@@TroyBoyleAtheistAdvocate their is a difference between Gay and Gayyyeeeee. Gay means liking another man in a very close way. GAYYYEEEEE means being a man while making videos about and trying on Makeup.
The sub-$100 guitars of my youth were so bad they were completely unplayable. I mean, just garbage. Now? Kids are living in instrument utopia, no matter their budget. It's a great time to be a musician, and it's sad so few appreciate it.
Same with bicycles. In the 70's, a cheap bike would be heavy, crappy, and noisy. Now, just like guitars, their industry standards and manufacturing plants are already quality, so their cheap products are still fine.
I don't know if anyone remembers the brand Tiesco (sp?) that made guitars under various names for department stores. I got an electric in 1969 to noodle on as a 15 year old wannabe. My fingers were so tender and hurting I eventually quit. I didn't know anything about action or good or poor frets. I didn't throw it out and 40 years later a guy that trained as a luther inspected it. ''No wonder you quit.'' LOL.
I recommend to my students ( and anyone else for that matter) to purchase a cheap guitar to learn on so when they can get a good sound on that then upgrading to a more pricey one will be a huge step up and easier !
Max usually plays through a $100-$120 Blackstar ID:Core 10 V2 amp which is easy for him to hook up to his PC and record. That's how he gets his great sound. He uses the built in effects in the amazing little amp - of which there are many!
Not sure if anyone has pointed it out yet, but the maker of this guitar is Glarry. sometimes they come without logo's on the headstock for some reason. I think they refer to this model as the '170 Type'. they also come in white and black on the Glarry website, but I've seen yellow red and blue on Ebay as well.
Great guitar. I bought 2 of these from Walmart 2 months ago for $59.00 and was afraid to tell you about them because the second one was not as good as the first. The first was the one you have in sunburst because I thought the wood would be better if it showed as apposed to paint grade wood. I was right. the sunburst is the best one. I love this guitar. It comes with a really cheap gig bag that is fine actually. The electronics are pretty good. The 5 way switch is not cheap looking at all. Good thick wire to the pickups. I should leave more comments. I could have told you about this 2 months ago. Darn. They have a B.C. rich beast copy for about the same $59 price but the shape is a little too pointy for me but it is tempting. Guitars are getting better. These cheap guitars are as fun to play as all my expensive ones. Much better components these days.. I really enjoy listening to you play guitar.
I just got one delivered a sunburst glad to hear I chose like. It needs work tho. Its got as many good points as it does bad. But it does need WORK to be anykinda non hassle player.
The "wood" is not showing. I have and love this guitar, but the "grain" showing is a print. Mine exactly matches the "grain" on the guitar Max is showing here.
I bought this and just dropped some dragonfire crusader pickups in it! This thing screams like hell when you get on it. I also went through and set it up replaced the nut with a tusq nut, locking tuners, and a bigger sustain block.....it a hell of a guitar when you put a bit of work into it... a great Frankenstein starting point!
Out of curiosity, what is the size of the tuning machine holes? I'm trying to replace the tuning machines, but I haven't figured out the size of them yet.
I have this exact guitar. I have added active pickups, locking tuners and a WInkinson bridge. It is AMAZING now. Although it is MUCH heavier now with a new bridge and full size brass block. Yes, I put lik2 $250 into it, but I wanted to built it. Gonna repaint it soon. Thanks for the review. Useful info for a modder.
I ordered this guitar in blue, for my daughter. She loves it. It just needed a minor setup. The tremolo is pretty much useless, though. I might try to remedy that when I have more time, and not exhausted from work. The frets were perfect, neck straight, and electronics are good. For $56 US, it can't be beat.
I just bought one. Man it sounds awesome. It's just a guitar for my gf cause she's learning. She loves it and it chugs like a champ. Adjusted the string height and lifted the pickups for better tone. It's a champ now.
I bought this exact guitar last week waiting on arrival. Bought it because I used to have a Ibanez RG guitar a while back and the color matches my acoustic I bought from Amazon a while back
I bought the same exact guitar as my first electric guitar. I had fun playing with it and fixing some minor defects of it. And I expect that it would not reach the standard of some known guitar brand for its quality and performance, but I enjoy having it as my first guitar to mess up with.
I do the same thing in exploring cheap and unknown guitars - and let me say, MOST of them WILL need a set-up. To sell them this cheap these companies do very little finish or fine tuning work - and they have no QC staff checking them all. Not to mention, these guitars are often being shipped from very humid Asian climates to very dry American ones. Wood shrinks - metal doesn't - so you're almost always going to have to do some fretboard set-up.
I bought this guitar. Set the neck and bridge real quick. I added a 1 pound weight onto the strap end to balance. Sounds killer. Im not changing anything on this guitar right now.
These guitars jam. No joke. I bought one for my cousin who just getting into guitar. They are comparable to the Ibanez gio. The $149 and $179 cost versions. That is the best way I can describe it.
I bought one of these as well last yr and for the money it was well worth it. neck was straight fret ends not to sharp, and pretty level considering. a good set up was really the key to making this a decent playing guitar.
I own one. You'll need to adjust the truss rod to bring the neck back. Also, intonate it. I'm not a huge fan of tremolo systems to begin with, so I just locked mine down, but I imagine that you'll have to mess with it a bit if you end up wanting to use it.
@@dcurleedcurlee7676 overall what would you say about it’s value? I have a few electrics, but I feel like the aesthetic of this one has a different vibe for me.
@@upsidedownmonkey it definitely takes some work to get into playing shape, but once you get it there, it's a killer guitar. Just a very thorough set up. Also, if you're able to clean up that neck pocket, I definitely recommend it.
@@dcurleedcurlee7676 Its a bit ironic that all these cheap instruments are marketed for 'beginners', when the most critical thing for a beginner, is to have a properly functioning tool. As a beginner, I could easily make a $3000 guitar play like a $50 no name, by screwing around with the action.
