Squier 40th Anniversary Electric Guitars: Telecaster, Jazzmaster, Precision Bass Expired

I just posted an even BETTER deal for Lake Placid Blue Gold Edition P-Bass: https://slickdeals.net/f/16939579-40th-anniversary-squier-by-fender-precision-bass-gold-edition-lake-placid-blue-270-fs-for-musician-s-friend-members-269-99

And here's a BETTER deal for the Vintage Edition 2-color sunburst Stratocaster: https://slickdeals.net/f/16939594-squier-by-fender-40th-anniversary-stratocaster-vintage-edition-electric-guitar-satin-wide-2-color-sunburst-256-fs-at-musician-s-friend-256-49

Bought my daughter the lake placid blue gold edition p-bass and can't wait to give it to her on her birthday Monday!

Also, I can't wait to play my, I mean her, new bass every day while she's at school.

That there is marketing in special edition guitars (anniversary models, special runs, artist signature models, etc.) is certain, but the manufacturers do make it worthwhile in many cases. These Squiers (note the spelling) are at the top of the range, with full thickness bodies and good components. At $600, I thought they were overpriced. At $300, it's a different matter entirely.

You're always in here singing the praises of products other than in the OP. Say what you want, the Monoprice guitars are often acceptable but not great out of the box. I handled one of their new Strats just yesterday. The fret ends were pretty sharp -- not as bad as the Starcaster next to it, but definitely not comfortable -- and the neck felt completely unfinished. It was smooth, but didn't feel good. Sure, you can fix the sharp frets. You'll need a fret file (unless you want to damage the fretboard), steel wool, tape, etc. to address it. The lack of finish? That's harder. Not everyone wants to buy tools and spend the time learning to use them and the time improving the guitar to be comfortable to play. Fixing guitars, amazingly, does little to help you play better.

Most guitars benefit from a setup. New players should simply pay a professional to do it. It's $50 or so, but few want to pay that on a $50 guitar.

Fixing frets and replacing a nut costs even more. Putting in a better pickup (even a decent inexpensive Wilkinson) still more. Swapping out tuners that slip, as I did on a no name counterfeit Strat I like a lot, more still. And none of that helps your skills as a player.

So if you want to learn to be a guitar tech, the sub-$100 guitars are great. If you want to play, with your main expense being a setup, get something like this $300 Squier and have at it. If you want to give a nice gift to a kid, these Squiers are a great value in decent guitars.