A Minor Electric Guitar For Sale (2025 Update)

Overall: I read some of these negative reviews and can't understand what they're talking about. This guitar is probably the best guitar for $200 I ever played , right out of the box it was setup perfectly. All I did was tune it , I've even got the same strings it came with. Which I normally change whenever I get a new guitar. The tuners are unbelievably tight , this guitar barely goes out of tune even if it has been sitting for weeks. Also I never attached the whammy bar , so I can't speak on that throwing it out of tune. Since I have over a dozen guitars I don't usually play it daily , but when I do it always makes me glad I purchased it. This is a very versatile guitar , I play mostly metal and this thing shreds. But I also play blues and it sounds just as good as my custom strat. I bought an Epiphone SG special in the same price range and let's just say the setup is night and day , the tuners absolutely sucked , "already replaced them" and the intonation was off. It was a mess , I've already put it on Craig's list and bought a G400 Pro instead , 10x better quality and setup , but I digress. I've got many high priced guitars but always go back to the GRX , the playability and neck feels so comfortable to play. The only thing I'm going to do eventually is throw in a Seymour Duncan humbucker and I'm definitely keeping this guitar. I don't know how Ibanez can sell this for $200 and keep the quality , but I'm certainly not going to complain. Whether you're a beginner or experienced this guitar delivers. Definitely will be purchasing another Ibanez down the road.Mike

Sound: Does not have the cleanest sound due to the picks. Putting the right pedals and effects in line and cranking up the distortion makes it an awesome beginner / intermediate metal guitar. Features: For the price the materials feel great. Ease of Use: It sounds great on my Fender Champion 20 or Positive Grid Spark amp. Not the cleanest tone but a great metal sound and extremely easy to play. Quality: It feels made well, especially in the $200 range. I feel like this is one I'll have for years and once I get better definitely see this is a good platform for future mods. Value: This guitar is excellent value and at this price an amazing guitar. Manufacturer Support: I have not dealt with Ibanez. The Wow Factor: I must admit the aesthetic. It's extremely hard to find good looking purple color-based guitars. If I could dream up what I want a guitar to look like this is it. It helps that its quality is awesome. Overall: I love this guitar. Purple is my favorite color and a hard one to find good guitars in. It looks great. It feels great and I have yet to find any significant issues with it. No problems with the frets or fret buzz. Action is easy and low. It sounds great with my Positive Grid Spark amp. The pickups sound great. The HSH setup is very versatile. Not the greatest with clean tones like my Stratocaster, but amazing with the right effects.Josh

It's an itty bitty little thing. It's so lightweight it almost floats away! It was perfectly set up out of the box, it arrived with no damage. First, I tuned it. (It was close, whoever set it up musta tuned it before shipping). It's got very accurate tuning pegs, not like a Squier or Glarry, with slack in the pegs. Then I sat down and ran through some scales, and strummed some chords. It's got a fast playing neck. I can play faster on this guitar, than any I've tried, and I've played hundreds of guitars from an American Fender 52 reissue Telecaster, down to the terrible cheap electric guitars of the 1960s. Anyway, I finally got around to plugging into my Blackstar Fly 3 battery amp, and wow those Mitchell humbuckers are HOT! I love this little thing, it's going to be my main axe, and I'm going to order it a new hard shell case, so it stays looking great.The Volkswagen Cowboy

For the most part; this a pretty nice beginner's guitar. It has nice features that aren't usually found on cheaper guitars. I was very impressed with the body contours, pickup arrangement, sealed tuners, & string through body. I purchased this as a Christmas gift for my son. I paid a little extra for expedited shipping & it arrived less than 48hrs after I ordered it! Everything was great until I tuned up the guitar & found that the claims that "every guitar receives a stateside set up" are entirely false. The ends of the fret wire are extremely sharp; there's no way that I'd let a child attempt to play this without first filing down/ dressing the frets to avoid gouging your hands. It seems to stay in tune fairly well; which is rather surprising as the neck is NOT properly bolted to the guitar body. There is a relatively large gap between the neck & body- large enough to see daylight! The gap is likely due to common machine assembly w/ poor quality control. I'm somewhat excited to see how well this guitar will play after I disassemble the neck, drill the body holes 1/16" larger, file the frets, & reassemble w/ some higher quality strings. Even with the additional work that's necessary; it's still a rather nice guitar & definitely cheaper than a project guitar. Last time I checked; it was around $20 or so to have a guitar set up by a Luthier- so it still works out to be a decent buy if you bought it & paid to have it set up. I'm just rather disappointed that the only problem with the entire transaction is a very simple issue that could be avoided w/ a couple tweaks of the CNC machines spitting these out by the 100's…Jonathan

I am quite fond of short scale guitars, and I rate this one quite high on the list of must haves! Frets are adequately dress, it is quite light, finish (walnut satin) is excellent. Playability is quite good, intonation is spot on, even the pickups are ok, though I did change them out on mine, along with putting some shielding paint in the pickup and control cavities and swapping out the potentiometers (none of this was necessary, but you know how us guitarists can be!). The kind of music I like is 70s rock, 80s and 90s metal, I don't play clean much – always some grit coming outta the amp! I got this on sale, so it was well below $100. Not sure what else to say, but if you are on the fence about getting one of these, either for yourself or a young, aspiring rocker, just pull the trigger, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Main thing to keep in mind on this is playability and setup are very good for a guitar in its price point even at full price, maybe even twice the price. Is it perfect? No, but it doesn't need to be, just needs to be good and it is. Just get the darn thing. it's a fun guitar to play, looks and sounds good as well.Scott

I purchased this guitar when it was $95 off full price. So that kind of makes it a worthwhile purchase. Definitely not worth full price in my opinion. Poorly packed with insufficient padding in the box allowed two of the strings to be bent during shipping. I assume this happened during shipping. They wouldnt send bent strings right? Thankfully they provided back up strings… The nut is very poorly crafted. You can visibly see burrs and imperfections in the nut that cause the strings to ring out of tune on certain parts of the fret board even after tuning. The pick-up selector nob fell right off first time I adjusted it. I will have to glue it myself. When the notes do play out true the triple pick ups sound better than the Peavy beginner guitar I used to have– Which only had two pickups and came in a similar starter package but was about half the price as this guitar. I think if I research how to fix some of the issues I can make it playable. But this guitar is far from playable out of the box. Fairly poor quality control.Cody

