G-Force Review

Perfect for the guitarist looking for something a little different and fun!

Features:	7
Sound:	8
Action:	9
Reliability:	8
Impression:	9
Overall rating:	8.2
Users rating:	6.1
Comments:	27

overall: 8.2

Reviewed by: premstagg, on may 11, 2007

Price paid: $ 146.4

Purchased from: My mate

Features: 22 frets, rosewood fingerboard, laminated finish, hardwood body, hard maple neck, Flying V style body, Tune-O-Matic bridge, passive electronics, 3-way toggle switch, 2 volume controls, 1 tone controls, 2 humbuckers, chrome hardware, Die-cast chrome, in-line. // 7

Sound: I'm in a metal/screamo band (called Awaiting The Flame) and we play a range of music mostly metal. It suits metal to the letter. I've currently got Ernie Ball custom gauge strings on it (56-12) and it holds them brilliantly; which really is a good thing when you want to de-tune. I use a Marshall MGCD15 amp and a Boss Metal Zone MT-2 pedal and with the heavy strings it makes a decent metal bassy sound. However on clean it can be hard to use because of the thickness of the neck maing it hard to reach some chords. In terms of effects and the like, it's pretty easy to do sounds like harmonics and pickscrapes as the strigns aren't too close together. Combined with my amp and the right settings on the tone and volume controls it can deliver quite a whole and bassy sound. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: I have no idea how the guitar was when it was made as I bouoght it from a friend but when he sold me it one of the volume controls was a tad loose but that may have been to do with neglect (and the fact he kept it on the top of his dusty cupboard probably didn't help. But besides that everything is in line and works aceptionally. // 9

Reliability & Durability: I have been told buy the guy I bought it from that when he used it live (to play a punk set) that it was fairly sturdy and he played a smooth no-problems set with it. With it's third birthday just gone, the chrome hardware is completely intact (possibly due to the amount of care I take) and has with stood a few drops in the past completely on behalf of my clumsiness and it still runs nicely. The strap buttons have lasted just as well as the other hardware pieces but I would have to recommend strap-locks as it's a pretty heavy guitar and the pipes on the end can make it swing out a tad. The finish has come of a bit on the points of the V but that's due to the fact the gig bag that was designed for it is very uncomfortable to have on your back and so I use the handle and it often scrapes the pavement. Also the bag is shoeing signs of stress on the handle's stitching. Besides my carelessness the finish has not succumbed to "fingerprint erosion." // 8

Impression: In all this guitar suits metal (or to an extent, punk) perfectly with its standout paint job and body. It can be used for a nice deep clean sound but it can make complex chord hard to play sometimes. I have been playing since the end of November 2005 and in that time this has been my only electric guitar and I haven't complained about it once. I have an 3/4 size acoustic guitar that I bought from Argos when I started playing (£17:P) and an E-Ros 12 string acoustic guitar but I prefer this guitar much more. When I first bought it I had no idea what guitar I was buying, just that it was electric and had 6 strings and when my friend came down the stairs with it I had to have it just based on first impressions. Granted it wasn't the best guitar for a beginner to start with but now that I have gotten used to it I'm gald I did start with it as now I can handle basically any guitar with ease. However if I could change one thing on it I would give it some EMG or Nailbomb pickups to make it sound even better although the pickups on it are fine. // 9

Comments

[Guitar_Jester]

It looks really cool!

[Y00p]

Well, apart from the fact that they found a way to make a V even more uncomfortable sitting down, I actually think it's fugly...

[_3Lm0_]

if i could find it i would give it a go, maybe buy it and change out the pickups and maybe paint.

[_3Lm0_]

wtf, does that thing have pipes! thats pretty ghey.

[meh...]

yh lol, they will just ruin the aspect of sitting down and playing

[guitarmakerpugh]

if i bought that guitar, i would put some kind of model rocket feul thingy in the pipe, and make it go off while i was playing, that would be pretty fricken awesome.

[-heartbreaker-]

they have it at my local shop
it looks like a joke for little kids

and its got ridiculous exaust pipes
they also come with shit pickups

[Tias]

5 4 3 2 1 and we have a lift off
or how they say it:P

[premstagg]

I have to say you can sit down and play it and it isnt that uncomfortable.
The pipes actually help to balance it out :P
And yeh the pickups that come with it are pretty naff :|

[Gitarrenspieler]

if the pickups suck then switch them out jackass. get a dimebucker for the bridge and something good for rhythyms at the neck. or EMGs. those would be good my friend has them in his Reverend V guitar.

