Starcaster By Fender Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

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

besides the weird booming sound coming from the amp when strumming, and the guitar constantly being out of tune. i would suggest this to a friend when starting out. however if you have more prior experience, get a better guitar and amp than this one. other than that, the price is somewhat equal to the quality of the guitar.thao

…so I purchased this as an alternative to my acoustic guitar. The 1st thing I noticed is how light it was. The maple neck was a different feel and gave me more accessibility to the frets. Once I got the guitar in tune I was surprised how nice it sounds. The amp is not the best, but if you don't have one, you won't notice. Overall I like this guitar. Thank you Fender for making an affordable electric guitar. I would get this again for a beginner. As I progress, this guitar is pushing me to upgrade to another Fender. It's that good. I have a lot of fun with this G-tar.No name

I have always been pleasantly surprised at the quality of these cheaper Squier Affinity and other similarly priced Squier guitars. I have played Squiers for decades, including jazz basses, Teles, and of course this Stratocaster. It plays as well as a guitar can play. It looks absolutely gorgeous. It sounds like any much higher priced Strats and the humbucker is a great go-to for playing leads without having to have a pedal boost or having to go to the amp controls for boost. It set up as well as any Fender I have worked on and I have worked on quite a few over the years. I would not hesitate to use this guitar on any stage or in any studio production. The frets needed no top or side dressing and no leveling.bobvarns

I was pretty impressed with this little guitar. I bought some I could learn how to install pickups, do light fret work, and luthier type stuff. However, I found this guitar already had really nice frets and good sounding pickups. So, I just swapped out the saddles and the tuners…this guitar is great now! For the money, it's well worth the price!Shane

just learning, sounds great. Have to say I accidentally picked the wrong package to order. Wanted the one that came with dvd, gig bag and tuner. Austin Bazaar was fantastic and shipped them out complementary. Great service with them!!!Patrick

The battery that came with the tuner was dead upon arrival. When I put the battery from the package it came in into the guitar the tuner would not come on…dead battery or a defective tuner? And there were no picks at all with the package.tmax

The is a great guitar. Excellent sound. Notes resonate true. Easy to play with frets large enough for large fingers. Holds tune very well after a couple hours of playing. At first it would go out of tune but it's broken in now and is fine for a few days of playing (only slight adjustments). Full chords sound clean, crisp and true. Very well made and very light. Really impressed by this guitar. Good beginner, advanced player guitar and for senior players too!mchsk803

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

So this is billed as a beginners guitar, but it needs a lot of work before it's even playable. The frets are scratchy as all get out, the bridge saddles were wildly in disarray, and the neck isn't finished. A professional setup and fret job would be necessary, as well as finishing the neck. The tuners were OK, but the pegs were loose within the mechanism. The string trees should also be replaced with either graphtech TUSQ XL or rollers as the sharp edges will tend to break strings. Only after this work would I recommend it for beginners. For modders like myself, it's an excellent platform. The neck is true, the neck pickup is routed for a humbucker if one chooses. I thought this was supposed to have a string-through body, but it is a top loading bridge. No matter, I'll make that mod. For the price, it's worth it especially for modders, but also for folks that know they will need to have some work done to make it playable.Anon

