Falcon Stratocaster

1989 West Germany. s/s/h. vol. tone. 5-way plus a toggle switch coil tap for the humbucker. Body light wood plys of approx.4mm thick, rosewood fretboard. No scratchplate. 22 fret neck similar to a tele in profile with standard scale frets.

sounds huge through a fender power chorus twin, all the classic fender sounds, I can b playing beatles and stones one minute then kiss and aerosmith the next it's definitive and crisp, like ac/dc its treble enough to stand out but still gutsy enough not to be thin i can produce harmonic squeals anywhere on the neck and hammer ons and pulls dont lose any gain.the single coils have about 20% less power than the humbucker .the tremelo is only really there for show being to solidly sprung, and unstable with the spring tensions dropped. if the tremelo worked id give it a 10

The woodworking and assembly finish was great but the paint and chrome were poor, it seems as if the guitar was built to retail at a certain marketprice, and in order to put on a good neck and electrics, money was skimped on the chrome and paint. Internally it has some of the neatest soldering ive seen with a terrific sound and a lightning neck but the chrome was gone in 5 years and the paint had cracks in it from new. The action was low and fast like the heavy metal thing but the strings always have a low tension feel to them. i use dean markley 008-042's which is pretty lite and it handles it well. the fretwork was beautiful with the only negative comment on the neck was the fretboard seemed a little dry, but a good oil and polish fixed that. but this guitar came from a trade fair and may have been tweaked for the show as the only other German one i saw came out of the box(at the same show)and it was nowhere as good with the setup. So I think I got the instument hot rodded just for the fair.

played it live for 15 years got sick of carrying a backup years ago, only ever had to change a volume pot i've slowly got rid of all the poor quality standard screws and put better ones on. flogged it for years. and it never loses tune. its a freak i even bend the whole neck for tremelo and it never misses a beat or drops its tuning. but as mentioned the poor paint has left me with almost a natural finish.

I live in rural Australia and the local music store owner couldn't get agency rights to sell the big names new, so he would go to music trade fairs, and buy stuff auctioned after the fair. He bought two West German Guitars and two of the Korean guitars. The korean ones had really nice looking paintwork with scratchplates, and nice chrome but terrible necks, electrics, and were set up very badly like thrown together instead of assembled. whereas the German instruments were the opposite nice necks and electrics poor paint and chrome. no orders were placed for the German Models and I believe only 3 or 4 of them ever made it into the country. whereas several large music retailers bought a stack of the korean instruments and from 1990 to 1995 they seemed to b everywhere. So i wouldn't even know exactly who the manufacturer is let alone whether there was ever any warranties . But the man at the shop i bought it from always tweaked it for me free of charge for years so 0/10 for the factory 10/10 for Butchers music and picture framing centre.

I believe only 3 or 4 West German ones ever made it into
Australia. When no orders were placed for the German axes, I assume they were discontinued with possibly less than a hundred examples made. So even though I'd love another, I don't think i'd ever find one. As it is I think I got an instrument that was hot rodded and setup especially as a demo for the music fair, which makes it proberbly unique...../.The Korean ones are commonplace and seem a dime a dozen............... if you ever see on with made in the G.D.R. ON IT PLEASE LET ME KNOW .
I've been playing for 35 years and have Fender and Yamaha amps, A collection of Ibanez AE series and Suzuki acoustics ,a riverhead sound research electric/acoustic, an Epiphone les paul and an aria pro sessions bass. I play in covers band in pubs and clubs nothing fancy but 2/3 nights a week for years. and it's still going..

I bought this in a starter pack in 2001 for the princely sum of #99, and it was my first guitar. It seemed alright at the time, but I didn't know any better. I now play bass primarily but I still use it on occasion.

This is you standard strat copy - black with white pickguard and a black fretboard. Probably Chinese or Korean made, but it doesn't say. 22 frets, volume pot, two tone pots and 5 way selector, S/S/S config, passive elecs. Not sure what wood it's made from, but whatever it is, it's cheap poor quality stuff. The fretbaord is some sort of brown wood painted black (I don't know why), neck is something resembling maple but a lot softer. Body wood I have absolutely no idea, but it's quite light. Could be basswood. Normal strat style bridge with whammy bar, non-locking tuners. Mine came with a 10W amp (the worst amp I've ever seen) and a few other bits and pieces.

The amp that came with it was rubbish - 10W but it sounds like 2W. No overdrive channel, only bass, mid, treble and volume. It blew up after a few weeks - see reliabilty section. However it did have two inputs, and a handy tuning function - if you pressed a button it would play a 440Hz tone through the speaker.

I'll give it a 6 for features because it has everything a basic strat has, but the wood used is poor. However the tuners and whammy bar are decent enough, and it stays in tune reasonably well unless you divebomb. For the price it's OK I guess.

The sound is average at best. The pickups are pretty poor and don't have a lot of definition. The only decent settings are neck pickup only for clean and bridge pickup only for distorted. Using two pickups at once makes it very muddy and the middle pickup just sounds like a weaker version of the bridge pickup. It's not very noisy, which is a bonus. However that's probably because the pickups aren't wound very hot.

The factory setup was pretty bad. High action, bad intonation, pickups too low. As I was a beginner when I got it I didn't know so I played it for 3 years with the awful setup. However when a friend taught me how to set guitars up I took a look and lowered the action by a ton. I also improved the intonation and raised the pickups. Now it plays fairly well.

The woods as I said before are poor quality and cheap. The neck dings really easily as it doesn't appear to have any finish apart from a coat of varnish. The wood is so soft you can dent it by tapping it with your fingernail. So the neck of mine after 4 years looks like a 40 year old guitar. The paint on the body also chips and cracks pretty easily. Nearly all the screws have gone rusty now.

This guitar wouldn't stand up to much live playing, and I wouldn't use it at a gig as my main guitar. Especially not without a backup. If anything, this would be the backup. The finish wears off easily as said in the previous section. The strap buttons are OK, don't need tightening too often. However, one of the string trees on the headstock has fallen off as the screw stripped. The input jack nut has a habit of working loose and needs regular retightening.

The amp that came with it is an utter POS. As it had no overdrive channel I played it at 10 volume, which was REALLY quiet, even for a 10 watt amp. Anyway, I ended up blowing up the amps circuitry within a few weeks as it couldn't withstand being played at max volume. I then bought my friend's Park G10R amp and it's 4 times louder, as well as being a lot bettter sounding (and it actually has overdrive!).

Never dealt with the company.

I've been playing guitar since 2001 but it's now my second instrument behind bass, which I picked up in 2003. I own a Fender Deluxe Active Jazz Bass and a 300W Laney head and two cabs. I also own two classical guitars. I've played a fair few other guitars as I've done some recording as a bassist and occasionally filled in on guitar.

If this guitar was stolen or lost, I wouldn't buy another one. I would be a bit annoyed because I would have no other electric guitars but I would probably save up for a Fender American Fat Strat. If I ever get the american fat strat before I get rid of this guitar I'm planning to smash it up on stage!

For the price it's a reasonable guitar. You don't find strat copies any cheaper really. But compare it to any more expensive guitar, even a Squier, and you'll see why it's cheap. It's fine for a beginner to start on if you don't have much cash but you'll want to upgrade to something better if you get more serious about the guitar. Don't buy the starter pack that comes wih the amp because the amp isn't worth more than five pounds.

It's your typical strat-copy from China with the standard features of a stratocaster but a few notches down from a fender. S/S/S passive pickup configuration.

My geetar is black with rosewood fretboard and, I suppose, maple neck. It has a blocked tremolo that only goes down (and requires alot of force to press down).

Bought the guitar in '00 as part of a beginners-deal which meant that I got an amplifier and a gigbag and such with it.

The poor thing is abused by me for everything from pop to punk/metal and performs remarkably well considering its cheap chinese pickups. At home I play it through a 15w fender frontman and the sound is quite shitty, unsurprisingly. At school I use it through Peavey bandits and other amps and it works if you put some time into setting it up right.

Hollow and very noisy pickups that sounds nice clean though. Compared to other strat-copies I've played it sounds very typical for this price-range. Very prone to feedback and squeals when heavy distortion is applied. You can get strat-sounds if you take the time to experiment. As this was my first guitar I get a little nostalgic whenever I hear this quite unique sound, but I'm thinking of replacing the bridge pup with a hotrail as it really is to noisy and hollow-sounding.

The action is low and the neck is surprisingly thin. The tuners go out of tune very often but that is a typical problem for cheap strat-copies. No flaws in the construction or the hardware.

Have used it on a couple of gigs so far and it worked quite good. (I believe a backup is always good to have whichever geetar you're playing though.) The finish resists minor physical abuse and shouldn't wear off to easy if put up to a serious test. The strap buttons is quite small and lock-strap is advised. (as on almost all geetars) I bought a Fender Telecaster custom '72 reissue last year, but I still always bring the Falcon to shows as it's not as valuable. (my live-playing can be, and almost always is, very brutal and violent)

I've put a Fender-bumper sticker on it and glued one of the tuners in place when it came loose while I hurled it around at a show. It works, no less, no more.

ehm. Hrm. No contact.

Been playing for two and a half years and I own a Falcon Telecaster '72 reissue aswell as a Overland Bass and a Fender frontman 15w. Compared to the Tele it sounds shite, but has a lovely thin neck as opposed to the Teles log of wood. With a hotrail this Falcon would be my main geetar as I love the thin neck and the overall low weight.

- I'm not sure when it is made but I believe it was manufactured in Korea.

- It has 21 frets.

- I kinda screwed up the finish a painted it black, because it was red.

- It has volume, 2 tones and a 5-way selector.

- Pickups: S/S/S, all crappy.

The sound was crappy and very bad with the original pickups, so I changed the to a Hohner Entwistle set.

I use a Zoom 505 II and a Marshall G30 RCD with it. The sound isn't that bad anymore.

The sustain is pretty good.

I bought it second-hand but the settings were still alright. It had some scratches in it.

Man, the bridge is made of very soft metal. I managed to break a piece from the bridge by rolling the tremolo bar too much.

I bought locking strap pins beacuse the old ones were bad.

With some modifications the guitar is reliable.

Never dealt with 'em.

I've been playing with it now for 1,5 years. If it was stolen, would by a real Fender Strat or at least a Squier. Depends on my savings.

I wish it had a Floyd Rose bridge. Still, it keeps the tuning pretty good in shape.

I bought it in the year 2001, 21 frets, volume, 2 tones, 5-way, 3 single coil pickups, sunburst, American Standard-style tremolo (good features for this price)

I play mostly metal and some classical, and although the pickups are really bad, my Laney TFX200 hides it pretty well, but still the sound is kind of hollow. The sounds are quite strat-like when played clean. Overall I'd say the sound lacks definition and clarity and overall guts, but as the guitar is really cheap, that not a surprise. For this price range, I'd say it sounds pretty good.

The guitar was set up all right, the neck needed a little tightening but otherwise all right. Haven't had any problems except for the neck, which is crooked and the frets are really bad. Otherwise just fine.

The guitar is quite rugged, I haven't been able to scratch it badly or anything like that. I could depend on this playing live as it has never broken down or anything. The only thing that isn't solid is the damn input jack which is halfway loose, but it doesn't interfere with playing or the sound so I don't mind.

Never dealt with them.

I've played for about two years and I have a Laney TFX200 amp. This is a good real beginners' guitar, as cheap as they come but still a reliable piece. If I'd be in the situation where I was when I bought this one, I'd certainly buy it again. Really cheap and down-to-earth. The only thing it lacks is humbuckers, which would be really good for metal and such, but it doesn't matter so much. Overall, I recommend this for absolute beginners as a good first guitar but for no-one else.

Don't know what year it was made but i bought it around 1996 so prior to that obviously. Typical strat make up of 5-way selector and 2 tones and volume. 3 single coil pickups. the finish of the body is cheap and nasty sunburst design but dont rely on looks for sound. The neck is surprising thin for a cheap guitar and smooth also. with this guitar i got a 15w Vintage amp, crap cable and hand-ripable case.

i tried to use this at a gig once but it wouldn't give me the sound i needed so i just use this for bedroom practice. On its own, its hard to get a sound that isn't over trebley but with my Boss Me-x i can get a good tone even with the 15w practice amp. compared to actual Squier strats this one is miles ahead. the 5-way selector isn't that versatile though.

the action on this is surprisingly nice. i actually prefer the action on this compared to my Ibanez RG470, surprised? so was i. the guitar is really light so good for throwing over the shoulder. the only bad thing i have really struggled with is the faulty input which i need to tighten every couple of hours of play. i've owned this for around 7/8 years and the finish has stayed good pertaining what its been through.

Live playing? Forget it. i may consider it though if i change the pickups. If the guitar fails or breaks strings its ok as its only used as practice but this thing stays in tune remarkably well. this is 4th in the line of my guitars so it doesn't get a look in at being a back up but hey i better not say that in case i have to one day.

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i've been playing since about 1996/7 when i bought this, since then i've bought an Ibanez Rg470, Yamaha FZ1000, Seagul Electro-accoustic and Westfield Electro accoustic but i have to hand it to the Falcon for teaching me everything i know. if it was stolen i'd cry for the poor guy that thought he was stealing something worthwhile and start bringing my ibanez home after practices to play on that. i love the action, hate the input but love this guitar really as it was so cheap and served me so well.

Not sure what year it was made, prob. between 98 and 00, has 21 frets. 1 volume, and 2 tone adjusters + a 5 way selector. Don't know much about the guitar as I bought it as a demo-model from a shop that went bankrupt.

The guitar sounds cheap, and I usually use a Zoom606 effect pedal to hide the crappy sound of this guitar.

The finish seems okey, nothing wrong with it but it can't hide the fact that its cheap and made in china.

There hasn't been much wrong with this guitar.. The only things are that the input jack was loose so I had to get my dad to fix it, because some wires were loose inside. The volume knob was also loose a while, now glued. Id say this guitar would withstand live playing, but if ur a pro, u never would buy this guitar anyways.

Overall, I got what I paid for, and although the sound isn't as good as more expensive guitars, its good enough for first time buyers. Its very cheap (Norway costs $330, but Norway is an expensive country so I guess you would find it very cheap in the US) Im now saving towards a new guitar (perhaps an RG or Epiphone Les Paul= norway prices about $1200)