t2fsu's Cheap but not "Cheap" Guitars Blog!

Silvertone SSL3 Session Master Pro

2008-03-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

Best Sub-$500 LP Copy? Could Be!!!

Here's a great tale of "good guitar gone bad" with a lesson learned on this one. I picked up this Silvertone SSL3 LP copy a couple of years ago as a blem for around $180. The minor cosmetic flaw it had would not affect the sound or playability, they advised. I had it shipped to the house; when I got home it was leaning against my door - upside down. Apparently, UPS pays no attention to the "this side up" stickers on the box. Upon unpacking the guitar, I was mortified to see splinters in the bottom of the box; the guitar clearly was driven across the country upside down; the splinters came from standing on its headstock the whole time (which speaks to the terrible packing job as well). There was a large chip in the headstock as a result. Oh well, what can ya do; I was in love already, plus the thought of dealing with a return on this thing (if I even could on a blem item) was a bad vibe that I wasn't feeling just then. I went ahead and made the best of a bad situation by painting over the chip with some glossy black paint. Once I changed the shipping strings and got it all tuned up, it played just great; I was glad to see that the traumatic shipping experience did not affect the guitar at all...or so I thought...read on.

How's it Look?
The guitar is beautiful! The fit and finish is just gorgeous. The top hat buttons and PAF-copy pickups make the guitar look like a real professional instrument. I would definitely play this one on stage. The neck is fast and smooth, the jumbo frets are finished nicely all the way up the neck (I have seen unfinished fretwire above the 12th fret on guitars in this price range that was unfinished and could actually cut your hand). I changed the strings that shipped with the guitar (I like heavier strings myself). No negatives on the quality of this one; I expect to keep this guitar for years to come. NOTE: I've seen this guitar with two different headstocks, the one that you see here, and a newer, more LP "rectangle" type headstock...me, I prefer the headstock I have, of course.

How's it Play?
This guitar was set up to play right out of the box!!! I didn't have to lower or raise any of the strings; there was no buzz at any frets. I was able to get all of my signature sounds out of this guitar (pick slides, squeals, artificial harmonics, etc.) The one thing you need to know is this guitar is a tad on the heavy side; it may be just slightly lighter than a real Les Paul...then again, that may add to the awesome tone and sustain! Overall, it's a really fun guitar to play, if you're looking for a decent LP copy.

How does it Sound?
The sound of this guitar is AWESOME! The tone is amazing for a guitar in this price range. I was looking for an inexpensive weapon for some metal and hard rock; this guitar definitely fits the bill. It totally fulfills all of my needs...I play mostly through the neck pickup, but occasionally play rhythm through both pickups; the sound is full and rich no matter the pickup selection. I play through my Roland Cube 30, both clean and through the onboard effects - the guitar delivers either way. The only thing I did to alter the instrument was to add a drop of superglue to the plug-in jack nut to stop it from coming loose continually (may be a no-no for most folks, but I planned to keep this guitar so it was all good).

This Silvertone guitar is PLENTY macho and has loads of sex appeal. It would certainly hold its own on stage versus any of the big names out there. Again, I would have had no problems gigging with this guitar.

And Then, There's THIS...

One night about a year ago, I went to pick up this guitar out of its stand. I grabbed it right at about the 1st fret, like I always do...heard a loud "snap" that turned out to be a crack across the neck, right at the first fret where it flares out to the headstock. I think that the neck was stressed by the way it was shipped (see above) and was thus destined for a shortened lifeline. In retrospect, I guess the heavier strings didn't exactly help the situation, but how was I to know? These things happen. Since this guitar has a set (glued-in) neck, if it was to be saved, it would have to be repaired by a professional luthier. At under $200 new, it just didn't seem like it was worth it. So now, I am left with an interesting wall hanging that makes a nice conversation piece. Oh yeah, the lesson learned: While you can't teach UPS that "fragile" and "handle with care" and "this side up" means just that, always make sure to throw a note on your shipping instructions about properly packing your guitar for shipping, especially if you are buying from a private party, as in the case of an Ebay auction. Am I going to purchase another one of these? YOU BETCHA!!! I still love the Silvertone SSL3.

Fullerton ST3 Standard Strat-Style Guitar

2008-03-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

Stratocaster On-The-Cheap! (But In A Good Way)

This is a great story that goes back about a year or so. I was doing my usual late-night surfing of all the cool guitar sites when I came across a blog that said that they were blowing out the Fullerton line of guitars on Music123. The posting said that they were selling the ST3 at only $69.95! Great, says me, so I load one up in the shopping cart and hit the check out button. It was only after I entered all of my billing/shipping info and hit the submit button (I was half-watching basketball too) that I noticed that the price in the cart was only $49.95 for the guitar! WHOO-HOO!!! This is by far the cheapest playable guitar I have run across to date.

