Picked up a 2021 Tagima Woodstock TW500 (now known as TG500) for $100.
At $100, all I require if a guitar is it works. But, I’m genuinely impressed.
With very little effort I was able to get the action down to 1.5mm at the 12th with no buzzing whatsoever. I’m quite sure it would go lower without complaint. No trouble with intonation.
The fretboard is a composite wood. It has the appearance of a super black ebony and the feel of rosewood - not as glassy feeling as ebony or Pau Ferro. The frets didn’t need any work. I imagine with a composite fretboard you don’t get fret sprout. But no sharp ends, and no evidence of high frets while doing the setup.
The specs say the nut is synthetic bone. I did not test it, but it’s cut like a champ. Not a single “ping” while tuning - very smooth.
The tuners were a little heavy feeling. Smooth if not terribly precise. Just felt like a little more resistance than there should have been. Fully functional but a candidate for upgrading.
The bridge is a contradiction. On the one hand it has the massive saddles - they look at first glance like bent steel, but they are blocks with well machined string grooves. But the bridge is attached to a very light weight trem block. It’s not anything unexpected from an import Strat, but the mass of the saddles made me wonder why they didn’t match that with the block. Another potential upgrade.
The electronics are…Strat like. No problems with the pots or switch, no grounding or noise issues. The pickups sound like your favorite MIM Strat.
If what you want is a high value Strat that sounds like a Strat and is easy to set up and will probably not give you any trouble, this is definitely a contender. If you’re the person who would rather buy Polo from Macy’s than George from Walmart, this is not your brand.
