Yamaha RGX121S Electrical Guitars

...purchase was a satin black Yamaha RXG121S - basically this is just a Fender Stratocaster replica (you know the little cheapo brother of which Hendrix used?) by Yamaha, with the advantage of not being associated with the bigger guitar brand name (thus a lower price), plus it has two humbucker pick-ups and 1 single coil (as opposed to vice versa) and aesthetically it's blank model name cuts it away from being referred to as a cheap version of something ...
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It is a budget guitar, but it is a good one, and anyone who knows me knows that I don't really care what guitar I use as long as a) I can afford it, b) it looks good, and c) it's comfortable to play.
All those things are catered for, as I picked it up for a little over a hundred (the standard price for a decent good guitar), and it has a classic Strat look, modified in a more heavy-metal-rocking way, in black (to match the meaty pick-ups), ... more

2 years I've been playing the guitar now. 2 years, and I've come a long way baby, yeah! Ahem...Anyway, as I prepared for this 3rd year of string fiddling it, was time for me to let go of my first 6 string baby. Not something that caused much grief as on day one of that early millennial Argos purchase, the labels of my knobs (stop laughing, childish) fell off.
Not a great start, and over it's life here, the jack needed repairing quite a few times because of it's flimsy construction. But on the plus side only one string broke ever, and the instrument did look good, and it was easy to re-string.
I used it to learn a part of my trade and now it remains in the home of someone who loves it. A guitar is not just for Xmas!

My follow-up purchase was a satin black Yamaha RXG121S - basically this is just a Fender Stratocaster replica (you know the little cheapo brother of which Hendrix used?) by Yamaha, with the advantage of not being associated with the bigger guitar brand name (thus a lower price), plus it has two humbucker pick-ups and 1 single coil (as opposed to vice versa) and aesthetically it's blank model name cuts it away from being referred to as a cheap version of something better. It is a guitar of it's own will!

It is a budget guitar, but it is a good one, and anyone who knows me knows that I don't really care what guitar I use as long as a) I can afford it, b) it looks good, and c) it's comfortable to play.
All those things are catered for, as I picked it up for a little over a hundred (the standard price for a decent good guitar), and it has a classic Strat look, modified in a more heavy-metal-rocking way, in black (to match the meaty pick-ups), and the most important thing personally, is that the neck's thinner than my old one. Not the thinnest neck I've held, but an agreeably thin neck helps many guitarists master chord changes. Thicker necks could even put off a possible future Hendrix!

The pick-ups are arranged with a single in the middle, and the double-humbuckers on either aside. These can be focussed on via a simple switch on the front bottom of the guitar, under the sturdy rubber coated volume and tone knobs.
The neck is strong yet light, which is a plus as the main body is a little heavier than my old guitar (a sign of sturdiness!). The tuning system is a little more fangled than my simple old one (which is why this comes with a booklet on maintenance!) but the guitar stays in tune for longer (wear and tear absorbtion), which is a very welcome part of this system, and on a guitar designed primarily for agressive rock players.
Obligatorily there is a well-made jack and hooks to put a strap over. Another plus is a tremolo arm, which is beneficial to soloists who want to add an extra tool to their sound palette. I doubt I'll ever use mine though!

The strings, the vibrato, tension (bridge/spring), neck curvature (via truss road), and pick-up heights can all be adjusted to suit. Much of this should be undertaken by a professional dealer, but fortunately most of these are factory set optimally for you to not really need to.

Compared to my old guitar, only weight, player-look (i.e. how it looks on me - that one suited me a bit more in looks; a thin smokey-bluesy Gibson type DeArmond M-65) and string attachment wins from the previous guitar - on pretty much everything else this guitar wins hands down, and the compromises are small.
Overall this is a brilliant replacement guitar for those moving on from decrepid first guitars, and is a great long-term investment for those new to guitar, particularly rock guitar.
It may not be the kind of guitar that Guitar Mag reading obsessives salivate over, but you can play it easily, it's built well and it's decently cheap. What more do you want? Plus it won't be too expensive to replace if you ever wish to destroy it on stage, and it beats Fenders own Strat replicas on many areas. I love mine! 

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