I had NO intention of buying another guitar… but, this guitar caught my eye at GC, so I figured I’d try it out. I was expecting to hate it, to be honest. However, I sat down and plugged into a stock Vox AC15 (Chinese made) and gave it a go. Before I knew it, I had been playing for 20 mins! I never do that at a guitar shop… (I am not that guy). I was just really blown away by this guitar, and the tones that I was able to get from the pickups! Also, the NECK!!! It brought out some of the best in my playing… anything I threw at it, it just took it and kept giving more! When I stopped playing, I noticed about 4 or 5 people who had stopped to listen and were eyeing the guitar! I could tell they wanted to get their hands on it too. HAHA! Experience (30 years of playing gigs, and tone chasing) told me that if I walked away, I would regret it. So, I took it home… did a proper setup and gigged it that next weekend. It did NOT disappoint! Best Strat I’ve played in a LONG time!!! I don’t care where it’s made, what the finish looks like… I care about the tones, and the feel of the guitar. The fact that it looks like a guitar my hero’s may have played was just kind of the icing on the cake for me. Play one! Give it an honest run… you may be just as surprised as me. 😉
WHOA WHOA WHOA to my genius tester of the stratocaster.. that lick at time stamp 12:21 , sounds exactly like "A different world" theme song... ?? Was that intentional? One of my favorite bluesy licks too btw lol
Great to see a video that explores the relicing in more detail. I havent been able to find one of these in stores to check out but did see another Mexican tele that had the road worn treatment and was a little disappointed up close. The thing that really broke the illusion close up is how smooth and curvy edged all the wear is, everything looks flat. There wasn't any flaking off, unevenness or sharp edges where a piece has broken away that you'd expect from a real relic.
having playing and own vintera2 and vintage II ‘61 sometimes classic vintage squier from ‘82 they are miles away from Cs. i don t know if the wood or pickups made great difference but Cs nos sounds bigger and fuller not better more balanced sound , simply different but for classic rock you grab guitar and let s have fun it s all under your finger. plug and play.. the sound is fantastic… alternative choice under custom shop are fine,ok but you have to work on it to achieve the same result and put your hands on your set up. this is my story. i couldn’t never afford Cs so i play what i got
Good demo. I bought one when they first got released. The small shop I got it from, included a set up. Out of the case it played beautifully. I absolutely love it. Anyone who would criticize these because they are made in Mexico are the same people who would criticize Fender USA prices. These are worth the price tag considering the US ones are priced as much as a car. The case is real nice, the neck feels amazing, the pickups are fantastic and unique to this guitar and the relicing of the NITRO finish is pretty damn good. It’s gonna look more and more naturally relict the more you play it. Mine has.
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoy it-that’s the most important part anyway, right? I do agree, a lot of people criticize pricing, which may be fair enough…but in the end, for the overall guitar it’s probably priced appropriately considering the other price points in their lines…
I can’t afford a reliced custom shop. So I picked one up. So far no complaints other than it needs to be setup. String height was crazy high. Overall I love that it’s scratched so no fear of wearing it out. It’s a great strat. And the pickups are only for this model. It’s slightly different. You can never own enough guitars. 🎸
Yeah, this one has some crazy high action when I got it too…but after a truss rod adjustment it’s quite comfortable. Guess they haven’t been spending much time on setup! Agreed-all the more tools in the toolbox! Thanks!
I don't know why ppl are worried about wearing their guitars out. Hardly anyone is really actually playing their guitar. They're on TH-cam and forums doing homework that'll hopefully be useful some year when they actually do pick their guitar up to play it
Really enjoyed this review and your playing. I think the relic work is pretty good and the pickups etc are above the standard MIM stuff. Sure a genuine 60’s Strat would be more authentic but who has the money to spend on one of those which may have a bunch of other issues anyway. I’m also 66 so I don’t have 60 years life left to naturally wear a new guitar! I have a 79 Strat that a bought new in 81 which has a fair few scrapes which I have helped on its way in recent years with T-Cut which looks pretty cool and the knobs and covers have aged naturally over the 23 years and are the real deal (I changed all the plastics to white when I bought it). It is heavy though like most late 70’s Strats are. Recently I put together a project which started with a Custom Shop 61 Journeyman body which I got for a good price in the UK as it was a refinish in Fiesta Red. I initially had a USA original 60’s series neck on it which played fine but then a saw a 66 Closet Classic Custom Shop neck which I paid silly money for but is very nice and I’m a big headstock guy. Kind of defeated the object of a bargain build but I’m happy with it and it worked out less than a Custom Shop Strat over here in the UK even if I don’t have a certificate and case candy. I do like the look of the McCready though! Sorry for rambling on, definitely going to like and subscribe.
