Since getting back into electric guitar 18 months back after spending a few years playing solely acoustic, I've probably been having the most fun I've ever had with the instrument. Rediscovering new gear, watching new releases like I did before, getting overly excited for stuff - it's all there, and better than ever, only this time with perhaps more adult sensibilities & less unsustainable spending... Well, that's a lie, I've had like 8 guitars in the past 18 months, but whatever.
Anyway, fastfoward to now, and I'm just a two-tele & an acoustic man. Loving life with my new amp, getting some great sounds, when suddenly I get the urge to play a strat. Well, I could get the vintera 50s strat to pair with the superb 50s tele, but I held back & just thought "y'know what, I've heard guys get some good tones out of this thing, so I'll give it a bash..."
Pretty damn happy with how it looks, although it does have a bit of grime of some sort on the fretboard. Shouldn't be too difficult to clean up, and honestly isn't too much of an inconvenience for a £100 guitar.
Set-up out of the box was pretty great. The fret work, while not flawless by any means, is more than good enough up & down the neck, with no nasty pointy bits, buzz, poorly seated or any of that nonsense. It holds tune pretty well, even through some mild trem arm shenanigans, and the neck, while it a bit dainty for my personal tastes, is well finished & comfortable. Nice & light, too.
The sound?
Well, it's just a strat, & that's the biggest compliment I could possibly give it. It doesn't sound like a cheap guitar trying to be a strat - it just sounds like a strat. That quacky punch, those funky tones, the warm neck, & not-so bright bridge? Yup, it's all there. After a minute of playing, I had to just stop & having a little laugh at it. It has absolutely no business being this good for just a hair over £100.
Consider my strat-itch scratched for now. Even if I were to replace this further down the line with something better (which I might not even do), I'd still likely keep this as a beater/experimental guitar, as everything about it (apart from the fretboard grime) is so damn good for the money that selling it would just feel pointless. I've only been playing for 17~ years or so, but the difference between a cheap guitar then & a cheap guitar now still seems insane... Or maybe it's just me that's a bit better & know what to expect nowadays - Probably a bit of both. Whatever the case, it's a cracking guitar for the money, and I'm chuffed.
Cheers.
Comments
There are two little bits on the 19th fret that do look like glue, but that's not really going to be a bother, thankfully.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Amp also looks rather familiar! The "cumbersome" amp I was referring to in our recent PMs is the same series of Peavey, but the Studio Pro one. Be interested to know what, if any, pedals etc you're using into it especially with the new Strat as I'm in need of some guidance myself...
soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
Well I did get ahold of a GT-100, but after some simply unfixable USB issues I'm sending it back & have decided to go down the individual pedal route again. Right now though, the only stompbox I have is a TU-3, so I can't really give you any feedback there (yet) Will hopefully end up with something pretty small (thinking Muff, TS, DD-200 and a handful of modulation pedals... Maybe an EQ). Gonna do some bargain hunting online.
My ex wife bought me one years back, got rid of it when I got divorced.
I really miss that guitar.
enjoy the modern world of fantastic cheap guitars
soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
No ,hers was a dum dum.
My partner wanted a bullet for valentines day, & was surprised when I came home with a full clip of ammo.
Oi!
I think.