Excellent playing on that intro! Another great video. With your channel focusing on affordable gear, you provide a great service to your viewers AND anyone who might have been avoiding taking-up guitar due to the cost. The guitar world is in your debt!
Guitar Max. Shredder. Musician. Educator. Astronomer. Legend. Thank you for your channel and advocacy for all the affordable gear that makes it so much less intimidating for guitar novices like myself. Keep on rockin'!
What makes Eart guitars stand out is their attention to detail, build quality and their necks which are fantastic. This one looks great, thanks for sharing!
I have an Eart GW2. It us a fantastic guitar. Because of all the cutaways I find I am practicing a lot more because I can sit back on the sofa and watch TV and practice at the same time. My playing has improved massively because of it. Love the neck shape as well
These guitar companies making more affordable feature packed axes are doing a great service to the guitar community and spawning what will be the next generation of prodigies and all i can say is im all here for it!🤟🤘🙌
There are roughly 20 factories in Asia-/south east Asia making guitars for branded companies, they have been around since the mid to late 80s. The amount of parts available and just being stocked is stupid high, hence why companies (such as HB) are able to directly purchase from those factories and sell for stupid low prices. The problem with the big names, is that they already established their brand decades ago and will very likely not change. But i do find it absolutely mind blowing, that you spend €1.000 on a brand name instrument and the nut is plastic (for example), yet they had been doing this for such a long time (to the public, not the special limited edition models). The only thing that will change, is that these "features" will get cheaper, the big names will still do what they are doing.
And fueling young guitarists SHOULD BE the name of the game. In a way, I don't want Fender & Gibson to copy these guys - 'stay out of range for 10-15 years' - that's fine. We help Elem students get Earts, Pacificas, Sires, the 2023 Epi Casinos ("pro" pickups), as well as Firefly's and the $200-400 guitars. "Spend $200 now... when you've learned all about those pickups' sounds, spend another $200 and end up with something comparable to $1000 units. AND KNOW IT." The question is: "Do you spend a lot up front and delay mods for ?? years ?? or do you spend something on an almost-installment plan? A little here, a little there."
@@hussamjamil4980 What gets me about nuts - those great Grafteks are ?? $10-15 ?? And those provide a thousand-dollar education for a young guitarist in playability, tuning stability, string placement, geometries, even choices of strings. Sadly, the only reason I don't recommend leaving the plastic-nut for days or a week is often their playability is injured. But the young guitarist can still have the education of a wonderful mod without 'feeling' and knowing every aspect vs. the old plastic nut. That's OK... he probably has friends and when he hears their issues, he'll guide them into replacements.
I'm not a huge fan of strats with pickguards, but the humbucker on the bridge plus the trussrod acess just made this guitar looks way cooler to me! Nice solo in the intro Max!!!!
I have the EART 335. Plays and sounds great. Much better than the Epiphones I tried out in the stores. I was considering upgrading the pickups when I bought it, but after playing for a year, I realize the pickups are really good.
Hiya, Max! I don't own any Earts, but I believe that the same company supplies Eart with their stuff and Donner with theirs -- a company called IYV (for In Yen Vina, if I remember right). If so, then IYV is my new guitar company, because they have managed to do something no other guitar company has done before; they got me to buy two of the SAME MODEL. I now own both colors of Donner's DST-400 model, and I LOVE them. Even the second one has gotten negative buyer's remorse -- meaning I'm glad I got it. I'm taking their appearance in different directions, but they both remain almost stock. I'm only toying with the idea of swapping in new pickups for cosmetic purposes. Otherwise, the stock Alnico single coils and the humbucker can just stay there. Shockers both sound like Strats! Admittedly, they are not specified as heavily as the DMX-9. No roasted woods, multi-piece alder body, laurel fretboard ... pretty basic, I know, but in my opinion, I have lived in times where buying a guitar of the quality of those Donners would have expended $400 - $700 easily. I spent maybe $400 getting the TWO of these to my door! I like these axes so well that I'm only moderately tempted by the DMX-9! Should be only slightly if even that much, but ...
Max! Aside all the deserved comments on your playing and excellent reviews on affordable gear…gotta give you props on the T-shirt. Had the privilege to actually see the Vulcan fly back in the day…cheers!
Max! Your playing here is incredible! Love your style and techniques! Total 80’s! Those guitars you have are very nice! I’ll have to check them out on the website! 👍👍🔥🔥
First thing I thought was "Charvel!" I bought my San Dimas 4 years ago for $700 which was a STEAL new, especially with a real FR and an all maple neck/board and real Duncan's. But these days, MAN these dudes are pumping out high quality products for pennies on the dollar! Great vid as always, Max!
I totally agree with you about golden age of affordable guitars, example I bought a hondo lespaul copy back in '86 it was ok but it is a clunker to play. It did come with grover tuners but it could not hold intonation very long because the bridge kept moving. The frets were so so but it's what I had at the time as I got better I took a leap and gigged with it a few times. Fast forward to now I have two main gigging guitars that I purchased for under a thousand each and I love em. I still break out the hondo once in awhile to keep my self humble 😊
I did a few upgrades to my Firefly fflp. I have the blue bat with the bat inlays. Only changed the knobs, put locking tuners on, and a poker chip under the switch. Oh yeah and put 10s on it. This guitar is amazing! Totally gigable! Just wanted to share my experience that price ain't everything guys. Quality is insane now days!
I put 10's on my Schecter C1-EA and it ruined it, it was unbelievable before and we have had the best guitar techs try to restore it, oh well, lesson learned!
I bought one based on this video. It is a great guitar. Critical is that this has alnico pickups that work very well. The voicing switch is very interesting, it switches the Neck from a hot 10K to a vintage 6K ohm. Also the Neck profile is not particularly thin, but the carve works OK even with my small hands.
I think being able to switch from 10 K to 6K is the feature known as "coil tapping." In the 6 kOhm mode, it's not using all of the windings of each coil. Switching to 10K mode activates the remaining 40% of both pickup coil windings. The Ohms resistance of a wire is proportional to its length.
At apx $599 I'd say that strat is at the low end of middle budget. I see "low budget being apx $100 -250ish. For example, a direct competitor for that eart, feature and quality wise, is the 25th anniversary strat from Harley Benton at $250.00. Not saying I'm right and you're wrong, just how I see it ATM. Still, great guitar! And great review of a guitar that I didn't even know existed!!
