Best Guitar You Played (2024 Update)

I got this guitar on September 14th, 2021, and have had some minor issues with it. When I receive this guitar, it was perfect. Not a single case of fret buzz, the nut was perfect, and it was an all around great guitar. However, after about a month. I realized the tuners were a bit out of wack. I would be a bit flat, and turn the tuning peg over and over and over, only to not tighten the string at all. Then when I finally did one last turn, I'd be sharp by a whole note! Whatever, just replace the tuners. I had been putting that off. The next issue was a bit weird. I play really hard, and over time, the bridge pins were starting to get loose, and eventually a whole screw came out, and I had to take the guitar to a tech. I know this is probably user error, but still. I eventually just decided to turn it into a Jonny Greenwood tele, with lace sensors, a kill switch, and all. And let me tell you, this guitar is perfect now. The neck is (and always was) exactly what I was looking for. It's a bit thinner that my Squier Affinity Strat, but I like a thinner neck. Bottom line, I would recommend this guitar if your okay with getting new tuners. No one else I know has had problem with the bridge, so consider that. (P.S. I forgot to say that the stock pickups are amazing! I almost just kept them, they sound really good)Cory

I have twenty Fenders, including seven telecasters, and this is better than all of them. The neck feels like its been played for years, and the shape is perfect. Heavy rolled edges make it a pleasure to play with my thumb over the neck. First guitar I have bought that I had to raise the action slightly on the top two strings. Set up for fast playing or chords straight out of the case. The colour is sparkly brownish, but looks black in most light. Very well made guitar. The pickups are noiseless and are silent even with pedals. They sound like standard pickups, no loss of signal because of the extra windings for the noise cancellation. Sound fine. I must say, the pro 1 series pickups sound better. All in all a lovely instrument, well worth the extra few quid.STEVEN T.

Overall: I have an Ultra Strat in Cobra Blue, an Ultra Jazz Bass in Texas Tea, a Les Paul Standard Gold Top and other guitars. This has the most beautiful finish (Sunburst). Way better than the picture or videos. The tone is amazing. Light weight at 6.2 pounds. Officially my favorite guitar. Add to that they shipped it to me in 25 hours after promising 5 days. Ordered Monday noon and here it is. They had it in a warehouse near Reno and I got it next day. zZounds you ROCK.William

The Fender Ultra Telecaster Texas Tea is an amazing guitar, at first I noticed the D-Shape neck and quickly adapted to it. The neck feels silky smooth, hand glides over frets and is easy to play. The sound from pickups are brutally brilliant, and wit the S1 switch built into the tone knob, sends a slightly different signal, bit more gain with full richness depending on the selector position of course. I went initially seeking for the Jimmy Page Dragon Guitar and walk out of the shop with this Ultra instead, and for the few hundred dollars more, this guitar is totally worth it. The look of it is killer, and so classy – if there is an ultra guitar series in your guitar shop locally, don't hesitate to pick it up and test it out. This guitar is HOT! It's difficult to see in these photos but the colour under certain light angles are different and has small sparkling metallic substances mixed in with the colour. It's a black oily dark grey/brown. The neck has a vintage tone colour and the rosewood neck and skunk stripe just makes this guitar special.Jim T.

I didn't have high hopes for a guitar in this price point, but it has had rave reviews so I ordered one. When I unboxed it after about 5 hours, the very first thing that I noticed was the build quality. The neck set is absolutely perfect and the guitar is very nicely playable right out of the box. The finish on this guitar is superb. It is a Plain Jane but it's pleasing to the eye as a solid, well built guitar. It tuned up well and I played a couple of sets on it, and after one retune, it sang out quite nicely. The only change I will make to this guitar is changing the nut and the bridge to bone, since the plastic polymer just doesn't sustain like this guitar is capable of doing. The additional 50 dollar investment is well worth it, I would be comfortable playing this guitar anywhere, it's well worth the money, and it's easy to see why the reviews have been so good on it.Taylor W.

When the guitar arrived, I was not disappointed. The "sandburst" finish was fantastic–satin on the body, matte on the neck, which made playing a breeze. The fret work has no issues. The only change I will make is to have a tech file the nut grooves so the action is easier on the first fret; this is not uncommon with new guitars from any manufacturer. Other than that, the guitar is ideal. The bass response makes my fillings rattle (in a good way) and this guitar is loud when I need it to be. An important factor is this FG800 comes with a solid top spruce–this can't be emphasized enough. With laminate tops, you might get lucky with a decent tone, but the odds will be against you. A solid top will bring you closer to the sound you want. I don't believe in "beginner" guitars, which is another term for paying less in case you don't want to play the guitar later. If you're a guitar player, you'll know what you want. The FG800 passes for a quality guitar that will last your lifetime and that of the person you might bequeath it to.Dave

I’m impressed by the build and sound quality of this acoustic guitar! Easy to tune and play. I used to play on a Taylor GS mini (Koa) but couldn’t bring it with me when I moved to the UK. I was thinking about buying the same model here but they’re quite expensive and paying for international shipping to bring mine from my home country wouldn’t be cheaper as well. That’s when I saw online reviews of this Yamaha FG800 and decided to give it a shot. PMT shopping experience was very smooth and the delivery was very fast – next day. Couldn’t be happier! Now I have something to play after 6 months after moving. And it’s a good quality guitar.Victor T.