SO many things I like about this guitar, I'll take it one at a time. 1. SOUND – no fret buzz, action is balanced and even, pickups somehow sound better than review videos i have seen/heard on Youtube. Each note rings perfectly. 2. ELECTRONICS – pickup selector is smooth, no frizz, no static friction sound, pickups are solid in place, not loose. Cable input also has no frizz, no buzz. Signal is constant and no issues. 3. HEADSTOCK & TUNERS – although my headstock is different than the photo above (mine doesn't say BULLET) so instead it says SQUIER bye FENDER TELECASTER, which i actually like better. I'm personally not a super fan of the 70s font, but that is a minor detail, however happy it came out this way. Nice surprise. Tuners stay in tune better than those i purchased over 10 years ago. Quality is higher than chinese models i got before, which i had to return. 4. BODY & FINISH – the pictures here do not do it justice, mine is a super high glossy , and see-through finish that brings out the wood grains which since they are curved and natural reveal a single block of wood and not just flat pieces glued together (although there are some of these on the back, but when looking at the side view they are not "even" which indicates that it is a single piece), which gives it an almost marble appearance. I am shocked and ultra impressed by the aesthetics. Body weight is a major advantage as it is light weight yet still sold enough to give adequate sustain. 5. NECK – the solid maple neck is amazingly smooth, hand is able to glide as fast as i am able to move. 6. NUT – nut is fine for now. it's been over 1-2 months so although it is a short period of time, there is no issues, the measurements are fine and correct, cut to the proper depth. 7. FRETS – i read conflicting specs from musician's friend VS fender website, but it seems that my frets are narrow tall frets, which i totally appreciate as there is more actual fret material which will extend the life of the frets. i had to re-fret a previous guitar and the price tag on that was…substantial. HOW I USE THIS GUITAR the main purpose for this guitar was to replace an acoustic guitar for songwriting purposes of multiple genres for other artists, and also needs to stand up to extensive international travel. had a more expensive guitar stolen while on tour previously (fender stratocaster player), so want to have a great sounding / multiple genre capable guitar which IF STOLEN AGAIN can afford to buyback without spending/losing over 1K USD. Also on a previous tour, had a guitar literally snap in half at the neck (brand new epiphone SG style) when it fell off the guitar stand just 1 time. if i could convince my girlfriend to let me buy 2…i might just buy another one , BECAUSE this is a FSR which stands for Fender Special Run … i can see that these will sell out and only go up in value. but not sure that i would get a rosewood fretboard because from the videos i've seen, these tend to have more issues, this is just my limited observation. however, something to note about indonesia….i've played at clubs in asia owned by indonesian's. they have a small but very dedicated art scene. and have come a long way in the last 15 years. where i see more "quality fade" from the chinese, some first are good, but then they diminish the quality over time to save money once they get contracts, by contrast, the character of the indonesian people i have met is that they get better. again this is just my observation and true for my personal experience. last note, i have done EXTENSIVE research into ALL telecaster models, from the BULLET all the way to the CUSTOM shop models and compared ever single spec and dimension and building material and country of origin and multiple videos for each model available. yes i do take this to the extreme. BUT…among all that, i still landed on the maple neck bullet. true – there is some kind of a "gamble" with lower priced guitars made outside of the US, but there came on this guitar at least 4-5 quality control stamps. i can say that the people who made this guitar did an excellent job and i can't say enough good things about it. i bought it assuming it might be stolen again like before, but i REALLY hope i can keep this one for life. good job and thank you to whomever made this. sincerely, cousin paulcousin paul

Pros: thinner lighter body (poplar) some may consider this a con, but good for me. Body fit and finish is better than expected. Pickups are a pleasant surprise for budget ceramics, sounds like a Tele should. Pots are smooth and reactive. Cons: The necks all need varying levels of TLC. All frets require polishing, very scratchy out of the box, some fret ends need filing, but not bad. Mods I have made….sanded, steel wooled necks, satin finish was rough like overspray and quite a few finish drips. Replaced tuners, barely acceptable stock. Replaced plastic nut with bone. Replaced bridges and/or saddles, stock bridge is junk. So now I have 3 tele partscasters, all could be played professionally now. Also put threaded inserts and stainless steel bolts on necks, one tele came with 2 screws stripped.Keith

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

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

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.

