A year ago, I bought a Sterling Cutlass (not the Plus) HSS from Musician's Friend for $399 on sale. It is a great guitar. Mine is "Firemist Silver" which is really a light blue metallic--very nice color. Love the roasted maple neck. Every aspect of the guitar is high quality. Recommended!
What is the fretboard like? Good feel? I love the roasted maple, big selling feature to me. I'm currently playing a Japanese Jackson DK2m and I LOVE the fretboard ( I think it is 12-16). But Im certainly taken with the aesthetic of the Cutlass, Im kind of feeling silly with the pointed headstock, floyd rose " heavy metal shred machine" look.
@@saltpeter7429 For me, the fretboard is great. I really enjoy the roasted maple neck. In fact, it is now my preferred material--I will be looking for roasted maple from now on. I will say the Cutlass neck is somewhat chunky--def. not thin. Although most of my guitars have average-sized necks, in this case, it does not bother me.
You should try the sss version that's only around 350 USD. I have one and love it. Only change I had to make was a new 5 way switch. The one it came with was very scratchy. Sweetwater sent me the replacement piece for free and a local luthier only charged me 20 bucks to install it. Great deal and I love its tones. Almost as good as a USA strat for a fraction of the cost.
I got one that was floor stock, and it's simply the best value in guitars that I know of today. I do mostly classic rock, funk, and soul. There are no sounds I want and can't get, PLUS the mid-boost. Great instrument.
thanks for doing what you do - ----- i watch a fair amount of guitar content --------- your videos/demos are always of high quality in ever way --------- - your playing equally rips as well as is smooth and to the point ---- i really dig this guitar ------ i really love everything about it--- -----it has a combination of simplicity, elegance, toughness, sexyness, retro, and modern feelings ----- it really looks like the evolution of the strat ---- but a good one ---- it sounds amazing too ---- and i take your word that it feels great ---- it seems like a bargain really ------- i mean are the upper line worth doble the price or whatver when you already have 9.9 out of 10 minus the name factor ---- it seems like the kind of guitar that ill appreciate in value and never be out of fashion --- the mid boost thing is a great idea and this is the first I have heard of it ------- it basically adds to an already fantastic sound --- it has a kind of double-track effect, what I am hearing - ---- it seems like there is a world of tones on that thing to explore ------i dig the look ----- besides the lines of the body, the inlays, the headstock and the the tone of the neck and fretboard look amazing ---it's all really classy and not overdone looking at the same time------ it's on the light side too ----- I totally want one ---- I hope Music Man is paying you because you did a fantastic job displaying this thing and your enthusiam is obviously genuine .....
I love the cutlass and that white on black with the roasted neck is just the perfect combo imo. That said I do own a Pearl white contemporary strat that really gives me Jake E Lee vibes too.
Great video Max! Those Sterling guitars are great quality for the money but the more expensive Sterling and Ernie Ball guitars aren't that much better and certainly not enough to justify the price. These Sterling guitars at this price point are the best deal for the amazing quality.
Cool guitar, I've had two Ernie Ball Axis guitars which are awesome so I know about the quality of Ernie Ball. Seems like quite a blunder to only have two colors, though. Yeah, it's their lower end line but $650 isn't really that low end nowadays. I don't know why they don't have some figured veneer options or even like a sparkle/flake at $650.
As a fan of Cutlass Sterlings, the color selection and availability have always baffled me. They generally have a limited selection, and the choice of colors tends to be very conservative. I just recently bought one in Toluca Lake Blue with a tortoise shell pickguard, definitely the best color I've seen from them.
Thanks! That was a fantastic review. Makes me want to run out and get one of these. Only problem I I won’t make it sound like you do. You’re such a fantastic player. Thanks for doing this. Cheers!
Hey Max, have you tested it without the battery? My sterling jp150 has the active boost and a lot of people said the guitar would work without the battery but it doesn't
Dear Max....does this guitar comes with a gig bag or guitar case? I have the Sterling Cutlass CT50 (which do not comes with any gig bag or casing), which i bought about a year ago & are so very happy with it. I use to have a Fender Strat American Professional (gen 1) HSS but somehow i just love the Sterling Cutlass CT50 HSS much more than the Fender Strat. The Strat cost about 2.5 more than the Sterling Cutlass CT50!
