Electra Phoenix

Phoneix X-140-N - Japanese Strat Clone: 1981 - Body: Ash - Neck & Fretboard: Maple -Black Pickguard - Brass Hardtail, Brass Nut, Brass Knurled Pots - 3 Single Coil Pup's - Standard Selector Switching & 'Fat Switch' - Standard (not the deluxe) tuners.

I prefer the bridge only setting, otherwise as noisy as a vintage Strat - Sound is on the bright side on other pup's esp. with Dean Markley Nickel Steel LT - 2502B, .011's

Neck is very good. Can be set as low and fast as desired.

This gtr is a pawn shop rescue & I know it's history, Was gigged from 1980's to 2002. Finger wear marks on fretboard, but no depressions & frets are still good. They literally don't build them like this anymore.

DNA: Out of business. Eventually evolved into Crate.

For what there going for on Ebay, I doubt I'd replace it. The Natural Blonde finish with Black Pickguard at first looks Tele and I'm told this a desirable model in the Phoneix line. While a natural for rock & blues, it is also a sleeper for a Country lead player & if you like the Fat switch, it transforms into a perfect Dick Dale type retro Surf sound.

I have an Electra Phoenix X175 model that was manufactured in 1983 according to the "Rat Hole" website http://www.therathole.org/guitars/electra/index.html and the serial number on the headstock. The information on the website says the body was made of maple but I stripped it down and the wood looked more like alder (several of my buddies concured) body is too light to be maple anyway!

I bought it on Ebay for $26.00 and it was missing the pickups and bridge. The body was fairly hammered and hacked up by somebody who did not know how to use a router! Got it looking pretty good after several sessions of stripping, sanding , dowling, and patching. Used a dark walnut stain then several coats of Deft lacquer and it was looking pretty good for an amateur job! I decided not to mess with the neck. I bought some alnico single coil pickups from Choppers Music on Ebay as well as a Floyd Rose style bridge and locking nut. Total cost for parts and materials (including original purchase price of guitar) was just a little over $100.00! The frets are the original small variety but had a lot of life left so I didn't mess with them.

Not sure how they were equipped from the showroom but mine was right up there with, if not better than my Fender Stratocaster when all was said and done! Neck has a really great feel and is a real "Player!"

I am a "Bluesy" kind of guy (SRV, Clapton, Hendrix, Etc.). It suits my playing style quite well! I wouldn't have installed the Floyd Rose system had the neck already been routed for the locking nut but I do like the fact that it stays in tune (unlike my strat) whenever I do any "Divebombing" solos and such!

I play through either a Peavey Heritage VTX or a Crate bass amp and sounds really great. It is a little different from the sound of the stratocaster but sounds great nonetheless.

This was an "Ebay Queen" so I guess its no fair comparing it to a showrooms stock model! :)

It all came together really nicely though!

I would and do use this guitar for gigging! So far the cheap "Licensed Floyd Rose" hardware has stood up to the abuse I give it. It is quite dependable. I use it for a backup and alternate to my Fender Strat.

Customer support would be GREAT if there was still a company!

Been playing for a little over 30 years. I guess I should've asked to see the body without the pickup covers and such but hey, it really did turn out great in the end!

I would get another one if it were stolen or lost.

I love the playability, I wish I would've picked a different stain color (like blue or black). It is quite comparable in quality to a Mexican made Stratocaster (Way, WAAAAAAAY better than a Squire!) I bought the guitar because I was familiar with the brand as a kid when I was a genuine pest at the local music store and since everyone is raving about the guitars made at the Matsumoku factory in Japan now!

Electra was regarded as "Jap Crap" when I was a young kid but today, Electras are KEWL!!!

4-1/2 years ago i posted comments about my Electra guitar that i bought back in 1990.

Well, it is a Electra Phoenix X-155. I made the mistake by calling it a S-330 because i couldn't remember the model#

Here's the URL for info on Electra Guitars

http://www.therathole.org/guitars/electra/index.html

see electra s-330 post

see earlier post.

Peter Frampton and Leslie West played the Electra MPC Les Paul models.

This is a solid-body Electra/Westone that's shaped pretty much like a strat, but with slightly different cutaways. It has a dark metallic grayish finish with a slight greenish tint, and came with two coil-tap humbuckers, separate volume and tone controls, a front-mounted output jack and a three-way Gibson-style switch on the top horn.

A cavity on the back held two 9v batteries that powered some sort of active EQ circuit and a massive volume boost. It has 22 largish frets, a non-locking strat-style trem bridge in corroded black, a slick black finish on the back of the neck, and a rosewood fingerboard with tiny dot markers. The tuners are black and enclosed. Three of the knobs were push-pull types; two of them tapped the pickups and one activated the active circuitry.

I have no idea what woods it's made of or the date of manufacture, but I would guess it's from the mid 80s. It has a Fender-style 25 1/2" scale and a nice neck profile that's rounded in back and not too thick, but avoids that Ibanez RG-style thin flatness that I hate.

As purchased, it had loud pickups that sounded aggressive and crunchy with a distorted tone, and the coil-tap settings could get some juicy dual-pickup tones. The tapped bridge alone sounded like a caricature of a tele--funny and entertaining as a special effect, but sort of a blizzard of nails, to paraphrase Richie Fliegler. The neck pickup alone was muddy unless really distorted. That volume boost feature would make my amp (a 60W non-master volume Univox tube head set on "10" and run through a Scholz power soak) totally freak out. It served well as a backup guitar on the mid-90s alterna-rock gigs I was playing at the time.

Eventually I decided the pickups needed some experimentation, since the guitar stayed in tune much better than my main one. I pulled the neck pickup and replaced it with a neck pickup out of a tele copy, and trashed all the active crap and battery harness. I wired it passive and it was great. By then I was playing through a ProCo Rat II and a pair of small Valco 1x10" tube combos and it sounded a lot more organic. I never used the neck pickup by itself, but the tele-style pickup in conjunction with the coil-tapped bridge humbucker made a great cutting-yet-fat rhythm tone. Playing soft with this selection made a nicely cleaned-up tone for quiet parts. I used the full bridge humbucker for leads and harder-sounding rhythms. Eventually I got in a rootsier band and grew to dislike humbuckers, and the guitar has been in the closet until recently, when I realized it FEELS great. Now I'm experimenting with pickups again to try and get it to sound more organic and less hard rock.

Oh yeah, I blocked the trem. I don't like using trem bridges. It stays in tune and sustains better now.

With .011 strings, it feels great. It responds well to a heavy hand...it can sound snappy and beefy if you really whack it, and unison bends or compound bends are easy to execute on the neck, which is among the best I've ever tried. The neck pocket is tight, it stays in tune, the finish is tough, and it just seems all-around indestructible. I just need to find a way to make its sound less dependent on distortion.

This guitar has withstood quite a bit of live playing, and is apparently indestructible. There are no construction flaws that hamper all-around serviceability that I've found. It was the only guitar I brought to gigs for several years, and if I kept fresh strings on it I never had a problem.

Never dealt with St. Louis Music or anyone regarding the instrument.

I bought it originally to be a cheap, tough chainsaw-sounding rock backup. It's a great strat-style guitar for that, and for me, feels much better than a strat. But it was designed to rock out, and now I've got no use for a body routed for dual humbuckers.

I like the feel of it better than a tele, but unfortunately it's not routed for Tele hardware and that's sort of the sound I want.

I discovered this by accident: what I play now is a mid-sixties Gibson Melody Maker I acquired (that had been butchered for dual humbuckers, ironically) as part of a trade, and after more pickup experimenting I settled on a strat pickup near the bridge with a reverse slant. That actually sounds like a slightly softer-sounding tele, and I love the sound. But its short scale and rubbery, flexible feel demand a light touch. If I can approach its sound with this Electra, I will be happy, because then I can go back to smacking it around without worrying about fragile construction. I'm going to try various single-coils in each hole, and if that fails, just put two humbuckers back in it in case I ever need to record a screaming solo again. It has no resale value, and it plays too well to trash it. It's still fun to dink around on it unplugged becase it feels good.