I was looking forward to ordering this as my first guitar after taking some classes a couple years back. The shipping was remarkably fast–however, when the product arrived the amp was completely broken. Upon plugging the guitar into the amp and strumming, it would make a horrendous scratching, broken sound. Plucking strings has the exact same effect, and occasionally the amp will cut off after a second of playing. I've tried adjusting the dials, turning overdrive on and off, I even bought a new cord thinking that was the issue to no avail. To make matters worse I have called the customer support number multiple times asking if I could recieve a partial refund, or ship back the amp for a functioning replacement–every time I'm left on hold before the call disconnects, if I can even get through to begin with. The only reason this isn't a one star review is that the guitar itself works fine and looks beautiful! I wouldn't reccomend buying the full set if they don't bother to make sure one of the most essential parts is functioning before shipping however.James B.

I worked outside for my father for a good many weeks while the guitar was on sale, and when I got it, I had mixed emotions. After a few days, the gig bag started to rip and now theres a big hole in it. Its still usable, but it isnt really well made. Also the bag isnt really protective. Its more decorative. The strings on it and the other ones were both junk, my local guitar shop guy told me that himself, but strings are moderately priced, and most of the time they last a while, so thats not much of a deal. The amp is lower end, and the cable that plugs into the amp and the guitar started to show copper wire around 2 weeks after purchase. It still works, but it should have lasted longer. And the stand on the amp didnt hold up at all, the plastic on it broke and now it wont angle so the sound comes at your face. But other than that its a good purchase, i would just suggest to just buy the guitar alone, and buy the amp separately, instead of the kit, but that may get expensive, so check out those options and compare them to this product and decide for yourself. My local guitar shop guy told me that the guitar itself is great quality though, but there are more expensive guitars out there, its a great guitar to start out with. Another side note, not relating to the quality of the guitar, but for beginners, how to learn how to play it fast. I suggest buying Rocksmith 2014 with this for PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One and other game consoles. Although it is expensive, the cable that comes with it counts as $20 dollars of it, and it actually surprisingly works! I started playing the game in late june or early july this year and I learned pretty quickly, to the point where I am now thinking about combining lessons and the game together to speed up the learning process even faster. Now it wont turn you into Guns N Roses overnight, but its pretty effective.TheVanillaMiner

Sound: A sign of a good electric guitar is how well it sounds unplugged. This 1000BV is loud, full, and sustains very well before it's even plugged in. I bought the 1000BV with EMG pickups. Most people associate EMG with metal, and yes it goes a long way in that genre but they are equally adept and great sounding for blues, jazz, rock, and clean tones. I am very happy with the tonal versatility of this guitar. Cleans are clear and full, heavy drive has the chunk you want, and in between they just growl like they should. Features: I appreciate the locking tuners and Tone Pros bridge. The tuners are ESP branded but are smooth and seem to stay in tune quite well. The TOM bridge was easy to adjust and lock back into place.Active pickups are a matter of taste. I chose EMG because I like the sound they give, and I already have another guitar with the Duncan JB's. Ease of Use: The guitar came out of the box set up perfectly to ESP specs. Having said that, ESP thinks low action is 2mm at the 12th fret for low E, and 1.5mm on the high. This is way too high for my tastes. Adjusting the truss rod, string height, and intonation was a breeze. In a world filled with Floyd Rose, you lose appreciation for how easy a TOM bridge is to work with!The neck is definitely thinner than a Les Paul, but not super thin like a Jackson or Ibanez neck. It is similar to the PRS Wide Thin carve. Very playable if shredding or legato is your thing, and equally comfortable with the thumb over style. The neck finish is matte and feels as smooth as an unpainted neck. Moving up and down the fretboard is comfortable and easy. Quality: The quality of this instrument is superb. I have gone over it with a fine tooth comb and cannot find even the slightest imperfection in fit and finish. If you were to hand this to me blindfolded, I would easily believe it to be a guitar costing twice the price. It was that good. Fret work was spectacular and on par with my American PRS CE-24. Rolled off edges, no burrs or sprouts, smooth all the way up and down the neck. Value: This guitar is a tremendous value. For a list price of $899 you get every penny worth and more. I would put this up against any American made instrument costing 2 or 3 times more. High quality name brand components installed on a beautifully constructed instrument are what this guitar is about. Manufacturer Support: I have not had to deal with ESP directly yet, but they did suspend my account from their support forum for no known reason lol That's why everyone has more than one email right 🙂 The Wow Factor: It's an unassuming looking guitar that would fit on stage playing metal or smooth jazz. It sounds amazing clean or dirty and is a great alternative for someone who loves the traditional look of a single cutaway guitar but desires a more playable neck and less heft. Overall: I had been eyeing this guitar for quite awhile. I admit that when I found out production of the 1000 series moved from Korea to Indonesia I was very disappointed. The internet is full of horror stories about instrument quality dropping after models start getting produced in different countries, especially after having a great reputation for quality at the previous factory. I wavered back and forth and had second thoughts even after ordering. Thankfully zZounds has a great return policy so I took a chance.I AM SO GLAD I DID!!!!!!!If you are looking for a solid body single cut guitar you HAVE to give the EC-1000 a look. For half the money of most other domestic single cutaways you get a great playing and great looking guitar that is just a joy to play. Build quality is absolutely top notch and on par with or better than some of the best domestic instruments I've owned over 4 decades of playing.Allan

