The Squier by Fender USB Stratocaster Guitar is unique among Fender’s legendary guitar series for a couple of reasons:
1. It has a USB interface that lets it work with the iPad and iPhone.
2. It is only available through the Apple Store.
3. It has an oddball Apple 30-pin connector to mini-USB connector cable.
This last item has caused a bit of grief for a good friend of mine who is notorious for taking meticulous good care of his gear. This is the only 30-pin to mini-USB cable I’ve ever seen. So, if it breaks, it is difficult to replace (aside from using a Rube Goldberg collection of adapter cables). And, break is exactly what it did for my friend. You can see his photo below. The mini-USB connector completely disengaged from the cable.
Fender no longer even features a product page for the guitar. So, one has to wonder what is going on there. However, it is still listed as available through the Apple Store. So, my friend’s next step is to contact Apple and Fender to see if:
(a) This cable breakage is covered by some kind of warranty since the guitar was only introduced in November 2012 and my friend bought his a few months after that.
(b) If a replacement cable can be found anywhere.
Comments
One response to “Fender USB Stratocaster Guitar: Broken oddball cable connector”
I actually bought one of these USB Fender squire guitar from a dealer in Toronto, the guitar was ordered online and the usb/30 pin cable was already broken, I called the dealer and emailed them and after a while they sent me ONE cable, it is not very sturdy but it will do for now. Someone at Fender in the states promised me a cable and I am still waiting for it. I am not holding my breath on that promise. These cables are hard to come by and the only other option is getting the usb camera adapter cable FROM APPLE ONLY as any other brand I tried did not work, and use a usb to micro usb and that did work fine. Good luck anyone outthere with this guitar!