Vintage V6 Stratocaster (Supposedly VERY GOOD...)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ส.ค. 2024
- Vintage V6 Stratocaster (Supposedly VERY GOOD...)
I've been told on numerous occasions that I should check out Vintage guitars. No, not old guitars, but the brand. They're supposed to be really good, and won't cost you an arm and a leg. And I have to say this looked really good. But sometimes scratching a bit under the surface reveals some problems, and this one is a prime example of why you should try before you buy.
Enjoy!
0:00 Intro
0:52 Specs and looks
3:10 Sounds
9:33 Adding overdrive
11:44 More overdrive
12:40 Changing overdrives
15:23 Whammy bar test
18:00 Conclusion
19:32 TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!
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Ive had my fender strat for 5 years now and my first vintage strat just played amazing after setting up the bridge so it's floating and sorting the action it's become so much more comfortable to play over the fender I recommend for anyone who wants a real strat for a good price
First electric I've bought was a Vintage VS6 (SG 61 clone). It might have been made in South Korea, since it was an older, pre-JHS model with non offset horns like the newer ones. It was used, needed a fret level/dress, swapping some electronics, it also had its nut changed to a bone one.
That already improved it 100%.
However, at some point I've dropped in a roller bridge and a Duesenberg Les Trem along with locking jin-ho tuners.
Boy, it could dive as far as a FR and kept its tune rather well.
Action never got crazy low (was about 2.2 mm thick E @ 12th and 2 for the high e) and got a little higher at 22 despite the nut being properly cut - I assume due to the angle the neck was glued at. But all in all, it was playing literally like butter, with the frets being somewhat between vintage low and medium height but also medium width.
I eventually sold it for - funny enough V6 which was pretty much like this one just proper copy headstock.
In hindsight, I wish I'd kept it. Got it for around 150 EUR with hardcase and a pocket pod xpress, invested around 80 EUR to set it up and another 25 for the locking tuners. So for roughly 255 EUR, it was beating the heck out of say - Epiphone G400 Pros thouh I would've taken a proper Gibson SG Faded over it any day.
I have two guitars from Vintage brand, the S Type and the SG type. I hand picked them in a mom and pop store. I have had both for ~5 years. They have been excellent guitars.
I like this brand quite alot! I’ve had good experiences with their guitars and basses.
Well played and fair demo😊
Great playing and good review!
I think fitting a “base plate” to the bridge pickup would improve its tone significantly!
I fitted one to the Fender Tex Mex pickups in my Strat, simple job, tremendous improvement!
What material should the "base plate" be made of? I see them online but made of different materials (steel, copper, zinc, etc.). Would they sound good on the neck and middle pickups too?
Thank you for nice video Elmo. I have Vintage V6 Thomas Blug Signature and I'm very happy with it. Sounds great and stays in tune. The nut is changed. ;)
Must say Elmo you are one of the very few that can use the bar as an extension of the instrument to make music versus just going ridiculous. That bar music was awesome. A bone nut would be an awesome deal on that V6.
Thank you very much :)
This has a self-lubricating graphite nut. If installed and cut properly this is just as good as any bone nut.
Better when you’re a vegan like me 😂
I've boughjt my v6 icon for 150 dollars. after upgrading the pickups and leveling the frets i'm in love with that thing. Does it job very well, no problems at all
Great video and playing by the way. Hey that was some guitar workout! I've had 3 of these and still got 2. All 3 bought second hand for £150 or less. The Reissue was excellent and no issues at all. Strangely that's the one I sold?? Had two Icons... one burst which was made by someone as they were leaving the factory on a Friday evening. Some issues which I fixed- high frets, fret sprout, neck not seated properly and one screw doing nothing, not brilliant soldering on the pots. All ok for me for me to fix but not good for a beginner. I really liked the guitar despite its faults.that's why I put the time to it. Now the red Icon is just brilliant. Cost me £135 with a case! and as an added bonus it was on TH-cam and set up by Sam Deeks (see his TH-cam Chanel) It plays better than the Fender Mex and ''Player'' guitars I tried from friends. I agree with you some not so good some very good. If you have the time and the confidence to work on it, you can have an excellent playing, sounding and looking Strat style guitar.
