the custom shop segment. Add to that better playability and the chord is fading away harmoniously! I used to play the ESP 400 Series Strats, now the BLADE are definitely coming along! My conclusion: Get a BLADE Texas Classic for cheap money, or a Texas Standard Pro with midboost like the Fender Eric Clapton, add good pickups, and you have a noble guitar! Or if you want to spend a little more money and have a traditional feeling, you can buy an “ESP-400-Series” strat. So I don't need Fenders and Squiers here in Germany, we have so many alternatives in and from Europe and Japan/Asia like TOKAI and FGN, very fine guitars with good selected woods, original authentic woods, and best quality of craftmannship.
Relic'd strats/teles aren't for me, but I can see the attraction from people to them. My only problem is that it seems like the custom shop makes way more relic'd ones than NOS ones. When I was looking for a CS strat, almost every one I really liked was relic'd, and that's not for me. I wish they would make a 50/50 split as opposed to the 75/25 split it seems to be.
@@marander512 I found a REALLY good deal for a Limited Edition NOS strat, too good to pass up. I really wanted a surf green or daphne blue, but ended up with a Chocolate 3 tone sunburst, but again...too good of a deal to pass up. So in the end I'm happy, but when I was looking, it was just the overwhelming majority of CS strats were relic'd.
I thought the Bullet was the base model?The player series has a dual fulcrum bridge noticable intantly, that's a jump up in hardware quality. Who makes the bridges for them Dagan, do you know? Thanks.I have a Shecter 79 Van Nuys Strat and it can go toe to toe with an American Fender Strat no problem, i love it it's a great player.
You really should have played a classic vibe instead of the affinity. There's a huge difference in quality between those two. Other than that, another great video!
They're pretty much as good as mim or better over than mim, I can't tell since mim have improved a lot but mij fenders are really nice since they're compared to most mia
Damn that American pro is the same one Sam fender uses I wish I could get that but I settled for a fender Mexican made Stratocaster whirlpool finish. One day !
I started with a Squire Affinity. I played that thing everyday like there was no tomorrow. It sounded alright, the only issue was that it would not stay in tune for longer than 5 minutes. I loved it. Now I can afford things and I have a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul Standard now. I gave my Squire to a friend’s son who wanted to learn and he is getting really good!
I would rather have a cv strat, a cv telecaster, and a cv jazzmaster, as opposed to one full fender. Then again if I had a lot of money, and I do mean a lot, and I could afford it then sure, I would probably buy all top of the line fenders. But at the moment I have a mustang bullet, which cost me 110 pounds, and an affinity strat, which are about 200, and they are both great. Thinking about buying a classic vibe at some point tho, cos I love squier so much that I want to try a cv.
I wish somebody would talk about ghost builders and maybe interview a few and get a few secrets. Bet they would have some interesting stories to tell. Speaking of which, is Alexanxer Dumbell still alive and if so is he still making amps?
I'm really stuck with this choise. I want to buy a Fender, like a proper one, but in Russia players costs more than 1000$ and the CVs costs something between 700-1000$. And i don't know, i'm fine with my Affinity strat, but now i can feel and hear the difference between cheap (but in Russia affinity wasn't that cheep tho) and expensive guitar tho. I mean, i can imagen a world of Russian music where everybody plays Squiers, cuz that's a a mid-range guitars in Russia :')
I played them both for 2 weeks trying to decide . And when I finally purchased I got the player . The $400 difference wasn’t noticeable to me to just get an American one. And believe me I went in wanting to get my first American made guitar . But could not in the end justify it
It just dawned on me that the sweat shop conversation never ever comes up during any of these reviews. That's a big part of why they're so much cheaper. And it's part of the quality control issue. I try and shop as local as possible when buying anything, musical or not. It's often impossible to do when it comes to electronics but they do still make guitars in the US and UK. Even if you don't care about the ethical side of the issue, surely you want to keep at least a few jobs in your country.
You should also take into account the average salaries in these countries (and elsewhere). For example, waiters in my country of residence are probably paid less than in the UK but that doesn't necessarily mean they're valued less, or worse - exploited. By extension, you can't simply say that anyone working in a factory outside the US or UK works in a sweatshop. All that said, I do understand your point of view and agree that buying local is the way to go in some cases.
@@bunnyechoes all good points. Honestly I just never think of this issue when it comes to guitars and no one seems to bring it up. I tend to learn towards US and japan guitars for quality reasons but obviously those guitars can sometimes be crap as well. It's a topic worth exploring i think.
