Black And Red Electric Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

A lot of the reviews posted here are for Strats, so I'm not sure what's going on. Anyway, I bought the red sparkle Squier Bullet Tele. The finish is gorgeous and that's what prompted me to do a spontaneous purchase. I have only experienced owning USA Teles, but I've played some Squiers that really impressed me. This one? Not so much. I don't detect any finish on the back of the neck although I'm sure it has a sealer of some sort. The body finish is nice, but the bridge hardware is cheaply made and I'll be replacing that for sure. Same goes for the tuners. I'm pretty sure it has some high frets because it goes dead starting at the 10th fret, but some of that was back bow. I loosened the truss and got rid if it, but now when I sight down the neck the forward bow is pretty obvious. I don't notice the frets being sharp on the ends. It now plays plays pretty good after sitting long enough for the truss Rod to settle, but I may need to tighten it just a little to get rid of some of the forward bow. The neck has a very comfortable profile. The body is thinner than my American Teles, but it doesn't bother me – in fact it's lighter which I enjoy. The body is Poplar and that's fine by me. I may leave the back of the neck alone for now because it actually feels pretty good, aesthetics are certainly lacking, but the body makes up for that. I'm sure with a little patience and help from my friends I'll have a nice instrument. All the basics are there. As is, it's not all that great, but still better than my first electric guitar! -!an old Kalamazoo single pickup thing with a bolt on neck back in the mid sixties. Like the title says, this thing has potential. I probably couldn't buy a finished body for what I paid.Ronnie

I bought my black metallic Squier Bullet eight years ago when GC was having a Columbus Day sale. I was looking for a guitar to which I could permanently mount my Roland GR-33 guitar synth's GK2a pickup. Previously I had the pickup mounted on my '96 Strat, and I didn't like this fit because I couldn't close my Strat's case with the pickup installed. I have a gig bag for this Squier, and it fits fine in the bag with pickup installed. Anyway, about the guitar. Right out of the box, it played great, requiring only a minimal amount of action adjustment. I was surprised at how good the pickups sounded, it being a Bullet and all. But the humbucker sounds especially nice when playing the guitar through my Marshall. The neck pickup has a decent sound, but not quite up to the snuff of a good alnico pickup. Still, for what the guitar cost, I really can't complain. If I want to, at some later date, I can always change out the neck pickup to a better alnico model. One thing I especially like about this black Bullet is its looks. The photos here at GC don't show it off all that well, but the guitar body's finish is metallic and the pickguard is a heavy metal flake. It looks spectacular under the lights. And the black hardware does a great job of completing that black look. The Bullet's body is thinner than a typical Strat or Squier Affinity or Classic Vibe body. The result is a light weight guitar, but there is no sacrifice in tone.Michael

I would first like to begin with- I normally would be giving a 5 star rating of this unit/Squier, as I have typically never had problems prior to the recent/earlier this year upset regarding shipping containers/etc being paused/sitting in the ocean/etc, delaying container delivery. PLEASE READ ON FOR FULL EXPLANATION. Two imperative points- 1. The fret ends were so sharp, when I say it was not playable (both sides/neck in its entirety), I mean, it was not playable (THE DATE OF INSPECTION WAS EARLIER THIS YEAR, AND I IMMEDIATELY ASSOCIATED THE FRET ENDS PROBLEM BEING DUE TO THE SHIPS BEING DELAYED/SITTING IN THE OCEAN/ETC- It looked to me like maybe between March and July of this year, although, I couldn't quite make out the stamped month). As well, the serial # of the guitar, of course, was of this year/'22. I maintain/work on most all my guitars, and I normally would've tightened up the fret ends myself, however, there was a hairline crack on the red sparkle finish at the bass side neck joint (which i just couldn't accept, visually), as well as a small tooling gash along the top edge of the headstock. The replacement/reordered guitar arrives tomorrow. 2. THE NEWER UNITS (AS, ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS A 2022-BUILT UNIT) ARE TOP-MOUNT/STRING THROUGH THE BACK OF THE BRIDGE, NOT "STRING-THRU" as the description indicates (and, with Squier bridge mounting, these are 5-screw mount plates, which, if ever you want to upgrade your hardware, particularly, w/the bridge, you must find an aftermarket unit that is "string through the back", along w/the correct string spacing (with Squier, they're 54mm, typically), and you'll typically need to redrill given it's rare to find plates that have Squier mounting dimensions that provided string through the back holes. I'm upgrading to a Babicz, given the results found. Also, there are two string trees (the second being a tree for both the D and G strings), and it looks great, actually, with both. Overall, I was impressed with the finish, as it was nearly flawless (aside from the hairline finish crack mentioned previously). The fretwire/fretwork, felt great….I found maybe two or so "slight" dead spots, which weren't enough of a "ping", or string buzz to be of concern, or critiquing the fretwork negatively. Rather, I was impressed with the fretwork. As well, it's important to note that the mounting of the bridge, along with the neck positioning/etc, was spot-on. No misalignment of the bridge mount/etc (and the same goes for the nut spacing). I've always been impressed with what Fender/Squier/Jackson are putting out. The quality is typically quite high…as for this unit, the quality is high, but the results of the environmental dilemma with either being stuck in a container offshore, or, sitting in a facility for weeks/months/etc, have had quite the impact on this guitar. As an important example, I had purchased a Bullet Tele last year (the unit in Burst color offered here through MF), and it was/is flawless, and I completely upgraded every part. As I own approx'ly 53 guitars ranging primarily from ESP to Jackson (some of which in the better than $2K range), I love to take what's titled as a "beginner" guitar, and totally hotrod it with high end parts (such is the case w/this guitar). As mentioned above, I've reordered the guitar, as MusiciansFriend provided me a generous discount (without having to ask) to accommodate me. Upgrades- 1. Babicz Full Contact Tele "Ashtray" bridge Gold, 2. Genuine Fender Gold control plate, 3. Fender Infinity Gold strap locks, 4. Gold input jack Ferrule, 5. Custom built Gold Sparkle w/star cut-outs Tele pickguard, 6. Philadelphia Luthier Tools "Fat" neck plate/Gold w/gold neck mounting screws, 7. Earvana compensated nut (Ivory), 8. Philadelphia Luthier Tools Gold string trees, 9. Fender locking tuners, Gold, 10. EMG T-52 set (black), or, EMG T-set, Red., 11. EMG Gold Telecaster knobs. 12. Powder coated Red pickguard screws, 13. Gold pickup mounting screws. Beginner guitar?……no more (ha).Dave

