Neck-Through STRATS With A BOLT ON PRICE! (my favorite classic strat style guitar...) 

I'd been searching for a Fernandes MA-55 (Matsumou MIJ--late '70s)...but they're scarce and pricey (especially factoring-in needed upgrades). I then searched "S-style Guitar, neck-through, no pickguard"...and Yr. Vid was @ the top of the list! In short, this AIO S2 is a "reboot" of that MA-55 with ALL of the needed upgrades INCLUDED...for about 1/3rd the price!! Talk about a NO BRAINER!! Mine is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Thanks for the "Lead"!! 😄

Wow. Beautiful guitar. Best Christmas ever. I got my Grandson his first guitar. I showed him many guitars Strats, Single cuts, and SG style. He chose a black HSS Squire Strat Pack because it had everything in the pack. He has taken his first step on a lifelong journey. He is a subscriber to your channel Max. We talk about the guitars after every episode. Thanks for the information.

It’s funny how despite watching you for a while now it’s still so refreshing you stick with the Fender GTX. Solid state, digital effects, combo…. And you are usually on sub $500 guitars and you sound amazing.

South Korea is a hotbed of great luthiers. So great to see another fantastic product come out of that region.

One other quick fun fact. Laminate guitar necks are very strong and very stable. Given that, I’m thinking you’d see less neck movement which means less need for seasonal adjustments.

Dude I bought that EART 335 you had on here a couple weeks ago and WOW…came great out of the box, changed strings and it’s perfect, thing rings like a bell, appreciate it

Max, once again you prove you’re a man of the people! You’re doing a great service for the guitar community and helping it grow by turning people on to great, affordable guitars! We appreciate you, man!! Some nice licks in this video, too, but no surprise there!

They didn't forget us lefties. 6 different models 😈🎸👍

Beautiful instrument! What I like a lot about AIO guitars is that almost every model has a left handed version. You don’t see that very often. Being a left handed player myself, it gives me a lot of options which is usually not the case. New Year’s resolution: to release at least 3 singles in 2023. Keep up the great job, Max! Your channel is very informative and entertaining.

I’ve been watching you for couple year now love your work at present I’m working on the sweep picking and being more melodic and combining major and minor scales together you are a true inspiration to me at 63 you’re giving me a new appreciation for shed can’t wait for the new music thanks Max keep up the great work

WOW! Great demo. These AIO's with the neck-thru-body remind me of the Westone, Aria, Washburn guitars and basses from the late 1970's and early 80's that I once owned and sold like a moron.

This model reminds me of the Aria Pro II RS- and TS-Series from the late 70s and 80s. Thanks for this vid, John

The one with the dark walnut top is my favorite. Great Review Max! My 2023 Goals are to learn to play my first guitar - it's a beautiful strat style, and to savor the goodness in every waking moment. Happy Shiny New Year Max! ❤️‍🔥💥❤️‍🔥💥❤️‍🔥💥❤️‍🔥💥❤️‍🔥💥

I'm a big fan of the Inyen Vina company that makes AIO, Wolf and IYV guitars. Great quality, for not a lot of money.

Beautiful guitar and some great bluesy playing! Thanks for the review.

Awesome Max. AIO is listening to their customers. Great stuff coming out.

I purchased one of these (HSS) last week, a few days after I originally saw this video. This guitar is 40 years in the making for me. When I was a teen, my friend had a "The Paul" Les Paul. I absolutely loved he walnut and of course the typical set neck. I've always been a natural wood guitar finish lover and have always wanted a set neck Strat. A few manufacturers made similar guitars, but not like this. With this review I bought one and will receive my purchase some time mid-week. If it's as good as this review is, I'm sure I'll be very happy! 😁

Can I trust AIO quality? I bought an Eart Strat and a couple of Firefly's based on some of your exciting reviews. Unfortunately, all 3 guitars I received had problems with unlevel frets, very poor electronics, issues with nut cuts, and issues with their cheap bridges. The best quality budget guitar I've experienced recently is the Cort G290 Fat II. Everything on it is of very good quality. It sounds great, feels great, and looks great.

