Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Signature Stratocaster

you should already know the features...

THis guitar sounds just like you expect..if you overdrive it and run it through a Marshall you will get Yngwie's sound..I run mine through my Boogie Nomad 45 and love it. I would describe it as a 'greasy' sound.

I must admit, I had purchased expensive guitars before so my expectations were high when I was opening this one. Still, I was taken back by just how great this guitar looks. Almost all things were flawless. Finish perfect. Relief just right. I did lower the action but I do that on all my guitars. One point of disapointment was that the back plastic cover over the tremolo springs was not screwed in all the way. Upon further investigation, the holes were never drilled deep enough. That surprised me as I would think Fender's QA would have caught that. Other than that the guitar is damn near perfect . I have read others complaining about the neck joint. It isn't perfect, but I would not complain about it. Actuall I would not have even noticed it had I not read others comments. Being a Manufacturing Engineer during the day, it is hard to impress me with a good finished product. This guitar impressed me.

This thing feels like it is built like a tank. Let's be honest, how long has the Strat been around? I think that speaks for itself. I would depend on it without a back up, no question.

Fortunately haven't needed them. Was able to register online. A plus.

I love this guitar. Without question. The scallopped fretboard really gives you string control like now other. I though my Parker was the best in this catagory, but I enjoy bending even more now.

Spezels would be nice..

This is a review for a brand-new 2004 American YM Signature Stratocaster. This is NOT the first Yngwie signature I have owned, nor is it the first scalloped neck guitar I have owned. I have played scalloped neck guitars exclusively from 1987 to 2000.

I wanted to avoid the "Christmas rush review" syndrom by giving a review the day I got it (which I hate in reviews). But I have played scalloped guitar for over 15 years, and owned the 1989 version of this guitar prior to this one to know I got a great guitar and six more months of playing wont change that.

This is a STOCK model. It has Schaller vintage 'F' machines, oversized headstock, brass nut, 3-position switch (not the 5 like the older model), scalloped maple neck with Dunlop 6000 jumbo fret wire, vintage white body, two YJM single coils and a single DiMarzio HM3 in the bridge section. The bridge is the 6-screw vintage type, and it has all aged plastic parts, light mint green pickboard. It came with a tweed hardshell case, Fender strap, manual and a nice guitar chord. The finish is excellent: its that heavy-duty looking American standard laquer (nitrocellulose?) and looks like it is built to play for years.

I would have given a '9' ('10' is impossible), but the lack of at least the latest American standard tuners dropped it to an '8'. I do like Klusons and the Vintage 'F', but it would have been nicer if it had the new Fender locking type. Also bigger strap buttons so the cheap strap they give doesnt drop your new $1300.00 guitar.

The new Vintage 'F' tuners (like the new standard Fender Klusons) work if the player knows to tune upto the notes and work out front/backlash by stretching the strings and repeat tunings until it has stabilized. But, the newest American standard tunes (sealed Schaller) are far superior, and the locking version tops them. Too bad Yngwie has more style than desire to keep a guitar in tune.

I was actually pleasantly suprised by the sound and tone. It mad all of the classic American strat sounds, and the rear stacked humbucking pickup allowed for some shredder tone.

I have played many types of strats: real vintage types, loads of 70s models, the newest 50th Anv model, and the Mexi strat line (which are also great). The hottest one of them all was a black Fender standard fat strat HSS with a Floyd. That was one of the heaviest guitars I have owned with its humbucker from hell.

I could best say that the sound of the single coil YJMs are not hot, but VERY toney. They are more than a 50s Alnico type, but less than what you would expect in a Texas Special. The rear pickup is not excessively hot either. The Mexi Fat Strat HSS I had was MUCH hotter, and the sound with the rear pick up would not sound 'stratty'.

The rear pickup on this guitar keeps the stratty sound. From what I can tell its a shade more boose over a 50s Alnico type with the quiet of humbucking.

I guess I would expect that the pickups are more geared for tone rather than output, as Yngwie is quoted as yammering about how the pickup must be a PURE pickup and not just for hot sound.

The scalloped neck also affects tone, as you are not deadening the string into wood. The tone is brighter, and the steel on steel contact makes for some great vibrato and sustain (listen up Santanna).

Dont buy this guitar for a replacement to a Randy Rhodes Jackson modified with a battery operated pre-amp. This one makes improved strat sounds. I know of a guy in the Chicago area that has three of them and uses them for blues and alternative music (not metal of thrash). I bought it to play Robert Cray light to Pantera heavy and it does so well accross the board (it is like any other improved American standard).

I got this brand-new from the factory. It was factory set like any other factory American standard (they vary). It required some minor modifications to play great and stay in tune GREAT. Remember this is a 70s strat with better picks and scalloped neck.

This is not a shredder guitar. I know that sounds like total BS, but if you want one of these to play true shreadder music, get a Jackson or a Via/Satrianni Ibenez. Pick up a nice setup American Standard sometime: the scalloping helps, but you can get faster on an Ibenez or Jackson (but then you get lack of tone).

Remember that Yngwie uses high action, 008-49s, 1.5mm picks, and has long lanky fingers: he does not play a Strat because its the fastest thing to play on. He would still shread on a Hondo connected to the cheap transistor amp you get with them in the $100.00 beginner guitar packages.

How was the quality: well, I got to admit the $1300.00 made me expect a Christmas wrapped Les Paul Custom delivered by Pam Anderson (ala natural of course). The reality set in that this is an American standard Stratocaster (and not a Martin guitar). This guitar was in par with any of the other strats I have owned, saw, or played (quality-wise). All Strats are maintenance traps, and require TLC to make them play flawless. Once stabilized, one can see whay since 1954 little has changed.

The weight was nice, and it feels like I am playing a guitar and not a light Squier. I have to admit it feels nice to play, and anyone who uses strats know you can play 100 of them and find 20 you hate, 60 you can play on pretty well, and the remaining 20 you absolutely jam on. They vary that much.

So what about the scallop neck you may ask:

The scalloping helps to make the note transition more fluid with less effort to do smooth runs from the 1st to 6th string. One benefit that you get is that you ALWAYS hit that bend no matter where it is at (you can even bend and control 1st and 2nd fret bends on the high E or B!).

Scalloping makes linear line runs much easier, but it is true that you must get used to the feel. The first thing people that picked up my scalloped guitars is that after a couple minutes of playing, their fingers hurt, as the fingertips support the string at all times (not like wood necks).

I find that people either love or HATE scallop neck guitars. Even myself going 15 years on a scallop neck only: a Rosewood neck and no scalloping was a nice change on my next main guitar.

My current and only guitar is the '04 YM Signature series, and I dont feel that I am at a disadvantage to play blues, rock, metal, chainsaw sounds out of this guitar.

If it played more like a Jackson, I would have given it a '9'.

While I have not owned it for years, I can tell it is like any other 70s American Standard, except with all new everything. I would trust it as my primary guitar.

Unknown:

As I said, this is not a metal head shredder guitar (you need a Jackson for that). This is a suped up and improved 70s model with the scalloped neck and brass nut. This guitar does the blues/rock/classic rock and metal thing just fine. I could get an off-the-rack American standard with Texas specials and do about the same thing, but this one is designed around being fast and toney for a strat (and not being the ultimate shredder guitar).

Note that I wrote this for the NEW YM Signature series, and not the older model designed after a 50s style. The new one is in par with what he actually uses (Mine looke exactly like the one on his PLAY LOUD #1 video cover). The older one I had was a strange animal: 2-point pivot tremolo w/heavy saddles, Kluson tunes, 5 position switch, sonic blue. I did not like it, and the location of the truss adjustment (pickguard) pissed me off.

If you are going to get one, dont get the old model: get what he actually uses, as this is a jam-a-tronic 70s strat (dont let the Yngwie stigma scare you). This is a nice Fender custom shop guitar to own, and was the second signature series offered by Fender (Eric Clapton was first).

I would have given a 9 for better shredder action and better tuners, but what do I want out of an factory custom American Standard Strat for 1300.00?