I have bought several guitars in the 100 to 300 range. I was surprised on the quality of this guitar and felt it was superior to many other brands in this range. From neck joint to fret polish & leveling and finish this guitar is quality except the tuners, however the guitar stays in tune and rarely goes out. The neck is not a Fender Strat or Tele neck so don't expect it to play like one, Its its own thing. It is not wide at the nut so if you need a wide neck at the nut it may not be for you. I find it fine and would not consider it narrow. The neck is slightly fatter than a Squire neck but it is still a C shape and a bit thicker as you go up the neck to higher frets. It plays great. Its set up well for Rock and Blues playing, neck adjusted with a light bow and strings set low (but not to low to buzz). Bridge saddles are stainless steel and this make the strings ring out bright and loud even when not plugged in. Intonation was spot on. Frets are tall enough to allow for string bending (there not super low). As regards pickups this is a personal thing. Pickups are very basic and do okay, one may want to upgrade them to ones own liking other wise there fine.pchapm

I was hesitant when ordering the guitar, but after I received it worry washed away from a single glance. I'm not good at instruments, I never played anything than doing ukulele club when I was a kid so I didn't expect myself to buy a guitar. It's delicate and beautiful, feels great to hold and sounds just as good. I do not regret buying this guitar at all, in fact I'm greatful that I'm able to own it. I strive to become great at playing it, little by little . Thank you!Nazma B.

It's a beautiful guitar and really well made. I bought it for my 9 year old daughter and she loves it. I don't know anything about guitars as I'm a pianist myself, but her guitar teacher was absolutely delighted with it. It's definitely worth paying the extra for the upgrades. I can definitely see it lasting her as it feels really solid, and the knobs and twiddly bits etc feel really solid. I genuinely can't get over how nice it is. Makes me want to learn the guitar myself!Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I have bought several guitars in the 100 to 300 range. I was surprised on the quality of this guitar and felt it was superior to many other brands in this range. From neck joint to fret polish & leveling and finish this guitar is quality except the tuners, however the guitar stays in tune and rarely goes out. The neck is not a Fender Strat or Tele neck so don't expect it to play like one, Its its own thing. It is not wide at the nut so if you need a wide neck at the nut it may not be for you. I find it fine and would not consider it narrow. The neck is slightly fatter than a Squire neck but it is still a C shape and a bit thicker as you go up the neck to higher frets. It plays great. Its set up well for Rock and Blues playing, neck adjusted with a light bow and strings set low (but not to low to buzz). Bridge saddles are stainless steel and this make the strings ring out bright and loud even when not plugged in. Intonation was spot on. Frets are tall enough to allow for string bending (there not super low). As regards pickups this is a personal thing. Pickups are very basic and do okay, one may want to upgrade them to ones own liking other wise there fine.pchapm

I was hesitant when ordering the guitar, but after I received it worry washed away from a single glance. I'm not good at instruments, I never played anything than doing ukulele club when I was a kid so I didn't expect myself to buy a guitar. It's delicate and beautiful, feels great to hold and sounds just as good. I do not regret buying this guitar at all, in fact I'm greatful that I'm able to own it. I strive to become great at playing it, little by little . Thank you!Nazma B.

It's a beautiful guitar and really well made. I bought it for my 9 year old daughter and she loves it. I don't know anything about guitars as I'm a pianist myself, but her guitar teacher was absolutely delighted with it. It's definitely worth paying the extra for the upgrades. I can definitely see it lasting her as it feels really solid, and the knobs and twiddly bits etc feel really solid. I genuinely can't get over how nice it is. Makes me want to learn the guitar myself!Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Yes, the tonal range is great, especially the piezo pickup, nicely playable and overall looks and finish seem perfect. But, with nicely contoured access to the high notes let down by the overly large neck heal which starts a fret or two earlier than my other electric guitars. Another annoyance is the very cheap knobs which don't sit straight on the pots. I have a guitar costing a tenth of the price with better fitting knobs. The battery compartment is a bad joke of a design, as the battery holder comes out with the wires attached, you then have to prise up the battery from its contacts and the lever it out for replacement. Overall these are minor annoyances on what is a great guitar but, at this price I expected better. Oh yes, it came with a hard case. Which doesn't fit properly and with no tags or brand markings so who knows what it was made for. It did come with two loose bits of foam, one which was floating around unsure of its purpose.Kevin L.

PRS SE Hollowbody II Piezo — I've owned and played this guitar for about three months now. Bottom line: I'm very happy with it–and would recommend it–in spite of a couple issues. There are dozens and dozens of videos that go into detail about the appearance, fit, and finish of this guitar so I won't bother with all that except to confirm that it is very well made overall. The magnetic pickups sound fantastic, period. The piezo pickup was putting out FAR too hot of a signal, distorting at low guitar volume, but once I learned how to adjust the trim pot for it (thanks to the PRS guitar forum website), that problem was solved and now it sounds good. It's a tad bright in my opinion but that's easily fixed with the tone knob on any amp or with an EQ pedal. The battery compartment opens easily enough, but getting the 9V battery out of it without breaking the plastic frame is a challenge. Fortunately, the battery isn't used unless you plug a cable into the PIEZO/MAG jack. The 3-way selector is garbage and I was experiencing crackling and signal drop right out of the box. HOWEVER, this is a known issue and several reviewer videos mention it so I knew what to expect. My soldering skills are only beginner-level (and I've never worked on a hollowbody before) so I paid to have a pro replace the switch for me. MF has offered to credit me the amount of the repair once I send them the receipt, so that's good. The Guitar Case — This shipped with a hard case, which I'm not happy with. When the guitar is properly seated and the lid is properly closed and latched, there is a quarter-inch gap around the bottom (see pics). That's not good. There are several (expensive) case options that are touted as "PRS and PRS-style" cases but they WILL NOT FIT this particular guitar because the lower bout is 14" wide (at least an inch wider than other PRS models). Also, it's about an inch thicker (front to back) than a Jazzmaster so a Jaguar/Jazz case won't work either.RiserGrease