Looking on their website, I see the customer reviews are not the best. The most common complaints are "dull sounding pickups" and finish defects. I'd say a person should buy one of these from a dealer, but there are no dealers. As great as it looks, I'm hesitant. Consider a Sire S7 which is not as stellar looking, but is known for excellent quality and pickup sound.

love it that this guy said “consider subscribing” instead of a tired and annoying imperative x

2023 at 53 years old today (thats right its my Birthday woop woop) I am making it a huge goal to go to the gallop guitar school(luthier to tech) a couple hours away here in Michigan! almost 10 years ago in a motorcycle accident I was unable to go back to the career I loved and Life is passing quickly. Thanks as always Max and Happy New year. always enjoy your videos

I love the AX. Thanks for not playing only metal; your intro demo was well played.

Amazing guitar for under 1,000...F--king amazing for under 600!!!!!!! And, it is made in the USA in CA!?! Priceless. I have never even heard of them before. THANK YOU!

Great looking instrument and neck through too. Sounds are wonderful. A little fuller than traditional strays. Thanks and happy 2023!

The body on that is a dead ringer for a Westone Thunder, which were also great guitars, still play mine regular, 42 years old now and still awesome

I look forward to all of your videos, Max. In 2023. My big goal is to release a lot more music. I want to spend less time looking at gear videos and more time putting out great tracks lol.

Nice! I like it. I'd like to get back to making videos again. The last few years have been rough, health wise, but things seem to be looking up. In the meantime, I've just been working on building my home studio here and there. So hopefully I'll be back to it soon.

I have both versions of the TC1 (SS & SH); they're both keepers. AIOG has become my first stop when my GAS acts up, which seems to be multiple times a year. Yeah, I know. it's a sickness--but damn, it sure is fun.

Wow!, I received the S2-SSH yesterday and once again, Wow! I highly recommend this guitar! It's beautiful and the value is outstanding! It took a little over a week and I couldn't be happier! If you order one, AIOG will print out a shipping label right away but it won't ship out until after the set up is complete, so be patient, it's coming. Thanks GM, I never would have seen this guitar if it wasn't for your video, and thanks AIOG for making such a wonderful guitar! It's my new favorite!

I love this guitar. Especially the one with the black top. I have always wanted a neck thru guitar and this one sounds great.

max, youre a godsend. normally if someone is a fan of single coil pickups, they have no choice but to buy a fender. or a "third party fender". but this guitar, neck through, 5 piece neck? fender would never. its even unpainted so we can paint it ourselves! ive only dreamed of a guitar like this one