The Floyd is probably a special, immediate upgrade point on that guitar tbh, same with the pickups. You'll spend the cost of the Sterling once you're all in on that Squier so you may as well go Music Man tbh
Hey Max, thank you for that great and impressive review. I am really curious about the pickups: Do they really work like normal passive pickups when the battery is removed? I asked Sterling before watching your video and they told me "these are active pickups that will not work when the battery is missing or down". Thank you for your answer in advance!
Max, heard there are a lot of AC issues with these guitars, along with tuning issues due to the bridge. Did you find this during your experience with it? 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
Love That Solo , Max !! Very well done !! Ok , so I started playing when I was about 13 . Found a broken Acoustic . Guy at the Local Music Store was nice enough to make it good enough to play . First song a friend taught me was I Was Made For Loving You by KISS . I'm pretty sure that guy didn't like me . Just the first 3 Chords of the song . Took me a couple of months cuz those strings were so high . I slowly went thru a few beat up Guitars that were barely playable during the next 7 years . Kept working at Guitar with no Lessons and kept working my job and building my Credit . 1997 I went to House Of Guitars with no knowledge of what would suit me best for a Dream Guitar . All I know is I had a Credit Card . I ended up choosing a Charvel Jackson . Dim Red finish , Reverse Headstock , HSS , Strat type body , and a Kahler Pro Flyer Bridge . After several months of learning how the Bridge worked and figuring out that I needed to replace the Pickups with Duncan's , it was an amazing guitar . I've played a lot of Guitars with FR ' s on them and of course they're great . But I became so used to that Kahler that when I used it , it never went out of Tune . But anyway , if the Guitar you're playing in this Video was Red it would look exactly like the CJ I had and wish I still had . About 10 years ago I got hooked on Gibson Les Pauls and stayed with them . Max , every time I watch you do another Guitar Demo Video i get closer to buying another Modern Strat type Guitar . And that might not be a good thing for my Marriage . LoL ! I'm guessing you go thru a lot of Guitars before you choose one for a Video Demo . Ok . I'm sorry this message is so dam long . I definitely didn't mean to ramble on this much . Great Video , Max !🎸 I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe .
Could you recommend me a great affordable 7 string guitar? I'm ok with doing a pickup change, adjust the action and such. I swear some of the guitars feels like 80% of it, you pay for the brand.
Found this very guitar for 300 used great guitar and my trem stays in tune just fine it’s not a Floyd if u want Van Halen type yes get a different axe but it suits my style just fine I can still do my steel guitar bends on it and still have a trem it’s great
Max I’m not sure I like the sound of this Guitar! To me it sounds Tinty in all videos I’ve watched! But I like everything else about it. If I buy this I will definitely install a custom Humbucker or just a Dmarzio super distortion or something. Hopefully the Guitar tech doesn’t screw up the functionality, but I will say it sounds better in your video than others. I don’t think it sounds as good as a Strat.
@@pankajmarwaha9815 The S-7 model $599 USD (lock/tuners, S/S frets, roasted neck, bone nut etc.. The entry level Sire Strat the S-3 (399 USD)does not have S/S frets, Cheers
Bought a Sterling with lotz of upgrades. Come to find out, the nut size is too small 41.3mm with too close string spacing for me. Along with the medium frets. Im tempted to sell. They do make great guitars. Sigh.
I mistakenly thought they were active pickups. This makes it much more appealing to me for a mod platform. I'm gonna hold out for some different colors coming out down the road? If they add some of the metal flake colors, like the blue or silver to this line, I'm on it like white on rice. $649 is still very reasonable and I'd consider upgrading to this plus model from the standard CT50 I already have.
@@andrewbecker3700 ah got it. I'm im in a similar boat with the stingray The sr-30 is 399, but the sr50 is 599. Sonically there's not much difference, but the 50s baked maple neck is so much better
@@ritwikjs actually the 50 series has alnico pickups and I believe the 30's have ceramics. Also locking tuners and higher grade hardware all around on the 50.
No matter what you do you have to spend almost $100-$200 to upgrade the tremolo systems on these guitars or the fret work and that’s why they are truly not a bargain at $700 plus without a hard shell case. You can get a USA MM SS or Cutlass only a year old in mint condition without anything that needs to be upgraded for very close to the price.
You may want to check out Yamaha as another guitar brand! They have excellent quality guitars around the $700-$800 range including the Revstar Standard and the Pacifica 612! Also, when are you going to review the new Kramer Striker and compare it to your old Striker video?
Very Cool, Thankyou. Stunning Guitar. I have an entry level SUB Silo3 Sterling by Music Man Guitar in black with white pick-ups. It quickly became my favorite strat style guitar. Such a joy to play. The neck/fretboard is Amazing. Cheers
The best feeling guitar that I've ever played was an EVH signature Music Man that was in a stores used section. Unfortunately I hesitated and didn't pull the trigger and when I went back to get it they had already sold it. It was an absolutely amazing guitar and a Sterling Cutlass is definitely on my wish list.
I wasn’t really expecting it, but those tones were spectacular (especially the overdriven power chords). Very impressive. Nice playing, too!
Thank you very much!
A year ago, I bought a Sterling Cutlass (not the Plus) HSS from Musician's Friend for $399 on sale. It is a great guitar. Mine is "Firemist Silver" which is really a light blue metallic--very nice color. Love the roasted maple neck. Every aspect of the guitar is high quality. Recommended!
I bought one of the Rose Gold CT50 HSS models from MF on a Stupid Deal of the Day for $399. Excellent guitar.
What is the fretboard like? Good feel? I love the roasted maple, big selling feature to me. I'm currently playing a Japanese Jackson DK2m and I LOVE the fretboard ( I think it is 12-16).
But Im certainly taken with the aesthetic of the Cutlass, Im kind of feeling silly with the pointed headstock, floyd rose " heavy metal shred machine" look.
@@saltpeter7429 For me, the fretboard is great. I really enjoy the roasted maple neck. In fact, it is now my preferred material--I will be looking for roasted maple from now on.
I will say the Cutlass neck is somewhat chunky--def. not thin. Although most of my guitars have average-sized necks, in this case, it does not bother me.
I have the same guitar it is beautiful to play
That's the one I tried to buy from Musicians Friend yesterday for $712 Canadian but they won't ship that guitar to Canada....bummer
You should try the sss version that's only around 350 USD. I have one and love it. Only change I had to make was a new 5 way switch. The one it came with was very scratchy. Sweetwater sent me the replacement piece for free and a local luthier only charged me 20 bucks to install it. Great deal and I love its tones. Almost as good as a USA strat for a fraction of the cost.
I got one that was floor stock, and it's simply the best value in guitars that I know of today. I do mostly classic rock, funk, and soul. There are no sounds I want and can't get, PLUS the mid-boost. Great instrument.
thanks for doing what you do - ----- i watch a fair amount of guitar content --------- your videos/demos are always of high quality in ever way --------- - your playing equally rips as well as is smooth and to the point ---- i really dig this guitar ------ i really love everything about it--- -----it has a combination of simplicity, elegance, toughness, sexyness, retro, and modern feelings ----- it really looks like the evolution of the strat ---- but a good one ---- it sounds amazing too ---- and i take your word that it feels great ---- it seems like a bargain really ------- i mean are the upper line worth doble the price or whatver when you already have 9.9 out of 10 minus the name factor ---- it seems like the kind of guitar that ill appreciate in value and never be out of fashion --- the mid boost thing is a great idea and this is the first I have heard of it ------- it basically adds to an already fantastic sound --- it has a kind of double-track effect, what I am hearing - ---- it seems like there is a world of tones on that thing to explore ------i dig the look ----- besides the lines of the body, the inlays, the headstock and the the tone of the neck and fretboard look amazing ---it's all really classy and not overdone looking at the same time------ it's on the light side too ----- I totally want one ---- I hope Music Man is paying you because you did a fantastic job displaying this thing and your enthusiam is obviously genuine .....