Why no mention of the quality of Machine heads. ??...I found out my Fender Jim Adkins thinline has but Cheapo ,,Squier Telecaster Tuners..that cost about £4-16 pence each..£25 for 6. .Spend a £120 odd squid and put better Tuners on it. !! Graph Tech or Fender own American Locking Tuners makes a world of difference. The Wiring is still Squier wiring though.. and i see if you can find one they are going for around the £750-£800 mark new and 2nd hand... i paid £350-£400 for mine new back in 2008/9... Beautiful Guitar though... !!
I feel like comparing these guitars is like comparing less expensive vodka with expensive vodka. There’s a slight difference but both get the job done 😂
these day's you don't have to buy an custom shop fender anymore , if you like the old school fenders then just by an american original series fender , there awesome ( just as good as any custom shop ) and they cost a lot less .
A half of an hour south of Corona Fender shop is Lake Elsinore CA where I am from and Suhr guitars are made. An hour and 45 minutes south is National City CA. National City is near the Mexico border. So no, Mexico is not 30 minutes south from Corona. It's 2 and a half hours with no traffic. 3 with average traffic. I live in Riverside CA and work in LA but I worked in National City off of Sweetwater Road for years when I lived in Elsinore. This dude has jokes, I guess.
Corey Cann lol I’ve heard stupid joke so many times and I just don’t get how someone thats from Cali would say half an hour 🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️ some add in that it’s the same Mexicans working at both factories 🤬
I use to think you were a tops pot. Now I've found out you ate indeed a tops pot. Just kidding man. Love your shit! And yes I understand there's sales involved but you break things down quite nicelymkrrp up the Goo work man. Love itm
I've got a squire bullet tele and for me it sounds great but the frets are quite sharp and the neck itself feels a lot worse quality than my friend's player series tele
Martin Lahaie I thought the same at the start when he played the squier. I assumed it was the Peavey sound because I have heard other you tubers play the same model squier and they all sounded pretty decent tone wise. Then he played the fender Mexican and the tone I heard through my headphones was so much better, actually. Maybe the amp is not a good match for the squier or he didn’t eq it perfectly for the squier? Anyway he sold me on that player strat now I have to get one!
Sounds good/bad is mostly coming from the amp, a small part from the pickups. But I personally don’t think those Indonesian made Squier have very good playability. -A freaking picky high demanding Gibson guy
The first time I played a Player Strat I was so taken back. Neck felt like a hollow baseball bat. Cheap finish, like balsa wood to the touch. I’ve owned three USA Malmsteen Strats, and wanted something a bit cheaper for a couch/beat around guitar that I’d scallop myself. It was pretty depressing.
They were awful in the past. Classic vibe squier strats were even way superior. The newest MIM guitars are quite ok though. Not like a AM Pro or AM Original but close to a AM Performer.
I bought a 2019 Vintera Jazzmaster from Andertons. The fretboard had a big gouge in it that the high E would rub and wear out on it. The neck pocket would creak constantly as would the tremolo. Sent that back within 2 days. Got sad then decided I wanted a MiM Player Telecaster. Ordered a 2019 one, when it arrived the switch tip fell off and didnt fit correctly. Glued it back, then two screws fell out of the scratchplate, straight out of the box. Pickups sounded great so decided to keep it and just change the pots. Opened it up, had to replace 3 pickguard screws and 1 screw in the control plate. Also the shielding was atrocious inside. Bought a Classic Vibe strat - not one problem, perfect. Also have a 2017 Fender USA Elite Strat that is impeccable. TL;DR: I've had bad luck with MiM stuff. Will be ignoring them in future
The bang for buck quality you can get for a high end American Strat (around 1500-1700) wont even get you a decent Gibson. Fenders are just a far better deal!
A good guitar player can make even the shittiest junk sound tolerable or better. Especially through a good amp. But, I get that he sells guitars for a living and experienced players are not who he's trying to convince.
Just because squier's a bit cheaper doesn't mean it sounded bad, to be honest, it's sound relies on the player's capacity to play, No matter what price range the guitar belongs. If you play bad, it's ur fault, don't blame the guitar.
The standard is actually the professional now because I had an American standard strat but it got stolen. I'm not sure if the Mexican ones had a standard model too but I dont think so.
I was going to say that all the famous rock stars played American standards. Idk why they changed it idk I guess because professional sounds more special than standard.
Jaime Cerrada it’s alright if your not educated on those early MIJ JV squiers with the fender logo. Even fender Fullerton felt like they couldn’t compete with the quality of these, so they rebranded with then with the squier logo. Correct Vintage specs, nitro lacquer, red bobbin vintage pickups they were exactly replicas of 50s and 60s strats and teles . even the custom shop gets it wrong these days.
