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Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT - Pearl White

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Poplar Body, Maple Neck, Laurel Fingerboard, and 3 Single-coil Pickups - Pearl White
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Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT - Pearl White
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Contemporary Strat with a Novel Sound

The Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT puts a new twist on a Sweetwater favorite with several novel, unique upgrades. Starting with eye-catching black hardware and a painted headstock with sharp chrome logos, the Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT makes it known that this isn’t your ordinary Strat. But where things get really interesting is in the unique pickup configuration, which puts all three single-coil pickups on a slant and shifts the middle pickup closer to the bridge, for a totally new Strat sound. On top of that, the Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT boasts an eminently playable roasted maple neck with a speed-promoting 12-inch radius fingerboard. Surely made for adventurous guitar players, the Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT is a bold addition to the Strat lineage!

Unique pickup configurations for all-new tones

What makes the Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT so . . . “special”? Its totally unique pickup configuration, of course! The Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT’s pickup set comprises three angled Squier SQR alnico single-coils with the middle pickup scooched closer to the bridge, allowing you to access never-before-heard sounds. Plus, with special switching options available on its 5-position blade, you’ll be blown away by the amount of tonal variation from this idiosyncratic axe!

5-position blade with special switching options

  • Position 1: Bridge and Middle (Series, Hum-Cancelling)
  • Position 2: Middle
  • Position 3: Middle and Neck (Parallel)
  • Position 4: Bridge, Middle, and Neck
  • Position 5: Neck

Ultra-stable roasted maple neck

Lead players will enjoy exploring the Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT’s quick, comfortable roasted maple neck, whose 12-inch radiused fingerboard flattens out toward the body to facilitate faster playing styles. Jumbo frets make bends and vibratos a cinch, too. Additionally, a sculpted neck heel enables high-register exploration without the struggle of a traditional heel!

Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT Electric Guitar Features:

  • A new twist on the classic Stratocaster design
  • 3 Squier SQR alnico single-coils in a unique configuration
  • 5-position blade with special switching options
  • Fast, comfortable Slim “C” maple neck with 12-inch radiused fingerboard and jumbo frets
  • Painted ’70s-era jumbo headstock with chrome logos
  • Premium black hardware, including hardtail bridge and die-cast sealed tuners

Why Buy Your Guitar from Sweetwater?

See how Sweetwater goes to great lengths to give you the very best online guitar buying experience. From our online Guitar Gallery that allows you to see and select the exact instrument you want to our 55-point Inspection process and our in-house guitar techs, we take the guesswork out of buying your next guitar online.

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Tech Specs

  • General
  • Number of Strings 6
  • Left-/Right-handed Right-handed
  • Body
  • Body Type Solidbody
  • Body Shape Contemporary Stratocaster
  • Body Material Poplar
  • Body Finish Gloss Polyurethane
  • Color Pearl White
  • Neck
  • Neck Material Roasted Maple
  • Neck Shape C
  • Neck Joint Bolt-on
  • Radius 12"
  • Fingerboard Material Indian Laurel
  • Fingerboard Inlay Pearloid Dots
  • Number of Frets 22, Jumbo
  • Scale Length 25.5"
  • Nut Width 1.650"
  • Nut Material Graphite
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece 6-Saddle String-through body
  • Tuners Die-cast Sealed
  • Electronics
  • Neck Pickup Squier SQR Alnico Single-coil
  • Middle Pickup Squier SQR Alnico Single-coil
  • Bridge Pickup Squier SQR Alnico Single-coil
  • Controls 1 x master volume, 1 x master tone
  • Switching 5-way blade pickup switch
  • Miscellaneous
  • Strings Nickel Plated Steel, .009-.042
  • Case/Gig Bag Sold Separately
  • Manufacturer Part Number: 0370235523

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

Very impressed for the price

I prefer hardtail bridges and flatter radiused fretboard Strat style guitars, but the off the shelf options are often limited when looking for a guitar with those specs or the guitar will cost a small fortune having to go the custom build route. When I stumbled upon this Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT model I was intrigued by the specs and the interesting pickup layout. For an under $500 guitar, I figured it would make for a great project guitar and I would have the Squier SQR Alnico single coil pickups and non-traditional 5-way switch configuration replaced with DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan mini humbuckers and a 3-way selector switch. However, after playing the guitar for an entire day, I really came to like the sounds from the existing pickups and switch configurations. It's a rather unique sounding guitar, it's not "just another Strat". The roasted maple neck feels great and plays wonderfully. This is my first guitar with a laurel fretboard, my other guitars have rosewood or ebony (not a fan of maple fretboards), and I'm really liking the laurel, it sounds & feels somewhere in between rosewood and ebony, so another pleasant surprise. I'm so impressed with the guitar, especially for the price, that I decided I'm going to leave this guitar just as it is.
Music background: 30+ years playing guitar
Rated 5/5

Excellant Guitar

This is the first Squier I've bought, and the first guitar with single coil pickups. I focused on this one because of the unique pickup configuration. The build quality is excellent, the feel is great, and the tone capabilities are good to my ears - a bit more subtle than I was expecting, but definitely different between positions. And no noise even with a lot of gain, which was a real surprise. I am very pleased with this guitar.
Rated 4/5

Fun to play

This guitar sounds really good and plays good, tuning keys are average, but overall a great buy.
Music background: Metal/Rock
Rated 3.5/5

Great concept, inferior craftsmanship

The old saying "You get what you pay for" applies to this guitar.

First, the good:
Pickup configuration gives you some good, unique tone options, and they sound really good for a Squire. I prefer the fixed bridge and definitely love the string-through-body design. After 6 months, the guitar feels solid and sounds great.

Now the bad.
Squire did a VERY poor job of smoothing out the frets on this guitar. Moving up and down the neck, it feels like tiny little razors catching your fingers on the edges. Expect to spend around 200 dollars extra getting that deficiency taken care of, unless you are capable of smoothing those edges yourself. I'm a bit surprised and disappointed that such a glaring deficiency made it through Sweetwater's 57-point inspection.
Also, the volume and tone pots are rather cheapy. But I guess that's what you expect from a Squire-branded guitar that costs less than $.

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

Would love to see Fender do a more professional version of this guitar. I'd definitely spend the money for it.
Rated 1.5/5

Not so great after owning for a couple of weeks

After initially writing a 5 star review after playing the guitar for an entire day, almost two weeks into ownership I have found the guitar's neck to be extremely sensitive to minor atmospheric climate changes in pressure and humidity. One day the 5th and 6th strings are buzzing when fretted at the the top end of the fretboard, the next day the 3rd string is buzzing when fretted towards the middle of the fretboard. I have several other guitars that I have owned for years and they don't have this issue. I guess it was just wishful thinking initially on my part that a guitar in this price range would pass the muster.
Music background: 30+ years playing guitar
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