I am a 59 year old guitar player, had expensive and cheap gear over the years. I don't think I'm technically great but know how to get a good sound. When looking for a cheap guitar to sit with, my Les Paul and even my '88 Strat often got a bit uncomfortable , I decided to try one of these, you can return them after all, no trouble. What a great little guitar! Obviously GAK probably don't get these out of the box to check them, my box was still stapled shut from the factory, and this is OK at this level but I worry a beginner would be put off if the guitar is poorly set-up. First off the finish is superb, no rough edges to the frets, the colour and gloss on the body was perfect, the unvarnished neck just sits comfortably in the hand, I picked this above the more expensive 'Affinity' as apparently the nut width is a little wider. I didn't need to adjust the neck, I just cut the nut a little lower on the G,B and E strings for comfort. The frets needed a light rubbing with fine wet and dry and that was it, a perfect, light practise tool. I would even gig with this no problem. Each and every one of the tuners work smoothly and firmly. Sound wise, it sounds like a Tele to me and this is always a very subjective and personal thing anyway, I don't like overly powerful pickups (my Les Paul has '57's) I prefer to push the sound with pedals. All I can say is, if not sure, 'Buy one'. I have done nothing but played this to death since I got it 4 days ago, hard on the finger tips as I haven't played regularly for a while. I hope I haven't just got a 'good one' and would like to think any of them would be as good, all the reviews I read suggests so.Customer

I started looking for a “real” Strat with Fender on the headstock. My budget would work with a Player Series Strat so i started doing my research. The first couple I played weren’t overly impressive, the necks didn’t feel great and the switch & pots felt just like the Squier guitars I had. I saw a couple Squier CV models but I was determined to have the name Fender on my next guitar. I finally picked one up and was blown away! I loved it so I checked the specs and tried another CV and came away impressed. That night I placed my order with AMS, used their payment plan and a couple days later had one of my own. My other guitars are not seeing much use these days – just too fun and easy to play my real Strat! Thanks Squier/Fender.BigBuzz

Sound: If you're looking for the Strat sound this will obviously work. Features: I'm impressed with the quality of it. It stays in tune and it came perfectly set up right out of the box. Ease of Use: It is not playable at all for me. This guitar would be much better suited for a small guy or a female. Certainly not for somebody with big hands. Quality: I managed to get a good look at the pickguard when I dropped a Seymour Duncan JB Jr pickup in the bridge position. Everything looked good. My only complaint is that the output jack was loose. Value: Yes, but I wouldn't pay more. Manufacturer Support: N/A The Wow Factor: I got it because I wanted to have a lefty Strat. I had planned on painting it and making modifications to it anyway but the neck is too thin and it's unplayable. Overall: The checkout, delivery and everything with the zZounds went fine. But be warned that this has a VERY thin neck and every time I play it, it makes my hand hurt so I have to set it back down after two minutes.Craig

Just love it. This is the perfect guitar for me. The quality is excellent. The sound is amazing. The neck and feel of the guitar is possibly the best that ive come across. Oh, and it looks good too, a vintage vibe. Fender Strat USA Jeff Beck model. Enough said.Damien T.

I honestly feel that the Jeff Beck Stratocaster is the best value guitar that Fender offers today. For just a couple hundred dollars more than an American Professional Stratocaster you get an upgraded, hot rodded, American made Stratocaster second to none! Anyone that knows the history of the Jeff Beck Signature Stratocaster knows that it inspired the Stratocaster Plus of the late 1980s. Roller nut, locking tuners, cutaway heel, noiseless pickups, tweed hardshell case, and American made for just a little more than the American Pro?! Duh! Despite all the upgraded "value" I keep going on about, the Jeff Beck Signature Stratocaster plays great! My model needed slight tuning straight out of the box but the action and intonation was perfect. Remember, these are standard production line guitars, not Custom Shop pieces. Whoever is doing the assembly and final setup of these guitars really takes pride in their work! I highly recommend this guitar regardless of your opinion of Jeff Beck. Jeff Beck happens to be my favorite guitar player and I always wanted a white Stratocaster with a rosewood fingerboard like the one he plays and was on the cover of the Wired album. This is the first Signature guitar I have ever bought and I could not be happier.Ty

I bought the Honey Burst because I didn't have a burst and honestly not a big fan of "bursts." But when I saw this honey, and it lacking a really dark edge like most bursts do I decided to play it. Sounded fantastic, played so sweetly, just as fine as my Miami Blue American Pro II, and my American Showcase. Don't spend the extra money on one of those if you're on a budget, tryin to save some money, but want USA made, this performer stacks right up with them, you won't be missing much if anything. I uploaded a YT vid, its my American Showcase, In the process of making a vid of this Performer, like sub and stay tuned! If you mention this review and leave a link to on of your vids I will reciprocate!CHARLES

