Memphis Strat Copy

I bought a used Memphis Strat for a backup in my road band. It is very similar to the early 70's Fender Strats, made of heavy ash, but great sustain. It is a three single coil model with staggered pole pieces. One volume, Two tone controls and 5-way pickup selector switch. It has a floating tremelo bridge and medium jumbo frets. I replaced the tuners, with some F tuners (Fender) and this guitar is a keeper ! It has great harmonic sustain without the high Fender price tag !!!

I play rock, everything from originals to Steely Dan, Hendrix, Santana, Clapton and use this guitar through a Peavey amp. It has a rich, full sound that is great for soloing and the bridge pickup has the "bite" of a Fender Strat !!!

The setup wasn't too good, I had to adjust each set screw to get the action where it would play good up the whole neck, then I had the intonation checked and adjusted a local music store. The guitar teacher at the store fell in love with it and offered me $125 for it, but I declined the offer and use it all the time.

The hardware is actually better than MIM Strats, the pickups are quiet, but can scream also. The finish is a cool shiny with a hint of the under-the-paint ash swirls. I thought about sanding down to natural, but decided the finish was too nice to chance it. This is one solid guitar that I believe blows the doors off any Standard Fender Strat....and at 1/2 the price !!!

The warranty was 5 years from Manny's (NYC) and they gave me good advice on setting it up. Memphis, a division of Gibson, has these guitars made in Japan, but the quality is right there !!!

I've been playing for 12 years and needed a backup guitar for gigs. As it turns out, this is my main guitar and my MIM Strat is the backup ! If it were stolen, I would try to find another one. For $100, this guitar could be modified enough (pickups, floyd rose, etc..) to be worth over $400 very easily !!!

All the features of a real strat, without the quality.

The pickups sounded even worse than I hoped, very clean, yet scratchy, almost impossible to produce any sort of distortion. And otherwise it was just sort of noisy like an open electrical transformer.

This is the worse guitar I have ever played, much less owned. Much much crappier than my first ever Harmony JCPenny catalog guitar. The finish on my Memphis was just standard black paint with a white pickgaurd. Actually it doesn't matter, no one who buys this guitar cares about stuff like finish. Any way, the neck and action is where this guitar really excelled in its horrificness. The strings were set very very high, yet a note could not be played past the 10th fret as it would just make a clink-clink noise, the same noise from the 10th to 20th fret. And just that noise, no note. Anything lower than the 10th fret was extremely buzzy.

It was quite a bit more difficult to destroy this guitar than I thought it would be. It took several slams agaisnt a concrete floor to break the body in half and the neck was still as good as the day I bought it.

I really would not bother.

I'll admit that I bought this guitar just to destroy it, but it's really all it was good for since songs could not be played on it. I had to end the guitars life lest it fall into the hands of a student guitar player who undoubtedly would have quit playing forever upon the purchase of this beast. In all fairness I owned the guitar for nearly a year before demolishing it, occasionally dragging it around and it always still had the price tag hanging from the tuners. And I actually played it on stage for a little intro thing with my band once and then just dropped it on the ground and picked up my real guitar. I smashed it later at home. I still have the pieces and have thought about glueing or taping it crudely back together and just resoldering the broken electronics and then trying to pawn it just to see the look on the pawnbrokers face. ("What? it works!"). Overall it served its purpose and I knew exactly what I was buying for $35 and actually kind of liked the guitar for being so shitty.

In 1984 I was stationed on board a destroyer in the NAVY(Never Again Voluteer Yourself). I was nervous about keeping my Les Paul on the ship so I went looking for an inexpensive strat copy. I had some old strat pickups I could swap out to make a serviceable instrument. It was Lake Placid Blue with a maple neck. It didn't play too badly but it was real heavy. Standard strat layout (or so I thought).

Dull and lifeless. Weak pickups. No sustain.

Like I said it played OK. When I went to swap out the pickups I discovered that everything on the guitar was slightly scaled down. I couldn't put on a different pickguard because it was too big to fit between the neck and the bridge. So I had to enlarge the holes on the old one. Then I had to enlarge the body cavity. That's when I discovered why it was so heavy. It was all the glue holding this particleboard monstrosity together!

Screws stripped out of the body in no time at all. Once the finish is removed the material underneath starts flaking away.

I never bothered trying. I was on a overseas deployment while I owned it.

This was the worst guitar that I ever owned. Eventually I got so fed up with it that I took all the parts out and took the neck off. Me and my buddies carved our names in the body and threw it overboard speculating about what someone might think when it washed up somewhere.
It sank like a rock... good riddance.

I purchased my Memphis Model 102D Strat style guitar new around 1982 from a store where I had done a lot of business and trusted the owner. I paid around $300 for it and purchased it after seriously considering an Ibanez that costed roughly the same amount. I also own a 1996 Fender Strat Plus which I will use for comparison.
It has a Strat style maple neck with a rosewood fretboard which is bolted on with 4 bolts. The quality of the wood used in the neck is nicer than that used on the Strat. It has 24 frets, the same as the Strat. I made minor adjustments to the truss rod when I initially purchased it, and have never had to readjust it, it's great! I'm not sure who made the tuning pegs, but they have no backlash, and the guitar stays in tune indefinately. The body is made from several pieces of wood that are laminated together. The outer pieces are mahogany, the center section is the same nice maple that the neck is made from and there are a couple of pieces of darker wood (rosewood?) between the center and outer pieces for accent. Overall, it has a Strat shape. The finish is excellent, and shows no signs of wear, although I have played this instrument extensively over the years. The finish is glossy, probably polyurethane, and is thick and transparent.
The pickups are two Bill Lawrence L500 series humbuckers. Electrically it is very similar to a Gibson Les Paul with seperate tone and volume for each pickup, the same Les Paul pickup selector switch, and a pickup phase switch. The main reason I selected the Memphis over the Ibanez was that the pickups sounded so good. I have modified my guitar with active electronics of my own design which leaves one of the original tone pots inactive. This worked out quite well!
The bridge is Strat style, no tremolo arm, but it adjusts identically to my Strat Plus, except for the fact that it has screwdriver adjustment for string height instead of allen key. I have no idea who made it. Strings attach thru body with brass cups to hold the ends.
The fretwork was very expertly done, at least as good as my Strat Plus. I have never had any problem with string buzz, and the tuning is perfect. The frets are different than those used on my Strat Plus, but show no notching or signs of wear, even though I have played this instrument extensively.
The guitar came equipped with Shaller locking strap accessories the same as my Strat Plus.
The case that came with this guitar is nothing to write home about. Cardboard, not terrible, but certainly not great like the Strat Plus case.

I usually play to amuse myself, blues-rock-metal style mostly lead guitar. I have used it with a wide variety of amps and effects boxes over the years. The Bill Lawrence humbuckers are quiet, quieter that the Lace Pickups on my Strat Plus. It always was capable of a wide variety of sounds, but the addition of active electronics has greatly enhanced this. It sounds different than my Strat Plus, but I like the sounds of both guitars.

The Memphis guitar was well set up by the factory. Action was a little high for my style, but I was able to easily adjust it to my needs and it has never changed since I adjusted it.
There were no flaws in the finish, and it has withstood the test of time. Beautifully finished, and made with beautiful wood and good accesories. Even though I modified the electronics, I am using the original pots and switches. Never a problem!

It has stood up for around 20 years, and looks like new! The Schaller strap buttons work great! It is very dependable as long as I replace the 2, 9 Volt batteries that power my active electronics every 4 years or so. I usually bring my Strat Plus if I am playing somewhere, but mostly for sound variety, not out of concern for reliability of the Memphis.

I have never had any need for repair and never tried to deal with the company. The dealer I purchased it from warranted it for 2 years, but I suspect this was his warranty and not the company's.

I have been playing for 48 years. In addition to the Fender Strat Plus I have already mentioned, I have a Danelectro single pickup I bought new in the late 50's (my first guitar), a Gibson acoustic I have had since the early 60's, a Fender acoustic purchased in the late 90's, and several other instruments including a 5 string banjo, a mountain dulcimer, a Roland keyboard, and A Mason & Hamlin Grand Piano.
For what I paid for it, I would buy another one tomorrow! No complaints!
I am surprised at a lot of the negative comments I have seen on Memphis guitars, they certainly do not apply to mine!

memphis strat copy,3 single coils,5 way switching,sunburst finish...
same specs as any stratocaster.this guitar has terrible tuners and an unreliable tremolo system (the damn thing broke twice!!!).has a uncomfortable neck with a sticky coat of black paint on top of a maple neck

this guitar is impossible to create a clean sound but creates a dark disgusting tone that sounds bad. tone knobs do nothing and is very noisy.

this guitar is the worst I have ever played or seen.bad innotation,bad frets , bad bridge and a poorly bookmatched particleboard body.is hard to adjust the action and truss rod

this guitar is imortal and will not go away no matter how hard you try.you will never be able to depend on this guitar for anything

what customer support?

do not even think about buying this guitar it is terrible.instead of playing this beast i got a squier strat pack which is supreme to any memphis strat copy.this is the worst guitar compaired to any cheap and nasty pawn shop special.

Oh God this was the first electric I got for my son in 85. Particle board body 5 way selector, single coils, spraypainted blue body, non working tuners. It was like the finish never hardened.It was like you could lick the finish off. I have been looking to buy one for the last year or so. The first disposable guitar.

This will kill you!!!! Because the the thing was so crappy my son could get tubescreamer sounds out of a fender PRINCETON clean channel. To this day that is the best overdriven sound I have heard. A pity the guitar melted. I'll give it a 9 because it wasn't supposed to sound good

Okay heres another thing. It had an unbelievably fast neck. Almost like a Carvin but the frets were somewhat rough causing minor flesh loss. Oh and the top was exquisitly bookmatched( The guy must have cut it from the same piece of particle board)

Here is where it gets good. My son left it laying overnight against an old 40 watt valvestate I had. It did get hot. So hot that the guitar melted just like an ice cream bar.