Here we go again. Reviewing a 2004 Fender Yngwie Malmsteen signature stratocaster. This is a U.S.A model incorporating all the standard stratocaster features such as; 21 frets on a 25.5 scale, alder wood for the body in sonic blue color, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, 1 volume & 2 tone controls, 3 way pickup selector, standard strat tremolo mounted to the body via 6 screws. Tuners are vintage type non locking Schaller's.

To turn the guitar into an Yngwie Malmsteen model the instrument was fitted with a full length medium scalloped rosewood fingerboard, 2 Dimarzio YJM's, and 1 HS3 vertically stacked passive humbucking pickups in a standard strat configuration. These pickups appear as single coils but are humbucking and so they do not hum. YJM pickups are basically HS3's with a vintage magnet stagger. Strats have a alot of usable non-gimmic features, and the Yngwie signature model takes it up a couple notches.

Guitar included strap, polishing cloth, amp cord, manual, etc.

Normally, guitars such as this suit my high energy rock style. And I have played a 1989 version of this guitar since 1990. However, I have been having a problem with Fender as of late, and so this guitar was not played at all. In fact, the instrument was never taken out of its case. For this reason I cannot comment on any aspect of its sound.

This is the second one of these guitars I have owned in the last several months. I have been forced to return them because they have been made so poorly that I am not willing to keep them. The first 2004 that I purchased had a gap in the neck pocket where the neck mounts into the body that was so large, this because the neck was mounted to the body at such an angle, that the strings were so out of alignment that you could not really play it without the first string falling off the edge of the neck. For various reasons this could not be corrected by adjusting the neck in its neck pocket. So back it went.

On this second 2004 model, Fender gave it their all for that 2 or 3 minutes that they made the guitar, but just could come up with anything better than shifting the gap from the top, or left neck pocket extreme edge as you face the guitar as it sets vertically, to the bottom, or right neck pocket extreme edge as you face the guitar as it sets vertically. So, they basically moved the gap where the neck mounts into the body from one side of the neck pocket to the other.

Though they were not able to construct the instrument competently, they did go all out and try and make it right in the end. Fender did something I have never seen on a factory Fender or any other bolt on type guitar, they filled the gaps between the sides of the neck pocket portions of the body with a gray tinged clearish epoxy or silicone filler!!!! Way to go guys! Set the computer to cut the neck pocket routes too wide for the neck, then slap some silly putty in there to 'make it right.' But hey, the string alignment was much better!

I had noticed that the tremolo was mounted perfect on the first 2004 I received, so you can guess that the route for the tremolo on this second instrument was cut too far from the pickgaurd edge, which produced a large gap between the pickgaurd and the tremolo. This nonsense, which might have thrown the scale length off, but probably could have been compensated for with extreme forward adjustment of the bridge saddles, especially for the money I paid for this guitar I was not going to tolerate this inferior construction. As you might have guessed by now, back it went.

Customer support, as intended in this survey, does not apply. Both 2004 models were assessed as being defective, due to sloppy, profit rather competent oriented quality control, and as such, I dealt with the retailer regarding rectification, they in turn dealt with Fender.

I have been playing since the late 70's, and I have owned numerous Fender Strats, Teles, Gibson Les Pauls, original Dean Z's, Jackson Soloists, San Dimas Charvel, good amps, etc, so I know what good guitar gear is, and how a Fender strat should be made.

I love the scalloped necks on the Yngwie Malmsteen signature models, that's why I play them. I would buy it again, but not by mail order. Fenders quality control is so poor at this point, that unless I can find one hanging in a store that is made properly, I cannot buy any more of this model. I wish the recent model of this guitar had a better fit & finish so I could actually feel good about owning one. Having to wait 5 or 6 weeks on guitars made this bad is unacceptable.

I am going to buy an Epiphone Elite Les Pail Standard plus instead because of Fenders inability to make the modern version of this guitar properly at this point, at least in my experience.

I can supply pictures of these guitars on request.

