Get the guitar at Amazon - amzn.to/3pFJECH Get 10% off at Stew Mac - stewmac.sjv.io/ZQxOo1 Video Part 1 - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eraAgqyFzde2fH0.html

This is genuinely a good video to send people to to give a nice overview of setting up a guitar. Nice one.

uploaded on amazon prime day, a smart dude he is 😂🎸

I've been waiting for this! Based on your review, I bought the same guitar, though from eBay not Amazon because Amazon seller does not deliver to my country. They were super responsive and helpful with my questions and I placed the order on Sunday and they put it in mail on Monday morning and received it on Thursday. 84 euros with delivery. Super happy with it out of the box, also took it to my local guitar shop for TLC setup. Heh, even the store owner was pleasantly surprised by it. The moment he took it into his hands, said it's a very interesting instrument. After he was done with it, had nothing bad to say about it (except he also said that them strings were not very good but I had him put in new lighter strings any ways). It was then when asked what it cost me and made big eyes when I told him. In his words, it was not bad at all for that price. I had never played an instrument before, and my musical education was what I got in primary school, but I have always wanted to learn guitar, my family just never had any money for it and as an adult I was too busy. But now, I have time and money and this price convinced me to take the plunge. It's super difficult but I am determined to learn.

That guitar definitely has a character of its own. A good setup will make a cheap one play and sound great. Well done Sir!

Ps, Vision Guitars are from Spain and importet and Setup from MSA in Germany (Bavaria)

Smart move not replacing the pickups! Seriously. I had a friend with a POS plywood Strat rip-off but the pickups had a jangly quality (for lack of better words) that one couldn't replicate in better pickups.

Nice to see this and the first review as it wasn't the usual "I compared this £70 guitar to my £20000 seasoned guitar and WOW it's poop" This is looking like a really nice starter guitar and at that price point you don't have to worry about a novice being a little too rough on it.

From Leo: Just keep playing it. I have better guitars that came at a way more dear price, but I also have a couple of cheapies like yours that I did a good fret dress, nut slot adjustment and set up and they are enjoyable to play. It is amazing how smooth bargain tuners can be with the smallest possible drop of teflon oil. Spin each oiled tuner with a power string winder for a minute before replacing the strings.

I’ve been playing for 58 years and enjoy customizing inexpensive guitars, first thing to go are tuners then the plastic nut strings are a given then fret job pick ups depend on if it goes in my collection I really enjoy watching your videos Keep On Picking Great stuff 👍🏼

I rarely watch videos like this, but the 1st video sucked me into this one. Your explaination and process is really great. Ive been a luthier for 40 years and enjoyed these 2 videos. Great job, and that tone was really Animalistic👍🏼

0:56-1:06...VERY Nice! Sergio Leone-esque Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western Sound-Always LOVE That!

I am almost 70, and started playing guitar at around 14 years old. It really blows my mind how good cheap guitars are now. And amps too. I remember buying my first amp, can't remember the brand name. I brought it to band practice and just about got laughed out of the room. Now a cheap guitar and amp are giggable. Jut amazing! Great video!

Both videos in this series were amazing! Thanks!

Thanks for the new video, I'd love to see this guitar get another video sometime down the road!

I don't think ive ever seen a better in video ad. It was just a natural part of the video! Bravo!

I love the matte black finish. I've been looking at cheap guitars for a possible art project, but I'd be tempted to leave that one alone. Pop some matte black hardware on it. Have it looking like a tactical assault strat.

FANTASTIC! This is the 3rd Video of yours I have watched. I HAD to Sub on the 1st one! Great Content and I love that You are Quality and Real and Honest. This is the content I look for! I do not play guitar (tried and struggled) But As I sit here grinning and watching you basically do a Guitar "strip down" and upgrade, I feel MUCH like when I watch Car Mods and Home Repair and Improvements Etc. I Love watching Artist and Craftsmen/women Ply their trade and allow me access to tips, tricks, and secrets. Keep the content as is man! You have earned the Subs!

Great vid. I have a Chinese Squier that played really wonderfully when I bought it from a boot fair for 25UKP. It was all stock and came with a Squier 10w amp. The pickups were sierra hotel 1 tango so I got a second hand set of Artec pups from fleabay for 20UKP. It now sounds awesome and plays like a dream for less than the cost of a takeaway. I even floated the trem. Sometimes things just go well!