Came for the review. Thanks. Great shredding dude!
Cheers!
Managed to bag myself a V6 ten years ago for 125 British pounds new due to a guitar shop selling it on eBay and no-one else bid on it. The shop changed their listings after that, haha! Certainly annihilated any other guitar for 125 pounds at the time, and still a great guitar at current prices. Comfortable necks, good hardware, and they sound and look great. Some of the best budget instruments I have come across. Can also heartily recommend the V300 acoustic guitars. Insane for the price, at least compared to acoustics 20 years ago.
I have a black v6 reissued and it's fantastic, it took around a year to play it in and get the action to what i wanted, what a guitar now! easily comparable with a usa strat i had years ago
Any guitar could have a rogue tuner. You're making too big an issue of it.
Great review, as always. Also good to hear Elmo playing some SRV. 🎸
Thanks!
I have a Wilkinson Vintage Advance AV6. I bought it 2008 I think about the time they went of production. It is similar to the V6 but has 3 P90 pickups with a roll off control. The back of the neck has satin finish and is very smooth and frictionless. It has heavier chromed tuners and allways stays in tune but I don't hit whammy bar that hard when I play. It cost me around £250 as new old stock as the store had a clearance sale on at the time and it needed a little bit of a set up. Definitely worth checking one out if you can find one.
Great review👍 bomber for me I just bought one from Finland expecting it to ship to the US any time, but I only paid $377 brand new including shipping and tax, so my downside is not a lot 🙂 I will keep you posted when I get it
I have the Hendrix model and it's one of the best sounding guitars I've played regardless of price, the pick ups are great. When the Wilkinson tuners are strung up right with their locking mechanism and 2 hole system used, after the strings stretch I have no tuning issues with the tremolo bar, which I have mine slightly floating. So I think the guitars can be a hit or miss, but overall for the price and hardware they are great guitars.
Wow, good review, to watch you play on these guitars is better than a can of beer when you really need one, your playing is amazing 😁
Mmm...beer... :D
Thank you very much :)
Compliments on the vid,you really shoot from the hip. I bought one exactly like this many years ago but the neck fell off- almost. The neckplate screws had mm's of play and I had to refill them. I didn'tsend it back because the online dealer of my country handling them couldn't guarantee a replacement. I eventually swapped the neck onto another body and bought a maple fingerboard for the daphne blue body which is now my main shadows rep guitar. The body is so light for long gigs. Peace and love to you and all brother guitarists( and sisters!)
Thanks!
Really like your videos! Some excellent playing!
Thank you very much!
Thank you for listing your gear (especially pedals)
I had that exact model on test for a few days. It was good, a really nice guitar to play, the tone was awesome... As a blues guitar it was a dream. It has a very mellow tone and sounded shocking with a drive pedal! Tudescreamer type pedals were amazing but anything that induced too much drive it just went all fizzy! Tuning was great, playability was really nice, great neck.... I didn´t buy it... I just had an issue with the baby blue colour lol
Give me a grey and purple , blue and green , absolutely atrocious looking guitar , if the sound is good , if it's playable i keep it , i scratch the paint i don't know ....They even sell these stupid relic guitars and they are even more expensive , what a silly fashion , but if you had a problem with the color you could change it , erase paint maybe , it's too bad , maybe the pups weren't at the right height but anyway these guitars aren't made for real big drive , i doubt one really could play some Metallica with a Strat in 1957 , humbuckers are a better option for this kind of gymnastic music ...
Look at SRV's Strat : it isn't gorgeous , all the paint is gone , but it sounds ...
Great review and great playing and a new sub for you!. Regards from England 😉👍
Awesome, thank you!
