Guitar purchase/brand opinions

[jkokura]

Boo.

I've always wanted an Epi Black Beauty. I've been a fan since I learned that the guitarist from Live used one on tonnes of their recordings, then got to play one every time I would go to this guitar shop near my place when I was in grade 10-11.

Course, that's not one of the more recent models coming out of China, nor would I find one for 180...

Jacob

[rjkanejr]

OK - So I just ordered a GuitarFetish Xaviere XV-870 Sunburst with rosewood fretboard.  I figure if the guitar totally sucks I can at least change the neck.  I am thinking about putting a spare Seymour Duncan George Lynch Screamin' Demon pickup in the bridge, but I'll play it a bit before I decide if I want to mess with the tone/pickups.  I am thinking this will be a good modding platform, but I have read many reviews and seen a lost of posts on YouTube of people saying that they love the guitar and the only thing they have updated were the tuners.  I'll post a review once I get it.   If turns out to be a good guitar, I may get one of the flamed maple Telecaster copies.  They sure look pretty on their website!

[rjkanejr]

OK - So I got my guitar and here is my story and review.  I ordered a GuitarFetish.com XV-970.  The web page and add shows a two tone sunburst start copy with a gloss all maple neck or a model with a gloss maple neck and rosewood fretboard.  Each model is the same otherwise, having a mint green pickguard and vintage cream/white pickups, volume and tone knobs and selector switch knob.  I emailed them prior to ordering asking about the guitars and asking if one of their models is available with a maple neck as there were different colored (same model) guitars, each with a maple neck or a rosewood neck but one model was not listed with maple, only rosewood.  The response I got back was, and I quote, "Whatever we have available for sale is up on the website.  If there isn't a listing, we are sold out of the item.  Unfortunately, we do not customize guitars per customer order.  The guitars pictured are what are available for sale."  So I based my decision on this comment.  Awesome, I liked the old look of the mint green pickguard and cream colored knobs.  It kind of looked weathered and I thought that I could relic the body and make it look old used and abused.  Here is the website http://www.guitarfetish.com/XV-870-Double-Cutaway-Solid-Body_c_152.html

Well... what I got was not what was pictured; however it was a beautiful looking guitar.  They also failed to ship all of my order; I was missing a set of humbuckers and a gold tremolo arm.  The strat is a three tone sunburst, not two.  White pickguard and pickups and knobs.  Satin finish neck with rosewood, not gloss maple.  For me this is not a problem either.  Neck is a C profile and feels just like my MIM strat.  The satin finish makes it fast, it's just not what was pictured and what I expected.  The nut is a graphtek nubone nut and was very nicely manicured.  The frets are medium jumbo nickel and were very nicely filed, no sharps edges, no fret buzz, the action was great right out of the case (I bought the tweed case too).  Now here came the problem.  The neck was not straight.  The strings near the headstock were evenly spaced, but as they approach the bridge the high E string got closer and closer to the edge of the fretboard until at about the 14th fret, it was nearly over the edge (see pictures). 

So I contact customer service which is only via email, no phone contact, and send a pic of the neck.  They say no problem, that should not be that way, they'll fix it.  They will have UPS pick up the guitar from me on Monday (it is Friday and 48 hours after original delivery).  I am also told that I got their new model which explains the white and  not mint green/cream and that they must have missed updating their website.  Personally I think that is a load of resistors but what do I know.  Monday rolls around, no UPS.  I send them an email and get no reply but on Tuesday, UPS is here.  By Friday I get the replacement guitar.  Exact same guitar but this time straight neck. Haven't played this one yet through an amp but I expect it to sound like the first.  It has GFS Vintage Alnico Stagger pickups and captures the classic strat tone.  It is a bit brighter than my MIM with Texas wounds but I can always change the pickups and plan to anyway.  I bought this as a modding platform.  Will probably change the bridge at some point too.  The tuners, despite other reviews and comments I have read, seem very nice and this thing stays in tune very well. 

