Fender Tom Delonge Strat Reviews 4

Bought online from Drumcityguitarland on closeout about a month ago. $380

Everything. Simple, streamlined, one humbucker, one knob, fast neck, great tone. [quote]For all you dumb people out there: this is a PUNK guitar. [/quote] For the guy who said this: you're the dumb person. I NEVER play punk, but this guitar works for a ton of different styles. Hard rock/metal it does VERY well. The Invader is an amazing pickup.

Nothing really...oh, the "tom delonge" neckplate. *replaced*

Solid-feeling, great mexican fender. When I got it, the setup on it was PERFECT and still is. I'm in love. For the money, it's one of the best guitars I've owned, and easily the best value.

IF YOU FIND ONE OF THESE, BUY IT! If you can find one at a retailer, they're probably still on closeout for under $400. If you see someone on ebay selling it for over $600, they're dumb, but it's still worth it. Have fun, guys.

Davetheguitarhero rated this unit 5 on 2005-04-08.

I bought it from a friend for 250 bucks because he wanted to get rid of it. I figured out why.

hmmm... highly flammable laquer. easily breaks when ran over by a car or thrown against a wall.

well lets see, I would say there are only 2 other ways to get a better sound than with this guitar: 1. play any other guitar ever made. 2. listen to yourself taking a shit.when i first played this guitar, I listened to it's sound, and I would say it is compareable to that of a goat being slaughtered. As triumph would say, the tonal diversity is very good..... for me to poop on. it has 1 pickup, one knob, NO tone knobs, No tremelo. There is one sound!

N/A

this thing was put together by a 3 year old in korea or whatever. Tom Delonge is a stupid sack of crap that sucks at playing, just like his guitar. he is a moron for using it. MY friend who owns the guitar thinks it is cool. He is blind and deaf, and is on multiple prescription drugs, and is mildy retarded.

Tom Delonge rated this unit 1 on 2004-06-27.

Ordered the guitar through fender corp. online. I payed a total of $600.00 which included shipping. I thought the design of the guitar was awesome, and the most unique i've seen in a while! CHARLES B. DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL HE'S TALKING ABOUT!!!

It's simple... everything. This unit was built to pump out it's clean high notes and it's fat&beffy bass notes. With just one volume knob and one humbucker pick-up, it blows your head off and your mind away.

The guitar only comes in a few colors, unless you special order one.

Very well built, smooth and def. fun to play.

I love the no nonsense approach to making of this awesome guitar. Just shows that you don't need to be all complicated to get good sound... look how famous blink 182 is now(2004)

jeremiah puentes rated this unit 5 on 2004-06-25.

I picked this guitar up from guitar center for $402 with tax. I also got a "free" deluxe fender gig bag.

I really like the sound of this guitar. Its has a punchy, but heavy sound to it. I always leave the tone knobs cranked, so I like how the tone pot has been nixed. A simple guitar that's great for playing power\bar chords. It is not very heavy, but enough so that you know it's there.

The vintage tuners are not that great, I'm suprised they stuck them on this guitar. They don't keep the guitar tuned up as long as grovers or other higher end ones. I'm probably going to nix them and install some grovers.

This guitar has the fender strat name, so you know its built well. The neck is straight and the innotation is great. The paint job is super shiny and thick, the way a strat should be.(I hate sunburst paint jobs.)

If you want to play obscene 20 minute solos (like metallica) DON'T buy this guitar. The neck isn't that fast because of the high frets and factory action. If you want to play rythm and have a mean sound then this guitar is for you. It's great for guitar driven music like Green Day and Blink 182(of course).

I hate Tom Delonge and his little band rated this unit 4 on 2004-01-07.

I bought it from a yard sale that some old guy had. I thought it would be fun to start a guitar collection after my 13 years of playing guitar. I paid about $300 for it. It was pretty much brand new. Just a few scratches on the pickgaurd.

The only thing I like about this hunk of garbage is that it is lighter than any of my other guitars.

The tone is horrible! Way too simple of machine. Sounds like a rubber-band strechted over a tin can with a bobcat inside! Only one Invader humbucker(no offense Seymor Duncan), no tone variations at all. The neck is so slow that my grandma can walk a mile before I can even get half way through a major scale. The color is so girly that it makes me want to gag! (Surf Green)

BPOC Big Piece Of Crap! It is acually put together pretty nice in Mexico! Yea baby. No whammy-bar makes it imposible to take dives or do any tremolo whats so ever.

Do not get this guitar! Even if you are completely stupid, there is no reason for this chunk of cheap wood to even be in anyones home, let alone acually use it. Way too simple. Even too simple for a beginner. I put in the attick under some old clothes locked in a trunk so I never have to see or hear it ever again!

Lyle Seversen rated this unit 1 on 2003-12-08.

