MIM vs Squier

[Ocaster Ben]

Find a second hand heavily modded guitar, one of those ones that's been modded so much the price had to be reduced. It will typically be an Ibanez or a Strat type shape, close enough. It'll probably have signature pickups named after some 80's shred-head you've never heard of.

A heavily modded guitar might also play great because if they took the effort to mod and get it the way they wanted it, they probably gave it a good set up, at least try before you buy.

If your nephew doesn't like it then at least you'll have a beater that you can take anywhere/spare.

 

[dirocyn]

The Squier line-up includes a wide range of budget guitars--they're not all the same.

Squier Bullet is very much entry level. New ones are $200. The body is thinner than a standard Strat, and everything about it is cheap. It's not hard to find these used for under $75.

Squier Affinity is the next step up. Thin body, cheap pickups, crappy trapezoid tuners, and the neck is thinner at the nut (41.6mm vs the standard 42mm). The one I owned had very bad fret sprout, like playing a saw. Fix the frets and it becomes a cheap & cheerful guitar, well suited to someone with small hands. It's not hard to find these used for under $100. A few years ago every pawn shop had a few of these, usually for $60. Inflation's a killer.

Squier Standard and Squier SE (both discontinued) are still out there. For the SE, look for Squier branded tuners (these are good), full thickness body and often no serial number (it was on the amp). These are decent. Mine needed saddles replaced because the screws were too rusty to turn--the hardware is cheap. Most sellers don't know what they have, it's not unusual to find these priced like an Affinity--and they're a bargain at that price.

Squier Vintage Modified (also discontinued). I've got a VM Jaguar. Very decent guitars, I think they all use Duncan Design pickups--which are decent. These don't need anything but a setup.

Squier Classic Vibe--many players say these are better than MIM Standard; I don't have one so I can't make that judgment. These go for $430 new, now.

And you're wanting to compare to a MIM Standard (discontinued)--I will say these are more comfortable than Affinity and SE--better fretwork, smoother neck. The stock MIM ceramic pickups are about the same as the Squier ceramics, but paired with 250k pots instead of 500 so they're darker. These are good guitars, but would benefit from a pickup and/or pot swap. These days I see asking prices in the $400-500 range--I got mine for $350 in 2020. And swapped the pickups for others I like better.

Note that these are not the same as the newer Player Series ($850) which come with (IMO) much better sounding pickups. The Player is a better guitar, although only marginally better than a Standard with upgraded pickups.

I'm wanting to steer you towards a Classic Vibe, at least to try out and see how it feels.

 

[guitarface]

A used mim standard is one of the best values to be had on the world of guitars.

 

[Mr Dunlop]

If you really love him buy a custom shop.
MIM says I kinda like you but not really

 

[DUDE MANHONEY]

Okay I changed my mind go find a really cool guitar that you would buy for yourself Don't worry about how much it costs... If he learns to play awesome wonderful great he'll love the guitar he'll be happy... And if he doesn't well it'll be a bonus because you'll have another guitar that you love.

 

[Wrighty]

This and this...

All the technical suggestions are great. I haven't been playing long enough to offer any expertise.

However, I remember my first guitar, at 11, and I HATED the one my folks got me. I wish they let me go to the store with them and pick it out...they could've said you get x amount of dollars and get what you want.

Having an uncle or family member, who already plays is so helpful for someone just starting out.

I just wanted to learn how to make it loud and sound heavy....lol

I went with the young lad next door, then 12, to a local music shop for his first guitar. His patents, who were there, gave him the money and told him pick the one you want. There was a very pointy no-name thing in Flourescent green sat next to a Squier Strat. He had little experience and a cheapo acoustic at home. Seeing him, and his parents, drawn towards pointy one with the radio active paint job, I gave it a go. It was pretty poor and I didn’t see the scope for much improvement. The Squier was clearly better and could be improved some more. What I did was sit him down with the pointy job and asked him to play the first position chords he knew. He said it felt like his acoustic, (bare in mind that’s all he had to compare). I then got him to try an F barre chord. He struggled. Then I did the same with the Squier. His FP chords were cleaner. He fought against a barre chord, convinced he wasn’t good enough, but eventually pretty much nailed it. He was beginning to grudgingly accept that the Squier was a better instrument, but was drawn towards the wow factor of the other one against a white Strat. When the shopkeeper pulled a red Squire Strat from the store room, the deal was done. We spent 10 minutes on a basic set up, with the lad’s ‘help’ and walked out with it. He’s now 33, plays in a band and, though he has an Ibanez, has kept and plays the Squier. I firmly believe that’s because he didn’t just ‘buy what he liked’.