Thanks so much for watching, and your kind words! I’m a big headstock guy too, I’m right there with ya! I think if you see one over there it’s definitely worth a play, though it sounds like you have some nice Strats to play as well… Thanks and take care!
Thank you for your review - it was great! I picked this guitar up once it came out a few months ago and I am not a fan of Mike McCready's (although I do like Pearl Jm). I was able to get it with a good discount, for £1350 (GBP), and I could choose the top and mine came set up perfectly. This is a GREAT guitar! I actually seen custom shop guitars with far worse relic jobs - mine is really great, and the pickups, like you mentioned, sound really great! The burst is a kind of chocolate burst like a 1959 Strat burst, and it is really cool imo! Now, to put things into perspective, in the UK (where I live) a heavy relic Strat costs more than 5 grand, and a used one would go for around 3.5 k. Perhaps for people in the US the price difference with heavy relic custom shop Strats is not that big, but in England it is. Obviously, this is not a custom shop, but to me it was definitely worth every penny, and I would buy it all over again!
I've tried this guitar on a Fender Twin, a Deluxe and also on an Orange and it's really very surprising. The pickups are excellent and the finition is super and comparable with the American ones. I wasn't able to compare it with my Strat American Original 60's, but I have the impression that the McCready is slightly better sounding, and I also prefer its neck, which is less bulky.
Genuine question... When someone buys a new guitar that has a relic job, do they/you still try to not bang or bump into things with the guitar? Or do you not care about any future scratches or damage since it is already scuffed up? hehe. I have always wondered about that. Thanks. Cool guitar, dude! I am not a strat guy.....but I do like the feel of them.
That’s a reasonable question! I think it depends…for me, I think it does make it more difficult to see any additional blemishes, so I find I’m not as careful as I am with, say, the Virginia Strat, or my other EJ Strat…the lacquer on those is so thin that if you even LOOK at it wrong it will dent! This one appears to have a light coat of sealer over the ‘worn’ finish as well, which adds to the cheesiness of the relic job, in my opinion…but I suppose the intent is to ‘protect’ it?? Thanks for watching and your kind words!
It's an interesting question. I do have relic cs strats as well as a brand new eric johnson strat. I noticed i'm more careful with the ej strat than i am with the relic cs strats. Because they look banged up already it's like i don't care as much if they get banged up a little more. The positive is i get to focus on just playing.
So they don't give you the spring cover plate? The aging of the neck, in my opinion, should resemble the sanded neck from the gloss, so it is good have on this guitar the straight line at the bottom and at the end of the neck, with the grey area that looks like the grease of the hand, just my opinion/idea of that... about the wiring it could be nice if they used the fabric cable just to match the "age" of the guitar, and the hardware is too shiny... with just a little mod it could be worth it... nice review man, thanks!
i love your playing style. really dig those lick. i like those guitar but im waiting Fender to released for Frusciante's guitar should they released it. RN happy with my MIJ Strat.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I totally get that, the Frusciante would be a cool one for sure…. There are definitely some great MIJ Strats out there, without a doubt. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment!
have a 2008 road worn MiM 60 in 3tsb strat (first road worn I think) and the aging is way better and more authentic than this one. Metal and plastic parts are well aged too and looks incredible. ...nearly cs level in my opinion ...cool video by the way ;)
Very interesting! I have to say the aging on the body is definitely the weak link for this guitar, the neck is somewhat better. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment, and for your kind words!
I also have a 2008 roadworn and all the metal parts are aged and there is checking on the body, and the lacquer almost sink into the wood . Look more like there is a step between the lacquer and the wood on the mike Cready
But those old Road Worns have 7.25 radius and smaller vintage Frets. I have played those and agree they are nice, but the neck on the McCready feels like a Custom Shop neck. The rest of it can be your cup of tea or not but IMO it’s got a nice understated vintage burst overall and can be bought used for 13-1500 USD. Put this guitar on stage and it just looks like a sunburst Strat, and a good one at that.
Not to me. I don't care what some other man likes. I find what i like. .. play a bunch and feel them out. Find the neck size, fretboard raidus, fret hieght, pickups config that suits YOU.
Heard another demo of this instrument, and it sounded awful...thin, tinny, feeble. This demo has far more resemblance to the desired tones, but other than the "furniture" of it, what equipment is necessary for mere mortals to recreate that woody SRV/Hendrixian chirp? ProTools makes it all up? Could you play this same way on another Strat? Inquiring minds want to know...
