Fender Starcaster Semi Hollowbody Electric Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

Was really pleased with this guitar right out of the box. Little to no set up required. Plays great but may be difficult for novices. The hollow body makes it necessary to have skills a novice may not have. The sound and electronics are great. A little heavy but otherwise solid insrument.Dave

Well built short scale bass; very cool that it has a high F on the first string, my '75 Fender Mustang only goes up to D. This bass is more of a thumper axe that plays well with fingers or pick; feels similar to a Precision bass neck. It is not much for slapping and snapping but I'm starting to find the sweet spot to do that in a pinch. I've been using the natural finish model regularly for about three months and get a lot of positive comments and questions about it. The Starcaster is a heavy bass so if weight is an issue you had better look elsewhere; if you like easy to play short scale thumpers this would be an excellent choice.jzbassguitar

The Starcaster is quite good quality although the original set-up from the factory was fair at best. The intonation had to be adjusted and set correctly. Now corrected it is a fun bass to play and has a nice warm vintage tone. I use a vintage Traynor Bassmaster (1966) Tube Amp YB1-A with a Yamaha 12" bass driver cabinet. Sure gets the old 100 year old windows a rattlin'! For the money its not only a good quality instrument but a piece of artwork, especially in the Cherry Sunburst!G the Bassmaster

Purchased with expectation of needing setup (common with new guitars). Happy to report the guitar arrived in exclnt shape – virtually no setup needed. It plays smoothly, the string action is low and frets polished. This guitar's finish is impressive – I could find no flaws, pretty amazing for such an affordable instrument. The pickups sound great, very clear – again amazing for inexpensive import. Tuners are pretty stable, no tuning issues to speak of. Ive played it through a few diff amps and it sounds awesome. Happy to recommend the Squier CV Starfire – awesome bang-for-buck with these.hatterasgear

Actually better than 4 stars but the strings were horrid. At first I thought it might be the tuners. I liked it so well I would have replaced them if necessary but a switch to quality strings fixed it immediately. I can't understand why they do this; it seems this would lead to lost sales and returns from the beginner and intermediate players it is aimed at. The build is excellent. The shape is far more ergonomic than any other hollow or semi- hollow body especially if you set down to play. I've wanted one of these since the last millennium. The original was always too rich for me. I play acoustic almost exclusively but I changes coming. I gave away a Gib 135 a few years ago because I never bonded with it. Did I mention I like this guitar?Al

Sound: Fender pick ups sound good with good range on the pots. Set up out of the box needed no adjustment. Intonation was good, action set up low no strings buzzing or dead notes. Very little fret sprout and have not dressed. Features: Body is comfortable to hold heavier than I thought but OK. Finish on guitar is very nice, no extra glue or uneven binding areas. No over spray. Neck a little sticky I may hit it with a little steel wool#0000 to get rid of that new finish stickiness. Ease of Use: as for as sounds I play clean and it sounded great in my Tube amp and also my Fender 40 watt Champion. Value: Worth buying. The Wow Factor: guitar was appealing because of the limited hollow bodies in the price range Overall: I've been looking at this guitar for awhile and finally pulled the card out. No regrets at all. 1st thank you to zZounds for the quick service as usual. I recently went to buy a different guitar from the so called "Friend" site because Z didn't have one and paid for a new guitar and they shipped me something worst then a blem. Broken from being dropped and wrapped in bubble wrap. Someone else returned and sent to me as new. New guitars don't come wrapped in bubble wrap and damaged that a blind man could see. They lost a customer needless to say. The Starcaster WOW! Very nice, no adjustments needed. Played for 2 days at this time and can't believe the value. I have an Ibi Hollow body cost twice as much and the quality of this guitar is on par. Has a good rockin sound, clean, Tuning pegs appear solid, pots have decent range , neck reminds me of a tele I have 9.5 and thin, really sounds good and looks great. Go for it and add another to your collection.Peter

The guitar arrived with no tool kit or case candy, labels, etc. There was a piece of thread where a label should have been, but no label. I restrung it and tried for two days to get the tuning and intonation right, to no avail. (I have been playing a lot of years…not a beginner). Worst of all looking around the guitar there was a patch of, what appeared to be, dried blood. My conclusion was that this guitar had been sent out to someone else. They had possibly pricked a finger whilst stringing it, then realising it was badly made had returned it. When I ordered, PMT just sent the returned guitar out to me hence no label or tool kit. Like my review title says…very disapointed.Hugh C.

