5 GREAT Cheap Stratocasters (Instead Of A Fender)
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- čas přidán 26. 03. 2023
- You don't always have to get a Fender to get a great Stratocaster. You can get Strats for way less than what it costs to get a Fender. Today we're taking a look at 5 such guitars, from different companies. These include the Indio Classic, Yamaha Pacifica, Cort G110, Eart and a Squier (OK, that's made by Fender, but it's not the "real" thing).
This video is all about providing good alternatives to people who are on a tight budget who are looking for a good guitar.
I hope you enjoy!
Budget gear I recommend (here you can find the Strats): redir.love/thocf/r9mtambedi
Reviews of the guitars featured:
Indio Classic Strat: • This $100 Guitar Is Su...
Yamaha Pacifica 112VM: • Yamaha Pacifica 112 (A...
Cort G110: • Cort G110 (Cheap AND G...
Squier Classic Vibe: • Squier Classic Vibe St...
Eart Stratocaster: • Best Cheap Guitar I've...
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The gear I most often use (the links are affiliate links): redir.love/thocf/r8ctceq3i1
(Not so) budget gear I recommend: redir.love/thocf/cib9pttb93 - Hudba
Check out some more cheap options: czcams.com/video/dM9zKKiZoxc/video.html
if your givin away the eart my friend is learning guitar, his mom got him a lyx pro strat for Christmas, the guitar is a nightmare the frets cut the crap out of your hand, pressing the strings down, pushes some of the the notes sharp so chords don't sound right. the b string buzzes like a sitar, guitar stays in tune for 20 mins of playing(no whammy), and the nut is plastic. i filed down the frets so they dont cut and fixed the buzz on the g. but a guitar should not sabotage a new player that badly, discouraging them before they can get addicted to playing and jamming out.
@@stevenmike1878la ksa de
What about for smaller hands
@@simeondavis5912 Smaller scale length.
@@MrPolevaulterCould you please tell me which one of the classic vibes would you pick? 50s, 60s or 70s? Thank you in advance.
If Yamaha has ever made a bad guitar I’ve yet to play it. Still have my FG 420C from 1985 I recently replaced the tuners and adjusted the truss rod and now my son has it for another generation
Cheers!
I have a 1985 road star bass that I payed 20 years ago some 40 euros..
Yamaha makes everything well. They’re one good guitar endorsee away from being much more relevant to moreplayers.
Great demos. Great video. It's important for players to know there are alternatives. The best strats are not necessarily Fenders. This is no dig at Fender, they make some great guitars. My first guitar was a strat. I've owned many over the years. But some of the best strats I've owned were everything from a Yamaha Pacifica to an old Holdsworth Charvel. It's importat for players to keep an open mind and not get hung up on legacy brands and get pretentious, thinking they're too good to buy a budget instrument. Don't forget, the strat, as envisioned by Leo Fender, was meant as a durable, upgradable, workingman's guitar. That's the whole purpose of bolt on construction, so players could switch around the necks and bodies. This is also why for every '58 Les Paul there are ten '58 strats still around. Because they are durable. Even back then they were more affordable than a Les Paul. If an LP takes a spill it can be curtains. Even if you get it repaired it will never sound the same. A strat, or bolt on, is much more likely to survive a drop and if the headstock breaks you can replace the neck. This happened with one of my old Kramer Baretta's in '88 when I did a stupid stunnt to show off in front of my friends. After the laughs faded I knew what I had to do. I took my guitar to my local shop and got a Chandler replacement neck put on. The guitar sounded a thousand times better than it did with the lower quality maple neck because the rosewood dialed back the brightness. Anyhow, bolt-on strats have always been my thing. I also love the punchiness. Nothing else will sound as punchy, and my style requires a lot of punch because I want those notes to pop. With set-necks and neck-thrus the notes never pop in quite the same as with a strat. I played in the Sunset Strip metal scene in the 80s during the height of the shred years and super strats were all the rage. The most common guitar you would see, regardless of brand, was a single bucker strat with a volume and a Floyd. I owned several like this. In those days if you played the neck pickpup without good reason they thought you were just being pretentious. It was a bit of a closed off, sandboxed scene, but I had a good time. You could watch fives bands in a row at Gazzari's The Roxy, Whiskey, Coconut Teaszer, and you could bet that 99% of the time the guitarists had a single bucker, Floyd equipped shred stick. Most bands played no more than a half hour and most songs were little over three minutes and sounded the same.
Great job Elmo that eart really screams looked like it played smooth and effective
Cheers! Yeah, it's very nice :)
Hi, Thanks , great videos and reviews
Cheers!
