Cheri/Chevy Strat Copy

My Chevy Strat was made in 1997, probably in Korea. It has 22 frets, as a modern Stratocasters. 3 black-coloured single coils, probably the stock ones - i made a decision that i'm changing it to Seymour Duncan's APS-1 (bridge & neck) and Hot Rails (middle p-u). Electonic features are like in the most of Strats. 2-colour sunburst. Bridge is probably a copy of Wilkinson - i can bend notes down&up.

Neck wood is maple (fretboard is also made of it). Don't know about the body, but the sound without plugging in is bright, and the guitar is a bit heavy, so maybe it's a maple too. Tuners are non-locking, so when i'm making a strong vibrato with whammy bar, the guitar do not stays in tune.

I like sound of my guitar because of it's brightness. When i use clean tones, it's very important for me, because i don't like the hollow sound of humbuckers. The bridge pu have a high signal level, so if i pull the strings too strong, in amp i can hear a little bit of drive.

To distorted tones is use Big Muff, it works nicely with this guitar. Ofcourse, after replacement of pickups the sound's gonna change a lot - now i'm using a bridge pickup for fuzz tones and some 'hard cleans', and the neck for some warmer tones on clean channel. I play some hard-core punk, math rock, also some reggae and Stooges-like proto punk.

Maybe this guitar was modificated by the previous owners, but the features and set-up are so good for affordable instrument. For this class of guitar, it can be rate as fantastic.

I can depend on my guitar in every situation. I had a problem with strap button (when i was drunk i broke it ;) ), but now it's changed to the new one. Problems with hardware? I don't have any. Maybe a rusty bridge, but there's no problems with it in using.

The guitar is real good instrument, for people that needs good instrument for a small price. It's good base for modifications, too. I know that Chevys are so rare, but you know, it worth to consider that option, if you are buing a guitar.

I don't know when this guitar was made nor where it was made.

It has 22 fret, a humbucker bridge pickup, and single-coil middle and neck pickups. I have no idea of the wood or many other things.

Fits my style fine which is hard rock. Does naturally sound best with my Marshall 1959 Super Lead. The single coils are a bit noisy, and I have therefore replaced my neck-coil which made this guitar REALLY great.

Nothing particular to mention. No flaws either.

I have dropped this several times, and also used it for ages. Sound better each day, really nothing to complain about here.

Havent dealt with them. Couldn't neither get information from the internet.

Played it for ten years. My first guitar and it still siuts me well. I have also a GOOD amp, and a korg multiFX thing which isn't that good.

I compared to the other cheap guitar, and this one was by far the best of them.

Hi,
meine Chevy ist aus dem Jahr 1992. Sie hat 22 Bunde, der Korpus ist aus Erle (2-teilig!!!), der Hals aus einteiligem Ahorn. Sie hat drei SC's im Lace Sensors-Style und ein Vintage-Tremolo und -Tuners. Die Verarbeitung ist angesichts des Preises sensationell! Alle mal besser als Fender aus Korea. Die Qualitat ist vergleichbar mit guten Japan- oder Mexico-Strats.

Ich spiele alle Arten von Rock. Ich besitze Strats von Warmouth, Fender-USA, Fender-Japan, Fret-King, ESP, SX, und Ibanez. Im vergleich zu einer guten USA-Erle-Strat hort man zwar einen Unterschied, aber sehr gross ist er nicht. Ich habe die originalen PU'sgegen SSL-1 ausgetauscht und bin seither mit dem Sound sehr zufrieden. Ich muss schon mehrmals untereinander vergleichen, um die Unterschiede zu horen. Der Sound ist Strat as Strat can.

Die Verarbeitung ist sehr gut (Fret Job, Holz-Qualitat, Halseinpassung), in anbetracht des Preises einfach uberwaltigent. Ich weis nicht, wie man an dieser Gitarre Geld verdienen kann. Wenn diese Qualitat der Chevy-Standart war, dann weis ich warum Fender diese Firma vernichtete. Diese Start klingt und spielt sich besser als alles, was ich in der 500,- ?-Klasse sonst gespielt habe.

Wie gesagt ich spiele mit dieser Gitarre auch live uber meinen Rivera Knucklehead 55 oder uber mein Rack (SansAmp PSA-1, Rocktron Intellifex, ENGL 2 x50 Watt Rohrenendstufe). Der Sound ist glockig, klar und fett mit schonem Sustain und schnellem Attack.

Hatte bisher noch keine Probleme mit dem Teil und die Firma gibt es ja leider nicht mehr - ich kann also dazu nichts sagen.