This review is for a late 70's-early 80's electra Phoenix X-130.Made in Japan,22 frets,2 Humbuckers,3-way switch,coil tap.Maple neck,Natural finish psuedo-strat body.I Had a fit when my now ex-wife brought this home.When she told me she actually gave someone a $150 for it,I went Ballistic.I was playing a Gibson ES-347 at the time and one night when the it needed new strings,I grabbed this hemaphrodite out of desperation.I've been playing it ever since.Honestly,it doesn't have many whistles and bells-just straight and simple fuctionality.

When I First plugged it in the First thing that struck me was-Loud! and surprisingly clear.It still has the stock Humbuckers which can be a little muddy,But I can get more sounds out of this baby than any guitar I own.I play thru a Yamaha 100w 212 and there is no hum or buzz.I Played in a Alternative Band for 5 years and now I'm in a Country-Rock band and it suits either gig well.I used a Proco Rat overdrive and a few Boss Pedals and this thing screamed.Pickups overdrive nicely.

I filed down the frets a bit-reset the intonation and that's it.This guitar is built for abuse.I believe the body is ash,so it's a little heavy-but it stays in tune.Not at all finicky(like my fender)You could throw this thing down a flight of stairs,whomp somebody over the head with it,set it on fire-pick it up plug it in and it'd still be in tune and work just fine.Action Low and Fast.Best neck I've ever laid my hands on.

I depend on this guitar and it has never let me down and I never take a back-up.It is a great working musician's guitar.That is,It won't cost you a fortune,it performs well,if it gets stolen you're not out a major investment.What more can you ask for?

Non-existent.

Believe it or not,I would really miss this guitar.We've played a lot of gigs and when I strap it on it like an old,dear friend.I own a Gibson semi-hollow and a Fender USA Tele and I think this blows them both away.It might be a fluke-but it's a really great guitar.Who cares what it says on the Headstock?

made in the 80's
two humbuckers with toggle switch
white body
rosewood neck
strat style body
passive electronic

at the time it suited my musicial style
I was just playing loud, heavy power chord
and noise guitar
it sounded good thru and fender twin but what doesn't
it sounded good enough thru my peavy 2x12 combo that Tad Doyle
who used to pratice next door to ask me to play with
him after Tad the band disbanned (but i didn't have my shit together
i didn't have enough money to pay for my share of the pratice space
so i bowwed out
what the fuck was i thinking one of my guitar heroes ask me to play with him and i fuck up. "i used to watch them on bomb shelters videos" well anyway in the 6 month of jamming with him i learned a lot of shit drop d and b flat for starter he made me a much better player. Tad is a hell of a nice guy suprisingly witty)
it sounded kind of farty thru a marshal head and half stack
so much that the bass player tyson pointed it out and laughed
and he was right.
this could be a great guitar if better pickups where installed
into it
rate it a 6 for the sound but it you replace the pickups with
good you'll have a great sounding guitar on your hands

I loved the action on this guitar it felt like it was made for me
the pickup were not so great
the toogle switch could have been sturdier
i wore it switching back and forth to immulate a dj tranform scratching ( before i'd had even heard of rage against the machine)
the white finish was a fade to a ugly yellowish off white,
but i didn't by this guitar for it look

i wouldn't play it live without change the pickups
the tuning peg were well built
the toogle switch would last if you don't beat the crap out of it
like i did
the strap button where okay
but i will alway perfer strap locks
i droped it and the body crack( actually i lightly tossed not out of
just pretend to be a rock star. i'm such a posser)
i gave to friend think he could use for spare parts

n/a

this was my first real electric guitar
i developed a lot of my style playing on this guitar
i loved the action on this guitar and the way the neck felt in my hands
if you can find one cheap and are will to put good pickups in it
then buy this guitar or if you just want a good start guitar

