As with all cheaper guitars these vary quite a bit in QC. Factor in garbage hardware and a full rewire and you could have picked up something better. Great beginner guitar because a beginner can't realise the potential but that is ALL these are.
I would be curious what the real-world variance in QC on these Indonesian Squiers are. I was only limited to the five that were my local shop. All were pretty much identical necks with no sharp frets and seemingly well intonated. The one I got has perfectly level frets, I suspect the others were similar and maybe part of the same production run.
The hardware is much better than I remember from the bullet series. The tuners, at least in construction and feel, are on par with the stock (non-locking) tuners I have found on mid-range Schecters and those that came with my X series Jackson. Not sure how they might hold up over time. I tend to put locking tuners on all my guitars anyway for quick string changes. The rest of the guitar is too generic to really say much about the hardware. No apparent machine defects, and all moveable parts are well lubricated with no loose buzzing issues.
The biggest surprise to me, were the electronics. The pickup is just ok. 8.1k ceramic magnet. Sounds decent. But... the pots are Alpha Audio Taper pots, both of which measured just a hair over 500k, and the capacitor is the exact same polyester .22uaf one that was installed int he Fender Player Series I had for a while. I just went ahead and wire my Tone Zone pickup to the existing controls. I suspect other models positions switches are the import style, but those do vary in build quality. A good one of those I will take any day or the Vintage style.
Regardless of my anecdote or anything on paper, if you get it in your hands and it feels good, sounds good, and you can jam for 30 mins or so with no apparent issues (no really, spend at least 30 mins playing it at the store before you buy!), go for it.
reverb.com
guitarsgarden.com