I love videos like this. Sure, it's fun owning a really nice Fender but there are SO many great alternatives now for people looking to start playing or to just have an inexpensive guitar around.
Cheers!
Great video, Elmo. Strats in my price range ☺
Cheers!
Got a 90s Pacifica with locking tuners and a Wilkinson trem. Had Dimarzios installed and it’s off the charts lovely to play and beautiful looking. And I’ve got the Tokai you reviewed recently. Also great to play. Buy a Fender if you like but I’ve never picked one up yet I’ve connected with.
Cool bananas :)
The Tokai prices matches the high end japanese fenders.
Excellent..... all the way around.... and a great reminder that you don't have to break the bank to ge a nice axe... BRAVO!!!
ROFLMAO! :) I like your face during those crazy guitar demonstrations! Very funny.
Very great reviews ! You are a serious guy. I have also been looking for a cheap guitar , to later do some extra "mods".
Thank you very much
Glad you like them!
Great Job on Demos & Playing is Great. New Sub from Burbank Ca, We'll be Touring Europe 2024. Das Klown.Punk Style Keep up The AWESOMENESS. Tanx: Mate 😁
Good review. If you still own them can you do a comparison between the Classic Vibe vs Jet guitar?
Don't forget the neck adjustment wheel on the Eart!!😎😎
Hey Elmo.. Long time no see sir.. I've been busy helping my mother and step father.. They're old and sick.
Anyway, I am glad to see you're still at it and reviewing as always.. Always good stuff from you sir..
I'm building a strat now.. I bought a warmoth neck and putting it on a mexican body.. I don't care what the wood is on bodies, etc.. The neck however is where I'm picky! 😛
So, I got maple neck with maple fretboard 10 to 16" radius and stainless 6100 frets.. I may scallop it, but may not.. The frets already make it feel that way.. I checked and no need for a level and crowning which I though I would need, but didn't..
Very good of you sir to do reviews for the younger folks to allow them to get a guitar that they can learn on.. When I was a kid (probably you too) there was Gibson and Fender and everything else for the most part was junk. My first guitar felt like pushing barbed wire against a fence post, but I struggled thru it. 😛 We live in a great time for gear.. I just wish it had come about 40 years ago.. 😛
Cheers sir..
Tim
Hi Tim,
Yeah, it is a good time for gear :)
I'll be doing this thing pretty much full time soon. Should be interesting.
Take care.
Cheers,
Elmo
@@MrPolevaulter Congrats sir.. Not teaching at school anymore? I wish you all the luck in the world sir.. You're a good man! I'll be watching too sir!
Be safe and well my friend!
Cheers for the review Elmo ;)
Thanks!
Hey guy, the Indio flashes all sounds so pretty well for only nearly 💯 bucks! But best of all is the Eart! Great deal!!! Great playin!!!!
I have a late 70’s Aspen strat in natural blonde. Japanese “lawsuit” era. It’s a large headstock copy of a 1969 strat. Very good reproduction that has a maple slab fretboard on top of a maple neck just like the fenders did. Great tremolo and very chimey pickups. Long story short, my buddy sold his Antares hard tail 70’s lawsuit strat, String through body, with upgraded Texas specials to a local shop for 200 bucks 8 months ago and it’s still there for sale. Shop only wants 250 bucks for it. I’ve been sleeping on purchasing it, but I probably should pull the trigger on it, even though I don’t need it. Oh wait! It’s a hard tail and I don’t have a hard tail, so yeah, I need it!
Hey Elmo, thanks for the video! Just wanted to notify you that Thomann links from the description don't seem to work anymore (even on newer videos) - hope that helps! :)
That's happened occasionally to some people, but it's always worked for me. Thanks anyway. I'll have a look.
I picked up a daphne blue sawtooth strat for $120 u.s.. excellent guitar. MAB has his own line as well. Worth checking out if you haven't yet.
Yeah it’s Monday 🎉 another review from Elmo. Thank you have a great day.
You too!
Damn. Nice playing on all of them. I would love one I can adjust the truss Rod on. Without taking the neck off.
If I remember correctly all of them were like that. No need to take necks off.
Dude I wanna say a massive thank you. Your videos are so helpful. By the way, sorry if u already made a video for this....Would you choose a cheap Jet or Harley Benton Telecaster? ( Mainly in terms of the neck quality, but also generally)
I haven't tried a Jet Tele yet, so can't really say.
hanks for the review! Choosing a guitar between the EART YMS-SG3 and JET JS-450 (or JS-400)? Which one do you think is better?
Love your videos Elmo. I started playing guitar almost 8 months ago. can you tell me which pick I should use for speed picking and that kind of stuff ?
