Squier CV Starcaster MN WN

Not amazing but very nice

Full disclosure: I seriously considered returning this guitar. In the end, I decided to keep it because the positives outweighed the negatives. However, this is not (by far) the most amazing guitar I own.

First, the negatives:

Number one - the setup. I have noticed that Fender products generally come from the factory poorly set up, and this guitar is no exception. The action was high enough that a leap from the strings to the fretboard would likely be fatal. Neck relief was also suboptimal.

Noise: the pickups are quite a bit noisier than other humbucking pickups.

Positives:

The neck. I really love this neck. Yeah, the setup wasn't great (or anywhere near great) but the neck just feels GOOD!

The build quality is really terrific. Sure - whoever is responsible for QA/QC and final setup deserves a firm talking to, but the guitar was free of flaws and blemishes. The finish (although not my preferred color) looked great. Everything is solid and well made.

The looks. I watched a lot of reviews before deciding on this guitar. Although the Starcaster got really good reviews, it wasn't head-and-shoulders above other semi-hollow bodies. However, it WAS very unique. The Strat-ish headstock and offset body profile are different enough to make this guitar stand out.

And of course, the tone. Despite being a tad noisy, the Starcaster sounds really nice.

So...I'm glad I decided to keep this guitar. It isn't perfect, but no guitar is. It's a solid value for the money and will probably be a great addition to my family.

overall amazing

does well with clean tones and holds up with dirtier but vintage ones as well. I like playing more blues/jazzy/classic types and that fits me well. it's my new favourite guitar. kinda works for heavier things, but not what i'm into

just switch the stock strings. it also seems to have a few slightly unfinished details in the f-holes, but it's no defect. even so, build quality feels like a solid 9 because it's of the series made in indonesia. also, the body isn't as dark as in the photos. depending on the light you can really see that nice walnut wood finish on it.

i play it unplugged most of the time because it has a very decent resonance. not acoustic level of course, but still playable even fingerstyle, without a pick.

the wide range humbuckers are definitely the compromise that i was looking for between single coil and regular humbuckers.

Lovely Guitar

A very nice guitar that will need some extra setup.

But the setup is easily done (lower bridge, adjust intonation)

Don’t put heavy slinky’s on this, no more than ‘51 I’d say.

You’ll have a lovely guitar.