Yesterday UPS came knocking on my door. I open, and receive a big brown box. Inside the big brown box was... another brown box.
When I got done unboxing everything, a snow white KVXMG showed itself.
I expected this to be very light-weight, like previous reports of the new X-series guitars. I played an RRXT in Kawasabi at the local music store, and it was extremely light. This KVXMG however, is not light-weight at all. And I love it. It feels really solid when you pick it up, and I was so relieved/happy to find that the balance of the guitar is absolutely perfect for me. No neck-diving whatsoever.
I don't have anything to weigh it with, but as some kind of reference I can mention that the label on the box said 12 lbs. There was no hard case. Just two boxes, some styrofoam to support the neck and edges of the guitar, and some plastic sealed "air bubbles".
This leads me to wonder if the body is made of something else than basswood? Sure, the Floyd package weighs a little, but not THAT much... or? What do you guys think? Or perhaps it's just me being stupid in expecting that basswood=light is some kind of universal truth?
On to the build quality then. This has got to be the most bang for the buck brand new guitar I've had for a long time... considering the price point of these instruments.
I made a little comparison (somewhat unfair) to my CS Warrior. Naturally the Warrior is a better build, that goes without saying. But when considering the difference in price between the two, I can't help but feel that the KVXMG is awesome! The Warrior is insanely nice in every aspect, the attention to detail when it comes to the fret job and so on.
Actually the only thing that I've noticed so far that could've been a little better (again, bearing in mind the cost of the guitar) is the edges of the frets. But this is comparing it to a guitar that costs several thousands of Dollars more.
The binding is really good, but sure, there are some grooves from filing. The paint job looks stellar. It's actually a really nice slab of rosewood with a clean inlay job. The neck looks straight, and with new strings and a proper setup, I'm hoping that this will play just as nice as it looks! The plan is to take the Floyd apart and use a brass block instead of the zinc one.
All in all, first impressions are that it's a hell of a guitar for the money! I jammed half an hour on it last night, and it sounded really good, with surprisingly good sustain. Of course, considering that has an EMG 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck, and me playing it through a 15 Watt Line6 Spider IV, conditions weren't optimum to hear all its tonal qualities. And it fit like a glove in the new V-style SKB case.
I agree with the sticker on the back of the headstock:
In the coming weeks I will get it properly set up and take to rehearsals, and get back with an update!
*Edit: Bandwidth limit exceeded for pics, so I uploaded them again.
When I got done unboxing everything, a snow white KVXMG showed itself.
I expected this to be very light-weight, like previous reports of the new X-series guitars. I played an RRXT in Kawasabi at the local music store, and it was extremely light. This KVXMG however, is not light-weight at all. And I love it. It feels really solid when you pick it up, and I was so relieved/happy to find that the balance of the guitar is absolutely perfect for me. No neck-diving whatsoever.
I don't have anything to weigh it with, but as some kind of reference I can mention that the label on the box said 12 lbs. There was no hard case. Just two boxes, some styrofoam to support the neck and edges of the guitar, and some plastic sealed "air bubbles".
This leads me to wonder if the body is made of something else than basswood? Sure, the Floyd package weighs a little, but not THAT much... or? What do you guys think? Or perhaps it's just me being stupid in expecting that basswood=light is some kind of universal truth?
On to the build quality then. This has got to be the most bang for the buck brand new guitar I've had for a long time... considering the price point of these instruments.
I made a little comparison (somewhat unfair) to my CS Warrior. Naturally the Warrior is a better build, that goes without saying. But when considering the difference in price between the two, I can't help but feel that the KVXMG is awesome! The Warrior is insanely nice in every aspect, the attention to detail when it comes to the fret job and so on.
Actually the only thing that I've noticed so far that could've been a little better (again, bearing in mind the cost of the guitar) is the edges of the frets. But this is comparing it to a guitar that costs several thousands of Dollars more.
The binding is really good, but sure, there are some grooves from filing. The paint job looks stellar. It's actually a really nice slab of rosewood with a clean inlay job. The neck looks straight, and with new strings and a proper setup, I'm hoping that this will play just as nice as it looks! The plan is to take the Floyd apart and use a brass block instead of the zinc one.
All in all, first impressions are that it's a hell of a guitar for the money! I jammed half an hour on it last night, and it sounded really good, with surprisingly good sustain. Of course, considering that has an EMG 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck, and me playing it through a 15 Watt Line6 Spider IV, conditions weren't optimum to hear all its tonal qualities. And it fit like a glove in the new V-style SKB case.
I agree with the sticker on the back of the headstock:
In the coming weeks I will get it properly set up and take to rehearsals, and get back with an update!
*Edit: Bandwidth limit exceeded for pics, so I uploaded them again.
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