Guitar of the week #68 - Oscar Schmidt OS-300

A cheap Strat clone at a good price. A very good price.

The Oscar Schmidt OS-300 comes in a bunch of different finish options, and is the same price as the Squier Bullet Strat.

The guitar comes in natural finish (shown above,) black, transparent blue, sunburst (which the Squier also offers,) seafoam green, or a purple burst.

Functionally, the OS-300 and Bullet Strat are basically identical and probably sound pretty much exactly the same.

If you're looking for a dirt cheap Strat clone to mod, the OS-300 is actually the better choice because it has a maple body. Or at least that's what the Amazon description for the guitar states.

I know for a fact that Squier Bullet Strat guitars have basswood bodies. Nice enough wood, but it dents very easily and it's also really easy to strip a screw hole when dealing with basswood.

Maple on the other hand, even if it's a soft maple (I'm not sure which on the OS-300,) can handle mods much better. If you need to drill an extra hole or cut out some area under the pick guard for whatever reason, you'll have an easier time dealing with the maple body compared to basswood.

It should also be easier to refinish the guitar, should you decide to change the body color.

In short, if you want a decent first Strat or something that will take to mods fairly easily, grab an OS-300.

Published 2016 Jul 27