Tom DeLonge Strat Review

Artist Signature Series, 21 Medium Jumbo Frets, Alder Body, Maple Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard, Chrome Hardware.

Features:	8.6
Sound:	8.8
Action:	9.3
Reliability:	9.3
Impression:	9.3
Overall rating:	9.1
Users rating:	8.2
Comments:	39

overall: 10

Featured review by: greenday182, on july 12, 2004

Price paid: $ 400

Purchased from: ebay

Features: It's a 2003 Graffiti Yellow Tom DeLonge Strat. It was made in Mexico. Amazingly fast rosewood neck. Theres only one control on it and thats volume. It's got one Seymour Duncan Invader in the bridge position and it sounds completly awesome. It came with a Fender Deluxe Gig-Bag. // 10

Sound: The delonge fits my music style great because I do play blink stuff but I also play alot of faster stuff as well. I have two amps. I plug my shure wireless system into my Fender Frontman 25R and plug the 25R into my Fender cyber-champ. The tone is just amazing and I hardly get any feedback. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The set up on this guitar kicks major ass. The only problem I've had with the guitar is the pickup comes loose everyonce and a while but nothing really serious. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I would definatly use this guitar live without a backup (but I still have one anyway) I've done it before and its fine. The hardware will last forever on this. I did replace the strap buttons with dunlop straploks but the origanals worked fine too. // 10

Impression: I've been playing for about two years now and I've had this guitar about 9 months. If this was lost or stolen I would definatly buy it again without question. I would have to say my favorite feature is the way the pearloid pickguard sets off the graffiti yellow. It looks amazing. // 10

overall: 9.6

Reviewed by: cloud__182, on april 27, 2005

Price paid: $ 732

Purchased from: EBay

Features: I love this guitar, I have the surf green colour, and I think it's really nice, but the actually guitar probably would satisfy some guitarists, as it only has 1 pickup setting (Seymor Duncan) and it wouldn't be advisable for someone who plays heavy music, but it's awesome for a nice light tone. I've only been playing guitar for two years (this is my second guitar) so I'm not an expert on guitar features. It was custom made for Tom Delonge in 1998 (I think) in Mexico. // 8

Sound: I play pop/punk Blink 182 stuff, so this is perfect for me, and I use it with a 10watt Marshall amp, and it sounds really good. For optimum sound have the gain on 2, and contour on full, and that sounds nice and bright. If you want variety, don't get this guitar, full stop. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: This guitar was second hand, but it almost perfect condition apart from one small chip on the side of the neck, but I cant notice any manufacturing flaws, unlike my first guitar where the bridge had been fitted too low and the strings buzzed. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I'm inexperienced, so I don't know if it will withstand a gig, but it's taken a lot of band practice without any problems, and it's solid, so you shouldn't need a backup. My strap falls off alot, but it's because the strap is pretty worn, it's nothing to do with the buttons. I imagine this guitar had been in use for a few years, and when I recieved it the finish was still nice. // 10

Impression: Overall, I love this guitar. I love it looks, it sound, and its general feel. It's perfect for anyone who wants to play punk rock or generally bright sounding music, clean or distorted. I've been playing for 2 years, and all I own is this, a Yamaha Pacifica 012, my amp (mentioned earlier), and thats it (I really need a foot pedal though). This is defiantly my fave possession, and if it were stolen, I would try and claim the money on the isurance and search very hard for another one! // 10

overall: 9.6

Reviewed by: atticus_08, on march 30, 2006

Price paid: $ 500

Purchased from: Musicians Friend

Features: Fender + 1 Seymour Invader pickup + 1 volume knob = one rockin guitar! Although made in mexico, this Strat puts out some awesome distortion. It's just a stripped down guitar that is amazing dollar for dollar. // 10

Sound: I have many styles I play in, but I've developed my own sound, which every guitarist should do, but this guitar helped me get the crunchy disortion I needed. I have a Crate Blue Voodoo head going to a Kustom cab with 4 super 65' Celestion speakers. I also use a DigiTech DF7 Distortion Factory pedal or my Line 6 distortion modeler (either one sounds like heaven). I could also you my Boss Overdrive. For my effects I use a flanger for my cleans. With these pedals this guitar isn't noisy at all. Distortion is awesome! The clean channel needs some tweaking around a bit, but you can get wonderful cleans if you take your time with your settings. I use a flange for the clean and I love it. I'd say this guitar is mainly for punk (obviously), emo, hardcore, metal, and rock. If your looking to play some country, good luck! // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: It's been a few years that I've owned this guitar, but as far as I can remember it was made very precisely. The color was absolutely astonishing, and all the components were well put together. The only thing I can recall having a problem with was the string saddles at the top of the guitar (by this I mean the plastic piece that holds the string at the top of the neck). That piece got a little loose so I just pulled it off and glued it back on, since then it's been perfect. Keep in mind that I have owned this guitar for 3-4 years, and this problem occured 3 years after I bought it. // 9

Reliability & Durability: Used it in many gigs and it's never failed me. I never had a back up guitar until I bought a Gibson les paul which I've owned for about 8 months, but I never really thought of buying a "backup" guitar because it's that reliable. Fender makes amazing products and that's a striaght up fact! // 10

Impression: Well, the music I write has a little emo-screamo-pop punk sound to it, but it's totally orginal. This guitar suits me well. I don't like to use the word genre because I can't think of one my band would fall into. My music just reflects who I am if you will. I've been playing for 6 years or so and I still find myself enjoying this guitar just as much as I did when I 1st got it. The disotion rips and the cleans are shimmering when set right. So if you do a lot of clean to distortion I suggest this guitar. If some one stole it, it would be hard to find another one, I'd prolly find the dude who took it first! Furthermore, I know that reviews help you get ideas about certain products, but I advise you to actually try out the gear first. Everyone has personal preferance, so if this sounds like the perfect guitar after reading these reviews make sure you play it before rushing off to buy it because I don't want you to get disappointed if it's not everything you thought it'd be! // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on july 21, 2005