@@aquadogband haha yeah, maybe not the worst. But, on the video it looks like they just painted over a stencil 😂. At least darken the exposed wood or something.
@@Thisisrance agreed!! It definitely looks like a stencil…and one of my nitpicks is always when they leave exposed wood areas clean and bright-and then put a sealer over that? Non-aged gloss nitro would’ve been better than mediocre aging in my opinion, but they definitely didn’t ask me 😂
No modern electric guitar is worth more than 1k unless it has historic provenance. Imo. Especially when it looks like it was dragged down the road. Signature series is just a bs term to sell guitars. It's just wood and electronics and if you have basic understanding of electrical stuff, you can make any guitar play just like it. Every production electric guitar is cut out with a Chinese made CNC.
Where did you get $1k from? I could say exactly what you said and write $750 or $3,000 and it would be an equally worthless statement that’s disconnected from reality.
I had NO intention of buying another guitar… but, this guitar caught my eye at GC, so I figured I’d try it out. I was expecting to hate it, to be honest. However, I sat down and plugged into a stock Vox AC15 (Chinese made) and gave it a go. Before I knew it, I had been playing for 20 mins! I never do that at a guitar shop… (I am not that guy). I was just really blown away by this guitar, and the tones that I was able to get from the pickups! Also, the NECK!!! It brought out some of the best in my playing… anything I threw at it, it just took it and kept giving more! When I stopped playing, I noticed about 4 or 5 people who had stopped to listen and were eyeing the guitar! I could tell they wanted to get their hands on it too. HAHA! Experience (30 years of playing gigs, and tone chasing) told me that if I walked away, I would regret it. So, I took it home… did a proper setup and gigged it that next weekend. It did NOT disappoint! Best Strat I’ve played in a LONG time!!! I don’t care where it’s made, what the finish looks like… I care about the tones, and the feel of the guitar. The fact that it looks like a guitar my hero’s may have played was just kind of the icing on the cake for me. Play one! Give it an honest run… you may be just as surprised as me. 😉
Great review. I thought they sounded pretty similar. I dig that relic'd look.
Thank you for your honesty
Of course-I try to do my best! Thank you for watching!
neck comparison
MiM 14:03
Am. 17:35
WHOA WHOA WHOA to my genius tester of the stratocaster.. that lick at time stamp 12:21 , sounds exactly like "A different world" theme song... ?? Was that intentional? One of my favorite bluesy licks too btw lol
Ha!! It was absolutely NOT intentional-but perhaps subliminal?? Thanks for watching and for the kind words!
Great to see a video that explores the relicing in more detail. I havent been able to find one of these in stores to check out but did see another Mexican tele that had the road worn treatment and was a little disappointed up close. The thing that really broke the illusion close up is how smooth and curvy edged all the wear is, everything looks flat. There wasn't any flaking off, unevenness or sharp edges where a piece has broken away that you'd expect from a real relic.
Very nice demo of both guitars and the amp sounds great. As for the cheaper MIM Strats, eyes, they use those same CTS pots and 5-way selector.
Thank you for your kind words! And thank you for the info-I haven’t been inside any recent MIM Strats so I was unsure. Thanks for watching!
having playing and own vintera2 and vintage II ‘61 sometimes classic vintage squier from ‘82 they are miles away from Cs. i don t know if the wood or pickups made great difference but Cs nos sounds bigger and fuller not better more balanced sound , simply different but for classic rock you grab guitar and let s have fun it s all under your finger. plug and play.. the sound is fantastic… alternative choice under custom shop are fine,ok but you have to work on it to achieve the same result and put your hands on your set up. this is my story. i couldn’t never afford Cs so i play what i got
Good demo. I bought one when they first got released. The small shop I got it from, included a set up. Out of the case it played beautifully. I absolutely love it. Anyone who would criticize these because they are made in Mexico are the same people who would criticize Fender USA prices. These are worth the price tag considering the US ones are priced as much as a car. The case is real nice, the neck feels amazing, the pickups are fantastic and unique to this guitar and the relicing of the NITRO finish is pretty damn good. It’s gonna look more and more naturally relict the more you play it. Mine has.
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoy it-that’s the most important part anyway, right? I do agree, a lot of people criticize pricing, which may be fair enough…but in the end, for the overall guitar it’s probably priced appropriately considering the other price points in their lines…
I can’t afford a reliced custom shop. So I picked one up. So far no complaints other than it needs to be setup. String height was crazy high. Overall I love that it’s scratched so no fear of wearing it out. It’s a great strat. And the pickups are only for this model. It’s slightly different. You can never own enough guitars. 🎸
Yeah, this one has some crazy high action when I got it too…but after a truss rod adjustment it’s quite comfortable. Guess they haven’t been spending much time on setup! Agreed-all the more tools in the toolbox! Thanks!