Well, I have to admit that the price sort of set my expectations for the fit/finish and performance of the guitar. It arrived pretty quickly actually; only took about four days. It was packaged well and arrived in perfect condition; no dings or scratches; the guitar looked just gorgeous out of the box. The ST3 is Fullerton’s attempt at the classic Fender Stratocaster guitar, but without the pick guard. It has the standard S/S/S (single coil) pickup configuration, with a basswood body and rosewood fingerboard. The banana-shaped headstock has the look of the old Kramers from back in the 80’s.

The “get-what-you-pay-for” alarms started going off when I ran my hand along the edges of the neck. All of the frets were sharp and unfinished. The neck also had an “unfinished” feel to it; it was almost as if the final clear coat was not applied. The guitar was simply not playable by me in this state.

What I needed was a way to get this neck finished! Remember, the price of the guitar alone made taking it to a trained luthier out of the question; if I damaged the guitar beyond repair, oh well, it was only 50 bucks. So, being the SEO wizard that I am, I scoured Google looking for tutorials on how to do this myself. I found a great resource on how to file down guitar frets and went right to work on the neck of my new little Stratocaster copy.

While it took me a couple of nights of detailed filing and finishing, I deem it all worthwhile. The guitar plays like a dream! There are no buzzes or intonation problems. The neck feels now feels just fine, making my $50 investment totally worth it! I play surf tunes from The Ventures, The Dillengers and other surf bands on this guitar; with my Roland Cube 30, I am able to get some nice tone and great reverb. I am also able to get some nice blues bends and turnarounds out of this one. I LOVE this Fullerton Guitar! Therefore, I totally approve this guitar for entry into the Cheap But Not “Cheap” Guitars lineup.

PLEASE NOTE: My experience is totally not exemplary of the other feedback I have seen on the web for this guitar; overall feedback was mostly positive.

More Fullerton Guitar Reviews from Harmony Central

Music from The Ventures

Music from The Dillengers

Jackson JS1 "Dinky" Electric Guitar

2008-03-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

My First "Cheap" Guitar Project

I picked up this JS1 off eBay for a C note, since it was used and needed a little TLC. I think it was produced in the late 90’s. I had it shipped to my office; my first introduction to this little black beauty was a loud “BOOM” behind me and our mailroom guy tapping me on the shoulder to tell me that my “lamp” had arrived…nice. I was sure there was going to be issues with this guitar, but since it was packaged so well, it was all good.

Once I got the JS1 home and out of the box, the first thing I noticed is how absolutely macho the guitar looks! The reverse headstock makes it look as imposing as its big brothers, the JS20 and JS30. Despite the “Dinky” moniker, this is a full-sized guitar that has a Stratocaster body with a 22 fret rosewood neck. It features two Jackson standard humbuckers with a 3-way selector, along with a single volume and tone control.

This guitar apparently belonged to an everyday player; the numerous ding and scratches tell me that this was a working mans weapon of choice. The location of the scratches indicated that the guitar had been either dropped or scraped against something concrete or asphalt. I removed the guitar stings, added a little tung oil to the neck since it looked like it was drying out. I also took some paint and touched up the headstock and body so the dings and scratches wouldn’t be as noticeable. I strung it up with a set of Dean Markley Blue Steel 10's; I also went to my local guitar store and got another button for the selector switch. Ordering a back cover plate for the selector switch this week. No whammy bar on this one, but fine with me, since I don't generally use one. I thought about blocking the tremolo, but the 5 springs keep it in place, so no worries there.

Despite all the wear and tear, this cheap guitar sounds AWESOME! I have read other reviews that indicated that the pickups should be upgraded, but the sound I am getting out of it is just fine, coming out of my Roland Cube 30. I have played it both clean and severely overdriven (Metallica, Megadeth tunes), and love the sounds I am getting. Make no mistake, this is truly a metal rocker; just the looks make it difficult for me to play blues or surf on this thing (I got other cheap guitars for that stuff; stay tuned). Since I didn’t hear buzzing at any frets, I am reasonably sure that the neck is straight and true. This guitar is heavier than I thought it would be; this no doubt helps the awesome sustain.

Even used, you can see the care that was taken in producing the guitar; fit and finish of the neck is not too bad; my only criticism is the jumbo frets could have been a little more finished on the edges. All in all, this is a fine instrument for the price (Approx. $200 retail) and would be a fine addition to anyone's cheap (but not "cheap") guitar arsenal.

03/25/08 - UPDATE: Over the weekend, I was in contact with a dude on eBay that sells the selector switch backplate for Jacksons, but he didn't have the one for my cheap guitar in stock. I went ahead and did the next best thing: I went to my Home Depot and bought a 12x12 sheet of 1/8 clear ABS Plexiglas. I then traced a template for the backplate and cut to fit (trial and error). Since Plexiglas is darn near impossible to cut without the right tools, I scored the sheet in a straight lines with an Exacto-type blade and snapped off pieces until I got it down to just the right sized triangle. i then sanded it down to the proper shape from there. I put the nearly finished piece over the opening and marked the screw holes; from there it was a simple matter to drill the holes and attach the backplate. Check out the finished product below: