"It’s fast-feeling, streamlined, and distressed already, so go ahead and beat it up - this under $700 guitar is geared for many road miles and serious shredding": Fame Custom ST RW review

What is it?

Fame Guitars. Who? Yeah, exactly. I never heard of them either, but check this out: With a wealth of stripped-down, performance-driven electric guitars that aim to be fast-playing and hotter in output, nobody was more surprised than me at how good a guitar this unfamiliar European brand turned out to be and how outrageously affordable it is. And if you ask me, this one shouldn’t be overlooked.

Fame guitars, while an obscure brand, is actually owned by Music Store Professional, a Cologne-based musical instrument wholesaler. This retailer could best be described as Germany's Sweetwater — an Ikea-sized mecca of a music superstore boasting four floors of established instrument and pro audio brands, a gigantic concert-sized stage, a restaurant, and a coffee bar.

And here, the Fame Custom Line is a dedicated series of guitars made overseas for Music Store Professional, and comes complete with modern playability and higher-end components that rival mainstream brands. In my estimation, Fame is redefining value by pushing the boundaries of quality-to-price, and this particular model, the Custom ST RW, has all the elements of a bespoke instrument without a “made-to-measure” price tag.

So, with all this conjecture from me, what is it about these guitars that makes them so enticing? Well, for one, visually, they make a strong first impression, which is half the battle in winning me over. The finish — especially its overspray over paisley — immediately grabs my attention. Add upgraded features like stainless steel frets, dual high-output humbucking pickups, and an asymmetrical body shape, and you have a guitar that's almost ready to come home with me.

But there is more to the Fame Guitars Custom ST RW than meets the eye, so read on to dig into what truly makes it special.

Specs

• Price: $652 | €666
• Type: ST-Style Custom six-string guitar
• Body: Mahogany with nitrocellulose finish
• Neck: Quarter Sawn Maple
• Neck Construction: Bolt-on
• Neck Profile: Modern-'C'
• Fretboard: Rosewood
• Fretboard Radius: 13.75”
• Scale length: 25.5” | 648mm
• Frets: 22 Jumbo; stainless steel frets
• Inlays: Abalone dots with luminescent side dots
• Nut type: Bone
• Nut width: 42mm
• Pickups: Dual Fame high-output Humbuckers
• Electronics: 1 x Volume, 1 x Tone control, Push/Pull coil-splitting on Volume and Tone, 3-way toggle switch
• Hardware: Modern-vintage tremolo bridge, locking tuners, strap locks
• Finishes: Aqua Metallic over Paisley (as reviewed), multiple finish options with HSS and SS spec.
• Cases: Not included
• Contact: Fame Guitars

Build quality

Build quality rating: ★★★★½

What strikes me is that the Custom ST RW doesn’t necessarily copy any particular brand or existing guitar model, but certainly borrows popular design cues from what players desire in a modern six-string electric. With so many guitarists gravitating toward asymmetrical body shapes, the Custom ST RW delivers a sleek offset S-style, dual-cutaway design that genuinely highlights the “worn-in” aqua metallic overspray of the soft-coated nitrocellulose finish, revealing its paisley roots underneath (and if you check out the online store, there are many other cool overspray finishes available).

Fame also utilizes a good slab of solid mahogany for its body with the typical belly carve and forearm contours. The quartersawn maple neck, which has a soft satin finish on the back and appears roasted for added stability, feels comfortably smooth.

Despite the bolt-on construction, a sculpted neck heel provides a fluid connection where the neck joins the body. The guitar features luminescent side dot inlays, while interestingly enough, the Abalone inlays on the rosewood fingerboard are "sunken-in."

On closer inspection, a clear acrylic filler tops and levels the sunken fretboard inlays, giving them a cool, floating appearance. The oversized, beak-shaped headstock adds a bit of character, but for those in the know of '70s Strats, it contributes to a heftier tone.

Playability

Playability rating: ★★★★½

Altogether, the guitar looks and feels broken-in, which is precisely the point: you don't need to treat this guitar preciously. The neck is notable for its flat 13.75-inch fingerboard radius and 22 jumbo-sized stainless steel frets, which is a welcome, albeit often pricey, upgrade elsewhere that enhances fret durability.

I continually find that this type of pairing offers the best performance, resulting in smoother playability and bends that don't choke out. Grasping the guitar’s modern "C" neck, it’s clear the profile is undeniably fuller, but far from uncomfortable or a deal-breaker. In fact, rest assured, it didn't prevent me from reaching breakneck speeds.

Looking at the modern-vintage vibrato bridge, it’s chrome-plated with a drop-in vibrato arm, and while I’m not entirely sure, the six adjustable saddles appear to be stainless steel, which is a solid upgrade. The guitar's out-of-the-box action was fairly standard for string height, and the bridge was positioned for non-floating.

While not my preferred setup, the guitar is easily adjustable for anyone with basic setup knowledge. I quickly achieved a proper setup with minimal adjustments to the tremolo claw and truss rod, and didn't even need to touch the saddle height. Once I had it all dialed in, the guitar became a "fret-burner" and incredibly easy to play.

Of note, the guitar comes with Fame’s locking tuners, which work perfectly fine for keeping the guitar in tune and facilitating faster string changes, and what’s nice is Fame includes a set of strap locks as well.

Sounds

Sounds rating: ★★★★½

Getting to the heart of the guitar’s dual pickup drivetrain, you’ll instantly notice the wider rout in the pickup cavities, which reveals the copper shielding foil poking out from the bottom of its direct-mount Fame humbuckers. Maybe it's intentional or not, but I kinda dig this sorta DIY or devil-may-care look, because at the end of the day, this guitar is all about being a little scrappy.

I should also point out that the volume and tone controls feature heavy-duty knurled chrome knobs, and the 3-way toggle switch is similarly robust. Plugging into the ignition of its input jack, I fired away through my arsenal of hi-gain and classic amplifiers, and a Fender Tonemaster Pro workstation.

Right from the start, the Fame humbuckers deliver a noticeably hotter output and a beefy character, resulting in a tone with serious density. The bridge pickup is aggressively focused, excelling with distorted textures while maintaining surprising articulation and percussive tightness. Pulling up the tone control splits the bridge coils, yielding a bright, clear single-coil chime.

The neck humbucker offers vigor and body, handling both clean and saturated tones admirably with a clear attack and balanced output. I also split the neck coil by pulling up the volume knob for triggering some plucky and focused notes. Together, Fame’s pickups are a heavy-hitting combination. Paired with its fast-feeling neck, the Custom ST RW is a scrapper of a 6-string capable of delivering everything from metal chunk and classic riffage to fattened lead tones, and solidly hitting on all fronts.

Verdict

Though I own way too many guitars, the Fame Custom ST RW totally resonated with me despite it being a totally foreign guitar that must be ordered online if you’re not near the German flagship store. I admit I initially judged it purely on its appearance — because I'm drawn to no-nonsense, distressed-looking guitars that suggest speed and performance — but thankfully, Fame delivers an absolute burner of a guitar that exceeded all my expectations.

Guitar World verdict: As someone who has played and owned virtually every high-performance shred machine, from original '80s Kramer Pacers to modern Charvel and Jackson models, the surprisingly affordable Fame Custom ST RW stands confidently among them. It pays homage to these predecessors and successors, establishing itself as a serious contender: a super-fast instrument designed for players who demand top-tier performance paired with a searing tone at a price within reach.

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Hands-on videos

MusicStore TV

Die GÜNSTIGSTE E-Gitarre mit Custom Shop-Feeling? - YouTube

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