I received the Black Gold Burst version about a week ago. It's a BEAUTIFUL guitar. The pictures don't do it justice. The f-holes really add to the appearance. Fender ALSO makes a hollowbody guitar, but they went the round sound hole direction, which, IMHO, is hokey looking. The sound is INCREDIBLE! I have 4 other electric guitars, including a Fender American Standard Strat, Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG and an Ibanez Prestige- They are ALL wonderful guitars, and each has its own personality, in how they play AND how they sound. THIS guitar has a sound that TRANSCENDS ALL of my other guitars. There are a number of videos on YouTube. BUT, as with the appearance, they simply DO NOT do it justice. The humbucker pickups ALONE produce a sound that is CLEAR and RESONANT. Adding the sound from the piezo pickup sends it over the top! ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS. I was a little reluctant to purchase a guitar made in China. However, the CONSTRUCTION and FINISH are PERFECT! PLUS, the cost is WAAAY less than the equivalent US-made version. I hope I've given you the idea that this is a SPECIAL guitar, BECAUSE IT IS!Kevin

I love this guitar, its my first LP and my first guitar with p90s but my fourth Gibson. The Gibsons I bought in the mid 2000s were frankly disappointing but this and the one prior (a red figured-top 335) are excellent. I was looking for something that could give me the clarity of my Strat with the warmth of my 335. I'm still not used to this new world of buying guitars from the internet (in my youth many hours were wasted not-buying but playing guitars at Guitar Center and elsewhere). Anyway this LP didn't disappoint, the fit and finish are good although not perfect I can see on the back areas that needed to be sanded a bit better before lacquer (but you have to look and want to see the imperfections). The top is flawless, the neck might be my favorite neck on any guitar I own (I've heard it tracks the 54' neck), the pots work linearly and smoothly and are connected by the orange drop caps, the pickups are amazing. The P90s do exactly what I hoped they would, move from warm cleans to crunch. Tons of harmonics, touch sensitive like my strat but with a fuller top end. People complain about the 60cycle hum and it is present but not much worse than my humbucker guitars. Ive also heard people complain that the bridge pickup lacks power, I found it was slightly anemic, however I adjusted the pickup height and the problem was solved (yes you can adjust p90 pickup height). if you have read this far you know what you want. If you can swing the money go for it you won't be disappointedJoel

I've had my 50s Cherry Paulie for about 2 weeks now. After stubbornly disagreeing with the hype of Les Pauls, I decided to give one a go. WOW! Be aware this will not be the crunchiest pickup set, (try the 60s in store to compare.) I'm used to the lightweights of the Gibson family (SG&339,) so this was quite a contrast for me. Specifically the heel on the Les Paul is huge, comparatively, so there's a bit of a learning curve on the higher end of the board. The Alnico II magnets create the "iconic 70s rock sound" that many search for. My only question stems from this new nut they give. I don't like how far they cut the string into the nut, and it could be creating an action/buzzing issue on the low E. Upon looking at other 2021 productions online, it looks like it is a common occurrence.Jack

I have twenty Fenders, including seven telecasters, and this is better than all of them. The neck feels like its been played for years, and the shape is perfect. Heavy rolled edges make it a pleasure to play with my thumb over the neck. First guitar I have bought that I had to raise the action slightly on the top two strings. Set up for fast playing or chords straight out of the case. The colour is sparkly brownish, but looks black in most light. Very well made guitar. The pickups are noiseless and are silent even with pedals. They sound like standard pickups, no loss of signal because of the extra windings for the noise cancellation. Sound fine. I must say, the pro 1 series pickups sound better. All in all a lovely instrument, well worth the extra few quid.STEVEN T.

Overall: I have an Ultra Strat in Cobra Blue, an Ultra Jazz Bass in Texas Tea, a Les Paul Standard Gold Top and other guitars. This has the most beautiful finish (Sunburst). Way better than the picture or videos. The tone is amazing. Light weight at 6.2 pounds. Officially my favorite guitar. Add to that they shipped it to me in 25 hours after promising 5 days. Ordered Monday noon and here it is. They had it in a warehouse near Reno and I got it next day. zZounds you ROCK.William

The Fender Ultra Telecaster Texas Tea is an amazing guitar, at first I noticed the D-Shape neck and quickly adapted to it. The neck feels silky smooth, hand glides over frets and is easy to play. The sound from pickups are brutally brilliant, and wit the S1 switch built into the tone knob, sends a slightly different signal, bit more gain with full richness depending on the selector position of course. I went initially seeking for the Jimmy Page Dragon Guitar and walk out of the shop with this Ultra instead, and for the few hundred dollars more, this guitar is totally worth it. The look of it is killer, and so classy – if there is an ultra guitar series in your guitar shop locally, don't hesitate to pick it up and test it out. This guitar is HOT! It's difficult to see in these photos but the colour under certain light angles are different and has small sparkling metallic substances mixed in with the colour. It's a black oily dark grey/brown. The neck has a vintage tone colour and the rosewood neck and skunk stripe just makes this guitar special.Jim T.