Manufacturer Support: Did not contact manufacturer. Overall: I just got done demoing the floor model at my local big box store and I have to same I'm really impressed. For comparison, my main Strat is an American Special with three single coil Texas Special pickups and the new Yosemite pickups and the Doubletap humbucker have a lot more output. I used a floor model Boss Katana amp (distortion) as well as a Marshall amp (clean). The Doubletap humbucker sounds great with light to heavy distortion. Even with max distortion, it is very clear and pronounced and I was able to distinguish all the notes being played without it sounding muddy (first position and coil split off.) The second position (coil split off) sounds amazing. Even with heavy distortion, I was able to get some great sounding blues solos with the first and second position. With positions three, four and five, I was able to get those classic Strat tones that everyone loves. Going from humbucker to the single coil via coil split, the pickup still seemed to have a higher output than the Texas Specials. Just to make sure it wasn't the coil split, I also demoed the traditional three single coil setup and still, they seemed very hot. I played the opening riff and the solo to Paranoid and was very happy by the sounds the guitar made but the clean sounds are what really sold me. I played various chords (major, minor, 7th, different positions, coil split on/off, etc.) and was not disappointed at all by what I heard. To me, it sounds very different from any other Strat I've played. I use my current Strat as an all round guitar but that's soon to change. The finish is satin and for those who haven't played a guitar with a satin finish, the finish may feel a little rough as if it needs to be sanded but it doesn't. I prefer a gloss finish myself but that aspect can be easily overlooked if you want an amazing sounding guitar.Russell

Tim Shaw double tap humbucker with yosemite pickups great combo! Covers a wide range. The humbucker in the bridge gives you that fat extra distortion. And when you want that single coil sound pull up on the tone knob and split the coils. Well balanced. Plus you can still get that Sweet Home Alabama sound in position 2 with the HB in single coil mode ! Yosemite Pu's have classic Strat tone in clean channel. The rosewood neck plays and feels good. Came set up out of the box. Fender did a nice job on their Performer Series. Definitely worthy. Kudos!Mikeb

Sound: I can get any sound I want just through the pickup selector, tbx and midrange boost controls, and the master volume takes it over the edge for extra crunch. Playing by myself I preferred the middle pickup, but in a band situation the neck pup cuts through brilliantly with lovely clean treble twang. This is a great guitar for biting blues or rock tones, or dial it back for a nice soft clean tone. I mostly play through a Blackstar TVP 60 or Marshall DSL40, but I keep both mostly clean where it's just starting to break up, which I can control by my attack. Features: The best feature for me is the playability of the neck. The satin finish combined with the low vintage frets is just super smooth. I played about a dozen different Strat models before finding the EC, and once I played it there was no other choice to make. The noiseless vintages pups are a breeze, and the controls do everything Fender claims. Ease of Use: The EC just fell to hand for me immediately, like no other guitar I'd played before or since. 'Nuff said. The pups allow me to keep tight control on feedback only when I want it. Quality: This is a pure quality instrument, and I love everything about it. Having said that, after 2 years there's quite a bit of fret wear from bending, so I'll need to refret with stainless steel wire for longer wear. The volume pot has started to get a bit dirty and noisy, so it needs a clean, even though I've only played in clean environments. Value: Worth it's weight in gold. I have not played another guitar that makes me want to buy it. Manufacturer Support: Haven't need manufacturer support, but in Australia I have Fender-registered luthiers. The Wow Factor: This is EC's guitar, as close as I'll ever get, which is a big selling point. But sheer playability, quality, and value for money, plus pride of ownership, make it simply the best. Overall: Just a fabulous, playable guitar, the best I've ever played.Peter