Where do I start? I love everything about this guitar and it is my favorite that I own. If you’re looking for something that sounds very sweet and beautiful clean, this is not the guitar for you. That’s not to say that you can clean it up a bit with maybe some stereo chorus reverb or delay but as this guitar stands on its own, it truly suits one purpose for me , it is true metal madness euphoria. Not only do the pick up scream but this guitar is not only beautiful but constructed perfectly. It is the best most comfortable neck I’ve ever played and it is rocksolid!!! The satin finish on the back of the neck makes it effortless to slide up and down. I’m typically not a fan of gold on guitars but with the black matte finish it actually is pretty sharp and not too Goddy in my opinion. I am mediately replace the strings on this guitar with some nice thick ones for drop C tuning. Even with the 24.75 scale it Plays drop tuning nicely without string floppige. As long as you have the right strings on this exit is no problem. This current model has the EMG pick ups. I am seriously considering getting another EC 1000 with the Pegasus sentiment pick up combo. It’s a little heavier than I thought it would be but in a good way. This guitar is perfectly balanced and the body is definitely thinner than a Les Paul. That’s one thing I didn’t like about Les Pauls is it was thick bulky heavy and a baseball bat neck. I honestly couldn’t be more pleased with this guitar. Love the EC 1000 and the great service I always get at American musical supply. I’ll be honest, i’ve went through about half a dozen brand new guitars and returned every single one of them except for this one. I believe I am pickier than most, if I spend $1000 on a guitar I want to fall in love with it and not settle. If you like playing James Taylor and Crosby stills and Nash I suggest you look elsewhere. If you want to rip some faces off get this guitar!!!!Brett m

I bought this LTD EC-1000 after playing it at the shop for over an hour. This guitar delivers in spades the metal tone I was looking for. (I tried against Duncan Seymour version) With the right setup, it will CHUG! The chugs that is produced is so satisfying and inspirational to downstroke riffs like Papa Het for hours. Action is set at 2mm low E and 1.5mm at high E. A bit higher than I am used to but easy to get used to. This guitar is a beauty and plays and sounds great! You can't go wrong!Kalyan R.

I always liked the Ibanez instruments and products. This guitar for the money has a great sound, is light and small, very practical for people with small hands, or for children. Playability is nice, the pickups are good, hardware is good. It's versatile also for all types of genre's. Ideal for rock and metal, shreds real nice. If you're looking for a good but inexpensive guitar, this one is a good purchase. It's not only for beginners, it's for all level players.John

Classic Ibanez body shape, neck, tuners and lightweight, like a scaled down Soundgear (SGR) series only sans the unnecessary active bass junk. Knobs are solid metal, not cheap plastic ones found on other low end Ibanez basses. Only thing bass needed out of box was intonation set. No neck adjustments needed and no significant buzz. Strings are round wound (my pref). Would not recommend this bass if you think you need (tone killing) flat wound. I'm not aware of anyone making flatwound strings for a 28.6" scale bass. Note: scale length of this bass (28.6") is shorter than typical short scale (30"). The strings on it are proprietary (Ibanez). You might be able to make some cut down long scale strings work (pain, wouldn't recommend) but the proprietary Ibanez strings are the way to go. MF doesn't sell them for some reason. You can find them online for a very reasonable price online. Buy a couple of extra sets. Pickups are jazz bass style and config (two volumes + one tone) which is my pref. I had zero issues with tone or volume controls. Pickups are all passive. Yah! And tone sounds great, classic jazz bass tones available including a nice Jaco-ish tone with 100% bridge pickup and tone rolled way down. Be wary of review comments from guitar players that don't play bass and buy this bass and suddenly have a lot of opinions about what this bass should and shouldn't be. This bass does not need the bridge, pickups, tuners or electronics replaced to make it a "pro" instrument. All this bass needs to be a "pro" instrument, is a "pro" player playing it. Tone is in your fingers. I highly recommend for beginners and I think experienced players will dig it as well, especially those that appreciate shorter scale instruments.mark5211

Please pay close attention to what you are purchasing because it is not what it seems. My daughter was so sad. The amplifier could fit in one of her handsMarcus

We now have 3 Sawtooth guitars. We are extremely pleased with all of them. We have an acoustic, electric, and now this beginner's electric guitar pack. Our youngest son won't put this guitar down. The black is a cool see through gloss. You can see the wood grain through the gloss finish. The guitar is of good quality. Much better than I thought it would be.The amp is portable, and can be used for headphones. Take note, that this is an amp that takes batteries (9 volt), or you can get an adapter for it. Comes with everything he needed to get started.Maximilian

Did not receive all items that was displayed with this package ( missing was Gig soft case bag ) one of the reasons why I chose this package, my grand son was disappointed. I will not recommend this item n I plan to counsel my account with Walmart cause i did not get what i payed for, enough is enough.Peggy

I bought this as a beginner. To the untrained ear, as in my case, this guitar will last for a long time until I'm ready to upgrade. I recommend this set to any age group that would like something to start with.Justin

I am BLOWN AWAY!! I have gotten a LOT of guitars in the mail lately and this one is THE BEST DEAL I HAVE EVER HAD ON AN ELECTRIC GUITAR IN MY LIFE! Someone set this up PERFECTLY! I tuned it and it plays AWESOMELY!! The action is perfect. Nice, heavy construction, smooth neck, low action, perfect nut, perfect frets, even set up for 10's and that's the size I always use! Mine came with a hard case but they usually sell with a bag and you can see that they aren't just thin layered cheap bags, they are padded with zipper pockets and look like a heavy duty backpack for your instrument. The sticker on the peel-off plastic says it was set up here in the USA and you can tell. The ChromaCast cases are excellent, their cables are great, heavy duty, the picks are even pretty good, the strings are called Maximum Sustain and it does have noticeably long sustain! Sawtooth guitars are a cut above all the other lower priced instruments. I've played most of the less expensive guitars available today and Sawtooth guitars are top notch! I even saw Micheal Angelo Bateo playing them in the last NAMM videos! They are WORTH IT! A total joy to play! I will be getting more of these and you should too!!morbidforbid

Watch my video attached and judge by yourself. No post, no effects just guitar plain and straight. Worth every Penney but I paid few pennies (lol). No five stars because needs a good setupRogo