YOU ARE THE BOMB BRO!!! another great discovery and detailed as well as concise review! Thanks Again! .After watching your,as well as other reviews here on Ytube of the Firefly ,I bought one off Amazon.one of the last 5 they had!.Now currently out of stock and most likely not restocking in the near foreseeable future at least. I couldn't get the Cherry finish model i wanted but the Tobacco-sunburst is just fine! I'm 66 years young and been playin git for well over 50 years now but had serious health issues and all kinda other shit goin down in my life over the years,so my git playin really took a hit and now I really suck at my lead playin but I'm workin on it. You're a hella good player and a real pro at all details applicable to the situation and i LUV!!! your channel Bro!!! You are my absolute Fave on Ytube for this type of info and I wish the best of everthing to you son! I have a suggestion for a name for your channel.Maybe it'll get a laugh outta y'all " Mad Maxwell's Musical Mastery Meetingplace" BLESSINGS!!! in great abundance to you and yours young ma!. keep up the good work and of course keep the Faith! Peace-Out! Manydogs
i reasearch and i found grx70qa ibanez is the original layout for that guitar... i bought one .... waiting for arrival. thanks for your helpful videos.
I just re-bought a Kramer Striker 424 Custom cherry burst. Jumbo frets, maple fretboard, North American Alder body, quad rail pups, Floyd Rose Special trem, and of course, the old EVH "Banana" headstock. $249 delivered. I had one earlier, but had to sell it to finance a project. Been looking a long time for another one. Finally found one on Guitar Center. Forgot to mention the quad rails are splittable.
The quad rails you have to play with to get what I call the "proper" sound from them using your amp's settings. They sound quite good if you can get them dialed in, of course you know there's a lot of variables such as amp type, effects, even strings. They have a real heavy raw rock tone. Check out Hank Coffey's channel. ruclips.net/video/wgQ1xLNaoUQ/видео.html
I got this Guitar in Blue, Sounds Real good for Intermediate Player! I used a Sanding Sponge on the Back of the Neck and Brought it Down A Lot, I Spent about 2 Hours on Set-Up!
Looking at getting this a cheap guitar to learn how to work on them. Were there any issues with dead frets or did it just need basic intonation and action adjustment?
If you don't know by now, this guitar is the dreaded Glarrey, in this case their Model 170. Yes, it is an Ibanez knockoff, but a fair stretch to really compare it to any Ibanez. It is still out there with no name on the headstock, but if you ask eBay to find Glarrey Guitars, these will also pop up. As a builder and luthier, I decided to buy the Glarrey version, $78 to my door, and with a 20 watt amp thrown in to boot. I wanted to see...Packaging actually was very nice due to the amp - big Styrofoam inside the square box, not the cheapo boxes Glarrey's usually come in. Usual dust cover gig bag, strap, and mine came with a white tipped whammy bar, even though everything on the guitar is black. I also got the same sunburst as above. Turns out that the middle pickup, at least on the Glarrey's, is the wrong polarity, and the reverse phase effect in positions 2 and 4 is about useless, as it almost cancels out the total sound. I replaced that with the proper polarity pickup, all is well, five good, usable sounds. Next thing on mine, I could not intonate it at all. Turns out someone put the bridge too far back, tucked against the back wall of the spring cavity. Would have been fine for a 26" scale neck! After moving it forward with 6 new screw holes about 1/4", (Could not go any further due to the bucker), I could just get it to intonate, high E saddle being out there quite a ways. The amp actually sounded pretty good for a cheapo 5" speaker, and came with a "Grind" feature, basically a distortion feature. Great for beginners. Also featured a headphone jack, better yet for bedroom playing. And the light weight is actually good for newer players. After all the repairs, a setup, and a new set of Ernie Ball Slinky 10-46's, not bad. I plan on selling it in a local used instrument store. Hopefully I'll get my money back. For $78, as long as you know your way around a guitar, it's not a bad bargain, but if you have to send it out to be set up, not so good, and the chunky neck is maybe not so good for smaller hands of beginning players.
Just ordered one on Wish on sale for $32.00. I can learn upgrading, maintenance and setup without really risking a ton of money. Love your videos, and your Heavy Metal Horizons (I'm a pilot too, Commercial, Instrument, ASEL, AMEL, Civil Air Patrol pilot).
These types of guitars stand on their quality control. It's not so much whether or not they are set up right straight out of the box, because you wouldn't expect that, but more down to how well they are put together to enable them to be adjusted easily to play great. Nearly every cheapy guitar I have ever played has certain limits regarding things such as neck and bridge adjustments, and nut and tuner stability. A few people seem to be very lucky and get a copy that has been put together right, but a lot need too much work on them for your average beginner. Finally, I'm sat here, playing my Ibanez RG870 Premium (High Voltage Violet finish), and reminding myself how fantastic the Pro Edge II tremolo is, and how much it adds to the tuning stability and overall playability of the instrument. It cost me £375 second hand (on account of a couple of chips to the paintwork, on the back). Yeah, its seven times more what you paid for that unbranded guitar (even with my bargain deal price), but I wasn't taking any chances on the quality. Ultimately, it comes down to whether or not you are prepared to take the risk. $70 is cheap, but it's not if the guitar turns out to be crap. Great review, though, Bro.
1 strip neck down f8ne sand and spray clear. 2 Redo all tuners tight where they dont wiggle. 3 Pot ur pickups. 4 Replace p u rings with thinner rings. 5 Either drill the bolt holes on the neck about a sixteenth of an inch deeper and flie about the same off the screw tips. Mine has a gap under the neck in the pocket.side to side is on the money but this neck sticks out forward and has a half inch action. 6 Replace bridge with a real weight fender or do a floyd.
I bought one of these to make it my project guitar based on your recommendation. Mine was shipped across the USA and was not double boxed. Consequently it arrived with a nickel sized ding on the back near the strap pin. I was given a partial refund to allow for the dented guitar but you might insist on double boxing or faster shipping if you live a great distance from the shipper. It sounded great out of the box.. Action was high but oddly it was pretty well intoned. The pickups feedback easily and will have to be replaced but that is the point of having a project guitar. Here's my upgrade list. Install Hipshot locking tuners, Dragonfire Crusader Humbuckers and a Duo Rail in the middle, install 3rd party straplocks and finally try repairing the ding in the back. All this and a good set-up should do the trick. Wish me luck.
Mine came in the mail today... Fedex SmartPost. It only took 6 days to get here... It was actually pretty well set up as it came. So far I have only been playing it thru headphones, so I haven't had the chance yet to see if those pickups will feedback and squeal, But I will be ordering a set of the Dragonfire Screamers or Hexbuckers tomorrow... Thanks Max!!!
I had actually bought this exact guitar awhile back mostly to use for a base diy guitar but after unboxing I found as you did, the fret board was really nice but the pups were lacking. Mine was intonated and setup correctly and actually plays really really well. So, since getting it I've decided to keep it as is and just do a pickup upgrade (which are already on the way) and leave it as is, maybe tuners later on. Best $54.99 guitar I've ever purchased....lol
I'm always amazed by your sound recordings, I only have that on your channel. I have stereo speakers in front of and a sub under the table, but on your channel the sound seems to come from all directions, amazing.
Cheap guitars are my thing , I grew up with a Hondo in every room . My last Hondo was a Checker board , Deluxe Series 781 Explorer , it was stolen , If I ever see it again I'm going to steal it back .
I really appreciate your straight forward honest reviews. It's nice to see the positives and the negatives. I also really like to see reviews of cheap gear. We truly are in the golden age of guitars right now.
OK, you told me to buy one of these, so I checked into it last Wednesday. None of the colored versions left, 5 white ones. I ordered a white one. It showed up today. You are quite right about the setup. Intonation was pretty far off, and the strings were a mile high. The pickups were also too far from the strings for good output. I spent about an hour turning screws, and All I can say is it's time to sell my Fender.......but it's a cheap Squier Strat that I got used for $50. The no - name blows it away in playability, and sound.
Interesting stuff. I might suggest that buying a decent used guitar for similar money might get you a better baseline for modding. There are some great used buys out there, just waiting to be found. How many folk buy a guitar and leave it in it's case once they realise they can't play guitar like you overnight? I bought a 'good as new' Ibby RG370DXZ (with hardcase!) for £90. Swapped the pups. Job done!
I highly suspect its a Glarry. Its pretty common for all the cheap Chinese products to OEM from the same production line and someone just decals a brand onto them. See this a *lot* with effects pedals.
I actually have that guitar but mine is white with black pickups and black headstock and for the price I like it a lot The on thing I switched on it was the volume and tone knobs because I happened to have 2 extra black witch hat knobs I just liked how it looked aesthetically also the Perl inlays are a little different on mine But all in all I like it
I started getting into guitars in the late 90s, and by then, cheap guitars were great. My first guitar was a cheap Warlock for ~$180, and I was borrowing my friend's Squire at that time, which was decent for the price. My other friend had a cheap Silvertone guitar from Costco that came with a small amp, bag, and a few other accessories for under $200 in the early 90s, and that thing shreded! I liked it so much that I bought a similar one in the early 2000s. However, my friend's one was actually better. The neck was a bit thinner and more comfortable to play. The pickups were also better with bell-like cleans and crisp biting distortion.
Hey Max, I saw your video on the glarry burning fire and I almost got that one until I found this one under glarrys name, so I’m probably going to go with this one, keep up the good work man!
I enjoy watching your video especially the cheap gear saga. I am looking forward for you to review an ibanez style guitar and here it is. But I am hoping that you do a review about cheap guitar equipped with a floyd rose(fakeversion/unlicensedfloydrosebridge)
I love these videos! I'm 21, and have finally decided to learn the electric guitar(mainly because I'm a guitar hero nerd that wants to play rocksmith) Haha hopefully I get nice over time.
Hey max this is an RC stromm electric guitar called omicron KG-19 the logos are decals and can easily be taken off these when they are brand new can cost up to 120bucks
Very nice guitar 👍👌 from Ibanez guitars are so beautiful guitars and bass guitars I love this kind of guitars from Japan and I really enjoyed my Ibanez guitar I got back in 2019 I play with a metal band here in Rocky Mount Virginia
I have always had a lower brand guitar. Anything under the $150 range. You'd be surprised what you can find. For it's price range,it seems to have some good playability. An upgrade on a set of good pickups,I think you would have something more satisfying.
Another great review on a pretty cool guitar . I just got two Ibanez RG guitars , a trans black Rgexfm and a RG 470 in autumn fade . After strats and and les Paul's Ibanez are a favorite . This looks like one I might look into to mod .
So, the pickups, the wood, the quality of components, all high end issues are… totally myths! For no say bulls**t. Great tone with your amp, the intonation and tuning work (actually works) and your technique. Thanks for share this!
Hey Max, Thanks for this video. I never had a H/S/H pickup config on a electric guitar before. I found and bought this same one on ebay in black for "$52.00 USD" including shipping. I'm used to setting up guitars, so no big deal on that. Have a great week! - Tom
You Play Anything So Well and Professionally it's always Impressive to watch you and give us all the specs reviews and comments on all your equipment.. Thank You for your time and efforts to do all this.. I been watching alot of your videos and just enjoy them.. Appreciate that from you 👍🎸🎶
By Crom! That build technology has come this far is impressive to me. What's keeping companies from finding just the right balance to start mass-producing (and no doubt importing) $200 GREAT playing, GREAT sounding guitars?
The cheap Gio Ibanez are amazing.for the price they are unbelievable good build n sound great even with Stock pickups. N Harley Benton is Top when you want a good guitar for 150€.
A few things: 1: You can't buy those guitars in the UK. 2: If you can get them they are almost double the price. 3: Great playing. 1 - It's ok we get gouged for everything here. But you can still get very cheap guitars. 2 - Even if you had to pay more for a guitar like this it's still worth it. 3 - Not in to shredding but you got a nice fluidity to your playing.
I feel so bad for the guys who had to learn on garbage quality cheap guitars back in the day. We are blessed by super abundant cheap guitars that play nicely today. Even the cheap amps now are pretty damn good.
Great video again.. looks like a Ibanez big time with triangle type of inlay on the neck. Looks like more towards a vintage "tobacco sunburst" finish. Hey have a great weekend, all the best! - Mr.Tom
nice review max just ordered one if its anywhere as good as the gigbag i got form watching one of your other vidoes ill be happy with it an finally have a axe with a trem lol keep up the great work on the videos love the channel.
