DISCOVER the Best FENDER STRATOCASTER Style Guitars for the Money. Mid-Range Models and Budget Series (Buyer’s Guide).
FENDER STRAT Features
The Stratocaster electric guitar model was developed by the Fender brand in 1954. However, this brand has passed through several hands and experienced some ups and downs.
The Fender Stratocaster’s heyday was the model marketed until 1965 by Leo Fender himself, when Leo decided to sell his brand to the CBS Corporation for the modest price of $13 million at the time.
The quality of the product was maintained after the change, thanks to the former employees of its golden age. But in 1978, CBS decided to prioritize quantity over quality and experiment with unusual modifications, intending to compete with the flourishing Superstrat-type guitars, such as those developed by brands like Schecter and Ibanez. This led to the worst moments for the Fender.
Until the company’s own employees decided to buy a nearly bankrupt Fender from CBS.
Bill Schultz would be the architect of Fender’s revival after the CBS era, and the brand revived its Vintage reissues starting in 1990. As a result, Fender revived the classic, original sound of the Stratocaster and restored its traditional quality and simplicity.
FENDER Stratocaster (Made in México)
FENDER Standard Stratocaster
Since the 1980s, Fender has also established a presence in Mexico to offer quality products at a more affordable price than guitars made in United States. But Fender launched the Standard series in early 2025. One of the most affordable ranges in the brand’s history, and the first made in Indonesia.
The Fender Standard Stratocaster features a poplar body, ceramic-magnet pickups, priced at around $630.
FENDER Player II Stratocaster
The Player II Series appeared in mid-2024, following the trend of changing the Mexican-made Fender series every 5 or 6 years. But not only are the name changing, but some specifications are also changing.
In the previous Player Series, the dark fingerboards were made of pau ferro, but now rosewood is back. Additionally, the fingerboard features rounded edges to improve the comfort of the instrument and facilitate playability.
The Player II Series is also equipped with vintage ClassicGear tuners and upgraded bridges. Aesthetically, the new series features new colors and aged white parts. The Fender Stratocaster Player II features alnico magnet pickups for both single coil and humbucker pickups and is priced at around $840.
Best FENDER STRATOCASTER Style: SQUIER GUITARS
To offer its customers an even more affordable product than the Fender Made in Mexico, the Squier brand was founded in 1983. A Fender spinoff, it is authorized to use the original designs and manufactures its products in Asian countries to reduce production costs.
Squier’s most notable series is the Classic Vibe line, featuring alnico magnet pickups and priced at around $450.
The Squier Classic Vibe ’70s features a large headstock in the style of the CBS era.
The large headstock on the Fender Stratocaster was an idea invented by CBS, simply so the Fender logo could be seen more clearly on television. There’s a myth that this type of headstock adds a little more body to the Strat’s sound, but in reality, the idea was merely a marketing gimmick.
Best FENDER STRATOCASTER Style: G&L GUITARS
After Leo Fender sold his company and founded the Music Man guitar brand, Leo Fender founded G&L Music Instruments in 1980 with his friend George Fullerton. The letter G stands for George and the L for Leo.
American-made G&L guitars typically cost around $1,700 (G&L USA Fullerton Deluxe Legacy). However, Asian-made G&L guitars cost less than half the price of American-made ones. Nevertheless, they still maintain a high level of quality and are assembled with American-made components.
The traditional Stratocaster model is the G&L Tribute Legacy, priced at approximately $650. This model features pickups with alnico V magnets on a poplar body.
The G&L Tribute S-500 is priced at around 600 dollars, but its sound would go from vintage to modern.
In direct relation to Leo Fender, these three brands would be the first ones we should consider when looking for a good Strat depending on our budget, but we also have other options with quite attractive price-quality ratios.
Sire LARRY CARLTON S7 Vintage
For example, at Sire we have the Larry Carlton S7 Vintage models for around 600 dollars, with an incredible classic Stratocaster sound, as its name suggests.
The S7 Vintage features traditional Stratocaster, such as an alder body and alnico V pickups. It also has a very attractive roasted maple neck with abalone inlays.