Incredible guitar in all respects. Plays very nicely. Plenty of volume, and killer tone. Built like a truck! Finish, and look are stellar! Light weight, and balanced. Great for rock, blues, and jazz! Neck is really nice! A simply super quality guitar thats worth every penny. Way above a starter guitar. Used for pro recording, and concerts. Fender has this one done right. If you want more tones, go the the 399 model, but this one is great, and versatile enough for me. Gets many comps from the crowd, and other musicians! Very original cool design!Jack

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.

Purchased with expectation of needing setup (common with new guitars). Happy to report the guitar arrived in exclnt shape – virtually no setup needed. It plays smoothly, the string action is low and frets polished. This guitar's finish is impressive – I could find no flaws, pretty amazing for such an affordable instrument. The pickups sound great, very clear – again amazing for inexpensive import. Tuners are pretty stable, no tuning issues to speak of. Ive played it through a few diff amps and it sounds awesome. Happy to recommend the Squier CV Starfire – awesome bang-for-buck with these.hatterasgear

Actually better than 4 stars but the strings were horrid. At first I thought it might be the tuners. I liked it so well I would have replaced them if necessary but a switch to quality strings fixed it immediately. I can't understand why they do this; it seems this would lead to lost sales and returns from the beginner and intermediate players it is aimed at. The build is excellent. The shape is far more ergonomic than any other hollow or semi- hollow body especially if you set down to play. I've wanted one of these since the last millennium. The original was always too rich for me. I play acoustic almost exclusively but I changes coming. I gave away a Gib 135 a few years ago because I never bonded with it. Did I mention I like this guitar?Al

Sound: Fender pick ups sound good with good range on the pots. Set up out of the box needed no adjustment. Intonation was good, action set up low no strings buzzing or dead notes. Very little fret sprout and have not dressed. Features: Body is comfortable to hold heavier than I thought but OK. Finish on guitar is very nice, no extra glue or uneven binding areas. No over spray. Neck a little sticky I may hit it with a little steel wool#0000 to get rid of that new finish stickiness. Ease of Use: as for as sounds I play clean and it sounded great in my Tube amp and also my Fender 40 watt Champion. Value: Worth buying. The Wow Factor: guitar was appealing because of the limited hollow bodies in the price range Overall: I've been looking at this guitar for awhile and finally pulled the card out. No regrets at all. 1st thank you to zZounds for the quick service as usual. I recently went to buy a different guitar from the so called "Friend" site because Z didn't have one and paid for a new guitar and they shipped me something worst then a blem. Broken from being dropped and wrapped in bubble wrap. Someone else returned and sent to me as new. New guitars don't come wrapped in bubble wrap and damaged that a blind man could see. They lost a customer needless to say. The Starcaster WOW! Very nice, no adjustments needed. Played for 2 days at this time and can't believe the value. I have an Ibi Hollow body cost twice as much and the quality of this guitar is on par. Has a good rockin sound, clean, Tuning pegs appear solid, pots have decent range , neck reminds me of a tele I have 9.5 and thin, really sounds good and looks great. Go for it and add another to your collection.Peter

Was really pleased with this guitar right out of the box. Little to no set up required. Plays great but may be difficult for novices. The hollow body makes it necessary to have skills a novice may not have. The sound and electronics are great. A little heavy but otherwise solid insrument.Dave

Well built short scale bass; very cool that it has a high F on the first string, my '75 Fender Mustang only goes up to D. This bass is more of a thumper axe that plays well with fingers or pick; feels similar to a Precision bass neck. It is not much for slapping and snapping but I'm starting to find the sweet spot to do that in a pinch. I've been using the natural finish model regularly for about three months and get a lot of positive comments and questions about it. The Starcaster is a heavy bass so if weight is an issue you had better look elsewhere; if you like easy to play short scale thumpers this would be an excellent choice.jzbassguitar

The Starcaster is quite good quality although the original set-up from the factory was fair at best. The intonation had to be adjusted and set correctly. Now corrected it is a fun bass to play and has a nice warm vintage tone. I use a vintage Traynor Bassmaster (1966) Tube Amp YB1-A with a Yamaha 12" bass driver cabinet. Sure gets the old 100 year old windows a rattlin'! For the money its not only a good quality instrument but a piece of artwork, especially in the Cherry Sunburst!G the Bassmaster

