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Does this guitar make Fender obsolete?
Drawn to this guitar like everyone else. Price and potential, for what you are paying for you are getting a good not great platform to swap out pickups replace tuning keys and have an entry level to intermediate guitar.
The good.
Looks great, the finish on the guitar is very nice and I was surprised that it really isn't a finger print magnet. Good weight, the tone knobs and position switch have a Very good feel. Shipped fast, and in good shape with tracking everything was handled in a professional manner.
The bad.
The pickups are not good, they make sound and you can make a nice sound with them but should be replaced whenever possible.
The tuning keys are not good, miles ahead of where we were on budget off brand guitars of the 90's these are squishy feeling and unstable and should be replaced whenever possible. The neck, this could be a case specific thing so fair warning. Fret ends were pretty sharp but a file cleans that up. What is interesting is that the fretboard ends are round, where there may be a binding on other guitars I notices its rolled over pretty hard almost like the ends are scalloped, It does not affect the playability but as far as fit and finish goes it looks cheap and feels cheap in the hand.
The gripe.
The instrument that I received was NOT a thru body as shown in the images. Very disappointing, deal breaker? I don't think so just buyer beware you may not get a string thru body. Over time I can see this causing scratches in the finish of the body.
Final thoughts,
You are buying a cheap guitar. As cheap guitars go this isn't a bad one. I would compare it to a bad Fender bullet. With the cosmetic flaws of the guitar I received the best I can hope for is a guitar that I can upgrade to sound better, not the sleeper guitar I was hoping to build that looked amazing and sounds great. If I drop in $300 dollars in upgrades to the tuning keys and pickups I will have a entry to mid level guitar that has some cosmetic issues, add in the shipping and cost I would say if your plan is to get a steal of a guitar that is ready to rip right out of the box, skip this one. Find something that you can hold and see first hand, $500 state side will get you a better guitar. If you plan on changing out pickups and upgrade as you go....I'd still say skip this one. I may have received a poorly QC'd instrument and your experience may differ but I can not recommend this one and sleep at night. I took a gamble on this one and lost, I will take the time and effort to make it sound better but I wont be dropping much on upgrades here. You guys got me with they hype, well played. If you are buying this as a beginner guitar and don't want to go too deep in the pocket, then sure this would work but so would the Bullet from fender or even a dinky the market is saturated with close enough $150 dollar guitars.
The good.
Looks great, the finish on the guitar is very nice and I was surprised that it really isn't a finger print magnet. Good weight, the tone knobs and position switch have a Very good feel. Shipped fast, and in good shape with tracking everything was handled in a professional manner.
The bad.
The pickups are not good, they make sound and you can make a nice sound with them but should be replaced whenever possible.
The tuning keys are not good, miles ahead of where we were on budget off brand guitars of the 90's these are squishy feeling and unstable and should be replaced whenever possible. The neck, this could be a case specific thing so fair warning. Fret ends were pretty sharp but a file cleans that up. What is interesting is that the fretboard ends are round, where there may be a binding on other guitars I notices its rolled over pretty hard almost like the ends are scalloped, It does not affect the playability but as far as fit and finish goes it looks cheap and feels cheap in the hand.
The gripe.
The instrument that I received was NOT a thru body as shown in the images. Very disappointing, deal breaker? I don't think so just buyer beware you may not get a string thru body. Over time I can see this causing scratches in the finish of the body.
Final thoughts,
You are buying a cheap guitar. As cheap guitars go this isn't a bad one. I would compare it to a bad Fender bullet. With the cosmetic flaws of the guitar I received the best I can hope for is a guitar that I can upgrade to sound better, not the sleeper guitar I was hoping to build that looked amazing and sounds great. If I drop in $300 dollars in upgrades to the tuning keys and pickups I will have a entry to mid level guitar that has some cosmetic issues, add in the shipping and cost I would say if your plan is to get a steal of a guitar that is ready to rip right out of the box, skip this one. Find something that you can hold and see first hand, $500 state side will get you a better guitar. If you plan on changing out pickups and upgrade as you go....I'd still say skip this one. I may have received a poorly QC'd instrument and your experience may differ but I can not recommend this one and sleep at night. I took a gamble on this one and lost, I will take the time and effort to make it sound better but I wont be dropping much on upgrades here. You guys got me with they hype, well played. If you are buying this as a beginner guitar and don't want to go too deep in the pocket, then sure this would work but so would the Bullet from fender or even a dinky the market is saturated with close enough $150 dollar guitars.
