Check out more guitar reviews: kzfaq.info/sun/PLNaLwTdlpQNGXHK9wPm1kYNDwFvMLQ7ES Or check out some of my music: kzfaq.info/sun/PLNaLwTdlpQNHKlg8ALZfM3AINC20WMp8s

I like cheap guitars, if it goes bad with some flaw, well, it's cheap, and if it comes out good, great, it's cheap. 😁😁😁

Oh that's the comparision i was looking for. There aren't too much videos of this exact comparision. Thank you so much!

What a coincidence, I bought my fender player as my first electric guitar a few days ago after considering these two. Was able to get a mint condition (supposedly) one on reverb for about $600 or 500 euros (including shipping and tax fees). Great to hear you play

I had exactly the same problems with my classic vibe 70's. The fret board was dry as a desert which causes frets to be sharp. After soaking laurel with lemon it immediately felt better. I did sand down the frets and crowned them the best to my abilities. It had also problems with tuning stability. I spent quite a while setting it up but finally I got it right (I learnt how to do that on this guitar) and now this is really nice and playable instrument. I bought also an American Performer HSS few month ago at good price after discount ( just below £ 800 which is a bargain ) and the quality difference is really noticeable. Well set up (even if a little to high articulation for my liking) and great finish with no blemishes, no problems with frets and tuning. The Yosemite pickups sound better too. However, if you want a strat to practice and short of money, with some help and patience Squire can be a good instrument. It may vary from instrument to instrument and this is why it is always a good idea to check guitar at the local guitar strore (if you can). Many reviewers say that Squires are great out of box...perhaps some are, but mine and the one Elmo has were not and had similar problems. On Squire the bridge pickup is not great., however neck and middle sound 'straty' and actually nice. I checked the resistance on both and on Squire Neck is 5.54 middle 5.88 bridge 6.16 whereas on Performer Yosemite pickups are 7.60 neck, 8.00 middle and 7.65 (but this one is humbucker). Yosemites are warmer but produce more defined sounds.

Nice comparison vid Elmo and the Nato joke was my kind of humour 👏 ... I love that Tidepool blue finish with maple board and if I was to get a Player it's the combo I'd go for.

Great graph skills man.

In Canada the Squier hss or sss is $559, the MIM Fender in hss is $1149 & $999 in sss. Il buy the Fender one day, for now it's the Cort & Peavey (current project) strat. Nice review Elmo!

Elmo you are bang on with this review! A guitar has to feel right to keep playing , pickups you can deal with later, it has to have good bones as they say or you might as well trash it! Thanks Elmo

Hey bro greetings from Tampere! Just ordered the 70s vintage Squier in vintage white based on your last video review on it.

Thank you EJK! I totally agree with you. And there are great deals that can be found on used Fender strats!

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by a Squier Classic Vibe Pine Telecaster I picked up used a year or so ago. A really solid instrument for sure. I purchase my example because it has a AA Flamed Maple1-Piece neck that is amazing considering it is a Squier! I think with the less expensive guitars (or anything really) you do risk the hit or miss as far as getting a good guitar. Great video, thank you Elmo. What the more expensive Fender has going for it is better body wood used, that alone is worth the extra expense (IMO).

I had a Player Strat for a few years, before I sold it. Great guitar, action and intonation were great out of the box. If you want to nick pick, the fret ends could have been finished better, but not sprouting. I would buy again. The CV line is great, but I agree with you. The MIM is worth the extra money.

I own both guitars and like them both. I have not had any tuning issues on either (I don't ever use the trem). The Squier has never had any issues with fret sprout. However, the Player Strat now has some serious fret sprout all the way down the neck. So does my Player Telecaster. Neither had that issue when I bought them. I even had them do a plek on the Strat when I bought it. It was perfect when it arrived. Within a month it had fret sprout. It has a maple fret board and has been stored in the same room as the Squier in the same guitar rack. So, alot of the time it's just the luck of the draw. I'm sure that there are great Player Strats and not so great Player Strats out there and the same with the Squiers.

Once again a very helpful video.. just ordered the classic vibe David Gilmour inspired 50's strat..

