I bought the famous Amazon Stratocaster Guitar by Fender
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- Опубликовано: 26 дек 2024
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What do you do about that ground noise ?
Beginner equipment has gotten so much better since "my day" in the 90s. If only I could get my kids interested in playing guitar.
I understand your feeling. My daughter studied keyboard for two years but then she quit.
Man it was the opposite situation for me. When I was in middle school my parents asked if I wanted to learn an instrument, and I said guitar. Their response was "welp thats not an option for band" and that was the end of it. Now I'm 25 and teaching myself
can i be your kids daddy?
The hardware used mostly hasn't gotten better, if anything the mid priced versions use the same lower quality hardware making you assume it's better. The pickups are often the same as well until you get into that overpriced guitar range where "brand name pups" are installed. If it doesn't stay in tune, it's junk. One thing that has improved is they rarely seem to use plywood laminates anymore. But some are now using inferior wood, odd named species', that have no business being an instrument. You would have better tone with a reglued section of a pak barn floor with some Duncans and a Warmoth.
You should have been around, in the late 60s. The selection was next to nothing. I had to scrounge broken guitars, to make one.
Just received my "kit " from Amazon about three days ago. Haven't touched a guitar since I was ten years old. I'm 60 now and starting over.
That's AWESOME! Good luck getting back!
It's possible I only started kinda properly at 54, I'm now 57 and managed to learn my way around a neck at last 😊
I think a lot of us old fellas are picking up the guitar. Free lessons online. Just need someone to kick us in the butt to practice.
@philwood9760 Indeed!
Ripping on $120 is wild. People would love to have this guitar back in the 1950s. The price point for a guitar even of this quality is crazy.
@@austin33785 it's crazy to see how these sub 200.00 guitars can hang easily with say an 80's strat.. that's precision CNC machinery for you though..
It's made from about 60$ worth of material that it cost to build
It's about 60$ that it cost to build...
especially since most $120 guitars have no handwork done to it, this guarantees playability at the very least
No... that is a complete waste of money... this is the worst production strat I've ever heard of...
I bought a Squier Affinity Strat for $200 (new) anout 5 years ago. I was shocked at how comfortable the neck was, the quality of sound, and most of all the tuning stability, which shocked me. Pickup switch went out and I got that fixed and a piece of paint chipped off the bottom inside that no one can see. My whole cost is still under $300 and I have gotten so much enjoyment out of it. Huge fan and I also had very low expectations. The Indonesian factory seems to really have come into its own.
Got an Indonesia Jackson bass it was like 250$ a few months ago and i had the exact same thought
There is no longer a definite connection between price and quality in guitars. Even the Chinese are doing well at making them. I got an excellent SG style from a no name brand. Chinese made, and came set up for low action. The only thing I'd do is change the tuners. You have to tune every few songs. The Squire versions are great for the price. I have 2 tele models. They have that great tele sound. Nice looking finish.
Yes..l am very impressed by the Indonesian Tele l bought for my grandson..great guitar for the money..he's in High School, with a good music department.
Same experience. The tuners aren't great but I went back and got a second one. The first I got for 107. Even the Chinese stuff is very good quality. The feel, the sound, its all there.
If you can find an early 2000s "gold top" or "gold label" from Indonesia, they are $300-350, but they rival any MIM strat I have ever played or seen that is at least twice the price. I own a black/white guard 2001 to this day. It love it so much I don't see the need for a Fender if I'm not gonna seriously gig and make money with it. Learn to decipher the serials, and you can find a goldmine of amazing and cheap guitars.
I ordered the bundle set for $199, comes with a gig bag, frontman 10g amp, clip on tuner, extra pack of strings, 3 picks, cable, extra tremolo spring, and a guitar strap, and a standard stand. what I will say, the strap is very flimsy, I replaced it with a hard locking strap. But everything else is really good for beginners. The guitar is the matt black one you have, and it's really good. And the tuner comes with settings for bass, guitar, violin, ukulele, and any chromatic scale string instrument. I use it with my micro bass as well. The frontman amp does have a bit of a hiss when the strings aren't being touched on the guitar or bass, but it's pretty good for quality sound when the strings are being touched to mute the hissing. The gig bag is padded, and while thin, would hold up to basic travel in a secured spot in a car, but not something I'd use for regular travel with. I'd save up for a proper gig bag, or a hard case if you need to actually travel with the stratocaster.
all and all, the $199 bundle is perfect for people with absolutely nothing and are looking to start learning guitar on a budget. But I do recommend replacing the strap as soon as possible, or just don't ever wear it, the ends are like costume foam with fake plastic leather over the top of it. I did not trust it to actually hold up my guitar, and replaced it with the locking strap I bought instead.