Price paid: $ 550

Purchased from: Hermes Music

Features: All Tom Delonge Stratocasters were built in Ensenada, Mexico. The Duncan invader humbucker is totally awesome, it produces some nice tight saturated distortion, but at the same time the clean on the pickup doesn't distort, it may not be as rich as a single coil, but hey, if you want nice distortion you have to give up something, right? The Vintage tuners are way better than the Standard Strat ones. Always in tune. As everyone say, this guitar is for guitarist who want a simple, straightforward yet powerful instrument. Just one pickup and just one volume know, thats it. The gig bag included is a good plus but I would suggest getting a hardcase. // 8

Sound: It suits my music style perfectly. I play mostly punkrock so I have enough power and definition. I play this guitar through a MesaBoogie Dual Recto in a 4X12 Mesa Cab. This combination creates the fattest, biggest sound ever. I love it. It is not noisy if you know how to set your amp settings, If you tweak some knows more than enough you can get noise, but overall, it is not noisy. This guitar is specially good for power chords, but it has a good soloing sound. Again, if play something that includes no saturated distortion this guitar will probably we useless. I'd reccomend getting something else. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was perfect. The action was not high but not low, just perfect for me. The humbucker was a bit too high for my taste, so I lowered it a but. I totally love the birdge, I hate that tremolo thing so a HardTail bridge suits me perefectly, I've had the guitar for over 2 years and it doesnt have a trace of rust. No flaws at all and there are no scratches on my paint job after 2 years of gigging, recording, and practicing almos t everyday. It has some of the best paint jobs I've seen. // 10

Reliability & Durability: If there's something exceptional about this guitar, is this. This guitar is made to rock. It can take serious beating. The hardware seems like itll last forever, the construction is hard and solid. I never really knew how the strap buttons were cause the moment I got it I installed a pair of Shaller strap locks. I always use it without a backup and it has never failed me yet. Not a broken string, nothing. // 10

Impression: For me, this guitar is the best guitar in the world. Just like that. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on july 05, 2004

Price paid: $ 182

Purchased from: eBay

Features: The Tom DeLonge Strat is amazing. Simplicity is key, it has one knob (volume) and one amazing Seymour Duncan Invader humbucker. Made in Mexico (Squire version in China which is the only difference). Alder body, 70's style rosewood neck with 22 frets. Seafoam green finish gives it a unique look. Stratocaster body. I Got this for $182 (what a coincidence) with 8 dollar shipping and a free leather Kases III gig bag (retails for 98 bucks). Non locking tuners and a non tremelo delone bridge keeps it lightweight and in tune. // 10

Sound: This guitar is awesome for indy, punk, emo, or any kind of rock. It suits my music taste like a glove since my favorite band is Blink 182. Im using a little Fender Frontman 15G amp hooked up to a Digitech GNX-3 Workstation. The sound is what wins it over for me, a sharp yet warm one of a kind sound. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The only thing wrong with the guitar was that it had two knicks on the back that is nonvisible. Its lightweight makes it easy to play standing up and comfortable to play since it has no knobs in the way (downstrokers Heaven). // 10

Reliability & Durability: Blink 182 is more live than CD, it takes a beating good and stays in tune with a neverending sustain. Hardware will last a lifetime, strap buttons are solid as a rock, this guitar is reliable and sturdy. // 10

Impression: This guitar is perfect. Lowprice for a great guitar. I have been playing for 6 years and I own a Fender acoustic, Squire Afiinity Strat and A Brian Moore. This guitar is as good as anyone of them. I would buy this guitar again. Its simplicity makes it great. Its sound is to no compare. It has everything I need on it. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: tom_delonge2003, on september 08, 2003

Purchased from: 53Rd street Music,Canada

Features: I got this guitar because i have been saving up for a long time and im a higher intermediate guitarest that's 13, and i will say; i've had 2 other guitars in the past (A vantage and a Epiphone) and this outranks them all by a huge margin. the one humbucker pickup sounds great and doesnt miss a beat. i use it in my band all the time when i'm on stage, and the fans love it...the clean cleans, the distorted distortions,and the wahie wah wah's. The guitar has 21 frets, the one i have is a nice bright yellow and the one volume control makes it realy easy if you want to do a volume swell without a pedal. // 10

Sound: The sound on this guitar, and its seymour ducan humbucker is a f-in beautiful. as i said the clean has a great ring to it and the harmonics on it are TOP notch. the effects i use with this baby, well, are to many to list.but with any of them it sounds great. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: i found the action on the Strat very good, you can play up high and its no problem to push down. i personnaly like the large headstock. there is absolutely no problems with this guitar's parts, pegs never come out of tune, the frets have no buzzing and the pickup has not come loose yet. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is the best for live playing because it mixes the current style with great sound, its the perfect guitar! the strap buttons are great because you can do boucnces and its almost like having shocks, you never hear other strings make sound from the bounces. // 10

Impression: GET THIS GUITAR IF YOU CAN FIND IT, because it HAS been discontinued if you need to know. only because tom wants to be nice because he is using alot of different types/brands of guitars and doesnt want to dissapoint his fans. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on november 21, 2005

Purchased from: Billy Snide MusicOnline

Features: This guitar is a Strat with no neck or middle pickups. Tone controls have also gone by the wayside. One Duncan pickup in the bridge so you can blast out power chords until you actually improve a little. Check the initial reviews for detailed feature listings. // 3