Hi Max thanks for this early update about this guitar... But I learned about this guitar.. it's called a Ktaxon...(Hard to pronounce).. which is pretty much I think made by glarry guitars... On RUclips there's a guy.. playing a yellow one... Last week I just bought a white...... Yes it's only a good platform guitar and that's what I got it for... I had to file down the frets take it to my guitar tech to do intonation and set it up... The pickups pretty much suck ....I'll be replacing those with dragon fire or. Oripure pups.. Wilkinson tremolo will add on ,,,Paint the headstock white and latter put lock tuners on it... That Frankenstein should surely scream by then..😁🤟🏼🎸
One thing I love about all your videos is that you not only cover the heavy rhythm and shred styles but you also always show what a guitar sounds like CLEAN! That is very impressive to me. You have an almost semi classical sounding approach to playing clean guitar. Nice🤘
Dropped a like on this for you, and purchased the guitar on your recommendation. The seller was amazing and even after a screwup with the address, they stopped the shipping of the order, and called the warehouse where the guitar is kept and printed up a new shipping label for me to make sure it came to my door and not the original destination. These guys are awesome and its the first guitar you've reviewed that I'll be getting. Any chance of a review that is a les paul model but not a chibson that could get caught up in customs? I see a good raptor lp model on ebay (nudge nudge wink wink)
Try Harley Benton guitars, a private-label of and sold exclusively through Thomann's Music House in Germany (www.thomannmusic.com). . They have a wide variety of guitar styles. Two of their most popular LP-style models are the SC-450 and the SC Custom. They are made for them by top factories in China, Indonesia and Vietnam. According to Harley Benton, they are manufactured alongside and to the same standards as the guitars made for major brands such as ESP, Fender, Ibanez and Jackson. IMO These are some of the best bang-for-the-buck, new guitars out there and you don't have to feel guilty about having some other company's logo on them. I just got an SC-Custom Honey Flame (made at the Vietnam factory) and had it set up by Sam Deeks in the UK (you can find him on YT) and shipped to me. He replaced the tune-o-matic with a Wilkinson roller bridge and put in a bone nut. The action is 1.5mm on the low E and 1.2mm on the high E. It's so easy to play. And not a buzz, thud, nothing. Awesome. BTW the Roswell humbucker pickups are great. Nice bite and they coil split. Of course, I could have done the work myself, with the help of RUclips University. But I decided to splurge on myself instead and have one of the best Luthiers on this globe (IMO) set it up. The guitar was 150 pounds and they ship it anywhere in the world for 35 pounds. If you set it up yourself, you save on that. So, for less than $250 USD you can have a great guitar delivered to your door in approx 7-10 days. Besides looking for fake imports, Customs just wants to make sure there is no rosewood due to CITES (they use a burnt maple). Of couse, some purest is probably going to say "just save your money until you can afford a (put the brand name of your choice here)." So, agree with them, encourage them to go check their bank account and go get your self an affordable guitar that you can play any day, every day. If you want a sound (no pun intended) investment, get a 401K. If you want some bling, buy a Rolex. If you want a quality music machine, look around. There are plenty good (not necessarily expensive) ones out there. Guys like Max help us find our way. Keep watching. I will be too. Good luck.
What I love about your videos is; The professionalism, strait forward discussion, and mature, no nonsense and adult commentary. Its so refreshing.
@@YaoEspirito gayest comment ever lol
mano a mano I don’t know if you are a closeted gaylord or just an asshole
@@YaoEspirito Guarantee: when a dude bashes gays, he secretly wants the D.
@@TroyBoyleAtheistAdvocate their is a difference between Gay and Gayyyeeeee.
Gay means liking another man in a very close way.
GAYYYEEEEE means being a man while making videos about and trying on Makeup.
you obviously haven't heard Max talk about his love of "f-holes" yet.
The sub-$100 guitars of my youth were so bad they were completely unplayable. I mean, just garbage. Now? Kids are living in instrument utopia, no matter their budget. It's a great time to be a musician, and it's sad so few appreciate it.
Craig Gibson that's so true man. Very few kids are willing to spend time learning an instrument these days
Same with bicycles. In the 70's, a cheap bike would be heavy, crappy, and noisy. Now, just like guitars, their industry standards and manufacturing plants are already quality, so their cheap products are still fine.
yeah but not great time to be musician..now you have the gadgets but the scene is ruined
I had a red Teisco Del Ray when I was a kid, like Steve Via's first. Ya, it was a POS.
I don't know if anyone remembers the brand Tiesco (sp?) that made guitars under various names for department stores. I got an electric in 1969 to noodle on as a 15 year old wannabe. My fingers were so tender and hurting I eventually quit. I didn't know anything about action or good or poor frets. I didn't throw it out and 40 years later a guy that trained as a luther inspected it. ''No wonder you quit.'' LOL.
I'm convinced that Max could make a shoebox, yardstick & rubber bands sound amazing.
Jason Smith I know that’s why I don’t buy anything he reviews because I know it won’t sound as good for me
Jason Smith me too. It’s not a big deal. 😎
Like a pro golfer can hit the sweet spot on cheep clubs.
I recommend to my students ( and anyone else for that matter) to purchase a cheap guitar to learn on so when they can get a good sound on that then upgrading to a more pricey one will be a huge step up and easier !
Max usually plays through a $100-$120 Blackstar ID:Core 10 V2 amp which is easy for him to hook up to his PC and record. That's how he gets his great sound. He uses the built in effects in the amazing little amp - of which there are many!
Not sure if anyone has pointed it out yet, but the maker of this guitar is Glarry. sometimes they come without logo's on the headstock for some reason. I think they refer to this model as the '170 Type'. they also come in white and black on the Glarry website, but I've seen yellow red and blue on Ebay as well.
