Fender is taking on Amazon’s cheap guitar sellers at their own game by launching a Chinese-made Strat for $119

Fender appears to be taking on Amazon’s cheap import guitar sellers with the launch of its own ultra-affordable Squier Stratocaster line, dubbed the Debut. 

The cult of the import bargain has been around since Japanese firms first started ‘borrowing’ classic designs in the 1970s, but in recent years it has shifted into a new gear, particularly at the entry-level end of the market.

Given the vast majority of these models are, predictably, inspired by Fender’s most famous design, it makes sense then that the firm might use some of its considerable resources and experience in mass market builds to offer its own take in the form of the $119 Squier Debut Stratocaster.

The instrument – which now sits below the Squier Sonic as the firm’s most affordable Strat – appears to have quietly surfaced on Amazon in the past month. 

It offers a spec that includes a thin, lightweight poplar body, maple neck, laurel fingerboard and three ceramic single-coil pickups and sealed die-cast tuners.

The neck, meanwhile, offers the friendly C-shape profile that seems to be proliferating throughout Fender’s current lineup and has an easy-going satin finish. 

It might not break the internet, but as some of our fellow guitar nerds on YouTube have already noted, this offers something that the other rivals cannot: it says Stratocaster on the headstock.

It takes a lot to compete at this end of the market, and the profit margins are vanishingly small, unless you can produce at scale. 

This is what the Amazon shippers rely on – and something Fender understands better than most – so it would seem to be a mostly welcome addition to the market, in the eyes of players, at least (if perhaps not the Amazon retailers).

Either way, it looks like a savvy move from Fender. New players and buyers will more than likely opt for the name they recognise (and the reassurance of a two-year warranty). 

Tellingly, the listing talks up the fact it is “designed by the most trusted name in guitar and backed by a 75-year legacy of quality and craftsmanship”.

The YouTube community has also responded with what can only be described as genuine surprise to the Debut. 

It was always going to pique the curiosity of the ever-active mod market, which is permanently in search of the right instrument on which to perform guitar alchemy. 

We've not tried one ourselves yet, but first impressions on gear review channels also seem to be positive, particularly as a beginner platform.  

“I have to admit it, I liked this thing way better than I expected to,” notes the Bald Shredder, above. “For $119, they really knocked it out of the park.”

To check out the full spec of the Squier Debut Stratocaster, head to Amazon.