I do not know how to reply to a guitarist that would rather own a Squire Strat, and would never want to own a Gibson Les Paul Custom. I have no words for that. You have left me speechless......

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A bunch of guitars, a few amps, some pedals and some other stuff that makes noise.

I wouldn't trade my Squier Deluxe for an LP. Don't care for them. Had to pick one to play forever, I'd probably take the Strat. Wouldn't say never want to own an LP, but it's fairly low on my GAS list.

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Will

Very simply I don't like Les Pauls...custom, vintage or otherwise. I have a very dear friend who has a 1980 LP Special and while it's a lovely sounding instrument, I've always hated the feel of it. I don't care for arch tops to begin with, I don't like the wider, flatter neck of an LP and I certainly think they are -way- over priced. Honestly if I really need the sound of some fat humbuckers, I just break out my old Kramer...which is nicely shaped like a Strat...and I just shred away. My friend loves his LP, it's a fine instrument (for him) and he plays it very well. Whenever I play it I feel like I'm strummin' on a pregnant woman's belly! LOL!!! -To me- the thing is a heavy, bloated, unplayable beast....so why should I prefer something like that over an instrument that I would actually enjoy playing?

I'm a guitar player and a musician. To me the "value" of any given instrument is how well it plays, how well it sounds and how it feels to me as I'm playing it. How much money others may think it's worth is completely irrelevant in my mind. If I don't like the way a given instrument plays (assuming that I can't change something such as the setup myself), then it doesn't matter to me how much money it's worth because I'm not going to enjoy playing it. So yes...I'd take a decent Squire Strat over -any- Les Paul any day of the week. Even a "cheap" Strat is more comfortable for me to play than the most expensive Les Paul and as such is much more "valuable" in my mind simply because I'd actually play the cheap Strat. I'd much rather have 1 cheap guitar that I enjoy playing as apposed to a room full of really expensive instruments that I absolutely loath.

Very simply it's a preference thing...I'm sorry if you have trouble understanding that. Some people like Strats, some like LP's and others still like Gretch, Rickenbacker, Jacksons, etc.. None of them are "right" or "wrong" if the given person is happy with the instrument they play. In your mind your Les Paul is a "valuable" instrument and apparently you enjoy playing it...and that's cool (although if it's really -that- great I'm not sure why you own so many Strats...?), but not everyone is going to have the same taste as you.

I'm not sure why that concept would leave you speechless...

Peace,
Jim

My current list of guitars I own include Fender, Squire, BC Rich, Gibson, Epiphone, Harmony, Kay, Charvel/Jackson, Aria, Ibanez, and have owned Kramer, Dean and others in the past. Love 'em all!! Some more than others. Are they all the same? No. Are some of higher build quality than others, Yes.
The fact that any musician can "loath" a fine instrument like a Gibson is beyond me. Yes, they are expensive. So are Mercedes. Are they worth it? Depends apon what you like. To ME, quality is undeniable.
"One mans trash is another mans treasure"
Just goes to show how passionate we guitarists are. Show me the love for your MIA Strat, your Gretsch Country Gentleman, your Les Paul Goldtop, your Dean ML. But your Affinity Squire? You are right, I just don't get it.

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A bunch of guitars, a few amps, some pedals and some other stuff that makes noise.

I just want to clarify a couple of things...if for no other reason than my own piece of mind.



I agree completely.




I don't particularly care for Mercedes either...I tend to think they're rather ugly and what's with the stupid windshield wipers on the headlights??? Talk about a huge waste! LOL! Either way, just because something is "expensive" doesn't automatically mean that I "want one".



Ok...let me clearly state that I -NEVER- said that Gibsons/Les Pauls were of "poor quality". What I said was "I don't like them"...there is a VERY big difference! Just because something is of "high quality" again doesn't automatically mean that I want one.



This I will agree with whole-heartedly but I would add that the reverse is often true as well.



I don't actually own an Affinity...my two Squire Strats are a "Standard" (Special Edition), which is simply a -LOVELY- instrument and of excellent quality (as I've mentioned elsewhere in this thread) and a Squire Bullet which was simply purchased to have something "cheap" around the studio for other folks to beat on which I could set up exclusively for Eb tuning...and for that specific purpose, it's very good.

Again here, I said that I would rather own an instrument that I'm comfortable with and enjoy playing over something like a Les Paul, which again I don't like. I'm sorry that's such a terribly difficult concept for you to understand but very simply if I don't like the instrument then it doesn't matter "how expensive it is" and it doesn't matter that it's a "quality" instrument...if I don't like it, I'm not going to play it...it really is as simple as that.

There's another thing I would like to add here...a "quality instrument", Gibson, Fender or otherwise doesn't automatically make a person a great player. I've known guys who have owned really expensive gear who simply couldn't play a lick (had one audition for me recently in fact who had an LP and a Marshall...the guy was awful) and I've known guys with the rattiest gear you've ever seen that could simply make that stuff sing like an angel! To be perfectly blunt here, whether you "understand" this or not, there are people out there who would be extremely grateful to own something like an Affinity Strat and as such would play the living crap out of it because they simply liked the guitar. You can look down your nose at them all you want but it doesn't change the facts.

Maybe I'm way off base here, but from what I've read in your comments, in your mind if something is "expensive" and/or "quality" then it's simply desirable to have and own. Certainly there are people in this world that are like that who surround themselves with Picasso paintings (yuck!), Beluga caviar (gross) and only the finest wines....because said stuff is expensive and or "quality". Now that -I- don't get. That's simply not the way my mind works, guitars or otherwise. To me, function and practicality are way more important than "bragging rights".

I'm sorry if you have so much of a problem understanding why anyone wouldn't want/like/enjoy your Les Paul but it's really not THAT difficult of a concept as I've already explained.

Good luck to you and enjoy your toys.

I got a squire bullet which I modified as soon as I had it, jumped the switch contacts to access the mid tone control with lead pickup.
I also ground down those polepieces that were too high, getting rid of the inbalance between the 3d and 4th strings.
You can grip and pull with a wrench, and since the pickup's magnet is below, grinding them won't make them heat up and lose their pull.
Once you are done, you only have to push them back in.

Some time later I picked a Squire Strat, this time with a tremolo.

Adding more parts, I ended up with a CBS neck(Small hands, I shaved it), a swamp ash body that was lighter and had a smoother sound with its assorted parts.

I then gave my computer guy the Bullet body with Strat neck.

After some time I switched parts around to where I finally got the best sound out of each instrument;
CBS w/Sawamp Ash Body.
Bullet neck with Strat Body(heavy is not the word)

Squiers are neither better nor worse than any other models, they all represent the current state of the art. Having said that, you would be suprised how times you can find a decent instrument without blowing a lot of cash.
You can believe Squier when they say that they are a very good alternative for most people.