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Red Squier Bullet. CL guy was a little strange/private, and wanted me to meet at an Auto Zone parking lot. I told him I'd bring a battery-powered amp to try it, he said great. Turns out I had to meet him on the fly coming from a gig, didn't have the amp, no worries. "Self-relic'd" maybe from a metal bracelet. Very clean satin neck. Some bowing without any string tension. Frets very rough/scratchy, but no string dents all, even in the cowboy-chord area. Took it as-is.
Pic looks pinkish, but it's really a nice red, much like the K4 in my avatar. We'll see if I can turn this sow's ear into a silk purse. I already have a new clean guard plate in a parts drawer somewhere.
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07-04-2025 12:44 PM
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The price and the meeting place ...... My first thought would've been :Oh oh stolen merch! My second thought would've been :Oh oh stolen merch!
Originally Posted by Woody Sound
S
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This is a common when buying from CL to meet in a neutral site that has camera's.There are police stations by me designated just for this purpose where you meet in the police parking lot. Originally Posted by SOLR
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nah, he was probably gonna use the dough for an oil change Originally Posted by SOLR
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Hard to go wrong at that price.Enjoy your new guitar project. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
Red Squier Bullet. CL guy was a little strange/private, and wanted me to meet at an Auto Zone parking lot. I told him I'd bring a battery-powered amp to try it, he said great. Turns out I had to meet him on the fly coming from a gig, didn't have the amp, no worries. "Self-relic'd" maybe from a metal bracelet. Very clean satin neck. Some bowing without any string tension. Frets very rough/scratchy, but no string dents all, even in the cowboy-chord area. Took it as-is.
Pic looks pinkish, but it's really a nice red, much like the K4 in my avatar. We'll see if I can turn this sow's ear into a silk purse. I already have a new clean guard plate in a parts drawer somewhere.
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The bullets freaking work. When I had them they were were actually basswood bodies which has the tone. If yours is all light it's probably basswood. They're 1 1/2" thick instead of 1 3/4 like standard quality. Plastic nut works. Maple / rosewood neck works. Tuners work. Saddles are a bit shoddy but can be replaced easily. Can swap out whatever electronics you want. Take all the pickups and put them in a single neck slot in series with each other.
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Well it’s been on cl publicly for a few days with pics, so I would think it’s legit. Of course ICBW. Originally Posted by SOLR
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Back when I was willing to trust CL buyers and sellers who didn't seem seriously nuts (which was a minority even 20 years ago), I always met them in public places - and never alone. I had a steady gig twice a week for years at a cluib behind a supermarket with a big, well lighted parking lot. It was a great place to meet them, especially with the police station visibly down the block. The location alone was a deterrent to thieves. I never bought anything high end off CL, so I wasn't worried about hot or fake stuff because nothing I bought was too cheap to be true or worth counterfeiting. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
The craziest CL buyer I ever encountered responded to my ad for my 1x12" Boogie Thiele cabinet with EVM. It was so heavy that shipping it would have cost too much, making a local sale the best option. One guy told me that I was asking far too much money and that he could "get one any day I want it for $200 less". I told him to buy one and leave me alone. He emailed me almost every day for weeks with the same line, to which I never responded after the 2nd or 3rd one. I did sell it from the same CL ad soon after that for my asking price, to a very nice guy who played in a local rock band. We met in the supermarket parking lot, did the deal, and talked for an hour.
Enjoy that Strat project - it'll be a truly cool piece to have around.
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Yes, the body is basswood, but the slimmer body profile is 1.65" (42mm), not 1.5" Originally Posted by Strat-itis
The bullets freaking work. When I had them they were were actually basswood bodies which has the tone. If yours is all light it's probably basswood. They're 1 1/2" thick instead of 1 3/4 like standard quality. Plastic nut works. Maple / rosewood neck works. Tuners work. Saddles are a bit shoddy but can be replaced easily. Can swap out whatever electronics you want. Take all the pickups and put them in a single neck slot in series with each other.
Bullet Strat with Tremolo
Model Model: 031-0001
Colors: Brown Sunburst (532), Arctic White (580), Black (506), Fiesta Red (540), Daphne Blue (504), Pink (570) Polyurethane
Body: Basswood
Neck Shape: "C" Shape
Number of Frets: 21
Fret Size: Medium Jumbo
Fretboard Radius: 9.5" (24.1 cm)
Fretboard: Rosewood
Neck Material: Maple (Polyurethane Finish)
Nut Width: 1.650” (42 mm)
Scale Length: 25.5" (64.8 cm)
Pickup Configuration: S/S/S
Pickups: Standard Single-Coil Strat Pickups
Pickup Switching: 5-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup, Position 3.
Middle Pickup, Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup, Position 5. Neck Pickup
Controls: Master Volume, Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 2. (Middle Pickup)
Hardware: Chrome
Bridge: Vintage Style Synchronized Tremolo
String Nut: Synthetic Bone
Position Inlays: White Dot Position Inlays
Unique Features: Slim (42mm) Body Profile, Traditional Strat Headstock Shape, White Dot Position Inlays,
Vintage Style Tremolo Arm, White Switch Tip
MSRP: $199
Country of Origin: China
Introduced: 2010
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Ah. I must have used my calipers on it. I didn't know it was stated.
