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Hatsubai « Very versatile »
Published on 10/25/11 at 15:57This is one of the standard series guitars which means it was made in Mexico. As a result, these are pretty affordable for the average person, although some of the more elitist guys might be a bit hesitant to buy them due to some QC issues that sometimes occur. The guitar features an alder body, a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, 21 frets, dot inlays, a vintage style 6 point trem, HSS configuration, one volume, two tones and a five way switch.
UTILIZATION
The neck joint on this had a small gap, but it wasn't anything too major. You normally see these even with the American versions of the guitars. The fretwork on this could have used some work. The frets were real dull, and they weren't rounded on the ends quite as much as I would have liked. They were a touch sharp, but they weren't sticking out. A quick once-over with a special triangle file would fix that issue. There were no issues with the nut, so no problem there. The guitar stays in tune fairly decent with the stock bridge, but you have to know how to properly set this up. There are a few tricks that you can learn by searching the internet regarding these bridges.
SOUNDS
The guitar's sound was somewhat lacking. It was partly due to the pickups in this, and it was also partly due to the fact that the guitar didn't seem super resonant. The pickups in this are your standard budget pickups that aren't too exciting. The bridge is humbucking, and it delivers your average humbucker sound. It's really nothing to brag about. The singles were decent at clean tones, but they were fairly noisy, and they seemed to fall apart with high gain. If you're going to keep this guitar, I recommend swapping in some higher quality pickups. DiMarzio and Duncan are the popular choices, but there are other brands out there that are just as good or better.
OVERALL OPINION
They're decent strats, but be sure you know what you're getting into. You have to play a few of these before you can really find a high quality one that rivals the American ones, and a lot of people don't want to take the time to play a bunch of these. Once you find a good one, however, hold onto it.
UTILIZATION
The neck joint on this had a small gap, but it wasn't anything too major. You normally see these even with the American versions of the guitars. The fretwork on this could have used some work. The frets were real dull, and they weren't rounded on the ends quite as much as I would have liked. They were a touch sharp, but they weren't sticking out. A quick once-over with a special triangle file would fix that issue. There were no issues with the nut, so no problem there. The guitar stays in tune fairly decent with the stock bridge, but you have to know how to properly set this up. There are a few tricks that you can learn by searching the internet regarding these bridges.
SOUNDS
The guitar's sound was somewhat lacking. It was partly due to the pickups in this, and it was also partly due to the fact that the guitar didn't seem super resonant. The pickups in this are your standard budget pickups that aren't too exciting. The bridge is humbucking, and it delivers your average humbucker sound. It's really nothing to brag about. The singles were decent at clean tones, but they were fairly noisy, and they seemed to fall apart with high gain. If you're going to keep this guitar, I recommend swapping in some higher quality pickups. DiMarzio and Duncan are the popular choices, but there are other brands out there that are just as good or better.
OVERALL OPINION
They're decent strats, but be sure you know what you're getting into. You have to play a few of these before you can really find a high quality one that rivals the American ones, and a lot of people don't want to take the time to play a bunch of these. Once you find a good one, however, hold onto it.