No idea how this guitar passed QA or its a referb. The paint is maybe 1 pass and uneven. There are 3 very noticeable scratches on the front of the guitar. And the worst part the guitar is dirty! Like there is a glaze of dirt on this thing! I would be embarrassed to give this to my son.Ryan

I put Emg 81/85 in mine. Had to do a serious fret level. So many buzzing frets. It ended up ripping out all the frets. Leveled the fretboard out and installed new frets so I could get the action super low without buzzing. Plays killer now. I did a lot of work to get this thing playable because I enjoy doing that sort of work. For someone who isn't able to do work like that themselves, I work recomend getting an Ibanez Mikro or Jackson Minion. Those are good out of the box.tdever13

This guitar has potential. The pickups are solid. I was going to upgrade but noticed they are the same pickups as the ones in TD400. The issue is the bridge and tuners. They are poor quality. The guitar has fret buzz and will not stay in tune because of shorter scale. The strings have less tension and require precise tuners. I upgraded tuners and bridge and now they stay in tune. In addition you need to adjust tension rod and intonation and file the nut down, Now it plays really well for a kids guitar. My sons is developing interest in guitar now. I recommend only if you're willing to put in work.Leechandra

OUT OF THE BOX: I'm an amateur luthier. Been playing more than 40 years and have had many guitars. A Mitchell Acoustic I previously bought was so good, I thought this Mitchell Electric would also be good. But even unbranded Chinese ST guitars at a lower price are better. The Mitchell looks very nice and cute (its small). But it was unplayable. The OEM strings were 9.5 to 37 and they were not workable on a short scale guitar. They simply would not intonate. It also appears that the guitar was was not finished, or examined by Quality Control. The back of the neck felt like sand paper, as did the back of the headstock, where a serial number decal was smeared on and barely readable; the frets had been leveled (not evenly or adequately, leveling marks were obvious). But the frets were not crowned, i.e. most were flat on top, and had no crowning marks at all. None of the frets had been polished or XXXX steel wooled , and were all scratchy. The dual action truss rod was stuck at first, but after removing the strings and string trees it worked; the Nut was the worst cheap plastic nut I've seen. My similarly priced Acoustic Mitchell had a very nice, well-cut, NuBone Nut and Saddle. Acceptable Intonation for this Mitchell TD 100 starter guitar seems highly unlikely, but I will keep trying – next I'll put 12-52 gauge strings on and set it up again. If you buy this guitar "you get what you pay for". You should be a pretty good luthier with a lot of free time available to transform this one into more than a wall decoration. If you gift this to a youngster, they probably won't use it very long if their ears work. They'll be so frustrated with the intonation and tuning problems that you can expect they will get frustrated and not play it for very long. Save up and buy a better starter guitar for a kid.G-Man

When the first Orange one arrived, I thought, " Jeepers! I got to see if the quality of another is even close." And it dang sure is! The action I set with no trouble, did the intonation w/ a Boss stompbox, and through a Pignose 7-100..! Through the Orange Crush 20RT, well… try it yourself!Frank

Just got my guitar yesterday. Here are my thoughts. The packaging was decent and in the original Mitchell box. The guitar itself was in excellent condition and it was brand new. The piece is a beauty. It feels good only two issues. One is that the fret ends are a bit rough and second the truss rod cap was a bit loose. Other than that the guitar is beautiful. It plays very decent and I am a beginner so won't be able to give a very technical input.Numair

I have a few Mitchells, and none are bad guitars, though I have had to work on every single one of them, and this one was no exception. The guitar itself has a decent feel, and the pickups aren't horrible. I did have to do some big neck adjustments and file down some frets to get rid of fret buzz and dead frets. After some time working on it, I do enjoy playing it. It's really good for sitting around practicing if you want to save mileage on your more expensive guitars. I cannot say however that I would recommend this guitar unless you know how to work on it.Gorden

I bought this for my daughter and am experienced at guitars set ups. Out the the box its ok for a beginner. But Not for me. So I adjusted the neck and action. Intonation was way off. Neck adjusted easily. Action I was able to get to 1.75mm at 12th fret on low e with no fret buzz. Same as my ESP guitar. The guitar did intonate perfectly. Pickups are fine for a beginner. After a good set up I would play the guitar. Pickup is just ok. If you are a serious player then this guitar could be great as a beater. Proper set up. Vuy a used Seymore Duncan off ebay and throw in the bridge for cheap. Rough up paint and spray the finish with a can up duplicolor and clear coat it. Im considering getting one for myself and doing all of the above. I would have less than $200 in it. I guitar I keep on stand, not case and grab to play. If I ding it up I don't care. The neck was a little rough. I hit with 7000 grit paper and the neck is fast and good. Or if they lower price on other colors to $99 I might buy one of each color.dwsguitars

A lot of the reviews posted here are for Strats, so I'm not sure what's going on. Anyway, I bought the red sparkle Squier Bullet Tele. The finish is gorgeous and that's what prompted me to do a spontaneous purchase. I have only experienced owning USA Teles, but I've played some Squiers that really impressed me. This one? Not so much. I don't detect any finish on the back of the neck although I'm sure it has a sealer of some sort. The body finish is nice, but the bridge hardware is cheaply made and I'll be replacing that for sure. Same goes for the tuners. I'm pretty sure it has some high frets because it goes dead starting at the 10th fret, but some of that was back bow. I loosened the truss and got rid if it, but now when I sight down the neck the forward bow is pretty obvious. I don't notice the frets being sharp on the ends. It now plays plays pretty good after sitting long enough for the truss Rod to settle, but I may need to tighten it just a little to get rid of some of the forward bow. The neck has a very comfortable profile. The body is thinner than my American Teles, but it doesn't bother me – in fact it's lighter which I enjoy. The body is Poplar and that's fine by me. I may leave the back of the neck alone for now because it actually feels pretty good, aesthetics are certainly lacking, but the body makes up for that. I'm sure with a little patience and help from my friends I'll have a nice instrument. All the basics are there. As is, it's not all that great, but still better than my first electric guitar! -!an old Kalamazoo single pickup thing with a bolt on neck back in the mid sixties. Like the title says, this thing has potential. I probably couldn't buy a finished body for what I paid.Ronnie

