SX SST 57 Vintage: Full review

[tremoloman***]

SX SST 57 Review

Pros & Cons

Pro: Neck
This is one fast neck! The neck is absolutely gorgeous and is effortless to play. Action is great right out of the box. With its jumbo frets, frictionless neck, and nice contours, the SX has a very high end vibe to it. The neck alone is worth the price of admission and easily surpasses any Squier or MIM Fender I’ve ever played. The frets were a tad rough so I gave them a quick rub of super fine steel wool cleaning them up to a frictionless shine in minutes.

Pro: Body
The alder body is light, solid, and comfortable. The finish is top notch and should hold up well under abuse. As stated previously in regards to the neck, the body is also a cut above any Squier I’ve owned or played. I validated the 6-screw spacing pattern is identical as Fender’s MIM standard series, giving you the option to upgrading the bridge to a Fender MIM bridge plate and Callaham block in the future if you see fit to do so.

Pro: Pickups
These were the biggest surprise to me. From the moment I plugged the SX SST 57 into my Fender Hot Rod DeVille I become conscious I had stumbled upon something extraordinary. These pickups sound magnificent! Yes - I said magnificent! Playing clean, you have “THE” classic Strat sound in all 5 switch positions. If you close your eyes and just listen to its sound you’ll swear this was an American Strat. With all 3 distortions I tried (DOD Death Metal, Digitech Hot Rod, and built-in overdrive) I was able to generate a wide variety of blues and classic rock tones. This is one economy guitar you do not have to upgrade the pickups on! As with most single coils, they do suffer from typical hum but nothing out of the ordinary.

Pro: Electronics
The volume and tone controls have a nice solid feel and failed to crackle or pop no matter how feverishly I tried to do so. I did not remove the pickguard but I’m assuming they are tiny pots similar to those in a previous SX I owned. The 5-way pickup selector is adequate and on par with a MIM Strat. Until any of these parts cause a fuss they are staying put.

Con: Nut
If you utilize bending or use the tremolo in your playing you will have to replace the nut. It is the weakest link in an otherwise satisfying package. I played the guitar for an hour and was unable to keep it in tune due to the stickiness of the nut. Removing the strings revealed just how poorly the nut had been performing. Every string I slid through its groove stuck like glue! After close to an hour of filing and polishing I came to the conclusion that nothing in the world can save it. I had a spare pre-cut Graph Tech Nut lying around and installed it along with a new set of Elixir .010 strings. Tuning stability and sound were vastly improved for the cost of a $10 nut.

Con: Tuners
As one may suspect, the tuners are crap. The chrome has already begun peeling off of one of knobs and I almost suffered a stab wound while tuning the guitar. These will do the trick for the casual strummer, but if you play the snot out of your axe as I do you may need to replace them. The string trees are the large “T” style and are also a source of string friction. I suggest upgrading the string trees to modern Fender style trees to reduce resistance and will surely assist in improving tuning stability. They only cost $6 for a pair and would be well worth the investment.

Con: Bridge
The bridge is astonishingly durable as is the tremolo arm itself. As setup in stock trim, the guitar has the bridge set flush to the body. If you are a hardtail fan, you’re all set! However, if you use the tremolo as much as I do you will notice the springs rub against the body cavity using minimal force. It can be used as is but you will hear audible spring sounds similar to a squeaky old bed unless you file down the bridge cavity a bit. 10 minutes with a file should correct this minor hindrance. I will be performing this modification shortly and add my results to this review in the near future.

Other notes
The tremolo block appears to be made of zinc similar to pre-2006 MIM Strats but a bit thicker in comparison. I put each block side by side and confirmed the SX block is shorter in length than Fender’s version, thus being the obvious culprit to the spring binding. It’s nothing major but I thought I should mention it. I upgraded my 6 bridge screws to Callaham hardened steel models while I had the bridge off which resulted in improved bridge movement and a slightly thicker tone due to the additional length and mass of the new screws. The new screws slightly poked through the spring cavity but not enough to cause any problems or concerns.

My Overall rating: 9.5 / 10

For the insanely low price of $99.99 @ Rondo's Music, the SX SST 57 is without doubt the deal of the century! The SX provides an equal and arguably higher quality than a Squier yet possesses the true Fender Stratocaster sound. Even left in stock trim the guitar is playable for most people – just don’t plan on using the tremolo or performing big bends unless you plan on addressing the nut and possibly the spring cavity as mentioned above. These minor concerns are the only thing holding back a perfect “10” score.