Back in 2021, I got the EART SSS for $196. I bought a set of the Fender Mexico Player series pickups and pots for about $70, threw on some elixir strings, and absolutely love playing on it. The tuners and body feel great, but I'm still curious how their more expensive models compare. I'm more interested in how these compare to an equivalent big brand guitar or mid-sized brands like G&L
Wanted to let you know that the affordable Guitars were garbage when I was coming up . They were, as well as the amplifiers and speaker Cabs. I’m 65 , so you can imagine, I really like & appreciate what you’re doing, The Top 2 guitar brands had me living in my van for a couple of years in my late teens 😅 . I would like to see affordable amp Sims, and I think your subscribers would as well, great job!
Love my Eart Strat. Had to do a bit of work to set it up, but that's to be expected. Ordered an M Musi telecaster for about the same price with almost identical specs, and it came completely set up. Has the same ball end stainless frets, same roasted neck, same trus rod adjuster, similar pots and wiring. . . They look like the same factory made them, but the M Musi telecster is a 9.5 pound boat anchor. Love them both for their quality and tone. We are spoiled!
I have an IYV custom shop tele getting delivered tomorrow..cant wait! 😜 built to my colour, my specs and only £238/$295 delivered to the UK (neck off delivery price as i saved £70/$90 due to smaller package)..hopefully i wont get extra import duty tax as they have put (as i requested) on my invoice that the guitar only cost £100/$127 and import duty in the UK is only valid if priced over £134/$170..🤞 loving your channel Max due to these fantastic budget guitar reviews. I really fancy as my 12th guitar one of those groove guitars from Canada you reviewed 2 months ago, they look and sound brill to my old ears 😁 keep up the excellent reviews..not everyone is wealthy in this world and seeing you playing these budget guitars gives us working class peeps a chance to choose a good quality cheaper guitar 👍 stay safe and have fun 🤘
I’m seeing the gold Pete Thorn Suhr model being issued by more affordable brands! Cool! Pete’s signature Geetar set me back $3600. Chapman guitars also has one. And I think Harley Benton has a gold model like the Pete Thorn!
My son bought me a Harley Benton ( T20, I think it’s called ) tele style anyway, cost just under £100 delivered, and it’s great ( I’m an old fart that’s new to playing, so it’s great for me ) 👍👍🤠🎸
I bought a headless guitar from Eart for I believe for $350, the headless system, the pick ups, the poplar burl finish all incredible!! Push/pull coil splitting that guitar has it all and like yours a blast to play right out of the box quick tune and it was on. Even the intonation was already set. I made a few minor adjustments, some slightly heavier strings, tuned it up and it's one of my go to guitars. 🎸
I hope you have played or own a Gibson. Gibson are top of the line. Yes expensive, but you get what you pay for. Gibson was made for professionals, just like any other market. Look up snap on tools, very expensive but not designed for average consumer.
@@manny45629 My first guitar was a '60 LPJ in the what was to become the SG shape, with the tortoise case and all. But, that is a different era to compare to. No, being a lefty player by necessity, I have not yet managed to really play many Gibson's much to speak of. But, the ones I have picked up for a second have been really nice. But and here's the big butt, even the low line brands are seeing that the players demand quality and lately they have been delivering and impressing me with their industry wide rise in quality.
A friend of mine worked at a big American guitar corp. He said that most painted guitars were 3, 4, 5, or could even be a 6 piece body. Thats where a lot of scrap pieces went because you wouldn't see the grain anyway. Ever since needless to say ive only bought finishes i could see the wood.😮
I mean if they lined all the joins up equally to make them a feature then it would not even be an issue, the sound isn't reliant on the wood anyway & whether the body is 1 piece or lots of pieces glued together is a non issue apart from the placebo effect of knowing that. Really needs the cheaper brands to offer composite bodies & necks & show how irrelevant wood is in solid body electrics.
@@triax7006 Guitar construction is important to a person looking to replicate copies of old guitars from way back when. I have 41 guitars and I'd take a two piece wood guitar body any day of the week over one with multiple slabs of wood glued together. I just got a new Chibson Les Paul with a two piece body. I would not want to own a Les Paul copy with 3 or 4 pieces of wood glued together.
@@strangeuniverse1199 Yes & that is because your perception is they have "cheaped" out by using in your mind woods that should have been used for smaller parts in other products. So it is all about a perception that if a guitar is made with multiple pieces it will not be made as well. I mean let's be honest here, laminate necks on basses are sought after because they look better, offer more strength to the neck which means more stability. Gibson ES335's are literally made from plywood for the two horns with the maple or mahogany down the middle where the pickups are mounted. Solid body electrics do not need a specific wood or any material to create their tone. The notion a solid body guitar (or semi electric) has to be made of wood is a fallacy. It is just that it is traditional for them to be made of wood because they were derived for full body jazz guitars that were then fitted with pickups that were not even wax potted & were terribly microphonic ( a feature some like as the wood would be a factor in the sound).
@@triax7006 I agree the wood makes little difference as far as tone. But my personal taste. I would not feel very confident with my instrument going in n out of different climates over a long period made out of several different pieces of wood. Just a personal choice.
I think you meant to say compound radias fretboard, instead of neck profile? But most of us realize this, I hope? Thanx for all the great inexpensive guitar reviews! Even though I don't generally buy guitars under $499, it's always interesting to see what's coming down the pipeline. Peace.
@@budderbear Sorry my analytical mind offends you. I prefer to actually understand and know what I'm talking about. Max will be just fine without YOU policing the comments section. Have a great day, buddy!
@@andrewbecker3700 I think it is OK for ppl to want to buy more expensive brands as there is a market for ppl at all price ranges. in reality though if a guitar feels, plays & sounds & even has features that more expensive brands do not offer then the customer will buy where the quality is & will not simply hand over cash for outdated, obsolete designs on products. Certainly some of the more expensive brands do offer features that cheaper ones cannot, the hardware, the pickups. The problem of course is all of that can be replaced if the base guitar is quality.
Eart seems to have a good hand and feel on great guitars at screaming low prices. I started building my own to save serious coin, but these guys top me off. So, instead, I have leaned more into going high end and doing quality over economy. It actually costs me more, but the finished product is better than when I started. As always, great video, Max!! great playing on some nice axes from your site!!
This golden age is the result of modern design and manufacturing being adopted and applied across the industry worldwide. CAD design, and CADAM production have gone a long way to leveling the playing field across the spectrum of manufacturers. As long as they employ skilled workers, use the best materials they can source, and impose rigid QC - the market will do the rest. I'm looking forward to the future! Thanks for the great review - I'm going to try some of these - and very cool shirt...
I first heard of Eart a few years ago on another channel when they demo’d the 335-ish model. Since then they’ve been putting out model after model, each better than the last. After labor, materials, marketing, and overhead, I just don’t know how some of these companies make a profit…. and I don’t care. Just keep cranking out top-notch affordable guitars!
They do it with maximized efficiencies and very cheap Southesst / East Asian labor... And you really can't expect the electronics to be top-notch, or every guitar to be amazing. By comparison the new Badlands guitar sounds 10 times better, and is worth over 4x the cost if people want to have a life and enjoy things.
This is why you hear some of the companies saying nickel sounds warmer or whatever. Some of the older companies also say one piece of wood for the body is better, but when it benefits them, they say nothing about it. Would love to see one in person before buying so I don't have the hassle of shipping it back.
Shame none of the affordable offer real Jumbo Frets like a Dunlop 6100 which I have been using for years since the min 80''s. I refretted 3 of my Guitars with them and to this day they still have a ton of fret left and they are not Stainless Steel.
I don’t own any affordable guitars at the moment but I’m willing to purchase one because all these features on them are hard to beat. Considering an Eart guitar based on this review. Thanks for posting!
Max, do you think that EART and Harley Benton have enough going on to compete with SBS and AIO guitars? I have been checking out reviews on the Steve Brown Sound offerings and I have not found a negative review yet.
I have a couple of stratiform Ibanez Roadstars from the early 80's that were made at that same quality level, except for having normal frets. But I don't know where they were sitting in the spectrum of beginner to professional instruments in their day, how their price point at the time compared with the competition of the time.
To be honest the only thing I don't like about the eart guitar is that the jack is on the bottom like most other guitars and I've always preferred the strat style jack on top next to the pick guard.
I have four Eart guitars and they are really great, but now that they have more competition with Harley Benton, Musi, Firefly and Leo Jaymz, I think over $400 for those features is pushing it. At $600 they are almost competing with Sire guitars. Stainless steel frets are nice but not a necessity. I know that these Amazon prices get discounted all the time so finding it near $400 would be a great buy, but I wouldn't buy it at the regular $600 price.
What? No locking tuners? I know, we are getting spoiled. Couldn't really evaluate the sound as when it was on the clean channel it was fizzy. Might have been over-driving the amp, or it could have been that the neck needed adjusting. thanks for including the wt, btw.
Hahahaha....you took the words out of my mouth. Those big companies HAVE TO STEP UP THEIR GAME. Exactly what I said when I was looking at a guitar 🎸 nearly $3000....they need to drop the price 1000 or make it with super high-quality parts
That's some seriously nice construction. I'm not a big fan of the neck tones you got but that could be more about your drive pedal than the pickups. Regardless, I could replace a pickup or three on a solid platform and still come out ahead on price.
How sturdy is the hardware? I’ve been happy with finishes and construction on these price friendly guitars, but some have cheap hardware. Gotta cut prices somewhere but I’d rather have better hardware than fancy finish.
A lot of this makes me wonder if OEM guitar manufacturers are just getting deeper into making their own brands and selling directly to customers Sure there’s only so many overseas companies making these guitars, and many big name companies are using them. But if these manufacturers can take on more production load it makes sense to start selling direct with a higher profit margin but that total price is still affordable because it’s not a *big name brand tax* Essentially making multiple child companies
Right on Max! Paul Davids did a video 6 months ago on $400-$60,000 dollar guitars - "can you hear the difference" He did a follow up recently on "A $99 guitar is all you need"... You're saying the same thing. The guitar buying public is dividing into two camps from what I can see. One that wants a good instrument that plays well and doesn't impede but rather inspires creativity and other camp of collector buyers who want bragging rights for that 'relic'd custom shop name brand hanging in their personal guitar fetish museum. I think the whole material thing is becoming passe'. Who TF cares? I think people are frustrated with ridiculous prices. When you can make a 6-string shovel sound like a '58 Les Paul with the right Amp modeling and computer EQ-Effects software, then what he Hell do I need one for! I think the whole industry of guitar music making is about to go through a shakeup. Right now you have hardware boxes that make your guitar sound like anything you want, but right around the corner are AI apps that are going to be cheap as hell and will take over not only external effects boxes, amps, but will start to revolutionize skill learning systems. There are already Chinese and Korean 3rd generation 'Hello Kitty' type guitars Like 'Lava Me', and Enya, with built in effects, beat boxes etc. When you start integrating these into an AI SW interface just look out because there are going to be some amazingly creative collaborations between technologies. If developers are smart they'll get into this right now while the gitten is good. I am most interested in shortening the learning curve in skill development. Video courses are good but can they be better? Can they shortcut technique problem areas by creating an Error catalog of 'do not do this' kind of advice? Will there be interactive AI teaching session critiques, providing accurate custom advice for the student? Feedback is a huge component of learning. When you're all by yourself and only see a teacher once a week for 30 minutes how much discipline do you need have to maintain your attention? But when you have a system you can interact with at the time you feel motivated, which can give you immediate feedback, how will that change your learning curve? I'm just spit balling here. There might be special practice gloves you can wear that transmit haptic information to the AI which can allow it to isolate particular finger movements and suggest exercises. Production is another expensive proposition right now. I was looking to put a music computer together. It's in the thousands! Now, how can aspects of that be AI'd? Can a 'golden ears' producer be AI'd? and on and on and on....success formulas for publishing music, for genre appeal, for lyric writing...can any of this be AI'd? I'll bet it can, and will.
I own an Eart, and I think it's great and I love the price. They could just go ahead and put an H at the end, and call it Earth though. It stands for Electroacoustic Art however.
Curious to know about things like nut material, trem/vibrato stability, looks like tuning keys are not locking, but how do they compare to higher priced guitars. Thanks for your videos. They are always informative. And the Boss amp in a box sounds pretty awesome, but everything I've ever had from Boss/Roland always does. Now I'm just thinking about all the different Boss/Roland products I've bought over the years. And what happened to them all? 😮
I am certainly going to check them out. Always looking for good deals on guitars. Amps I'll stick with my Peavey classic 30 for my go to amp and sometimes use my Fender Mustang GT 100.
EART are the dog's danglers. Superior to anything outside of a Fender custom shop job. BTW, loving the Vulcan shirt. I've been lucky enough to see the Vulcan in flight. I've also visited both the survivors of the type. Ta Max, much appreciated.
Currently not in stock and let's see a maple fretboard model. I find availability low on guitars with roasted maple neck & fretboard with stainless steel frets and especially a reverse headstock unless you spend around $2000 US. Come on Eart be the first!
I'm just waiting for people who don't sign with FR to sign with Wilkinson, really need guitars to have a good double locking trem. I've been visiting the EART page just for them to start dropping 7 string with trems. That guitar looks PERFECT. Even if you already started playing.
I can't believe i'm not suscribed to your channel, you've been the greatest go to reference in this year for guitar. Your Harley Benton was SICK. SICK. too SICK.
