Fair and Honest Review ! Looks and Sounds Nice ! The only question, is, How well does it play ? Glarry must be Proud to be able to help out the kids with New Guitars ! Thanks, Phil, For All That You Do !
that's what i've heard about eddie van halen. people say they've heard him pick up a shitty guitar at a friend's house and play and it sounds like van halen.
i found that out when a guy picked up my guitar at a party....i looked like the home alone kid! (couldn't remember how to spell his name....my phone had no clue!!)
That's good to hear. Beginners guitars were always blighted with terrible tuners as far back as I can remember ! Often a good idea if it tunes up & stays there, just forget the trem & tighten it up so it won't move. Lucky grand kids ! 👍
I bought one of these a few years ago, before any youtuber stumbled upon them, before they were putting any labels on headstock, just blank headstock. Years after, this thing stays in tune amazingly! Month after not playing it I can just pick it up and play it!
The first guitar I ever bought was an Ibanez Roadstar 110 back in '97 for $400. The Glarry Strats blow those old Japanese junk-piles, mercilessly, right off of the globe! Thinking of buying more!
@@4968ace I was miffed some years back upon having to replace an output jack on a top of the line ________________ (name brand that I won't name here) and to find out that the output plug they used was the cheapest 1/4 jack they could buy in bulk... a stereo jack (yes... a STEREO jack on a guitar) like the ones used for headphone outputs for cheap boom boxes. Buying a $1400 guitar (this was in the late 80s) you'd think they'd be using Switchcraft parts or something of higher quality. This company was cutting corners on their flagship guitar? really?
These guitars are so cheap, you almost want them to be bad ("I regret to say...") and I am the exact same. I don't know why though. Is it to justify all the expensive guitars we've bought?
I think, for most of us, it is actually partially to justify all the expensive gear that most of us have bought. Though some "cheaper (under $100)" guitars are horrible to play, some are good. The other part is some actually being bad.
I bought a new Squier strat back in the 80's for $300 and I guarantee it wasn't worth much more than this $60 one. If I could go back in time, I'd slap myself silly. Of course the spendy guitars just keep going up in price every year, but the cheap (price-wise) ones seem to go the opposite route.
Yes exactly. It seems people that have purchased the overpriced guitars hate these low cost guitars with a passion! I was a Gibson and Guild snob. Very pricey, and they were much better than the junk coming out of Asia by leaps and bounds 30 years ago. But now? Screw it! I picked up a Firefly electric, and a Greg Bennett acoustic from Asia. Love them both. Yes, I still have the Gibson Les Paul, but it stays in the case, I'm afraid I may scratch it.
When I was starting (50 or so years ago) cheap guitars were absolutely crap. Virtually unplayable. Back then every guitar required a lot of "by hand" craftsmanship. Now, it does not matter if the guitar costs $3K or $300 - the CNC machines cut all parts to the same accuracy. You may have cheaper quality woods, frets, electronics, bridges, finishes, etc, and you may find that they don't stand the test of time, but to get started, you can get a completely playable guitar at the low end. And I agree 100% that it is a great way to practice your skills in dealing with things like treating fret sprout, leveling, etc. Today, one of my favorite guitars to play started life as a Squier Affinity Telecaster. It cost about $170 CDN. Since I bought it, I've upgrades the tuning machines, PUs, and nut (all of which cost a lot more than the original guitar cost), and did my own fret job to make it feel super smooth. I also buffed off the gloss finish on the neck which makes it feel like heaven. I would not likely have contemplated work like this on a guitar I paid $1000+ for, but for this one, it is like "what have you got to loose". It had good bones.
From Leo: I am right there with you Donald. I even have still have my first electric, a Tawain built Harmony solid body, plywood body and neck, noisy single coils that would pickup local AM radio stations. Fret board like it was cut with a hatchet. No wonder so many kids gave up lessons and never learned to play.
I’ve played off and on for 45 years. The cheap guitars of the 70s and 80s were complete crap. I recently bought a Squier Infinity Tele and maybe just I got a good one but it’s got the lowest action of any of my guitars. It is a joy to play. I don’t think the pickups are that bad or any of the other parts for that matter and see no reason to upgrade it. For now I’ll just enjoy playing it.
My first electric guitar in 1980 was, believe it or not a Martin. It was called a Martin Stinger and had Martin's name on it. It was a strat copy and the salesman convinced me that with Martin backing it I couldn't go wrong. It was $300.00 and it was a cheap piece of junk. Many years later, when I learned how to do my own set-ups and adjustments, I realized how terrible the fretwork and overall quality was. The neck was warped so bad it set me back years in my learning to play. And when I wrote a letter to Martin they didn't bother to respond.
I have an Indonesian affinity strat that plays really nice, low action, pups are pretty decent, What i really like is the light finish on the neck. Had an older classic vibe strat with a gloss black neck, I didn't like the feel at all and ended up trading it off. The affinity is my go to its just so easy to play.
@@ericsmodsandgear8098 It's pretty easy to remove that glossy sticky neck feeling. I've done it on 3 guitars so far. I just used a green scrubbie (things you have in your kitchen for cleaning pots and such - use a new one, rather than one you've been cleaning dishes with). Just don't apply too much pressure, and wipe the neck with a damp cloth and check progress frequently. The goal is NOT to remove all the finish - just remove enough of the top layer so what used be glossy is now satiny smooth. It only takes a couple of minutes. You don't even need to take the neck off. You may find you need to adjust the truss rod a couple of days after doing this but otherwise, I have had no problems and it makes a world of difference to the feel. I even did it to the fretboard of 2 of the guitars that had a maple fretboard with a glossy finish. Makes your frets nice and shiny too :)
@sploofmonkey I think it just proves how guitar players have been ripped off for decades . Unless a guitar is handmade by an artisan builder , they really shouldn't be 100s and 100s of ( Insert your currency here ) as is evidenced by the tone of this and other cheap guitars .
@@Axess-sv8nq I just bought a limited edition SE for £379 delivered , plays beautifully , neck pickup is very bassy , but I really don't think you can get a better appointed and playing guitar for the money .
Yeah, my first guitar from the early '80s was hardly playable. I am fortunate enough to still have it today, but the only thing original to the guitar is the body! Not even the paint on the body is original :)
I'm not THAT old and I my first electric was a ludicrously heavy Squier that broke strings every day. My amp was a Park that sounded like crap. They created an incredible lineup of products just in time for kids to stop playing guitar.
I didn't strip mine although I bet the wood would look good. I painted it fingernail polish(acrylic enamel) some of it glow paint for clubbing using different brushes. I did a kinda late 60's psychedelic thing. I may do the pick-guard too. Update us if you can. I'd love to see the wood. BTW is yours rosewood or maple fingerboard?
Just my experience with it man. Use a heat gun unless you have proper equipment and don't inhale that dust, basswood is extra nasty. I sanded my first one, biggest pain of any guitar in 19 years. But both of mine have been a blast to refinish, mod and play.
I watched a ton of how to vids before I refinished my strat..... It came out really good and was a lot easier than I thought, as long as you give proper drying time between coats and sanding it's all good.... Go for it
I would say it's a perfect candidate for attempting paint at 65 dollars at least there's no risk of losing a lot of money. Hey change the crap pickups also. I know they are crap cause I was curious like others and bought one. When your use to playing guitars like jackson, esp, and Dean there's just no reason to get one of these guitars. Quality is more important than playing a guitar that looks like a Stratocaster.
How I wish 65 dollar guitars looked and played this good when I started playing over four decades ago. I love that new players get to start with something that looks and sounds very good. Great review, Phil.
We need more companies like this. Decent affordable instruments that encourage more use. The next Clapton, Vai, Van Halen or Holly could be waiting just for the opportunity. Good, honest review. Thanks and keep up the great work.
8:10 - Phil provides tips that EVERY guitar needs - a tuner and lubing the nut - not just that $65 Glarry. BTW, the swap back and forth with your American ... the Glarry had a better low end in my Sennheisers 😱
Philip.. I have followed you for some years, and the one thing I LOVE about you is your amazing honesty and integrity. You could have dissed this guitar and put it down, but you didn't. As someone else said, the look on your face when you played it compared to your Strat.. Priceless! Fender and Gibson will still stay in business, but thanks to companies like this, hundreds of kids can now afford a "Strat" and one that SOUNDS like a Strat!
Because pickups are just magnets wrapped in wire and the only real difference between pickups is how much wire is wrapped around determining how "hot" they are. People paying $300 for a pair of pickups are literally just paying for the brand sticker on them. I wouldn't be surprised if most pickups are made in the same factory.