I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THIS BELOW:
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the two guys below that payed $350 and $399 for this guitar i feel your pain
i got beat by amercian music guitar store once and a small music
store colins music in seattle. and had problem with a redneck at the only guitar store in ellenberg
expenses lessons but i learned how to bargin
and i generally don't deal with music store especially boutique store
i deal mostly with thrift store and pawn shops especially one in small towns(you be suprised what you might find) and they are more willing to make a deal.
but if you most deal with a guitar store or boutique research first
this site is a great resource. thank you very much harmony central
also you can find discount prices for gear on the net( 8th street music, 123 music, sam ash the last one not so good anymore)
what i do find i print out the discounted item i want to buy and ask the guitar store "if they meet competitor prices"
if they say yes, i pull out my print out and see if they are true to their word and willing to eat the tax then i might buy.

remember musiclal instrument salesmen are still salesmen
they are generally failed bitter musicians
who are not your friends(SO DON'T GET IT TWISTED)
they are trying to make a quick buck off of your hard earned dollar
if i have offended any musical instrument salespeople so what

the music industry as a whole has been pimping musician since the days
of the cotton fields
musician generate more revevues than all of hollywood
but actors have have better deals and less people in their pockets
imagine what would happen if actor were given recoupable advance
and told that if the movie doesn't make money you owe the movie studio
money
hollywood would be shut but the actors union
musican need that kind of control
over are music industry.

oh yeah G.W bush still sucks

I was told by St Louis Music that this
guitar was a X-150 prototype...It has
the blonde maple stripe through the body.
2 humbuckers, a master volume toggle
switch with it's own brass knob. And,
it uses two 9-volt batteries in the brass
covered cavity in the back. It has a coil
splitter toggle, out of phase toggle and
volume & tone brass knobs.
They sent me a schematic with additional
info..the paperwork was destroyed in a fire.
I've seen a couple of Electras that look like this one, but never one exactly like it.
It is my favorite solid-body guitar for the
playability and range of tone.
ruester@ldd.net

this guitar gets a lot of sounds, esp with
which amp I use. A Peavey Solo Series
with a British Series 100 watt speaker
and a lot of push/pull gain knobs or the
MusicMan 1-12 65W for smooth sound.
It screams with the Peavey.

I did a lot of custom set-up for my particular needs..(sanding neck, replacing saddle, it has brass everywhere, including
the nut.

I depend on it heartily

40 plus years playing.....there is no other
guitar like this Electra.

I purchased this new in 1980 (Don't remember how much, but I believe it was cheap!) This is a model X155. I believe it is an alder or ash body with a nice pearl paintjob. It has a rosewood neck. This model has two humbuckers w/ two tone and two volume knobs (push-pull coil splitter) and a 3-way selector toggle. The bridge is a Strat-style. Decent tuners.

I chose this guitar after an endless search for a Strat-style alder wood body with humbuckers. This one fit the bill perfectly. It has a wide range of tonalities. I have played it mostly through Fender amps and love the sound.

This guitar came set up with a very low fast action. I get some low E-string buzz if I use drop-D tuning. This is a fairly wide neck (more like a Gibson) which I am used to. I own a Gibson ES175 and an ES355 which have very similar actions to the Phoenix. I chose this guitar because I wanted the Strat sound with a Gibson feel. I did have to change the top volume knob to a low-profile Fender style because it was constantly being bumped while I was playing.

What can I say? I have used this guitar as my main working guitar for twenty years. I have owned several Fenders and Gibsons, and keep going back to this no-name!

Haven't needed any.

I have been playing nearly 25 years. I currently own two Gibsons (ES175 & ES355) an Alvarez Acoustic, an Alvarez banjo, a Martin Mandolin, a short scale Fender bass, and a Liberty Copperhead resonator. My main amp is a 60's Fender Princeton Reverb. I have played mostly delta blues, R&B, and recently bluegrass. This guitar has been my main electric blues & R&B axe.