That is a sweet axe!! I've never bought any guitars you've featured here Max, not that I didn't want to but I like this'un so much I think I'm gonna make a play for one!! Thanks for all these wicked cool reviews bro this is hands down my #1 go too guitar review channel, nothing else even comes close, that is gospel!! Jack ~'()'~
I like he is really sincere guitarist. While some brag about their thousands dollar guitars are a must in order to sound great we all know that's not the case anymore. Expensive guitars don't make you a better player!
i really want to try the EART T380. but not readily available in Australia and shipping is a killer. There is also the Harley Benton 25th anniversary T style firemist which looks to be similar specs. Alternativley, even though it isn't T style, Cort G300 Pro looks the best specs wise and is available in Australia for around $1000 AUD (650 US).
I'm not sure if I would pay $599 for an Amazon guitar when for less than $100 more I can get a Sire S7 Larry Carlton model from Sweetwater. The Sire also has a roasted maple neck, locking tuners, and a coil split humbucker.
@@triax7006 It doesn't have to have stainless steel frets to be a good guitar. Some players actually don't like them. Heck, $3000 Gibson, Heritage, and PRS don't come with stainless frets either . That doesn't make them bad guitars.
@@Bluesky5553 Of course some ppl don't like them as they have this fallacy that only guitars with outdated designs, with headstocks that break, that have poor ergonomics & nitro finishes that are so archaic no one else uses them without doing for a joke. Solid body electrics are a low tech product & despite ppl adding in better designs, better features there are still ppl who think paying $4-5k for a guitar design conceived 70 years ago is the only way to go. In a way it is good that some ppl still think like that, it keeps things interesting when actual good ideas & new things are released.
Ibanez are also offering guitars with roasted maple neck at $300. It’s a question of time before all brand names starts offering better specs in their entry level guitars. I have the Eart SSS strat, it’s an extremely good guitar for just over $200 but even if it has some specs that are only present in more expensive guitars, I think it’s an exaggeration to compare Eart guitars to brand names guitars 3 to 4x more expensive. For example my guitar has decent pickups for a $200 guitar but you wouldn’t find cheap pickups like that in a $600 to $800 guitar. So even if I’m really satisfied of my purchase, I’m sorry but it’s not the same as a guitar 3-4x more expensive.
Danzig doesn't like non-locking 2-point trems. You'll have to watch Darrell Braun videos to see how good non-locking trems can be on this style of guitar.
Controversial take on tone: I’m pretty sure “tonewood” only accounts for about 5% of your tone, if that. A solid 80% comes from the amps and pedals. Then maybe about 15% of your tone comes from the pickups. I can use the same guitar and different pedal and/or amp setups and the tone changes drastically. You would absolutely notice in a live gig setting. Change to a guitar with different pickups and the tone changes enough that it is perceptible, but it’s very slight. Only really noticeable in a studio setting. You wouldn’t notice in a live gig setting. If you keep your amp, pedals, and your pickups the same but change the guitar itself so it has different wood and I don’t notice a bit of difference, even in a studio setting. I’m sure there is some truth to the “tonewood” stuff, but as Paul Harrell says is it enough of a difference to actually make a difference? No, it is not. So when I select woods, I select purely for aesthetic and weight conscious reasons, I like mahogany bodies and necks because they’re lighter than maple, but I like roasted maple fretboards in addition to rosewood and ebony. If I get a maple veneer topped guitar I would get one that is either quilted or spalted. There ya go. Edit: and by changing pickups I mean going from humbucker to humbucker or single coil to single coil. Obviously if you change from a humbucker to a single coil, or vice versa, you’re gonna notice. And that is not what I was talking about. And currently I really like the RGRT from Ibanez. $500 for a guitar with a neck through design that has the ergo cuts for getting max heigh on the fretboard? Sign me up! I don’t mind the cheaper hardware anyway as I generally upgrade my guitars tuning keys, saddles pickups and output jacks anyway. Great qc from Ibanez and a wonderfully playing neck is more important to me than the hardware. That stuff can be more easily fixed and upgraded than a wonky neck.
Excellent playing on that intro! Another great video. With your channel focusing on affordable gear, you provide a great service to your viewers AND anyone who might have been avoiding taking-up guitar due to the cost. The guitar world is in your debt!
Much appreciated!
Guitar Max. Shredder. Musician. Educator. Astronomer. Legend. Thank you for your channel and advocacy for all the affordable gear that makes it so much less intimidating for guitar novices like myself. Keep on rockin'!
What makes Eart guitars stand out is their attention to detail, build quality and their necks which are fantastic. This one looks great, thanks for sharing!
We are in the golden era of great quality affordable guitars.
true that is! you should make a review video on an Eart guitar too!
Indeed
This guitar is basically a copy of the Firefly FFST's that are OVER 400 dollars cheaper.
We really are. People used to say this cause the Japan and Mexico Fender line offerings, but today destroys that 90's vibe.
@@thunderfootpower While I agree, I bought my FFST 3 months ago, 403 dollars (PLUS TAX) MORE for basically the same guitar is ridiculous.
Dude!.. That Vulcan B.2 shirt!!.. Went to the last few flights of XH558 and we were allowed in the hangar afterwards! ✈🚀🛸
Love the finish on that guitar, looks great
I have an Eart GW2. It us a fantastic guitar. Because of all the cutaways I find I am practicing a lot more because I can sit back on the sofa and watch TV and practice at the same time. My playing has improved massively because of it. Love the neck shape as well
I have 2 EARTs The EGLP-610 and the T380 (in Pink) love them both.
“That’s what she said”. Comedy and a great review. Thanks, Max.
Women know wood...
These guitar companies making more affordable feature packed axes are doing a great service to the guitar community and spawning what will be the next generation of prodigies and all i can say is im all here for it!🤟🤘🙌
There are roughly 20 factories in Asia-/south east Asia making guitars for branded companies, they have been around since the mid to late 80s. The amount of parts available and just being stocked is stupid high, hence why companies (such as HB) are able to directly purchase from those factories and sell for stupid low prices. The problem with the big names, is that they already established their brand decades ago and will very likely not change. But i do find it absolutely mind blowing, that you spend €1.000 on a brand name instrument and the nut is plastic (for example), yet they had been doing this for such a long time (to the public, not the special limited edition models). The only thing that will change, is that these "features" will get cheaper, the big names will still do what they are doing.
