SLICK SL51 from Guitarfetish UNBOXING, DEMO, REVIEW!

Today I've got the Slick SL51 T-style guitar, distributed by Guitarfetish.com. We'll unbox, demo and review this budget friendly tele. Thanks for watching!
00:00 - intro/bumper
00:25 - neck pickup demo & unboxing
01:07 - middle position demo
01:40 - bridge pickup demo
02:00 - neck pickup demo #2
02:55 - review: introduction
03:35 - review: specs and overall impression
04:30 - review: neck
05:36 - review: tuners
06:15 - review: nut
07:07 - review: fretwork
07:25 - review: fit/finish
08:13 - review: appointments
09:52 - review: build quality
10:23 - review: electronics
11:00 - review: bridge/saddles
11:55 - review: why does it feel that way?
14:06 - review: pickups
16:13 - review: what I hate
17:23 - review: what should you swap?
17:42 - review: takeaway
19:22 - noodling

[@hbirtt]

I like how you combined the sound demo and the unboxing. Great idea.

[@fknstr]

One can never have too many Telecasters! Great review and superb playing/picking!

[@MusicNerdStuff]

Thx Pete!

[@fknstr]

@@MusicNerdStuff got a nashville deluxe and a charvel with fishman fluence. Both excellent. Was a strat guy, 9.5 for 20 years

[@joedavis8481]

I just got my xaviere tele from guitarfetish yesterday and I am blown away by the quality of it ! $268 delivered in a hard case .... if it was double the price I would feel like I got a good deal ! 🎸🤟🍻

[@s.corner8138]

Finally a review without bias. Thanks dude. I subscribed cuz you seem like a good Kat.

[@Prousto]

Excellent, really well-filmed review. Appreciate your detailed overview and very constructive commentary; the Slicks (and Guitarfetish in general) offer some really attractive product, with the caveats you point out here.

[@milenadeltorto7158]

Wow, beautiful playing! Beautiful sounding.

[@DavidLHolzer]

Your reviews are excellent. Thank you so much. Loved your breakdown and explanations.

[@carlosclaptrix]

You are an honest man, thanks for the review!

[@donniehba795]

Great demo and I LOVE your playing. I have been playing since 1968 and I WISH I could play like you. Wow!!

[@ZacCjw]

Great review my man, keep on keepin' on 🎸

[@benjadock_]

Didn't realize you were the one that made the SL57 review! Subbed. Excellent review, I owned the SL51 for a while and your nitpicks and cheers were spot on. Your SL57 review sold me on it 2 years ago. I got it in aged brown. I liked the look of the SL51 in aged brown better, so I sold the SL57 thinking they'd be super similar. Dear reader, they were not. The SL51 was good, but the SL57 was so much better to my ears. I've sold both since then, but every few months I'm like "I really wish I hadn't sold that strat." Unfortunately they've stopped selling the SL57 in aged brown. I'll just keep browsing reverb until one is posted I guess.

[@johnwelch557]

Very fair review. I'm a tele fan to the core for 60 years. This one sounds very good. Just me, but I never worry about the looks, just playability, sound and comfort. This one seems fine. Only from the view of the bridge here, but the distance the the bridge pick is good. Since the actual scale is from nut to barrel, the only difference in feel of the strings will be the breakover angle behind the barrel. Maybe, if it's not the nut breakover angle, it's the barrel to the through body channel at the bridge plate that may be different. I'd like your view.... Thanks and happy holidays!

[@Northern_Bass_Ninja]

Great reviewer by a great player. Appreciate this.

[@danserdutz6700]

Just subscribed. Excellent hypeless demo. Excellent work amigo.

[@ericbrewerguitar1499]

Great playing brotha! Thoroughly enjoyed this review and I subscribed.

[@paullaughton6016]

Sounds amazing, great playing and feel.

[@breevwhyman2985]

Yes sir it's a great review and they do seem lovely instruments for the value and quality

[@sixpenske1940]

glad i stumbled onto this channel ty for the insight as a tele lover my self i have been pondering purchasing one of these ty for the in depth review and awesome playing! oh subbed and hit the bell too 😁

[@jimmyz2098]

Cool review. Cool axe. And I like your style. I actually like the shape of the head-stock. I just don't like the logo. But these guitars do seem pretty cool, and they seem pretty durable too. Anyway - fun vid, and good content.

[@kevinking2468]

Great review! Would like to see you review same guitar with the brass wrap-around tail piece.

[@toploadtele]

Very good review... I concur! After receiving my SL-51 Maple Neck in Vintage Cream a few weeks ago, overall I'm very happy with the purchase, although I had to wait a bit because they seem to sell out fairly quickly. The first thing I did was to restring in through the bridge for the Top Loader option, cleaned up some slight fret sprout, polished the frets, set the action, and let her rip. IMHO you would be hard pressed to find a better value for $259.00. These are great guitars (at least this one is) for the money especially if you have the tools, time, and ability to do a little bit of setup and tweaking to dial it in. Don't expect them to play that great right out of the box, but with a little work its a very cool piece ~

[@scooter2873]

VERY GOOD POINTS any guitar player worth his salt Should be able to do the touch up stuff you talked about! You'll understand and enjoy your axe Alot more if you understand the basics!

[@3cardmonty602]

That’s a great sounding & great looking guitar. I’ve bought Alnico II Humbuckers from Guitar Fetish and they are great.

[@scooter2873]

Love the Slick stuff!!!! and GF in general! Got an SL 50 use it for lead recording all the time! The price is great and any fix it needs is easy and not that expensive! I don't like the headstock and Logo either! But who really CARES? And it's a BRICK!!!!

[@MetaphysicalMusician]

Nice playing...Guitar sounds Amazing

[@yanmetcaluire]

Great job thank you

[@bluwng]

You are right about the break angle and feel. I am an Aerospace engineer. That was really observant of you. Break angle at headstock has same effect.

[@lonnieelliott9833]

I'd give just about anything to play as well as you do! After playing for over 50 years I'm coming to the conclusion, some folks have it and some do not and probably never will.

[@dondemille9655]

I received SL51 about a month ago. All I did was sand the headstock bare. It plays so nice, I love it. But I remember you saying at the end it doesn't play or feel like a traditional tele so I guess I still haven't had the "tele experience". I just LOVE this guitar, though. I guess that is what matters.

[@stevehobbs9297]

Really like this guy, says as is, I am going to get a sl57 on the strength of his review.

[@RodrigoRockChannel]

These slick guitars are a thing of curiosity for me... they look and sound great... wish I could get one of these in Brasil. Great vid, liked and subed.

[@Dnell-tb1yd]

Tagima guitars are made in Brazil and I think they have similar offering

[@RodrigoRockChannel]

@@Dnell-tb1yd I have 2 tagimas at home, one is 635 and the other is a Stella, a higher standard model. They are actually really good.

[@terryenglish7132]

Good point on the weird bridge, it also puts the p-up too close to the bridge. The shallower angle probably rolls off a little treble tho.

[@twinsmm1]

Sub'd! Great review.

[@guitarman6742]

"Unboxing' sure is exciting.

[@eljefeguapobarbon]

Owned one for a while and wanted to like it but it was heavy compared to my MIMs. Sold it to a metal rock kid who loved it!

[@danielcolehour6454]

What tuners would you swap to on something at this price point? Would you go locking? Love the content here. Grrrrreat channel!

[@matthewsaul3533]

Thank you for this demo/review! I've watched a bunch of reviews of Slick guitars tonight.. different models.. for some reason yours sound the best. Both of the models you reviewed sound tonally better than other models and reviews I've seen, quite noticeably. I'm wondering if that has to do with the amp or EQ pedals you might be using? Also, if I can ask your advice, I also hate the headstock.. any tips on how to remove the paint and logo?

