I have a few Sterlings (about 8). They're all very well built and I even upgraded a few because the feel of the necks in my hands are hard to beat. The pickups are also decent and don't need to be changed. The tremolo systems are better than those of most Squires and some Fenders. I also own a ton of other guitars, and I can safely say that Sterlings punch way above their weight.
Thanks for watching, strong disagree. Sterlings are laughably bad in build quality and I've got a Squire Strat and Player series mexican strat in for review and both guitars are much better than what sterling is offering. Sterlings do not even come close to punching above their weight, especially with the stainless steel fret models, those are a total rip off.
@@aminorerroras another really happy unmodded CT50 owner, we’ll respectfully agree to disagree. Love the guitar, plays great, sounds great. I have no tuning or intonation problems at all. Glad I didn’t see your review before I went shopping. Would’ve missed out on a really sweet piece.
I've played many of these in the stores, mostly stinkers, the bridge and pickups left a lot to be desired, however, recently I've played a handful of st. Vincent and Mariposa models that were stellar, I was so impressed with the Mariposa model in particular that I bought one, I've had it for about a year and a half I think and it has been excellent in every way! I will say I have never played one of the evh looking ones that was redeemable in any way. Those suck fr.
I agree, 100%. ESP/LTD’s 1000 series is always top notch quality with high end components, even rivaling their own E-II guitars (some even call them better). I can’t speak for Schecter, as I’ve never played one, but I hear good things about them aswell.
Hahah well I'm shocked back atcha! Every Sterling I've seen or played has been horrible. Thanks for watching and glad to hear you've had a better experience.
I feel like the only explanation for bridges this bad is that it's intentional. They want to keep them a definite step down from the real deal. I mean, it doesn't cost THAT much more to put a decent bridge on a guitar, even if it's not the same exact bridge that the real JP models have. It's a shame that they'd put out something this bad though.
haha dude you're spot on! There's no reason they have to still be equipping these shitty bridges on the guitars, they should def upgrade them. Especially on the stainless steel/dimarzio model guitars. Those are so overpriced, and still have the same crap hardware, what a total ripoff. Thanks for watching!
All the big brands are great at this tiering. No one wants to settle; when you do there’s nothing but regrets. It’s best to save up and get the real deal.
@@aminorerror They ALL do this. Fender does it with Squier, Gibson does it with Epiphone, Paul Reed Smith does it with his SE series, Washburn does it with their Lyon line, and honestly, I don't have a damn bit of problem with the bridge on my Sterling Mariposa. And it stays in tune like a champ.
@@aminorerror It's all about profits. As long as John Petrucci has his name on it they have to pay royalties and make a profit on top of paying for the licensed manufacturers to make these over in Indonesia. This is why they don't want to spend any real money.
It's actually the NUT for me, I had a proper luthier sand and install a nice graphite nut and it gave the tuning stability a huge plus, down the line you could always upgrade the bridge but again this guitar is like 330 bucks used so it's still worth it for me. i like the ergonomics so much and i find that i nail leadwork alot more often on this guitar than i do my Schecter KM7 MKIII artist which is a phenomenal guitar
Thanks for watching and commenting, appreciate hearing your experience. I didn't upgrade the nut on any of the guitars that I reviewed because I didn't buy them to keep but review and sell immediately, but IMO those bridges sound so crappy and don't flutter at all either to a degree IMO Sterling needs to do a complete overhaul. I really think they're selling a defective product that doesn't perform at a reasonable level to make the case their straight defective but that's just IMO. Interesting you nail leadwork more on the Sterling than the Schecter, I really liked the MK7 MKII I reviewed a few years back.
I also went for the hype on the Sterling's, picking up two Cutlass CT-50's. The first one wasn't too bad, but it was heavy and had play in the tremolo that made it feel cheap. The pots and switch were also cheap, but worked OK. The second one I bought for the color; Toluca Lake Blue. Like the first one, it had a dark rosewood slab fretboard, and looked great with the blue. I did notice a bad saw line on the rear cutout when I was trying it out, but bought it because it was only 7.2 lbs. Later, I took the neck off only to discover two cracks at the heel of the neck. These were covered by the neck pocket, so totally hidden. Then I realized that the tuners were out of alignment, something I totally missed when I bought it. I cut my losses and traded one in toward a Player Plus Tele, and the other towards an AV ll Strat. Much happier now.
The reasons here are exactly why I sold mine, didn't hold up a single bit to my other guitars with Gotohs, Floyd 1000s and even some self installed Wilkinsons. It's a shame because I love the designs so much yet I'll never get one again unless I find an insane deal on one
Thanks man. All the reviews for this are really glowing and I was excited to see them used for really cheap. There's no debating the problems you demonstrated. I can clearly see the loose tolerances. That would be very disappointing to discover after buying it.
JP60 user here. Actually selling it atm.I have all the issues you mentioned and I might add the following: The rosewood fingerboard is as dry as a mummy's spit; I have an ibanez RG1570 with the same wood fingerboard and both color and feel make you feel like you got a 400 grit sandpaper fingerboard on the sterling. Also, the bridge studs are missaligned, so the first string slips away everytime. At the price point I started looking at schecter and Ibanez, at least for my taste. But LTD is also another solid option IMO (I have one too). After all this issues with the guitar (and other units Ive seen and played too) I feel so dissapointed that sending it to a luthier to fix the issuea is not worth the time. Somehow I feel it doesnt deserve it! Even after all I wrote I have to say that the ergonomics of this guitar is the best I have ever experienced. Sad to see so much potential wasted.
