I can't imagine Fender or any other major guitar maker putting out anything like this Sterling Cutlass. It's really fantastic to see makers like Sterling moving in this direction! VIDEO SECTIONS: 1. Great price...and great specs? - 1:04 2. So what does it sound like? - 4:06 3. One Minute Solo! - 8:10 4. Let's tear it down! - 9:35 5. What is it like to play? - 14:58 5. So...Is it worth buying? - 16:29 Enjoy!
Hey Darrell how ya doin. I know this has nothing to do with your video, but what do you know about Wolf guitars. There made in south Korea but there set up and the frets are done in California. If you can let me know what you might know about them there 449.00 without a hard case n 499.00 with a case. They have alot of custom work on them but I don't know if it's good custom work or the electronics. I hope you can help me cause that's about the max amount I can afford for a decent single cut, if it's a decent guitar. Thank you brother, you n yours be safe, peace.😎✌🌈🐻🐢
For some reason your video won't play for me. The button just turns grey and does not play. I reload it skip time forward all to no avail. Only this video.
Darrell... it's a small thing but something I have noticed, especially recently, is that unlike almost every other YT channel, when you go from voice to playing I don't have to adjust my volume. Usually the guitar is so loud vs the voice volume it's a constant battle... anyway just wanted to say I noticed your mixing! Great review, seriously considering one of these!
I only want to say this. Great Comment. It's one of those "I knew that" things that until someone mentions it? You're like...OMG...You're right!!! I missed it. I think that's great editing on Darrell's Part. I for one really appreciate it!! Thank you for making this point.
Glad to finally hear a real tone test of pickups without pedals. It seems like everyone just wants to strum a couple of chords on the neck and middle pickups and then slam the overdrive on. Great toner test. Thank you!
No doubt some pickups sound best with gain/distortion, but I prefer to hear how they sound clean. There are a million distortion and overdrive pedals out there to custom tailor one's high gain tones to whatever they prefer. But (other than compression or eq perhaps) there is no way that I know of to make a crappy clean pickup sound better.
Its 4 in the night here(Norway) right now, woke up having to pee and saw my notification of your new post. Guess its 04.15 when im going back to bed :)
@@TheWelhaven did you wake up dry :-). At my age I would be dreaming I had woken up to watch the video - suddenly I can play guitar like Darrel and am hitting that Gilmour solo note perfrct ... that gives me a warm feeling ... "oh no ... that was the dream!!"
Sterling is definitely #1 in affordable guitars. I've been rocking my Sterling AX3 for a good 3 years now, and it is such a solid, well built guitar. I went over it with a microscope and found absolutely nothing wrong with it. 250 dollars for something that good is astounding.
I bought this recently because I wanted a Strat like guitar but I hate the 3 knobs and I always upgrade to locking tuners, so it was nice not to have to upgrade the tuners. The guitar is AMAZING! Incredible value! If the made this exact guitar but a Tele I’d be ALL over it as well!!! Buy it! You won’t be disappointed!!!
Great review, as always! Man, I just can't get over the value of these. I'll age myself here, but after 45 years of playing, and buying a lot of guitars, like MIA Fenders, Gibsons, PRS, etc, I just bought my first EBMM about 6 years ago, and then immediately another, and another! I would buy any one of the Sterling guitars now. I didn't feel that way 10-12 yrs ago, but I do now. I think they've really improved the Sterling line - and without any big price increases (yes Fender, I'm talking about you).
Glad to see Sterling's quality control and value for the price point has improved so well. The pickups sound incredible and the fact that it has a roasted maple neck for the price is awesome! Great job as always, Darrel. Cheers from California!
@@ChienandKun ofc they can cross borders, but Indonesia is a highly populated country, so they don't really need foreign labours. And for burma...now i just hope they can stay safe and not to be killed by the military, we literally can't help anything
You convinced me Darrell. I ordered the same one from GC today, It was $550 now. It is coming from a nearby store, and should be here in a couple of days. Can't wait! I have had it for a week now, and I really like it. Sounds and looks great!
This guitar is a good deal when compared with similar manufacturers like fender or other popular quality brands with roasted maple neck. Even the similar Godin is $750 ish. This is a serious contender!
I may have paid a little more for my Godin Radiator than an offshore make but I am supporting a Canadian company that employs Canadian workers and uses Canadian grown wood. 🇨🇦🎸
It just might be the best looking Squier, but one thing is for certain for me: You make it the best sounding ever and like any Strat type is supposed to sound. Totally awesome!
Very honest review and it matches my experience with the Cutlass I purchased in the spring of this year: looks cool, feels really good, plays smoothly, and the thing STAYS IN TUNE. Gigs, rehearsals, rattling along the highway in its case… in tune even with fairly heavy dives on the bridge. Love it!
This is why I love your channel. Whenever I have any guitar questions I end up looking through all the videos that pop up to find yours specifically. Your reviews are in depth and just phenomenal. Love your vids and can definitely see the time and effort you put into each one. Keep it up :)
Great guitar. I I’ve an HSS version in matte black. Added locking tuners because mine is older and didn’t come with them. The bridge is phenomenal. Can float it like Beck and warble like Gillis. It’s feels and responds GREAT.. the pickups are awesome. Incredible clarity absolute a must buy guitar. Light, it sounds great, and it plays great and impeccable quality. .
Just snagged a rose gold ct50 HSS from Long&Mcquade for 499canadian moosebucks. Setup and intonation were spot on outbof the box, and it stays in tune after the strings settled in. So far I am liking the tones, especially the cleans. Like another poster mentioned, these pups are hotter than fenders. Good value guitar if you get it with a big discount.