Mine was made in USA , I got it in 1996. 21 frets , scallop neck , maple neck/fretboard , alder body. It has 2 tone & 1 volume control.
Dimarzio HS-3 pickups in neck & bridge position with a standard single coil in middle .The colour is candy apple red , nice colour!
Exactly the same type Yngwie uses in his Live In Leningrad & REH instructional video.Comes with a hard case with a fender cable , strap , handbook polish cloth & tremolo bar.

At first wasn't use to it ( low output pickups ) but after using it all these years , it's now my main guitar ! I retired my Ibanez RG 550 just last year due to cracks in the neck .The YJM strat is not for plugging in directly to a small practise amp , you need a overdrive/distortion pedal to enhance the output . I played instrumental rock , blues & metal and trying to write my own material . I have two Marshall amps , a VS15R in a room and a AVT 20
in the living room. I used the YJM strat through various effects either a ZOOM GM 200 , a Digitech Genesis 1 or Yamaha DG stomp.The YJM strat sounds best in Marshall amp settings for both the GM 200 & Genesis 1 as well as Fender & Vox amp simulation. The sound through the DG stomp is awesome as well ! The pickups are not noisy as they are stacked single coils, can't play thrash ? Believe me, I have try using a Zoom Tri-metal through the Marshall AVT 20 & wow it can sound heavy as well ! The distortion is clean & clear , not muddy at all . If you listen to Yngwie albums , he can sound real heavy when playing riffs . The Man still has the best tones in the shred kingdom ! The pickups sound pretty balance , though its more on the treble side , there is enough bass & mids to go by .

The guitar came in good condition , I don't need to adjust anything.

I have never played live before , but it will last as long as you don't set it on fire or smash it to pieces ! I made a mistake of leaving it in the hard case for four years as I was feeling cold towards playing and having lack of inspiration and upon picking it up in 2001 , I was shock to see the rust on my strings & hardware !
I just had it rusted part changed . The guitar is rather solid and will stood the test of time . Now its my baby & I am giving it some TLC .

I have been playing since 1990 but stopped between 1997 to 2001 due to lack of inspiration .It's now my main guitar and yes ! I just got another candy apple red YJM strat from a second hand store ! I am now probably the only guy in my country that has 2 candy apple red late 50's headstock Yngwie Malmsteen signature strat ! Why ? because people I know prefer the new one ;the vintage white / cream colour with YJM & HS-3 pickups and late 60's/70's headstock that Yngwie is currently using .I would love to buy the new one but for the price of it , 1 new one = two of my candy apple red YJM strat ! In fact I traded my new Samick Fastback 2 as a down payment for the second strat ( like trading a first hand car for a second hand Ferrari !)
If my guitars were stolen , I would hunt down the guy & sue him for a sum to buy a dozen of these ! In my opinion , the YJM signature strat is the most unique & probably the best Fender strat ever made. Why ? because of its scallop neck . If you look at other signature Strat , don't they look like the standard Fender strat except for the colour , pickups , hardware & signature ? Yeah Ritchie Blackmore's strat also has a scallop neck but the YJM strat looks better ! The scallop neck feels good to play especially for vibrato & bends but once you got used to it , you should be able to play fast or shred easily.I have another guitar which sounds & feels good also ; a Killer Pirates ( hardly can find in the West )which I used it once in a while but for now the YJM strat is my main guitar of choice

just a fender YJM, check it at fender.com

the sound of this guitar is awsome, its smooth, clean, bright and the dimarzios are great, but it this guitar alone its far away from the yngwie malmsteen sound, you will need to load this whith lots of pedals

the guitar came with very hard strings and the bridge was to high, almost like a floyd rose,both are things that i hate, so back in home i went to the guitar shoop for a calibration, after that, it never needed any tipe of service

i think this guitar will live longer than me, but i could really use a backup, because the tunning isnt very durable.....after all, its a strat right????

i live in argentina, so for me it was hell to but this guitar, they even sent a guy form fender to the airport with my guitar in a conection flight to buenos aires.
they were great, i rate it with 10, but i give it a 20

this is a great guitar, but if you are looking for the yngwie malmsteen sound and you dont want to spend more money, then i suggest you buy another guitar, or change the pickups for a louder ones

Reveiwing a 2004 Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Straocaster. Basically a standard strat modeled after an early 70's type in sonic blue color with a scalloped rosewood fingerboard and dimazio pickups (YJM's front & middle, and HS3 at the bridge)in all three positions. All the standard stratocaster features that are well known. Stock strats have alot non gimic features, and the scalloped fingerboard pushes it up a notch or two.