So anyway, there is my story.  I am both pleased with GuitarFetish and displeased.  In the end I have a nice guitar, but I had to wait on customer service since they only do email.  That is fine but they should be able to respond to emails the same day, not one or two days later.  I feel somewhat mislead as the guitar I saw was not what I got.  I was told UPS would show up on Monday they didn't show up until Tuesday.  I didn't originally get my additional pickups and tremolo arm in the original order.  In the end all is corrected and they stood by their warranty and replaced the product.  Will I order again.  I will actually.  I am looking to purchase a tele copy from them.  Hopefully I will have a better experience next go around.  If I don't, they can expect a very bad review from me and will lose a customer as well as referrals.  I'll do a video demo and post it here sometime later.  Jay, if your reading this, sure would be great to be comp'd something - hint hint.  ;-)   And now the pictures of the good guitar.  Give me your feedback everyone.

[rjkanejr]

The first guitar - bad neck

[rjkanejr]

The replacement.  MUCH BETTER!  She's pretty

[jkokura]

I have a GFS strat bridge I'm dropping in a strat project. I'm replacing the saddles with some graphtec ones, but the block on that thing is heavy duty!

Glad you like your new guitar. Your story makes me not want to buy from them though.

Jacob

[Myramyd]

At the end of the day, I can understand your frustration but, we are talking about a sub-$200 guitar here and they made it right in the end. That's more than can be said for a lot of companies.

I think our expectations are a little too high sometimes. If it's possible to get a guitar for that price and actually have it be playable and be happy with it overall (with or without modding), then even if it takes an extra week, so be it.

I'm not trying to be a jerk to you. When I was coming up playing in the early 1990's, I bought a few $300 range guitars (which was just about the cheapest new you could get) and they were very poor and pretty much unplayable regardless of modification. A refund or replacement would have been impossible. Even guitars in the $500-600 range were just okay. About the equivalent of a $200-300 Epiphone or Ibanez now.

We are too spoiled with our options today I think. I'm not an old timer by any means but, to see people complain about super cheap items like having a few $0.65 pots be slightly bent upon arrival when you couldn't even easily get a pot just a few years ago, seems silly to me.

Wow--rant for no reason! Sorry guys!  

J

[rjkanejr]

Just to be clear, I am very pleased with the guitar.  I can even understand the wait for support due to the lack of phone support.  They did make it right and stood behind the product and I like the guitar.  What I am unhappy with is I feel like I was duped.  If I am told that what you see on the website is what you get, then I should get what I ordered.  Again, the guitar is quality especially for $200, It sounds great, it plays great, but it does not have the mint green/cream combo and the neck is not gloss.  The color, the neck feel satin/gloss/natural can be important to some.

[Myramyd]

Yeah, I have noticed on the GFS site they aren't always accurate on any of their descriptions. They are clearly cut/pasted from another product. I've been browsing around their site and you will see the Alnico II description for the Alnico V pickups, etc. Just stuff like that.

I'm guessing their photos might be pasted in as well. Laziness more than anything.

I build websites for a living and it's surprisingly tough to get people to give you a photo and/or description of any new product. They tell you to get it on the site ASAP but when you ask for anything beyond the price it's like asking them to kill their mom sometimes.

*Duh!* someone is more likely to buy it if they know what the hell it is!

J

[juansolo]

Being a quite frankly awful player, I tend to stick with cheaper axes. However I do have a prediliction to all things Fender of late and that goes nicely with my complete inability to leave anything standard. Had a MIM strat and have a MIM Baja Tele. Both are excellent, particularly the Tele which is my go-to axe. Indeed it's one of those that's pretty much nailed on out of the box (didn't stop me from changing things of course).

I've also got a Telemaster parts-o-caster that I got for peanuts. The body came from a Xaviere, that weighs an absolute ton, but I think that's more to do with the shape of it and the sheer amount of wood. The neck was replaced with a MIM fender one from a Classic 50's Strat. It came with a cheapo GFS tele bridge pup, that got swapped for a TV Jones. The guy previously had made it an esquire, I might drop in a SD mini hum in the neck that I picked up on ebay for buttons.

Anyhow, I've gone off on a tangent. Basically you have a base now. Now mod the crap out of it. Stick to ebay/forum classifieds and try and snag some bargains! All that remains of the Xavier Telemaster of mine is the body Trigger's broom-tastic! Oh and anything you take off, sell. It all goes towards the mods.