It sounds better than I expected, right out of the box. I think it's well suited to blues, country, and rock 'n' roll strumming.

I really like the maple neck with the cool walnut stripe down the back. The body is nicely shaped and fits comfortably against my body when sitting. The controls are really Spartan. It would have been nice if they put a label on the pickup selector to indicate which direction to turn it for the humbuckers or the neck pickups. Accessories? It came with Allen wrenches for the neck truss and bridge set screws. No paper work was in the box at all other than the Squier label on the pick guard.

The neck is fast, and the set-up was fairly good out of the box. The frets on mine were nicely finished and not sharp at all. I think it's very playable.

Everything about the Squier '51 is better than I expected. The fit and finish is very good - especially considering the low price. I'm happy with the quality of the tuning machines, the pickups and the bridge.

The value of the Squier '51 is excellent. About the only thing they could do to improve the value would be to give them away.

I don't know. I don't expect to have to use support for this guitar. There's not much to go wrong.

It's a cool looking guitar. It's not flashy, but enjoys a nice retro look. I got the sunburst model. The wood grain, while not fancy, isn't unattractive. The pick guard is huge. I'd prefer it if the pick guard didn't extend as far north of the sixth string, but I just tell myself, "That's what a Squier '51 looks like."

Hobbyist

Blues, country, rock

5 Very musical and useable tones can be had with this guitar. The Humbucker turns into a bridge single coil with the pull of the Vlo. knob. My favorite sound is the Humbucker and the single coil strat pup. I play Gospel music and need to have Funk, Pop, R&B, Blues, Jazz sounds at my disposal, this guitar gets the job done. The sound of this guitar is better than my PRS CE 22 and Ibanez S series. For the price you can't go wrong. You WILL BE SUPRISED !!

I love the push/pull vol knob which turns the humbkr. pup into a single coil. What should be the tone knob is a rotary pup selector. 5 tones come from this set up. H, H&S, S, H as a S, H as a S&S. Typical Squire parts I guess. I don't have a complaint about the componants or the guitar itself. I did add strap locks. I may also change the tuners to planet waves trimlocs simply because I am lazy.

I was sooo suprised at the quality of this Squire, I wondered if it was made in the USA. The frets were finished very nicely. The neck was straight and true. The intonation was right on. The black finish was nice. The pickguard even had a bevel on it. The nut could have been made out of a better material, that's it.

I feel like I stole this guitar. It is worth at least $250.00. You are getting a great value for the money.

Have not delt with the company but I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

I love the Strat body with the Tele neck, just love it. I did not care for the big '51 style pickguard at first, but I am getting used to it. It dosen't bother me any more. It kind of makes it stand out. It seems to say " Hey, I'm not just another Strat. I am my own guitar."

Active Musician

Contempory Gospel

Great sound - the neck Strat pickup definitely sounds Strat. The Humbucker doesn't sound Strat or Tele in single coil mode, but that's ok - this isn't either one. The humbucker mode is clear and chime-like as with most Fender humbuckers. Not comparatively muddy and dark like Gibsons typically are.

Great usage of the "51 P-Bass format" ! The Push/Pull coil tap is excellent-a real pro feature. It would have spoiled the looks to add a switch or a 3rd knob for tone. Just grab your amp knobs!

No manual, but none necessary.

Build quality and finish are excellent - except the neck. Frets are a bit ragged (as on most Squiers) but that is one reason they can sell these so cheap. The neck can easily be made Fender smooth at a guitar shop.

Absolutely amazing value. There hasn't been a guitar this good and this great looking since the Danelectro boom of a few years ago.

Never needed support , but Fender support is excellent-so ...

The '51 Fender P-Bass " look is fantastic! I'm surprised they didn't make this a Fender product.

Active musician, touring guitar tech, recording engineer

any

The electronics are fine. The single coil sounds like a strat, the humbucker a little different, but the guitar sounds good both clean and overdriven, but not much for heavy metal sounds. That's ok, because most metal players wouldn't like the style of this guitar anyway.

Could use a tone control, but in some ways, less is more. Simpler is better. It would also be nice to have a recessed jack like the strat, but what do you want at this price?

Top notch. The hardware all feels to be of high quality, the finish is beautiful, and the neck is all one could ask for and more at this price.

Absolutely a top value. Would be a steal at twice the price.

Can't say about support-- haven't dealt with them.

Hobbyist for twenty years

Jazz, Blues, Rock

Sounds pretty good.My amps i run through are a Marshall MG50DFX,A Roland Cube 30, and a Rocktron Replitone 212.Yeah a tone knob would be nice to have, but i dought if i will add one...Got some nice tones that suit my needs just fine..

Coil taps cool but it could use a tone control...

Not a blem on it that i can see, and thats what i bought..Paints flawless, tuners work well, intonation was close to dead on, general setup on this thing doesn't need any adjustment...Seems to be a solid enough guitar to last many years if takin care of...

$125 for a blem,that i cant find a mark on, sounds like a deal to me.. Wish they had some more i'd definitely buy another...I would say it would have a fair price at $199 like the standard Sqiers...