I only played it for 20 seconds, so there is not much to go on regarding its tonality.

This is where this poor thing imploded. The neck, which was decent, was mounted onto the body in a neck pocket that was cut too wide for it which caused a large gap to be present between the side of the neck and the neck pocket edge. This gap would be on the left side of the neck pocket as you face the guitar. Neck could not be shifted in the neck pocket for various reasons, and because of this, the strings were out of alignment with the first string practically hanging off the neck to the extent that I could not play lead on it without it falling off the neck. The Yngwie Malmsteen signature decal was also crooked, making an otherwise neat strat headstock look like it was made by drunks. Other aspects of construction were not top notch, but passable.

I bought the guitar from Musicians Friend, and they gave me no grief when I complained about the instruments construction, even paying for return shipping of the guitar back to them.

I have been playing at the guitar since 1977, and have played a 1989 version of one these Malmsteen signature models since 1990. That instrument has none of the construction issues that this 2004 model has. I love the scalloped necks on these guitars, so, yes, I would replace it if something happened to it, like, oh, lets, say, Fender slipped into 3rd world mode during the 90 seconds they made this axe, forcing me to re-order, hopefully for the last time, as it took 5 weeks to get this one, and it will end up taking 5 or 6 more to get its replacement.

You've probably read all the other reviews its all the same, 3way pickup selector, dimarzio- hs3 + 2 yjm pickups ,maple neck vintage white. 1 string tree, brass nut + the "scalloped" neck 21 frets.

The sound of the guitar at the beginning was pretty weak, without an overdrive pedal your not going to get a good distortion like yngwie has, it will just do for blues or similar music if you dont get one, trust me. But i ofcourse knew this and bought a DOD yjm 308 overdrive and now its suddenly the coolest sound ever! It's perfect for shredding and every form of metal/rock/hardrock music. The Yjm-pickups are great because they give a perfectly balanced tone, not dark creamy and muddy like a super-highpower humbucker, and not noisy and so-bright-the-windows-break like an old crappy singlecoil.
The sound of the Yjm pickups is more balanced, sort of like a mix between humbucker and singlecoil sound :) hard to describe really, listen to Yngwie Malmsteens song called Icarus Dream Suite Op 4.. There you can hear both the distorted sound when he plays chords and the soloing sound. or Rising Force for the Chugga-chugga sound =D

The best part of the sound is the sound you get when you solo, thats where this guitar really stands out, check out the songs i mentioned and you'll notice. It is absolutely NOT noisy at all, its quiet when you want it to be =) .

I play mostly metall, shred, and neoclassical/classical stuff, some blues and rock/hardrock and the guitar is great for all of this, but as i said earlier if you buy this guitar you WILL need a good overdrive orelse it just won't sound good at all, except clean tone ofcourse. I play it through my DOD yjm 308 overdrive into my Peavey Supreme transtube, the sound is awesome specially the solo sound!

The big dislike about the sound is that its not great from the beginning, the pickups are too weak and need a boost..But i'll still give it a good rating because when you get the right overdrive and amp this guitar RULES!

The stringaction was great from the beginning, low but not too low and thats how i like it.

Another thing about the guitar is that the top E and A strings (the darksounding ones..my english sucks) was "ringing" a bit when i played them open, the guitarshop where i bought it has promised to fix it. And another annoying thing i noticed is on the smallest E-string at the 15 fret and up to the 21fret the strings also sort of "ring" a bit , the tone is not as clear as it should be, i really hope the shop where i bought it can fix that.

The scallops is where my main issue is with this guitar, i bought it becuase i love yngwies music and because i totally love the feel of the scalloped neck, it gives you more control of the strings, it's easier to bend and playing just goes easier on the fingers (for me).
When i went back to my old guitar it felt like crap and i couldnt believe it was so hard to bend specially on the high strings 12fret and above. So the feeling of the "scalloped" neck is just wonderful.