I have a Les Paul that I'm extremely satisfied with, but have also wanted a Stratocaster or Strat style guitar for the triple single pickups. Purchasing even a Squire is outside of my ability, but this guitar is likely doable. Thanks for the heads up and review!
That guitar is definitely a great deal for a beginner that's on the fence about starting to play guitar and also someone who wants to learn guitar repair/customization. Great job Phillip!!!
Thanks Phil! After watching the video, I went to the Glarry website. They are having a Thanksgiving sale. The solid color red and blue are only $59.99 free ship! Oh yeah..they do hit you with a $2.99 insurance charge. So, $62.98 delivered. A red one is on it's way to my house.
I've had mine for several days now. The neck is amazing..easily the most impressive thing on this guitar. Maple? Maybe. Rounded edges and beautifully finished fret ends. Oh yeah. I had it on my bench to shim the neck (used a Fender medium pick cut in half) and tighten the truss rod (it was total slack). New 10-46 string and adjust pick-up height to taste. Super light guitar and the neck is a dream to play. Best $63 guitar I ever bought. Update..a week and a half later. Took out the shim and lowered the saddle height. Better action than before. Also lowered the pick up height. Still amazed by this neck. I like the way this plays .. the edges are rolled and smoother than my MIM Strat.
I bought the Burning Fire (black), love it, even though it needs love and attention to detail. Knew it would need work, but that is why I bought it. To tech it out and have fun doing it!!
Have you ever played somebody else's guitar noticed that you still sound like you? I think that's the KC we may have here with guitars that are similar. If he says some of the same oh, I'm sure he did you should sound pretty much like he sounds. I have a super Reverb Deluxe, a partscaster and a Mexican guitar. As I use the others for backup they still set up the way I like, and there's not a big difference when I put one down because the string broke to pick up the other one and keep playing. Except for the made in Mexico I do have the neck pickup a little bit lower on the treble end so I do notice a little less brightness. But that pickup was too bright to me
@Werewolf O. London, Esq. as long as the frets don't lift , wear and tear happens. Some people (like Prince) was hard on guitars. his tech wrote of the number times prince threw the guitar up in the air after a song. If that is not how you pay, just enjoy the guitar. Honestly, If you do not put worth on what a guitar will sell for when you are done with it, but on how it plays to you at your skill level, it doesn't matter. A thought, Fenders biggest advantage to musicians is that a replacement neck is cheaper and faster than a refret. I can't tell you number of people that get the refret because a replacement neck will lower the resale value. If this is a concern of yours, I withdraw all of my comment. There are no guarantees and at this price, what do you really have to loose?
Your integrity is why I value your reviews so much. You call it honest. The quality and selection of budget guitars these days is RIDICULOUS! What a great time for people just starting out or even for older players branching out to try new brands/shapes/styles. The good options we have are a tremendous blessing. It's a far better situation than when I started with my 1985 Sears catalog Harmony Crapcaster and Gorilla 10 watt amp. I hated is so much I quit trying for 25 years. What a time to be alive!
Dang, I remember when I got my Squire for about $140 new, and it still works like a charm for me. Something like this for that price is without a doubt up the alley for those on a budget! Awesome showcase!
Squier Strats have the correct headstock ! When I first became aware of Glarry they actually did have the Fender headstock shape but I guess they were advised legally to drop it shortly after. Not all Squier Strats are equal ; my '96 Chinese made Strat is a toy compared to my brother's '83(?) SQ series ! I can't knock Squires because I wasn't interested that much in Strats at all until I bought that '96 off a mate. Now I own a couple of Mim Fender Strats & am constantly GASsing the USA stuff I can't afford 😂
I wish I had these kind of options when I started out,......all I had when I was 17 years old was a Harmony electric that came from Service Merchandise,.....in the showroom. Followed by an old all black Hondo Strat copy.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 So AWESOME of you to hook up Andrew for his music program.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I checked out Glarry's site and I am impressed at how many finish options there are. I'm sure there are tons of young players (and adults) looking for a zebra stripe or skull print guitar on a budget. Something that Squier doesn't offer. As far as the sound/tone, the Glarry obviously didn't have the depth of your Fender, but for what it is, it works. Great review!
For all the newbies out there there's nothing wrong with this guitar my first beginner guitar strings were half inch off the deck you are very fortunate these days to be able to buy a guitar for this price point ☆☆☆☆. And you only get out of it what you put into it, pick the damn thing up ? And rock on ☆. Thanks for the videos!
I'm listening on my phone but I can tell you man it almost sounded exactly alike as your $2,000 fender that's just crazy man. I'm the dude in the mobility scooter that met you at Guitar Center one time I hope you're well man thanks for doing these. It's not the easiest thing to just make videos and pump them out the way you do and we really appreciate this stuff out here. So is there a link to buy one? I guess I'll check online.
I’m trying to break myself from being tempted by guitars like this. I have a few pretty nice guitars to gig with. I decided that I don’t need all these cheap guitars I see on RUclips. I keep telling myself there is no Reason for me to have around 20 guitars. I have 8 that I consider good guitars. Dumped the squiers, Amazon firefly, guitar fetish stuff. I see this video and half way through I start thinking “it could be cool to buy a $30 loaded pick guard with alnico pickups, mayb some $18 locking tuners. Just make a super low budget banger guitar. So far I’m resisting the urge. Great video.
I dont have any cheap guitars but i do really really like Guitar Fetish pickups and all my guitars have them unless the guitar came with duncans or something really nice to begin with.
@@AllCreaturesCount There's a return if you enjoy doing it, you end up with something that makes you happy when all is said and done, and aren't thinking solely of the resulting monetary value. But to each their own.
@@AllCreaturesCount tinkering and upgrading guitars is very therapeutic and can yield incredible results in terms of tone and playability. But like anything it's not for everyone and not everyone will get the same result.
@@Robster-Craw it is great therapy. I became disabled and can't do a lot of the things I used to. I was always creative and building something, usually big projects that required heavy lifting and hard work. Guitar modding and building isn't very physically demanding an most of the time can be done sitting at a table. It takes care of that creative need I have and is extremely rewarding...and it's awesome to play something you've built or modded yourself!👍😎🎸🎶
I bought my first electric guitar back in 1981. A Satellite LP copy which was simply dreadful: did not stay in tune for a minute, plywood body, very muddy pups and an action that you could slice boiled eggs on. It cost me £69 UK which was about one and a half weeks wages for a school leaver back then which probably works out about £300 to £400 in today's money. That was the norm back then, cheap guitars were rubbish and as you can see were not _cheap_ . The cheapest reasonable guitars were were coming in at about £150 eg. Ibanez Blazers. The prices and relative quality today truly amaze me and I am happy for today's beginners who have it much better, unrecognisably better than we did back then. This looks like a decent guitar even before we consider the outrageously low price which would probably compare to £20 or even less back in 1981 for an infinitely better instrument than I started with.
Your videos literally cure my anxiety. I don’t know what it is, probably your personal and affectionate conveyances and relatable mindset. You really help, Phillip. Thank you.
Such a straight shooter Phil. Skeptical, understandably, yet willing to say you're impressed with something that goes above and beyond. This is so important for people starting out, when someone of your knowledge and skill set can point out the true positives and negatives and not color your opinions by being a snob to your values and needs. I'm not only impressed with this guitar (as a practice axe for the luthier-type work I seriously need), but with you and your ability to point out all the issues and share all the related information. It's a reason I'm a fan. Thank you!!!
I bought the same guitar without any brand on the headstock off eBay (I believe Glarry just resells these) with a plan to make it a project guitar. The bridge pickup was so impressive for the price and it played so well out of the box I almost didn't want to mess with it! But in the end, two $7 humbuckers, a fret leveling job, a nut cut and a handmade pickguard later, I have a baritone tuned strat that just kills and yes, stays in tune for an eternity.
Well just finished setup on my new Glarry Strat. It is not one of my Gibson's but for the money you can't go wrong. I wish my 1st guitar was this good. Get one you will be shocked how good it is.
What a great narrative on the Glarry. As an older, beginning player, there's an overwhelming amount of choices of inexpensive guitars. It makes your head want to explode...your video has helped me to decide to someday get the Glarry...to learn how to work on guitars.
...and as hard as it is for normal, psychologically healthy people to believe, there are people out there who feel the NEED to pay a lot for things because it reinforces their delusions that they're special and entitled to "special" or "elite" things. We call those people narcissists. They feel narcissistically injured (read: insulted) at the thought of having the same pedestrian things the "ordinary" or "common" people. lol Truth!
