My first strat

I think we are overstating the average buyer in this thread. "Most" people are perfectly happy with reviews provided by people like Oleg, Darrell, McKnight, and the like. I can safely say that the people who frequent this forum are a step above the average consumer, and are looking for much more than what the average YTer can provide as far as equipment reviews.

The only person I trust with gear reviews is Pete Thorn. His pedal reviews are spectacular.
 
Ron_R said:
I think we are overstating the average buyer in this thread. "Most" people are perfectly happy with reviews provided by people like Oleg, Darrell, McKnight, and the like. I can safely say that the people who frequent this forum are a step above the average consumer, and are looking for much more than what the average YTer can provide as far as equipment reviews.

The only person I trust with gear reviews is Pete Thorn. His pedal reviews are spectacular.
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He is also paid but he tends not to do a review if he doesn't like the product. At least he can play well enough to do a demonstration that adequately backs up his conclusion. Mc Knight videos are utterly pointless.
 
You talking about one like this?20220406_125337.jpg

My first real strat was way back in 1993. I went to a local store which had about every model from cheap to super expensive. I started at the cheap side and made may way up to a USA Strat Ultra. I found that the more expensive, the better playability and sound. I was more into metal at the time so that strat ended getting sold/traded off. Fast forward to a few years ago. I bought a mexican deluxe. It was ok. I then picked up a used USA Ultra. That was nicer and played much better and sounded only slightly better. Then one day while with my bass player at GC, not there to buy anything, I saw the above pictured American Professional strat on the wall. I played it acoustically at first and was blown away how good it felt. That was in 2019. Needless to say, I took it home. Only mod I have done to this one was install Fender locking tuners- just for easier string changes.
My suggestion: go to stores and play as many as you can. Then get the one that speaks to you. You will save yourself a lot of money in the long run even if that "good one" costs more. I have another 2019 which came with HSS but I never gelled with it so, I installed Texas Specials and it sounds quite a bit different but I still by far like this one better.
 
Andy Eagle said:
Since when is commercial success any measure of quality, sincerity or accuracy ?
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It's not. But if there is a measure of success, it means that that person isn't useless to all. And since when does someone on an internet forum decide what is quality and what isn't? You can certainly have your opinion, but it obviously isn't shared by everyone.
 
Ron_R said:
It's not. But if there is a measure of success, it means that that person isn't useless to all. And since when does someone on an internet forum decide what is quality and what isn't? You can certainly have your opinion, but it obviously isn't shared by everyone.
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Reminds me of this quote:

"I think that if a person is making music — even if it’s the most crass, commercial kind of crud — that person should be doing that because there are people who want to consume crass, commercial crud. And they’re doing a necessary function for the audience that needs to be entertained. Just because I’m not the consumer of that stuff, it’s no reason for me to go on some big campaign against it. I don’t think it’s particularly aesthetic, but then again, if it’s providing enjoyment for somebody, then fine."

– Frank Zappa, 1983
 
Andy Eagle said:
Good luck with that. Cheap guitar with flavour of the month features, worthless in the long run.
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The big names definitely have some value associated to the name itself, and may have greater control over quality and parts standards, but wrt cost / resale, once the guitar is factually understood by the purchaser, the value proposition can only be determined by them: ie: MiM teles are $1100 here in Canada - I bought a new Squire CV Tele for 1/2 that. as a hobbyist equipped / able to do my own setups I think I did my research fairly well and know where I compromised a little, and a lot, and I know the resale value - so for a guitar that I will only pick up once in a blue moon, it feels good enough and has enough tele twang to satisfy me - my #1 and 2 guitars (SG, Carvin DC) are both 2k$+ instruments, but I play those most of the time - I understand the differences and can live with them, so the value is correct for me. If a pro reviewer had told me Squier is Chinese junk, I don't see what value that would have added to my decision making process since junk is what I throw in the trash and China, afaik, has developed thier manufacturing processes to "state of the art" - their direction on quality and parts for the Squier line would be coming solely from the manufacturing outsourcer: Fender, however, if a pro reviewer had told me something material about Squier CV guitars that I did not know before, it may have changed my decision (ie: one thing I've learned
is that Squier CV teles are not nearly as moddable as many reviewers claim - I have found that the sizes and locations of things are just slightly different enough from standard (or Fender equivilent) to make mods difficult (control plate is shorter, tuning machine holes slighty smaller, bridge pu cavity slightly different, pick guard hole spacing slightly different...). I'm guessing this is by design as Fender probably does not want people modding up Squiers to Fender spec too easily, but none of the Squier CV tele yt reviews I ever watched (and I watched a lot) ever mention this - in fact, many will boast about how moddable Squier CVs are.

I would like to see more luthiers / techs doing guitar reviews who can really get to into the pro/con finer points. As eluded to above though, a lot of people are probably just looking for what they want to hear, rather than true insight into construction, parts, materials, fit/finish etc, so the reviewers give em what they want.
 
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Ron_R said:
It's not. But if there is a measure of success, it means that that person isn't useless to all. And since when does someone on an internet forum decide what is quality and what isn't? You can certainly have your opinion, but it obviously isn't shared by everyone.
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If you want tech advise ask a tech. It's really that simple. Quality is largely not a matter of opinion, particularly at this price point.
 
sprint said:
Yes, however, just because I've only got $500 to spend on a guitar doesn't necessarily mean I want a review that's "adjusted" to suit a lower price point - internally plastic tuners that tend to break are just that, and not somehow different / "good for the price" on a budget friendly guitar.

