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Squier by Fender SP10 SE Special Guitar with Amplifier, Brown Sunburst

Note: this review is for the whole "kit", not just the guitar or the amp. Also, it pertains to all 3 colors; I don't know why they have them as separate packages. (Maybe the sunburst one has better sustain? Ummm...right. Mine is black, if it matters.)

I noticed people are not reviewing this on Amazon and frankly, that's a shame! They (guitar/amp) are a fabulous instrument. So we're clear, this is a budget and/or noob package but I say that in no way to impugn its quality. It's significantly ahead of any 'Targ-mart' special you can get for only a bit less; then again I got mine on Labor Day special for 1/2 price--awesome!

Let's get "the missing star" stuff out of the way first:
- The tone knobs for neck/middle are more like switches. 0-2 is "dark" and 3-10 is bright. There's not much in between.
- The "tremolo" bar (classic misnomer) and bridge are low-budget so this is upgrade territory. For me, I'm not much into the whammy, so it's moot.
- Of the 5 pickup settings, only the bridge-alone one sounds truly unique. However, this is not a biggee to me as it seems fairly common. The pickups are not high-end (another upgrade potential) but if you're a beginner or you're playing for fun, in a church band or anything where $ is not on the table these p'uppies are surprisingly good sounding!

So, back to our 4-star combo features. Though it's a Chinese-made Squier it's still a Fender and they have to maintain standards. The fretboard/neck feels good and is solid and the tuning knobs get the job done; mine stays in tune reasonably well. The guitar as a whole looks like a Strat--not much difference from 5 feet away so if you like the Strat look, this one will be pleasing. The little 10-watt Squier amp has nothing to be ashamed of! It's very simple and it complements the axe quite well; in fact I like its sound better than my Line 6 Spider III 15W amp. I've even seen it at pawn shops for $50 so people must realize that it's pretty impressive for its category. Finally, the quartz tuner works fine but there are better ones out there to be sure.

To put everything, especially quality, in perspective, I like to ask, "if you drug Eric Clapton into trading his million-dollar-baby for this model and, after he sobers up you both play them, who sounds better?"

So, thumbs up for this combo. Professional musicians may not want the guitar unless they want to use it for a "project" and do some surgery to turn it into a great player. But for younger/newer and/or cash-strapped folk, you'd do well to own one. Mine's a keeper!


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Labels: Fender Starcaster

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