Sterling by Music Man Cutlass HSS Electric Guitar Rose Gold

I love the guitar don't get me wrong but the action is to high ,i would recommend for a beginner

I have been playing guitar over 30 years, in a theater pit band, in jazz, blues, metal, contemporary Christian, and others bands. Playing all of those different styles I have played/owned and/or still own many high end guitars from Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, Jackson, Taylor, Breedlove, Alvarez, etc. I also build guitars, from raw materials to finish (oil, nitro, poly) as well as repairs. I like to build guitars from spare parts as well. I collect guitars too, regardless of price point. My Sterling Cutlass came home with me because it's different than the other guitars in my toolbox/collection. There's another great way to build, in customization of your instrument. The Sterling Cutlass, I bought it because I liked the sound and feel of the guitar. The neck is fatter than a strat, which feels great in larger hands, less fatigue when playing chords and riffs, awesome for digging in for those notes that need extra emphasis. The body is thinner than a Fender strat, or most strat-esque guitars, very comfortable, no sharp angles or bevels, great access to every note, super comfortable heal (something I love about Sterling and their bigger sibling EBMM). The color is wholly different than any other in my collection and I have been looking to get out of the standard finishes, shapes, and a so on. The Cutlass is fresh take on the Strat, has that familiarity, but it is much favorably different than what Fender has done for years in the guitar heel department, they only giving a slight curve off of the corners of the heel and maintaining the same neck one would find on a standard Strat. The stock pickups sound great for many styles of music, the single coils are sadly plagued by the 60 cycle hum but they still chimed beautifully, a coil split option is Not available for the bridge pickup unfortunately, put it in position 2 and you have more than enough bridge single coil sound to make up for it, it actually tames and warm some of the brightness of what a bridge single coil typically has; so the lack of split may not be a necessity, I'd like for a phase switch to for the bridge at least to have been a feature. The inclusion of locking tuners is a major bonus, as is the absence of string trees, makes string changes fast and easy. Ultimately, I liked the Sterling Cutlass enough too buy the one with the SSS pickup configuration. I also own a few other Sterling guitars and bass, if that doesn't say enough.

Overall this is a FANTASTIC guitar. It has a roasted maple neck with a rosewood board, nice neck, locking keys, a quality bridge, stays in tune well when I use it. I like the push in vibrato bar, although it was very tight (I was afraid it was going to damage it pushing it in the first time, but on the other hand it should be tight). I like the dropped copper color (kind of a metallic root beer color). Poplar body seems ok - possibly a little heavier than alder but body but maybe a little thinner so seems normal weight. I think the wood performs ok - seems a lot like an alder body to me. The nut slots needed cut deeper as the action was high on the first fret, and it needed intonation after I performed a setup. I was not thrilled by the stock pickups or the dime sized pots - which I upgraded. I frequently upgrade pickups on guitars because I am picky. The stock pickups had alnico magnets, but the stock singles were low output to me and a little dull/dark sounding. I found the strat-sized pickup cutouts in the pickguard had to be widened to get the standard sized strat pickup covers to fit. The replacement bridge pickup fit fine. It is a great deal in its price range. After the electronic upgrades and setup it plays and sounds a lot more like a real musicman cutlass. I think it is better than most of the competition in this price range, except for maybe the electronics (body, neck, and hardware are very good). Most won't offer a roasted neck with locking keys for twice the price. Oh, no case or gig bag - but I have a strat style HSC here that will fit fine so no problem for me.

Best neck made in history! Frets are medium high. No problem bending. Traded in both strats for this. Incredible!

I'm just a bedroom player, but I have always bought and prefer high end gear. That being said, I traded in a Carvin ct4m for this guitar and am not sorry at all. I will definitely be replacing the electronics in it, and the pups, but for the price, I don't think there's a better guitar out there. Its nice and light, that was my main complaint about my Carvin.