c.2010 Fender/Squier Starcaster Strat Electric Guitar

This was just in for a setup but I figured I'd weigh in on it: the jury in my head says, "Well, it's just fine." After a setup it plays as well as any other off-the-rack newly-adjusted Strat guitar but as far as tone and enjoyment goes, "Well, it's just fine."

For something that runs at an absurdly-low $100-130 new the parts quality is simply amazing. I mean: it even has a flamed-maple veneer top. How about that? Heh heh. The problem is that the body sounds dull and the neck, while of a good cut and while seemingly stable enough at the moment (that will be sure to change over its lifetime) seems to be sort of spongy.

If I pick up a solidbody electric guitar I want to strum an E major chord and have the thing give me a belly rub and a strong sustained acoustic sort of overtone complex. What most of these cheaper import electric guitars lack is that complexity: they're sort of like modern import electronic devices -- perfectly functional but cookie-cutter and without nuance. It serves for learning and adding another voice to the collection, though.

When the customer came in and wondered about tuning stability I knew it was the import trem/vibrato assembly crudding out on him. I blocked it up with a bit of maple (seen through the stringing holes) and made sure it was secure. So much for that problem!