The guitar was made in the early 80's. I got it in '84. It was originally bright red with all black parts and a black neck with a very dark fret board. It has gone through several diffent paint changes and now, although retired, it's natual. H-S-H w/3 way selector, Humbucker coil tap push-pulls and a phase switch push-pull. I messed up the bridge pickup and replaced it with a Lawrence L500 cream blade style pickup. The tuners were replaced with Sperzel locking tuners and the bridge was replaced with a Fender American Standard tremolo.

This guitar has always sounded great. I've played/owned a dozen guitars over the years and have sold most of them but this one remains

The guitar played great; better than anything I've played. It had one minor defect in the finish by the vol/tone pots

I used this guitar as my primary guitar for years. Most of the hardware (tuners, bridge, strap buttons) was changed mostly due to wear and heavy usage. The guitar is not used now mainly because the frets were so heavily worn. I was going to replace them but had difficulty find anyone to do the job. At one point in it's life, I dropped it and it cracked at the heal pocket. When in full use though it was a great guitar

n/a

This guitar was/is the coolest looking guitar. I liked it so much that when I decided to retire it, I had a custom hand made guitar built to look like it with the exception of the headstock; it's a 3X3 instead of a 6 inline. Eventually I want to restore it back to new condition. I would definately buy this guitar again if I could.

Early 80's Japanese model with 22 frets. Pickups H/S/H. Replaced the stock bridge pickup with a Bill Lawrence L-500, made a big difference. I have no idea what the instrument is made of except that the fretboard is a rather dark rosewood. It has a 3-way pickup selector sw with push-pull coil taps for the humbuckers. It's a strat style body with a great metallic paint job that my friends knicknamed the purple gloom. It originally came will an old fashioned strat whammy bar which I replaced with a Kahler fulcrum trem after I broke the original whammy bar in the middle of a huge dive-bomb. The bar turned out to be made of a very cheap powdered metal material.

I didn't like the sound too much until I put the Bill Lawrence pickup in it. Then I couldn't put it down. I played it through a Marshall 2x12 50 watt combo (circa 1976)usually with no effects and the knobs turned up to 10. It produced a full meaty sound with lots of sustain.

I didn't see any major problems with this guitar when I bought it and the only complaints I had were the cheap whammy bar and the 1/4 inch plug coming loose periodically. The action on it was quite good. I actually discovered the guitar through a friend who was teaching at a local music store when the guitar came in on consignment. He played it first and mentioned to me how great it played.

This is where the guitar shines. It's built like a battleship. I've played/abused it for 15 years and it just won't quit. The tuning machines and other hardware have been great. The finish has survived a serious beating and except for the 1/4 inch jack it has been very dependable.

Never dealt with manufacturer.

Although I like the guitar, if it were lost or stolen I would replace it with something else. Fifteen years is long enough, there are lots of step-up guitars I can think of that I'd rather own.

Made sometime in the mid 80s, my guitar has factory humbuckers in the neck and bridge position and a factory single coil in the middle position. The volume and two tone knobs also serve as coil taps when pulled up. The stratish-shaped body is made of poplar I believe, quite light, and painted a metalic gold. The fretboard is a dark and relatively tight grained rosewood.

All in all, it is a good looking guitar budget. The paint job has a couple of inperfections.

The range of sounds produced by this guitar is stunning. Although none of them are directly comparable to high end American or Japanese guitars, my Electra is capable of swampy Les Paul growls, shimmering strat-like chords, and piercing tele sounds. It also has all of the quirkiness of a budget Japanese guitar. If you like Hound Dog Taylor, this guitar has all of his tone, including the humming and whistling at high volumes. I know it's not for everybody, but the sound is versitile and fun.

Great action. Purchased at a pawn shop two years ago. The guitar was played very little, so I assume that the set up was done in the factory.

