I have been playing the guitar for almost 20 years, and this is the second electric guitar that I have decided to buy and keep. My first one was a 2006-7 Highway One Sunburst Stratocaster, which is my main point of reference here.
I received the guitar a few days ago, so this is more of a "first impressions" review. Overall, it is a pleasant instrument.
Appearence-wise, it looks great. I don't mind the fact that the body is a 4-piece poplar plank, although I understand why some people find that frustrating, considering the price.
The neck is comfortable to play -- 99.9% similar to that of my Highway One Stratocaster, which was very important to me. The frets, however, do not look shiny as I would expect from a new guitar at this price point, so I will definitely have to polish them a bit when I change the strings.
There was also some residue glue on the first fret -- probably a drop or two from when they glued the nut. This was easy to remove but, again, it created a mixed first impression, and I thought I would have to use a razor to scrape it off.
There is a slight intonation inaccuracy at the 3rd and 4th strings but should be easy to compensate with the saddles after I put the new strings.
The pickups are what I expected them to be or a bit better -- good telecaster sound. They are even a bit higher output than those of my H1 Stratocaster (Alnico 3), while the hum is significantly less.
The tuning machines seem alright and are very similar to those of my H1, although they feel just a tad weaker. Again, time will tell if they will do the job.
One thing I do not like is the nut made of some sort of laminate material -- it is not smooth and dust can easily settle in it. It is beyond me why Fender used this, considering that there are other options that do not cost a lot. I guess time will tell how durable it is.
Other guitars I could compare this to -- a 90s Squier strat and a MIM Jimi Hendrix Strat. To me, this Telecaster has a far better neck, which is of utmost importance to me, along with the quality of the pickups.
I have never played a Classic Vibe Squier which people suggest is the same as the new standard series by Fender. Before buying this, though, I read a lot of reviews which stated that the CVs were indeed good guitars but mainly those that were built in China (not Indonesia as they are now), and there were still QC issues every now and again. So, to me, this new series by Fender makes sense provided that you get a unit that has more or less good setup and you won't have to spend another 100 EUR for a luthier.
Considering that in 2007 I paid around 690 EUR for my Highway One Stratocaster, and how much this amount was compared to the average salary back then, I can say that this guitar is not expensive as people make it to be. It is a good instrument.
It is a good choice for people like me who do not have access to a big store for musical instruments where you can go and play, and choose from Squiers, MIMs, MIJs, etc. Also, the secon-hand market is very poor, so for my situation getting a new guitar from a reputable store like Thomann that offers warranty makes sense.
On a different note -- Dear Thomann, I received multiple confusing notifications as regards the delivery which cost me time and hassle rescheduling my days. In the end, I even had to go and collect the guitar from a facility rather than receive it from the courier as initially planned.
There are other delivery services in addition to UPS that do better work while not costing more. I don't mind waiting a bit, as long as I get the right signals that will allow me to schedule my work.
