Fender 60's Reissue Stratocaster

This guitar wa made in mid-99 and bought in mid-00.It was made in mexico which explains the price.I bought htis guitar in Lake PLacid blue because it looked sooooo much better that all the rest.It came stock with 3"vintage" single-coil pickups, a volume and 2 tone and a five-way selector.All passive.The body is made of poplr and tha neck is made of maple w/rosewood fretboard and 21 frets.All the hardware is vintage reissue(nickel i believe).The neck is c-shaped which makes it very comfortable.

Well you see I play rock`n`roll with the ocassional bluesy riff,and it suits both very well.Irun this through a Laney half-stack with no effects (yet!).It has low noise and thats with the overdrive all the way.Allthe pickups sound great with a wide variety of different sounds.The only dislike is the bridge pickup doesnt get the sound a humbucker would.

The guitar was setup very well with the exception of the high e saddle it was too low and practicaly off the neck,it was so far from the b string.I lowered the neck and middle pickups and raised the bridge.I was suprised to see the body was routed for 3 sngle coils and not hte huge chunk taken out.Now I cant reverse the middle pickup.And the high e tuner doesnt want to hold the string sometimes so watch out

Yes,this guitar can handle a gig.It barely breaks strings.The hardware will last just dont use stainless steel strings,thet leave burrs in the saddles.The finish is very durable.I dropped it a few tmes and only small dings have come out of it.I repaced the buttons with locking so I dont drop it again.I would use this without backup just as long as i change the strings before the show.

Never delt wih and hopefully never have to.

I`ve been playing for going on 5 years now and this is my favorite guitar so far.Before this i had a Squier strat,an Ibanez RG270 and a Gibson SG.If this were lost or stolen i would buy another one in a heartbeat.What i love about htis guitar is the neck,it is soooooooooo comfortable and now the pickguard because i covered it with a sparkle sticker paper and it looks awesome with the aged hardwae and blue color.What I hate is the high e string and all its components and the nut just because it broke and i had to glue it back on and it is still there after 2 months.What I wish it had is a new nut,22 frets and my autograph at the 12th fret. To see this guitar in action cek out my band`s site www.expage.cm/LastRealHero BYE!

i got this guitar in mid-00 i traded a gibson sg for it.id say it was a good move.this guitar was made in mexico.i got this guiar in lake placidblue because i thought it looked awesome.it came stock with 3"vintage"sigle-coil pickups and 1 volume and 2 tone and a 5-way selector.all passive.the neck is maple w/rosewood fretboard and 21 frets.all the hardware is vintage the only problem ive had with it is the high e sadle and tuner the saddle moves when being picked hard and the tuner wot hold the string if not cut the proper length and even then it wont hold it some times and the nut broke so i just glued it till i get it fixed.the neck is also a comfortable c-shape with a nice glossy finish on the back.guitar center was nice enough to though in a hardshell case and a fender strap and all the tools

i use this guitar for rock`n`roll with the ocassional bluesy riffand it suits them very well.im using it through a laney half-stack and it sounds superb except the bridge pick-up does get as much distortion as a humbucker would.when in clean the bridge pickup is very bright which is kind of a draw-back at times and the neck is very punchy whichs is great.i dont use the middle pickup because it isnt as full as a tex-mex pickup which i should be installing shortly.other than that it is abeautiful sounding guitar.

the guitar was set up excellent when i got it with the exception for the high e string it wastoo low and was practicaly off the neck,it was too far from the b string.the pickups were at a good height bt ilowered the neck and middle to the body and left the bridge alone.i was even suprised to see it routd only for 3 single coils and not the huge chunk taken out so i couldnt flip the middle pickup around.the only 2 flaws were the strng slots in the nut looked worn down and the neck was out of alignment but guitar center fixed that before i brought it home.

yes this guitar will withstand live playing i played a big show and it held up fine except for 1/2 hour before while restrining the nut decieded to break so i just glue it back on and it has held on since then and that was 2 months ago.the finish on this is great i dropped it a few times and a minor ding or 2 only came out i replaced the buttons with locking ones so i dont drop it again i would use it on a gig w/out backup just as long i replace the strings before the show. it is very dependable.

