Big Rock Candy Mountain Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

This has got to be the most value I've ever seen in a budget instrument. Out of the box it was set up good. Finish was perfect. I purchased the ruby red version. Stock pick up is aggressive and hot. Tremolo works as it should. Although I ain't a big user of them I can dive like EVH does on the first record with this thing and it comes back up in tune. Many people prefer something better but this works perfect for me. The only flaws I could find was one of the drill holes on the back plate was not lined up correct and a screw fell out. Not a big thing because I have take. It off for access to the springs and to change strings. The hardware is not the best. The screws on the claw stripped a little when I was taking it out for whammy use. Over all a very enjoyable guitar. Incredibly hot sounding and fast. The look is great too. I don't plan on upgrading anything just yet. Many buyers of this do hot rod them and that's also a very cool thing. Maybe in the future I'll consider some upgrades but stock is fine. I'd trust it on a stage no problem. Get them before they all go! There's a reason why very little of them are on the used market. For this price you cannot go wrong! Maybe if a yellow one of these was to come along I'd be all over it. Would definitely buy again!Cris w

Not going to lie but this was an impulse buy that I actually tried to cancel after (had already been picked up by FedEX though). Glad I didn't! I own pretty much every era of Kramer guitar and the newest ones have been decent for the price but I think all have had atleast some issues (frets, wonky wiring, finish issues). That brings me to this one – PERFECT! First of the newer Kramer's I've purchased that seemed to have finished frets! The candy apple red is actually the correct color – exact match to my 86 pacer deluxe (neck feels almost identical as well). Light weight and even so no neck or body dive. EMG's sound like EMG's so either you like them or not. The gig bag was also great.Brandan

I'm far from being a professional guitar player, but this is without question the worst electric guitar I've ever played in my life. I've got it because I'm a big Dimebag fan and wanted one of his guitars. While the guitar looks cool, the sound is just awful, just awful. Compared to another "metal" guitar that I own (a BC Rich Warlock equipped with EMG 60 and 81 PUPS), there is no comparison. The Warlock sounds good plugged or unplugged. The Dean? There is no clarity in the sound and any strummed chords sound like mud. Again, just awful. This is a low quality guitar with cheap components. I'm sure there are better Dimebag signature guitars out there and I know for a fact that there are A LOT of better quality guitars out there for a similar price point. If you are a big Pantera/Dimebag fan and want to have a cool looking piece for your collection, maybe something to hang on the wall, this guitar might work. If you are looking for a guitar to actually play? Keep looking. I wouldn't recommend this to someone jamming in their bedroom. It's far, far, far from being a stage quality guitar. This gets one out of five stars from me only because I can't give it any less than that.MetalDude13

Like the title implies-all looks and zero substance. This body style, in my opinion, is the single most aggressive, no nonsense, killer look ever designed. The head stock alone deserves one star. However, the pitiful tuners, muddy pickups, fret buzz, hit and miss paint job, and over all poor craftsmanship make it a total waste of time and money. I set this guitar up, restrung it, and polished it and even had two EMGs ready to put into it, but just couldn't bring myself to do so because there were just too many things wrong with it. Unless you want this to hang on your wall (which for maybe eighty less I would have kept it to do just that) don't waste your time. If you are new to electric guitar PLEASE do some research and buy an axe that will enhance your learning experience, not stifle it. It is extremely frustrating to try and learn on a substandard instrument you cannot rely on to stay in tune. Before you buy this guitar, ask yourself "Do I want to spend my time learning or tuning\adjusting\compensating?" 1 star for the head stock and 1 for the body design. Other than that-forget about it. Dean Zalinsky probably cringes knowing his name is on these…….Steeler

I purchased a pre-owned trans black version of this guitar after wanting to add more metal-inflected riffs to my songwriting without breaking the bank. Unfortunately, the tuners had reached their useful lifetime on mine, so after months of fighting in vain to keep it in tune, I ordered a set of highly recommended "Grover" tuners to replace them. After a little drilling to get them to fit, I now LOVE this guitar!!! I also personally set the action to mirror what I had professionally witnessed being done on my original Strat-styled axe (pictured), replaced the strings with fresh Ernie Ball (Regular Slinkies), ordered a set of Xtra-Heavy pics and never looked back. Paired with my pre-owned "Metal Pedal", this guitar keeps me motivated to practice more frequently. Although I play keys in my band, this guitar helps me communicate with my guitar players what I want them to do musically in ways that I just can't illustrate with a "guitar" patch on my sound module. The tone from the dual humbuckers and sustain from the longer body style motivates me to produce heavier versions of my pop material for live performances. Even my "metal" buddies who own higher priced and much heavier guitars compliment me on choosing this guitar so I feel really good about my choice to go with Dean. The ML-XM makes me smile so much everytime a hit a power chord, I dubbed my axe, "Darth Shredder", in honor of & inspired by the imposing presence of the Star Wars character: Lord Vader! I even bought the Dean ML soft case to protect my investment. 😉RC