Arrived in great shape. So far, I love this guitar, and despite all the videos I watched and reviews I'd read, I was still amazed at the sheer number of tones you can get out of it. With the mid and treble boosts, you can really go from "typical strat" tones to get incredible sustain and hit the front of the amp quite hard to get good breakup.Pros:- American Strat quality, fit and finish is good, rolled fret board, etc.- The electronics – endless variety of tones. Not great for modern metal or hard rock, but anything else will work.Cons:- This would be a hard guitar to work into a live venue if you play with other guitars as well. It is LOUD, so much louder than my Les Paul or anything else I own that I have to play with the levels and EQ on the amp. In my house, no big deal. At a gig, that may be tough. That said, I don't own other guitars with active electronics, so maybe other active pickups are also this much louder?- Requires you to unscrew the back plate to change the battery. I'm sure this keeps costs down, but on my active basses it's a lot easier to open the battery compartment without screws. Make sure you have a full battery before a gig.- I was surprised at the amount of set-up I had to do to get rid of fret buzz. Given the amount of distance in shipping, time in warehouses, temperature/humidity differences, etc. my guess is that it was probably fine when it left the factory, but it's the first guitar I've bought online that had so many strings/frets buzzing. Luckily a couple turns on the saddle screws fixed it all without appreciably raising action.Neither good nor bad: – The neck profile is unique to the Clapton. It feels like "a more playable vintage profile" to me. It's definitely not a modern profile. You'll either like it or you won't 🙂 I found it really easy to adjust to, and it seems to work great for "thumb over"- The bridge is similarly vintage, and comes blocked. If you really want the newer Fender bridge, you are out of luck. Given my set-up experience (above), I'm not convinced I could just "remove the block" and have it playable without additional set-up.- Tweed case looks amazing, but is not form fitting like the new TSA case that comes with other American Fenders. I wanted a tweed case, and I don't fly with my guitar, so not a big deal to me.Overall I feel like I made the right choice in buying a Strat, and I can't put it down. If your goal is to make Clapton sounds (or any other great Blues/Rock sounds) – this is a fantastic guitar.Metal Head

I have wanted an American made Strat for the longest. Not just any American Strat, but The One built to my specs from the looks right down to the pots and of course the feel and sustain. This is it and AMS made it easy and in reach just as they've helped me to make other musical dreams to come true! This guitar feels great, sounds amazing, beyond my hopes & expectations, and even the price tag was a pleasant surprise! Tech has come a long way, but in a lot of ways we've lost craftsmanship. Well, not out of Corona California. Crisp tones, nuanced variation, and that wonderful Fender sustain! I have some other expensive guitars, which I love, but at under their price point the Professional II is going to be a close lifetime friend. If you are looking at these and don't need boutique trimming of the Ultra line or the royal treatment of the Custom Shop, look no further and pay no more. Strat-Halla is right here at a reasonable price point for a heritage worthy instrument. I won't waste time going over the specs. It's all here. Get acquainted with your new best friend!Pete

This is my second American Stratocaster. My first is from 2007 and it has a rosewood fretboard. I wanted a maple neck strat as well. I bought the Miami blue version and love it. To me, Strats are each very unique in the way they play and sound. My other Strat has Dimarzio Area pickups in it (which I love), so I’m having to get used to the stock single coils. I love the bridge, but to my ears the neck pickup it too muddy. The trem system is good, and the overall construction is good. I had to re set it up because I use heavier strings. I may end up changing pickups before it’s all said and done. Only time will tell. I wish Fender would have put Locking tuners on from factory! That’s a must for me.Justin

I purchased this guitar about 3 weeks ago (working with Zach), it has quickly become my favorite guitar I own. The full rosewood neck is incredibly smooth and the the deep C shape is extremely comfortable. I mostly play through a Helix Stomp and have been really happy with the sound and tone variability I can get with it using the various pickup selections especially with the push/push for adding the top pickup to the mix for positions 1 and 2. The pictures in the listing look great, but it looks much better in person. The pictures have a lot of light which makes the blue appear lighter than it would in a normal room. The picture where the guitar is positioned in the case is a great representation of the color in a normally lit room.Kevin

