I always wanted a strat after playing Gibsons for a long time. This guitar did not disappoint me!
There are some minor improvements that the factory can make.
On my guitar, the fretboard was sprayed with lacquer while there is still a dust or whatever it is - now it's stuck probably forever on the fretboard. It's very small, but once you notice it, you're aware of it presence forever.
The edge on the pickguard still has some scraping/cutting marks, it could've been sanded off at the factory, but only noticeable if you really look for it.
The setup was way off. Worst part was, the radius at the bridge didn't follow the fretboard radius. And the string action was set way too low. It probably was buzzing on open strings, since there was more relief than you need on the neck. The angle on the bridge was also set way too forward for my taste, but you can easily tighten the springs on the back. Once gone through a proper setup, the guitar played beautifully and the neck is very smooth.
The pickups sounds wonderful. Not too powerful on the output, and not too harsh on the high end, like they used to be on older generations of budget strats. Great blend between vintage sound with more modern output (7.1k to 8.3k resistance), very useful for many genres.
Overall fantastic guitar for the price. I'd love to recommend it to anyone who wants a new strat!