This is the first Acoustic/electric that I have owned that I actually love playing. The action is great even with the large gauge acoustic strings on it. Comes with a very nice gig-bag/case. I love the way the neck and back of the guitar looks. I also love the Strat 5-way switch that selects the degree and type of acoustic sound. The only downside with this guitar is the cover that serves as a cover for the electronics and pick guard. It looks cheap, more like a decal than a cover. I think Fender can do better on this detail for the price of the guitar. However, if you can get past that then it is a fine playing and sounding guitar. I have owned several Acoustic and Acoustic/Electric guitars. The action on even high-priced acoustics was so terrible I just ended up selling them. I also do not like the large back ends of most acoustic and acoustic electric guitars, but this guitar is small and easy to play. I would give it an A-.Bill

The research I did on trying to learn more about this instrument via general internet, YouTube, assorted standard Music Company's like Sam Ash; Sweetwater; Guitar Center; Alamo; and other assorted Music Guitar critics provided a good array of opinions and product test results that produced a positive majority with impressive perspectives for the instrument I purchased. The Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster Acoustic-Electric Guitar Cocobolo I purchased from Sam Ash was not a disappointment. Aside from the 10 different options of Guitar unique sounds it provides from Acoustic and Electric mixes. The one-of-a-kind Cocobolo wood identifies a further fingerprint in supporting its own private one-of-a-kind signature sound with relationship to the Cocobolo wood unique to it alone. That just blows me away with how special the sound of specialty signature sound it produces with the ten different built in technical sounds the Fender Guitar company developed with this special edition. I feel overwhelmed in learning to continue how to play this guitar. It allows me so many more possibilities with playing soft country to hard rock a really strong guitar enjoyment experience.Guitar Enthusiast

Overall, I am very happy with this guitar. It exudes classic Fender looks and tone. The quality and craftsmanship are decent for the price point. I have a US Tele and, after putting some TLC into this player strat, it feels and plays almost as good as the Tele. I would give it five stars if it were not for fretwork that was needed. Body – The finish and surf pearl color are gorgeous. The wood grain is barely visible (raised) so I would not say the finish is flawless, but the grain is very subtle and adds character in my opinion. The routed cavities for the electronics (top) and the tremolo springs (back) are precisely cut and clean. The electronics cavity was even finished with black paint. Neck – The finish and appearance are great. However, all 22 frets had sprouted; some as much as 1/32". I can't say this is a craftsmanship issue as the frets were probably fine when it was assembled. It must have been a very high humidity environment, though. Nevertheless, after painstakingly filing and redressing all 44 fret ends it feels good. The frets themselves were well seated and leveled. The 3rd and 11th frets were a few thousands of an inch high, but not enough to cause any buzzing issues. The frets were well rounded and polished. Hardware – The tuners are just okay. One of them feels a little rough turning, and they seem to have a low turning ratio making it very touchy to dial in perfect pitch. The 2-point fulcrum tremolo bridge seems like a better design than the traditional (six screw) bridges, but I did not test it. I prefer to block them for more stable tuning, which worked great with this bridge. I have upgraded electronics I had planned to install in this guitar, but the stock pickups aren't bad. They are very quiet and have good tone – there is no rush to replace them. Setup was a breeze. Truss rod adjustment was smooth, nut slots were to spec, and intonation was perfect. The action needed adjustment since I blocked the tremolo, but that was easy.Dave S.