Max, your phrasing is soooo good here. Very nice playing my guy
Thanks!
Wow! Really killer tones. I don't know to what degree it depends on the amp, the guitar and the player, so I congratulate to all three of you. :)
It's the player, the pickups, and the speaker. Fx change your tone too.
Beautiful melody in the opening solo.
I love the cutlass and that white on black with the roasted neck is just the perfect combo imo. That said I do own a Pearl white contemporary strat that really gives me Jake E Lee vibes too.
Smoking intro Max. Very classy. That BOSS really has great tones. I love the chug with this setup.
Great video Max! Those Sterling guitars are great quality for the money but the more expensive Sterling and Ernie Ball guitars aren't that much better and certainly not enough to justify the price. These Sterling guitars at this price point are the best deal for the amazing quality.
WoW Beautifull Guitar!
And Sounds Great!!!
Thank You Max! 🎶🎶🎶✨️✨️✨️
Thanks for the great vid, great playing and you made me want this guitar, well done 👍👍
At 5:05, the METAL 🤘 symbol of approval!
Sounds amazing, definitely thinking of picking one of these up eventually
Your playing will most likely make music man more popular. Sounds great. Good pickups.
That was a great intro man. Right into some tasty shred 🔥
Cool guitar, I've had two Ernie Ball Axis guitars which are awesome so I know about the quality of Ernie Ball. Seems like quite a blunder to only have two colors, though. Yeah, it's their lower end line but $650 isn't really that low end nowadays. I don't know why they don't have some figured veneer options or even like a sparkle/flake at $650.
As a fan of Cutlass Sterlings, the color selection and availability have always baffled me. They generally have a limited selection, and the choice of colors tends to be very conservative. I just recently bought one in Toluca Lake Blue with a tortoise shell pickguard, definitely the best color I've seen from them.
Love my CT50!
Thanks! That was a fantastic review. Makes me want to run out and get one of these. Only problem I I won’t make it sound like you do. You’re such a fantastic player. Thanks for doing this. Cheers!
I bought one and I sound just like him😂 great guitar lol I did buy one great guitar cheers to you sir your comment made me smile thanks 😊
Hey Max, have you tested it without the battery? My sterling jp150 has the active boost and a lot of people said the guitar would work without the battery but it doesn't
Max, love your channel and that guitar. How is the album release coming, I'm really stoked to get my CD!
It's coming right along! I've very happy with it so far!
Dear Max....does this guitar comes with a gig bag or guitar case? I have the Sterling Cutlass CT50 (which do not comes with any gig bag or casing), which i bought about a year ago & are so very happy with it. I use to have a Fender Strat American Professional (gen 1) HSS but somehow i just love the Sterling Cutlass CT50 HSS much more than the Fender Strat. The Strat cost about 2.5 more than the Sterling Cutlass CT50!
Add one of those Sustainers in that like you did a demo on.
Hello! Trying to choose between this, the pac612, and the player plus. All priced the same in canada. (Fender is used)
Ide buy one of these with the block inlays if it came in firemist silver. Thanks for your honest opinion Max....as usual!
Sterlings punch way above their price point. I have a JP150 and it kicks ass.
What are you hooked up to?that would help,.that does not sound like that through a plain amp!
Day 2: Subscribed. This man will be the first person I hear talking about the next guitar I buy.
Does it stay in tune well when using the tremolo?
Just picked up a mint one for $350. Great 🎸
Great tone and great playing. I’ve got an IR-200 as well can can’t get tones anywhere near yours. Do you share presets?
Some pretty good guitars come out of Indonesia
I got my CT 50 HSS for $459. Amazing guitar 🎸
The only issue i have ever seen or heard of with Sterling is the sharp edges of the frets other than a 20 minute fix its a great guitar.
0 fret issues
Is the mid boost like the Godin HDR (High Definition Revoicer) circuit? Again a switchable active circuit on a passive guitar...
My this guitar neck cracked. Where can I buy neck replacement? Please help... Also do they make HH pickguard?
Nice, however once again at $449 the Squire with roasted maple neck and fretboard and a Floyd Rose double locking included still wins my vote.
