TE-52 NA Vintage Series : Wow! Really, just wow!

WOW! Seriously, wow!

I read about "heavy", well yes it is a slab of Ash and that has weight, but no more than my Les Paul or similar, and it sits perfectly balanced. I can only presume it would be similar with a strap and standing... the office isnt ready for that spectacle :) (I can see the body is made from 3 pieces of timber).

The ash wood used for the body has a lovely grain - luck of the draw I know, but seriously it is a handsome looking guitar. The finish isn't too orange, just a really nice gloss.

The fit and finish are first rate, no gaps, a snugger fitting neck in to pocket you would hard pressed to find, no wonky bits, just a very well finished instrument.

The neck isn't that chunky at all, less so than a Les Paul or a ES series, and about on par with my 12" radius Strat neck. The satin finish is pleasant on the hand, far nicer than a thick gloss, and the fretboard feels good too. Very slick.

I have no sharp frets, they all appear clean and bright, and no choking on bends. No need for any work at all. Amazingly the strings are all clean and bright, no warble at all... I will change them to 10s though as is my preference.

Yes the action was a bit high when it came out of the box, but 5 mins with a hex key and all is perfect.

Intonation is pretty darn good out of the box, although I will put some compensated brass saddles in just to get things a little more accurate.

The neck is true, and when I put some 10's on I will swap the plastic nut for a bone nut/tusq xl to help tuning stability. I'll no doubt give the truss rod a tweak once it settles with the 10s, but I can see no reason why the action won't remain as good and low as it now is.

The vintage style tuners work really well, not the same standard as the Road Worn 60s ones on my Strat, but seriously they have fine enough adjustment to do the job, smooth in operation and have held tuning so far.

I can't comment on the pickups (Roswell branded), nor the volume and tone pots, as I have no amp at the office, but let's be honest, that is 10 mins with a soldering iron and £15 if the pots/cap needed switching out.

All the chrome is highly polished and looks great... not a corroded screw in sight.

So, to summarise, I am absolutely amazed, this guitar was shipped to me for £115... take off shipping, take off Retailer mark up, take of freight costs from China, etc... ow in the world can they make such a playable and well finished instrument for so very little...? Well I guess that is a question of consumer ethics.

I wasn't expecting a lot, I got an awesome guitar, seriously blown away.

If you want a cheap guitar to leave at the office, if you are buying your first guitar, if you just fancy a bit of fun and fancy taking a punt... do it!

It isn't a £1000 guitar, but I have seen plenty of £300 to £500 guitars that weren't a patch on this.

Wow, just wow!