Squier Mini Strat 3/4 size electric guitar review

If you know what a Fender Strat looks like, you might be wondering: “How to Distinguish the Squier Mini Strat from the Higher-priced Fender Strat?”

Maybe we could frame this question like this: “How did Squier succeed in coming up with a pocket-friendly version of the expensive Fender?”

Features and opinion of the Squier Mini Strat

This guitar is just as its name would imply. A minified version of the larger brother, the Fender Stratocaster. Of course, production quality and a few higher-ticket features are missing, but still. After playing the guitar at Guitar Center, all I can say is Wow. Great guitar at this price point.

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Built for Durability

The Squier Mini Strat’s smaller body is manufactured using basswood, with a C-shaped maple neck. The fingerboard is rosewood-made and features a 9.5-inch radius that’s easy and comfy to handle even with normal-size hands.

The guitar’s hardware design and finish are quite sturdy and reliable in my opinion. All in all, the guitar looks and feels durable, which is a must for children who tend to bang their guitars.

Impeccable Fit for Tiny Hands

With its outstanding satin finish, this guitar’s C-shaped neck is quite comfortable to hold and play. Its scale length is just 22.75 inches, featuring only 20 frets and simple white-dot markers.

Its low-action playability is ideal as a kid’s guitar and for adult beginners alike. With action being defined as the height of the guitar strings relative to its neck, even children with tiny hands are able to play chords without having to press down the strings too much.

Easier-to-Handle Electronics & Hardware

Despite being smaller, this Mini Strat guitar still features all the 3 single-coil pickups a Fender Strat or a Squier Bullet has. They’re linked to the 5-way pickup selector switch, the master volume-regulator knob, as well as the master tone-regulator knob. The alignment here is similar to that of any standard strat-style electric guitar out there.

If you’ve observed musicians and guitarists performing for a while, these controls will be easier for you to master. This mini guitar’s strings remain in tune for long such that children can play for days on end without any intonation issues courtesy of its hardtail bridge that offers a great sustain. The Mini Strat comes with Fender USA, NPS, .009-.042 strings. These are OK for beginners, you can upgrade to higher quality ones when you need to change strings in a few months.

This guitar also comes with additional accessories like a guitar strap, a set of picks, a clip-on tuner, a piece of cleaning cloth, as well as a manual for beginners at no extra cost.

Fantastic Sound

Once you’ve plugged it into an amplifier, the Mini Strat will certainly produce a regular Strat tone, just like you would expect from any normal Stratocaster. You get the bell-like chimes in the single coil positions, and the humm-free thicker sounds suitable for hard rock and numerous other music genres.

The Mini Strat’s basswood and maple combo produce that signature bright sound. So, even if it’s down-sized compared to regular Strat guitars, the Mini Strat still has the features of a Strat.

It produces little-punch, light, and bright toning, with clarity of sound being among its greatest characteristics.

I can honestly say that through a bigger amp, it sounds just like a regular Stratocaster. Of course, parents looking for a guitar for their children will probably buy a small practice amp, which is perfectly fine as well.

Colorful options

The looks of a guitar is important for children (and adults of course). Squier makes the Mini Strat in several colors, so your child can choose one that fits his/her personality the most.

The little Strat comes in blue, black, pink and red.

Can adults get and play the Squier Mini?

Even though this mini Stratocaster is a 3/4 scale guitar, yes, adults can definitely play them just like a full-scale guitar.

Yes I know, a lot of parents looking for a shorter scale electric guitar for their kids, will get this. But it is still a great guitar in its category, not a toy.

Naturally, you wouldn’t play the Squier Mini at a gig. I mean you could with the right amp and effects, but it would look a bit silly.

But getting the Squier Mini as a travel guitar for instance, or just a 2nd practice guitar makes a lot of sense to me.

I used my 6-year old son as an excuse to justify buying it. No regrets.

Video review of the Squier Mini Strat

About Squier Guitars

“Squier by Fender”. Need I say more?

Fender purchased the brandname in the ’60s, and started manufacturing budget guitars in the ’80s under the Squier brand. They make affordable, licensed copied of Fender guitars, like the Telecaster and the Stratocaster. This relationship with the mother company is like that of Epiphone with Gibson.

The lineup of Squier guitars costs between $130-$450. They place great emphasis on affordability through the sourcing of cheaper materials and manufacturing in the Far East.

Other Squier 3/4 Strat guitar reviews and recommendations

The Squier Mini Stratocaster is a popular guitar among parents and beginners. Several other sites have reviewed the guitar, here are the most helpful ones.

Sweetwater.com

Sweetwater went as far as saying this guitar is perfect for beginners and kids. They said the 3/4 size body is more than capable of delivering big sound, thanks to it’s 3 single coil pickups. The 5-way pickup selector gives a great array of sounds for experimenting with any genre. Read more…

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Andertons.co.uk

Andertons (one of the biggest instrument retailers in the UK) also had pleasing things to say about the guitar. They noted that even though the guitar looks small, it sounds like a full sized guitar plugged in. They add that the Squier Mini Strat stays true to the classic Stratocaster sound. Read more…

What customers say about the Mini Strat

This is one of the most popular 3/4 size electric guitars on the market, and as such, you can find lots of real customer reviews. Here are a few.

One customer says that this was the perfect guitar for his son. He bought it for his sons 12th birthday, who already knew how to play the acoustic. His son loved it and plays it every day. The amp in the package can be turned up loud.

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Another customer noted that the guitar was spot on, but the amp in the starter kit is not that great. It’s good enough to learn on, but will probably be replaced before the guitar is. (EDITORS NOTE: This is very true. Even the best guitars are limited by bad amplifiers. The amp should be your first major upgrade.)

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A customer who bought it for himself said this is a great starter package. He has always loved the blues, and is looking forward to learning blues guitar on the guitar.

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A mom who bought the guitar as a birthday present for her daughter who has played acoustic for 3 years said that the Mini Strat was a huge hit, her daughter loves it.

You can read more reviews here.

Final verdict

Even if we remove the additional goodies we mentioned above, the Mini Strat is still worth its price. Adding the extras, to the guitar’s wealth of functionality, then the deal is even juicier pocket-wise.

The Squier Mini Strat’s sound is perfect for kids and adult beginners who have an eye for covering much musical ground yet still wanting to remain deeply entrenched in their traditional rock and blues values.

Indeed, it’s one of the most affordable yet functional mini guitars you can gift your enthusiastic child guitarist!