Purchased with expectation of needing setup (common with new guitars). Happy to report the guitar arrived in exclnt shape – virtually no setup needed. It plays smoothly, the string action is low and frets polished. This guitar's finish is impressive – I could find no flaws, pretty amazing for such an affordable instrument. The pickups sound great, very clear – again amazing for inexpensive import. Tuners are pretty stable, no tuning issues to speak of. Ive played it through a few diff amps and it sounds awesome. Happy to recommend the Squier CV Starfire – awesome bang-for-buck with these.hatterasgear

Actually better than 4 stars but the strings were horrid. At first I thought it might be the tuners. I liked it so well I would have replaced them if necessary but a switch to quality strings fixed it immediately. I can't understand why they do this; it seems this would lead to lost sales and returns from the beginner and intermediate players it is aimed at. The build is excellent. The shape is far more ergonomic than any other hollow or semi- hollow body especially if you set down to play. I've wanted one of these since the last millennium. The original was always too rich for me. I play acoustic almost exclusively but I changes coming. I gave away a Gib 135 a few years ago because I never bonded with it. Did I mention I like this guitar?Al

Sound: Fender pick ups sound good with good range on the pots. Set up out of the box needed no adjustment. Intonation was good, action set up low no strings buzzing or dead notes. Very little fret sprout and have not dressed. Features: Body is comfortable to hold heavier than I thought but OK. Finish on guitar is very nice, no extra glue or uneven binding areas. No over spray. Neck a little sticky I may hit it with a little steel wool#0000 to get rid of that new finish stickiness. Ease of Use: as for as sounds I play clean and it sounded great in my Tube amp and also my Fender 40 watt Champion. Value: Worth buying. The Wow Factor: guitar was appealing because of the limited hollow bodies in the price range Overall: I've been looking at this guitar for awhile and finally pulled the card out. No regrets at all. 1st thank you to zZounds for the quick service as usual. I recently went to buy a different guitar from the so called "Friend" site because Z didn't have one and paid for a new guitar and they shipped me something worst then a blem. Broken from being dropped and wrapped in bubble wrap. Someone else returned and sent to me as new. New guitars don't come wrapped in bubble wrap and damaged that a blind man could see. They lost a customer needless to say. The Starcaster WOW! Very nice, no adjustments needed. Played for 2 days at this time and can't believe the value. I have an Ibi Hollow body cost twice as much and the quality of this guitar is on par. Has a good rockin sound, clean, Tuning pegs appear solid, pots have decent range , neck reminds me of a tele I have 9.5 and thin, really sounds good and looks great. Go for it and add another to your collection.Peter

The guitar arrived with no tool kit or case candy, labels, etc. There was a piece of thread where a label should have been, but no label. I restrung it and tried for two days to get the tuning and intonation right, to no avail. (I have been playing a lot of years…not a beginner). Worst of all looking around the guitar there was a patch of, what appeared to be, dried blood. My conclusion was that this guitar had been sent out to someone else. They had possibly pricked a finger whilst stringing it, then realising it was badly made had returned it. When I ordered, PMT just sent the returned guitar out to me hence no label or tool kit. Like my review title says…very disapointed.Hugh C.

Incredible guitar in all respects. Plays very nicely. Plenty of volume, and killer tone. Built like a truck! Finish, and look are stellar! Light weight, and balanced. Great for rock, blues, and jazz! Neck is really nice! A simply super quality guitar thats worth every penny. Way above a starter guitar. Used for pro recording, and concerts. Fender has this one done right. If you want more tones, go the the 399 model, but this one is great, and versatile enough for me. Gets many comps from the crowd, and other musicians! Very original cool design!Jack