Jefflecust! Your comment on no matter what MAX plays on he sounds amazing. The truth is most guitarists go through looking for that special rig that gonna give ‘em that boost to stardom. I’m 68 years old now started playing in 1964i played in bands into the 80s and I found out something, if your wife is more into horses than guitars, guess what you’ll be doing more if you want to star happily married. It’s true I’ve read tons of biographies and most not all but let’s say better than 65 percent of famous rock stars are divorced or married for the 7th time. My point is I couldent stay playing because my wife who I promised to stay with for life wasn’t into me being gone. So I do the home studio thing , I did the church worship band thing a while but even that took away more time than I was alowed. I love guitars so much, my main gig since 79 was carpentry and woodworking. In the mid 80s I studied guitar building. I had everything I needed shop wise so I’ve enjoyed building guitars and still do it semi retired today. All this is to say I’ve had so many guitarists with stars in their eyes talking to me about building that once in a lifetime guitar, and don’t get me wrong , my customers have always been one at a time and every guitar/player left happy, but I don’t know one of those guitarists that grabbed my super special guitar and over night became great players. And if you want to stay a great player for life you can never put it in the closet. There was a while raising preasous babies that i didn’t touch’s guitar. Came home from work and picked up a baby and wouldent have changed a thing. Any of you guitarists out there maybe are sssttttuck and you’ve got this PRS classic 24 that’s beautiful. And your new buddy comes over and picks up your guitar that you think it’s ok but for 4500 bucks should sound a little better, and your guy plugs your guitar into your classic twin reverb and within a nano se ounc you think holy shit he fixed my rig, wait I gotta write down those settings, and all he touched was the volume on the guitar. Max practiced till his fingers fell off. When you really love something it does come easier than you think, easier than breathing. If you look at your guitar and walk over to it thinking I’d better pratice, the whole while you’re thinking about something else. Then I recommend you do something else. I knew once I got married I wasn’t going to the trubador every night. I love going out in my shop and smelling touching looking at wood and I love looking at the guitars I’ve built so I’m no rock star, but I still have a love affaire building guitars. And I can do that like breathing, I’m not looking at my guitars saying next time I’ll do better, I’ve made a mistake or two in the beginning, but what makes a great carpenter is he can fix his mistakes so there’s no mistake. Anywhere, if you’re just starting out and want to sound like that, you’ve heard what’s the best way to get to carnage hall? Pratice. Great guitar players have a guitar with them at least half a day and are always playing. And they are always playing in their head. So I watch this channel because I like to hear max play and he has a nice relaxing voice, he makes playing look easy, and I can look at different guitars , basses, keyboards, drums, etc, all day. Which reminds me you young guys who think they fall in love at 16 and wanna get married or atleast have a kid with sombody, remember the husband and dad HAS THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT. no it’s not as bad as that unless you’d rather be doing something else than it’s hell. I know personally., I ended up ok. Have 4 kids and 7 grandkids. I love being a grandpa too. But there’s just certain jobs that you’d have to be married to sombody totally devoted to you and are into you getting a big head. One of those married couples, has been married over 60 years. His name is Barry Gib. He and his two younger brother have been performing since the late 1950s. All the brothers who are dead now were married more than once. But bBarry found one totally devoted to him., they had several kids his oldest son after hus brothers died would play guitar with him doing a show here or there nothing big. Barry’s getting pretty old since he was in his prime during disco. Being a professional musician is like being in the army or being a nun. That has to be prime in you’re life or you’ll be miserable. That’s why (mainly) the rest of us are hobby players with sweet memories of one time dreaming of making it. Gosh I didn’t mean to ramble on. Sorry. Great video by the way.

Finally, the two things I have always wanted in a Strat : a good neck heel solution (neck thru us the ultimate), but retain the classic curvy Strat shape (not angular..not 4/5ths size...just curvy Strat like Leo designed - the best all time body shape. Simples!

Great stuff Max, I am floored at what a person can get for such an affordable price! Great in-depth review, and Superb playing! Thx!💥💥👍

I have this guitar. I also have an American Pro Strat. The AIO does not sound as good as Strat at all, and the electronics seem kind of cheap. But…the aio is way more comfortable and playable than the Strat. The set up was incredible and it does sound good. I’d say for a third of the price it’s a good guitar for sure

The dark walnut hss floyd version of this guitar is calling to me.

God that a gorgeous guitar Max. They are in the mid range price. But what a beauty! That neck is awesome.....

Bridge pickup sounds awesome. Nice Pinch Harmonics in the Demo Max.

I got to admit that’s a damn good looking guitar I’m a sucker for ebony fret boards.

Looks really nice :) I was looking at the player plus but may look at one of these instead, sounds really nice 👍

I took one look at that wood pattern and knew it had to be AIO. Just like the Wolf!

after watching this i visited AIO Guitar and ordered a Wolf, thanks for telling up about this company

If I remember rightly… back in the late 70’s Ibanez used to make this type of strat - and I spent years dreaming of owning one! Sadly - I could never afford one - but now there’s someone else making them so it might now be possible….

I have one neck through electric guitar in my collection, the IYV IP-300 sold on Amazon. These are made in Vietnam. At under $300 dollars it's the cheapest neck through guitar I could find, it also has vine of life inlays extending up the neck. These imports are sometimes hit or miss but the guitar they sent me a couple years ago is excellent in quality and finish.

