CHEAP Guitars To Stay Away From

[Coralkong]

I've bought a couple of SX's, and they were {censored}ing awful.

I really wanted to like them, even planned on the upgrades for them, but it just wasn't meant to be.

Cheap in - - - usually means crap.

Cort is another total POS brand. Anything Aria Pro after Matsumoku left is {censored}ing awful as well.

[benzem]

Winter. Avoid Winter

[ak47dragunov]

Oh, and ANY gibson fakes coming outta china.

 

 

not epiphones, they are pretty servicable

[conuvial]

Bought one of these on impluse during a GC sale - closeout price $50. I figured - how could it not be worth $50? I learned my lesson......




Dean Vendetta XM

The body appeared to be made out of styrofoam & sawdust, covered with some sort of wood grained plastic film to keep it from flying apart. I was surprised that the strings didn't just pull right out through the body.

It was impossible to back out the screws holding the access cover on - they just spun in place (as did the control knobs, with virtually no effort). I gave it away the next day.......

[jimytheassassin]

I hope none of you has had the misfortune of owning a "Bentley Series 10" Stay FAR away--makes Hondo look like an upstanding boutique builder.

 

I was surprised to see the Bently Series10 mentioned so fast. btw.. I have been curious why so many people misspell it.. did yours actually say BentlEy with an E. Mine does not. It's a strat copy that actually is decent considering it was free. The plywood body irks me, but what ev.

[iansmitchell]

not epiphones, they are pretty servicable

 

 

That would make ibanez tremolos "floyd rose fakes"

 

Licensed means not fake.

 

Also, not using the same name makes it not a fake.

 

And I happen to own (and service) a few epiphones myself.

[jthomas]

Johnson guitars. I say be wary of the budget line from a company (Axl) that is budget in the first place. My only experience with them was with a strat copy I got in trade, but it was horrible. The hardware was horrible, the pickups were horrible, the frets were coming out, the finish was bubbled, all of the pots would rotate around without stopping. Just horrible.

[metallica_00]

I also find it funny(not) how 20 year olds are snobs already...

So the 40 year old armchair hacks are the authority?

[IBDBB]

SX anything (in my personal experience) B.C. rich under 500 bucks. Ibanez under 700 Peavey raptors

ahh... didn't your parents raise you not to judge a book by its cover. You keep on blasting this "SX sucks" crap based on pics of a SX guitar that had "{censored}ty lookin wood". Even expensive guitars have {censored}ty looking wood underneath if it is painted a solid finish

It wouldn't even do you any good to try one because you have already passed judgement without playing one.

I understand though, i thought everything under $500 sucked when i was young.

[IBDBB]

Oh, and ANY gibson fakes coming outta china.

 

 

Have you played one?

[iansmitchell]

ahh... didn't your parents raise you not to judge a book by its cover. You keep on blasting this "SX sucks" crap based on pics of a SX guitar that had "{censored}ty lookin wood". Even expensive guitars have {censored}ty looking wood underneath if it is painted a solid finish It wouldn't even do you any good to try one because you have already passed judgement without playing one. I understand though, i thought everything under $500 sucked when i was young.

Dude, I have played SX. Several of them.

First- SG shape
The frets were sharp. Like knives. the intonation was off as was the neck relief.
Second- LP copy
The neck profile felt... off, couldn't put my finger on it, but not good.
The thing musta weight 15 pounds. Tuning slipped three times trying to play a song.
Tele copy-
Pickups sucked something fierce and the tuning was off, but this had to be the pick of the litter. ALMOST worth the 130 they're wanting for 'em.

Also, if more expensive solid color guitars use {censored} wood, why is a goldtop les paul sought-after?

[iansmitchell]

Have you played one?

 

Not personally, but I don't suggest most newbies procure illegal items.

[Annoying Twit]

ahh... didn't your parents raise you not to judge a book by its cover. You keep on blasting this "SX sucks" crap based on pics of a SX guitar that had "{censored}ty lookin wood". Even expensive guitars have {censored}ty looking wood underneath if it is painted a solid finish

Is this a reason for preferring "natural" finishes?

.... but I'm sure I remember someone doing a "project" where they stripped a solid finish budget guitar (SX?) and found really nice looking wood under the paint.

[IBDBB]

Dude, I have played SX. Several of them. First- SG shape The frets were sharp. Like knives. the intonation was off as was the neck relief. Second- LP copy The neck profile felt... off, couldn't put my finger on it, but not good. The thing musta weight 15 pounds. Tuning slipped three times trying to play a song. Tele copy- Pickups sucked something fierce and the tuning was off, but this had to be the pick of the litter. ALMOST worth the 130 they're wanting for 'em. Also, if more expensive solid color guitars use {censored} wood, why is a goldtop les paul sought-after?

 

 

{censored} looking, not {censored} wood.

 

What color was the SG shape one?

 

1 of the reasons SX's are so cheap is because they have virtually no "setup" from the factory, which sounds like most of the problems you ran into are setup issues (weight and neck feel are personal and do not really make a guitar "{censored}ty"). I will gladly take a couple hundred bucks off from what they would be with a major name on them with a setup, and do the setup myself.

[IBDBB]

Is this a reason for preferring "natural" finishes? .... but I'm sure I remember someone doing a "project" where they stripped a solid finish budget guitar (SX?) and found really nice looking wood under the paint.

 

 

Exactly.

I have seen some pretty lookin ($109) SX mahogany strats lately, on these boards too.

[The Rossness]

Fender is selling this piece o' crap for $25,000

[Kace]

Hondo - I picked up an Explorer style from musicgoround for under $100 just because I thought it looked kind of cool and could make a fun project. Not expecting much. I got less than "not much." The tuners don't tune, the neck feels horrible, the pickup is dreadful (loud, shrill AND brittle.) The "flame" paintjob on it is a decal which is peeling off in places.