Man, as a kid I played an Epiphone les Paul for 5 years and could NOT figure out why - despite me learning how to play all these songs - I couldn't make the instrument sound good. I was following the tabs, learning the notes, and I still felt uncomfortable or awkward when I performed. I thought i was doing something wrong.
Came across a squire bullet strat (this was like 2014-2015) at a pawn shop for $100 and it changed my LIFE. I expected it to sound and play like shit because of the price point (and I was anti-fender at the time) but whoever had it before me clearly knew what they were doing and it plays better than $1,000 dollar guitars I've picked up at guitar center. In fact, I bought it without even plugging it in first - because it felt so good in my hands. There was magic eminating from it and I knew I had to get it before someone else did. Still have it to this day - it changed my life and I'm a strat boy forever now.
I love the middle pickup on Strats. It's not too bright and not too dull. It's especially fun for blues. I'm pretty happy mith my Yngwie Strat so I'm not about to buy one of these even though I only have a 3-way switch.
I had a squire for years, put a bit of work into it, came into some money so decided to treat myself to a proper Fender strat, took the fender back after a week and bought a Squire, I realised I was a guitar snob.
Wouldn't a snob rather keep the Fender because everyone in the industry tells you that you supposed to?
@@AnthonyChhan He means thathe got over the snob-ness after seeing that the fender didn't offer much more:)
@@AnthonyChhanthat’s the joke.
@@AnthonyChhanthe real snobs care about quality and return on value. Most serious players/builders i know have cheap bodies (epiphone, squier, schecter) but set up, finish them, and change the guts to their preferences. Plus it's easier to find and replace than a $10K Fender, Gibson, PRS, etc.
Always stick with the one that inspires you to play!
I went ahead and ordered one (supposed to be here tomorrow) because it's only $120 and I already have a loaded pickguard with alnico v pickups and a wiring harness with upgraded pots and thick braided wires laying around and a set of locking tuners that are unassigned as of right now, so why not? I kinda have to. I got the 2 tone sunburst one. I'll probably just keep the stock trem because I'm not much of a whammy bar guy anyway, but I'll still leave it floating.
I kinda like that it only has one string tree and the slim headstock. Traditionally, the cheaper ones have two trees and the fat 70s headstock, so it gives it a little bit more classic look. I'll probably swap the tree out for a roller tree. I've heard good things about these, I have to imagine Fender's profit margins are extremely low, but it's a good way to take back some business from the cheap copycats. I mean, who's gonna pay $90 for a Glarry now when they can get a real Strat for $30 more?
This will be Strat #6 in my current lineup. I also have a Fojill mahogany light relic Strat, two Squier Affinity Strats, a DIY kit built Strat and a 2007 MIM Fender Standard Strat, all of which I heavily modded or restored.
You mentioned Firefly, I do love my blue FF338. Beautiful guitar. Though I did get some humbucker size P90s to replace those microphonic pickups with. They sound great on my Les Paul Special, so I figured they'd sound good on a 338 too. Eventually I'll stop procrastinating and get them installed. 🤣
Glarry aren't that bad for 90$ comparable to the squire affinity series stratocaster. Had both guitars and squire affinity series stratocaster are nothing special. They aren't bad but don't think it's anything absolutely amazing or anything.
I always use the Graph Tech string trees. Strings just seem to stay in tune much longer.
Question! What did the routing under the pickguard look like, could I get a dual humbucker preloaded pickguard and it go right on? Or is it only routed for single coils
@@Koty244 sure you could it depends on if the routed out compartment for the pickups are big enough part under the pick guard is big enough to fit a humbucker sometimes it is sometimes it's not, if not it's not that hard to rout it out and make it a little bigger all you need is a drimile don't take that long to do...
