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As some of you may know, I bought one of these on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...ssPageName=WDVW
Well, I picked it up today from my friend's house in Amherst NY where I had it shipped. I have to say, that right away, I was impressed by the overall quality and workmanship of the guitar. I have since plugged it in and given it a preliminary workout. Here's the lowdown:
Body - The body is made up of 3 pieces of mahogany. You can see the seams if you look closely at the bottom of the guitar. However, there is a bookmatched veneer of mahogany on the back of the guitar, so it appears as if the whole guitar is 2 solid pieces. Nice touch. Even so, the 3 pieces that make up the body have gorgeous grain, what you can see of it. The top is bookmatched flame maple, and is veneer according to the guy who sells them. It looks very nice, just like the one in the auction. The binding is flawless, as is the finish. There are no bubbles, drips, runs or anything to spoil it. It also looks thinner than you would expect on a cheaper guitar. I would expect it to look like it had been dipped in plastic, but it looks just about right.
Neck - The neck appears to be one piece of mahogany, except for the usual headstock joint, and has quite a nice grain. The neck is not super thin, but not extremely fat either. It feels pretty much exactly like the neck on my frind's 80's LP Standard. The fretboard is rosewood, and is very well finished, smooth, and looks awesome. Mine has some lighter streaks in it that really look nice. The frets are finished off nicely, and again, the binding is flawless. The plastic inlays look kinda cheap close-up, but are done properly, and are flush, and straight. The headstock is a bit of an issue. The metal plates look very cheap and crappy, and really take away from the overall look. I could replace the truss rod cover, but the diamond shaped X plate will leave behind 2 screw holes if I take it off. Bummer. I also hate the tuners. Not only are they plastic buttons, but I really despise Kluson type tuners anyway. I am seriously thinking of replacing them.
Pickups - They kinda hyped these things up in the ad. I don't see what the big deal is. They're not bad, in fact they are better than most cheapo pickups (maybe because they are not so cheapo), but they didn't turn my crank. I have never been a fan of covered pickups, and these are no different. I think I will drop in some cream/black Seymour Duncans. Not sure what models yet. I'm open to suggestions.
Other stuff - The electronics are pretty versatile with the tone knobs doubling as coil splitters (pull-out). Unfortunately, the pots feel much cheaper than the volume pots, which have a nice feel to them. The knobs are pretty neat. They are brass top-hat style, with m-o-p inlays in the top. The rest of the hardware (bridge, tailpiece, strap buttons, and 3 way switch are all decent quality, and look great.
The guitar was set-up when I took it out of the box, but not very well in my opinion. The action is a touch too high for my tastes, and the intonation is out somewhat. Once I put some 10-52s on it, I'll adjust the truss rod, set the intonation, and give it a proper work-out. I will say that the fretwork was done nicely, and there is no buzzing at all. I'll have to see what happens when I get the action down a bit.
Verdict: I believe that for $360, you're not going to do any better than this for a brand new guitar. In fact, if I spent $600, I wouldn't be disappointed at all. Good workmanship, nice materials, no issues other than the headstock plates and tuners, which are very subjective. Definitely better fit and finish than my friend's Agile.
EDIT: I should also mention, that mine is not redish colored on the back and sides like the one in the auction pics. It is a dark yellow color. I'll post pics when I get a chance.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...ssPageName=WDVW
Well, I picked it up today from my friend's house in Amherst NY where I had it shipped. I have to say, that right away, I was impressed by the overall quality and workmanship of the guitar. I have since plugged it in and given it a preliminary workout. Here's the lowdown:
Body - The body is made up of 3 pieces of mahogany. You can see the seams if you look closely at the bottom of the guitar. However, there is a bookmatched veneer of mahogany on the back of the guitar, so it appears as if the whole guitar is 2 solid pieces. Nice touch. Even so, the 3 pieces that make up the body have gorgeous grain, what you can see of it. The top is bookmatched flame maple, and is veneer according to the guy who sells them. It looks very nice, just like the one in the auction. The binding is flawless, as is the finish. There are no bubbles, drips, runs or anything to spoil it. It also looks thinner than you would expect on a cheaper guitar. I would expect it to look like it had been dipped in plastic, but it looks just about right.
Neck - The neck appears to be one piece of mahogany, except for the usual headstock joint, and has quite a nice grain. The neck is not super thin, but not extremely fat either. It feels pretty much exactly like the neck on my frind's 80's LP Standard. The fretboard is rosewood, and is very well finished, smooth, and looks awesome. Mine has some lighter streaks in it that really look nice. The frets are finished off nicely, and again, the binding is flawless. The plastic inlays look kinda cheap close-up, but are done properly, and are flush, and straight. The headstock is a bit of an issue. The metal plates look very cheap and crappy, and really take away from the overall look. I could replace the truss rod cover, but the diamond shaped X plate will leave behind 2 screw holes if I take it off. Bummer. I also hate the tuners. Not only are they plastic buttons, but I really despise Kluson type tuners anyway. I am seriously thinking of replacing them.
Pickups - They kinda hyped these things up in the ad. I don't see what the big deal is. They're not bad, in fact they are better than most cheapo pickups (maybe because they are not so cheapo), but they didn't turn my crank. I have never been a fan of covered pickups, and these are no different. I think I will drop in some cream/black Seymour Duncans. Not sure what models yet. I'm open to suggestions.
Other stuff - The electronics are pretty versatile with the tone knobs doubling as coil splitters (pull-out). Unfortunately, the pots feel much cheaper than the volume pots, which have a nice feel to them. The knobs are pretty neat. They are brass top-hat style, with m-o-p inlays in the top. The rest of the hardware (bridge, tailpiece, strap buttons, and 3 way switch are all decent quality, and look great.
The guitar was set-up when I took it out of the box, but not very well in my opinion. The action is a touch too high for my tastes, and the intonation is out somewhat. Once I put some 10-52s on it, I'll adjust the truss rod, set the intonation, and give it a proper work-out. I will say that the fretwork was done nicely, and there is no buzzing at all. I'll have to see what happens when I get the action down a bit.
Verdict: I believe that for $360, you're not going to do any better than this for a brand new guitar. In fact, if I spent $600, I wouldn't be disappointed at all. Good workmanship, nice materials, no issues other than the headstock plates and tuners, which are very subjective. Definitely better fit and finish than my friend's Agile.
EDIT: I should also mention, that mine is not redish colored on the back and sides like the one in the auction pics. It is a dark yellow color. I'll post pics when I get a chance.
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