I bought some tuner from GFS to put on it but they don't fit - I don't even know what kind of oddball size tuners this thing takes.

[headless]

Fender is selling this piece o' crap for $25,000

Yes, but how much is the guitar?

[gschmittling]

I like and own an OLP bass. It is quite good. But, I'll tell ya, the two OLP guitars that I had ended up being crap on more than one level. These 2 OLPs, one a orange hardtail and the other a red tremolo model, looked reasonably good when I bought them a few years ago, but they started falling apart within 18 months. I repaired them as needed over the past 3 years and recently decided to use them as trading fodder at Guitar Center. I went to various Guitar Centers over the past month to use them as trade for a PRS SE and they all refused take them for trade. They didn't bother checking them or anything, they just looked at them and refused to have anything to do with either one of them because they were OLP. At the next-to-last Guitar Center I was at, a kid saw me get turned down and then offered me $50 for the red OLP outside the store's front door. (PS: I sold it to him!) I ended up just giving the orange hardtail to someone at work who is a total guitar noobie. I like so-called "cheap" guitars. Any other notable crap-riddled guitar lines out there?

 

 

Strange, every OLP I've played has been nothing but top notch. I've always recommended them.

[iansmitchell]

{censored} looking, not {censored} wood. What color was the SG shape one? 1 of the reasons SX's are so cheap is because they have virtually no "setup" from the factory, which sounds like most of the problems you ran into are setup issues (weight and neck feel are personal and do not really make a guitar "{censored}ty"). I will gladly take a couple hundred bucks off from what they would be with a major name on them with a setup, and do the setup myself.

 

 

If I wanted to buy a kit, I'd get a neck and body sperate.

But wait, the neck wouldn't have razorblades for frets!

The body wouldn't be 15 pounds of low grade wood!

 

It's not ANYONES personal preference to have a guitar that weighs that much. I PREFER non weight relieved les pauls, but this was insane.

 

The SG was sunburst. I couldn't see any grain under the burst.

 

An asymetrical neck MAY be personal preference when it's PURPOSEFUL, but this didn't feel consistent, it felt like a mistake.

 

Doing a fret levelling, recarving a neck, stripping off a half inch thick paintjob on top of a pickup switch, new tuners, nut, and electronics gut, doesn't justify the 180 dollar difference between an ACTUALLY SET UP(in USA), fret leveled, set (and well profiled) neck, symmetric, EPIPHONE, which comes with grover tuners and okay electronics(omitting pickups).

 

Or a xaivere, which requires no pickup or electronics change, and generally come setup GREAT out of the box. And that's what, a 50 dollar difference?

 

Plus, NO BEGINNERS know how to setup a guitar, and getting a professional to do all the NECESSARY SETUP FOR PLAYING ALONE, would be in excess of 200 dollars, without a pickup or electronics change.

 

Cheap guitars, in the absolute worst way. I stand by it. Don't buy SX.

[IBDBB]

If I wanted to buy a kit, I'd get a neck and body sperate. But wait, the neck wouldn't have razorblades for frets! The body wouldn't be 15 pounds of low grade wood! Probably the same wood supplier as epi's , they are both made in china, It's not ANYONES personal preference to have a guitar that weighs that much. I PREFER non weight relieved les pauls, but this was insane. Some people prefer a heavy guitar, 15lbs is an unreasonable estimation on your part, there is no way it weighed that much The SG was sunburst. I couldn't see any grain under the burst. I have never seen a sunburst SX SG copy, only black An asymetrical neck MAY be personal preference when it's PURPOSEFUL, but this didn't feel consistent, it felt like a mistake. This makes no sense, the neck wasn't symmetrical? Doing a fret levelling, recarving a neck, stripping off a half inch thick paintjob on top of a pickup switch, new tuners, nut, and electronics gut, doesn't justify the 180 dollar difference between an ACTUALLY SET UP(in USA), fret leveled, set (and well profiled) neck, symmetric, EPIPHONE, which comes with grover tuners and okay electronics(omitting pickups). Is scrapping paint off a requirement when you buy a guitar? and out of 5 SX's I own, only 1 had a dead spot, and it was just 1 fret on 1 string...No fret leveliIng required here. New tuners are not required...for example, I haven't tuned my SX tele in weeks. Tuning problems are almost always the nut, which is the only thing that "needs" to be replaced on an SX. Electronics work fine, no "gut" required. Yes it has dime sized pots, but for a "beginner" they are more than acceptable. Or a xaivere, which requires no pickup or electronics change, and generally come setup GREAT out of the box. And that's what, a 50 dollar difference? Plus, NO BEGINNERS know how to setup a guitar, and getting a professional to do all the NECESSARY SETUP FOR PLAYING ALONE, would be in excess of 200 dollars, without a pickup or electronics change. A basic guitar setup locally here is about $40. Still no SX i own required anything to get it "playable" other than possibly a bridge height adjustment Cheap guitars, in the absolute worst way. I stand by it. Don't buy SX. SX, is recommended by many people on these boards, you have played a few that weren't set up and generalize that they all suck .

I guess I got really lucky with the 5 that i own. :poke:
Compared to the 3 that you briefly tried out.

I mean no offense, I guess I just agree to disagree.

[duncan]

Hondo

[Hoddy]

I pretty much stay away from all of them.

[larryguitar]

 

the intonation was off as was the neck relief.

 

 

This is right where I stopped paying attention to whatever you might write.

[dimmypage]

Strange, every OLP I've played has been nothing but top notch. I've always recommended them.

:thu: