Is this the BEST CHEAP GUITAR EVER?! (New 2023 Squier Sonic Series Mustang HH)

I've been playing with quite a few electric guitars this year, some with humbuckers, some with single coil, some with just one pickup - safe to say I've been searching for a certain sound. Recently I saw that Squire was moving on from their famous (or infamous) Bullet series, and immediately this Mustang caught my eye. The finish on this guitar is beautiful, it also comes in pink as well.
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[@AdamKaliszewski]

I'm an experienced guitar player with some more "serious" instruments, but I bought this one (HH version, same colour) out of curiosity (never had a Mustang). The factory setup was terrible. After some manual work and changing strings to 10-46, I have to admit that this guitar is awesome! Not just for the money. Comfortable, great sounding, good looking. Didnt' expect much, got a lot of awesomeness. :D Nowaday I am playing this one most often of all my guitars.

[@dominicdelaney]

Sometimes, a personal set up is all these budget friendly guitars need!

[@Jaloja]

Pop for some good Alnico 5's. You know big money about $40.00 for both.. You can thank me later :)

[@joesphbegley3088]

Or go for a Yamaha Pacifica 112v which has alnico 5’s fitted.

[@Jaloja]

The Yamaha Pacifica is a under rated gem of a guitar. Its almost a secret... Crazy how quality can be over looked.

[@derekcostello1016]

I brought exact same guitar - California Blue - was amazed at the QC right out of the box it played beyond its price point. Unlike the older Bullet - is no comfort cut and neck radius is 9.5 (Bullet 12) Even the Tuners felt reliable & work faultlessly. Well done Squier Sonic Mustang - highly recommend this guitar.

[@mycawild]

This was a great demo straight to the point and a great test for the tones as well ♥

[@dominicdelaney]

Thank you!! This is the first review I’ve done, with many more planned!

[@bluwng]

This is the only Sonic guitar with 22 frets.

[@dominicdelaney]

This is true!

[@Odyss-d2p]

Would it have been too much trouble to add a separate tone and vol for each pu ?

[@BlindingSun_]

@@Odyss-d2pyes

[@christopheraaron8299]

If you want to get it properly intonated, shim the neck to pitch it back slightly and raise the saddles to match. It worked with my Bullet Mustang (it's how Leo Fender originally designed offsets to be.) I also installed P90s, a white pearl pickguard with P90 cutouts, roller string trees and locking tuners. I also shielded the pickup cavity with copper tape. Pretty soon I'm gonna add the Sonic Mustang SS in Torino red and I'll shim the neck on that one too and do the locking tuners and roller trees. That's probably all the mods I'll do to it though.

[@acevedohiram]

Which pickguard did you go with? Is it the same as the player series mustangs?

[@christopheraaron8299]

@@acevedohiram Yeah, it's a Fender 9-hole pickguard (I think from Musiclily), so I had to drill a couple extra holes because they're not in the exact same place as the Bullet pickguards (which only have 8 holes.)

[@dominicdelaney]

Sounds like some nice mods! Gotta love the roller string trees!! Also I’ve got to imagine those P90s sound great in one of these! Well done

[@christopheraaron8299]

@@dominicdelaney Don't get me wrong, the Bullet Mustang has the best humbuckers you'll find in a budget guitar (and I assume the Sonic uses the same ones), but they just weren't the sound I was looking for. It sounds great with P90s, and I imagine the single coils in the Sonic SS will sound similar. I put the stock humbuckers from the Bullet in my cheap Glarry imitation of a Mustang (GMF-HH) and they sound just as good in that instrument.

[@ibberman]

@@christopheraaron8299 Sitting here looking at my Musiclilly Bullet pickguard, it has 9 holes.

[@brettallenthomas]

I just picked up the SSS Strat version in California blue, and I can say it's a great inexpensive guitar.. I did a basic setup (no neck adjustment needed), swapped to some Slinky Strings, oiled the fretboard, polished the frets and back of the neck with some 2000 grit sandpaper and I'm super happy with it. It's amazing with modern technology just how much guitar you can get for $200..

[@dominicdelaney]

It really is! I remember my first Squier strat when I was a kid in the early 2000s and I can vividly remember the discomfort I felt holding it! It’s night and day with the guitars that are coming out in the “starter” price range now!

[@Gungui07339]

I'm gonna get this guitar on Christmas, I can't wait to get it

[@dominicdelaney]

Best of luck!

[@oliox8685]

Stick 11-48s on this guitar and it will deliver. I got my Sonic single coils mustang a few days ago and after a setup / fret polish it is amazing.

[@dominicdelaney]

Yeah I think I’ve got 10s on it right now and they are a little “jangly” I guess would be the term lol. Great tip!

[@thecentralscrutinizerr]

Fender DOES NOT make a short scale Stratocaster. The Sonic Squier Strats are 25.5 inch scale. They DO however make a short scale Stratocaster IN JAPAN but its not a Squier, its a Fender. It's called the "Junior Collection". The body has be shrunk by 6 percent and the neck is 24 inches.

[@cameronstilliens7163]

Great demo man! Gonna pick this same guitar later on this week. Played one recently and was really impressed with the quality of the guitar. Have had guitars twice the price and just fell in love with the mustangs. Subscribed because of this video! Cheers man! 👍🎸🤘

[@dominicdelaney]

Thanks so much!

[@tee_ess80]

I bought the sonic Mustang HH and the Sonic Tele and am very impressed with them both. Fretwork is actually great on both guitars. Both passed the sock test, the Mustang has one fret that feels sharper than the rest but even that fret wasn’t sharp. Pickups sound surprisingly good. I would go as far to say above average. Especially at this price point. I did buy some new strings and got some black D’addario locking tuners to spice it up. Still not sure what pickups I’ll upgrade it with it quite yet 🤔

[@dominicdelaney]

A great piece of advice that was given to me was to possibly look at some other things before jumping to pickup replacement. If there is a specific pickup sound you want, that’s one thing, but if you’re looking to simply improve these guitars you can also look at replacing the nut and the string trees to help with tone!

[@Releasethebats123]

I barely ever play my vintage early 60s gretsch guitars or dunable anymore. I mainly just play my modded Squier cv jaguar. Squier has been more interesting than fender lately and the Squiers are better than the Mexican models after some tlc

[@dominicdelaney]

I agree! I had a MIM Strat for a while, and actually used it to record my album, but I just didn’t love it the way I imagined I would. I love my beat up Squier tele much more. Weird how it goes 🤷‍♂️

[@farber2]

I just got the single coil version and it's great.

[@zeropointpower]

I preferred the discontinued bullet after trying it and the Sonic in the store. I preferred the 12” radius and medium jumbo frets compared to the 9.5” radius and narrow tall frets on the Sonic. This was just personal preference. Other than that, they are very similar sounding. The body and controls are almost the same, although the Bullet has a belly carve. Color wise, my favourite is the California blue in this video. Whatever you decide, make sure you try it in the store as I found differences in fit and finish and playability.

[@dominicdelaney]

So after having the guitar a few months now, and comparing it with my friend’s Bullet Mustang, you’re absolutely correct. I’m interested to try more guitars in this series

[@jordanrose94]

Agree. Owning both the bullet hh and the Sonic Stang myself, I prefer the HH models contoured body alot more.

[@dominicdelaney]

@@jordanrose94 it’s the frets for me. I like the feel of the HH more

[@0000song0000]

I am getting abullet with they are still on stock where i am. I need the flatter radius... I remember i sanded down the "wood between fret" of an acoustic ibanez, because i thought it was a "mistake" 😂😂😂later i noticed it was because my 1st was a yamaha, 13.7 radius😂

[@trulsdirio]

Squier finally comes closer to what J&D and Harley Benton have been doing for years and everyone loses their mind lol

[@dominicdelaney]

Fair point, although I don’t know of any J&D or Harley Benton guitars at this price range, but I may be wrong!

[@bufferkiller]

Luthier here. Own two Bullet Mustang HHs and just got the lime green Sonic Mustang SS last week. I don't believe there is another line that consistently delivers so much bang for your buck. Unless you're buying a custom shop, it needs to be set up out of the box. The exceptions are few and far between, and even those feel better after a setup. The strings have been on for months by the time it reaches the player. Sitting in shipping containers and warehouse shelves. No reason to waste money on that. I'd go with a bone nut if you're having a luthier install it. We typically charge the same to install Tusq as we do bone. Tusq makes bold claims without evidence. It's a piece of plastic in denial.

[@dominicdelaney]

Good to know! Yeah, a bone nut properly installed is a game changer to this guitar, and in my opinion, should be the first upgrade made before going wild over pickups and locking tuners, etc. good to know about Tusq, I’ll have to do a bit more research on them!

[@acevedohiram]

I bought this one and the pink version, since I wanted to do a neck swap. The pink one was damaged before shipping, so the seller canceled. The blue one that I got needed a little attention on the fret ends. I went over it with super fine steel wool and it feels amazing now. I have a used set of fishman fluence pickups on the way, though the stocks aren't bad!

[@dominicdelaney]

Sorry to hear about the pink one! I have a few friends waiting to get their hands on some of those!

[@Jaloja]

Check the capacitor before going deeper. I have seen a lot of Humbucker equipped guitars with single coil .047 "normal" capacitors. A .22 orange drop may be all you need.

[@dominicdelaney]

Oh interesting! I assumed it would have a .22, but admittedly didn’t check

[@Jaloja]

I have found what you should expect and what happens don't always arrive at the same place. For instance I tore down a import headless for refinish just last night. The pots were reversed. A 500 on tone a B500 on volume. I didn't even try to read the capacitor. I seem to always end up with a .022 orange drop anyway. I have used JST connectors and made up plug in capacitors which how I found my preference 022 Orange drop.@@dominicdelaney

[@anthonyclegg1511]

I have the same guitar and it's beautiful, and I am not a beginner. It's good for anyone. ❤️🎸.if it's entry level, I'll take them all.

[@dominicdelaney]

One of my favorite things I’ve heard on tour is someone go up to my bandmate and go “I can’t believe you guys sound so good on such sh*tty instruments” lol

[@2Dropss]

Just ordered this one with a stance with it. Cant wait.

[@dominicdelaney]

Best of luck!

[@knucklesandwich6117]

Installing a SD Invader in the bridge next week..loved the pre 2020 Mustang Bullets, hated the post 2020 Mustang Bullets…this first year Sonic Mustang HH is a winner..better bridge, slightly better tuning machines, decent fretboard and killer color/glossy pickguard…I grabbed last one at my local Guitar shop in suburbia…these are flying off the shelves

[@dominicdelaney]

Definitely a fun guitar to mod!

[@repoman5581]

those humbuckers really have good treble to them

[@dominicdelaney]

Not too bad!

[@hal-o-studios1]

Didn't expect to see the guitar in my hands on a video.

[@dominicdelaney]

Who’d’ve thunk

[@Anna-hb8mo]

thanks for the video! convinced me to get one of those

[@dominicdelaney]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@Anna-hb8mo]

@@dominicdelaney I love it! It’s a great guitar 😍

[@Ukedc259]

On the Bullet series the saddle screws are too long for the 24” scale length, so the tips of the screws touch the strings oftentimes on E, A and G. Trimming the screws down with a dremel fixes it. Maybe the same issue persists with the Sonics? Alternatively you can fit a short Telecaster 3 saddle bridge.

[@dominicdelaney]

Hmm, didn’t notice that on this one when adjusting the intonation, but it’s possible! Also an update - I ended up passing the guitar off to a friend. It was a great a guitar, but the short scale just isn’t for me!

[@mohannadali9662]

I don't like the position of the input cable jack but other than that it's great

[@dominicdelaney]

Yeah that’s definitely not for everyone! I believe I’ve seen some higher end custom mustangs with different output positions

[@Dave062YT]

Btw if you like roasted maple necks you should put Monty's Montypresso telic wax on the fret board to make it look darker and richer .Then if you put it on the neck and headstock it gives it the roasted maple look .Done it to mine and looks amazing .Along with locking fender tuners in black and a black tusq xl nut and roller string trees and its a lovely guitar .Just waiting for a black and white tortoise shell pick guard and my black Squire Mustang is complete .Great fun and pterry cheap with it ,

[@dominicdelaney]

That sounds like a great project! Good on ya!

[@ScratchdHelp]

i ggot the S S one, apart from switching out the bridge pickup and switching to 500k pots (tone was dark and mudddy), its a great guitar.

[@dominicdelaney]

🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@bluwng]

That fretboard looks very dark 😍

[@dominicdelaney]

Used some Music Nomad fretboard oil, I’ve found one of the most common out of the box issues with Squier guitars is how dry the fretboard is!

[@jeffvincent7099]

This will be my first guitar, it comes in next week. I was curious, what is wrong with the stock strings? I have absolutely no point of reference I was wondering if someone could offer some clarity. Thanks

[@dominicdelaney]

So the strings that come on, really, any guitar are going to be cheap strings. It’s just easy at the factory to have giant piles of these cheaper strings.

[@dominicdelaney]

They tend to break easily, fail to stay in tune, and normally don’t feel very good.

[@knucklesandwich6117]

Get a setup…go to a local Guitar shop if you already bought online, and have them do a setup(intonation, lowering strings, clean/polish fretboard,etc) and you will need to buy a pack of strings so they can get it done right for your first guitar…you are looking around another $40-50 investment for that, but it is a must and worth it

[@Prettynoise]

I always play what comes with the guitar stock. Have fun and replace after the first month or if getting all crusty.

[@Dave062YT]

The Sonic is great but the Bullet is even better .I just bought a 2020 Bullet and it sounds and plays like an absolute beauty and cost me £90 and weighs 5.7 lbs .The Sonics are an alder slab body instead of contoured basswood so about a pound heavier,Arguably nicer colours tho .

[@dominicdelaney]

Hmm I’ll have to look into this, I was under the impression they were discontinuing the “Bullet” line, but I may have misread something. Thanks for the info!

[@amangoyal923]

Is this good enough to be my first guitar? I'm seriously considering it? Any help would be appreciated . And it's my birthday so it's my chance. 🙏🏻

[@dominicdelaney]

Hey! So this guitar would certainly be good for someone looking to learn! Really want you are looking for is a guitar that feels nice, is intonated properly, and is FUN TO PLAY! Learning can be frustrating at times, so an instrument that is fun to play is a huge help. This guitar was fun for me, but may not be for you - everyone has their own preferences! I’d recommend going to your local music shop and grab one off the wall and see how it feels!

[@BlindingSun_]

The only guitar I play more than these squier mustangs is my squier super sonic. For the price they’re unreal and once you upgrade them a bit, far surpass fender

[@TempPlacement]

I have the Bullet Mustang already and another really good "cheap" guitar, the Ibanez AM-53 (hollow body, looks amazing) but I honestly don't even play that often. But still. Look at this thing. I can surely, I mean certainly justify buying yet another guitar. Right?

[@dominicdelaney]

You make a compelling argument 🤷‍♂️

[@repoman5581]

Sounds great... is there are good or normal bass response in those pickups?

[@dominicdelaney]

From the factory the were a little high in height, so using a gauge I have I lowered them a bit - the bridge obviously is very treble heavy, but the neck, and both at the same time, gave a nice round sound

[@fpcawolff]

Is this better than the bullet? Bullets have the belly cut

[@dominicdelaney]

Honestly, I prefer the bullet. The electronics in this are apparently better, but not noticeably imo

[@itsmerickybFL]

Perry Winkle blue?

[@dominicdelaney]

Lol, it’s actually California Blue, but I think I’m just going to tell people it’s Perry Winkle Blue 🤪

[@fernando8182]

One question, the color if you paint to modify it in the style of Kurt Cobain's blue mustang

[@dominicdelaney]

You could, although I think they are different shades of blue. I believe Kurt had a brownish Pickguard, so replacing that is easy and can be done anytime you’re changing strings.

[@Sukaichae]

Great video! But should I get this one or the HT one? (with just one humbucker)

[@dominicdelaney]

Depends on what sound you’re going for! If you’re going for a more straightforward humbucker sound without switching too much between neck and bridge, then I’d go for it! I like using the neck for a good clean, and the bridge for a crunchier distortion sound (with my preferred pedals) I do also use a Les Paul Special that has only one humbucker!

[@Sukaichae]

Thank you for your answer and advices!! I finally opted for a used HSH Superstrat in great condition with an amp and everything because it was way less expensive for me!! And I'm just started learning guitar so it's really enough @@dominicdelaney

[@dominicdelaney]

@@Sukaichae that’s awesome! Best of luck!

[@Sukaichae]

@@dominicdelaney Thank you!

[@badactor101]

IMHO it was a huge mistake to get rid of the body contours that the Bullet Mustangs have. I'd shop for another Bullet, but that's just me.

[@dominicdelaney]

100% agree. The beer belly don’t like it 😝

[@vdkaaa]

According to the technical component, the best cheap guitar is any superstrat

[@sivaram3861]

Recommended for fat fingers?

[@dominicdelaney]

It’s all personal preference! This guitar is short scale, meaning the length from the strings at the bridge to the top of the nut is shorter. Some people with bigger fingers may prefer a guitar with Jumbo frets, or just a regular scale length.

[@johncollins5552]

Not if your a lefty, then you need a Jet tele.

[@swamplifecontrol]

Well _ the price of used Bullet Mustangs just went up bc these follow Fender's recent trend of No Belly Carve on Mustangs + Dou-Sonics.

[@dominicdelaney]

Correct! I did miss the belly carve

[@RichardLuna2025]

Not that one. No body contours. The Bullet is sick dark horse amazing guitar.

[@dominicdelaney]

Yeah, I prefer the bullet over this model - not for tele’s and strats though

[@musingsofrock]

What type of blue is this? on the picture it looks like a deep royal blue but the guitar you have looks like a baby blue.

[@dominicdelaney]

I believe it is listed as California Blue - in person it definitely is close to a baby blue, sort of gives me vintage car vibes.

[@el.malasuerte]

Dude, how thick is the body?

[@jessegomez559]

Is it worth it The main question

[@dominicdelaney]

In my opinion, absolutely. Having grown up playing the Bullet Stratocaster before moving to what were considered more “pro” guitars, these entry level guitars have come an amazingly long way. With a set up, and some personal tweaking, you have a guitar that easily competes with its $300-450 counterparts

[@MikaelKonradsson]

I REALLY want to get a Fender cyclone, but they are so rare and expensive, would this guitar but in Black be an ok substitute? And does the guitar feel ”kiddish” with the small fret or does it feel like a normal guitar?

[@dominicdelaney]

The scale length was a bit of a deal breaker for me, honestly. I typically play Epiphone acoustics more often than electrics, and have found that that style neck - similar to the Les Paul style necks - is what I am just most familiar with. My best friend plays both a Squier Mustang, and for his acoustic he has a Taylor 3/4, and he swears by them. Definitely a preference thing

[@MikaelKonradsson]

@@dominicdelaney i actually bought the mustang 2 weeks ago! The guitar overall is ok, but the fret ends seem Sharp and the ”underside” of the nut as well :( Is it Easy to fix those things on your own?

[@Jaloja]

Curt Cobain of Nirvana played one from the original ones.