I plan on purchasing 2 more SST 57’s for practicing and to use as backups for live performances. I’d rather bring two $99 guitars to a gig as backups rather than a $1000 Strat. The SST 57 would also make a great guitar for modders, so put down those Squier ‘51s and give this puppy a try! You could easily utilize the body, neck, or pickups to upgrade another guitar – but once you try the SST 57 and appreciate how tremendous it is on its own merits I’m sure you will opt not to part out this great axe.

Tremoloman
6/28/2006


NOTE:
The new nut solved all the tuning issues so newer string trees aren't really necessary. The binding with the springs also has been resolved by filing for just a couple of minutes.

[Katastrophe]

Awesome review, Tremoloman! It looks like your SX was shipped securely... I've read on other forums where Rondo has gone to a new box on some models, with some of those coming in damaged...

It also looks like, to save money, the company went the cheap route with the tuners, nut and tremolo bridge. But, for $99.00, who can blame 'em? All that stuff is easily replaceable anyway, as long as the body, neck and frets are good.

Thanks for the review!

[Robert****]

Great review! That is making me very interested... I think I need one!

Awesome, Tremoloman, thanks!

[tremoloman***]

Great review! That is making me very interested... I think I need one!

Awesome, Tremoloman, thanks!

Thanks guys... I spent quite a few hours on it today but I wanted it to be as professional looking as possible. I'm hoping it may inspire others to do so on the board. Hopefully this will spur similar reviews in the future here at thefret.net!

I'm eager to hear everyone's replies to my review as well. I'm ordering another one tomorrow for a birthday present. I'm going for the pink one since it's for my friend's daughter. (It's supposed to be pink but I think it looks more like burgandy or Big Red gum).

Rondo's is an awesome place to do business and I highly recommend them!

[SuperSwede]

Amazing review tremolonman! You have set the standard once more, thanks!

Wow, that SX looks like the real deal.
Equal or better build quality than a Squier? Should be a really nice guitar, especially for those who consider getting a cheaper guitar for modifications (such as the home relic window taping )

[kerc]

Excellent review! It sure looks temprting... I wanna know two things: What's the body thickness? And how's the neck profile? I love thick necks...

[tremoloman***]

Excellent review! It sure looks temprting... I wanna know two things: What's the body thickness? And how's the neck profile? I love thick necks...

Thanks for the kind words!

As for your questions, here's the info from Rondomusic
If you click on the URL it will take you directly to the specs.

For those too lazy to click it, here's the 411:

"An amazingly priced electric guitar with all the features you'll need!"

• Easy to play electric guitar, perfect for the beginner or intermediate player
• A great backup guitar for the professional
• Solid Alder body for that great rock-n-roll sound
• Three powerful single coil pickups, one volume and two tone controls, plus a five position pickup selector switch let you create an incredible range of sounds
• Beautiful Maple neck with adjustable truss rod and Rosewood reinforcement for added stability
• Ultra-fast Maple fretboard with 21 jumbo frets
• Vintage fulcrum bridge with six adjustable saddles
• Three-ply pickguard (White, Black, White)
• D’Addario strings are installed at the factory
• Actual weight is only 8.5 lbs
• Overall length is 39" including the strap button
• Scale length is 25.5" Width at the widest point is 13"
• Width of the neck at the nut: 1 5/8"; at the 22st fret: 2 1/8" Body thickness is 1 3/4".

The neck is beefy as you and I both like them, so I don't think you'll be dissappointed.

[SuperSwede]

I checked out a swedish online guitar dealer that has SX guitars, but the list these guitars as SX FST57. It looks like the same guitars, but I wonder if there is any difference on SST and FST or if it is a typo (they have a SX SST/LTD2 so it doesnt seem so)...


*edit* here is a link to the dealer
http://jam.se/elgitar2.htm

[tremoloman***]

I checked out a swedish online guitar dealer that has SX guitars, but the list these guitars as SX FST57. It looks like the same guitars, but I wonder if there is any difference on SST and FST or if it is a typo (they have a SX SST/LTD2 so it doesnt seem so)...

My guess is that it's merely a differnt code based on country of destination. They look identical but charge WAY more money for them than Rondo, even with the exchange rate.

[SuperSwede]

Yeah, about 240 usd for the ´57. But its lower than a standard squier, and if you think that it is built better & sound more like a "real" fender strat then it would still be a good deal here...