You've managed to make a video on every question I've had so far! I thank you kindly, Sir. New subscriber, love the channel. Been playing on and off for almost 30 years, and am on the lookout for a more budget friendly Strat option. I have a '96 (bought new, after exams), Fender American Standard in Olympic White but it got a slight ding and almost lost my mind! Player sounds better... Damn. Cheers for the video.

Over the past two years I’ve played a players series and classic vibe 50s. The classic vibe was the superior guitar in terms of feel. I don’t use tremolo at all so that would be something to weary off. I might find a prebuilt pickguard off a players series and swap it in to the classic vibe.

I build my own guitars and I like Squier necks. I try to buy necks over 10 years old because they're typically very sorted and stable. When I do buy newer necks, say a year older or less, I don't mount them right away. I let them acclimate for a month or two, then dress the frets as needed. Usually does the trick.

Honestly if you want to have the strat experience, the player series is the best value for money. The classic vibe sounds great even with its stock pups and if you can go and try the guitar yourself I'm sure there are pieces that are resonant and have less neck issues. Squier have to make compromises here to keep the cost down and a lot of that is in the hardware. As I've found out the hard way over the past few years, beginner guitars and the wiggle stick don't really gel together. If you want to work that trem bar the minimum you gotta do is get yourself Mexican strat and swap to the nut to a bone or tusq nut. The squier trem system is just not made for consistent use anyway.

I honestly don't look for guitars by what they sound, but by how they play. Pick ups are the easiest mod one can make, however good hardware, neck playability, tuning stability and weight are either expensive or impossible to mod. I have a CV 50s, and for about 6 years it's been my main guitar, but my needs have changed, and I've just bought a Player Series for these reasons: two point tremolo, HSS configuration, 22 frets. At first I was in love with my CV, but I tried to use the vintage tremolo, no success. My tuners are quite weird, both E string have gear ratio 1:7 (yes, I'm not crazy), while the others are 1:14. Tuning my guitar is a hard task. There's a fret buzz that no guitar tech in my city can fix, pots are the cheapest ones but work well. Configuration SSS is a limite for me, I need a more versatile guitar, and something that has bothered me lately is soloing with 21 frets.

Cool Video, I' ve got both Strats and they are both nice 🙏

Great content! Being binging a lot of Squier / fender videos both of yours and others, apparently there doesn't exist a range where the guitars stays in tune 😂😂 first couple recommendations on every video change the head stocks change the pick ups lol

The CV could be a lifetime guitar, it's got everything a great guitar needs, and even cheaper ones can be lifetime companions. I prefer the Player due to the color options, higher grade metal, quality/contentment over saving a bit of money (rarely buy guitars, so negligible).

I got a classic vibe 50's with the maple neck, It outshines my player by a country mile.

I remember buying my 2005 American Strat in 2006 (last year's model) for $750 US including a case. I miss the days when Fender guitars were appropriately priced.

In the States...749 for players series...and 449 for the squier. These went up 50 bucks each a few months back. Cheers...and Thank you

I have a problem counting to 22 as well hahahaha I'm dealing with a squire of a friend and having the same issues but also had to replace the pickguard, pots, pickups and now the jack is crunchy. Might be an ok guitar when I finally finish it. The wood isn't cured properly on the squires. That's why all the fret sprout and bowing issues. Avoid is my personal recommendation. Not worth the hassle. Tremolo sucks too. Good vid per usual, Elmo!

I found a very good CV 60s (that i tried in the store) and also found a set of Fender Pure Vintage 65 pickups for 150$ brand-new, so for 620$ total (with a case) i got a guitar that plays nice and has much nicer pickups than the Player strat (which costs 765$ where i live). Overall, i'm really happy with it!