Worth buying and upgrading? Is the body wood actually basswood or plywood, or even pressboard? And you just answered my last question, a good tool to learn to work on.
Great video! I hope this gets shared a lot as it will be encouraging to those who are wanting to try electric guitar, or have a kid or friend who does! Also great to hear about the donation. Sounds like the company are good people! ✌🏻🎼🎸
@Lazy Fingers At LEAST as good. Mine plays perfectly, sounds great, stays in tune. Hard to complain for what I paid for it. I'll tell you this, as a player I'd NEVER drop what they ask for a new Strat or Les Paul....unless I hit the lottery. Not with these guitars floating around.
You do a great service, the information you present appears unbiased and very valuable. I taught in public schools for years, not music though, and many students knew I played and would come to me to figure out songs for them, give little impromptu lessons or advice. I can't tell you how many times times kids would have an inexpensive, but playable, guitar and they would not really practice until they got the Gibson, Fender or other "name" guitar that their idol was playing. It was like owning the brand guitar would bring out the great guitarist in them. So much wasted practice time. Again, you do a great service.
If I had this level of started guitar, at this price point a few decades ago, I definitely would be the second coming of Hendrix by now... XD Seriously, ain't free market competition awesome? Phil, ya gotta do a Pepsi Blindfold Tone challenge!
Several months ago a neighbor brought me an "S" type guitar his wife had given him as a gift. He now wanted to take some lessons. The problem was the thin neck had the worst 'twist' in it I had ever seen!! I've seen some doozies to!! Over the years I've built a stash of parts from fire sales, going out of biz, discontinued stuff etc. just for this purpose. I removed the neck and cleaned up the pocket with a template and router. Installed a Mighty Mite neck w/vintage tint ($60), Grover 205 mini roto's ($47), Stew-Mac basic 3S loaded pick guard ($38.50) and a Wilkenson WV2 trem bridge ($40). The neck still didn't sit in the pocket right, so I used a Stew-Mac 1d shim ($8.50) to make straight. The set up required a level/crown/polish, and I spent a couple hours with scrapers, fret files, nut slot files etc. These are good people and work hard for not much money so I gave them my time, and parts at cost. His $70 guitar now plays great, and looks/sounds pretty good to! $194 in parts, to)tal $264. I'm quite sure you could not buy the same quality guitar for $300!! My 'customer' was quite happy with it. Me too. 8) --gary .
Ok. Did you check the instrument's intonation? Was there any fret buzz, especially above the 12th fret? Was the neck straight? What was the nut made of? What was the quality of the tuning heads? Did the strings slip or were they kept tight? To me, the answers to these questions is what determines the quality of the guitar.
You have to consider that how a guitar feels is alot more important than sound cause if your guitar doesn't feels good but sounds good it wouldn't want to make you play it
Upon your switching back and forth with your strats, I closed my eyes and played it over and over with closed eyes. I have really good hearing, and I couldn't always hear the switch. So you guys & gals out there, try the test that way. Unless you have the hearing of a K-9 it's not an issue. I definitely would take the $65. and put the fixes to it. Make it yours. Change out the bridge & pots. The pick-ups and a set of locking tuners, and a bone nut. Along with some great strings, and a Set-up.
So how good were the frets? Are they soft and going to wear quickly? What about the electrics? Do the Pots work or cut out/scratch? How was the wiring? How stable was the neck and how was the relief? Will the truss rod snap if you try and adjust? How was the intonation? How much work on set-up did you need to do? Its all well and good for a new guitar to be 'ok' in the first week or two but if its problematic and/or requires a LOT of work and ongoing maintenance, how is that a 'great' guitar for a beginner?? It bugs me that reviewers rarely test the electronics and at most use the volume as a mute at most - rarely use it to see how it works if you want to roll it down to clean up the sound. I think it also think its more important to see how well it holds up over time for a beginner guitar because most beginners don't know how to set-up a guitar or deal with buzz, intonation problems, etc and more likely to press down hard on the strings which can wreck cheap frets quickly. You don't want to put them off....
Curious if the parts are directly swappable with Fender™ parts, like if you REALLY wanted a cheap strat and you were cool with throwing $100 pickups in a guitar that cost less than the pickups, if they would fit without altering the cavities or pickguard...or could you put a different readily available Fender™ pickguard on it?
I'm left-handed and get excited when I see very inexpensive off-shore left-handed guitars. Putting together my own left-handed guitars, when I played full time in bands, taught me a lot. I call original Stratocasters "full-scale" and all other manufacturers are "short-scale", smaller. There are so many different sizes being made by so many different sized manufacturers, yes... any chance for an industry standard is now global, and it's obvious America is losing this one. Don't forget that Leo Fender invented Stratocasters. His instructions said to use the volume on full.
sure you could, and its cheap enough that even if the screw holes don't like up, it wouldn't be a sin to fill them and drill new ones, stewmac is a great channel that teaches all sorts of repair and modding
@@disastermidi1990 Oh yeah, I love stewmac and already pretty heavy into modding, fixing, and maintaining my guitars, I was thinking more along the lines of laziness, like if the pickguard wasn't the same exact shape and you'd have to cut a custom one. I'm all for a project (I build pedals and all that) but still, laziness is nice sometimes.
Widow Speak Usually the dimensions are standardised even on the budget guitars. Stringspacing, Screw distance....etc. Only thing I saw on YT : cavities are sometimes not deep enough for original Fender pups or for quality pots. Because of the slimmer body. Just grab a Dremel, half hour of work
I bought one back before they changed the headstock from the Fender style. I liked the green body and it looked even better than the photos when I got it. The clear coat was cracked on the back between the neckplate and the spring cover. I wanted a replacement, but they were out of the green version, so I decided to keep it because the wood grain looked really good. BTW, the wood on mine was not "Basswood", but it was Paulownia (Empress Wood). It looks just like Ash and is as light as a feather. They refunded $10 due to the cracked finish. Pickups were very weak and anemic sounding, so I hit eBay and bought some Alnico 5 replacement pickups for $15 (per set) and also picked up a replacement pickguard in green mother of pearl for $9 and a couple of roller trees ($2). The logo on the headstock was scratched, so I scraped it off easily with a razor blade and replaced it with a gag one that I printed out on some decal paper. I had decided to put some finish on the neck while waiting for all the replacement parts to arrive, so I wiped on a Tru-Oil finish in about 6 coats over a few days. That was a first for me and it turned out absolutely great. The neck looks great and it looks just like it was lacquered, but has a silkier feel. Eventually the parts arrived and I put it all back together. I'd wanted to use a "big block" trem on it, but the routing was insufficient to allow travel, so I just used the original tiny blocked pot metal unit. Was it worth it all? YES! With a good set up, it plays effortlessly and the neck is actually one of the better "C" carves I've come across. Nut width is 42mm and the string spacing is good, so the neck is an overall pleasure to play. The improved pickups gave it some beefy chime and the Empress Wood body imparts a really interesting "Thhh" quality to the string attack that is very pleasing in its "woodiness" in the sound. The whole guitar only weighs a little over 4 pounds and has a very "homey" feel and a warm & thick sound. I'm glad I bought it and after a little added love and minimal effort it is great for recording and just kicking back with while playing through a little Class A tube amp.......
Hi I’ve just bought one of these, and it’s great, just I little dent in the headstock wood and a few marks on the body but otherwise it’s fine. I’ve just sent a squier bullet back due to scratchy sounds on the neck or frets, or strings, this one has none of that. The neck is unfinished though, what can I use to seal it or to stop it getting dirty? Mineral oil any good or something to seal it? What about the fretboard? Is that sealed? And the body what can I use to rub or bring up some of the marks? Thank you
No its that there's not much to making a guitar... You literally just need a solid piece of wood. The "tone" is in the pickups and electronics. And the materials used to make the bridge and tuners. Low priced guitars dont stay in tune very well and warp overtime. If u are heavy giging they won't hold up
Seems to me like the perfect instrument to test mods and pickups with before putting them in nicer instruments. Also a good guitar to learn refinishing techniques.
I have a Glarry SSS strat in blue with a maple neck. Only issue is sharp fret ends. And the fit/finish around the neck pocket was not the best. It was not bad but worth saying. I lossend the string trees an the bridge 6 screws a little bit. It holds a good tune. That seams to be what most people say is the issue. Oh an I paid 48.12 shipped from eBay. More metal!🎸
With a little TLC, New strings, Adjust truss rod, action intonation you can make it play like butter. I even took it to Open Mike Night at the bar and my friends couldn't believe I only paid 80 bucks for it.. May get better pickups & tuners in the future.. This guitar can be a diamond in the rough.. Have a great day my friend
So do you think this guitar will encourage or discourage someone starting? And if you do make upgrades do you think the screw holes will strip, needing larger screws. etc.?
