I can't decide between mint or parchment.
Helpful linky: http://www.warmoth.com/pickguard/StratPickguard.aspx
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Actually I got it yesterday but I've only been able to play it today.
It's amazing! Even better than I was hoping. After first impressions I would go so far as to say it is better than any Mexican Fender I've played, my old CIJ Jaguar and a Fender Classic 50s Strat I once tried which I suppose would be a logical comparison. That's about as rich as my experience gets...
Review and details
There is a shit ton of gloss on the neck...
The neck and fingerboard has a beautiful 3D quality to the grain. Fretwork is also fantastic.
Strung up with Daddarios in the factory? The hole for the B string hasn't had the plastic pierced yet.
Under the hood is wonderfully tidy and well soldered with proper Alpha brand pots and a more intuitive switch design I've not seen before. Also notice the shielding paint, foil and ground wire screwed to the cavity - better attention to detail than Japanese or Mexican Fenders I've seen for sure.
Pickups are rated:
Bridge - 6.20k
Middle - 6.04k
Neck - 5.89k
Perfect. Bridge >6k and neck <6k is a fantastic result. I've heard this varies from CV to CV but this one came up roses. They sound fantastic too, not as shrill as they've been made out to be. I find them perfectly balanced and no extra EQ fiddling is needed when switching between my beefed up Tele. They have a wonderful articulateness and cut which could be the alnico 3, but it's never overpowering.
People have commented that the only mod you need to make is to replace the piddly tremolo block. I'm not so sure - I find the sound great as is and there is no lack of bass at all. The guitar came with 3 springs and no spares. I stuck an extra in to make it hardtail for now.(I'm also a massive nerd so am preserving the sticker on the inside of the trem cover)
The plastics are a let down and look a bit shit. There's a certain translucence to them that reminds me of creme caramel
This is the ONLY piece of poor workmanship I can see: untidy string holes that haven't been sanded off - but who gives a shit
Factory booboo here: a roughed up edge around the fingerboard. As the newness of this guitar is my only real gripe I shouldn't complain about early wear. Not bothered.
Summary
I'm not completely smitten with the colour scheme in person so I might get a new pickguard. The olympic white is a little too bright and will benefit after a few years of ageing a little darker. I think the colour scheme will come together then, but for now it's very "blingtastic".
I figured some of you would be interested in this so hence all the little details but really, the attention to detail, fit and finish and playability are superb. Unlike many others have said, I did not find the setup acceptable out of the box - too high and rounded. Set up with 10s and lower action it's a beast. The body is also very light compared to other strats I've played so I'm able to throw it around all day.
That's it, quest for Strat over. If you're considering getting a Strat, buy one of these. Pretty fucking bad ass.