[@dominicdelaney]

He did have a Mustang as well as a few jaguars I believe

[@ibberman]

Smaller frets? How do they compare with the Bullet?

[@dominicdelaney]

The scale length is a more noticeable difference than any fret size difference, in my opinion. Now as for how it compares with the bullet, just in technological advances alone I think this new line is better than the bullet series. My experience with the bullet series, like a lot of people my age (90’s kids) had a bullet strat as their first guitar. They were god awful, and looking back, probably hindered my learning curve just because it was barely playable. These will still need a set up, albeit much less tedious than the bullet series. This one was poorly intonated out of the box, but other than that the advances in technology in the past 20 years allow these companies to make pickups, necks, bodies, all that stuff, relatively well.

[@ibberman]

@@dominicdelaney 👍👍👍

[@johncollins5552]

O see new sonic mustangs have single coils!

[@dominicdelaney]

The newest ones I’ve seen do - the yellow one is the one I see being advertised a lot

[@edgarmezavids]

199 seems steep. I got a Squier bulllet tele new for 80$ on Memorial Day years ago, it had a hb in the bridge and was routed for another in the neck so I swapped out the pups and the guard. My Squier vintage modified jaguar was around 150 new as well and came with the Duncan designed pups, only wish I had bought another one in a different color.

[@dominicdelaney]

Jeez! Seems like you’re finding some great deals! There are definitely ways to get great guitars at cheaper prices, but I guess I went on the assumption that most people who want to try playing guitar will probably walk in to a Guitar Center, or order online at Sweetwater

[@jayrobb9]

$199 seems cheap. Here in Australia the RRP is AUD$399 (about USD$300) 😞

[@CraigS-]

I used to get a lot of things for a great deal years ago. You will not be getting a Squier anything for $80 now. 199 is not a bad retail price. You'll probably be able to find it for around $159 or so on sale a few months from now if you're patient.

[@dominicdelaney]

@@CraigS- 🤘🤘🤘

[@knucklesandwich6117]

Dude it’s 2023…everything went up 30-40% from 3 years ago!🤣🥴

[@99bigjim]

it's the same guitar as the Bullet...... everything the same... there is a new single coil version

[@dominicdelaney]

Squier says they’ve upgraded the pickups, but the difference is admittedly subtle. I do also believe that the bullet’s have a body carve whereas this model is completely flat.

[@99bigjim]

@@dominicdelaney You are right on both points.... and those are big differences.... i wonder which set of pickups sound better ?

[@dominicdelaney]

@@99bigjim the differences are subtle, and would probably require a multimeter test to have any sort of “provable” say which are better. Maybe that’ll be the next vid!

[@oliox8685]

The necks are fatter and there is no contouring on the body.

[@jayrobb9]

Nope, not the same.

[@ranman58635]

I need a belly cut. I'm too thin.

[@Neil-Aspinall]

I had 3 of these and they were as bad as each other. Impossible to intonate some strings, very bad buzzing frets, of course sharp fret ends, one had a 'A' string that the nut must have been to low and it was dead, one had the PUP selector no working, I could go on. Easily the worst QC on any guitars I've ever seen. It's like Fender just didn't care about these guitars?

[@dominicdelaney]

Yikes! That’s a rough run of guitars my friend! Yeah not sure what happened there. Obviously these lower end guitars get shafted a bit on the QC, but man, 3 in a row is brutal!

[@Neil-Aspinall]

@@dominicdelaney These guitars were basically toys, not even good enough for a beginner.

[@dominicdelaney]

@@Neil-Aspinall eh that’s a bit of a stretch. Like I’ve said elsewhere, a lot about learning how to play guitar is finding an instrument that feels good, sounds decent, and limits the frustration of learning. For some people, this is that guitar, for others it’s not. Just my opinion!

[@CreatureOfTheWheel]

@@Neil-Aspinall lol

[@caitlinldelaney]

🩵🎸🩵🎸

[@dominicdelaney]

🤘🤘🤘🤘