@@Nightshade1881 Yes I am. I checked hundreds of guitars (Fenders, Gibsons, CustomShops, JVs, MIJ ... ) But I would never say in general terms something like you said just because the JV's follow the correct and "hysteric" specs. If you take only the specs... the specs doesn't mean superior quality regard the current CustomShops.... mate this has no sense. Are there some JV that are great? Yes, they are ... but not all of them just because yes. Current CustomShops are awesome guitars. Are there some not great as you like? Probably yes. If you'd rather keep believing in unicorns (specs) is your choice.
Jaime Cerrada yup only the early fender branded JVs would be on par with custom shops, I one an 84 SQ small headstock 57 squier that I wouldn’t trade for any custom shop that I’ve played. Not all custom shops are great. My 82 dan smith is another one that I would trade.
Oh no I’m binge watching gear videos again..
Help.
Looking at the money in your bank usually helps to get back to reality
All the guitars in this video are good to varying degrees. I'd say if you're thinking of buying a strat, buy the highest end one you can afford without screwing your finances.
They're works of art these guitars and you'll have something you can love playing for the rest of your life.
Wether you have a squier or a CS you're gonna have a blast!
I really like the MIM from the 90's !!
Well said ‼️😎🔥🎸
Squires are definitely making a come back & MIM Fenders from recent years are awesome too. There’s so many low cost options today
yeah my grandpas made in mexico strat from around 2001 plays just as good as a recent cheap squire i bought . squires are crazy good now
As a beginner guitarist this video was great! Very enlightening. Thanks Dagan for another awesome vid 👍
easy answer:
Fender if you’re rich...
Squier if you’re not...
There is another deep hole called Gibson XD
Or get soon a 1965 fender like me :D
Karl Marx weird flex but okay
Player series is affordable and an absolute gem of a guitar
Fender is for rich guys or snobs. Squier is for working class hero - put DiMarzios in, change the nut and you're good to go. Of course, tonewood is just a myth. If you put Cruisers, no wood is gonna compete with that output. If you're obsessed with tonewood, play acoustic or violin.
Your comment about the psychological playing is so true. Just picked up a 2008 Tele Standard that makes me play differently. I play it slower so I can hear the tone of each note. It sounds awesome in my mind. As far a relics go, not my bag so I bought used to get the played in feel. A lot cheaper and it’s genuine wear. Do like the art aspect to relic custom shop but my wife tells me I can’t afford it full stop. Nice review. 👍🇦🇺
The player series comes with great, appealing tone, and the sound is close to US made fender. Love the player series. 🎸🎸
I love the Player Series as well.
And if I'm not wrong, they updated them so that the Player series is more or less the exact same guitar as the previous Fender American Standard.
Doesn't matter to me, as long as they play awesome :)
just got a butter cream player series strat and i’m in love the tone is amazing
Robbie Loughery Classic color ever!! Butterscotch, butter cream, daybreak (MIJ)
Wabin22 right, the player series’ pickups are better than the standard model. More clean, high output, crunchy! Love the neck position tone the most!!
Are the PUP's noisless? or do they buzz ?
Player series has always been the most appealing to me
I was kind of underwhelmed trying out the Player series - I guess maybe it could have had something to do with the setup in-store, but they really just felt mediocre to me. I love my Squier Vintage Modified Strat (precursor to the Classic Vibe series) and at $299, it’s much more appealing to me than the Player Strat. I do love the Player HH Jag, though
Clark Fannin I like the American performer or professional the most based on specs without playing them.
Players are ideal
@@jclarkfii I had a CV Strat and loved it. Some of the parts were stripping through and not many color options. I got other guitars above 1k and did not enjoy them as much as my CV! I then ended up getting the Player and love it the most. It was like a refined CV!
Dagan makes me want to buy anything he plays.. Thanks God he doesn't review grand pianos.
At the end of the day, we have to remember that 99% of the tone from guitars are because of the amplifiers. I would rather play a Squier Affinity Strat on a Vox Conquerer amp than say a Gibson Les Paul on a crappy little practice amp
LoL
Yes, I think we’ve all seen enough videos dispelling the myth of ‘tonewoods,’ ha ha. Check out that one CZcams video where the guy just uses a piece of 2x4, then no neck at all-or body… just strings, stretched across two work benches.
