I bought this in Jan 2020 and missed an awesome deal which was there a week later. The packaging was below ordinary, but the guitar reached home safely. View my complete review at -- https://youtu.be/X7p5LU2i-_s

I own a Fender Squier Strat and one which has emotional value attached to it. Since I wasn't comfortable carrying my Squier arond, biught this Juarez electric guitar. The price at recent sale (Jan 2020) was irresistible, but I bought a few days early for less than 4k, still a price at which this guitar is made value for money. For comparison, my Squier HSS Bullet Strat costed 10k.

Unlike many others who suggest this as a beginner guitar, I do not think that way. If you are a beginner and do not know a bit of guitars and maintenance which can be done yourself, I wouldn't recommend this as your first electric guitar. Only exception is you are too tight on budget and can accept imperfections or can try learning to fix things yourself.

Reason is: Do not expect everything out of the box, for example, intonation (This is getting an exact octave at 12th fret. Example, when you tune open strings, an E open string should be again an E at higher octave at 12th fret). I spent at least an hour to set it up as Juarez wasn't setup for right intonation out of the box, I can understand the regular tuning may be off but expect intonation should be setup for a beginner so that it sounds well to start with. I had to learn and fix it (i am not an expert either, but i like DIY). If you take it to a shop, expect to shell out money even if you bought this cheap. Second thing is action itself, for better playability, you will need a good setup. The action setup involves checking the neck and in worst case a truss rod adjustment, adjusting string action at bridge etc. Without a good action, as a beginner, you would lose interest to play.
Third, the strings might be cheap itself, you might want to change to better strings sooner than later. Mine lasted months and I changed myself when the 1st string broke after 8 months.

Lastly, fret sprout (Google it for more details). I needed to file down fret edges so that it doesn't poke into my hand while playing. It was not like injuring, but never was comfortable moving around the fretboard. Again, my DIY skills helped. Think whether you can do the same thing or you would rely on an expert. Again, that is money spent on set up.

All being said, tone was as close to my Squier Strat, so complaints whatsoever there. Do note that it comes with 3 single coils, good for the classic Strat tone, but for metal and rock, you may feel that it lacks the punch.
Do note, it comes with no strap. Also the bag i received can only be used as dust cover, very cheap quality and can't be used to carry around as it also non padded.

Do I still like this guitar? Yes, I do! Reason: I like DIY fixes and learn stuff like what I mentioned above. This wasn't a dud and still serves me well. If you get it for a right price, why not?
Rating: 4.0
Topics: String quality