SX strat on the way

Just ordered one of these from Rondo:

http://www.rondomusic.net/photos/electric/sstsepbu5.jpg

http://www.rondomusic.net/photos/electric/sstsepbu4.jpg


$91.88 shipped. I couldn't believe it. I'm sure some of you have experience with these, so is there anything I should look for when I receive it?

Congratulations!

I haven't had one nor can I say that I tried it. As you may know, the word on the street is that these are great value. I've always liked the warm orange maple fretboards and headstocks. Enjoy it and keep us posted.

Came in today:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3477/3202379768_49f6a0eec2.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3306/3202379196_a310bb620d.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3355/3202378922_a5dc5f9ab1.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3493/3201531383_a70b6a2934.jpg

I know there are plenty of reviews on these guitars, but here are my initial thoughts:

First off, I ordered it on Monday and with the basic ground shipping it still got here within the week (kudos). It came in a small box, that didn't really provide a whole lot of protection. It did have some foam spacers to keep it away from the box itself, but thankfully it got here safely. I opened the box and boy was the guitar cold! I live up in Michigan, and it's been freezing for the better part of the century......or at least the past few months.

I tuned up the guitar, a few times, and started playing (the cold forced me to retune a few times as the guitar/strings warmed up to room temperature). I've read various reviews about the setup on these SX guitars, so I wasn't really expecting much. It surprisingly played very well! It was intonated pretty well, and there was minimal fret buzz. The frets themselves however were a little rough. Other than that though, the neck felt great. The finish was pretty thick, but I don't mind that as much.

I played it for a while, then plugged it into my VOX Valvetronix amp. I'm not sure what kind of pickups are in this, but I would bet they are ceramic cheapos. At any rate, they sounded very, very good through my VOX. I'll be plugging it into my full rig tomorrow, but for now I'm really happy with the sound.

Lets see, what else should I address........oh, did I mention I only spent $92 on this? Just checking, because I couldn't believe it myself. It's a lot of guitar for that price. The finish was also really good. there is one ding next to the input jack, but other than that, no blemishes in the paint. I'm not too picky about that sort of thing either, and I really don't want to wait for another one to get sent back, so I'm keeping this one.

After I played it for a while, I decided to adjust the bridge a little bit. I'm not sure if you can see from the pictures, but the bridge was sitting off of the guitar a little bit. It worked really well with the whammy bar (I couldn't resist playing around with it), but I'm not a tremolo kind of guy, so I tightened up the springs. The bridge now sits right on the body. I also adjusted the saddles a little bit for intonation, most of the strings were just a tad bit sharp, but thats a quick fix. The tuners aren't fantastic, and most of the parts could (and maybe should) be upgraded. Mini-pots, really light bridge, plastic nut, the usual stuff that gets downgraded to make guitars less expensive. That could all come later, maybe with my tax refund.


Overall I'm really happy! I'll try to get some videos and more pictures in the next few days

Hi,

Purchased one about 3 years ago. Over time the only original parts are the body, neck , nut and jack plate. It wasn't bad as stock but it now holds it own with the upgrades. Not a bad investment as a platform if you get a good one. I would upload a picture but having trouble getting one uploaded.

I own three of them. They've changed the way I think about guitars. Two are sort of "Works in Progress, in that I'm still diddling around with pickups, pots and caps. But my SX ASH P-90 has turned into a wonderful guitar. This has been expressed many times so far, but what you're really paying for is the body and neck. I've become quite fond of the SX, and it's become the first guitar I pick up.

The interesting thing is that these are guitars that really have NO mystique to them. Owning one is not going to make too many people envy you: on the other hand, it's not too likely someone will follow you h'ome from a bar to rob you of your guitar. It's not a precious object that you have to hover around and worry that one of the kids is going to knock it over, causing you to send them to military school. It's not going to apreciate enough to finance your retirement either.

But it is an instrument that you can turn into a professional quality guitar you can gig with. If you're prone to modifications, you can play around all you like, knowing if the worst happens, you haven't blown a mountain of cash.

So far, all of the SX's I've purchased have the basics down. They've all had good necks, the bodies all ring nicely, and the guitars all weigh between 6.5 and 7.6 #. I'd suggest at least re-cutting the nut slots before replacing the tuners, as one of my buddies cured all his tuning problems by doing this. On my three guitars, all of them had the nut slots cut too high, and it was easy to distort tuning when playing cowboy chords.