Good demo, Darrell. I've turned into a minor-league Sterling fan. I have a St. Vincent with 3 mini-humbuckers, and just bought an Albert Lee with a pair of full-sized humbuckers. Both are great values - look good, lots of features, and they sound good, too.
@@benjaminfowler4513 My amateur's view is that they're about the same. Good finish, good fretwork, satin neck. My St. Vincent has locking tuners, but the Albert Lee does not - may change that in the future, but it holds tune just fine at the moment.
Very cool to know the fretwork is good on these things. There is a Lead II for $650, and they actually give you 22 frets. But it seems way cheaper in terms of quality.
Darrell - been watching your channel for a few years. Of all the guitars you’ve owned/reviewed, my favorite is still the seafoam green thinline tele with the split blade pickups. That axe needs to make a comeback on the channel!
I've always liked the 4+2 tuner headstock design. I prefer the clean look of guitars without pick guards, and that have access to all the electronics, including the pickups, from the back instead of the front. Having to loosen or remove the strings seems like a flawed design to me. Thanks
I already have one without the roasted maple neck that I really love, and your video (along with a couple others) helped push me over the edge to get this exact model. The only negative thing I can say about the Sterling Cutlass I already have is that the pickups weren't my style. I changed that and plan on doing the same thing when my new one gets here next week. Otherwise, the build on these is exceptional - for the price. This is one of those guitars that people should know - if they find one at a lower price than 'brand new', go for it. One site had the rose gold version for $150 off because of a blemish. Someone beat me to it. But, I found the one I bought for $100 of reverb. It's not just a great guitar to play, it's perfect to learn how to swap out all the electronics.
I am not into strats, but this one seems to have a very nice modern design and well-equipped for £500. So a very good platform to start changing pickups and electronics and that would be it. 👍🏻
I had to replace the switch as it just was not solid, with a fender switch it works like a champ, but the volume pot is more like a on off switch so I'll replace that with a different taper.
had to replace the pots due to them failing. the shaft was a bit... loose in the verticle. I did use dime sized pots again as that is what I have on hand and the real alpha pot I put in works like a champ. the 3 weakness' of this guitar were the switch and pots.... I'm thinking Music Man could spend an extra 10 bucks a guitar to fix that.. but I'm also guessing most of these are being used lightly... I play mine pretty much daily.
Already one year later this model is discontinued in many shops. I’ll guess people rather buy a Fender (to a lower price). And you can get the top version from Sire a lot cheaper in the same quality
Music Man's Sterling is a great brand. I play a Sterling Silo 20, which is an older version of those new Silhouettes. The Sterling I play has HSH Pickups, two knobs, a 5-way switch and 24 Jumbo frets. It's an amazing guitar, which is comfortable in your hands and sounds pretty good. The only thing it doesn't have is a term bar, but other than that it's probably the best guitar I've played so far. Sterling doesn't feel like a mid-range guitar, which is epic.
@@kainagami I am kind of skeptical because I had a PRS Fredrik Akesson. Love the neck profile. Had to sell it. Later got a American Special, was a humbucker guy... stopped being. Never thought of liking Fender but got hooked. Now have a Les Paul and a Jazzmaster (Mexican made). Amazing neck, amazing playability, but the pickups can get screechy at times. So, got two Fenders, both amazing.
@@duartelucas8129 I see, to me it's just the Strat that doesn't appeal to my taste in guitars. Another thing is that, as I mentioned, for the same price as, for example, a Player series you can get more features on a similar priced guitar from other manufacturers, like Schecter or Cort
In the UK, it's not $500. It's £629 through the UK distributor, which is equivalent to about $890 (£1 = $1.42 at the time of writing). So that changes the landscape more than a little.
800 Australian micro-peso's ... and you dont get the roasted maple neck ... and the exchange rate means it should be 650. We get the rough end of the pineapple downunder!
Company: *sends Darrell a guitar for the review* Darrell: *Rips it apart to let the viewers see build quality for themselves* Few days ago I was chatting with a friend about how great EB guitars are. Now you're posting this video. You have great timing. Thank You!
@@joshuamirabal822 lol omg burn. As I look at my fenders hahaha. It's so true though like how many fenders have you came across with swapped out pickups? Tons!
I picked up the seafoam green one with a maple neck a while back sounded good stock but decided to put a Seymore Duncan STK1 set in, wow sounds even better now , highly recommended guitar, personally better than my USA strat i used to have.
I have the Music Man Cutlass made in California and it looks identical to this Sterling other than mine is a green metallic & tiger striped roasted neck. By far the most comfortable neck carve I have ever felt, bar none ! I also bought the Sterling "Valentine" and was very impressed with how similar the overall quality was to the USA made guitars. Superb guitars ! Both stay in tune and play excellent. You can't go wrong with either of them for sure.
I bought a Sterling and it’s great. Be warned the pickup route in the pickguard does not fit standard pickups. I tried to replace the stock pickups with a Fender Pure Vintage 65 pickup set. I ended up trying to make the pickup holes bigger, broke the pickguard. I had to order a custom pickguard that now fits standard pickups.
And with that knowledge I’ll stick with brands that fit standard fender parts as they are extremely plentiful. Not that this guitar isn’t great, but aftermarket is also a huge selling point for me.
Just ordered a Sterling LK100 Steve Lukather model. Really want that 'V' neck. One of my favorite CZcams guitar teachers (GuitarLessons365) uses a Sterling JP150 (I think) and can make that guitar sound like anything.
Thanks, Darrell. Hats off to your wife. She chose wisely. A tone for every occasion. Even the Glarry with good strings can't compare to this boy. I'm sold!