I don't know why ppl are worried about wearing their guitars out. Hardly anyone is really actually playing their guitar. They're on TH-cam and forums doing homework that'll hopefully be useful some year when they actually do pick their guitar up to play it
Really enjoyed this review and your playing. I think the relic work is pretty good and the pickups etc are above the standard MIM stuff. Sure a genuine 60’s Strat would be more authentic but who has the money to spend on one of those which may have a bunch of other issues anyway. I’m also 66 so I don’t have 60 years life left to naturally wear a new guitar! I have a 79 Strat that a bought new in 81 which has a fair few scrapes which I have helped on its way in recent years with T-Cut which looks pretty cool and the knobs and covers have aged naturally over the 23 years and are the real deal (I changed all the plastics to white when I bought it). It is heavy though like most late 70’s Strats are. Recently I put together a project which started with a Custom Shop 61 Journeyman body which I got for a good price in the UK as it was a refinish in Fiesta Red. I initially had a USA original 60’s series neck on it which played fine but then a saw a 66 Closet Classic Custom Shop neck which I paid silly money for but is very nice and I’m a big headstock guy. Kind of defeated the object of a bargain build but I’m happy with it and it worked out less than a Custom Shop Strat over here in the UK even if I don’t have a certificate and case candy. I do like the look of the McCready though! Sorry for rambling on, definitely going to like and subscribe.
Thanks so much for watching, and your kind words! I’m a big headstock guy too, I’m right there with ya! I think if you see one over there it’s definitely worth a play, though it sounds like you have some nice Strats to play as well… Thanks and take care!
Thank you for your review - it was great! I picked this guitar up once it came out a few months ago and I am not a fan of Mike McCready's (although I do like Pearl Jm). I was able to get it with a good discount, for £1350 (GBP), and I could choose the top and mine came set up perfectly. This is a GREAT guitar! I actually seen custom shop guitars with far worse relic jobs - mine is really great, and the pickups, like you mentioned, sound really great! The burst is a kind of chocolate burst like a 1959 Strat burst, and it is really cool imo! Now, to put things into perspective, in the UK (where I live) a heavy relic Strat costs more than 5 grand, and a used one would go for around 3.5 k. Perhaps for people in the US the price difference with heavy relic custom shop Strats is not that big, but in England it is. Obviously, this is not a custom shop, but to me it was definitely worth every penny, and I would buy it all over again!
That’s a good deal. Can you tell me what shop in the UK you got it from? Thanks
Thanks for watching, and for your kind words! Very glad you found one at a good price and love it-in the end, that’s all that matters, right??
Mine was damn near perfectly set up when it arrived. It's a freaking GREAT guitar.
Nice!! That’s great to hear! Glad you’re enjoying it!
Mine was perfect too
Hallo vs one American vintage ll , what you chose ?
I've tried this guitar on a Fender Twin, a Deluxe and also on an Orange and it's really very surprising. The pickups are excellent and the finition is super and comparable with the American ones. I wasn't able to compare it with my Strat American Original 60's, but I have the impression that the McCready is slightly better sounding, and I also prefer its neck, which is less bulky.
Genuine question... When someone buys a new guitar that has a relic job, do they/you still try to not bang or bump into things with the guitar? Or do you not care about any future scratches or damage since it is already scuffed up? hehe. I have always wondered about that. Thanks. Cool guitar, dude! I am not a strat guy.....but I do like the feel of them.
That’s a reasonable question! I think it depends…for me, I think it does make it more difficult to see any additional blemishes, so I find I’m not as careful as I am with, say, the Virginia Strat, or my other EJ Strat…the lacquer on those is so thin that if you even LOOK at it wrong it will dent! This one appears to have a light coat of sealer over the ‘worn’ finish as well, which adds to the cheesiness of the relic job, in my opinion…but I suppose the intent is to ‘protect’ it?? Thanks for watching and your kind words!
It's an interesting question. I do have relic cs strats as well as a brand new eric johnson strat. I noticed i'm more careful with the ej strat than i am with the relic cs strats. Because they look banged up already it's like i don't care as much if they get banged up a little more. The positive is i get to focus on just playing.