In my personal opinion using a decent pair of headphones (Audio Technica M50x), to my ear the Fender had more clarity and a much stronger attack on the notes. The Glarry, in comparison, was a bit muddier and didn't sound like as high output of pickups. However, with that being said, I am very impressed with the sound/look of the Glarry. My main guitar now is a PRS Custom 24 SE and I started with a Fender Squier Affinity Series with the HSS setup. For a beginner, even an intermediate player, I'd say for 65 bucks it seems like a steal. I would have been more than happy to start with this guitar. Also, with any market, you are going to have diminishing returns. As much as I love Fender, a lot of what you pay for honestly is the brand and the legacy that brand carries. I think the Fender is superior, but twenty+ times better like the cost? No way.
@@glassbox7761 That makes zero sense. If "RUclips destroys sound". Then that means RUclips destroyed the sound of the Glarry as well as the sound of the Fender. Just because one says Fender on the headstock doesn't mean the sound of a string vibrating between two pieces of wood magically changes. Lol. They were very similar. The Fender sounded a bit more clear because of the pickups. That is about it.
Bradley Trent you’re right I should’ve used headphones! iPhones aren’t the best judge of tone lol. I also agree that it’s a nice looking guitar and you do pay for the brand names sometimes. Thanks for your opinion and comment!✌🏻
Glary bass owner here. I was curious because of all the rap about Glary guitars. So I ordered the Precision Type Bass. I ordered the yellow one, two of them, a friend who wanted to start again playing bass after 20 years gets one of them as a Christmas present. The basses came in a same looking Box as your guitar, but no bag. Cable, Allan keys for truss rod and bridge, no strap. The price: € 85 shipped to my house in Germany, from a warehouse in England. I found the basses have the same quality as you described the built quality of your Strat. Both basses are real light, they feel like literally half the weight of one of my MusicMan or Fender Basses. The neck feels a little rough sanded, l fixed this with a 3M sanding pad. The neck profile feels exactly like the one on my MiM Precision 50's Classic. There was a little frett sprout, but it actually got better in the wet and foggy fall weather we have in this time of the year. The hardware is OK, bridge and tuners work and everything feels OK. The nut is cut good. It has a 3 ply pickguard, white-black-white, what is looking nice. The basses came set up well, low action, not superlow but comfortable and easy playable, just tightened the truss rod a bit, and it was perfect. Intonation is OK, better than "close enough for Rock 'n Roll. The finish is great on both basses, no hurrying at the buffing wheel. The tone is a typical Precision Bass tone. The pickups don't have a lot of output, you have to give the Amp more gain to get a punchy tone. This is not a problem, this is for what amps are made for. I was curious about those instruments, and I sure would recommend the basses for a beginner. I thought back to the time when I started playing bass back in 1975. I would have given more than the actual price of € 85 for this bass, because a Fender bass would have been about ten times more, about € 850 - 900 (it was the time of the old currency, Deutsche Mark, and a Fender P would have been about 1.800 DM). So those basses are worth their money. I will store mine in a rehearsal room, so that I have a instrument if I come to a spontaneous session. I am pretty astonished what is possible, for this money a bass that is actual playing well and that sounds good.
I'm surprised at how I noticed no difference in sound but again this is through youtube. I'm sure feel is much different, but the sound was comparable to your USA strat.
My friend’s dad gave me a fake hendrix strat that he didn’t want, a few days ago we opened up the pickguard and realized the people who made it were too lazy to clean the saw dust in the pickup holes. They literally painted over the sawdust.
I got 2 strats and a tele, 2 of the 3 had sharp fret ends. I like them alright for the price though. The body looks nice for cheap basswood (Natural or semitransparent). Yes they are impressive for the price. I like the Blue color; how many pieces of wood are the body? How would I finish the neck? What's the best cheap tuner upgrade for these? I was thinking Fender Strat or Locking Tuners.
It has been two weeks and still no fret sprout. So far so good. I added a link on how to fix it if yours develops a issue
That's good, since when you pointed to the imaginary link up in the corner, none appeared, lol.
Fair and Honest Review !
Looks and Sounds Nice !
The only question, is, How well does it play ?
Glarry must be Proud to be able to help out the kids with New Guitars !
Thanks, Phil, For All That You Do !
Are you using a household humidifier
Seems like you can actually give these guitars to kids and it won't put them off learning an instrument ! Quite refreshing ✌️😉🎸
change the strings and played again.
Lesson learned.
The player and the amp are WAY more important than the guitar.
that's what i've heard about eddie van halen. people say they've heard him pick up a shitty guitar at a friend's house and play and it sounds like van halen.
Totally true. A good amp make WONDERS.
Good pickups help
i found that out when a guy picked up my guitar at a party....i looked like the home alone kid! (couldn't remember how to spell his name....my phone had no clue!!)
Effects too
I bought 3 of these guitars for my grand kids I couldn't believe how good they were for the price and believe it or not it stays in tune
Im gonna buy more . I got the SSS strat like this one. The Ibanez Rg copy is my next one.
That's good to hear. Beginners guitars were always blighted with terrible tuners as far back as I can remember ! Often a good idea if it tunes up & stays there, just forget the trem & tighten it up so it won't move. Lucky grand kids ! 👍
@@IceNein763 string breaks are also a big issue, beginner guitarist and bad bridge/saddles don't mix well!
I bought one of these a few years ago, before any youtuber stumbled upon them, before they were putting any labels on headstock, just blank headstock. Years after, this thing stays in tune amazingly! Month after not playing it I can just pick it up and play it!
The first guitar I ever bought was an Ibanez Roadstar 110 back in '97 for $400. The Glarry Strats blow those old Japanese junk-piles, mercilessly, right off of the globe! Thinking of buying more!
Buy the guitar and spend the savings on lessons...
Great idea!
better yet, buy a nice guitar, teach yourself
peepsmith agreed
skeleton you seem like you only know chords and any distortion higher than a light blues overdrive scares you
use RUclips and get a nice guitar
He looks at the guitar and you can just see the sadness in his eyes as he thinks about all the $1000+ dollar guitars he's bought compared to this one
2:32
What's even funnier is they give you that free stuff on a guitar that $65 and yet you get nothing when you pay hundreds even thousands
I’d say when you pay thousands you typically receive a hard case, vibrato, etc
@@4968ace I was miffed some years back upon having to replace an output jack on a top of the line ________________ (name brand that I won't name here) and to find out that the output plug they used was the cheapest 1/4 jack they could buy in bulk... a stereo jack (yes... a STEREO jack on a guitar) like the ones used for headphone outputs for cheap boom boxes. Buying a $1400 guitar (this was in the late 80s) you'd think they'd be using Switchcraft parts or something of higher quality. This company was cutting corners on their flagship guitar? really?
gibson?
@@vhsorion ummmmm ...not Gibson. (Their "top of the line " would cost more than my car)
I got one like this + a small amp and a tuner for 100 bucks
These guitars are so cheap, you almost want them to be bad ("I regret to say...") and I am the exact same. I don't know why though. Is it to justify all the expensive guitars we've bought?
I think, for most of us, it is actually partially to justify all the expensive gear that most of us have bought. Though some "cheaper (under $100)" guitars are horrible to play, some are good. The other part is some actually being bad.
I bought a new Squier strat back in the 80's for $300 and I guarantee it wasn't worth much more than this $60 one. If I could go back in time, I'd slap myself silly. Of course the spendy guitars just keep going up in price every year, but the cheap (price-wise) ones seem to go the opposite route.
@@Axess-sv8nq Very true.
Yes exactly. It seems people that have purchased the overpriced guitars hate these low cost guitars with a passion! I was a Gibson and Guild snob. Very pricey, and they were much better than the junk coming out of Asia by leaps and bounds 30 years ago. But now? Screw it! I picked up a Firefly electric, and a Greg Bennett acoustic from Asia. Love them both. Yes, I still have the Gibson Les Paul, but it stays in the case, I'm afraid I may scratch it.
I wonder if slave labor produces all the cheap Chinese gear.