FIrst off wasn't expecting perfection. Knew tuners would probably need changed( which I did to locking). And pickups would need changed(Replaced bridge pickup). Out of the box ,Fit and Finish is surprisingly very nice .Found zero paint blemishes and intonation decent also .No fret sprout or sharp edges to cut your hands .No dead spots. Action just about perfect. Comfortable to play when sitting or standing. Tuners are usable but can tell low quality. Bridge pickup just does not cut it in sound for me, Not clear, Mushy. For what a BC costs, This with the upgrades is well under budget and just as nice.skidoo1969

I purchased this guitar when it was $95 off full price. So that kind of makes it a worthwhile purchase. Definitely not worth full price in my opinion. Poorly packed with insufficient padding in the box allowed two of the strings to be bent during shipping. I assume this happened during shipping. They wouldnt send bent strings right? Thankfully they provided back up strings… The nut is very poorly crafted. You can visibly see burrs and imperfections in the nut that cause the strings to ring out of tune on certain parts of the fret board even after tuning. The pick-up selector nob fell right off first time I adjusted it. I will have to glue it myself. When the notes do play out true the triple pick ups sound better than the Peavy beginner guitar I used to have– Which only had two pickups and came in a similar starter package but was about half the price as this guitar. I think if I research how to fix some of the issues I can make it playable. But this guitar is far from playable out of the box. Fairly poor quality control.Cody

I was looking forward to ordering this as my first guitar after taking some classes a couple years back. The shipping was remarkably fast–however, when the product arrived the amp was completely broken. Upon plugging the guitar into the amp and strumming, it would make a horrendous scratching, broken sound. Plucking strings has the exact same effect, and occasionally the amp will cut off after a second of playing. I've tried adjusting the dials, turning overdrive on and off, I even bought a new cord thinking that was the issue to no avail. To make matters worse I have called the customer support number multiple times asking if I could recieve a partial refund, or ship back the amp for a functioning replacement–every time I'm left on hold before the call disconnects, if I can even get through to begin with. The only reason this isn't a one star review is that the guitar itself works fine and looks beautiful! I wouldn't reccomend buying the full set if they don't bother to make sure one of the most essential parts is functioning before shipping however.James B.

In December 2020, I purchased the Beginner Electric Guitar Kit w/ Case, 10W Amp, Tremolo Bar – 39in. The packaging was excellent and the delivery was on time. Initially, I purchased it for my kids but they did not express any interest. So, I took up the guitar myself and started learning via YouTube. I popped a few strings and when I took it to the guitar shop to have the strings replaced, they were pleasantly surprised by the quality workmanship of the guitar. Since then, I've learned to tune the guitar and replace the strings myself – courtesy of YouTube. The guitar is really great and I play it everyday. Thank you BCP for the great service, affordable pricing and an awesome guitar!Tony

I bought this item for my daughter for her birthday and she loved it, it came to our door on time, it was playable and very attractive, unfortunately a relative with a drug problem stole it within a day and we haven't been able to afford a replacement. It would be wonderful if BCP would be willing to ship another to us, but either way, very good product. I'll buy another one in time when we are able to afford it.Steve H.

I would give it 20 stars if I could. I’m not going to say that I can even play guitar. I am still trying to learn. I have a Stratocaster that I have been learning chords and following the lessons in a book that is instruction for learning scale. But the semi-hollow body has such a wounderful tone that I have to get better. It is so Inspirational that I have been practicing more than I ever did with my strat. LOVE IT! Thank you.Ronald P.

One of my strings on the guitar was broke. I told the company, they don't get back to you. Mad about that, after that don't even want the thing anywayDianna

I picked up the Surf Green Ltd Ed. Bullet Mustang a few days ago off the rack. They had two. One had rusty strings and sharp frets but the one I picked was almost perfect. These Mustangs are great for smaller learners and older guitarists that may enjoy the lighter string tension due to the short scale. I love the sound of both humbuckers. The bridge one gives you a nice grungy Nirvana like tone while the neck is smoother but both love to be driven. I picked up the Imperial Blue Mustang HH a few weeks ago. They both use the same humbuckers, The only difference I believe is the wood type, Basswood vs Poplar. Both guitars are quite light with the Basswood Surf Green one being somewhat lighter.These Mustangs are ideal for modding but for now I've only changed the cheap pickguard on this Surf Green one, putting a Tortoise Shell on it. So far I'm loving both of them and my Fender P90 Mustang is getting quite lonely.Tingman