Have 15 vintages and love them all. Not had any issues apart from one that had a little fret sprout but nothing much. Glad they don’t use bone Nita as a vegan. The three s type v6’ a I have never go out of them and the Wilkinson tuners are superb. I’ve even replaced my fender tuners with Wilkinson ones on my 93 Japanese strat. Would recommend over fender any day. Over priced simply because of their Fender name in my opinion. I also do guitar repairs and have very few vintages come my way with issues outside of a set up. Vintage are awesome for the money and punch way above their price point
I had budgeted for a Gibson les paul ~ 10 years ago and went to local guitar store to buy one. Tried a Vintage lemon drop and instead of Gibson came back with Vintage's lemon drop. yep it is that good. I play through an old vox amp with it. 10+ years now, never felt like buying another humbucker style guitar, did buy another vintage acoustic guitar though.
I have one with HSS pickups and I got the frets dressed up, neck set right, changed the pickups to Dimarzios (Humbucker was way too hot 14k!!! which sounds awful) dropped in a Vegatrem and it stays in tune great now! I have to admit that when I bought it I wanted to customize it and see what I could do and I inproved it easily twofold for sound and playability. The original bridge stayed in tune if you took it easy, left a little bit of up pull by having it lean up a tad to balance it and setting it to note intervals.
I have one and I love it! Stays in tune, feels great when I play it and, most important, sounds awsome!
Awesome playing. I'm sure a lot of people are pleased with their Vintages. To me the price point doesn't work for me. I can usually find a used Mexican Strat for the same price locally. And there's some Harley Benton options that are better values new. I got a fusion 2 for less that is pretty darn good. But your right - every guitar is it's own guitar. Got to test them out.
Thanks!
About three years ago I bought a 2016 Mexi Standard. Overall I was amazed how good it is. At least in the things that matter to me the most. Fret work and nut cut. Close to perfection. I was stunned. Where they cut corners is hardware. Bridge and tuners feel cheap and are not great to put it kindly. Electrics are kind of meh too. Better now I put a HS3 and HS4 loaded pick guard in it, but I still need to sort out the bridge and tuners.
The other thing that impressed me was the maple neck. A lot of Strats have stubborn truss rods. The hard maple will not budge. This stuff is just right. Stays put and is stable, but not so stiff that the truss rod won't work (my 2020 Gibson SG Standard '61 skinny neck was not like that at all. Neck took over two months to settle down, so i was constantly adjusting the truss rod to get the relief just right -- great guitar now, but out of the box new it was not at all).
I'm liking your riffing these days. Very cool direction
Cheers!
Another great review, I don't see why you have to change the tuners on a new guitar.
Agree with you that it has to go back.. 👍
I like this no BS review specially the whammy bar test, you deserve 1m followers
I appreciate that!
Well you sure did test it out that is for sure nice job.
Probably the most "shredding" that guitar is gonna see. You really killed it in this video Elmo. Shame about the tuning probs, but these things happen. ✌️🇦🇺
A bit of a shame, yeah.
They have a Jimi Hendrix strat that has the reverse bridge pickup position that is cool with the reverse headstock.
My Vintage LP is a beast and truly love it would like to get a strat model.
Good video Elmo I can hear your frustration at the end wondering if that Guitar would really be wonderful after some easy modifications. I have found that to be true with some entry-level guitars as far as the nut and or tuners go. Doing that modification to an eart I picked up used last week. Really enjoying the T style. Thanks for the video
Cheers!
I can't stop playing my v6 and lemon drop.. they're keeper 👌💯
I owned the V6 reissue for a short while (the Hendrix one), it was a pretty fine guitar. Pickups sound (very) good for this price, the bridge was very good. Mine stayed in tune (but hey, that will differ guitar to guitar). The only minor gripe I found was sanding mistakes on the body. Looking in the right light made it obvious the contours of the body were off, like bumps and dips in the body. I liked it but sold it anyway. The problem you had with the tuner, I had on another guitar with the same Wilkinson tuners....the gear skipped on one tuner. I fixed it somehow, don't remember exactly how....but it shouldn't happen.
I learn so much out your noodling!!
Glad to hear it!