@@hussamjamil4980sounds accurate
And fueling young guitarists SHOULD BE the name of the game. In a way, I don't want Fender & Gibson to copy these guys - 'stay out of range for 10-15 years' - that's fine. We help Elem students get Earts, Pacificas, Sires, the 2023 Epi Casinos ("pro" pickups), as well as Firefly's and the $200-400 guitars. "Spend $200 now... when you've learned all about those pickups' sounds, spend another $200 and end up with something comparable to $1000 units. AND KNOW IT." The question is: "Do you spend a lot up front and delay mods for ?? years ?? or do you spend something on an almost-installment plan? A little here, a little there."
@@hussamjamil4980 What gets me about nuts - those great Grafteks are ?? $10-15 ?? And those provide a thousand-dollar education for a young guitarist in playability, tuning stability, string placement, geometries, even choices of strings. Sadly, the only reason I don't recommend leaving the plastic-nut for days or a week is often their playability is injured. But the young guitarist can still have the education of a wonderful mod without 'feeling' and knowing every aspect vs. the old plastic nut. That's OK... he probably has friends and when he hears their issues, he'll guide them into replacements.
@@BuffaloC305 well said!
I'm not a huge fan of strats with pickguards, but the humbucker on the bridge plus the trussrod acess just made this guitar looks way cooler to me! Nice solo in the intro Max!!!!
You can always take the pickguard off and go for the 80's Skid Row look…. Remounting all the pick ups, or just the bridge one.
I have the EART 335. Plays and sounds great. Much better than the Epiphones I tried out in the stores. I was considering upgrading the pickups when I bought it, but after playing for a year, I realize the pickups are really good.
Lord Max, you have played a significant role in this splendid state of affairs.
Hiya, Max! I don't own any Earts, but I believe that the same company supplies Eart with their stuff and Donner with theirs -- a company called IYV (for In Yen Vina, if I remember right). If so, then IYV is my new guitar company, because they have managed to do something no other guitar company has done before; they got me to buy two of the SAME MODEL. I now own both colors of Donner's DST-400 model, and I LOVE them. Even the second one has gotten negative buyer's remorse -- meaning I'm glad I got it. I'm taking their appearance in different directions, but they both remain almost stock. I'm only toying with the idea of swapping in new pickups for cosmetic purposes. Otherwise, the stock Alnico single coils and the humbucker can just stay there. Shockers both sound like Strats! Admittedly, they are not specified as heavily as the DMX-9. No roasted woods, multi-piece alder body, laurel fretboard ... pretty basic, I know, but in my opinion, I have lived in times where buying a guitar of the quality of those Donners would have expended $400 - $700 easily. I spent maybe $400 getting the TWO of these to my door! I like these axes so well that I'm only moderately tempted by the DMX-9! Should be only slightly if even that much, but ...
Max! Aside all the deserved comments on your playing and excellent reviews on affordable gear…gotta give you props on the T-shirt. Had the privilege to actually see the Vulcan fly back in the day…cheers!
Thank you!
Max! Your playing here is incredible! Love your style and techniques! Total 80’s! Those guitars you have are very nice! I’ll have to check them out on the website! 👍👍🔥🔥
Thanks Tony!
First thing I thought was "Charvel!" I bought my San Dimas 4 years ago for $700 which was a STEAL new, especially with a real FR and an all maple neck/board and real Duncan's.
But these days, MAN these dudes are pumping out high quality products for pennies on the dollar! Great vid as always, Max!
I totally agree with you about golden age of affordable guitars, example I bought a hondo lespaul copy back in '86 it was ok but it is a clunker to play. It did come with grover tuners but it could not hold intonation very long because the bridge kept moving. The frets were so so but it's what I had at the time as I got better I took a leap and gigged with it a few times. Fast forward to now I have two main gigging guitars that I purchased for under a thousand each and I love em. I still break out the hondo once in awhile to keep my self humble
😊
I did a few upgrades to my Firefly fflp. I have the blue bat with the bat inlays. Only changed the knobs, put locking tuners on, and a poker chip under the switch. Oh yeah and put 10s on it. This guitar is amazing! Totally gigable! Just wanted to share my experience that price ain't everything guys. Quality is insane now days!
I put 10's on my Schecter C1-EA and it ruined it, it was unbelievable before and we have had the best guitar techs try to restore it, oh well, lesson learned!
Nice intro jam dude! THAT T-SHIRT IS THE REAL HIGHLIGHT THOUGH!
You know it!
I bought one based on this video. It is a great guitar. Critical is that this has alnico pickups that work very well. The voicing switch is very interesting, it switches the Neck from a hot 10K to a vintage 6K ohm. Also the Neck profile is not particularly thin, but the carve works OK even with my small hands.
I think being able to switch from 10 K to 6K is the feature known as "coil tapping."
In the 6 kOhm mode, it's not using all of the windings of each coil. Switching to 10K mode activates the remaining 40% of both pickup coil windings.
The Ohms resistance of a wire is proportional to its length.
@@j_freed That seems most likely. Darrel Braun says it’s a series/ parallel switch. Next time I open it I’ll figure that out.
At apx $599 I'd say that strat is at the low end of middle budget. I see "low budget being apx $100 -250ish. For example, a direct competitor for that eart, feature and quality wise, is the 25th anniversary strat from Harley Benton at $250.00.
Not saying I'm right and you're wrong, just how I see it ATM.
Still, great guitar! And great review of a guitar that I didn't even know existed!!
Back in 2021, I got the EART SSS for $196. I bought a set of the Fender Mexico Player series pickups and pots for about $70, threw on some elixir strings, and absolutely love playing on it. The tuners and body feel great, but I'm still curious how their more expensive models compare. I'm more interested in how these compare to an equivalent big brand guitar or mid-sized brands like G&L
Love the t shirt max , Vulcan bomber used to be a real one at my local ATC when I lived in the UK
Thank you and greetings from Switzerland...
I appreciate your channel, always entertaining informative and professional ! Thanks again 👍
My pleasure!
Thanks for the shoutout, my friend. Great video!
You bet!
Wanted to let you know that the affordable Guitars were garbage when I was coming up . They were, as well as the amplifiers and speaker Cabs. I’m 65 , so you can imagine, I really like & appreciate what you’re doing, The Top 2 guitar brands had me living in my van for a couple of years in my late teens 😅 . I would like to see affordable amp Sims, and I think your subscribers would as well, great job!
I recently got a TL-380 and with new pickups from Tonerider and a bit of setup this it is amazing!
Good to know about these guitars. Would be nice if we get a review after 6 months (or more) of regular playing to see how they stand.
Cool shirt mate. I was crawling around inside the cockpit of one a couple of months ago.
Love my Eart Strat. Had to do a bit of work to set it up, but that's to be expected. Ordered an M Musi telecaster for about the same price with almost identical specs, and it came completely set up. Has the same ball end stainless frets, same roasted neck, same trus rod adjuster, similar pots and wiring. . . They look like the same factory made them, but the M Musi telecster is a 9.5 pound boat anchor. Love them both for their quality and tone. We are spoiled!