never delt with and hopefully never have too

ive been playing for going on 5 years and this is my favorite so far even better than the SG. this is the only guitar i own now and probably the only one for a while.if this were lost or stolen i would definitly buy another. the thing i love most about this guitar is the neck it is sooooooooo comfortable and now the pickguard i covered it with this sparkly sheet of sticker paper and it looks awesomewith the aged plastic and the blue finish somone even asked if it cost more $2000 because it looks that good.i compared it with the 62` reissue and it sounds and plays 100% better.the only thing i wish it had isa new nut and my autogragh at the 12th fret.

This excellent axe was made in 1994 by Fender Japan and was not sold until I put it on layaway in Dec. 1995. It has 21 small/medium frets, rosewood fingerboard, and b/w/b 3 ply white pickguard. The bridge is vintage vibrato and the tuners are vintage "machine" or Grover style. The pickups were stock for that model until recently. The neck and head are flamed maple (without skunk stripe) and the body has a 3/8" foto flame top that looks amazing. The stripes in the maple do not have in your face contrast like a typical flame but subtle character, nice birdseye figures and when the light catches the foto flamed areas they look like liquid gold - really striking. The body is alder or basswood - I think basswood but I'm not sure. The 5 way selector was cheap box type and has just been changed to Am Std style - much smoother and more reliable. Tone/Volume controls are standard Strat stuff. This guitar was reduced from a list price of $750.00 to 450because of a dent in the finish above the pickguard. The dent has since grown cracks that run the length of the body but I think it adds character to the instrument and if it has affected the sound it is for the better. Recent mods are Texas Specials swapped for stock, graph tech bridge saddles and an LSR roller nut. This is a unique looking guitar, even for a strat, and makes people jealous. My brother had a friend over the other night - a Rhandy Rhodes disciple with 15 years playing - and he asked if it had just come from the CUSTOM SHOP!!!! He wouldn't put it down..........

This guitar is really amazing. It is supposed to be a budget job from Japan and your typical sound snob wouldn't even consider it. I like to play SRV, Hendrix, Stones, Zep, Nirvana, a little misc jazz and blues. Play through a SS Fender Pro 185 (2x 12) with VOX wah, DOD Super American Metal, Boss pitch shifter - not all at once. This guitar had a great sound with the stock pickups. I also own a 1994 Am Std strat and this one sounds twice as good - always did. With Texas Specials it is UNBELIEVABLE. It always had a very full sound with nice character with only amp distortion. Capable of both bright and nice, warm tones - amazing veratility. Tweaking tone and volume knobs is just hours and hours of fun. Neck pickup with tone turned down gives a heavy, aggressive power chord with distortion and mellow jazz on clean. #2 (neck and middle) is quacky and has no hum due to reverse wound Texas Special configuration - awesome noise! Middle position has more defined tones but still good bass/mid, #4 position is hum free and bright but not too hot, bridge pickup is high output with some volume boost ahen you switch to it - a little shrill - just right for those Texas Flood moments .... With or without aftermarket pickups this guitar always seemed alive - now it practically plays itself! When I got the mods done I played it for a good friend of mine who is a big humbucker guy. His responses ranged from "holy shit," "that sounds like a Les," "it sounds like five different pickups," to "let me play it."
Must be the maple - I don't really care, but there is something different about this thing. Different and definitely better. I would give it an 11 if possible. Now I have an excuse to go out and buy a nice tube amp!

The axe came with a nick in the finish which occurred during shipping. The action was high to begin with, the strings were .009's and the fretbord had factory cheese on it. Five years later, now that I know better, I had it set up for .010's and my tech dealt with the fretboard - cleaned and oiled it. My playing improved by leaps and bounds! The neck is straight and it has good intonation. With graphite saddles and LSR roller nut it stays in tune very well even with considerable whammy abuse. Factory setup was nothing to scream about at all - but the foto flame was what turned my head in the first place; it is striking and beautiful. I would give this category a 2 but the foto flame brings it to a 6 even with the nick it came with.