I have one in my cupboard. David Gilmour tribute. Have to get it out after your inspiring playing. Many thanks
I have a Vintage V6 John Verity signature. It sounds great, but I have had to constantly fiddle with it to get it to play well. I finally discovered that the holes for the whammy were drilled slightly offset, making it impossible to properly intonate. It’s not off by much, but just enough to be irritating. Also, the fret sprout is horrible. I am constantly filing them down. Someone else made a QC comment and I agree. I don’t know where it was made, but I think Vietnam. As an aside, it seems Harley Benton is moving away from Vietnam. I spoke directly to the distributor and I can still send it back under warranty. My conclusion is that, for what I paid, there are better options here in the US. Now that prices have gone up on everything, I’m looking at several hundred more dollars for a Fender Player vs mine. It’s a bummer because I like the guitar when it’s behaving. Good review as always. I look forward to your weekly vids. I start my Mondays with them. Peace.
The Wilkinson should be very good, have not watched it yet with my comment, looking forward to checking this out with you! Have a fine and safe day in Europe Elmo!
Thanks :)
How did I miss this.
Sounds great. The Strat sounds are pretty good it seems here in my Google pixel phone with headphones.
Wilkerson pickups too it looks like.
I've been wanting one of these to check out, but it seems it's a Brit brand and not a lot of American brick and mortar stores have them in stock. Plus I live in the fucking middle of cornfield hell. 😂
It looks great too.
Man, that overdrive / Stryman sounds great.
I have to find a good overdrive and will have to go back over your reviews.
Oh, speaking of Wilkerson. I just bought a humbucker for like 25 bucks new that is a ceramic magnet with 14.1 k output which is what my favorite Seymour Duncan is. The Custom 5 I think. So when I install it in my excellent Charvel Jap super strat from 91 it will be interesting to hear. Pickups are just over priced being that they are coils of wire wrapped around a magnet with some plastic. 😂😂
Sounds great man. Great playing as always. Too bad you live so far away. I would bug you to lete jam with you 😂😂😂🤘♥️🤘
Best regards sir. Please you and yours be safe! ♥️🤘
The color is really sweet, soft baby blue.
I've had some really good JHS Vintage guitars, a SG, Gold Top with P90 pups and also a Tele V52. In my experience the quality of the 'Vintage' Strat varies quite a lot: badly shaped bodies and not so good sounding pickups. If you decide to change pups also change the wiring and pots.
I like my Wilkinson humbuckers but always found the single coils too bright, so swapped them for something else on my Vintages.
I love that you give these guitars the works with the wang bar. That reveals a lot of evils in the "budget' guitars..
The twin evils of cheap pot metal bridge and "dull knife edge tuning stability".
Hi Elmo. happy 2024...which one is better, the Vintage or the Jet JS400 ? and how the neck compares??
I have the "icon" model. Hambucker by stable, and stays in tone 😏 very happy.
Cool :)
Nice review. 👍👍👍👍👍. Can you try Tagima guitars next?
Maybe at some point. I have a ton of stuff lined up though.
but the problem here is that they don't stay in tune or only after using the bar?
Great review! Liked and subscribed. Would like to know if you prefer a squier vintage modified over this?
Cheers! I liked the Classic Vibe I tried more, yeah.
I see some mixed reviews here. I just picked up this exact guitar before seeing this video. The store did an excellent set up. I played it at home for about 40 min. No tuning issues. May switch out the tuners for locking tuners. If I don't have any issues with this guitar, it is a good bang for the buck well worth it. I have Fender Stratocasters and bought this as a practice guitar to keep at another location outside my home. This was a good review and if one of my tuners broke like it did in the video, replacing the tuners and everything else that is good about this guitar still makes it worth it well worth it for the price point.
Nice review, great playing. I currently own 3 Vintage brand guitars and have owned others. I chose them over buying Squiers and have always been happy with them. As with every brand sometimes a quality issues slips through, for example a duff tuner ;) For anyone considering a guitar in this price range and ruling out Vintage on the basis of the end of this video, I would say concentrate on the first 15 minutes, that's what's possible on one of these.
