Austin Strat Copy

Just another Strat style knockoff guitar made in China. Standard Strat style features, three single coils, tremolo bridge, 21 frets, sealed tuners, 6 inline headstock. Most you see have rosewood fingerboards, and truss rod adjustment at the headstock. Full thickness body, unlike the newer Fender Squier guitars that have a thinner body. Good paint and overall fit and finish. I give it a '5' just because it's about what you'd expect an average guitar to have for features and finish, regardless of who's name is on the headstock.

I play classic rock and blues mostly. I bought this guitar because I had a Warmoth maple neck and a loaded pickguard.. just needed a strat body, bridge, input jack, and strap buttons to put it together. After seeing the crazy high prices strat style bodies sell for on eBay, I bagged this one new at a local music shop for a buck and a quarter.

For a cheap made in China guitar, I have to say I was pretty impressed with the overall sound and playability. Went right from the music store to a practice/jam session.. no setup, no nothing.. just took it off the rack, tossed it in the back seat of the car, went to the session and plugged in.

Stock pickups sound pretty good. Stayed in tune. Wouldn't have been afraid to gig with it the way it came out of the box.

Factory setup was terrible. Sky high action, intonation was off.. I suspect they rely on the dealer to do the actual set up and dialing in of the instrument.. and in my case, my local dealer wouldn't know what intonation was if it snuck up and bit 'em in the @ss.

Paintjob was nice, tho.. frets were nicely filed. I've picked up some cheap guitars in the past and the frets were so jagged, it was like running your palm across a saw blade.

Stock neck had some uneven frets below the 12 fret.. but these would all be issues that a standard check out and set up would have addressed.

The stock tuners seem a little chincy.. they kept the guiar in tune just fine.. just seemed a little small and cheap. Strap buttons are solid. Finish looks deep and deluxe, but it isn't. Smacked the back of the guitar with a pair of pliers and made a nice chip. That's cool with me, tho. I like the well worn 'beat up' guitar look. I'd expect the finish to wear off with lots of playing and regular use.

But i'm all about function before fashion, and a stock Austin guitar is very functional.

I bought this guitar to tear apart, so i'm sure that will void any warranty.. besides, I don't speak Chinese, so I doubt i'll be contacting customer support any time soon.

I've been playing for years. I bought the guitar basically for the body.. replaced the neck with a Warmoth maple neck, w/ Sperzel locking tuners, and the pickups with a loaded pickguard with CTS pots and custom wound pickups.. but before I pulled it apart, it really wasn't a bad sounding guitar, even with the crappy factory setup.

Way nicer than any Squier i've played costing twice as much, and about on par with your typical Mexico made Fender, costing three times as much.. or more.

That's why i'll give this guitar a solid '9' overall rating.

Solid Alder/Ash? body, 3 single coil pickups, tremelo bridge, etc as explained below. Very attractive guitar.

Sounds really good. Sounds just like any other strat copy or otherwise.

I bought the guitar on a whim at a pawn shop with no strings for $50. Looked brand new with no scratches or anything. "50 bucks? Oh what the hell.." Took it to my office and found that someone had removed the bridge springs, so I had to block the bridge with a piece of wood and then string it...no big deal since I don't use vibrato anyway. Guitar plays very very well and has great action. If it had fender on the headstock, you'd never know the difference.

Very solid and well-built from what I can tell. I keep this in my office and play it when the mood strikes. I would use it as a backup onstage as it STAYS IN TUNE much better than my $2k Gibson SG.

I've been playing since 1991 and currently play in a couple rock-ish/blues bands. I mainly play a Rickenbacker 610 but have a few other guitars(Gibson SG, an Ibanzez Roadtstar Strat and a Flying V to name a few) that I use for recording and dinking around on etc.
I'm a slave to the Rickenbacker ;)

I hate buying Chinese imports as much as the next guy, but at least it was used and it's a fantastic guitar for the price!! I would encourage any player at any skill level to disregard the headstock name and try one out if they're looking for a nice-playing and nice sounding guitar.

Like emntioned below, You can't build a guitar this nice at home for anywhere near the retail price of this guitar.

I've reviewed this Austin AU731 Strat Style Guitar back when, 01/02. I got it for Christmas a month previous, but after reading Ross Reed's review, wanted to add to it. He's right, and guitar snobs should take heed. Same CNC Machines are used. It's Cheap Labor, nothing more. The quality I've seen on Fenders (the "American" made guitars, not MIM models) are spotty at times, not every guitar, but say, one in 5. Seriously. I RESPECT, and certainly, appreciate the Fender Corporation for what it's contributed to the Electric Guitar World/Market. The Fender Stratocaster/Strat is an American Treasure, as important as Coca Cola, Mcdonald's, etc. But there IS an alternative to instruments that may be priced out of reach for some.

Mine has a 21 fretboard, maple neck, rosewood fretboard. "Chinese Elm" solid body wood used. The Chinese Elm is similiar to alder, or ash wood. Not Plywood. This wood makes for a nice, warm tone overall, something I've noticed. The guitar came with imitation Grover style tuning pegs, sealed pegs. Decent overall. Holds tune well, if the strings are stretched properly. Nice feel to the neck. Good tremelo bridge; I don't use the tremelo. I used all 5 springs in the back, to have a "blocked" effect. I don't use the Trem b/c it'd put it out of tune. Anyway, a tobacco s/b finish. Came with a white pickguard, 3 great sounding single coils, 5 way switch, typical strat features, etc. But what I did was order from MusicYo.com a pickguard pack. Pearloid p/g with: bridge hum, 2 singles, coil tap feature, 5 way switch. It makes this guitar SCREAM!!!!!! Not kidding. Makes great tones/sounds. Great guitar overall to play. Ppl see the "Austin" name on the headstock, and think either it's a custom guitar, or made in Texas. Ok by me, let 'em think whatever. They always compliment on the sound of the guitar, and that's what is important (I play it out live often). Have had it professionally set up with action, intonation, etc..and it's fine. I recommend the Austin Line of Guitars, as I've played others in stores. Acoustics, Basses, Electrics, etc. They are a fine choice. Sanatogas as well. Mine was modified for my own tastes. But a Stock Austin Strat Copy, or any Austin guitar, are fine, IMO, and my experience. Recommended for any beginner, intermidiate, or even a pro looking for a backup instrument.

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It's as good as you can get for the price. Strat body..fast neck VERY comfortable to play.21 frets medium jumbo. through the body string setup with strat bridge. pickups good. 3 single coils. You get five Very distinctive sounds. I don't know if its alder or not...never cared. I will buy several more to try various pickup setups. I quit building guitars because its a waste of my time when i pay 700.00 for the crap to put a good one together. i got tired of being ripped off by parts dealers. Buy this guitar or ANY SANATOGA guitar and go play.

First I would like to say as a toolmaker I like buying American. But...any more you sometimes don't have much choice when you have a small budget.
I play clean blues only. With this guitar plugged into a Johnson Tremolo then into a old DOD DFX9 Delay, then into a Fender blues junior, you will get beautiful sounds out of it. I build guitars and this is a good one. I would like to give you new players some advice so maybe you can go play with a great sound and do it cheap. To start GET A SMALL AMP...a 15-20 watt CRate- PEAVEY- FENDER. Get a Fender Blues JUNIOR...Guitar AUSTIN or SANATOGA. I would compare this guitar against any big buck strat with these two brands, with a little upgrade to GHS pickups. It has 5 way switching and its quiet.

Strat copy...natural finish. This thing has perfect fit and finish in every area. It has the best neck shape of any thing I have built or played. It is a PLEASURE to pick it up and play. If you are not investing to make a buck later....Buy this and SAVE money to buy your amp and pedal. I am sick of idiots debating woods. and Clear poly finsh over Nitro. Your BIG name humbucker over the other guys single coil. DON"T go buy the big name logo on their headstock. I am a toolmaker and can tell you the overseas guy cuts on the same CNC machine that we do here. Who gives a rats ass whether he sprayed or wiped the finish on. You can buy American junk just as well as overseas junk. I have picked up BIG NAME-BIG BUCK guitars with sanding marks still on the top.

It will last longer than me.

never needed it.

I have been playing 41 years.... not in a band just for me. i have had around 8 Fender amps...super reverbs bassman yada yada on and on.
Had Peaveys, a small Marshall, and so many others I can't even remember. Guitars...Peavey..Fender...(Sanantoga.. better than all of them put together for the price-125.00 off ebay new. I paid $78.00 for the Austin.. off ebay NEW. Stuck in the texas premiums GHS for another $68.00.

2003 austin strat copy. 22 frets. typical strat copy nothing special. it was my first guitar so i bought a players pack with gig bag amp cables picks the usual. suprisngly the amp had awesome sound i wish austin made cabs cause that amp was aweosme.if you actually hold your guitar like a guitar player and not like a 5 year old the wide neck hurts your hand after a while but you get used to it.

i love punk but i play all sorts of music to keep me at the top of my game as a guitar palyer great for every type of music ive ever played. ive used an austin amp (which i love) and my peavey studio. ive used a big muff and a boss flanger they both sounded fine.this guitar can make the same sounds as a $2000 prs you just have to be a good player.

the machine head for the B string was too loose and the machine head for the A string was to tight but all the others were just right.it doesnt really hold the tuning to well but if you have a tuner its nothing you cant deal with. after about a month or so certain pickups started making buzz noises. and the frets have always buzzed. the volume knob popped off a little while ago but i put it back on.

i think any guitar could withstand live playing its not like the guitar is gonna crack under the pressure. i trust it but would never play any gig with out a back up guitar. the strap buttons suck horridably! but if you just unscrew them and then screw the strap on you wont have any problems.

never dealt with the company its a solid guitar.

i honestly believe that your tone lies mainly in your amp and strings but i think im alone in my beliefs. if your really into distorted sound take off the pickguard and glue the pickups to the body of the guitar dont put the pickguard back on. this makes it sound more distroted but it makes it a touch quiter. i bought this guitar because it was cheap thats the only reason but i dont hate it. if it was lost i would hit my self cause its hard to lose a guitar, if it was stolen i would kill whoever stole it, not beccasue i love the guitar but because why would anyone steal a cheap ass guitar with no pickguard