The best upgrade for a Bullet series of any of them is the Tuners, they don’t really cost much more than upgrading the Pots if you know what to get. I would always get the tuners before the pots, most people just leave them full up anyway.
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My “budget” guitar is a Squire Bullet hardtail Strat. I got it brand new on a sale & had some loyalty points so only spent $80 US for it…
The guitar was literally unplayable straight out of the box. Fret sprout was so bad it cut my fingers, neck angle so bad the high e string was on the very edge of the fretboard, fret buzz, intonation issues, bad “pinging” when tuning because the strings were binding in the nut… a professional setup cost me $160.
Now, it’s lots of fun to play, sounds pretty good & I really like it! I will probably replace the tuners - only have been told to make sure that I buy tuners for a Squire because Fender replacements don’t fit properly. Overall, I am relatively happy with the Squire… just my experience may provide some food for thought!
Tod
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Great news that you’re happy with the guitar now, with plans for further mods.
You don’t say the value of the loyalty points but $80 + $160 + points + new tuners = not quite a budget guitar.
I don’t wish to diminish your enjoyment of your guitar by saying an equivalent spend could buy a guitar that is better out of the box.
$240 is still a budget guitar to me… if I knew more about how to do my own setups (other than changing strings & adjusting the truss rod) I’d be really happy with the $80 I paid. Loyalty points were about $40 & were about to expire so I had to buy something or lose them.
My point in the context of this thread was basically “caveat emptor”… paying less up front doesn’t necessarily mean you have gotten a good deal!!! 
Tod
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Tod, I hope you didn’t take any negative or offence from my comments.
I am in agreement with you.
A very low up-front price is not necessarily (I would go so far as to say that it is seldom) a route to guitar happiness and a good deal.
Modern guitar manufacture definitely does have us in a situation where quality control is more consistent and generally better even at the lower end - but there remains a price point below which the guitars are mostly clunkers.
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Richard @Richard_close2u , no offense taken! If my response tasted a bit sour, it was only because I was having a trying day at work & we had foul weather that was causing me to be somewhat grumpy 
!!! BTW I agree with your last, I do think there’s a lot of “clunkers” out there!
Tod
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Go get the newen stratocaster. For its price it sounds decent. I purchaaed one in 2022 december. It really plays good(if you’re a good guitarist) trust me its better than squier and yamaha pac 012 ive played them in the shop. Hope it helps!
What’s the price point for this?
I don’t think it’s been posted on thius thread before, but Justin played the budget Eastcoast guitars at Andertons fairly recently. He seemed pretty impressed at the 100-150GBP mark. However at that price point you can certainly pick up some rubbish too.
It is meant as a general piece of guidance Stuart.
If I had to pick a number I would go with £150 - the approximate proce for the widely bought Squier Bullet and Les Paul Special 100 models.
Yes, I think the point is that it’s a “guide price”, not set in stone.
I picked up a very cheap (£40) Dias electric strat copy from a store in Chippenham when I was working there and wanted something cheap to use on my occasional overnight B&B stays. Apparently they were assembled from parts by a local guy in his garage.
Whilst it wasn’t the best guitar in the world, it was decent and, after a setup, played well and sounded good. It wasn’t trash, by any means, and I gave it to a friends kid who, apparently, still uses it occasionally.
But I have tried £200 guitars which have been pretty horrible: sharp fret ends, poor tuners and rubbish tuning stability.
To me, tuning stability is the biggest issue: if you can’t keep the damn thing in tune, how is a beginner going to cope with that?
Cheers,
Keith
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