Wild, love the work on this! And it’s encouraging that there are quality affordable instruments potentially available

Fantastic positive and optimistic video. Made me smile wide. Thank you and good work!

Happy for you. Fine vintage Sound. I will test the strings on my StratoTele. Thank you.

Sincere Thanks for doing this video! I'm in the process of compiling tools, to do what you did here, to get my guitars in shape. I, like you, enjoy the surprises you get with the inexpensive genre of guitars. This video is a must learn for new guitar owners. Thanks again!

I love the unique sounds of difference pickups. I have an old Samick that has been rewired but i kept the original pickups because they give it a unique sound

You truly are a geek and I loved every minute of this and the first. Thanks from Colorado.

Dude the first vid got an instant sub, this one was just cream... brilliant stuff. absolutely love the Stew Mac stuff did not know about it at all...

I’m so glad you came up in my suggestions I really enjoy your channel. I do not play any musical instruments but like most people I really enjoy those that can.

Thanks for the update... it's a very good public service you're doing. Helps people think and get creative with quality and possible improvements. All the best, Always!

Bought it, just for fun. I might leave it as it is or I might use it as a lab platform. After all, it will be my 12th guitar. EDIT: Hey, it arrived! Good construction quality, decent neck and fretboard job. It needed intonation, action, tuning setup but overall I can confirm this video review.

Good review and thanks for sharing ☺️

Well done! Very impressive thanx

Very Cool, Thankyou. Awesome looking and sounding super Budget guitar. Love the 'Satin' look body with the 'gloss' Pick-guard. Nice Work. Cheers

Just found your channel, watched a few clips, great stuff, subbed :)

that white strat sounds AMAZING!

I haven’t even gotten through the ads yet. But I just want to say I love this kind of video. Thank you. It inspires me to learn to work on my own guitars.

For the record, there are more than 20 factories in Asia producing guitars since the 1980s. The amount of guitar parts laying around (over stocked) is silly, hence why one can get a complete guitar really cheap. You did the correct repairs, 99% of the strings are cheap and the frets are only pressed in and the side cut off and barely sanded. 80% of the cost of guitars goes into the fret work. As long as the neck pocket and neck heal are cut correctly and fit nicely, it is absolutely worth changing springs and leveling the frets. Sometimes the nut is also an issue (cut too deep or not deep enough, it is a hit or miss). Cheap tuners are pretty common on such prices, but what i would also recommend is upgrading all the potentionmeters to at least 250K (500K if you like the pickups). All the cheap guitars i had (€90 to €200) hat 16K Pots, they are cheap (€6 to €10 each) and make a huge difference, i actually recommend chaning Potentionmeters before pickups. But very nicely done, everyone should be able to understand and self "repair" budget-/cheap guitars, because these issues (except the electronics) will happen to every guitar at some point, regardless of brand and price.

You’re right. That bridge pickup sounds like a dream. Wow!

I really wish I could get this guitar in the states. Unfortunately according to the link, it’s not available here in the states. You really sold me on this Guitar. I was looking forward to trying it. Thank you for the video.

i hydrate the neck and leave it to swell out a week before a fret level job.

Yes, I'd like to see MORE of this guitar.

awesome video man this was so cool to watch! good youtube rec

It's amazing that the tremolo actually works, and that it stays in tune in use. I've had a couple of Strats that the trem needed repeated tweaking. I agree, that's great tone for a seventy five buck guitar. I'd recommend that over one of the fake guitars to learn on.

Daddario XT and NYXL changed the string game for me. Solid choice sir. Great content as always.

im sold, i will definetly buy this one. tysm for these reviews

The jangly nature (which I like) is likely due to the cap or tone pot being "unusual". You can get that sound by bypassing your tone pot. It should be possible to set up any strat type trem (and most others) as floating.

Hey thanks for the heads up!! I appreciate your attentiveness to your subscribers. 👍 Great video

Thanks man! Super cool

I got a $150 Rogue 5 string bass 20 years ago and out of the box it was great! I think the weakest point on it was it had noisy bridge pickup and the pickups had very low output, but other than that, I used it quite a bit gigging.