My first guitar years ago was a classic early 70s American Tele which I needed to sell to help pay for school. Years later, I'm back to gigging regularly and I have plenty of guitars that play reliably on stage, but I never found something that replaced my first guitar and I've had a telecaster shaped hole in my life for 20 years. I decided to rectify this a week ago. I can afford anything at this point and thought for sure I'd come home with an American Tele Deluxe with Shawbuckers, but spent half a day at our local Mom and Pop guitar store playing every configuration of telecaster. I'm here to tell you, this is the one. As I suspected, you want the maple fret board on a telecaster. For a guitar that excels at spitting out sharp percussive twangy notes, the harder maple fretboard just works so much better than rosewood. Also as I suspected the thinline body adds so much with subtle overtones and resonance — this is a guitar with a distinctive punchy twang but a fullness that is lacking in solid body telecasters. I've only played this with the entire band once, but this guitar has a sound that is unique and stands out in the mix. The big surprise though is the "noiseless" pick up system which does not seem to be widely available on the American Tele Deluxes, in favor of the Shawbucker set up. This is what ultimately sold me. The noiseless pick ups just have so much more percussive, twangy personality than the more typical humbuckers. I like playing a guitar that sounds like the guitar and not the pedal chain I'm playing and this guitar sounds more like a telecaster than any other telecaster I've played. And It sounds amazing through every overdrive pedal I've got which just brings out more of its distinctive sound. Yeah, I'm a little sheepish about the "made in Mexico" on the back, but I have to be honest and say I could tell zero difference in playability between the American and Mexican guitars I played, so get over it already.Dr Sour Puss

I have wanted a semi hollow guitar for a really long time, and within the last couple of years, I've been wanting a tele. I love the color, and combo overall. It's my first guitar that the fretboard is part of the neck (never really looked at Fenders that closely). Satin neck is pretty nice too. The profile is thicker than what I'm use to, but not so thick that it's uncomfortable. I have small hands, so that was a concern. I've never really cared for string trees, but the locking tuners make that less of an issue for me. I've had the guitar for less than 2 months.For the price, I wasn't expecting the fret sprout, but I know it can be taken care of fairly easily. It plays nicely outside of the frets needing attention. Gig bag is nice and padded. I love having string through body. It's what all but maybe 3 or 4 of my electrics have had on them. Just know it will need a setup when you get it. I don't have any major complaints. There was a piece of paper inside the sound hole that got missed at the factory, and the finish isn't perfect. I honestly wasn't expecting it to be. It's close enough not to be a problem. It's my first Fender, but likely won't be my last after this experience. I may change the bridge to a babicz at some point, but I really want to get to know this thing before I do. I know there are lots of people who may look down on where something is made, but I am not disappointed by this thing.UncleB

Just love this guitar, feels great to play, sounds wonderful, locking tuners absolute bonus and I would have changed to them if they hadn’t come as standard. No issues with build quality, although I might get the neck dressed as I can feel a couple of frets ends but again no biggie.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

The Fender Powercaster has delivered on my expectations and Sam Ash was exceptional start to finish as always! I was looking for a fixed bridge (check!), shorter scale neck (check!), a humbucker bridge pickup (check!), passive electronics (check!), minimalist controls (check!) in a conversation piece body (check!). The alternate reality Powercaster basically marries the bridge, scale length and pickup configuration more commonly expected of a Gibson but in a decidedly Fender vehicle. I find this guitar more playable than a Les Paul due to its light weight and neck shape but this is of course a personal preference. For those on the fence because it's made in Mexico (MIM), I think the recent MIM instruments have provided exceptional quality at a great price point. The fit and finish on this guitar are perfect (as it is on my MIM jazz bass as well). The string action is surprisingly low which has been a lot of fun in standard tuning, but I expect to require a new set up when I detune this to drop D or Db. Finally, speaking to the pickups, I'm still experimenting with the tonal range and amp + guitar combos. I bought the guitar expecting I would probably upgrade the bridge humbucker to a Seymour Duncan JB or Super Distortion but I have to say I'm really pleasantly surprised by how great these new Fender Atomic humbucker and p90 pickups sound. They aren't going anywhere any time soon.David

Beautiful neck and really dig the white opal sparkle finish. Sounds great, the bridge and the middle position especially with dirt/pedals.evilcameron

The Fender Powercaster is not yet widely available in the big box stores, and not many color choices that I've seen. What I like is the neck, and headstock, so markedly different than anything I've seen before. It's some kind of new wood, not Pau Ferro, not blonde or maple or rosewood, but a deep coffee brown thru and thru. It is not lacquered or stained, nor does it need to be. It's just so unique, out of this world. The rest of the axe is superb also, it has everything one could want in a jazzmaster or jag or mustang, aside from not having a tremelo setup, I have no complaints whatsoever. What amazed me from the jump was the sustain. Wow…and hitting harmonics is effortless as well, with long, singing hang time that just goes on forever, you can bend and shape notes like never before.danle6819

The guitar arrived with no tool kit or case candy, labels, etc. There was a piece of thread where a label should have been, but no label. I restrung it and tried for two days to get the tuning and intonation right, to no avail. (I have been playing a lot of years…not a beginner). Worst of all looking around the guitar there was a patch of, what appeared to be, dried blood. My conclusion was that this guitar had been sent out to someone else. They had possibly pricked a finger whilst stringing it, then realising it was badly made had returned it. When I ordered, PMT just sent the returned guitar out to me hence no label or tool kit. Like my review title says…very disapointed.Hugh C.

