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Smash S2
List: $260 (bag included)
The primary guitar manufacturer in Korea is the Swing brand name which is a far-off label to many of us as we continue to look at Fender & Gibson as the main contenders in good instrument offerings. The Smash series of instruments is the company’s budget subsidiary; naturally, we’d clump them up with Squier & Epiphone in this light. This background also offers us an understanding of the very affordable (& enticing…) list prices.
Construction/ fit/ finish
The S2 is a simple/ typical, Strat-type affair sporting a basswood body, maple neck & rosewood fretboard. The overall outline of it very much mimics the aforementioned instrument less the headstock design which attempts to give the guitar a much needed differentiation in the copyright turf; of course, liking it is a different matter for consideration. For an instrument in this price bracket, the overall QC on offer is absolutely marvelous, putting to shame many other more renowned subsidiary brand names in this classification.
However, the review model does manifest some imperfections which do not affect purchase worthiness; nut slots cutting which could have been better executed as well as finishing stains on the upper frets fretboard area. Hardware-wise, the instrument’s tuners could be more consistent in terms of tension.
All in all, the S2 displays an above-average conception. There are no major issues here to render the instrument a dud.
Rating: 88%
Playability/ tone
Sporting a good sounding guitar in its first instance is really listening to its acoustic resonance unplugged (despite it being a solid body unit). The S2 does well here; arresting the common slant that basswood makes a bland tone wood for instrument bodies. The neck profile on offer has a sumptuous, C-type Fender profile which one would deem rather desireable, it also sports a vintage-like 9.5” radius for added liking.
The cleans coming from the single coil pickups are simply attractive but the humbucker could put some of us off with its added brightness, especially you jazz compers out there (em… you wouldn’t buy this guitar for your exclusive jazz moments, yes?). The overdriven output is something this reviewer would deem outstanding (subjective) considering the pickups are in-house units which do not offer exclusive attractions. A complementary amp/ effects line-up would enable the player to pull off a wide range of tones from blues crunch to some angst-ridden metal music.
The material concern here would be the vintage-type string saddles which feature those heinous protruding action adjustment screws. Some of us could live with this situation but the rest would simply want them replaced for the prosperity of their picking palm, especially the aggressive pickers out there.
Tone test equipment:
• Amp: Sound Drive SG-100R
• Effects: Wampler Plextortion/ Pinnacle 2/ Analog Echo (through SG-100’s clean channel)
Rating: 90%
Conclusion
We are quite exposed to many budget brand names out there which would bore us quickly in terms of tone, like they say; we get what we paid for. There would be occasional appearances of brand names like Smash & Rally which would redefine the abject issue of value-for-money when considering an instrument for its functionality, rather than paying for some brand name comfort. The Smash range of guitars offer the player a no-nonsense array of tones as well as great playability, contravening its absolutely attractive asking price. Many of us would not hesitate to embrace this great offering (because we are sensible people) but others who are particularly brand-conscious, would reject this greatness because we are insecure living with a Chinese product & that headstock outline could be more pacifying. In closing, this reviewer would like to say that the Smash range of guitars should not be overlooked when one goes out in search of worthiness more than any other considerations. In fact, this reviewer, being weak-willed in the presence of a good bargain, did fork out his hard-earned money for one. Enough said.
Final rating: 90% (Highly recommended)
Product availability: Standard Value
Likes:
• Construction/ overall QC
• Tone
• Playability
• Price
• Bag included (it’s well padded too…)
Dislikes:
• Bridge saddle screws
• Some tuners unresponsive/ stiff
Worthy competitors:
• Squier: Affinity Stratocaster
• SX: EG-1K
• Artisan: Strat-type