When I was starting (50 or so years ago) cheap guitars were absolutely crap. Virtually unplayable. Back then every guitar required a lot of "by hand" craftsmanship. Now, it does not matter if the guitar costs $3K or $300 - the CNC machines cut all parts to the same accuracy. You may have cheaper quality woods, frets, electronics, bridges, finishes, etc, and you may find that they don't stand the test of time, but to get started, you can get a completely playable guitar at the low end. And I agree 100% that it is a great way to practice your skills in dealing with things like treating fret sprout, leveling, etc. Today, one of my favorite guitars to play started life as a Squier Affinity Telecaster. It cost about $170 CDN. Since I bought it, I've upgrades the tuning machines, PUs, and nut (all of which cost a lot more than the original guitar cost), and did my own fret job to make it feel super smooth. I also buffed off the gloss finish on the neck which makes it feel like heaven. I would not likely have contemplated work like this on a guitar I paid $1000+ for, but for this one, it is like "what have you got to loose". It had good bones.
From Leo: I am right there with you Donald. I even have still have my first electric, a Tawain built Harmony solid body, plywood body and neck, noisy single coils that would pickup local AM radio stations. Fret board like it was cut with a hatchet. No wonder so many kids gave up lessons and never learned to play.
I’ve played off and on for 45 years. The cheap guitars of the 70s and 80s were complete crap. I recently bought a Squier Infinity Tele and maybe just I got a good one but it’s got the lowest action of any of my guitars. It is a joy to play. I don’t think the pickups are that bad or any of the other parts for that matter and see no reason to upgrade it. For now I’ll just enjoy playing it.
My first electric guitar in 1980 was, believe it or not a Martin. It was called a Martin Stinger and had Martin's name on it. It was a strat copy and the salesman convinced me that with Martin backing it I couldn't go wrong. It was $300.00 and it was a cheap piece of junk. Many years later, when I learned how to do my own set-ups and adjustments, I realized how terrible the fretwork and overall quality was. The neck was warped so bad it set me back years in my learning to play. And when I wrote a letter to Martin they didn't bother to respond.
I have an Indonesian affinity strat that plays really nice, low action, pups are pretty decent, What i really like is the light finish on the neck. Had an older classic vibe strat with a gloss black neck, I didn't like the feel at all and ended up trading it off. The affinity is my go to its just so easy to play.
@@ericsmodsandgear8098 It's pretty easy to remove that glossy sticky neck feeling. I've done it on 3 guitars so far. I just used a green scrubbie (things you have in your kitchen for cleaning pots and such - use a new one, rather than one you've been cleaning dishes with). Just don't apply too much pressure, and wipe the neck with a damp cloth and check progress frequently. The goal is NOT to remove all the finish - just remove enough of the top layer so what used be glossy is now satiny smooth. It only takes a couple of minutes. You don't even need to take the neck off. You may find you need to adjust the truss rod a couple of days after doing this but otherwise, I have had no problems and it makes a world of difference to the feel. I even did it to the fretboard of 2 of the guitars that had a maple fretboard with a glossy finish. Makes your frets nice and shiny too :)
Pretty soon the manufacturers are going to be paying us !
@@Axess-sv8nq Buy a PRS 👍
@sploofmonkey I think it just proves how guitar players have been ripped off for decades . Unless a guitar is handmade by an artisan builder , they really shouldn't be 100s and 100s of ( Insert your currency here ) as is evidenced by the tone of this and other cheap guitars .
@@Axess-sv8nq I just bought a limited edition SE for £379 delivered , plays beautifully , neck pickup is very bassy , but I really don't think you can get a better appointed and playing guitar for the money .
I can't stop laughing at how cheap and good guitars have gotten in 36 years.
Yeah, my first guitar from the early '80s was hardly playable. I am fortunate enough to still have it today, but the only thing original to the guitar is the body! Not even the paint on the body is original :)
Right? Man, if only they’d been all over the place like this back in ‘77, 😂
Chibson anyone?
I'm not THAT old and I my first electric was a ludicrously heavy Squier that broke strings every day. My amp was a Park that sounded like crap. They created an incredible lineup of products just in time for kids to stop playing guitar.
owlsliveintrees Lol
i have an old roland amp from the 80s!
I’d like to try my hand at refinishing, this would be perfect.
I didn't strip mine although I bet the wood would look good. I painted it fingernail polish(acrylic enamel) some of it glow paint for clubbing using different brushes. I did a kinda late 60's psychedelic thing. I may do the pick-guard too.
Update us if you can. I'd love to see the wood.
BTW is yours rosewood or maple fingerboard?
Just my experience with it man. Use a heat gun unless you have proper equipment and don't inhale that dust, basswood is extra nasty. I sanded my first one, biggest pain of any guitar in 19 years. But both of mine have been a blast to refinish, mod and play.
I watched a ton of how to vids before I refinished my strat..... It came out really good and was a lot easier than I thought, as long as you give proper drying time between coats and sanding it's all good.... Go for it
I stained mine Red Mahogany. Getting the finish and paint off was easy. Getting the clear coating underneath the paint off was 3 times harder.
I would say it's a perfect candidate for attempting paint at 65 dollars at least there's no risk of losing a lot of money. Hey change the crap pickups also. I know they are crap cause I was curious like others and bought one. When your use to playing guitars like jackson, esp, and Dean there's just no reason to get one of these guitars. Quality is more important than playing a guitar that looks like a Stratocaster.
Kudos for hooking up the after school program!! 💕
Phillip, make more videos like this... pleeeeeeze!
How I wish 65 dollar guitars looked and played this good when I started playing over four decades ago. I love that new players get to start with something that looks and sounds very good. Great review, Phil.
We need more companies like this. Decent affordable instruments that encourage more use. The next Clapton, Vai, Van Halen or Holly could be waiting just for the opportunity. Good, honest review. Thanks and keep up the great work.
8:10 - Phil provides tips that EVERY guitar needs - a tuner and lubing the nut - not just that $65 Glarry. BTW, the swap back and forth with your American ... the Glarry had a better low end in my Sennheisers 😱
Philip.. I have followed you for some years, and the one thing I LOVE about you is your amazing honesty and integrity. You could have dissed this guitar and put it down, but you didn't. As someone else said, the look on your face when you played it compared to your Strat.. Priceless! Fender and Gibson will still stay in business, but thanks to companies like this, hundreds of kids can now afford a "Strat" and one that SOUNDS like a Strat!
This is nuts. How is this possible? Especially the sound comparison to the fender holy crap man
@Moon Shine If you mean "comes from" not "comes out", then I would say it's pick-up and pre-amp, section.
Because pickups are just magnets wrapped in wire and the only real difference between pickups is how much wire is wrapped around determining how "hot" they are. People paying $300 for a pair of pickups are literally just paying for the brand sticker on them. I wouldn't be surprised if most pickups are made in the same factory.
@Derek Charette Your entire comment makes no sense.
@@legendfpv Agreed!He thinks Stairway to Heaven sounds better on his "Custom built" Fifty $ chinese Fender COPY...Yeah right!
Nice! Reviewing guitars so that you can get them in the hands of kids. That’s RUclips done right.
Excellent
I have a Les Paul that I'm extremely satisfied with, but have also wanted a Stratocaster or Strat style guitar for the triple single pickups. Purchasing even a Squire is outside of my ability, but this guitar is likely doable. Thanks for the heads up and review!
That guitar is definitely a great deal for a beginner that's on the fence about starting to play guitar and also someone who wants to learn guitar repair/customization. Great job Phillip!!!
Dude. I actually love that headstock shape
Looks exactly like the headstock of Ibanez AZ
cubenjo hmm.. no
My old Silvertone has a similar headstock, and I love the way it looks!
You’ve got a big heart ❤️ Phil!
That’s just nuts!! Looks, sounds, plays decent and $65???? Really hard to justify Fender etc when the price dif is so out of line.
Paying for the name usually
Thanks Phil! After watching the video, I went to the Glarry website. They are having a Thanksgiving sale. The solid color red and blue are only $59.99 free ship! Oh yeah..they do hit you with a $2.99 insurance charge. So, $62.98 delivered. A red one is on it's way to my house.
I've had mine for several days now. The neck is amazing..easily the most impressive thing on this guitar. Maple? Maybe. Rounded edges and beautifully finished fret ends. Oh yeah. I had it on my bench to shim the neck (used a Fender medium pick cut in half) and tighten the truss rod (it was total slack). New 10-46 string and adjust pick-up height to taste. Super light guitar and the neck is a dream to play. Best $63 guitar I ever bought. Update..a week and a half later. Took out the shim and lowered the saddle height. Better action than before. Also lowered the pick up height. Still amazed by this neck. I like the way this plays .. the edges are rolled and smoother than my MIM Strat.
I bought the Burning Fire (black), love it, even though it needs love and attention to detail. Knew it would need work, but that is why I bought it. To tech it out and have fun doing it!!