The single coils are not standard size. Standard single coils will not fit the pickguard without enlarding them. They are very similar to the newer version of the classic vibe pickups that also will not fit standard pickup covers. I found the stock humbucker muddy and replaced it with a SD 59n and a pair of SSL-1 neck and middle i already had. Great combo in the cutlass HSS. That being said with a pickup change, i really like my HSS cutlass. The trem system even on the sterling is really nice and stable. I play it more than my mim fender stratocaster.
Sire are another great mid-range guitar company being built in Indonesia with similar cool features! Locking tuners and roasted maple necks with options for flame maple tops. They are coming out with a T style guitar soon as well!
Good price for the specs, but Harley Benton's Fusion II is at the same price range, and beside similar specs ( roasted maple neck, locking tuners, alnico pickups, spoke wheel adjustment, 2 point stick in tremolo ) also gives Graph Tech nut and 24 stainless steel jumbo frets.
Bought a Sterling JP150 a year or so ago. Got it for around $450 used. I was blown away by the stability. 30+ years of playing and it was my first experience with the world of Music Man. I've been a fool!
@@joshuamirabal822 The only problem is that it`s hard to come by here in austria, so yeah need to do my research to see where I could get one that I like
Great Review Darrell. My favorite low dollar guitar. I mostly use my Silhouette. I have 2 of them but traded my Mexiccan HSS Strat for Sterling Cuslass. I put a trio of Lace Sensor Gold pickups and it is now a really versatile guitar.
I really dig the HSS version with the roasted maple fretboard. I would have preferred a classic Daphne Blue paint job instead of that sparkly light blue finish, but other than that, it literally ticks all the boxes for what I look in a HSS Strat!
They did a daphne blue with maple fingerboard - I have been avoiding buying it for a while - trying to have some will power / restraint. The thing that puts me off is there are less knobs and tuners are not in line. I'll try to keep telling myself that ... way too many guitars BUT I want a Daphne 🍁fingerboard.
Love the headstock with straight string pulls. Neck looks like mahogany at first but baked maple a definite plus. For Alpha pots the pickups sound great. What Fender should have made.
Man this sounds fantastic and I've had GAS lately and didn't necessarily want another Squier or Epiphone. Great specs on this guitar for the price, I daresay specced out more nicely than a Classic Vibe. I'm leaning toward the dropped copper HSS, though. Anyone else get anxiety seeing all the crud stuck to the pickup pole pieces in the closeup?
And the best thing is the volume knob is down outta the way of your strumming hand...thats why I can’t play a strat...my hand always smacks that darn knob...good stuff as always DB!!!!
Hi Darrell - great review and tear-down. Not very often I can say this but I bought the guitar on the strength of this review...and I wasn't disappointed! Thanks...
@@slawastr4619 I think the most striking thing is the quality and carve of the neck - it's a beautiful fit into the hand. I like the dark rosewood slab board.Trem is very nice quality - very stable (although, in fairness, I don't dive-bomb!). My other pleasant surprise was the pickups - I bought intending to change but I won't need too - they are crisp, low-powered with some gentle attack and nice natural compression. It's well finished, light and resonant. I'm in the UK so it was more expensive as a few people have noted but realistically - that's the cost of getting it here and UK taxes. Certainly worth a try...you'll be pleasantly surprised!
I played on yesterday. First off this guitar looks and feels like an expensive guitar. Maybe it's the beautiful roasted maple neck that you typically only see on high end guitars. Once I plugged it in I was shocked but the amount of sustain it has. This guitar had a strat like tone but has it's own voice. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to buy this over guitars four times the price. And that's coming from someone who owns several high end guitars...such as a PRS core 24, CE 24, American professional strat, American telecaster, Gibson Les Paul, etc. I will probably add one of these to my collection...as it sang beautifully to me when I played it... and felt really great too...
Gorgeous guitar, but man I wish I’d seen this video a week ago. After hearing lots of good stuff about the Squire 60s Classic Vibe, I ordered one; will be here today! It is in that same Lake Placid Blue with white accents, which I dearly love. I guess we’ll keep this guitar in mind for a backup, if I don’t like the Squire.
I have the grey one ....I changed the pups and put locking tuners on her(mine us from a few years back but rest of specs are the close to same)- she is PERFECT !!!....that guitar needs a mod if the pickups are not your tone beasts (otherwise they would hold up well)........its a modding special for $499 !!!........I also put a different capacitor on her to widen the tonal spectrum and feel.
Bought one after watching the video. Mine had several high frets that caused some major fret buzz. Otherwise I'm happy with it and will level the frets and keep it. Bought it on sale at GC so am okay with the extra work. Enjoy watching your videos.
Oat in a Boat... just teasing lol. Hey Darrell, I love your channel. I want to thank you for testing out these guitars for us. Every time you've got a new video, I immediately click on it, and then start binge watching your channel! 🎼♥🎸🎶🤘😝🤘🎵
Given the other upgrades on the guitar, it's really surprising they used dime pots and the circuit board switch. Full size Alpha pots and a better switch are inexpensive at factory purchasing and would give it a lot better performance and fit better with the market pricing.
Wow Darrell intonation on that guitar is so much better than my fender squire tele, around the same price and the D cord sounds awesome C & B strings all the way up the neck no waiving or fuss very awesome, sounds like a strat should, and the neck head well the whole neck is the best! Great video I want one wish Money wasn’t so tight here!
I own the limited starry night edition cutlass. One of them that has a matching head stock. RARE AF! Paid 1700 for it almost 3 years ago. Now those starry night music man limited run guitars are worth around 3k. Friggin sick! And yes in a way it's like the best guitar ever. Only 2 things about it are kind of opinion based that folks might not like. Strings are a bit closer together than what one might prefer on a american standard strat. Also the pick ups are fancy noiseless pick ups and some folks prefer a more familiar sound.
