Members dlxrev Posted April 6, 2011 Members Share Posted April 6, 2011 About 10 days ago, ordered a blem XV 500 gold top from Guitarfetish. Was always checking the closeout pages for these to be in stock. For $130, I figured I couldn't really lose so took the plunge. Just received it yesterday and gotta say, that so far I am beyond impressed. Wasn't really knowing what to expect after reading various reviews, it seems the verdict on these is mixed. But, this guitar at $130 is a steal. Mahogany body with maple cap and set neck for $130??? fuhgetaboutit After ordering, I emailed to see if they could tell me what the blems were, John emailed back within 24 hours and said that he did not see this specific guitar but most are for gold flakes in the finish. Well, he was right. Other than finish spots in the side and back, and a slightly warped pickup ring,,, the guitar looks perfect. The action is slightly high, but will correct that this weekend, but otherwise the setup aint so bad. Almost in tune out of the box. Although the strings suck. The neck is probably closer to 60's profile than 50's. Still way chunkier than my strat,, but I like it. The tones are good. The pickups may be a tad hot for my tastes but after lowering them a tad, they sound pretty darn good. They sound great with some grit and only ok (to me) when clean. The volume and tone controls are tight and function pretty well. The pickup selector is nice and firm with a nice thick 'click'. After rambling, I will just say its a keeper. And for $130,,,,, holy poop.... dare I say a steal. Sorry my pics suck. fronthttp://s1096.photobucket.com/albums/g332/kharma005/?action=view¤t=PICT0317.jpg#!oZZ2QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fs1096.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fg332%2Fkharma005%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3DPICT0315.jpg warped ringhttp://s1096.photobucket.com/albums/g332/kharma005/?action=view¤t=PICT0317.jpg the blemshttp://s1096.photobucket.com/albums/g332/kharma005/?action=view¤t=PICT0317.jpg#!oZZ3QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fs1096.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fg332%2Fkharma005%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3DPICT0314.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diceman1000 Posted April 6, 2011 Members Share Posted April 6, 2011 fixed:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dlxrev Posted April 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 6, 2011 Thanks,,, ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted April 6, 2011 Members Share Posted April 6, 2011 Wow, HNGD, looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ExiledCrow Posted April 6, 2011 Members Share Posted April 6, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BB123 Posted April 6, 2011 Members Share Posted April 6, 2011 I loves goldtops, HNGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yarbicus Posted April 6, 2011 Members Share Posted April 6, 2011 You bastard. The GAS is back... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikesr1963 Posted April 6, 2011 Members Share Posted April 6, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted April 6, 2011 Members Share Posted April 6, 2011 I got my XV500 a few weeks back. Love it. The Gold Top was one I was considering. 3 paws and a tail up from Lamb Chop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yarbicus Posted April 6, 2011 Members Share Posted April 6, 2011 How does the headstock look in person? Those always look plastic-y in the official photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dlxrev Posted April 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 6, 2011 How does the headstock look in person? Those always look plastic-y in the official photos. the headstock doesn't look bad at all. Kind of paddle like, but not plasticky. The whole guitar is surprisingly solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DFB Posted April 6, 2011 Members Share Posted April 6, 2011 HNGD! I bought a XV560 blem and love it.I don't care what the haters say,these guitars are damned good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dlxrev Posted April 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 7, 2011 HNGD! I bought a XV560 blem and love it.I don't care what the haters say,these guitars are damned good. Couldn't agree more with your comment or with that picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IBDBB Posted April 7, 2011 Members Share Posted April 7, 2011 nice I have a few Xavieres, all needed fretwork to be playable up and down the board. Stock they had dead spots all over. Electronics, pickups, and hardware are good stock on these though so that is the great part. Playability and setup has always needed tweaking for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted April 7, 2011 Members Share Posted April 7, 2011 HNGD looks great.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fretmonster Posted April 7, 2011 Members Share Posted April 7, 2011 The kid shoots and scores. Very nice. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seven58 Posted April 7, 2011 Members Share Posted April 7, 2011 Happy NGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CanIBDom Posted April 7, 2011 Members Share Posted April 7, 2011 Holy sparkle! The pictures on the GFS website don't do it justice. Happy NGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dlxrev Posted April 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 7, 2011 nice I have a few Xavieres, all needed fretwork to be playable up and down the board. Stock they had dead spots all over. Electronics, pickups, and hardware are good stock on these though so that is the great part. Playability and setup has always needed tweaking for me. after playing for a couple of hours over the last two days, I have noticed that there is a buzzing on the 3rd fret, but only on the D and A strings???? Could be strings but I will have my tech dude look at it on Saturday. Maybe a fret needs to be slightly filed? I gotta say that this guitar is a blast to play. I have now coaxed some decent clean tones out of it as well. Still cant believe I paid only $130 for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.