Subway Guitars 55 Strat Copy

Fairly bare bones Strat copy.

This is a great sounding guitar. I picked it up because I wanted to get that classic strat sound, but didn't wanna spend a ton of money on a good reissue. I've had it for about a year now, and am still getting more and more impressed by it with each show that I play. Wouldn't change a thing about it.

The setup from the factory was spot on. I repositioned the neck pickup a little bit, but other than that it is exactly as it was when I got it.

The finish isn't the prettiest in the world, and when I got it the volume knob and one of the tone knobs were reversed (I've left them that way, as it gives the guitar some character).

I haven't had a single problem with this guitar in the year I have been gigging with it. It stays in tune and is a very comfortable guitar to play

Fatdawg is very friendly, and seems to be very eager to work with his customers. Once you order the guitar though, you will not hear from him for months. You just have to have faith that eventually he will call you and say the guitar is finished.

I really love this guitar, and will probably get another one as a backup in case subway guitars ever goes out of business. I'm planning on keeping this as my main guitar for several more years.

Made (I think) in April 2000 by Fatdog at Subway Guitars in Berkley, CA. These guitars are made from old, vintage parts (Fatdog buys out old stock from warehouses), and newer electronics, tuners, etc. For all intents and purposes, it's a basic strat copy with a big maple neck, 3 "jumping dog" single coils, 5-way switch, a nice chome bridge, and tremelo. Oh, but no trem assembly cover. No big deal, that. Plain jane sunburst, with a slight greenish hue. Unknown body wood. 1-ply, kind of primitive pickguard. But please remember, it costs 275 bucks! I'm giving the rating an extra couple points because of the terriffic pickups.

Here's the sweet stuff. The pickups sound very close to my Fender custom shop '69's, that is, sweet, full, and articulate. Keep in mind, those fender pickups cost half as much as this entire guitar! Great for Hendrix to Buddy to Clapton...really. Excels at (rest in peace) Curtis Mayfield. Playing through a Blues Jr and a Tech 21 Trademark 10. Really nice.

Action was fine. Bridge (intentionally) attached with just two screws, for better trem use. But I don't use the trem, so I tightened the claw screws and put the arm away. Some nut buzz on 6th string, but not bad. Really plays pretty well out of the box, considering it was shipped from CA to Pennsylvania in December. Again, though, this is not a guitar to visually impress. The body has some nicks, blemishes, and such. Big whip. The things that count--pickups, frets, tuners, bridge--are solid.

I think this would be an excellent "beater" guitar, but don't be surprised if it sounds as good as your number one. Plus, it's a blast to play, since you can manhandle it and not worry. The strap buttons--this was mentioned in other reviews--are as solid as Mt. Rushmore.

Fatdog is a character--kind of abrupt and direct, but a lot of fun. He sent a "Freedom for Leonard Peltier" cord with the guitar. If you don't know about Leonard and tragic story, ask a Native American. You can try these guitars out for two weeks, I think, and return them for a full refun. Couldn't be more fair. Just keep in mind that Subway is a small shop. You may get put on hold, because they're dealing with live people, not computer screens. But, you will not get a guitar that sounds like this at this price from any internet superstore.

I wish I had known about this guitar when I started playing--it would be a great first REAL electric. I'm in my 30's, been though flashier instruments, and know what I want. If you're looking for a second strat, or your first guitar, resist that wanker machine on the rack and try one of these. Plus, since the parts are vintage, you won't have to pay a thousand bucks for a relic! ;)

Subway Guitars (www.fatdawg.com) makes their own line of guitars from parts they bought from defunct guitar companies, and sells them at a premium price. The '55 Strat copy retails for $275.00. I was curious about the quality, so I phoned them up and arranged to trade them a beat up Danelectro for their '55 Strat copy. I originally intended to use this as a backup or slide guitar, but it sounds so good I have found that recently it's been the only guitar I want to use, which puzzles me. But the sound is so delightful that I can't stop playing it.
In all respects it is a sunburst strat copy with a maple neck. There is absolutely nothing special about its appearance, although all the electronics and the parts are very solidly put together. The neck in particular deserves special mention. Someone obviously did a killer fret job on it before they sent it to me; the frets are even, medium tall, and buffed to a fine shine. There is some slight hanger wear/discoloration at the top of the neck under the headstock, which means the guitar was hanging up for a while, but nothing that couldn't be buffed out with a little minor effort. The tuners appear to be Gotoh Kluson copies. I hate Kluson copy tuners, but these are decent ones, and certainly not as crappy as the ones on my MIJ Fender 60s Reissue strat. The finish on the neck is nice but appears to be slightly uneven on the sides. This is not enough of an aberration to present a serious problem. The finish on the body is a 2 tone sunburst which is perfectly adequate for the wood. It's not outstanding, but it's not ugly either. It has a standard steel Strat trem bridge, probably Allparts in origin, which I have blocked off, as I can't seem to get Strat tremolos to stay in tune. It came with a trem arm, of course, which I put in the drawer where I keep all my other Strat trem arms. Five way switch & three pickups as usual; good quality pots and switches with no hint of cheapness. The rest of the hardware is well installed. Everything is even and nice, and the fit of the neck into the neck pocket is especially tight. The guitar is slightly heavier than my legit Fender Strat, but only by a couple of ounces; we're not talking Les Paul weight here by any means. It's comfortable to play. The guitar came without a trem spring assembly cover on the back, which is a bit odd, but since I don't use the tremolo I don't really have a hangup about this. I actually prefer this, as I have been known to plonk on the tremolo springs for a weird effect (try it sometime with your fuzztone on). Either way a trem assembly cover is not expensive, so if I ever feel I need one then I'll buy one. Otherwise the build quality and parts are just fine. The action is excellent, and was excellent right out of the box. This guitar sounds great, even unplugged, with audible resonance and a good solid tone. Plugged in, it really shines. Overall my rating for this category is an 8. I had to take off a couple points for the uneven finish spot on the side of the neck.