Dont think there would be a problem here...Dont have any use for it though, i do all my own work...

Just a practical addition to my collection..

Hobby

Little of all

For an inexpensive guitar the sound quality is quite good...of course the amp you play it through plays a big part in what your final results are...I most like the sound from position 2...both pickups selected...quite nice!!

This guitar is pretty much a bare bones guitar...no extra stuff in the box.

With just a little tune up time and adjusting one saddle this guitar was ready to go.

I am impressed with the overall quality of this instrument...the finish is nearly flawless and the only blem is one spot about the size of the point of a lead pencil and in a place not easily seen. The diecast tuners are a plus and the controls are nicely done and work easily.

Without a doubt this is a very good guitar for the price.

I would think that being a Fender product that customer support would be pretty good...since I have never had to deal with them this is a guess.

This guitar does have eye appeal...after all its got the standard Strat body...a Tele neck...and its own pickup configuration...what a guitar!!

Hobbyist

mostly Blues...some Rock

After picking up a guitar again after almost 30 years, I have been very impressed with the varity of sounds produced by this guitar. I played American Strats Gibson SG'S, Shecters, etc and I found you can make almost any type of sound for the style of music. I have been playing thru a Roland micro cube and a pocket rocket.

I like the simple controls. Nothing fancy. It's overall a simple set-up guitar

I was surprised by the fit of of the neck to the body and the cut-outs for the pick-ups. The finish was nearly perfect with only a few flaws in the finish. My guitar holds it's tuning pretty well after bending and playing power chords. The standard tuners seem well made for being generic. I dont play in a band so I dont know how it would hold up, but I would always have a back-up. The only negative things I would say about this guitar is the controls feel cheap and the intonation was way off, but for a guitar in this price range, it is what it is. I dont think anyone who plays for a living would use a guitar in this price range anyway. But for the price, I think the quality is really very good.

For me, this guitar is a great value compared to other guitars that I played in this price range. It looks good, a little different from "Strats". I like the Blonde/White pick-guard combination. Again, this is a good general use/practice guitar and not one made for "thrashing" on stage. I would buy another one without question if this is the price range I wanted to stay in, but After a couple of months playing again, I definately will be going to a much higher end guitar. There is a difference in playing skills on this guitar and a high end model but for now I am quite happy with this guitar. The neck and fretboard on mine is very smooth and no buzzing on any fret. The neck is fast and I like the size.

Not needed so far

As I have said. This a great guitar to start out on, and my guitar playes very well for the price and what it is supposed to be. I purchased it because I liked the looks and the sounds and how easy it is to play the guitar

Hobbyist

Classic Rock/ Metal

I like the Squier 51 ,It has light guage strings which is good for playability.I can play it for hours,just make sure everybody around likes to hear you. I especially like the tele neck ,it isn't finished like my Fender telecaster,but is thin and smooth.

I don't like the tap coil setup ,it takes a little getting used to.Squier should have put a toggle pickup selector,but for the price who's complainin

It has a nice tone kind of a tele-strat combo sound and excellent playability.

My 51 has a nice finish ,simple.There aren't to many choices of color.I opted for the tobbacco color, the finish and quality is very good for a low priced guitar.

For the price,I have not seen a better guitar.

I have a Fender tele,a Dan electro u-2,a Wasburn semi hollow body and an applause round back.The squier looks and finish are as good as or better than any of them.

hobbyist,play music with friends

Blues,country blues and reggae

Very nice strat tones on the neck pickup. Dirty nasty humbucker tones (that's a good thing) Coil tap gives you hum/single and single/single combos

Simple layout, rotary pickup selector, push-pull pot for coil splitting

Simple but effective

Fret edges a bit rough, bridge is the weakest link on the guitar, but easily & inexpensively replaced

You can't get more guitar for the money. Period.

Cool retro vibe

Active Musician, 35 years

Blues, Rock, Gospel, Contemporary Christian

i play metal and hard rock with a few light ones here and there.. This guitar blew my mind. I'm not fond of squier other than the showmaster and the special tele's.. This guitar just has that solid grinding it's teeth tone out of it. You play this through high gain with that humbucker and it's just stomping your face with soundwaves. The neck has an awsome crisp clean tone when played through a clean setting. I still can't get over the price. I almost kicked myself.

coil tapping on a 150 dollar guitar. That definately boasts some serious features, though, no tone controls. I normally don't bother with them, but some people do i suppose. So in those odd and end players that need tone control, i rate it a 7 for you.

everything greats except the fact that it IS a bolt on, but i don't think fender or squier make set necks.

150 for a humbucker and coil tapping.. HELLO?

Can't say it's the guitar i want over everything else, but for the price and my lack of money, it's high up on there. For all the new models that came out recently, this is probally the highest up.

solo artist, somewhat active musician, recording engineer

from alternative to hard rock to metal

Love the coil-tap set-up. Somebody screwed up selling these guitars at this price (and even at list too!)

