J
Love this guitar!
At first I bought this guitar because as a lefty I simply wanted to have a red guitar. But I am so pleased with it that now I'm actually using it for live performance.
I ordered on Saturday, delivery was on Tuesdaynoon, I did the setup in the afternoon and in the evening I used it for live performance! Great service Thomann!
I have both versions, one with roseacer fretboard and one with maple fretboard. The roseacer one feels a bit slimmer, but both feel very comfortable and smooth.
The Candy Apple finish of the body is simply stunning.
Action and playability were OK out of the box, but I anyway did a full setup and got a perfect action and playability.
Electronics work well, even though the tone pots have a very limited range.
The tuners have some tolerance, but keep the guitar pretty well in tune.
I have other guitars of a much higher price range, but this is the one I keep on playing the most.
Mods I did
I replaced the pickguard with an aged pearl one, which makes the guitar look more rich.
Shielding.
Setup: truss rod, saddle height and intonation.
pros
price, unbelievably low
aesthetics, really beautiful instrument, flawless finish
sounds really good through a zoom G1Xon
light weight (3,4kg)
easy playability, low action
general feeling, it feels very nice, you just don't want to put it down
cons
tuners are not so good
small range of tone pods
no shielding
All in all, I highly recommend this guitar.
I ordered on Saturday, delivery was on Tuesdaynoon, I did the setup in the afternoon and in the evening I used it for live performance! Great service Thomann!
I have both versions, one with roseacer fretboard and one with maple fretboard. The roseacer one feels a bit slimmer, but both feel very comfortable and smooth.
The Candy Apple finish of the body is simply stunning.
Action and playability were OK out of the box, but I anyway did a full setup and got a perfect action and playability.
Electronics work well, even though the tone pots have a very limited range.
The tuners have some tolerance, but keep the guitar pretty well in tune.
I have other guitars of a much higher price range, but this is the one I keep on playing the most.
Mods I did
I replaced the pickguard with an aged pearl one, which makes the guitar look more rich.
Shielding.
Setup: truss rod, saddle height and intonation.
pros
price, unbelievably low
aesthetics, really beautiful instrument, flawless finish
sounds really good through a zoom G1Xon
light weight (3,4kg)
easy playability, low action
general feeling, it feels very nice, you just don't want to put it down
cons
tuners are not so good
small range of tone pods
no shielding
All in all, I highly recommend this guitar.
5
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TP
A Strat for £65... I mean to say...
I bought this at the same time as my TE-90 QM on an impulse, and thus avoided paying the £10 postage.
Firstly, I'm giving this guitar 5 stars purely based on the fact that it is unbelievable value for money. It is a beautiful looking guitar, with a lovely finish on the body. The frets are fairly smooth and the fret ends are neatly finished, although the wood on the neck surface is slightly rough, which doesn't affect general playing (like bar chords for example) but is noticeable when bending strings. One criticism: the volume pot isn't too bad, but the tone pots hardly have any affect at all.
HOWEVER...
This is a brand new, well made, and beautiful-looking Stratocaster copy for a handful of change, and would be a very worthwhile purchase as a single guitar or as addition to a collection. Personally I'm going to keep this long-term, so will be upgrading it over the coming weeks. But even unchanged it really is a lot of guitar for the money; when you think that an American Stratocaster would probably be about 20 times the price or more, it puts it into perspective.
Firstly, I'm giving this guitar 5 stars purely based on the fact that it is unbelievable value for money. It is a beautiful looking guitar, with a lovely finish on the body. The frets are fairly smooth and the fret ends are neatly finished, although the wood on the neck surface is slightly rough, which doesn't affect general playing (like bar chords for example) but is noticeable when bending strings. One criticism: the volume pot isn't too bad, but the tone pots hardly have any affect at all.
HOWEVER...
This is a brand new, well made, and beautiful-looking Stratocaster copy for a handful of change, and would be a very worthwhile purchase as a single guitar or as addition to a collection. Personally I'm going to keep this long-term, so will be upgrading it over the coming weeks. But even unchanged it really is a lot of guitar for the money; when you think that an American Stratocaster would probably be about 20 times the price or more, it puts it into perspective.
