Members Danocoustic Posted April 24, 2018 Members Share Posted April 24, 2018 Did you buy into it? How has it worked out for you? I bought a LPJR model for <$200 used in like new condition. The body and neck were GREAT---no more than a fret polish necessary---the hardware was ok, the pickups were ok, the rest of the electronics were typical cheap junk. Put Grovers on it. Gotta have good tuners. Cut a bone nut. Replaced the bridge with a decent Gotoh T-O-M, had a ltwt tailpiece to stick on it. Bought a pair of P90s from a forumite here out of an old SG, stuck them in there. CTS pots, orange drop caps, CRL switch, Switchcraft jack, cloth-covered pushback wire, my own immaculate soldering It's been a great guitar. Plays/sounds/looks great. I'd never get my $ back out of it, but I don't care---I'm keeping it. Got LOTS of other guitars for sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 I bought a VB-100 violin bass - I still have it, still like it, and I play it quite often. The only changes I made to it was to install some banjo style white tuner buttons, a pair of Hofner "teacup" knobs, and replace the cheap roundwound strings with some decent flatwound strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted April 24, 2018 Members Share Posted April 24, 2018 I have heard of the Rogue guitars, but I've never actually seen one in person. How can one actually sell an instrument costly like 39 dollars? The cost of a Gibson or Martin back around 1920 was over a 100 dollars. The average person made maybe 1000 dollars a year back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted April 24, 2018 Members Share Posted April 24, 2018 I have one of these electric sitars. Wife bought it for me as a present. $199 for something unique like isn't bad when you consider it would cost you $2K Jerry Jones. or $5K for a Coral for something you don't play all the time. How has it held up? The top is a bit of a curve to it from all those strings pulling on it. It still plays OK but I would have designed it better with bracing. Actually the harp strings are pretty much a waste. They are too close together to pick the individual string so you tune them to one long chord. When you strum them they sound like a toy piano with the lipstick pickup. They are supposed to provide sympathetic vibrations to the harmonics of the 6 string. Don't know if there's much truth to that but that's supposed to be the reason for them. They made a non harp version that was likely more practical. Its only got the break away of the bridge for intonation so its not like you'll get perfect pitch all over the neck. I typically set it so its in pitch up to the 12th fret and anything over the 12th is what it is. If I try and intonate over the 12 the lower registers wind up being sour. The only mods I did was to lower the nut and add a 3 Way active EQ which made a huge difference with its tonal range. [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"rogue-guitars-str-1-pro-electric-sitar-guitar-747758.jpg","data-attachmentid":32212165}[/ATTACH] You can hear it being used in this recording I did awhile back. It sounds really cool for adding flavor to songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted April 24, 2018 Author Members Share Posted April 24, 2018 I have heard of the Rogue guitars, but I've never actually seen one in person. How can one actually sell an instrument costly like 39 dollars? The cost of a Gibson or Martin back around 1920 was over a 100 dollars. The average person made maybe 1000 dollars a year back then. My Mikeo translator is failing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted April 24, 2018 Author Members Share Posted April 24, 2018 I have one of these electric sitars. Wife bought it for me as a present. $199 for something unique like isn't bad when you consider it would cost you $2K Jerry Jones. or $5K for a Coral for something you don't play all the time. How has it held up? The top is a bit of a curve to it from all those strings pulling on it. It still plays OK but I would have designed it better with bracing. Actually the harp strings are pretty much a waste. They are too close together to pick the individual string so you tune them to one long chord. When you strum them they sound like a toy piano with the lipstick pickup. They are supposed to provide sympathetic vibrations to the harmonics of the 6 string. Don't know if there's much truth to that but that's supposed to be the reason for them. They made a non harp version that was likely more practical. Its only got the break away of the bridge for intonation so its not like you'll get perfect pitch all over the neck. I typically set it so its in pitch up to the 12th fret and anything over the 12th is what it is. If I try and intonate over the 12 the lower registers wind up being sour. The only mods I did was to lower the nut and add a 3 Way active EQ which made a huge difference with its tonal range. [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"rogue-guitars-str-1-pro-electric-sitar-guitar-747758.jpg","data-attachmentid":32212165}[/ATTACH] You can hear it being used in this recording I did awhile back. It sounds really cool for adding flavor to songs. That sounds pretty darn good to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted April 25, 2018 Members Share Posted April 25, 2018 Got to work on this little beauty. Just think, a 6/12 string with 24 frets, 22 clear and double cut, heavy as hell. How many people do you know who plays a 12 string at the 23rd fret? [img2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i51.photobucket.com\/albums\/f387\/Freeman_Keller\/Repairs\/Rogue%20double%20neck\/IMG_2752_zpsis8hbe9q.jpg"}[/img2] [img2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i51.photobucket.com\/albums\/f387\/Freeman_Keller\/Repairs\/Rogue%20double%20neck\/IMG_2754_zpscwsvy0tn.jpg"}[/img2] And a couple of nice 'buckers (pick your