Pride And Joy

It's finally here. The 'spare-parts' strat is finally mine. 

After much haggling, I was able to coax out a bargain, and at just $230, this baby sure provides buckets of tone and playability for such a low price.

With a beautiful woodgrain finish and black pickguard, this guitar just oozes character and relic charm.

I must admit, I was never too keen on Fender's "authentic" Relic'd series of guitars, with their purposely scuffed necks and chipped bodies. To me, it seemed so fake. I used to think that I would rather own a guitar brand-spanking new, all clean and shiny, and beat it up over time gigging and mucking around. 

However, after much perusal of this fine specimen, I realise that not all relic'd guitars are phonies, bought and sold on their currency of timeworn charm. This axe has indeed been authentically "relic'd", in that it has been used as a working guitar for much of its life.

Add to that the fact that it lacks the Fender logo on the headstock, I can safely say that it is a true, custom-made guitar. 'All this may be fine and dandy', I here you say, 'but what of it's music-making abilities?'

Well, I can tell you that the tones that scream forth from the pickups are straight from the gates of Hades. 

Add to that the crazy trem-locking bridge (not too sure on the type/brand) and you are in for one sweet ride to tonal paradise! Tried an tested through both a 4x12 cab with a Marshall head, as well as a Vox Pathfinder 15R practice amp, this guitar can do the lot. Silky smooth, twang on your country or clean blues tracks, right up to your super vegetarian deathcore ear-shattering metal.

The playability is amazing also. With a nice, heavy body, the guitar almost begs you to cradle it in your arms all night and day. The frets are a comfortable size, with a low action and as close to perfect intonation as you can get. To tell you the truth, I found it very hard to put down last night and this morning.

In comparison to a standard American Fender Stratocaster, well, there is no comparison. This guitar owns. I have played many strats and teles, jaguars and jazzmasters, and I have to say, if you have the choice between a beat-up old custom built cheapy like this one or a genuine American Fender, I implore you to look first to the beat-up cheapy, and never, ever, EVER discriminate on the basis of price.

Well, thats enough from me, I'm off to wail away some SRV favourites!