« Fender Mex Strat »

My 14-year-old son recently bought a bass and since I jam off an on with some buds I figured it would be a good bonding experience with the kid. As a friend of mine once said, the family with the best toys, keeps the kids close. I got the strat at the Guitar Centre in a deal with a Fender bassman 25 watt amp, with the axe pricing out to about $325...list is $384 (brown sunburst)but I suspect they will deal lower.

Strat looks good and is easy to handle. Action is good and fast enough for my admittedly somewhat amateurish level, but is also a capable instrument in the hands of more advanced players. Sounds good even played through a bass amp, and the tome controls and switch are easily adjusted to a range of sounds hard and trebly to soft an bassy.

not much to dislike about the guitar. I played several starts at several different places and sound and feel was very consistent. The only thing I didn't like ws the plastic protective sheet over the pickguard which is really difficult to remove. Sharp fingernails will scratch it, so I can imagine what it will look like after a few months of picking -- but it is easily replaceable.

It's definitely a notch above Squier strats, frets are well-seated and fit and finish is very clean. Big plus, has no problems staying in tune even with (over)use of whammy bar.Frets are well-seated and fit and finish is very clean

I can wholeheartedly recomment the strat. And if you can't afford an American made classic, the Mexican manufactured version is big steup up from the decent but limited Squier version.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com