Hi! That's pretty much a matter of preference. A like a 1,5mm Dunlop.
Your playing is phenomenal
Thank you 😊
I want more strats, lot more strats! I have 3 Americans, 1 Mexi and 1 Squire. I have an original 92 SRV, an American Standard and a 08 Malmsteen. A mexi Fat strat and one of those really cool Squire Stage Masters with a Locking Tremolo (which was scalloped as well). Also have that Harley Benton Hot Rodded Strat with roasted maple neck which is really sweet. I want a classic Vibe 70s Strat, A sire S7, and probably a couple other cool strats.
The Eart sounds like a much more expensive guitar to my (ageing) ears. I can see why you made it no 1. I’m not a guitar snob, I have a Mexican Tele, a Korean Strat & a Classic Vibe 70’s. I was stunned how good the Classic vibe is for the money. I’m lucky to have 3 high end Fenders too, and there’s no doubt that with all the gear available you don’t have to spend megabucks to sound good. Young players starting out take note. It’s in the fingers.
Thanks 😊
The Eart guitar sounds better than a Fender stratocaster custom shop
I Hand Scallop necks
Made a custom bow/ band sander that rides the bench (for consistency)
And sections of umbrella ribs to protect the Frets as I work the neck
Comes out great
Not as severe as the Yingay one
But between that and a Blackmore scallop
Next one will be a Maple
Fender... With its luxury high priced brands the quality control and attention to detail is still up there mostly. But its less expensive brands not so much and can be hit and miss at times. Back in the prehistoric days of the 1950's and 1960's Fender and Gibson were the bomb. But, over the years other manufactuerers like Ibanez, Harley Benton, Eart, Indio, Yamaha and others have caught up to them.
Yes - Like so many things that are sold, sometimes you pay much more for an item if it is a "brand." The "brand" does not always mean the thing whether guitars or sneakers is better quality.
Well, Yamaha and I Ibanez had very good reputation back then as well. Just not with solid body electric guitars, because they didnt make them. Yamaha is long known for its quality in making classical instruments and ibanez made classical guitars. Both are older than Gibson or Fender.
@@daniellarson3068 Yea, they kinda live off of thier name for the most part. .
Could you make a video for stagg ses-30 or perhaps a video for best left handed guitars to buy on budget
Thanks man I have G110 the same colour 😊 It's my 1st one n I can't complain Fixed the bridge tho cuz no using tremolo but it stays in tune much longer 😅
Nice 👍
woow Eart !! every day u discover something new in utube
I could listen to your jam for hours. There will also be a test of cheap Gibson SG imitations?
Thanks! Not sure. There don't seem to be that many options around.
Hi Elmo, Great video as always. Have you had a chance to check out the Sire 3 or do you plan to check it in the future? It seems that it is a great value for the money guitar. I would really liek to hear your comments about that one. Cheers Mate!
Thanks! S3 video coming in a couple of weeks.
@@MrPolevaulter GREAT! I'll be waiting for it. Thanks for doing a great work!
Hi Elmo great review on the strats the Yamaha pacifica seems great I haven’t got a strat at the moment I really like the squire comtemporary which has a roasted maple neck alnico pickups slightly angled different to the normal strat I think they are in the 400euro range what are your thoughts on this maybe you could do a review on this thanks Elmo.
Sorry, a review on what? 400 euro Strats?
I've had the Indio for a couple of years. It has amazingly good pickups for the price. I put a Wilkinson rolled steel bridge with the big block and it really sings. Oh yeah, I forgot the Jin Ho locking tuners and a cts volume pot and it's way better than squires I've played.
Yeah, it's very nice 😊
@@MrPolevaulter I like your channel man ! I think your by far the best guitar player of any of the guitar, gear channels.
@@daviddigital6887 Thank you very much 😊
another good video thanks. What do you recommend in the sg style $300-400 range
Thanks! Don't have enough experience with SG:s. Sorry.
Elmo what do think is the best era of cheap electrics? I remember the new ones were pretty awful in the 90s when I started.
Good alternatives here! Btw, have you tried Jet guitar's moderately priced (read: cheap) stratocaster or telecaster models? I've been looking to buy one, but I would like to hear your opinion first. :)
Jet was going to be my recommendation too. I have one of their Teles and want to try a Jet strat style based on the excellent build of their Tele.
I have one waiting to be reviewed.
love to hear some Jeff Beck chops here, respect.
Led Boots, nice! (On the Yamaha Pacifica.)
:)
I can thoroughly recommend the Jet JS 300 if you can find one. Roasted maple necks and bone nuts. Look great too.
Have one waiting to be reviewed.
