Squier Mini Stratocaster Electric Guitar - Shell Pink with Laurel Fingerboard Reviews

Got this for my sister as a christmas gift and it came within 4 days of ordering. Took it out of the box to test it out and the action and intonation was already set up very well off the bat. And after messing around for a bit I found it was extremely fun to play given its scale. I might end up taking this from her if she doesn't use it for my own collection at some point. 10/10 would buy again.

Works and sounds great!

A friend tasked me with getting a guitar for their daughter. Their requirements were it had to be pink and that's it. Maybe playable, maybe had strings, all negotiable as long as it was pink. So I had rather low expectations when I ordered this. But I have to say it's a really great starter guitar.

First off, the action was pretty impressive out the box and intonation was dead on, surprisingly playable with no buzz. I did a quick setup with mine but I don't think it was mandatory at all. Visually it looks good, paint wasn't perfect but much better than I would have imagined at the price, some roughness/excess glue around the nut, frets don't look polished or anything but no burrs, board was clean looking, string trees look like recycled trash, the single ply pick guard looks ok with only one or two little rough spots on the edge. Electronic wise the pickups worked with surprisingly little hum, volume control and selector switch didn't feel premium but not dirty or scratchy, and... there is a knob that says tone on it... and I'll leave it at that. The bridge mounting screws did seem a little off square and a couple were a bit loose on arrival. After my setup, I did notice that one of the saddles was touching the edge of the saddle guide, which I don't care for but it still works fine. The frets are definitely rough, bending strings felt like scraping sandpaper together, but still playable to the point I didn't polish them. The neck and board felt sanded but very very dry, dry to the point of catching my hand as I played. I assume it would be great with a bit of oil and care but I honestly didn't try. Tuners look cheap, feel cheap-ish, but held tune with no problem at all during my little time playing. Another thing I was concerned with was the 9-42 strings that came with it combined with the short scale, I had assumed I would be upping the gauge right out the gate. However, the thing actually plays good with the 9's, not as floppy or loose as I expected.

Overall this little guitar is super playable and, I think, great for the price.

I'm a professional musician, I buy this guitar for my granddaughter, this mini guitar is a perfect gift for her, she is 7 years old and play very good the ukelele. The tune, the feel, the sound is perfect for the price, I'm sure she will be very happy with this gift for Christmas. Thanks Sweetwater, you are the best !!!

This is a great Guitar for Beginners or someone like my fiance' who hasn't played very much. Other guitars have had larger necks and she was never able to get her hand around the necks to press the strings the way they should be pressed. With this one she is in love with it as she is able to press the strings and it really looking forward to finally getting to learn to play guitar again. She has already started to make it hers. Would recommend this guitar to any beginners and Sweetwater will hook you up with what you want!.

I bought this as a starter guitar for my fiance, who wanted to learn how to play. The playability on this inexpensive guitar is amazing. Once again I had the pleasure of talking with my Sales Engineer Austin Zachrich. Austin goes out of his way to satisfy his customers

The first thing you should do is give the strings a good stretch. The guitar comes with a 9 through 42 set, so you might be able to do this a couple of times. This will help in a major way towards tuning stability. On my guitar, I needed to use nut files to cut the string slots in the nut to prevent the strings from catching on them and causing tuning problems (especially after doing big bends) I also lubricated the nut slots with graphite lubricant. Also the slots were cut too high on a couple of strings, causing strings fretted on the 1st and 2nd frets to go sharp, and now they hit pitch perfectly. I eventually might get a set of locking tuners, but most of the tuning stability problems have been eliminated. Some reviews place all the blame on using a set of 9 through 42 strings, and telling you you need to use 10's or 11's. Part of this guitar's charm is how easy it is to play. And the light gauge of the strings is a big part of that. Get a good set up: Either pay for a good set up if you are not comfortable doing it yourself, just make sure the nut is properly cut. Just using beefier strings and a new set of tuners is not likely going to improve things without getting some work done on the nut. Otherwise, the fretwork was great out of the box, frets were even, smooth and shiny, fret ends were dressed properly, and intonation was spot on. The guitar also sounds great both clean and with overdrive. Short scale guitars tend to emphasize the fundamental, so being aware of that when you adjust E.Q. can be useful. I usually set to for the edge of distortion with the guitar's volume knob on 10, and backing off to 8 cleans things right up. I find using the tone knob quite useful, and probably use it more than I do in full size Strats.