I bought my black metallic Squier Bullet eight years ago when GC was having a Columbus Day sale. I was looking for a guitar to which I could permanently mount my Roland GR-33 guitar synth's GK2a pickup. Previously I had the pickup mounted on my '96 Strat, and I didn't like this fit because I couldn't close my Strat's case with the pickup installed. I have a gig bag for this Squier, and it fits fine in the bag with pickup installed. Anyway, about the guitar. Right out of the box, it played great, requiring only a minimal amount of action adjustment. I was surprised at how good the pickups sounded, it being a Bullet and all. But the humbucker sounds especially nice when playing the guitar through my Marshall. The neck pickup has a decent sound, but not quite up to the snuff of a good alnico pickup. Still, for what the guitar cost, I really can't complain. If I want to, at some later date, I can always change out the neck pickup to a better alnico model. One thing I especially like about this black Bullet is its looks. The photos here at GC don't show it off all that well, but the guitar body's finish is metallic and the pickguard is a heavy metal flake. It looks spectacular under the lights. And the black hardware does a great job of completing that black look. The Bullet's body is thinner than a typical Strat or Squier Affinity or Classic Vibe body. The result is a light weight guitar, but there is no sacrifice in tone.Michael

I would first like to begin with- I normally would be giving a 5 star rating of this unit/Squier, as I have typically never had problems prior to the recent/earlier this year upset regarding shipping containers/etc being paused/sitting in the ocean/etc, delaying container delivery. PLEASE READ ON FOR FULL EXPLANATION. Two imperative points- 1. The fret ends were so sharp, when I say it was not playable (both sides/neck in its entirety), I mean, it was not playable (THE DATE OF INSPECTION WAS EARLIER THIS YEAR, AND I IMMEDIATELY ASSOCIATED THE FRET ENDS PROBLEM BEING DUE TO THE SHIPS BEING DELAYED/SITTING IN THE OCEAN/ETC- It looked to me like maybe between March and July of this year, although, I couldn't quite make out the stamped month). As well, the serial # of the guitar, of course, was of this year/'22. I maintain/work on most all my guitars, and I normally would've tightened up the fret ends myself, however, there was a hairline crack on the red sparkle finish at the bass side neck joint (which i just couldn't accept, visually), as well as a small tooling gash along the top edge of the headstock. The replacement/reordered guitar arrives tomorrow. 2. THE NEWER UNITS (AS, ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS A 2022-BUILT UNIT) ARE TOP-MOUNT/STRING THROUGH THE BACK OF THE BRIDGE, NOT "STRING-THRU" as the description indicates (and, with Squier bridge mounting, these are 5-screw mount plates, which, if ever you want to upgrade your hardware, particularly, w/the bridge, you must find an aftermarket unit that is "string through the back", along w/the correct string spacing (with Squier, they're 54mm, typically), and you'll typically need to redrill given it's rare to find plates that have Squier mounting dimensions that provided string through the back holes. I'm upgrading to a Babicz, given the results found. Also, there are two string trees (the second being a tree for both the D and G strings), and it looks great, actually, with both. Overall, I was impressed with the finish, as it was nearly flawless (aside from the hairline finish crack mentioned previously). The fretwire/fretwork, felt great….I found maybe two or so "slight" dead spots, which weren't enough of a "ping", or string buzz to be of concern, or critiquing the fretwork negatively. Rather, I was impressed with the fretwork. As well, it's important to note that the mounting of the bridge, along with the neck positioning/etc, was spot-on. No misalignment of the bridge mount/etc (and the same goes for the nut spacing). I've always been impressed with what Fender/Squier/Jackson are putting out. The quality is typically quite high…as for this unit, the quality is high, but the results of the environmental dilemma with either being stuck in a container offshore, or, sitting in a facility for weeks/months/etc, have had quite the impact on this guitar. As an important example, I had purchased a Bullet Tele last year (the unit in Burst color offered here through MF), and it was/is flawless, and I completely upgraded every part. As I own approx'ly 53 guitars ranging primarily from ESP to Jackson (some of which in the better than $2K range), I love to take what's titled as a "beginner" guitar, and totally hotrod it with high end parts (such is the case w/this guitar). As mentioned above, I've reordered the guitar, as MusiciansFriend provided me a generous discount (without having to ask) to accommodate me. Upgrades- 1. Babicz Full Contact Tele "Ashtray" bridge Gold, 2. Genuine Fender Gold control plate, 3. Fender Infinity Gold strap locks, 4. Gold input jack Ferrule, 5. Custom built Gold Sparkle w/star cut-outs Tele pickguard, 6. Philadelphia Luthier Tools "Fat" neck plate/Gold w/gold neck mounting screws, 7. Earvana compensated nut (Ivory), 8. Philadelphia Luthier Tools Gold string trees, 9. Fender locking tuners, Gold, 10. EMG T-52 set (black), or, EMG T-set, Red., 11. EMG Gold Telecaster knobs. 12. Powder coated Red pickguard screws, 13. Gold pickup mounting screws. Beginner guitar?……no more (ha).Dave

There is plenty to like about this guitar, and I got it for the features I was looking for: locking tremelo, 24 frets, fast neck, 5 way pickup selector, and nice looks. My first impressions of the guitar was slight disappointment with how sloppy Ibanez was. The tops and bottoms of the frets needed to be beveled as they were pretty sharp, there was a noticeable nick on the fretboard, and there was a black smudge on the back of the neck. None of those was a huge deal. The main two issues I have with the guitar are that the middle pickup, the single coil, has such low output that the middle three positions are much quieter than the neck or bridge pickups alone. I do like the tone of the single coil in conjunction with the humbuckers, but those positions are somewhat useless considering how quiet they are, and I have ordered a humbucker to replace it. The single coil alone (middle position) has too much noise AND is too quiet. Not a big deal to replace a pickup, but why they are selling it this way, I'm not sure. The second issue is the volume control. Instead of a gradual swell, there is a sharp dropoff in volume at one point in the rotation of the dial, making it pretty much useless other than having it full on or all the way off. I am not sure if that is fixable, but if it is, I'll need to have that done as well. All that said, if the guitar had not arrived in such sloppy condition and the two problems were resolved, I'd give this guitar 5 stars.hickory spork

