Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? This guitar is very well made! The lines are razor sharp and the neck is custom made for the modern day style of guitar playing of today. Reliability How has it stood up over time? N/A General Your general opinion of this product. Overall, this is the most versatile Strat on the market. In my opinion, this guitar is the closest thing that you're going to get to a Fender Custom Shop guitar without the Fender Custom Shop price! Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? I must honestly say that the Fender Vintage Hot Rod 57 is by far the best guitar that I've ever played! The wood, the neck, the finish, the quality and the tone is well worth the money. I have learned in the process of time that if you want to sound good and have a killer tone you're gonna have to spend extra money for it. Either you are going to have to save for a guitar like this or take advantage of AMS 12 payment plan like I did. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? With this guitar you can get any tone you want The volume control is actually the master control. As stated above, you have complete control over the tone of the bridge and neck pickups. Finish How did the stain or paint job look? The finish is to die for and the vintage tweed case is beautiful! Action How was the action out of the box? This guitar was ready to play right out of the box!