Austin AU931

This is just an update to the earlier review. I just checked online and the Vintage V6 that I used as a comparison has come down in price... I last checked it mid '07 and now they are around $200 pounds. Also I noticed that the output jack is in the regular Strat position. The wood is Poplar with maple neck and rosewood fretboard all the other hardware and pickups seem the same.

Even with the price being lower than I remember the Austin is still a good deal and if you are on a budget and want a well made and great sounding guitar...if you can find one...this is it!!

I bought this guitar in '06 from a mail order company. It has a natural alder body, maple neck and fretboard. Comes with 21 med jumbo frets, 5 way switch...but here is where ordinary ends...the pickups are Wilkinson Vintage staggered pickups, the bridge is Wilkinson Vintage style and the tuners are Wilkinson EZ-Lok tuners...no cheap stuff here. The finish is transparent so the Alder grain shows through and its beautiful...I paid $150 for the guitar and it sounds and looks super.

I work at playing mostly Blues and some Rock and the pickup can dish out the sound with ease...I play mostly clean and have a Crate GTD15R and a Digitech RP80 and Korg ToneWorks AX5G processors that I use once in a while.

The action and setup was right on...but I did buy it from a dealer and he did all the setup and stuff before shipping...so right out of the box it was on the money...he had even re-strung it with new D'Addario strings.

The feel and build of this guitar leads me to believe that it will take lots of use...not abuse...and continue to work great. I think its always smart to gig with at least 2 guitars...as anything can happen even if you are using an American made Strat, Gibson, etc. The hardware is solid and should perform for a very long time.

I dont know about CS but if you have a good tech or work on guitars yourself then that shouldn't be a problem.

I've had guitars around for 30+ years and one of these days I might actually learn to play well...for right now I just enjoy learning. I own and have owned pretty much all of the name brands (US and Overseas)models and this inexpensive $150 guitar fits right in with all of them on looks and sound...I've seen recently a guitar being offered by a UK store...the Vintage V6 I believe...except for the placement of the output jack plug its the same as my Austin AU931...they only offer 2 colors...but the pickups and hardware all Wilkinson...the price $650, I don't remember if that is in pounds or dollars...either way $150 is a way better price...sadly I don't know if this model Austin is still available...I've had trouble finding one, but if I could and my current Austin turned up MIA I would for sure get another!!