They were incredible. They sent two techs out who heated the axe up and bent it back into shape. I think they stole something from my house on the way out

For a few brief moments that guitar was

I dont know when this peice of shit is made. My friend bought from a pawn shawp for an overwhelming 200.00 I mean the guy at the pawn shawp saw him coming a mile away. He is probably laughing his ass off right now. My friend trys to convince himself its good but is without a doubt hands down the worst guitar I ever played No NO No Itake it back the worst guitar had to be his first one I dont know if that was a guitar but anyways, The memphis has a body like a strat but dont let it fool you I wouldnt piss on this thing to put out a fire but I would gladly set it ablaze. the frets stick out of the side of the neck and rip into your hands. Only a coal minor could handel this neck without ripping his hands to shreds

Oh my god this thing sounds like shit but worse id have to say the sound is the worst quality of all its all muddy dark the wires in this thing allways rub against each other and make it all fuzzy I do not like this thing at all.

the strings are two hard to push down making leads impossibe I tried adjusting the height of the strings but nothing helps. It is damn near unplayable

it will hold up because it ways a ton but it will never ever play good it is a peice of SHIT.

yeah right I dont think the company even exists anymore does it???

SHIT. DO NOT BUY THIS GUITAR ANYTHING BUT A MEMPHIS. CUT DOWN A TREE AND BUILD YOUR OWN FOR GODSAKES IF THE PAWNSHOP WANTED TO GIVE IT TO ME I PROMISE I WOULD NOT TAKE IT.

I only ever played a memphis strat clone when a friend brought one to school. it was his beater guitar. It was fun, i tell you. it sounded nice for a cheap piece of crap.
I'm sure there are better things to do with 100$ than buy a memphis
strat clone, but, who are you guys to complain? jesus, a good bridge costs 200$ these days, how do you expect to get a truly playable guitar for 100??? frets are filable/replacable, pickups replacable.
so basically you spend 100 on guitar, 150 on extras and its still a really good deal

This guitar sounded great for 100$ through a peavey multipurpose guitar amp. if you think it feeds back too much, then "splurge" on a set of fender noiseless and drop em in. thats only 100 bucks
I agree, it probably doesn't work for much more than blues.

the finish on the guitar i played was worn and scratched, but it looked like it had taken some abuse. it was playable after years of playing, and the bridge was standard for a strat clone (cheap)

it was a heavy brick of a guitar and it had taken some serious beatings, but it was still ticking.

a website would help, please

i played it for 15 minutes, and i fell in love with it's cheesyness and overall glamour of the sunburst finish. it looked like a guitar that might make a few trips to the shop, but no harm done. it was the closest thing to a fender unless you get a squire, but those things are worthless. i wish it was a 200 dollar guitar, and they had bothered to put fender pickups in it, but oh well. for 100 bucks this is the best guitar out there, but if your used to gibsons and fenders, its worthless. definitely a beginners guitar.

22 frets

solid top

five way selector with two tone knobs and one volume knob

3 shity single coils

body is probably made of alder with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard

the neck had a little bit of a satin finish

strat styled

standard strat style tremelo tailpiece

shitiest tuners possible, absolutely no precision, wont stay in tune long enough to play 30 seconds of a song(im serious too!)

thin neck with medium frets that stick out beyond fretboard, this damn thing used to cut the hell out of my hand, and on top of that you have to take the damn neck off before you can adjust it!

it was decent for a beginning blues player, but i didnt like it for anything besides that

i ran it through a variety of amps and if you use enough effects, they will cover up the sloppiness of this guitar

FOR BLUES ONLY

needs intoning bad

pickups were adjusted fine

this guitar has shity fret work on it, they arent even filed well

well what can i say... i destroyed it in aproxamitely 15 seconds flat

ive playing for 5 years, and memphis guitars can blow me

This was my first electric. It is a mid-80's model with a maple neck and a plywood body (I guess). I have taken this guitar apart in the past and in the processes, I destroyed the original single coil pick-ups. As a result, they were replaced with Seymour Duncans. The crappy tuners were also replaced with new ones from a modified Fender Strat. The neck featured 21 small frets and a 251/2" scale.

I have "new" pick-ups in this thing, the original pick ups were not too great and used to feed back too easily.

The guitar had a beautiful metalic black finish. The neck joint was poorly excecuted (I had to tighten the neck to make the strings line up with the pickups). The guitar played well, though. The strap buttons have become loose. I hated the thick clear finish on the neck. The workmanship was typical of a budget guitar.

I used to play this guitar alot (for years it was my one and only) and it has taken some abuse.

I don't know anything about Memphis except for this: there is no such thing as customer support

I have been playing for 19 years. I own two fabulous Fender Strats that I absolutely love. The Memphis was a Christmas gift from my father and was my very firs electric guitar. Actually, for a first Strat it was kind of ok. For beginners today, there are better quality guitars to choose from.