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I bought this guitar recently as I was looking for a classic strat sound with less noise when used with high gain sounds. I was also interested to try a scalloped neck as I've always preferred jumbo frets on other guitars.
I am absolutely delighted with the sound and playability of the guitar (I made a little demo video here showing some of the tones I can get from it scalloped neck takes a little getting used to but I love it and really enjoy the extra grip you get for bending and vibrato.
The only negative thing I can say about the guitar is that there seems to be a mismatch between the string spacing of the bridge (vintage) and the width of the neck (modern slimmer Fender style). This means that the E strings are extremely close to the edge of the neck and I find I regularly pull the high E off the edge when doing pull-offs on that string. I was aware of this limitation though before buying the guitar (I researched a good bit on the web before buying it) so it was not a surprise. Just a little disappointing that Fender have not resolved it. I guess you could learn to get used to it, but in my case I'm going to resolve it myself by changing the bridge to a Callaham after-market bridge. This should also solve another issue with the tremolo in that there's a lot of play with the bar, again something that could be better.
So to sum up, for me it's a fantastic guitar, but let down a little by a poor choice (and quality) of bridge. The other components, like the machine heads, quality of fret dressing are all very good.
I bought this guitar recently as I was looking for a classic strat sound with less noise when used with high gain sounds. I was also interested to try a scalloped neck as I've always preferred jumbo frets on other guitars.
I am absolutely delighted with the sound and playability of the guitar (I made a little demo video here showing some of the tones I can get
I bought this guitar recently as I was looking for a classic strat sound with less noise when used with high gain sounds. I was also interested to try a scalloped neck as I've always preferred jumbo frets on other guitars.
I am absolutely delighted with the sound and playability of the guitar (I made a little demo video here showing some of the tones I can get from it scalloped neck takes a little getting used to but I love it and really enjoy the extra grip you get for bending and vibrato.
The only negative thing I can say about the guitar is that there seems to be a mismatch between the string spacing of the bridge (vintage) and the width of the neck (modern slimmer Fender style). This means that the E strings are extremely close to the edge of the neck and I find I regularly pull the high E off the edge when doing pull-offs on that string. I was aware of this limitation though before buying the guitar (I researched a good bit on the web before buying it) so it was not a surprise. Just a little disappointing that Fender have not resolved it. I guess you could learn to get used to it, but in my case I'm going to resolve it myself by changing the bridge to a Callaham after-market bridge. This should also solve another issue with the tremolo in that there's a lot of play with the bar, again something that could be better.
So to sum up, for me it's a fantastic guitar, but let down a little by a poor choice (and quality) of bridge. The other components, like the machine heads, quality of fret dressing are all very good.
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K
Disappointing from Fender.
KevM 11.03.2021
I've had this now for approx 10 months. The pros are it looks great, the pickups are good, the hardware in general is good. However, the cons are: 1. As with most malmsteen strats, the vintage spaced bridge means the high E is practically falling off the neck and takes getting used to, however I knew that beforehand so not a big deal. 2. The nut was unplayable when it arrived, the B and G were getting stuck like crazy and twanging hard when they'd snap through, tuning was also very poor in general, again down to the nut (even with light stings, 8s a la malmsteen in fact). I had a tech look at it and after being re-filed its now okay. 3. The nitro neck is gloopy and sticky and you may need to sand it a bit with wire wool.
So overall now, having done some work on it, I'm happy with it. But having to do this kind of work on a €2k+ guitar is crazy and very poor from Fender. Also some players will have to put a new bridge on it due to the spacing, which is also crazy for a €2k+ guitar
I've had this now for approx 10 months. The pros are it looks great, the pickups are good, the hardware in general is good. However, the cons are: 1. As with most malmsteen strats, the vintage spaced bridge means the high E is practically falling off the neck and takes getting used to, however I knew that beforehand so not a big deal. 2. The nut was unplayable when it
I've had this now for approx 10 months. The pros are it looks great, the pickups are good, the hardware in general is good. However, the cons are: 1. As with most malmsteen strats, the vintage spaced bridge means the high E is practically falling off the neck and takes getting used to, however I knew that beforehand so not a big deal. 2. The nut was unplayable when it arrived, the B and G were getting stuck like crazy and twanging hard when they'd snap through, tuning was also very poor in general, again down to the nut (even with light stings, 8s a la malmsteen in fact). I had a tech look at it and after being re-filed its now okay. 3. The nitro neck is gloopy and sticky and you may need to sand it a bit with wire wool.
So overall now, having done some work on it, I'm happy with it. But having to do this kind of work on a €2k+ guitar is crazy and very poor from Fender. Also some players will have to put a new bridge on it due to the spacing, which is also crazy for a €2k+ guitar
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12
2
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A
Fantastic instrument!
Anonymous 21.08.2016
It's a fantastic instrument, no matter if you are a fan of YJM or not. The scalloped board may feel a bit strange at the beginning, however, it feels lovely as soon as you get used to it . I believe it facilitates speeding as you touch less wood while playing. My 5 other Strats became retired, since I've bought this guitar.
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5
0
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BG
The Perfect Strat
Ben G 16.09.2019
High quality and great sounding stratocaster with an amazing neck. The guitar has such a more pronounced and balanced sound than most strats I have played which works perfectly for my style of music (rock, blues and metal). Thomann were really helpful to ask questions about the guitar before ordering and the guitar arrived in perfect condition. Very happy.
