Squier SST33 Silver Series Strat, made in Japan in 1993/4 in white The Silver Series heralded a return to Japanese manufacturing for Squier, and were very well received at the time owing to the excellent build quality from the legendary Fujigen factory. This example is sporting a factory olympic white finish, which is far less common than the black and sunburst offerings. the white looks great; it's aged gracefully and really pops against the worn golden-syrup maple board. This one has also scored a bone nut, upgraded saddles, upgraded Gotoh tuners, a mint guard and a set of Fender USA Pure Vintage '65 grey bottom pickups from the previous owner. It sounds great: heaps of clarity, a warm and open midrange and a healthy dose of classic Strat-spank. All the upgrades mean you enjoy the exceptional playability and slick neck without worrying about tuning stability; this is truly a sweet thing in the hands. These punch well above their price bracket when stock standard, so with all that extra hardware on board, you're surely scoring a winner.

Model: Squier Silver Series Stratocaster, SST33-M
Made: Japan (Fujigen plant) ,1993/94 (serial O030528)
Finish: olympic white, mint 3-ply guard
Body: 'wood fibre', looks like basswood
Neck: maple with maple board, dot inlays
Mods: pickups replaced, pickguard replaced, saddles replaced, machine heads upgraded, bone nut installed
Pickups: Fender Pure Vintage '65 Strat single coil set
Case: none

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has a couple of marks on the end and bottom edge, as well as some extra holes from the original machine heads. The neck has some scuffing from play on the board as well as some light scratches on the back, it's very smooth in the hands. The back has a few light scratches around the place as well as some dimples around the edge. and along the body carve. There's some extra holes from a different back plate being on there at some point, although there's no back plate now. The sides have a number of small dimples, most notably on the shoulder area, near the rear strap pin and around from the knobs and switch. The front is pretty clean, just a dimple or two behind the bridge and some play wear on the guard and top horn. Overall: good condition (7/10)

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electrics tested and working properly. Frets have some normal wear, they're pretty even in height and nicely polished, 6/10 for life left. Wearing fresh 10/46s.