I'm not much of a talker,but this guitar absolutely SHREDS!!! And it sounds so good. The only negative is you have yo remember to unplug the chord from your guitar. If you dont, the pickups battery will die.

I bought this guitar looking for a 6 string that felt solid and could bring a crushing chuggy tone. Its felt amazing, looked amazing but the tone fell way short. These EMG pickups left a lot to be desired on the low end and are very hollow and bright sounding. I ended up having to order a set of Fishman Moderns and problem solved! Now this guitar thumps and crushes like I wanted and am totally happy with it!!

This is my first time owning a Strat and also buying from Sweetwater. The guitar is as good as I could have dreamed. The neck is thicker than what I'm used to, but I quickly became a fan of it. Mine is around 8 and a half pounds but it's balanced nicely. I had mine set up for Drop B with 11-56 Dunlop strings and they did a great job setting it up and making it play like butter. The case it comes in is also of high quality. Overall, I think the price tag is well justified. This money for a USA guitar is a steal in my opinion.

Wanna give a shout out first to my service rep, Daniel Moore. Been with Sweetwater quite a while now and their customer service is just the best. Not only did he call me to get the correct tuning and have it setup the way I wanted (in drop B, low action), but called back to let me know that that one that'd chosen had a warped neck and they'd take care of it. Thank you, Daniel.
On to the guitar itself: just simplified and a beauty to play. Love the larger headstock and locking tuners. The case is amazing as well. Just a happy camper.

Thank you Alden D for the best customer service!

I'm blown away at the quality of this guitar. It's lightweight, feels perfect in my hands, looks absolutely gorgeous and sounds amazing. This is easily the best guitar I've owned.

I had no doubt the guitar itself would be great. I'd played the model a few times before and have always had good experiences with Fender and Squire wether U.S. made or MIM.
Out of the box the setup was near perfect (by my standards anyway) with just some very minor adjustments to intonation needed. It's a great instrument. It's tonal versatility is lesser than your typical Strat but if you're considering buying one you already know that.
This was my first order with Sweetwater and I was blown away by their customer service. Luke contacted me by phone, text, and email with order status, tracking, etc. At no time was I wondering what the status of the order was. I continue to be impressed and will likely only ever purchase online from Sweetwater in the future.

If you're like me and love the aesthetic of Fender Guitars but find the floating bridge style of Stratocaster thin sounding and inconsistent when it comes to tuning stability, this is the answer to your problems. I play lots of down-tuned rock and metal and obviously that's what this guitar is for, but even in a punk, jam band, or country scenario, I would reach for this guitar. I owned mine for 5 years before the person who gifted it to me no longer was around and so that sort of ruined my desire to own this instrument, but even still, my experience with this guitar should be used as an example to anyone who may be on the fence about this to JUMP and dive into a new world of a full, stable, and rich sounding strat. Don't let the EMG's, lack of fret dots, or single knob set up turn you away from owning an instrument you will love for years to come. The set up attainable on these is only something you would dream of. Low action with full 2 step bends and absolutely zero buzz is almost unheard of on 90% of instruments that don't cost twice this and have a 6-12 month wait time to be built for you. What are you waiting for?

I've had this guitar for 3 years and it's my go-to forever is well balanced well played in the appointments are phenomenal this is a piece of gear that I will not live without....bloody ROOT!!

Great guitar, sounds great , plays great.. Not a purchase I regret at all. This Guitar is great for many more genres than just Metal, though I am a mostly metal player don't let the EMG pickups fool you. The EMG 81/60 are a great combination and the modern C neck profile is Wow!

If you"re looking for something very different than the usual Stratocaster, this is the way to go. It has all the things I was looking for (hardtail, flatter fretboard radius, humbucking pickups, ebony fretboard), and typically all of those things mean going with a Les Paul, but I prefer the longer scale length of the Stratocaster instead of the shorter scale Les Paul, so this is the one! Only taking away 1/2 star because I do wish it had fretboard dots on the face of the fretboard. It takes a little getting used to having only the small dots on the fretboard edge. But hey, that"s why we practice, right?

