SX SST 57 Vintage

awesome strat copy for 100 bucks.

its very versitile, and sounds great for all kinds of music, i play, punk, metal, classic rock, jam, alt, etc. with my band and it goes in great. this guitar is my back up though, i use an ibanez jet king 2 for my main guitar but this one holds its own when i need it to. it sounds like your basic strat, even with standard pick ups which i probably wont even change. no dislikes at all.

the action was ok, needed some work, so i set the intonation, action, pickup height, etc. in about 1hr 30mins. no flaws on the finish mine is candy apple red which seems to have metal flake in it and a maple neck. the only thing i have wrong with it is that the high e string has a bit of odd twang to it but i think it needs a new nut is all. which i have i just havent installed it.

this guitar is very durable, strap buttons arent moving, finish is very thick and strong, and it is very dependable. i dont gig much but when i do i always us a back up so it wouldnt matter by the way again this is my back up guitar.

i have dealt with the company before by email and they responded really fast, they are nice, and do a good job. i dont have a warranty on it, i dont remember if it came with one, but since its my back up and it was only 100 i can afford to replace it.

i am 16 and i have been playing guitar seriously for about 8 months now and i own a line 6 30watt amp which has a bad pot so i dont use it, a marshall 15 watt practice amp, squire p-bass, hohner acoustic, and my baby the ibanez jet king 2. if it were stolen i would not buy another one unless i was on a tight budget. i would probably buy something more high end and probably hollow or semi-hollow body. this is a great guitar for the price and from a great company.

You've read it all in the other reviews. Strat copy. This particular guitar is Vintage White, Maple neck, Alder body.

Plugged it into a Fender Champ 25 and then a Marshall 15 watt valve combo. I was very surprised. It sounds like a good Strat.. for 99 bucks.

Action was a little high, intonation not good.
I checked the neck... there was a bow. A couple of little turns of the truss rod and the neck straightened out.
I spent a couple of hours on intonation/action and it is now excellent.
Nut was a little squeaky. Rubbed #2 pencil in there and there are now no creaks and jumps.
Guitar looks great - has real 'vintage soul'.
I would expect to set any guitar up - this was no surprise.

Of course it will stand live playing. (Is there any other kind?)

Rondo are excellent - absolutely excellent.

I've been playing professionally for 35 years.
I've owned a lot of name guitars. My main guitar is a 65 Firebird.
This little Strat is fantastic. I purchased a Butterscotch SX Tele a few weeks back which was so good I thought I'd just get one of these and I was not disappointed. It's silly money... how can you go wrong?

SX SST57. Standard Strat setup....You know the deal.

Sounds good...but not great out of the box...more on that below. I will tell you exactly what to do to make this guitar irreplaceable.

Rough setup. Did you actually buy this for $99 thinking you would have to do nothing to it?

I basically buy these guitars for the wood. That part is exceptional! Tuners suck. Electronics are suitable.

Absolutely the best! You rock Kurt!

HERE IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO MAKE YOUR AM. STD. STRAT GREEN WITH ENVY!!:
First, Replace the pickups with something better. I use a Seymour Duncan JB Jr. in the bridge and GFS Vintage alnico staggers in the neck and middle. Second, take the bushing nuts off your tuners and throw some thick penetrating oil in them. Third, replace the horrible plastic nut with either bone or graph tech types. Be very careful when removing the nut, it is glued in there with amazing mega super glue. You can actually rip part of the fingerboard off in the rosewood versions. Fourth, take some 400 grit sandpaper and sand down the sharp edges of the string trees. Fifth, re-string and play, then sit back and wonder why you ever payed so much money for that American Strat. I absolutely love the necks on the SX Strats! If you are a blues player and do alot of bends, look no further. This SX absolutely smokes any Fender guitar I have ever owned....and not by just a little bit. There is something about the way these guitars feel, and their responsiveness for lack of a better term that keeps me buying them. I cant get enough! If you are capable of doing these simple repairs, you are about $200 away from pure guitar bliss. I used to be one of those headstock name people, and I still encounter them at gigs, but once they hear this guitar they eat their words real quick!

Brand new, China, 22 frets, solid top, 1 vol, 2 tones standard strat setup. The rest, blah, blah, you can read below.

