Review: Stagg S300

   Today we'll be doing Stagg, a company that makes decent basses. However, they also make not so decent, albeit cheap, guitars. Well, on to the review I say!

Features: I'm reviewing the NS version of the S300 with 21 frets. The body itself is made of solid Alder wood with an intreging walnut printed scratch plate. The wood is semi glossed and looks like a basic Stratocaster copy. The neck is made from Maple with a Rosewood fret board. This guitar is passive featuring three single coil pickups with a five-way selector, two tone dials and one volume dial. It comes with all the allen keys needed for tweeking and a whammy bar as standard. // 8

Sound: This guitar cannot match (in sound quality) high-end guitars but for the price payed it can produce a rich full tone that's very satisfying on the top pickup. However the other pickups can produce abit of white noise also they arn't very good at holding harmonics. With the overdrive setting on it feels flat, heartless and empty, I don't recomend them for metal players but on clean its not too shabby. // 5

Action, Fit & Finish: The factory settings were 'ok'. I needed to readjust the teeth as some of the screws wern't all the same. The pickups were at the correct distance as so they didn't obstruct the strings. The bridge is made of plastic and shouldn't break too easily but I would replace this for peace of mind. The build of the guitar itself is as expected of a beginners guitar, a nice wide fret board with responsive string bending capability, very easy to get used to. However the string tightening ratio is quite high as any small ajustment using the pegs will have a dramatic change in tone on the string so its best to be careful when setting the guitar down. Also the aesthetics such as the tone and volume dials are abit basic but the can be easily pulled off should anyone want to replace them. // 7

Reliability & Durability: I can't judge if this would withstand live playing but the wood quality and tuning pegs are solid. However using the whammy bar will put the strings out of tune but one good feature is that it is a screw-in so it wont 'ping' out in a solo. The lead socket on mine was securly screwed in but it is worth keeping an eye on it as they do have a tendency to come loose. The finish is chunky so I can't imagine it wearing off any time soon but like all things they will wear out eventually. It is a good solid peace of work and should last a long time. // 6

Impression: If you want a cheap guitar, this is one. This is a basic begginer guitar that I would recomend for those who like a rich clean sound however this guitar is cheap so don't exspect the world from it or good overdrive sound. The features I dislike is the slight white noise when left on standby but the pickups need replacing anyway. I also dislike the dials but I also intended to replace these. The aspects I most prefer with this guitar is the sound the top pickup produces and its appearance.

What must be bared in mind is that this is a cheap beginners guitar and it fits that criteria. I am comparing this to other beginners guitars in the £80-£140 price range and I feel it deservers a good 7 as the only serious down side is the sound quality but like I keep repeating it is a cheap guitar. // 7