ShortScale.org

Well, while browsing in my favorite local pawn shop, a place where I've found several of my guitars, I noticed a Fiesta Red Squier Mini Strat. It lacked a string and the plastic on the pickguard had not been removed. It was peeling and looked bad. So I made an offer and got the guitar for $40 US. I replaced the strings with a .010 to .046 set after giving the guitar a thorough cleaning, removing all of the plastic protective film. And then of course some set-up. Nice guitar! I had an old Dakota Red Fender Duo-sonic once that had a 22.5 inch scale and I wanted something like that again, without shelling out big bucks. This, actually is a better guitar than the old Duo-sonic. The pickups are surprisingly good and it intonates well-- good bridge. Low action. Nice feel to the neck. I play it through a Roland amp. It reminds me of my old Fender, but it cost very little and plays much better. There's really nothing you can't play on one of these mini strats, and many things you can't play on a full-size strat you can play on the mini because of the short scale. I really like it.

aye. just picked up a red one for my step-daughter, after having such a good experience with the pink one i got years ago for my ex's oldest daughter. i think i got it for $45. the color is actually "torino red." very similar to fiesta, but less orange.

didn't really do much to it other than new strings, and tweaking the pickup height. has a loose output jack that i'll sort out as soon as i remember it when i'm not on the computer.

Yeah, the one I got my daughter is great. Heavier strings help a lot... and upgrading the tuners would be a sensible change, but I haven't done it yet.