Ugh that sucks, but doesn't surprise me at all. Completely agree, ESP LTD and Schecter especially make a great instrument that is remarkably consistent and the ergonomics of the original designs are totally wasted potential. Hope they up their game soon, thanks for watching and good luck!
In 2017 I ordered a Sterling Silhouette. when it arrived I found that only one of the three pickups would work, and only in one configuration and at an abysmally low volume. I sent it back and got a full refund but I've never purchased anything since.
my jp157 feels so good and stays in tune really well. It feels so good I preferred it over my Made In Japan ibanez s7420fm and even sold it and my schecter hellraiser c-7 FRS which I also sold. Yeah its a floating non locking trem so its not meant to do divebombs like a floyd that pops back into tune. With the right setup it flutters and feels nice, but just like literally any non locking trem don't expect to even slightly abuse it and the tuning staying solid thats just not possible. The sterlings I've played have been amazing, I'm just saying this so that people don't sway from buying a sterling just because some people experience QC issues or maybe just don't find them to be enjoyable and share all the negatives they had in their experiences. Solar had problems with fretboards cracking and all kinds of other issues but they're still great, it happens to any brand even Schecter I've seen brand new high end $1600USD Schecter guitars come in with cracked fretboards before, how it slipped past so many people before it got into the customers hands who knows, but bottom line is try it out and if it feels good to you, sounds good to you, and inspires you, then go with it. I've played hours of band practice and full sets of songs with only my Sterling and its been reliable and great. Don't listen to this guy, play and try them yourself first before judging and remember its not a floyd meant for crazy abuse or divebombs if you wouldn't do it on a strat don't do it on a sterling.
Everything you described the polar opposite of all of my experiences. All the Schecters have been absolutely mint, easily out performing anything I've ever seen from Sterling. Nothing I'm describing is from a divebomb, and didn't say or show that in any of my examples so you obviously didn't bother to actually watch my video. Don't listen to this fool, he clearly doesn't have the chops or ear to hear when a guitar is in or out of tune.
Thanks for the heads up. I was on the verge of buying one. I ordered a Strat Pro II with the Dark Knight finish instead. You saved me a lot of headache. I appreciate you man
Thanks for watching, and thanks for the kind words! I think you'll be way happier with the guitar you decided to go with, these Sterling guitars are truly terrible!
Have you checked out the JP160? It has a Floyd style bridge. After a string change, once it settles down, it stays in tune very well. The only issue I have with mine is the high E string sliding off the neck problem that many Sterlings seem to have. I'm still not sure what the issue is exactly.
Thanks for the tip, I hadn't seen that one actually! That will def stay in tune, although from what I saw online it looks like a pretty low end Floyd bridge so while it'll def stay in tune better I'm willing to bet the tone is pretty bad. All budget Floyd's I've reviewed here on the channel has at least been usable but sounded pretty crappy. Sounds like your neck might be slightly crooked, if the high E is fretting out easily. Unfortunately I doubt there's much you can do about it, you'd have to take it to a luthier to try and get the neck mounted straighter.
@@aminorerror I have been considering replacing it when it gets higher on the priority list. But is does a decent job as is. What I really like about the guitar is the neck. It is super comfortable. I have moved away from really thin necks as they cause my hand to cramp. Finally figured that out. lol I have tried moving the neck and will again. It may have moved back. Others have complained about this problem. It's not severe and only happens sometimes. I may have to try to shim in on one side. As for tone, the black and white models have Mahogany bodies. The blue ones are Basswood. I replaced the pickups and ditched the preamp.
Would be interesting to see a review for the CT50 or CT50+. Apparently the pickups on the CT50 are poor quality, so I went with the plus model. Reviews are very positive overall for both.
You’re the only one honest about these guitars man every review I see is all sunshine and flowers and then you look in the description and of course, affiliate links for sterling and music man. Thanks for keeping it real with us and not giving in to brand deals 🎸
While I don't have tuning stability issues after switching out and lubing my nut, I'd like to know specifically which model of Gotoh 510 you used as a drop-in upgrade for the Sterling bridge, and if it would be compatible with the JP70. I like fluttering and currently the Sterling bridge (mine any way) requires tightening the whammy bar extremely tight to facilitate fluttering, to the point of the tightening screw carving into the bar.
Thanks for watching, I'm very surprised but glad to hear you aren't having tuning issues. The new nut is obviously making a huge difference. The Gotoh 510 was a standard version of it my student ordered direct from Gotoh and it was very easy to install. Flutters among the best of any bridge I've ever tested (the Charvel Angel Vivaldi model I reviewed a few years back has the same bridge, it fluttered like crazy). Good luck!
Tried the Jason Richardson model today at GC. I really liked the look, jumbo frets and price, but the action was a bit high and the neck a bit bowed. I asked the tech to straighten the neck before buying... but the truss rod was bricked. If I would have purchased it, then realized the truss rod was broken, I would have lost my mind. Kudos to the GC folks for being honest with me.
I watched this to the end. I own a Sterling SUB Axis model. It's nothing as you've described in this video. Of course this is a different guitar. I've been playing for over thirty five years now. And I've played easily over a thousand guitars. I've played all types from all sorts of designs and construction. For no more than what I paid for a scratch and dent at Sweetwater Sound it has much better pickups, tremolo, machine heads, and overall quality including the wood. These are made with basswood bodies as they de-tune ever so slightly when you hold it at the headstock and the end of the body just as the $4,000.00 + EVH Musicman and Wolfgang models do. But the playability, fret work, finish, and overall quality of the fit of the neck and hardware as well as the sound and functionality sold me on it. Granted that it's much cheaper parts and hardware it will suffice for no more than what I bought it for. This is a player guitar for me but I would pit it against my Musicman EVH with a Gotoh Floyd Rose style tremolo any day. I have a very heavy handed approach to tremolos but I can use it with relative ease and not have tuning issues. Also one thing to keep in mind is that the strings that come on these guitars are made in CHINA and aren't the best quality. I am guessing that the posts on the Petrucci models are different. You have to learn to adjust your tremolo springs so that it lays flat on the body when you're blocking it or adjust your saddles so that it will play smoothly when using it for fluttering effects. There is a delicate balance when using a tremolo but better quality machine heads may be the answer that you seek. My guitar was made last year (2023) but the machines are slightly different. However that may be you need to tighten the knobs at the screw that holds the button on. This will help to keep the machine head tight when playing. A lot of experimentation and experience go a long way to ensure a great playing experience with a budget level guitar.
As a side note, it is not only Sterling, but Ernie Ball MusicMan itself, I had to return Limited Edition Majesty for 7000 Euros, it had absurd stability issues, intonation on the second octave was almost a note higher, they did not even included a Certificate in the case-in my country we say-it was a Friday afternoon shift work. Nevertheless, I replaced it with a regular Majesty for half of the LE price and it is as perfect as it can get-but still, my advice is using lubrication like nut sauce everywhere the strings touch the guitar - nut, saddles, inside the bridge and even bridge blades. It is a bit of alchemy with this system, everything has to be just right, strings, proper locking on the head, lubrication, bridge leveling, neck set up. Then I can do whatever I want with the tremolo and get almost perfect tuning stability. On the contrary, any guitar with Floyd Rose will get you much better results-yes it is pain setting it up, but once done it stays in tune for days or even weeks-at least for me.
Wow that's really bad to hear, I've mostly heard great things about the legit EBMM guitars but it's possible for a bad one to slip through. Thanks for watching!
Not sure what you mean by bushings but the old post anchors need to be removed. It's super easy, I kept the old posts on and just pulled them straight out with a wrench and then pushed the new anchors without needing to do any drilling. If I was doing it again I'd use a little bit of glue to really lock the new anchors in. When you buy a new 510 bridge is comes with all the hardware, new posts and anchors included as well. Good luck!
That's a great idea, idk it might! It might make it to hard to adjust up and down though or get worn out and have to be reapplied kinda often when setting up the guitar. Thanks for the suggestion.
I've got the Stsrling Musicman Sub. EVH copy. Problem I had, the trem block rubbed against the body when divebombing, or least trying to divebomb. I put a Floyd Rose on, 11 years later it still kicks ass
Ill take the base model Kiesel all effin day, i have 4 of them and my favorite ended up being the cheap base model Vader i orderd off the "In Stock" page, their low end stuff plays and sounds just as good as their high end stuff imo.
Thanks for being honest. Too many RU-vid reviews have nothing but stellar things to say and are most likely advertisements paid for by the manufacturers.
I own 3 Sterling by Music Man Albert Lee signature guitars. Two of them are the Albert Lee AL40 HH models with 2 humbuckers and 5 way pickup switch. I like the balance, weight, neck, fretboard and pickups so much, that I bought another just like it in a different finish color as back up. The other I more recently bought was with 2 P90s and roasted Maple neck and a very dark smooth Rosewood fretboard. The only adjustment I made to the oldest one was to have the nut slots cleared a little. Other than that I have no problems with them. They all look great play play great and sound great. I'm sorry you had the bad luck with them. Where did you buy yours from?
Thanks for watching, and I'm glad to hear you like your Albert Lee guitars. This video is geared toward the Petrucci and Richardson models really, or the ones with a fully floating bridge. I find it hard to believe that the Albert Lee guitars are suddenly much better made though, the Petrucci and Richardson models are bad guitars even beyond the bridge, the QC, overall build quality and tone is just bad in general. I get my guitars from Musicians Friend which admittedly isn't the best but that would only explain bad setups out of the box or crappy experiences in shipping. MF has nothing to do with poorly designed hardware basically. Appreciate the feedback, I'll def be adding more Sterling models for review soon.
My ct50 has been flawless. Stays in tune much better than any of the strats I’ve owned (8). Also I’m surprised this is the only really negative review I have managed to find on them.
I just bought the sterling by musicman JP 150fm and i couldn’t agree more about the ponts you made on this guitar i also don’t like that they use naytoh wood for most of their guitars even the high end ones they suck for doing that i’m changing the brisge to a gotoh 510T if that will fit and i’m getting better locking tuners for it i’m planning on getting the JP 70 too and changing the the bridge and tuners too my JP150fm is from 2009 according to the serial number so it’s an older one thank you for this awesome review you rock
Thanks for watching! I'm pretty sure the 510 bridge will fit but a quick search on any Sterling Facebook or Reddit group would help just to be sure. Good luck!
Thanks for watching, they're far from flawless and are basically trash. ESP LTD, Schecter or even the cheapo Chinese brand Donner makes a better product than Sterling.
Thank you! I think you're spot on. Kept me from making a big mistake, one I can't really afford to make. Money is tight and I'd rather not throw it away on a frustration inducing ax.
Bought my Cutlass CT-30 off Reverb for $250. Best buy ever because if had been upgraded. Came with Ratio tuners and a Babicz trem unit. $300 minimum just for those 2 items.
