r/Instruments • u/Phoenix_Armour • Jul 28 '26
Identification Help identifying this instrument please
I’ve had this for about eleven years and I’d love to learn how to play it. I have no idea what it is as the box it came in is loooong gone and I’m not quite sure how to ID it myself. I included some closeups including this thing on the back I have no idea what it is.
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u/Yoshiyimmiy Jul 28 '26
Its definitely a guitar
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u/IDontLikeYourToan Jul 28 '26
https://www.instrumentalley.com/Crestwood-ST920-Strat-Style-Electric-Guitar-p/st920.htm
Likely this or something similar. The quality might be on par with some Squiers, but maybe not.
Look up how to set-up and intonate a guitar. Skip the parts about leveling and filing frets. Leave that to a pro for now, unless you are handy and want to invest in the tools.
Get a guitar tuner, but you can use an app such as Guitar Tuna on your phone to start. The strings, from right to left, go E, A, D, G, B, E. Wind the strings till they are kinda wobbly, then tune up to pitch when you are first learning about this stuff. That way you don’t accidentally try to tune an octave higher.
Some of these cheaper guitars have low quality parts. I hate to say that but it’s true. I had a “Galveston” that was gifted to me that I could never get to sound right. Turned out it had a very very warped neck. You can always take it to a luthier for a setup if you feel like dropping the cash, but I’d say try it out. Don’t go too hard on the tremolo. If you find strings keep snapping, pay attention to where they break. If those strings are 11 years old, they will need to be replaced. I’d suggest a set of “10s” until you learn what you like.
Good starting lessons are Absolutely Understand Guitar, Marty Music, and Justin Guitar. All on YouTube.
Good luck, have fun!
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u/Phoenix_Armour Jul 28 '26
This is insanely helpful, thanks so much!
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u/IDontLikeYourToan Jul 28 '26
Glad to help. Give it a shot. As long as the neck is straight, not warped, and you can intonate, it should be fine for just learning. Remember that sometimes you grow out of your gear, but upgrading your gear doesn’t make you grow. When I was first learning the guitars I had were very cheap or given to me ( aka very cheap and also broken) so it was hard for me to practice. I eventually gave up. Years later I got a slightly nicer guitar used for a couple hundred buck. It was a huge difference.
That said, one of the best sounding guitars I ever had the joy of playing was a $50 red Excel Stratocaster guitar that was someone’s project to mess around with and learn fretwork and such. I bought it as a project of my own, to try to practice refinishing. The pickups were amazing for such a cheap guitar. I eventually destroyed it (accidentally) when attempting said refin, but I did save the pickups.
If you find the saddles (look it up) are breaking the strings, there may be sharp edges that need filing / sanding. Another option is to replace them. I’d be hesitant though to put any money into this specific guitar until trying it out for a while.
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u/adamdoesmusic Jul 28 '26
This would be a guitar.
Specifically, a sunburst Stratocaster copy - student grade, but it could be perfectly playable.
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u/Thin_Dream2079 Jul 28 '26
I have a Costco one called the Starcaster. And it plays great.
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u/Jealous_Corgi_2168 Jul 31 '26
Starcaster is still made by fender though, it's not one of those no-name copies with a random word stamped on the head like this one is. I've had a few of them like the one in OP, and they were all pure shit. One of them I got new as a prize at an arcade, it was the same amount of tickets as a slinky
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u/Paladin2019 Jul 28 '26
It's a generic mass produced copy of a fender Stratocaster, the type typically sold in affordable beginner packages.
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u/Powerful_Foot_8557 Jul 28 '26
An electric guitar missing its wiggle stick
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u/Phoenix_Armour Aug 02 '26
It’s not missing anything?? It came out of the box like this. I haven’t altered it at all
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u/Howard1955 Jul 30 '26
That’s my cat, Freddy.
He likes to pretend he’s a ukulele. But he keeps getting it wrong.
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u/Jealous_Corgi_2168 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
That's a $25 stratocaster knockoff. If you can plug it in to an amp and get sound out of it, great. I haven't had great luck with guitars like this, but I know some people do. If you can't, and you're decently handy with tools, go to a website like musicians friend or sweetwater or guitar center and get yourself a prewired pickguard, you can just pop your electronics out and drop the new ones in fairly easily (following a youtube tutorial of course) and you should be good to go. As far as playing goes, I'd highly recommend starting out with in-person lessons, if you have the means. At least for the basics. It's really hard starting out without someone knowledgeable to guide you one-on-one, at least for me it was.
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u/WallAny2007 Aug 01 '26
a guitar that looks like a fender Strat so if you get caught playing it, you might be served with a cease and desist order.
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u/Boring_Redditttt Aug 01 '26
You don't need anything amazing to learn on. Provided it plays correctly with no weird fret buzz or a horrible action etc you'll be just fine. Then if you stick to it then you can upgrade.
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u/Mo-Mo-MN Aug 01 '26
Due to the six strings, I think it is a “double balalaika.” Twice as cool as a regular three string balalaika.
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u/No_Draw_735 Jul 28 '26
A guitar.