This guitar is a little war horse. Overall, more durable and reliable, and better made than my 1974 Tele Deluxe. My only complaint is that the jack is of inferior quality and needs to be tightened up occassionally. No problems live.

N/A

I've been playing for about 15 years and have owned a number of guitars, and this is my favorite electric. It provides more sonic possibilities than any guitar I've ever played, and is of superior quality when compared to other electrics in the $500 and less category.

I bought this clunker in mid 1980's. It was a red, kind of 80's metal style guitar with a wild design. If you are making a video and want a cool looking guitar to "pretend" to play, this is the one for you! It had a stiff, non-functioning whammy bar. All I can say is it was an expensive "impulse buy" lesson (I bought it new -- they can be picked up for less than $100.00 today)

The sound was the WORST thing about this guitar (believe it or not I saw this disaster hanging in a local pawn shop the other day). It had the thinnest, weakest most anemic sound of any guitar I'd every played (even my beginner's "Memphis Les Paul" had a mightier roar (and piano string action lol).

The action was pretty good. Everything was set up well at the factory. The finish was flawless and nothing was loose or poorly cut/set. But, it was the proverbial gold painted trash can!

This guitar was built to last. You could use it as a crowd control weapon, drop it off the empire state building, and use it as a trampoline and it would come up fighting! BUT, it still sounds like crap!

N/a

I wish I'd never bought this guitar, but it was my foolish, impulsive and expensive 1980's lesson!

My Electra was made in the early 80`s it features two humbuckers and 1 single coil pickup.It also has 3 push pull knobs.I play a lot of hard rock-n-roll and this guitar has every sound you could imagine,the neck is a slim design which allows you to very quickly hit a ton of different notes all up and down the neck.I also own a les paul custom and the les paul ended up being my backup guitar,crazy but true my electra actually sounds better.The les paul definately is a higher quality guitar playing wise but sound wise forget it.

I use a Peavey 5150 amp and this guitar gives me all the metal I need,I also have a Hiwatt dr201,and this guitar really does have a deep rich evil sound,you know what i mean,when you play you kinda drift off you and the band and come back together to end the song,The only thing about this guitar it sucks for bending strings on the real high notes.

Well I bought the guitar used,but the pickups sound great,the action is real low to the frets(just the way I like it)the guitar is made out of heavy wood.I have dropped it 3 times an a tile floor and no damage at all.I do a lot of string bending and it really stays in tune well.The only thing the guitar is a metallic green color my friends think it`s cool but?

This guitar could withstand me jumping on it and throwing it when I am pissed believe me everything on this guitar was built to last and it has this guitar has thousands of hours on it and it still isnt tired.

na

I have been playing for 18 years and this guitar is the most veritile and best sounding I have owned,I have had solid body Takamines,Ibanez,Gibson,Hohner,and this is the one I use.

Im not sure when it was made, probably in the early 1980's in Japan. This Electra Phoenix has 22 frets, mahogany body with maple butcher block stripes and a rosewood neck. the finish on the body is thick and durable. This model has 2 double humbuckers with a toggle for top, bottom and both, a coil tap, a tone knob, an out of phase toggle and a pre-amp with dedicated volume knob. All knobs are brass including the bridge. The bridge is a standard with no tremelo option and the strings are through-the-body. The body style is strat-like with a fairly wide neck. I purchaced this guitar used with a case and strap for about $350.00 US.

This guitar suits my style perfectly. I play alot of blues, metal and classic rock like Rush, Queen, Yes and stuff like that. I play through a 1980 Peavey Classic and use a Zoom processor, a Boss chorus, Ibanez flanger and delay and occasionally a Boss heavy metal distortion pedal, all analog. This guitar tends to have a bright sound due to the pre-amp and EQ settings on the tone knob. Since the top pick-up is so far from the bridge, I get a pretty good Strat sound. Using both pick-ups with the out of phase switch, I get a godd "Brian May" sound. The pick-ups have good tone and the harmonicks are right on. The only thing I don't like is the width of the neck, I feel it slows me down a little. For some reason I break alot of strings on this one, especially 10 guages. I love the sounds I can get-Les Paul, Strat, Tele,ect. The pre-amp can overdrive a clean channel and is very quiet (-700Db). This is a heavy guitar and very tough. I have dropped it as well as my sister-in-law and it's still together after 13 years. I once owned a Westone that was basically the same guitar. Unfortunantly it was stolen and I found this one at a guitar shop in Wilmington, NC.