They do look cool, really inexpensive, and sound good. I didn’t finish watching the video. But probably like he said, the type of wood used-and also a lot of inexpensive parts, and just the overall craftsmanship and time spent on the guitars-make them so much more affordable. A 10 or $15 bridge, smaller frets that will not be dressed that nicely, $10 tuning keys, all that adds up to a very inexpensive guitar.
But that’s all no secret, and pretty cool to get such a good guitar for such a low price. And if it’s your first guitar, or first ‘Strat,’ you won’t know the difference. And you’ll have a blast playing some SRV. 😝🤘🏻🎸
And if you’re really good, you can make that $150 guitar sound pretty close to an SRV million dollar number one! 😝🤘🏻🇺🇸🎸
I can’t wait for this whole COVID thing to end so that I can go up and down the country to different PMT stores
Dagans in Newcastle
Will it ever end
i met a guy at guitar center once, who said he was trying to go to every store in the US and get his list signed, he showed me a list that went from Alaska up to where i lived and he had really went to every single one don't know if he ever completed his journey but i hope he did
@@shivagautamachristchan9710 i've met him a few times cos i'm from the north east and he's a great guy!
When the whole pandemic is over i'd love to ride on down to Newcastle again
I like that single cut fender behind him😂
I hope you own PMT Dagan (or at least have a share) , cos ur working ur ass off on this channel - great videos mate - super informative AND entertaining :)
Quality content as always. Thank you for such an articulate / informative comparison video.
It's always been difficult for me to explain the feeling I got when I picked up my Clapton CS strat, and you nailed it. I'll be refering my mates to this channel, great vid. PS got the EC CS strat 12 yrs ago and still get that feeling, thank you.
I think I will go with the American standard, thank you Dagan for such a detailed explanation!
It’s worth pointing out that the old fenders wore in and got played in so well because they were finished in nitrocellulose paint; only the American Original series and the Custom Shop guitars offer nitro from Fender nowadays, so even if you bought an American Professional and played it for twenty years, it wouldn’t wear so beautifully.
Plus the Classic Series Lacquer and Roadworn series MiMs.
I've heard that Originals do have a poly undercoat. So the only true ,,old school,, nitro covered are the CS , correct me if I am wrong :)
I stated in another comment that last week I bought a new Squire Bullet Strat HSS HT and it's scary because after I smoothed down the frets on the side of the neck and I can't stop playing it. I always stated that I keep my guitars quantity down so I can play equally but I went to play my Epiphone LP and the Squire felt better! I'm not practicing what I preach!
Personally my favorite Fenders are made in Japan. Same feel and sound as the American made but priced much cheaper and usually have a higher resale value.
Couldn’t go wrong with the 80 Squiers
Sounds great! Love some Squiers in my collection of affordable axes🤘🏼. My favorite is my MIJ '70s Strat with Lollar pups. Cheers!
Very well done lad. I always enjoy your videos and always useful information.
Superb video! Great energy. Thanks
Love your videos. Very entertaining and informative.
The Squiers are actually NOT made by Fender, but are made by Cort, Samick, and Yako overseas under contract with Fender, to Fender's specs and using parts specified and/or supplied by Fender. Only guitars made im Mexico and California are technically made BY Fender, because they own and operate those two factories. Even Japanaese Fenders, as amazing as their quality is, are NOT made by Fender either, but are made by Japanese factories under contract with Fender also. The Squiers made since 2019 have Indian Laurel boards instead of rosewood, just like Fender ones have been Pau Ferro since then too. Only American and Japanese Fenders still use rosewood boards. Also, very few production guitars use ash anymore, since the species is being destroyed by an infestation of beetles. Because of that, guitars made of ash are in very limited quantities, and only on a select few models and CS guitars.
Thx that was really helpful, could see the joy as you were playing the custom shop, thinking of getting my first proper electric, a custom shop :)
his eyes are sparkling with the fenders in his hand....pro especially
Fender began producing instruments in its Ensenada, Mexico, factory in 1990. :)
They started in 1989 before that they packaged strings at the MIM plant. it did burn down and they rebuilt it in the late 90's the 1997 Calif series were the first ones to have the wood cut in the USA and finished in mexico and shipped back to the USA for final assembly and also the first Classic MIM series of Teles and Strats 1998 were made this way wood cut in the USA shipped to the MIM plant just for finishing and back to the USA for the final assembly.
Now this is Just something i found on Google, but if this makes you tell me im awesome and thumb this up i will be glad i spent 3ish minutes searching about
Dagen, we love you and we love your love for strats
I like this guy a lot more than chapman! Much more humble and polite
I play a 1987 Squier strat and it is my favorite guitar of all time. it's #E1001116 which means it's the first-ever run of Korean squiers!. It's better than every other strat I've ever played and heard. something about the way those Korean strats are built that is so so so good
I'm fond of my old E9 Korean made.
I picked up an American Professional as my first electric and it’s audibly different and feels nicer than the MIM’s I had played
Rich kid
John Vlasiou nah man, just worked and saved for it🤙🏽
Best player I ever met played Squire... when I asked him why he said "they're cheaper"
I would love the next incarnation of the American elite/ultra series to feature roasted woods, 24 stainless steel frets, luminescent inlay material and maybe even neck-through construction. After all, if it's supposed to be the result of the most modern features a manufacturer can reasonably put into a guitar all at once, those are some really great (and popular) features.
My first electric guitar was a 1984 Ibanez Strat copy only the headstock was different. I don't know if they had Squiers then...I'm a middle aged dude always a guitar player forever.
Damn Dagan pulling through right when I'm thinking about buying a strat
Dagan, Dagan, Dagan ... (shakes head sadly,) Squier is not a sister company of Fender. It never was. It's a BRAND owned and run by Fender. There was once a VC Squier Co. that supplied strings to Fender in the 1950s; It became a Fender subsidiary in 1965, but Fender dissolved it in the 1970s, years before releasing the first Squier guitars. The VC Squier Co. never had anything to do with making Squier guitars.
i think dagan said that for simplicity, noone really has time to know all the details
@@zydanj He could have skipped the history, and just said that Squier is Fender's budget brand -- accurate, and sufficient information for the purpose at hand.
Also too, Dagan said that Affinity is the lowest rung of Fender's product series. We all know that's Bullet. These factual errors don't look good for a guy who's supposed to have deep product knowledge.
@@amirkhalid5449 this same guy is talking about tonewoods and the sounds certain fretboard give...an old myth thats been debunked recently again by youtubers playing glass and aluminum necks.
Awesome awesome awesome breakdown man! Such a comprehensive breakdown, I love my fender Stratocaster but would love to try a customer shop 🤣
..btw did your watch change wrist half way through??
Love that blue fender strat on the wall
Kenny Everett lives lol. Great video best one I’ve seen for explaining the differences and this guys great.
Every fender strat I’ve had suffered with terrible fret buzz ! Is this normal ?
I have an early 00’s Squire Strat. It’s total garbage. But oh, have I modded it over the years from tuners, to pickups, to bridge. All done for a reasonable price. It also has a great neck. It would cost me a fortune to replicate it. Lesson is Strats are great, great, modding platforms.
Hey Dagan. Just wanted to say, from one SG guy to another, I finally got a Gibson. 1999 SG Standard.
I started off on a squier affinity stat and it was great except for the pickups- they sounded really cheap and not like what you’d expect from a strat
I learned a lot from this video!
Been in Ensenada since July 20th 1987. So 33 years
Shame he didn’t mention Fender Vintera, Fender American Original, Fender American Ultra...
That white player strat sounds amazing.
I really enjoyed listening to you play but at 12:30 my two cats did not like that sound lol. It really upset them! Well I thought it sounded great anyway lol. I'm learning to play (slightly later in life) and would love to be able to play like you some day :)
Hello PMTVUK, greetings from Germany, yes, you're right, Strats don't have to come from Fender. But I can understand that American musicians are very proud of Fender and Gibson, just as Germans are proud of Mercedes Benz and BMW, that's all right! But when it comes to Strats and Teles, many German and European musicians don't think the same way as their American colleagues. I'm not saying anything against Fender and Squier guitars, but I recommend assessing the whole thing qualitatively. As far as I know, with Squier you don't currently get an alder body, but alder has its own sound, its own frequency spectrum, which is typical for the 60s Strat, while ash has the sound of a 54 Strat, etc. a 53 Tele, woods sound typical if these woods have a minimum quality. Fender has made it a condition of its subsidiaries that they are not allowed to build the bodies from the original wood, precisely because these subsidiaries sometimes delivered higher quality work, so that they do not have the same authentic Fender sound in the guitars produced there should hear that this is not an original Fender!
This only changed for the Fender factory in Mexico after the 2000s, and the Mexico people were finally allowed to use alder for the Classic 50ie and Classic 60ie. Therefore, it can be reduced to the question: How do I get an authentic sound for cheap money? The solution: I play BLADE Texas Classic and BLADE Texas Standard Pro, which, for example, are very cheap used, have an alder body and a dense maple neck, a tapered neck-body-joint resulting in better playability, covered fret slots, the best workmanship and wood selection, and you can get it used for 300 to 400 Euros. So then I recommend swapping the pickups and then putting DiMarzio True Velvet in there, maybe only in the neck and middle position, in the bridge position I would recommend a Seymour Duncan SSL-1. Great combo, nothing Fender-like can match it!!!