Ich spiele seit 23 Jahren Gitarre und habe schon fast alles an Amps und Gitarren gespielt und muss abschlie?end feststellen, dass es Unterschiede zwischen Edel-Strats 8und dieser sehr preiswerten Chevy-Strat gibt, die aber bei weitem nicht so gross sind, dass der Mehrpreis gerechtfertigt erscheint! Mit dieser Gitarre kann auch der ambitionierte Gitarrist glucklich werden, vor allem wenn die PU's getauscht werden.

manufactured: don't know exactly
1992 (that's when i bought it)
lefthanded model
solid top
21 frets
vol/ tone/ tone, 5 way selector
s/s/s pickup configuration
vintage style tremolo
no name pickups

i was amazed with the flexability of this guitar. i've played in so many different bands and done so many different style (from rock to reggae, punk to pop) and this guitar can tug along with everything.

BUT: over the years i've changed just about everything, as you might expect. i've been playing this guitar now for eleven years and so virtually everything apart from the work has been exchanged.

VIBRATO is still the same: i don't like it and i therefore do not use it. it tends to re-tune the whole thing but that seems to be a generic fault of that style of vibrato unit.

PICKUPS: changed bridge single coil against fender fat strat-humbucker. at last it can compete in the metal department.
middle pickup in original, but never heard on its own due to lack of power. it just doesn't sound good enough on its own, but together with the bridge or the neck pick up, its okay.
bridge: i'm not all that happy with this one either and am thinking of replacing it with a single coil-size humbucker.
5-way switch got corroded some in the last few years and had to go.

NOISE: none after i re-rigged the whole thing. as i said, with a humbucker in the bridge position it really screams, but no match to my frankenstein'ed strat with ibanez pickups. but still: good enough to rock the stage.

FAVOURITE STAGE SET UP: ibanez TS 10 tube screamer ->dunlop cry baby -> marshall valvestate 2 x 30 Watts ... thats rocks sufficiently!

SETUP was next to perfect. on the other hand it's taken me quite some time to find out exactly how i prefer my guitar set. and so now i redo everything once in a while, just to be sure.

after some years the oil finish got a bit flat and the neck just wasn't as fast as it used to be, so i took some very fine sand paper and sanded down the patina that it had gathered over the years. later i did that with the other guitars too becuase i improved the action.

the blasted vibrato never stays in tune, but a few blocks of wood to shim the vibrato into a fixed place will help.
the 5 way switch gave way in the midst of a concert which did piss me off but apart from that nothing really worth while going on about. everything can be reapired some how.
and as for the rest it's all been replaced with new parts so i take it that i won't have any more trouble in the next few years...

never dealt with them

played guitar for 11 years now, am most happy. i have various other guitars, but as my friends always say, "old faithful" always gets another chance when other guitars wouldn't...

if it were stolen or lost, it would break my heart.

what do i love about it? the fact that over the years it has turned into my very own guitar.

couldn't compare it to other guitars when i bought it as it was the only lefthanded model in the shop.

i wish i had more gigs.

if you find one of the lefthanded models, let me know, i'll gladly buy this guitar again.

made in korea
21 frets
solid top
5 way selector
s/s/s pickup config

The guitar has a very warm sound, i use it plugged into an IBANEZ TS 10 tube screamer -> IBANEZ CP 10 compressor -> all plugged in a ROLAND CUBE-60 blues sounding amp! i'm happy with that configuaration, a fender strat just has better pickups mounted!
the wood of the chevy is amazing!!
one of the best strat copies!
i just disliked that its a bit noisy on high volume...

if you play bluesy sounds or even punkrock, its ok with a good amp and some effects.

i got this guitar used from my dad.

the hardware lasts live too...but the chevy strat never stays in tune. I'll use Fender super bullets made for strats to stay in tune better.

never dealt with'em. the company doesn't exist any more.

i've been playing for over two years.. it's my first and only guitar, i would'nt change it for a fender custom strat!

If it were stolen or lost, i think it won'T be possible to get another chevy...so keep it!

i like the warmth and depth of the sound, it's not as crappy as it looks. ;-)

i wish it had a seymour duncan invader pick-up...maybe i'll mount it..

9 points because of the sound and reliability!

Your standard '55 strat copy with all applicable features exept the neck radius is much flatter than the standard strat, therefore very usefull as a slide guitar. Closed tuners (schaller/grover style) and 3 pick ups that have a strat like sound but have their own blend of overtones which make them distinctive in a way. Normal output.

