Better Guitar

player opinions

Fender Tom Delonge Strat

Name: Josh
Band: Past Prevents
Model Year: 2001
Price Paid: $249
Performance
I got this guitar about four weeks before our band got together. Honestly I love the sound quality this bad baby has, I also like the 70’s head stock and the Seymour Duncan humbucker. Another thing I love about this guitar is the fact that you don’t have to spend so much time fooling around with your knobs. One more thing is the fact that if you buy the sea foam green, it’s inevitable, your gonna get the chicks.
Performance Rating: 9
Sound Quality
Well, the sound is good and all, just not with too much distortion. I run off of a 70’s model Peavey full-stack, and a Digitech digital pedal. I love the sound of this guitar, just don’t make it sound like you try to hard with it. Plug it up, and go.
Sound Quality Rating: 9
Construction
My band has practice at least 4 times a week. The times that we’re not practicing, I’m either learning something new or sleeping. This guitar can stand playing, I mean, don’t get carried away with it, don’t try to pull a Tom Delonge and break it or something, have fun and buy this guitar.
Construction Rating: 10

Name: J.E.B.
Band: M.Y. and The Ghouls
Model Year: 2001
Price Paid: $200
Performance
I just want to start off by saying I utterly hate blink 182. I bought this guitar not knowing who Tom Delonge was. The guitar is really easy to play, and I have midget hands, so I’m pretty picky.
Performance Rating: 9
Sound Quality
The one knob made me worry at first, but after I played it I realize you don’t need any more. The Duncans, although made in Mexico, are really heavy. If your trying to play jazz or that jam band junk thats ever so popular, don’t buy it. If you’re doing punk or metal or hardcore, it’s a good guitar.
Sound Quality Rating: 8
Construction
Little paint chip, but I bought it used. Fender is usually okay with longevity of the body. I have never had any problems with Duncan pickups either. It’s nice and light too, rare for a Fender. The only problem I have with it is the colour. It looks like a highlighter with a stick coming out of it. The only one they had was the grafitti yellow one. Get the blue one and save someones eyes.
Construction Rating: 8

Name: Aaron Davenport
Band: We haven’t decided yet either: None Of The Above or Forensic
Model Year: I don’t know
Price Paid: $400
Performance
It’s a really good guitar. I got one last Christmas and I always play it, but I’m going to get a Gibson ES-333 eventually. I wanted Tom’s new Gibson but it was too much so I’m gonna get the ES-333, but this guitar has really good sound and it’s light. One thing I like about it is all you have to do, since there is one know (Volume), you plug it in and jam it sounds good with most types of music to me. It does anything from Led Zeppelin to a Punk band.
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
The effects are clean, except when you turn the distortion up really loud and don’t touch the strings then it will make a buzzing sound but doesn’t every guitar? Haha.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
I haven’t had any problems yet. The neck is different than my Squire but you will get used to it real fast. I did.
Construction Rating: 10

Name: Wesley Loyd
Band: Never Ending Day
Model Year: 2001
Price Paid: Nothing, it was a gift on my birthday
Performance
This guitar is the best guitar I have ever played. It is a lot easier to play then my gold top Les Paul. The guitar is very light and easy to play so when I’m kicking out those Van Halen solos or just playing Blink183 the guitar kicks it hard. Everything Fender said about this guitar is true. This is a downstrokers dream.
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
The pickup is off the wall. All it does is keep on crankin’ those super rad sounds with the great tone of the alder body. I play through a Mesa Engineering head with 2 Marshall cabs and a Boss Sound Station.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
This guitar is not cheap. It is made better then most of the American Strats I played. I play this guitar on a 44 hour week playtime and it hasn’t had one problem yet. The color is yellow but the sounds not mellow.
Construction Rating: 10

Name: Ryan Whitmore
Band: Jackanapes
Model Year: 2000
Price Paid: $530
Performance
This guitar is made for me. It fits my body because I am 6'3" and I have huge hands that go sooo well with this neck. It’s made specifically for bigger guys like Tom Delonge. Thank God I am big so I can play. The paint job is so rad its all you see when you walk into my room. It’s blinding beauty will give you a headache. I am in love with it. I never worried about knobs when it came to guitars so with it being just one knob doesn’t really get on my nerves all I need it one. And one pick up. It’s great.
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
I love the sound. Not many people do. But I do. It goes well with my band. So well that I am replacing the pickups in all of my other guitars to the Seymour Duncan. I love it. It’s good.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
Some are made better than others, but mine is extremely rad. I love it and so does everyone else that has came over to play it. This guitar made me a better person. Or a better guitar player at least.
Construction Rating: 10

Name: Nigel Hoffman
Band: -----
Model Year: 2000
Price Paid: $700
Performance
The neck is the best I’ve played on out of my 7 guitars, and it’s VERY easy to play, with only one volume knob. So, if you’re a punk-poser, this is perfect guitar for you. Great Strat body, weak pickup, one volume knob, horrible color, but it still has the body cavities! This guitar sucks, do not buy it if you want to play something other than poser punk.
Performance Rating: 2
Sound Quality
Sounds so/so, the pickup is so/so, and it’s clean. Kinda dirty, but yeah, like playing through mud.
Sound Quality Rating: 3
Construction
It’s a well made-guitar I suppose. Metal case, and no problems, other than it sucks!
Construction Rating: 2

Name: Florian
Band: Schibinello
Model Year: 2001
Price Paid: $311
Performance
I LOVE IT! Nice and easy to play! You make a lot of mistakes? This axe will forgive you! There’s nothing more to say. The best I ever played.
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
BEEFY BEEFY BEEFY. The 2nd guitarist always wants to kill me!
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
HMM, I think I got a bad one! There’s a little finish mistake at the Neck/Body connection! But that’s the only thing. If I want, I’ll buy Sperzels and fix the problems.
Construction Rating: 9

Name: F Face
Band: -----
Model Year: 2000
Price Paid: £199
Performance
Awesome. Well, easy to play.
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
Amazingly clean, crisp sound. No tone.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
Brilliant, great finish on everything. No problems whatsoever.
Construction Rating: 10

Name: Chris
Band: -----
Model Year: -----
Price Paid: $350
Performance
As far as performance goes, the guitar is great. I use it as a secondary lower tuned gutar, which the bridge is great for. It has held up well compared to my other guitar that’s strung like a bass. The neck is a little thick for my taste so it has sort of a... “round” sound to it, but it still kicks butt.
Performance Rating: 9
Sound Quality
Seymour Duncan SH-8 Invader Humbucker pickup. One word; Niiiiicee! It’s almost noiseless, I’ve got one on my other guitar as well. I love, not only the sound, put the power also. It has so much output. I wouldn’t use anything else. I play through a Boss Mega Distortion pedal into a Marshall and it sounds awesome! And the clean is probably the single best I’ve heard ever. I wouldn’t use any other guitar for my stuff.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
Everything on it is really nice. It doesn’t have a lot of hardware so it’s nice and light-weight but it holds up well. I haven’t had any problems with it at all.
Construction Rating: 9

Name: Ryan
Band: -----
Model Year: 2002
Price Paid: $320
Performance
I purchased this guitar at Guitar Center in Raleigh for $320!! They had over inventory and were losing $120 on each of these they sold. They had 3 left so I picked one up. This guitar performs very well. The pickups are spaced widely for easy playability. The neck could be thinner but as is, it plays incredible.
Performance Rating: 9
Sound Quality
Sound....uhh Awesome. This guitar is sporting a Seymour Duncan Invader pickup, which SCREAMS at any volume. Perfect for power chords and Punk Rock music. It has a fat, deep tone when played clean and a kick butt Beefy tone when played Distorted. I play through a Dan Electro Daddy-O distortion pedal, but this guitar has awesome distortion through practically anything.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
Had it for about 4 months... no problems. Not long enough to tell if it will have any problems though, so I cannot accurately rate this area.
Construction Rating: 9

