I already thought this Sterling by Music Man was the smart buy of the beginner guitar market, but now that it’s under $200 at Sweetwater for Cyber Monday, it’s a no-brainer...

Music Man is probably not the first name you’d think of when on the hunt for a beginner guitar, but I think even the newest player will have heard of the silent partner in Music Man’s 1971 founding – Leo Fender. Sterling is the affordable offshoot and offers some of the best quality instruments out there for the money – and now Sweetwater is offering a huge $150 discount on Sterling by Music Man Cutlass CT30s (now $199).

The S-style builds are offered in an HSS and classic SSS pickup configuration, with a choice of Chopper Blue and Vintage Cream for the humbucker-equipped CT30HSS model, and Pueblo Pink and Black for the CT30SSS.

Sterling by Music Man Cutlass: was US$349.99 now US$199.99 at Sweetwater Sound

A brilliant choice for beginners, the Sterling by Music Man Cutlass has got a super $150 discount at Sweetwater, taking the price down below the $200 mark. Beautifully put together, the HSS pickup configuration makes it ultra-flexible tonally, giving you plenty of humbucker heft for harder styles with single coils for extra versatility.

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The design might look Strat-like – and fair enough given the legacy of its founder – but there are some clever tweaks over the classic Fender build.

For instance, tonewoods include jabon and poplar (common on affordable builds) paired with a maple neck, but it’s joined at the body with a five-bolt method (as opposed to four) – an attempt to offer increased stability.

Then there’s a 12” fingerboard radius, which might make it better suited for accessing those single note bends and accommodating other lead work (the majority of Fenders utilize a 9.5” radius).

Flip it over and you’ll see it’s also rounded at the heel, which will offer better access to the neck’s higher registers, all of which means that if you’re shopping for a player who has lead aspirations, this is a very friendly starting point.

Then there’s a solid set of die-cast tuners, ceramic pickups (which still come with a five-way pickup selector switch) and a comparatively simplified control set of master volume and master tone and a sturdy-looking fulcrum tremolo.

The latter is particularly note-worthy as poor quality tremolo systems are a common issue on beginner builds.

We’ve not reviewed this exact model, but we did have the Cutlass CT50HSS (which offers a similar build but upgraded components) in for testing and determined that it offered “a smooth, fast playability and solid feel, and the attention to detail throughout the entire construction is impressive”, awarding it 4.5 stars.

All in all, for a $350 it looked like a good option, but that $199 price tag, makes this smart choice much easier to make...

For more recommendations, check our full Cyber Monday guitar deals page for our full round-up of sales, discounts, and soon-to-disappear offers.