Cheap guitar as a gift.

[SullyB 74]

Hello all,

I received a Korean made Alvarez Strat-style electric from an aquiatance who was moving to the states to attend music school and was trying to lighten his load.  The guitar, as far as I can tell, is made of a laminate material (plywood), has "vintage" style tremelo and tuners and a vrey cheap looking plastic nut.  Still, the guitar is a blessing seeing as I have no other electric guitar.  The damn thing feedsback and I have a feel that the pickups don't even line up properly.  The point of my post is shoudl I bother "hot rodding " this guitar or shoudl I just save up for another.  I liek the idea of buygin a relatively cheap instrument and making better with upgrades.  Has anyone had any experiance with these instruments?

Thanks,
Will 

 

[Strat Avenger]

Might be good to practice on before you build your first real guitar. That way, if you screw something up, no big loss.

 

[SullyB 74]

True enough.  Or, I could just bite the bullet and start saving up for my dream axe: a Warmoth build based on the Fender Nashville Telecaster!  :headbang:

Thanks for the advice, bro.  Sweet guitar, BTW.  I dig the color.  :kewlpics: :kewlpics: 

 

[Corey P.]

I had an Alvarez strat once upon a time from a big box warehouse store - it was my first every electric, and cost something like $70.  It's an accurate enough strat copy, but slightly irregular more or less everywhere.  If I'd known at the time, even the $50-60 to step up to a Squier probably would've been well worth it to have something that could at least be properly intonated.  If you wanted the practice of disassembling and re-assembling a guitar, it'd be great for that, but in terms of "improving" it, there's just too much fundamentally wrong with it to be worth your time or the money, IMO.

 

[Cagey]

Sometimes on less expensive guitars if they use metal pickup covers on unpotted pickups they'll have a tendency to feedback early and often. It's not a good acoustic feedback like a proper rocker might enjoy, but that nasty, uncontrollable high-pitched squeal that makes your skin crawl. Simply removing the covers often remedies or at least reduces that.