Name: Joey
Band: Another Common Trend
Model Year: 2002
Price Paid: $530
Performance
I love this guitar. You don’t have to worry about any switches or anything else. All you have to do is just plug in and play.
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
The Seymour Duncan Invader is probably one of the best sounding pickups ever made. I love it. As Tom said, “You can have a really crappy pickup and a really nice amp and it will still sound like crap. But if you have a really nice, crisp sounding pickup and a really crappy amp, it will still sound awesome.” He said something like that.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
A Fender guitar will last for a lifetime. What a stupid question. As far as the construction you have a universal body, unfinished neck (which rocks), 70’s headstock-how cool is that. There are many other things but I don’t have enough time to get into them.
Construction Rating: 10

Name: John Hoyle
Band: Krump!
Model Year: 2002
Price Paid: £450
Performance
Yea this guitar is amazing. It looks rad, it sounds rad, plays rad. It’s the ultam of punk/punk rock guitar. I found it is easy to play, the frets are spaced perfect, the right tone. All it has control wise is a volume knob. It’s a basic guitar that make it easy to use. Thank God!
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
The pickup in this is a Seymor Duncan Invader humbucker and it is loud! You need hardly any gain or volume to make a noise. It has a nice phat prangy sound. Top quality pickup for a top guitar.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
This guitar is a solid guitar, nothing wrong with it what so ever. Its light, it has an excellent finish. Just because its Mexican doesn’t mean its rubbish, except the chrome gets dirty all the time but that can not be helped.
Construction Rating: 10

Name: Danny Christian
Band: Anthem
Model Year: 2001
Price Paid: $450
Performance
Overall it’s just a great guitar. I have no complaints and I love it. It’s loud powerful and it looks good!
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
The tone is pretty good. I miss the control knobs though.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
It’s extremely solid and I dig the way it is set up. The frets are great easy to play on. And everyone at our shows says they love the phat fat sound.
Construction Rating: 10

Name: Eric Bouza
Band: -----
Model Year: 2002
Price Paid: $450
Performance
The guitar plays O.K. Because of the “Jumbo” frets, the action is high.
Performance Rating: 8
Sound Quality
The so-called Seymour Duncan Invader is made in Mexico to their standards. For distortion, it lives up to the hype. For anything else, put in a Seymour Duncan “Pearly Gates” pickup ($75.00). The Invader pickup sound is pleasant but dirty. The pickup has a muddy sound to it. It’s not a guitar you can grow with, unless you are going to play Punk or Metal all your life. For a few bucks more you can get a Fender 60’s Classic. A much better guitar. Although, you will still have to replace the Mexican cheapo pickups.
Sound Quality Rating: 7
Construction
Don’t get me started on the quality issue. Of the 3 Tom DeLonge Strats available at the music store, all had visible quality control problems. On 2 of the guitars, the bridge was uneven with the rest of the instrument. It’s obvious Fender is cutting corners. My example had some minor flaws I though I could live with. Upon closer inspection, my worst fears were confirmed. The more I looked, the more I found. I exchanged it for a 60’s Classic. Much happier now. The quality is better. Still made in Mexico, but the guy who made mine must have gotten a good siesta that afternoon.
Construction Rating: 4

Name: Josh Carson (people call me Carson)
Band: Nona... yet...
Model Year: 2001
Price Paid: $525
Performance
The two words that best describe this guitar, are WICKED SWEET. The giant frets make it wicked easy to play and it has an awesome sound, plus it looks sweet. Fender says it’s a down-strokers dream, and that couldn’t be more true.
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
It sounds awesome. The pickup is really easy to adjust so you an get whatever kind of sound you want out of it.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
Nothing’s gone wrong with it yet.
Construction Rating: 10

Name: Squall Kirk
Band: SNAFU
Model Year: 2002
Price Paid: $490
Performance
This product works extremely well and pushes the bang for the buck. It is extremely easy to use; the neck reminds me of American Strats and the sound is incomparable on any amplifier. I have been playing the guitar for 5 years, and I have learned jazz, rock, funk, blues, and dance music. This guitar is my new favorite guitar. It can stand to everything I play, and keeps things simple.
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
Sound is just what any guitar god or punk wanna-be wants. It can crank mellow bluesy distorted tones, and stinging clean highs. Even make you sound like Blink 182 or Box Car racer — if you are good enough. No hum, no noise; just what you would expect from Seymour Duncan. They use the Invader pickup: the highest output pickup in the world.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
This is a true gig-worthy axe. Feels like a hand crafted machine and will last longer then you. The only problem would have to be the tuning. Spend $80 and add some Spertzel locking tuners on it and you should be fine. The best guitar I have ever played. No hokum about it.
Construction Rating: 9

Name: Brandon Bladen
Band: -----
Model Year: 2002
Price Paid: $490
Performance
This product works very well, and I think that if you are looking for a punk guitar. If you need one and the type of music that you play it is very versatile, there are many things that you could do with a guitar like this. I think that Tom put the perfect punk guitar together and I think it is the best. The best color that it comes in is the daphne blue color. It is the best!
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
The Seymour Duncan Invader humbucker that it comes with is a very nice and expensive item and the one volume knob makes this guitar less confusing.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
All of the features on the outside are very strong and sturdy and if you break the neck of this guitar there is something wrong with you and not the guitar, and if you think that the guitar is not top quality you are wrong!
Construction Rating: 10

Name: Jimmy
Band: Another Last Chance
Model Year: 2002
Price Paid: $500
Performance
I am a gigantic Tom Delonge/Blink 182 fan and have been playing upwards of 5 years. I bought this half because I want to support Tom, and half because it’s the coolest set up on a Fender Strat ever! It’s really all I’m looking for besides my other geetar (Fender Deluxe Fat), one Seymour Duncan Invader (most of my guitars have it!), one volume knob...and that’s it. The thing plays great, and I was surprised by the fact I like this guitar more than my other Fender. Its got a great “feel” and the hard tail design gives it superb sustain. Another cool aspect is it doesn’t have no gaudy TOM DELONGE signatures anywhere, just his name stamped into the neck plate. The graffitI yellow color I have is amazing and the string through body is beautiful. The only real problem is it doesn’t stay in tune for long amounts of time... mine does more than most of the others I’ve played or read about though. So I ’m going to throw some Sperzels on there and it should make up for that for the most part. If you want a great playing, cheaper than a USA made guitar for punk OR metal, check out the Delonge.
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
The Seymour Duncan pickup, in short is a poop storm of sound. It’s extremely heavy and has a cool clean sound as well. The greatest pickup ever. I pump this Delonge through my Crate 2x12, but soon will be a Mesa Boogie stack, and it rocks the house (and stage... and studio). I use it with my Shure Wireless system and it recreates the sound I want perfectly.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
This guitar does not seem cheaply thrown together at all, the neck isn’t loose at all, the fretboard is great for all walks of music, and the only real pet peeve is the tuning. It’s good. I’m sure my next guitar (another ESP) may be better, but the Delonge will stand a long test of time.
Construction Rating: 9

Name: David Martin
Band: -----
Model Year: 2001
Price Paid: $489
Performance
This is the best guitar I have ever played. It sounds great even through a bass amp. It has a one of a kind sound that is great. The pickups are the best. It is just the best guitar. I think a lot of people say that it is kind of a hit or miss thing: some are great and others suck, but the one I got is really good. If you get one, I hope it’s a good one.
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
The tone is great. Right now I’m broke and the only amp I have is a 15 watt bass amp. And it sounds great even with that amp.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
The guitar says in tune no matter what. I have had it for 2 weeks and I have tuned it once. And that is because I had to restring it from playing it so much. This is one of the best guitars you can buy.
Construction Rating: 10

Name: Calvin
Band: -----
Model Year: 2001
Price Paid: $449
Performance
I wanted a simple guitar with an aggressive sound. I saw this at a Guitar Center and liked the way it looked, one pickup and a volume knob.
Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
It has a single Duncan Invader Humbucker in the bridge and it SMOKES! I use a POD with 2 Carvin Bel Air 2-12 combos. I mainly use the Marshall JCM 800 and Mesa Boogie amp models with this guitar. It has the greatest aggressive tone I have probably ever had.
Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
It is made in Mexico and like many other Mexican made Fender guitars, you need to play several to find a good one. The workmanship on mine is excellent but I played 3 other of the same model that were not very good.
Construction Rating: 10

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