1
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R
We who are about to strat salute you.
Starting off I've been looking into buying a cheap strat for a while having previous bad experience with two other brands which I will not mention names.
Firstly, straight out of the box, a quick tune and instantly playable with smooth fretwork and a comfortable neck and have managed to get the action a little lower which was really low out of the box. intonation was almost perfect. Literally 15 minutes and this guitar was fantastic.
Secondly the pickups. What have you put in this little gem, there wonderful I have played expensive strats and they don't sound as good as these. I've run cleans to crunch to driven blues to hard Rock and these pups really hold up well no squealing etc...
In conclusion I love this guitar I can't believe the price. Its always a pleasure to pickup and play and captures the tone,feel and essence of what a stratocaster is with quality underdog vibes. Great product for a beginner or an experienced player like myself (29yrs) who's gained quite a collection of axes over the years.
My only negative point would be that the machine heads are a little bit rough but provide great tuning stability nonetheless.
Firstly, straight out of the box, a quick tune and instantly playable with smooth fretwork and a comfortable neck and have managed to get the action a little lower which was really low out of the box. intonation was almost perfect. Literally 15 minutes and this guitar was fantastic.
Secondly the pickups. What have you put in this little gem, there wonderful I have played expensive strats and they don't sound as good as these. I've run cleans to crunch to driven blues to hard Rock and these pups really hold up well no squealing etc...
In conclusion I love this guitar I can't believe the price. Its always a pleasure to pickup and play and captures the tone,feel and essence of what a stratocaster is with quality underdog vibes. Great product for a beginner or an experienced player like myself (29yrs) who's gained quite a collection of axes over the years.
My only negative point would be that the machine heads are a little bit rough but provide great tuning stability nonetheless.
1
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m
A great bargain
I bought this as I've a few Harley Bentons, and was looking for something just for gentle Shadows/Dire Straits type stuff.
The bridge pickup is low output, but as I was using it for a specific purpose, it's just a matter of increasing the volume on those patches.
The frets needed a quick polish, and a set of Daddarios, after that it was good to go.
That maple neck, ok, that feels fabulous, it has to be said.
If you're looking for something with a fierce sound, this will not be the guitar for you, but for all the nice, shimmery stuff it sounds just fine.
At this price it's a steal.
The bridge pickup is low output, but as I was using it for a specific purpose, it's just a matter of increasing the volume on those patches.
The frets needed a quick polish, and a set of Daddarios, after that it was good to go.
That maple neck, ok, that feels fabulous, it has to be said.
If you're looking for something with a fierce sound, this will not be the guitar for you, but for all the nice, shimmery stuff it sounds just fine.
At this price it's a steal.
0
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D
Brilliant Build, Sound, Quality
Unpacked, did a few tweaks on setup, but could of played out of box.
Briliant
Briliant
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D
Outstanding guitar for the price
Summary: This guitar exceeded my expectations and was a pleasant surprise in quality & sound. Well finished, a great modding platform.
Background: I've been playing guitar 15 years,and I've owned several S-Style guitars.
Review: Right out of the box, the fit and finish was great. Neck is straight, no sharp fret ends, no blemishes; the guitar was well set up. This instrument is about 7.5 lbs, light compared to your average S-Style; for me this is a plus (I'm a small guy and I don't like heavy guitars). Neck profile is comfy like a modern "C" but a bit thicker, yet with the flatter radius it feels easier to chord on.
Sound: Most surprising were the pickups. Neck pickup is nothing special, but the middle and bridge positions were very pleasant tonally. I've used them for recording with good results. I did upgrade the electronics & hardware with stuff I already had on hand, but you could get away practicing/recording with this on a budget. There are some minor nitpicks I'll mention below about the component quality, but frankly those are to be expected with a guitar at this price. Don't kid yourself. The wonderful thing about this model is that you can upgrade those components rather easily at your preference.
Pros: Great finish, neck well set up, comfortable and light, pleasant/usable tone.
Cons: Undersized import tremolo block (I upgraded to a full-size block and it fit but you'll lose some tremolo movement), mini-pots (I upgraded to full-size pots and they fit but you'll need to ream out the pickguard holes a bit).
