Squire Strat and SP-10 Starter Pack Review

I wanted to take a break from the more "academic" topics (to use the term as loosely as possible). I want to talk about what gear I use, and what my experiences have been up to this point. In the spirit of full disclosure, just let me say I am a tight wad when it comes to buying equipment. As a matter of fact, had it not been for me winning a Fender giveaway, I still would not own a guitar that cost more than about $200. That being said, I figure the best place to start talking about my gear was to start with the first guitar and amp I ever bought.

 A Chinese made black Squier Affinity Strat with white pick guard, and Squier SP-10 10 watt practice amp. It was an open box, and was missing the tremelo bar, so I got it for $100 at Firehouse Guitars in Wyoming, MI (check out their online store at geartree.com). A steal by any standard.

This starter pack is the closest thing I could find a picture of online, but it's not exactly the same. Mine did come with the strap, method book, cable, tuner and gig bag. However, the pickguard in the picture is pearloid, mine is plain white. This fretboard is rosewood, and mine is maple. 

The factory specs are as follows:

Model Name	Strat® (Maple)
Model Number	031-0602-(Color#)
Series	Affinity Series
Colors	(506) Black, (525) Metallic Red, (595) Metallic Blue, (Polyurethane Finish)
Body	Alder
Neck	Maple, (Polyurethane Finish)
Fingerboard	Maple, 9.5” Radius (241 mm)
No. of Frets	21 Medium Jumbo
Pickups	3 Single-Coil Pickups
Controls	Master Volume, Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 2. (Middle Pickup)
Pickup Switching	5-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup Position 3. Middle Pickup Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup Position 5. Neck Pickup
Bridge	Synchronous Tremolo
Machine Heads	Standard Die-Cast Tuners
Hardware	Chrome
Pickguard	1-Ply White
Scale Length	25.5” (648 mm)
Width at Nut	1.61” (40.9 mm)
Unique Features	Large Headstock ‘60s Style Headstock, White Plastic Parts, Black Silkscreen Logo, Dot Position Inlays
Strings	Fender Super 250L, (.009 to .042) Nickel Plated Steel, P/N 073-0250-003

As far as starter guitars go, I think this was a great find for me. There were some minor issues, but when you get a guitar and amp for $100, what do you expect. First of all, I couldn't get it to stay in tune out of the box. My brother in law has played guitar for almost 20 years, and he said it just probably needed set up by someone who knew what they were doing. So, the next day I took the guitar back to Firehouse, and Justin set it up for me for free. Less than an hour later, I was on my way back home to try out my newly set up strat. MAN was there a huge difference. Not only did it now stay in tune, but Justin lowered the action, which made it a lot easier to play. 

The other issue I have had is that I have to be conscientious about how hard I press down at the first fret. Too hard, and the notes go sharp. I am assuming this is because the first fret is too high(?). Maybe I could have someone shave it or tap it down, but it would probably cost me a large fraction of what it cost to buy the guitar in the first place, so  I just deal...... no biggie.

When it comes to tone and overall sound, at this stage i n my playing, this guitar sounded the same as any other with the exception of one. Shortly after I bought this guitar, my family and I went on vacation to Chicago with my brother in law and his family. He took me to Chicago Music Exchange where I was able to play a $10,000 1959 Gibson ES-335. Even not knowing anything about guitars, I could tell that this was an amazing axe!! That being said, if I had to chose today between buying the $100 Squier Strat or the $10,000 Gibson, I would chose the Squier (I prefer to be able to pay my mortgage for the next year!!!)

The SP-10 amp is about as basic as basic gets. It consists of an input jack, volume control, treble and bass controls and headphone jack. My only complaint is the 1/4 inch headphone jack... Really?? The last time I saw anyone with 1/4 inch headphones was on an episode of That 70's Show. This can be fixed with a $3 adapter from Radio Shack so you can plug your 1/8" ear buds into the 1/4" jack. While it has a "Over Drive" button, it would probably be better described as "fuzzy mess". It basically offers a distorted alternative for when you get tired of that twangy, treble sound, and want to sound a little more "Rock and Roll". When played clean, the amp does an adequate job of letting the beginning guitarist clearly  hear the notes and chords they are playing. The real deal breaker here is this little 10 watt shoe box's ability to crank out power chords loud enough to make your mom (or wife in my case) complain about the noise :) All in all, a great little starter amp. 

Looking on eBay, you can pick one of these guitars up pretty darn cheap, usually less than $100. The amps can be found for under $40 including shipping. Looking at Guitar Center and  Sweetwater online, a new starter pack runs about $200- $250. After you figure the tuner (a must for starting guitarists), the cable and the bag, I would probably recommend just spending the $200 for the new pack. This also gives you some buyer protection should there be any out-of-the-box manufacturing issues. The new bundles that are around $250 come with the 15 watt Frontman amp which includes an input jack so you can play your mp3 or cd player through the amp and jam along, a huge help when trying to learn that new chord progression or solo from your favorite band, or just to play out your rockstar fantasies in the comfort of your own bedroom!!!

Either way, this little bundle beats the pants off of the Daisy Rock or First Act hunks of junk that you can buy at Wal-Mart or Best Buy out of which you will be lucky to get a year of consistent playing before they fall apart.