Well the scallops on my guitar were actually pretty horrible, it's more like it's flattend, or filed down as someone else said in another review.
It's definately NOT the fine round shape that i saw on Yngwies guitar in a video once or on pictures of "the duck".. Well since it's flattend it still plays like a scallop, the feeling is absolutely great, but it doesn't look as cool as yngwies scallops. Wich gives it a BIG minus in this section. I paid 17000kr for the guitar it was new (it's like maybe somewhere around 1400-1500$ dollars).. So i paid more than most of the people here and my scallops looked bad. That pisses me of a little bit =)

The finish on the guitar looks good, but the neck isn't perfectly fitted into the body of the guitar wich again gives it a big minus, i mean i don't notice any differance when i play or anything but for this ammount of cash i want a PERFECT guitar, god i hope someone from fender reads this and makes it better for future customers!

Well, most of the flaws can be fixed except for the scallop problem and the neck-body connection. So the guitar had some flaws from the factory, some could be fixed some not, and that just sucks, i want better scallops!!! =(

It will and has withstood live playing, it all worked really well.
The hardware looks like it will outlive me, enough said.
The strap buttons are really solid.
Yes i can depend on it, it's aboslutely no problem in this division, i have used it on a gig wihtout a backup, but i guess if i get rich someday i'll buy anotherone incase of string-breakage, wich actually is very rare on this guitar, i've hade mine for like 4-5 months and no string break yet, and i shred ALOT =) play it everyday ..

customer support was actually pretty crappy, first of all i tell the store where i bought it that there was some minor flwas on it (the "ringing" on the strings) and i asked them if they could fix it, they said i had to pay more.. i was like "#&?%%?(?#%!! i already payed 17000kr for the damn thing and it wasn't working properly, well anyway i still had to buy an amp and they promised to fix it since i bought the amp from them. But the repair-guy wasn't in that day i had to come another day, well it's been 2 months i haven't gone yet, but those arses better fix my guitar =P ....

Well enough about the store, i dislike Fender aslo, I know many of you are going to disagree with me now but i wanted 24 frets instead of the standard 21 on the guitar (i knew this would raise the price a little, but damn!) and fender told me that it would have to go through the customshop and cost me 30000kr extra.. I paid 17000kr for 21 frets and they want 30000kr extra for 3 shitty frets?.. If i added the money together i'd have like 17+30 = 47000kr... for that ammount of cash i would have got almost 3 yjm signature guitars or 63frets....
Thats why i hate fender! Don't get me wrong i love the guitar, my precious :P but i don't like the company at all.. They suck hope they get better at stuff in the future!

I've been playing for about four years now, my first guitar was a crappy Fender Squire wich i bought just to se if i'd stick with the guitarplaying. Well i did and i knew what sound i wanted, and it was this guitar. Amazing for shredding and soloplaying.
I wish i had known more about the scalloped neck on this guitar, they feel absolutely great, i love scallops! But they look horrible, just filed down. Yngwie should be pissed of at fender for this!

If it was stolen or lost i would get a job and save money and go buy the same guitar but with better scallops and more frets, it only has 21, for me 24 would be better. Wich fender probably would charge me millions of dollars for, since they overprice everything.. those b#%#%#...
Haha, the scallops is the thing i love and hate mostly on this guitar, they feel so great, but look so horrible!

The sound is great and it's just an amazing instrument, but let me repeat for the millionth time:
* You NEED and overdrive for this guitar and with it its gonna rule!!
* The scalloped neck feels VERY good, it's easier to bend, easier to play and you get more control over the strings. But they look filed down, not filed round nicely as in the pictures!