I bought one, modded it up and it is so good! I like it better than my MIM.
What did you change? Pickups, pots, and tuners?
@@drewwesley9506 yup, and put on the black aluminum pickguard. It looks great.
if you are doing a gig, & the audience are enjoying the music...they don't care who made your instrument or the price you paid for it.
4:16 strats should come with a super switch that gives you neck and bridge in parallel for the middle position change my mind
or push pull neck on. I let it install on my strat voila
other idea: Strats should wire positions 2 & 4 in series so you can combine the single coils into humbuckers in those positions.
They actually already have this. The fender deluxe players series has a push button when the 5 way is in the neck position you push the button and it gives you the neck and bridge together. Kinda gives it a tele type tone to it. Look up the fender deluxe players series, you’ll see they have a small push button between the 2 tone knobs. It’s actually pretty cool
@@timpagliaro8623 I have an 2008 deluxe I removed the pickguard completely and installed a tortoise one with SD everything axe set. For some reason the original doent sound like a proper standart or mexican strat to me and I turned it to rocking machine but installed that push pull trick 👍🏼
That how I have my 1989 wired
The neck angle (sideways) doesn‘t look overly exciting at 0:34. I hope it plays better than it looks.
TOUGH FACTS: This will piss off some people - but poplar is lighter and sounds warmer, like mahogany. Buy one of these and swap the electonics, wiring and tuners... and you have a better sounding Strat than even some of the Mexi's. Throw in a good HSS prewired kit, and it's suddenly a REALLY broad axe, for studio leads OR rhythms.
A lot of people forget that wire quality and pots make good pickups sound and perform better. Especially when dealing with digital amps that need the sensitivity of a better input, (as opposed to live tube amps where you can kind of just crank up and push through).
OPINION: More guitars should be made out of poplar.
Squiers are made in Asia by OAM factories where they use the metric system and Fenders are made using imperial units. The size and placement of the tuning machine, pickguard, and bridge holes are slightly different so it isn’t quiet as plug and play as MIM and MIA fenders.
The pickups and pots and switch can be replaced with MIA, but buying a loaded pickguard requires you to fill in the existing holes and make new holes because the pickguards are not interchangeable.
I prefer balsa wood
Poplar is lighter and sounds warmer than what exactly? And any strat man knows that ash and pine are the preferred body woods and that poplar is a cheaper alternative...
@Thundergun5 preferred to what, exactly? Any "Strat man" is a sexist comment based in the opinion of a closed mind. "Preferred" assumes you can't have an alternate opinion from the Church of You, as if no one likes their mahogany strat. Again, close-minded... and painfully arrogant. Especially since POPLAR IS LIGHTER AND SOUNDS WARMER.
@@manofthepeople2165 Just move the pups, pots and switch over to the original pickguard.
If you try 0000.0 Steel-Wool on the back of the neck, it smooths any anomalies and use baby powder to coat and seal. My 80's Metal- shredder has a beautiful smooth sheen and proper used look even after40-yrs...👌👍
Having had Gibsons and Fender USA models my first project guitar was with a Squier body and fender neck MIM i got for $40 for the pair. It had a Wilkinson fixed bridge, a bunch of cheap parts but used a Duncan SH-14 it played and the sound was amazing. I gave it to a kid starting to get into guitar and was pretty happy with it.
I bought the red matt flat debut it's really awesome the action was nice and low , frets were fine it rocks I've gigged with it I put 10's on mine, yeah the tuners might get changed out
I got mine in sunburst, I like the flat look as it reminds me of the early strats with the nitro finish.Played pretty well out of the box, no fret sprouts. Only changed the strings to Ernie Ball slinky 9s.Not comprable to my Fender 2012 American Standard Strat but at this price it would be good for a beginner or hobby player.
My MIM fender strat has Xtra slinky's for better bending.