First of all, my hat goes off to Mr. Tim Holsinger, who is my Sweetwater rep and all around awesome guy. Get that man a raise! I bought the demo model, as these are getting really hard to find so I had to jump on it,and I can"t even spot the blem that they pointed out to me lol. Pristine condition with an awesome setup right out of the box. I have owned all 3 JR models now, the Jazzy"s body was just way too big for me, the only complaint I had about it. The tele was sweet but I just can"t do white guitars. This is the perfect combo of both of them (mind you the necks are different from the strat and jazzy to the tele). Anyway,10/5 stars. Sweetwater keeps reminding me why Guitar center is such a joke nowadays. Thanks for the killer selection and awesome customer service guys. You have a customer for life.

Took me a long time to find and be able to afford the perfect electric. I hadn't played in 30 years. I wanted a name I was familiar with, but something with its own style. No inlays on the ebony neck, the freakin beautiful black laquer finish, the tones you get with those pickups, which go from melodically beautiful all the way to the blues and to grunge. I never felt so comfortable playing a guitar. 61, retired, and ready to see how much I can test my neighbors' patience and sense of hearing. Don't mess with a curmudgeon with a taste for Ramones and loud three chord grunge. Thanks Ty and Sweetwater.

I recently purchased this guitar from Sweetwater after looking at the JR Telecaster and Jazzmaster. I love this thing! It sounds amazing and I am very happy that I bought this guitar. I am planning on buying a Jim Root Telecaster as well. This is my first guitar with the EMG 81/60 pickup combination. They are clear, loud and sound really good. The cleans are very intense, and the distortion is perfect through my Orange Rockerverb MKiii head and Bogner 4x12. The frets are great, and I have always been a fan of Ebony fret boards.
This guitar is quality all the way. The case is G&G (my favorite) and it comes with strap locks. My guitar needs a little neck adjustment to lower the action, but other than that I am very happy. I always use PRS 10-46 strings, so those will get added when I get the setup done. It is totally playable out of the box and Sweetwater did a great job as always!! Big thanks to Tyler Moore, my Sweetwater Sales Engineer!

I received the Jim Root Strat about a week ago and haven't been able to put it down! I love the compound radius neck. Plays great right out of the box. I REALLY like the body shape. It has a Telecaster style "sharp" edge radius that is killer. Love the EMG's, the 60 is a great neck pickup. Fretwork is second to none. Perfect in every way! My sales engineer is Andy Plank and he is fantastic to work with. Always takes the time to answer any questions that I have and makes the purchase process simple!! Great job Fender and even better job Sweetwater!

I bought this Strat knowing what I was getting because I purchased the Jim Root Telecaster (Matte White) last year. See "My new favorite" for that guitar review. As always, the customer service on this purchase was top notch. The guitar plays great! The biggest difference between this and the Tele, besides the obvious body style and headstock (made in Mexico vs America), is that it comes with 10 gauge strings. It still plays like butter but you can dig in a little harder with your playing so I'll probably stick with the gauge strings it comes with. The body is really comfortable and I love the fat headstock. I have been converted to a Fender fan no doubt. Locking tuners work great and I love the finish.

I have been playing guitar for 30 years and I have played many different strats. This one has a fast neck and a totally different sound than any other strat I own. It's tones are deep and rich because of the mahogony body and the finger board of ebony. I play it and it kicks butt. The maple neck is sweet as butter.......I push it through the Orange amp and Jim Root head with no FX. I have recorded some fabulous songs and this one can Rock. It' a five star in my opinion.

I ordered this guitar on a Saturday morning and was playing it Monday morning! The service I received from my sales rep at Sweetwater was fantastic (Thanks Noah!) and I couldn't be more pleased. Now, about the guitar. This axe delivers all the down tuned thunder or metal growl you could want but surprisingly, for a mahogany bodied guitar, the notes up and down the neck ring clear without a hint of muddiness. I attribute this to the maple neck/ebony finger board combo. Fit and finish are flawless and the neck comfortable with no unruly fret edges. Set up was perfect out of the case, in fact the guitar was still tune. I like it so much I may buy the white version some time in the future.

I love strats -and have several others. But getting some of the sounds that this one delivers simply isnt possible with the others. Enter the Jim Root version. The neck is really comfortable - you can really dig in with it, but it also lets you play fast - the compound radius helps in that regard. And the mahogany body coupled with the EMGs gives you the potential to really get some heavy sounds from this. If you are looking for something that has the familiarity and feel of the strats that you love, coupled with the ability to generate massive and crushing sounds, this is a great choice. Clear and articulate clean sounds as well. Not chimey strat sounds though. Different. but very good.