The largest audience I have played for is five people in a basement. My friends and I had a rule for playing together - must be drunk! The strings never broke during "tourette's," the finish is cracking at points of impact, and the selector switch went on me after five years. For the amount of times this thing has fallen over, been knocked over or dropped it is incredible shape! How the back of the neck has no nicks is beyond me - this thing has some kind of charm about it...takes a lickin and you know the rest
Strap buttons are rock solid - would have said no backup necessary until the slector switch went, otherwise totally reliable.

Have dealt with Fender through a dealer - which is how I bought this guitar. My '94 Am Std Strat had buzz problems and was getting a new neck. The warranty had expired a month prior to my neck needing replaement but they gave me one free anyway - and quickly. While I was checking on this I saw this 60's RI and fell in love. Want customer support from Fender? Go through a Fender dealer. Big manufacturers deal with distributors - period. I work in a distribution warehouse. Even if I have a customer who spends $250,000 a year with me the manufacturers tell him to direct problems through me. A distributor has no incentive to lie to a manufacturer (most of the time) and usually has a repoire with the service rep and can talk the lingo in a professional manner. These factors expediate the process as long as your distributor is professional. If you've never worked in the service profession this may be hard to understand, but we are all creative musicians here so I know you can do it. Imagine getting phone calls about "this thing on my axe don't work," "I have a tone problem - my Strat makes a hum," "the volume knob came off the fourth time I humped the shit out of my amplifier - can I get a free T-shirt?" , "it came without instructions," "if it's electric, how come the plug only has one prong?" ALL DAY. So I'm making this up. I've dealt with similar questions/requests in other fields and ignorance, impulsiveness, lack of communication ability, unrealistic expectations and most of all lack of willingness to part with a buck make customer service a nightmare. And it is fairly common knowledge that the average musician isn't that rich. I don't mean to put anybody down here - I'm aware of some of the horrible ordeals that sometimes must be gone through to get what you paid for! All I'm saying is try to be realistic, try to be a good customer and try to have patience. It worked very well for me and I am the only one I've seen write a positive review for Fender customer service on this site (read a couple hundred). Want a good customer service story? Go read the review(s) of the Gibson 57 Black Beauty RI. This is a great website.

Been playing 8 years. Wish I knew about cheap selector switch so I could have swapped it at the get - go. Wish it had bigger frets, but they'll be in there someday. If this guitar were stolen I would quit my job and go hunting for the bastard, and when I found him I would introduce him to my size 13 steel toe boots, stihl chainsaw, full size pickup truck and small blowtorch - not necessarily in that order. Or maybe I would just bring out the gimp. The finish, sound and playability are superb. I own a '94 Am Std and my brother owns a Les Paul from '80 or '81. This one is not quite as playable as my other strat - which has the best neck ever - but it is the best looking and sounding guitar I know of for rock/blues tones.

1995 Fender Reissue Strat made in Japan. 21 frets, 25.5" scale, 7.25" radius, maple neck with rosewood fretboard and small/thin frets and a basswood body. Typical 60/62 Reissue Strat configuration with 3 single coil pickups, volume knob, 2 tone knobs, 5 way switch, Kluson (style) tuners, vintage style steel saddle bridge (slightly different size than USA bridge due to Japan using the metric system).

The factory pickups and electronics are a cheap flimsy affair and need to replaced ASAP for anyone purchasing a Japanese Reissue Strat. However, the foundation of the guitar (neck and body) are solid as a rock. The guitar, acoustically, resonates very well and seems to have a bit more snap than the USA Reissues. It's important to note that the Japanese Reissue's use basswood for the body instead of alder which is found on the USA Reissue. One isn't necessarily better, just different sounding. My rating for this category takes into account the cheap pickups and electronics. However, the foundation of the guitar which is the neck and body are of excellent quality.