I purchased this guitar as an intermediate player. I had the tech at GC do a set up on it. It looks, sounds and plays great. The workmanship out of he box was very good. Very nice fret work, no sharp edges. Very happy with this guitar. Just keep in mind that to get its full capabilities it will likely need a set up but this is common with most any guitar you buy. I would definitely buy this guitar again.Michael

I have several Ibanez, some of them being slightly on the higher end of the mid-grade lines. I didn't need an inexpensive Ibanez, but the looks of this Gio caught my eye and I had been pining for it for awhile, but everyone was either out or on preorder. When I saw this marked as used and $40 less than the regular price, I jumped on it. I expected some cosmetic wear maybe, since it was used, but when it got here two days after I ordered it, it was still in the original wrapping with the plastic on the pickguard and pickups. I don't think it was ever touched. Everything was set up very well right out of the box. The pickups aren't great, but they aren't bad. The neck and fretboard feel fantastic and the blackout finish of it all is what really sold me. The body is polar, so it's a bit lighter and that makes it feel a bit cheap, but it scream and I'm really diggin it. Proaudiostar is 3/3 for me.Scott W

A great humbucker pickup guitar for beginners. Has great tone and feels smooth to play. Only issue was the action, which was too low when shipped and caused lots of buzzing. Had to increase it by quite a lot to get a good feel – a beginner might not know how to do this. Guitar looks amazing, makes me want to play whenever I look at it.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

A well made guitar but only really suited to one style of playing. This is the third guitar I have bought from Richards in the last 12 months and have visited the shop twice in that time. I totally get where he is coming from an the service has always been good. This guitar how ever I bought in the summer sale blind as it were. The price was very good for the spec. I just thought it might be more versatile and in my opinion it's not. Plays well for rock/metal stuff.peter m.

Great guitar set up perfectly out of factory. Only one thing that bugs me is where the Veneer connects in the middle is not perfectly in the middle. Which is a bit annoying because other reviews don't have this. Other than that its absolutely perfect guitar. Normally can't get this type of quality for this price. Absolute bargain.Matthew

What a great guitar! Looks, plays and sounds great. Had to do a bit of home setup when it arrived; bad fret buzz on the low e and a strings around the 5th fret, but easily fixed by putting a bit more relief in the neck and half a turn of the saddles. Without trying one straight from the supplier it’s hard to compare the value of a ‘Richards setup’ but seeing as it’s ‘gratis’ it’s not going to be a bad thing. Overall I’m very pleased.Robin D.

I do have two complaints about this guitar. Everything from the bridge and the neck seems crunched together I think they needed to add more room, but maybe this is how they get some of the great tones from the guitar. The second is that the volume nob is in the way I hit it all the time or I have to play really close to the neck. I can fit it this issue of my turning the nob by putting foam under it so it does not turn so easy. But the nib will still be in the way. Other then these 2 things I love this guitar. I was worried about the Flyod Rose Special but it has been fine so far not going out of tune or anything. But I will upgrade later just my preference. The neck is flat and plays really fast. The frets are great and mine was done really will no sharpness ends at all. The electronics seem really good no issues so far. All in all a great filling, great sounding and fun to play guitar.BOBO

If you blindfolded me and handed me this guitar, I would have guessed that I was playing one of my six Ibanez RG model shred guitars. And that's a big compliment coming from a long-time player and fan of Ibanez axes. I got it in Ice Blue and it's absolutely beautiful. The HM Strat actually feels a little bit lighter than my RGs. The neck is smooth, thin, flat, and plays very fast. The frets are smooth and you don't feel them at all when you slide your hand up and down the neck. The FR Special trem feels a lot like the better trem systems from Ibanez, and the strings stay in tune. The bridge humbucker sounds very good and doesn't get too muddy on high gain amp settings, although I'll probably swap it out for a DiMarzio Evo2 or Tone Zone in the future. Likewise I'll also swap out the single coil pups for rails/minihumbucker style pups since I have no use for single coil pups when playing metal. The build quality of this axe is fantastic and I have no complaints. Overall this is an awesome guitar for shredding, and if you upgrade the pickups like I mentioned you'll have a "true" heavy metal guitar. I haven't been able to put it down since I bought it a month ago and my Ibanez RGs are actually starting to gather a little dust lol. This HM Strat is so awesome that now I'm thinking of getting the pink one.Speedster