[@MusicNerdStuff]

Thx Matthew! The difference in rigs and how you capture that sound are a big factor. But I’d also suggest that letting the instrument guide that journey is important. I think some folks fight the natural tonal characteristics of an instrument to make it fit into a preconceived idea of what it “should” sound like. I tend to try to find amp/cab models that compliment the pickups. Re: the headstock, I just sanded the face off and it looked nice. Obviously still the same shape, but it did sand out a easily enough and there was a nice grain underneath.

[@sneifert1968]

Not a big fan of relic'd guitars, but I like guitar fetish. Bought some pickups and quick lock wiring harnesses from them. I did buy a Xavier tele from them and apart from the bird beakish headstock shape. It's a solid guitar with a beautiful 3 tone sunburst finish. ( almost on par with my USA Strat) needed a little work ( fret dressing and some work on the nut ) Tuners work ok, but are the usual "not great" I like the quick connect concept so if I want to get a different style pickup ( Mine has their Lil' Puncher humbuckers ), I can with ease and their pickups are very nicely priced. ($200 shipped to my door) I feel a much better deal than a squier IMO

[@kotogray8335]

only thing I don't like about this guitar is that I don't have one yet... It sounded and looked like you got along with it very well

[@steveeolio]

i bought a slick tele last year and it had some proud frets and needed a goodly amount of work to fix dead spots ..so that evidently get some good and some bad ..however after i did the work it plays very nicely..and sounds good too with 12-52 flats

[@BrandonEht]

I bought one back in December, same story. Terrible fret sprout. I don’t even feel like putting the work in. I ordered a used mahogany neck off of reverb for $110 bucks. Awesome combination, such a great sounding guitar

[@steveeolio]

@@BrandonEht yeah man i like the PU'S

[@adneria]

Great review! Can you tell me if the SL51 is pre-routed for a middle pickup?

[@bkmeahan]

love the sound of all the Slick guitars, but just wish they would make a non-road worn option.

[@stevejarred6484]

Two things I can think of to add to this guitar: 1.) Get one of GFS's cases that they offer with this guitar - They will ship the guitar in the case -> a little more peace of mind. 2.) Get a 6 piece saddle tele bridge -> I guess I'm particular about my intonation.

[@montelarge5790]

I liked the sound of the pickups or is it just me and the looks are awesome I wouldn't mind getting some day.

[@W3SL3Y23]

I live in Moscow and I've ordered one and I will change bridge pickup on Seymour Duncan hot rails, hope it's going to be interesting!

[@scooter2873]

So my friend How did your Slick turn out??

[@BOBANDVEG]

You get this

[@W3SL3Y23]

@@scooter2873 hi 👋 it has pretty good quality for this price, looks good (surf green), matt paint is pleasant to touch. I just had to give the guitar to polish the frets and now it’s ok. Sounds similar to classic tele but not exactly. SD pickup is nice for distorted sound and has dark sound for clean. Middle position is the best one for clean as for me 🤘

[@Alex_U]

@@W3SL3Y23 how s the weight?

[@W3SL3Y23]

@@Alex_U 3.5 kg = 7.2 lbs

[@SONOMA_VALLEY_TOM]

I bought a SL-51 a few years ago. Kept it less than 4 months. It did sound okay. But, ragged fret ends that once actually cut my hand. Body wood was crap. Several sections. Wasn't even flat, had ripples and troughs. Could not get it to set up satisfactorily from first fret to 15th, neck needed to be pleked. Would have cost more to fix the guitar than the list price. Best feature was the tweed hard shell rectangular case, but even that was not premium. Ate a $100 loss when I sold it on eBay.

[@youbelievewhatyouwanttobel2310]

Very recently I bought a SL51 (my first tele). I'm very pleased with it overall (not a real fan of the black headstock though). I've never owned or played a tele before. To me the neck seems rather thick. I have a Squire Strat and an Epi SG both of which have thinner necks. I have small'ish hands so I prefer a thinner neck. You mentioned the SL51 has a smaller neck than some of your other tele's. So do tele necks generally run on the thicker side? How do the SL51 and the SL57 necks compare? Great review!

[@willcresson8776]

On my 2020ish Bullet Telecaster, the neck is decidedly thicker than my 2017 Epi G400 (SG) or my 2014 MIM Strat. If I'm being honest, it probably has the thickest neck of any electric guitar I own, including my IYV hollowbody. I'd day it's about on par with my acoustic. Every "classic/vintage" style Tele I've tried has a beefier neck, but I've noticed the cheaper ones tend to be a touch chunkier. It's not that hard to thin out/reshape a neck with some sandpaper and patience. There are some great tutorials here.

[@Hexspa]

Great

[@stretchsgamingchannel]

Would you recommend a Slick over an Xaviere? I've been wanting a budget Tele for some time.

[@Davo2233]

Is the neck pickup route cut to only handle a single coil tele pickup or will it take a humbucker or mini humbucker?

[@makskoren1728]

Could you compare this vs Squier CV 50's Tele. Which of these two have better potential?

[@elkcibdej]

The pickups on this sound so much better than most in the price range - benefits of being a GFS product I suppose.

[@bluwng]

Wood doesn’t breath, it’s dead, the wood won’t keep growing. I think the natural feel has more to do with a connection between the person and the instrument. The more it is unfinished the more organic it feels, that may be the connection and fascination with relic guitars.

[@MusicNerdStuff]

I'd agree that the organic feel is a big part of the appeal. It definitely is for me. I think when we say "it breathes" most folks are referring to the resonance, particularly in the higher register. Whether that carries enough into the pickups to be heard through an amp is a source of much contention. But it definitely makes a difference in how it physically feels to play and the acoustic sound (even if it's not terribly important). So it stands to reason that slathering a thick poly finish on a guitar is going to dampen that resonance, particularly in the high mids and beyond. Of course, it protects the guitar well. I have guitars I bought in the early 90s that look pretty much like they did on day one. Some think that's a good thing, others don't. There's a never ending supply of hot buttons here in our obsession lol.

[@infidel6249]

I wonder if a mim neck would fit this body or maybe a squire.What is body thickness?

[@thestratman7903]

How does this one hold up against the xaviere PRO-840 Tele? Curious because I just got an 840 Yesterday and I'm not blown away,but I'm not a Tele guy.It was my first T style guitar.I have been a Strat purist for 25+Years

[@onefatstratcat]

I guess you could say..."it's a pretty slick axe" :)

[@Mountainrock70]

Dang you are a nerd! Great video and playing! Im getting one of these now!

[@harmonicaboybkn]

what amp were you playing through on the video?

[@delv2473]

with you on the colour head stock . Just old school I suppose.

[@jamesmcghee3440]

There are OLD reviews of Guitar Fetish products (including Xaviere) that probably don’t reflect their most recent efforts… I got a thinline T style with good foil pups and it sounds good…. Not microphonic… Pretty decent fit and finish, neck, etc. for the price

[@beardedrancher]

Throw some compression on there and those sound pretty good for country. The Jack's do suck a bit though

[@mattbluesmain1359]

killer

[@66trem]

Great demo. More important, great playing! Just subscribed. Ted Condo

[@heres2ya]

sooooooooooooooo.... how do you like the headstock?

[@Bobby59]

How were the xgp necks you ordered in the past? Did you have to do a lot of fret work?

[@MusicNerdStuff]

I have one of the newer (closer to Fender headstock) ones and it definitely needed some work. Pretty sure I did a full level & crown. The first Slick (57) neck needed no work, the 51 wasn’t quite as good, but still a very decent job. I also have an older “basic” neck of theirs and it needed a lot of fret work. That said, all the necks were straight and finish work was good. Hard to fault too harshly at that price. I’d say be prepared to do a decent amount of work and if you get one that’s spot on, happy day lol.

[@klopfer_im_baellebad]

Love the style of the guitar..and I guess, it is all you need from a guitar...I just decided against it because of the heavyness

[@davelanciani-dimaensionx]

Have you tried any of the P-90 style Slick guitars?

[@rickhammel9541]

I have the SL60 and it's awesome

[@gilpi552]

What’s the weight?

[@Dr_Reason]

Congratulations on a demo that allows us to hear the true sound of the guitar. All too rare.

[@scooter2873]

Really like this guy very fair and accurate! No aganda just the FACTS! Unlike alot of the guitar sites no Egostroke or attempt to sell overpriced crap! I'll be back for sure!

[@terrorbirds9835]

I thought I remembered that these had Gibson scale lengths, which would explain the feel, but maybe not 🤷‍♂️

[@therootb]

I got my SL57 in December. I was really disappointed by the build quality. Fret edges were sharp, the nut was off-center by about a millimeter, the neck didn't sit right at the bolt-on spot. Also, the saddles use different types of hex screws so adjusting saddle height is obnoxious. Overall I was very disappointed. I'm cleaning it, oiling the fret board, filing the frets, and trying to fix it as much as possible. Just wanted to give a counter to your experience I suppose.

[@MusicNerdStuff]

Aw man that stinks. I’ve mostly lucked out with the budget friendly stuff, but I guess there’s always that chance. Hope the mods/fixes bring it where you want it to be!

[@doctorstrainlove6318]

That sounds damn good for the $150-$300 that these things cost, & they're always great projwt guitars. Swap out the pickups & electronics, maybe a nice new neck from warmoth if you please, locking tuners (although I think it already comes with some type of locking tuners) & I like the Caballero style neck, ive always felt like guitar necks should be strung that way; any piano you look at its strung like this where the shortest strings are the higher ones.) But you can't beat that price man, ive played on some Mexican tele's that had shittier tone than that & it was still well over twice the price of one of these guys new.. now my choice is even harder. Spend real money & buy a nicely set up used american, mod one of these out for another partscaster endeavor, & some of the higher end michael kelly telecasters look decent, ive yet to play one, or get anyone's personal opinion on one so if you or someone you know has noodled on one id love to know if they're any good..

[@AreU4Real1]

Love when an idiot says nice guitar just swap this change that and blah blah blah. Can’t just take it for what it is. STFU

[@stfu5617]

Does it look any better with the ugly truss rod removed?

[@BrandochGarage]

I was jonesing for one of these for a long time, but the shipping costs were a lot.

[@lewisbirkett4428]

Same they cost as much as guitar itself. £300 is still cheap but idk if there's better for that price

[@BrandochGarage]

@@lewisbirkett4428 Yeah I found it frustrating since Sweetwater shipping costs were only 29.00. Guitar fetish was going to ship for something like 189.00 - I couldn't figure that out for the life of me. They probably were planning on shipping on raft pulled by sea turtles through the Panama canal.

[@lewisbirkett4428]

@@BrandochGarage i found a shop in my country that sells them but it only saves about 30 compared to shipping from America, and it would most likely need upgrading

[@adriennelee1520]

I hate the headstock shape and I hate a painted headstock agree

[@piayootoob]

how does this compare to the squier affinity? thanks.

[@MusicNerdStuff]

My personal experience is that the Slick is a better guitar all around. I think the Affinity series is a good value, but if I’m not mistaken, the bodies are thinner than Fenders, which is kinda offputting for me. My experience with both the Slicks I’ve bought has been great; super solid, giggable guitars that played well out of box and played great after a good setup. I own one Affinity tele and it’s ok. Very anecdotal, but that’s all I can do lol.

[@kamoverturf6192]

How big is the neck? A fat 50s or a slim modern?

[@terryenglish7132]

Contour is very important to many guitarists, you'd think more reviewers would mention it. If you're into a beefier neck check out Guitar Max s review of the Firefly twin P90 Mahogany hollowbody Tele. I liked the neck so much I bought one more just to use the nonstandardized neck for a scratch body build.

[@terryenglish7132]

Ooops, shoulda waited for the end. He mentions its thin while talking about the bridge placement.

[@anthonycheman9930]

Does anyone know if its routed for a neck humbucker or not?

[@MusicNerdStuff]

This one is not, Anthony.

[@57stratkat]

that headstock could be sanded and reshaped like a tele shape- theres enough meat there

[@bluwng]

It’s a bolt why not buy a quality Fender style neck and do just that, bolt it on

[@AreU4Real1]

@@bluwng why would you do that. The guitar is great just as it is

[@timefeatherstorm]

well, you might just have taken the words out of my mouth. i loathe always having to tighten the jack. its a legit gripe.

[@finoroverato7640]

Can you give a precise weight of the guitar?

[@MusicNerdStuff]

8.2 lbs / 3.72 kg

[@finoroverato7640]

@@MusicNerdStuff thank you kindly great review

[@fredmestre6102]

hello , i have big buzz with this guitar , and you ?

[@CritterElectronics]

I’m watching a video of a guy taking a guitar out of a box. I should go get some exercise.

[@Newnodrogbob]

Headstock shape and color are fine, but the crappy workmanship is a problem...

[@cigdamagelungs]

My sl 50 rules Its hit or miss with gfs

[@bradleestone5344]

SLICK DON'T SUCK 😎

[@ZitherBeast]

I got mine in just this past week, and it's truly unplayable. I'm in negotiations with GF about it.

[@MusicNerdStuff]

Sorry to hear that! Hope they get it worked out for you. That’s a drag.

[@ZitherBeast]

@@MusicNerdStuff Every thing about it looks great, it feels great, the bridge is just bad, so I'm hoping for a replacement bridge. They are asking for photo's, we will see.

[@BrandonEht]

Mine had fret sprout out the wazoo. I ended up ordering a used mahogany tele neck off of reverb for $110. Sounds awesome with an ash body. The slick pickups are great too. Love the guitar now, but it’s frustrating they come unplayable from the box.

[@ZitherBeast]

@@BrandonEht To be fair here, I have a couple of other Slick's that were playable right out of the box, but this one had problems. I've got it fixed and yeah, the guitar sounds surprisingly good, and plays pretty nicely too. It wont be mistaken for an expensive or custom guitar, but I'm good with that. Glad to hear that you upgraded yours and love it. Have a Spalted Maple Firefly es335 style that was not only playable out of the box, it was intune all except for the high E string. As a lark, I decided to leave the original strings on it just to see how long I could play on them, and well, after about 5 months, I still have the OG strings and have hammered the crap out of them. I'm shocked about it, but I feel like I got sent a really nice guitar. I will be changing the strings somewhat soon now though. Perhaps the greatest all around era of affordable guitars ever. Not having a lot of money, it's been sweet getting a handful of "Cheap" guitars and they play great. That Firefly still amazes the hell out of me though.

[@BrandonEht]

@@ZitherBeast Great era for affordable guitars. I just bought a Wolf LP style from AIO guitars, if you aren't familiar check them out. They make some awesome guitars for $500. Plus they make sure everything is set up perfectly out of the box

[@bootlegapples]

What he said - stop putting so much poly on.

[@gustavogomezkronawetter6698]

That headstock is actually nicer than the original Telecaster

[@genebrenner855]

Feels like a Gibson? That's because it's a Gibson-like 12 radius. It should feel like a Gibson. it's the one thing that keeps me from buying this. I have a Gibson and a Gretsch, both with a 12" radius. I feel a T-style guitar should have no more than a 9.5" radius.

[@ryangunwitch-black]

Lol I don't like anything about that headstock

[@oldasrocks9121]

Nah, get a Jet.

[@facundogimenez1679]

The only thing stopping me from buying one of those guitars is that ugly logo. gosh

[@scooter2873]

Yeah I hear ya! But I love my SL 50 so I can live with it! Mine was great no problems with the frets at all! Just played with the action and it's ready to go! I've heard the quality control can be iffy but mine is killer! I think relics are rediculess but for the price again I can deal with it!

[@rickhammel9541]

complaining about the headstock is like complaining about the valve covers on your car tires.