Rogue Review: ST-4

History:

Purchase: I got it from Musicians Friend for $90, since it is my first guitar,I didn't want to waste money on it in case that I didn't like it.

What I Like About This Rogue ST-4: For $90 you can't get anything like this from any other company. I've played the Squier Fat Strat, the equivilant of my guitar, and mine sounds better, with 2 single coils, which are good for clean sounds, or light distortion and a humbucker that gets a great heavy distortion out with the use of my Ibanez Smash Box pedal. Also it is thin and very light, while the level up (Squier) is thicker and much heavier. I move a lot while playing so the lightness is a good thing.

What I Do NOT Like About The Rogue ST-4: There are a few problems with this guitar, which is expected for only $90. One is with lighter gauge strings 9-42 the first 3 frets buzzed badly. I put a set of 10-46 strings on, and this problem went away, I also tightened the truss rod a bit and now there is no more buzzing. Second, the tone knobs have no fine control, you can either get a very bassy sound with no high end, or a strong sound which sounds much better, but can not be fine tuned. The guitar also falls out of tune after playing hard for about 45 minutes. Other than that, it is a great guitar.

Rogue ST-4 Quality Rating: I believe that it is made of plywood, because I can't think of anything that could be that light. The neck is a bolt-on with 4 bolts, which is effective.

Review Summary: For a starters guitar, go with the Rogue instead of a Squier, the Squier will cost you 2 and a half times as much, and sounds pretty much the same. If you are advanced, you could buy it, upgrade it, or smash it because of the price.

Rating of this Rogue product: 5

This Rogue ST-4 Electric Guitars Review Submitted By: Greg Yeager

Review Date: 2002-03-29