Abilene ALS 100-T

As has been noted by others, this guitar is a cheap strat copy and has cheap strat features. One volume knob, two tone knobs, 5-way selector, screw-in whammy bar.

It produces a guitar noise. I used to run this through my old 15 watt Samick practice amp with the overdrive button pressed in and the gain all the way up, and I felt like such a rockstar doing it.

Pickup selector scratchy as anything, tone knobs function poorly, bridge exceedingly nasty, massive tuning problems etc etc. This was, however, my first guitar, and if you have one it is probably your first guitar as well. These things don't matter at that stage.

This review is thinly disguised nostalgia for a guitar that I used to play incessantly but which now sits under my bed in a shitty nylon case that doubles as a cockroach shelter. I have fortunately moved up several steps in the gear foodchain, but it holds a special place in my heart all the same. If you are currently playing one, you either know or will eventually know that this guitar is unmitigated crap, but be greatful you have it and keep practicing practicing practicing.

I'm not sure of the year probably 2000, I purchased it off a friend for $150 as new with a Samick 10 Watt practice amp which I sold for $100, so the guitar cost me $50. It is a black and white Strat Copy. It came with a black case, which is lined and has a little trinket box in it for your tuner and winders etc. The case is great but a bit flimsy when open but solid when closed and good protection to take the axe to a concert, but heh what do you expect for $100! It has a suitable black adjustable strap, a whammy bar, and a cheap thin rubbishy lead which I threw straight in the bin. The tuning heads are fairly good quality and keep the axe perfectly in tune all the time. The only criticism is the cheap plastic moulded tuning heads which are only a visual thing and can be changed later. The knobs are cheap and nasty fender copies as well as are the potentiometers and the six way switch. The switch is rubbish and not smooth acting. Same with the pots, bad and gritty and unsmooth. I like a smooth knob action. The bridge is string thru body and is an excellent Fender copy and is not a problem. It has a tremolo al la Fender style and it works well and the axe only needs slight tuning after. A maple neck and a rosewood fretboard insert. 21 Frets, nice thin neck and quite a nice finish especially on the neck and frets, fretboard. The body does not have the finer manufacture and finshed of a Fender but hey we are looking for sound not pose!!! One complaint the pick-ups whic are three single coil jobs move all over the place, rock from left to right and need refitting or re-fixing.

The unit plays like a Strat but it misses the rich smooth sound of a Strat, mind you it's not bad straight out of the box. The bass notes are just not smooth and deep enough and the high noted strings D,G,B,E, have that slight tinny whiny ring that they shouldn't. The pick-ups are great so they do not need to be replaced, I consulted my personal Luthier Alan Peachey who is a licensed Electrical Fitter and we decided the electrics were crap and the cause of the bad sound and had to go. Yes the crappy pot and switch and wiring had to go so I decided to modify this little sucker as I felt it worth the effort as I like the action and the frets etc. I purchased some new High Quality Fender Strat parts from De Mazio of USA. Three new Potentiometers, ($12.95 ea Aus.) a new six way Fender switch, ($28.95 Aus) three new solid Brass screw fitted knobs ($3.95 ea Aus), one silver coated one for the top Volume and the two black ones for Tone. I also got a new Di Mazio Jack input ($8.95). I then got a Fender wiring diagram off the Di Mazio web page and I took off the plastic scratch plate. I had to re drill the three holes for the pots as the Indo crappy ones were a smaller diameter. I replaced the 6 way switch being careful to follow the diagram exactly. The only difference is the Fender diagram shows a capacitor on the volume control. The wiring of the Abilene does not have this so leave it out. Alan discovered that yes one tone control (middle knob) is completely unwired and does not work as is the same for two points of the 6 way switch. It is just left unwired for costs sake and when you re-wire it up properly you gain 2 more combinations of pick-up, just like a Fender! The Di-Mazio Jack in-put is slighly longer than the origianl crappy Abilene one so you must do some cosmetic stuff with a chisel to fit it in properly but it is only a 10 minute job and no problem. After re-fitting the scratch plate, attach the knobs making sure there is clearance between them and the scratch-plate, I also got a new gold coated cover for the Jack ($3.95) and put in solid brass screws around the scratch plate. Then the Cou Det Ta for those that love style and a trick looking guitar. Turn all your knobs to off and grab a small triangle file and file a small traingular notch on the top edge of the knob where you want the volume or tone marker to be, this looks absolutley trick, just a small fine triangle of brass showing through enough for you to see in a darkewned room is the trick. Now the original pots, 6 way switch, Jack and wiring in this guitar are crap. Once plugged into an Amp with the new gear this puppy sounds as sweet as a Melon and I beg anyone to tell the difference from a real Fender Sound!!! Through a 50 Watt Marshall amp and my 10 Watt Samick, sweet as a nut and background sound now gone and quiet as a mouse with 2 extra sounds and Fender Grunt!!!!

The Unit had fret buzz when playing a G Major at the neck, this is with Medium strings, the intonation was also out by half a tone on the A D and E strings, this was adjusted. Light Strings did not fix the Fret Buzz but a slight adjustment of the truss Rod did.

I would use it just like a Fender now with the mods we did to it. It is a solid and versatile unit and I don't care if I knockl it. It only cost me $90 all up. I put these mods on so other Artist can get themselves a cheap good guitar with a few simple mods and some intelligence.

Never would contact them and them me. Wary of Indonesian since Bali. Do it all myself. Don't need or expect any service as is the Norm.

I have been playing for 15 years mainly on a T-60 Maple wood Peavey which I rate 10 and A fender 57 re-issue Sunburst Strat, 10 again. A Gibson Tele and a Squire Strat. I have used Marshall and Fender Amps as well as lesser amps like Jade and Gorilla and Samick. I play rock and blues and middle of the road. I have an Abilene Electric Acoustic for which I paid $25 to an alcoholic mate of mine. It was new then and would have cost about $350. I now have a 50 Watt Marshall Amp and just the trusty old Abilene and I would do this all again if I didn't have the money and was still poor. Now I'm a trillionaire musician, Strat is the way to go, second hand from an era when a guitar was a guitar and Quality Control and customer service existed. I did play the Abilene through a Jade 125 Watt combo, this amp is crap and you should stick to Marshall and Fender.

It's a cheap rip off of a Fender strat but doesn't have that sh**ty round head on it people say it looks crap but I think it looks OK

I've been playing for 7 months and I play heavy metal, rock, that's about it. It sounds OK for my first guitar. I use some kinda distortion on my drive amp (19 watts).

My neck is a bit out of line but still is OK. it has a very noisy pickup selector and on a couple of settings it buzzes or something.
It's black with a white scratch plate.

It works good enough for me but I don't play gigs.

I am still going to keep this guitar even when I buy a new one.

22 Frets, 3 single coils. Stratstyle body, Black Finish with white pickgaurd, volume, 2 tones 5 way switch. Stock Pickups
This is just the Fender Setup.

I want to buy a CHEAP lp style guitar to do stuff like silencer, gain pot, Switching Phased etc

i gave this a 9 considering it is only a Cheaper guitar. THIS IS NOT A GIBSON OR FENDER compared to them its probably a 6 or 7
I play Blues, Jazz, Classic Rock, Hard rock, Hendrix, Heavy metal, Deatch Metal, Hip Hop, Rap, Weird sounds the entire fucking lot
My Setup

Abilene Guitar-> Boss DS-1-> Roland Wah-> Denio Distortion ->

Monach CX-40 Amp
I need to get a pedal which distorts more like a metal zone, Jackhammer or Big Muff but with the Ds1 Cranked it gives a Great Classic Sound. Also with a bit of fucking around with the amp i can get some sounds Grinspoon, Metallica, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park Korn. As you may guess you need Humbuckers to really play korn and heaveir stuff but this isn't bad with a heavier Pedal
Also You can get a Quite good Mellow 'Strat' sound like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Vai, Jazz or Blues.
You can also get that Country Twang
At first i thought that this Guitar was Crud but a person was trying to balance this thing on his fingers and dropped it over my amp and when i plugged it back in again It was Great.
If you can Tweak You can get a really expensive 'Gibson' or 'Strat' Tone
But without tweaking its pretty average
i would like to put some Seymours in it Like a humbucker or sumpin?
Plus it gives really good ear piercing Harmonics on Gain cranked levels

It has a nice low action.
If you have light strings this thing plays fast.
Has good Harmonics

I have played 2 gigs with it and it hasn't stuffed up. The input on it Short cicuited once but i fixed that up and havent had any more trouble. That was my own fault anyway

i have been Playing for 1 1/2 years
i have seen these for $180 aus second hand. I wouldn't buy another for $500 simply because i would buy a secound hand $800-$1000 to get a real Ass wopper.
Its good. Well worth it for $180 sh
i think i submitted a review on this before but that would have been shit.
To many people Rate the Cheap guitars to high like a 9 and compared to PRS, Rickenbacker, Gibson or Fender they get 4
but this thing deservs a 7 even compared to the top brands

i got it second hand. i just have the guitar.
i think it is from around 1995.
just a basic style

i play grunge/metal/punk/hardcore.
i have a marshall G50R-CD and it sounds ok.
its not a real bright sound
pretty quiet guitar

i have been playing for 3 years and this is my 3rd guitar
its ok for jumping round and stuff
its not the best, but its pretty good for 80 bucks

f***ed if i know when it was made
i got it for my birthday bought secound hand
i thought it was solid body but when i reefed the neck off then it was f***en ply
21 frets, 3 pickups,
just a strat copy with a different looking head(really shit may i ad)

well i play blues, rock, metal, hard rock and some jazz
it sounds good for all of 'em
you can get a good sound
i thought it was crap but then i played it on a fender amp and it was ggooooodddd!

?????

its alright but i have to fuck around with stuff eveyry now and again

never had a manual or anything

good allround
bit of a country sound though

cool
but head looks crap

bought it secound hand

good

Ok this is a 1996 Korean (i think) made guitar with 21 fret solid body eletric. It has 1 volume 2 tone 5-way selector pickeps s/s/s A maple neck with a nice clean action it has a string through body bridge. It is a strat body thin neck(kinda) It is black with a white pick gaurd u know kinda plain

ok i play metal like metallica etc the truth is this guitar has problems with heavy metal but it plays punk great. For punk the sounds are really full on but for metal is lacks the Grunt.I like the 5 way seletor but i hate the 2 tone

I had to reset it myself the factory did a piss poor job of it pickups were all over the place like the back one was almost touchig the strings.But once set up it is a grungy little guitar

I give this guitar about another 4 years for playin with replacing any major parts.the finish has stood up better then a fender i has I have had like 8 guitars (this one was my first) and all the time like half way through a gig something would stuff up on my other guitats but i could always get this little baby out to save the day. I have played gigs on it alone witout even the slightest hitch

hehe no warrenty i think a 30 day return though

I have been playin seriously since 1996 and this little bitch of a thing has always been there. I personally pick it over a Fender Squire for realiablity and action.If it was stolen i would prob get another to hope i got one just like it I love the way the little cheapo seems indestructable i actually hit sme one with it once and its still goin, A word of advice for ppl learning and want to really leanr not just play to look kool get this little guitar it is worth its weight in gold.