In order to find out what kind of wood are Squier Strats made of, we need to learn more about its narrative. In this article, you will find out the answer and much more on this topic!
Speaking of wood that Squier Strats are made of, it’s most likely going to be poplar. Poplar is presumably the best wood for strat-style guitars because it’s got all the kinetics of alder, with more top end and more comfort.
Table of Contents
Squier Guitar Range – The Introduction
- Bullet ones
- Affinity ones
- Contemporary
- 50’s Classic Vibe
- 60’s Classic Vibe
- 70’s Classic Vibe
The price range is approximately from $180 to $500. The offer also includes a few iconic models in terms of shape. They are Stratocaster, Telecaster, Mustang, Jazz master, and Jaguar. There are many different guitars in the Squier line-up, which we divide into series based on price and specifications.
The second division is by shapes. Namely, there are several different shapes of electric guitars in each series to look at and consider.
Tip: If you have a brand new guitar, it’s important to understand how long you should keep that guitar in a box.
Squier Bullet Series
The Bullet series is the most affordable in the Squier range, with a price of around $180. They are in a standard C-shape and their necks are from maple. The bodies of these guitars are lightweight and thin.
That is why they have lower quality hardware compared to the more expensive and heavier models.
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Squier Affinity Series
The Affinity series includes Stratocaster, Telecaster, and Jazzmaster shapes, costing around $250. These are a little more expensive than the Squier bullet series.
Moreover, all Stratocasters in the Affinity series are known for having a traditional tremolo bridge.
Squier Contemporary Series
The Squier Contemporary series is different from traditional versions. They have a much slimmer neck and unique color designs. They usually cost around $400 which is somewhat a middle range.
Note: If you have been wondering about this, do not play the guitar in a thunderstorm. This can be a quite dangerous practice to do.
Squier Classic Vibe Series
Those series are the most expensive in the Squier line-up with a price range between $430-450. Squier Classic Vibe Series is based on the traditional Fender versions of the guitars in the ’50s, 60s, and 70’s periods in time.
The only differences between the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s of the Classic Vibe Squier guitars are in color and type of wood. The price is uniform and similar.
Tip: Did you know that you can see if your guitar is plywood by locating a smudged part? If you can see the coatings of wood, it is a layer.
Squier Strats – The Narrative
As we may know by now, Squier is popular as Fender’s budget sequence of guitars and basses. Yet, only a few individuals know that the Squier brand jumped out as the V.C. Squier Company in 1890. V.C. Squier made violins, banjos and guitars. It persisted to do so until 1965 when Leo Fender obtained them.
They persisted to make instruments until late 1975, after which they terminated manufacturing processes.
By the 1980s, Fender, like many other factories, had started making budget instruments in the far east. To preserve the integrity of the Fender title, the Squier brand was revived in 1982.
Squier guitars are not only tied to Asia, by all means. Truthfully, some Squier guitars have, during specific times, been made in Fender’s Mexican and their US plants! The US-made models were made in 1989 and 1990. Notably, they have quite the highest price among Squier fans.
Note: If you think that some guitarists are arrogant you may not be the only one. Many people believe this is true for some reason.
There Is More to It
Now, Squier delivers many of the identical models available. Still, the Stratocaster still commands supreme.
Here are some speedy truths about the Squier Stratocaster. Let’s take a closer look at them!
- There are five separate tiers of Squier Strat.
- Not all Squier Stratocasters fit the measurements of the Fender samples.
- These guitars exist with one coil, humbucker, and coil-tapping pickups.
What Squier Strats Have an Alder Body?
Squier Bullet Stratocaster – The Most Popular Model
The Bullet Stratocaster is the beginner, comprehensive Strat in Squier’s lineup. It is one of the most prevalent newbie guitars on the market. This is mostly thanks to the affordable price and the large-scale brand glory.
While they simply don’t correspond with more pricey models when it comes to element quality, the general build quality is excellent viewing the low cost.
Squier has been able to hold prices low, not only by using more affordable electronics but also by utilizing cheaper tonewoods. Bullet Strats have bodies that consist of Basswood and are also incredibly light, an aspect that enables maintaining import costs down.
Bullet Strats are available with a hardtail bridge or the traditional synchronized tremolo. The hardtail model delivers good resilience while delivering a reliable platform for newbies to learn the basics before getting preoccupied with tricks.
There Is More to This
The component die-cast locked back tuners. Considering the price, they function surprisingly okay.
With pickups, you can buy a new Bullet Stratocaster that has a humbucker at the bridge. The sole coil pickups do deliver a detectable amount of 60-cycle hum.
Yet, at bedroom volumes on a rehearsal amp, this shouldn’t be of too much trouble. No matter which pickup format you select, the Bullet Strat still has the traditional Stratocaster 5-way selector switch & tone, and volume knobs.
It has a comfortable C Shape neck profile, and the board is finalized in tolerable Indian Laurel, which is a part of the rosewood family. There are no maple neck choices in the Bullet Range. Still, the Indian Laurel does look suitable against both the classic color choices and the FSR, or Fender Special Run, too.
Potentiometers are considerable and not marked with the owner’s name. However, that is to be hoped at this price point. In spite of this, they don’t suffer from too harsh a drop-off and turn evenly, and without frizzle.
Across the board, there are more affordable Stratocaster-style guitars out there. Still, a couple of them at that level, if any, come near the grade of the Bullet Strat.
Squier Mini Stratocaster – The Smallest One
The Mini Stratocaster is the smallest guitar. It’s a ¾-scale, making it an ideal option for younger players, or even as a trip guitar. In spite of the scaled-down size, it still has the traditional Stratocaster shape and the apparent Fender headstock.
The essence consists of laminated hardwood. It’s not unfamiliar by any stretch, but it is long-lasting, and it doesn’t seem to have any harmful impact on tone.
Like the Bullet ones, it also has a C shape neck, an Indian Laurel fretboard, and 20 intermediate frets. On the fretboard, you get Pearloid dots that add a much more premium look than you’d hope for the price point.
The Mini Strat does only arrive in a 3 coil pickup option. So, because of the scaled-down size, there’s just one volume and one master tone control. This does negligibly lower the versatility of the guitar reached to the other models. The pickups are still transparent enough to play clean.
This axe gets the exact die-cast closed tuners on different low-end Squier models. That said, tuning resilience is good, but fine-tuning does take more toil than it requires.
Helping out with the tuning resilience is an artificial bone nut, fixed for nine-gauge strings. The light stringing truly counts to the prevailing playability. So, even turns and barre chords don’t need many struggles, making this a fantastic choice for newbies.