FenderSquier Debut Series Stratocaster Electric Guitar, Beginner Guitar, with 2-Year Warranty, Includes Free Lessons, Dakota Red with Matte Finish

I’ve had the Squier Debut Series Stratocaster HT HSS (in the two-color sunburst finish) for a little while now, and I honestly love it. I’m more of an enthusiast than an experienced player, but this guitar makes me want to sit down and play more — which is exactly what I hoped for when I bought it.Looks and FeelIt looks awesome — the sunburst finish is really clean and classic. The guitar feels good in your hands, and it’s not too heavy or awkward. The neck is smooth, and the frets are finished really well — no sharp edges or rough spots, which makes a big difference when you’re still learning.Easy to PlayThis is a very comfortable guitar to learn on. The strings are easy to press, and it doesn’t fight you when you’re trying to play chords or work on your technique. I don’t know much about hardware, but it stays in tune well and doesn’t feel cheap at all.Sounds Great for All Kinds of StuffThe sound is really versatile. I’ve played clean tones, a bit of rock, and some bluesy stuff, and it all sounds surprisingly good. Even though I’m still learning, I can tell it has a nice range of sounds and doesn’t box you into one style.Build QualityEverything feels solid. Nothing’s loose or rattly, and it just feels like a well-made instrument — especially for something that’s beginner-friendly. It’s held up great so far, and I can see it being something I stick with for a long time.Final ThoughtsAs someone who’s still figuring things out, I couldn’t be happier with this guitar. It’s fun to play, looks great, and makes practicing something I actually look forward to. If you’re just getting into guitar or want something simple and reliable, this is a really solid option.

Looked like such a deal I got 2 in different colors, both are great. I had to set up the bridge to proper floating position as these ship with the bridge decked flat against the body. Didn't change the strings or make any other adjustments and the guitars play great both plugged in and unplugged which is how I mostly play them to stay low in volume. Neck is flat radiused and feels very fast like a shredder guitar. The body feels more comfortable than a Fender Strat because it's thinner and lighter and overall feels easy to manage physically, so it's perfect for young children just starting to learn guitar. I even recorded a song using this guitar with no modifications and if I told you it was some other guitar costing 10 times more you'd believe me.No issues or problems with frets, no choke out on bends, action is nice and low to play comfortably, and somehow it's fun to play the way it feels, causing me to play it longer than I intend when I pick it up. Using the floating trem the guiatr stays in tune and doesn't have any problem zeroing back to the correct position whether pulling up or doing dive bombs.This guitar didn't exist when I was starting out on the instrument but I wish I had one because even now that I play daily I still want to keep these guitars instead of giving them away to eager new students if they wanted.

Here is a quick rundown. I received this on 11/29/2024. It was set to spec as far as the neck relief and string height. The tuners worked smoothly and held the tuning. The strings as fine. No sharp fret ends and the frets were highly polished. Confortable neck shape. The pickup switch felt and worked well and the tone and volumes were smooth. The output jack was properly tightened and works well. The pickups sounded just fine and the pieces aligned under the strings just as vintage ones do. It sounds very good unplugged. The trem arm screws in properly but the trem took a lot of pressure to work. This is really no issues and I am sure they did this to keep it in tune. If you are new to Strats, the vintage trem rarely ever stood in tune, don't use the trem as it is really for show in most Strats. In the real world it takes a lot of skill and know-how to get a Strat trem to work properly and costs more than the guitar to setup, which I am telling you will be impossible anyway. These are set with the rear decked on the body so it returns to tune meaning you can only go down. If you are learning you should learn to play for real and not be a poser playing with the trem. Leave the trem arm in the bag. There is nothing needed to be done or replaced to have a good guitar to learn on. It appears the price is so low as to be get you started and updating the phone app and taking lessons online and later buying a more expensive guitar, that is where they plan to profit. The guitar is like an when you buy a low cost inkjet printer for very little money and have to buy their ink forever. Is the guitar worth it ? Absolutely. Also buy a $30 or so case to keep it in might be a good idea. Realize if you are buying this for a gift for someone to learn on, most new players quit as they rather stare at their phone or play a video game so buying a low cost guitar is a good idea. The 2-year warranty is worth more than the guitar alone. Be careful removing the plastic on the pickguard and pickups, the pickguard plastic is very soft and scratches easily. After a few days I decided that the nut needed to be filed slightly for each string so I took care of that. I also lowered the action lower than Fender specs to 4mm with no buzzing. None of these things were out of the ordinary for a new Strat guitar. I am very happy with this guitar. After a few months after being too dry in my house the fretboard did shrink somewhat making for fret sprout (sharp frets past the edge of the fretboard. Fret sprout is not uncommmon even in much more expensive guitars. So I filed the edges and polished the frets when I was at it and put a set of Ernie Ball Super Slinky 9-43 (2223). Guitars are made of wood and wood is affected by moisture. That's life. I am still happy with the guitar. If you are just learning it is unlikely you will be running you hand up and down the neck so it may not matter at all if there is some fret sprout. It was not really that bad when it happened.