Comfortable guitar with a well rounded amount of options for most players. Maple neck felt smooth, very bright & crisp tones and it was thin enough for some speed when needing to move about the fretboard. Finish on the neck is light enough varnish to let you feel a bit of the wood grain. Sound from the pickups is old school classic strat twangy tone fitting for blues, country, classic rock, jazz, or folk players depending on which of the 5-way pickup selections you are in. One complaint is that the stock pickups have a noisy 60hz buzz when in single pickup positions. In combined 2-pickup positions most of the buzz is pulled out. Most people modify these pickups or control cavity because of the noise issues. Neck pickup, middle and neck/middle positions sound best for most players needs. The bridge pickup lacks any of the stronger mellow tones a humbucker might give you so certain players obviously will not like this for their style of music. Tuners were solid performers staying in tune for a long time and have an old school look. Tremolo is not very useful especially if you are a Floyd Rose type player. The body is very comfortable to hold while sitting or standing. Finish is sharp polished thick coating. Choose the Candy Apple red. Overall a great guitar in it's price range. If you wanted to modify it or customize there are a hundreds of options available to you. Have made a few mods myself.Humbuckers Rock

I've generally had a strat in the house since shortly after I started playing in 1977 or so, as an 18 year old. It's my "home" instrument – I can vacation with and enjoy other guitars, but I always come home to a strat. But I'm not and never have been a tremolo guy – I've always either decked or blocked the trems in my Strats. So the idea of a hardtail always appealed to me. This is my first actual hardtail and it's my favorite strat, probably not because of that, but it doesn't hurt! This is the best sounding strat I've ever owned – the pickups are great and whatever else contributes to the tone gets it right too. The feel is almost as good as the sound. I've had some really sublime feeling strats over the years – I wouldn't say this is better than all of those, but it's right up there. I tend to prefer maple fretboards to rosewood, but this rosewood plays great and the neck shape fits me really well. Bottom line – I'm a lifetime strait guy and I've owned a few and played a lot of them, and this is my favorite strat I've ever picked up. It's largely a matter of personal preference, but this one is a perfect fit for me. And the Inca Silver looks just wonderful too, particularly with a rosewood board and mint pick guard.Ray

Fantastic instrument. I compared it with Squier Classic Vibe 50s and – for me at least – there was no question which one to get. Yes, the Mexican tele is over 200 quid more – but it's well worth it. The bridge with individual saddles is much more comfortable than the standard 3-saddle one. Neck is not as heavily lacquered as on the CV. Pickups sound great, switch and knobs feels more solid. I did find a couple of blemishes in the finish, but realistically speaking – for a guitar that is mass-produced at that price point – that's sort of expected. I also preferred the colour of the Standard Tele, as CV had really intense forced yellow hue everywhere. I mean – everywhere, even the maple fretboard was stained yellow. There is a bit of fret buzz, but I believe it could go away with proper setup and maybe a bit of crowning?… All in all – great guitar. I was hesitant at first, but now it's my personal favourite and go-to instrument.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Although the antique olive was not necessarily my first color choice, it looks amazing in person. The finish is much thinner than the finish on my MIM Standard telecaster or strat – I can very faintly see the join lines and grain through the finish, and the instrument itself is very resonant unplugged. Out of the box, the action was basically perfect – I set intonation and tuning and have not had to adjust saddles or tweak the truss rod at all. The neck profile is very comfortable for me – far more than either the 2002 "American Fat Strat Texas Special" or 2012 American Standard I had previously – hand-filling and substantial without sacrificing easy chording and bending. In terms of tones – it really nails all of the bell-like tones strats have become famous for. I am definitely more a fan of the three pickups individually than the 'in-between' settings, but it also has the 'quack' you want if you are an aficionado of those tones as well. The vibrato is light and easy – I don't do a lot of dive-bombing, but it's perfect for adding a bit of shimmer here and there. I know I'm still in the 'honeymoon' period, but I believe it's going to be a long and happy marriage!Robert