Great guitar. I bought 2 of these from Walmart 2 months ago for $59.00 and was afraid to tell you about them because the second one was not as good as the first. The first was the one you have in sunburst because I thought the wood would be better if it showed as apposed to paint grade wood. I was right. the sunburst is the best one. I love this guitar. It comes with a really cheap gig bag that is fine actually. The electronics are pretty good. The 5 way switch is not cheap looking at all. Good thick wire to the pickups. I should leave more comments. I could have told you about this 2 months ago. Darn. They have a B.C. rich beast copy for about the same $59 price but the shape is a little too pointy for me but it is tempting. Guitars are getting better. These cheap guitars are as fun to play as all my expensive ones. Much better components these days.. I really enjoy listening to you play guitar.
Thanks for the info! I've seen those BC Rich looking ones as well but that design is a bit...something else.
I wish my Walmart sold these lol
I just got one delivered a sunburst glad to hear I chose like. It needs work tho. Its got as many good points as it does bad. But it does need WORK to be anykinda non hassle player.
The "wood" is not showing. I have and love this guitar, but the "grain" showing is a print. Mine exactly matches the "grain" on the guitar Max is showing here.
I bought this and just dropped some dragonfire crusader pickups in it! This thing screams like hell when you get on it. I also went through and set it up replaced the nut with a tusq nut, locking tuners, and a bigger sustain block.....it a hell of a guitar when you put a bit of work into it... a great Frankenstein starting point!
Out of curiosity, what is the size of the tuning machine holes? I'm trying to replace the tuning machines, but I haven't figured out the size of them yet.
I have this exact guitar. I have added active pickups, locking tuners and a WInkinson bridge. It is AMAZING now. Although it is MUCH heavier now with a new bridge and full size brass block. Yes, I put lik2 $250 into it, but I wanted to built it. Gonna repaint it soon.
Thanks for the review. Useful info for a modder.
I ordered this guitar in blue, for my daughter. She loves it. It just needed a minor setup. The tremolo is pretty much useless, though. I might try to remedy that when I have more time, and not exhausted from work. The frets were perfect, neck straight, and electronics are good. For $56 US, it can't be beat.
I just bought one. Man it sounds awesome. It's just a guitar for my gf cause she's learning. She loves it and it chugs like a champ. Adjusted the string height and lifted the pickups for better tone. It's a champ now.
I bought this exact guitar last week waiting on arrival. Bought it because I used to have a Ibanez RG guitar a while back and the color matches my acoustic I bought from Amazon a while back
I bought the same exact guitar as my first electric guitar. I had fun playing with it and fixing some minor defects of it. And I expect that it would not reach the standard of some known guitar brand for its quality and performance, but I enjoy having it as my first guitar to mess up with.
I do the same thing in exploring cheap and unknown guitars - and let me say, MOST of them WILL need a set-up. To sell them this cheap these companies do very little finish or fine tuning work - and they have no QC staff checking them all. Not to mention, these guitars are often being shipped from very humid Asian climates to very dry American ones. Wood shrinks - metal doesn't - so you're almost always going to have to do some fretboard set-up.
I bought this guitar. Set the neck and bridge real quick. I added a 1 pound weight onto the strap end to balance. Sounds killer. Im not changing anything on this guitar right now.
These guitars jam. No joke. I bought one for my cousin who just getting into guitar. They are comparable to the Ibanez gio. The $149 and $179 cost versions. That is the best way I can describe it.
I bought one of these as well last yr and for the money it was well worth it. neck was straight fret ends not to sharp, and pretty level considering. a good set up was really the key to making this a decent playing guitar.
Can you make a video on how to set this guitar up? Thinking about buying one. Seems like a good beginner electric to start out on.
I own one. You'll need to adjust the truss rod to bring the neck back. Also, intonate it. I'm not a huge fan of tremolo systems to begin with, so I just locked mine down, but I imagine that you'll have to mess with it a bit if you end up wanting to use it.
@@dcurleedcurlee7676 overall what would you say about it’s value? I have a few electrics, but I feel like the aesthetic of this one has a different vibe for me.
@@upsidedownmonkey it definitely takes some work to get into playing shape, but once you get it there, it's a killer guitar. Just a very thorough set up. Also, if you're able to clean up that neck pocket, I definitely recommend it.
dcurlee dcurlee Gotcha. Thanks!
@@dcurleedcurlee7676
Its a bit ironic that all these cheap instruments are marketed for 'beginners', when the most critical thing for a beginner, is to have a properly functioning tool. As a beginner, I could easily make a $3000 guitar play like a $50 no name, by screwing around with the action.
YOU ARE THE BOMB BRO!!! another great discovery and detailed as well as concise review! Thanks Again! .After watching your,as well as other reviews here on Ytube of the Firefly ,I bought one off Amazon.one of the last 5 they had!.Now currently out of stock and most likely not restocking in the near foreseeable future at least. I couldn't get the Cherry finish model i wanted but the Tobacco-sunburst is just fine! I'm 66 years young and been playin git for well over 50 years now but had serious health issues and all kinda other shit goin down in my life over the years,so my git playin really took a hit and now I really suck at my lead playin but I'm workin on it. You're a hella good player and a real pro at all details applicable to the situation and i LUV!!! your channel Bro!!! You are my absolute Fave on Ytube for this type of info and I wish the best of everthing to you son! I have a suggestion for a name for your channel.Maybe it'll get a laugh outta y'all " Mad Maxwell's Musical Mastery Meetingplace" BLESSINGS!!! in great abundance to you and yours young ma!. keep up the good work and of course keep the Faith! Peace-Out! Manydogs
i reasearch and i found grx70qa ibanez is the original layout for that guitar... i bought one .... waiting for arrival. thanks for your helpful videos.
surprisingly nice fretboard texture, the vibrato, extremly smooth.
I just re-bought a Kramer Striker 424 Custom cherry burst. Jumbo frets, maple fretboard, North American Alder body, quad rail pups, Floyd Rose Special trem, and of course, the old EVH "Banana" headstock. $249 delivered. I had one earlier, but had to sell it to finance a project. Been looking a long time for another one. Finally found one on Guitar Center. Forgot to mention the quad rails are splittable.
Central Scrutinizer I had a Kramer Striker in lava crackle finish...imho...the neck was way to chucky like a Fender for my smaller hands.😁
I had one of those in the metallic red finish. I never liked the quad rails, but the guitar played great and stayed dead on in tune!