This guitar feels and plays great! I own the original version of this guitar from the 80s. It has a special feel to it, very addicting and effortless to play. When this came out I pre-ordered immediately due to nostalgic love for my original and had to have it. BUT I was prepared to send it back if it didn't live up to my expectations from the original. I knew i was keeping it within 5 minutes of playing it. The fret board is the most dark and rich and smooth rosewood fret board I have ever seen. Very nice surprise, almost mistakable for ebony. The unfinished satin neck is as smooth and quick in the hand as butter. The stock pickups are surprisingly good actually. I was prepared to swap them out with bareknuckle pickups if i wasn't satisfied with the tone plugged in (i'm talking about high gain tube amp tones here specifically). The bridge humbucker actually sounds fantastic through my Mesa Dual Rectifier, so good I see no reason to replace it with my preferred bareknuckle pickup. The two single coils produce excellent clean tones, but are a little week for high gain leads. The problem with this guitar is the floyd rose special. It's a shame they didn't include an original floyd rose. I will be swapping the floyd rose special with an original right away. It feels cheap, and you can tell by the unplugged tone that the tone is lacking a bit due to the floyd rose specials zinc tone block. Though this could be upgraded more economically by upgrading the floyd rose special's tone block with a readily available brass block, string saddles, and the tremolo arm. So if you are willing to upgrade the tremolo, the guitar gets a 5 star rating from me, but with the stock tremolo, 4 stars. Oh and I never write reviews, this guitar is something special.Jake

I really feel like this is the best bang for your buck. I know that it's built in Korea but man this guitar feels and plays like a US build! The roasted maple neck, radius, fret work, and action are all perfect right out of the box. Another huge plus is the locking tuners and the pickups! These pickups are amazing and will cover any type of music you play. These pickups have similar output levels so you don't get that drastic change in volume when switching positions! 10/10 would recommend for someone who is looking for a premium guitar.Christian

Own a ton of guitars including high-end Fenders and Gibsons. Bought the Reverend on a whim and am really surprised how nice this guitar is. The fit and finish (especially the neck feel) is right up there with most USA more expensive guitars. Not only does the neck feel very finished and smooth but the profile and fretboard and a joy to play… better than my USA Strat! Tones from the guitar and pickups are excellent and manage to be warm and bright at athe same time. Plays like a Strat and has great geometry and high fret access. Tuners are great and comes with roller saddles and string tree. Stays perfectly in tune and is light and resonant. Could be my new favorite guitar. This is not the new guitar fascination… this is a great guitar. Never gave Reverend a consideration as I thought they were sort of a import trendy guitar… they are the real deal.Dbluesmi

I've been enamored with the look of the Reverend guitars now for a while, and after going back and forth on which model I wanted I decided to pull the trigger on the Flatroc. I took a chance and bought a used one and can't tell you how glad I am that I did. First of all, it's a cool, retro looking instrument. It's made of solid Korina with a beautiful translucent orange finish, and it's much lighter than the current electrics that i own. The guitar has a lot of sustain and a great warm tone. I went with the Flatroc because i already own a Telecaster and a Les Paul and I was looking for something with that mini humbucker bite and rockabilly twang. This guiitar has that sound, but is much more versatile than that. With the tone and the bass roll off knob you can dial any sound from a country twang to a hard rocking Warren Haynes Explorer sound. Or how about some classic British invasion style rock? You can easily achieve that "Won't get fooled again" tone by dialing in some overdrive. Secondly, the guitar feels great! I can't say enough about how good the neck on this thing feels in my hand. It has a beautiful satin polyurethane finish that slides across your palm like butter across a hot pan. The top and back are angled in just the right spots to make playing more comfortable. And did i mention this thing is light? It makes my Les Paul feel like i'm carrying a bowling ball. Third and most important, you're getting a lot of guitar for the price! Sure they're made in Korea but they are made with care and then are tested and set up in good old USA before going out to the customer. This guitar came set up to play for almost any style but a few turns of the thumb screws on the tune-o-matic bridge and I now have the action as low as I could possibly want it with no buzz. So if you're interested in a hard rocking, cool looking, bad ass guitar at a reasonable price, that doesn't look like anything else out there, look no further. And with all the different models with different pickup configurations that Reverend has to offer, you can find the perfect guitar for that sound you're looking for.savagewood_123

