Fender Squier Debut Series Stratocaster !!! New Star? OR JUST ANOTHER CHEAP GUITAR?

Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @scarmyguitar
Hey you! Thanks for watching we really appreciate it!
If you want this guitar or some of the tools I use daily,
here's some links.....
Fender Squier Debut Series Stratocaster
amzn.to/3JrCQPf
Cordless Rotary Tool, 3.7V Li-ion Mini Rotary Multi-Tool Kit
amzn.to/49AOl1w
Rolite - RMP45z Metal Polish Paste
amzn.to/3uVqJ9G
Fender Vintera '50s Modified Stratocaster Pickup Set
amzn.to/48VTMIT
Saipe 4pcs Universal Multifunctional Wrenches set Adjustable Double-head Torx Wrench Self-tightening Spanner Hand Tools for 3mm-22mm Nuts
amzn.to/48o0iHT
Particulate Respirator Face Mask
amzn.to/3TQ2qDX
Strat pick guard blank
amzn.to/47kjBkc
Telecaster Pick Up Set
amzn.to/48G06n3
Chrome knobs
amzn.to/48kfXIv
3 way toggle switch
amzn.to/48nEGeG
Soldering Iron
amzn.to/4aJgK7f
Crock-Pot Small 2 Quart Round Manual Slow Cooker
amzn.to/3vo5xIV
Stakich Yellow Beeswax Block - Natural, Triple Filtered
amzn.to/4aFv4gU
12 Pieces Alnico 5 Pickup Polepiece Magnet Slug Rods 18mm for Electric Guitar
amzn.to/48c2i5Z
Chrome Guitar Through Body String Mounting Ferrules Metal Set of 30
amzn.to/3tzxnSb
Alnicov 6 Strings Saddle Bridge Plate, 3 Way Switch Control Plate, Neck Pickup Set for Fender Telecaster Electric Guitars Replacement Parts (Black)
amzn.to/3R7XokE
Guitar Neck Notched Straight Edge
amzn.to/43atiQb
Noxon Multi-Purpose Metal Polish Liquid
amzn.to/43bzKX3
Guitar Luthier Tool Kit
amzn.to/3XPCHvz
D'Addario Accessories Pro-Winder
amzn.to/4348gCx
Baroque Fret Erasers
amzn.to/44u1GX0
D'Addario Guitar Strings
amzn.to/3r37J6A
Titebond Original Wood Glue
amzn.to/3NZaM97
Honey Amber TransTint® Dye
amzn.to/44qxY5f
Fender Tex Mex Tele Pickups
amzn.to/44DXX9L
6 String Saddle Bridge Plate Decorative Pattern for Tele Electric Guitar (Sliver)
amzn.to/44ioWb8
Fender American Standard Electric Guitar Tuning Machines - Set of 6
amzn.to/3XJCeKY
Holder Downer 5000
amzn.to/3rn6DD6

[@SIXPACFISH]

RIP Dicky Betts.

[@briano.1503]

🇺🇸🎸🎼🎵🎶🔥

[@caseylee12]

Dickey was one of my all time favorites, from the time I was 9 yrs old in the 70s. 😢

[@stewarttomkinson3356]

Great guitar player

[@timmackenzie8145]

Dicky Betts was an awesome player. He’ll be sorely missed.

[@onefatstratcat]

Dicky could make this $120 sing :)

[@michaelrosebud]

As a luthier for many years, it's not what it says on the headstock, it's all about "Sound & Playability"....:-

[@KenTeel]

Bravo, you're a man of knowledge on this subject, and your words make sense.

[@CarbonGlassMan]

I'm waiting for some AI effects pedals or processors. They should be able to make a $10 guitar sound like a $2000 guitar.

[@lesliefranklin1870]

In the video on Jan 31, you put $120 Fender pickups on that Fojill, making it a $220 guitar. What would change if you put the same pickups on that Squier?

[@scarmyguitar]

The sound would be right.

[@Bruh-jt4gv]

Wasn't the greatest sound, but I didn't think it was awful. Give it some eq and put some snot behind it, and it'd probably sound fairly decent.

[@TheChef470]

For the love of Christ it's a $120 guitar ! I would have played it before ripping it apart.