Agreed.... good vid. A good set of Lollars in that Fender would make most of us very happy indeed!... I think there may be another category that may warrant another vid which is becoming more popular. The 'build it yourself' Strat. If you have owned a bunch of these cheaper instruments as I had, by 2000 when I got to looking for the guitar that I really wanted, it was not available from the major brands, at least not exactly.... I ended up getting some money together and spec'd out what I wanted and ordered all the parts and built the thing myself... To this day it is my #1 and although the 'Fender Custom Shop' do some beautiful instruments I wouldn't trade it for one from there (although id love to give them all the specs and see what it would be like!?!?! and compare the two!)... So im wondering if you could do a vid like '$1500 Custom Strat Challenge'. Could you build something that would challenge a CS Strat for $1500?. I think its quite likely if you spend the money wisely! I think your main guitar is a 'Custom' job?....I think the beauty of the strat is that its just so tweakable...

i bought that exact tidepool strat about 6 months ago and do not regret it. Well done, Elmo. Good review

Honestly the Squier sounds much fuller and better for my taste. Give it a setup and or locking tuners/Graphtech Nut for a few Euros and you are good to go!

The CV pickups are designed to sound like vintage, and the Players are more grunty. I like the diffence as I have both, if the nut on the CV,s are cut right they stay in tune better, the bodies are usually different thickness, squiers are thinner. I like both as they are different. You are correct about not going below a CV as I believe they are now Indonesian and have a bone nut

One of my Guitars is a Squire Deluxe in daphne blue 2016, 2 point trem, Duncan Designed pup's and totally stock! love it and would never part with it. The only thing i would change would be to put a coil stacked YJM in the bridge maybe. I put Clock cog fine oil in the nut and has always stayed in tune and the bridge is floated.

I ordered a Fender Stratocaster HSS player series, that way I have the best of both words and won't really need a Noise gate or another guitar. I have no plans to do any pick up swap with it. Great video overall. I think its no contest that by comparison the Mexican Strat is much nicer than the cheap squire, heck its even nicer than the really cheap Starcaster by Fender Strat body guitar (which is not a real strat) and I can't even find any video comparisons on that. My first guitar is that cheap Starcaster by Fender guitar that could be bought at a walmart or costco, I'm going to sell that when I get the chance to make room for my first real Strat.

Nice!! In this case CV is not bad tone to my ears. In my case I prefer my ex 60 reissue Fender Strato to my 60s CV made by 2013. I had owned Fender MEX road worn TL which was second hand and it's neck had been shrunk so it was repaired within warranty period. My CV neck isn't shrunk anyway.

Owned both a squier and a fender Stratocaster. Fender just felt better in my hands and feel is everything when it comes to playing for me. If budget is an issue you work with what you have but if you have the money you probably won’t regret spending a few extra hundred bucks.

Nice and honest review, or so it feels. Can I ask what kind of pots and switch you are using for your strats with HS-3 pickups?

More proof the tone is in the hands friends, nice work E.

Hi Elmo,gee you play nice blues man. I kinda think the blue one was slightly more 'Spanky '? Keep up the great work, stay cool. Stay Funny,also ! -I like the CV,but I'm a sucker for C.A.R. !!

I have a Squier VM 70's Strat . I've had it several years now. After changing out the saddles it's been great ! No issues. Paid $200 For it. It's just as playable as my nephews MIM . Well worth the money and I see NO reason to " upgrade".

I agree with you about not buying a Squier Affinity Strat. I have a Squier Classic Vibe Mustang which I really like but my Squier Affinity Strat is pretty rubbish all round.

My first guitar was a Squire Affinity and then I got a late 80s Korea Made Squire II. But have always found myself looking to get into A Fender. I have a 2003 MIM Fender Stratocaster coming from Reverb. I can’t wait to get into the weeds on that guitar.

Cats and graph. Legit. Mr Elmo, I found a lovely used Fender Highway One, which was abused by a prior owner, but fixed up by the chap who I purchased it from. A little more TLC and I suspect I am good for my Strat desires. (Who am I kidding, this will start multiplying my S type collection due to increased curiosity triggering GAS)

I bought a classic vibe as a mod-platform. Its getting a bit ridiculous 'cause i've changed so much. Fender locking tuners, Fender vintage noiseless pickups, Clapton mid-boost with a fishman battery as a back plate and a fender bridge. Its weird... But I love it :D

Owning both an Fender American Pro II Strat and a Squier CV 50s Strat and given the choice as to what to do if I were allowed only 1 upgrade on the CV, it would be the bridge/trem system. Absolutely. No question. Everything else is either livable or great.