 

[Willmunny]

I am in the camp of most basic guitars, properly set up are best for a beginner.
I also know that if someone is attracted to the guitar they own, they are far more likely to pick it up.
Fwiw with the exception of the classic vibe series, most any mim will be "nicer" , but cost 3 times the price.
If you are not worried about 400$ or so, get the mim

 

[OldRocks]

My wife bought me a CV60s Strat (Candy Apple Red) and it played out of the box extremely well. Very minor tweaks to string height and only had to adjust intonation on one string. She got it on sale for $199. My very first Strat I bought new in the late 60s and this sounds like I remember that old axe sounding.
I've also picked up an IYV LP copy. (ILS-300 in emerald green). It also plays real nice, but I may swap out the pots. Action-wise and sound-wise it's a very nice guitar. Amazon pallet seller. $50, but I think they can be had for under $200.
If the kid wants to learn he needs playability, not logo status, IMHO

 

[Willmunny]

The Squier line-up includes a wide range of budget guitars--they're not all the same.

Squier Bullet is very much entry level. New ones are $200. The body is thinner than a standard Strat, and everything about it is cheap. It's not hard to find these used for under $75.

Squier Affinity is the next step up. Thin body, cheap pickups, crappy trapezoid tuners, and the neck is thinner at the nut (41.6mm vs the standard 42mm). The one I owned had very bad fret sprout, like playing a saw. Fix the frets and it becomes a cheap & cheerful guitar, well suited to someone with small hands. It's not hard to find these used for under $100. A few years ago every pawn shop had a few of these, usually for $60. Inflation's a killer.

Squier Standard and Squier SE (both discontinued) are still out there. For the SE, look for Squier branded tuners, full thickness body and often no serial number (it was on the amp). These are decent. Mine needed saddles replaced because the screws were too rusty to turn--the hardware is cheap. Most sellers don't know what they have, it's not unusual to find these priced like an Affinity--and they're a bargain at that price.

Squier Vintage Modified (also discontinued). I've got a VM Jaguar. Very decent guitars, I think they all use Duncan Design pickups--which are decent. These don't need anything but a setup.

Squier Classic Vibe--many players say these are better than MIM Standard; I don't have one so I can't make that judgment. These go for $430 new, now.

And you're wanting to compare to a MIM Standard (discontinued)--I will say these are more comfortable than Affinity and SE--better fretwork, smoother neck. The stock MIM ceramic pickups are about the same as the Squier ceramics, but paired with 250k pots instead of 500 so they're darker. These are good guitars, but would benefit from a pickup and/or pot swap. These days I see asking prices in the $400-500 range--I got mine for $350 in 2020. And swapped the pickups for others I like better.

Note that these are not the same as the newer Player Series ($850) which come with (IMO) much better sounding pickups. The Player is a better guitar, although only marginally better than a Standard with upgraded pickups.

I'm wanting to steer you towards a Classic Vibe, at least to try out and see how it feels.

Nice review

 

[Caffiend]

+1million on finding out what sort of guitar he wants rather than buying him something you want. If it's an offset then so be it.

Pickup and electronics changes can happen later if he wants. Teach him soldering at the same time if necessary.

Right now, buy the guitar he wants the look of and make sure it's well set up. If an amp is on the cards too, maybe a cheap first gen modeller or one of the little Mustangs etc. If it absolutely has to come down to Squier or MiM, if MiMs are in the budget I'd say it's a no brainer, unless being very selective they're just better out of the box. The stock pickups in the Player range are actually decent if you're looking for contemporary over vintage soundalike and the rest of the hardware is fine. If kiddo is getting a Fender as a first guitar, he's a very lucky boy. It's really overkill though. Much what you would spend on a MiM Player would nicely outfit him with a decent guitar and amp and probably change for next Christmas present

I bought my first guitar myself with paper round money because my folks didn't think I'd stick it out. To be fair, I had form for dropping interests so I see their point in retrospect. It was junk. Super thin neck, super high action super flat board and high skinny frets. Played like crap. Completely not what a beginner needed. But it had three pickups, six switches and looked a bit like a Strat (it was an old Futurama). It's a miracle I did stick it out to the next guitar. My friends' Hohners, Hondo's, Marlins and Arias etc were much better. I played it through a radio until I'd saved for a Marshall Lead 12 combo...