First of all, this is a ton of value for the price. I got it on sale which made it even a bigger steal. Now, this guitar needs a lot of setup out of the box. You should polish the frets since they are as coarse as beach sand. Otherwise, string bends will be impossible and will most likely damage the cheap supplied strings (which should be changed immediately as with most new guitars). Expect some fret buzz, so be ready to adjust the saddles and the truss rod (I like my action quite low so this was a minor tweak for me). The intonation was actually quite close to perfect, it only needed a bit of tweaking on the A string. The nut and string trees are the ones you typically get on Squiers, which are good enough but won't do wonders for your tuning and should be replaced unless you are patient enough to tune your guitar every so often. Be sure to change these first before changing the tuners/bridge if you have tuning problems, I haven't changed the tuners or bridge on mine and don't plan to – they just work. Finally, the pickups are surprisingly good for the price, not too mellow and you can get some nice tones from the bridge pickup. You might soon outgrow them, though, and might opt for better humbuckers or P90s. For all these reasons, this guitar is not the best as a first guitar or for beginners unless it gets a proper setup first or if you're really planning to learn how to setup or change electronics/other parts in a guitar. However, those are the same reasons (plus the low price and simple design) that make this a really fun modding platform, and if you don't feel like modding it, with the right amount of work it's still amazing. It's light as a feather and the neck is very fast; you can probably muscle through hours of playing with barely any effort at all. The stock tones are reasonable enough, and in my opinion it looks awesome. You can't get a better deal for the money once you're aware of the above.Carlos, M

I like this guitar because of the 24" scale length. Everything else was pretty bad out of the box. The strings were a 1/4" off the fretboard. The fretboard was super dry. There was fret sprout. The frets felt like sandpaper on bends. The E strings are too close to the edge of the fretboard. When you play you're constantly hitting the pickup selector switch. The finish on the neck is supposed to be satin but it looks unfinished to me and there are light and dark areas on the neck which look bad. It is the worst finish on a neck I've ever seen on a guitar and I'm going to have to put some kind of finish on it. Trying to load strings is tricky and not as easy as on most other guitars you have to bend the end of the strings to get them to load. So that is the bad. The good? The tuners are your typical Chinese tuners that come on all cheap guitars these days, and they are fine. The pickups sound good. The 24" scale is great and really fun to play bends on!Steve

1 month review with guitar being setup professionally: Great pickups and tone and overall good sounding guitar after a proper setup, gorgeous nitro finish and paintjob. Relic effects are beautiful. The nitro finish feels thin enough for you to eventually make your own marks from repeated playing – a perfect way to tell a story and give the guitar character. Worn in neck feels amazing to play and not sticky to touch. Worth noting that the Pure Vintage 59 pickups on these don't have a reverse-wound middle pick, so there will be hum including positions 2 and 4. If you are easily annoyed with single coil hum, these pickups might not be for you. Also worth noting that these pickups do sound a bit warmer than a stock Fender Player pickups. These respond so MUCH better to high gain type of playing, all while still sounding amazing on low-gain and clean playing. Despite the pros, there are still some areas are lacking and needs improvement. The guitar had razor sharp frets along the binding that could easily cut you, meanwhile I have a $700 MIM fender player didn't have this problem straight out of the box. It's crazy to think that $700 guitar went through better QA than a $1200 guitar, but whatever, the frets are bound to be polished and worked on anyway with your initial setup regardless. CME's shipping page policies say "Every guitar gets a full inspection, as well as basic setup." Guitar came with an inspection card that had overall playability specs checked but some of it was questionable. The guitar was not playable at all out of the box despite letting it acclimate for over a day before opening BUT that is a given considering it spent time in a delivery truck trunk in freezing winter. However, it was a bit bogus how they even checked off volume output when the pickups were NOWEHERE near the appropriate height out of the box and there was BARELY any audible output on the treble side of the guitar. I highly doubt weather and temperature fluctuation will make the pickup screws spin by themselves to the degree at which the pickups came out of the box. Secondly, the tremolo springs at the back also weren't ******* in the appropriate depth for a either a floating or flushed trem setup – it was just sort of in the middle of the cavity. Weather fluctuation from their shop and may have affected string tension, but I also don't think it would make the claw springs in the back unscrew themselves to the degree the guitar came. Makes me wonder how thorough the inspection was. These might not matter as much to some especially those who will get their new guitars setup anyway, but it's good to note that you may still need to budget for a setup if you aren't doing it yourself. Although there could've been improvements on Fender and CME's part that I don't think could be blamed on external factors such as weather and climate fluctuations, overall, I would still 100% recommend this guitar, and it's a gem. The guitar played well after a proper setup, so I'm happy with it now. The price may be too expensive for some considering it's not made in USA, but it must be considered that this is the cheapest proper nitro-finish guitar you will currently find. The next best thing are Fender custom shop, so this guitar is perfect for those looking to enjoy vintage style paint/nitro body finish, and vintage specs without paying custom shop prices. The appearances are just a plus, since they sound and play amazing after a proper set up.Carlos T.

I've been playing for a little while, I rehearse with my band once/twice a week so my guitars definitely get played quite a bit, I've preferred Stratocasters from an early age. The shape is legendary and the tone is versatile. I own Chinese, Japanese, U.S. and Mexican Strats. This one is very comparable to my American Professional Stratocaster, the neck profile, the weight and intonation. Electronics are great, single coils produce a sweet twangy clean tone and the humbucker roars really nice with the right amount of gain/distortion. Makes it a very comfortable instrument that plays as easy as mantequilla on a hot tortilla. Only issue, (hence the 'almost comparable to MIA strats comment in the headline) are the frets… They are a little bit on the sharp side, I'm guessing it comes down to a player's preference? A competent luthier can dress the fret ends and make this one a real player/main axe. Other than the sharp frets, everything else is pretty solid and straight, the vatos down in Ensenada MX do great work producing these!Benjamin

So my story goes like this, I flew into Portland Oregon for work and immediately drove from the airport to Guitar Center. Upon walking in, someone was shredding on a guitar and it went on for a good 10 minutes. The guitar he was playing was the Candy Red Burst Fender Stratocaster Player Series. After he was done, I grabbed it and saw why he played it so long. It felt just solid in the hands. The strings, fret board and neck were silky smooth; Super easy to glide up and down with no fret buzz. The pickups are all Fender Player Stratocaster series which I have had no issue with and perform great out of the box. Also, just holding the guitar is a treat in the hands. It's a beautiful guitar. The Candy Red Burst has a very high functioning coat that gives a deep black fade anyway you turn it. It also fit my bill for something to remember Oregon by since the guitar is a deep Rose Red and Portland is know as the City of Roses.The Pau Ferro fingerboard is also eye candy as it has black veins that run through the grain matching the black hardware of the guitar. Other then that, I have had this guitar for 5 months as of this review and absolutely love it. The guitar holds its tune very well I enjoy playing it every time. Wait, you still reading this? Go get one already!Allan

Sound: The stock pickups sound great especially with high gain. Nice crunch and break up. Features: For me the reason that I bought this model is that it is the least expensive way to get a real Edge tremolo. I can do subtle things with the Edge that I can’t do on an Original Floyd Rose. The bar is easier to position and it stays where ever you put it. As long as the torsion bushings on the bar aren’t worn out, the pop in bar is neither too tight or too sloppy. Value: This guitar is worth every penny. Manufacturer Support: I did not use Ibanez customer service and I did order half a dozen sets of torsion bushings, but had to order them from different places. The Wow Factor: I love the color of this one, Desert Sun Yellow. Overall: In the last 2 months I’ve bought 5 different Ibanez guitars, both lower and higher price. I must say that this guitar is the most bang for the buck out of any of my 21 guitars that I own.Got more than 200 bucks off on mine as it was sold as a slight blemish. When the guitar arrived, I noticed it did have a hairline crack in the paint on the bass side at the neck pocket. That was the only flaw I could find and it probably would have happened anyway if I would have got a “new” one.This is the shreddiest guitar that I have. The only thing that I had to address is that the 6th fret was a little proud. Other than that the fret job was good. All the frets were shiny and smooth and no fret sprout.This is the guitar that is at the price point where if you spend more money, you aren’t going to get much better. And the fit and finish were top notch.Scott

Overall: This guitar was a total impulse buy and I’m so glad I bought it! It’s easily worth twice the price of it. Can’t get too many mid tier guitars that are neck thru with decent pickups and a 5-way switch that has a fast and slim neck at this price. I mostly play baritone 6 strings and 7 strings but I needed a 25.5” scale for drop C and this is perfect for it with 10-54 strings. I did upgrade the nut with a Graphtech tusq nut and Hipshot locking tuners with knurled tuner buttons and looks even more badass while staying in perfect tune! I have an Ibanez rgib6 Iron Label 28” baritone and this is up there with that as far as quality and playability. The stock pickups aren’t bad at all and definitely surprised me cuz that’s usually the first thing I’ll change in an inexpensive guitar. As you can see by the other reviews people say it’s a great guitar and they’re not lying so if you’re on the fence about getting it then go for it! You won’t be disappointed at all and if for some reason you are then zZounds has a return policy within like 30-45 days so you won’t be stuck with a guitar you don’t love.Josh

When I first opened the box what I saw was a work of art, I only hoped it was as great as it looked. I pushed the power button on the G-Foece Tuners and the G string light up red, I picked the G and all ways in tune. I checked it with my Petersen Strobe Tuner, and yes it was spot on. I plugged into a Vox AC30 HW, the notes that came out of the speakers seem to bloom with harmonics I've never heard before. The fit and finish looked like someone went through the Les Paul with a fine tooth comb, I figured the Les Paul being a 2016 would need a set of fresh strings. The instruction for the G-Force Tuners states to do one string at a time, so the G-Force would not need to be recalibrate. So I set up the windup wind down menu on the G-Force unwound the low E. The rewind confused me a bit, usually i cut the string about 1 1/2 past the next tuner, not so with the G-Force only cut the string to the next tuner inline, too much string will cause the G-Force to lock up due to too many winds on the post. When you get to the G-B-E Strings 1 1/2 will work better so the Strings don't slip on the post and cause tuning issues. The 490R & 498T pickups really surprised me. The 490R is very articulate not muddy in any way, if fact I use it more that I've ever used a neck pickup…the middle position is great for Lead or Rhythm, I've heard Jimmy Page uses this position a lot now I understand why. The 498T is very hot 13.7 ohms as opposed to the 7.6 ohms neck. Even though the ohms are far apart they work well together. I set my Neck volume about 6 for a nice clean rhythm sound and the bridge I set at 8-9 so when I want that little more bark it's there. So to sum it all up this Les Paul is all I need to get the tones I need. This is my Desert island Guitar.Huncy Sound Studio

I just bought a nice Candy Apple Deluxe Fender Strat a while back to upgrade to a REAL guitar, so a Les Paul was next on my list of guitars to get…someday down the road. Went to GC and traded in my bass to upgrade to a new one. On the wall I saw this deep cobalt blue Les Paul for under 2K. After 2 weeks I could not resist, said YOLO and ordered it online for store pickup. A wonderful instrument and offers a much different sound in contrast with the Strat, no regrets. I often just stare at it because it is a work of art, looks so nice next to my new strat and bass 🙂Anthony