I'm late to your channel, but I appreciate your review. What I'd like is a review of PRS.s SE issue of their guitars, specially the DGT model. At Sweetwater this model sells for $4310 for the original and $849 for the SE. What gives a $3461 difference. Your opinion. Thanks
Thanks for watching, you're not late to the channel...you're right on time! Appreciate the comment, I've got a new video coming out tomorrow talking about tone woods, cost ect, and IMO PRS's are overpriced for what they're offering. Not having stainless steel frets and asking over $4000 is straight up offensive IMO. The SE line of PRS guitars are great though for the price. I recently reviewed a PRS SE Custom 24 and it was great. That said, there's no comparison between the SE and the legit DGT though, the legit DGT will sound, and play a lot better, it is a professional instrument, vs the SE that's an intermediate instrument. IMO the legit one is just overpriced by at the least $1000. The SE is a great beginner to intermediate level instrument though and its def superior in tone and playability to anything that Sterling is offering. Here's a link to my PRS SE Custom 24 review if you're interested, thanks again for watching and good luck! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wd8j9WCgQSA.html
Why is there always polarizing reviews on every single guitar I buy 😂 one claims it’s the best thing ever. The next claims it’s complete garbage. I proceed to order them nervous af because of the reviews and they turn out just fine. I don’t get it.
I looked at the bridge on my Squire bass, it's almost nothing but a couple of screws that arent secure, it pisses me off cuz the rest of the instrument is beautiful.
I got a JP150 for $400 used. For that price, having locking tuners, roasted maple, great looks, nice low action/flat neck...definitely happy with it. But if I had paid anywhere close to MSRP for it I would think I had overpaid. Pickups are kinda meh. Also helps that I don't use the tremolo arm.
I really wanted to like the Cutlass but the one I received was a total trash fire. It couldn't intonate properly or stay in tune for longer than a few seconds. They installed the trem posts crooked and drilled the rear plate holes well through the front. The bridge was the lowest quality metal I've ever dealt with. I'm upset because, on paper, it was the perfect guitar. But even the Squier Sonic guitars are higher quality.
yeah.... I own both a Cutlass CT50 and JR6 - They sound different for sure, but not in a bad way!! Stainless steel frets will ping a bit but I think it depends more what I play through. The JR6 has nickel frets with a 16" radius and it's just made for sweep picking and fkn Rocks! The high E string can be a bit too close to the bottom of the neck but other than that the bridge flutters wonderfully, the middle position gives me that Polyphia tone and it Djents very well. I love my sterling guitars!
Thanks for watching! If you can return it through mail order it might be worth a shot, IMO there's def better brands to look to at this price point though. Good luck!
Okay, I'm really confused here. I know this video is a few months old, but the tremelo bridge shown in the inset picture during the review is NOT the tremelo bridge that comes on a CT 50 Cutlass. It's not even the one that comes on the CT30 Cutlass! Yeah, it says "Sterling" on it, but that doesn't change the fact this it is nothing like the bridge that came on my CT50, or any other Sterling guitar on their website or on Sweetwater. Maybe they changed it since this video was published, because my trem bridge is absolutey rock solid and holds tune to the deepest dive I've subjected it to. Which, compared to a Floyd Rose ain't a heck of a lot, but still, it's very stable for the max range that it offers. In any event, something is awry here, either this info is out of date or somebody's smokin' crack. Ooops...correction...I did finally find that bridge on the JP series. I'd suggest that the trem bridge on the Cutlass guitars are (a very different and b) far better.
Nothing to be confused about, you're looking at a different model than what I'm pointing out here. The bridge on your Cutlass is different from the Petrucci or Richardson sig models. Info is still in date and no crack was smoked in the making of this video, you're just looking at the wrong model.
@@aminorerror Yep, my bad...I tried to correct my whoopsie with the correction, but I obviously pulled the trigger too soon. In any event, that trem on the Cutlass series Sterlings is pretty dang tight, I'll tells ya...😁
All good, glad to hear the trem on your guitar is better. I haven't had a chance to play one of those yet but I've heard a few people say good things. From pictures it looks like it rests on the body of the guitar and isn't a floating system which is probably why it's much better. Thanks for watching!
Nuts, I don't remember which 510 it was. I'd bet if you asked a question on either the Sterling Facebook page or Reddit pages you'd get an exact model to go with. The TS-FE1 looks cosmetically like the one I put in my students guitar but he actually ordered the unit, not me. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful!
Yeah the trems are bad. I've had two Sterling Axis models, still have one of them. However the guitars are built no worse than Squiers and Epis in the price range that the Axis is in. I probably wouldn't pay what they are asking for the JP's, Lukes, and whatnot. I just deck any trem that isn't double locking, and use it like a hardtail.
I don't know what you're talking about. I have a CT50 and it's spectacular. It's a solid thick steel trem block, thicker than Fender's. It's also decked, not floating like you say. It's a wonderful bridge. Maybe you're talking about some older one or something.
There's a Petrucci in the thumbnail and obviously it's unreasonable to expect me to have played every single model Sterling makes. I've seen six of em suck first hand...that's enough.
I own several guitars, ranging from Cutlass CT50SSS/HSS (both models) through PRS SE models, and Music Man Majesties and JP's. I have a Sterling JP100D with CL/LF pickups in it and it sounds fantastic and the tremolo performs extremely well, not to mention I have a Koa top on it. I have a new JP157 Blood Orange Burst with active Dimarzio's in it, and the same for this guitar. They perform phenomenally. The only issues with Sterling guitars I've had were on their JP60/70 models. Too much work to "make it right." I tried a JR Cutlass too, and it was good, but not my cup of tea. I think you have been unlucky with your acquisitions of their guitars, or perhaps I am very lucky. They are great to me, and I am picky.
Thanks for watching, I def don't think it's that I've been unlucky. After seeing 5 instruments and reviewing 3 that's a large enough sample size to know the floating bridges are trash.
@@aminorerror To each their own I guess. Stability hasn't been an issue in fact, I got a JP150 with the stock bridge, nut, etc., and the tuning is grade and sound is good (with upgraded pickups of course).