This year: Im skipping new years resolutions! keeping steady for this year, learning how to make Chiptunes, Massive Apartment declutter and just finished upgrading my PC for games, video, and music production. Digging through 20 years worth of music material to resurrect and re write. Getting more travel and striving for mental and physical well being and possibly moving to another area or state. Mostly getting alot of projects i havent been able to do or procrastinated on for too long that its in the back of my mind all the time that have bugging me!

2023 goal is to replace the dog on my lap with my new white Explorer. Finally giving Harley Benton a shot and amazed that it only took 3 days from Germany to my front porch. Max, check out Firefly if you haven't been lately. They have double-neck LG's now. 6/12 string and even 6 string/bass.

Love your videos! I am picking up guitar again, so learning of all sorts is my resolution for 2023.

Hmmmmmmm...Cybertruck lights went out at 3:45. Nice guitars too. Love that walnut top.

Nice guitar to start 2023 with, thanks Max!

This makes my third purchase from AIO. And over the holidays I purchased the AIO Wolf S1 Floyd Rose Electric Guitar - Quilted Maple (Black Hardware). MAX, thanks for presenting their guitars.

That amp gives it some awesome bite as well. But I love all the woods involved in this guitar. Maple, walnut, ashwood to give the american strat sound tone. Wilkinson makes good parts as well. I installed some 25 dollar locking tuner machine heads in my starcaster. Keeps it in tune well!

You are the Cutting Edge of Everything Guitar, Max!! Best reviews. A very Happy New Year to you and yours , brother.

Carvin sold neck trough body like these. Carvin DC127 I bought all the parts an put together the guitar. did natural wood finish.

Beautiful guitars, they should get their stuff asap on Thomann, so we Euros can try them hassle free.

These natural styles I'm getting more into, if I was going to live longer I'd get this

I'm looking forwarding to learning as many Jazz songs as I can this year.

AIO on Western Ave? I took my Epiphone Dot there for some work! ANYWAY .... That guitar is SWEEEET!!! Especially that Mahogany top one! It reminds me of a swamp ash Harley Benton I have. It's unique too and I tell everybody that whoever put it together put their heart into it because it plays almost as well as my American Standard Stratocaster. I swore to my significant other that I wouldn't buy anymore guitars ....... 😭

Nice guitar. It looks a whole lot like a D'Agostino guitar. I have a 76 D'Agostino neck through ash body that will never leave my life. I have a good bit of expensive guitars that range from vintage, custom shop, and straight-out full custom guitars and there all more awesome to play every time I work with them. Now, let's say one day I was coming home and i and saw my house was on fire and only had seconds to try and save my guitars but could only save one....which one would i save? Well, that's a no-brainer... i don't even have to think twice about it. Without a frigging doubt or hesitation i would run past all the others and grab my D'Agostino. Some may laugh...but only because they don't know, and the ones that do know understand why i would choose that axx first. if you ever get a chance to play one you will always remember that guitar. I hear you mention Charvel Guitars... yea, their pretty good, I have owed 5 of them, all were stabil in form and functuion to a certain extent. didn't need to much tweeking on setup. i got rid of all of them eventually, i mean they were really great playing but the action was kind of average but not bad , just wasn't like what i like. It would be unfair to Charvel to compare it to like my Mosrite's, but than again it would be unfair to Mosrite to compare them to my D'Agostino, or compare any other guitar i have to the D'Agostino, they can't beat it. Unfortunatly the Charvels fell short and were only used when a gig was in a place kinda rough and could get your guitar broken. I wouldn't use my others in dives like that, to risky. The real thing was the sound of all of them was not to great, shallow kind of, ... it's a shame because I like the way they look and feel and they weren't cheap for shure. They to me were a guitar that can be easily replaced by many other brands that cost way less. Heck My D'Agostino is my by far best guitar that i believe i ever had, and i had many damn good ones, but it's also by far the cheapest i ever had $350 and that was the high end new in 1976. Years ago i saw one for sell, but it was the benchmark, not the strat, for $200 so i jumped on it and it was awesome. It was masde the same way that one you showed was, with the 5 pc neck through, looked just like yours only not strat shape... but it got stolen. Great video as always

Just ordered the S2-SSH with the dark walnut top. The price is great and comes with a set up already done, they even email you a set up form with various options so you can chose HOW you want the set up done. I'm really looking forward to receiving this beautiful guitar. Thanks for the vid GM!