The Floyd is probably a special, immediate upgrade point on that guitar tbh, same with the pickups. You'll spend the cost of the Sterling once you're all in on that Squier so you may as well go Music Man tbh
The standard Cutlass has the total Leo Fender pedigree. That Sterling version doesn’t have a competitor in the Squier paranormal line.
Hey Max, thank you for that great and impressive review. I am really curious about the pickups: Do they really work like normal passive pickups when the battery is removed? I asked Sterling before watching your video and they told me "these are active pickups that will not work when the battery is missing or down". Thank you for your answer in advance!
Got a Cutlass by myself now: Pickups do indeed work without battery. And by the way: Never had so much fun playing a guitar!
Max, heard there are a lot of AC issues with these guitars, along with tuning issues due to the bridge. Did you find this during your experience with it? 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
Love That Solo , Max !! Very well done !! Ok , so I started playing when I was about 13 . Found a broken Acoustic . Guy at the Local Music Store was nice enough to make it good enough to play . First song a friend taught me was
I Was Made For Loving You by KISS . I'm pretty sure that guy didn't like me . Just the first 3 Chords of the song . Took me a couple of months cuz those strings were so high .
I slowly went thru a few beat up Guitars that were barely playable during the next 7 years . Kept working at Guitar with no Lessons and kept working my job and building my Credit .
1997 I went to House Of Guitars with no knowledge of what would suit me best for a Dream Guitar . All I know is I had a Credit Card . I ended up choosing a Charvel Jackson . Dim Red finish , Reverse Headstock , HSS , Strat type body , and a Kahler Pro Flyer
Bridge . After several months of learning how the Bridge worked and figuring out that I needed to replace the Pickups with Duncan's , it was an amazing guitar . I've played a lot of Guitars with FR ' s on them and of course they're great . But I became so used to that Kahler that when I used it , it never went out of Tune .
But anyway , if the Guitar you're playing in this Video was Red it would look exactly like the CJ I had and wish I still had . About 10 years ago I got hooked on Gibson Les Pauls and stayed with them .
Max , every time I watch you do another Guitar Demo Video i get closer to buying another Modern Strat type Guitar . And that might not be a good thing for my Marriage . LoL !
I'm guessing you go thru a lot of Guitars before you choose one for a Video Demo .
Ok . I'm sorry this message is so dam long . I definitely didn't mean to ramble on this much .
Great Video , Max !🎸
I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe .
Could you recommend me a great affordable 7 string guitar? I'm ok with doing a pickup change, adjust the action and such. I swear some of the guitars feels like 80% of it, you pay for the brand.
Is that an amateur radio behind u if I'm not mistaken bro?
Found this very guitar for 300 used great guitar and my trem stays in tune just fine it’s not a Floyd if u want Van Halen type yes get a different axe but it suits my style just fine I can still do my steel guitar bends on it and still have a trem it’s great
Decent guitar 👍🔥🤘
Push/push knob. 👍
Really a great guitar and a great video, but it’s NOT the GM Harley Benton Fusion signature model level….👍.
Thumbs up dude...keep peeling
Nice Guitar there ... Music Man makes great instruments...Great Demo there brother from Unk-Tu-Amun The Last Pharoah...
Max I’m not sure I like the sound of this Guitar! To me it sounds Tinty in all videos I’ve watched! But I like everything else about it. If I buy this I will definitely install a custom Humbucker or just a Dmarzio super distortion or something. Hopefully the Guitar tech doesn’t screw up the functionality, but I will say it sounds better in your video than others. I don’t think it sounds as good as a Strat.
Tuners on this guitar are different, asymmetric configuration. 4 tuners on the top of the headstock and 2 tuners on the bottom.
VG video, but I'd vote for the Sire Larry Carlton S7 FM, much better all around, with S/S frets and less $$.
The Sire guitars dont have stainless steel frets from what i recall..
@@pankajmarwaha9815 The S-7 model $599 USD (lock/tuners, S/S frets, roasted neck, bone nut etc.. The entry level Sire Strat the S-3 (399 USD)does not have S/S frets, Cheers
Bought a Sterling with lotz of upgrades. Come to find out, the nut size is too small 41.3mm with too close string spacing for me. Along with the medium frets. Im tempted to sell. They do make great guitars. Sigh.
