Music Man makes high end guitars that are awesome.  The Sterling brand, owned by Music Man, is a lower cost instrument that gives you really good bang for the buck.

Usually.

I had a chance to spend some quality time with a Sterling Music Man Cutlass SSS guitar, aaaand…

The Good

The price was $279.  That’s cheap!

The Bad

This guitar had fret ends so sharp, I couldn’t even play it.  I’ve never seen a new guitar this bad.

The Ugly

Do I really need to say more?

I’m a fan of most of the Sterling line.  And I know that maybe, just maybe I got a bad guitar.  But if you buy one of these cheapies, please understand that you might end up with an unplayable guitar in 4 months when the humidity changes.  I was really disappointed in this guitar.  It’s obvious to me that the Sterling line has jumped the shark.  What a bummer.  If you have around $300, buy a used Squier Classic Vibe.  It’s twice the guitar.