It occurs to me that I remember seeing the price tag on a Strat made in America in the mid-60s to be $225. If things cost 10x more now, that would make the price about $2250, which could be. Conversely, that would make this guitar about $50 by comparison in the 60s. I wish I could have bought a guitar like that back then for $50. Back then $50 bought you a Kingston.
Music Man Guitars has the same lineage as Fender Musical Instruments and even G&L Guitars - Leo Fender started all 3 companies. That this guitar looks and sounds the way it does should come as no surprise. It’s a beautiful instrument.
I have the ct30 cutlass. This is major upgrade. Locking tuners, roasted maple neck, alnico pickups, pop in trem arm (I broke mine), and big trem block!!!
I've just ordered my CT50 HSS in Firemist.. it'll be my upstairs guitar while my Strat stays down in my practice room.... (so I can noodle while watching TV in my recliner lol)
The features are nice to be sure but what impressed me most was the workmanship. No high/low/protruding frets and frets were finished up and down. Neck to body pocket was great. Duel action truss rod... nice. I can think of a couple other California guitar companies with overseas factories that crap all over the customer when you look a little closer at their products. Fortunately for those companies, there will always be people who want to pay double or triple and get less for it.
Well I pick one up today at Music Go Round in Elk Grove Ca. It is used. But is in good condition and plays great. Thanks for a good review. I would never have known how this guitar is.
I can't imagine Fender or any other major guitar maker putting out anything like this Sterling Cutlass. It's really fantastic to see makers like Sterling moving in this direction!
VIDEO SECTIONS:
1. Great price...and great specs? - 1:04
2. So what does it sound like? - 4:06
3. One Minute Solo! - 8:10
4. Let's tear it down! - 9:35
5. What is it like to play? - 14:58
5. So...Is it worth buying? - 16:29
Enjoy!
Hey Darrell how ya doin. I know this has nothing to do with your video, but what do you know about Wolf guitars. There made in south Korea but there set up and the frets are done in California. If you can let me know what you might know about them there 449.00 without a hard case n 499.00 with a case. They have alot of custom work on them but I don't know if it's good custom work or the electronics. I hope you can help me cause that's about the max amount I can afford for a decent single cut, if it's a decent guitar. Thank you brother, you n yours be safe, peace.😎✌🌈🐻🐢
Fender hasn’t been a good for awhile now. They started going down hill 6-7 years ago
For some reason your video won't play for me. The button just turns grey and does not play. I reload it skip time forward all to no avail. Only this video.
I own the American Cutlass and the JP6... Sterling is doing a great job.
Darrell please do some more affordable guitars, i have a gretsch g54215 electromatic jet in fb red, is it good ?
Darrell... it's a small thing but something I have noticed, especially recently, is that unlike almost every other YT channel, when you go from voice to playing I don't have to adjust my volume. Usually the guitar is so loud vs the voice volume it's a constant battle... anyway just wanted to say I noticed your mixing! Great review, seriously considering one of these!
I’ve got an older one of these and it had really sharp frets. They’re cheap but there are better finished guitars in the same price range
@Raphet Kchotto oops I replied to the wrong comment.
Damn right Marb, it's so brutal most times.
I only want to say this. Great Comment. It's one of those "I knew that" things that until someone mentions it? You're like...OMG...You're right!!! I missed it. I think that's great editing on Darrell's Part. I for one really appreciate it!! Thank you for making this point.
Darrell is literally rhe only guitar reviewer I ever watch at this point. His focus on quality is incredible.
Glad to finally hear a real tone test of pickups without pedals. It seems like everyone just wants to strum a couple of chords on the neck and middle pickups and then slam the overdrive on. Great toner test. Thank you!
Depends on the player. Like expecting a metal channel to play blues..... 😂
No doubt some pickups sound best with gain/distortion, but I prefer to hear how they sound clean. There are a million distortion and overdrive pedals out there to custom tailor one's high gain tones to whatever they prefer. But (other than compression or eq perhaps) there is no way that I know of to make a crappy clean pickup sound better.
No pedals😂
Its 4 in the night here(Norway) right now, woke up having to pee and saw my notification of your new post.
Guess its 04.15 when im going back to bed :)
Hahah
Now it’s 0630 here in Norway, and both my kids are up 😎👍🎸
@@TheWelhaven did you wake up dry :-). At my age I would be dreaming I had woken up to watch the video - suddenly I can play guitar like Darrel and am hitting that Gilmour solo note perfrct ... that gives me a warm feeling ...
"oh no ... that was the dream!!"
Waking up in the middle of the night to take a leak is usually not a good sign. You should check your prostate.
@@milankotevski1663 better than peeing the bed🤣
Sterling is definitely #1 in affordable guitars. I've been rocking my Sterling AX3 for a good 3 years now, and it is such a solid, well built guitar. I went over it with a microscope and found absolutely nothing wrong with it. 250 dollars for something that good is astounding.
I bought this recently because I wanted a Strat like guitar but I hate the 3 knobs and I always upgrade to locking tuners, so it was nice not to have to upgrade the tuners. The guitar is AMAZING! Incredible value! If the made this exact guitar but a Tele I’d be ALL over it as well!!! Buy it! You won’t be disappointed!!!
Great review, as always!
Man, I just can't get over the value of these. I'll age myself here, but after 45 years of playing, and buying a lot of guitars, like MIA Fenders, Gibsons, PRS, etc, I just bought my first EBMM about 6 years ago, and then immediately another, and another!
I would buy any one of the Sterling guitars now. I didn't feel that way 10-12 yrs ago, but I do now. I think they've really improved the Sterling line - and without any big price increases (yes Fender, I'm talking about you).
The Cutless has been on my guitar bucket list for years! Thanks for doing this vid! Blessings bro!
I've had the Asat Telecaster for years and it's an amazing guitar
Anything Fender had a hand on is good
I'm a bass guy, but love your channel.
You literally break a guitar down and help the player make an intelligent choice.
DB is a classy, thoughtful and talented reviewer, no doubt.
Bass is easy step it up man
@@Wxterslide I've played guitar before, THAT was easy to me.
@@thebionicbassplayer then play serrana..
Glad to see Sterling's quality control and value for the price point has improved so well. The pickups sound incredible and the fact that it has a roasted maple neck for the price is awesome! Great job as always, Darrel. Cheers from California!
The quality of guitars coming out of Indonesia is really high.
I agree. This is nothing new though I have some old Indonesian made guitars and Korean that are absolutely incredible for what they are.
@@ChienandKun um... Burma is another country, not in Indonesia
@@ChienandKun Indonesian local works there. Mostly rural people
@@kl6711 Burma may be Mayanmar now.
@@ChienandKun ofc they can cross borders, but Indonesia is a highly populated country, so they don't really need foreign labours. And for burma...now i just hope they can stay safe and not to be killed by the military, we literally can't help anything
You convinced me Darrell. I ordered the same one from GC today, It was $550 now. It is coming from a nearby store, and should be here in a couple of days. Can't wait!
I have had it for a week now, and I really like it. Sounds and looks great!
Whats your experience with it, now that you had a couple of months with it?
are you still playing it?
This guitar is a good deal when compared with similar manufacturers like fender or other popular quality brands with roasted maple neck. Even the similar Godin is $750 ish. This is a serious contender!
It’s because they’re made in underpaying factories, the labor is cheap.
@@aaron4757 so is everything else in this price range.
@@jacobseal yup
I may have paid a little more for my Godin Radiator than an offshore make but I am supporting a Canadian company that employs Canadian workers and uses Canadian grown wood. 🇨🇦🎸
@@dabsafe Agree! We should all support 'local' as much as we can! And Godin's are fantastic guitars!
That 1 minute solo playing was amazing
He is a good player. Definitely has his own unique style too.
It just might be the best looking Squier, but one thing is for certain for me: You make it the best sounding ever and like any Strat type is supposed to sound. Totally awesome!
Considering it is not a Squier yeah ;P
Squier??
Very honest review and it matches my experience with the Cutlass I purchased in the spring of this year: looks cool, feels really good, plays smoothly, and the thing STAYS IN TUNE. Gigs, rehearsals, rattling along the highway in its case… in tune even with fairly heavy dives on the bridge. Love it!
This is why I love your channel. Whenever I have any guitar questions I end up looking through all the videos that pop up to find yours specifically. Your reviews are in depth and just phenomenal. Love your vids and can definitely see the time and effort you put into each one. Keep it up :)
Me too lol
The distortion tone is to die for❤,Beautiful guitar
Great guitar. I I’ve an HSS version in matte black. Added locking tuners because mine is older and didn’t come with them. The bridge is phenomenal. Can float it like Beck and warble like Gillis. It’s feels and responds GREAT.. the pickups are awesome. Incredible clarity absolute a must buy guitar. Light, it sounds great, and it plays great and impeccable quality. .
Just snagged a rose gold ct50 HSS from Long&Mcquade for 499canadian moosebucks. Setup and intonation were spot on outbof the box, and it stays in tune after the strings settled in. So far I am liking the tones, especially the cleans. Like another poster mentioned, these pups are hotter than fenders. Good value guitar if you get it with a big discount.
still playing it?
jeez, this guitar is unreal for that price. 6 minutes in and I'm sold.
Good demo, Darrell. I've turned into a minor-league Sterling fan. I have a St. Vincent with 3 mini-humbuckers, and just bought an Albert Lee with a pair of full-sized humbuckers. Both are great values - look good, lots of features, and they sound good, too.
Which one do you think is better quality or are they about the same?
@@benjaminfowler4513 My amateur's view is that they're about the same. Good finish, good fretwork, satin neck. My St. Vincent has locking tuners, but the Albert Lee does not - may change that in the future, but it holds tune just fine at the moment.
@@rayschoch5882 I appreciate it
Very cool to know the fretwork is good on these things. There is a Lead II for $650, and they actually give you 22 frets. But it seems way cheaper in terms of quality.
Sterling is actually a separate company to which EBMM licenses its designs. An EBMM customer service rep told me this.
I've owned a few of the Sterling John Petrucci models, and they're all phenomenal instruments. Don't sleep on Sterling, definitely.
Darrell - been watching your channel for a few years. Of all the guitars you’ve owned/reviewed, my favorite is still the seafoam green thinline tele with the split blade pickups. That axe needs to make a comeback on the channel!
I’ve had the HSS model for a month now. Love it. Tone is far better than expected.
I agree, this headstock design rules for tuning stability. Seagull did it pretty well, PRS almost got it.
I've always liked the 4+2 tuner headstock design. I prefer the clean look of guitars without pick guards, and that have access to all the electronics, including the pickups, from the back instead of the front. Having to loosen or remove the strings seems like a flawed design to me. Thanks
This. Pickguards are not even necessary at this point. Everytime i see a guitar with one I say nope and move on.
@@jeekyboi9564 Yeah. They make everything hard to work on, and look so dated.
Even though some guitars look nice with a guard, I get what you're saying.