What a brilliant guitar and superb value package! I have owned ‘real’ Gibsons over the years and bought this outfit as a birthday gift for my granddaughter who is learning to play. She has had a fender acoustic for a couple of years and now wants her own electric guitar. I chose this outfit as having previously owned one in the past I like Epiphone guitars. Before giving it to her I thought it best to check it over and set it up but there was nothing to do really, after tuning this guitar was perfectly playable right out the box! The feel, balance and weight is very like my Gibson and the sound is superb. The amp is excellent and packs enough punch to put a smile on your face too. She’s delighted with the built in tuner as well as the other essentials included in the outfit. What’s not to like? I can’t find a better value package!W O.

My original review still stands, but I made cosmetic-only upgrades for less than an average couple's meal at a casual restaurant that makes this look much, much more expensive. No tuner, pickup or pot swaps. Replaced black plastic parts with cream, added cream pickguard, replaced chrome tuner knobs with Klausen-style ivory-look knobs. Installed chrome pickup covers. Replaced speed knobs with gold top-hats.Easily done to make this look like a proper Les Paul. I'm happy with the looks for the little extra money spent.Steve

As the song says: "I'm a Sucker for a Cheap Guitar". I own over 30 – some cheap, some not so cheap. This one arrived perfectly set up: low action, no buzzing, no sharp fret edges, easy to play – amazing for a guitar in this price range. Although not great, the pickups even sounded acceptable. It's heavy, which to me means good, though not as heavy as my Gibson. It's OK-looking, but needed something to enhance it – a pickguard. I added one and it looks much better – more expensive. Instead of cutting off part of the guard to accommodate the knob as I've seen some others do, I drilled a hole big enough for the nut on the body underneath the knob to fit through the guard (see photos). Since the guard isn't much thicker than the nut, it allowed the guard to fit flush with the body and the knob to turn without any restriction of motion, and the pickguard is not butchered. It's a very clean look – like it came that way – not modified. So, I am pleased with this instrument, and would recommend it to anyone for any purpose: especially beginners to play or someone like me who just collects cheap guitars to hang on the wall of their studiio.Steve

I didn't have high hopes for a guitar in this price point, but it has had rave reviews so I ordered one. When I unboxed it after about 5 hours, the very first thing that I noticed was the build quality. The neck set is absolutely perfect and the guitar is very nicely playable right out of the box. The finish on this guitar is superb. It is a Plain Jane but it's pleasing to the eye as a solid, well built guitar. It tuned up well and I played a couple of sets on it, and after one retune, it sang out quite nicely. The only change I will make to this guitar is changing the nut and the bridge to bone, since the plastic polymer just doesn't sustain like this guitar is capable of doing. The additional 50 dollar investment is well worth it, I would be comfortable playing this guitar anywhere, it's well worth the money, and it's easy to see why the reviews have been so good on it.Taylor W.

I’m impressed by the build and sound quality of this acoustic guitar! Easy to tune and play. I used to play on a Taylor GS mini (Koa) but couldn’t bring it with me when I moved to the UK. I was thinking about buying the same model here but they’re quite expensive and paying for international shipping to bring mine from my home country wouldn’t be cheaper as well. That’s when I saw online reviews of this Yamaha FG800 and decided to give it a shot. PMT shopping experience was very smooth and the delivery was very fast – next day. Couldn’t be happier! Now I have something to play after 6 months after moving. And it’s a good quality guitar.Victor T.

This Yamaha instrument is well made. Especially for the price point of just under $200.00. I have purchased many Yamaha acoustics over the years and this guitar will not disappoint. No cosmetic flaws on this instrument, with a nice finish and worth checking out. I have been playing for over 40 years and am now retired, and I rate this guitar at 9.5 out of ten. Perfect for my finger style playing. Very full sounding board and visually appealing. Truss adjustment was made to tighten the action a bit to my personal preferred. The frets could use some polishing, as do most of acoustics at this price. I had purchased an identical instrument not too long ago and it also was a gem right out of the box, and decided to keep only one. Very comparable to an Ibanez Artwood instrument. I highly rate this Yamaha and it is definitely worth a look👍CHRISTOPHER

I am both surprised and please with this guitar I purchased this guitar at GC Nashville after returning a Gibson Les Paul Classic that I bought online. (lesson learned, don't buy from GC online.) The staff there were great and had no issues with me returning a $2200 guitar that I bought online. Even more supportive in helping me pick out a much less expensive guitar. Great people. This Epiphone is awesome. The fit and finish are great. The action is low and no buzz. The tone is great and It is lighter and easier to handle than the Gibson . The best part is it cost a third of the one I returned. I really wanted a Gibson but I am so glad I picked up this Epiphone. A word of caution. I looked at and played several guitars at GC before choosing this one. I even played a couple of other Epiphone Les Paul Customs. No two were the same. One had razors for frets, one had an action you could drive a truck under and this one was just right. Go in an play them before buying.Mike

This is my second 6 string electric, and I couldn't be HAPPIER with it! My first guitar is an entry level Epiphone SG Special that was a couple hundred bucks back in the day. It got the job done…good frets, good tune, good everything. I recently decided to step it up and get a "mid-range" guitar but still not break the bank with an Epiphone. And I'm not calling Epiphone cheap…they are just more in my price range when compared to Gibsons. Stepping it up is the right description for this guitar!! It is AMAZING! The feel, the tone, the look! It sounds great and feels good in the hands too. I especially love the Silverburst color!! The main reason I wanted this specific guitar. It's Adam Jones from TooL color scheme finish but on an epiphone! They are coming out with his own model of epiphone, but I'm impatient lol. Looks are important to picking out a guitar as much as sound! The inlays on the fretboard look beautiful. The pick guard and finish are beautiful, the trim/binding around the guitar… this guitar has reignited my passion for playing! As of this writing, I have no complaints! Excellent guitar!Matt

