Jumpstart Squier SE100 Starter Pack
June 29, 2007 by Jo Minor
Stop dreaming and start playing! If you’re not already rocking with a guitar, or you have a youngster who’s itching to learn, the jumpstart Squier SE100 Starter Pack and it’s recent update called the “Stop Dreaming, Start Playing SE pack,” are worth taking a look at. These kits contain a basic Stratocaster style solid body electric guitar, a simple Squier SP-10 10-watt practice amplifier, and a variety of supplies needed for learning to play the electric guitar. At a list price of $332.99, it is hard to imagine a better deal for beginning gear.
Squier guitars and amps are made by Fender, a company known for producing high quality amplifiers as well as making some of the world’s most popular electric guitars. The Stratocaster style guitar was a Fender design that became popular in the late 1950s. It’s characterized by two prominent cutaways of differing size. A Strat also has single coil pickups and a tremelo bar, although there are a lot of variations on the market these days. Due to an abundance of imitations on the market, Fender decided to acquire the Squier name to use for a line of less expensive instruments in the early 1980’s.
The Squier SE100 Starter Pack pictured above appears to be in the process of being upgraded to a similar kit of the same price. It’s called the “Stop Dreaming, Start Playing SE Special Strat Pack.” It contains basically everything pictured above, but also includes an instructional DVD. The guitar in the “Stop Dreaming, Start Playing” kit is available not only in black with white pickguard, but also in arctic white with white pickguard and in sunburst with a tortoiseshell pickguard. It also includes a guitar stand and a set of headphones that plug into the amp.
Advantages: This is a decent kit for someone who has been dreaming of learning to play the electric guitar. The Squier SE100 starter pack guitar and amp have a lot of the features a beginner would desire for learning. The controls give some choice of pickup, while the amp controls let you choose clean or distorted play. The tremelo whammy bar offers still more playing options.
Squier throws in a lot of the odds and ends that make guitar playing easier, such as instruction material and an electronic tuner. Those of us who learned guitar years ago and have only recently discovered the wonders of the electronic tuner can attest to the fact that unless you just really have great ears, an electronic tuner is a terrific timesaver that will help you get your axe in better tune than you could ever do it the old fashioned way.
Squier guitars are built under the supervision of Fender, and come with a one year warranty, so you know you’ll get good customer service from a company with a good reputation for making good guitars and amplifiers. This particular Strat, even though it’s a beginner guitar, is really nice looking, too.
The amp is decent, and with the stereo headphones, you can practice without disturbing the whole house. This could be a real plus for a newbie’s family!
Disadvantages: The gig bag that comes with this set is one of those flimsy little ones with the zipper just in the bottom, no padding, and no pockets. If you take it anywhere to jam with others, you might feel a little embarrassed. The single coil pickups, which give a crisp, clear sound, tend to have interference noises come through them, but then, that’s to be expected with single coil. The strap is cheap and won’t last long, and the strap buttons sometimes fail to hold the strap on. The result is that the guitar drops and possibly suffers a few dings.
Specs:
- Agathis Stratocaster style body
- Polyurethane finish
- Available in black, Arctic white, and Sunburst
- Maple C-shaped neck
- Rosewood fingerboard with 9.5 inch radius
- 22 medium jumbo frets
- 25.5 inch scale length
- 1.650 inches wide at the nut
- Chrome hardware
- Die-cast tuners
- Synchronous Tremelo bridge
- 3-ply white Pearloid pickguard on white and black
- 3-ply red shell Pearloid pickguard on sunburst
- 3 single-coil pickups
- 5-position blade switch for choosing pickups
- White knobs with black numbering
- 1 volume knob
- 2 tone controls, one for the neck pickup, and one for the middle pickup
- Nickel plated steel strings, Fender Super 250L in .009 to .042
Amplifier Specs:
- 10 watt amp
- 6 inch speaker
- Overdrive switch
- Three controls: Volume, Treble, and Bass
- Headphone jack
If you are a newbie to the world of the electric guitar amplifier, here is a link that will take you to more information than you will know what to do with.
For more information about Fender and the history of the Stratocaster, here is a site with a lot of thorough information and pictures of vintage Strats.
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