I play alternaprogfolkspace music, and the Subway Strat fits my style like a glove. This guitar basically sounds like a Strat is supposed to sound. It absolutely nails every great Strat sound. Gilmour? Yup. Hendrix? Yup. Mark Knopfler? Yup. The pickups are bright without being shrill, powerful without being overwhelming, and full of body and character. I am not exaggerating when I say this is the best sounding Strat I have ever owned. I play it through an Ampeg Jet II with a bundle of effects, but the basic sound of the guitar is so nice that I actually end up using fewer effects. This guitar has a lot of presence and brilliance tonally. The pickups are Subway's own "Jumping Dog" pickups. I don't know who makes them, but they're so wonderful I'm going to buy a set for the other strat as soon as I can. I really can't overemphasize how cool this guitar sounds. Of course you have the normal amount of hum that you are going to get with single-coil, Strat-style pickups, but the tone of the guitar is so superior that it really doesn't matter.

I ordered this guitar without a case, because I really didn't think I was going to be using it as my main axe. It arrived well-packed in a huge cardboard box, which I opened to find another cardboard box, inside of which was the guitar, also well packed in with newspaper. But even after traveling from California to Louisiana in a cardboard box, it was within a few cents of being exactly in tune! As I said before, the unamplified sound of the guitar was clear as a bell and nicely intoned, and of course after plugging it in- well, see the above rave. The action was fine, and the setup was lovely. The high E string could be a little bit closer to the polepiece on the neck pickup, but this is a problem with Strats in general that I've seen, for some reason. Special mention must be made of the BIG HONKIN' strap buttons, which looked as if they were made of industrial grade steel. Your guitar absolutely WILL NOT fall off of these. You may not even be able to get your strap OVER them. It was for this reason that I had to replace them with Schaller locking strap buttons, as I am one of those pervs who likes to use the same strap with different guitars. But this was the first time I ever saw strap buttons that were too GOOD for me to use. The body finish is even and smooth, although not spectacular in appearance. I have already said something about the neck finish. There is one bit of weirdness with the switch tip. For some reason the switch tip is black, while the rest of the plasticware (pickguards, knobs, etc.) is white. I think this is kinda cool myself but perfectionists might be bothered by it. In this category I have to give it a solid 9, taking back one point for the slightly uneven finish on the side of the neck as mentioned above.

This guitar is so solid that it would probably deflect bullets and survive a nuclear holocaust. I would depend on it, and I have already used it on a gig without a backup. And people have commented on how good it sounds!

I have found Subway Guitars very easy to deal with. No hassle, no problems, no B.S. The place is owned by a guy who is called Fatdog, and I spoke to him a few times and to his employees. They were all uniformly helpful and friendly and exhibited a sense of humor. I had to wait a couple days longer than I thought I should for delivery, and called there to find out what was the deal. Fatdog himself explained to me that the guitar they originally selected for me had a ding in the body that he didn't notice till they were about to send it off, so he was having the repairman replace the body (!!) and therefore it was a day or two late. I was pretty impressed - it's a $275 guitar, it's a dead even trade for one of my old guitars, he's not making money off the deal -- and yet the guy still gives enough of a damn to replace the entire body because of one ding? I like that attitude.

I have been playing for long enough to where I should be famous , at least for the vast number of strings I have broken anyway. I have an embarrassing amount of gear. If this Strat copy were stolen, I would get another one exactly like it right away, as this is the best Strat-style guitar I have ever owned. This guitar gives up the quintessential Fender Strat sound. To my ears it's almost like an idealized version of a Strat sound. I have a real Fender Strat and it honestly does not sound as good as this $275.00 strat copy built out of spare parts. In its price range it leaves its competitors in the dust. If you are in the market for a Strat and you don't have a lot of money, RUN, do not walk to Subway Guitars and check one of these out. The only thing I wish is that I had dealt with Subway before I dumped $400 into the Fender Strat that I'm going to have to replace the pickups on before it sounds anywhere near as good as this copy.