The quad rails you have to play with to get what I call the "proper" sound from them using your amp's settings. They sound quite good if you can get them dialed in, of course you know there's a lot of variables such as amp type, effects, even strings. They have a real heavy raw rock tone. Check out Hank Coffey's channel. ruclips.net/video/wgQ1xLNaoUQ/видео.html
Looks much like Glary. 24 frets one cannot mod. Most everything else, yes. Look forward to picking up one! Thanks!
Some ppl spend more on a truss rod cover.
I got this Guitar in Blue, Sounds Real good for Intermediate Player! I used a Sanding Sponge on the Back of the Neck and Brought it Down A Lot, I Spent about 2 Hours on Set-Up!
Looking at getting this a cheap guitar to learn how to work on them. Were there any issues with dead frets or did it just need basic intonation and action adjustment?
I have the yellow one and i love it, the guy who calibrate for me said its has amazing internal components
If you don't know by now, this guitar is the dreaded Glarrey, in this case their Model 170. Yes, it is an Ibanez knockoff, but a fair stretch to really compare it to any Ibanez. It is still out there with no name on the headstock, but if you ask eBay to find Glarrey Guitars, these will also pop up. As a builder and luthier, I decided to buy the Glarrey version, $78 to my door, and with a 20 watt amp thrown in to boot. I wanted to see...Packaging actually was very nice due to the amp - big Styrofoam inside the square box, not the cheapo boxes Glarrey's usually come in. Usual dust cover gig bag, strap, and mine came with a white tipped whammy bar, even though everything on the guitar is black. I also got the same sunburst as above.
Turns out that the middle pickup, at least on the Glarrey's, is the wrong polarity, and the reverse phase effect in positions 2 and 4 is about useless, as it almost cancels out the total sound. I replaced that with the proper polarity pickup, all is well, five good, usable sounds.
Next thing on mine, I could not intonate it at all. Turns out someone put the bridge too far back, tucked against the back wall of the spring cavity. Would have been fine for a 26" scale neck! After moving it forward with 6 new screw holes about 1/4", (Could not go any further due to the bucker), I could just get it to intonate, high E saddle being out there quite a ways.
The amp actually sounded pretty good for a cheapo 5" speaker, and came with a "Grind" feature, basically a distortion feature. Great for beginners. Also featured a headphone jack, better yet for bedroom playing. And the light weight is actually good for newer players.
After all the repairs, a setup, and a new set of Ernie Ball Slinky 10-46's, not bad. I plan on selling it in a local used instrument store. Hopefully I'll get my money back.
For $78, as long as you know your way around a guitar, it's not a bad bargain, but if you have to send it out to be set up, not so good, and the chunky neck is maybe not so good for smaller hands of beginning players.
Just ordered one on Wish on sale for $32.00. I can learn upgrading, maintenance and setup without really risking a ton of money. Love your videos, and your Heavy Metal Horizons (I'm a pilot too, Commercial, Instrument, ASEL, AMEL, Civil Air Patrol pilot).
Man I love your Vids! I feel the 80s / 90s Heavy Metal Barbarian VIBE!!!
These types of guitars stand on their quality control. It's not so much whether or not they are set up right straight out of the box, because you wouldn't expect that, but more down to how well they are put together to enable them to be adjusted easily to play great. Nearly every cheapy guitar I have ever played has certain limits regarding things such as neck and bridge adjustments, and nut and tuner stability. A few people seem to be very lucky and get a copy that has been put together right, but a lot need too much work on them for your average beginner.
Finally, I'm sat here, playing my Ibanez RG870 Premium (High Voltage Violet finish), and reminding myself how fantastic the Pro Edge II tremolo is, and how much it adds to the tuning stability and overall playability of the instrument. It cost me £375 second hand (on account of a couple of chips to the paintwork, on the back). Yeah, its seven times more what you paid for that unbranded guitar (even with my bargain deal price), but I wasn't taking any chances on the quality. Ultimately, it comes down to whether or not you are prepared to take the risk. $70 is cheap, but it's not if the guitar turns out to be crap.
Great review, though, Bro.
1 strip neck down f8ne sand and spray clear.
2 Redo all tuners tight where they dont wiggle.
3 Pot ur pickups.
4 Replace p u rings with thinner rings.
5 Either drill the bolt holes on the neck about a sixteenth of an inch deeper and flie about the same off the screw tips.
Mine has a gap under the neck in the pocket.side to side is on the money but this neck sticks out forward and has a half inch action.
6 Replace bridge with a real weight fender or do a floyd.
I bought one of these to make it my project guitar based on your recommendation. Mine was shipped across the USA and was not double boxed. Consequently it arrived with a nickel sized ding on the back near the strap pin. I was given a partial refund to allow for the dented guitar but you might insist on double boxing or faster shipping if you live a great distance from the shipper. It sounded great out of the box.. Action was high but oddly it was pretty well intoned. The pickups feedback easily and will have to be replaced but that is the point of having a project guitar. Here's my upgrade list. Install Hipshot locking tuners, Dragonfire Crusader Humbuckers and a Duo Rail in the middle, install 3rd party straplocks and finally try repairing the ding in the back. All this and a good set-up should do the trick. Wish me luck.
With this guitar and a host of others budget guitars are at their best ever. Great video🎸
Mine came in the mail today... Fedex SmartPost. It only took 6 days to get here... It was actually pretty well set up as it came. So far I have only been playing it thru headphones, so I haven't had the chance yet to see if those pickups will feedback and squeal, But I will be ordering a set of the Dragonfire Screamers or Hexbuckers tomorrow... Thanks Max!!!
I tip my hat to you for continuing to find these dirt cheap yet for the most part functional guitars!
I had actually bought this exact guitar awhile back mostly to use for a base diy guitar but after unboxing I found as you did, the fret board was really nice but the pups were lacking. Mine was intonated and setup correctly and actually plays really really well. So, since getting it I've decided to keep it as is and just do a pickup upgrade (which are already on the way) and leave it as is, maybe tuners later on. Best $54.99 guitar I've ever purchased....lol
Dude, your channel is absolutely amazing.