@@MrPolevaulter which is the best sub $300 strat alternative you have found so far?
I recently played a G&L buttercream stratocaster: around 500 euros (new), it was very very good!
I've yet to try one of those. On my to-do-list.
@@MrPolevaulter Yes, definitely try one! The full title of the model is: "G&L TRIBUTE LEGACY (STRAT) WHITE SATIN FROST" :-D (in stock @ thomann)
You should try cort G 200 sp and cort G200 idx which is new model with locking tuner.which is quite good
Good video. You gave the Cort quite a ride, but it got you where you wanted to go. Do you own one now?
Nope.
Nice thank you 😊
Thank you too 😊
Which is better the jet js 300 or the Eart strato guitar?
Great video! I believe that Elmo could even make a Donner sound good.
Thanks!
I am lucky in that i have genuine Fender USA Strats and two custom shops to choose from.
But the one thing that bugs me about them are the necks, hence my preference for other S shaped guitars
with far better necks.
Re the Eart, i have their superstrat the E-3S and it is a stunning guitar, i was lucky to buy one when they were
first released, today the price has increased a lot.
If you can find any Eart Strat, don't let the strange mint pickguard put you off, with care they can be replaced.
Yeah, they're really good.
Check also: Vintage v6, Jet 400, Bill Lawrence swampcaster, Harley benton 62 series
Tried the Vintage, it had terrible QC issues, the HB 62 series I'm not a big fan of so far, even though I like HB's in general. The others I haven't tried.
I wonder how the Eart compares with a Sire S3
What Color and series is the ‘Squier?’ In the video thumbnail???
I like how the Cort sounds best.
Bonjour Elmo. Thx for the jobs done. Would you rather pick an eart, a sire or a fender mim? Merci
Eart, based on the ones I've tried.
Merci beaucoup. Take care 🤘🏽
that “earth” strat made you play, haha… it does look like great gitar! cheers
The thing with the Earth was the high frets that needed work. To me that’s discouraging because a new player won’t know about these issues and may cause a person to stop playing. I consider anything that needs work other than the truss rod to be defective. I don’t care how good it sounds after fret work. It’s all about how it sounds out of the box to me.
I have an Indiana strat I got new at a pawn shop for $100 including tax. Still had the plastic film on the pickguard. One of the best guitars I've had. Very hard for it to go out of tune.
Indiana?
Hey Elmo I’m curious to ask… do you have a Marshall yjm100? I also see plexis in the back of a lot of your vids but I’m just curious
No, never been lucky enough to try one of them.
@@MrPolevaulter ahh okay. what plexis do you have? looks like you own a few. I was very fortunate to buying one that was seemed to be the only one available in the U.S for sale. i paid alot for it but i have no regrets!
@@ThrashMetalAJM 1987x is the model
What is the weeping song Elmo plays in 11:25? I know it but can't remember title...
Still Got the Blues.
Hi Elmo I have 3 of the 5 guitars in question the Eart is as good as any thing going at this price I paid like $232 to the door every thing about this guitar is sweet I think that I'm going to put fender tex Mex pickups in it and I think that I will have a guitar that is as good as a higher end MiM
None of these guitars need to apologize for their tone!
Strats have alwayz been my favourite since deep purple with Blackmore.....
I wish I could find a cheap Cort. I've got a handful of other cheap gems in Strat style, but no Cort.
SX makes a solid strat & tele for very little money I would rank them same in quality & performance to aquire classic vibe series for far less money.
My favorite affordable strat is made by Tagima $200 to $300 USD. Smokin guitars.
I tried an SX Strat and really liked it, but it ended up developing such neck issues I won't include it in these videos.
@@MrPolevaulter I must say my SX strat & tele were both bought many years ago both were solid guitars but it's very possible they have declined in build quality or quality of material used since then.
The Tagima TG-530 is definitely my favorite affordable strat, also some of the old Peavey USA predator strats are fantastic 👌
Indio sounds great! T. Late!
What happened to the Sire S3? Didn't make the list at 399?
This is an earlier video.
Hey Elmo I have a question for you. Is it worth buying a fender made in mexico instead of a squier affinity considering these things: I will change the tunning machines on both, the trem system on both, and if I go for the squier I am willing to mod it a lot with pickups, neck adjustments, etc. So I guess my question is : Is the “Canvas” the fender will provide me be worth all that extra money or should I go with the squier with worst wood and quality. Thanks a lot :)
Buy real thing, best resale value if have money. Noone cares your mods when selling it.
I'm not sure. Depends on the individual guitar and buyer. Resale value does come into it, although I'm not sure I'd buy a guitar and care too much about resale value. I'd care more about how good it is for me. The Fender is better.