Nice review and that is a beautiful looking guitar. But Max, I have always believed, especially with today's technology. You can take a clean medium output pickup, even a low output pickup, apply some overdrive, compression, etc, to it and you can play hard rock or even metal. I challenge you to challenge yourself to work with that SSS configuration and you may just surprise yourself. Most of my guitars are SSS configuration, 2 are HH, one is HSH, and the other is HSS. I play predominantly, rock, hard rock and heavy blues with any of my 22 guitars. May just have to purchase one of those Wolf AIO's as that is an impressive looking and sounding guitar.

I have a 5 String Neck-Through bass ...it is awesome and really makes the B string ring. Never thought I would see a Neck-Through guitar for under $1K and these are beautiful. Thanks for another great review Max ...I could listen to you play all day long!

Hi Max, as always, I really enjoyed your video. I have been playing guitar since 1987 but only now, in 2023 will I finally be featured on an actual, real album. That's what I am looking forward to in 2023. I wish you and your channel further and continued greatness this year.

Wow, that's what I was thinking. I always had a problem with strat's because block where the neck bolts onto the body. It's always in the way of playing up in the high register! Thanks for sharing this with us!

That Cybertruck looks like it's going to take your TAB!

New year , new guitar , new inspirations, hahaha I love it. Rock on Max !

Love these. Definitely putting this on my wish list Thanks and Happy New Year

I love the layering on the body. It reminds me of those limited edition longboard Strats Fender made a while ago.

Cheers for bringing us to attention about these great and affordable guitars !

The big bolt on square heel joint belongs in a museum.

A lovely looking and sounding guitar. Way back when you got your first Wolf I looked to see if I could find one here in the UK. Two models came up, the LP copy with mother of pearl binding and the S1 Ibanez style " wood sandwich". I opted for the latter which has a spalted maple top, ebony fingerboard with m.o.p. vine inlay, Floyd rose style bridge and was fitted with twin hot rail hum bucker style pickups. It's a stunning looking easy playing guitar but I wasn't too happy with the pup's. I fitted a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Plus pick-up ( only ever fitted to a Fender deluxe roadhouse Strat) in the bridge and a S.D. Saturday night Special in the neck. I replaced the mounting rings with S.D. Hot shot 4 way switched mounts and the guitar already had a three way pickup selector. So individually each pup can have either coil as single, parallel duo or reverse duo, combined with the 3way that gives a total of 24 varied pickup configurations. Admittedly some have only a slight tonal difference but they are distinguishable. The result I believe is one of the most versatile guitars ever, the variety of tones and the sustain it produces are amazing. Thank you for inspiring me to start on that journey.

Best tone u EVER gotten on ur channel. Carlton isque

Pure matsumoku 70s / 80s styling makes a modern return! Nice.

Really surprised to see you didn't go with the Floyd Rose equipped model. Even so, beautiful guitars at reasonable prices.

That thing sounds better than most American Fender tri-single coill setups. I think the weight has to do with the types of woods they use in the construction because most Fender bodies are Basswood or Alder not Ash, maple, and walnut. In my experience, Neck thru construction doesn't generally create a huge difference in weight maybe a quarter to half lb.

I have two Wolfs including the TC1 (which has now moved over the AIO line). These are just great pro level guitars for the bucks. The TC1 is terrific. Just gorgeous, sounds great, and is very playable. These come highly recommended.

What a beautiful looking and sounding axe. For that price you can't beat it.

The floydrose one is gonna be my own personal late xmas gift

I have always loved the idea of a neck-through guitar and had a certain amount of disdain for bolt-on necks, one of the reasons I don't own a Strat-like guitar. I also do not have an axe with a tremolo, so this particular model solves a lot of my reservations, the natural wood finishes are also a plus in my book, I love to see woodgrain, you never know what is hiding under all that paint. I was wondering how the guitar resonates when you are playing it, a neck-through should have gobs of sustain.

