Price paid: $ 230
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: First of all, I got this used. This guitar was made in Korea in '05 (I wish it was North Korea). It's got 24 large frets which I need for some solos that I do. There's the 3 peice bolt-on thin neck made out of maple and a basswood body (I'm saving to custom make a mahogony body). The fretboard is made out of rosewood. The pickups are INF3 and INF4. I believe this is a Tune-O-Matic bridge. The controls are master volume, master tone, and a 3-way selector switch, which is pretty Standard in my book. // 8
Sound: I play metal and classic rock. This guitar is meant for rock and some metal players. I can definetly get a Metallica sound out of this when I use my Boss OS-2 pedal when the tone and Drive are on max and the color is all the way to dist. I am using a Fender Frontman 25-R which is probably why the clean on this guitar is "manageable" for Classic Rock. Harmonics on this guitar sound kind of "Nintendo-ish" (see pickups). Open bends (as in Iron Man intro) are easier on the higher strings than the lower ones because the length of the lower strings is shorter than that of the higher ones. Are you still with me? // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: As I said before, I got this used. The knob for the selector Switch was missing which I had to point out and got a $20.00 (USD) discount. I replaced it with one from an SG on display a week later. My hands are oily so the fretboard collects a lot of oil and dirt, especially along the 9th and 10th frets. I've had this guitar for about 6 months and everything seems fine. It stays in tune for a long time, but for some reason, when it's leaning on my window and the sun hits hit only the third string (G) gets out of tune. I recommend Ernie Ball (guage 9) strings or DR (guage 10). // 8
Reliability & Durability: I have no idea how many times I've hit this guitar 'accidentally on purpose' because I mainly only play this at school or at a relatives house. I dare not take my LP. The balance on this guitar is pretty poor. Too much weight is concentrated on the left side of the guitar body that the head naturally leans downwards when playing standing up. As far as gigs go, only if you can sit down. Even then, you have to get used to the feel of it when sitting down and get the type of chord that bends (or is already bent) easily. // 10
Impression: As far as my feeling go, this guitar is with me only for small gigs and out of home use. I've been playing for 3 years but have known how guitars work for about 5. If this guitar were stolen/lost I would probably look somewhere else, again, only for a practice guitar. I love the thin neck, but I see no need for it with my big hands. Probably the only thing I "hate" about this guitar is it's poor balance when playing standing up and that there is no suitable stand for it. Now if only it came with a Floyd Rose. // 9
not anymore