+1 DB is definitely one of the better reviewers - I also like that Elmo guy (but don't tune in unless u like Yngwie shredding to test out the guitar - lol).
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No one is talking about "adjusting" a review. I'm talking about being discriminating and finding opinions you can at least semi rely on.
 
sprint said:
The big names definitely have some value associated to the name itself, and may have greater control over quality and parts standards, but wrt cost / resale, once the guitar is factually understood by the purchaser, the value proposition can only be determined by them: ie: MiM teles are $1100 here in Canada - I bought a new Squire CV Tele for 1/2 that. as a hobbyist I think I did my research fairly well and know where I compromised a little, and a lot, and I know the resale value - so for a guitar that I will only pick up once in a blue moon, it has enough tele twang to satisfy me - my #1 and 2 guitars (SG, Carvin DC) are both 2k$+ instruments, but I play those most of the time - I understand the differences and can live with them, so the value is correct for me. If a pro reviewer had told me Squier is Chinese junk, I don't see what value that would have added to my decision making
process since junk is
what I throw
in the trash and China, afaik, has developed
thier manufacturing processes to "state of the art" - their
direction on quality and parts for the Squier line would be coming solely from the manufacturing outsourcer: Fender, however, if a pro reviewer had told me something material about Squier guitars that I did not know before, it may have changed my decision (ie: one thing I've learned
is that Squier CC teles are not nearly as moddable as many reviewers claim - I have found that the sizes and locations of things are just slightly different enough from standard (or Fender equivilent) to make mods difficult (control plate is shorter, tuning machine holes slighty smaller, bridge pu cavity slightly different, pick guard hole spacing slightly different...). I'm guessing this is by design as Fender probably does not want people
modding up Squiers to Fender spec too easily, but none of the Squier CV tele yt reviews I ever watched (and I watched a lot) ever mention this - in fact, many will boast about how moddable Squier CVs are.

I would like to see more luthiers / techs
doing guitar reviews who can really get to into the pro/con finer points. As eluded to above though, a lot of people are probably just looking for what they want to hear, rather than true insight into construction, parts, materials, fit/finish etc, so the reviewers give em what they want.
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You don't want to pay Mexican Fender money for Chinese Squire quality product though. Yes China can build anything at any quality or price point. It's about objective value for money here.
 
fcs101 said:
No one is talking about "adjusting" a review. I'm talking about being discriminating and finding opinions you can at least semi rely on.
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Ok, but I am talking about "adjusted" reviews because that's exactly what happens - I find the whole "for the price..." caviate, taints many reviews too much - not enough factual information about what's good and why, and what's not and why - but since many guitar reviews are done by players and not luthiers, it's to be expected. Lately, as soon as I hear "for the money, u can't go wrong...", I'm on to the next review. Value for money is not so easy to identify - there is overpriced
stuff at all price points.
 
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sprint said:
Ok, but I am talking about "adjusted" reviews because that's exactly what happens - I find the whole "for the price..." caviate, taints many reviews too much - not enough factual information about what's good and why, and what's not and why - but since many guitar reviews are done by players and not luthiers, it's to be expected. Lately, as soon as I hear "for the money, u can't go wrong...", I'm on to the next review. Value for money is not so easy to identify - there is overpriced
stuff at all price points.
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That doesn't mean there's not good cause to use the phrase. Darrell has some really nice stuff in his personal collection; he's posted videos detailing his personal stuff. I would think you'd have to think that way when evaluating, especially, budget brands.

Side note: I think it's possible this is a good time to buy a Sire, if interested. They are priced just under the better known PRS Silver Sky. This is typical of a new company on the block to acquire market share. If they continue to be successful you'll probably see those prices go up with the name recognition. Also, companies will often try a little harder when they are struggling to get known.
 
So Andy, is there a pro tech / Luthier's yt channel you'd recommend for players to get detailed guitar reviews from. As I mention above I think the more player oriented review channels are fine if you watch with correct mindset, but I really can't think of one that's done by a pro tech or luthier who tears down a guitar and gives a logical open assessment of it along with explanation of why they say what they say (in this context, paid ot not would not matter to me).

"Dylan Talks Tone" is probably the closest to this that I watch, but he's more of a pickup expert.
 
sprint said:
So Andy, is there a pro tech / Luthier's yt channel you'd recommend for players to get detailed guitar reviews from. As I mention above I think the more player oriented review channels are fine if you watch with correct mindset, but I really can't think of one that's done by a pro tech or luthier who tears down a guitar and gives a logical open assessment of it along with explanation of why they say what they say (in this context, paid ot not would not matter to me).

"Dylan Talks Tone" is probably the closest to this that I watch, but he's more of a pickup expert.
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There are no channels from techs. Techs also fall in to categories that are very different in practice; repair tech, road tech. small builder.
I see a lot of everyday guitars but I also have a large number of pro players that I do extensive work for. Then I get collectors with high end and vintage . I also do authentication for insurance and auction of both famous and vintage. The review I want to see is a rundown of parts and the manufactures of the OEM used and then a quality player to demonstrate the capability of the instrument using commonly available gear that we should all be familiar with. There are some very playable instruments out there because of the modern capability of CNC that are unfortunately outfitted with very cheap hardware and electrics that sometimes sound quite good in the hands of a decent player . The issues will be many and expensive but the instrument can look, sound and play well at the beginning. The reason I suggest the Fender is the core components are a huge step up from the Sire.
 
Fender Road Worn or GTFO. 😆 No seriously, just grab a Fender Player Series that you like the looks of, give it to a luthier for a proper setup and enjoy the hell out of it.
 
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