Sound: This guitar does not suit my personal music style. I have tried it through a variety of amps, including my 65' Deluxe Reverb, a Matchless C-30 and a friend's Twin-Rock Custom Reverb (absolutely unbelievable amp). While the pickup is a good one, a bridge humbucker was never going to allow much tonal variety all on its lonesome. I was utterly underwhelmed and grew bored of the sonic monotony very quickly. // 3

Action, Fit & Finish: This guitar ain't nothing but a Standard Strat sans a bit of hardware. There was nothing about mine which would in any way distinguish my comments here from the copious others available elsewhere on this site. // 5

Reliability & Durability: The guitar should last quite well - no build flaws or inherent weaknesses. // 5

Impression: Here we go. When buying this guitar, please consider first the man after whom it is named. Tom DeLonge is not quite renowned for his virtuosity on the instrument. What this instrument ultimately represents is Fender's shrewd exploitation of pubescent, pop-punk youth from families with a decent amount of disposable income, this guitar is for the young boy who, for a while, decides he wants to be a cool guitarist like the aforementioned Mr. DeLonge, but never really goes any further than Blink songs and distorted power chord riffs. A more serious guitarist would be crippled by this instrument's lack of versatility. If you are buying a guitar for your Blink-loving child for Christmas, and don't expect them to stick with it for long, this is a perfect albeit unnecessarily expensive solution. If you just want to blast out the casual punk song here and there and not take things too seriously, this is again perfect. If you actually want to be a guitarist, look elsewhere. Please. // 2

overall: 8.6

Reviewed by: whitewashed100, on may 15, 2006

Price paid: $ 400

Purchased from: eBay

Features: This is a really nice guitar. I have it in a daphne blue color. It was made in Mexico, but I'm not sure about the year. It has 21 medium jumbo frets on a rosewood fretboard. It has a Strat body with a string-thru body and a hard tail bridge. It only has one Seymore Duncan Invader humbucking in the bridge position, controlled by one volume knob. The tuners are Botoh. It came with a hardcase which is just a simple rectangle fitted Strat case. // 8

Sound: My band plays alot of punk rock and alternative so it really fits. I use it with a Marshall JCM900 (the same one tom delonge uses) half stack with one 4X12 cab. It sounds really nice with hardly any feedback. It has a full rich sound to match with it. It has a lot of variety. I can get a really smooth clean sound and a dirty gritty tone too. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar had absolutly no flaws. The tuning pegs, pickups, frets, and everything else was set up perfectly. // 9

Reliability & Durability: I would definitely play with this, and I am going to in my next two gigs. The hardware definitely seems durable. I'm going to replace the strap buttons with Dunlop straplocks just because its safer, as they are not that dependable. I would definitely use it without a backup, but I will use backups for alternate tuning. The finish is good enough to last and I will keep playing this for a while. // 7

Impression: I play mostly punk rock, alternative, and emo so it works perfectly with the right settings. I've been playing for about a year and a half and I own a Gibson Les Paul, a Squier Strat (my first guitar), a Taylor 110 electro-acoustic, a Fender P-Bass, and a Marshall JCM900 half stack with a 4X12 cab. I would have liked to play it before I bought it online. If it were lost/stolen I would have to buy it again. I love the simplicity of it, yet the different tones I can get with my amp. My favorite feature is the fact that it has one knob only, which is all that is necessary for good music. The white perloid pickguard looks really nice with the daphne blue body. // 9

overall: 9.2

Reviewed by: Fender_punk, on november 08, 2006

Price paid: $ 200

Purchased from: Guitar center

Features: According to Fender's website, this guitar was made in 2001. It's a Japanese Fender. It's grafitti yellow (glows in the effing dark bassically) 21 frets. the neck is sweet because it feels thinner than a normal Fender neck but it isnt significantly thinner like the '80s guitars. It's a rosewood. it's a non-trem HardTail bridge. It's got one passive Seymour Duncan Invader and one volume knob. that's it. comes with some old school Vintage tuners. mine came with these weird star shaped straplocks which I kept on (hey, free straplocks). // 9

Sound: The guitar is pretty much a dream come true for me. I play punk rock and that's what this is made for. The invader makes a sweet distorion sound that would be sweet for punk and metal. Everyone says the clean on this guitar suck. It sucks if your playing blues or somehting but for any type of rock, it sounds fine to me. I play this through a B-52 AT-100 tube ehad through a Fender FM 412 cabinet. I can make it sound just like any Live Blink stuff or any rock music really. I play in a band that's sort of an indie/ pop punk type thing. We have a couple songs that are lightly overdriven chordy songs and this guitar handles it surprisingly well. I never use any pickups that aren't bridge pickups. the only time there useful is when emulating acoutics and I have other guitars for that. plus the switches and knobs get in my way when I play. The distortion on this guitar blows me away tone wise and the clean is fine. I was playing some police stuff the other day with a Boss chorus and a phaser on clean and it sounded fine. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: This guitar is pretty decently set up and all. I bought it used and the person Who had it before me had installed an EMG 81 (active) and a tone knob. I rewired the whole thing. I wanted to order the white invader like what's originally but couldnt afford it. I took an invader out of an old squire I never play anymore and put it in. sounds sweet. having the 2 knobs was kind of a good thing actually. I removed the tone knob to discover the volume was too far up and I hit it while palm muting, so I moved it to the lower hole where the tone knob was and put a little white sticker on the empty hole. // 8

Reliability & Durability: Yes, very reliable. even though it's been "frankensteined" it feels completey durable and I think it will last. The pickup I took out of my squire is sort of old and begininng to rust so I will probably get a new one when I get more cash but it's not affecting the sound. I jump around and throw my guitar around all the time and it's showing no sign of wear or anything. // 10

