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I just spotted this new edition Squier Strat in ..... Fiesta Red ! For those on a strict budget, it is eminently affordable & potentially not a bad guitar to boot. It's in the Squier Classic Vibe series & is called the 'Biffy Clyro' model, & is a signature model for their guitarist, Simon Neil. It seems to be retailing for around £260-280, & is made in China. The Strat is representative of an early '60s Strat, with a Rosewood fingerboard, tinted neck varnish, mint-green scratchplate & aged pickup covers, trem tip & knobs. The Vintage-style pickups are described as having a mixture of Alnico III & V magnets, so potentially the right tone is there. A friend of mine has a sunburst Classic Vibe series Strat, in sunburst, & I have to admit, that for the price you pay, it isn't a bad Strat at all. You do get that basic Shads sound. Obviously, for these sort of prices, you will get pretty basic budget hardware on them, & they are maybe upgradable. However, if you can't afford the more expensive US, Jap or Mex Strats, these are the best opportunity in a long while to get an F.Red Strat that has reasonably good quality & playability. Who's 'Biffy Clyro' you may ask ? Well, I didn't know either. They are apparently one of these young modern bands with a strange name. Who am I to talk ! I lived through the '60s & we had more strange band names then than you could throw a mike stand at. Good luck to them.

Tony.

Just looked up the band on youtube. They do an interview about the new guitar. It looks pretty good for someone on a low budget and possibly just playing at home, you may get a good enough Shads sound to satisfy your needs. I would maybe concider getting one if it plays and sounds ok and I am one of these lock myself in the bedroom kinda players nowadays so, who knows.
Her in the other part of indoors will be pleased I'm sure if I do purchase one. Not

Maybe a wee visit to Guitar Guitar in Glesgie in the near future

God is this guitar buying never going to end?

My son is interviewing one of the band tonight. I'll try and get him to ask something about the guitar...

(To answer Hugh's question - no, never...)

George

This is good to see! A Squier Strat in Fiesta Red with a small, sixties style headstock! For any that will shout down a guitar released under the Squier banner, I have a HBM signature Squier from c.1991/1992 and it sounds better than a Custom Shop guitar I have owned. Fitted with the right pickups and upgraded hardware, this Strat will likely be indistinguishable in sound from guitars worth 10x or 20x its value.

J

Not forgetting my (Phil's) old JV Squier, which sounds better than all my other guitars!

J

By the way, they claim it has an Alder body too. Which is good. Don't know whether or not that means a Chinese version of Alder, or a Jap version, or a Korean version or an Indonesian version, or genuine USA Alder ..... but I suspect they acquire their own version in the area. Maybe Basswood ? Wh atever that is. Still, for the price it's got to be a good deal.

Tony.

I see there are four in stock at Guitar Guitar Glasgow in fiesta red cost....£319. I may have to take a trip in tomorrow to see if I should treat myself to an early Christmas prezzie
Worth a look anyway I suppose.

According to the spec the body is alder. Anybody able to tell me as to what kind of sound alder produces?
My present guitar is a big chunk of mahogany and gives a Gibson like tone.

Bluesnote wrote:Anybody able to tell me as to what kind of sound alder produces?

Listen to the Shadows' early recordings. "That Strat" is alder.

J

Quite right, Hank's original Strat was Alder. USA Standard Strats are Alder, as are Mex Classic Players. In fact most of the traditional Strats are Alder. Some of the Far East ones are made with a Far East equivalent of Alder with various names that don't mean a lot to me. Occasionally some Strat models are made from Ash, which is also a great tonewood, although reputedly slightly brighter in tone. Genuine Alder is a great tonewood & gives the sound we all expect from a Strat.

Tony.