So if I understand correctly, your main criticism of their vintage-style trems are that they won't function like a Floyd? That's like giving a pickup truck a bad review because it doesn't corner like a Ferrari!
You are totally wrong. The floating bridge on the Petrucci and Richardson models is a modern super strat designed to compete with the likes of Ibanez, Floyd Rose, Hipshot ect. That aside, they don't stay in tune full stop. They're poorly made units that need a total overhaul and you clearly don't have enough experience or a good enough ear to hear it.
Nope, talking about the normal Sterlings. Specially the floating bridge models like the Petrucci and Richardson (they use the same bridge). Thanks for watching!
@@aminorerror No problem, loved the video and your thorough reviews, and I will say you are correct, having said that, my experience has been as follows coming to the conclusion I posted previously (ALERT, long comment ahead, sorry!).... I've had 4 sterlings in my possession, and still own 3: a JP50 (still have it), an early run JP70 (still have it), a Jason Richardson 7 (Just gotten and still have it) and SUB AX3 ( traded it in for a sweet deal on a used Jackson, although it was a surprisingly bad ass guitar for the price at the time), and I'll breakdown what I've noticed after using this brand over the years..... First, the JP50. The one I have is the JP50 in Stealth Black, from the serial it looks like it was made in 09, so this was from the first run of sterlings to come out. Some how the bridge on this one has not misbehaved on me, and I've been using the hell out of that trem, mind you I did add a spring. I ended up switching the bridge pickup from stock to a Bareknuckle Bootcamp, but this was years after owning it. I also want to point out that the early run of sterling jps, which were mostly made in China and then Indonesia towards the end of it's run, feel different from the later models, such as the jp60 that would replace it and the jp100 and 110d, specifically with the neck as it felt way slimmer on the early run near, wizard II levels. Next is my JP70, which also looking at the serial seems like it's an early run. Mine somehow feels solid, and I did not have the trem issue, mind you I also added an extra spring to this one. The neck on it feels just right, reming me of a Wizard II 7 neck at times, and it's probably one of my favorite guitars in feel. The pickups are ok, but I went into it knowing this, so I wasn't too mad about it. Now the Jason Richardson 7, so far I like it, but mainly due to it's playability. Don't get me wrong, it has it's flaws, but I still enjoy it. I've tried the proper MM version and there is a noticeable difference, specially with the neck carve. The sterling version's neck profile is a tad thicker, almost "modern C" like, reminding me of the Ibanez AZ 24047 neck, compared to the noticeably thinner MM version. I just bought it used earlier this year, and it does have it's flaws, but I have grown to enjoy it very much, also I want to point out I have had no issues with the bridge, and I have done nothing to this guitar. Lastly the AX3 was the little engine that unassumingly did. It was a bare bones budget friendly AXIS guitar, and it was bad ass for under $300, the key phrase being "bad ass for under $300". Had it been $500 I would have struggled to justify it, and had it been more than that I would have gone elsewhere or saved for a proper MM one.The trem was a two point strat style that held tune pretty well after a good setup. Anyway it did what it set out to do, it felt like an AXIS, it was a very versatile guitar, and it a perfect candidate for modding, and that is what I expected for the price. What I have to say from all this is, I have tried other sterlings' along with these for comparison throughout the years, mainly at guitar stores, and as I result I have indeed noticed a shift in construction through feel and inconsistency in quality control with new guitars. I can pinpoint a noticeable change around the time the Maj and the st.Vincent models came out. I feel like they tried to push those so hard that the jps kind of fell to the wayside. Since then I've had a bit of a hit or miss experience with the guitars. Also it might be that the orders have been I also want to point out that all my guitars, except for the ax3, were purchased used. Sorry for the long comment, just thought I'd share my experience and thoughts on the matter.
Appreciate the comment and I'm glad to hear your experience has been a better one! The fact that a Gotoh 510 bridge fits right into the Petrucci models no problem is pretty cool as well. That's def a huge upgrade that makes sense if you get a Sterling for cheap enough. Rock on!
If you want better QC, nicer electronics, nicer fretwork and a better trem then don't hate on sterling and spend 500-2000 or more than you might. But if you want something you'll only find on 1800+ dollar guitars for less than half the price, then you'll find nothing better. Squier can't even compete with Sterling, particularly the CT50. Locking tuners, a roasted neck, sculpted heel joint, alnico pickups, even the fretwork is subpar in comparison, and a poorer head stock design, and a cheaper thinner tremolo block than Sterlings offering. Now a Squier affinity vs a CT30, now you get ceramic pickups and a poor head stock design and no sculpted joint, otherwise comparable in regards to value of the build but still comes in on the cheaper end by about 100 dollars, and the fretwork is probably not quite as nice, but these are both considered more or less entry level good quality guitars, the CT50 is starting to push into mid range with maybe used MIM Strats, Epiphones, Ibanez, Schecter etc. for the price range Beyond this we're starting to get picky about particulars in regards to the build, whether its the tone, trem, frets, necks, colors, electronics etc. So what would you do: *low quality Anything under 400? (questionable components exist and QC is anywhere from surprisingly good to garbage for the price) * Standard quality - (reasonable quality and components across the board, some surprisingly high end offerings in the price range) Buy a 400 dollar Squier Affinity? (no roasted neck, no name tuners, thin trem block, ceramic pickups, cheap electronics, old school design and string trees, decent fretwork, lots of colors) Buy a 750 Sterling CT50? (Roasted maple neck, locking tuners, thicker trem, sculpted heel joint, nice fretwork, stronger head stock and better design, fit and finish, alnico pickups, less colors) Buy an 900 dollar Schecter? (Features are hit and miss compared to Sterling, overall, better QC and electronics) * High quality - Buy apx 900-1800 (hit or miss with features for the price you pay, QC is generally very good as is the fretwork, woods, and paint) *Professional quality - Buy over 1800 (get more or less whatever you want) *Exceptional quality - 2500+ (custom made to your own liking, you should have no complaints at all) Really all this said and done, a guitar should come to personal preference. If you are complaining about a guitar that costs over 1200 dollars then you'll still find something you're going to complain about that isn't as nice, or as good as another available model around the same or higher price. Some players love the tone they g0t with their garage sale unbranded stratocaster than their fenders and Gibsons. Others drop over 2500 to get something custom built and still chase tone around like an elusive golden egg. Or its about the amps, the pedals, etc. People spend over 1000 dollars for pickups made for 40bucks to get a tone they want, or drop thousands on an amp to try and get the sound a 300 dollar amp might provide. If you're spending over a thousand on a guitar, you want exceptional quality, but you don't need it and you probably wont get it. Appreciate the effort someone went through to create something and make something beautiful out of it. Hendrix didn't have a left handed guitar, and Angus Young started on a home altered banjo. Both of these are basically household names across Europe and NA, but you and me could probably walk 1 block and knock on a door and they will have no clue who we are.