I wish there was a Player strat with a flatter fretboard. But the only option to get 12" fretboard on a Fender is pro/deluxe models. Or a Squier Conemporary. Or just buy a Player and swap neck, but that doesn't sound good: buy a new guitar, swap neck, then swap pups, then swap bridge, then swap body... oh man, where is the guitar I bought? )

American standard , the standard price has been suprisingly consistent over the years - 700 USD. the fender tuners and floyd rose make a big difference - its all about the pickups - squier pickups have less range and sound like playing in a paper towel roll tube , but ... but... change out the pickups or A pickup , and you have a very close match, but tuners and bridges are important if your planning on staying with it - the rule as been, a person wants to play guitar , get them a squier and see how it works out - if they are good and love playing , tell them to get an american standard or deluxe model with floating floyd rose bridge - or just upgrade everything on it (tuners , pickups( or ones used most) and bridge (makes a difference) - a squier can be an american standard, its just nobody does it because the costs equalize - but i love it when i see someone who doesnt care about the prestige and makes a move like that - like a sleeper car - booomm - nothing wrong with a squire ultimately when everything is factored in.

I will dare to make an educated guess from my experience that the first generations of Classic Vibe series that came from the (China) Yako factory had much better Quality control overall. My own 'CY' serial numbered CV 50's Strat from 2011 luckily even came with a Perfectly Quartersawn neck grain from the factory with perfectly flawless fretwork too. I still have it and it was definitely good enough to install a SuperVee BladeRunner bridge into it plus a 920D Custom Shop pre-wired pickguard upgrade too with a set of Lace Sensor RWB pickups and now it's the kind of featherweight Alder body instrument that I could have paid over three times more for from Fender or Kiesel. There was nothing wrong with it "as is" but the Quality and feel demanded that I keep it and customize it for 'maximum performance' and longevity.

Wow! U really shredded the Fender! 🤩👍🎶🎉

I've got a Fender player series stratacaster sss buttercream on my guitar list. I just orderded a black Fender telecaster player series

First, the player series Strat is entry level, not expensive. You are basically buying a slightly better build and a Fender logo. Now compare the Squier to my American Professional II that comes in at £1,869.00, and you will see both the Squier and the Player fall very short .

Love my 50’s classic vibe but the feel and quality of the Player are better. Not necessarily better sounding but just all round better. Full size pots etc on the player too.

My player strat didn’t come well set up from factory, at least I have learnt to set it up... but the nut is not properly cut (intonation problems at lower frets) and I should take it to a luthier. For a beginner I recommend to buy any guitar from a local store for having it set up and focus on learning, not blaming the instrument.

Fenders never had an issue with QC on them , its always the Squiers as they are built to a budget and the guys in Fenders Indonesia factories really don't have a clue about setting up a guitar.

I have had the player and now the CV. The CV is far and away the better guitar. Sounds plays and looks better.

honestly I got a really good Squire...I swapped out the pickups to seymour duncans...THEN I changed the neck to a killer CS rosewood board! big difference...Now Im lookin at a new body by Warmouth!! It has improved INCREDIBLY

Ok, now I know you can play, so I trust what you say.

Hi Elmo..I have 2 strats ..one American standard 97 rosewood fretboard and one classic vibe 50 maple fretboard..sometimes I feel better with the squier..but yesterday I finally realized that the American is very good too..different sound.. different playbility ..but still good..I was wandering about selling the American for like 900 euro and maybe buy a player and with the money saved an acoustic too. Did you ever try 97 strato USA and what do you think about it?

As a person who has been using squier for many years, I can say that there is not much difference tonally with the same magnetic combinations. However, there are differences in the quality of workmanship. But these differences are not enough to cover the price difference.

Holy moly this guy can play!

Being Scottish i love the nato joke lol Love your videos Elmo! 🤘

I like the Squiers. Still have my 84 and got a 40th Strat for 300. Good value.

How you doing Elmo? I bought the same identical guitar in 2019? I haven't had any problems but I'm going to put a little'59 Seymour Duncan in the bridge pickup because my bridge pickup doesn't sound good. I mostly use the second position. I also bought a fender mustang 25 because I live in an apartment, it's OK. Like you said I like the playability. Cheers mate, the Squier works for me. Peace.

I have a 1994 Korean squier strat which has had everything upgraded and it plays and sounds as good as my mates Mexican roadworn, it also has 28 years of story behind it!

