Bullet Strat HSS BSB : Good budget guitar

It has been a while since I last owned a guitar, but the lockdown over the last year had me seeking a hobby and gradually I came back round to the idea of playing the instrument.

I wanted something inexpensive, so if my desire to play again was fleeting then I wouldn't have spent too much money. This brought me to the Squier Bullet Strat, nicely priced and from a manufacturer that's a known quantity.

The build quality of the guitar is not bad, I noticed a few improperly set frets but they do not affect the playability or the sound of the guitar. There was also some stray gold paint on the tone and volume controls which needed to be removed. The tuners are not great either, so the guitar occasionally slips out of tune a little, although this is only a minor inconvenience overall.

The neck is chunky and round but also smooth, it makes the guitar very playable. I would recommend a set up first though as the stock string height is a little high.

Soundwise, it is strat-like as you would expect but it is noticeably lower in quality than even the more expensive Squiers. That's not to say that it's bad, just that if you're familiar with a typical strat sound you'll noticed that the Bullet Strat is not quite there. This should be expected however, and the quality of the components are reflected in the price. The bridge pickup (humbucker) is responsive, but in the stock position the single coil neck pickup is weak. Fortunately, I found that this problem was alleviated by raising the pickup.

Who would I recommend the Squier Bullet Strat to? Beginners mainly, but also anyone who needs a simple practice guitar or just wants a simple strat sound without having to break the bank.