colors, we've got you covered) so the neck pocket is basically nonexistant. When the neck started moving around (duh) the owner poured some epoxy in. [img2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i51.photobucket.com\/albums\/f387\/Freeman_Keller\/Repairs\/Rogue%20double%20neck\/IMG_2728_zpsdelrf46m.jpg"}[/img2] The real problem (besides the whole concept) was that the factory failed to remove the paint from the surfaces that would receive glue (and it was a pretty poor fit) I managed to clean the mess up, strip the paint that was on the "glue surfaces" and reglued it. [img2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i51.photobucket.com\/albums\/f387\/Freeman_Keller\/Repairs\/Rogue%20double%20neck\/IMG_2736_zpsikhb7ux6.jpg"}[/img2] Even got the angle pretty good [img2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i51.photobucket.com\/albums\/f387\/Freeman_Keller\/Repairs\/Rogue%20double%20neck\/IMG_2735_zpsbfix6dfo.jpg"}[/img2] Told the owner is wasn't a matter of would if fail again, just how soon. Bring 'em on, I like Rogues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted April 25, 2018 Author Members Share Posted April 25, 2018 On second read, it was my DanO understanderer failing. Apologies, Mike! *sends kittie treats as penance* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted April 25, 2018 Author Members Share Posted April 25, 2018 Great googly moogly! I guess I could see wanting such a beast for a stage prop, but that workmanship is AWFUL (Rogue's, not yours) and the epoxy...wow. Just wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted April 25, 2018 Members Share Posted April 25, 2018 Not sure why you're so surprised. The workmanship is no better or worse then anything else coming out of china. Rouge was simply lucky enough to have been chosen bargain basement instrument by Musicians Friend which allowed allot of them to be sold. I don't think I've even looked into who the parent company is. They are undoubtedly branded instruments and the same company that makes Rogue likely made a dozen other similar brands with modifications to make them different. Companies Like Teisco set the business model for most of the instrument manufacturers in the orient. Make allot of friggin guitars and if you cant sell them with one name, give them another name and paint job and sell them wholesale to another vendor. That company must have had 20 well known names and dozens more that were small runs with obscure names. They would slap any name on there you had money to pay for or you could buy them nameless and badge them yourself. The only thing that's happened since is you have a bunch of smaller companies popping up in china making instruments. They may sell a few different models at first and if they get nailed making counterfeits they simply change to making something different and spring up on places like EBay the following day with a new identity. I'm not knocking the quality on all imports by the way. Some of them can be excellent buys for the price. I made out very well buying my Hofner Ignition bass straight from china instead of paying an extra $300 to middle men who simply add their markup onto the cost. Others? I've seen a whole lot of dogs too which makes it a risky venture. Builds in general are much better in the past 10 years of so because those companies have gotten their acts together and found the best production methods. Allot of the materials used are still sub par however. The solid body instruments tend to be more durable then acoustics for obvious reasons. Metals, hardware are all softer steel. The chromium is often poorly applied. The margin between top quality and the generics continues to shrink however. Another 20 years I can see them matching anything made domestically if they have a source for good materials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted April 27, 2018 Members Share Posted April 27, 2018 I never played one but remember people calling them "Rouge" guitars and annoying the heck out of me. Probably the same people that own "Squires". Weren't they a Musician's Friend exclusive? That neck glue joint with the paint still on it is pretty incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted April 30, 2018 Members Share Posted April 30, 2018 MF Exclusives? MF was an obscure mail order company before Guitar center bought it in 2000. People were only beginning to buy on line by then. The Squire brand was 90 years old when Fender bought them out in 82 and adopted them as their budget line. Squier Company manufactured strings for violins, banjos, and guitars. It was established in 1890 by Victor Carroll Squier in Battle Creek, Michigan. In 1965, the company was acquired by Fender. ... In 1982, the Squier brand was reactivated by Fender to become its brand for lower priced versions of Fender guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted April 30, 2018 Author Members Share Posted April 30, 2018 MF Exclusives? MF was an obscure mail order company before Guitar center bought it in 2000. People were only beginning to buy on line by then. The Squire brand was 90 years old when Fender bought them out in 82 and adopted them as their budget line. WR, you may have misunderstood 6down's post. The way I read it, he was pointing out the common misspellings of Rogue (Rouge) and Squier (Squire)---and asking if Rogue was a MF exclusive brand, which I believe it was. In any case, please see my "GOOD GRIEF" thread, this thread was the product of a DanO brainfart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 MF Exclusives? MF was an obscure mail order company before Guitar center bought it in 2000. People were only beginning to buy on line by then. They were actually a fairly successful mail order / online company prior to GC purchasing them. I made my first purchases from them back in the early 1990s. The Squire brand was 90 years old when Fender bought them out in 82 and adopted them as their budget line. Yes, but prior to the Fender acquisition, they weren't making guitars - Squier was a string manufacturer. And you're off by quite a few years in terms of when the brand was purchased by Fender (it was 1965). In the 70s Fender dropped the Squier name and used their own name for the strings they were making. When Fender reactivated the Squier brand name in 1982, it was applied to guitars being built in Japan by longstanding Japanese manufacturers like FujiGen Gakki. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted April 30, 2018 Members Share Posted April 30, 2018 I bought stuff from MF in the early 90's. I also have purchased from Sweetwater, and Sam Ash. Elderly Instruments too. They used to send me catalogs. They still do, mostly flyers now, but the only one that sends me out a big fat catalog these days is Sweetwater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted April 30, 2018 Members Share Posted April 30, 2018 I and clueless what you might have read into it. I get some people may not know the difference between Rogue and Rouge. Spell check wouldn't cant that error like they would with Squier and Squire. That has nothing to do with my response however. Neither Rogue or Squire are Musicians Friend Exclusive. In fact MF didn't manufacture anything of their own. They have some branded items they sell and a few items exclusively sold through their company. Not sure bout Rogue. They may have made an exclusive deal with MF using that branding, but its not likely the only name they sell under. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted April 30, 2018 Author Members Share Posted April 30, 2018 I'm sorry, I can't understand any of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikesr1963 Posted May 1, 2018 Members Share Posted May 1, 2018 I have to say that I've stayed away from them like the plague. Not for any particular reason, they just never caught my eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ara Ajizian Posted May 1, 2018 Members Share Posted May 1, 2018 Rogue was an MF-designed and manufactured "house brand." If memory serves Wayne Philipp and the MF guitar team spearheaded it and oversaw design and manufacture in China. The goal was to make innovative designs at a low price point but maintain a level of quality that would allow players of all skill levels to find something they like. Like most things at MF after GC formally took over in 2011 (the company was owned by GC but allowed to run independently), it fell by the wayside as GC got most of the resources once things were moved from Medford to Westlake Village. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steve_man Posted May 2, 2018 Members Share Posted May 2, 2018 had a rouge mandolin... piece of junk... neck separated from the body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Rogue was an MF-designed and manufactured "house brand." If memory serves Wayne Philipp and the MF guitar team spearheaded it and oversaw design and manufacture in China. The goal was to make innovative designs at a low price point but maintain a level of quality that would allow players of all skill levels to find something they like. Like most things at MF after GC formally took over in 2011 (the company was owned by GC but allowed to run independently)' date=' it fell by the wayside as GC got most of the resources once things were moved from Medford to Westlake Village.[/quote'] Ara, you would obviously know, considering your history with MF. One minor point though - I don't think all of the production was done in China - my Rogue VB-100 violin bass actually came with a Made In Korea label on it. BTW, great to see you bud! Hope things have been going great for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members webwarmiller Posted May 2, 2018 Members Share Posted May 2, 2018 I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Rogue HH yet. I think these were pretty popular about 9-10 years ago...back when the great deals thread on this forum was very active (miss those days). Grover tuners, compound radius fret-board, Bill Turner designed PUPs (that sound excellent), 5 way with split and parallel positions, available in either a Mahogany or Ash body. If memory serves me correctly they started off at $199, then went on sale for $139 and were a SDOTD at $99. My only issue with it is how they made the tummy cut. Where it transitions to the back of the body at the upper bout it forms a very prominent point that digs into my ribs if playing while seated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 2, 2018 Moderators Share Posted May 2, 2018 I picked up a Rogue lap steel a while back for like $80...hard to screw up a plank with 6 strings and a p-up....I am still seriously contemplating changing the p-up, but I have not been using the lapsteel much recently, so no pressure, but the festival season approacheth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted May 2, 2018 Author Members Share Posted May 2, 2018 Did you mooks see where I said I didn't mean Rogue, I meant Agile? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ara Ajizian Posted May 2, 2018 Members Share Posted May 2, 2018 Ara, you would obviously know, considering your history with MF. One minor point though - I don't think all of the production was done in China - my Rogue VB-100 violin bass actually came with a Made In Korea label on it. BTW, great to see you bud! Hope things have been going great for you! Hey Phil! Great to see ya too! Things are good on my end, just working my tail off but I guess that's what I signed up for right?! Hope you're doing well my friend! Did you mooks see where I said I didn't mean Rogue' date=' I meant Agile?[/quote'] Dano...take it to the Agile thread mmmkay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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