So, not to be THAT guy, but hasn't science already proven that tonewood has nothing to do with how a guitar sounds? But beyond that, a decent bridge is vital, and if an $800.00 guitar can't stay in tune (even when you DON'T use the tremolo??) then it is NOT worth $800.00. Period. LTD and Schecter make better guitars in the $400.00 price range.
It all depends on who's 'science' you want to believe. I've got my own video presenting the scientific evidence that it does make a difference and 25 years of playing and recording anecdotally so it just depends on who you want to believe. 100% agree on the Schecter and LTD stuff, def the best affordable guitar brand I've reviewed, they're always very consistent and have impeccable QC. Thanks for watching, rock on!
The bridge on my cutlass is the worst. I had to set it non-floating, and now I don't use the bar at all. The worst thing is there is no aftermarket tremolo that can fit without any modifications.
Sucks but not surprised at all! Which Cutlass do you have? I think the Gotoh 510 might fit in the Richardson Cutlass models but I'm not 100% sure. It's the same bridge as the Petrucci's and those can be upgraded. Thanks for watching!
My Sterling Jp60 has excellent tuning stability. Truly perfect in that regard. But the nut and bridge width is to big for the neck so the high e slips of the fretboard. Also the overal fit&finish is way to bad for the pricetag.
I’ve owned about a dozen different Sterlings over the years, but never one with a floating trem because I play guitar like a Neanderthal. All the Stingray and Cutlass models I’ve had, I’ve always just locked the bridge down and thrown on some cheap locking tuners if they didn’t have any and they’ve been solid as a rock with their tuning stability. I will say though, the pickups do sound quite sterile, so I usually switch those out with something else and have had great results.
I don't have experience with that specific model unfortunately so I don't have any opinion other than all of my experiences with Sterling have been bad. IMO, I'd only buy one if you could test it ahead of time or be able to return it after the fact if you don't like it. Hopefully Sterling is upping their QC but all the ones I've played or seen students use have been bad. Hope that helps, good luck!
Buy it. It's better than the Fender Player Series. The neck is amazing and the pickups are better than most Fenders that you may have played. I am not an agent for Sterling... just a wild guitar collector and musician.
So do the studs of the Gotoh bridge have threads that better match the original inserts or were those replaced also? I have a Sterling SUB Stingray in mint green with a maple neck that I have pretty much all the same opinions about. I think I got it for $250 used though and It looks really cool from across the room.
That's a solid deal, for $250 it's hard to complain lol The Gotoh bridge has it's own anchors, so you've gotta pull the old Sterling ones out and then put in the Gotoh anchors and those threads fit very tightly but also feature locking posts so there's absolutely no play in the thread to posts at all. It's a rock solid piece of kit, and it wasn't hard to do at all. I wish I had taken some pics of the install I did on my students guitar, we had the tremolo's totally swapped in about 10 minutes and it was a MASSIVE improvement in tone and tuning stability. I don't think that'll work in your guitar, as far as I know the Gotoh 510 bridge only fits in the Petrucci models but you might be able to do it, I'd suggest giving it a google search. Thanks for watching, rock on!
@@aminorerror thanks for the detailed response. I neglected to mention my instrument is a bass. I did actually acquire a proper MM style Korean after market bridge that requires posts which I never got around to installing because I enjoy playing all my other instruments more 🤘
I don’t have experience with that specific model, but Assuming I’m looking at the same one you are, looks like they list for $1300 new and come with stainless steel frets so that’s pretty hard to hate on at a $600 price tag. That said, I’d only suggest pulling the trigger if you’ve got the budget to upgrade the bridge to a Gotoh 510, the stock one just is junk objectively. Def one pretty guitar though, thanks for watching and good luck!
I had sterling axis ax3s that considered basic model? Sound and tune fine.. even the pickup was better compare to tone zone dimarzio that i also had.. so no matter the guitar is.. you DEFINITELY need the SETUP PROPERLY.. so i guess this just dude opinion..
I play 9's but I don't see any reason why string gauge could make a difference and if it did that's actually just another reason to hate on these bridges. IMO most budget trem's are pretty bad and the Sterling ones are among the worst I've ever reviewed. Thanks for watching!
