Squier Strat Mini v1 vs v2

[faradorian]

I’ve found my way into having both a v1 and v2 Strat Mini. As far as I can tell, the two have the follow differences:

v1:
- laminate hardwood body
- output jack on top
- rosewood fretboard
- boxy tuning machines

v2:
- poplar body
- output jack on side
- Indian laurel fretboard
- oval tuning machines

Which would you all keep?

UPDATE:
I got both guitars in house and I have a better list of the differences. I only need one of these, so I need to pick between these two very similar guitars.

v1 (2007)
Laminate hardwood
Thick body
Thin neck
Hexagonal tuning machines
No cracks in finish
Top output jack
Rosewood fretboard
Big strap buttons
Lighter

v2 (2018)
Poplar body
Thin body
Thick neck
Round tuning machines
Cracks in finish
Side output jack
Indian laurel fretboard
Small strap buttons
Heavier

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by faradorian

I’ve found my way into having both a v1 and v2 Strat Mini. As far as I can tell, the two have the follow differences:

v1:
- laminate hardwood body
- output jack on top
- Indian laurel fretboard
- boxy tuning machines

v2:
- poplar body
- output jack on side
- rosewood fretboard
- oval tuning machines

Which would you all keep?

V2 I love poplar bodies! And I also prefer rosewood over Indian laurel. I had a Jaguar that I cleaned up the laurel board and frets with some fine steel wool and it felt and sounded great!

[Rudy4]

I'd keep v2, but either keep the ovals or swap out with the other tuners if I liked them better. (If it was an easy & direct swap...)

[faradorian]

Thanks for the reply! Realized after you posted that it’s v1 that has the rosewood body and v2 that has Indian laurel. They’re so similar it’s hard to parse the differences.

[Rudy4]

When Marie Kondo was facing the exact same problem when she had to choose between two mini-strats she placed both on the floor in the center of the room and asked herself "Which one of these two guitars brings me the greatest joy?".

The choice came easily for her.

[faradorian]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

V2 I love poplar bodies! And I also prefer rosewood over Indian laurel. I had a Jaguar that I cleaned up the laurel board and frets with some fine steel wool and it felt and sounded great!

Is the poplar body significantly better than the laminate?

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by faradorian

Is the poplar body significantly better than the laminate?

I would think so, I've had very good luck with poplar bodies. Two of my best sounding guitars that I built from parts are poplar bodies. I couldn't begin to imagine a laminate body sounding as good. And generally speaking, poplar are lighter than laminated bodies. The reason more guitar builders don't use poplar more is because it doesn't take stain well. Some Fender American Standards in the 90's were built with poplar and they sounded great!