“Stop, drop, shut 'em down, open up shop
Oh, no, that's how Eart guitars roll” me when I heard the model name 😂
I have an IYV custom shop tele getting delivered tomorrow..cant wait! 😜
built to my colour, my specs and only £238/$295 delivered to the UK (neck off delivery price as i saved £70/$90 due to smaller package)..hopefully i wont get extra import duty tax as they have put (as i requested) on my invoice that the guitar only cost £100/$127 and import duty in the UK is only valid if priced over £134/$170..🤞
loving your channel Max due to these fantastic budget guitar reviews. I really fancy as my 12th guitar one of those groove guitars from Canada you reviewed 2 months ago, they look and sound brill to my old ears 😁
keep up the excellent reviews..not everyone is wealthy in this world and seeing you playing these budget guitars gives us working class peeps a chance to choose a good quality cheaper guitar 👍
stay safe and have fun 🤘
I’m seeing the gold Pete Thorn Suhr model being issued by more affordable brands! Cool! Pete’s signature Geetar set me back $3600. Chapman guitars also has one. And I think Harley Benton has a gold model like the Pete Thorn!
That Vulcan shirt ROCKS!
Got the Tele green for 300 on Amazon,nice guitar
Excellent video! Are the saddles stainless also?
I have a DMX 9 and a EAT 1 they both play great bro.
My son bought me a Harley Benton ( T20, I think it’s called ) tele style anyway, cost just under £100 delivered, and it’s great ( I’m an old fart that’s new to playing, so it’s great for me ) 👍👍🤠🎸
I bought a headless guitar from Eart for I believe for $350, the headless system, the pick ups, the poplar burl finish all incredible!! Push/pull coil splitting that guitar has it all and like yours a blast to play right out of the box quick tune and it was on. Even the intonation was already set. I made a few minor adjustments, some slightly heavier strings, tuned it up and it's one of my go to guitars. 🎸
Smoking intro on that fine instrument. My checkbook is crying again. Thanks Max.
Great video and coverage of this guitar. That color is really speaking to me. Love the shirt! I got to see an Avro Vulcan up close last year.
Great review. We don't seem to have access to an EART (ear-T? E-Art?) supplier here in Australia, but that won't stop me.
This shows you how overcharged we are for features by the bigger brands.
Indeed! Gibson has always been overpriced for what they are.
I hope you have played or own a Gibson. Gibson are top of the line. Yes expensive, but you get what you pay for. Gibson was made for professionals, just like any other market. Look up snap on tools, very expensive but not designed for average consumer.
@@manny45629 My first guitar was a '60 LPJ in the what was to become the SG shape, with the tortoise case and all. But, that is a different era to compare to. No, being a lefty player by necessity, I have not yet managed to really play many Gibson's much to speak of. But, the ones I have picked up for a second have been really nice. But and here's the big butt, even the low line brands are seeing that the players demand quality and lately they have been delivering and impressing me with their industry wide rise in quality.
That's pretty funny.😂
Another informative, kick ass, funny video Max! Thanks so much!
What great playing in the intro!!!
Pete Woodroffe Music UK
A friend of mine worked at a big American guitar corp.
He said that most painted guitars were 3, 4, 5, or could even be a 6 piece body. Thats where a lot of scrap pieces went because you wouldn't see the grain anyway. Ever since needless to say ive only bought finishes i could see the wood.😮
I mean if they lined all the joins up equally to make them a feature then it would not even be an issue, the sound isn't reliant on the wood anyway & whether the body is 1 piece or lots of pieces glued together is a non issue apart from the placebo effect of knowing that. Really needs the cheaper brands to offer composite bodies & necks & show how irrelevant wood is in solid body electrics.
@@triax7006 Guitar construction is important to a person looking to replicate copies of old guitars from way back when. I have 41 guitars and I'd take a two piece wood guitar body any day of the week over one with multiple slabs of wood glued together. I just got a new Chibson Les Paul with a two piece body. I would not want to own a Les Paul copy with 3 or 4 pieces of wood glued together.
@@strangeuniverse1199 Yes & that is because your perception is they have "cheaped" out by using in your mind woods that should have been used for smaller parts in other products. So it is all about a perception that if a guitar is made with multiple pieces it will not be made as well. I mean let's be honest here, laminate necks on basses are sought after because they look better, offer more strength to the neck which means more stability. Gibson ES335's are literally made from plywood for the two horns with the maple or mahogany down the middle where the pickups are mounted. Solid body electrics do not need a specific wood or any material to create their tone. The notion a solid body guitar (or semi electric) has to be made of wood is a fallacy. It is just that it is traditional for them to be made of wood because they were derived for full body jazz guitars that were then fitted with pickups that were not even wax potted & were terribly microphonic ( a feature some like as the wood would be a factor in the sound).
@@triax7006 I agree the wood makes little difference as far as tone. But my personal taste. I would not feel very confident with my instrument going in n out of different climates over a long period made out of several different pieces of wood. Just a personal choice.
That Vulcan is about the coolest looking airplane ever!
I just ordered one of these. It’s arriving next week!
I have an EART 335, semi hollow style. Sound can be a bit more crunchy, but it plays great.
I think you meant to say compound radias fretboard, instead of neck profile? But most of us realize this, I hope? Thanx for all the great inexpensive guitar reviews! Even though I don't generally buy guitars under $499, it's always interesting to see what's coming down the pipeline. Peace.
Aren't you Mr. fancy pants! (you're missing out being a snob)
@@budderbear Sorry my analytical mind offends you. I prefer to actually understand and know what I'm talking about. Max will be just fine without YOU policing the comments section. Have a great day, buddy!
@@andrewbecker3700 I think it is OK for ppl to want to buy more expensive brands as there is a market for ppl at all price ranges. in reality though if a guitar feels, plays & sounds & even has features that more expensive brands do not offer then the customer will buy where the quality is & will not simply hand over cash for outdated, obsolete designs on products. Certainly some of the more expensive brands do offer features that cheaper ones cannot, the hardware, the pickups. The problem of course is all of that can be replaced if the base guitar is quality.
No problem! But what I said in the video was accurate. It's a compound neck profile, not a compound fretboard radius.
Eart seems to have a good hand and feel on great guitars at screaming low prices. I started building my own to save serious coin, but these guys top me off. So, instead, I have leaned more into going high end and doing quality over economy. It actually costs me more, but the finished product is better than when I started. As always, great video, Max!! great playing on some nice axes from your site!!