I'm always amazed by your sound recordings, I only have that on your channel. I have stereo speakers in front of and a sub under the table, but on your channel the sound seems to come from all directions, amazing.
I’ll take -5 for thinking Danzig comments. Sweet guitar, cool video keep them coming.
Cheap guitars are my thing , I grew up with a Hondo in every room . My last Hondo was a Checker board , Deluxe Series 781 Explorer , it was stolen , If I ever see it again I'm going to steal it back .
It says a lot about a persons experience and technique when they can play any level of guitar and still get a great sound
What's good about a cheap guitar is you can add great pickups and fix the action if you must. Then you have a great guitar for cheap!
Great review sir...👍👍👍✌
I really appreciate your straight forward honest reviews. It's nice to see the positives and the negatives. I also really like to see reviews of cheap gear. We truly are in the golden age of guitars right now.
OK, you told me to buy one of these, so I checked into it last Wednesday. None of the colored versions left, 5 white ones. I ordered a white one. It showed up today. You are quite right about the setup. Intonation was pretty far off, and the strings were a mile high. The pickups were also too far from the strings for good output. I spent about an hour turning screws, and All I can say is it's time to sell my Fender.......but it's a cheap Squier Strat that I got used for $50. The no - name blows it away in playability, and sound.
Awesome! I'm glad you got one. Definitely if you're willing to put in a little work in the setup, these are a fantastic buy! Rock on!
Interesting stuff.
I might suggest that buying a decent used guitar for similar money might get you a better baseline for modding. There are some great used buys out there, just waiting to be found.
How many folk buy a guitar and leave it in it's case once they realise they can't play guitar like you overnight?
I bought a 'good as new' Ibby RG370DXZ (with hardcase!) for £90. Swapped the pups. Job done!
Yes, but for my reviews I like to show guitars that anyone can purchase, without having to search around for a used deal.
Amen!!!
Enjoyed the video and comments about the value and setup.
the only stopping it from being a glarry 170 is the name on the head stock
I highly suspect its a Glarry. Its pretty common for all the cheap Chinese products to OEM from the same production line and someone just decals a brand onto them. See this a *lot* with effects pedals.
Looks just like my glarry gst
I actually have that guitar but mine is white with black pickups and black headstock and for the price I like it a lot
The on thing I switched on it was the volume and tone knobs because I happened to have 2 extra black witch hat knobs I just liked how it looked aesthetically also the Perl inlays are a little different on mine
But all in all I like it
I started getting into guitars in the late 90s, and by then, cheap guitars were great. My first guitar was a cheap Warlock for ~$180, and I was borrowing my friend's Squire at that time, which was decent for the price. My other friend had a cheap Silvertone guitar from Costco that came with a small amp, bag, and a few other accessories for under $200 in the early 90s, and that thing shreded! I liked it so much that I bought a similar one in the early 2000s. However, my friend's one was actually better. The neck was a bit thinner and more comfortable to play. The pickups were also better with bell-like cleans and crisp biting distortion.
Hey Max, I saw your video on the glarry burning fire and I almost got that one until I found this one under glarrys name, so I’m probably going to go with this one, keep up the good work man!
I enjoy watching your video especially the cheap gear saga. I am looking forward for you to review an ibanez style guitar and here it is. But I am hoping that you do a review about cheap guitar equipped with a floyd rose(fakeversion/unlicensedfloydrosebridge)
I love these videos! I'm 21, and have finally decided to learn the electric guitar(mainly because I'm a guitar hero nerd that wants to play rocksmith) Haha hopefully I get nice over time.
Hey max this is an RC stromm electric guitar called omicron KG-19 the logos are decals and can easily be taken off these when they are brand new can cost up to 120bucks
Awesome thank you so much for sharing your stuff with us today as always guy
You play really great
Very nice guitar 👍👌 from Ibanez guitars are so beautiful guitars and bass guitars I love this kind of guitars from Japan and I really enjoyed my Ibanez guitar I got back in 2019 I play with a metal band here in Rocky Mount Virginia
You have really a good talking style and energy.
Sounds good to me as always,nicely done! Awesome!
I have always had a lower brand guitar. Anything under the $150 range. You'd be surprised what you can find. For it's price range,it seems to have some good playability. An upgrade on a set of good pickups,I think you would have something more satisfying.
great video!! still would love to see you set one of these guitars up when you get a chance!!!
Another great review on a pretty cool guitar . I just got two Ibanez RG guitars , a trans black Rgexfm and a RG 470 in autumn fade . After strats and and les Paul's Ibanez are a favorite . This looks like one I might look into to mod .
Another killer find.... Thanks for sharing.
So, the pickups, the wood, the quality of components, all high end issues are… totally myths! For no say bulls**t. Great tone with your amp, the intonation and tuning work (actually works) and your technique. Thanks for share this!
Hey Max, Thanks for this video. I never had a H/S/H pickup config on a electric guitar before. I found and bought this same one on ebay in black for "$52.00 USD" including shipping. I'm used to setting up guitars, so no big deal on that. Have a great week! - Tom
I just ordered a sick yellow one! Cant wait to get it and restring it (because im lefty)
You Play Anything So Well and Professionally it's always Impressive to watch you and give us all the specs reviews and comments on all your equipment.. Thank You for your time and efforts to do all this.. I been watching alot of your videos and just enjoy them.. Appreciate that from you 👍🎸🎶
Your review, which is great, had a remarkable effect. ALL of these guitar are sold out on Ebay.
Another impeccable review it sounded great
Man i learn a lot on your videos.... Thanks...
By Crom! That build technology has come this far is impressive to me. What's keeping companies from finding just the right balance to start mass-producing (and no doubt importing) $200 GREAT playing, GREAT sounding guitars?
There are some nice ones. I've played a couple real nice Harley Bentons in the $2-300 range.
The cheap Gio Ibanez are amazing.for the price they are unbelievable good build n sound great even with Stock pickups. N Harley Benton is Top when you want a good guitar for 150€.
OK ,I'm impressed. For sixty bucks ya. Sounds great to hear you Max, shredding away on that guitar I'd say it's worth it.
You could play a gig with this. I have been playing for 60 years, you are faster than me. Great playing.