Sound: Amazing. No cap. This guitar sings. Features: Roasted flame maple neck looks and feels dreamy. Ease of Use: You would he hard pressed to make a bad sound on this guitar. Quality: EBMM leads the industry in quality, fit, and finish. This is no exception. Value: I’ve never played a better guitar at any price point. The Wow Factor: I would rate this 11 out of 10. Overall: May be the best guitar in production. The new pickups are absolutely beautiful, and good for everything but the most extreme styles. I’ve never played a guitar that sounded so nice. I can put it on the neck pickup clean and fire up the boost, and it sounds like a jazz box. The bridge is the only bridge pickup I’ve ever really liked. It clear and dynamic, but no harshness. The guitar is super comfortable to boot. I was really worried I might not like the v neck, but somehow it fits like a glove. Probably the best feeling neck I’ve ever felt. To top everything off…. It was set up perfectly, and in tune in the box.Jonathan

I've had this guitar a few months now and it is a really good guitar. It is manufactured with quality in mind. There were no blemishes or quality issues when it arrived. It does come with Ernie Ball strings, which I have never been a fan of. I changed the strings right away. It is pretty lightweight (especially when compared to a Les Paul) and really does come across as a LP/Strat hybrid. There is a five or six position switch for the different pickup configurations, but I really only care for two fo them. I guess that would be dependent on what style of music you are playing. One knock that I have is that when using the tremolo, it does tend to go out of tune a bit. I don't use tremolo much, so I can live with that. The neck plays really fast and it is a great looker. Ernie Ball doesn't have a custom shop, but their guitars can compete with any brand out there. You won't be disappointed.Terry S

Overall: First the guitar is very nice for the price. The neck is fantastic feels unfinished (sealed) but is actually a satin sealer on neck and unsealed board, which should age nicely. The frets are finished nicely and it's just smooth to play. The size of the neck is somewhere between an Ibanez (wizard II & III) and a Fender Strat. I think it feels better than an LTD EC 1001, probably due to no paint and compound radius.The guitar is heavier than expected but still a light guitar, it's not a thin body as some strat style guitars are. The guard is simple black but fitted nicely. The pickups aren't bad at all, personally the single coils sound mid and bass heavy, while the humbucker is more mid to bright. All in all compared to a Fender, the guitar is darker sounding, it's not bad but something I noticed.The single coils are definitely weaker (quieter) than the humbucker and not as crisp as ones in a strat. The humbucker is hot but not extremely so, I actually like it better than the ones in a comparable strat (MIM or older AM special).There are flaws though or at least in mine. First minor sanding flaw with 17th marker, smeared on board some. There's a chip in the paint on the top side of the pocket, looks like a small line about a 1/4" long. I also have some feathered pieces on the guard, where it was cut from the sheet of plastic it was made from. These are all minor things and you really have to go over the guitar to notice. It is something I expect at this price on an import guitar, just small QC stuff.Now to the major problems. The action was way high at the bridge when I received it, just under a 1/2" from top of body to bottom of the tremelo. Looking to figure out how low I could go, I noticed the neck was sitting at an angle and there was a gap in the neck pock.I removed the neck to find a shim had been placed in it. Now if this guitar wasn't heel adjust I would have just sent it back and never known but since you have to remove the neck for adjustment, figured why not. After removing shim I was able to get the bridge down to 1/8" off the body, you'll never be able to fully deck it. I also had to adjust string tension at the head to keep the lockers from turning strings sharp, not a huge deal, that's what it's there for.The newer models also don't match the picture. there is no longer a bullet plug on the head stock (where rod usually is on a strat). There is also no longer a skunk stripe on the back of the neck either. I am assuming these are cost cutting measures.The QC is an issue on these guitars I imagine, that's the biggest flaw. They are on par with most any $500 guitar, except the neck. The neck is leaps and bounds above others in my opinion. I put the guitar on the same level as a MIM strat.In the end I think it's a keeper and a decent guitar. I'd just suggest really looking over it when buying and be ready to do a little work or pay a good tech to set it up, which is common in this price range. Don't let it having a shim scare you off, it's probably rare anyways. I figure it was done as a fast way to set it up with a low board action to give people the ability to have a push pull trem, I prefer dive only or just enough for flutter. Just remember at $500, they aren't spending hours to set up a guitar, they'd never get enough out the door. I listed manufacturer support at 2 1/2 stars as I haven't used it but even if they are great I shouldn't have to need them (if they did what they should in the first place) so half way seems fair.Waylon

Wonderful action. If you’ve not used Floyd Rose before a little learning is required. Superb sound, fun, great looking and wonderful guitar for any collection. An absolute keeper. Had to wait a little while for it to be in stock, but PMT kept me updated about this.benjamin a.