My Mini Strat now stays in tune quite well, but if I were gigging with it, I would probably get a set of locking tuners. Five years ago, I had a stroke. I had to practically re-learn to play the guitar, but lately I've noticed sore & stiff finger joints after playing for more than about 30 minutes. (I'm 72 years old, and this could be part of it.) This doesn't happen when I play the mini-Strat. It almost seems to be therapeutic. No, it's not FDA approved. I can also bend the string a long way and still have the finger strength to apply vibrato. It's hard to keep my hands off of it. I've been playing guitar since 1964, and this little guitar gives my playing days a new lease on life.

I have small short fingers, and I am finally happy to play :)

Hoped this would be a strong starter guitar for my 8-year-old — and I could not be happier.

10 minutes of light setup (lubed the nut and trees, polished the frets, radiused the action a touch more accurately, put a little more bow in the neck, adjusted pickup height) and it far exceeds expectations.

It plays beautifully, but the big surprise is how good it sounds. The Squier Mini Strat far outstrips the kind of amp normally associated with its price point. I tested it through a 65 Princeton reissue and a DSL40, which is one method I use to identify an instrument's shortcomings. I was really pleased with how the Mini stepped up.

A better-than-typical amp could have a massive impact on this investment, satisfying and motivating you and/or your learner for years to come.

I bought this for one of my young children interested in learning guitar. The price point was right, and she wanted a guitar like dad's :) Out of the box, I made a quick string height adjustment (D, G, and B strings were all a little low), and the guitar was ready to go. Obviously, this isn't a custom shop guitar, so manage your expectations. But honestly, I was pretty surprised at the quality product you get for

This guitar sounds really great and my daughter (aged 10) really loves it. She said, "I could play this guitar all day." I practice on it quite a bit too. It goes out of tune more often that my American Performer but that's to be expected with the shorter fretboard. I heard that putting thicker strings in it alleviates that, but my daughter likes the current string thickness. Also, when my daughter played an "A" note, it sounded (and was) a little out of tune even though the open "G" was in tune. We noticed this as we were playing scales together. It sounded fine when she was playing alone though. The action was great on it. I did take some finishing grade steel wool and brushed the neck down as it was a bit rough. Now it is very smooth. I also put lemon oil on the neck and fretboard. The fretboard was very dry when I got it but it's not anymore. Again, that's to be expected when buying a guitar for $... I actually like playing this guitar more than my larger guitars. It's much more convenient to grab and play. I did buy the Fender mini strat gig bag also and it fits great.

When I started off on guitar I had no idea about different scale lengths (80s). I ended up with a 25.5" scale guitar. It was difficult to play with small hands but I learned. I can only imagine what having something like this or a 24" scale Jaguar (etc) might have done to help me.

I bought this for a friend's kiddo and I've had the most fun playing it the last couple days. Of course like any short scale it has tighter tuning tolerance and these tuners are meh at best, but they're serviceable. Sweetwater did a good job of setting it up looking at the guitar because the action is right and the saddles have quite a bit of adjustment to a few of them, so well done SW or Fender, whoever did it! Had to lower the pickups a bit too, but that's just typical preferences.

The pickups are about what you'd expect but they are very serviceable and the finish is flawless. I got a darker Indian Laurel neck which looks great other than it's a bit dry (conditioning will fix this when I deliver it, teaching her how to care for the guitar).

Funny thing is, I STILL have small hands, 24" is probably perfect for me now as an adult but I can play this without difficulty. It has me considering the Ibanez Paul Gilbert short scale guitars for myself (have an Ibanez RGM55 to compare against).

I'm tempted to upgrade the tuners before giving the guitar away but I think they'll be okay, if not it could be a future upgrade. So no complaint, just expected things from a guitar in this price range. If this were mine I wouldn't be upset at all as it comes.

These are great little starters for kids. It will need setting up and tuners are subject. But, they're cool little guitars!

Bought this for my kid and after a year it wont stay in tune. I was told the bridge and tuners are junk. If you plan on buying this, plan the upgrades. Squire is a better first step.