Another great demo, review, and video. From your description of the neck, I think I'd really like it. Please keep the videos coming, Max.

Wow wow wow. Enjoyed learning about these new offerings from AIO. These go right up to the top of my list for guitars to purchase ( once I'm awake to afford it). Thanks Max.

These are outrageous guitars - so many options that I like - need to look for a while for the one I like best.

Thank you for sharing this guitar with us! I love the dark walnut version.

That’s a sweet ride you got there.

She's a Beauty, that guitar reminds me of my music teacher's Westone Thunder back in the ea 80s.

My 91 Peavey Destiny is still my fave guitar, strat style hss neck-through body.

I'm impressed. I checked out their line and I'm thinking of getting the Tele model, a guitar that I've never had, but always wanted. The psychedelic SG is very cool, but the $2,500.00 price isn't. Still even though it's out of my budget, but much cheaper than a Gibson SG with a psychedelic paint job. I don't like the pickguard, I'd have to replace it with a mother of toilet seat pickguard.

Your videos make me want a Aio Wolf guitar your tones and playing are sublime Guitar Max

If you spend hours on Alibaba, you can find these axe's for half, if there's no minimum order quantity. Shipping cuts into the savings, but, IMHO, any other "savings" are offset, by the fact that AIO, and other importers, are established in the States, and actually cover their products! Additionally, once importers are at a certain quantity level, Asian factories are open to more intense QC, and custom models. The lower price point is , obviously, the cheaper labor costs in Asia. That's why a Kiesel done up like one of these instruments is so much more. CNC Equipment, as well as wood, cost much less than in the West as well... These axes remind me of the old Raven West imports, from Korea. I have several of their guitars, and basses, purchased on eBay over 10 years ago

My dream guitar is a neck through nylon string electro acoustic with a whammy bar!

Beautiful guitar. Not something I want in place of a Strat. It's that Strat bolt-on construction that gives you the classic Strat tones. But this is a great looking and sounding guitar in its own right. There's a "density" to the tone that absolutely reminds me of the Ibanez neck-through I had for a few weeks about 10-11 years ago. It even looked just like that. That particular guitar weighed a ton and had that similar "dense" tone. Sustain was great, but it lacked complexity and airy open tone. I sent it back with no regrets to this day.

Dave Simpson needs to see this.

bought some years ago the LP goldtop from AIO, what a great guitar! one of my best. all based on the review you did

That is one awesome guitar! I bought the IYV HH version of this about a year ago for my daughter and really have nothing but praise for it - I suspect they are from the same factory. Had I nown AIO was going to do their version I would have been sorely tempted to wait for that one, but like I said, the IYV is a pretty nice guitar.

Not a resolution (I don't do them) but I am going to practice and play more, every evening if possible. Love your channel.

Wow! What a deal! Thanks for tipping me off to these guitars.

What a beautiful guitar. I wish they had this in HH. May have to get this and tele to match.

Impressive! I'm looking for a somewhat "Strat" style, which includes possibly a Schecter. I'm not a shredder (not that I wouldn't mind being able to play that style), but I'm looking mainly for playability and versatility. Great vid!

My goals for 2023 are to stop purchasing guitars (and synthesizers) I don't need and focus on maintaining the equipment I've already got, as well as to do a whole lot more practicing by the day than I usually do. I let multiple days go by without even picking up the guitar, and I do want to overcome that tendency. Those aren't resolutions, but they are goals.

I love the dark walnut also! "Somebody stop me" HA HA! Happy new year Max!

Yea max,I love the 2/3 tone wood selection on you aio axe. These guitars some what remind me of "the vantage marsumoku wood work, aria pro and westone.wood work ect. It be nice if there were, "phase and tap switch". But for the money wow! You did a great demo. I'm a lefty and this is by far the best axe reveiw? And a ebony neck,"WHAT" crazy value! Still have my lefty firefly 338 lefty because of you! I love it still. Thanks,Jimmy K. Las vegas