I know you asked Elmo, but here is my opinion. If you can find a used Mexican strat for 300-400 USD, and you have 300-400 usd to spend, buy it. It’s gonna be noticeably better guitar than the classic vibe series by squier. If your intention is to learn how to do mods yourself, you should very much buy the affinity series strat and mod it to what you want. So when you do go to buy a better quality instrument. You can upgrade that into something even better with confidence.
Obviously we all cannot afford yngwie fury pick ups but wanted to ask you if you think alnico pick ups are any good as i think i might seop for them in a cheapo strat i have ?
I added them to an old Pacifica and they sound great.
What about the yellow scalloped guitar during the intro?
Custom made.
What are some alternatives for small hands?
Something with a shorter scale length.
Hey what about the revamped version of Cort g200?
Haven't tried it
would love to buy one of those and refret to stainless steel 🎸
The Eart already has those if memory serves.
@@MrPolevaulter oh yeah sorry I was referring to that beautiful Indio strat! thanks for another great video mate!
I can't wait till the day that all companies use stainless frets.. It's about time..
Yeah :)
21:12-21:30. Frank Marino/Mahogany Rush "Poppy" ??
Yeah, or thereabouts at least 😀
I thought the SX natural Ash would have been in your choices.
I liked it a lot, but then it developed such neck issues after the review that it won't be featuring in any of these videos.
Cort and Eart👌🏻
😊👍
what about azes or sire s3 ?
Haven't tried the Azes yet. Sire video coming in a couple of weeks, and it would have made this video if I'd gotten it earlier.
where can i by in Europe de indio strat?
Think it's sold out at the moment. I think I bought mine on eBay.
Maybe nice instruments, but I always hated Yamaha playabillity feel.
Strange.
Boy, when you say "cheap" alternatives, your not kidding. Nowadays "cheap" to me is under $500 dollars. Some of the S types in the 5-6 hundred range are great. When you spend less than $400 the QC can be pretty spotty.
ok.. indio looks like 12 inch radius
Good video. First off, and no offense to anyone but I hate basswood bodies...they are cheap crappy pieces of wood and now Fender is trying to pawn it off on the public as a great tone wood! It's not!
$100.00 or so is about right for that INDIO but honestly,
I wouldn't pay more than $50.00 for it.
Secondly, and jumping the track a little,
none of these guitars have any imagination, as all the necks on these guitars are C necks or thinner. No medium C, no Soft V, no Oval C or anything thicker than a C. Disappointing to say the least. Anyway sorry for the tiraid.
IMO, the Eart is a nice piece. I have a 335 style and it plays like a dream. However, all the headstocks on these Eart guitars are just awful and IMO, need to be reimagined.
Lastly, you did not mention FireFly strats ($169.00). IMO, for the ridiculous price of $169.00, the FireFly's are your absolute best entry level budget guitars, sporting Stainless Steel frets, Bone nut, Roasted ash or Roasted mahogany body, Roasted Maple neck, decent looking headstock, alnico 5 pickups and an HSS configuration. what more can you ask for at that price point?
Just my 2 cents worth. Peace.
💪💪🎸🎸
Thanks!
Any strats out there with jumbo frets? they all like like they have fishing wire on em.. yick!
Cort makes good guitars. In the ate 70's I bought a Cortez LP copy and it a great guitar. I played professionally with it for 2 years before I bought a Hamer Sunburst in 1979, I tried to buy a Fender or Gibson but they were just out of my price range. The Hamers were new on the scene and basically a dc lp body with double DiMarzio SD pups, tha tled to me trading the sunbusrt in with some cash for Hamer Standard in 1980. Still have that guitar and have never owned a Gibson. I do own to telecasters. A Deluxe Nashville and an early MIJ butterscotch standard Fender Tele, that guitar needs a bit of work right now. I let my daughter play punk on it for 2 years with her band, she brought it back when she started having issues with it. Obviously she did not learn from me how to maintain a guitar.
Did you have work done on the nuts of the guitars your really yanking on the trem bar and they are not going out of tune.
Nope. I just lubed some of them.
Guitar fetish has some of the slick SL57 strats and some of the Xaviere strats on sale w/ a promo code for 20% off.
Toi Ear vai Eart vaikuttais kiinnostavalta, mistä niitä voi ostaa.😮
Heidän sivultaan netistä, tai sieltä minä ainakin ostin. Ei tullut edes tulleja päälle.
get the strat out
😊
The only guitars of any manufacturer that I love are those made in USA 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🔥🎸🔥 Anything else look weird , sound off . Cheers 😊
Hullu video
😀
If it isnt a fender, it isnt a strat.