Have you tried the squire classic vibe hss strat in interested in saving for one

I bought my daughter a squire mustang bullet for $160. I thrashed it for 2 hours and it did not go out of tune. A couple things I don't like about it the pick ups sound horrible and it's so light it has neck dive. Other than that it's a really good guitar.

Squier classic vibe,is great had mine years,no problems with it at all,,,,love its sound,,

Players series all day. The CV neck finish bothers me. I’m one of the rare ones who actually prefers the affinity series to the CV series.

I'm quite distracted by the length of your hair hanging into the guitar strings for this video, and I'm also jealous that you have more on top your head than I do. My ponytail gets that way too when I let it go too long. Except, thinning baldness for me. Grrrrrrr!!

😎Video Elmo! ☮️❤️🎸🎶🤟🏻

really tempted to get a Fender! 🧐 still a reasonable price though

I don't have the tuning problems on on my Classic Vibe strat you have. Lack of finesse?

Dude things that cost hundreds of dollars shouldn’t have quality control issues

There's been a lot of shoot outs and there been 2 or 3 third party companies that their affordable guitars are better than the CV series'in price and sound like Donner, monoprice especially their HSS with string thru and HT both options on the same guitar and I wish I bought it instead of replacing my Squire Bullet HSS HT and I got the Monoprice Tele after I bought the Squire Bullet because I had to replace my Squire Bullet Tele that both got stolen. Sweetwater did graciously setup my Squire Bullet because the first one I got was defective.

Thats not a USA model

in my opinion the player is a great guitar and has also better resale value from the squier.

I would get the Player in a heartbeat. They are crazy good guitars for the money. I would say though that the extra upcharge for a American Professional one is not worth it. I've owned two American Standard strats and they didn't play any better than any mexican made one I've ever played. My mexican made Precision bass have started to get a bit of fret sprout after 3 years though, but it's not that bad, and it won't shred my hands during a gig. I also live in a very dry enviroment so it's to be expected.

Squier : check out our new contemporary range! Elmo: look at my graph! Love it Elmo!

Why wouldn't you go with the Affinity? I bought one because I wanted a Strat and it's quite good. Frets needed a good polish. I'm planning to replace the pickups and bridge, but it's a really good guitar (other that the dull pickups).

What are your 3 recommended pickups one could consider swapping into the Player Strat?

Go with the Monoprice Indio Cali Classic...

The Squier developed fret sprout and a bowed neck AFTER you bought it?

Alright so you about lost me here, but the graph and the cat picture really did drive your point home on this. Well argued sir.

I just got a classic vibe. my first guitar in 12 years. I had to return it The frets were more popped out then they were "sprouted". 7 popped/lifted frets all up. The 11th fret had such a bad install, they had chipped off lacquer of the actual fretboard and caused a huge indentation on the binding side. The last 21st fret was so much higher then the rest, that a proper initial set up couldnt even be completed cos the 21st fret had to leveled so badly. I had got it after constantly hearing about how amazing it was for the price and about how the neck was quite small and slim. While it mightve felt small i couldnt give it a proper feel cos the strings were too high to play properly. and couldnt be fixed without an extra cost to fix it. Not worth the risk of a supposed potentially good guitar for the price. in this "golden age of cheap guitars" we're in, I feel ripped off. Do not recommend

My Indonesian made squire strat does not have the tuning problem.

Walk this way 😎👍

What model of amp are you using in this video?

Hilarious how much the logo influences this guy and millions of player. We need more blind fold tests on KZfaq.

Anyone try learning as a complete beginner guitar lessons from Youician? Im thinking about jumping onboard...

What's that amp under the Vox?

Fender to Fender and squier to squier. You can hear and see the differences.

13:52 War das jetzt dein Phone oder meines?

That first guitar has the best tone lol

I'm going to say Fender is better before watching this. Let's see what you say or change my mind....

What an insanely good guitar player!

First one to call the tuning issues... seems a bit suspicious to me

What pedal u use in this vdeo

The Player sounds, and probably feels, more Solid, compared to CV.

thin neck on squier cv .....too thin

AlNiCo 5 .. the "V" stands for 5 :)