This golden age is the result of modern design and manufacturing being adopted and applied across the industry worldwide. CAD design, and CADAM production have gone a long way to leveling the playing field across the spectrum of manufacturers. As long as they employ skilled workers, use the best materials they can source, and impose rigid QC - the market will do the rest. I'm looking forward to the future! Thanks for the great review - I'm going to try some of these - and very cool shirt...
Love that T-shirt! That’s a great aircraft few people know about. Unless they’ve seen Thunderball a bunch of times.
Great video as always my guy. What is that watch you got on?? A Seiko or what??? Looks great
I have two EART guitars. One tele and one has Strat style.I also have a Tagima tele style.
The intro was fire!🔥🤘🏻
I first heard of Eart a few years ago on another channel when they demo’d the 335-ish model. Since then they’ve been putting out model after model, each better than the last. After labor, materials, marketing, and overhead, I just don’t know how some of these companies make a profit…. and I don’t care. Just keep cranking out top-notch affordable guitars!
They do it with maximized efficiencies and very cheap Southesst / East Asian labor...
And you really can't expect the electronics to be top-notch, or every guitar to be amazing. By comparison the new Badlands guitar sounds 10 times better, and is worth over 4x the cost if people want to have a life and enjoy things.
This is why you hear some of the companies saying nickel sounds warmer or whatever. Some of the older companies also say one piece of wood for the body is better, but when it benefits them, they say nothing about it. Would love to see one in person before buying so I don't have the hassle of shipping it back.
It's amazing how few guitar makers can design an appealing headstock.
Soloking, Jet and Jethro Guitar Works are some others. Hope to see you review them. Your playing continues to get better and better. 🤘
Modified my Player Strat to have the single tone single volume, not banging my knuckles anymore. Pretty gold color
7:05 Digging this rendition of The Killing Road
Shame none of the affordable offer real Jumbo Frets like a Dunlop 6100 which I have been using for years since the min 80''s. I refretted 3 of my Guitars with them and to this day they still have a ton of fret left and they are not Stainless Steel.
I don’t own any affordable guitars at the moment but I’m willing to purchase one because all these features on them are hard to beat. Considering an Eart guitar based on this review. Thanks for posting!
Don't Have An Eart Made Guitar....YET! ...Like What I See & Hear! Thank's For The Review!
Great video, Maxx. Keep them coming.
Got the tele one a few years back. Had A LOT of fret issues towards the end of the neck. If it wasnt for that, it wouldve been perfect.
Max, do you think that EART and Harley Benton have enough going on to compete with SBS and AIO guitars? I have been checking out reviews on the Steve Brown Sound offerings and I have not found a negative review yet.
I have a couple of stratiform Ibanez Roadstars from the early 80's that were made at that same quality level, except for having normal frets. But I don't know where they were sitting in the spectrum of beginner to professional instruments in their day, how their price point at the time compared with the competition of the time.
Those were nice geetars
To be honest the only thing I don't like about the eart guitar is that the jack is on the bottom like most other guitars and I've always preferred the strat style jack on top next to the pick guard.
I bought one of their headless guitars and I totally love it. They’re killin it for sure!
I have four Eart guitars and they are really great, but now that they have more competition with Harley Benton, Musi, Firefly and Leo Jaymz, I think over $400 for those features is pushing it. At $600 they are almost competing with Sire guitars. Stainless steel frets are nice but not a necessity. I know that these Amazon prices get discounted all the time so finding it near $400 would be a great buy, but I wouldn't buy it at the regular $600 price.
Vulcan Bomber!! Guitars and the playing are sick too 😂
Nice t-shirt. having been in a Vulcan I can tell you that the cockpit space is very,very limited
What? No locking tuners? I know, we are getting spoiled. Couldn't really evaluate the sound as when it was on the clean channel it was fizzy. Might have been over-driving the amp, or it could have been that the neck needed adjusting. thanks for including the wt, btw.
Hahahaha....you took the words out of my mouth. Those big companies HAVE TO STEP UP THEIR GAME. Exactly what I said when I was looking at a guitar 🎸 nearly $3000....they need to drop the price 1000 or make it with super high-quality parts
That's some seriously nice construction. I'm not a big fan of the neck tones you got but that could be more about your drive pedal than the pickups. Regardless, I could replace a pickup or three on a solid platform and still come out ahead on price.
How sturdy is the hardware? I’ve been happy with finishes and construction on these price friendly guitars, but some have cheap hardware. Gotta cut prices somewhere but I’d rather have better hardware than fancy finish.
A lot of this makes me wonder if OEM guitar manufacturers are just getting deeper into making their own brands and selling directly to customers
Sure there’s only so many overseas companies making these guitars, and many big name companies are using them. But if these manufacturers can take on more production load it makes sense to start selling direct with a higher profit margin but that total price is still affordable because it’s not a *big name brand tax* Essentially making multiple child companies
good info mate how about Firefly and IVY guitars ?
Ibanez released a beautiful metallic green chameleon GIO series guitar few months ago. It was truly outstanding guitar for 300 bucks.
Right on Max! Paul Davids did a video 6 months ago on $400-$60,000 dollar guitars - "can you hear the difference" He did a follow up recently on "A $99 guitar is all you need"... You're saying the same thing. The guitar buying public is dividing into two camps from what I can see. One that wants a good instrument that plays well and doesn't impede but rather inspires creativity and other camp of collector buyers who want bragging rights for that 'relic'd custom shop name brand hanging in their personal guitar fetish museum. I think the whole material thing is becoming passe'. Who TF cares? I think people are frustrated with ridiculous prices. When you can make a 6-string shovel sound like a '58 Les Paul with the right Amp modeling and computer EQ-Effects software, then what he Hell do I need one for! I think the whole industry of guitar music making is about to go through a shakeup. Right now you have hardware boxes that make your guitar sound like anything you want, but right around the corner are AI apps that are going to be cheap as hell and will take over not only external effects boxes, amps, but will start to revolutionize skill learning systems. There are already Chinese and Korean 3rd generation 'Hello Kitty' type guitars Like 'Lava Me', and Enya, with built in effects, beat boxes etc. When you start integrating these into an AI SW interface just look out because there are going to be some amazingly creative collaborations between technologies. If developers are smart they'll get into this right now while the gitten is good. I am most interested in shortening the learning curve in skill development. Video courses are good but can they be better? Can they shortcut technique problem areas by creating an Error catalog of 'do not do this' kind of advice? Will there be interactive AI teaching session critiques, providing accurate custom advice for the student? Feedback is a huge component of learning. When you're all by yourself and only see a teacher once a week for 30 minutes how much discipline do you need have to maintain your attention? But when you have a system you can interact with at the time you feel motivated, which can give you immediate feedback, how will that change your learning curve? I'm just spit balling here. There might be special practice gloves you can wear that transmit haptic information to the AI which can allow it to isolate particular finger movements and suggest exercises. Production is another expensive proposition right now. I was looking to put a music computer together. It's in the thousands! Now, how can aspects of that be AI'd? Can a 'golden ears' producer be AI'd? and on and on and on....success formulas for publishing music, for genre appeal, for lyric writing...can any of this be AI'd? I'll bet it can, and will.