AHH thanks for the follow up! I’ve been wanting to find a good beginner guitar that’s in my budget! I’m 17 and I really wanna start ! I just started my new job and this is definitely the first thing I’m getting!

Excellent job! You're right about the character and having something that sounds unique. The only time you want a true clone is if you need something close ta hand in case of a string breaks or as a spare for gigging. I just got a couple of cheap house brand guitars and they are amazing. They both had scratchy frets and needed some fretboard hydration as well as a small truss rod and intonation adjustment. But they come with a GraphTech nut (!) and solid tuners. Basically there's not much in the way of setup work done out of the factory with the cheapos, so if you can at least do that without having to hand it to a luthier to pay for a set-up, there are bargains to be had.

I KNEW I HEARD HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN! I was about to comment what that sounded like and then you said something LOL. Love your videos. I recently bought a Fender Telecaster Custom and am so hyped to learn!

What an entertaining clip, and I'm not even an electric guitarist (acoustic)! I love the analytical take but not taking yourself too seriously. Made me smile and want to buy a 75 euro cheap electric guitar. More reviews should be like yours.

I've been debating buying a used Squier Classic VIbe Tele so I can learn/practice things like wiring (doing the Nashville mod), changing PUps to some hand-wound Canadian ones and a few other things .. Thanks for showing this - awesome ..

subbed because of first video. awesome content man!

I've just came across Your channel, and your previous video on this guitar fascinated me to watch your second video on this make. I decided to subscribe when I watched your video on you being threatened by a company who made or is making guitars, and is trying to have you be who you are not. Once I watched that video I immediately subscribed. I wish you the absolute best.

You really nailed the "You really got me now" sound with that cheap guitar. Fantastic sound with just the string change, tho your other steps brought it to pro gig level.

Andy, a few weeks ago, I took delivery of my first Harley Benton, this one being their red and white, maple fretboard travel guitar -- the one that looks like what I first encountered as a "pickguard" guitar. Without the rather hefty shipping charge, this thing was about $90US. Obviously, the pickups have to be cheap -- but dayum, they sound good. I usually can't stand the sound of a Strat's bridge single coil and the first thing I do is swap it for a single-coil-sized humbucker. THIS time, though, not only am I considering leaving the neck and middle pickups stock, but I MAY do the same with the bridge pickup! Haven't decided on that yet, but I would say that it's gotten very hard to find cheap pickups that actually sound bad. It's still possible, but good and cheap pickups are way more easily found than they used to be!

i saw the first video of this series a few days ago and im so glad i did. im new to playing and this gives me hope that i can get good stuff affordably.

I like my bullet mustang for much the same reason. The pickups sound really raw and aggressive. If I upgraded them, I'd probably have a cheap guitar with good pickups that I don't love as much.

That was ace mate.👍

I have a "First Act" strat copy I bought from Walmart some time mid 90s? It is my most frequent "go to", it is actually a surprisingly great guitar. I paid $65.00 US for it back then, still jave all the tags, documents, lesson book, and all the accessories it came with. I've never had to do anything to it other than the basic setup standards. And the fret/neck quality was amazing since day one, actually better than my Squier Strat which needed quite a bit of fret work. I love this guitar you got, very nice Donner actually puts out some decent guitars as well for a nice very affordable price, aside from their tele I got where the high E consistently runs off the fret board and gets stuck on the side of the neck 🤨🤬 The problem is in the nut, which im just too lazy to fix/replace

those pickups really do sound great :)

I love the satin finish on the body. It is a great looking guitar

i bought an old peavey raptor 2 used for like 120 canadian (82 eros)did a setup and fret cleanup and put a fender trem in and wow great player

This goes to show that if your guitar is accompanied with a proper setup, a good amp, and good technique, it’ll sound great no matter what. It may be less versatile and require fine tuning to dial in sounds that truly sound good, but this is a very validating video for cheap gear lovers.

When you played the MSA guitar and then the Fender, I was confused and ready to (respectfully) disagree with you because I was expecting you to say something like "of course the Fender sounds better but not much, but for the price the MSA is still good", but then you shared a similar opinion to mine. And this was surprising and another big selling point for me. I was already keen to buy it (using the affiliate link, of course) when I watched your first video, but now it is settled! Thanks for the great videos!