[@ricknagy1639]

Guitar Fetish makes a full size but shorter trem block for imports like this.

[@timmooney7528]

Ironic that the Fender fanboys slam makers such as Grand Reward or Cort, and these companies are placing the Fender name on their products.

[@jaminjimlp]

Cort makes guitars for many brands...

[@wasteddude9387]

Wow. Clues are free and still…

[@timmooney7528]

@@jaminjimlp Cort is one of the largest guitar makers in the world. Back in the 80's when I started playing, they were known for entry level, budget guitars. They have gone a long way since then.

[@stewarttomkinson3356]

I think the Squires are made in the court factory. I got a telecaster from Sweet Water worst neck ever. I tried to refret it because they had cut off a fret really short so when you push down on the string, it was off the board no matter what unless you bent it, I just changed the neck sounds better than ever

[@stewarttomkinson3356]

@@timmooney7528 yeah I bought one of their guitars in the 80s. It was horrible, but I got more for it than I paid for it course I fixed it.

[@yoster77]

Just wanted to say thank you again for your channel. I love that you read our comments and even mention them sometimes in videos (you addressed my neck hole question the other day, thanks!). I also want to report that you encouraged me to try my first fret level and recrown last week. Scared me to death but it turned out pretty well! Did it on a cheap Indio strat but now the thing plays like a machine!

[@TranscendentBen]

13:55 "If you're a modder I don't know if you want this if you're a modder. Only 21 frets." I was frustrated a while back (one or two decades ago), was trying to pull the pickguard out of a cheap strat-like guitar-like thing, and realized it was that extra fretboard length on a 22-fret neck overhanging the pickguard that was the problem. One extra fret doesn't do anything for me musically, so I'd rather have those old-fashioned 21-fret guitars. Fender started making its guitars with 22 frets and all the cloners went in lockstep behind 'em. Surprised to see these cheap "new" guitars with 21 frets. Maybe they save money on fret wire.

[@chrispatrick5715]

i liked the sound of the low output pickups, very vintage sounding

[@williamj.sheehan2001]

I tend to agree with you, Chris. When he started playing the guitar amplified, I was pleasantly surprised at the tone.

[@ultimatesteve]

i like that red a lot better than the picture on amazon.

[@mikebaird6788]

I bought the special edition red sparkle telecaster from squire 3 years ago and finish and the paint on it was just spectacular

[@goofyjohn6191]

Found a squire at a pawn shop $70 out the door, looked up the serial # on fender, it was built in 2007 looks and sounds great.

[@nerdsforcardgames]

I bought a fojil after watching the video. Converted it to a single Seymour Duncan invader. It is literally my favorite guitar I’ve ever owned.

[@clutch2827]

My first guitar was a Squier I bought in 1986. Played great and still does.

[@jaminjimlp]

They do make short fat blocks for squires bridge

[@Pondo1221]

Musiclilly has brass blocks for all of them.

[@danhurst4100]

Guitar Fetish sells a tremolo bridge with a full size block that fits the thin body imports. They also sell the "shorty" trem blocks separately.

[@DaVinci0963]

A friend of mine is a gigging musician and makes pedals. I've picked up tools to work on my guitars to upgrade some of them. We have a project or two planned. I want to thank you because you cut to the chase and are a great reference source. Good luck to you and your wife. Thanks again Sean, great videos!

[@scarmyguitar]

Very cool!

[@mikebaird6788]

I've seen people put the big block fender bridges in these The only thing is you could just leave off the back plate or you could put a spacer screws made of plastic in between the plate you have a small gap but you would still get that that big bridge

[@TheGhostGuitars]

There are now aftermarket steel, brass and, IF ye search for it, even tungsten bridge blocks sized to fit the thinner bodied Bullets, Affinities and Debuts.

[@jasonmast1982]

you can still put the bigger bridge in it ,but it will stick out the back a little.

[@greg6509]

Love my Firefly FFST. Ash Body, Roasted and Flamed Maple Neck, 2 pt tremelo with screw for tremelo bar, locking tuners, SSH, Stainless Steel Ball end frets, $189

[@Darkseidx]

Got a candy apple red one, beautiful guitar. Added a set of Tonerider City limits in it and plays like a dream.