I own one. I bought it to be my lunch time beater, or "Sacrificial lamb" guitar. My 2 cents. Totally worth the cost. Maybe replace the nut if you got tuning issues, but mine was bought for a specific purpose, and it is doing what it was bought for fantastically.
absolutely agree
I have several Squier Bullet Teles and Sonic Bass all made in Indonesia. I am a bedroom player and I think these products really meet my needs. The tuning stability seems fine. I has some sharp frets and Fender service center took care of it under warranty. I think their customer service is quite good. Do most home players really need a pickup upgrade? 😂
I often use the middle pickup all the time on Squires. Neck pup is a little too bright.
.. bright sounding guitars (cheaper ones) can suddenly be bad frets and a bad cut nut!.. Fixing those two, can make huge difference!.
Some of us remove the tone controls completely, it’s like putting a muffler on a dragster, it just don’t belong
Amazing it played so well without extra set up! An amazing buy
Wish I had something like this back when I first started playing. I mean I basically changed everything on my first guitar - pickups, bridge, knobs, nut, you name it. That too is kind of awesome as so many people did it like that, but the price on this thing is just insane.
Mine is black and white also but the matte black is so much better looking I wish I had gotten it but they didn't have one. Beautiful guitar
The Fender Trem system was never mean't nor designed to go both ways, that's why Floyd Rose came out! oh and Clapton uses the middle pickup pretty much most of the time if you don't you're missing out.
Its not exclusive to amazon, guitar center handles it as well. I just picked up a black on white on black kit.
Great video! I do not use lemon oil on rosewood or laurel. Too acidic. MusicNomad's Fretboard F-ONE oil is the best fretboard oil I've ever used!
Laurel wood always darkens up after you feed it some lemon oil but you have to keep up on it as they dry out fast too.
I like the guitar but those pickups would be headed to the dumpster. Squier OEM Tuners have always been awful.
It can be a decent ride for sure!
No lemon oil, too acidic. MusicNomad Fretboard F-One Oil is the best for rosewood or laurel. Plus, I will really darken the wood.
I think if I was just starting the Squire classic vibe would be a better choice.
I agree but they're more than double the price
@SteveSterlacci Yes but you will get a way better guitar. And you won't break your budget.
@TheBbtlegit I agree the ones I've played are probably better
Based on what? Have you tried the Amazon strat?
@thomasmalz4111 I think classic vibe feels a bit more substantial. My buddy has one and I like it a lot. But I would be happy with either!
I have one. Plays as well as my more expensive strats.
Thanks for this review. I'll confess I'm looking sideways at this axe. To me, an amateur tech, it screams "upgrade platform" to me. I already see much I would and could do with this axe without shooting off too much money. I would love to check those pickups with a multimeter and see how they measure out; I might keep a couple. I already know what I would replace the nut, bridge and tuners with. None of those are likely to be that much trouble, although the bridge is often an unexpected adventure. I would round things out with roller string trees and roller bridge saddles; I have those on several guitars right now. I would also love to check out that neck to see if it needs any work. Deal saver: I looked and found that this guitar has a headstock accessible truss rod adjustment. Had this thing had that vintage spec "buried" adjustment where you have to remove the neck to reach it, game over. I straight refuse to buy those, but that's no issue here. I've already got something in the pipeline, but should that have problems, this might prove a worthy backup plan.
The Technology has come a Long Way. I bought one nearly 30 years ago, and it's nothing like that one.
Designed and backed by Fender. That says all you need to know about the quality of the individual parts. But, at the price point, live with it or do some inexpensive upgrades to the egregious components. (Tuners) It is an inexpensive offshore guitar. It isn't a ripoff or clone like the lawsuit era guitars. (of which, some were really good.)
If you want to darken up that neck and fretboard and headstock, stick it under some good UV light for about 72 hours. It'll take on that 15-year-old darker wood hue in no time at all.
I used to have several guitars, gresch, guild and fender. I like them all, but I love Fender.
The next cheapest way to get a finished matte black strat body looks like Stewmac for $180. Seems like an easy win for a built guitar, even if you ripped out and replaced ~90% of it
Its called body-blocking, the obscene tremolo set up. It's not a "feature", it's a precaution. Body blocking is the quick way to set up a guitar with this style tremelo. It's done to better hide the hardwares inability to stay in tune (poor tuning key, flawed saddles, poor nut-crafting)... this is a poor way to get used to a stratocaster... burn that obscenity...
