I started playing six to eight months ago with a Squire Bullet. I bought the Bullet from a large retail chain. The retail chain offered a deep discount on the Bullet and a five year warranty.

During that time, I have had the guitar restrung twice from the same retail chain without a problem. On top of that, the technician at the retail chain chose the perfect strings; I indicated both times I was looking for strings with the flexibility to bend easily. That is exactly what I got.

This week, I decided to get new strings. This time I decided to go to a local Mom and Pop Music store to have it restrung. The store is much closer than the large retail chain and I figured it was pretty safe to have an instrument restrung. As usual, I specified the only quality I was looking for in strings is flexibility to bend with ease.

I received the instrument back today. I have the Bullet switch on the middle pick-up. First thing I notice, the strings are stiff and bending sounds horrible. Then I flip the switch to the bridge pick-up, it does not play.

I try flicking the switch back and forth, but the bridge pick-up is unresponsive.

My questions:

1. What is the life span of a Squire Bullet?
2. Is the Squire Bullet known for having either switch or pick-up problems?
3. A more expensive Squire, around 500-700, do they also have a tendency to have switch or pick-up problems? In other words, is the Fender known for high maintenance when it comes to its electrical components?
4. I'm sure the small store messed up my guitar in the process of restringing it, what is the more likely culprit in re-stringing: a messed up switch or a messed up pick-up?

Luckily, I contacted the large retail chain and they said they would replace the Bullet without question. Of course, I'm never going to that Mom and Pop shop again.

I'm saving for a better Squire. I just need the new Bullet to work for me for another four months, then I will have the money to buy a better amp and guitar.

Thank you in advance for answering my questions. Your answers will determine how I go about choosing my next Squire. If anything does not make sense, ask and I will clarify.

1) Learn how to change your own strings. It takes ma leas than 15 minutes to change strings. I play a lot and my body chemistry is hard on strings. This results in new strings every 2 weeks or so so I'd go broke paying someone to change them for me. Plenty of YouTube videos. It's not a tough job.
2) I don't see how they could harm the guitar changing strings. On a strat, the new strings are inserted through the back of the guitar, up through the trem block, over the saddles, over the nut and through the hole in the tuning pegs. No need to touch anything else.

I don't see how anyone could cause a pickup or switch to go bad just changing strings. I guess if they plugged it into something that shorted something out but that would be highly unlikely.

Can't help you on picking out another Strat. The CV Squirers get rave reviews here. Go to the store, play a bunch of them and buy the one that says "take me home".

The tech there could show you how to change your own strings in less than 15 minutes.

Jeff

+1 on all counts.

Jeff is right -- string changes and other routine maintenance are easily performed at home with simple hand tools and common sense. And it allows the owner to further "bond" with the instrument and learn both how it works, and why.

As for how your selector switch got hosed, that's anybody's guess. It's possible that either "mom" or "pop" was an incompetent boob or perhaps the switch merely gave up the ghost coincident with the string change.

When you're ready to "step up", take a good look at those CV Squier Strats. I've been playing Fenders since 1967 and I'm really amazed at both the quality and the value the CV's represent.

Best of luck

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Yes indeed, change your own strings. Plus as you progress, you should know what strings you prefer by name & gauge etc. so you know what to ask for w/o anybodies second guessing. That goes for lots things actually.

i suggest for you to go with the classic vibe series or the vintage modified series... both of them pretty much rock!!!!

yep learn to change your own strings or at least know what brand you like. this way you dont go asking for "strings that bend easy" or whatever.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

yeah brand, material and gauge are important for you to know what strings you want

yep if you have been playing 6-8 months, its time you get to really know your guitar bro.
cleaning, polishing, changing your own strings, lubing the nut and bridge areas,
know everything about that guitar.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

The mom and pop did nothing to your guitar. It would take quite a bit of time to mess up anything related to switching......they'd have to have taken the pickguard first. Think about it......unless they absolutely hated you on first sight, why would they spend half an hour to mess up your guitar.

If you don't know the guage of your strings, you need to learn. The guitar comes with 9's. Ask the mom and pop what they strung your guitar with. I can't imagine they'd go higher than 10's for a strat. You can bend just fine with 10's. I use them on most of my guitars (11's on my archtop and acoustic, and 9's on my EVH guitar).

I also agree that you need to learn to change your own strings. While you're at it, learn about guitar setup. Squiers are set up like crap from the factory.

