Squier by Fender Strat HSS Pack Review – An Upgraded Starter Pack

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If you’ve never picked up a guitar before, an affordable starter pack is a good way to go about learning, as they include everything you need to get up and running. However as you develop, you may start wishing you had bought something with a little more quality to allow you to improve further. Enter, the Squier by Fender Strat HSS Pack which is an upgraded combo pack with huge potential.

The Guitar

The Affinity Series Strat that comes in this pack is very similar to the entry-level models you find in other Squier sets, with one major difference – the addition of a humbucker, which is an essential pickup for guitarists wanting to play rock, punk and metal. The humbucker sits at the bridge position as is traditional, and is complemented by two single-coil pickups at the middle and neck positions, which will allow you to find the classic bright Strat tone.

As for the body, it’s instantly recognizable and made from solid wood, featuring the double-cutaway shape that’s been associated with legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, and Dave Murray of Iron Maiden. From the body of the Strat emerges a strong, bolt-on maple neck that features an easy-playing C-shaped profile, rosewood fretboard, and 21 medium-jumbo frets, making lead playing and string bending a littler easier.

The pickups are tended to by two tone control knobs and a master volume knob, as well as a five-way pickup selector switch. There’s also the familiar vintage-style tremolo bridge and as standard die-cast tuners on the classic ‘60s style headstock.

Amplifier

This guitar comes bundled with some quality gear – namely the amplifier, which is a Fender Frontman 15G, offering 15 watts of power. This is more than enough for practicing, jamming and even small performances. The amp features simple controls (volume, treble, middle, bass) as well as a dedicated gain control, allowing you to quickly change your tone from clean and twangy right up to all-out meaty distortion. You can also plug headphones straight into the amp for silent practice sessions, which is great for late night and not annoying your neighbors!

The rest of the kit contains the kind of accessories you may expect – all essential for playing, including a soft Fender-branded gig bag, a cable, a strap, plectrums, a clip-on digital tuner, and an instructional DVD. All decent enough to get you playing straight out of the box, although worth upgrading as you progress.

Conclusion

This kit is more expensive compared to some others, but for such a good amplifier it’s worth investing the extra cash, as it will allow you more scope for practice and performance than a 10-watt amp ever would – plus the effects are awesome. The guitar is still a little basic but shows good quality, authentic Fender style, and is comfortable to play. The accessories are little more than a bonus, but they do the job required, and allow you to enjoy the super guitar/amp pairing right out of the box. Another winner from Fender.

For more info about the Squier by Fender Strat HSS Pack, click here.
For more beginner electric guitar packs, click here.