I personally love the look of the pick guard
I already have one without the roasted maple neck that I really love, and your video (along with a couple others) helped push me over the edge to get this exact model. The only negative thing I can say about the Sterling Cutlass I already have is that the pickups weren't my style. I changed that and plan on doing the same thing when my new one gets here next week. Otherwise, the build on these is exceptional - for the price. This is one of those guitars that people should know - if they find one at a lower price than 'brand new', go for it. One site had the rose gold version for $150 off because of a blemish. Someone beat me to it. But, I found the one I bought for $100 of reverb. It's not just a great guitar to play, it's perfect to learn how to swap out all the electronics.
The previous version is still available for $300. No locking tuners or roasted neck, but all other features are the same. Great little guitar.
The CT30s are $349.99 (at SW) and CT50s are 549.99 in 2023
Being a finger picker, I'll never be like Jeff Beck but I adore his attack, decay & stretch of his magnificence.
Jeff is my hero, I play guitar because of him.. and Eddie
@@Xaion6 Me too. Jimi & Eric, John & Al...every new innovator brings new light. Just go back to olympic skating: from the single to the quad.
That's how generous Darrell is. If he loves the guitar he will give it away to his friends or to subscribers! Love it!
I am not into strats, but this one seems to have a very nice modern design and well-equipped for £500. So a very good platform to start changing pickups and electronics and that would be it. 👍🏻
Purchased one.... floated the trem. no matter what I do I cannot knock it out of tune. LOVE this guitar.
I had to replace the switch as it just was not solid, with a fender switch it works like a champ, but the volume pot is more like a on off switch so I'll replace that with a different taper.
had to replace the pots due to them failing. the shaft was a bit... loose in the verticle. I did use dime sized pots again as that is what I have on hand and the real alpha pot I put in works like a champ.
the 3 weakness' of this guitar were the switch and pots.... I'm thinking Music Man could spend an extra 10 bucks a guitar to fix that.. but I'm also guessing most of these are being used lightly... I play mine pretty much daily.
Already one year later this model is discontinued in many shops. I’ll guess people rather buy a Fender (to a lower price). And you can get the top version from Sire a lot cheaper in the same quality
I'm drooling over one of these and more importantly, the Mariposa...
the mariposa has a really unique design!
Music Man's Sterling is a great brand. I play a Sterling Silo 20, which is an older version of those new Silhouettes. The Sterling I play has HSH Pickups, two knobs, a 5-way switch and 24 Jumbo frets. It's an amazing guitar, which is comfortable in your hands and sounds pretty good. The only thing it doesn't have is a term bar, but other than that it's probably the best guitar I've played so far. Sterling doesn't feel like a mid-range guitar, which is epic.
Brother Darrell thank you I think I like That Music Man better then a Fender for Mid range guitar .
What is for you a mid range fender guitar that is similar but not as good.
Everything can be better than a Fender Strat at the same price range :p
@@kainagami I am kind of skeptical because I had a PRS Fredrik Akesson. Love the neck profile. Had to sell it. Later got a American Special, was a humbucker guy... stopped being. Never thought of liking Fender but got hooked. Now have a Les Paul and a Jazzmaster (Mexican made). Amazing neck, amazing playability, but the pickups can get screechy at times. So, got two Fenders, both amazing.
They also offer a HSS version
@@duartelucas8129 I see, to me it's just the Strat that doesn't appeal to my taste in guitars. Another thing is that, as I mentioned, for the same price as, for example, a Player series you can get more features on a similar priced guitar from other manufacturers, like Schecter or Cort
It sounds beautiful. That clean tone is perfect
I'm so glad you posted this. I just added one to my "list" and I you have no idea how big the smile you put on my face is. Thank you.
In the UK, it's not $500. It's £629 through the UK distributor, which is equivalent to about $890 (£1 = $1.42 at the time of writing). So that changes the landscape more than a little.
800 Australian micro-peso's ... and you dont get the roasted maple neck ... and the exchange rate means it should be 650. We get the rough end of the pineapple downunder!
Company: *sends Darrell a guitar for the review*
Darrell: *Rips it apart to let the viewers see build quality for themselves*
Few days ago I was chatting with a friend about how great EB guitars are. Now you're posting this video. You have great timing. Thank You!
This guitar is simply one of the cleanest and smooth looking I have ever seen! Amazing man
And it’s more Fender than Fender
No it isnt
@@MrRwk314 you’re right unlike a Fender, the MusicMan sounds good out of the box
@@joshuamirabal822 lol
@@joshuamirabal822 lol omg burn. As I look at my fenders hahaha. It's so true though like how many fenders have you came across with swapped out pickups? Tons!
I picked up the seafoam green one with a maple neck a while back sounded good stock but decided to put a Seymore Duncan STK1 set in, wow sounds even better now , highly recommended guitar, personally better than my USA strat i used to have.
Hi, Could I ask where did you buy the STK1 pickups from?
What difference did you find?
I might do the same. Thankyou
@@rajeshgumber363 it was Thomann, they seem to be hard to get when i was looking for them
Great pickups though
@@briantomkinson7134 Thankyou for letting me know Brian, cheers.
Great demo. Finally... someone who has a professional feel.
I have the Music Man Cutlass made in California and it looks identical to this Sterling other than mine is a green metallic & tiger striped roasted neck. By far the most comfortable neck carve I have ever felt, bar none ! I also bought the Sterling "Valentine" and was very impressed with how similar the overall quality was to the USA made guitars. Superb guitars ! Both stay in tune and play excellent. You can't go wrong with either of them for sure.
I bought a Sterling and it’s great. Be warned the pickup route in the pickguard does not fit standard pickups. I tried to replace the stock pickups with a Fender Pure Vintage 65 pickup set. I ended up trying to make the pickup holes bigger, broke the pickguard. I had to order a custom pickguard that now fits standard pickups.
