CM
If you love Charvel, buy this instead!
I have been playing guitar for 25-something years. This is not my first guitar. It's actually my 15th guitar (maybe more, maybe fever).
I always loved Charvel So-Cal style superstrats but I could never buy one. So I decided to buy this one instead to convert it to a superstrat since this is the closest donor guitar. I will explain the mods that I did later.
Out-of-the-box,
Pros:
- Black paint looks great, nothing to complain about.
- Hardware is OK. The bridge, pots, switch, and tuners are all OK. You can get away with not changing them.
- Neck, fingerboard and frets are good and comfortable. I think it is more comfortable than Charvel necks
- Back of the neck has a very light satin finish, almost feels like no finish at all. It feels so natural.
- Neck shape is modern C, closer to the slim side.
- The nut is cut very very well. I will not replace it.
- Single pickups sound great. It sounds like a strat :) I will not replace them.
- It's very light, which I like.
- Its body has a bigger radius fillet on the edges than regular strat bodies. Which makes it look more modern and agile.
- The setup was not too bad.
Cons:
- The setup was not too great. :)
- The neck was too relieved. I adjusted it later with the truss rod to straighten it.
- Intonation was off. I intonated it later.
- Action was on the high side, around +2mm on the 12th fret. After the truss rod adjustment and intonation, I adjusted the saddle heights. Now the action is between 1.5 mm and 1.75 mm above the 12th fret on the low E string.
- The humbucker is lacking bass response. I was expecting it to be a vintage output humbucker and it is, but I wish it has more bass response. I will replace it later. To get more volume and gain from it, I raised it using the screws so that it is closer to the strings. You can crank the gain on the amp to get crunchy tones though. You can even play some old-school metal songs but do not expect it to djent.
- The frets were a little gritty. I polished them. They are shiny and smooth now.
- The pickguard had a little bump under the neck pickup area. There was a little woodchip between the pickguard and the body. I replaced the pickguard (even though I didn't have to) and removed the woodchip. Now it's straight.
- The string tree was making some noise when I use the tremolo. I replaced it.
Mods:
So the goal was to make it look like a Charvel So-Cal HSS. That means, black hardware, black screws, etc...
- I had a spare black 1ply pickguard (no white stripe in between) which is exactly the same pickguard on the guitar. I want it to be a matte pickguard, so I sanded it. I started from 800 grit then moved to finer grits. The final sanding was wet sanding and only horizontal. This step made it look like a matte finish. Elevated the looks a lot.
- I replaced the all knobs with black metal ones.
- I put a black humbucker cover over the humbucker.
- I replaced the tuners with black Gotoh tuners.
- I replaced the string tree with a black one.
- I replaced the input jack with a black one.
- I adjusted the pickup heights.
- I replaced the nickel screws with black screws.
- I changed the strings.
- I did not change the tremolo bridge, I will paint it to black later.
It plays, sounds, and looks like a $800 guitar right now. To be honest, It plays better than Charvels.
I will buy more of these guitars because I plan to make another conversion. This time James Tyler Dan Huff (yellow body, black pickguard HSS strat).
I always loved Charvel So-Cal style superstrats but I could never buy one. So I decided to buy this one instead to convert it to a superstrat since this is the closest donor guitar. I will explain the mods that I did later.
Out-of-the-box,
Pros:
- Black paint looks great, nothing to complain about.
- Hardware is OK. The bridge, pots, switch, and tuners are all OK. You can get away with not changing them.
- Neck, fingerboard and frets are good and comfortable. I think it is more comfortable than Charvel necks
- Back of the neck has a very light satin finish, almost feels like no finish at all. It feels so natural.
- Neck shape is modern C, closer to the slim side.
- The nut is cut very very well. I will not replace it.
- Single pickups sound great. It sounds like a strat :) I will not replace them.
- It's very light, which I like.
- Its body has a bigger radius fillet on the edges than regular strat bodies. Which makes it look more modern and agile.
- The setup was not too bad.
Cons:
- The setup was not too great. :)
- The neck was too relieved. I adjusted it later with the truss rod to straighten it.
- Intonation was off. I intonated it later.
- Action was on the high side, around +2mm on the 12th fret. After the truss rod adjustment and intonation, I adjusted the saddle heights. Now the action is between 1.5 mm and 1.75 mm above the 12th fret on the low E string.