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Well you beat me! My Squier Strat cost me $70 ! But it's in better cosmetic condition. I had it re-fretted for $100.00 (unbelievable right?). The pickups were crap, so......Fender Fat 50's make that Strat talk loud and proud (for not too much $$).
I thought it would just be a good candidate for experimenting, but when it turned out to be a real player, and a real "talker" doing things that all my other axes did not do (including my '62 Strat) I kept it stock. And being built in Korea, I don't know what the body wood is, but it looks like something foreign!! Wafer wood?
SO yesterday, I played it thru my Peavey Classic 30. Wow. EL84's and that Strat. I need to write and record something based on it, it's that good.
Enjoy.
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I prefer to do business with Craigslist sellers who let me come to their home as it lessens the chance that I am buying something stolen, but I have bought stuff from guys who want to meet me in public. One can generally figure out if you are dealing with a legit seller in the communication, but not always. On gear with a serial number, you could call the local police as part of your due diligence.
It would be good if there was a national database with stolen gear serial numbers that we could all use to clear any gear before buying or add our own stolen gear to the list. I think a few folks have set up some of those sites, but none are used enough to be worthwhile.
In this case, I doubt someone would go to the trouble of advertising such an inexpensive piece of gear for so little money if it was stolen, but you can never underestimate the stupidity of a junkie.
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Why? At least get a proper used Japan Squier from the 1980’s or before. I find guitars that are that cheaply built are nothing but wasted wood and $$
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Originally Posted by jads57
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True dat!! Here are two classic examples… Originally Posted by Stringswinger
Warmdaddy’s was a wonderful blues club with a fantastic Cajun / creole chef. When it opened in the early ‘90s, it regularly hosted top acts, many of whom used local sidemen (and women). I was lucky enough to be a regular call on guitar and got to back a lot of them. The house band leader when they opened was a well known and prolific R&B and soul composer, a great and entertaining singer / front man, and a pretty good guitar player.
One night, I showed up to play and found him on stage with a brand new Strat and a huge grin. He waves it in the air and yells “seventy five bucks!” He was walking down Market Street (one of the main streets in Philly) when he passed a man sitting on the sidewalk with the guitar in its open case. As he passes, the guy says “200 bucks”. He looks at it and grumbles “Man, that’s a lefty. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?” He bought it for $75. He was left handed. [Yes, what he did was wrong. But I wasn’t going to fight with him to turn it in, which he wouldn’t have done.]
The other classic also happened on Market Street right outside the back door into Warmdaddy’s green room. DiPinto Guitars is an old, established shop that used to be on Market Street just across a little alley from Warmdaddy’s and no more than 25 or 30 feet from that door. Most bands loaded in and out there. One touring act left their instruments in plain view and unattended, and a guitar was stolen in the blink of an eye.
The next day when DiPinto opened, a gnarly guy came in and offered them a Strat for which he wanted far less than it was worth. DiPinto knew about the theft, so he told the would be seller that he had to take it back to the bench to authenticate it. He called the cops and Warmdaddy’s while the seller waited. They arrested the guy and returned the guitar to its owner.
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I'm a big fan of cheap strats, congratulations on yours!
It's fun to fix them up and wind up with a great instrument that you don't have to be precious about. I doubt you'll mind if yours gets scratched up (more).
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Ya'all can say what is your right to say, and I do agree, let's say 50%.
What's been said here about cheap Strats, could be said about many different branded guitars. Pro or Con, I've owned unique instruments like: Supro, Magnatone, and Kay, for example. And the a few Squiers, and Epiphones.
A good instrument is a good TOOL. You want a unique sound/tone, you may have to look beyond: amp, speaker, string and pickup changes. Try an "orphan" guitar!
Over the years, I've had the best, but they did not always get me where I wanted to go.
My $.03.
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A friend of mine was walking along the beach in Venice, CA, and I guy was (badly) busking on a really beat up Gibson J45.
My friend asked him what he would take for it, and the guy said $200.
That's how my friend ended up with a beat but sweet '52 J45.
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Ime, the bullets aren't 'junk'. The wood actually has the tone. They can be modded to be kinda sweet, but they won't ever be full quality either because of some key shortcomings.
1. Thin everything: body, neck. No matter how much you mod it, it'll always be thin compared to a more full sounding full quality strat.
2. Shoddy hardware. Tuners work fine, and saddles can easily be replaced. But the nut and the thin nickel frets work but are a tad sheisty. The plastic nut isn't actually that bad. Plastic is a viable nut material, but it isn't full quality. Doing a flawless job on replacing it is tough, but can be done if you're up to it. Frets are a huge job in either work and expense for you, or expense if you farm it out or buy a new neck.
That's about it. Electronics can be swapped. Ultimately, they're worth the price and can be pretty fun and sound pretty good once modded. But they are pretty bad stock, and won't be high quality once modded.Last edited by Strat-itis; 07-06-2025 at 08:40 PM.
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I would love to check out one of his 4 pickup guitars, they look so cool Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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George Jetson has the largest DiPinto collection in the galaxy. DiPinto has been building this stuff for decades. The shop also has a stock of unorthodox guitars of all kinds made by others. It’s a great source for those seeking something different. Originally Posted by jim777
I would love to check out one of his 4 pickup guitars, they look so cool
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