Squier Classic Vibe Strat '50s ( 2-Tone Sunburst)- Really Sweet!

I love Strats. I own many Fenders--American as well as a few MIMs. I also own a number of G & L guitars -- Legacy's, and an S-500, plus I own a number of low end but decent Strat clones-- Samick Valley Arts, and a Samick Malibu. I also own a custom made Strat called the "Stardust" made by Neil Smith of Vegas Guitars (probably my favorite Strat type). But I am completely blown away by this Squire 50s Classic Vibe. To start with it has a quarter sawn neck (ala Eric Johnson Strat). Fit and finish--gorgeous! I put on #10 strings and did a basic set up. The neck was rather concave with the 10s but with a twist of the rod (pretty tight it was) it straightened right up. Now this thing plays almost like my high end strats. I had thought about changing out the PUs and pots, but these actually sound great as they are. This Strat out of the box is better than most Fender MIMs. This is really a great value. If I were a pro (I'm definitely not) I doubt I'd be doing shows with it, but for the hobbyist/weekend warrior type musician this is an outstanding guitar for the money. Hats off to Sweetwater--I picked this axe out of their Guitar Gallery and the pictures of it really showed it like it is. No problems or damage in shipping. Guitar Gallery is the best way to buy a guitar online. Also my sales rep (Brandon E.) always follows up on my purchases and has taken care of any issues that have come up (which isn't often).

One of the best

As close to the 57 strat as you can get for under $1500.

I have an Eric Johnson Signature Strat modeled on the 57 strat.
Obviously that is nicer but not by much tonally or how this feels to play..

If you can afford this Squier guitar nothing is holding you back from becoming a great guitarist. I may get this as a backup to my EJ strat
and to take on bar gigs where I don't want to take the EJ strat too. This Squier is that good!!!!

Best Strat value

This is a great Stratocaster. Mine needed a little fret work around the 19 and 20, way up the neck, but basically at was great out of the box (or off the rack in my case). I wound up doing all the frets anyway, and installing a "mint green" pre wired pickgaurd with hotter ceramic magnet pickups, and replacing the stock trem block with a high mass brass block. Now I have a Strat that performs about equal to a MIM strat, or slightly outperforms one, for 50 dollars less, and that looks a mile cooler. I wouldnt hesitate to buy this guitar again, or recomend it to a familly member. If you like hotter pickups and snazzy pickgaurds you might consider getting the "60's vibe" though.

Beautiful Guitar

My first guitar was an Affinity series stratocaster from Squier and people told me I'd be happy when I upgrade to a "real" guitar. Well, the fact is Squier guitars are real guitars and they're good guitars. So I upgraded my Squier to another Squier, the Classic Vibe '50s Stratocaster. Ordered online, was delivered unbelievably quickly, and came out of the box clean as a whistle, action was perfect, no fret buzz, high and low E strings are in perfect position. The finish is just gorgeous. The pick-ups are great. Roll off the tone in the neck position on a clean setting and you'd think you're in heaven. Surprisingly articulate while distorted.

My biggest concern before purchasing was the glossy neck, I thought maybe it would be a little sticky and not as fast but I was proved wrong. Very smooth playing, very easy to chord, great for speedy lead lines, whatever you want to do.

Also, I've heard people complain about the 1-ply pickguard but it looks fine to me! I don't get it.

I can't even stop playing this thing, this is crazy.

Holly/Clapton Time Machine

When I opened the box and first glanced upon this beauty, I was in awe. It's as if this guitar was stashed away in a vault 40 yrs ago.

I researched Buddy Holly's and Clapton's strats and for the money this is dead on. Open up the Layla album and you will see this guitar-minus the Fender logo. Even the Squire headstock logo looks great. The aged p/u covers and pots look great on top of the single-ply white pickguard. The tinted maple neck is drop-dead beautiful. 2 color sunburst is of a honey-brown color. Pictures don't give it justice. Sweetwater should place this in its "Guitar Gallery" section, where the photos are clearer.

Enough of the cosmetics. The sound is excellent. I had a MIM Strat and the neck p/u sounded muddy and I never used it. Not so with this Squire. I'm sure it has something to do with the Alnico III pick up and staggered pole configuration. Action was a tad too high-no biggie. Neck was straight and the vintage machine heads seem fine.

Yes you can spend $1400 on a Vintage 1950's Fender Strat, however if Value is top on your priority list, buy this baby.

And as usual, it's a pleasure working with my Sweetwater Sls. Rep-Jon Gillespie.

Spot On..

I am very impressed with this guitar. For the price, it's an unusual bargain. Sounds spot on with my "tech 21 blonde pedal" straight into the board. The fit and finish on this guitar is clean. The color and grain of the body and neck is attractive. I have been waiting for a custom shop model for a long time, but it's just not reasonable on my budget. The sound I'm hearing is nothing like what I expected from a Squier or a MIM Fender. The big bright single coil is here. I just found my "Robert Cray sound." Choosing Sweetwater was a given.

Beautiful guitar/Great Value

Compared guitars for many months before selecting this model. Every CV 50's I tried was quite impressive: Better consistency in sound, workmanship and quality than most others (including mex strats and several others for more $$).

It plays extremely well, sounds great -- as close to many of the american strats as anything else I tried. For the money, it's an excellent value: quality tuners, high quality maple neck and fingerboard, excellent resonance in the wood, and fine workmanship. It would be nice if the pickguard were not so thick, but that's a minor issue