As noisy as any strat type guitar but the sound somehow pleases me as a strat player for 20+ years because it is similar but different in the overtones. The pick ups are allright, but you can allways replace them off course.

No serious problems here, Of course every guitarist needs to set up an instrument to his own needs and I had no problems. I outfitted the axe with a Hipshot Trilogy bridge for easy alterate tunings. This is my slide/backup guitar for some gigs.

I've had no problems with this guitar.

No comment as no support was needed.

I have a number of electrics including a '62 strat. This is a very good guitar value-for-money-wise. The flat neck radius combined with the distinctive pick ups give this guitar IMO a very good rating.

1995 (I think) tobacco sunburst strat copy, maple neck, white sratchplate (gorgeous finish...) Basic strat copy, but with a graphite nut & copied Wilkinson 2 post trem.

Korean made, although I've learned that the neck & body are Canadian maple. The guitar rings like a bell - the most character I've ever heard acoustically from a solid electric.

Pickups are cheapo Korean jobs, but sound pretty decent anyway - probably due to the quality of the wood. The neck is probably thicker than most people would like, but comfortable anyhow.

Can't cut the mustard when playing HEAVY!!!!, but then what standard strat copy can!? I use it through a Hughes & Kettner tranny amp (very underrated!) with a couple of Zoom fx.

The wood is everything on this guitar - it can almost sound like a Rickie if you want it. Great for Petty-ish rock'n'roll & Knopfler wannabees Surprisingly rich sounding when plugged in (probably the wood again), and a much higher output than stock Fender strat pickups, with more accented mids.

It does get noisy at high volume, due to budget Korean electronics not being as good as they could be.

Guitar was set up by the shop, and I'd no complaints apart from some upper frets being taller than they should have been (manufacturing problem & soon sorted out - not the shop's fault).

Wood and finish were streets ahead of aything else you could get for the same price 7 or 8 years ago. The neck especially has aged very well - now a deep blonde.

Interior routing is a bit rough, but nothing you can't live with.

This axe has never let me down. It still looks great and takes the odd knock with no complaints.

Only fault is not being able to handle really high volume well, but a planned pickup & electronic replacement should cure all that

Never dealt with the company. I was told they used to be called Chevy, but General Motors took exception. As far as I know they ceased to exist after 1995.

Can't remember about the warranty - never neede to find out how good it was!

Adore this guitar - gonna be buried with me when the time comes! I'd definitely buy another Cheri (they used to do a 2 humbucker Tele based on Pete Townsend's custom Schecter - are there any out there?!)

I could have bought Squiers for a bit less but they never felt as solid or sounded as good. Favourite feature is the wood This is a fantastic guitar for the price and hopefully a few mods on the electronics will mean I'll never want another.

Pretty good guitar that is very well equiped for its price.
Roll nut
Floating bridge (but no Floyd, hopefully)
three single coils
Solid maple body
Gold Hardware and translucent sunburst finish
One vol and one tone control

Well, since the pickups are not very powerfull this is not a heavy metal axe. Due to the lack of power, you can experience a noise problem.
However my guitar never buzzed and is perfectly quiet even when i use tons of overdrive whereas it's fitted with single coils.
With years (i own this one since 1992) my chevy sounds better and better, the woods used seem to be responsible for that, and the PUs are sounding warmer and warmer, I still have this problem of power but If i had to change them i would probably hesitate a lot.

Well, i don't remember how the action was when i bought it; but it had one or two frets i had to work on.
Everything was Ok with the electronic stuff but the tone control cover did not stop at the end (the pot did but not its cover)
This guitar is really nice to look at (especially its headstock)

Unbreakable... Ten years without any problem, not even a cracking pot.

What for ?

This has been my main guitar for ten years and still be.
I use it for everything from gigs to studio, from TOP40 to experimental music.
I installed a Gk2 pickup that works perfectly well with it.
I think that if i had to sell everything I'd try my best to keep this one, even if i own Godins, Ibanez, Gibson, Washburn, or Yamaha guitars.
I'm trying to buy other Chevy guitars, especially this model because i'd like to know if they all sound as good as mine.
It's a guitar that needs to be played but it's a real good deal.
I can't be really objective.

21 frets, 3 single coils, crap pickup covers, crap pickups, crap neck, need i go on. basically all the norms of a fender standard strat, just at much lower quality.

very muddy on all pickups, basically a guitar u dont want to use.

covered in dents, neck plagued with flaws, trem set up wrong, tone controls at angles, very high action.

wouldnt ever trust this thing, so pathetic a butterfly could dent it.

no chance.

a piece of shit. seriously, save ur money and get a real strat.