Best Squier Guitar | Stratocasters, Telecasters, Jaguars

1. Squier Stratocaster Guitar - Best Squier Stratocaster Guitar for Beginners

Besides having an affordable price tag, this guitar includes everything; that a beginner needs to start. You’ll not get a physical tuner, but you can use Fender's free Tuning App to tune the guitar with ease.

Personally, I think it would be a smarter choice; if you pair up an affordable Squier guitar with a quality amp rather than purchasing a high-end guitar at a hefty price point.

You’ll have an amazing sound by pairing it with a trustworthy amp. The Squier Frontman 10G amplifier could be the perfect companion for jamming, even though it also has the aux input interface to support it.

Maybe you recently joined a guitar class, and you’re having just a single class in a week; if you’re damn serious about this new venture, it’s natural to get frustrated with the slow teaching.

Luckily, this is not the scenario for those; who owned this Squier Stratocaster guitar. They have registered their guitars online with Fender and learn something new every day from the online videos of Fender Play. You’ll get a free subscription to Fender Play for 3-months.

2. SQUIER 50'S TELECASTER GUITAR - BEST SQUIER TELECASTER

Fond of Fender’s Telecaster guitars? Do you have to step back only for the sky-high price tag? The Squier 50’s Telecaster is the thing; that can push you forward to your dream.

Firstly, the aesthetic and authentic tonal quality will give you the classic vibe of original guitars. The design is inspired by the Telecaster models of the 1950s.

The C-shaped neck gives you a highly comfortable playing experience, whereas the other counterparts ensure smooth action. It feels and sounds genuinely well.

The sound quality of the bridge pickup is very impressive; the pickup switch works with 3-settings. The string that comes with it is really light, durable, and bends easily; that won’t break in short. The nickel-coated steel strings are suitable for classic rock sound, though it is versatile enough to produce other modern rock sounds.

The strings are not close to the fretboard; that the beginners generally prefer to have. Otherwise, the lightweight body with a slimmer neck profile fits comfortably in amateur hands. Moreover, the guitar stays tuned pretty long while, and sounds great after you tune it and plug it into a quality amp.

3. SQUIER SA-150 DREADNOUGHT - BEST CHEAPEST SQUIER GUITAR

At the initial stage of their joint venture, Squier only introduced the affordable versions of the Fender’s Telecaster, Stratocaster, Jazzmaster, etc. The models were very basic and used to perform like the Standard or Bullet range.

Recently, we have seen some new Squier guitars coming into the market with some unique features. The Squier SA-150 dreadnought acoustic guitar is one of the best-selling options among them.

It comes with a beginner-friendly shaped body with a laminated Mahogany neck, sides, fretboard, and back with a stained hardwood top. The Scalloped bracing supports the internal structure plus delivers warm dreadnought sound. It offers an excellent bass response, tonal balance, and projection.

The model has been marketed towards beginners, so it comes with a slimmer neck and body profile, includes up to 6 months of free membership of Fender Play, and prices it affordably; that won’t put a dent in their wallet.

However, from experienced players to beginners, anyone; who looks for a reliable acoustic guitar at a reasonable price range should check it out.

4. Squier Classic Vibe 70's - Best Squier Electric Guitar

The newly launched Squier Classic Vibe 70’s Jaguar has a modified slimmer body of Poplar; that gets switched from basswood, making it more durable. You’ll like the lightweight offset-waist body with the comfortable neck profile of this guitar for sure.

The tuner is good enough to keep it in tune for long times, and tuning is easy. When it comes to affordable range guitars, we generally have seen people complain about their electronics. Luckily, the pickup, tuner, and everything; that comes with it is of decent quality.

The volume and tone control knob work smoothly; you’ll never have any issue with them. It’s overall a good guitar, and the beginners will feel more comfortable with this smaller 24”-scale length guitar.

There is some issue with the fretboard and nuts, but you can fix the problems easily. You can ease the playability by dressing the fret ends and changing the strings. If you feel the fretboard is dry and pale, you can give it some lemon oil treatments or apply some graphite lube to the nut to look, feel and sound better.

5. Squier Classic Vibe 70's - Best Squier Stratocaster Guitar

Maybe you’ve already made up your mind in favor of the Classic Vibe 70’s Startocaster seeing the price tag and the key features, or you’re in a dilemma regarding the quality.

Like you, I also thought; that I may need to replace or upgrade the electronics components, but honestly, they offer superb quality and performance. The HSS combined pickup delivers authentic Fender tone; the vintage tuner makes tuning this guitar breeze and provides solid tuning stability.

The nickel-plated hardware ensures superb durability and a deep and rich throwback. The guitar is pretty easy to play, tune and carry around. Besides some attractive color options, Squier also opens up this guitar option for right and left-handed players.

In summary, the Squier Classic Vibe 70's Stratocaster guitar is a decent electric from every point of view. Aside from the beginners, it will be a good option for the advanced players; who have wished to get a Fender-like aesthetic and sound without spending big money.

6. SQUIER AFFINITY STARCASTER GUITAR

This Candy Apple red-colored guitar will steal your heart the moment you will take it in hand, or maybe you’re already in love with the aesthetic. I loved the looks when I saw it for the first time on Fender's official website.

My favorite things about this guitar are – the semi-hollow body style and the lightweight construction. The sound is crisp and clear, pretty impressive, as well as its appearance. The tonal quality is nearly similar to the tone of the Fender Affinity Starcaster series guitars.

The comfortable neck, lightweight body, and wide spacing between strings make it a solid option for beginners; who usually look for decent performance without spending a lot of money.