 

[Quikstyl]

I have a hunch this topic has been beaten to death, but I searched back through 20 pages and didn't see it covered yet. So here is the situation:
My sister called me to let me know that my 13 year old nephew wants to play guitar. I have a bunch, but don't want to give him any of mine. I am torn between getting him a used Squier Bullet and a used MIM Standard strat.
I feel like if I help get a Squier Bullet, I am going to need to swap out a lot of stuff and work on it a lot, but also probably the same of a MIM. IF you were going to go with one or the other, what would you swap out? For pickups, I have some DiMarzio True Velvets I can put in it. Everything else, I am not sure.
Sorry if this has been posted many times before, but again, I did search 20 pages back and spent about an hour or so trying to find more info on this forum.

My first guitar 35 years ago was a Squier Bullet Santa Rosa. I didn't know enough to know it was garbage, just that it felt "cheaper" than my buddy's Dean Bel Aire w/flame paint job or his older brother's Gibson Explorer. A year or so later I emptied my savings account and got my '89 HM. Don't go cheap unless he's barely getting into playing. You'll eventually have to get a real guitar.

 

[jmfc93]

See what pro audio star has on sale right now. They were running a 50 percent off deal on some squiers and Charvel. The have the 40th anniversary squiers at $299 usd. Can’t beat that deal

 

[theHIVE314]

A 13-year old just starting out needs Dimarzios? Must be the next Matteo Mancuso. Might as well get him a Yamaha Pacifica 600 series with Duncans onboard for the price of a used MIM.

NEED wasn't mentioned. I HAVE Dimarzios I can toss in if people are comparing pickups of a Squier or MIM. Just a variable that can be taken out of the comparison process.

 

[theHIVE314]

.

MIM will last him through the inevitable logo vanity stage.

+1 worry more about setup, and forget the pickup swap. Beginners need custom Shop level playability to keep at playing.

If you get the Squier, only upgrade pots, switch, jack. Yamaha is an alternative. As is Harley Benton.

Deck/block the trem -- it's a huge time waster when playing practice is needed.

Cheap clean amp and a Joyo American Sound pedal for all the famous tones. Amp is just there for loudness.

.

I take it the pots, switch, and jack on Squiers aren't that great? Are the pots, switch, and jack on the MIM better? These are the things I am wondering. The big kicker is if a year down the road, am I going to have to replace a lot of stuff on either guitar?

 

[theHIVE314]

This and this...

All the technical suggestions are great. I haven't been playing long enough to offer any expertise.

However, I remember my first guitar, at 11, and I HATED the one my folks got me. I wish they let me go to the store with them and pick it out...they could've said you get x amount of dollars and get what you want.

Having an uncle or family member, who already plays is so helpful for someone just starting out.

I just wanted to learn how to make it loud and sound heavy....lol

Honestly, I am looking for a Black Strat with White Pickguard because he is a Nirvana fan and one of the posters in his room is Kurt Cobain with a black and white strat. I wanted to start him out on something similar.

PART II: This is supposed to be a surprise for him. His mom is buying it but she is a single mom on a budget.
PART III: IF he ditches this and stops playing, I am buying it off his mom so she isn't out of money.

 

[HazyPurple]

Neither, secondhand Pacifica will do. For a few months at least.

 

[ETucc]

Honestly, I am looking for a Black Strat with White Pickguard because he is a Nirvana fan and one of the posters in his room is Kurt Cobain with a black and white strat. I wanted to start him out on something similar.

PART II: This is supposed to be a surprise for him.

Black Strats are the cheapest on the used market. You could find a MIM standard for around $300. Go with Fender, not Squier.

 

[Swamp_Thang]

MIM have full sized pots and an Oak Grigsby switch. Most Squiers don't.

 

[The_idiot]

Honestly, I am looking for a Black Strat with White Pickguard because he is a Nirvana fan and one of the posters in his room is Kurt Cobain with a black and white strat. I wanted to start him out on something similar.

PART II: This is supposed to be a surprise for him.

Nephew has good taste then. Black strat would be awesome. I bet a Jaguar with a sunburst finish would knock it out of the park. Shorter scale might be a little easier to learn on as well.

Squier Classic Vibe '70s Jaguar - 3-Tone Sunburst

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Poplar Body, Maple Neck, Indian Laurel Fingerboard, 2 Single-coil Pickups, and Floating Vibrato - 3-Tone Sunburst

www.sweetwater.com

 

[theHIVE314]

MIM have full sized pots and an Oak Grigsby switch. Most Squiers don't.

Noted and good to know. Thanks for that.