While I still feel that the lower-end Epiphone Les Paul's (I had a Special II as my first electric) are great for the money, I decided to move up to my first actual Gibson Les Paul. The weight relief is what immediately caught my attention and I find this guitar a lot more comfortable to play. I'm also blown away by how much sustain it has over my previous Epiphone not to mention the overall finish and the ability to split the humbuckers. I went for the Cherry Burst but it wasn't easy to choose as the Midnight in Manhattan (blue) looked just as beautiful.Lloyd

Overall: I was excited to receive this guitar as it was on back order I got the black and yellow bumblebee. After receiving it I made some adjustments to the tremolo and found that the spring cavity was bare wood / looked like it was chisel out with a screwdriver and it was not routed or CNC'd flat. Worse than that the wood under the Floyd rose was cracked and the finish was cracked as well. Basswood is a very light and soft wood so I am guessing the trem was pushed back during shipment or during setup at the factory and not seen by the staff as it is only visible when you remove the Floyd. I am a woodworker and beginning luthier so I corrected these issues myself and reinforced the thin section under the bridge with a custom fitted piece of maple and routed out the trem cavity so it is flat and sprayed the trem pocket with flat black paint looks like it should have when it left the factory now. I know I probably should have sent it back but overall I really like the guitar and I think Eddie would approve of my work.Douglas

This guitar has my favorite neck. The fretwork is amazing and the neck plays itself. This surprised me coming from fat Les Paul necks. Super easy to play, which, in turn, makes you sound better. I was very impressed with the sound and the functionality of the electronics. I’m a big Van Halen fan but don’t play a whole lot of it and this guitar sounds great for all kinds of other stuff, so long as you’re playing hard rock/early metal. Cleans up great with the volume knob but let’s be real – with no neck pickup, cleans aren’t really what you’re going for. Out of the box, was not intimated at all and there were a couple of paint dings and imperfections. Floyd also didn’t hold tune super well but with a solid setup and lubing up the fine tuners, it plays and sounds great. I had one of these a couple of years back and sold it foolishly to fund other purchases but hear I am, back again after purchasing again. It really is an awesome guitar and I am partial to the b/w color scheme with the Strat-style input jack. My Les Paul Custom is better quality but this guitar honestly sounds as good or better for a third of the price. And this guitar makes you a better player and you realize how amazing of a guitarist Eddie was considering how basic and simple this guitar is. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.Arpeggio5150

Eddie inspired so many folks to pick up the guitar. This is my second EVH model and I am amazed by this guitar every time I play it. This model was on my bucket list of guitars and when it went on sale at Adorama, I had to snap it up. It came perfectly setup from the EVH factory and the only thing needed to be done was to tune it properly. The D-Tuna is great to switch to drop D tunings. The Frankenstrat plays like a dream. The fretboard is like butter and the the action is ideal for playing hard rock and metal. The pickup gives you an excellent approximation of Eddie's brown sound. I am ecstatic with my purchase and this guitar is the perfect homage to the master. RIP Eddie!Tomas

First a much deserved word about Musicians Friend. Having made numerous purchases in the past year (5 guitars, two amplifiers & two sets of powered monitor speakers) hats off to Musicians Friend. They are professional, courteous and a pleasure to purchase from. They truly have treated me like a friend over the last decade and a half. My guitar arrived in pristine shape, no issues, of course. For me this is a beast of a guitar and cannot be beat, not even close, at this price range, nothing I've played compares. Love the sculptured maple top and head to toe creamy binding, simply beautiful. The setup was very good, slight string height adjustment, neck did not need adjustment and pickup height was good. Someone is paying attention with quality control. The neck is fast, silky smooth and easy to navigate, I can accomplish sweep picking with this guitar. Coil split is always nice with humbuckers adding to the available tone palate. Everything works and works well. Check it out if in the market for a very nice modestly priced guitar. Doubt you'd be disappointed.Stratocasterplusplayer

Totally stoked on this purchase. I was looking for something solid with an inexpensive price point and came across this Schecter. I've never owned a Schecter before so I was unfamiliar with them but they put some serious quality into this instrument. Feels good in my hands and plays really fast and it looks fantastic. I do recommend upgrading the pickupups but if you're just looking to play around the house with this, it's set up and ready to go. Highly recommendableSmooks

I understand why people call this a beginers guitar. Some the components are cheap and the guitar felt unfinishhed. I own 8 guitars. All of them are higher end Made in America guitars. This guitar caught my eye solely because of looks. I decided to purchase it as a project guitar. After receiving the guitar it needed to be properly set up. I straightened the neck, leveled and radiused the fret board, re-crownded the frets, filed the fret ends and rolled the edge on the neck binding. I proceded to replace the bridge with a Graph-Tech Resomax NV2, and the tuners with Schaller M6 ones. I replaced the tone capacitor with an Orange Drop NOS .027 UF. The pickups are versatile and offer a wide variety of sound. I now have a guitar that has a fast articulate neck and fret board, great tone and sustain all for $160.00 in parts and my labor. This is no longer a " beginers guitar" . The guitar has great bones and was easy to convert to a guitar that you would pay over $1000.00 dollars for. Good job Schecter!Hodigity

This guitar is the Squire Stratocaster Bullet by Fender. The guitar is an excellent guitar for the price. The tones have a wide range. You can get a very clean sound, a very bluesy sound, and good distortion when running through a pedal. I use a Zoom II 505 effects pedal and a Marshall practice amp. When I do not want to disturb the neighbors I can use just the pedal with headphones. Bright sharp sounds are crisp when run through the pedal. This is great for rhythm and leads because the guitar can get clear notes on distortion when playing from the Double Humbucker position. Playing from the neck pickup results in a rich tone that can sound like Iron Maiden. The fret board has a good feel to it. The frets are not as good as on higher end guitars, but a good player will feel comfortable with the smoothness in playing this guitar. The guitar also stays in tune remarkably well. I have not played in some time so I have yet to be adventurous with the Tremolo. So I do not have an opinion of how it stays in tune when using Tremolo. When holding the guitar on the lap it tends to slide on the leg. Strats are best played while standing up, moving around and playing with your whole body involved. The light weight of the guitar allows a freedom to move. The neck is a good shape and easy onthe hand. The body has a great finish and the wood grain comes through the lacquer. This makes for a very attractive instrument that will look good on stage or in front of your friends in the living room. Disclaimer: If you are a good guitar player you will get a great sound. If you are not a good guitar player you will get a sound like someone killing cats no matter how expensive the guitar is. That is what makes this guitar such a great guitar. For a starter guitar, you won't spend a lot on it. If you give it up then you haven't wasted a lot of money. If you get better and make the guitar sound great, you will want to keep it even when you buy a more expensive guitar. Why, because this is a great guitar with great sound, great feel and great look at a great price!!!chuckamania35mm

Overall great beginner or budget guitar, sounds great with both the single coils and humbucker, quality wise there were a few issues I found with the fret work on my particular guitar but nothing a little filing can’t fix. Superb service from PMT as always, arrived exactly when they said it would and packaged great.George F.

I had been looking for a first guitar for a while. After lots of research I decided to go for the Squier, knowing the build had a relation to Fender. I'm happy with the guitar. You can see where they have cut corners to save money, things like the volume and tone knobs are quite plasticy, but for a first guitar I'm very happy. I went for the hard tail option as I didn't feel I needed a tremolo. Overall very happy.Jack H.

Overall: I was excited to receive this guitar as it was on back order I got the black and yellow bumblebee. After receiving it I made some adjustments to the tremolo and found that the spring cavity was bare wood / looked like it was chisel out with a screwdriver and it was not routed or CNC'd flat. Worse than that the wood under the Floyd rose was cracked and the finish was cracked as well. Basswood is a very light and soft wood so I am guessing the trem was pushed back during shipment or during setup at the factory and not seen by the staff as it is only visible when you remove the Floyd. I am a woodworker and beginning luthier so I corrected these issues myself and reinforced the thin section under the bridge with a custom fitted piece of maple and routed out the trem cavity so it is flat and sprayed the trem pocket with flat black paint looks like it should have when it left the factory now. I know I probably should have sent it back but overall I really like the guitar and I think Eddie would approve of my work.Douglas

This guitar has my favorite neck. The fretwork is amazing and the neck plays itself. This surprised me coming from fat Les Paul necks. Super easy to play, which, in turn, makes you sound better. I was very impressed with the sound and the functionality of the electronics. I’m a big Van Halen fan but don’t play a whole lot of it and this guitar sounds great for all kinds of other stuff, so long as you’re playing hard rock/early metal. Cleans up great with the volume knob but let’s be real – with no neck pickup, cleans aren’t really what you’re going for. Out of the box, was not intimated at all and there were a couple of paint dings and imperfections. Floyd also didn’t hold tune super well but with a solid setup and lubing up the fine tuners, it plays and sounds great. I had one of these a couple of years back and sold it foolishly to fund other purchases but hear I am, back again after purchasing again. It really is an awesome guitar and I am partial to the b/w color scheme with the Strat-style input jack. My Les Paul Custom is better quality but this guitar honestly sounds as good or better for a third of the price. And this guitar makes you a better player and you realize how amazing of a guitarist Eddie was considering how basic and simple this guitar is. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.Arpeggio5150

Eddie inspired so many folks to pick up the guitar. This is my second EVH model and I am amazed by this guitar every time I play it. This model was on my bucket list of guitars and when it went on sale at Adorama, I had to snap it up. It came perfectly setup from the EVH factory and the only thing needed to be done was to tune it properly. The D-Tuna is great to switch to drop D tunings. The Frankenstrat plays like a dream. The fretboard is like butter and the the action is ideal for playing hard rock and metal. The pickup gives you an excellent approximation of Eddie's brown sound. I am ecstatic with my purchase and this guitar is the perfect homage to the master. RIP Eddie!Tomas

The Mahogany body and maple neck through construction is enough for the price alone. On top of that you get Duncan Designed HB 103's which are some of the best passive pickups on the market. Next you get gold floyd rose hardware on a beautifully finished guitar. The binding and craftsmanship were excellent. All I had to do was ser the intonation. The tuners are fine except a little tight on a couple of them. Other than that, it is a flawless instrument. The only thing I might upgrade are the zinc alloy string blocks on the fr bridge but I like the way they sound for now. Just not sure if they will strip later on as zinc is a softer metal. The feel, tone and sustain is exceptional. This guitar produces the most brutal tones and I would put it up against a USA made model any day. Being made in Indonesia did not hurt the quality one bit. This guitar is a monster and my favorite 6 string.ZerovoreZ

This is a great guitar, overall, especially for the price. I replaced the pickups with Seymour Duncans, as I am partial to them…but the stock pickups are really pretty good. I will say that I was very disappointed, when I changed the pickups, to find that I had to replace the locking nut, as one of the bolt holes was stripped and I could not lock the E & A strings down. Thanks be to God, I have several extra ones on hand…but most people don't… But, having replaced the nut, and given the frets a light sanding and polish, and oiled the neck…this guitar looks and plays great! As well as any high end guitar… I also love the Jackson Floyd Rose bridges. They are great quality, and they do everything that an expensive tremolo bridge does. The bar fits tightly, it always floats right back in tune, no matter how hard you abuse it…you can do flutters, dive bombs, etc…a very good bridge in my opinion. I highly recommend this guitar for anyone who is looking for a versatile guitar (but mostly metal), and doesn't want to spend $800 on a pro series. This baby will do the job every bit as well, with a bit of TLC and the gift from God to play. Seriously.disciple7777

I already own an Am Std Strat and Tele and a G&L Tele all single coil. I wanted to try a humbucker sound and being loyal to Fender, I purchased this guitar. The high quality feel, looks and sound of this guitar were immediately apparent. The sound has a distinct "bite" which is perfect for certain uses with the typical humbucker "growl". The Pearly Gates can get dirty, clean and somewhere in between depending on my settings. Though not made in America, this guitar is not "cheap", corners were not cut. Rock, blues, jazz all sound great. I use to be an "American Made", single coils only snob, but this purchase changed my opinions.GM

Overall: This guitar is a real surprise. It looks absolutely gorgeous. The pictures do not do it justice. It's comfortable to play and the weight is fine even for long gigs. The neck is very comfortable to play and easy to get to the high notes. You can do most any style of music with it. I use it with Fender, Marshall and Boss Katana Amps and it complements them all like they were made for each other. I definitely recommend this guitar to anyone wanting to have a Tele sound and Les Paul style sound all in one great guitar. You get the best of both worlds without paying a fortune for it. Absolutely worth every penny spent!Bill

I have a Peavey (Steve)Cropper Classic guitar as my daily driver, now sadly discontinued. This Fender HHFMT is perfect as a replacement. It is very light. It looks great. The pickups are powerful and very smooth. It sounds like a tele, it punches shred like my 1960 model, LP Classic. I always wanted the Fender Robben Ford guitar to get that “Talk To Your Daughter” tone which this guitar delivers on brilliantly. It covers the Stevie Ray Vaughn sound and feel, I also think it could handle a set of 12 gauge strings without dropping tuning as the action and play-ability is excellent right out of the box. You-tube it, research it and buy one before the price goes silly. Chris xReviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Overall: I was excited to receive this guitar as it was on back order I got the black and yellow bumblebee. After receiving it I made some adjustments to the tremolo and found that the spring cavity was bare wood / looked like it was chisel out with a screwdriver and it was not routed or CNC'd flat. Worse than that the wood under the Floyd rose was cracked and the finish was cracked as well. Basswood is a very light and soft wood so I am guessing the trem was pushed back during shipment or during setup at the factory and not seen by the staff as it is only visible when you remove the Floyd. I am a woodworker and beginning luthier so I corrected these issues myself and reinforced the thin section under the bridge with a custom fitted piece of maple and routed out the trem cavity so it is flat and sprayed the trem pocket with flat black paint looks like it should have when it left the factory now. I know I probably should have sent it back but overall I really like the guitar and I think Eddie would approve of my work.Douglas

This guitar has my favorite neck. The fretwork is amazing and the neck plays itself. This surprised me coming from fat Les Paul necks. Super easy to play, which, in turn, makes you sound better. I was very impressed with the sound and the functionality of the electronics. I’m a big Van Halen fan but don’t play a whole lot of it and this guitar sounds great for all kinds of other stuff, so long as you’re playing hard rock/early metal. Cleans up great with the volume knob but let’s be real – with no neck pickup, cleans aren’t really what you’re going for. Out of the box, was not intimated at all and there were a couple of paint dings and imperfections. Floyd also didn’t hold tune super well but with a solid setup and lubing up the fine tuners, it plays and sounds great. I had one of these a couple of years back and sold it foolishly to fund other purchases but hear I am, back again after purchasing again. It really is an awesome guitar and I am partial to the b/w color scheme with the Strat-style input jack. My Les Paul Custom is better quality but this guitar honestly sounds as good or better for a third of the price. And this guitar makes you a better player and you realize how amazing of a guitarist Eddie was considering how basic and simple this guitar is. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.Arpeggio5150

Eddie inspired so many folks to pick up the guitar. This is my second EVH model and I am amazed by this guitar every time I play it. This model was on my bucket list of guitars and when it went on sale at Adorama, I had to snap it up. It came perfectly setup from the EVH factory and the only thing needed to be done was to tune it properly. The D-Tuna is great to switch to drop D tunings. The Frankenstrat plays like a dream. The fretboard is like butter and the the action is ideal for playing hard rock and metal. The pickup gives you an excellent approximation of Eddie's brown sound. I am ecstatic with my purchase and this guitar is the perfect homage to the master. RIP Eddie!Tomas

This guitar looks brilliant. The satin blue finish is exceptionally svelte. It's a decent guitar from a playing standpoint, but is more suited for the intermediate player getting their first upgrade to a more pro-like guitar. Particular people (like myself) will be disheartened by its poor quality binding that has obvious flaws where it meets the guitar body below the top wood. This wouldn't bother me half as much if the flaws were in places I couldn't see while playing, or if there were less of them. This flaw continues throughout the whole guitar – neck, headstock, and body. Mine was supposed to be a brand new guitar, but came pre-blemished – or pre-played. It has what appears to be pick scrapes on the body below the pickups (where this type of damage is usually found). There is also a mystery substance located behind the bridge in tiny little spots. (Consistent with a sneeze spray). Above the pickups, in approximately the same place your picking hand rests, there is a wide blemish that looks like it happened post-factory. The sound is what you'd expect, the active pickups do sterilize the tone as usual. I recommend upgrading to passive high-output humbuckers for a much warmer tone. The neck feels like a thinner Les Paul type neck. Plenty of resonance and sustain with the string-thru bridge and set-neck assembly. The neck is smooth, but not fast. This guitar's tone control may as well have been left off. Slight roll backs do nothing. And even when you go full sweep, the tone only slightly changes. I pull this guitar out of tune constantly as big wide bends are a part of my style. Locking tuners would be a HUGE upgrade, and will be one of my first mods, after the passive pups, and a coil-tap. It really is a beautiful instrument. But I feel a bit ripped off for paying "new" prices for "used" equipment.Dennis H.

Had a lot of fun playing the C-1. It's a great guitar for Metal n Heavy Rock. If your on a budget this is a no brainer. The guitar has a really nice neck that isn't to fat and feels good in my hands but is not a shredder neck either/ Kinda in the middle/ The EMG's deliver bone crushing lows with a smooth bluesy type high end. Normally not a "Schecter Guy" but was one over by the pure versatility of the instrument. This guitar is also is great for down-tuning so Nails Master of Reality Sabbath n Sleep tones but can also of course due heavier music like Sepultura/ Mayhem etc. The interesting thing is that it sounds great clean – really on the neck pickup n with the right Amp like an Orange Rockerverb MkIII will get you a nice CREAM tone thou is better running thru an ENGL or REVV type amp but either way it's a solid guitar. Only down sides are the EMG"S are "muddy" at times and the tuners are low end, But if your looking for something under a grand and play Metal this Guitar won't let you down- Rawk It!TONY

Songs that were difficult for me on cheaper guitars play great on this. Love the action and responsiveness. Your fingers can dance across the fretboard effortlessly. The active EMG 85/81 pickups pair well with the mahogany body so far. Any weird tones were due to me playing around and experimenting with my Katana amp settings rather than the guitar. It came new and ready to play with minor tuning-the intonation, truss, etc were all dialed in. The finish is beautiful and smooth, the frets were in perfect shape as well.JS

First & Foremost all around best axe you can get for the $$$$. I was skeptical at first, but I am so glad I went thru with it. I have 2 older Jackson Dinky models and Custom Soloist. This Guitar is almost as good as my Soloist after I put in a Seymour Duncan Hotrail and a Seymour Duncan Sh-JB Humbucker. It's got plenty of balls. Even fully stock you can't go wrong. Buy it! Buy it! Did you buy one yet? What are you waiting for?Tim R

I bought one for Christmas for myself after ignoring Jacksons since I was learning growing up. I picked up this entry level Jackson on somewhat of a whim after looking at RR models. I am really blown away, the craftsmanship alone on this thing is impressive for under 300. Out of the box it slays after a slight tune up. The front is impressive looking (pictures don't do much justice on here) and its maybe a bit heavier than I expected. I own several Ibanez in the same price range and its meatier (and somewhat nicer looking, playing) than the RG for sure. The only negative here is some slight defects in the paint. A millimeter or less bubble on the outer horn that you can feel with your finger is more of an annoyance than an issue. Then there are some blueish-black paint marks that are in the finish under the strings, again not more than a centimeter maybe. Upon first inspection they looked to be part of the quilt, but they are not. To be expected really unless your dropping over 500 on a brand new one. It screams and feels great in the hands. Time to check out these lower end Jackson models. Don't let the name fool you, there is nothing dinky about this guitar!Joe

I am a guitarist. I play in live shows with a band and have experience on the stage plus recording. This guitar is awesome. For the price? I am shocked. I play mostly death, black metal as well as ambient. I am a Jackson fan and this guitar delivers the punch I like and sounds great doing ambient. I realize musicians have their own preferences and styles. I respect that. But, in the end, we all develop our own personal styles and habits. I am sorry, nobody does sweep picking the exact same way. We all have our own finger prints. And I have mine. Yes, this guitar is a BEAST!Troy L.

This has got to be the most value I've ever seen in a budget instrument. Out of the box it was set up good. Finish was perfect. I purchased the ruby red version. Stock pick up is aggressive and hot. Tremolo works as it should. Although I ain't a big user of them I can dive like EVH does on the first record with this thing and it comes back up in tune. Many people prefer something better but this works perfect for me. The only flaws I could find was one of the drill holes on the back plate was not lined up correct and a screw fell out. Not a big thing because I have take. It off for access to the springs and to change strings. The hardware is not the best. The screws on the claw stripped a little when I was taking it out for whammy use. Over all a very enjoyable guitar. Incredibly hot sounding and fast. The look is great too. I don't plan on upgrading anything just yet. Many buyers of this do hot rod them and that's also a very cool thing. Maybe in the future I'll consider some upgrades but stock is fine. I'd trust it on a stage no problem. Get them before they all go! There's a reason why very little of them are on the used market. For this price you cannot go wrong! Maybe if a yellow one of these was to come along I'd be all over it. Would definitely buy again!Cris w

I was amazed at the quality for the price on this guitar . I own over 20 guitars and actually purchased this one for my sons birthday. All my guitars will be my boys one day but wanted to ad one to his current collection and this was a great choice. I have been a AMS customer for over a decade and love their prices, selection and payment plans. I always recommend AMS to my musician friends, they are the best!!!!Mike

LOVE this guitar! It have a smooth rosewood fret board which makes soloing slick and precise. The tone is perfect for Metal & clean playing. It stays in tune & is all around well built. Great price too!traviveg_9

I expected better from Jackson. Pickups are iffy,tuners are junk will not stay in tune. Pickup selector switch is scratchy and works sometimes. Action is ok after a good setup and string change. Had it for about 5 months now and thinking about trading it in for something a little better. It does look great hanging on the wall though.Keith C.