Impression: This guitar is pretty much perfect for anyone Who dosnt want to spend a lot of time with knobs and switches, and knows they want a loud guitar sweet lookign guitar. The only thing though is I hate the tuner pegs. They look ok but there Vintage and a pain in the butt to re-string compared to the traditonal tuners. I've played about 3 shows with it so far and people are always coming up to me saying "that's such a sick guitar". It's really cheap but really rare so look out for one. // 10

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: chrisx182, on july 09, 2007

Purchased from: Ebay

Features: I have a 2002 Fender Tom Delonge surf green Strat. It was made in mexico. For the rest ofthe specs you can get from other reviews. This guitar has only 1 humbucker which is amazing and one volume controll. The humbucker is a Seymour Duncan Invader. I bought this guitar on ebay and it came with a soft case. This is the BEST Tom DeLonge Strat I've ever seen, I'm so lucky I got it. The guy I bought it from only played it for 1 hour then put it away. and it even still has the plastic on the pickguard, no scratches, blemishes or anything. // 9

Sound: This guitar is perfect for pop punk/punk. I use a shitty Line 6 spider 3, 30 watt amp usually on the insane channel. This guitar gives you the crunch you've been looking for. The distortion is amazing! As for the clean tones, I find them to be a bit dull. But, if you turn the volume knob down a bit it sounds much better. Overall, this guitar sounds amazing!! and I play a lot of Blink 182 so, can't say it doesn't sound good! // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The action is good for punk rock. I love the action on this guitar. It's perfect. Bought the guitar with no flaws or anything wrong with it. The finish is nice! Love the surf green colour. And I think with these Fender delonges, the paint is thicker than my Peavey Falcon Strat copy, so if you ever bump it into something, it probly won't hurt it as much. With my Peavey, it somehow got bumped on something and there's a chip right to the wood but it looks like they just put one coat of paint and one coat of clean and that's it. The Delonge is built a whole lot better. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar seems like it will handle anything you throw at it. Not literally. Everything seems to be made strong (on the Fender model anyways) and I would definatly play it at a gig even with no backup. This guitar stays in tune good too, so you won't have to tune it after ever song or ever other song. I play about 4 hours a day sometimes and don't tune it for a week usually. // 10

Impression: Perfect for pop punk. I've been playing guitar for 3 years and before this guitar I've played a 1989 Peavey Falcon (Strat copy) and I always wanted a tom delonge. so, when it finally came I got one and love it! I haven't played my other guitar since. And I bought the delonge about 2 months ago I think. If this guitar was stolen I would definatly get another one. But I would try to get a graffiti yellow delonge because they're more rare and I think they look better. I love how simple this guitar is. Just plug in, turn up the volume and go. My favourite features are it's a hrdtail, so there's not a huge plastic rectangle on the back of it!! and the invader humbucker. and the look of it, cause what other guitar comes with a retro 50's colour and a pearloid pickguard WITH a humbucker? Before I bought the delonge, I wanted to get a Epiphone Les Paul Custom (white and black) but hen I sen how much the delonges were going for and thought, if I didn't like it I could sell it and probably get more than what I payed for it. But I kind of still wished I would of got a les paul. But the thing the delonge has that the Les Paul doesn't have is a thin body and I like Strat bodies. If you play pop punk, want a cool looking guitar, and a guitar that sounds amazing, get the delonge. There becoming more rare and harder to find so grab one if you can! // 10

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: sloppyjoe109, on october 13, 2005

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: This is a 2003 TD Strat made in Mexico. 21 medium jumbo frets. Surf green color. One volume knob and the Seymour Duncan Invader pickup. String thourgh body and HardTail bridge. '70s headstock. Vintage tuners. Rosewood fretboard, mahogany neck and a pearloid pickguard. // 8

Sound: I play mostly all kinds of music. All kinds of punk mostly (alternative/posthardcore/indie). And this guitar could not get better. If you're looking for a big fat sound, this is it. I highly recomend for you to play it with Ernie Ball Super Slinkys, due to the fact that the neck is really wide. Good distortion, but a messy clean beacuse of the pickup. This guitar is the creator of feedback, it gives you way too much feedback and that can really be a pain sometimes. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar did not contain any flaws. It's perfect for all kind of rock. Mostly all kinds of punk. But like I said, too much feedback. I've dropped it, it has fallen, I've hit the neck with my room door 1,000 times, and it doesn't have a scratch. I love it. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I've had this guitar for two years now, and it looks brand new, I've used it two good years through shows, practices, gigs, jams, you name it. The hardware will last a long time. The surf green color is fading at the bottom because of having it on the rubber stand too much. But that's it. I would use this guitar as a backup only, and sometimes use it the whole time for a show, but it's not that reliable. // 9

Impression: Overall I give this guitar a 9 because it suits my music perfect, but the feedback is a huge problem and bothers the heck out of me. // 9

Reviewed by: unregistered, on april 06, 2004

Price paid: $ 450

Purchased from: Sam Ash

Features: I believe its a 2001 or 2002 mexican model(it isn't near me right now). It has 21 frets. It is a nice solid top(?) body with a volume knob for a Seymour Duncan Invader. I have 3 of the TD Strats in Surf Green, Black, and Yellow. I left the tuners that came with it cause they are so effin' nice even though they aren't locking tuners. It has a nice, smooth beautiful neck. Decent guitar. // 8

Sound: When I first bought the guitar, I thought the sound couldn't get any better but I was wrong. Since purchashing the TD, I bought a Squier Starfire hollowbody and installed an Invader at the bridge and I also bought a 1985 Gibson Les Paul. After playing the Les Paul or Starfire, the tone and sound on the Delonge doesn't have any depth. It sounds very canny. It has a nice distorted and clean sound but is pale in comparison to my Starfire and Les Paul. I use the guitar with a Marshall MG100HDFX Head and a Marshall MG 412 cabinet. I would only use this guitar as a back-up. Not a lead. // 6