The guitar was built well and the intonation was perfect. Since I bought it new, I don't know how it was originally set up.

As I said before, this guitar is built solid with a thick finish that stands up to bangs, dings and drops. I've played live with more than any other guitar and it is reliable, you just have to make sure the 2 nine volts for the pre-amp are fresh. It strings up quickly and stays in tune well.

None found or needed.

I've been playing since 1979 and play This Electra, a Kramer Striker 350, a Carvin flying "V", an Aria Pro hollow body and have a Sigma-Martin acoustic. I would buy this again, as I had to when my Westone was stolen (miricle!). I wish I could put a Strat neck on it, I just think the one on it now is too wide. My Electra Phoenix just fits the bill for everything I play and I think it's a good looking instrument too.

I think this guitar was made in asia? It is a 22 fret guitar whichs kida looks like a BC Rich Warlock, only curvy. It has a laminated top, 2 humbuckers, 2 tone controls that you can push and pull. I think that the fretboard is Rosewood, but Im not too sure. Its not very good. It has a pearly white semi transparent finish, standard tuners, and a crappy termolo.

When using 10's it sounds alright, I only got it for 75 bucks and have had it for 10 years! The pickups are noisy and it has a muddy tone. The harmonics are ok, not that great.

The action is ok. I had it tuned about 2 years ago. The frets are thin and the strings do not hit frets when bended

I dropped it a few times and its still kicking. IT is very heavy

Never used it

For a starter guitar, its pretty good. But other than that, its about it

Not sure when it was made (80s?), but I bought it used in 1989 - the $100 cost included an hsc, which actually made it a reasonable buy. Manufactured in Asia, I think. It's a pretty standard cheapo strat copy with fairly normal tone/volume controls, although with humbucker pickups. The fretboard was some kind of dark wood that was not easy to play on. It also had tuners that didn't stay in, and a bridge that didn't really intone.

Fortunately, I only used this guitar infrequently, playing occasional rhythm guitar in the 60s/70s-type pop/psych band I usually played keyboards with ("Shake Some Action", by the Flamin' Groovies, was a cover we did that used 3 guitar players). Therefore, I mostly played it through a keyboard amp (Roland Cube 60), through which it sounded like an OK strat copy that did nothing to interfere with the sound of the two real guitarists in the band. And when I played it through my friend's Mesa/Boogie studio 22, it sounded like every other guitar does through that kind of amp.

Perhaps the guitar just had a bad setup, but it was the most unplayable electric guitar I've ever touched. It was no fun.

The parts and seemed sturdy enough, but I never played it enough to test its durability. Since I only played it on a few songs out of a large repertoire of the band I was in at the time, I had no need for a backup, but I wouldn't recommend it to a real guitarist as either a main instrument OR backup, as it never stayed in tune very well.

Never tried to contact St. Louis music. They seem to have good warranty service (at least for their Ampeg and Crate amplifiers), so maybe they could have done something to improve it.

This was my first electric guitar (after having learned chords on an acoustic for a couple years), and probably accounts for why I'm now a bassist! It WAS stolen, and I pity the thief who got stuck with it. The only thing I miss about it was the incredibly cool MC5 - 'Kick Out The Jams' sticker that I put on the case. I replaced it with an American-made Peavy Predator for $125 (no hsc, though), which is a far superior guitar, and a perfect buy for someone of my limited abilities. The only reason I can think of to buy an Electra Phoenix is if you want to do a Pete Townshend act, but don't want to smash up a decent guitar.