When your strat copy sounds identical to your USA strat
Have you ever played somebody else's guitar noticed that you still sound like you? I think that's the KC we may have here with guitars that are similar. If he says some of the same oh, I'm sure he did you should sound pretty much like he sounds. I have a super Reverb Deluxe, a partscaster and a Mexican guitar. As I use the others for backup they still set up the way I like, and there's not a big difference when I put one down because the string broke to pick up the other one and keep playing. Except for the made in Mexico I do have the neck pickup a little bit lower on the treble end so I do notice a little less brightness. But that pickup was too bright to me
There is little difference in sound. Any tube amp will make a guitar sound great. The difference in price accounts for the playability and feel.
Same scale length. Pickups wound to the same values. Same capacitor and pot values. Why would it sound any different?
5T3LTH bingo, for the most part anyway. the light weight body may detract from some natural sustain+resonance, not a biggie for most stuff.
@Werewolf O. London, Esq. as long as the frets don't lift , wear and tear happens. Some people (like Prince) was hard on guitars. his tech wrote of the number times prince threw the guitar up in the air after a song. If that is not how you pay, just enjoy the guitar. Honestly, If you do not put worth on what a guitar will sell for when you are done with it, but on how it plays to you at your skill level, it doesn't matter.
A thought, Fenders biggest advantage to musicians is that a replacement neck is cheaper and faster than a refret. I can't tell you number of people that get the refret because a replacement neck will lower the resale value. If this is a concern of yours, I withdraw all of my comment. There are no guarantees and at this price, what do you really have to loose?
Your integrity is why I value your reviews so much. You call it honest. The quality and selection of budget guitars these days is RIDICULOUS! What a great time for people just starting out or even for older players branching out to try new brands/shapes/styles. The good options we have are a tremendous blessing. It's a far better situation than when I started with my 1985 Sears catalog Harmony Crapcaster and Gorilla 10 watt amp. I hated is so much I quit trying for 25 years. What a time to be alive!
4:45 my jaw on the floor. Bang! I caught myself selling expensive gear and bought cheap ones that sound the same in tha last years.
Wait, I have to invest in a pencil too? Now you've gone too far!
OddTimeMan I know! Does he think we are made of money or something
Ah, but you'll be needing a Rosewood pencil with abalone inlays for the best results.
It has to be an authentic number 2 pencil
And shipping for it
I recommend a vintage Ft. Ticonderoga with authentic lead. The cancer really adds to the authenticity.
Hi Phillip! Great to give some love to the budget minded musicians!
Pretty cool and Thanks for Sharing Brother! Be Well!
Sold American! Thanks for the honest review and A/b with USA strat. This is perfect Xmas gift for my niece.
Dang, I remember when I got my Squire for about $140 new, and it still works like a charm for me. Something like this for that price is without a doubt up the alley for those on a budget! Awesome showcase!
Squier Strats have the correct headstock ! When I first became aware of Glarry they actually did have the Fender headstock shape but I guess they were advised legally to drop it shortly after. Not all Squier Strats are equal ; my '96 Chinese made Strat is a toy compared to my brother's '83(?) SQ series ! I can't knock Squires because I wasn't interested that much in Strats at all until I bought that '96 off a mate. Now I own a couple of Mim Fender Strats & am constantly GASsing the USA stuff I can't afford 😂
@@Axess-sv8nq That's awesome to hear man! A few modifications here and there definitely make a guitar more stronger!
@@shaunw9270 Ahhh I gotcha. That's really interesting to hear man! Squiers and Strats have become my go to for a long while now
The donation is awesome. And i actually really like seeing you do the budget reviews cause i trust it to be honest good or bad.
I'd like to see you do an upgrade on a Glarry guitar!
this should go on the next sharpen my axe. make this thing amazing.
I wish I had these kind of options when I started out,......all I had when I was 17 years old was a Harmony electric that came from Service Merchandise,.....in the showroom.
Followed by an old all black Hondo Strat copy.
Service Merchandise! That's a name I haven't heard in a long time.
@Fried Green Maters I still have mine,...and I got it for christmas as my first guitar back in the early 1980's.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 So AWESOME of you to hook up Andrew for his music program.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I checked out Glarry's site and I am impressed at how many finish options there are. I'm sure there are tons of young players (and adults) looking for a zebra stripe or skull print guitar on a budget. Something that Squier doesn't offer. As far as the sound/tone, the Glarry obviously didn't have the depth of your Fender, but for what it is, it works. Great review!
This is top quality content.
Thank you for putting so much love and passion into your videos.
For all the newbies out there there's nothing wrong with this guitar my first beginner guitar strings were half inch off the deck you are very fortunate these days to be able to buy a guitar for this price point ☆☆☆☆. And you only get out of it what you put into it, pick the damn thing up ?
And rock on ☆. Thanks for the videos!
I'm listening on my phone but I can tell you man it almost sounded exactly alike as your $2,000 fender that's just crazy man. I'm the dude in the mobility scooter that met you at Guitar Center one time I hope you're well man thanks for doing these. It's not the easiest thing to just make videos and pump them out the way you do and we really appreciate this stuff out here. So is there a link to buy one? I guess I'll check online.
Really enjoy your basic reviews like this as a balance to the more complex vids (Tech/5 things). Nice Win/Win with this one.
I’m trying to break myself from being tempted by guitars like this. I have a few pretty nice guitars to gig with. I decided that I don’t need all these cheap guitars I see on RUclips. I keep telling myself there is no Reason for me to have around 20 guitars. I have 8 that I consider good guitars. Dumped the squiers, Amazon firefly, guitar fetish stuff. I see this video and half way through I start thinking “it could be cool to buy a $30 loaded pick guard with alnico pickups, mayb some $18 locking tuners. Just make a super low budget banger guitar. So far I’m resisting the urge. Great video.
I dont have any cheap guitars but i do really really like Guitar Fetish pickups and all my guitars have them unless the guitar came with duncans or something really nice to begin with.
Stop fighting, just embrace the love of budget guitars.
@@AllCreaturesCount There's a return if you enjoy doing it, you end up with something that makes you happy when all is said and done, and aren't thinking solely of the resulting monetary value. But to each their own.
@@AllCreaturesCount tinkering and upgrading guitars is very therapeutic and can yield incredible results in terms of tone and playability. But like anything it's not for everyone and not everyone will get the same result.
@@Robster-Craw it is great therapy. I became disabled and can't do a lot of the things I used to. I was always creative and building something, usually big projects that required heavy lifting and hard work. Guitar modding and building isn't very physically demanding an most of the time can be done sitting at a table. It takes care of that creative need I have and is extremely rewarding...and it's awesome to play something you've built or modded yourself!👍😎🎸🎶
I bought my first electric guitar back in 1981. A Satellite LP copy which was simply dreadful: did not stay in tune for a minute, plywood body, very muddy pups and an action that you could slice boiled eggs on. It cost me £69 UK which was about one and a half weeks wages for a school leaver back then which probably works out about £300 to £400 in today's money. That was the norm back then, cheap guitars were rubbish and as you can see were not _cheap_ . The cheapest reasonable guitars were were coming in at about £150 eg. Ibanez Blazers. The prices and relative quality today truly amaze me and I am happy for today's beginners who have it much better, unrecognisably better than we did back then. This looks like a decent guitar even before we consider the outrageously low price which would probably compare to £20 or even less back in 1981 for an infinitely better instrument than I started with.
Hi, Phil. When you do these reviews of inexpensive guitars could you check to see if the truss rods work? Some work, but some just spin.
I have to say I'm impressed all the way around from price to aesthetics to tone.
Your videos literally cure my anxiety. I don’t know what it is, probably your personal and affectionate conveyances and relatable mindset. You really help, Phillip. Thank you.
Such a straight shooter Phil. Skeptical, understandably, yet willing to say you're impressed with something that goes above and beyond. This is so important for people starting out, when someone of your knowledge and skill set can point out the true positives and negatives and not color your opinions by being a snob to your values and needs. I'm not only impressed with this guitar (as a practice axe for the luthier-type work I seriously need), but with you and your ability to point out all the issues and share all the related information. It's a reason I'm a fan. Thank you!!!
Your body language at the beginning was negative on the guitar. But, you were fair and objective. NIce job.
I bought the same guitar without any brand on the headstock off eBay (I believe Glarry just resells these) with a plan to make it a project guitar. The bridge pickup was so impressive for the price and it played so well out of the box I almost didn't want to mess with it! But in the end, two $7 humbuckers, a fret leveling job, a nut cut and a handmade pickguard later, I have a baritone tuned strat that just kills and yes, stays in tune for an eternity.
Well just finished setup on my new Glarry Strat. It is not one of my Gibson's but for the money you can't go wrong.
I wish my 1st guitar was this good.
Get one you will be shocked how good it is.
I KNOW what u mean i have bought two og them one tele and one strat , installed better pickups and they are amazing .
Thats a kind thing you did phillip its one of the reasons i follow you as you believe in doing what you can to get guitars into young kids hands.
Everyone complains about them being dinged up but I personally like the look of a bashed and beaten guitar
it's good for Metal ?
Fender made in mexico bridge will drop right in!!
Really ? Mexico uses Imperial measurements ,like the States . China uses Metric like Europe & here in England. Does it really fit ok ?
No, there is a mix over there in Mexico. Most things are metric, but there are a lot of machines or items that are imperial.
What a great narrative on the Glarry. As an older, beginning player, there's an overwhelming amount of choices of inexpensive guitars. It makes your head want to explode...your video has helped me to decide to someday get the Glarry...to learn how to work on guitars.
Clearly there is a bunch of money going towards the name on the headstock.
...and as hard as it is for normal, psychologically healthy people to believe, there are people out there who feel the NEED to pay a lot for things because it reinforces their delusions that they're special and entitled to "special" or "elite" things.
We call those people narcissists. They feel narcissistically injured (read: insulted) at the thought of having the same pedestrian things the "ordinary" or "common" people. lol Truth!
The strat with the rosewood neck looks amazing.. but the other one SOUNDs amazing
If it plays and sounds half decent it already looks awesome, man for $65 you can't go wrong.
The finish on it to me is worth that. Love the color!
Great review bro and I have to say I love my glarry strat and can't put it down. 😊👍
Sure! ;o)
@@DMSProduktions was actually playing it as you left this reply! 😯
@@Chinaguitarsceptic Ok then! Rock on Mike! \m/
@@DMSProduktions Will do bro. Hope I can stream tonight and hope to see you bro :-)
@@Chinaguitarsceptic What time?
Worth buying and upgrading? Is the body wood actually basswood or plywood, or even pressboard? And you just answered my last question, a good tool to learn to work on.
Dude. I'm not lying that thing sounded MORE like the strat USA than I can imagine for the 2000 price saving. Holy crap. Hahaha
I use a boss Gt1 and PC speakers over my amp. Hahaha. I enjoy it!
Great video! I hope this gets shared a lot as it will be encouraging to those who are wanting to try electric guitar, or have a kid or friend who does! Also great to hear about the donation. Sounds like the company are good people! ✌🏻🎼🎸
I bought one and it got BETTER the more I played it. Unbelievable really.
@Lazy Fingers At LEAST as good. Mine plays perfectly, sounds great, stays in tune. Hard to complain for what I paid for it. I'll tell you this, as a player I'd NEVER drop what they ask for a new Strat or Les Paul....unless I hit the lottery. Not with these guitars floating around.
Great guitars for the price ! I own their P bass and am thrilled with how good it is ! Thanks Phil, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving !
I must admit, I was favorably impressed; didn't really expect to be.
You do a great service, the information you present appears unbiased and very valuable. I taught in public schools for years, not music though, and many students knew I played and would come to me to figure out songs for them, give little impromptu lessons or advice. I can't tell you how many times times kids would have an inexpensive, but playable, guitar and they would not really practice until they got the Gibson, Fender or other "name" guitar that their idol was playing. It was like owning the brand guitar would bring out the great guitarist in them. So much wasted practice time. Again, you do a great service.
If I had this level of started guitar, at this price point a few decades ago, I definitely would be the second coming of Hendrix by now... XD Seriously, ain't free market competition awesome? Phil, ya gotta do a Pepsi Blindfold Tone challenge!
Great job Phil!
That body is almost definitely paulownia wood. Grows fast, so it's very light and very cheap.
Thanks to Glarry Guitars! Good review.
Several months ago a neighbor brought me an "S" type guitar his wife had given him as a gift. He now wanted to take some lessons. The problem was the thin neck had the worst 'twist' in it I had ever seen!! I've seen some doozies to!! Over the years I've built a stash of parts from fire sales, going out of biz, discontinued stuff etc. just for this purpose. I removed the neck and cleaned up the pocket with a template and router. Installed a Mighty Mite neck w/vintage tint ($60), Grover 205 mini roto's ($47), Stew-Mac basic 3S loaded pick guard ($38.50) and a Wilkenson WV2 trem bridge ($40). The neck still didn't sit in the pocket right, so I used a Stew-Mac 1d shim ($8.50) to make straight. The set up required a level/crown/polish, and I spent a couple hours with scrapers, fret files, nut slot files etc. These are good people and work hard for not much money so I gave them my time, and parts at cost. His $70 guitar now plays great, and looks/sounds pretty good to! $194 in parts, to)tal $264. I'm quite sure you could not buy the same quality guitar for $300!! My 'customer' was quite happy with it. Me too. 8) --gary .
A little adjustment to the pickup height and I bet they sound identical. Beauty review on a beauty guitar.
thank you for this interesting unboxing & review , I'm a new subscriber as of today , liked & shared ! Cheers !
Ok. Did you check the instrument's intonation? Was there any fret buzz, especially above the 12th fret? Was the neck straight? What was the nut made of? What was the quality of the tuning heads? Did the strings slip or were they kept tight? To me, the answers to these questions is what determines the quality of the guitar.
$65 for a guitar, delivered, cheaper than a cheap pedal! To my ear, I beats your US Strat for tone Phil! Like the "warmer" tone from the $65 guitar.
akwamarsunzal Lol!!
Behringer has $25 pedals.
@@boofert.washington2499 And? LOL
@@Codzilla71 HAHAHAHAHA.... Ok dude! I got a cheap pedal that costs more than that guitar! So, the guitar really is cheaper than my cheap pedal!
You have to consider that how a guitar feels is alot more important than sound cause if your guitar doesn't feels good but sounds good it wouldn't want to make you play it
Upon your switching back and forth with your strats, I closed my eyes and played it over and over with closed eyes. I have really good hearing, and I couldn't always hear the switch. So you guys & gals out there, try the test that way. Unless you have the hearing of a K-9 it's not an issue. I definitely would take the $65. and put the fixes to it. Make it yours. Change out the bridge & pots. The pick-ups and a set of locking tuners, and a bone nut. Along with some great strings, and a Set-up.
Can u review Glarry Tele style guitar too sir? Thnx
rudiyanto halim just a guess but I would think the review would be basically identical...
So how good were the frets? Are they soft and going to wear quickly? What about the electrics? Do the Pots work or cut out/scratch? How was the wiring? How stable was the neck and how was the relief? Will the truss rod snap if you try and adjust? How was the intonation? How much work on set-up did you need to do?
Its all well and good for a new guitar to be 'ok' in the first week or two but if its problematic and/or requires a LOT of work and ongoing maintenance, how is that a 'great' guitar for a beginner??
It bugs me that reviewers rarely test the electronics and at most use the volume as a mute at most - rarely use it to see how it works if you want to roll it down to clean up the sound. I think it also think its more important to see how well it holds up over time for a beginner guitar because most beginners don't know how to set-up a guitar or deal with buzz, intonation problems, etc and more likely to press down hard on the strings which can wreck cheap frets quickly. You don't want to put them off....
Phil do a wolf brand guitar. Preferably a wprs model please
Or AIO. All in one
That's a beautiful guitar...sounds good...a steal
Curious if the parts are directly swappable with Fender™ parts, like if you REALLY wanted a cheap strat and you were cool with throwing $100 pickups in a guitar that cost less than the pickups, if they would fit without altering the cavities or pickguard...or could you put a different readily available Fender™ pickguard on it?
I'm left-handed and get excited when I see very inexpensive off-shore left-handed guitars.
Putting together my own left-handed guitars, when I played full time in bands, taught me a lot.
I call original Stratocasters "full-scale" and all other manufacturers are "short-scale", smaller.
There are so many different sizes being made by so many different sized manufacturers,
yes... any chance for an industry standard is now global, and it's obvious America is losing this one.
Don't forget that Leo Fender invented Stratocasters. His instructions said to use the volume on full.
sure you could, and its cheap enough that even if the screw holes don't like up, it wouldn't be a sin to fill them and drill new ones, stewmac is a great channel that teaches all sorts of repair and modding
@@disastermidi1990 Oh yeah, I love stewmac and already pretty heavy into modding, fixing, and maintaining my guitars, I was thinking more along the lines of laziness, like if the pickguard wasn't the same exact shape and you'd have to cut a custom one. I'm all for a project (I build pedals and all that) but still, laziness is nice sometimes.
