(see rating details)

Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

Where to start?! I received mine as gift, but now that I have one in white, I plan on getting one in black. The one I have is studio grade; playability, tone, craftsmanship just blew me away the 1st time I played it. Hard to believe this was less than 500 gitas. You can't custom build one for this price-point! The tremolo and active pups make this baby a whole 'nuther beast. About the only thing I can think of to improve it is adding EMG's but the stock pickups are very good, so it sure ain't a necessary thing. I have a couple of Fender Strats, one USA and one MIM, and I have them set up as hardtails, and this allows me to have a strat with serious tremolo action w/o tuning frustrations. I've been playing since the late 1970's, started playing live gigs in 1981, and I can honestly say this is an all-time fave axe...it has a unique vibe and is just flat-out fun to play. Take it from an OG, these are worth every penny. Home run from Squier and zZounds, just buy one and be HAPPY!

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

This guitar is hands-down the best guitar I have ever owned.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

My wife surprised me with this little gem today and I have to say something.I have been playing hard rock and metal and everything else since 1979, so I'm an old fart, but I am an old fart that has played, tweaked and tuned more than a few instruments in his lifetime.The first thing that struck me about this axe, other than it's striking good looks (mine is white), is the weight. It's poplar body is a nice chunk of wood, and compared to my Affinity series Strat, this is much heavier and also thicker. You will swear your holding an American-made Stratocaster.The weight adds to the incredible sustain this guitar has. The active picks are brutal, The Floyd keeps it all in tune. I was skeptical having had negative experiences with "Licensed" Floyd units, but this one, I have had no qualms with.The neck is nice and flat and plays like butter. The volume knob is placed lower than a regular Strat so I don't knock into it with my right hand. The reverse headstock is a particular favorite design for me so this guitar is truly loaded for bear. No guitar in this price range offers so many features and still kills like this one. Blown away.Past guitars owned:Hondo 2 Les Paul CopyGibson '76 Explorer Re-issueFender "The Strat"Ibanez Iceman IC50Ibanez Destroyer (Lawsuit Explorer)B.C. Rich: Acrylic MockingbirdMockingbird STMockingbird SpecialBichBeastRevenge WarlockBronze WarlockSquire Affinity StratDoubleneck Bich

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

First off don't think this is gonna be like some 1000+ guitar but thus guitar rocks big time and I'm very impressed with the quality and the comfortable neck and body of this guitar it reminds me of the Jackson Adrian smith model San Dimas if you are inŕo charvel this guitar is for you very nice pickups aren't bad I've heard better but for stock pickups there pretty dang good I have evh guitars and charvels and this guitar fits right in very good price for a very well built guitar

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

I was gifted a white Contemporary Active HH Strat, decided to buy one myself from zZounds. I was able to take this one straight out of the box and evaluate the complete zZounds experience. Delivery was literally in two days,free shipping. Nice! The guitar itself didn't/doesn't have a blemish on it anywhere. I would give this guitar a 4 out of 5 star overall rating, which is really good. I play and record professionally and my standards are based on studio grade quality. I will list my few complaints, but they are minor for a guitar at this price-point. It took forever to initially tune;reminded me why I used a Kahler tremolo back in the 80's. The fine tuners have that "licensed by..." feel but once in tune, it stayed in tune. I gave it a hella whammy work-out, retuned it and it stayed there for another hour of playing. The pups are decent, actually above par for bedroom and weekend warriors. I WILL be upgrading them, but just because I want studio grade tones. The tuners are a bit close to each other, kinda tight and hard to grab just one tuner, but they stayed in tune. I will be replacing them,also. Finally, as has been noted by several other reviews on the 'net, the tone control does absolutely nill. The bridge p/u setting and the neck settings on the 3-way switch give two very solid but different sounds, while the middle is quieter and adds a bit off mud. The neck and the frets are stellar, not one single sharp or mis-aligned fret. That rocks for a stock under 500 gitas guitar! I would have loved to have had a guitar of this quality when I first started out, and it is well worth the money. I just want it to be a studio-grade performer and am VERY happy with what I have to work with. I didn't expect EMG's but the stock pups are above par for a Chinese import. Replacing them, the 3-way switch and potentiometers will be minor upgrades, adding USA tuners and pickups will make this a 1,000 buck guitar for several hundred less. All in all, I love this guitar and highly recommend it as a Floyd Rose metal machine. Service from zZounds was awesome-much appreciated!

