On 2004-02-20, rick rated this Fender Squier Mini a 3...(7978)
Purchase: I purchased this guitar from Sam Ash in
Richmond Va for $99 dollars.
I was looking for a beginner electric for
my 6 year old son.
I have been trying to teach him some basics
but my guitars are just too big.
The body on this mini is the same size as one of his toy guitars and should fit him well.
Pros: Like other reviews on this guitar it's
actually quite good.
I played the display model in the store and
it absolutley stank, so I asked the clerk if
he had any more.
He brought another one brand new in the box
and it was much better.
The quality of these indonesian made Samick
guitars in this price range is hit or miss
at best so if you look at one in the store
and dont like it ask to see another.
Also when guitar shopping at a MEGASTORE
like sam ash or guitar center go as soon as they open on a weekday so there wont be 50
mettalica wannabes around.
First off this thing looks great.
The torino red finish was terrific with no
obvious flaws.
The guitar is light,well balanced and sounds good.
It has a 5 way switch and master tone control which I like better than a regular strat.
It produces all the typical strat sounds and
normal hum in all but the out of phase positions.
I played this thru a line 6 pod 2.0 and was
amazed at how good this guitar sounds.
The tone is 90% the amp anyway.
The thing I like most is that the neck has a
really nice feel to it.
The neck is small which was a little difficult for me to play but should be great for small hands of a beginner.
The frets were nicely dressed which allowed
me to set the action very low with no buzzing.
I think fender made this guitar cheaper in
some areas (plywood body and garbage tuners)
to emphasize quality in the neck.
The quality of the neck is the most impotant
factor in good playability.
Cons: The body is laminated wood,not solid and the
tuners are the worst Ive ever seen.
I personally would be willing to pay say
$15 to $20 dollars more for the mini if it
had better tuners but price is the bottom
line for parents buying a kid therefirst guitar and fender reallizes this.
The volume control doesnt adjust the volume
(it just stays at maximum).
I'll fix it myself because of the time I put
into the setup but im sure fender would fix
or exchange it without hesitation.
Quality: The mini is well put together and will be
able to withstand a good bit of abuse as can
most fenders.
I also looked at the johnson js-050-s guitar.
The johnson has better quality and features
such as a solid alder body,multi layer pickguard,tremelo,decent tuners and a very
attractive sunburst finish but the mini
sounds and plays better.
I looked at the johnson at guitar works a
well established local shop in richmond.
I told the owner brian medis that the johnson seemed like a much better guitar
than the sqire mini for the same price but
playability was my bottom line.
I stated that if he could set up the johnson to play as well as the sqire I would buy it on the spot and return the mini
to sam ash for a refund because of the faulty volume control.
He spent about 10 minutes on it and handed it back for me to try.
It was terrible.
I told him it was bad and his reply was your child will only be playing in the first
position anyway.
With this squire I can show my son that his
guitar sounds and plays like daddys guitars
and he will be proud and hopefully stick
with learning to play.
He is not going to care that the body is laminated and personally I dont think a
solid wood body would add to the reliabilty.
Review Summary: I think the mini is a good value for what it
is, a good playing,sounding beginner guitar.
Write now I cant put it down!
My wife says Im going to wear it out before
we give it to him for his upcoming birthday.
Squire is well known and fender should take
care of you if you have problems with it.
I'll rate it a 3 because there are better
100 dollar guitars,but there all full size.
