List Price: $449.99
Sale Price: $279.99
Today's Bonus: 38% Off
- Agathis body with gloss polyurethane finish
- C-shape maple neck with 9.5 in radius, rosewood fingerboard and 22 medium jumbo frets
- 3 Single-Coil Pickups
- Synchronous Tremolo Bridge, Master volume w/ 2 tone controls and 5 position pickup selector switch
- Pack Includes: Fender Frontman Amp 15G Guitar Amplifier,Stereo Headphones,Instructional DVD,Chromatic Tuner, Gig Bag,Cable,Guitar Strap,Pick Sampler
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You'll find many reviews of this product. Some claim it is the worst of the worst, and some love it.It is a beginners guitar set, so take it as that. The tones that can be achieved are very clear, and the single coil pickups are actually quite good for a cheap guitar. If you want a cheap 100 dollar ebay guitar, go ahead, the pickups will likely be totally unusable. These are usable.
The tone knobs and wiring inside aren't the greatest, but they do their job. There is some 'scratching' sounds when you rotate a few knobs.
The amp it comes with has some nice beginner features, and the headphone output is a plus.
If you want to learn how to play guitar, this has enough to keep you satisfied until you've learned enough to justify a better guitar or amplifier. The guitar is much better then the amplifier, so i would suggest getting a new amp first (what i am doing currently)
Note: buy new strings for your guitar too! The stock strings arent that great.
Also: Buy a guitar strap that is GOOD. The one it comes with slips off, and i hit the side of my guitar on the CORNER of a wooden table...thank god for paint and super glue.As a frame of reference for this review, I am a novice guitar player that learned some basics on an acoustic guitar (that I still have) 25+ years ago. I do have a music background (I still play other instruments and have been in bands in the past) so that may give me a general advantage over someone just picking it up for the first time or someone that has only ever played Guitar Hero and has had no musical instruction. My old acoustic has spent all but a couple of hours of the last 25 years in the case, so I believe that qualifies me as a beginner. That said, this is a great set for a beginning player. The value here is simply outstanding. EVERYTHING you need is included.
Pros:
99.9% complete (see Cons) prestrung guitar; neck strap; amplifier; guitar/amp connector cord; soft carry case with handles, strap, and accessory pocket; automatic tuner; spare bridge spring; allen wrenches for neck and bridge, picks, headphones, instructional dvd.
Amplifier is light and very portable, but packs a decent punch. Great feature allows for separate input which can be used for a drum machine or a sample/background track to play with. Note that the input you use has to have its own volume/amplifer capability that can at least match the volume of this amplifier. You can't use this amp to adjust the separate input volume.
Guitar (I am a novice) seems to play well. You don't need a ton of effort to press the strings and the distance between string and fingerboard appears to be good. It is solidly built and also very comfortable to hold. Based on what little I know, it appears to replicate the functions of a 'real' stratocaster.
Tuner you need to know how to tune the guitar and you have to tune it before you can play it. This thing is almost fool-proof. Pop in a 9V battery, plug in your guitar and pluck a string. Turn the tuning knob for the string one way or the other. The tuner will light green when you are all set. It does have a manual and you should look at it to make sure you are following the string # if you don't know the note that correspond to each string.(From left to right as you look at it or the guitar, it starts with the fattest low E string first. The first and last strings have the same note letter, but the slimmest string is obviously a higher pitch.)
Instructional DVD you don't get any music theory, but you do get a ton of good information that gets you going right away. It is by no means a complete how-to, but it is a great addition to this set and should give you enough quick rewards to keep you going. (In my opinion, ultimately you should get some in-person lessons that contain some music theory and education so you know what you are doing other than just following the mechanics.)
Picks Good idea. I would not have thought of this. I think it makes sense to learn with them first or at least to understand and see the difference between picks and just fingers.
Cons:
Lots of head-scratchers if you've never been exposed to electric guitars, or more specifically a stratocaster with a tremolo bridge.
Got spare parts what are they for? There is a spring, a curved chrome bar with a plastic end, and a couple of allen wrenches. What are those for? Do I need to install something before I can play?
What is that little white switch for? Why are there two tone controls? What do I do with this curved chrome bar? I think I screwed it in correctly, but I'm not sure...
It would have been 5 stars if a model specific maual that had some details, how to install the "whammy bar" and how to use it, the pickup switch settings, which tone knob went with which pickup(s), why you would select one vs. the other playing situations, sound options, etc. You can get most of these questions answered by a quick trip to Fender's web site and poking around. The rest are at least hinted at or referenced in the included DVD. I can imagine someone that has never seen or used one of these before would be confused.
Nitpicks:
Including headphones is a nice touch, but really a waste of a few dollars. Give me a good reference manual instead (see Cons). I've got at least 5 sets of headphones lying around somewhere...
Amplifier manual is basic in the extreme. For example, "INPUT Plug your guitar in here". Really? And there is no real explanation of what normal and drive channels are all about.
Yes, the pickups are bargain basement. So what? They work just fine.
Yes, there is fret buzz (The small allen wrench that is included allows for adjustment of the string height at the bridge. That may help a bit?)
Yes, the strings are cheap. Again, so what?
If you are a beginner or even a casual player, YOU WILL NEVER NOTICE. If you are really an accomplished guitarist get over it and shell out some cash for something better.
Last note if you think you've outgrown this after learning to play or playing a while, think again. You can upgrade almost every component on this guitar. For those that are not made of cash, selectively upgrading components over time could be quite attractive. Much better than spending $500 $3000 depending on the model for a new 'real' stratocaster.
Bottom Line: For A COMPLETE starter kit you cannot do any better than this. Good quality. Great features. You can start playing immediately. Highly recommended.what do u expect from a cheap and worth it guitar .i just received it like a week ago and stuck playing it . the thing that u need to change is the string if u received the guitar . the amp is good ! fender product as expected . and what i loved is that this guitar is made is indonesia and not CHINA !! indonesia stuff is way better than CHINA product for sure . but i guess a few month after this i will change the pick up to the original fender pick up . i dont think the pick up can last long , so better change it earlier .
the useless this is the strap ! i throw it away when i received it. try to get a better quality strap .
the bag is nice .. the tuner , i havent try it since they dont provide battery with it and i already bought another korg tuner . so until now , i havent touch the tuner .All the components of this package seem to be high quality. I am a beginner, so I can't coment on sound or pure performance, just what i have seen and heard to date. Very Good material.
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