TL;DR
This Tagima TG-540’s hardware is ok, except for the springs on the back. And I also upgraded the bridge to a thicker, more solid one for sustain. Sound is ok, but the humbucker pickup is pretty dry. I upgraded it to the Wilkinson brand.
Price range: Php 9500. Bought on Lazada from Guitar Pusher. Visit their website here. Or their Lazada store here.
2024 Update: Check my YouTube video here where I change the pickups.
Thoughts on this Tagima TG-540 HSS
Personally, I like this guitar a lot. But it also needed a lot of upgrades, for a semi-perfectionist-gear-noob like me(not sure if that’s a word). I like the neck because it’s wider than my Fender Mexican Tele and I can do vibrato stuff. The springs do not hold for long. It will become rusty, specially if you like using the tremolo a lot.
I upgraded the 2 single coil pickups to the Schrauben middle and neck pickups, and the humbucker bridge is upgraded to a Wilkinson series. Those might be the cheapest of the bunch, but it made my guitar come alive than it was before with the stock pickups. See the YouTube demo here.
Btw, the black saddle on the bridge is a Graphtech saddle I bought long time ago for my Tele, but it’s not the right spacing, so I bought another correct one for it, and used the old saddle for this one instead.
If you’re planning to use this as your main guitar, I’d recommend upgrading the springs first. The tuning keys are pretty ok for me, they tune and hold well.
Before using the tremolo like crazy, you should probably buy new springs then bring it to a trusted luthier near you so it can be setup and can be played efficiently. I’m using Kluson springs. They come in 3 pieces per set, so I bought 2.
I use a 9-42 strings here, so it has less tension on the springs.
Btw, the paint/print from your shirt, or even your leather strap could cause paint stain on the back of the guitar. Hated this issue, but I grew to not care anymore about this issue on this guitar.
I bought this guitar last October 10, 2020. I think this one could use a refret after a year or 2 of heavy playing. There’s no fret buzz, no protruding fret wires on the neck. It’s smooth as butter.
Overall Rating
Hardware – 7/10
Sound – 7/10
Neck – 9.5/10
Playability – 10/10
The body is heavier than the neck, so there’s no neck dive going around here.