I haven't bought it yet. I'm really holding out to get a black one. They tend to be more expensive because most places don't carry them any more. I got to play one at a Guitar Center. It cost 450

Unlike other tight wads, I LIKE the single humbucker/volume nob. I also like the high powered, overdriven sound of the Detonator humbucker. The guitar is heavier than most Strats. I'm 6'3 and pretty strong for my weight. I'd rather have a heavier guitar. Some one said the neck was slow. They're full of it. The guitar does have a thick neck, but people with long fingers like me (and presumably Tom DeLonge) find that more comfortable. It looks cool as well, but if you've seen one strat, you've seen 'em all.

I don't like the fact that Fender didn't release this guitar before Tom could make it his signature model. Then, it would be cheaper than Standard Strats and be available in more colors. I also hate the fact that Musicians Friend, Guitar Center, and basically every other music store stopped carrying the black ones. The other irratating thing is I'm in a band, so I'll get a lot of flak for playing a signature model.

It looks great. THe bdy is well made and well painted. It uses a Detonator, my favorite humbucker. It also has the seventies head stock.

It's a great guitar, but don't just run out and buy it. It's my idea of the perfect guitar, but a lot of people either don't like it or they have rich parents who spend 500 dollars on them to have a Blink-182 guitar that they don't even know how to play.

Juston Bondora rated this unit 5 on 2003-08-07.

I wanted the Tom Delonge Start so bad and I purchased it off of Musician's Friend for $500

I think the sound of the guitar is great. It is very easy to play. I also like the look of the guitar it is different from any other strat.

There is nothing I don't like about the Tom Delonge Strat

The construction and quality of this is excellent!

If you are a beginner and want to cool nice looking guitar. Buy the Tom Delonge start it is fun and easy to play.

Trisha rated this unit 5 on 2003-06-09.

I was stopping by Guitar Center at least twice a week searching for a guitar that would fit my playing style. I played them all. After 2 months I bough a TD Strat. I fell in love with the look and sound.

I like it's looks, the big headstock, the classic shape of the body, the dark rosewood fretboard, the meaty frets, and that killer looking invader pick up. The sound works for me. Some people complain about it having only one tone. That's O.K. with me. I'm not a virtiouso, I'm not one of those players who constanly fiddle with the tone and volume knobs while there playing to find that "just right tone". I want to plug n play. And I want a wall of distortion!

The quality on these guitars can be spoty. Look at it real close. Have one of the guitar guys look at it too. Guitar Center had 3 on the rack. The first 2 had some visible flaws, they also sounded bad. The third one was the charm. One of the bad ones had ripples on the pick guard. And the bridge was crooked. Shop carefully.

Great! After passing on two others. Solid, fits me like a glove. Mine has everything put together well, worth the $500.00 I payed for it.

Don't buy this gitar if you like to constanly mess with the 4 or more tone and volume knobs found on most guitars in search of that elusive perfect tone. It's a one size fits all guys. By the way, Tom is not the first to play a Strat with one pick up, volume knob. In the mid 70's another young guitarist put together a "homemade" Strat with the neck and body of diferent vintiges. He took out all three sigle coils, and put in a humbucker in the bridge position. He eventually became a guitar icon. His name is Eddie Van Halen. This particular guitar can be heard on Van Halens first album (now a classic). Final conclusion? If you are a down picker, like that hard sound, and want to keep things simple, then this is your axe.

KAIROS rated this unit 5 on 2002-12-19.

I picked this baby at my local Guitar center.I got this strat for around 400 dollars on sale. It's around 450 dollars not on sale. I need a new guitar because my old Fender Squier was getting old and I was getting better. I found it was a great choice.

I got this guitar because I heard a ton of great things about it. And I loved the great sound it came with. I also like it because it only has two pick ups which are right next to each other. It also has one voluem nob. I find that it really doesn't matter about thoes little things.

The only thing I don't like about this guitar is that it's pretty hard to change the strings. This might be because my old Squier was really easy to change the strings.

This guitar is constructed great. The neck is really nice wood and also very smooth. It surpising that this is a Mexican made guitar. All around it is very well construced.

You don't have to be a real punk rocker (even tho I'm)to use this guitar. I love it I play it every day.

Steve Olander (Steve o) rated this unit 4 on 2002-11-30.

About two years ago i was looking for a new guitar and i saw Tom Delonge playing a fender Strat with only one humbucker and i called every store in town and not one store had heard of it.. during that summer i finally saw one in a "Tom Lee music" store and tried it out. i LOVED it. so when i got back hom I called "Long&McQuade" (a local music store) and purchased one for about $700 (canadian funds)

I really like the simple design of the guitar. you dont have to know about what kind of tone you want becase there is only one volume knob. i love the "Invader" Humbucker because it is the perfect pickup for punk. it gives you a Loud hard punchy sound and it is also great for clean

So far i havent had any problems with this guitar

This guitar is extremely good quality (it has falen over many times and has no damage) i love the vintage neck and large 70's head stock

The bottom line is that if you love to play punk this is the guitar for you.. Simple yet powerful

Mike rated this unit 5 on 2002-11-13.