In terms of quality and sound, the BLADE guitars stand out in the high-end series production, and sometimes also in the custom shop segment. Add to that better playability and the chord is fading away harmoniously! I used to play the ESP 400 Series Strats, now the BLADE are definitely coming along! My conclusion: Get a BLADE Texas Classic for cheap money, or a Texas Standard Pro with midboost like the Fender Eric Clapton, add good pickups, and you have a noble guitar! Or if you want to spend a little more money and have a traditional feeling, you can buy an “ESP-400-Series” strat. So I don't need Fenders and Squiers here in Germany, we have so many alternatives in and from Europe and Japan/Asia like TOKAI and FGN, very fine guitars with good selected woods, original authentic woods, and best quality of craftmannship.
Relic'd strats/teles aren't for me, but I can see the attraction from people to them. My only problem is that it seems like the custom shop makes way more relic'd ones than NOS ones. When I was looking for a CS strat, almost every one I really liked was relic'd, and that's not for me. I wish they would make a 50/50 split as opposed to the 75/25 split it seems to be.
@@marander512 I found a REALLY good deal for a Limited Edition NOS strat, too good to pass up. I really wanted a surf green or daphne blue, but ended up with a Chocolate 3 tone sunburst, but again...too good of a deal to pass up. So in the end I'm happy, but when I was looking, it was just the overwhelming majority of CS strats were relic'd.
Like always got a custom shop taste with a squire budget
I thought the Bullet was the base model?The player series has a dual fulcrum bridge noticable intantly, that's a jump up in hardware quality. Who makes the bridges for them Dagan, do you know? Thanks.I have a Shecter 79 Van Nuys Strat and it can go toe to toe with an American Fender Strat no problem, i love it it's a great player.
squier 60s classic vibes sound so nice
You really should have played a classic vibe instead of the affinity. There's a huge difference in quality between those two. Other than that, another great video!
at the end of the day the amp and pickups matters the most
no. there is alot more then that I have probably owned 120 guitars
@@soofitnsexy Pickups/amps/pedals are 90+% of sound.
Next video: Indonesian Epiphone vs Chinese Epiphone vs Gibson USA vs Gibson CustomShop
Yes after my comment....Prediction XD
That amp is dialed in perfect kinda like the player sound better than the price or the custom shop
It’s awesome to have a compound radius from 9.5-12 please help bring it back
thanks for your work. it is the nuance of the clay that is worth 3000.-😉
How about fender japan made Stratocaster ??
They're pretty much as good as mim or better over than mim, I can't tell since mim have improved a lot but mij fenders are really nice since they're compared to most mia
fender custom shop is actually the best Deal...the best bargain in this video....but few will understand this...
Damn that American pro is the same one Sam fender uses I wish I could get that but I settled for a fender Mexican made Stratocaster whirlpool finish. One day !
I started with a Squire Affinity. I played that thing everyday like there was no tomorrow. It sounded alright, the only issue was that it would not stay in tune for longer than 5 minutes. I loved it.
Now I can afford things and I have a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul Standard now. I gave my Squire to a friend’s son who wanted to learn and he is getting really good!
What if you buy a fender that was made in America but the bloke who built it is Mexican?
Bonus!
You are actually correct, I’ve taken the fender corona tour and they are all made my Latino and Hispanic folks. Skilled amazing people 🙏🏼
😂
I would rather have a cv strat, a cv telecaster, and a cv jazzmaster, as opposed to one full fender. Then again if I had a lot of money, and I do mean a lot, and I could afford it then sure, I would probably buy all top of the line fenders. But at the moment I have a mustang bullet, which cost me 110 pounds, and an affinity strat, which are about 200, and they are both great. Thinking about buying a classic vibe at some point tho, cos I love squier so much that I want to try a cv.
I wish somebody would talk about ghost builders and maybe interview a few and get a few secrets. Bet they would have some interesting stories to tell. Speaking of which, is Alexanxer Dumbell still alive and if so is he still making amps?
squier was my first guitar..hated the position of the control knobs..moved on to epi sg400
Really good job with the guitars, but that is a fine watch.