The factory setup was OK and actually pretty good for Fender based on past experience. I've seen Fender Custom Shop Strats that were setup worse. The neck pocket was tight and the neck aligned with the body properly so that the strings were perfectly spaced across the fretboard.

There were only several things that needed to be adjusted. The action was way too low and needed to be raised. The pickup height needed to be adjusted accordingly. The trem and trem springs needed adjustment (I always block down vintage style trems for better tuning stability and better tone). And finally, the guitar needed to be intonated for the strings I use. Although, this may seem like a lot of things were wrong with the guitar, it's not. This is done and has been done to over 95% of guitars that I've bought in the past.

On the positive side, the frets were very well dressed especially by Fender standards. The nut was cut properly. The neck was straight and had the proper relief. Absolutely no fret buzz anywhere on the neck and no fretting out at the higher frets during bends which was surprising due to the 7.25" radius with medium-low action that I prefer (4/64" at the 17th fret High E and 5/64" at the 17th fret Low E).

I've owned MANY Fender Strats over the 18 years I've been playing and this is one of the finest I've seen and absolutely the best value of all the Fender Strats I've owned. All the Fender's I've owned have stood up to the daily playing and slight abuse and have no doubt that this one will last. From my experience, basswood is a softer wood that dings easier than say alder or ash but I could care less since I'm a player and not a collector.

Never dealt with them and have no desire to either. I never understood why people would want to contact them? All the info is up on their website and repairs can be done by your favorite luthier. If you want warranty repair work done, this can be handled by a local Fender authorized dealer.

I've owned MANY Fender Strats over the 18 years I've been playing and this is one of the finest I've seen and absolutely the best value of all the Fender Strats I've owned. The Japenese Reissue Strats compare favorably over the current USA Reissue's and is a better bargain than the MIM Reissue's. It's also been my experience that the Japanese Fender's are more consistent in quality from one guitar to the next compared to the USA and MIM Fender's.

I could care less about the cheap pickups and electronics since I've always swapped out pickups on every Fender Strat I've owned in the past. Fender's pickups are just not my cup of tea. This guitar is deserving of pickups like Kinman's or Fralin's.

1996 Japanese '62 reissue Stratocaster with slab rosewood fretboard, thin frets, basswood body, 3 single-coil pickups and tremolo. Repro Kluson tuners, 25 1/2" scale length and thin frets.
She's shell pink and I've named her Christine :)

The pickups that came with Christine looked brilliant, but sounded cack - they were thin, noisy and squealed at high volume. The first thing I replaced was the pickup selector, because it crackled. Then after approximately a year I finally replaced the pickups with Kinman
AvN-Ws - this sorted the tone problem out immediately (my amp is a Laney LC15).

The thing I liked about Christine when I saw her was her neck - tinted maple with tiger-stripe flaming all over it. She was an ex-display model with a chip on her upper bout.
Initially I wasn't keen on her colour (shell pink) but her action was perfect, and through the stores amplifier she sounded brilliant- however when I got her home her tone sucked. I replaced her bridge pickup with an old diMarzio HS2 I had hanging around, and began thinking about buying a Warmoth alder body to improve her tone, but I went with the Kinman pickups instead, and they obviated the need for a new body *grin*.
I've had her for eighteen months and her body has several other chips on it now and her bridge saddles have rusted quite nicely, and she looks and sounds AMAZING.

I've tweaked the tremolo and now Christine is really reliable thanks to the new pickups - she sounds so good I've sold my Les Paul!

Not needed.

I would recommend anybody to try and get hold of one of these Japanese reissues and retrofit it with Kinmans - you'll have a guitar that looks, sounds and feels priceless. I've been playing for fifteen years and I now have the best guitar I've ever heard. I'm now looking for a Japanese '50s reissue as a backup *grin*.

This guitar was made in 1998 (I assume, since I bought it in middle 1999). It has 21 Frets, solid-top, 1 volume and 2 tone. 5-way selector. Three single coil "vintage" pickups, passive. Alder body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Strat body style (obviously), vintage style bridge (I am considering having it blocked off), vintage gotoh tuners..thin C neck...guitar center threw the case and strap in for me. Yes it came with tools.