The Ibanez RG 450 or any of the RG's are with the exception of the factory p/u and electronic. capable of becoming one of the best performance guitars to own. The base Ibanez Floyd Rose system is fiddley but, after learning how to adjust/tune quickly becomes appreciated for holding tune no matter the severity of attacks you use with the tremolo. The Wizard(ll or lll ?) You would need to go to custom built to exceed the easy play and comfortable frets you will find on and RG. This recent RG450 I upgraded to equal the higher priced models by adding the De Marzio Tone Zone (B), Air Norton (N). And instead of going with the True Velvet. Added the Seymour Duncan Vintage Hot Stack for the middle position and added better electrics to even out the upgrades.. End result; This guitar plays and sound equal to guitars costing over $1,000.00!! Good bones! Yes this can be played well and many will find happiness with this as stock., and, will perform well against the competition dollar for dollar!ikeus

I used to own an '89 Ibanez VBK JEM that I regrettably sold to buy a gaming pc. I wanted to get a newer entry level RG so I could have a floyd,HSH superstrat in E standard. I've had this RG for long enough to know it's a keeper. This thing has the same feel and vibe of my old JEM! Minus the monkey grip and other features obviously. The neck feels fantastic and I only had to do very minor setup adjustments to my liking. I would have liked a rosewood or ebony fingerboard but of course this is the lower end model. The Jatoba feels good under the fingers, similar to rosewood but with a slightly lighter shade to it. Like most guitars you buy online mine came desperately needing some good oil and cleaning. The Jatoba fingerboard seems to require a bit more lubrication than rosewood. The neck binding is done well, not perfect but to a good standard. I do wish the trem was an Edge lo-pro… But again, this is the lower priced model. There is nothing wrong with the Edge tremolo, it stays in tune well with whammy bar abuse but it is one of the bulkier Original Floyd Rose style bridges. The stock Quantum pickups are among the best stock Ibanez pickups I've tried. They are hot but versatile. However I did swap them out with the classic Dimarzio Air Norton/Steves Special combo and a True Velvet middle. I do believe a higher end Ibanez will obviously sound better than this but for the price it really is hard to beat! Well done Ibanez and AMS!Nevin

I bought this for my 5 year old after debating whether it would be worth it to go with a Jackson Minion instead. I ultimately decided that since he's so young I'd go with this disposable until/if he becomes "serious" about playing. For now, he's more interested in mimicking C.C. Deville, Jay Jay French, and trying to get "the keys to the Lamborghini." With this in mind, I found this guitar to be perfect. I must admit the first one I received had to be returned due to the B and high E strings laying on the first fret no matter the action or truss adjustment (the nut appeared installed too deep). The second one, while without the fret/string problem, simply doesn't feel as "solid" in all other aspects when compared to the first. We kept this second one, though, just because I cannot justify being too picky for a guitar in such a price range. That last point is really what one should take from any review on this guitar — or what one's expectations should be when they receive it. If one wants something with better hardware or quality, then you will spend three times as much. Granted, we're not talking thousands or even hundreds more, but this is what a decision to purchase this guitar is going to boil down to. With all of that said, should one have an issue with this guitar after receiving it, just know that the process for exchange couldn't be any easier. One other thing to point out — if you want to start doing your own guitar setup, this would be the perfect way to learn. Considering one will spend around fifty for a setup at the local shop, just buy one of these and learn to do it yourself. If you aren't willing to attempt setting it up yourself, then buy one of the name-brand short-scale guitars as it seems absurd to pay for a setup what one pays for this guitar in the first place.Where's my Aquanet?

This little Rogue is a really nice guitar. It's very well built – solid body & straight neck. It's simple, too – volume knob & a rockin' little humbucker. It's slightly smaller than normal, making it perfect for a kid or small-framed adult. It's even good for the full-sized player that travels/moves a lot & doesn't want too much guitar to have to pack around. This guitar is great for a beginner & for an accomplished player, too. I've also got the full-size RR100 guitar by Rogue, and they both play equally well. Both my RR50 and RR100 are the red/black color, and they're absolutely gorgeous. My advice to the beginner — Buy a Rogue acoustic or electric guitar for a great price, start learning to play, and as you get better & better, THEN you can go buy a $2,000 Gibson, Fender, Martin or Taylor. Mostly, though, HAVE FUN.jej-texas

I travel to Europe every month for business and wanted a practice guitar that would fit in my carry-on. I bought one of these and reshaped the headstock and positioned two of the tuners on the opposite side, and reshaped the body – cutting away everything not needed to play. With the neck unscrewed it fits perfectly in my carry-on luggage and often gets interesting comments from TSA screeners, but they've never had a problem with it. I could not have made a 100% full length guitar fit, but this 7/8th size is just right. The guitar needed set up work when it arrived, which I know how to do so it didn't cost me anything. The next was straight and the frets surprisingly level. The nut on my example was pretty close so relief, action and intonation were not terribly hard to set and are now about 98% of where they should be – a very serviceable practice travel guitar. The strings were junk so I replaced them with EBs (as I use on most of my other "real" guitars). I play it through an iRig into my iPhone and it sounds just fine. A better PUP would improve the sound, but the installed PUP is satisfactory for my purpose and most likely for any kid learning to play. The volume knob does get in the way of playing occasionally, as others have mentioned, but not so much and I have not bothered to change it out. Surprisingly, the tuners hold tune pretty well. Not as well as the Grovers on my Gib LP, but they hold pretty well over a week of playing in a hotel room. In the end, for a child that needs a reduced sized fret board or is more likely to just bang on the strings, or as in my case as a reworked travel practice guitar, this is a pretty good deal. However, if your child is likely to be a modestly serious student, or for an adult playing at home, I would buy a Squire Bullet or Affinity for a bit more.LarryC

I own several cigar box guitars – some I built – some I bought – usually fretted four strings that I mando tune. I wanted a three string for slide – I liked that this had a disk with a slide technique lesson. I was more than pleased – as an instrument, it's as good as most any CBG – they are all pretty crude at best. This one was easy to assemble – holds tune – sounds good acoustic or electric. There were some comments on it not using an actual cigar box, but a factory-made stylized resonator box. While this is true, it is at least as good as a cigar box, and I can understand why they broke that way for consistency and ease of build (which as I said, was super easy). Aesthetically, most people would probably prefer a real cigar box, but come on – it's like a uke – cheesy is part of the shtick. The lesson is good – play along CD and a book – comes with a good glass slide. I recommend it – worth the list price – all the better with the discounts.JoeFromSD

This is a great way to learn slide guitar. It is small & easy to learn. The book is full of great info. The CD is great, with back tracks, A tuning track so you do not need to buy a tuner, as long as you have something to play the CD in. It would be a good idea to buy a cheep tuner. As far as the price you just can't beat it. You can buy one for any wear from under $20.00 to $59.95. you just have to look around for a good price. Even at $30.00 to $ 40.00 is well worth it. The sound of the guitar very good and a small amp helps the sound but is not a must. Also you can take this any ware. In all this is a great product and was well thought out. Plus it is just fun to play!!handcuff123

I wanted a three string cigar box guitar and between a black friday discount and backstage pass points, I couldn't pass this up. Some reviewers complain that it's cardboard but domestic cigar boxes are predominantly cardboard. Also, Fender recently built a cardboard Strat that couldn't be told from a "real" Strat in a blind test. Build time was about ten minutes. I ran the strings around the tuners contrary to the directions so the string paths were straight. Sounds great acoustic and also great amplified. The only thing lacking is markers on the side of the neck. Maybe not sturdy enough for roughneck kids but a good introduction to the cigar box genre. Nice slide included.Mike

For many years I was looking for one, after the AEX 1500, Studio Lord (open book), TRB 5 Bass I already have, next to the other famous brand guitars (ES and Kalamazoo), and now she's there. A logical and highly welcome addition: great to look at, great to play. A bit smaller than the ES I have, as heavy, but this size is wonderfully comfortable. Hardly any guitar plays as smooth and easy. Great tone reach: from warm, traditional jazz, to fusion (listen to Not Yet of Vinny Valentino!) to blues with the crunchy little edge around the warmth of the humbuckers. Octaves like Wes float out, single note runs like any known jazz cat. All in all, this SA 2200 has everything! Super craftmanschip, beautiful looks.sg2000

This is over all a wonderful example of a ES335 copy. Fit and finish is easily as good as any Gibson I've ever owned, however. The plating on the bridge and pickup is horrible. I have guitars costing much less that the 'gold' plating still looks great on. Only a few months into ownership, the guitar looked like it had a disease. I contacted Guitar Center and Yamaha and they both told me 'tough luck'. It is clearly a flaw in the plating process, but neither the manufacturer or retailer are willing to do anything about it. I therefore don't gig with it. I'll be darned if I want to promote a product that looks this bad and has no support.Greg D

Bought this a couple of months back, and it's the first Yamaha guitar that i've owned. I have to say the quality of workmanship and finish are very good, apart from the fretwork, which was disappointing. All of the frets had sharp ends and were not well polished. The truss-rod required a number of adjustments over the first few weeks, now that the guitar has acclimatized, it's stable – and the ebony fretboard is very smooth. Playability is ok, but sterile. If you're looking at a semi-hollow in the $2k price range, my recommendation would be to look elsewhere.MW

This guitar is the perfect size for my 8,7, and 6 year old. Look wise, it doesn't appear to be cheaply made and it doesn't sound like it either. My first impressions were that this isn't really some cheap toy guitar. It is defintely a real guitar but kid sized. The amp is mini but I am still impressed with the sound because I honestly wasn't expecting it to be as nice as it is. This guitar definitely delivered everything that was advertised. It is for sure a cool toy and it comes with everything your kids need to rock out with straight out of the box.Smlberryz

My 9 yr old grand daughter has long expressed an interest in learning to play guitar, like Omi does. My electric was a little big for her to deal with, and the acoustic I bought her to learn on was not as exciting, in her eyes. This is the answer, it is small enough for her to use while still being large enough for me to use. The sound is solid. She is excited to practice. Her mom is excited that the amp can be turned down to a reasonable volume at their home. 🙂DReece417

Aesthetically the look is great! It was an instant favorite Christmas gift. Unfortunately shortly after unboxing, we discovered that no power cord was included for the amp. We were able to use one we had lying around the house, but the amp worked for all of 10 minutes and then never worked again. We ended up returning the guitar and buying my son an acoustic one from a local shop. Do not waste your money!Jenn_Lee

I received my guitar today. Blue Metal Chameleon. I love it. It sounds great. No flaws, great packaging. Just a great guitar at a great price.John

I purchased this guitar when it was $95 off full price. So that kind of makes it a worthwhile purchase. Definitely not worth full price in my opinion. Poorly packed with insufficient padding in the box allowed two of the strings to be bent during shipping. I assume this happened during shipping. They wouldnt send bent strings right? Thankfully they provided back up strings… The nut is very poorly crafted. You can visibly see burrs and imperfections in the nut that cause the strings to ring out of tune on certain parts of the fret board even after tuning. The pick-up selector nob fell right off first time I adjusted it. I will have to glue it myself. When the notes do play out true the triple pick ups sound better than the Peavy beginner guitar I used to have– Which only had two pickups and came in a similar starter package but was about half the price as this guitar. I think if I research how to fix some of the issues I can make it playable. But this guitar is far from playable out of the box. Fairly poor quality control.Cody

I was looking forward to ordering this as my first guitar after taking some classes a couple years back. The shipping was remarkably fast–however, when the product arrived the amp was completely broken. Upon plugging the guitar into the amp and strumming, it would make a horrendous scratching, broken sound. Plucking strings has the exact same effect, and occasionally the amp will cut off after a second of playing. I've tried adjusting the dials, turning overdrive on and off, I even bought a new cord thinking that was the issue to no avail. To make matters worse I have called the customer support number multiple times asking if I could recieve a partial refund, or ship back the amp for a functioning replacement–every time I'm left on hold before the call disconnects, if I can even get through to begin with. The only reason this isn't a one star review is that the guitar itself works fine and looks beautiful! I wouldn't reccomend buying the full set if they don't bother to make sure one of the most essential parts is functioning before shipping however.James B.