I purchased this guitar because a Les Paul was missing from my gear arsenal and I didn't want to drop three grand on a Gibson. I played a wall model at a local GC store and decided to buy, but requested a factory new model sent to me, because the wall model I played had some nicks in the fretboard, a sketchy 3 way switch and had worn strings and the intonation was way off above the 14th fret. I paid for next day air shipping to expedite the process because I tend to want the things I pay for fairly quickly. The shipping tag originated from the same city I live in, meaning they had a factory new either in the warehouse or at the neighboring store about 20 miles away. So I essentially paid 42$ for expedited shipping and could had likely gotten it same day if I asked the right questions I suppose. Shame on me. The next business day my guitar is delivered to my residence, I open it and immediately inspected it for possible shipping damage or factory flaws. It arrives with a broken 3 way switch, all strings tuned nearly 2 steps flat and also needed to make a truss rod adjustment to straighten the neck. Completely unacceptable that these issues left both the factory and GC's "quality control" in the condition it did. Luckily I work at a local small box music store and worked with our own luthier after hours to set it up and correct the problems. All that said, this guitar is absolutely fantastic. It plays and sounds very good and even though the stock pickups aren't top tier, they are excellent performers at a very reasonable price point. Monster value in this guitar. If you can acquire one some where other than Guitar Center, do it. If you do purchase from guitar center, make absolutely certain to have it looked at by a professional before accepting it. 5 stars for the guitar and it's value. 1 star for guitar centers lack of QC shipping items.Dan

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

Overall: I've been a guitarist since the late 80's, but I no longer play professionally, but I do play at home a lot. I've sold off most of my Gibsons (I held on to my '19 Les Paul Traditional) and I'm having a blast with these new Epi models. Everyone is raving about the Standard and the '59 models, and rightfully so. I own both, as well as a new Custom Silverburst and they're all great. This Classic is no exception. It actually arrived needing the least amount of setup work of all the others. The Alnico Classic Pros are brighter and a bit hotter than the Probuckers, but they're not at all harsh. The electronics work as expected, the neck pickup sounds sweet when split and the Phase feature sounds good with some moderate gain. The nut was cut extremely well and the frets don't need really much dressing. The neck is a little slimmer than what I'm used to, but it's easy adapting. The fretboard is a bit dry, but that's normal. Actually, these new Epiphone models all arrived in better condition than most of my Gibsons did in the past. The new Epiphone models are players guitars. Not wall art or collector's (cork sniffers) guitars, I wouldn't hesitate to take any of them to a gig and have fun with them. That's the whole point, right? I just wish they had made import guitars of this quality when I first started playing.Uriah

Out of the box and tuned, this guitar was completely unplayable with the neck so bent that pressing the strings at anywhere beyond the 8th fret fouled the frets higher up the neck, this also meant the action (measured at the 12th fret) was over 6mm. Fortunately I’ve a good understanding of how to set-up a guitar so adjusted the neck to have minimal relief with the truss rod – as a point of interest there was no truss rod allen key in the box, so just as well that I have my own tools. Once the action was set to my preferred settings (and by no means not as low as many like it) I had loads of fret buzz all over the place. So resetting the neck flat and using a ‘fret rocker’ I found 17 of the 22 frets (at various points across the neck) in need of remedial work to get them level. However as the guitar was new I decided initially to just add a bit more neck relief & set the action a shade higher, while I decided if I should just send it back or spending some hours sorting the frets in the near future? There are some positive points! I really liked the ‘worn’ (satin) finish although I feel there should have been a higher discount over the gloss finished versions as this must have saved loads of time during the finishing process. The Alnico Classic PRO pickups sound powerful with loads of variation between the neck and bridge and support coil-splitting. With the coils split option, with push/pull volume pots, there is (as expected) a significant drop in output but they do sound good, verging on P90 territory, rather than Strat/Tele sound ‘alikes’. One of the areas that lower cost guitars usually fail on is the quality of the tuners, here they have fitted Grover Rotomatics with an 18:1 ratio. They are smooth and easy to operate with the large kidney button heads, holding tune very well. The nut, a Graph Tech, was superbly cut, but unfortunately this was completely wasted with the poor quality of fret levelling from the factory as several of the strings would buzz when played open when set at a reasonably low action! The trapezoid neck inlays are very well fitted and although acrylic, do a very good impersonation of mother of pearl. Visually the guitar look stunning with its unusual colour and matt (worn) finish, but I do find the inclusion of gold knobs a bit of a clash with the all Nickel hardware and at the back cream control plate covers just don’t look right and should have been black. But both of these last two issues are a really cheap to resolve at about £12 for both black cover plates and 4 clear knobs. Overall both positives & negatives to consider and if I’d been unable to adjust the guitar myself, there would have been no option but to just send it back for a refund/replacement (hence 3 stars which I think is quite generous) as it is I’ll be keeping this. If I could have bought this locally it would have been great to try before I bought, but my local Epiphone dealer (90 mile round trip) didn’t have any in stock and was unlikely to get one, so I went the mail order route. The guitar is now playing well and will be even better when I get the time to sort out the frets and put a set of 9-42 gauge strings on.Paul