The Tom Delonge strat caught my attention after I discovered Blink 182 which I still listen to older cds of, and I wanted it ever since I saw it. The Seymour Duncan Invader pickup grabbed my eye also. My parents gave it to me for my birthday, they bought it for five hundred dollars in northwest Indiana.

-Seymour Duncan Invader -pearloid pickguard -finish -high quality neck

the tuning machines were a big disapointment because they are a hassle to put the strings on. I plan on buying standard or Spurzel tuning machines shortly. The plastic cover over the pickguard (not the peely one) was chipping off a bit but it's not a big problem.

The construction and quality is great, except maybe for the pickguard.

The bottom line is I got exactly what I expected and this guitar is perfect for the type of music I was playing at the time. I wouldn't take it back if I had the chance.

Andy rated this unit 5 on 2002-09-18.

I purchased the guitar at my local Guitar Center for around $450. It did not come with the gig bag that Fender advertises with it but I had a hard case to put it in, so no big deal.

I bought this guitar as a back-up for my Fender Fat Strat that just happens to have a Seymour Duncan Invader in the bridge position as well (total coincidence!) I like it a lot because it's got the warmth and crunch of a humbucker, yet still maintains the bright tone of a Strat. The neck feels great and it's nice and light because of the minimal hardware. I've read a lot of reviews of people complaining about the guitar only having one pickup and one volume knob. I don't really need a lot of bells and whistles for the type of music I play. Plus, I figure if Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and George Lynch could play guitars with 1 pickup and 1 knob...then it's probably good enough for me as well.

The only thing I don't really like about the guitar is the vintage tuners. They make changing strings a hassle. But I don't really have a problem with them staying in tune. I recommend Ernie Ball strings.

The construction is very good for a Mexican guitar. It took some tweeking to set it up the way I like it. But the guitar seems very sturdy and reliable.

You don't have to be a Blink 182 or Tom Delonge fan to like this guitar.

Bobby Q. Ribb rated this unit 4 on 2002-09-12.

To tell you the truth, i didn't even buy it. It was in the store for like $500 and when i played it, i found out that you pay 50 bucks for the guitar and 450 for the name

I did no like anything except that it was a guitar and thats better than not having one

Somebody at my skool(i wont mention who he is,(glen) but hes an asshole)told me to check this out. In the discription it says "stripped down and ready to rock!"I want to personally find the guy who wrote that and punch him in the face. The thing's a piece of fuckin shit! thers only one humbucker and one volume nob, so theres no tone adjusting and the humbucker only provides a cruchy sound.The neck is smooth and ruogh in different places. Neck is very slow. Inlays stick out. The tuners are ok, but its no reason to buy because ofnice tuners.

its a little on the heavy side. And i hate the hi-gloss finish. Probably durable so tom doesn't ruin it cuz he cant play. he's funny but he only plays power chords.

Shit. a big flaming pile of shit. if i could give it a lower rating i would. if youlike being ripped off, or like exspensive firewood, by all means, go get it

turd fergeson rated this unit 1 on 2002-09-11.

I didn't buy it, I played it several times at a local music store.

Its got a good punk sound, its got a strat feel (not a very good one though)

Soundwise it sucks, one sound, no tonal changes at all, No Tremelo because they said it was to complicated (your an idiot if you can't work one), I guess people can't bend a bar anymore. The headstock is ugly. I hate the jumbo frets on it. The fretboard overall feels like crap.

Its built like a tank (which won't make a good strat). Its a crap job IMHO by fender just a get quick rich scheme it looks like.

Don't buy it, buy a standard strat please. I mean if you are starting out and you wanna a cool guitar, you MAY want to get this guitar. DONT. You'll quickly relieze that the limited capabilities of this "instrument" are mind boggiling. And you'll kick yourself in the pants because of it.

Kevin Kelly rated this unit 1 on 2002-09-05.

I got this guitar from musicians friend for about $500.

The quality of the guitar is good. All the frets are dressed and it feels comfortable. The setup was a little out of wack when i got it (string hieght, intonation, etc.) but that was expected. After i adjusted it it was better. It played well and sounded good unamplified. When i plugged it in it sounded just as well. The clean sound was very good and trebly and distortion was all pretty good. Its a good guitar for playin straight ahead rock but not much else.