@@aminorerror the extra tension pulls the trem back into place better on cheap trems. I rarely use trem bars anymore though, so I use lock offs to keep the bridges stable
My JP 6 string guitar has dimarzio pickups that sound great. I don't ever use the whammy so won't comment on that. However, i hate that i can't see the fret dots in a club , and even more annoying the first sting keeps slipping off the edge of the neck. I also own the cheaper version of the Albert Lee, love the tone of the pickups and the cool design. The neck, not so much. God bless all.
That's a bummer you're having a fretting out issue, I've def seen that in a bunch of the cheaper guitars I've reviewed. Thanks for watching, good luck!
I’ve owned 3 Sterling JP models (including the same Sahara 7 string you have) and just bought my 4th one today. I absolutely love these guitars and this new one (JP150D) is the best so far. With that said, I do not agree with their current pricing for what you’re getting. My first 3 were bought around $600-700 I believe. Now, years later, they’re $1300 because they added some better pickups? Crazy. But then again almost all guitars have gone up. Including these “budget” guitars. Ridiculous. I only bought it because I traded two guitars I no longer play. So again I only paid $700-ish. I think they justify their pricing because their Ernie Ball JPs are over $3000 which is pathetic. No guitar is worth that. Still, I do love these guitars while admitting they’re not worth $1300. Find them used and you got yourself a damn good budget guitar. Oh, and just hard tail the bridge. He’s right about the tremolo system and tuning.
Good to know. The CT50 doesn't have a fully floating bridge and that's the model I'm specifically criticizing in this video so I'm skeptical that the bone nut would fix the tuning stability issues but I'm glad to hear it's helped your guitar. Thanks for watching!
Sorry to hear you're having issues (not surprised though), yes the 510 should just drop right in. You might want to double check on a Sterling forum or Facebook page first though. Good luck!
i got the sterling music man 7 string for like 500$msrp. one day it randomly wouldnt hold tuing for even 10 seconds. i wiggled the tremolo bar lightly and BAM the wood snapped between the bridge and pickup. major bullsheit. it has a good feel for me but sheesh I'm never using the floating tremolo again.
I don't have experience with the Mariposa model specifically and it doesn't come with the floating bridge that's so problematic on other popular Sterling models. Some people have commented claiming that the Mariposa is better and I'd guess it should be because the bridge isn't a floating design (pretty sure it rests on the body) so the tuning stability should be better but I'm still skeptical. The QC and build quality has been so poor on all the Sterlings I've played I find it hard to believe it's going to be any different. I'd recommend only buying it if you have the chance to return it if it's bad and to put it through it's paces with a tuner out with the tremolo so see if it's actually staying in tune. Good luck and thanks for watching!
Btw anyone that would say that tone is in the guitar and not the amplifier or most importantly the speaker and cab isn't a good source to make claims on guitars . Just my 2 cents 🤷 a good amplifier and speaker can make even a mediocre guitar sound good .
A bad guitar sounds bad, as per all of the examples in this video or in every on of my guitar review videos. Maybe you should actually watch some of my content before leaving an ignorant comment. Thanks for watching.
@@aminorerror Ignorant comment ? Lol can't take criticism huh . A bad guitar can be made a good guitar but a bad amplifier is a bad amplifier forever. Tone is in the hands and the amplifier /speaker cab. Just because you have a channel doesn't make everything you say right . Gotta listen to your subscribers sometimes.
No, I don't tolerate rude comments. I don't care if you've subbed to the channel if you're gonna come at me and claim I'm not a good source for claims about the guitar. Honestly, your comment doesn't even make sense. This video is about the quality of a brand of guitars and has nothing to do with amps, maybe try and stay on topic bud.
@@aminorerror Right at the end of this video you say that tone comes from your guitar! How about you go back and watch your own video instead of calling your veiewer ignorant for having an opinion . Do you ever wonder why people like Philip McKnight does very well on yt? It's because he listens to his viewers he doesn't attack them and call them ignorant because their opinions differ from his. You need to check your ego at the door.
Thanks for watching, this video is mostly aimed at the very popular Petrucci or Richardson models that have the full floating bridge (thus the thumbnail). The Cutlass has a bridge that doesn't float but I guarantee if you use it it'll go out of tune and I find it hard to believe that the fit and finish and quality of instrument overall is suddenly great on your model but total crap on all of the other models I've seen.
To my hands, there are problems in the set up; the necks themselves are usually good, but the nuts are cut wrong and the bridges aren't great.I will say that the James Valentine model, out of 3 I've come across, is one of the worst functioning guitars I've come across. These aren't insurmoutable issues, but they do invole some serious mods ; I really wanted to like the St.Vincent model, and doing my own work, maybe someday I'll get a used model to work on.Can't argue with these criticisms.
I previously owned a JP15-7 with the trans purple quilt veneer. I could not for the life of me figure out how to dial in the crunchlab/liquifire set to a sound that I liked. Everything just sounded muddy like you mentioned. I think the fret work was a bit suspect as well because there were times where string bends felt extremely gritty on the frets. Like you, everything was solved by a Boden and I sold the Sterling shortly after
I'm such a huge fan of Dimarzio pups but I also had a bad experience with the Crunch Lab/Liquifire pups. I was running them in a pretty shitty Iron Label Ibanez guitar so I also just chalked it up to that...I'd guess you were having the same problems I had lol Some times you just can't polish a turd and honestly why even bother? Just save it up and buy something great to start. What Boden did you go with?
I have the sterling valentine with the bigsby style trem, I cant get it to go badly out of tune no matter how wild I go. Pickups sound good and the boost circuit is cool. The neck is a great fit for me. No real defects. Resale value is ass though
Maybe you shoud've tried a Luke. My LK100 is fantastic. Btw i am playing guitar for 49 years now. I had guitars of almost every price range (not the Bonamassa-Range). It beats every epiphone that i had easy and sadly 2 gibson lp studios in the last 6 years too. I tried Sterling Petruccis as well but they felt cheap.