This guitar is absolutely stunning. At about $450 the Epiphone Les Paul Special certainly hits its price point without question. This is the 2nd time I bought this guitar, but I couldn't resist buying this again. I'll start with the cons first, that I noticed applied to both Special's I've owned.. The poly finish is thick. The combination of the "tv yellow" color and the thick polyurethane sort of gives a toy like feeling, or a bit of a cheapness to it.. Speaking of "tv yellow," it's really more of a Dijon mustard/ Carmel color. I don't think that's a bad thing or ugly by any means, but as other reviewers may have stated, the Epiphone isn't quite as accurate to its high end counterpart. The pickup routes and control cavity were also a little bit choppy, but that's just nit picking. If you buy this guitar, you will most likely need a setup. 2nd time around, I knew that going in but both guitars I bought needed set ups. That being said, this guitar is awesome. Surprisingly the laurel fingerboard was really smooth and moist. I do not sense bad or tall frets, but are scratchy at first. The P90 pros are so good. The CTS pots are so dynamic. The volume and tone sweeps combined with these P90 pros are so dynamic and touch sensitive, that they can hang with the best of em. The guitar resonates so well and plays both clean and crunchy top notch. Punchy and warm…Absolute quality electronics. I haven't found a bad tone in any position. If your used to playing your guitars with everything at 10, this guitar with inspire you to play around with all the tonal possibilities by simply rolling in & out your pots. The neck on this is fat, and so nice but not absurd. I highly recommend it. For the price, you can't go wrong and will love the tones, just plan on getting a setup and you will absolutely love this guitar.Zac F

Only $300 difference from standard and $500 from modern LP… tough choice. I like flame tops for sure but bored of tobacco burst, honey burst, cherry burst and other plain traditional bursts… so leaned towards something more classic modern and bold… so went with translucent cherry. And my back isn't great so wanted something lighter. The coil tapping is nice to have but isn't great… especially compared to my PRS guitars. I'm not sure why Gibson can't figure this out. Again nice to have but wish Gibson could do a better job with this. Coil tapping quality was the same on my studio. I absolutely love the pickups on this guitar… probably some of best humbuckers ever made because of the extra brightness and clarity. I've sold so many of my guitars with humbuckers and gravitated towards single coil guitars because humbuckers are typically muddy in comparison. These 61's are a game changer for me and got me interested in Gibson LPs again. I love the colors of the LP modern too… but not sure what you're are getting extra for the added $500 other than a carved heal joint which I'll never use… and ultra weight relief… which is good if you have a bad back. But I think the electronics are the same with slightly hotter pickups. I guess boils down to which pickups you prefer and color. I love the classic and modern LP colors… again tough choices…but classic is perfect for me… I really love them all for different reasons though.Thad

What we have here is a great American made Gibson Les Paul for a good price. I bought one a year ago and bought a second as a backup/different tuning for stage use. Not that the guitar requires a backup, but strings break and things happen. The 490 pickups are great all around work horses. While I'd recommend different pickups on a per person/per style situation, these are right in my ball park and do what I want them to (goosed with an OD or boost at times). All of the electronics and hardware are fine. Same with fit/finish and the gig bag (which is also very nice). As I said, I have two of these now. The first is a year old and has been through once a week rehearsals and twice a week gigs. The satin finish on the neck settles in nicely with a bit of playing and sweat. It gets slicker over time, shows age, and feels great. Same with the body as well. As with all satin finished guitars, it wont stay that way. Playability on both were perfect out of the bag. No sharp frets and setup/intonation were just to my liking. Now let's compare these Tributes to a Standard. I won't discuss the chambered body versus non nor the maple versus mahogany necks. You really won't notice the difference other than the weight. More weight does not always equal better tone. Here's the thing, I don't notice a difference in tone between the Tribute and Standard….well, not enough to justify the cost difference. I had my doubts when I ordered my first one that it could stand up to my Standard. But I dug it off the bat. To quell my doubts, I had the other guitarist in my band run it through its paces so that I could stand back and hear. That was the Les Paul tone….I was happy. As such, I ordered a second as they were in my stable to stay. Solid guitars with great tone that I will not cry about when they get dinged or messed with at a gig. Now, the Tributes are thinner than the Standards. And of course no bling such as binding or headstock inlays. Switch washer comes in the bag should you choose to install it. But the tone and playability is what you expect from a Les Paul. I would, and have, recommended these to my friends. Great instrument at a great price. BTW, the included case. This was an incredible surprise as I didn't know what to expect. It's a lether "type" exterior, great padding, pink fuzzy interior, LARGE front pocket, and double backpack straps. It's a VERY nice bag! Accessory kit gets you a picture of your guitar being setup, documents that you will probably not read, a few tools, and as of this posting, a nylon guitar strap. While lower in scale compared to the Standard (what with it's hard case, multi tool, and leather strap), it's still rather cool. All in all, these are my go to guitars for stage and studio right now. I have more expensive guitars, but cost doesn't equal tone or feel.Brandon

