Hi guys, Just a few words about Squiers (notice the spelling). :) I'm also learning to play the Blues and have a custard coloured custom (woo! aliteration) tele made in Indonesia. The action is a little high but I'm going to fix that as soon as I can get to our nearest town and buy a 6 sided whatdjacallit. I use 10 - 46 strings (09s feel a bit slimy to me) and the neck mic which gives a sweet jazz/blues sound. I have played fender strats (American and Japanese) in my pop/jazz and reagge bands but as I am a straight into the amp guy (no pedals) and am learning to play solo the strat sounds a bit thin. Anyway what it comes down to is this; don't get hung up on the country or the name. Try it, test it, feel it. Listen to it first without plugging it in (if it doesn't rock without an amp, it won't rock with one). If it loves you, love it back. The rewards will be instantaneous. Shuffle on dudes.