I'd think if you blindfolded someone, handed them my P-90 "strat" and let them play it, they'd conclude by feel and sound that it was a much more expensive instrument. I certainly feel that I've got more than my money's worth.

I just got a SST SE and wow, what a guitar! I figured for $90 it was worth a shot. Out of the box the action was a bit high but otherwise it plays great. Feels a bit cheap but then again strats in general feel a bit cheap to me. I was shocked when I plugged it in. Absolutely has that strat tone. I'll probaly replace the tuners and the bridge pup because it's a bit wimpy. It's crazy the level of quality and price for this guitar. I have a feeling a tele is in my future as well.

I made sure to do a quick video before I gutted the guitar for new pickups/wiring. Here it is:

DasrsqwNOd0

I bought one about a year ago and was really surprised. It sounds and plays great, after some minor adjustments. I did replace the tuners because I am used to smother turning ones. I like the stock pickups and do not plan on replacing them. A great bang for your buck, buy one you won't regret it.

But my SX ASH P-90 has turned into a wonderful guitar.

Fauxsuper:

Have the funky, and I mean in a goood way, Natural ash p-90, strat also. Have been playing it more. Compared it to a standard tele, Squier, and numerous other guitars, some with high end pickups, Wilde, Dimarzio, SD...The guitar just sounds so good with those big single coils. It is all stock, have had it for months and relegated it to "your'e not a telecaster, I'll get back to you" status. Well I've gotten back to it after playing only my teles for months the guitar has recently surprised me. Now i really want that ash tele clone with the contours like a strat clone. Love the look and the feel of the thin finish.:lol:

Andy:
Good one man. Wondered what the SE was like. On the web site there is very little difference in that and the SST positioned above it. Thanks for sharing. Love my "Beer Budget" guitars.:grin:

Edit: forgot to add: my SST p-90 Clone came with a neck that had some very handsome flame on the back. Really pretty. Must be that Sechuan hard rock maple.:lol:

I know there are plenty of reviews on these guitars, but here are my initial thoughts:

First off, I ordered it on Monday and with the basic ground shipping it still got here within the week (kudos). It came in a small box, that didn't really provide a whole lot of protection. It did have some foam spacers to keep it away from the box itself, but thankfully it got here safely. I opened the box and boy was the guitar cold! I live up in Michigan, and it's been freezing for the better part of the century......or at least the past few months.

I tuned up the guitar, a few times, and started playing (the cold forced me to retune a few times as the guitar/strings warmed up to room temperature). I've read various reviews about the setup on these SX guitars, so I wasn't really expecting much. It surprisingly played very well! It was intonated pretty well, and there was minimal fret buzz. The frets themselves however were a little rough. Other than that though, the neck felt great. The finish was pretty thick, but I don't mind that as much.

I played it for a while, then plugged it into my VOX Valvetronix amp. I'm not sure what kind of pickups are in this, but I would bet they are ceramic cheapos. At any rate, they sounded very, very good through my VOX. I'll be plugging it into my full rig tomorrow, but for now I'm really happy with the sound.

Lets see, what else should I address........oh, did I mention I only spent $92 on this? Just checking, because I couldn't believe it myself. It's a lot of guitar for that price. The finish was also really good. there is one ding next to the input jack, but other than that, no blemishes in the paint. I'm not too picky about that sort of thing either, and I really don't want to wait for another one to get sent back, so I'm keeping this one.

After I played it for a while, I decided to adjust the bridge a little bit. I'm not sure if you can see from the pictures, but the bridge was sitting off of the guitar a little bit. It worked really well with the whammy bar (I couldn't resist playing around with it), but I'm not a tremolo kind of guy, so I tightened up the springs. The bridge now sits right on the body. I also adjusted the saddles a little bit for intonation, most of the strings were just a tad bit sharp, but thats a quick fix. The tuners aren't fantastic, and most of the parts could (and maybe should) be upgraded. Mini-pots, really light bridge, plastic nut, the usual stuff that gets downgraded to make guitars less expensive. That could all come later, maybe with my tax refund.


Overall I'm really happy! I'll try to get some videos and more pictures in the next few days


What is the tremolo block like (size) and made of, another question is how deep is the neck pocket from top of the body to the inside bottom of the neck pocket?

I have had only SX Telecasters and the neck pockets are deeper than fenders making a little tricky to install aftermarket necks such as Allparts and Warmoth, bridge saddles need to be dropped way down.:rolleyes: