Price paid: $ 120
Purchased from: rondomusic.com
Features: Trus rod adjustable 22 fret maple neck with rosewood fretboard,
Die cast gold tuners
Licenced Floyd Rose Tremolo
One humbucker and two single coil pickups and five way Switch.
Solid Ash Body
One volume and one tone control
Gold Hardware
Light weight (7.5 lbs)
Overall length is 39 1/2" including the strap button. Scale length is 25.5". Width at the widest point is 12.5". The neck is 1 11/16" wide at the nut.
Neck Profile (thickness) 7/8" at the first fret. 2 1/4" at the 22nd fret
Comes in three colors. Blue, Red, Natural.
Body is Strat style.
Comes with 2 Allen wrenches, 5ft cable. // 9
Sound: I only have a Crate GX-15 amp so the distortion is hard to say about this guitar though I can still get a nice metal tone and a really nice clean tone that fits songs such as Shinedown - 45 very well. The pickups do not really need changing unless its for personal preference.The sound is great, I have been doing natural harmonics alot since I got it. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: I had to do a setup when I got it though this is something to be expected from any guitar you buy. The post for the LFR are not lined up properly but from what I have noticed it does not affect the tuning stability at all. The pickup selector and volume pot were both noisy but after using the guitar for a while it stop making noise. I tripped one of the bolts to the locking nut but after some inspection I noticed the allen wrench was stripped badly so I assume the wrench was to blame for the stripped nut. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I believe this guitar would hold up well to Live playing. The hardware feels cheap but its pretty solid, the gold color will tarnish quickly but that is about it so I am sure the hardware will last a good while. The strap buttons are typical, they are solid and hold well but just like any normal strap buttons the strap will slip off occasionally so as with any guitar you buy you should get strap locks. After playing this guitar for a several months and even taking with me on vacation I would not have any problems using this in a gig without a backup guitar. The finish is great, the natural finish is beautiful and flawless. I intended to repaint it when I order the guitar but after opening the box and seeing the finish I decided to keep it as is. // 10
Impression: I play all types of metal and rock and this guitar seems to do it all very well. I've seen some people play some really nice jazz, country, and blues with this guitar also so I would have to say this guitar would suite any type of music just fine. I love the finish and the necks playability as well as the Floyd Rose, but I dislike the floyd at the same time mostly cause this is my only electric at the moment and changing tunes is a pain so I just went ahead and blocked the tremolo till I get another guitar. I've done some slight comparison to some low/med end Ibanez and Jackson guitars and I would have to say that for $120 I pretty much got a $300+ guitar. There isnt much this doesn't have that I want except I do wish it was neck through and HSH instead of HSS but I can Live without iether. If it were stolen or lost I would absolutely buy another one.
Keep in mind that the scores are relative to quality and price. // 10
