Fender Dave Murray Strat 2TSB

I have had this guitar for more than a month and intentionally delayed to write this review.

To start with, I have been a huge Iron Maiden fan for more than 3 decades and Dave Murray is my favorite guitarist on planet Earth. This was going to be my first ever Fender.

I was more than excited to unbox the guitar as soon as it arrived. As for the looks, it is flawless. Beautiful, intact, shiny finish, no scratches, chips, it is a beauty. It weighs slightly more than a regular strat, though.

Action was way too high, especially at the first few frets and the guitar was unable to stay in tune. Even after a couple of bends it would go off tune. When I used the whammy, all strings went way too flat.

It was no question to take it to a luthier, who after the inspection said the following:

1. Frets are not leveled.
2. Action is high because it is a compound radius fretboard but the locking nut is a simple 12" nut (shame on Fender). For this reason, you cannot set the proper action for the strings.
3. The neck of the guitar needed angle adjustment (not bow!)
4. Floyd Rose sucks, as FR 1000 has a fix radius which does not match the radius of the fretboard - shims are needed to fix it.
5. In addition, springs were not properly turned in and needed a fix so that the guitar can stay in tune.

I left the guitar with him to restring and make the necessary adjustment.

It is really a shame on Fender that their QC passes a signature model in this condition. Dave Murray would definitely ban his name from the headstock if he saw this quality.

For such a hefty price tag, one would expect a posh guitar.

On a positive note, the sound of the pickups is huge, the bridge and neck pickups are a blast, the middle pickup brings in some nice versatility. The neck of the guitar is great, plays like a charm, very comfortable and smooth.

Overall, I feel biased about this axe. On the one hand, it is a failure and does not live up to Dave Murray's name. A shame on Fender. On the other hand, once you fix all things Fender should have, you get a beautiful beast.

This is the locking nut your luthier needs to fix the guitar.

<a class="article link" href="schaller_locking_nut_383_r3_chrome.htm">Schaller Locking Nut Right R3 CH</a>

Don't let your emotions cloud your judgement, unless you are an Iron Maiden fan, and willing to spend some more money on this instrument to fix it, you should not give it a go. Spend your hard earned money on a better assembled guitar.

PS: Thomann was again excellent- when I let them know the guitar did not stay in tune they offered the replacement immediately, no questions asked. Best customer service, ever.

PS2: I love mine, though.

Update - 24/04/2024

The luthier installed the Schaller compound radius locking nut to the guitar - it is night and day compared to the original nut. Playability has greatly increased, I highly recommend this upgrade to install.

Ordered the guitar, got it with a ridicoulously high action . And the worst of all, it came with a floyd rose SPECIAL , essentially an inferior version to the one listed in the specs information . Contacted Thomann, sent pictures and they said that they need to check with Fender about that, which is just weird considering the fact that a guitar is supposed to be checked before sending it to a customer. I mean, it shoudnt have been eligibile to sell it in said condition in the first place. Requested and received a partial refund , for the amount of the price difference between the two tremolos( the special and the original one) . Ended up keeping the guitar, because it is very difficult to come across one due to the situation in the world with corona waiting times being extremely long , and Thomann certainly used the opportunity - take what you can get or dont take anything at all. A very unpleasant experience indeed
Ended up taking it to a gitar professional for a setup , but I still aint completely satisfied, the fr special doesnt hold the tune well, and the materials are cheaper on it so i will most likely have to change it for a original one. In the end, its gonna cost me additional 30-40% to get it right.

I bought this guitar a few years ago (November 2019), so I can provide a review based on long-term usage.

Tremolo, Strings, and Tuning: Amazing - I can play for days without the need to re-tune it. I haven't changed the strings yet; they still sound and vibe like new.

Sound: Excellent. Clean sounds are at their best with the neck and neck+bridge pickups (but it obviously depends on the gear and amp you're using). It was assembled with good action (at least to my taste). The pickups are very sensitive, and it might be advisable to lower the guitar's main volume a bit and raise the amp volume to avoid too much feedback when using distortion (but, again, it also depends on taste and gear).

Drawbacks: The E played on the A-string resonates with the bass E string. It's basically irrelevant with clean sounds, but you can hear it when using distortion. It didn't bother me, so I haven't investigated whether it can be eliminated by adjusting the guitar setup.
The neck pickup broke after a few months. Thomann replaced it with a new one in no time, and it has worked perfectly ever since.

Overall, it is a very nice guitar with long-lasting high performance.