I usually play a j bass but I wanted to jump over to guitar. It came right on time. Earlier than expected actually. The guitar was beautiful. No defects that I can see. Played great out of the box. Does need a set up but that's no big deal really. Got a little fret buzz on the G string but the guitar was sitting in a warehouse for 3 or 4 months before I bought it. Sounds great though! I wanted a little meat with my strat so I went with the Shawbucker strat. The Shawbucker has a lot of bite that gives you a great rock tone. But don't sleep on the single coil V-Mods. They also have a great tone especially when your tone knobs are rolled down to 0. when rolled up you get that classic stratty sound with a little bit more brightness and warmth I believe. Not a long time strat player though so take that for what you will. Had the guitar for almost a month and I've rarely rolled the tone knobs up at all. I just love the sound of em turned down. I was a bit worried that I shouldve went Gibson because I like to rock a little harder than most. I played a lot of stuff in A or B on bass. but this strat can easily compete with an SG or a Les Paul right when you pull it out of the box in terms of getting a great hard rock/metal tone. You can even play Metallica songs right away without any type of pedal or anything. It just has a great tone. I'm getting a metal muff pedal soon. Then we will really get going. Long story short you can take the strat almost wherever you want with it. The neck… read more feels good and since I'm used to a J bass I can hop around on the stings like a bunny. I don't like pop in whammy bars but this one has one. I'm just quirky and I keep thinking that I'm gonna damage my guitar. You have to use a little muscle to pop it in an out. I can't imagine what this thing would sound like if I had a Marshall half stack. Ugh it would get real nasty real quick. Nasty in a good way.

Sound
Like I said this thing can be whatever you want it to be. A hard rock/medal machine or a country bands rhythm guitarist. And everything in between

Features
Most useful - That friggin Shaw humbucker. Least- no useless feature on this guitar. I mean I don't use the out of phase positions much so I guess it's useless to me specifically. Not really though those out of phase positions sounds great.

Ease of Use
Open the box. Plug it up. Whatever position it might be in I'll bet it's going to be a good sound. Might favorite spot is on the Shawbucker with both tone knobs at zero. Pure rock sound achieved. The v-mods sounds great with the tones down as well.

Quality
It's a fender so yeah. Had a little g string fret buzz.

Value
Its fender so it ain't cheap but you'll not need another guitar any time soon, if at all.

Manufacturer Support
Never had to contact them.

The Wow Factor
This thing was grittier than I anticipated. Hard rocks songs are played with no sweat. Even Metallica and slayer tones are achievable with this thing. And I have yet to but any effect pedals at all.

Musical Background:
Jam at home, long time percussionist, bassist, not playing guitar

Musical Style:
Any and everything. As long as I think it sounds good. Preferably hard rock/metal read less