Anyone know anything about Squire Strats?

[Say No To Vorderman]

A good friend of mine has lost his job and is resorting to selling his guitar I've offered to lend him the money and let him keep the guitar but he thinks it's time to sell it as he mainly plays acoustic anyway....so...any idea what this might be worth?
The serial number indicates Korean made in 1994. Maple neck and double pick up. he thought it was actually called a Stagemaster? but from what I can see they look quite different. Been looking on Ebay but can't see any with this pick up configuration. What do you reckon? he's looking for about £140 for it. Have to say it feels really nice and my son is looking for a guitar with a whammy bar for some recording so I'm thinking of buying it for him. don't want to rob my pal but also don't want to pay too much more than it's worth..if that makes sense

[VintAxe]

Hi Say No To Vorderman.

I'm generally hesitant to offer price suggestions to UK collectors since US and UK prices can differ depending on the particular guitar. My hunch in this case is the prices will probably be about the same unless you are paying some punishing tax to import these guitars.

Looking at Blue Book prices for the Stagemaster Series suggests to me your friends asking price is about right although he's probably at the top of the price range.

The value of a HSS pup configuration in Mint (98%) condition is $225 and $190 in Excellent plus (95%). From the pictures, the guitar appears to be in good shape.

I found a similar guitar on US ebay although it appears to be in much worst condition than the guitar you are considering. You may want to check in to see where this auction ends.

[Say No To Vorderman]

Cheers Vintaxe

Had a play of it after I posted the photos and it has a nice sound on the bridge pick ups..wasn't so keen on the other two pick ups..bleedin' son never turned up today as he was supposed to He arranged to come round and try out all the guitars I have with whammy bars so he can borrow one bu the seems to have turned fairly nocturnal these day..maybe tomorrow

I'm right in saying it's not a Stagemaster aren't I?
The Squire Stagemasters I found on google look a totally different shape

[VintAxe]

Ooooh, sorry bout that. I read your post too fast, I thought you said it was a Stagemaster (but now I see your friend said it was a Stagemaster). I don't know a lot about Squires other than they have been built in a bewildering number of models and come from a bewildering array of sources. I've never owned one but I know people that do and they frequently like them a great deal (for the price).

No now that I've checked the photos, definitely not a Stagemaster.

As far as pricing, I don't think it makes too much difference. Looking at the variation in prices, value seems more influenced by the source of production rather than specific models. Of course USA and Japanese models are most valued followed by Korean, Mexican, Indian and Chinese. Of course, the source of production is correlated with the quality of woods used, etc.

I don't see a fat strat in the Blue Book that matches your guitar. They list several fat strat models, but none that fit the 1994 time frame.

The closest guitar I see is the Standard Fat Strat made from 1998-2000. It had a poplar body, maple board and came in Arctic White. Valued at $200 Mint, $175 Exec +.