[@johny3barr]

Thanks for tearing it down Sean, I wanted a look at the pickup cavity & now I don't need to take mine apart 😂, got the black one as my van guitar. Can't be driving around with my good guitar in the van...

[@caseylee12]

The matte finish gives it Highway One vibes

[@gfwii8912]

I didn’t know these were out. I jumped right on Amazon and grabbed one (starburst) before they’re gone 😂. Looks like it shouldn’t need much, if anything, so I’m gonna learn some set up on this one. Then give it to my 13yr old grand daughter, who’s learning to play. It’s perfect for what I’m looking for. Thanks a lot bud.

[@BeGoodNow5]

Enjoyed your presentation. That was entertaining!😊

[@tylerstravels0610]

Hey, brilliant channel, and well put together, nice to see not to expensive guitars get the credit they deserve as there are really nice ones out there, are we all just brand snobs 🙂 keep up the excellent work, just subbed as well, take care Trev

[@jameswilliford5478]

Really liking these honest entertaining reviews...especially how it draws the guitar snobs out. Always seeing great information on your reviews and will keep watching...but I'll be sticking to Firefly for now. Most are really good as is and also make excellent mod platforms with the nice woods and beautiful finishes. The Firefly FFST is really nice and seems to be almost on par with my MIM players strat. No way I would pay thousands for a Fender...but I'm not a gigging musician though.

[@MarkStroup]

Your site is so informational,honest,& funny

[@TONY-lu4mc]

I got the red sttrat too , love the matt ox red

[@batautomat]

Guitar Fetish sells a brass thick shorty trem block that fits the thinner Squiers. Probably not as good as full size but much, much better than what that came with.

[@Pondo1221]

Just bought that exact guitar. Putting on new tuners and some classic Fender low output pickups. About $260 all in for an outstanding guitar is pretty hard to beat.

[@scootergold]

Squier is the grandfather of awesomeness. Squier was brand b4 even fender 1890 by victor squier up here in Michigan.

[@nicks931]

Now that is a good review. Instant sub... Thanks very much.

[@jaymelynnmcintyre8574]

Same as long as its a good chunk of wood and plays good I'm happy

[@johntiger5]

Thanks. I want to buy my brother-in- law an inexpensive ( cheap ) guitar. But, I wanted it to sound good. So the Squire Debut is out. Very thorough investigation and review of the guitar.

[@MadManUSMC]

Love that matte red. Loaded pickguard would do it right.

[@timothytobin1481]

I'm pretty sure the hole is there to accommodate a micro-tilt neck. This was, of course, a Fender thing, which then became a standard feature on copy-cat bodies. I have the micro-tilt neck standard on my 1995 MIA American-Standard Fender Strat.

[@Joe-mz6dc]

I've got a Classic Vibe that I bought on special and I love it. And I've got custom shop guitars. Mind you I did replace the pickups and the electronics but the result is an extremely nice guitar for way beyond the money I put into it.

[@PawlikJJP]

Did you replece the bridge or block?

[@brucet4667]

.... And that's why I dig your stuffs! New big fan from Newfoundland Canada my dude! Thanks for the real deal man ✌️

[@scarmyguitar]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@davidkent2804]

Sounds particularly good unplugged

[@calbrockocat8728]

I've seen 5 reviews of this Amazon only Fender. First time I've heard a mention of the sound not being even reasonable. ANd no one said anything about not being able to upgrade the hardware. Good job, SMG!

[@TexanUSMC8089]

That red looks great! Pull the trem and put a hardtail bridge on it...or block the trem. New strings and it'll be good enough for most.

[@christopherhorton4634]

It would be a good mod project, Shawn. New pickups and a TUSQ nut will make it cool. Throw some Scarred pickups in there!

[@michaelmillican5592]

I noticed that the only pickup that was raised up was the middle one. The neck and bridge were almost flush with the pick guard. Usually I'm with you, almost always. They are making decent guitars for beginners. I grew up in the 80s. A $250 Cort was the best instrument I could get my hands on. The kids today are truly lucky!

[@lordseph]

Just a note, there are actually excellent tremolo blocks (Big blocks) that are 36mm. They'll definitely fit in that guitar. I got mine from Musiclily, and it's a Wilkinson-branded one. I have it installed in my Squier affinity. That's about the thickness of that Squier you have there.

[@GuitarZombie]

The great Squires came from Japan in the early 80's

[@vyger6336]

I have a Japanese Fender Strat ( not a Squire) I bought it in 1984 .One of my favorite Guitars. Plays great.

[@TheGhostGuitars]

As for the sound, I've noticed the ceramic stocker pups are better if they're mounted a bit lower than normal compared to alnicos. I distinctly prefer alnicos pups. I would swap out the pups for alnicos, verify the rest of the electronics and upgrade them as needed. I will swap out the zinc bridge block and saddles for their steel or brass versions. The modern tuners are ok so they can stay (for now) until they get worn out OR I use the guitar ofen enough to warrant swapping to locking tuners for quicker string changes. Oh and swap the plastic nut for a TUSQ nut and the strap buttons to good Straplocks.

[@callfourzero1931]

You're right on the sound being a bit distant, add an $20 Dolamo D8 Overdrive pedal and you have a garage shaker.

[@zubeystinzen540]

Anything that plays well straight out the box is ok by me as learners need it from the start, great reviews Shaun

[@schreds8882]

The coating you feel on that neck pocket is likely a sealer sprayed on before the paint.

[@hanovergreen4091]

I exclusively buy Indonesian, Korean and Japanese (when I can afford it). QC is second to none outside a boutique house like Suhr. Strandberg, Ibanez, everyone makes their guitars in SE Asia.

[@averagegearreviews4109]

For first timers, it's a Great Start. No expensive fretwork, that beginners don't know how to do. Easy to put a set of PUPs in later, after you can actually play.

[@rsdave809]

It would be cool to see a shootout between this and the sonic !

[@valueofnothing2487]

Thanks so much for doing this.

[@blueeyedsoulman]

Thanks for the video. What's the radius of that Fojill fretboard?

[@Alan-zf2tt]

@ 8:55 what do you reckon to swapping out ceramic magnets for alnico ones? Apparently it costs about $5 ...

[@onefatstratcat]

I have an old GFS Strat body lying around with the original pickups in it... think I'll throw them in :)

[@keovongvilaykeo4799]

Great as always thank you 🙏 😊

[@jefferywarburton2116]

The bullet ht is a thin body but it is a toploader. They both need alnico pups to be better and clean up the tones.

[@mikehardman7566]

i got the telecaster and P-bass also, got the strat in burst, .they was only on amazon april fools day for about 6 hours, a lot of people thinking it was a scam because they removed the tele's and P-basses, i think germany still has them up for grabs though, all debut series 119$ they have acoustics for 99$ and acoustic electrics for 119$

[@Pondo1221]

Fender went with big magnets and less windings to make it as cheap as possible. I’d rather have it cheap as I’m going to chuck those pickups out anyways.

[@Joe-mz6dc]

At this point it's almost like they should just offer the option to buy the guitar without any pickups at all for a discount.

[@Pondo1221]

@@Joe-mz6dc No tuners, no pickups - no electronics at all. Call it a "Modding Strat" and instead of Fenderplay you get membership into a site where you can buy all the Fender parts for a slight discount to build the guitar you want.

[@user-sn3ch4mt4i]

If you can get a better tone at the same price then good. If you can't then know that tone in and of by itself is subjective. What sounds good to you matters. (sorry can't help it)

[@StanwoodSpartans]

Learned a lot from this video

[@larryn2682]

Nice Harbor Freight multimeter.

[@stewarttomkinson3356]

I’m a lefty I buy Harley Benton’s. They’re really good and yes, I update them. I also built a left-handed Strat with humpback pick ups and yesterday I got a new pick guard and five years ago. I had a guy wire it for me and I went to pull out the tone pot and volume pot , short wires I rewired sounds better too many guitars I don’t have style that is

[@brownkr]

Hello and thank you for the video. I was unable to find any info about the Foggio guitar you mentioned. Do you have a link that might help me to learn more about that instrument, please?

[@jsupe]

The cost savings are coming from a matte finish, cheaper tuners, lack of a channel guard by the truss rod, unstamped neck plate, a plastic nut, thinner tremolo block and a thinner body. But for what it is, it is a good starter guitar. As others have pointed out, there are alternatives for the trem block if you are hell bent on modding this model. The matte finish color that comes closest to the adverts of the actual guitar is the black.

[@marlan3rd]

Nice honest review. I have found that the Squiers that are made in Indonesia seem to have better quality control than the ones that are made in China and have better finishes.

[@richardherrington3815]

Great review Sean !!!! You tell it like it is !!!! Your a Class Act !!!!!

[@soulagent79]

GFS has a shorter tremoloblock for thinner guitar bodies.

[@scarmyguitar]

An "upgrade" from GFS? No thanks lol seriously

[@jacknorton3771]

The only difference would be the neck radius. The flojill is 16 but maybe i missed what the squire is. I dont really like the flat radius.

[@tallthinkev]

The biggest advantage of buying a Squier is the name, therefore more easy to sell.

[@rockerbuck967]

Okay, I stand corrected about the hole in the neck for painting, I'm not too proud to admit when I'm wrong. Maybe it's a cost saving method, who knows LOL.

[@billulman3254]

Easy fix for you on the sound, just gotta place an order with Scar My Pickups

[@allenmitchell09]

Yeah it’s hard to compare those pickups to Cathy’s. Compare to the original Fogio. Or however it’s spelled.

[@Bbbbad724]

I want to put a single Cathybucker in a single pickguard for a Tom DeLonge Stratocaster and a volume , tone pot and a toggle coil split like my 80s HM Silver Stratocaster. That thing would give you chills. I just can’t see to build the pickguard. The soldering, etc. The Silvertone has a good neck 9.5 radius and I set it up. But I hate ceramic magnets and those farty pots.

[@Gerry-cg6kr]

Like the back plate cut out

[@williamlee6358]

Cool thanks

[@earlbaker7099]

Add a graphic equalizer 7 band or better and it would sound great. Boost the highs and turn down the lows.

[@strangeuniverse1199]

It almost seems like he wanted it to sound bad for some reason. It sounded like his amp settings were mismatched for the guitar and he did not want to try and get a better sound by switching amps.

[@scarmyguitar]

Yeah you're "seeming" too much. Every guitar I demo gets the exact same amp settings. It's a preset on an amp sim lol. Get over your need for it to sound good cause it says By Fender on it. And if ya can't take an honest review for what it is, go watch the paid ones.

[@Mr.PhatsVarietyVibesShow]

yeah, but it's true, it doesn't sound good... from what I had heard it doesn't sound good at all. if that's how it really sounds ,I doubt I could make it sound better with my basic Amp & set up... & that paint being thin ,& matted , it won't hold up for many years to come.. I could see me buying this thing & throwing it away after 5 years or something... it's like 120 USD ,or something, but for a little more money ,I could buy an entry level Yamaha Pacifica with solid paint , & thicker body to mod out with better pickups if needed.. I doubt this Debut is going to be a big seller for Fender... For like 75 bucks more , one could get a better entry level Squirer . I see very little reason to buy this Debut .. By Fender making this they giving the no name or the off brands a platform.. in my opinion there's no reason for Fender to try to tap into that market ,& build something to compete with a Chinese brand all Fender is doing is dumbing down their brand & watering down their brand just to meet that market which is very stupid..... For the price of this Debut I could buy a used Squier with an acceptable body to mod out.. I don't see this Debut taking off .. I venture Fender will discontinue this model cutting corners on paint & fit & finish to compete with the off brands is the dumbest thing to do.. we don't see car makers do such a stupid thing.. Enough said... Just my opinion..

[@orgelkraft]

I put one in my cart (red) and wanted to hear what it sounded like before I pulled the trigger.. I'm doing a catch and release on that one. It does sound bad.

[@jonhoward437]

They make upgrades for short trem blocks now.

[@CarAudioEnthusiasts]

Chili Pepper Red..and yea it does sound a bit muddy

[@jpizzleforizzle]

About "fake" fretboards. I kinda like the composite stuff. Richlite is nice. I had a Rogue fretless bass that had a composite fingerboard years ago, polished it up and it was hella nice. The finish on this looks like the same that Dean uses on their lowest proce Vendetta models. Its not great, but it shines up with wear and then starts to flake of really nice if you're looking to relic it.