I prefer this set up in case a string breaks, the guitar doesn't go out of tune.
This sounds really good ...I just ordered it in black.....For $120 it sounds REALLY good ....When I was a teen you could not get anything for 120......
how much was shipping + tax
Sounds really good!! Crazy that they can make that for 120$
They can't but the children in China sure can
The children in China can
Also love the matte black. Thanks for the review.
In the UK we are charged £129.99 which is the the equivalent of $167.93 inc VAT, and you cant get a maple fretboard version!
You can get a much better specced Strat copy from say Harley Benton or Jet for that money!
I assume that the strings that came with the Amazon Strat are low end - economical - strings .
What gauge are they ?
Flat wound , round wound ?
Thx much for the AmaStrat lookover .
They're regular electric strings, feel like 9s. Wound EAD, unwound GBe
@SteveSterlacci Most helpful- thx for responding .
You're a pal .
@@jackbaumun1605 any time. Thanks for checking it out and commenting
I have a very old squire strat that I want to renovate. That flat paint on the body looks good. I may go with that. Thats something I don't see too often.
Lenny always sounds good on strat setting!
hipshot bridge and tuners
I've had a squire bullet since 84. wouldn't trade it for money.
Bought the matt Red one.. really dig this I've used it on stage!!
It's a sweet axe!
I've got a couple and they're great, but....I can't handle the volume knob.
Use to have one of these in high school. It was pretty decent.
If you know ways around a guitar in general, you can make a $100 guitar feel and sound great.
😎 👍 🔥
I just got my ‘76 Strat back from my tech and it’s awesome.
Mine's coming on Tuesday. I'm going to practice being a luthier on it.
That's awesome !
I cant even begin to imagine how you can make and sell a guitar at $120
you pay next to nothing to the people that actually build it
@@tucabond= SCUMBAGS RUNNING THE BIZ 😈😈😈
The cheapest new guitar I ever bought was back in 2010 or so, a Rooster strat in my local supermarket for the equivalent of cca. $60. Lovely guitar, excellent build quality, of course cheapest materials, electronics and tuners, but everything works properly and even keeps tune decently. Just over a third of the price of the next cheapest, which is a Squier Debut Telecaster at cca. 150 Euro, should arrive next week.
@@tucabond good grief, a pack of strings is five bucks. Pick ups, tuners, a guitar neck, a body. I don’t even know how you can get the parts for that much.
Can you say, CHINA?
I like the "Camaelized" look of the Head with dark finger- board, very cool.
Back in 77 Mum bought my first guitar and amp, same money as that guitar now + the the amp doubled it on finance
oh I still feel it was a start of a journey that has not paid off!!!..........40 + guitars later
Awesome story!
Well for someone getting into a electric guitar it would be a great choice. I don't understand why so many downgrades these guitars for a entry level it's a great choice that's why I don't watch most of these reviews for the negative reviews. For some advance I can understand but someone like myself that's just getting into a electric guitar to me would be a great choice but that's my opinion
My question is if you were going to buy a cheap guitar for begginers what is a good decent one less than 200 bucks
Interesting. If you're going to make $120 guitar, a Telecaster would probably be a better choice. But everyone that doesn't know a thing about guitars knows what a Stratocaster is, so I guess it makes sense.
That makes no sense! Lol but hey your an Tele officiato ! ( I like my teles too but I don't subscribe to a " better " than ) Cool though
@@jaymelynnmcintyre8574 better meaning cheaper and easier to produce. Because it's much simpler. Less pickups, no trem, less curves...
Maybe they just simply like a Strat and not a Tele.
There is a telecaster version!
Telecasters are the bomb.❤❤
I believe SRV used the middle pup, just saying....
Has a sweet 2 and 4 position!