Once you listen to the Affinity Starcaster of Squier, you’ll be astonished thinking; how the Squier is offering such an impressive feature set at 300 bucks these days?

7. Squier Classic Vibe 60's Stratocaster

This classic model of Squier gives you the elegant 60’s star coaster vibe and sounds nearly similar to the Fender. The body is evenly weighted, whereas the finishing touch of the sunburst is flawless and attractive.

The neck is fitted snugly into the body without having any excess space in between, making you feel comfortable when you play the guitar. The guitar nicely dressed the fret-end to ensure comfortable playability.

When it comes to components, it’s not like a ready-to-use guitar, you have to fix some issues to ensure the best quality sound. For instance, the bridge pickup came out at an angle; I fixed it when I got the chance to lift the pickguard.

Some users upgraded the pickup according to their sound requirements. You’ll not have to do anything with the tuners, knobs, and switches until they stop working well.

8. Squier J Mascis Signature Electric Guitar

If you have ever wished about getting the Fender Jazzmaster, this low-priced Jazzmaster by Squier could make your dream come true without breaking the bank. I’m not claiming that it is as great as the Fender’s Signature series guitars are, but you’ll be surprised listening to it for sure.

First thing, the guitar sounds exactly what you want, while the added control lets you apply tons of variety to it for creating an iconic guitar tune. Another best part about this guitar is it stays in tune pretty well.

The quality of the entire construction, tuners, pickups, or other electronics is just beyond one’s expectation, especially at such a low price point. The lightweight body and comfortable neck profile make it an excellent option to start with it.

9. SQUIER MINI STRATOCASTER : BEST MINI GUITAR FOR CHILDREN AND BEGINNERS

This guitar looks cool, but its specs, features, and sound quality could make you crazy. The electronic arrangement will help you easily create an iconic tone.

The volume and tone control knob will let you control the sound as you want easily. The guitar is super easy to play, tune, maintain and carry around.

I would like to recommend this mini guitar to beginners and seasoned players; who want a travel-ready package. You can gift it to your children, who have wished to learn guitar. Their little hands will love the lightweight body and slimmer neck profile.

10. Squier Affinity Series - BesT Affordable Squier for Advanced Players

If you love Fender Jazzmaster, I can say; that this low-priced Jazzmaster by Squier will give you the similar sound that you are looking for; only you need to plug it into a quality amp.

The neck is easy and comfortable to play, the intonation is good enough to keep it in-tune everywhere on the fretboard, the pickup’s sound is great, and the bridge is sparky, clear, and clean.

A minor setup, like bridge screw height adjustment or truss rod adjustment, is needed; the split shafts in the sealed Die-Cast tuning machines make the string changing process a breeze.

It's practically noiseless, though you can reduce noise by adding shielding to the pickguard and cavity. However, sometimes people loved the minimal gain or distortion in the guitar sound. If you feel the hum level is strong, apply the above-mentioned trick.

It’s an amazing option for beginners and good enough for advanced players.

Difference between Squier and Fender

Squier was a renowned music instrument manufacturing brand of the 19th century; Fender owned it in 1965 and started producing legendary guitars in an affordable price range.

The discussion of Squier Vs. Fender has been going on for a long while. At the starting period, unfortunately, many people used to believe that Squier is bad just because they are cheaper than Fender. But the Squier guitars are good enough to gig, though they use cheaper material than Fender.

The tuner, pickup, nuts, body, and finishing touch of Fender are inferior; it doesn’t mean the Squires will sound cheap or less durable. With Squier guitars, you may miss the premium quality construction and full-range sound at the high frequencies.

Honestly, I have noticed that most Squier guitars have single-coil pickups of bar magnets, whereas the Fender uses double-coil pickups with pole magnets, making the sound a little different.

Sometimes Squiers require a little more tuning, but it delivers superb playability. Squier guitars are a great option for bass players and beginners. I have met many Fender owners or senior guitarists; who started with Squier guitars. The price difference is not something to be taken lightly, as sometimes they differ by more than $500, making you crazy about Squiers. Isn’t it?

However, if you truly care about the sound, investing more money in a good amp instead of Fender would be a better and cheaper solution. A Squier guitar with a good amp sometimes performs better than the expensive Fender guitars with a bad amp.

BUYERS GUIDE: HOW TO FIND THE BEST SQUIER GUITAR

There are a few obvious things for guitars; that you need to check out while you’re about to buy any guitar. 

SOUND

The sound quality of a guitar is the most obvious thing, which we check out the first. The tonal quality of the Squire guitars is pretty close to the original Fender models. It will deliver the tonal quality you’re looking for, but the sound of a few models could disappoint you when comparing them with the high-end Fender modes.

BUILD QUALITY

Build quality of a guitar is another crucial factor; that also defines how the guitar sounds. The construction material of a few particular sections, like – the fretboard, neck, and body, affects the tonal quality and playability. 

Feel and Playability

Everyone usually wants to get that guitar with which they will feel comfortable in hand and easy while playing. You may feel awkward while gripping any guitar for the first time, but you’ll be habituated with the cutaway design later.

Here, I’m talking about hardware and electronics. The built-in electronics accessories like pickups or toner and headphone/speaker jack will ultimately define how your audience, even you hear the sound of the guitar.

As a beginner, you should always choose an easy tuning guitar or the guitars; that stay tuned for a long time. 

Design

All Squier guitars have a good aesthetic and easy playable cutaway design; you need to choose the best one according to your personality and preference; that can complement your skills and on-stage appearance.