Background: I've been playing guitar 15 years,and I've owned several S-Style guitars.
Review: Right out of the box, the fit and finish was great. Neck is straight, no sharp fret ends, no blemishes; the guitar was well set up. This instrument is about 7.5 lbs, light compared to your average S-Style; for me this is a plus (I'm a small guy and I don't like heavy guitars). Neck profile is comfy like a modern "C" but a bit thicker, yet with the flatter radius it feels easier to chord on.
Sound: Most surprising were the pickups. Neck pickup is nothing special, but the middle and bridge positions were very pleasant tonally. I've used them for recording with good results. I did upgrade the electronics & hardware with stuff I already had on hand, but you could get away practicing/recording with this on a budget. There are some minor nitpicks I'll mention below about the component quality, but frankly those are to be expected with a guitar at this price. Don't kid yourself. The wonderful thing about this model is that you can upgrade those components rather easily at your preference.
Pros: Great finish, neck well set up, comfortable and light, pleasant/usable tone.
Cons: Undersized import tremolo block (I upgraded to a full-size block and it fit but you'll lose some tremolo movement), mini-pots (I upgraded to full-size pots and they fit but you'll need to ream out the pickguard holes a bit).
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D
One word is all that's needed - Fantastic
I ordered this guitar as a beginner to electric guitars. I had to wait a couple of weeks for it to arrive but boy was it worth the wait. The guitar is stunning and after a tune up, playable from the box. Well done Thomann!
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b
Absolutely first class!!!
This is the perfect low-budget guitar for a beginner,or an add on to your collection.
The sound is fantastic,and the candy apple red is stunning!
You will NOT get better value for money anywhere else.
Thomann get top marks for the Harley Benton ST-20MN LH CA.
A real masterpiece for the money.
The sound is fantastic,and the candy apple red is stunning!
You will NOT get better value for money anywhere else.
Thomann get top marks for the Harley Benton ST-20MN LH CA.
A real masterpiece for the money.
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DD
GAS for red Strat
I bought the guitar purely for its appearance. I wanted a Candy Apple Red Strat but could not justify buying another expensive guitar. However it turned out to be very playable and sounded great.
The guitar was delivered quickly and arrived in overall good condition.
The body, pickguard and neck were flawless, The neck had a comfortable feel and the intonation and action were spot on.
The guitar sounded and felt very much like my Fender Strat, at a tenth of the price or less.
However there were a few faults which QC should have spotted:-
The small screws at the back of the headstock, holding the machine heads in position, had not been fitted. There were not even guide holes drilled. Luckily I had the screws and drill to sort this out.
The strings were dirty and corroded and had to be replaced.
I replaced the pickups with a Wilkinson MWHS set that I had available. This did not make a lot of difference. Not surprising as the guitar sounded very good as supplied.
Later fitted MIM Fender ceramic pickups, which did make it sound even better.
The guitar was delivered quickly and arrived in overall good condition.
The body, pickguard and neck were flawless, The neck had a comfortable feel and the intonation and action were spot on.
The guitar sounded and felt very much like my Fender Strat, at a tenth of the price or less.
However there were a few faults which QC should have spotted:-
The small screws at the back of the headstock, holding the machine heads in position, had not been fitted. There were not even guide holes drilled. Luckily I had the screws and drill to sort this out.
The strings were dirty and corroded and had to be replaced.
I replaced the pickups with a Wilkinson MWHS set that I had available. This did not make a lot of difference. Not surprising as the guitar sounded very good as supplied.
Later fitted MIM Fender ceramic pickups, which did make it sound even better.
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GH
How do they do it?
First of all I didnt expect much for the price but what I received has blown me away! The finish was perfect, a little tweak on intonation and away I went. Its very playable and the sounds form the stock pick ups was spot on. I normally install warman pick ups in my guitars but on this occasion I dont think I need to as Stock are great. I have a PRS Custom SE as my main guitar, is this as good? Simple answer No BUT it is right up there as my now go to guitar, it exceeded my expectations and some. 4 Days Shipping from Germany to remote Scotland as well is an added bonus. Get one you will be impressed!
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