While I don’t play line a legend, this guitar could be played by one. I have always enjoyed the sound achieved by players while they were utilizing a Tele. I usually play on an old classical guitar. I have grown used to that neck shape so I usually find the shape of the standard Tele neck to feel unfamiliar to my hand. The neck on this guitar feels wider and flatter so more like a classical to me. I’m not saying it is a classical style neck just wider and flatter feeling to me. I was not sure about buying it because I’ve played other Tele’s and was not sold on how the neck felt to me, they sound great but didn’t feel right. I got this one well because “Jimmy Page “ so even if I didn’t like the neck who cares again “Jimmy Page “ so whatever. Then I played this guitar and I was like .”this guitar is magical!!”. I had never played a Tele that felt like it just wanted to be played like this one does. I cannot recommend this guitar enough. It is expensive but worth every penny. Take advantage of the no interest payment plan I did and am glad I did.WillieBWillie

Just started using this in rehearsals and recorded some new songs with it. Killer tone and everything you'd expect from a Jimmy Page model. Fun to play under the lights with the reflective materials, and strikingly great to look at. I only took off one star in the rating for some improvements I made in the action, and replace the bridge with Graph Tech bridge to allow for less friction and more steady tuning. Love it.Gregmedia123

Loving this guitar, already used it tracking on two of my new songs. If you want that authentic early Zep or Ybirds tone, plug this in and crank it up. If you're a snappy picker Americana kind of player, it works for that too. The only thing I can say wrong is that the guitar wasn't strung properly went I got it, it's a through the body setup and the strings were just put through the bridge plate. Restrung it properly and away we went. Maybe American Musical should send me a free set of strings!Gregmedia123

After allowing the guitar few weeks to adjust and giving it a good set up including new strings and a neck adjustment (tightening the rod), Conditioning the fret board and a good polish, The guitar is easy to play and has great sound for an inexpensive guitar. I like the So Cal green color others may not as it is a vintage vibe. Tuners are price point but even price point tuners these days are decent. A little sticking from the nut, I think I can lightly file that out and add some nut sauce. The fret ends were not too sharp but I conditioned them to a nice smooth finish useing 500 grit sponge. Very little cost to make improvements and the guitar is fun to play. The sustain is probably the biggest suprise and I am satified to practice with this guitar every day. Very pleased for the cost. Good value.Bruce P.

Guitar is ok for the price; however, I was expecting the strings to last longer than 2 days before breaking. Even the extra ones that came with the bundle broke as I was putting them on. I had to buy better ones and had a professional put them on to make sure they were adjusted correctly. Additionally, the small tuner's battery was dead out of the box so I had to get a new one. Again, I guess you get what you get for the price. On a positive note, the guitar looks nice, the small amps is super convenient, and everything arrived fast and together in one box.Luis L.

The guitar did not have the black scratch panel that is shown in the Sunburst guitar. Also, when my son opened the gift guitar, the black bag was covered in a white mold/mildew. It was delivered one week before his birthday and kept in a dry room, and opened for the first time on his birthday. The guitar seems ok, I will know more when someone with some guitar knowledge checks it out for me. It may be going back to the store. The pictures show exactly what the bag looked like minutes after the gift was opened. Looks rough, 2 stars are for the fact that the guitar was not moldy.Kacee

Purchased the Fender Player Jazz bass. Overall great looks and sound, but some quality issues from the Fender Mexico factory (not Andertons' fault): – First bass had very clear weird uneven blemish under the varnish on the sunburst body. Not awful, but if I was in-store I would never have chosen that particular item. Returned and swapped by Andertons, no quibbles. Second bass arrived. Overall happy, sounds great, but still a few issues with quality control and design. – Control plate was missing 2 screws and was moving around – how does that get through Fender quality control? Replacement screws sent free of charge by Andertons. – Nut has not been slotted correctly – high G must have been passed through a machine and slipped, string is clearly a couple of mm too close to fretboard edge and you can see the failed first pass. Doesn't really affect playability, but is annoying and I will get it corrected at some point. Again, points to poor quality control. – Fretboard (Pau Ferro) is really thin – on the Player series, at least. Neck fret dot markers in white are half over the mid-dark fretboard, half over the light maple neck. Very hard to see in low light levels. OK, so they're just an indicator for position, but the design isn't great. So overall, the bass sounds great and Andertons service was very good. Fender quality control loses the one star from the review.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

…and falls in love. Let me start by saying I actually have owned one other P-Bass. I had a 50s reissue Precision, but honestly the neck was just too thick for my liking after years of playing Jazz basses. Honestly, it felt thicker than the neck on my Yamaha 5-string. So, I picked this bass up after always dancing around getting what would be considered a more standard P-Bass. I have a 70s Jazz with a ton of modifications, I've had quite a few other brands of basses, but I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I ordered this a few weeks ago, and have been very pleasantly surprised. The action was pretty good out of the box. I adjusted it a bit, made a few tiny tweaks to the intonation, and now it's super smooth. And, on the pickups, let me say it's a great sounding bass. Pickups are clear, bass sounds great. I play through a little Ampeg Micro cabinet. Earlier this week, I bought some Flats to throw on it (because that's what you do with a P-bass, right?) and now it's quickly becoming one of my favorite instruments to jam with. It really cuts through the mix when playing in a group. I see why folks really love the sound of a precision. My Jazz still has it's place, but man, I really like the sound of this bass. The Player P is a great value for what you get. I've never owned an older MIM, but I research the heck out of pretty much any purchase I make, and it looks like Fender really stepped it up with this rendition of their MIM Precision basses. Good tone out of the box, no discernible pickup noise, good action, a beautiful neck, and a Tidepool Blue finish that just shines and shines.Dennis F

