Main Street Guitars MEDCBK Double Cut-Away Electric Guitar with 3 Single Coil Pickups

I bought the guitar 3 weeks ago and have used daily since. I intentionally bought it with an eye toward modding it. I've been playing guitar for 2 yrs and had built a kit guitar, so I had some experience with soldering, set up, intonation, etc.- Pickups: I expected the pickups to be on the weak side but not terrible. I was correct and decided to replace them with Fender Vintage Pickups. Sounds really good now.- Weight: the guitar is light and comfortable to wear with a strap.- Playability: It feels like a strat should - ergonomic and comfortable to play.- Body finish: the black finish shows what appear to be light brush marks in the bright light instead of a smooth finish. Not noticeable from a distance, though.- Neck finish: The neck finish is satin (not gloss) and has a very nice feel.- fretbaord & fretwork: The neck was straight and the fretwork didn't require any work. No fret buzz. The action was set very high and had to be lowered - something a beginner can do with an accurate ruler after watching a few youtube videos. The frets can be felt from the side as you slide your hand down the neck but are not sticking out enough to cause a problem.- Tuners: the tuners are cheap, but serviceable. -Strings: the strings it came with were very poor quality; I recommend changing them right away.- Nut: the grooves in the nut are cut horizontally instead of being angled back toward the tuners. This led to some sitar-like vibration sounds from some of the strings at times. I filed the grooves down to create an angle as best I could, and alleviated some of the problem, but I have ordered a new nut to replace it. Filing grooves in a nut is something a beginner probably shouldn't attempt - you can't undo filing it down too far. Replacing the nut might be doable for the do-it-yourselfer after watching a few youtube videos.In sum, if you are buying it as an absolute beginner, you might run into some minor issues, but altogether not a bad guitar to start with. I would expect within 6 months to a year, you'll want a better guitar, and will be looking to mod it or buy a new one. If you are looking for a cheap guitar to mod, it's a fair value for the price. If you are looking for a step up right away, I would pay a little more and get a Squier Bullet or Classic Vibe Strat.

Honestly, I was a little bit surprised to get this guitar at the price I did. Aside from that... 🤔 The guitar actually was very balanced and felt right. The intonation was pretty close and I didn't expect much from the pickups but they were nice and bright, clear, and I had no problems with anything on the pickguard. i.e switch, vol, tone. Sounded fine... The bridge is ok I didn't find anything there either. Now the things I don't like is the softness and flexibility of the neck. If you apply any pressure to it the guitar bends and the notes go out of tune. I tried tightening up the screws but they were already as tight as possible. (Almost) while this is usually a good thing it told me a lot about the construction and materials on the neck. I'm not exactly sure what wood it is, the description says plywood, but OK... Fine in the price range... I know the guitar sells for a lot more like 99.99 plus... And I wasn't expecting a custom shop Strat. 😁👍 But here's the kicker... It says alder body... THAT'S the selling point for me. I already bought a loaded Invader pickguard clone and I have a brand new neck that I just have etc... So I'm not sure what is going to be left of the original guitar (I think the body, and the input jack plate... And bridge... I also have plenty of new tuners to choose. But maybe I will leave them alone if I compare it and they come close to what I have.)The positives outweigh the negatives at least for this guitar. I don't know if QC are slackers or on the ball... But ultimately yes if the price is right this model of a strat clone is definitely right for a starter. I would recommend buying Ernie Ball .009 and replace the strings immediately because you don't want your 1st experience playing electric with the included strings... Otherwise if you treat it like a lady and be gentle with it this guitar should last a few good years. I'm not an expert but I've been around guitars all my life and have cheapos and 💸 monster quality ones... It's all about the playability sometimes and not about what is in it. I think this guitar is fun no matter which way I chop it up and yes I would recommend it for fun, for noobs, and for mods. Thank you Main Street Guitars whoever and wherever you are! My experience is 3 to 4 stars... I'm leaving it at 4 just because I had a great time from purchase (I was eyeing it for a couple of weeks and then the price dropped even more) to now... I am hoping I have a winner with what I have in store with it...👍

Santa brought me one for Christmas. I have always been an acoustic player, and now I'm converting to electric. I like this guitar alot.