Action, Fit & Finish: I don't know why but my surf green model sounds better than any of the other ones. Even some of my friends have the surf green model and we all agree it sounds better than the other colors...maybe it's just us. Everything came in tact. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I would never play this guitar live unless I needed to. The hardware does seem like it will last but the humbucker on the guitar has fallen in the pickguard quite a few times and I have never had that problem with any other guitars. The finish is excellent. I removed the strap buttons and use schaller strap locks. They are pretty good but you need to tighten the part on the strap. I could depend on this guitar but wouldn't want to play it live unless need be. // 6

Impression: I play punk-pop and hardcore/emo (yea big difference) and this guitar will fit both styles. I have been playing for 4 years. I taught myself. I own the 3 TD strats, a Squier Starfire, Peavey Raptor Plus, Epiphone Les Paul Standard, two Fender acoustics, and a 1985 Gibson Les Paul Standard. In the amp/cabinet/head department I own a Marshall MG100HDFX Head, a Marshall MG 412 cabinet, some weird Fender cabinet with white twill (all I know is that it's 300 watts) and a Crate MX120 combo amp. I also have a Shure wireless system. Out of all the guitars I own, the TD guitars are probably my 4th favorite to play. I'd pick my Epi, Squier or Gibson over the TD anyday. If my guitars were stolen, as with any of my equipment, I'd kill someone and of course I'd buy it again. It has a beautiful clean tone which I like more than the distortion. I love Tom Delonge, he's my hero, my idol, but this guitar just doesn't cut it for me. I'm not surprised he went back to using Gibsons. I asked him why he switched and he said it's cause he's a big guy and wanted a big guitar (the TD333) to play cause the Fender isn't too big, which is nice. This is a decent guitar, with a decent sound but the sound just isn't full enough. I recommend using a Gibson over this guitar. // 8

overall: 10

Reviewed by: punkgtrst096, on july 05, 2004

Purchased from: George's Music, West Palm Beach

Features: Made in Mexico during 2002-2003, this guitar has 21 medium-jumbo frets, has a rosewood fretboard on a maple neck. The body is Alder. The finish on mine is black, with a pearloid pick guard. The bridge is a hard tail (on a string through body) which I like because I hate messing with the tremelo block on my Standard Strat. There is one volume knob, and one Seymour Duncan Invader. Some people say that this makes this guitar suck, because of its lack of features. I disagree - I like this guitar because it's simple, and it doesn't need a lot to sound good. The Invader totally kicks ass. The tuners are very nice, Vintage tuners. It comes with a Fender Deluxe gig bag, as do all the other Fender Deluxe guitars. // 10

Sound: This guitar suits my music style because I play a lot of hardcore stuff (Thrice, usually), some punk music (Misfits, Operation Ivy, Rancid, etc.) and pop punk (Blink 182, Green Day, etc.) This guitar is great for that. The Invader is a very high output humbucker and it really screams with the right amount of distortion. I'm using this with a 25 watt Fender Frontman II, with a DOD death metal distortion pedal. I don't play death metal, or even any type of metal, but the pedal gives out a lot of distortion and really makes the guitar scream (as I have said before). // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The action on this guitar is fine, it's not set to high or too low. The pickup is fine. There are no flaws what so ever with this guitar, everything is fine. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar can withstand live playing. Tom uses it live, and it seems to hold up for him. It's a Fender, they just don't crap out on you. The hardware is chrome, so I'm sure it'll be fine. The strap buttons are nice, very solid, not going anywhere. I can definately depend on this guitar. It's very solid, built like a tank. I'd gig without a back up. The finish is going to last. // 10

Impression: This guitar is great for pop punk, punk and some hardcore music. I've been playing for about 16 months and I have a Fender Standard Stratocaster and an Epiphone Les Paul. This guitar is a great addition to my "collection", because its awesome - I love the 70's headstock. If this guitar was lost, I'd try to buy a new one before they're gone. If it was stolen, I would seriously find the son of a bitch and beat the crap out of him and take it back. I love this guitar. I've been trying to get it since I started playing over a year ago. It was worth every penny I paid ($550 in cash, hah). This is the best guitar I have ever played and I really think this is the last one I will buy for a very long time, it is the definition of "the shit". // 10

overall: 8.4

Reviewed by: proudofya99, on june 10, 2004

Price paid: $ 200

Purchased from: friend

Features: - Made in Mexico
- 21 frest
- Slender maple neck with tuners
- Single seymour duncan double humbucker // 8

Sound: This guitar is perfect for punk rock which is what I mainly play but seriously lacks when trying to play any other forms of music. The double humbucker projects a nice deep sound but is very annoying since there is only a single volume knob and no tone knob this is the worst part of this guitar. // 6

Action, Fit & Finish: When I bought this guitar it was in decent shape with several scratches on the back but oddly all of the screws and springs holding the pickup in place had come out and the double humbucker would roll around every time I played. This really pissed me off after a couple months so one day after school i drove over to guitar center and there guitar tech fixed it in 5 minutes and it only cost 25$. This guy did an incredible job fixing my guitar though and now the action is great and is perfectly ready for playing. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This guitar will withstand live playing since obviously Tom Dolange has done it hundreds of times with similar models I also would play this guitar without a backup every time. The strap buttons are firmly on with pieces of felt protecting the incrdible glossy finish, I have never had the strap come undon playing live. This is a very dependible guitar like all fenders as long as you make sure to watch the screws on the pickups. Overall this is a very dependible guitar. // 10

Impression: For punk music I play such as RHCP, Strokes, Blink 182 and Taking Back Sunday this is an incredible guitar. If it were stolen I would contemplate between buying this or a very similar Fender Strat. I have been playing a year now and practic hours a day and this guitar is incredible for a begginer or intermediate player for its ease to use. If I could change anything about this guitar I would add 1 Strat single coil pickup at the neck for a better deeper sound. // 10

overall: 9.2

Reviewed by: UG Team, on august 07, 2003

Purchased from: Long & McQuade in Calgary

Features: Wow. Considering how many f-ing tabs this site has for blink-182 songs, I cannot believe that nobody out there owns this guitar. Just as the name suggests, this guitar was co-designed by Fender and Tom Delonge, to play his music. However, before everyone jumps to conclusions, this is no one-trick pony.

The guitar is a Miexican-made Stratocaster, and although Tom uses it in the videos from Enema of The State, I think that they only started mass-producing it in 2001. Just to clarify, this guitar is the EXACT same guitar that Tom might use in concert. It has 21 frets, and no tremolo bar. There is no tone Switch or knobs, just one volume control. This kind of makes sense since this guitar only has one pickup. I don't find that this adversely affects the sound though. The pickup is a Seymour Duncan Invader (Humbucker), and it sounds great. The clean tone is very rich (it is still a Fender after all).

The body is non-veneered alder, and the fretboard is rosewood. It's very comfortable to play, the fretboard is nice and smooth, and (like all Strats) this guitar is double-cutaway. If anyone is wondering, the name Tom Delonge is inscribed on the metal plate behind the neck.

I bought the guitar from Long & McQuade in Calgary, and paid $740 Canadian. In the Guitar World buyer's guide, the listed price is $699 US, so I got a pretty good deal. It didn't come with any accessories, but that depends largely on the dealer.

I'm giving this guitar a 4 on features, simply because there is only one pickup, no tone control and no tremolo bar, but for my style of play, all those things tend to get in the way. Most of my tone is amp-driven anyway. // 8

Sound: I like to play all kinds of rock music (anything from Ozzy to Blink) and this guitar suits that style just fine. The Stratocaster (in my opinion) was designed to be plugged into 18,000 different pedals, and huge effects-laden amps, so why busy yourself with all kinds of tone control on the guitar?

I am playing through a Roland Cube-30 amp (Roland is the company that owns Boss, who makes all those FX pedals we love so dearly). This amp has several preset tones, which are modeled after Fender, Marshall and Mesa Boogie amps, and this guitar sound just fine through all of them. It comes thru a little weak on my Marshall setting, but that could be the amp causing that.

Essentially, this guitar is useless if your amp is useless. To play different kinds of music, you will need a quality amp, or lots of pedals. But hey, if you want to play without distortion, buy a Telecaster.

I have never gotten any hum, buzz or feedback playing this guitar. I have also never been trying to play any song and said to myself: "Man, I wish my guitar was good enough to play this the right way!" But I repeat, don't expect a lot of variety without a good amp setup. I give it a 4 because it does need help from a good amp setup. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: I bought it new (5 months ago), and when I took it home, it was already tuned and sounded just as good as it does today. The action was perfect, nothing was scratched or busted or rusted. I read other reviews on other sites, and some people had problems with it going out of tune really easily, but it hasn't happened to me. // 10

Reliability & Durability: Fenders are known to be reliable, and this guitar is no exception. It is the same guitar that Tom uses on concert, so it would obviously withstand live playing. I have had no problems yet with wear and tear, and none appear on the horizon, but then, its only been five months. I would never use it on a gig without a backup, but then, I would never use any guitar without a backup if I have the option. // 10

Impression: I've been playing for a little under a year, although I practice enough that it might as well be two years. I am thoroughly satisfied with my decision to buy this guitar, and I would buy another one if it were stolen or lost. The fact that it's a concert quality guitar that costs only $700 dollars is the best part about it, and you definitely get your money's worth in that area. My main objective was to buy the best Stratocaster I could buy for the least amount of money, and this was it. I only compared it to other Fenders (including Squires and Tele's), so if you think your Gibson is better, than I have no say on that.

In closing, I just want to give two warnings. Number one, don't write this guitar off as being just a stupid blink-182 merchandising ploy, or think that it only sounds good when playing blink's songs. Second, don't think that buying a concert-quality guitar like this one will make your crappy amp sound better. This guitar NEEDS a good amp setup to be effective. Overall, I give it a 5, simply because it is so cheap, yet so high-quality. I would suppose that since Tom Delonge has influenced so many kids to start playing guitar, that he designed it wanting it to be affordable, so that kids could buy it. Thanks for reading my review, and e-mail me at [e-mail] if you want to make any comments. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on may 22, 2004

Price paid: $ 700

Purchased from: Tom Lee music store

Features: This was a mexican-made guitarand I don't know what year it was made(why would you even care) 21 frets, rosewood neck, one Awesome Seymour Duncan Invader Humbuckling pickup for da punk you know stuff like that. It came with a Deluxe Fender Gig bag, it has an alder body and one knob: Volume. There is obviously no pickup Switch because theres only one pickup, so it's pretty easy for mentally retarded people like me to control and play. // 10

Sound: The Duncan pickup has a sorta fat full sound specificly(typo) for distortion and pop/punk like blink-182's music (okay, that sentence did not make any sense). So basicly, it's sweet ( in a punk rockers opinion)! // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: I give guitar 4 because the pickup was so loose that I had to take off the pickguard because the spring fell off and I needed to get a longer screw for the pickup to lower it without it falling off. The only thing I do like about it is the colours it comes with: Graffiti yellow, Daphne Blue (the best), surf green and more I don't know. // 8