Features:the scalloped neck is one of the bets features on this guitar <althouth some whiney old farts,particually every1 on here who keeps whining about the giutar and the scallpoed neck...>.
It also has Yngwie J. Malmsteen p/u's in it which kick ass on every other single coil on the market even still 2day.rosewood fretboard,mines got the well youve read ever1 elses havent you?!well if you do't know what it has by now... ... ... duhhhhhhhhhh

this guitar is like any other for versatility im only 15 but im the western region guitarmageddon champion.you play any style on almost any guitar.and I could obliterate any of you fools on here in my sleep.so anyway,this guitar is espesially good for people who play shred like Mr.Malmsteen i do anyway but some people whine about the pickups in these but i think they kick ass as far p/us go some are suited for certain styles like on my rhoads professional they are super super hot and dont even get a clean tone by the my amps that i ususally shred through are an A.R.T dst 830 rules breaker witch versatile as well as my line 6 flextone2 i use the more my dad uses the art more than methough.

the action on mine was so killer when i bought it new it had real nice vol.+tone pots also but im a major shred head so use low-ass action my dad was a gradute top o'the class in the guitar instute of technology in hollywood Ca so he knows his shit y'know

its like all strats desinged by leo fender a true american geneius but once i tried to spin it behind my back like yngwie and it went through the wall and had only a few dings and scratches not bad deep1's either so it's a killer axe through n' through man.

who the he;ll knows i've never had to deal with any guitar/amp company in my life neuther has my dad

i've been playin fer a 2 and a half years but im the giutarmageddon west region champs so go figure <guitrmageddons every march at guitar center everywhere:)>

Guitar was made in USA. 21 SCALLOPED frets!!! BEAUTIFUL job on the scalloped frets! Easy to bend strings and plays FAST!!! Large headstock! Vintage color knobs and pickguard. Came with 3 way and 5 way pickup switching. Looks like a brass nut.

This guitar sounds smooth... great for lead tones! This guitar is very versatile. Can play blues, fusion, jazz, whatevers. Pickups are quiet, no noise. I play through a Fender "Evil" Twin and this guitar sounds so warm when played clean.

I bought this guitar used so i dont know about factory settings. Action on mine is great because i have a guy who sets it up for me. I adjust the pickups myself and they sound great. Finish is NICE! No flaws on my guitar. Beautiful guitar!

it fell off my wall and onto a rug and has not a scratch on it. VERY durable and reliable!!!

I have no idea. Never used it.

I've been playing for 8 years now and i've been searching for this guitar used for a while now and finally got my hands on one and i will never let it go. My favorite out of the bunch. Love it more than my Ibanez Jem 7vwh (Vai model)! I play it mainly through a Fender Twin, Line 6 pod, a variety of pedals. If it were stolen or lost, i'd steal it back or steal another one and risk going to jail or just buy another one. I love everything about this beauty... tone, feel, finish, scalloped fret board, sexy curves. What i hate? What i hate is that people think the scalloped frets are supposedly harder to play or take time to get used to but i think they are easier to play and have a great feel. If you are reading this... GO GET ONE OF THESE!!!! YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!! Unless you dont make love to your guitar when u play it.

This is a brand new USA model YJM. The main feature is the scalloped fretboard. This is what sold me on this guitar. At first, I thought it might be a gimmick, because no-one else has that kind I wasn't too sure how I would like it. After playing, I started wondering why no-one else has it. It gives the guitar so mouch more feel, because each fret is distinct. Going back to a normal fretboard, it feels like it has no life. If you want features, buy the variax, because other than the fretboard, there arent too many other features.

I love the sound of this guitar. I play it through a line 6 spider, and it's so clear, I love it.

The factory set-up was terrible, and luckily I had a 30 day warranty to get any repairs necessary. Where the neck and the body are connected isn't very pretty. Close inspection shows a few flaws. I was surprised at all this after having paid such a high premium for a custom shop!

This guitar seems very reliable. I have no clue why they give you "vintage" hardware. It's a stupid concept, what do they think will happen if they give us new hardware, it'll get newer? The strap buttons are tiny, and I'm thinking of getting the strap lock ones.

Fender support is terrible. Look at what they did to Jackson. It takes half an hour of needling through their website to find customer support. Go to any website, and you will find a "contact us" link, Fender doesn't have one, which pissed me off.

I love the guitar, mainly because of the fretboard, but I think once the idea catches on, this guitar will not last the test of time. Other companys hopefully will add this unique feature to their guitars. (scallops)