A few things:
1: You can't buy those guitars in the UK.
2: If you can get them they are almost double the price.
3: Great playing.
1 - It's ok we get gouged for everything here. But you can still get very cheap guitars.
2 - Even if you had to pay more for a guitar like this it's still worth it.
3 - Not in to shredding but you got a nice fluidity to your playing.
Thank you for honest & good reviews. Stay young, Max
Thanks Ray! I'll do my best.
Unbranded yes, but I fully believe that Glarry (or whatever company manufactures Glarry's) makes this guitar.
Thinking about getting one of these and installing a vegatrem on it for a makeshift budget FR RG.
Still ok to travel with for practice with a mini rig at home or outside
💛10.12 T: 10:40A.
I feel so bad for the guys who had to learn on garbage quality cheap guitars back in the day. We are blessed by super abundant cheap guitars that play nicely today. Even the cheap amps now are pretty damn good.
Great review, just ordered a blue one. Hope the arm is healing well!
I got a good used Ibanez RG170R for $65 and $13 shipping in eBay.
I own an actual ibanez gio 70qa but I can't make it sound so good xD like you did with this copy unbranded guitar
Kaiser Em Syn I love Ibanez gios it's probably the amp
RudeMotherF%^&er I guess so... I'll try switching it
in da fingerssss
You use a shitty fucking amp that's why...use software modelers like bias fx
Eric Kindel been using bias for 2 years now
Great video again.. looks like a Ibanez big time with triangle type of inlay on the neck. Looks like more towards a vintage "tobacco sunburst" finish. Hey have a great weekend, all the best! - Mr.Tom
Any guitar in hands of this master sounds as a best instrument ever. ✊✊✊
nice review max just ordered one if its anywhere as good as the gigbag i got form watching one of your other vidoes ill be happy with it an finally have a axe with a trem lol keep up the great work on the videos love the channel.
Wow these guitars went fast! Hopefully more are in stock soon!
Wood grain is a print Max. I have this guitar and our "grain" is exactly the same.
Man you can make ANY guitar 🎸 sound awesome
you really love sliding between Frets which is fucking awesome
Hi Max thanks for this early update about this guitar... But I learned about this guitar.. it's called a Ktaxon...(Hard to pronounce).. which is pretty much I think made by glarry guitars... On RUclips there's a guy.. playing a yellow one... Last week I just bought a white...... Yes it's only a good platform guitar and that's what I got it for... I had to file down the frets take it to my guitar tech to do intonation and set it up... The pickups pretty much suck ....I'll be replacing those with dragon fire or. Oripure pups.. Wilkinson tremolo will add on ,,,Paint the headstock white and latter put lock tuners on it... That Frankenstein should surely scream by then..😁🤟🏼🎸
It sounds good because of the player and the amp he is using!
The guitar may not be properly grounded. If that is the problem it is a easy fix. You should have more power than you need. Love the video.
Amazing guitar skills my dude!
Is it just me or is your playing just gets better every time i check in
I hope it is!
I got one ordered in "sunset". It looks like sunburst but in red
One thing I love about all your videos is that you not only cover the heavy rhythm and shred styles but you also always show what a guitar sounds like CLEAN! That is very impressive to me. You have an almost semi classical sounding approach to playing clean guitar. Nice🤘
Wish these were available before I bought my Ibanez. I like 24 fret guitars.
As with any cheap guitar, you can mod it to your like until is however you think is nice.
Like always another great video!And Max when you gonna make that video about how to change pick-ups?
Did you see the one with the Dragonfire pickups and the Chibson?
Lol no! Going to see it right Now thanks Max!
Ah, 2019... $68 guitars, no pandemic... life was good...
Dropped a like on this for you, and purchased the guitar on your recommendation. The seller was amazing and even after a screwup with the address, they stopped the shipping of the order, and called the warehouse where the guitar is kept and printed up a new shipping label for me to make sure it came to my door and not the original destination. These guys are awesome and its the first guitar you've reviewed that I'll be getting. Any chance of a review that is a les paul model but not a chibson that could get caught up in customs? I see a good raptor lp model on ebay (nudge nudge wink wink)
Mine came in today, can't complain about it at all. Intonation was set, low action, even tuners were aligned....Well worth the cash Thanks Max!
Try Harley Benton guitars, a private-label of and sold exclusively through Thomann's Music House in Germany (www.thomannmusic.com). . They have a wide variety of guitar styles. Two of their most popular LP-style models are the SC-450 and the SC Custom. They are made for them by top factories in China, Indonesia and Vietnam. According to Harley Benton, they are manufactured alongside and to the same standards as the guitars made for major brands such as ESP, Fender, Ibanez and Jackson. IMO These are some of the best bang-for-the-buck, new guitars out there and you don't have to feel guilty about having some other company's logo on them. I just got an SC-Custom Honey Flame (made at the Vietnam factory) and had it set up by Sam Deeks in the UK (you can find him on YT) and shipped to me. He replaced the tune-o-matic with a Wilkinson roller bridge and put in a bone nut. The action is 1.5mm on the low E and 1.2mm on the high E. It's so easy to play. And not a buzz, thud, nothing. Awesome. BTW the Roswell humbucker pickups are great. Nice bite and they coil split.
Of course, I could have done the work myself, with the help of RUclips University. But I decided to splurge on myself instead and have one of the best Luthiers on this globe (IMO) set it up. The guitar was 150 pounds and they ship it anywhere in the world for 35 pounds. If you set it up yourself, you save on that. So, for less than $250 USD you can have a great guitar delivered to your door in approx 7-10 days.
Besides looking for fake imports, Customs just wants to make sure there is no rosewood due to CITES (they use a burnt maple).
Of couse, some purest is probably going to say "just save your money until you can afford a (put the brand name of your choice here)." So, agree with them, encourage them to go check their bank account and go get your self an affordable guitar that you can play any day, every day. If you want a sound (no pun intended) investment, get a 401K. If you want some bling, buy a Rolex. If you want a quality music machine, look around. There are plenty good (not necessarily expensive) ones out there. Guys like Max help us find our way. Keep watching. I will be too. Good luck.