In December 2020, I purchased the Beginner Electric Guitar Kit w/ Case, 10W Amp, Tremolo Bar – 39in. The packaging was excellent and the delivery was on time. Initially, I purchased it for my kids but they did not express any interest. So, I took up the guitar myself and started learning via YouTube. I popped a few strings and when I took it to the guitar shop to have the strings replaced, they were pleasantly surprised by the quality workmanship of the guitar. Since then, I've learned to tune the guitar and replace the strings myself – courtesy of YouTube. The guitar is really great and I play it everyday. Thank you BCP for the great service, affordable pricing and an awesome guitar!Tony

This is a solid build guitar, perfect for beginners. Mine worked well right out of the box (after tuning, of course). The amplifier works well also, for what it is; a low-power practice amp. If you're looking for a way to start learning to play guitar without breaking the bank, this kit should work for you.CrashC

The guitar kit came in fairly quickly, but right away there was a problem. It came with five strings, with what was left of the sixth stuck in the guitar, the tuner was shattered, and the kit was missing the Allen wrenches and the picks. The box was loosely packed with no styrofoam or anything, with the guitar in the gig bag and the rest of the stuff thrown into the pocket besides the amp. Seems like it was either a rushed job, or all come boxed like that. The guitar plays alright once the strings were replaced, but it loses tuning pretty quick. Theres obvious signs of neglect such as body chips near the neck, and scratches on the pick guard. The finish on the guitar is pretty nice, and it feels alright in the hands. I wouldnt recommend if you expect everything to come as described in the picture though.jonaba4165

Great little set for beginners or even intermediates as you get the whole package. The tuner is very nice and works well. Everything to get started and the guitar itself feels very solid and has better than average settings for the sounds you'd want. The extra strings were fine but I'm adding a better quality set which I already had anyway. Either way you can't go wrong on this package. The amp has good settings and sounds nice. Overall a good buy.alsmith029

There is plenty to like about this guitar, and I got it for the features I was looking for: locking tremelo, 24 frets, fast neck, 5 way pickup selector, and nice looks. My first impressions of the guitar was slight disappointment with how sloppy Ibanez was. The tops and bottoms of the frets needed to be beveled as they were pretty sharp, there was a noticeable nick on the fretboard, and there was a black smudge on the back of the neck. None of those was a huge deal. The main two issues I have with the guitar are that the middle pickup, the single coil, has such low output that the middle three positions are much quieter than the neck or bridge pickups alone. I do like the tone of the single coil in conjunction with the humbuckers, but those positions are somewhat useless considering how quiet they are, and I have ordered a humbucker to replace it. The single coil alone (middle position) has too much noise AND is too quiet. Not a big deal to replace a pickup, but why they are selling it this way, I'm not sure. The second issue is the volume control. Instead of a gradual swell, there is a sharp dropoff in volume at one point in the rotation of the dial, making it pretty much useless other than having it full on or all the way off. I am not sure if that is fixable, but if it is, I'll need to have that done as well. All that said, if the guitar had not arrived in such sloppy condition and the two problems were resolved, I'd give this guitar 5 stars.hickory spork

The Ibanez RG 450 or any of the RG's are with the exception of the factory p/u and electronic. capable of becoming one of the best performance guitars to own. The base Ibanez Floyd Rose system is fiddley but, after learning how to adjust/tune quickly becomes appreciated for holding tune no matter the severity of attacks you use with the tremolo. The Wizard(ll or lll ?) You would need to go to custom built to exceed the easy play and comfortable frets you will find on and RG. This recent RG450 I upgraded to equal the higher priced models by adding the De Marzio Tone Zone (B), Air Norton (N). And instead of going with the True Velvet. Added the Seymour Duncan Vintage Hot Stack for the middle position and added better electrics to even out the upgrades.. End result; This guitar plays and sound equal to guitars costing over $1,000.00!! Good bones! Yes this can be played well and many will find happiness with this as stock., and, will perform well against the competition dollar for dollar!ikeus

I used to own an '89 Ibanez VBK JEM that I regrettably sold to buy a gaming pc. I wanted to get a newer entry level RG so I could have a floyd,HSH superstrat in E standard. I've had this RG for long enough to know it's a keeper. This thing has the same feel and vibe of my old JEM! Minus the monkey grip and other features obviously. The neck feels fantastic and I only had to do very minor setup adjustments to my liking. I would have liked a rosewood or ebony fingerboard but of course this is the lower end model. The Jatoba feels good under the fingers, similar to rosewood but with a slightly lighter shade to it. Like most guitars you buy online mine came desperately needing some good oil and cleaning. The Jatoba fingerboard seems to require a bit more lubrication than rosewood. The neck binding is done well, not perfect but to a good standard. I do wish the trem was an Edge lo-pro… But again, this is the lower priced model. There is nothing wrong with the Edge tremolo, it stays in tune well with whammy bar abuse but it is one of the bulkier Original Floyd Rose style bridges. The stock Quantum pickups are among the best stock Ibanez pickups I've tried. They are hot but versatile. However I did swap them out with the classic Dimarzio Air Norton/Steves Special combo and a True Velvet middle. I do believe a higher end Ibanez will obviously sound better than this but for the price it really is hard to beat! Well done Ibanez and AMS!Nevin