Fender Squier Classic Vibe 50's Stratocaster Review

The Stratocaster has been on the forefront of popular guitars in the music industry now for almost fifty years. It has been played by greats such as Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. In appreciation of the Stratocaster's longstanding tradition of excellence in music, the Fender Squier Vibe Stratocaster is now offered. It is a new take on the classic 50's style Stratocaster, one of the originals that has propelled Fender to what it has become today. Let's take a closer look at the Vibe Strat to see how it measures up.

Features: The body of the Fender Squier Classic Vibe Strat is made of alder wood, which is a common feature of the Asian made Squier brand. It's not the most impressive material, but it gets the job done as far as quality sustain goes. In the vintage fifties style, the finish is termed "polyester" by Squier, and is a two color sunburst with a 1-ply white pickguard. At first glance, it looks much like the guitars blues legends such as Buddy Guy have played in the past. The neck is bolted onto the body, and is made of maple. The big difference about the neck from the actual vintage Strat is that it has a modern C shape. The fretboard is made of maple as well, and has twenty one medium jumbo frets with black dot inlays as position markers. The hardware, including the tuning heads, input jack, and six saddle tremolo bridge, is all chrome. Electronically, the Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster has three Alnico III brand single coil pickups, one volume & two tone control knobs, and a five way selector switch.

Playability: Although the guitar has the vibe of a vintage Strat, it has all the modern amenities to make it easy to play. The maple neck is a little heavy, bit is thin and feels good in your hands. You won't have any trouble with fret reach when playing it. Also, the deep cutaways allow for great high fret access when you're shrieking out a big solo. Out of the box, the action is nice and low as well.

Sound: Many musicians are known for buying budget instruments like the Squier Vibe Stratocaster and immediately switch out the pickups to get a better, more complete sound. With this guitar, however, that's unnecessary. The pickups can handle any tone and distortion combination you can dish out. It's very versatile, and you will likely be well-satisfied.

Overall: If you're the kind of guitarist looking for a classic instrument that will cover any style of music, the Fender Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster may be the guitar for you. It has the looks and feel of a vintage Stratocaster, and can play any style of music up to today well. You can find the Vibe Strat in music stores for about $300.