I mistakenly thought they were active pickups. This makes it much more appealing to me for a mod platform. I'm gonna hold out for some different colors coming out down the road? If they add some of the metal flake colors, like the blue or silver to this line, I'm on it like white on rice. $649 is still very reasonable and I'd consider upgrading to this plus model from the standard CT50 I already have.
if its similar tech to my westone corsair yes it is batt operated in boost mode.
it's 399 on musicians friend right now
The regular ct50 is on sale, yes. CT50 plus is holding firm at $649
@@andrewbecker3700 ah got it. I'm im in a similar boat with the stingray
The sr-30 is 399, but the sr50 is 599. Sonically there's not much difference, but the 50s baked maple neck is so much better
@@ritwikjs actually the 50 series has alnico pickups and I believe the 30's have ceramics. Also locking tuners and higher grade hardware all around on the 50.
G.M. your solos are more melodic, not sure what your are doing but keep doing it.
Thanks Manny!
Just got one, it's the dog's danglers...
Ta Max.
🤘
🤘🤘
This channel is cool but how about some leads like Tool style or A Perfect Circle style just to shake it up a bit.
It comes in two colors , oh I hope one is red 👌
No matter what you do you have to spend almost $100-$200 to upgrade the tremolo systems on these guitars or the fret work and that’s why they are truly not a bargain at $700 plus without a hard shell case.
You can get a USA MM SS or Cutlass only a year old in mint condition without anything that needs to be upgraded for very close to the price.
Guitar needs nothing
You may want to check out Yamaha as another guitar brand! They have excellent quality guitars around the $700-$800 range including the Revstar Standard and the Pacifica 612! Also, when are you going to review the new Kramer Striker and compare it to your old Striker video?
Beautiful ❤
I really like that guitar and I'm not a big fan of musicman guitars. They are starting to grow on me though lol 😂
I prefer reserved, because we have just in service yet🤜🤛👍☮️❤️😅
Very Cool, Thankyou. Stunning Guitar. I have an entry level SUB Silo3 Sterling by Music Man Guitar in black with white pick-ups. It quickly became my favorite strat style guitar. Such a joy to play. The neck/fretboard is Amazing. Cheers
Want one gonna get one!! Sweetwater here we come!!😂 Seriously
A Floyd would make this a must buy for me.
The best feeling guitar that I've ever played was an EVH signature Music Man that was in a stores used section. Unfortunately I hesitated and didn't pull the trigger and when I went back to get it they had already sold it. It was an absolutely amazing guitar and a Sterling Cutlass is definitely on my wish list.
Showing my age here but this has 1980s Ibanez Allan Holdsworth vibes. A dark metallic red single hum would be very close. I like this.
Guitarra bem legal gostei 👍
God Loves You🙏🏻❤️
I love the way Americans mix imperial and metric measurement. 7.7 Lbs.🤷🏻
Nice guitar, but why do all your guitars get to sound the same?
The baked maple neck tells us that is made of cheap ass wood.
The Sterling is better then the Music Man because the Music Man is only a 10" radius and the Sterling is 12" so no matter what the Sterling is ahead
This or a Fender Player Plus? 🤔 Both 1k in Germany.... waiting for my 2nd Player Plus, the first one was pure QC Garbage 😂
Not a fan of the poop brown neck but EBMM makes fantastic guitars. If possible save up for the real deal rather than the Sterling version.
"currently unavailable" just as usual, not the best starting point to do commercial affiliate here 😁
first
Those inlays look terrible though.
First!
@@justanothercommenter6763- Plus, he lied!
Aloha,
👉 So we went from budget guitars under $500 to $600 + guitars, ok then 🙄 👌
If you set a strats bridge correctly it always stays in tune
Now if it just had a Floyd...
Not sure if it’s the case for sterling, but I have an EBMM with their non-lock bridge, and it returns to zero every single time.
You're kinda late to the party in being impressed by music man .