Vantage VIT-11 Tele Copy

it's basically a telecaster copy. made in indonesia (2002), 21 frets, 3-way selector, 2 knobs - for volume and tone, S/S generic pick-ups ("lipstick" neck pick-up), tele body, 3-color sunburst, white pickguard, spruce body, nato neck and maple fretboard, of course tele-style bridge. free not-so-reliable guitar cable and an allen wrench.

i'm in a couple of bands right now. one covers weezer songs, the other plays punk. well, i know that telecasters are mainly for blues and stuff like that, but this guitar can get the job done. it has a twangy sound that telecasters are known for and you can use it on a lot of musical styles because it's so versatile. not noisy at all. i often use the neck pick-up because the other one is a little trebly (and the more 'twangy' pick-up) and i use the guitar with a disortion pedal 99% of the time. i'm playing it through a marshall micro amp and a century distortion pedal. sounds good. i've also once played it on a marshall jcm900, enough said.

action and intonation were perfect. the neck pick-up was grounded, but still worked most of the time. also, the strings rusts easily but lemon oil can do the trick. those were and are the only flaws.

i'm very satisfied with this guitar. i'm confident that it will last for a very long time. i've used it on band rehearsals a lot of times and i haven't encountered any problems (malfunctions) yet. the neck pick-up was grounded but that's just a thing of the past now. the strap buttons are very solid. i just don't like the rusty strings. yeah, i'll gig with it without a back-up.

i haven't dealt with the samick hommies yet, and hopefully i won't have to. this guitar had a 3-month warranty so when the neck pick-up got grounded and was giving me headaches, i had it fixed - for free, ofcourse - at the same store i got this from. i love those guys.

i learned to play guitar about 9 years ago but have been playing on and off since. this is my first electric guitar (i have a bunch of acoustics) and i'm pretty happy with it. i bought this one regardless of my musical style because i can say with conviction that the telecaster is the most beautiful guitar ever made. and i play rhythm guitars anyway (our other handsome guitarist uses a strat for leads)so it is absolutely perfect for the band's sound. if this gets stolen i would buy another tele copy, but would probably consider other brands too. i just wish that this guitar had the same headstock (shape-like) just like that of a fender's, but it's all good anyway.