Mooer MSC20 Pro Electric Guitar in Black Burst

Any guitarist can agree that while it’s always exciting to see new innovations arriving on the guitar scene, sometimes, it’s wise to follow the classic advice, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This is precisely the attitude that MOOER’s GTRS has taken with some of its recent guitar installments; the company famously produced technically impressive intelligent guitars such as M800 and S800 series, but more recently, they’ve been focusing on getting back to the basics with its classic electric MSC10 Pro and now, the MSC20 Pro.

Unlike the GTRS intelligent series of electric guitars, the MSC20 Pro doesn’t come with internal amplification and effects, but that’s precisely what makes it so special–it’s a classic, budget, albeit masterfully constructed electric guitar. It’s ultimately an enhanced version of this year's MSC10 Pro, featuring a similar strat-style poplar body but augmented with its slick, gloss finish and selected ash top.

One key area in which the MSC20 Pro has been upgraded from its previous generation is its available color schemes, which currently include Amber Brown, Black Burst, Prune Purple, and Ocean Blue. Each of these colors are unique to the MSC series, and are all applied to both the body and the headstock of the guitar, helping it to stand out stylishly yet subtly in any guitarist's collection.

While it’s true that the MSC20 Pro is a highly affordable guitar, this isn’t initially clear considering its strong arsenal of tonewoods. For instance, the previously mentioned poplar and ash body is complemented by a roasted maple C-shape neck with a beautiful satin finish, just like its older brother, a combination that is very rare to see on lower-end guitars. Roasted maple is famously praised for its structural stability and resonant consistency, so it’s typically only found on more expensive models.

Just like the MSC10 Pro, this predecessor assembles its body and neck through bolt-on construction, a bone nut, a dual-action steel truss rod, and MTN-1 chrome tuning pegs. However, instead of the original tech ebony fingerboard, the MSC20 Pro features a unique Jatoba style, giving it a more organic, wooden feel that is welcome to see, especially considering the price point. This natural look is added to with the guitar's minimalistic White Shell dotted inlay across 22 nickel-silver frets, keeping things simple but classic.

As you would expect from any strat-style guitar, MOOER has installed a versatile range of pickups to capture the guitar's tonewoods in their full glory, consisting of the MSC-1N single-coil neck pickup, the MSC-1M single coil middle pickup, and, of course, the classic MHB-1B humbucker bridge pickup. Accompanied by these coils is the guitar's 5-way pickup switch and tone dial, ensuring that guitarists can experiment and adapt their tonal output to fit within the context of a performance.

However, to add to these tonal capabilities even further, the MSC20 Pro even includes an impressive coil split switch, providing a quick and accessible way to switch up tones in a live setting. This is combined with all the small yet essential details any guitarist needs within a performance environment: a solid chrome strap pin to ensure that dynamic movement never gets in the way of a gig, an MVT-1 6-hole Vintage Tremolo bridge, and an easy-access volume dial.  

Overall, the MSC20 Pro is a seamlessly constructed guitar offering excellent value for money to a guitarist on a budget, just like the MSC10, but with more bang for the buck–especially when it comes to the body’s ash top, the tonal split switch, and the new colors and fingerboard style. To top things off, the guitar’s GGW logo is a clear reminder of MOOER’s GTRS Guitar Works factory, which was built back in 2019 and has, ever since, built itself a reputation of expertise in high-quality guitar construction, electric circuitry, and visual curation.

Specifications

Series / Model

• Series: MOOER Strat MSC20 Pro

Construction

• Neck Construction: Bolt-on

Neck

• Material: Roasted Maple
• Neck Finish: Satin
• Tuners: MTN-1 Chrome
• Nut: Bone
• Neck Shape: Standard C
• Fingerboard: Jatoba
• Dot Inlay: White Shell
• Radius: 12" (305mmR)
• Frets: 22 Nickel Silver
• Truss Rod: Dual Action Steel
• Strings: 09-46
• Scale Length: 25.5" (648mm)

Body

• Material: Poplar with Selected Ash Top
• Body Finish: Gloss
• Colors Available:
  • Amber Brown
  • Black Burst
  • Prune Purple
  • Ocean Blue
• Strap Pin: Chrome
• Bridge: MVT-1 6-Hole Vintage Tremolo

Pickups

• Neck Pickup: MSC-1N Single Coil
• Middle Pickup: MSC-1M Single Coil
• Bridge Pickup: MHB-1B Humbucker

Controls

• Volume: 1 x
• Tone: 1 x
• Coil Split Switch: 1 x
• Pickup Selector: 5-Way Switch