MIJ fender 54 strat reissue

ok previously i wrote abt how i was gassing for this strat copy and i changed my mind abit. that didn't sit very well with my wallet. i blew $600 on a fender strat instead of only $260 on the smash strat. but then again, not only is it a fender mij, it also has a dimarzio fast track (or so i think) in the bridge. so i think $600 is pretty worth it.

so here's my review of this fender 54 strat reissue with US vintage(N&M) and a dimarzio fast track(B):
let's start from the top down. 1stly the tuners, they're vintage correct tuners. how i'm gonna change the strings on these things i have no idea lol. will learn soon enough when the strings snap haha. they stay in tune pretty well....if i dun dive bomb :D

next the nut. its bone nut i think. but its kinda not really well lubricated i think cos the strings go out of tune when i whammy.

the neck is a well laquered bolt-on maple neck with maple fretboard, not my cup of tea but it still plays fine. oh yea, its a hell of a fat neck haha. luckily for me, there are some scalloped frets. some is good, i dun think i can play on a neck with all frets scalloped. i can't play any chords like that. the strings would be cutting my fingers all over!!

pickups are us vintage n&m and a fast track bridge. the fast track has pretty awesome power to it, sounding more like a humbucker than a single coil. i dun expect to go extreme heavy metal with this but i think it can pretty much do most of the metal i have enough skill to play lol. the neck and mid pups are pretty sweet sounding. dont use them to play any kinda power chords in overdrive though, sounds damn horrible. but in mild overdrive is where these pups shine. the tone knob rolled down for the neck pup (which is the only pup that has a working tone control) allows for that smooth creamy and thick warm tone that reminds me of people like albert king. in position 2 (neck and mid) the tone still rolled all the way down, u get this smooth tone with just enough highs for some nice solos. with tone at full, both neck and mid pups have a really nice bright chimey sound to it. works wonders w/o any gain or overdrive.

bridge wise, its a standard vintage tremolo, no mods whatsoever. didn't open the backplate to check how many springs there are in there but from the resistance of the whammy bar, i'm thinking 3 springs. sustain is not that compromised on it though, just not as great as my ltd forester due to the latter's fixed bridge and string through body.

weight wise, its a pretty heavy guitar, since h4t isn't really sure which kinda body wood it is, we cant tell for sure its alder. i think its basswood though, but then again, its pretty solid and has a great tone.

now all thats left is to change the neck and mid pups to some noiseless pups and it's ready for the high gain stuff. what i'm aiming for are the area 58 and 67 neck and mid respectively. then after that, i'll be waiting for a good amp to come along in soft. i think this sg-15 i have has served me well enough for the past year or so. no idea what to get next though, just waiting...

just waiting....