Cheers!
Hi there Elmo! great cover as always! Just wondered if the Wilkinson pups were any good, any chance you could also review a strat with Bareknuckle singles? 😊
I seem to remember them being quite nice. Probably won't review pickups, at least not before I start doing this full time :D
@@MrPolevaulter Respect 🤘🏼 at your convenience of course
I liked the v6 a lot after a proper set up. Get a second hand one, really worth it
You can see my 2 in the photo, one is a V100 Les Paul Type other is V6P with the 3 P90's no issues, got them both setup just the standard setup they play great, now I have heard of some Vintages that had some QC issues I am sure if you reached out to JHS in Leeds England they can sort things, other than that the guitar sound punches above it's weight, but QC issues sadly happens I remember looking at Player's Strat before my Vintage fretboard was longer than the neck , the tuners on mine 6 and 5 string have double holes that can be fun doing it the first time, Tuners I have had no issues with them, the nut , the tech said it was fine , it's too bad, but I would seriously send a email or contact JHS here in the UK,
Fret sprout for £400 would hurt me.
Bought a squier Jazzmaster 40th, it arrived with rough frets, dry fretboard, sprouting, edges, instability like nothing else I had encountered and flaws in the paint. And it wasn’t a B stock guitar
Much respect! You have a new subscriber!
Thank you :)
Not bad at all ElMaestro. I really dig the price point in today's market. Halfway decent quality. Plus loving the 60s color scheme and the tones that match. Of course most guitars unless custom shop...needs an initial setup. To be expected. Yeah. I'll take this over a Marshall Code anyday and play through a Peavey Backstage
Cheers!
My wiring was horrible,very noisey,I rewired it used cts pots,clr switch,decent cloth push back 22ga copper wire and orange drop,was great then,loved,bridge tuners,pickups,finish,body,rosewood board, bought a year ago,nitro finish too,also nice neck.I recommend if you can solder,then it's a great strat at 80 percent off,do what I did
I bought one of those (same colour, too). The fingerboard was made from narrow strips of something like rosewood, glued back together to make a board. Not solid wood at all. The components were absolutely the lowest quality the manufacturer could get away with (e.g., a string tree made from _very_ thin steel), and worst of all, the bridge was a few millimetres too close to the heel, making it impossible to intonate. The pickups did sound OK, and the vibrato was smooth, but those were the only positive points. I got rid of it, and bought a Squier CV 50s Strat, which is infinitely better.
I had an Vintage VS6 an SG tribute ;) and it had the same issue (bad tuners 👎) I think if you're going to get a vintage guitar it's a given that you may need to change some of the hardware. Great review as always! I was considering this over the Classic Vibe but I think I might go with the Classic Vibe strat.
Thanks!
Thank you for the démo ! I have a chinese 50's CV, a chinese 60's CV, an indo 70's, a Vintage V6 Reissued, a Vintage V6 Icon, and i prefer the Vintages. Better wood sensation, better weight for me ! But true... The first 2020 V6 Reissued was sent back because body shape was worked by a newbie. The 2nd one (2021), a bit more work on the fret edges would be great, and especially one fret need work because a bit cutter... The 2019 icon have a bad work on the nut... a bit missed, and tuners not perfect. Whereas my chinese CV was perfectly finished and no flows. And same with my 2019 indo CV. I'm lucky because often, indo CV have cheap sensation Switch and pots.
I bought one. There was high and low frets. I had a Luthier level them out. Otherwise a decent strat.
I'd have replaced the top e tuner before sending back but that's me. The whammy abuse would struggle to stay in with locking tuners. Dunno.
Sick playing! Have you been practicing? You are in top shape.
A bit :)
If this fits a standard tremolo you can get one for like 30 bucks on Amazon. I got a great one with solid steel saddles for 35 from musically or something?.
went to the luthier an got a bone nut. easy squier killer. but my tusq was very good filed. no tuning issues, stayed (with tusq) in tune even with divebombs. now either with the bone. got lucky to have a well build one to be fair. had a squier classic vibe but this one stayed.
Through my half decent-ish JBL PC speakers, at least, this sounds good. It seems to do everything you'd want a strat to do. And at that price... It's a very tempting proposition, I must say.
I value and appreciate your honesty! Garbage tuners ruin the experience.
15:57 Elmo Woodstock Spangled Banner💥☮🎸
The WVC tremolo is very nice, and affordable.
I recently bought a Tagima 530. I checked through the 7 different ones they had and most were just okay, not well set up. The one I bought was the gem amongst them. After about 15 hours of playing it the last 3 days I'm amazed at how well it performs. Maybe you can get ahold of one and do a demo. It only cost me $250
I have the T635 (one level up from the 530). They are great for the price aren't they? It was actually between a Vintage brand strat and I saw the Tagima sitting in the corner and decided to try it out and went home with it. I modded mine and changed to Graphtech saddles and it stays in tune now.
@@calyptratus187 I haven't had mine long enough to know how it will hold up but so far I'm in love with it. I did a little setup work on it and it stays in tune even after using the tremolo pretty aggressively. Still got the original strings. I played a Brazilian made one, maybe the model you have. A beautiful guitar that played great but cost more than I could spend. That's what inspired me to take a look at the basic strat models, the 530. I looked at every type of strat guitar in the city and this $250 guitar was the best. Better than the Mexican Fender Players strats I checked out, which were many
@@calyptratus187 I looked up your guitar. Not the same one I played. The one I played was a Stella, mahogany body with fancy maple top, roasted maple neck and a HSS pickup configuration. I never came across the model you have
Maybe at some point. So much gear. So little time.
Greetings from Brazil! The newer Tagimas are quite underrated here and are even under the Squiers. We'd rather get the SX or the Vintages because they have actual Alder and Ash bodies and better hardware. The older Tagimas are quite respected here because they were actually handmade and inspected by the founder Seizi Tagima, the new ones are mostly made in China and inspected or assembled by the employees. The Mexican Fenders are quite expensive and desired for us Brazilians. The T530 are the lowest and cheapest, then it comes the T635 which is made in China with Basswood or even "technical wood" that is not even Brazillian wood (that is why its underrated), then it comes the better ones that is the T805, T950 with Cedro (Cedar/ Brazillian's kinda alike Mahogany), Freijo, Marfim (wood ivory), Marupá, Pau Ferro (Ironwood), and the signature models, but they all need pickups and hardware upgrades, and cost almost like a Mexican Fender or a PRS SE. All Tagima Pickups are mostly China
Wilkinson tuners i've found to be a bit pants. If you're going to be digging in to the trem like that you're going to need to seriously upgrade them. Might be an option to go for one of their older strats and kit it out where necessary. For me, if the guitar is a joy to play then all other considerations (within reason) are secondary.
Nice review. Personally never a great fan of single coil pickups for anything other then clean tones. having watched you play so many other guitars at a cheaper price point having a similar wammy system think its poor that it really was out of tune, add to that the fret sprout you mentioned and the further set up need then also the issue with the tuner it does make you start to question build quality. Personally this is not a guitar for me but sure others would love it. thanks again for the review
Cheers!
the Blug signature one is the one to get.
Please do LTD SN 200 W strat style guitar
Ive loved my vintage but i DID change the tuners.
Did you lock the strings ?
Wilkinson ez lock tuner is simple but effectively keep the tuning stability .
Although it looks a bit strange , It's a decent tuner generally .
The tuner was broken.
Is the body finish nitrocelullose or satin urethane? Does the relic version have the same finish?
Sorry, don't know.
My first electric guitar was a Vintage VRS100. Turned out the neck was twisted because the truss rod had not been installed correctly, so the nut at the end had to be tightened to the point that it twisted the neck. 😔
That sucks.
Vintage guitars and wilkinson parts were very good a few years ago, but Trevor Wilkinson is no longer
visting the factory and keeping an eye on issues like faulty tuners and poor setups.