I'm a Gibson player usually – I have a Les Paul Standard Faded from 2005, which has been rewired with a '59 harness, Alnico 2 PU mags and PIO caps (it's an absolute tone monster), and is the yardstick by which I judge all other guitars. 99.9% of the time, nothing comes close. I've never really found a Stratocaster that I felt completely at ease with, or that sounded right to my Gibbo ears. But the American Pro is different. I don't know what they've done with the pickups, but there's loads of soul in them, with tons of dynamics on offer. I never thought I'd say this, but the Strat is fast becoming my favourite guitar. This guitar just sings in all PU positions. It's got a cool '60s vibe to it, but with with higher output – not too high that it loses it's classic tones, but high enough to cut through lots of high gain (if that's your thing). The neck is the new tapered C shape, which is very similar in feel to my '60s LP neck (my hands are too small for the '50s necks), so I felt right at home with it. This guitar will be a lifer for me. I need look no further.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I've owned a couple of Stratocaster's over the years and they've never really just felt like me. They're nice enough, just not my thing. I decided to give Fender another shot as I've heard good things about the new ranges and the specs on the American Professional sounded like they were right up my alley. But I was trying to justify that vs the new Mexico made Player series which, on paper, was close enough for several hundred dollars less. Then I stumbled on this deal and my decision was made. Once I got it in hand, the differences were very apparent, the neck feel being the biggest. I love the satin finished back with the gloss finger board. And the new carve is wonderful, not too thick, fits the hand very well…comfort city! The new Tim Shaw designed V Mod pickups sound great, every position is useable from my perspective and Lake Placid blue is spectacular. I never knew I wanted a guitar in Lake Placid blue! It's quickly becoming my favorite behind my Gibson ES-339.Patrick

I bought this guitar on sale for about $590, which, let's be clear, is an absolute steal. It's a gorgeous instrument, the electronics are great for the price point, and the craftsmanship is superb except for one small thing… the nut was on backwards. I ordered the instrument online and drove about an hour for curbside pickup where I did my best to check for any obvious damage or crafting issues, but the sale tag was tied around the B & E string so I didn't notice the nut issue until I got home and heard a pronounced buzz on the B string. I took it to a local guitar shop and had the nut replaced with a hand-slotted bone nut for about $40, rather than dealing with a return or exchange at the nearest Guitar Center. In truth, I had been planning to replace the nut with a bone nut anyway so I didn't really care that much. Aside from this pretty glaring error, though, the guitar is just a delight. There was no fret sprout, no sharp frets, and no fret buzz, like I've heard some people mention. The neck was perfectly straight and smooth, electronics were sturdy-feeling and sounded awesome (I expected more hum and a thinner sound from stock pickups). The saddles were also incredibly easy to adjust for intonation and the instrument is just generally comfortable to hold/play. Also, this guitar looks absolutely incredible in Surf Pearl. Moral of the story, if you find this guitar on sale for less than $700, the value is pretty hard to beat. Just make sure you give it a thorough look-see before taking it home or that you're prepared to spend ~$50 extra for some additional work. If not for this manufacturing error, this would be a 5-star instrument.Carson C.

I've had this beauty for some weeks now. It's been played through a Fender HRD with Private Jack for speaker, a Marshall DSL40 and Vox AC15. Sounds beautiful in all these mediums, including Tube Screamers, Chorus, and Fuzz pedals. I see no need to change the PUs or Tuners. I only changed the strings to Elixer 9s. Neck feels great. Had one fret that was buzzing slightly, but a minor truss adjustment and minor fret filing solved that little issue. NOT FOR NUTHIN, but guitarists should learn how to perform some mechanical adjustments – it feels good fixing some problems on your own. Although I'll steer clear of electrical issues. Anyway, the guitar is beautiful. I've got the blue. It's almost a work of art. If I needed another Tele I would buy this one again. I bought it while it was on sale, but I would have bought it at regular price anyway. If you're on the fence, hop off and pick up one of these. They're worth the investment. No need to spend Fender Pro money.Hans-Dieter

This guitar is built extremely well, and is a great platform for modifications. The body has a tummy cut that makes it really comfortable compared to other telecasters. The tuning stability is great, and never seems to go out of tune. When I received the guitar, the action was set too low and the neck was back bowed. After adjusting the truss rod to .010" of relief and raising the action to 4/64" the guitar played like a dream. The one downfall for this guitar is the stock pickups; I ended up swapping mine out with an f spaced Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck. I love this guitar and will never part with it.JP