Maple
Roasted Maple
And with that knowledge I’ll stick with brands that fit standard fender parts as they are extremely plentiful. Not that this guitar isn’t great, but aftermarket is also a huge selling point for me.
Where did you order the custom pickguard from?
good review ... but wish you would add neck depth dimensions @ 1st and 12th frets. Easy to do, rarely listed, and very useful. Thx for considering.
Just ordered a Sterling LK100 Steve Lukather model. Really want that 'V' neck. One of my favorite CZcams guitar teachers (GuitarLessons365) uses a Sterling JP150 (I think) and can make that guitar sound like anything.
Carl literally sounds like the records
Thanks, Darrell. Hats off to your wife. She chose wisely. A tone for every occasion. Even the Glarry with good strings can't compare to this boy. I'm sold!
The single coils are not standard size. Standard single coils will not fit the pickguard without enlarding them. They are very similar to the newer version of the classic vibe pickups that also will not fit standard pickup covers. I found the stock humbucker muddy and replaced it with a SD 59n and a pair of SSL-1 neck and middle i already had. Great combo in the cutlass HSS.
That being said with a pickup change, i really like my HSS cutlass. The trem system even on the sterling is really nice and stable. I play it more than my mim fender stratocaster.
Sire are another great mid-range guitar company being built in Indonesia with similar cool features! Locking tuners and roasted maple necks with options for flame maple tops. They are coming out with a T style guitar soon as well!
Good price for the specs, but Harley Benton's Fusion II is at the same price range, and beside similar specs ( roasted maple neck, locking tuners, alnico pickups, spoke wheel adjustment, 2 point stick in tremolo ) also gives Graph Tech nut and 24 stainless steel jumbo frets.
I'm the biggest proponent of Classic Vibes. The BEST guitars you can buy.
THIS is new to me, I thought Music Man we're 2,000$+.
Bought a Sterling JP150 a year or so ago. Got it for around $450 used. I was blown away by the stability. 30+ years of playing and it was my first experience with the world of Music Man. I've been a fool!
Perfect timing!, was just looking into strats the last few days and couldn`t decide if I should get a music man or a fender!
MusicMan! Fender is too expensive and mediocre
@@joshuamirabal822 The only problem is that it`s hard to come by here in austria, so yeah need to do my research to see where I could get one that I like
@@joshuamirabal822 I agree. Can say the same about a sterling lol. Rather grab a G&L
@@beefnacos6258 I love G&L
@Rahul Mondal well charvel is more expensive than fender.
The Mariposa is only $50 more and I'd love to see you demo and review that one.
if i didn't just spend a thousand bucks on building my own guitar, i would definitely check this out
I had a Music Man cutlass, and ultimately sold it as i had too many expensive guitars. This seems like a perfect replacement!
PLEASE make a video comparing this to the g&l legacy tribute!
Great Review Darrell. My favorite low dollar guitar. I mostly use my Silhouette. I have 2 of them but traded my Mexiccan HSS Strat for Sterling Cuslass. I put a trio of Lace Sensor Gold pickups and it is now a really versatile guitar.
I really dig the HSS version with the roasted maple fretboard. I would have preferred a classic Daphne Blue paint job instead of that sparkly light blue finish, but other than that, it literally ticks all the boxes for what I look in a HSS Strat!
I wish the cream white one came as a SSS instead of the HSS. At this price point, I can't afford to be picky.
They did a daphne blue with maple fingerboard - I have been avoiding buying it for a while - trying to have some will power / restraint.
The thing that puts me off is there are less knobs and tuners are not in line. I'll try to keep telling myself that ... way too many guitars BUT I want a Daphne 🍁fingerboard.
Love the headstock with straight string pulls. Neck looks like mahogany at first but baked maple a definite plus. For Alpha pots the pickups sound great. What Fender should have made.
Man this sounds fantastic and I've had GAS lately and didn't necessarily want another Squier or Epiphone. Great specs on this guitar for the price, I daresay specced out more nicely than a Classic Vibe. I'm leaning toward the dropped copper HSS, though.
Anyone else get anxiety seeing all the crud stuck to the pickup pole pieces in the closeup?
I own 3 Sterling guitars and find that at all price points they blow away the competition.
And the best thing is the volume knob is down outta the way of your strumming hand...thats why I can’t play a strat...my hand always smacks that darn knob...good stuff as always DB!!!!
Popular is fairly cheap and I believe its a soft textured hardwood. Its more dense than Basswood and not quite as dense as White Birch.
Hi Darrell - great review and tear-down. Not very often I can say this but I bought the guitar on the strength of this review...and I wasn't disappointed! Thanks...
Hi. Please share your opinion about the guitar
@@slawastr4619 I think the most striking thing is the quality and carve of the neck - it's a beautiful fit into the hand. I like the dark rosewood slab board.Trem is very nice quality - very stable (although, in fairness, I don't dive-bomb!). My other pleasant surprise was the pickups - I bought intending to change but I won't need too - they are crisp, low-powered with some gentle attack and nice natural compression. It's well finished, light and resonant. I'm in the UK so it was more expensive as a few people have noted but realistically - that's the cost of getting it here and UK taxes. Certainly worth a try...you'll be pleasantly surprised!
@@jonisaacs6967 Thank you very much!
I played on yesterday. First off this guitar looks and feels like an expensive guitar. Maybe it's the beautiful roasted maple neck that you typically only see on high end guitars. Once I plugged it in I was shocked but the amount of sustain it has. This guitar had a strat like tone but has it's own voice. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to buy this over guitars four times the price. And that's coming from someone who owns several high end guitars...such as a PRS core 24, CE 24, American professional strat, American telecaster, Gibson Les Paul, etc. I will probably add one of these to my collection...as it sang beautifully to me when I played it... and felt really great too...