[@isaacshepard7809]

I love your integrity thats y i subscribe follow and like everything u do! Keep rocking my brother nuch love from the 219

[@scarmyguitar]

Big ups

[@TimRock1269]

I got a $70 delivered guitar off SHEIN. I bought it just for the neck and body. 1 5/8" thick, played out of the box, was loud, it was intonated and played surprisingly well. I changed the strings and I'm leaving it alone. I was totally surprised at the fret job. I'm not gonna touch it. Even more surprising, it's a Glarry!

[@snidely2065]

I'd like to see you review a jet js400

[@Bbbbad724]

The thin neck on the Epiphone LesPaul Special is exactly why my granddaughter has it. Since I shattered my shoulder and arm I have not been able to even grip a thin neck like that without shutting down my fretting hand. Just dead numb. I tried it and an old U shaped Tele 52 style is all I can play for more than 30 minutes. The old Silvertone hangs in there for 20 minutes, it’s relatively thick and 9.5 radius. A cheap thin neck is not far me. I need a decent set of bones, you can mod guitars , but if there are no bones to shape it is a one trick pony. My wife or granddaughters , sure. But I have worked all my life and I have arthritis and neuropathy in my fretting hand. It can’t be modded and why change pickups in a carved to the minimum body and neck?

[@ronnielobosmith4870]

Hey, Bud.I'd love to see you slap a brand new vega trem on there and see what you think about it

[@danielktdoranie]

It’s surprising to me that nobody has done a video on the Squier debut series Telecaster

[@TURBOCAST]

Truth! The blue one sounds amazing! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@trukr817]

I have a Squire Affinity Strat (made in Indonesia) that I got cheap used. It has the skunk stripe, the darker wood in the truss rod access. It was missing a tuner, I got Fender locking. The tuners already used the pins and not the screws to stop rotation, but I had to drill new holes because Fender didn't want Fender parts on a Squire LOL. The body is 1.6". I thought the pickups sounded bad, got a loaded pickguard (had to fill and drill holes to mount it) with humbucker at the bridge and two single coil size rail humbuckers. She has three toggles for coil split. I put five springs in and put the bar in a drawer. Was a lot of fun doing it and it's not a bad player now. That said, I have a 1974 Fender Strat that is, well, better.

[@craigpimlott204]

Your lucky a 70’ cbs strat is better than the Squeir .

[@trukr817]

@@craigpimlott204 Yes, I guess I'm lucky, it's a nice guitar. The Squire is a beater I guess, I let almost anyone play it. I don't abuse it, but I don't worry about it as much as some of my other guitars.

[@craigpimlott204]

@@trukr817 I’ve repaired a 1970 CBS strat a few years ago the sunburst patina was spot on but the playability was awful

[@MikeJBlues]

Good review 👍, it's still made in China so familiar issues not surprising. Good starter guitar with tweeking.

[@sandraspears6389]

Squires are usually made with basswood.

[@lynyrddeville]

Hey if those are Cathy's pickups in the blue guitar, they just caught my ear and here's why: The bridge pickup is a hard-assed almost Tele tone and on a Strat, that is a deal maker! I am gonna see if I can buy one to actually try. I want one. I'll check your merch and see if you have an E-bay store. Cheers!

[@scarmyguitar]

www.ebay.com/usr/scarmyguitar

[@Voxguitarsrock]

Squier was good enough for Jeff Healey. So its plenty good for me.

[@richardface8664]

I got a squire telecaster and so far so good, might upgrade tuners or might not

[@ross360robertson]

Would you change the pickups? That’s what Im thinking 1st job, strings it came with were awful

[@unkabawbs]

Blood Red! Love it❤

[@unkabawbs]

With some polish, I bet it would look like Ford's old Lipstick Red.

[@TheNoShows]

Hey I just got my debut Strat in Torino red and was thinking this thing looks like an ibuprofen pill! I kinda like it though 😂😂

[@todd-1]

Waiting patiently for the Foggo upgrade!

[@3cardmonty602]

The problem I’ve had with Squier’s is the neck. They make them so thin, and out of bad cuts of wood that I have to adjust the truss Rod every change of the weather. They’re very prone to movement.

[@AshtonAltman]

Mine is really good so far love it