So they don't give you the spring cover plate? The aging of the neck, in my opinion, should resemble the sanded neck from the gloss, so it is good have on this guitar the straight line at the bottom and at the end of the neck, with the grey area that looks like the grease of the hand, just my opinion/idea of that... about the wiring it could be nice if they used the fabric cable just to match the "age" of the guitar, and the hardware is too shiny... with just a little mod it could be worth it... nice review man, thanks!
i love your playing style. really dig those lick. i like those guitar but im waiting Fender to released for Frusciante's guitar should they released it. RN happy with my MIJ Strat.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I totally get that, the Frusciante would be a cool one for sure…. There are definitely some great MIJ Strats out there, without a doubt. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment!
have a 2008 road worn MiM 60 in 3tsb strat (first road worn I think) and the aging is way better and more authentic than this one. Metal and plastic parts are well aged too and looks incredible. ...nearly cs level in my opinion ...cool video by the way ;)
Very interesting! I have to say the aging on the body is definitely the weak link for this guitar, the neck is somewhat better. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment, and for your kind words!
@@aquadogband yes, I like the neck too ...looks good to me 😉 greetings from switzerland 😊
I also have a 2008 roadworn and all the metal parts are aged and there is checking on the body, and the lacquer almost sink into the wood . Look more like there is a step between the lacquer and the wood on the mike Cready
But those old Road Worns have 7.25 radius and smaller vintage Frets. I have played those and agree they are nice, but the neck on the McCready feels like a Custom Shop neck. The rest of it can be your cup of tea or not but IMO it’s got a nice understated vintage burst overall and can be bought used for 13-1500 USD. Put this guitar on stage and it just looks like a sunburst Strat, and a good one at that.
I think the neck needs a reset, the high e is barely hanging on after the 15th ftret!
I like how you have to ask if it's worth it because otherwise people might suspect your sincerity.
The neck is made that way to match his strat..not just any worn strat..so obviously there àre some played vintage strats that look that way
Also Fender makes a road worn strap that’s a perfect match.
Nice! I’ll have to check that out
Great...now i'm shopping for a new strat:)
Ha!! My apologies!! 😝
I like it but I would rather just have the Classic Vibe 60s Squier Strat with upgraded pickups and hardware for about $700
Mike mc-ready. Thats what i call him
Not to me. I don't care what some other man likes. I find what i like. .. play a bunch and feel them out. Find the neck size, fretboard raidus, fret hieght, pickups config that suits YOU.
Wish they would’ve done a lefty version…5k for a Custom Shop is not doable
ROADWORN YVH = Heavy? My guess.
As good a guess as anything I had, very well could be! Thanks!
😮😮😮
Heard another demo of this instrument, and it sounded awful...thin, tinny, feeble. This demo has far more resemblance to the desired tones, but other than the "furniture" of it, what equipment is necessary for mere mortals to recreate that woody SRV/Hendrixian chirp? ProTools makes it all up? Could you play this same way on another Strat?
Inquiring minds want to know...
If the the guitar sounds great, worth it. But each guitar is diferent, there are dogs in the premium segment too.
Agreed!
Thought it was American, like an AmPro essentially with some different pickups. MIM for $1800 lol no thanks.
This guitar is over $3000 in Australia so you get it cheap really
Yikes! No doubt!
Its just AUS vs USD. Don't forget the pay parity isn't equal either...
The EJ sounds better and much hotter
Wow $1,200 for a flat grain neck !
I do think its a nice guitar, but i think its grossly overpriced.
That has to be the worst relic job I’ve ever seen 😂
It isn’t probably the WORST I’ve seen…but it’s far from the best, that’s for sure! 😉 Thanks for watching!
@@aquadogband haha yeah, maybe not the worst. But, on the video it looks like they just painted over a stencil 😂. At least darken the exposed wood or something.
@@Thisisrance agreed!! It definitely looks like a stencil…and one of my nitpicks is always when they leave exposed wood areas clean and bright-and then put a sealer over that? Non-aged gloss nitro would’ve been better than mediocre aging in my opinion, but they definitely didn’t ask me 😂
It looks great in person
Seen one in a shop. Looks really aweful in person…
No modern electric guitar is worth more than 1k unless it has historic provenance. Imo. Especially when it looks like it was dragged down the road. Signature series is just a bs term to sell guitars. It's just wood and electronics and if you have basic understanding of electrical stuff, you can make any guitar play just like it. Every production electric guitar is cut out with a Chinese made CNC.
You’re hilarious.
You make no sense bruh
Where did you get $1k from? I could say exactly what you said and write $750 or $3,000 and it would be an equally worthless statement that’s disconnected from reality.