I'm really stuck with this choise. I want to buy a Fender, like a proper one, but in Russia players costs more than 1000$ and the CVs costs something between 700-1000$. And i don't know, i'm fine with my Affinity strat, but now i can feel and hear the difference between cheap (but in Russia affinity wasn't that cheep tho) and expensive guitar tho. I mean, i can imagen a world of Russian music where everybody plays Squiers, cuz that's a a mid-range guitars in Russia :')
The body of that Strat is made of Alder? But is that Alder than me?
I can't help but wonder if it was a mistake for me paying more for American performer vs player was worth it
I played them both for 2 weeks trying to decide . And when I finally purchased I got the player . The $400 difference wasn’t noticeable to me to just get an American one. And believe me I went in wanting to get my first American made guitar . But could not in the end justify it
It just dawned on me that the sweat shop conversation never ever comes up during any of these reviews. That's a big part of why they're so much cheaper. And it's part of the quality control issue. I try and shop as local as possible when buying anything, musical or not. It's often impossible to do when it comes to electronics but they do still make guitars in the US and UK. Even if you don't care about the ethical side of the issue, surely you want to keep at least a few jobs in your country.
You should also take into account the average salaries in these countries (and elsewhere). For example, waiters in my country of residence are probably paid less than in the UK but that doesn't necessarily mean they're valued less, or worse - exploited. By extension, you can't simply say that anyone working in a factory outside the US or UK works in a sweatshop. All that said, I do understand your point of view and agree that buying local is the way to go in some cases.
@@bunnyechoes all good points. Honestly I just never think of this issue when it comes to guitars and no one seems to bring it up. I tend to learn towards US and japan guitars for quality reasons but obviously those guitars can sometimes be crap as well. It's a topic worth exploring i think.
Why no mention of the quality of Machine heads. ??...I found out my Fender Jim Adkins thinline has but Cheapo ,,Squier Telecaster Tuners..that cost about £4-16 pence each..£25 for 6. .Spend a £120 odd squid and put better Tuners on it. !! Graph Tech or Fender own American Locking Tuners makes a world of difference. The Wiring is still Squier wiring though.. and i see if you can find one they are going for around the £750-£800 mark new and 2nd hand... i paid £350-£400 for mine new back in 2008/9... Beautiful Guitar though... !!
I feel like comparing these guitars is like comparing less expensive vodka with expensive vodka. There’s a slight difference but both get the job done 😂
these day's you don't have to buy an custom shop fender anymore , if you like the old school fenders then just by an american original series fender , there awesome ( just as good as any custom shop ) and they cost a lot less .
Player Series...that is all.
😂🤦🏻♂️ half an hour south? Nope, more like 2 and a half hours. Not sure who came up with that joke but it’s definitely not half an hour.
A half of an hour south of Corona Fender shop is Lake Elsinore CA where I am from and Suhr guitars are made. An hour and 45 minutes south is National City CA. National City is near the Mexico border. So no, Mexico is not 30 minutes south from Corona. It's 2 and a half hours with no traffic. 3 with average traffic. I live in Riverside CA and work in LA but I worked in National City off of Sweetwater Road for years when I lived in Elsinore. This dude has jokes, I guess.
Corey Cann lol I’ve heard stupid joke so many times and I just don’t get how someone thats from Cali would say half an hour 🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️ some add in that it’s the same Mexicans working at both factories 🤬
I use to think you were a tops pot. Now I've found out you ate indeed a tops pot. Just kidding man. Love your shit!
And yes I understand there's sales involved but you break things down quite nicelymkrrp up the Goo work man. Love itm
Hey, why we don´t have legends?
I've got a squire bullet tele and for me it sounds great but the frets are quite sharp and the neck itself feels a lot worse quality than my friend's player series tele
Relics 👍🎸
30 min south of Corona isn’t even San Diego.
Dont like the Peavey sound at all..
Martin Lahaie I thought the same at the start when he played the squier. I assumed it was the Peavey sound because I have heard other you tubers play the same model squier and they all sounded pretty decent tone wise. Then he played the fender Mexican and the tone I heard through my headphones was so much better, actually. Maybe the amp is not a good match for the squier or he didn’t eq it perfectly for the squier? Anyway he sold me on that player strat now I have to get one!
@@Eddicat I got a mexican player p bass a month or two back. I'm in love with it.
Yep that amp sounds horrible.
Sounds good/bad is mostly coming from the amp, a small part from the pickups. But I personally don’t think those Indonesian made Squier have very good playability.
-A freaking picky high demanding Gibson guy
My squier paranormal cyclone fells a bit better than a MIM strat i played.