- The humbucker is lacking bass response. I was expecting it to be a vintage output humbucker and it is, but I wish it has more bass response. I will replace it later. To get more volume and gain from it, I raised it using the screws so that it is closer to the strings. You can crank the gain on the amp to get crunchy tones though. You can even play some old-school metal songs but do not expect it to djent.
- The frets were a little gritty. I polished them. They are shiny and smooth now.
- The pickguard had a little bump under the neck pickup area. There was a little woodchip between the pickguard and the body. I replaced the pickguard (even though I didn't have to) and removed the woodchip. Now it's straight.
- The string tree was making some noise when I use the tremolo. I replaced it.
Mods:
So the goal was to make it look like a Charvel So-Cal HSS. That means, black hardware, black screws, etc...
- I had a spare black 1ply pickguard (no white stripe in between) which is exactly the same pickguard on the guitar. I want it to be a matte pickguard, so I sanded it. I started from 800 grit then moved to finer grits. The final sanding was wet sanding and only horizontal. This step made it look like a matte finish. Elevated the looks a lot.
- I replaced the all knobs with black metal ones.
- I put a black humbucker cover over the humbucker.
- I replaced the tuners with black Gotoh tuners.
- I replaced the string tree with a black one.
- I replaced the input jack with a black one.
- I adjusted the pickup heights.
- I replaced the nickel screws with black screws.
- I changed the strings.
- I did not change the tremolo bridge, I will paint it to black later.
It plays, sounds, and looks like a $800 guitar right now. To be honest, It plays better than Charvels.
I will buy more of these guitars because I plan to make another conversion. This time James Tyler Dan Huff (yellow body, black pickguard HSS strat).
36
9
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RG
Fretboard,neck and action is OK. Sounds great and looks great.
What's interesting is that the n1 tone control, controls the humbucker too, and if you choose the 2nd and 4th position, both tone controls work The first one for the one pickup and the other for the second one. I was under the impression that this was not possible at least for the bullet series
What's interesting is that the n1 tone control, controls the humbucker too, and if you choose the 2nd and 4th position, both tone controls work The first one for the one pickup and the other for the second one. I was under the impression that this was not possible at least for the bullet series
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OB
This guitar was my first electric guitar and i couldn’t have asked for more, the sound quality is amazing and it plays very well and is well made. Overall this is a fantastic beginner guitar and i’d highly highly recommend to anyone interested in learning guitar.
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A
Beginners
Since this is my first attempt, I can't really compare, but so far I haven't had any problems with this kit. It's a great choice for beginners. The price is very reasonable. Nothing broke or got lost during shipping. And the kit (guitar, pick, cord, strap, tuner, bag, amplifier) has everything you need to learn how to play. Now the result is up to You.
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V
Good and cheap
I've got it today and everything is good. Maybe something will see in future, but now everything is good
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C
Insane value but QC is a bit of a gamble
Picked this up as a mod platform/beater guitar and honestly, Squier is killing it lately. For a sub-$200 Strat, this thing plays way better than it has any right to. The HSS setup is goated—the humbucker in the bridge actually has some decent growl for rock stuff, but you still get those glassy neck tones. Neck feels smooth, not sticky at all, and the weight is super light so it doesn't kill your shoulder. Only reason I’m docking a star on quality is because mine showed up with a tiny scratch on the back near the plate. Not a dealbreaker since I’m gonna beat it up anyway, but just a heads up that the finish might not be 100% perfect out of the box.
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SG
I Can’t Stop Playing It!
I’m thrilled with my new guitar! The sound is amazing, it’s super comfortable to play, and the quality is top-notch. Shipping was fast and it arrived perfectly. This guitar makes me want to play every day – highly recommend it!
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A
Great beginners' guitar
Great, versatile guitar for beginners. Awesome option for beginners who want to play some metal and get nice clean tunes at the same time!
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S
Best value
It comes with an affordable price and good quality.
The neck pickup sounds crisp, and its playability is nice.
Worth the price.
The neck pickup sounds crisp, and its playability is nice.
Worth the price.
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SN
Best Guitar for Beginners
Anyone who is starting to play an electric guitar, maybe someone who already knows any other kind of guitar (Like my case) or anyone who is just willing to play an electric one, I think this guitar does the work. Also, I was really impressed by the customer care service of Thomann in general. So I think, all in all, it's a genuine platform to buy music products from.
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