Overall: This is my umpteenth Epiphone custom sg guitar ive bought since the last guitar i had which was the more lower end 61 standard i bought here used last year. The caps pots and Gibson USA burstbuckers are definitely a step up in the right direction and are true to the original reissue Sg standards back in the beginning of the Gibson sg. It sounds like a 2000 dollar Gibson reissue sg but at Epiphone import prices. I intend on keeping this guitar for a lifetime and is a good backup guitar to my similarly pricef esp ltd viper 1000 deluxe i bought a year ago from a competitor in the now disconnected tiger eye finish from zZounds. Lastly i also intend on getting a real Gibson sg custom 63 version used for a discounted price. One more thing i might buy a backup les Paul sg standard by Epiphone just in case this one gets stolen or lost. Thank you Epiphone custom for stepping up your game and making better sg custom shop guitars than in the past. The black Epiphone sg custom with gold hardware is no joke either and i might another one when i get done paying for this Les Paul sg standard first fron here.Isaac

I got this guitar in sparkling burgundy and the finish is beautiful. The workmanship on this guitar is great; it feels very high quality. The fretwork is also really good, with no fret ends sticking out to cut my hands. That being said, the pickups are not very good. I initially debated purchasing the guitar since it sounded very ice-picky and thin when I played it in the store. But I decided to take a chance, knowing the return policy that GC has. I brought it home and the first thing I did was go over it completely. The fretboard was very dry. Even my wife, who doesn't play guitar, looked at it and commented on that. So removed the strings and polished the frets and cleaned/conditioned the fretboard. Then I swapped out the Alnico Classic Pro pickups, which are rather bad, and put in a set of Probucker 2/3 pickups that I had sitting around. Better strings, polished frets, and some nicer alnico 2 pickups made a huge difference. It sounds full and thick and warm, and it plays like an angel. I highly recommend it, as long as you can swap out the pickups.Robert

Having relatively recently started learning guitar on an electric stratocaster-style guitar this was a great transition to the acoustic segment. The thinner body makes it much more comfortable to play than say a dreadnought and the neck is comfortable to transition too, yet the guitar doesn't seem to sacrifice as much sound as you'd expect from a thinner guitar. The finish of the guitar is that of a more expensive guitar for example the rosewood finger board. On arrival I actually thought the guitar looked better than the pictures on the website suggest but do note that because of the finish it is prone to showing finger marks which would need cleaning time to time. I would highly recommend this guitar.Richard P.

After suffering a permanent back injury I could no longer play my elictric guitar as it was too heavy or my acoustic electric guitar because it felt like it was twice it's normal size because I could no longer find a comfortable position for myself to play it. I bought a keyboard thinking that I could still play music. Afterv two weeks of playing around with the keyboard I gave up pllaying. Then I saw on the internet one night an advertisement for a 3/4 size Yamaha acoustic electric guitar guitar with a slimline bosy which looked like a nice guitar so I checked out males and females playing it and sounded very nice so I bought one. Man am I'm so glad I did. I got the sunburst like this one on sale. I was excited as l took it out of the box and went straight to my mancave and started playing it. It was perfecty in tune and for a guitar of this size it's got such a beautiful tone playing ACOUSTIC. So I plugged it in and it's as good as it sounded on YouTube. As an 67 yesr old man who started playing guitar when I was 16 years old, this is a beauty. I recommend this guitar to beginners, anyone with small hands and even people who want a good guitar to take with them without taking up much space in your car. Yep, it's a beaty.Deano

I love this Casino. I knew I wanted a P-90, and I really wanted a fully hollow body. I wanted to see if I could replicate a I've been agonizing over the purchase for months, looking for every possible solution, and was almost ready to pull the trigger on the Epi USA version, and after MUCH research, finally decided to go with the regular Epiphone. The construction, from everything I read, is excellent, and I knew that if necessary, I could always switch out the pups. Well, I can't say enough about how good this guitar is! I am extremely fussy on setups (I do setups on my own guitars and for other people) and this thing was ready to play right out of the box! I literally didn't touch a thing except to tune it up. I won't even have to dress the frets. I may touch them up just a bit (again, I'm really fussy) but they feel better than most guitars that cost three times as much. It is really beautiful. I love the vintage sunburst. The finish is flawless. Now for the important part – it plays like a dream. The neck profile is extremely comfortable. I can move up and down the neck as fluidly as on any guitar I own. And the sound! I was amazed at how present it is, even before plugging it in. I see this little sweetheart spending a lot of evenings on the couch with me. Soft enough not to overly bother my wife, but again – very present. Plugged in – well lets just say I won't be replacing these pups. It is exactly the sound I was hoping for. I'm no Grant Green, but I can certainly understand why he loved this guitar. Would I recommend it? Heck yeah! Country? Check. Classic rock? Check. Rockabilly, surf, blues and even jazz? Check, check, check, and check.Jess

Had the money to buy any guitar in the shop. Liked the looks of the SG, worn ebony with rosewood fingerboard and the Gibson speed knobs. Having only played guitars with 9.5 radius, I found the 14 radius was better for bar chords. The craftsmanship is excellent, can find no flaws the body or neck. The truss rod was out of adjustment, considerable back-bow. I fixed that, and set the action low. The intonation was spot on. Frets were polished with no sharp edges. I plan to upgrade the cheap electronics with new pots. As for the pickups, they sound ok. Since I use a modeling amp, not a big issue for me. The nut is a GraphTech synthetic bone. Nice touch for an inexpensive guitar, since i do not like changing them out…too much risk of damage. I have fender Strat and Tele, but have not put this down since purchasing it. Once I upgrade the electronics, this will be a very solid guitar.Jeff