Valley & Blues Stratocaster

Chinese manufacturing but Toulouse design. 3 Wilkinson pickups, maple neck, wooden box (not against plated or crate), 22 frets, mechanical cover (oil bath?) And 3-ply white plate.
good 2-tone sunburst finish. Serious when taken in hand.
When it opens, the plate gets stuck under the handle ... so it must also unscrew the handle to the oter, which is not very top, this is, the interior is very serious, the components of choice, RAS and good surprise.

UTILIZATION

the handle has almost no radius, the frets are pretty cheap and soft but has a good profile and it glides well. The strings are positioned on the handle and the height is good, no distortion, which is good when it comes to guitar a bit low cost. We forget everything after 5 minutes.
Good balance, the guitar is born and it feels good when the rule, it vibrates and sounds good vacuum, but it certainly feels low and a little body. Very good design nonetheless.
We play without fatigue, mechanical'll miss keeping in time, but like all guitars actually. Guides ropes again.
So second note.

SOUNDS

microphones are correct, but they lack bass and may have a limited in terms of dynamics and clarity. pretty good crunch or distortion for clear sound it will do the trick in rehearsal or playing at home. In fact I am too used to my fender 57/62 or my van zandt. The advantage is that by installing a trio of good microphones secondhand, it will certainly be successful. Attention to setting up microphones for the assembly to be balanced with the bridge pickup in particular is a bit hard.

OVERALL OPINION

A total of 5 real guitar that sounds, and is very fun to play. I bought it to recover the body and make a good scratch from the other three but eventually it will remain as such in the first place. An easygoing worthwhile guitar. I did not expect this quality for the price I had seen these new guitars in the store.
Value for money great (much better than a Squier std for cheaper) but this is still not a strat, even Mexican, unless you change the pickups.

Configuration classic strat, 3 pickups with 5-way switch, 1 volume, 2 tone, 1manche 22 frets, maple fingerboard (available in rosewood), basswood body I think.
I think the finish is not really entry level, a very nice surprise on that side.

UTILIZATION

The interface is very nice, you will soon feel at home. Access to acute is very easy, the handle is very comfortable. It is light.
It's really easy to play, no surprises.
Quite easy to sound good is obtained. The settings are fairly simple.

SOUNDS

Tried several amps transistors (vox VT20 +, marshall MG100, Peavey ...).
I use it for blues or rock. The metal is prohibited.
I find the sound of microphones base is quite nice. However, they lack a bit of bite. The sound is very clean and against specific enough. The cleans are pretty nice, the sound is quite warm and round. But their output level to the confines distos or Crunches enough softs. I replaced pretty quickly by overwound GFS (about 60 €).
It is with these pickups that I could appreciate the guitar at its fair value. The sound is much closer to the sound fender. Their high level of output allows them to consider the rock without any problems, but did go down to the metal (at the same time it's not too vocation of strat).
The sound is great for, jazz blues, rock, going to hard rock. I put 7 for micro base but with the GFS I would put 9

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for 3 years now. I'm bassist and I was looking for a guitar to make me happy to play on occasion without ruining me. And on that side it's mission accomplished. I tried a few Squier before buying (up to 2 times more expensive), and I really fell for this model. With microphones base was a very good guitar for those who want to start on the right foot, with proper violin and a very nice ergonomics. Replacing pickups brings a real plus.
I had the opportunity to play an American Strat recently and without saying it is the same level, I think the valley and blues do not blush.
Would recommend to anyone wanting to acquire a first strat! Considering the price it's a shame to pass by without at least trying. This is in my opinion a very good alternative to Squier.