I own an Eart, and I think it's great and I love the price. They could just go ahead and put an H at the end, and call it Earth though. It stands for Electroacoustic Art however.
Curious to know about things like nut material, trem/vibrato stability, looks like tuning keys are not locking, but how do they compare to higher priced guitars.
Thanks for your videos. They are always informative.
And the Boss amp in a box sounds pretty awesome, but everything I've ever had from Boss/Roland always does.
Now I'm just thinking about all the different Boss/Roland products I've bought over the years. And what happened to them all? 😮
I like the shirt? I have seen the Vulcan Bomber many times. Great British plane.
Guitars and basses like those are great platforms for modifications.
Hardware, electronics, pickups, etc.
You can make them into monsters.
I am certainly going to check them out. Always looking for good deals on guitars. Amps I'll stick with my Peavey classic 30 for my go to amp and sometimes use my Fender Mustang GT 100.
EART are the dog's danglers. Superior to anything outside of a Fender custom shop job.
BTW, loving the Vulcan shirt. I've been lucky enough to see the Vulcan in flight. I've also visited both the survivors of the type.
Ta Max, much appreciated.
Currently not in stock and let's see a maple fretboard model. I find availability low on guitars with roasted maple neck & fretboard with stainless steel frets and especially a reverse headstock unless you spend around $2000 US. Come on Eart be the first!
I'm just waiting for people who don't sign with FR to sign with Wilkinson, really need guitars to have a good double locking trem. I've been visiting the EART page just for them to start dropping 7 string with trems. That guitar looks PERFECT. Even if you already started playing.
I can't believe i'm not suscribed to your channel, you've been the greatest go to reference in this year for guitar. Your Harley Benton was SICK. SICK. too SICK.
That is a sweet axe!! I've never bought any guitars you've featured here Max, not that I didn't want to but I like this'un so much I think I'm gonna make a play for one!!
Thanks for all these wicked cool reviews bro this is hands down my #1 go too guitar review channel, nothing else even comes close, that is gospel!!
Jack ~'()'~
Ok MAX what one would you order if you could only get one? I like that gold one but I wish it had two humbuckers. Great video. Thanks.
I like he is really sincere guitarist. While some brag about their thousands dollar guitars are a must in order to sound great we all know that's not the case anymore. Expensive guitars don't make you a better player!
i really want to try the EART T380. but not readily available in Australia and shipping is a killer. There is also the Harley Benton 25th anniversary T style firemist which looks to be similar specs. Alternativley, even though it isn't T style, Cort G300 Pro looks the best specs wise and is available in Australia for around $1000 AUD (650 US).
I'm not sure if I would pay $599 for an Amazon guitar when for less than $100 more I can get a Sire S7 Larry Carlton model from Sweetwater. The Sire also has a roasted maple neck, locking tuners, and a coil split humbucker.
Shush, you're killing his marketing vibes...
No stainless steel frets though, pretty unforgivable on a guitar getting towards $700 especially a guitar made in the far east.
@@triax7006 It doesn't have to have stainless steel frets to be a good guitar. Some players actually don't like them. Heck, $3000 Gibson, Heritage, and PRS don't come with stainless frets either . That doesn't make them bad guitars.
@@Bluesky5553 Of course some ppl don't like them as they have this fallacy that only guitars with outdated designs, with headstocks that break, that have poor ergonomics & nitro finishes that are so archaic no one else uses them without doing for a joke. Solid body electrics are a low tech product & despite ppl adding in better designs, better features there are still ppl who think paying $4-5k for a guitar design conceived 70 years ago is the only way to go. In a way it is good that some ppl still think like that, it keeps things interesting when actual good ideas & new things are released.
Ibanez are also offering guitars with roasted maple neck at $300. It’s a question of time before all brand names starts offering better specs in their entry level guitars. I have the Eart SSS strat, it’s an extremely good guitar for just over $200 but even if it has some specs that are only present in more expensive guitars, I think it’s an exaggeration to compare Eart guitars to brand names guitars 3 to 4x more expensive. For example my guitar has decent pickups for a $200 guitar but you wouldn’t find cheap pickups like that in a $600 to $800 guitar. So even if I’m really satisfied of my purchase, I’m sorry but it’s not the same as a guitar 3-4x more expensive.
I would've like to see use of the whammy bar. Dive bombs and such. Sounds very good.
Danzig doesn't like non-locking 2-point trems. You'll have to watch Darrell Braun videos to see how good non-locking trems can be on this style of guitar.
Controversial take on tone:
I’m pretty sure “tonewood” only accounts for about 5% of your tone, if that. A solid 80% comes from the amps and pedals. Then maybe about 15% of your tone comes from the pickups. I can use the same guitar and different pedal and/or amp setups and the tone changes drastically. You would absolutely notice in a live gig setting. Change to a guitar with different pickups and the tone changes enough that it is perceptible, but it’s very slight. Only really noticeable in a studio setting. You wouldn’t notice in a live gig setting. If you keep your amp, pedals, and your pickups the same but change the guitar itself so it has different wood and I don’t notice a bit of difference, even in a studio setting. I’m sure there is some truth to the “tonewood” stuff, but as Paul Harrell says is it enough of a difference to actually make a difference? No, it is not. So when I select woods, I select purely for aesthetic and weight conscious reasons, I like mahogany bodies and necks because they’re lighter than maple, but I like roasted maple fretboards in addition to rosewood and ebony. If I get a maple veneer topped guitar I would get one that is either quilted or spalted. There ya go.
Edit: and by changing pickups I mean going from humbucker to humbucker or single coil to single coil. Obviously if you change from a humbucker to a single coil, or vice versa, you’re gonna notice. And that is not what I was talking about.
And currently I really like the RGRT from Ibanez. $500 for a guitar with a neck through design that has the ergo cuts for getting max heigh on the fretboard? Sign me up! I don’t mind the cheaper hardware anyway as I generally upgrade my guitars tuning keys, saddles pickups and output jacks anyway. Great qc from Ibanez and a wonderfully playing neck is more important to me than the hardware. That stuff can be more easily fixed and upgraded than a wonky neck.