The first time I played a Player Strat I was so taken back. Neck felt like a hollow baseball bat. Cheap finish, like balsa wood to the touch. I’ve owned three USA Malmsteen Strats, and wanted something a bit cheaper for a couch/beat around guitar that I’d scallop myself. It was pretty depressing.
They were awful in the past. Classic vibe squier strats were even way superior.
The newest MIM guitars are quite ok though. Not like a AM Pro or AM Original but close to a AM Performer.
I bought a 2019 Vintera Jazzmaster from Andertons. The fretboard had a big gouge in it that the high E would rub and wear out on it. The neck pocket would creak constantly as would the tremolo. Sent that back within 2 days.
Got sad then decided I wanted a MiM Player Telecaster. Ordered a 2019 one, when it arrived the switch tip fell off and didnt fit correctly. Glued it back, then two screws fell out of the scratchplate, straight out of the box. Pickups sounded great so decided to keep it and just change the pots. Opened it up, had to replace 3 pickguard screws and 1 screw in the control plate. Also the shielding was atrocious inside.
Bought a Classic Vibe strat - not one problem, perfect.
Also have a 2017 Fender USA Elite Strat that is impeccable.
TL;DR: I've had bad luck with MiM stuff. Will be ignoring them in future
@@locky828 sounds like Andertins should have returned it instead of selling that .
Squier was aquired by Fender in 1965, so a Squier is a Fender Period! Stevie Ray Vaughan played a Squier, He definitely was no beginner.
The resemblance to Russell Brand is insane.
Fun fact: Squier Classic Vibe guitars have bone nuts!
Afonso Rodrigues are they affinity’s ?
@@benallmark9671 what do you mean?
Afonso Rodrigues like is it a Affinity series Squire , you know there’s classics something else and Affinity’s.
@@benallmark9671 Squier Classic Vibe is the most expensive Squier series; Affinity is the line up before Classic Vibe.
Whose bone are they using? Which animal?
Your store also make a lot of money selling FENDER and GIBSON because your MARKUP is incredibly high also.
22:18
Hey, you can't ever have wasted 40 years of your life if you played a Stratocaster!
The bang for buck quality you can get for a high end American Strat (around 1500-1700) wont even get you a decent Gibson. Fenders are just a far better deal!
A good guitar player can make even the shittiest junk sound tolerable or better. Especially through a good amp. But, I get that he sells guitars for a living and experienced players are not who he's trying to convince.
We could all see you leaning on that volume pedal. Wasn't the pots.
Just because squier's a bit cheaper doesn't mean it sounded bad, to be honest, it's sound relies on the player's capacity to play, No matter what price range the guitar belongs.
If you play bad, it's ur fault, don't blame the guitar.
The standard is actually the professional now because I had an American standard strat but it got stolen. I'm not sure if the Mexican ones had a standard model too but I dont think so.
The standard was made in America and they cost as much as the pros but they always sold them for 999.
I was going to say that all the famous rock stars played American standards. Idk why they changed it idk I guess because professional sounds more special than standard.
I will have to check if made in Mexico had a standard too, they may of ....
An early 82 JV squier is on par or even better than custom shop fenders.
Ahahahahaha great joke! Tell me another one!
Jaime Cerrada 😂I guess you have never played an 82 JV 🤦🏻♂️ do some research buddy.
Jaime Cerrada it’s alright if your not educated on those early MIJ JV squiers with the fender logo. Even fender Fullerton felt like they couldn’t compete with the quality of these, so they rebranded with then with the squier logo. Correct Vintage specs, nitro lacquer, red bobbin vintage pickups they were exactly replicas of 50s and 60s strats and teles . even the custom shop gets it wrong these days.
@@Nightshade1881 Yes I am.
I checked hundreds of guitars (Fenders, Gibsons, CustomShops, JVs, MIJ ... )
But I would never say in general terms something like you said just because the JV's follow the correct and "hysteric" specs. If you take only the specs... the specs doesn't mean superior quality regard the current CustomShops.... mate this has no sense. Are there some JV that are great? Yes, they are ... but not all of them just because yes. Current CustomShops are awesome guitars. Are there some not great as you like? Probably yes.
If you'd rather keep believing in unicorns (specs) is your choice.
Jaime Cerrada yup only the early fender branded JVs would be on par with custom shops, I one an 84 SQ small headstock 57 squier that I wouldn’t trade for any custom shop that I’ve played. Not all custom shops are great. My 82 dan smith is another one that I would trade.
Is his accent changing?
Just soooo fun eh'