My style, . . . mmmmmm.... is terrible a stlye? I have been trying to play guitar for 27 years and I'm still terrible. But, it suits my style, for than matter, any guitar suits my style. I can make a $2000 guitar sound terrible, so I'm not worried about a measley $100 guitar. I do my best to make this one sound terrible also. But to my surprise, it sounds pretty good. Not as sweet and glassy as my "real" strat, but acceptable and usable.
Amps = A Peavey, a Fender and a Crate. Don't know models, and I'm sure you don't care. I know I don't care so why should you?
Noisy? Only when I put my amp on 10 and slap the pig snot out of the strings with the palm of my hand. (What a noise, scared the dog next door) The single coils make a little noise in position 1 3 & 5. Nice and quiet in 2 & 4. No more noise than any SSS config.
What kind of sounds? Funny thing, it makes sounds that remind me of a guitar. Strange!
Variety? Well, it won't sound like an elephant in heat, but it will sound like a guitar with single coils.
Likes? I like guitars that sound like guitars, not elephants.
Dislikes? My crabby neighbor next door. (this is why I scared his dog)

This was manufactured in a sweat shop in china on a human assembly line of smelly underpaid communists. Setup? They crank these things out faster than a duck craps. They don't have time to set them up. They slap a set of strings on it and ship it out. Lots of little imperfections that would not be acceptable on an American made guitar. But for another $1000 you could have an American made guitar.
Pick up adjustment? Well, they were in the guitar.

Don't know what a bookmatched top is. So no comment there. Bridge is ok. Here's the bottom line on this thing. For $100 it is a bargain. There are some very minor things, but what do you want for the price?

Live playing? Let me see, I specifically was looking for a guitar that would not withstand live playing. I did a search on ebay for "guitars that would not withstand live playing." Couldn't find any. So I emailed Kurt at Rondo asking if he had any guitars that would not withstand live playing. He said no. So I was stuck with this one. Yes, I think it will withstand live playing (which really dissapointed me) as long as you don't throw it at the drunk on the dance floor. I know, we have all been tempted!!! Fess up!!!
Finish seems very good. Pretty color nicely done. Strap buttons are solid.
Can I depend on it? Depends on what you depend on it for.
Never gig without a backup. (espically if you throw it at the drunk on the dance floor)

???????????

Been playing long long time. I am closer to the end than the beginning. If it were stolen I would buy another one right away. Maybe 2. I can't imagine paying this little for a guitar that is this good. Remember it is not an American made Strat. It is really almost up to the same quality as my Mex strat at 1/3 the price. The components leave a little to be desired but even if you changed out all the pups, electronics, bridge and tuners with something better, you still would probably be spending less than a Mex Strat. So my overall rating is based on the price/preformance quotent. (whatever that means) I would also like to share my uglyness with you but I know you don't want it. I guess I'll just stay the ugly, terrible guitar player....

Most of it is said already: 3-piece-alder-body, 2-tone-sunburst, vintage vibrato, maple neck, 3 Single Coils, 5 way switch.........forgot anything?? The quality of the vibrato is very good what I don't like are the vintage tuners.

Sound was excellent, when you take the price into account. But I decided too change the pickups to Ultra Sonic Reference pickups. Not because the stock pickups where that bad, but I needed a cleaner, somewhat more 80ies Strat sound like Alex Lifeson had on Power Windows or Hold Your Fire, or Ty Tabor had on the first view King's X Recordings. With that change the guitar sounds even better and has won a lot.

Surprisingly good, when you think aboout the price!

think this one will make it a long time in my setup!

Very good. I only dealt with a dealer here in germany, but that worked out perfectly!

Great gutiar with lots of potential for modifications!!!

Made in 2004 in China. 21 Jumbo frets. Body is solid Alder. Neck and fingerboard are Maple. 2 tone controls, 1 volume control, 5-way selector switch. 3 single coil SX pickups. Passive electronics. 3TS sunburst finish. Strat style body. Bridge is string-thru body with tremelo (I keep it locked down). Tuners are OK. They don't slip.

It fits my style nearly perfect. I play Pop,Country and Southern Rock. I play it through a Rocktron Chameleon (preamp with effects), A Stewart World 1.2 Power Amp and JBL 15 inch speaker. The pickups are a little noisy but not too bad. After all they are single coils. The sound is rich, full and bright. Every setting on the selector switch has a purpose. I use them all.

The factory setup was good. I was able to tweak it more to my liking by adjusting the truss rod and bridge. The action is very good. The selector switch was bent when I recieved the guitar. I was able to bend it back with my thumb. The metal is very soft.

I have been playing this guitar live 2 or 3 nights a week for 6 months and it is holding up fine. I suspect the hardware may be a little soft but will hold up fine if treated with respect. The finish is beautiful and shows no sign of wear after 6 months. I depend on it. I use it on gigs without a backup. The strap buttons are solid.

I have never had to deal with them.

I have been playing 55 years. I still play. I own a Squire Telecaster. If my SX were stolen or lost, I would definitly buy another. I love the playability. The jumbo frets makes it easy to bend strings and to get a vibrato effect. It seems to come alive. It is very responsive and sustains forever. In my lifetime I have owned 2 Silvertones, a Gibson ES295, a US Fender Stratocaster, a Fender Jaguar and 3 Gibson ES335's. I like my SX better than any of these. I love this guitar. It sings.

Purchased in 2005, not sure when it was made. 21 frets, sunburst, standard strat config, two piece alder body, maple neck w/ maple fretboard, sx tuners, fat c shaped neck, fatter than my 93 mim strat, included the two allens for adjusting bridge and truss rod as well as the vibrato w/ aged cap, nice touch.

OK, I had read these reviews here and decided to give it a try. Mine really sounds as good as their rep here on thi site. p/u's are nice, vintage tone, real "glassy" like I like em, plenty of that fender tone that ya just cant get from a humbucker. SOunds excellent through my marshall valvestate, as well as my solid state peavey. necks fat, bridge is "glassy", and the centers in the middle. My 5 way shitch works well and is wired correctly. I had figured on replacing the with some gfs's but decided to take the cash and order another sst 57 in vintage white instead.

High action out of the box, needed to be set up. The best thing about this guitar ios the neck, mines maple, its very nice. This things like a classic fender but with gibson jumbo frets, no sharp edges, very clean. The necks the real value here, no cheap ass jay turser or arai, quality product.

Is live playing any more harsh than playing at home? I always use a strap so its all the same to me, besides, how intense ya gonna get, its a single coil guitar. It's got solid strap buttons which go into a solid alder body, it's not goin anywhere.

NA, havent dealt w/ em.

Buy one of these first, get it set up and your all set. Sure its no mim fender, the action wll never get there, but it gets close. Given the quality of the neck and the solid bodies these would make excellent starters for a frankenstrat, but its just to nice to mess with for me. I may upgrade the p/u's in my second one but that tone of the stocks on the neck with a tube amp at volume is sweet. I was so impressed with mine that I immediately bought another, nice product SX.

Standard old strat features - see Rondo Music site.

Shocking good sound for the price. I can get lots of different sounds and the tone pots actually work! I've tried many cheap guitars where the tone knobs were purely cosmetic.

This thing was playable out of the box after a quick tuning. It was even well intonated and I found absolutely no fret buzz. I can't believe the quality level. There was a tiny, tiny smudge of one of the fret marker dots on the side of the neck which is not noticeable. Otherwise the finish is flawless. I went down to a local music shop and found both Squier and Fender Standard Strats to be inferior. The only thing I would suggest is a little less lacquer or whatever the finish is on the neck. If you know anything about woodworking then this looks like it was put on way too thick. However, it gives a great vintage look from a distance. Across a smokey bar someone would definitely think you have a vintage Fender in your hands and the damn thing sounds good enough to fool them too!

Just got it but but after a few hours of hard playing I see nothing to suggest it will not stand up.

Rondo Music shipped quickly and packed the guitar very well. I also got an outstanding gig bag for $15 that is far better than the $30 ones from MF. Heard nothing but good things about Rondo.

I've played for 20 years and run the gamut from Fender to Gibson and just about every knockoff. I sold a Raven to buy the SX and like it much better. I'll buy the one with humbuckers next, certainly worth a try for a hundred bones. This thing actually has me excited about playing again.