[Katastrophe]

Hey, SuperSwede, check out www.sxguitarspain.com . Hopefully, they can at least point you to a cheaper distributor!

[tremoloman***]

Yeah, about 240 usd for the ´57. But its lower than a standard squier, and if you think that it is built better & sound more like a "real" fender strat then it would still be a good deal here...

It may be cheaper to buy from Rondo and have it shipped over. I find sometimes I can buy a Strat cheaper elsewhere even with international shipping. I got a Japanese Jazzmaster that way a few years back.

[SuperSwede]

Thanks for the link Katastrophe..

Trem, I am thinking about that as well. I still havent mailed Rondo about S&H overseas.
99 USD = 729 SEK
Price in sweden = 2500 (340 USD, i made a typo before)
I doubt that shipping should be more than the difference in price (240 USD)

[tremoloman***]

Thanks for the link Katastrophe..

Trem, I am thinking about that as well. I still havent mailed Rondo about S&H overseas.
99 USD = 729 SEK
Price in sweden = 2500 (340 USD, i made a typo before)
I doubt that shipping should be more than the difference in price (240 USD)

It all depends on the shipper and service. I order model kits from Hong Kong now and then and the S&H is $5-$7 from there to the US. When I order the same kit from Japan it costs between $20-$45, so go figure.

It's at least worth looking into. If the SX cost me $240 I'd have been more critical of the spring binding and more so with the nut, but for $99.99 USD its easy to let it slide. $10 more and those problems are cured with a new nut and file.

BTW:
Kurt informed me the SST57 and SST62 are the same exact guitar... the 57 has the maple neck while the 62 has rosewood.

[SuperSwede]

Well, I am interested in it because it seems like a great low cost guitar, and it would be a good guitar to learn DIY stuff on.. Most standard strat parts should work with this model (?) , so I guess you can make this guitar into a really fat strat without going over to MIM-price land. Kurt at Rondo says that s&h would be about 80 USD.

[tremoloman***]

Well, I am interested in it because it seems like a great low cost guitar, and it would be a good guitar to learn DIY stuff on.. Most standard strat parts should work with this model (?) , so I guess you can make this guitar into a really fat strat without going over to MIM-price land. Kurt at Rondo says that s&h would be about 80 USD.

Well, I haven't check myself but I think I remember reading that these bodies were cut just for S/S/S setups. I'll take the pickguard off of mine and add some more pics once I replace the strings.

It is a great deal anyway!

[SuperSwede]

Oh, I dont mean a "Fat Strat©", I mean a fat strat...
So its not necessary for me to have a humbucker cavity. Im looking forward to checking out your pics!

Off topic perhaps: I have also been looking at the Godin SD (Since I LOVE the Radiator neck), have anyone tried one of these? It looks like a great mix of tele/lp/strat but not a copy of either.

[Robert****]

Tremoloman, how does it stay in tune when you set the bridge to float? I think I need to get one of these babies! Costs a lot less than a Fender...

[tremoloman***]

Tremoloman, how does it stay in tune when you set the bridge to float? I think I need to get one of these babies! Costs a lot less than a Fender...

Robert,

It stays in tune very well once the nut was replaced. The factory tuners are cheap feeling but seem to do the trick.

The binding of the springs on the bridge was due largely in part to the factory bridge screws. The SX screws are threaded all the way to the top unlike Fender’s who leave the top ¼” or so solid to allow for smooth movement. The screws caused 75% of the binding I was experiencing. A pack for Fender bridge screws cost $2.49 USD, so anyone who gets an SX might want to consider installing these if they use the whammy bar frequently.

The bridge springs are mostly a minor annoyance once I installed the Fender bridge screws, but I went ahead and filed the cavity. If one replaced the bridge with a MIM or Callaham block, the filing wouldn’t be necessary since those blocks are longer than the stock SX one.

I try to be as objective as possible when I write a review but it is hard to draw the line at times. For $99.99 you can’t expect a top-notch axe, but it’s damn near close for the low cost. If the SX cost $250, then I’d have been much more critical of it. For the current price of a MIM Strat, you can get *4* of these! Talk about crazy!

One a side note, I’ve discovered the pickup covers have very square edges and can be painful if you hammer them while playing hard. I used a tiny file to smooth mine out. I’ve ordered 2 more (1 as a b-day gift, the other as my live Eb backup guitar), so I’ll have more to report once I get the next one delivered.