I've owned several Strats over the years, including a 1968 (my first real guitar) and a Custom shop with Ibarra pickups. The Eric Johnson is as good or better for me than any of them. I play mainly blues-based classic rock, Hendrix, Clapton, Zeppelin, Beatles, etc. I've had this white-blonde with maple fingerboard for a little over two months at this writing. The larger-than-usual neck is outstanding–much like a Custom shop. Although the 12" radius isn't as comfortable for chording as the standard, rounder 9.5", it provides a more consistent feel for fast playing, runs, etc., imo, because my fingers don't need to adjust to the larger curvature. It's like a classical guitar in that respect. The pickups with their staggered pole pieces sound lovely–almost vintage sounding with loads of classic character. The neck position is honky, midrangy, not smooth like normal Strats, so it cuts. Where I might have preferred the neck position on other Strats, I prefer the 4th position on this one, which has the fat smoothness appropriate for mellower rock rhythm or fills. The middle pickup (without tone control) is louder, and a great go-to for a quick volume and tone change for solos. 2nd position is quacky and biting, great for distorted solos that cut, and the 1st (bridge) position is good for higher gain leads (with the tone rolled back a bit) or for twangy country licks. I've never much liked the bridge pickup on Strats, but this one is less harsh than usual, and with the tone rolled back to 5 or 6 is definitely usable. I'm leaving the tremolo with five springs on, flat to the body for tuning stability; but I do miss being able to whammy in both directions rather than just downward. The staggered tuners undoubtedly help maintain tension, and a bounce on the whammy bar resets intonation pretty well, though not perfectly (this could be due to other factors such as the nut, string gauge, etc.), so I don't use it much. I'm using NYXL9544 (the 9.5 "half-size" gauge).Tanuki

Very nice guitar that is era correct. Has flash coat nitrocellulose finish like original 50's strats that is thinner than other model ej strats. Even has correct '54 patent pending stamped saddles and smoothed headstock corners. These are slightly heavier than alder body EJ strats and doesn't have as deep of contours but is correct for '54 models. Neck is dead on with '54 profile, very slightly larger than previous models. It is listed that it has quarter sawn neck but mine isn't, it is more between flat and rift sawn like original '54. You can tell that fender went through some effort, likely from ej's request, to make these as close as possible to original'54 specs. Only non '54 items are pickups and Bakelite knobs but "Virginia" had these changed out.N. Collins

Beautiful white blonde finish, silky smooth neck finish. The soft V is quite round and is a robust neck, but the V keeps it from being ball bat. If you really like the "Modern C" you may find the neck a little large. It's certainly comfortable to play, and I like it a great deal, even though most of my other guitars are modern C's or similar. So, maybe you won't. I've found that I like larger necks more the longer I play, and the resonance of this neck is just a great feeling. Hard to explain, but it seems more alive than most strats I've played. Some folks have found the neck sticky, but I didn't think that at all. Plays amazing right out of the gate. Intonation was perfect out of the box and setup was just fine, although I may play with it a little for my personal preferences. Tuning stability is good. Came with all of the springs installed on the bridge, so the trem bar was not even usable, but with one spring removed, it allows the trem to be functional while still keeping the bridge hard against the body for better resonance and stability. Pickups are amazing. I have some strats with Texas specials and I've had just about every pickup out there, but these are just perfect. Sounds like a strat should sound, and the "in-between" positions are more usable and pleasing that on any other strat I've ever played. Volume knob reacts perfectly and really changes presence and drive in a predictable fashion. Break up is sweet, and can get quite crunchy on the bidge. Neck is just a perfect blues tone with lots of options to shape character with volume and tone. The treeless headstock is nice…I've had better tuning stability for my plain strings than other strats, and I didn't find the plain strings dead or lacking in any way. This is certainly my new favorite guitar. I don't really know how much having no trem pocket cover on the back of the guitar helps tone, and it kind of looks unfinished without it, but I don't know that I'll bother to add one. Case is great, also.DJ