There are an alarming number of B grades available, and there must be a big mark up on what
should be new samples as prices vary a lot.
I suspect some sellers are less than honest and are selling what should be B grades as new stock.
The only option you have is to return a bad sample, a guitar that won't stay in tune is no good.
I can only agree with your advice, if possible try before you buy.
Bad guitars have been around for many years, i tried over 30 samples of Fender USA Strats
before i found a good one, and that was over 10 years ago.
The Sire S7 is a far better buy than this vintage one for similar money, and they stay intune
with locking tuners as standard, not dodgy vintage style ones.
I have four Vintage V100's, and I'm on the fence. One was great from the get-go, another one was S.O.A. (shit on arrival), but became amazing after a proper set-up. The third was fine, but the fourth one is for decoration purposes only. The Vintage brand can be great, but you need to get lucky.
I have 3 Vintage guitars and they are generally v.good value for money. If they could include decent pots and a good nut, they'd be almost perfect for the price. But tbh, the last Harley Benton I got was £100 cheaper than a comparable Vintage. It had Tesla pickups, decent pots and stainless steel frets. Blows anything by Vintage out of the water. I did change the pickups, but the Tesla models weren't bad at all. Better than any humbuckers I've used by Wilkinson.
HB sure makes some good guitars these days.
Another Monday and Elmo plays another guitar. Clever name for a brand - I was 6 minutes into the video until I realized that it wasn't a "vintage" Fender. Elmo's playing made it sound good. It got me thinking. Would a zero fret nut retain tuning better? Thanks for the video.
Not sure.
Add a Brass Tremolo Block and an extra string tree (I always have two on my guitars... tremolo and hardtails...) maybe yank out the Pots & Caps & Jack input replace with top shelf.. add a real bone nut... and there you go... a lifelong gigging pro level guitar. (I have several guitars with Wilkinson pickups... ceramic & alnico... Big Bang 4 the Buck in the pups...)
Like to try, but guitar stores are allergic to stocking lefties.
Yeah, that sucks :(
It's a real pain to be sure. I used to buy and sell lefty guitars, partly as I was searching for one I could live with, partly to make a little cash to fund my hobby, partly to help younger lefty guitarists locally (as they couldn't get them locally in shops). I'm a lefty and an earlier vintage strat came my way for next to nothing (pre - trever wilkinson, 21 fret neck). It looked like a really expensive guitar, the wood and finish was gorgeous - I mean really gorgeous. I felt the pickups were a little bit characterless and the tuners were a bit so so, so when I had the chance I bought a V6 virtually new on ebay for £75. I was not disappointed at all [apart from the fact that its the distressed version which makes me feel a little bit sick every time I see it], it is nice and chimey, sounds pretty much like a US strat and unlike the review it stays in tune extremely well. I've now used it for around 6 years and you know how it is, you think of a change. If I decide I can't stand the distressed look I would seriously consider buying the V6 again, or a G and L or a Classic Vibe. If I couldn't try out the guitar locally I would order from someone like Richards Guitars who rejects around 20% of guitars [not just vintages] back to the manufacturer. so an extra layer of QC there. Anyway, the upshot is I've had a few Vintages pass through my hands and they have all been nice instruments and near flawless construction. I had briefly a white V6 and if you'd been told it was £800 you would have believed it. Oh my God it was beautiful and played well. Due to circumstances I sold it and regretted it since. Yes, I'd like to try a USA strat or a G and L in case I'm missing something, a bit more 'special' but generally the V6 does what I expect it to and does it well. Take a leap of faith! A number of pro guitarists use Vintage Guitars.
"More Overdrive" could be a little more (for a Malmsteen Fan ;-) ). I love the Odyssee album. I would buy it at a local store, but I think with a small Nux Combo from this store I will need.a better distortion pedal, too.
Wilkinson has a good name. Had a good name? I wonder if that tuner is an outlier, or if the race to the bottom thing where many companies decide to cut corners to compete on price has taken its toll.
