Review: Squier x Hello Kitty® Pink Stratocaster

Ah yes, the Squier Hello Kitty Stratocaster. The original guitar dropped back when I was in high school much to the amusement of me and my headbanger mates. Unfortunately, it didn’t fare very well upon release and it was common to see music retailers selling them for chump change. 

As a matter of fact, they were so cheap that we would often joke about picking a Hello Kitty up and dropping an EMG81 or similar super hot humbucker in it for a laugh. Our pubescent brains thought breaking one out at the next metal show would be absolutely HILARIOUS after all, these guitars were plentiful because nobody wanted them.

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As the sands of time wore on and the 2000s became the 2010s the original Squier Hello Kitty eventually blew up long after it was discontinued. I’d even seen examples of the original model go for over 1k on Reverb, making many long for the proverbial time machine to take them back to a time when shops were blowing them out for $200 apiece.

Hello Kitty Stratocaster

Thanks to Blink’s Tom Delonge, 2024 has seen much enthusiasm for single humbucker Stratocasters. With all this excitement, and 2024 being the 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty, Fender has taken the liberty of reissuing the Hello Kitty Stratocaster for a new generation!

Upon unboxing, the Squier Hello Kitty Stratocaster immediately delivers on its aesthetic promises. Firstly it’s pink, secondly, Hello Kitty’s face adorns the face of the guitar in the form of the pickguard, just as I remember it. But something seems to be different about this reincarnation and I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Truth be told, I just do not remember the original guitars feeling as nice as this one. Its feel has a reassuring sturdiness, not too light and not too heavy, and the Polyurethane finish doesn’t feel particularly cheap to the touch either.  

I take this all as a testament to how far Fender’s quality control has come over the years. Clearly, a certain attention to detail is being applied to what they are putting out and it shows in this instrument.

This being said, there have been some aesthetic changes to the Squier Hello Kitty Stratocaster. I immediately noticed that Fender has opted to go with a matching headstock on this model, as well as red inlays. In my opinion, this all works to tie together the guitar’s “none more pink” aesthetic, while also imparting an essence of quality on the guitar.

Fender has used Okoume as the wood of choice for the new Squier Fender x Hello Kitty Stratocaster. This wood is considered to be a more affordable alternative to mahogany and imparts a nice warm tonality to the instrument. 

This neck features the all too familiar 25.5” scale as to be expected on a traditional Fender. The guitar boasts a nice C-shaped neck that I don’t see too many hands disagreeing with, making this profile a safe bet for both beginners and experienced players alike. 

Additionally, Fender has gone with a contemporary 9.5” fretboard radius on this model. 9.5” is essentially a good “Goldilocks” radius as it is just round enough to lend itself to comfortable chording but flat enough to not fret out on wide bends. All of this contributes to 9.5” essentially being the modern “standard” for most Fender instruments. 

The neck specs are rounded out by a traditional maple fretboard with 42mm nut width, and 21 narrow-tall frets that present no sharp ends or levelling issues on this test model. 

The Fender x Hello Kitty feels just as a Strat should, providing all of the familiar body contours and specs that make any good Strat. The guitar is resonant and lively and responds well to a variety of playing styles and techniques. 

The hardware package includes a synthetic bone nut and vintage-style tuners that feature white buttons which are a nice aesthetic touch. I had no problem keeping the instrument in tune over the duration of testing which suggests that there are no issues with how the nut has been cut from the factory. 

Tuning stability is also aided by the Fender x Hello Kitty Stratocasters chrome hard tail bridge which harbours a string-thru design. This bridge is also likely to contribute to the instrument’s noticeable resonance while unplugged which cannot be a bad thing for its sustain either. 

The electronics featured on this guitar have remained true to the original, offering a single volume, single humbucker variation. 

I didn’t remove the pickguard of this instrument to see if the body had been routed to accommodate other pickup configurations, but it is safe to say that if you purchase this instrument you won’t be permanently removing or altering the pickguard anyway as it is such a big part of its look. 

The included Fender-designed Alnico humbucker is nice enough, providing a nice mid-range kick not dissimilar to some classic humbucker designs. Overall, it’s a really versatile sound. The pickup offers enough grunt for angsty bedroom power chords but also cleans up well enough when rolling back the guitar’s single volume control for more mellow tones.

The Squier Fender x Hello Kitty Strat ships in a special Hello Kitty gig bag and will be available at Fender dealers nationally by the time you read this. However, keep in mind that this model is a limited edition so if the Fender x Hello Kitty Stratocaster is something you want in your Christmas stocking, you best act fast!

For local Fender enquiries, visit Fender Music Australia.