The tuners frequently got out of tune even which was a hassle but there was no reason to change the tuners to any kind of locking tuners because theres no tremolo. Just sealed tuners will do. You are also limited to one sound out of your amp unless you dial in different settings for every song unless you have 3 or 4 equalizers. There isnt much too this guitar. Its almost too simple and you are stuck in one sound which isnt always a good thing though it can be sometimes.

Good quality. This is the quality expected of the pricerange. It would be better if they threw in some good sealed tuners instead of the being stingy and throwing those crap vintage tuners around but hey that's the established industries for you.

Not a good guitar for the kids and the blink-182 poseurs. I mean come on, in a few years ur tastes are definately gonna change and ur gonna be stuck with this one tone which is a good tone but still. You wont be able to experience the other great things about the electric guitar like a tremolo or a bridge pickup. I highly recommend this as a secondary guitar to a jackson or a les paul. Good guitar but too unreasonable for the beginner. I'd save my pennies for another year and get a jackson neck thru. its not that much more money anyway.

Matt rated this unit 3 on 2002-07-11.

I got mine at Guitar center for 450, but they don't include a gig bag with it. Slight haggling got me a gig bag for 20 bucks, so 470 for the whole thing.

The Delong strat sounds great and is extremely comfortable. I haven't been playing for that long so I didn't want somehting with a lot of switches and knobs, so I fell in love with it's simplicity. All you can do with this is plug it in and play it. You should know what kind of sound you're looking for and play it before you buy it.

The one and only thing I don't like about it is that it comes out of tune really often. but how long does it take to tune a guitar? 2 minutes at the most? It's pretty much a non-issue.

Look it over before you buy it. The first one I bought had an issue with the high e string poppinng out of the nut and getting stuck on the side of the neck. I broght it back and had it filed and that didn't help it at all. So Guitar center offered to give me a new one which I immediately took. The one I have no has no problems at all. Just look it over before you buy it and you shouldn't have any problems. Based on my experience with it, I would't order this from any mail order or internet site cause if you get a ba done, it could be a hassle to send it back. Get it from a local store.

This is the guitar I'm learning to play on. It's perfect if you want to learn to play and don't want to learn on a piece of crap. There isn't much more I can say about it except 1. buy it from a store and not throguh the mail, and 2. look it over really well and play it before you buy it to avoid any issues.

Super Modes rated this unit 5 on 2002-05-03.

After Blink 182's Tom Delonge hurt his back and cancelled their european tour, I was bummed. We were walking around Zuerich (Switzerland, you hick) and my girl caught sight of the guitar in the window of a shop. I paid one thousand swiss franks ($600). I was all cheered up then. I replaced the machines with Sperzel locking tuners and haven't been disappointed since.

After replacing the tuners, it did exactly what it was built to do. No disappointments at all. I was bummed about the show being cancelled, though. The stooges who bought it only to be disappointed should have seen the componants and known exactly what they were in for. They should have played the silly thing first.

I paid a bit more because it's imported to Switzerland, but only the tuners were a bit cheap. That's where Fender saves its money often. That's not a reason to take away points. That's why there's Sperzel and Schaller.

Just fine. I play it. I don't play tennis with it, so I can't comment on its durability. If something's not right, it's probably adjustable (string height, bridge, etc).

Fender didn't break any promises. It does what it's supposed to do. I'm getting a second one. That'll cheer me up even more.

G. Galbraith rated this unit 5 on 2002-03-18.

i bought this at a local dealership. it cost me about $490

it is a very simple design which offers fat, meaty tone and sutain for punk rock. the hardtail bridge allows for making a sound unlike a standard fat strat.

the only thing i can really think of is that it comes out of tune fairly often

i really like mine in its grafitti yellow color. the vintage neck and headstock also gives it a nice vintage feel that i really like

very good guitar, but for punk and pop punk only

Drew rated this unit 5 on 2002-03-03.

This is a piece of crap that goes for arounf $500.

The only thing I liked about this guitar was that it was comfortable.

I didn't like everything else. This should be called the Tom Delonge Piece of Crap. 1 Seymor Duncan Invader humbucker, 1 volume nob and thats it. The Invader didnt impress me that much(I expected better from Seymor Duncan.) There hardly any tonal range. You 1 sound (and not a very good one. I got better sounds and a wider range of tone out of a Squire Strat(which is a better guitar). The action was too high and the sound had shrill highs. I personaly didnt like the giand frets, but maybe some people do. I dont know what that idiot was thinkin when he made this guitar. Thats Blink 182(and all those other stupid new bands), they cant play guitar for crap and dont know a thing about how good guitar should be.

The construction quality was good over all except for the high action and those giant frets which I dont really like. Its a strat so its very comfortable(one of the few good things about this guitar).

DONT BUY THIS GUITAR! IT SUCKS!

Charles B. rated this unit 1 on 2001-12-14.

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