Professional Musician for 26 yrs

Rock & Jazz

I recently got it. It came faster than I was told.The axe seems surprisingly good for a buck-and-a-half. It screams, and also drops to the 'Fender' neck pickup tone. I have an old LP, a'65 Strat, a '60's SG, and this Squire may share the rack with the others. Nice maple fretboard. New strings will go on right after this review.

See above. It also came with the required two allen keys. The only thing I want for this guitar is a surface-mount tremolo, like a Bigsby.The woods seem OK, and I bought it because I missed my old Strat's maple neck.

Tape over the headstock logo, and no one would be able to guess. I will probably put on Grovers.Check back later for my account of dependability.

Worth a bit more than what I paid.

N/A

I bought it from the picture....never saw anything like it....a cute hybrid....it is a '1951', and so am I.

playin' since the '60s

Blues, Rock, some Folk.

Talks like a tele with a humbucker bite. This guitar has great tone even though you have no tone knob for adjustment. im playing clean through an old Fender Champ tube amp. Surprisingly I doesn't sound like a cheesy el cheapo guitar. however I do plan to change the pups in the near future. If you're lookin for a good blues guitar with room for improvement. look no further.

At least it had strings on it.

the fit and finish was marginal if best. i found a run in the finish, they cut the "skunk stripe" too short and put puty in to fill the gap, the neck was warped (easilly fixed), and the intonation was off (also easilly fixed).

it's worth 150 bucks any day of the week.

never had to bother Fender or squier for anything so I'll give them a 10.

It's definately an eye catcher. Anyone who knows anything about fender products will have to give this guitar a double take.

Active Musician

classic Rock, Blues, Country, Slide Guitar

The pickups are cheap squier ones, but I like the configuration. I never use a tone knob, and only rarely use a neck pick up (maybe for ska or something...) Anyways, you can always replace the pickups with Seymor Duncans.

Every thing I need, nothing that I wouldn't use. (tone knobs are a waste, I think). "Classic" body shape, chrome knobs, tele headstock, cool white finish, uh- what else? Oh and it's made out of alder (The same material as the Mexican Fender Standard P-bass!)

i dunno

Hella tight! $200 for an alder body guitar?! It's great!

i dunno

Only get the white finish though!

2 1/2 years of bass; 1 1/2 years of guitar; 2 years of drums; 5 years of piano. Member of The Five Finger Discounts! Go to: ww

Punk Ska Metal Emo

I played my first gig with this guitar the other night and I was blown away by the sound. Nice and twangy and warm blues sound. Switch to the HB and you've got more of a rock sound. Play it clean it has a nice country sound. I've been playing for 20 years and I'm impressed. Great for Blues. I run it through an Epiphone amp and it sound like gold.

The pickup selection is grand. One of the most versatile guitars out there. I play mostly blues/funk and like to spit the humbucker and combine it the single coil.

It's just a matter of experimenting with different sounds and PU selections.

So far so good... Tuning pegs are a little cheap. PUs hum a little.

This thing plays and sounds like a $1500 guitar. Incredible.

Not sure about this one.

Active Musician

Blues, Rock, Funk and a little jazz

listen brother it's not what you play it's how you play. i just got my 51 sguier and it is a great playing guitar. it sounds great and it plays great, right out of the box it is one sweet ride( and the string setup was right on ). the bridge pup is fender all the way, and i love it! the pots and pup selectors are quiet. i play texas rock, country rock, christian rock, and i write and record my own music. this guitar is right on! you sell the guitar the guitar doesn't sell you. i've been playing the guitar for over 40 years and i know what i like and i like this fender!

it's got all i need.

sweet

i already gave it a 10 what more do you want?

you won't find a better guitar for a ten thousands bucks.

sucks

i dunno. you tell me.

I love the neck, and the finish, it has rolled edges like an old Tele, the coil tap is fantastic. It has great sustain and very comfortable feel, this is a classic!

Ditto!

nice for the price!

The sound of this guitar is great, It has a deep tone to it that makes the music even rock more. And best of all it helps me acheive the sound of music i am looking for. I plays great with my marshall amp, which has different distortion settings and different sound FX. It rocks! It is really worth the money, a real bang for the buck!

It is made very well.

It is a great value for the sound that it makes, I recommend this guitar to any guitarist.

The guitar itself is a real blast from the past. A '51 to be exact. It comes in three colors, black looking the best. It has a '51 style guard pick that takes up almost half of the body, and a chrome panel with a chrome master volume and a chrome master tone. and the neck is all natrual wood which looks cool contrasted to the black.

Intermediate guitarist

Rock

This little number rocks! I can't believe I can get so many different sounds out of a guitar priced below $200.

Rock, jazz, metal, blues....this thing does it all!

Quality appears to be pretty good. So good, I originally thought the thing was made in the US.

There's definitely better guitars out there, but this guitar is a great value. An outstanding beginners guitar!

Haven't had any problems with the guitar.

I purchased this guitar for my son so he could learn how to play and I want one for myself.