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D
You get what you pay for...
This is a budget guitar with budget quality - which shouldn't really be a surprise.
Bad bits: Control cavity routing goes too far back, so that the screw holding the control plate down misses the wood and splits out into the cavity, meaning the screw can't be tightened fully... leaving the control plate slightly loose. (I have also seen this pointed out on other reviews on YouTube so it must be a systematic issue with the position of the routing)
Machine head screws on back of headstock not tightened down leaving play in the heads. The screw head for the low E stuck up by about 3mm and when I tried to tighten it, just fell clean off - I guess it was forced in by the factory which stressed the screw head.
Significant fret sprout and the fret ends are literally like razors (have a cut on fingertip as evidence!) Fret sprout has also blown a spot of finish off at the fret tang on one fret.
Frets are pretty low profile and very roughly finished so string bending is not the most comfortable.
Some screws holding the pick guard down do not bite into the soft basswood properly so do not seat down fully.
Pickguard is poorly made with some wobbly bits and one spot showing some delamination of the top layer.
Machine heads are poor quality both in terms of visuals due to rough spots from casting and function due to flat spots and play.
Good bits:
Looks cool from a few feet away :-)
Through body stringing is a bonus at this price point.
The satin finish is very nice to hold on the neck and easy to slide your hand around.
The neck carve is very comfortable - maybe slightly thicker than a Fender Player series tele but not by much.
The body is nicely done and the routing is crisp and clean.
If you are a beginner I would say stay away and go for a Squier Bullet which is a lot better finished for a similar price.
If you are looking for a donor body and neck to use as a project I'd say this is ideal and would make a great basis for a custom build... but be aware of the following points: You will need to modify an aftermarket pick guard as the control plate is slightly larger than standard. You will need to drill out the control plate holes if you want to fit full size pots.
You will need to replace/modify the pick guard and bridge plate if you want to use covered pickups as they won't fit.
In summary - if you don't mind putting in a bit of work and expect to deal with some issues then this is a good purchase. If you are expecting something that will not need any improvements/setup out of the box, you will most likely be disappointed.
Bad bits: Control cavity routing goes too far back, so that the screw holding the control plate down misses the wood and splits out into the cavity, meaning the screw can't be tightened fully... leaving the control plate slightly loose. (I have also seen this pointed out on other reviews on YouTube so it must be a systematic issue with the position of the routing)
Machine head screws on back of headstock not tightened down leaving play in the heads. The screw head for the low E stuck up by about 3mm and when I tried to tighten it, just fell clean off - I guess it was forced in by the factory which stressed the screw head.
Significant fret sprout and the fret ends are literally like razors (have a cut on fingertip as evidence!) Fret sprout has also blown a spot of finish off at the fret tang on one fret.
Frets are pretty low profile and very roughly finished so string bending is not the most comfortable.
Some screws holding the pick guard down do not bite into the soft basswood properly so do not seat down fully.
Pickguard is poorly made with some wobbly bits and one spot showing some delamination of the top layer.
Machine heads are poor quality both in terms of visuals due to rough spots from casting and function due to flat spots and play.
Good bits:
Looks cool from a few feet away :-)
Through body stringing is a bonus at this price point.
The satin finish is very nice to hold on the neck and easy to slide your hand around.
The neck carve is very comfortable - maybe slightly thicker than a Fender Player series tele but not by much.
The body is nicely done and the routing is crisp and clean.
If you are a beginner I would say stay away and go for a Squier Bullet which is a lot better finished for a similar price.
If you are looking for a donor body and neck to use as a project I'd say this is ideal and would make a great basis for a custom build... but be aware of the following points: You will need to modify an aftermarket pick guard as the control plate is slightly larger than standard. You will need to drill out the control plate holes if you want to fit full size pots.
You will need to replace/modify the pick guard and bridge plate if you want to use covered pickups as they won't fit.
In summary - if you don't mind putting in a bit of work and expect to deal with some issues then this is a good purchase. If you are expecting something that will not need any improvements/setup out of the box, you will most likely be disappointed.
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M
Not as advertised
This is not a string through body as in the pictures. The one they send me is string through the back of the bridge. Paint is comming off on the sides of the fretboard. Action is impossible to get low. Sound of the pickups are very nice and warm.
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