Reliability & Durability: You can throw this at the wall and it won't brake (believe me, I stupidly tried it). I would on a gig without a backup (Tom does it). And the strap buttons are very solid cause it passed my tests: first jump around while playing, then do that thing when you throw over you're shoulder and let it(guitar) swing around your body. then third hold the strap and run around in circles with the guitar swinging around(the first time it did'nt work so that's how I threw at the wall) // 10

Impression: This a good guitar for those Punk playing guys. And if I lost this guitar I would buy it again. But If I could, I would trade it for the Tom DeLonge Gibson guitar. So it's generally good ( despite the loose pickup) // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on april 11, 2004

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: This is a Mexican made guitar, I got it about 6 months ago. There are 21 medium-jumbo frets, which makes playing power chords very nice. This guitar is for simple minded people like myself. It has one knob, volume. It has one massive seymore duncan Invader humbucker. There is no wammy bar or any other switches. The neck is maple with Rosewood fret board. Like all strats, its a string-thru body style, the headstock is the big 70's style one. The pearloid pickguard makes it look real pretty. I have the Daphne blue one and the pickguard brings out the body color very well. // 8

Sound: This guitar suits my style very well, only because Tom Delonge is my hero. My style is any pop-punk, emo band. This guitar is great for that, simply because of the humbucker brings out a massive distorted tone. I have a Line 6 SpiderII 212 amp. Sometimes ill plug in my Line 6 pod 2.0 into it. All the effects i play with are on the amp and the pod, too long to list. If I use an effect, its normally flange or some chorus every now and then. The guitar sounds great playing with the effects only when its clean. playing with an effect in the distortion channel doesnt sound too good. The humbucker overpowers the effect and it basically sounds like crap. THe one thing that i dont like about this guitar is the clean channel sounds kind of distorted if your playing chords with it, its frustrating. But once again, I think its the humbucker over powering again. the harmonics are great and chords ring for days. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar is set up just like Tom wanted it. The action on this thing is magnificant. You can just set your fingers there and play a note without pushing. The pickup is set in perfectly and hasnt moved since the day i got it. There are no flaws with this guitar, everything is put in correctly. Every other review i have read says that this guitar goes out of tune very easily. This hasnt happened to me i only have to tune this guitar if im down tuning it or something like that. // 10

Reliability & Durability: Does this guitar withstand live playing? Of course it does, Tom did it almost every night and sounded great. The hardware is made to last, its made to be beat up. The guy that i bought this guitar from said i could throw it down the stairs and it wouldnt mess anything up. So being the stupid person i am... i tried it, fortuanantly it didnt do a damn thing to it. It was still in tune! The finish is great, it would only wear off if you rubbed it on some concrete. The strap buttons are great you can jump around and not have any unwanted sound. I would play this guitar live without a back up, i dont see why i couldnt. Tom did it, why couldnt anyone else? // 10

Impression: I play mostly punk rock emo stuff. This guitar matches perfectly, because there are no over barring solos or anything like that. Solo's sound good if your playing with distortion, but if you want to play a blues riff it doesnt work because theres no pickup Switch. i've been playing for 3 years, I own an Epiphone Dot and a standard Fender Strat. Those 2 other guitars are hand-me-downs from my uncle who quit playing. I honestly dont think i would trade this guitar for anything, it fits my playing style perfectly. I hate that the clean has a fuzz sound, and thats about it.
I rarely play my other guitars, only when im bored with playing power chords, ill pick up the dot and play some blues. My favorite thing about this guitar is the fact that there is no feed back whatsoever. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on june 07, 2004

Purchased from: TMC

Features: Made in Mexico, this is a great guiat used by tom delonge before the Gibson. Very good colour, and is unique to some of the other Fenders I have seen, and this is the best by far! The finish is absolutely brilliant, and it is great to play. Easy to pick up and play, as the fret board is smaller compared to some of the other Fender fret boards. // 10

Sound: The Seymour duncan Invader pickups are amazing and when going through a 100Watt amp is sounds amazing. Unique distortion sound, and the clean is absoluetly amazing too. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The whole setup of the guiatr is spot on for my liking, and as soon as I picked it up I knew it was for me. My friends told me that is was rubbish, but when they heard it through the amp, they were gobsmaked! Nothing wrong with it at all! // 10

Reliability & Durability: I have played this guitar for a year, and it is very hard wearing. Although I havent played it live, it has gone through some tough times at the recording studio, but it hasnt let me down yet! I would use this with out a backup too, as i think it is reliable to withstand anything! but as a backup i would have one of these beauties! // 10

Impression: I think Tom Delonge has it spot on, and I am very proud to have this guitar! // 10

Comments

[SelfTitledPunk]

I love this guitar!!!

[reflex_182]

if it doesnt suit your style of music then why did you buy it! This is actually an amazing guitar!

[wingedgopher]

i definitley appreciate the simplicity of it, i just wish they made it with a single coil pickup and a maple fretboard.

[Ibanez_shredder]

It doesnt look like its made very efficiently, but, then again, i've never played one so... by the looks of the comments, its pretty nice...

[whitewashed100]

this guitar is greattttt. a maple fretboard would have made this guitar seem muchh nicer. as far as the humbucker goes, it sounds excellent. looks great too with the white perloid pickguard

[reflex_182]

hey, does anyone no where i can get one of these?

thanks

[Acdc182]

Ebay my friend

[Brun Cena]

this is a really sex mother****in' guitar!!I love it!!

[kaptink]

Looks like its better value than the Gibson tom Delonge sig.

[GNR-FOREVER #1]

its a tom delonge sig = instant fail

[Nerdo-sez-bo]

Single pickup? No thanks.

[mr. blobby]

he doesn't deserve his own sig guitar. It doesn't really look that great, although it did get some decent comments. Waste of money in my opinion. Unless ur a hardcore blink 182 fan i guess.

[Chickenfrmheck]

182$? my standard mex strat was 400 whered u buy it ebay?pawn shop?

[MESAexplorer]

He was probably just putting the price at $182 for the fact taht its a Blink guitar...personally sig series guitars are a waste of money IMO because there is always another guitar similar or better for a cheaper price. (KH2, KH 602) --> ESP LTD MH-400

[jshrn31]

This guitar definitly serves its purpose. I loved the thing till i needed a little more options.

[Artisan_Bassist]

I didnt even know Tom HAD a signature guitar. Is it out of production? It wasnt in the Fender catalog for this year.

[AwesomeGuy49]

with one pickup and one volume knob, it can't have more than 2 for features... sorry

[Oldmonkeys]

Artisan_Bassist wrote:

I didnt even know Tom HAD a signature guitar. Is it out of production? It wasnt in the Fender catalog for this year.

its been out of production for ages since tom moved to gibsons

Checked

[CHAINSX]

WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUT TOM DELONGE. HE SUCKS AT LIFE.

[guitardude1039]

Nerdo-sez-bo wrote:

Single pickup? No thanks.

same here man.. anyway tom sucks at guitar. everyone knows that.

[ECwomantoneman]

I wonder why both the delonge sig guitars only have one pickup and a one volume control? I guess he's so unimaginative that that's all he needs.

[Blink182pwns]

ECwomantoneman wrote:

I wonder why both the delonge sig guitars only have one pickup and a one volume control? I guess he's so unimaginative that that's all he needs.

Tom didn't think he needed any of the extra crap that everyone throws on their guitars. He wanted to keep it plain and simple.

[mp3stalin]

Blink182pwns wrote:

Tom didn't think he needed any of the extra crap that everyone throws on their guitars. He wanted to keep it plain and simple.

and then brag about how much better he is at everything :p

[fenderdude0071]

i made custom guitar reminicent spl? to this i find it way better maple warmoth neck metalic blue body black pick guard and a ducan supear distortion

[getts182]

This guitar is great. I've had mine since '03, and I've never had any problems with it. It's simple, and I love the single humbucker.

[kanarf]

u guys come to a tom delonge review just to hack on a guitarest that shows young muscians you dont need to be van halen to make it? and became a role-model to millions of people? Why??

[liam-182]

yea! screw u guys hating on tom, i just ordered my tom delonge strat from ebay!

[benkarton]

my friend has this guitar...it actually sounds really good

[benkarton]

btw yea the one knob is good because whoever wants to buy this guitar is probably into playing that kind of music and the tone is already set for that sound.

[benkarton]

btw, van halen only uses a single volume knob.

[JamesGlover101]

Ive had mine for about a year. Its a solid workhorse of an instrument, no frills. Its limited on tone (1 pickup etc) but if its the sound your looking for...
Im not particulary a Tom fan but the instrument holds its own.

[Give_em Hell]

MESAexplorer wrote:

He was probably just putting the price at $182 for the fact taht its a Blink guitar...personally sig series guitars are a waste of money IMO because there is always another guitar similar or better for a cheaper price. (KH2, KH 602) --> ESP LTD MH-400

hey dumb shit that guitar is great blink was great your a queer

[JessicaGonzo]

Should i buy it for $150? =P

[CrazyHobo13]

To whoever wrote like the 5th review... Damn dude you're so critical. This was Tom's style at the time and people loved it and look how far his music has come now with Angels & Airwaves! I've never heard anything like it so shut up! Blink-182 was not the most technical band but their music was loved when it was here!

But about the guitar, what awesome colors it comes in. Blue, green, yellow, pink, and orange... So much better than your average black, red, or burst.

[Reverend-Me]

I don't get why anyone buys this guitar, because even though "punk" is played mostly in bridge position and tone is usually full, then a guitar than only has volume and nothing else, you can't only play blink.. Even though i think they suck, it doesn't have anything to do with this...( Love green day and offspring even more, and well.. not like the BJ is fantastic guitar..) :P Rock on, but not to BLink xD

[ihavenoname93]

CrazyHobo13 wrote:

To whoever wrote like the 5th review... Damn dude you're so critical. This was Tom's style at the time and people loved it and look how far his music has come now with Angels & Airwaves! I've never heard anything like it so shut up! Blink-182 was not the most technical band but their music was loved when it was here!

But about the guitar, what awesome colors it comes in. Blue, green, yellow, pink, and orange... So much better than your average black, red, or burst.

im fairly sure all fenders come in gazillions of colors

and the 1 pickup no tone thing is stupid imo. people say, "oh its just kept simple", but seriously, if you cant figure out a pickup selector and a tone control, you shouldnt be playing guitar.

[SlipKnoT_M666]

CHAINSX wrote:

WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUT TOM DELONGE. HE SUCKS AT LIFE.

Quiet time for you

[robot house]

Ok first off Tom delonge is not the fastest or theory educated BUT he is more creative and unique than most of us will ever be (no, my fender THEN Gibson deal didn't pan out either haha) second, I have the surf green I actually got into blink after I got the guitar because it's specs were perfect for me and I think the surf green one looks elegant when shined up. I am not a gain freak and I actually have a clue how to play decently. I am not a fanboy but can appreciate uniqueness and was suprised to the solid reliable feeling to this guitar (even at eight years old) apparently fender still gave a crap about it's qc below the $1000 mark in 2002. Another upside to this guitar is that if you like the specs, it's been out of production long enough that if you get it and play something other than pop-punk with it , you won't be stuck with the label. within days it became my main axe and I have a costlier and cheaper guitar. I'm not anti-Tom at all but I am pro-individuality and in conclusion I am definetaly all for this axe, I may get a second one to put away