I bought this guitar in December 04. I has a quilted maple top and a flamed maple neck in a sunburst finish. It is a special handmade version that is numbered and I believe mine was 68 of a hundered and twenty made. Standard strat layout. It came with a harshell case. Gold hardware. The guitar stays in tune reasonably well, has jumbo frets that are well dressed, and a very nice neck.

The sound is very clear with a bit of edge to it. I have several other single coil guitars, (Jackson DK2, Fender Squire Strat) and this guitar cuts through better than either one of the above guitars. It has a absolute perfect sound for playing blues. When combined with a good tube amp the sound far exceeded my expectations. My general style of playing has been driving rock in the style of UFO, Scorpions, Nugent, ZZtop, etc. This style of music matches up better with humbucker equiped guitars, but as I get older now I enjoy playing clean or on the edge of breakup, and this guitar does this great.

I set the guitars action to my preferences once I recieved it, but I have done that on every guitar I own. The fret work is outstanding, to be honest if I bought the neck for what I paid for the guitar, I would have been happy. The pickup selector switch and volume and tone pots are the weak links on this guitar. I am not having problems with them now, but the overall feel / look of these componets seem to less than stellar. The fit of the neck in the neck pocket is the best I have ever seen, The finish on the guitar is outstanding, overall the guitar has a sturdy / quality feel when playing it.

If you changed the volume tone pots and put a swithcraft switch in, I would gig with this guitar without reservation. (I had to do this same thing to my Squire Strat, in fact my Squire was made in China
also and I wouldn't be supprised if they came from the same factory) I am sure the finish will not last as I sweat alot when I play and tend to destroy the finish on everthing that is not nickel plated.

I sent them the money / they sent me the guitar, no problems.

I have been playing thirty two years, I have a Gibson SG, Ibanez Artist, Ibanez Les Paul, Schecter C1, Jackson Dinky, Fender Squire Strat, Amps are Mesa Boogie, Marshall, Carvin, Fender, Line6, Pignose. If i had to rate this purchase as value for the money then a 10 would be the only choice, when you examine this guitar you wonder how the hell they do it for the money charged.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS GUITAR. I PURCHACED IT FROM RONDO MUSIC. BE SMART AND BUY A SQUIRE BULLET OR ANY THING ELSE SO THAT YOU WON'T FEEL AS RIPPED OF AS I DO. The first day I had it the nut broke and cost me $45 to have repaired. This is yet another chinese Strat copy. says "Custom handmade" and "Vintage series" on the headstock. It features a nearly unattractive, overly heavy application of vintage toner on the neck looks almost yellow. The frets are horrible on this guitar.The bridge rattles due to the fact that he screwds that adjust the bridge saddle heights ratte in thier holes! That's poor workmanship!

Since it is so poorly made that it can not be played, it makes no sound at all. It's crap.

THE FRETS ARE HORRIBLE ON THIS GUITAR! AND THE NUT BROKE ON ME THE FIRST DAY I PLAYED IT! TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE! The fret ends stick out so far as to CUT your hand when you play because the fret ends were poorly "dressed". Becasue of this you should not buy this guitar as it costs about $75 to have a professional repiar person dress every fret end AND ANOTHER $50 to get a new nut intalled! That's $170 of repair to a $99 guitar. YOU DO THE MATH!

Since this guitar can not be played due to the extrememly poor workmanship it is not even playable and therefore can no be reliable in any way.

Rondo Music is an on-line retailer that is based out of my state. All that They would do for me is to tell me to send it back to them so that they could exchange it for another guitar.You have to pay $35 to ship the guitar back to them and then after they exchange it with another piece of crap, it costs you another $35 for them to ship it back to you again! That's $70 total for shipping becasue THEY se3nt you a piece of crap. That's unacceptable and essentialy amounts to ZERO CUSTOMER SUPPORT.

If Rondo Music wants to sell crap, then they should expect to get CRAPPY reviews like this. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS GUITAR. BUY A SQUIRE BULLET OR AFFINITY STRAT FOR JUST A FEW DOLLARS MORE INSTEAD BECASUE EVEN A BEGINNER THAT KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT THE GUITAR, WOULD KNOW THAT THIS WAS A PIECE OF CRAP.