I play anything rock, from Cream to Bush. I'm using it with a Morley Steve Vai "Bad Horsie" wah and a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver. The sound is INCREDIBLE!!!! I can get it as fat or thin as I want. I love it!!

Fairly well, except the bridge. The intonation is FUCKED. Thats why I gave it a 3. I can't bend any strings above the 12th fret without them "buzzing out". I am going to take the guitar to have the bridge blocked off and the action raised. Also, I had a problem with the output jack coming loose. Not recently, though.

This guitar is a tank. The hardware seems like it will last, and yes it can withstand live playing. The finish seems good to last too. The strap buttons are SOLID. Yes I can depend on it. I probably wouldnt use this guitar in a gig because I fear for it being lost or stolen. If it were stolen i'd hunt down the jerk and kill him.

Never dealt with them.

This is the only electric guitar I own. I've been playing for just a month shy of a year, but I consider myself fairly good and I think I know what I'm talking about. If it were stolen or lost, first i'd kill the fucker that stole it and then I'd buy a new one. I love everything about this guitar except the bridge. I compared it to the American version of the same guitar, and I found that the mexican version was lighter and sounded better. I wish it had better action and intonation. Overall, a great guitar. JUST WATCH OUT FOR THE BRIDGE AND INTONATION.

new 1999 reissue of the 60's stratocaster, i got mine in sunburst because this one has an alder body which is a major plus, the bridge is always a bit of trouble in stratocasters but nothing a little work wont fix. oh yes and it included a nice gigbag, it has 21 frets and vintage tuners

i'm pretty much an alternative but i also like to play the metal! so this guitar can do them both if you replace the neck pickup for a stronger more powerful one, it is not noisy at all i use it with a fender roc-pro1000. I really love the presence this guitar and it is extremely comfortable to play with

i got to say this guitar was perfect except for the bridge which i had to align to my taste, other than that, 10!!

i replaced the strap buttons for locking buttons and i believe this guitar will take a beating and come out like a champ! i would always use a backup, you never know when a string will brreak

it is new, i have an ibanez rg and i must say i have replaced it permanently with my new strat! if i lost it i would definitely get another one of these, as a matter of fact i prefer this axe over the american standard anyday! i only wish it had a beefier neck pickup!

This is a 1998 made in Japan "60s Reissue" Strat in white. I have owned it for 14 months and it was purchased new. It has a basswood body which is light. It has 22 (I think) frets on a rosewood fretboard over a C shaped, gloss finished, maple neck with a 7.25" radius.
The pickups are reissue single coils with aged plastic covers. Vintage tremolo which I added an additional spring to when I changed the strings from .9s to .10s. All accessories have aged look. The tuners are vintage style tuners. It did not come with a case.

I like and play blues, rock and alternative music. I am using a Sundown Formula 50 all tube amp, a Pignose Hog 20 and I run it through my SansAmp into a Tascam 414 4 track and then into Audix PH-5 monitors. I use the following pedals:
Vox Wah (with full bypass) FullTone FullDrive 2 FullTone DejaVibe 2 FullTone Ultimate Octave FullTone Choral Flange
With the original factory pickups, this guitar was in a word, NOISY. In any single coil setting it was almost intolerable. Don't even think about bringing it close to a florescent lamp. You will get more noise than tone.
With the factory pickups, the tone was very much a strat tone. Bright and bell like. But IMHO, the are too thin. The tone always lacked presence and in time began to wear on me. The only two decent sounding switch positions where the neck and the neck and middle setttings.
2 months ago I changed the pickups to Dimarzio Virtual Vintages in the neck and middle position and Virtual Vintage Blues in the bridge position. The guitar now is incredible. I love the tone. Best of all, no NOISE! I have listened to my recordings before and after changing the pickups and it is a world of difference. Especially in the way of noise reduction. The VV's are dead quiet. I would rate the sound with the stock pickups a 5 and the sound with the Dimarzio VV pickups an 9.