Graphite nut is a nice touch. Seems yours was not cut right. Maybe an easy fix for a proper luthier who knows how a Strat style nut needs to be cut. The kind of skill and experience we can not expect factory workers to have (PLEK machines can cut nuts quite well, but they add to the cost too and still often need expert touch ups).
Try before I buy? I made that mistake a couple of years ago. RG550 Genesis as new, never played from a kid that was heading off to cop school to learn how to arrest people etc (it was a legit Ibby and he had the receipt from when he bought a pair of them brand new from the main NZ Ibby dealer). J-Craft and MIJ had me assuming I would get 90s MIJ quality for a very attractive price, but I should have known better. It was a hunk of junk that had the feel of a toy guitar and I got rid of it fast. Worst thing about it was the electrics. Cheap and nasty, so therefore very faulty. Edge bridge felt solid though.
Then I got a 2020 Gibson SG Standard '61 brand new without trying it first. I never learn lol. I actually really like it now, but I nearly returned it at first. None of the usual QC issues people talk about. The problem was the skinny neck took weeks to settle down (I find a skinny SG neck needs to be almost dead straight with just a tiny bit of relief, or they can give you trouble). I had the truss rod cover off the whole time constantly tweaking it. It finally stayed put. The guitar also sounded like a dead plank. After a couple of months of NZ summer heat, it began resonating nicely. I figure the wood was still curing. Not what you expect when spending that much, but corner cutting bites again. My 90s Gibson Les Paul Studio clearly sounds better, but I do love the wide, skinny neck on the SG.
I also have a 2016 Fender Standard Strat. Overall I am very impressed. Where they cut corners is hardware it seems. Bridge and tuners are average at best. But the nut cut and fret work amazed me. So good. I really like the profile too. Wood is cured well too, because the truss rod is very responsive and stays put too.
Interesting, bought my son a Vintage Strat 3 years ago, very well made, sounds great, had it setup, no problems, maybe they are cutting costs now, tuners shouldn't break like that on a new guitar! Last guitar I bought was a Jet JS400, amazing value for money, trem springs crap, threw them, changed the Pups to Iron Gear, but originals were ok, tuning issues on Strats, usually, how it was strung, trem tension, nut, then tuners, I also have a Les Paul, tunning bad by design, nut, how it strung then tuners, the tie method of stringing usually solves LP's
Or maybe I just had bad luck.
@@MrPolevaulter I had a Anniversary Fender Strat worth many thousands that didn't stay in tune that great.
Did you try G&L tribute legacy?
That Vintage is indeed pretty good. Magnificent playing btw. Please try their Teles too, cheers
Thanks! Maybe at some point. So much gear to try...
That's the thing with direct from the factory guitars, it is often too expensive for the dealers to QC and set-up every guitar they get through. Which is a bit of a trade-off for cheaper pricing. However, JHS products do have a pretty good reputation for customer service so, if you do get a dud they will in all likelihood get it all sorted for you no problem. I have found in the UK that many dealers give the option of a discounted service and setup on these guitars. So you can spend an extra £45 and they will set the guitar up and adress and fret issues before sending it out. I would probably buy through one of these dealers for that reason, the guitars are cheap enough anyways that the discounted set-up is worthwhile.
Hi Elmo. At 20:07 you say that you have a "Usual Bag Of Tricks" to make guitar stay in tune. Can you please share it? What can I do to help my guitar stay in tune after whammy bar abuse?
Look for it with "guitar tuning" and my name.
@@MrPolevaulter Thanks :)
Pls do a video on g&l strats.
Yes! These are interesting, a logical progression of the strat? I'm keen to try one out of the Tribute Legacy series.
Elmo- you make any guitar seem high quality haha
😀
Great review. I like the Vintage brand, I have an older LP type that is a beast....but...the name man..it blows badly...Marketing peeps take note \m/
Yeah, the name is really strange imo.
the LP is called V100 or V100 icon that is disstressed
Best keep secret in guitars.