I picked this up as my midlife crisis present to myself. Despite the price, this is a very solid instrument- the neck feels nice and fast, the frets are well dressed and the HSS combination allows me to play anything from Cash to Metallica. The pickups aren't the greatest, but they work well enough and are easy to replace if you want something hotter. If you put on heavier strings than the 0.09s this comes with you'll probably need to add some springs to the tremolo to keep the bridge down- standard Fender springs work fine.

I was strolling through a guitar store the other day and fiddling with various instruments and was surprised- the only instruments I really preferred to this were $1000+. *Much* nicer than the Squires in the same price range.

I have used this guitar model (all five color choices) in my guitar class for over 10 years. It is an extroidinary guitar that serves classroom situations nicely. The neck body construction, tuners, and electronics make it an excellent choice for those wanting a guitar that can do it all and take typical classroom abuse. It has great tone range with its pickup system. Many kids prefer this model over their own when performing. Add a gig bag and cable, and you are in business. Only modification that may be necessary is replacing the input jack with a metal upgrade after it breaks. The price on this instrument makes it an excellent purchase for long term use. Get this model! Not the Pacifica 012. Your kids will love you!

I have owned this guitar for the past 13 years. Since then I have modified the guitar by replacing all pickups, adding the x-bridge, and a crapload of switches making her more versatile than ever. This guitar has great potential, you can hear it's acoustic quality without even being plugged in. That's why I chose one, but sound more incredible now than when I got it stock. You need to raise the bridge quite a bit to get rid of fretbuzz.

Pickups weak, frets buzz way to much, but good for the price.

I got this guitar a while ago, and I must say, this is probably one of the worst guitars I have ever played.

Pros: - Single-coil pickups sound nice. - The neck is smooth - Can take a beating (I've dropped it more times than I can count, and there's not a scratch on it)

Cons: - Does not stay in tune well (don't even think about using the tremolo or a capo) - Humbucker pickup is too bright - Too much fret buzz (I adjusted the action many times, but it's no use) - Strap buttons don't seem to work very well, as my guitar is always falling.

Overall, I'd say this is a good 1st guitar, but if you've been playing for more than a year, I would get something of better quality.