Beautiful guitar, amazing features and quality, looks like to me you can't go wrong. And it sounds great. Love your channel!
Gorgeous guitar, but man I wish I’d seen this video a week ago. After hearing lots of good stuff about the Squire 60s Classic Vibe, I ordered one; will be here today! It is in that same Lake Placid Blue with white accents, which I dearly love. I guess we’ll keep this guitar in mind for a backup, if I don’t like the Squire.
Tone is there - features are there - MM design always made great sense. Yeah. I'd say it's worth 500 bucks.
"What the pots are" gave away the Canadian :)
I have the grey one ....I changed the pups and put locking tuners on her(mine us from a few years back but rest of specs are the close to same)- she is PERFECT !!!....that guitar needs a mod if the pickups are not your tone beasts (otherwise they would hold up well)........its a modding special for $499 !!!........I also put a different capacitor on her to widen the tonal spectrum and feel.
This guitar + a Line 6 HX Effects is all I need for my Layne ❤
Really been enjoying the channel! Thanks for the reviews!!
I have a Few Sterling "Silhouttes, a Sterling Axis, An OLP Silhouette, and an OLP Double Neck 6-12....Love Them All
Thanks so much, for offering alternatives to the major's. As a teen, I remember thinking guitars will be cheaper when I'm older, wrong!
check out the cort g300. another insanely spec’d guitar for 800. insane value
Bought one after watching the video. Mine had several high frets that caused some major fret buzz. Otherwise I'm happy with it and will level the frets and keep it. Bought it on sale at GC so am okay with the extra work. Enjoy watching your videos.
Oat in a Boat... just teasing lol. Hey Darrell, I love your channel. I want to thank you for testing out these guitars for us. Every time you've got a new video, I immediately click on it, and then start binge watching your channel! 🎼♥🎸🎶🤘😝🤘🎵
Given the other upgrades on the guitar, it's really surprising they used dime pots and the circuit board switch. Full size Alpha pots and a better switch are inexpensive at factory purchasing and would give it a lot better performance and fit better with the market pricing.
Wow Darrell intonation on that guitar is so much better than my fender squire tele, around the same price and the D cord sounds awesome C & B strings all the way up the neck no waiving or fuss very awesome, sounds like a strat should, and the neck head well the whole neck is the best! Great video I want one wish Money wasn’t so tight here!
I own the limited starry night edition cutlass. One of them that has a matching head stock. RARE AF! Paid 1700 for it almost 3 years ago. Now those starry night music man limited run guitars are worth around 3k. Friggin sick!
And yes in a way it's like the best guitar ever. Only 2 things about it are kind of opinion based that folks might not like. Strings are a bit closer together than what one might prefer on a american standard strat. Also the pick ups are fancy noiseless pick ups and some folks prefer a more familiar sound.
Great playing! It sounds like a Telecaster and a Stratocaster had a child in loving wedlock; raised him right and he came out perfect... no, Sterling!
Mike Einziger actually plays the music man's now and that dude never changes equipment. Now I want to buy an HSS version of this!
Position 3 6:00, Red Hot Chili Peppers and 311 vibes. Gorgeous.
Great show on this guitar brother Darrell
You’re such a positive cat. Refreshing..
This is what happens when the CEO of Ernie Ball and the CEO of Fender meet.
Leo Fender designed the Cutlass and the Stratocaster. You’re not totally wrong
It occurs to me that I remember seeing the price tag on a Strat made in America in the mid-60s to be $225. If things cost 10x more now, that would make the price about $2250, which could be. Conversely, that would make this guitar about $50 by comparison in the 60s. I wish I could have bought a guitar like that back then for $50. Back then $50 bought you a Kingston.
Wonderful looking guitar and the playing isn't bad either my friend
I have the c30 and after a setup it never goes out of tune, and i use the trem a lot, and these pickups are much hotter than any Fender strat.
Music Man Guitars has the same lineage as Fender Musical Instruments and even G&L Guitars - Leo Fender started all 3 companies. That this guitar looks and sounds the way it does should come as no surprise. It’s a beautiful instrument.
I have the ct30 cutlass. This is major upgrade. Locking tuners, roasted maple neck, alnico pickups, pop in trem arm (I broke mine), and big trem block!!!
I've just ordered my CT50 HSS in Firemist.. it'll be my upstairs guitar while my Strat stays down in my practice room.... (so I can noodle while watching TV in my recliner lol)
The features are nice to be sure but what impressed me most was the workmanship. No high/low/protruding frets and frets were finished up and down. Neck to body pocket was great. Duel action truss rod... nice. I can think of a couple other California guitar companies with overseas factories that crap all over the customer when you look a little closer at their products. Fortunately for those companies, there will always be people who want to pay double or triple and get less for it.
I own 2 of the Music Man HSS American versions and they're INCREDIBLE. One of them is the stealth model.
Record A "BLIND TEST" with a cheap as hell Amazon Strat vs Expensive American Strat and a Mexico Strat With NO CHANGES IN YOUR DAW, AMP, OR EQ !!!!
And play them out of the box...no pro set up, just like a beginner would.
Blind Taste Test! "It's the only way to be sure".
I don't know why but I love the Albert Lee! Sterling only has the humbucker style but with strat style cooler than the strat!
Well I pick one up today at Music Go Round in Elk Grove Ca. It is used. But is in good condition and plays great. Thanks for a good review. I would never have known how this guitar is.