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This Fazley Custom Series Hot Rod V2 review is for the left handed version, but a right-handed version is also available, should you be that way inclined.
I bought this guitar as it was on sale, and it was so cheap! Also, I do think it looks pretty cool, and I love the surf green color. It’d been reduced to £51 from its recommended price of £116! It generally sells for around £87, though.
I’d seen it reduced to £67 sometime last year, and almost bought it then, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t quite pull the trigger.
At £51, I thought, “What the hell!”, added it to my basket and checked out. I got free shipping too, as my order was over £50.
A few days later, it was reduced even further… Down to £49, and now, as I start writing this review, it’s even cheaper – £41! What a bargain! (Though you would have to pay the £4.95 delivery cost as it’s under the £50 threshold).
But is it any good? Should you buy this guitar? Read on to find out.
Who Are Fazley Guitars?
Fazley is the house brand for the Dutch online music store Bax Music. Bax mainly delivers across Europe, and has dedicated stores for the UK, the Netherlands, France, Spain, and Italy.
The Fazley brand is primarily aimed at the beginner guitarist or those looking for a budget instrument.
Fazley Custom Series Hot Rod V2 Review & Specs
Let’s take a look at the Custom Series Hot Rod V2’s specs:
€132 MSRP, Made in China
- STRINGS: 6
- NECK: Maple
- NECK PROFILE: ???
- NECK FINISH: Unfinished
- SCALE LENGTH: 25.5″ (648 mm)
- TOP: Flat Top
- BODY: Linden (Basswood)
- FINGERBOARD: Maple with Black Dot inlays
- RADIUS: 14.17″ (610 mm)
- FINISH: Surf Green, Gloss
- FRETS: 21
- NUT MATERIAL: Plastic
- NUT WIDTH: 1.65″ (42 mm)
- BRIDGE PICKUP: Passive Humbucker
- BRIDGE: Wilkinson WOF01 Fixed Bridge with 6 block saddles
- HARDWARE: Chrome Plated
- TUNERS: Sealed, Self-Lubricating
- CONTROLS: Volume
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Build Quality and Construction
The Custom Series Hot Rod V2’s body is made of basswood, and the neck is maple. Basswood is one of the cheapest woods for making guitar bodies.
It’s also a very lightweight body, and is probably the lightest guitar I own now.
The neck and fingerboard, both maple, appear to be unfinished, and I really like it. The neck feels so smooth. Not quite as smooth as my Charvel DK24, which has a roasted maple neck with a thin sanded urethane finish, but the Fazley’s feels really nice and very easy to play.
Naturally, before buying this, I did my own research and tried to find reviews of this guitar.
Quite a few people said that the neck’s really thick, but for me, it’s only very slightly chunkier than my 2015 Fender American Strat (I’ve taken no actual measurements; this is just how it feels in my hands). Maybe Fazley has changed the neck since those reviews, but I was expecting a much fatter neck.
The neck fits its pocket fine, though there are some rough edges around there. The edge of the pocket doesn’t appear to have been sanded down, and it’s just been painted over, giving it that rough-looking edge. Still, it doesn’t affect playability, and you don’t notice it unless you really look at it.
The nut is plastic, as you’d expect from the cheapest guitar ever. I’ll probably swap this out for a Tusq nut later.
The frets seem really good for a guitar at this price. Not one sprouting out, and things are very smooth when running my hand along them. Great quality control here.
My model’s frets were also level; not really what I was expecting, so that was a nice surprise. They were, however, very, very dull! A good polish will sort that out.
The frets weren’t the only dull things on this guitar; the strings were filthy too! I wanted to put a new set on anyway, so bear in mind that you might need a spare set if you bought one of these, or at the very least give the existing strings a good clean.
The ferrules, through which the ball ends of the strings pass through, don’t appear to be very straight, central or tight, revealing slight gaps. This doesn’t affect play, do you could probably forgive Fazley, seeing as this is such an inexpensive guitar.
The finish is a solid glossy surf green color, and it seems to be pretty well painted. I really like the color; it really stands out and goes quite nicely with the white pickup, pickup ring and volume knob, and it makes a nice change to the standard/classic colours.
Hardware
The Custom Series Hot Rod V2 comes with a fixed Wilkinson M-Series WOF01 bridge. Seems decent enough, and intonation was almost spot on. The low-E string was very slightly off, but barely, and that’s easy to rectify.
The humbucker’s pickup ring is slanted, so the pickup sits at a slight angle. I might replace this with a flat one and see if it makes much of a difference.
The tuners are adequate; they do the job for a practice session, but after leaving it a day or two, I’ve had to tune it up again. It’s probably a good idea to replace these as well at some point.
How Does it Play?
As said before, the neck doesn’t seem too thick to me, and it’s nice and smooth, so it’s quite easy to play.
This is just like many other Strat-type guitars out there, same cutaways, same belly cut. It’s a classic shape that’s stood the test of time.
Some modern S-type guitars might have more ergonomic features, with deeper cutaways or sculpted heels for easier high-fret access, but there’s no way they’d add that kind of feature at this cheap price.
The single volume knob seemed ever-so-slightly stiff to me. Not difficult to turn, but harder than every other guitar I own. Not a deal-breaker, but if you’re the kind of player who likes to alter the volume a lot, then you may need to consider replacing the pot.
Overall, this guitar feels pretty decent, and doesn’t massively feel like a really cheap guitar. That being said, it’s not something you’d shout about, in terms of quality, either. It’s good enough.
How Does it Sound?
The Fazley Custom Series Hot Rod V2 has a very simple set of specs, so it’s a guitar that isn’t trying to cover every single style of music, offer endless tonal options, and appeal to every guitar player out there. It doesn’t need to, as its target market is the beginner guitarist and I that’s its strength.
It comes with a single humbucker at the bridge. When I first plugged it in, it sounded a little muddy and darker than my other guitars, so I needed to adjust the EQ controls to get it to sound right, but not a problem.
It sounds pretty decent, though, considering the low, low cost of the guitar, and I personally would be tempted to swap it out with a quality after-market pickup, and maybe add a coil tap as well, just to give it a little more sonic versatility.
Overall, though, it sounds pretty decent, and much better than expected.
What’s Good About the Fazley Custom Series Hot Rod V2?
First and foremost, this is a budget guitar aimed at beginners, and as such, it’s very cheap! I got it for just over fifty quid delivered, so it’s a bit of a bargain, and is cheaper than most electric guitars out there.
It’s light and easy to play too, with a decent-sounding pickup, and good quality fixed bridge.
With it having a well-finished body and a fairly sparsely-equipped feature set, this could be a great platform for upgrades. It should be easy enough to swap out any hardware, but if you want a trem bridge or a neck pickup, you’d have to route out the appropriate cavities.
Even if you have no future plans for a guitar like this, I think it’s still worth having, especially at the price I got it for.
What’s Bad About the Fazley Custom Series Hot Rod V2?
Obviously, this being a cheap guitar also comes with drawbacks! To keep costs down, Fazley has had to use cheaper parts, meaning things like the tuners, pickup, and potentiometer could be better. However, using higher-quality parts would also obviously push the price up for the customer.
So if you’re okay with having a guitar with slightly lower quality parts, then this could be an option for you. It also gives you the choice of upgrading to better quality parts later, and you can then choose however much you’d like to spend on it.
I definitely plan to replace the nut, pickup, and tuners at least.
Other Variants?
Right handed guitarists also get an additional choice of Shell Pink and Yellow Tiger colored finishes. Both look suitably outrageous, and I particularly like the pink one.
Unfortunately, though, if you’re a left handed guitarist, you won’t be able to get any lefty versions of these guitars. Surf Green is the only color available to lefty guitarists.
Is The Fazley Custom Series Hot Rod V2 a Good Guitar?
Summary
I think it’s a good guitar for a beginner, or a great platform for modding. Perfect for players just starting, or a good, cheap option for upgrading.
It’s pretty easy to play, so it’d suit anybody really. However, I would say that if you are a beginner, and you can afford to buy a slightly more expensive guitar, you might just get a better quality instrument that’s good from the get-go.
Pros
- Decent-sounding humbucking pickup, though a little EQ adjustment may be needed
- Easy to play
- Good platform for modding
- Cheaper than most other guitars
Cons
- Some slightly lower quality parts
- Volume knob is slightly stiff
- Plastic nut
Check price/availability at:
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Fazley Custom Series Hot Rod V2 is a fun, straightforward budget guitar that doesn’t pretend to be anything else. It isn’t trying to cover every musical style or offer endless tonal options, and that’s part of its charm.
With its single bridge humbucker, fixed bridge, and simple controls, it delivers a no-fuss playing experience that suits rock, punk, and heavier rhythm work very well.
What makes it especially appealing is the balance between price, looks, and practicality. The Surf Green finish gives it personality, and the hardtail design keeps things stable and beginner-friendly.
It might need a proper setup to get the best out of it, and naturally it has limitations you’d expect at this end of the market, but for the money it offers plenty of attitude and great value.
If you want a cheap electric guitar that’s easy to pick up, easy to live with, and built more for riffs than refinement, the Fazley Custom Series Hot Rod V2 is easy to recommend. It’s a guitar that keeps things simple in a good way, and that makes it more enjoyable than some more expensive guitars.
As I write these last few paragraphs, the price has now gone back up to £87. Keep an eye out for special deals, but it’s still a pretty good price anyway.
Photo credits: leftyguitarist.com and bax-shop.co.uk