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2002 mim Telecaster
Jimmie Vaughan Stratocaster
Mexican HSS Stratocaster
6 non-fender guitars
2 kids (not for sale)
1 wife (uh....no comment)

I have to agree with most posters that the shop had nothing to do with the switch problems. I learned how to change strings before I knew 3 chords after it cost me nearly a months allowance to pay for 1 change. I broke em tuning to a cheap pitch pipe long before the days of digital tuners. With all the video stuff today there is no reason not to do alot of things your self. Knowing the brand and gauge of the strings you want is important. You should have asked that the first time you had them changed. Get your Bullet replaced, keep practicing, save your money, a good amp with be just as important to sounding good as a good guitar. Fender G-dec's and Mustangs are very popular amps Squier Deluxe, Vintage Modified, and Classic Vibe are all good choices.

story of my life hahahah... my nylon string classical guitar broke a string on my first class my first lesson was on changing strings

Go back to the store that strung it for you the first couple of times, when you were happy with it. Ask them what brand of strings and gauge they put on it. Going by the high E (or 1st) string, both .009 and .010 sets are pretty easy to bend (I use .010 myself since I use my fingers to play and don't use flatpicks at all). An .008 set is even easier to bend, but typically, they break pretty easily, unless you have a very light touch. So any string gauge is going to be a compromise of playing style vs practicality to begin with. The store should readily tell you what they strung it with, so you'll know what to ask for when you buy new strings. And you'll likely find yourself changing what gauge you use when you gain more playing experience. You have to find what works best for YOU!! That's the important thing.

Secondly, I couldn't agree more with what many of the other posters have told you -- learn how to string that thang yourself, man!! Ain't that hard and it don't take a rocket scientist to do it. Most good guitar stores will teach you how to restring it, for free. All you need is a pegwinder and needle-nose pliers, with a wire cutter built into them. Total cost of about five bucks, for both. Here's the URL of a video that may help you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9DD4XcW3Vw

Finally, I can't tell you what's wrong with your axe, without seeing it, but I strongly suspect that since you cant bend the strings now, and you're having pickup problems, that they've strung it with a really heavy set, without readjusting the string height and action to compensate for the heavier strings. When you switch to the neck pickup, the heavier strings may be too close to the pickup now and affecting the sound of it. However, that shouldn't warrant buying a new guitar. Just restring it with a set like you had on it before and DON'T take it back to that mom n pop place again!! It's often better to go the extra distance to the store you bought it from.

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."

Also, if the store you bought it from gave you a 5-year warranty on it, then they should fix it, free of charge, no longer than you've had it. I don't know a lot about the "bullet" switch that you mention, because all my guitars have been Fender Strats, but, in general, a switch is something that you typically won't have a problem with. I can't see how just changing the strings on it could possibly cause that kind of problem, so it looks like you have a warranty issue. Take it back where you bought it.

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."

My guy puts the empty string package in the guitar case. That way I don't forget what I have on there.

If you like the body, color, and neck on your Squier Strat, then don't replace it, but UPGRADE it. One of the ways you can buy a Strat at such a low price is that Squiers have very CHEAP electronics; pickups, pots, 5-way switch, input jack and thin wiring should ALL be replaced with better quality components ( such as Seymour Duncan/Fender Custom Shop pickups;Fender/CTS pots/5-way switch;Switchcraft input jack;Orange drops Caps).

Same for Squier ""Standard" and even "Classic Vibe '60" Squier models. Then you will have a great guitar, tailored to your preferences (especially the pickups), and STILL pay less than an American Strat and probably end up with a better sounding guitar. I practice what I preach and am very happy with the results.

Also, 10's are quite bendable strings and probably less breakage problems than 9's. I use Elixir Nanoweb 10's on all my guitars, except my acoustic.

Upgrade to Fender locking tuners to make changing strings faster and easier and keep tune better when "bending" strings.

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’04 Fender Custom Shop ’56 Stratocaster Relic RI 50th Anniv. Aztec Gold
'10 Fender American Select Mahogany HSS Strat
'07 Fender Custom Shop Vintage Heavy Relic HB Telecaster
'03 Gibson ES-345 RI
Schecter California Custom Hellcat
’10 Squier Classic Vibe 60’s Stratocaster (Fender CS ’69 /Candy Apple Red)
’10 Squier Telecaster w/Bigsby (Fender CS Texas Specials/Candy Apple Red)
’09 Squier Stratocaster HSS Standard (Pearly Gates HB/SSL-1/SSL-1/Silver Sparkle)
’02 Squier Bullet HHH (S. Duncan: Little ‘59/Duckbucker/JB Jr. /LockingTuners)
’10 Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar HH (Fiesta Red)
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