Thanks for the suggestion, I'm def gonna add that to the list of guitars to try out in the future. I'm def skeptical with just how crappy the Richardson/Petrucci models are overall even beyond the bridge that the build quality is a step up but I'll def keep an open mind. If you haven't tried out Schecter's or ESP LTD's recently I'd highly recommend giving them a try. They're technically both owned by the same company and their QC has been really consistent with every guitar I've tried out, def miles better than the Sterling stuff. Thanks for watching!
@@aminorerror i totally understand. When Sterling was OLP I bought a petrucci in 2006 when they we're built in Korea. This guitar was flawless and it cost me 330 Euros.
Hello!You are wrong about the tremolo bushing,all tremolo taps rattle like that,of course this is the place for the grease.Fill it with grease and see a miracle...
Unfortunately I'm not wrong. Ibanez Lo Pro Edge bridges have a small set screw that locks the posts into the anchors and there's no play in them and it's the same for a Gotoh 510 bridge. Grease will not solve the problem of loose posts in the body anchors (they're not bushings btw either). The problems with the hardware extends to bad locking tuners and the factory consistently doesn't cut or lubricate the nuts correctly either. And the end of the day my point stands: these systems are trash and Sterling needs to do a complete overhaul of the full floating bridges. Thanks for watching.
It isn't just the Sterling models.. I owned the EBMM jp15 7 and it would NOT stay in tune. I tried for a year to set it up. Tried numerous string gages and tunings. Ended up selling it about a month ago because of tuning stability problems. I prefer my Ibanez 2027xl
That's shocking, the legit EBMM stuff is normally really solid. They aren't fully double locking systems so they aren't as solid as a Floyd system if you really abuse em but I had a few EBMM's back in '05 and '10 and they were pretty solid. Thanks for watching.
This video focuses on the Petrucci and Richardson models with the fully floating bridges and those guitars (like the one in the thumbnail) are def trash. Thanks for watching.
I haven’t owned any of these, but I’ve always been impressed by the Sterling guitars I’ve tried in stores. But I’ve never gone to town on the trem either?
Fooling around in a music shop isn't nearly enough time on an instrument to get to know it. I usually spend around 3 - 6 months on all the guitars I review, recording and teaching on them so I get to know them and how well they do in a variety of situations. Thanks for watching.
Finally! Someone supporting my opinion. I have been using JP60 for the last 4 year. I still found the frets and strings really hard to play and bending hurts. And tunning stability is bad. Maybe a good setup Will improve.
Every one of these sterling guitars I’ve played at guitar center all felt and looked like crap. They scream cheap guitar to me. The Jason Richardson model had a bridge that wasn’t even aligned properly on the body. Waste of money
@@aminorerror im very lucky that i did, my favorite guitar, and to be fair this is my second guitar and im not good or experienced in any means but in my opinion, i think its pretty good
I have a Sterling SUB AX4 with the floyd rose double locking tremelo system, I think these guitars along with the upgraded Version AX40D are decent guitars for the price range, I have upgrade mine with a Gotoh bridge and Seymour Duncan pickups now its a rock machine and stays in tune but it stayed in tune pretty well also with the stock bridge
My brother in law got one. He asked me what I thought, I almost felt like I had to lie to him. Cuz he loved it. But compared to my guitars, they are horrible.
Ive only been playing for a year but i just got the cutlass ct50 a week ago and I really like it so far. The tremolo arm wasnt on it though so the bridge thing isnt an issue for me
I know its probably too late, but you can wrap the shi-t out of the studs with plumber's Teflon tape and it would fix the give they have. I wrap the studs on non-locking TOM bridges with teflon tape. once the action is set you smush the bridge back down over the teflon taped little metal pieces and it never moves or falls off if you take all your strings off.
That's def a solid tip, I'm sure that would help. IMO, you shouldn't need to McGiver up a solution to make the guitar playable, it just should be from the factory. I don't have any sterling guitars in right now to give that a try, thanks for the suggestion though! If I decide to review any more Sterling guitars I might do that while I'm tracking to try and help with tuning stability. Both the Richardson and last JP I reviewed were a freaking mess. Thanks for watching!
Good shout mentioning the Kiesel Aries, only issue with that is the stupid tuner placement. I was looking to buy a Sabre and I'm glad I found this video before I bought one. Looking at the specs it just says "Modern Bridge", what the F is a modern bridge 😂 I guess they make up for the Junky design by giving a decent set of Fishman Fluence pickups in there for the gear whores.
I just bought my very first JP guitar and I think it's something logical what you say.. I haven't tested the guitar. I used to play double locking guitars, I have three of them. but I need and open guitar will double action tremolo without locking, just because in my band I need that specs. need to listen a solution from you. thanks.
I’d recommend starting with replacing the bridge to a Gotoh 510 and upgrading the nut. That should help with the tuning issues…although for that much money and work maybe going with something else would make more sense. Thanks for watching!
@@aminorerror I've found another simple solution, it's the tremolo stabilizer it's will give you a balance supposedly, if the test provide an acceptable or good solution. l'll let you know. thanks for the advice anyway.
Your comment is still right over here. The reviews I read on the tremmory were pretty hash, I don't think it'll do what you think it's gonna do. At the end of the day, none of that even matters. The bridges don't stay in tune from the factory and that's the problem and the point of this video. Sterling needs to up their game and go back to the drawing board and come out with an upgraded bridge that actually functions.