[tinivole]

Ok, first to clear the air (if any...)
yes, Stagg aren't exactly the brand with the best reputation, but what i find notable is that they improve with age... ideally the more years you've kept it in one piece while still thrashing it against every conceivable wall surrounding you, the better tonality and quality.
though I tend to stick to my Vintage PRS, Aria Pro-II Les Paul copy and my LAG (My style sways more towards the progressive grunge style of music) but if my writings go on a heavy side, My Stagg Strat fits the part perfectly, seven years of blitz perfected by slapping on a gauge 12 set and dropping it down to C#-G#-C#-F#-A-C#...
All because each scratch, each drop, each hammer dent, each trip up and slamming into a concrete wall (and lets not forget the passing out and falling 7ft off stage act ) neways, all these hav an acute effect on tone, but mount it all up and it builds to its own unique tone... slowly, but immense when it gets there.
Arguably, all guitars go through this, and each develop its own unique tone according to how the user treats it. But... and this is a big but. None can really mount up to the durability that Stagg's battery guitars* have. The only time when I've seen a guitarist give up trying to break a guitar on stage was when he was trying to break a Stagg.
Anyway, in short... Stagg is recommended only for first-time buyers of guitars, because it grows into your style of playing extremely well, and is durable to extreme extents, that you will despise the sight of it long before it will likely break.
...And for critics and guitar lovers. I say sod off and stroke that PRS 20th Anniversary Custom somewhere else. I'm trying to learning 'The Offspring' (Good ol' days )

*referencing stagg guitars to battery hens (because the comparison is there ;P)

[tinivole]

***Correction from previous***
Stagg is recommended only for first-time buyers, because it grows into your style of playing. Whereas guitarists who have played for a good 5+ years won't enjoy it because of the time it takes to morph to their style.

[tinivole]

Its a crawl before you walk guitar to start you off learning... if you buy it for any other reason, well, then your really stupid, then, aren't you??? :P

[GEARS_OF_DETH]

yeah i seen this crap at my local guitar shop nobody has bought it yet ...i think its a big joke with those pipes out of it and what not

[Gojira16]

puke

[runstendt]

While this particular guitar did not suit my playing style, I have found Stagg in general to make an excellent inexpensive guitar. I have a Stagg PRS copy that outplays one of my friend's actual PRS. I have played guitar for about 12 years, and have played many different guitars. I have found Stagg to be just as good if not better than any of the major name brand guitars. My Stagg becomes a natural extension of my arm when I play, which is what a great guitar is supposed to do.

[Serjem]

woah... the most "ugly" guitar i've ever seen... looks like a formula-1 racing car :/

[Demonikk]

Man that thing looks worse than anything I've ever seen. Is this aimed at the 'Wacky Races fan' niche by any chance?

[Insane Esp]

Gayest Guitar Ever. It Sucks Balls. Whoever Baught this is a ****ing retard.

[premstagg]

Gitarrenspieler wrote:

if the pickups suck then switch them out jackass. get a dimebucker for the bridge and something good for rhythyms at the neck. or EMGs. those would be good my friend has them in his Reverend V guitar.

I never said I didn't JACKASS!

[Amroth]

As much as V's go, this is the ugliest by far. I'm slightly skeptical when looking at Stagg as a brand because a lot of crap has been made by those guys.

[Zwart]

you can pull out the pipes and the pickups are fine if ajust them right

[treiso]

Serjem :
woah... the most "ugly" guitar i've ever seen... looks like a formula-1 racing car :/

Well Don't F-1 cars look cool?! And personally, I think it deserves the title of Skankin'!!

[treiso]

Serjem :
woah... the most "ugly" guitar i've ever seen... looks like a formula-1 racing car :/

Well don't F-1 cars look cool?! And personally I think it deserves the title of Skankin'!!

[stafford5150]

that is one good looking guitar..... NOT! (yea i watched borat last night)
dont they do that in orange too? that must prove there is a way to make this guitar look worse than it already is.

[Korzack]

Haha maybe Stagg should do endoresments with GP teams - this thing in Ferrari Red'll be the sort of thing you'll wanna hang up on the wall, but never go near actually playing.

[sirgaz88]

i entered a guitar hero competition around christmas in a pub near where i live and came second. but the first price was apparently a custom flying v worth £2000! turns out it was this piece of crap! con-merchants!

glad i didnt win tbh.