I do my own set-ups on this guitar. I use all the factory specs for my set-up, and just tweek them slightly to suit my needs. So comparing the factory setup to spec, it was tolerable. The action was a little low on the bass side causing some buzz. The pickups were too low and needed to be brought up to spec. You'd be hard pressed to find a flaw on the guitar when I purchased it. It was simply beautiful.

Well I am purely an amateur guitarist so I don't gig. As a amateur who plays almost every day, I have to say there are parts on this guitar that are not great. The pickups look and feel really cheap (take the pickguard off and take a look). I have also had to replace the bridge sections because one of the screw holes stripped out while I was playing. Causing my G string to drop to the frets. I replaced them with Fender USA versions of the bridge sections (which definitely appear to be better constructed)
When I replaced the pickups, the pots and capacitors needed to be replaced to be in spec for the VVs, so I replaced the whole pickguard as well including new 5 way switch. It was much easier to deal with and I am glad I did. The original pickguard only had shielding near the volume and tone pots, and not on the whole guard. The Fender USA version of the mint green pickguard has shielding on the whole back. I sure the lack of shielding was a contributing part of the noise problem.
Otherwise the guitar is built very solidly and the finish is perfect.

I have been playing about 2 years. In addition to the gear I mentioned above, I own a 60's Teisco and a Seagull S6+ Cutaway.
I waited a while before writing my review because I wanted to have a bunch of experience with this guitar before expressing my opinion. The guitar as it is now, with Dimarzio Virtual Vintage pickups, new Fender USA pickguard and Fender USA bridge sections, is incredible. I love the sound, the feel of the vintage neck, the light body and the incredible versatility a Strat provides.
I compared this guitar with Mexican Strats and Teles and really fell in love with it when I played it. The honeymoon was over quickly, but I have been able to re-kindle that love by replacing the pickups and inferior parts.
If it was lost or stolen, I would probably buy an American Standard Stratocaster. I don't want to put the money time, and effort into another one of these babies.
If you can get your hands on one of these used at a good price, grab it. It definitely has an incredible feel and in IMHO plays better than the American Standard, but be prepared to replace the pickups, pickguard and bridge section. After you do that, you will have an incredible guitar that looks very much like a 60's Strat.
Other reviewers have complained about the tuners. I have not problems with my tuners. They seem to work well and hold the guitar in tune. I will consider myself lucky!
One last thing. When I first got this guitar, I was unable to keep it in tune after using the tremolo. I always went sharp on me. After replacing the strings with .10s, adding the additional temolo spring, replacing the bridge sections and adjusting the tremolo to Fender specs, it stays in tune! YES!

This is a Classic 60's Made In Mexico Stratocaster. The usual features: poplar body (Lake Placid Blue), maple neck with rosewood fretboard, 21 frets, aged plastic parts, mint green pickguard, vintage tuners and bridge, pickups with staggered pole pieces... Normally the guitar should've come with a gig bag, but I left the shop with a Fender tweed case. Very nice.

I used to have a very recent American Standard Stratocaster, so much of my opinion will be based on the differences. At home and during practice, I use it with a '63 Reissue Fender Reverb and an original '64 Bandmaster. On gigs I use the same '63 Reverb and a '69 Dual Showman. The first thing I noticed, is a much thinner sound compared to my previous Strat, while the mid to high tones are rather (sometimes too) bright. A little less sustain also. I play in a surf band, and I can't seem to cut through as much as with the Standard I used to have. It came with a 5 way switch, but I will be replacing it with a 3 way soon, as I really don't care for positions 2 and 4 at all. I'm also thinking about replacing the pickups with Antiquity II's or SD Vintage. When strumming unplugged, there seems to be less body resonance than my friend's American Standard. Hmmm... that about covers it, I think. Oh yeah, I have a '64 Fender Jaguar and no Strat can beat it. Period.