Overall: Ok, so essentially an HSS glorified Stratocaster, but that’s not a bad thing. Was looking for a more aggressive hot rod to compliment my LP custom, and something to maybe build further upon. Got in the green – wicked finish, well crafted guitar. Pronounced “D” profile neck, and on the thin side – not to my liking necessarily, but fits the theme I was looking for. An Adrian sig guitar nice bonus, too – big Maiden fan. Although well built, guitar arrived virtually unplayable – it was a mess, but set up is something we can easily overcome, and an “at least decent“ set up is not something I’ve come to expect from Indo-produced guitars, anyway. ONLY disappointments are the “neck-off” truss rod adjustment, and the woodshop-esque VERY unfinished neck. A simple oil rub finish a’la EVH would have been nice. Came in at a very nice (for a Strat bodied guitar) 8lb 6oz!David

do wish the supplier would have said how much this guitar weighed. I wanted a good guitar (which it was) for my 6 yr old grand-daughter but would have been way to heavy for her to hold – she weighs 46 lbs. Had to send back.grandma

I have expierenced A wonderful thing. This guitar is way awesome is what my sister says.She is 10. She loves it!She comes to my house and we rock out to her songs.You should love to buy this product!!!!!!!This product is most recomended for girls that have parents or gaurdions that will be there to help them even though it has A manual.Loveguitarsgirl

This guitar was in great condition and shipped very quickly. It will make an amazing gift for my daughter for Christmas!belaz79

do wish the supplier would have said how much this guitar weighed. I wanted a good guitar (which it was) for my 6 yr old grand-daughter but would have been way to heavy for her to hold – she weighs 46 lbs. Had to send back.grandma

I have expierenced A wonderful thing. This guitar is way awesome is what my sister says.She is 10. She loves it!She comes to my house and we rock out to her songs.You should love to buy this product!!!!!!!This product is most recomended for girls that have parents or gaurdions that will be there to help them even though it has A manual.Loveguitarsgirl

This guitar was in great condition and shipped very quickly. It will make an amazing gift for my daughter for Christmas!belaz79

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

Overall: First impression:Out of the box, this thing is downright beautiful. The Candy Apple Red just shines in the light without a flaw on it. In my personal opinion, it's the only one that the Tortoise Shell pickguard really works on and that's why I picked the color. Not disappointed. The Pao Ferro fretboard is gorgeous.I had the same Elite pickups in an old GAX 70 that got destroyed and the great sound out of them didn't catch me off guard, but the quality of the tuners did. They're smooth, just tight enough, and not catchy or jumpy at all. I actually get to keep a stock set for a while. I learned how to tie a "locking knot", so no need to replace them.The switches and knobs feel good, too. Nice and clicky switch, and smooth turns from the pots. The balance and feel are extremely nice, and the neck profile is just butter.I can't really say a bad thing about this guitar as it sits right out of the box, and then when I remember that it was only $199 it just blows my mind. This will go up on stage with me if I ever get up there again, no doubt.P.S. – We love you, zZounds!Robert

I've taught about 1000 lessons in the last year with various Hal Leonard curriculum, and it continually provides a balanced approach that's interesting enough for students but foundational enough to make their teacher happy. 🙂 Good stuff.jubalsheir

Just first glance but very basic and beginner. Says you can play like Metallica, GNR, etc…but not actual riffs just like which I can get elsewhere so no worries. Laid out for starters and not sure which book to purchase next once these lessons are over but its enough to get started into some theory also. Good for money and kids!sellddis

I highly DO NOT recommend this book. I am a guitar teacher who thought i could use this for lesson plans. terrible book for beginners, not nearly enough instruction. all in all this book is a complete jokethe-mighty-thor27

I purchased it when he was about 8 months and he didn't pay too much attention to it. He is now 1 and plays it like a guitar. He loves to roll the ball in the middle and interacts with all the buttons. Perfect for music lovers. Perfect for his Cinco de Mayo pics! (Just for fun)Azaiahsmom

My eight-year-old pick this out to give to my six-month-old for Christmas. He’s now in nine months old, and he loves it and plays with it every day. He loves spinning the avocado seed in the middle of the guitar. And pressing the light up buttons. It’s a really fun toy but the only problem I have with it is that it’s extremely, ridiculously loud & there is no volume button. I’m not even worried about the sound being annoying, I’m worried it’s going to hurt my baby’s ears.TargetMom