I've dabbled with guitar a little over the years but I'm no guitarist and wouldn't even call myself an amateur really, I still find guitars fascinating and I've been toying with the idea of trying to learn a bit more. This video was really entertaining and I'm now considering getting one of these to play with since the financial barrier for entry is so low. I subbed to the channel, thanks for the video!

that clean sounding lick you played after you got done with the mods sounded like yellow ledbetter by pearl jam XD

Very cool. I'm a newbie player and love working on and modifying cheap guitars. Its fun and relaxing working on your own guitar.

I actually got a T-type for $78 (USD) + $30 shipping from Thomann (Harley Benton TE-20) and I didn't need to change anything at all. I've owned it for 2 yrs, never had to adjust anything besides new strings and truss rod for summer/winter humidity changes (I'm in Florida, it's exaggerated big time) and it's honestly, the guitar I play the most out of the 6 I own... It has that tele twang in the bridge, I can pump distortion through it with minimal 60 cycle hum and for my own personal enjoyment because it was already a cheaply made guitar I did a relic on it... I'm of the opinion that the snobs can have their $X,000 custom shop guitars all they want, but modern guitars with all their tweaks and 'advancements' will never give you the authenticity of the original guitars because they're being made with 70 years of knowledge behind them. Early electric guitars have that unique sound imo because it was still new and fresh and there wasn't all this knowledge behind them. So these cheap guitars, when massaged and caressed to play well, give a better representation of an early strat or tele or LP than Gibson or Fender will ever actually give you... They're more true to the early days of electric guitar BECAUSE they're built a bit more crudely, like the originals were. You just have to be willing to make the effort like was done in this video to get the guitar to a place where it feels and plays well...

This is so interesting,I am a metal fan and I want to play guitar in the future but I don’t have much money and this seems like a very good Possibility for a cheap guitar,thank you very much!

Wow, now I'm tempted, if I didn't already have so many guitars in my small apartment I'd go for one of these immediately... they also come in so many colours, and the purple one's a real beauty! I'm also wondering how these compare with Harley Bentons, as they're in a similar price range (with the Vision being slightly cheaper)

That Strat is just screaming for stickers! Lots of ‘em! Seriously though, very nice work, and you’re right about those pickups. Great sound.

I love how your ear goes to the bridge and for using on recordings. That's freakin awesome. I wouldn't change anything on it now. The hell with potentially losing that sound by upgrading a pickup or the tremolo system in it. That dirty bridge sound is like finding gold, Runaway is going to be used for recording on the bridge pickup.....I'm sorry I named it runaway haha. I have named alot of the guitars I've seen on your channel, I'm just now getting comfortable putting comments out. Not much of commenter for everyone to see.

THANK YOU for hitting on this. So many times tuning stability is blamed on "bad tuners." It's rareellllllly the tuners in my experience.. but when people change the tuners they change the strings at the same time.. maybe even lube the nut.. and then wala, it's fixed, so they THINK it was the tuners.. but it wasn't! Good strings and a nice smooth nut, and tuning stability you have 99/100 times! And yes that's even with a dead-cheap junk trem's!

This is 1 of the best guitar video. This cheap guitar sounds like any mid range guitar or better after a few adjustment. Secondly, beginners can learn their first diy skill on this cheap guitar from this video. Thirdly, the essential tools to buy for the adjustment n minor repair. Thanks bro ❤

my first and only (for now) guitar that i have is actually a really cheap PRS that my dad bought for me off amazon, i changed the humbuckers to single coils (even though i play metal) and i changed the honestly, pretty good tuners to locking tuners and i even changed the nut and it plays really well! yesterday i just got my first distortion pedal after playing with the built in distortion on my mini orange crush amp. the only issue i have is that sliding from fret to fret is kind of a hassle sometimes, specially when i'm playing something like master of puppets but i'm pretty sure that is very fixable.

Sometimes a minimalist upgrade is the best upgrade, did that to a used peavey Reactor and now it stays in tune and sounds awesome.

Sounded like the Offspring early albums :D

Smashed it again Andy.

That sounds thoroughly proper. Play something form The Cars first album. It has some Eliot Easton vibe to the sound.

The first video to this was the 1st I watched on your channel and I want this guitar but it doesn't come with a left hand so I'll have to find another one for my first guitar 👊🏿👊🏿 I'll keep watching to see what you bring next

When you pulled out the other guitar at the start, I surprisingly thought the cheap one sounded better, something a lot more interesting.

I'd love to see temu guitar reviews

I just bought one of these from Amazon for £70. Replaced the nut, dressed the frets, and correctly set up the bridge and truss rod. And it sounds (and plays) awesome! I'm well chuffed, so thanks for the tip.

I am so pleased by this video (and the first one), as i own the very same guitar, but with another finish. I wasn't really sure, if i was getting a price-worthy item, as i am not an expert in Guitar Tech. So, thanks a lot, although this video is a few month old when i comment it..

I bought a squirr strat for 75 usd put new strings and cleaned frets and oiled fret board. Tuned and omg it's incredible.

Strings are the best upgrade one can make for a cheap instrument. Whatever they ship with are not worth wasting your time with. Nice Stew Mac sponsor, they got a lot of my money back in the early days of my learning guitar maintenance

Very good. Clear audio, well shot and edited plus entertaining Well done Andy Pete Woodroffe Music UK

Thanks Andy for your work Im the guy that in a music store I called you the Guitar geek And well I think you liked that name well its easy to Remember and I was not insulting you I think your cool yea do some modification videos to like change pick up or something your very knowlegable on lots of things keep up the good work Guitar Geek 🎸🎸🎸

I love that git...I want one!!!

What i hate about cheap guitars (which is NOT their fault) is that they can really be made into something great but after all that money and work, you rarely get any value out of it if you were to sell. Granted, if you are just looking to have a great playing guitar, that's fine. And I'm sure (based on your review) this would be a super affordable way to get a guitar to play and also a cheap bed to build on. But as you sink money into it, you would likely barely get you money back for the upgrades alone... Which is sad. But i love seeing the basic guitars that are able to be quality enough, out of the box, to keep a beginner interested in continuing to learn. Great review!

I heard Del Shannon's Runaway as well as House of the Ring sun in your playing. Awesome Video.

A great video for those of us who play another primary instrument (piano and keyboards like me) but also own guitars, you showed basic guitar set up. You took a good sounding guitar out of the box made it great with just a change of strings and minor fret dressing. I will tell you that my first guitar was a Teisco del Ray in 1968 and it cost the same as this guitar, but it wasn't near the quality (guitars like that, Kent, etc. were awful) and almost made me quit trying to play. Love that 60's sound with the bridge pickup, but noticed a slight tonal change when the strings were replaced. Did you hear that or is it my imagination? NICE!

Dunno if you read this but if you wonder why the pickups have a different timbre sometimes it is simply the placement. On a Fender they are placed under a specific harmonic node, this is what some guitars get wrong. Tele neck pup vs strat neck pup is a good example. A few mm offset under a different node. Measure from 12 fret (half of string length on the 25.5 inch scale) to the bridge pup position to see what I mean.

I know nothing about music or guitars but enjoyed the video. Amazing that its so good for so little money. Definite 60 sounds.

Nice video! I use baby oil on the strings, for a smoother playing as well, every time I play. We look forward to unboxing!

I just recently got a (second hand) Harley Benton SG for ultra cheap, where I am about to do a fret job. But now I am getting REALLY curious about this guitar as well. Tempting :) By the way, I like how you also cover fret levelling/polishing, short and concise, yet with all the important steps shown. This guitar seems great, I got this fun "Tarantino movie" 60s vibe the second you started to play it, there is something about this sound I like as well. Insane for 70 EU shipped...

Thanks for the Video. I got one in black and gold (Limited Edition) for learning guitar playing together with the Katana Mini Amp. I am a Truck Driver from Germany and learn to play guitar on Tour. Perfekt Match. Thank you very much!

I did this same thing with a cheap amazon guitar and found that several of the frets were not seated well. A light bit of hammering fixed several frets. New pickups and full setup. Everything was good... for a while. It needs constant setup tweaking every time the weather changes. I REALLY learned a lot by doing it though. You need to do it for yourself if you want to learn it.