Incredible guitar in all respects. Plays very nicely. Plenty of volume, and killer tone. Built like a truck! Finish, and look are stellar! Light weight, and balanced. Great for rock, blues, and jazz! Neck is really nice! A simply super quality guitar thats worth every penny. Way above a starter guitar. Used for pro recording, and concerts. Fender has this one done right. If you want more tones, go the the 399 model, but this one is great, and versatile enough for me. Gets many comps from the crowd, and other musicians! Very original cool design!Jack

My wife thought the Inca silver guitar was beautiful. I thought it was very unique looking and assumed that since it was made in Japan, it would be very high quality. The Gotoh tuners are incredibly difficult to turn. Hopefully this is an anomaly. I could try to loosen them but I expect a guitar like this to need nothing from the start. Also the guitar would not hold tune and yes, the strings were stretched. The tremelo bar requires an allen wrench (provided) to install and remove. Although I'm no guitar tech, it looked as if the two fulcrum screws were not tightened enough. Regardless, even when not using the tremelo, just the heel of my hand resting on the bridge would make the guitar squirrelly. This was very frustrating. The low E string had a buzz on the lower few frets and I broke the high E string my 2nd day of playing it. I've gone years without breaking a string on other guitars and I just do whole step bends, nothing more. The pickups sounded fine, the TBX tone control is not something I claim to understand, but it sounds ok. The guitar is not very versatile – kind of a one trick pony good for cranked up crunch guitar, which I was ok with. The 12" radius and jumbo frets? Not very comfortable IMHO. Kind of a tiring guitar to play. I wanted to like this guitar, but again, I refuse to start out with it needing work so it 's going back and the days of me assuming that Japanese quality, or at least quality control, are over.Kelly G.

I was in the market for a Fender guitar so as I browsed I saw a beautiful Telecaster that I really liked but it didn't have a whammy bar so I continued to browse, then I saw this beautiful Stratocaster and it was love at first sight. Plus it plays and sounds great. I'm loving it! 👍🏻Clarence

This is a monster of a guitar! You get so much for your money! First off, the feel of this guitar rivals American build quality. The neck has that rolled edge feel to it with more of a satin back. The jumbo frets feel absolutely perfect. If you had told me that this was made in the US, I certainly would believe it based on the feel and quality of construction. The features are so cool on this guitar! While it has two humbuckers, the coil split turns both of them into single coils. Normally, split coil humbuckers do not sound like single coils, but both of these pickups are so good. The split neck pickup has that woody, full tone to it, just like a good quality single coil. The humbuckers have a good throaty feel to them, they are great for rock tones, but they have a vocal quality to them that gives them a really great character even when they are clean. This TBX tone control is an amazing addition and is what makes this guitar so crazy versatile. It has a notch that lets you know it is a halfway. This is like using a regular 250k tone pot. It sounds great with both the humbuckers and the split coils. But, when you take the tone to '10', it enhances both treble and bass by engaging a 1000k pot. It gives a higher gain, somewhat scooped tone. This is great for rock, blues, grunge etc. Just an amazing tone to me! To sum up the tone, this guitar sounds amazing playing high gain rock as well as playing John Mayer licks. It is seriously that versatile. I have never played a guitar that can cover so much tonal territory. The other appointments are absolutely top notch. This guitar has a bone nut, graph tech type saddles, and super high quality gotoh tuners. The crazy thing about this guitar is that I feel that I have just purchased two high quality guitars for a price that is less than one american strat. Gorgeous clean single coil tones, AND heavy, thick humbucker tones all in one unit. I can't recommend this guitar highly enough!Mike

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

Very good stainless steel fret nice body not heavy very nice orginal pickups it's cheap but not bad i owned headless i don't have any problems with bridge or setup until now. Thank yououdai jawad