« Fender Stratocaster »

I acquired this guitar from a newly-opened Tom Lee Music store in Abbotsford. I walked in with my mother and asked if they had any starter guitar sets for sale, the nice man said that they had just gotten a bunch of Affinity stratocasters in and that they were being offered at $550 per guitar pack. I thought about it and discussed it with my mom and finally she asked if that was a guitar i'd like and i replied "yes" so that plus g.s.t. and p.s.t. made my total ammount to about $600.

It came with everything i needed to start rocking: tuned to drop d, strap was easily on and adjusted, my amp was great, there was an instructional video, replacement strings, tuner, picks, and a great gig bag.

I really dislike the body of a stratocaster... it lacks edge, this is why i origionally wanted a warlock, beast, or gothic flying v. Other than that the tuner only came with one battery ,which wore out fast, and back plastic peice actually blocks the broken string ends that try to come out, so i have to undo the back to get it out.... not fun.

The construction is absolutely great... the neck doesn't move at all, no cracks or bumps, stiff tuners (the metal objects attached to the head) which is very nice so i don't stretch the strings to the point i snap them or i have to tune every five minutes. The body is well constructed, and very well painted, overall, i give the quality of my strat. a 9.5 out of a possible 10. (the strap buttons were so loose they came off...)

Overall this guitar is one of the best i have ever played. It is very well made and will probably outlast my lifetime... this is a guitar i would be glad to pass on to my grandchildren.

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