The guitar came factory-strung with the usual floss wire, wich is a pain when you're used to .013's. Anyways, I took it home and put a fresh set of .013 Flatwounds on it, wich improved the sound and feel a lot for me. I had to do the ritual saddle height adjusting and nut filing, but once through that, it felt really nice. I especially like the feel/shape of the neck... a lot more than most American Standards I've played. One complain about the bridge is that the saddle height adjusting screws were sticking out a little too much, cutting the palm of my hand while playing. I had to file them down a little. Also, I can't seem to get the bridge flush with the body, and have smooth tremolo at the same time... weird.

So, when I took it home and put new strings on, the low E machine head got stuck on me! Boy was I pissed... I took it back next day, explained the store owner what happened, and he replaced it at no cost. Other than that, the guitar seems quite solid. I use it as backup on gigs, my main guitar being my '64 Fender Jaguar.

The store owner didn't make a case out of it and just replaced the darn machine head.

Well, over here in Europe, I think guitars are waaaaay overpriced. It's not like there's anything to do about it though...
All in all, I'm glad I bought this guitar. I was planning on buying another American Standard, but since the $ course went up like bad digested chili, I had to go another way.

If you play serious guitar but don't have serious money, this is the guitar to get. I own two of these models. One is Japanese, and one is Mexican. They are both different but both great sounding guitars. Vintage everything!
I'm not going to go into detail because it's been done on other posts, but the Japanese Strat is Basswood, and the Mexican is Poplar. Both great sounding axes. Very light too. You need to know this if you do four sets a night and have back problems.
If you have some kind of Nationalistic hang up about buying non-American guitars, snort some advil and move on. The Mexican model is made with American parts and assembled in Mexico by Mexicans. What do you care about the ethnicity of the person who assembled your Strat as long as it sounds good, looks good, and doesn't make you loose your house trying to pay it off?
The crux of the biscuit is that these are great guitars for the real player. Not the collector wanna-be who can't play a C chord but has bucks to burn! When I got mine, I had my tech go in to the cavity and check the pots and the switches. They weren't happening so I changed them upping the quality. Then I changed the pickups. They aren't Fender Vintage pickups so who cares. Do you have a sound in your head? Make it happen on this axe with your own choice of pickups.
This guitar allows you to put your own aural stamp on a great body and neck. Sound like you and stop cloning around! Don't worry about getting arrested by the Blues Police. The Masters had to break away from tradition too. They were mocked and now the music of the Masters live on while the whinners live in whinney obscurity sticking to their tired old school guns!
I'm playing through a Marshall TSL 122 Combo, a Peavey Classic 50 4X10, and Peavey 5150, and a Line 6 Axsys 212. Both guitars sound great in every rig.
I happen to really dig that C neck. It's fat and chunky. A real man's man neck! For me the neck is 3/4 of the battle. If you find a neck you love the rest is easy. You won't find this neck on those Fender American Standards either. And it's cheaper than the American Standard too!
The other guitar player in my band has a real Fender Cherry Red 62' Strat. His axe has better re-sale value but mine sounds better. His axe is noisy but sweet sounding, mine is silent, sweet and deadly sounding. He paid a fortune, and I paid under $600.00 including changing pots, switches, and pickups. You decide who got the bargain.
Lastly, I'm the kind of guy that just can't leave things alone. I've never met a guitar that I couldn't just leave alone thinking it was perfect. This guitar is perfect for me because I can make it my own without spending a lot of money for something that's supposed to be perfect. If I spent $30,000 on a PRS Santana Model it better sound like the holy grail and make small talk between sets.
This guitar is great and it's my main axe. I'm done, and I no longer salivate when I go into guitar stores. I have everything I need in this axe for Stratability.
For pickups I recommend the Duncan Alnico Staggared, Fender Vintage Reverse staggared (for that Jimi Woodstock/Band of Gypsys tone), Texas Specials (for that Super SRV chunk), and the DiMarzio Virtual Vintage line (Silent but Deadly).
PS: I know nothing.