This is my first purchase from Thomann. I was intrigued by the good reviews and the attractive price. The presence of a humbacker in the bridge was a nice bonus. And so the deal took place. The guitar was delivered perfectly packed and undamaged.
First impressions: Out of the box, as a whole, you can play, but it's better to bring some things to condition.
Neck: The fingerboard was not black, but the color of a dusty brick. Neck, matt varnish (glossy varnish in the photo). Closer to the heel of the bar, the rounding ends too early and you land on a flat board. Not nice. The frets are good, hardly scratched, but the edges can be sanded a little. The neck is perfectly flat, the tuning is excellent in frets. The tuners hold well, tune well, smoothly. The bone is plastic, neat, but the grooves for the strings are a little sloppy and deep. Fitting the neck into the groove of the deck is ideal.
BODY: Painted and polished perfectly. The pickguard is installed precisely, covered with two layers of protective film. I didn’t like the fact that “sharp transitions” were felt on the smooth edges at the ends. But these are trifles.
SOUND: Similar to a Stratocaster, but not with a bridge pickup. This hot pepper "yells" like a victim! ;). The electronics work fine, crisp and smooth. But the noise is a little higher than we would like.
ELECTRONICS: I opened it and understood, I need to work. The wires are too long. Pickups: Neck 5.5k; Mid 5.96k; Bridge 22.5k. And that's bad. At 250K volume, the bridge sounds dull. It is better to connect the coils in parallel and this will be a great solution in 5.86k. I redid it, the result is excellent.
TREMOLO: Like a normal tremolo. ;) With all the flaws, the sharp edges of the screws in the saddles. "Keel" from silumin, steel lever will quickly ruin the thread.
And one more unpleasant moment for me. Having carefully studied the website and compared the two models ST-62 BK and ST-62 Hot Rod, I came to the conclusion that Thomann sent me a hybrid guitar. It is assembled from two: (ST-62ВК) on which a pickguard with pickups from ST-62BK Hot Rod was installed. This is indicated by the color and shape of the neck, the buttons for the belt, the back cover, like the ST-62BK. I lost the desire to buy something here ...
Perhaps that's all. Maybe someone will come in handy. Enjoy the shopping!