Widow Speak
Usually the dimensions are standardised even on the budget guitars. Stringspacing, Screw distance....etc. Only thing I saw on YT : cavities are sometimes not deep enough for original Fender pups or for quality pots. Because of the slimmer body. Just grab a Dremel, half hour of work
I bought one back before they changed the headstock from the Fender style. I liked the green body and it looked even better than the photos when I got it. The clear coat was cracked on the back between the neckplate and the spring cover. I wanted a replacement, but they were out of the green version, so I decided to keep it because the wood grain looked really good. BTW, the wood on mine was not "Basswood", but it was Paulownia (Empress Wood). It looks just like Ash and is as light as a feather. They refunded $10 due to the cracked finish.
Pickups were very weak and anemic sounding, so I hit eBay and bought some Alnico 5 replacement pickups for $15 (per set) and also picked up a replacement pickguard in green mother of pearl for $9 and a couple of roller trees ($2).
The logo on the headstock was scratched, so I scraped it off easily with a razor blade and replaced it with a gag one that I printed out on some decal paper. I had decided to put some finish on the neck while waiting for all the replacement parts to arrive, so I wiped on a Tru-Oil finish in about 6 coats over a few days. That was a first for me and it turned out absolutely great. The neck looks great and it looks just like it was lacquered, but has a silkier feel.
Eventually the parts arrived and I put it all back together. I'd wanted to use a "big block" trem on it, but the routing was insufficient to allow travel, so I just used the original tiny blocked pot metal unit.
Was it worth it all? YES! With a good set up, it plays effortlessly and the neck is actually one of the better "C" carves I've come across. Nut width is 42mm and the string spacing is good, so the neck is an overall pleasure to play. The improved pickups gave it some beefy chime and the Empress Wood body imparts a really interesting "Thhh" quality to the string attack that is very pleasing in its "woodiness" in the sound. The whole guitar only weighs a little over 4 pounds and has a very "homey" feel and a warm & thick sound. I'm glad I bought it and after a little added love and minimal effort it is great for recording and just kicking back with while playing through a little Class A tube amp.......
Look at that thin neck. It sounds just as good as his strats
Hi I’ve just bought one of these, and it’s great, just I little dent in the headstock wood and a few marks on the body but otherwise it’s fine. I’ve just sent a squier bullet back due to scratchy sounds on the neck or frets, or strings, this one has none of that. The neck is unfinished though, what can I use to seal it or to stop it getting dirty? Mineral oil any good or something to seal it? What about the fretboard? Is that sealed? And the body what can I use to rub or bring up some of the marks? Thank you
Was very surprised how close the sound was to the fender. Not sure if that says alot about glarry's quality or fender's.
No its that there's not much to making a guitar... You literally just need a solid piece of wood.
The "tone" is in the pickups and electronics. And the materials used to make the bridge and tuners.
Low priced guitars dont stay in tune very well and warp overtime. If u are heavy giging they won't hold up
Seems to me like the perfect instrument to test mods and pickups with before putting them in nicer instruments. Also a good guitar to learn refinishing techniques.
I have a Glarry SSS strat in blue with a maple neck. Only issue is sharp fret ends. And the fit/finish around the neck pocket was not the best. It was not bad but worth saying. I lossend the string trees an the bridge 6 screws a little bit. It holds a good tune. That seams to be what most people say is the issue. Oh an I paid 48.12 shipped from eBay. More metal!🎸
Sad to say, fit and finish around the neck pocket doesn't seem to be any better on reputable name instruments either.
@@mal2ksc True
With a little TLC, New strings, Adjust truss rod, action intonation you can make it play like butter. I even took it to Open Mike Night at the bar and my friends couldn't believe I only paid 80 bucks for it.. May get better pickups & tuners in the future.. This guitar can be a diamond in the rough.. Have a great day my friend
Very little tone difference between the pickups!!! Well on my phone that is
So do you think this guitar will encourage or discourage someone starting? And if you do make upgrades do you think the screw holes will strip, needing larger screws. etc.?
James Johnson only if you strip them. Be gentle you’ll be fine.
@@QuikdethDeviantart Ok, thanks! And if already stripped you can add wood rather than using larger screws.
Did it sound as good as the Fender or was it just me? I realize the amp is super sweet but the tones were pretty close too the same for me!
Simple answer: RUclips destroys sound. I'm sure in the room they were night and day.
Lol probably so. I can’t even imagine them being in the same category.
In my personal opinion using a decent pair of headphones (Audio Technica M50x), to my ear the Fender had more clarity and a much stronger attack on the notes. The Glarry, in comparison, was a bit muddier and didn't sound like as high output of pickups. However, with that being said, I am very impressed with the sound/look of the Glarry. My main guitar now is a PRS Custom 24 SE and I started with a Fender Squier Affinity Series with the HSS setup. For a beginner, even an intermediate player, I'd say for 65 bucks it seems like a steal. I would have been more than happy to start with this guitar. Also, with any market, you are going to have diminishing returns. As much as I love Fender, a lot of what you pay for honestly is the brand and the legacy that brand carries. I think the Fender is superior, but twenty+ times better like the cost? No way.
@@glassbox7761 That makes zero sense. If "RUclips destroys sound". Then that means RUclips destroyed the sound of the Glarry as well as the sound of the Fender. Just because one says Fender on the headstock doesn't mean the sound of a string vibrating between two pieces of wood magically changes. Lol. They were very similar. The Fender sounded a bit more clear because of the pickups. That is about it.
Bradley Trent you’re right I should’ve used headphones! iPhones aren’t the best judge of tone lol. I also agree that it’s a nice looking guitar and you do pay for the brand names sometimes. Thanks for your opinion and comment!✌🏻
Glary bass owner here.
I was curious because of all the rap about Glary guitars. So I ordered the Precision Type Bass. I ordered the yellow one, two of them, a friend who wanted to start again playing bass after 20 years gets one of them as a Christmas present.
The basses came in a same looking Box as your guitar, but no bag. Cable, Allan keys for truss rod and bridge, no strap.
The price: € 85 shipped to my house in Germany, from a warehouse in England.
I found the basses have the same quality as you described the built quality of your Strat. Both basses are real light, they feel like literally half the weight of one of my MusicMan or Fender Basses.
The neck feels a little rough sanded, l fixed this with a 3M sanding pad.
The neck profile feels exactly like the one on my MiM Precision 50's Classic. There was a little frett sprout, but it actually got better in the wet and foggy fall weather we have in this time of the year.
The hardware is OK, bridge and tuners work and everything feels OK. The nut is cut good. It has a 3 ply pickguard, white-black-white, what is looking nice.
The basses came set up well, low action, not superlow but comfortable and easy playable, just tightened the truss rod a bit, and it was perfect. Intonation is OK, better than "close enough for Rock 'n Roll.
The finish is great on both basses, no hurrying at the buffing wheel.
The tone is a typical Precision Bass tone. The pickups don't have a lot of output, you have to give the Amp more gain to get a punchy tone. This is not a problem, this is for what amps are made for.
I was curious about those instruments, and I sure would recommend the basses for a beginner.
I thought back to the time when I started playing bass back in 1975. I would have given more than the actual price of € 85 for this bass, because a Fender bass would have been about ten times more, about € 850 - 900 (it was the time of the old currency, Deutsche Mark, and a Fender P would have been about 1.800 DM).
So those basses are worth their money.
I will store mine in a rehearsal room, so that I have a instrument if I come to a spontaneous session.
I am pretty astonished what is possible, for this money a bass that is actual playing well and that sounds good.
I'm surprised at how I noticed no difference in sound but again this is through youtube. I'm sure feel is much different, but the sound was comparable to your USA strat.
When your guitar is made on an assembly line the cost is low. A little love and its gold.
My friend’s dad gave me a fake hendrix strat that he didn’t want, a few days ago we opened up the pickguard and realized the people who made it were too lazy to clean the saw dust in the pickup holes. They literally painted over the sawdust.
Painted sawdust is _magic_ for guitar tone!
forti tonedust
I got 2 strats and a tele, 2 of the 3 had sharp fret ends. I like them alright for the price though. The body looks nice for cheap basswood (Natural or semitransparent). Yes they are impressive for the price. I like the Blue color; how many pieces of wood are the body? How would I finish the neck? What's the best cheap tuner upgrade for these? I was thinking Fender Strat or Locking Tuners.
I'd love to hear Yngwie shred on it!...
Great review Phil! Thanks as always!