Harley Benton Is a Very good Choice as well!!
first time ive seen this in local store i liked the matte black color
Yeah fire fly is cool but I've had some issues with that as well
That's the price point
I'm a Tele guy, but it seems alright for little of nothing on cost
It’s probably just me, but there’s always a loss in articulation with lower quality, lower priced guitars of the (especially Stratocaster style) Fender variety. There’s a weird absence of mid bump that I definitely hear with better guitars. I spent my early years playing a moded mij strat that had SM live wires, so I’m aware that my ears were altered by 9v batteries, but many years and guitars later and my ears have become sharper and more accurate than ever. It does sound pretty good dirty, but the clean is where I’m missing that bump.
Neck is on crooked Bottom E string almost runs off Neck past 12th fret
My first guitar was a complete horrorshow compared to this one. But nowaways you can buy truly decent guitars for $400-$500. To me you're not really saving money if you have to start swapping tuners, pickups, etc. BTW I am enjoying the Silent Stage series--I just got an HX Stomp and am still learning the ins and outs.
You guitar has zero static. Is it the cable that reduces static. Why does mine have static when recording. I use a irig.
I ordered one of their Debut basses last week. It should be here in a few days.
I am a recovering addict, i sold almost all my instruments,MIM ,my bass ,midi keys etc .But now i finally have the courage to face the world without drugs.But i am broke af.I was a well respected guitarist in our town but now im a nobody.I could barely afford guitars at this price range and i need to buy onee to start teaching guitar online again.How would you rate this guitar compared to bullet and other entry level guitars like cort g100
I recommend Harley Benton guitars, I have a couple and I love them, a vintage style Tele and an SG, both have been excellent guitars for a low price
This 'Debut' series is not available in Canada. Even from the US version of amazon. Is that for all countries?
ceramic bar single coil pickups are good for starters who just want to run through pedals to get overdriven heavy distortion just to make noise I guess. Never cared for them at all otherwise
Why does your neck look like it’s stained? It probably lighting but am hoping it’s darker vs pale white.
Definitely not pale white at all. It's laurel. I show plenty of it in the video
@@SteveSterlacci thanks, I meant the actual neck and headstock not the fretboard.
Absolutely, rip out the wiring, change the tuners, replace the bridge, change out the neck and upgrade the body. Then you'll have a great guitar.
what happened to the affinity line? what makes a strat sound like a strat?
locking tuners would help so much
Also. Nice(er) Laurel fingerboard. Really a good bargain guitar.
I like it!
Great review of a good, cheap guitar! Thanks for doing the production work and posting this to RUclips!
Without being an expert, I think the sound is pretty impressive. Can easily imagine the tuners being one of the first places they would start in order to keep the price low. Great review Steve! 🎸😊
If it’s properly intonated, then it came better set up than my MIM Fender Player which costs 6x more.
0:44 "everybody shit on a strat."
I can't unhear this now 😂
I'm glad to be heard 🤣🤣🤣
Sounds flat and muted . I have a 65 Strat with a neck. A neck is 1 1/2 inches wide at the nut. They were special order only . Not too many around
Let's remember , in the 90s until recently MEX Strats were using ceramic pickups before people cry about that 👍
Yeah I. Have a 2014 standard strat and it has ceramics and sounds great tbh
Lefty available?
It's basically an Affinity, right?
I'm guessing it's better than my old 1980's Fender Bullet.
Is the body thin like the bullets and sonics?
Normal size as far as I can tell
cries in lefthand
how would you compare it against a Harley Benton in the same price range?
My HB ST-62 seems to stay in tune much better, and the sound seems less brittle.
Cool!
Sounds pretty decent, though I think alnicos would improve it. How's the playability? Does one need to be a skilled luthier or setup wizard to get it playable?
I did nothing to it prior to the video on purpose. Playability and intonation are VERY good relative to price. I'd say it "needs" nothing
Great UNBIASED REVIEW THANK YOU
its not glossy is the only thing i hate about it. hopefully there is a way to polish it.
you can take car wax and polish it to the shine that you want
Nice! £129 in the UK which doesn't make sense unless it's down to freight?
20% VAT
Looks quite a bit better than the Strat clone I had when I was in high school
it sounds great
So I was wondering if you would possibly be able to compare this guitar to the sonic series. I think both are good for the money. Cheers 🤘💀🤘
Guitar center sales them for about 150 bucks.
Its a little thinner sounding than my 72 USA...But they are great.Not a stage guitar though...Almost.