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

I reviewed this guitar earlier but I said that once I put the EMGs (the kerry king set) that I bought from zZounds in my Jackson js32 dinky that I also bought from zZounds I would do a sound comparison and let you know what I thought. Well I can't believe this but the Squier strat sounds better. Not as sterile not as noisey either. So this guitar is outstanding. I have 2 dinkys 1 warrior. 1 warlock 1 mockingbird 1 les paul and 1 js32 king V. I have Duncan's or Dragonfire pickups in them all accept this guitar I left stock (other than changing the pickgaurd to matte black) because it doesn't need upgrading. I'm even thinking of leaving 9s on it because it's so comfortable to play.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

I don’t usually write reviews but this guitar just amazed me. The main reason I bought this guitar was because it had active pickups and was $400. I have only owned Schecter guitars with passive pups until now. This guitar sounds so much better then my much more expensive Schecters. The pickups are excellent. Out of the box it needed to be tuned but the action was set perfectly for me. I play mostly metal and this thing screams.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

Once upon a time, my very first electric guitar was a Squier Strat. It looked the part and was a great starter guitar but it didn’t satisfy me for long. Naturally I have long viewed Squire as the little brother.Over 20 years later my tastes have stayed toward heavier music. I’ve long stayed away from active pickups but have been curious to try them in my setup. Enter, the SQuier Active Strat. A moderately priced guitar with active pickups. Seeing this guitar brought back a lot of nostalgia. That old Squier of mine was super easy to play with the thin satin maple neck. I couldn’t help but jump at the chance to own that easy feeling guitar paired with a heavier H-H setup. The actives were an extra bonus.I’ve now had the guitar for 3 weeks and it’s easily my favorite guitar in the collection. The fit and finish makes some of my high end guitars feel cheap and clunky. The sound is nice and chunky but the Squier Active pickups are a bit soft in the output department. You can fix that by cranking the amp to 11! You will have to buy a heavy bottom string set and crank up the action quite a big if you’re using any sort of drop tuning. Mine is in drop C but it was fret buzz city even in drop D.The satin black finish is outstanding. The Floyd Rose is quite the labor of love. Definitely watch a YouTube video to learn some tips to tuning that beast. It’s quite time consuming. But once you lock that nut down, you’re golden. The quick tune knobs are precise and easy to access.Overall, if you’re in the market to buy a $400 guitar, this is an absolute steal. I would easily place this in the $600-$800 tier of guitars from the quality perspective. This is not necessarily a great beginner guitar. There is some setup required to get it feeling right for your individual preferences. If you want a similar sound for the price look at the Squier trrActive Jaguar and the set bridge.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

This is the best trem I have ever had and I've had a lot. Holds tune well even when you use it a lot. I put a matte black pickgaurd on it.( I got it from dragonfire. ) I played it like it was outta the box for the first 2 weeks. But when I turned the truss rod a quarter turn and lowered the bridge it is a dream to play. Super low action and notes still ring out clear. I did swap the pickups out with emgs but they didn't sound right and I didn't want to change all the wireing so I put the Squier pickups back in. But they sound great So I'm happy. I'll put the emgs in my Jackson and do a sound comparison. Anyway this is the best strat I have ever had.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

Plays great and sounds great. Reminds me of Charvel guitars. The active pickups sound great and the back is really nice too. Couldn't put it down.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

I don’t usually write reviews but this guitar just amazed me. The main reason I bought this guitar was because it had active pickups and was $400. I have only owned Schecter guitars with passive pups until now. This guitar sounds so much better then my much more expensive Schecters. The pickups are excellent. Out of the box it needed to be tuned but the action was set perfectly for me. I play mostly metal and this thing screams.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

Great quality sounds and plays great. I just got it today and couldn't put it down. Great guitar for the price.

Musical Background:

Musical Style: