Electric Guitar With Flames For Sale (2024 Update)

Love this guitar reminds me of playing in the 80s. So much looks and sounds great. You will not be disappointed. Got it set up so it is dialed in perfectlyChris

I would like to update my previous review, still love this guitar but I noticed when using the Tremelo the springs squeaked like crazy very loud. So I replaced them with some noiseless springs and replaced the cheap Trem block with a 42 mm solid brass block No squeak and the brass block made a huge difference. Cheap upgrade you wont regret. I used the heavy duty springs and installed 2 instead of the 3 that it came with. Works great…JuJu

I sat down with the Ibanez AF75 at Guitar Center for over 3hrs. I had traded in a guitar and wanted a jazz/blues machine. I had come in with the Ibanez in mind, but also I had my eye on the Epiphone Wildkat, and the Epiphone Dot. I liked the tone of each, but I kept coming back to the Ibanez. Overall, the build on the Wildkat was poor; it couldn't stay in tune even without using the tremolo. I have owned several Dots over the years and had the same problem with each, the necks broke when adjusted, not by myself, but by 3 different luthiers. The Ibanez just has this warmth to it. Unplugged it sounds like every other semi hollow, maybe a bit tinnier, but plugged in, it just sings. This is perfect for blues/jazz/rock/ or in my case, being in the worship band at church. Do yourself a favor, go to Guitar Center, tune one up, and sit with it for 15min on your favorite amp, just a little overdrive and some reverb, and you will see exactly what I mean. Fantastic instrument. Unbelievable price for this quality. Mine stays in tune like a champ. Minor adjustments every few days. Can't believe it.Davetheworshipguy

Overall: I just got this 3/27/2018, after my Gretsch Streamliner was stolen by a FedEx driver a week earlier and marked it as it was delivered and it was not. but when I followed up a couple days later. I was told by a zZounds customer service rep, that the driver told them he had lost it? So I bought this Ibanez and it is indeed blemished at the neck pocket, just a hair line crack in the finish not the support foundation. the guitar has a very nice acoustic tone and the pickups sound good as well. I recommend prepping the neck nut and the intonation bridge or your strings will not slide smoothly and will hang up and you will be out of tune. the electronics meaning the volume/tone, Input jack and 3way toggle are very cheap but work with a little noise when turning the controls. being in the wholesale / retail business zZounds is paying less than half what it is being sold for in most cases. buy it blemished and save a few dollars…it is a good instrument, plays well and sounds good and I will take it to my next Jazz gig.Chuck

I bought a used (maybe five years old) model of this guitar. Changed the strings and that was that. Can a used Chinese made guitar become a favorite? Yes it can. Yes it has. The construction and finish details on this guitar are at a level of the best American Fenders I have played. Vastly superior to the recent Gibson's, which are, in my view, a disgrace. Set up properly this guitar is very comfortable with no issues such as bridge, nut or tailpiece problems. I am truly amazed. The pickups are not great but with proper amp EQ it will make some very warm music for you.jazznotes

First a much deserved word about Musicians Friend. Having made numerous purchases in the past year (5 guitars, two amplifiers & two sets of powered monitor speakers) hats off to Musicians Friend. They are professional, courteous and a pleasure to purchase from. They truly have treated me like a friend over the last decade and a half. My guitar arrived in pristine shape, no issues, of course. For me this is a beast of a guitar and cannot be beat, not even close, at this price range, nothing I've played compares. Love the sculptured maple top and head to toe creamy binding, simply beautiful. The setup was very good, slight string height adjustment, neck did not need adjustment and pickup height was good. Someone is paying attention with quality control. The neck is fast, silky smooth and easy to navigate, I can accomplish sweep picking with this guitar. Coil split is always nice with humbuckers adding to the available tone palate. Everything works and works well. Check it out if in the market for a very nice modestly priced guitar. Doubt you'd be disappointed.Stratocasterplusplayer

Totally stoked on this purchase. I was looking for something solid with an inexpensive price point and came across this Schecter. I've never owned a Schecter before so I was unfamiliar with them but they put some serious quality into this instrument. Feels good in my hands and plays really fast and it looks fantastic. I do recommend upgrading the pickupups but if you're just looking to play around the house with this, it's set up and ready to go. Highly recommendableSmooks

I understand why people call this a beginers guitar. Some the components are cheap and the guitar felt unfinishhed. I own 8 guitars. All of them are higher end Made in America guitars. This guitar caught my eye solely because of looks. I decided to purchase it as a project guitar. After receiving the guitar it needed to be properly set up. I straightened the neck, leveled and radiused the fret board, re-crownded the frets, filed the fret ends and rolled the edge on the neck binding. I proceded to replace the bridge with a Graph-Tech Resomax NV2, and the tuners with Schaller M6 ones. I replaced the tone capacitor with an Orange Drop NOS .027 UF. The pickups are versatile and offer a wide variety of sound. I now have a guitar that has a fast articulate neck and fret board, great tone and sustain all for $160.00 in parts and my labor. This is no longer a " beginers guitar" . The guitar has great bones and was easy to convert to a guitar that you would pay over $1000.00 dollars for. Good job Schecter!Hodigity

My first electric. Got it in a combo kit with amp and bag. Hook it into my computer now and rarely use the amp for anything. That being said, as many people have mentioned the bridge. If this isn't your first guitar, or you are looking for a second guitar – don't get this one. I learned about intonation and action and all that while having this guitar. You can only set the intonation on the outside E's and everything else is just what you get. My the height of my bridge for medium action on the low E is maybe a 1/16 from bottoming out, any lower it will buzz more. To get the same range of action on my high E my bridge is almost a 1/4" in the air. I do not know enough to get into shimming the neck to get it leveled out more, I just know enough to assume a 1/4" rise over 3" space probably isn't a good thing. However! I've learned plenty on it over these last 6 months. I bought this guitar because I did not want to invest a lot of money into it if I wasn't going to stick with it. I bought this in February of 22. The first 5 months I probably played on it maybe 50-60 hours. These last 4 months I've probably played on it 1-3 hours a day. I started using apps to learn and being able to plug it directly into my computer has been amazing. It's served it's purpose, I'm now getting to the level of playing where I'd like a better quality instrument and am looking in the $400-$500 range. For a first guitar, and you're not sure if you're going to stay with it, this was great for me and I will pass it on to someone else to get started with. Other than the bridge intonation and probably not flat fret board, I have had 0 mechanical issues with it.Jay

I'm reviewing the gold top model. I own a lot of guitars but I didn't have a gold top Les Paul and always wanted one. This is an amazing guitar for the price! Fit and finish are perfect. It sounds and plays great. I love it. Note, always put a new set of strings on a guitar that comes with strings on it. It's a simple fix for a lot of problems you thought you had, but don't. Who knows how long they've been on or what brand they are. Now, the details. Frets were perfectly level, no sharp ends. Slight amount of oxidization. I polished the crowns and ends with Micro-Mesh pads. I used 6000>8000>12,000 grit pads. I wasn't taking metal off, just polishing them to a jewelery finish. Really makes bends and vibrato silky and smooth. I do that to all my guitars. I like the Indian laurel fingerboard. It's a good alternative to rosewood. I cleaned it with alcohol, then applied a very light amount of fingerboard oil/conditioner. Let it sit a few minutes then wiped it dry. It has a beautiful look and feel now. As for setup, the only thing that was set correctly was the intonation. So I lowered the bridge to the (low) action I like, and it was pretty clean, a little buzz on the upper frets. The neck was trussed completely flat, so I loosened the truss rod about 1/4 turn and that gave it the right amount of relief. No more buzz. Next, I filed the nut slots slightly wider and deeper. Action was too high off the nut. I use XL strings (9-42) and the slots were even too tight for them! That was the only real glaring problem on this guitar. Tight nut slots cause tuning issues and your average customer isn't going to have the tools or skills to fix that. I have a set of precision nut slotting files and feeler gauges to cut them to the proper depth. Man, that was the magic touch. The action is amazing now, all the way up the neck. No problems with tuning stability. And that's all I needed to do. It plays like a dream. I thought I would need to swap out the pickups but I like these. I'm old and play mostly classic rock, and these sound just right for the Les Pauls of that era. I get that sound that Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon), early Joe Walsh, Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Joe Perry, Page, Billy G, had in the late 60's – 70's. I ran it through a Goat distortion simulator and got Tom Scholtz Boston sound perfectly. It was actually better than another LP I have with DiMarzio super distortion pups. Easier to control the overdrive. All in all, Epiphone has really raised their bar. If you have typical electric guitar setup skills, you'll make this a sweet playing guitar. If you don't, it's worth it to find someone who does. Just a few minor adjustments and you'll have a fine axe to play.Rich

I patiently waited for something such as this. Debated on buying a used 90's model, or going with the newer version sparkle jets, but never bit the bullet since they just didn't call out and give that "feeling". In checking what this year's model/version would be, I was jaw-dropped and immediately knew this was the one! It was so worth the wait for this model; the best of both worlds (89/older version, but new). The stock pictures look orange, but it is indeed a perfect gold and exactly what I was hoping for. The pictures attached are good to help show it, but it's so much better in person. The quality and craftsmanship? Superb! The feel? Outstanding! The sound? AMAZING! This truly is a spectacular guitar and the sparkle jet I dreamed about. The first song I played had to be Black Hole Sun, and it sounded perfect! So thankful to have this!MD

Wonderful guitar. Neck pickup is clean, sweet and jazzy. Bridge pickup is well defined and twangy without being ice picky. Great instrument for alternative sounds.luvsam1

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

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: I just Bought this guitar from zZounds Feb 2020. I ordered it one afternoon it was here early the next afternoon. I took it out of the box, unlocked the nut, tuned the guitar, locked the tuners, fine tuned, and did a 4 hr gig covering multiple styles! It was perfectly set up and ready to go 🙂 The 12 inch radius is exactly what I need. I can’t play 14 or 16 inch radius necks. The more I play it the more I love it! The neck and middle position are strat like and the bridge position Rips! Great clarity in the pickups. The ONLY problem is the fret edges. They don’t roll/file the fret edges so you’ll have to have that done like I am. It’s a machine otherwiseMichael

Dean guitars are excellent. I've owned 2. Anyway, i would like to shred on this one for 6 hours minimum. But seriously, even though the guitar is beautiful and hopefully easily playable, coming with a CASE or not would be a decision breaker.. Thank you.. TomKThomas

Absolutely a great guitar the width of the fretboard and radius is amazing especially paired with the satin finish neck' the A 500 coil pot is amazing and the pickups are on the money. Shouldering and playing the guitar is a charm and it finds you as an instrument verses you having to continually set up and never being satisfied. Easy to upgrade although I don't see why it would be necessary unless you want a coil splitter. The pickups are good enough to get any chime you want with EQ, and peddle adjustment's. Ebony fretboard is very solid' as I just can't say enough about the neck size as it's perfectly on the money' and last but not least,you can leave your old TUNING issues in their cases because your dean will straight up stay in tune' I run d addario 120 9/42's and play for hours and stay in perfect tune. That's hard to find in an budget super strat. You want be disappointed with this guitar' wether your an living room picker or an actively gigging musician this guitar is money well spent.Henry

Sound: The stock pickups sound great especially with high gain. Nice crunch and break up. Features: For me the reason that I bought this model is that it is the least expensive way to get a real Edge tremolo. I can do subtle things with the Edge that I can’t do on an Original Floyd Rose. The bar is easier to position and it stays where ever you put it. As long as the torsion bushings on the bar aren’t worn out, the pop in bar is neither too tight or too sloppy. Value: This guitar is worth every penny. Manufacturer Support: I did not use Ibanez customer service and I did order half a dozen sets of torsion bushings, but had to order them from different places. The Wow Factor: I love the color of this one, Desert Sun Yellow. Overall: In the last 2 months I’ve bought 5 different Ibanez guitars, both lower and higher price. I must say that this guitar is the most bang for the buck out of any of my 21 guitars that I own.Got more than 200 bucks off on mine as it was sold as a slight blemish. When the guitar arrived, I noticed it did have a hairline crack in the paint on the bass side at the neck pocket. That was the only flaw I could find and it probably would have happened anyway if I would have got a “new” one.This is the shreddiest guitar that I have. The only thing that I had to address is that the 6th fret was a little proud. Other than that the fret job was good. All the frets were shiny and smooth and no fret sprout.This is the guitar that is at the price point where if you spend more money, you aren’t going to get much better. And the fit and finish were top notch.Scott

Overall: This guitar was a total impulse buy and I’m so glad I bought it! It’s easily worth twice the price of it. Can’t get too many mid tier guitars that are neck thru with decent pickups and a 5-way switch that has a fast and slim neck at this price. I mostly play baritone 6 strings and 7 strings but I needed a 25.5” scale for drop C and this is perfect for it with 10-54 strings. I did upgrade the nut with a Graphtech tusq nut and Hipshot locking tuners with knurled tuner buttons and looks even more badass while staying in perfect tune! I have an Ibanez rgib6 Iron Label 28” baritone and this is up there with that as far as quality and playability. The stock pickups aren’t bad at all and definitely surprised me cuz that’s usually the first thing I’ll change in an inexpensive guitar. As you can see by the other reviews people say it’s a great guitar and they’re not lying so if you’re on the fence about getting it then go for it! You won’t be disappointed at all and if for some reason you are then zZounds has a return policy within like 30-45 days so you won’t be stuck with a guitar you don’t love.Josh

I've played a $2400 Les Paul recently and could tell very little difference between the two. Bought this out of curiosity, love it! My desire to buy a Les Paul has been satisfied, at 1/12 the cost. I don't know how they do it. Have been playing for decades.lea_1666

Overall: I was excited to receive this guitar as it was on back order I got the black and yellow bumblebee. After receiving it I made some adjustments to the tremolo and found that the spring cavity was bare wood / looked like it was chisel out with a screwdriver and it was not routed or CNC'd flat. Worse than that the wood under the Floyd rose was cracked and the finish was cracked as well. Basswood is a very light and soft wood so I am guessing the trem was pushed back during shipment or during setup at the factory and not seen by the staff as it is only visible when you remove the Floyd. I am a woodworker and beginning luthier so I corrected these issues myself and reinforced the thin section under the bridge with a custom fitted piece of maple and routed out the trem cavity so it is flat and sprayed the trem pocket with flat black paint looks like it should have when it left the factory now. I know I probably should have sent it back but overall I really like the guitar and I think Eddie would approve of my work.Douglas

This guitar has my favorite neck. The fretwork is amazing and the neck plays itself. This surprised me coming from fat Les Paul necks. Super easy to play, which, in turn, makes you sound better. I was very impressed with the sound and the functionality of the electronics. I’m a big Van Halen fan but don’t play a whole lot of it and this guitar sounds great for all kinds of other stuff, so long as you’re playing hard rock/early metal. Cleans up great with the volume knob but let’s be real – with no neck pickup, cleans aren’t really what you’re going for. Out of the box, was not intimated at all and there were a couple of paint dings and imperfections. Floyd also didn’t hold tune super well but with a solid setup and lubing up the fine tuners, it plays and sounds great. I had one of these a couple of years back and sold it foolishly to fund other purchases but hear I am, back again after purchasing again. It really is an awesome guitar and I am partial to the b/w color scheme with the Strat-style input jack. My Les Paul Custom is better quality but this guitar honestly sounds as good or better for a third of the price. And this guitar makes you a better player and you realize how amazing of a guitarist Eddie was considering how basic and simple this guitar is. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.Arpeggio5150

Eddie inspired so many folks to pick up the guitar. This is my second EVH model and I am amazed by this guitar every time I play it. This model was on my bucket list of guitars and when it went on sale at Adorama, I had to snap it up. It came perfectly setup from the EVH factory and the only thing needed to be done was to tune it properly. The D-Tuna is great to switch to drop D tunings. The Frankenstrat plays like a dream. The fretboard is like butter and the the action is ideal for playing hard rock and metal. The pickup gives you an excellent approximation of Eddie's brown sound. I am ecstatic with my purchase and this guitar is the perfect homage to the master. RIP Eddie!Tomas

The Mahogany body and maple neck through construction is enough for the price alone. On top of that you get Duncan Designed HB 103's which are some of the best passive pickups on the market. Next you get gold floyd rose hardware on a beautifully finished guitar. The binding and craftsmanship were excellent. All I had to do was ser the intonation. The tuners are fine except a little tight on a couple of them. Other than that, it is a flawless instrument. The only thing I might upgrade are the zinc alloy string blocks on the fr bridge but I like the way they sound for now. Just not sure if they will strip later on as zinc is a softer metal. The feel, tone and sustain is exceptional. This guitar produces the most brutal tones and I would put it up against a USA made model any day. Being made in Indonesia did not hurt the quality one bit. This guitar is a monster and my favorite 6 string.ZerovoreZ

This is a great guitar, overall, especially for the price. I replaced the pickups with Seymour Duncans, as I am partial to them…but the stock pickups are really pretty good. I will say that I was very disappointed, when I changed the pickups, to find that I had to replace the locking nut, as one of the bolt holes was stripped and I could not lock the E & A strings down. Thanks be to God, I have several extra ones on hand…but most people don't… But, having replaced the nut, and given the frets a light sanding and polish, and oiled the neck…this guitar looks and plays great! As well as any high end guitar… I also love the Jackson Floyd Rose bridges. They are great quality, and they do everything that an expensive tremolo bridge does. The bar fits tightly, it always floats right back in tune, no matter how hard you abuse it…you can do flutters, dive bombs, etc…a very good bridge in my opinion. I highly recommend this guitar for anyone who is looking for a versatile guitar (but mostly metal), and doesn't want to spend $800 on a pro series. This baby will do the job every bit as well, with a bit of TLC and the gift from God to play. Seriously.disciple7777

Totally stunned at how beautiful this guitar is. After looking at the advertising picture, the Desert Burst colors looked "flat", and I had feared that the "flame maple top" on this would look like imitation wood stickum' vinyl flat color type looking stuff or something for some reason,…BUT NO…it is the REAL THING!, genuine FLAME MAPLE, and you can look down into it's wood finish "a mile deep", and as you move the guitar around, the natural flame maple stripes dance and change shape like a "iridescent 3D hologram type effect", it is absolutely AWESOME! The mahogany body back and neck is glossy, deep, and beautiful. It feels good to hold, has a nice weight. Epiphone has upgraded the humbuckers on this, the switches give so many choices, and I will definitely NOT be changing them in any way, they are perfect, and sound AWESOME! And I am impressed with the Epiphone's upgraded Grover tuners it has. Mine did have a bit of fret buzz, but my technician fixed it in less than 15 minutes. One thing that bothers me, is that this guitar needs better strap buttons, they are beveled inefficiently, and mounted at a outboard angle (as opposed to a Stratocaster's inboard angle). An outboard angle lets the strap slip off easily while playing, so use strap locks, or a slightly bigger outer washer "retainer" on the button. Some straps have excessively long attachment slots for some reason, and it might help to stitch up this slot a bit shorter too. I LOVE THIS GUITAR!Sir Ripstring

I'm amazed by the quality of this guitar at this price point. It sounds simply amazing. Rich, beautiful tone, with sustain that lasts for days. It is an extremely resonant guitar, quite loud even unplugged. I was very excited that it was not too heavy, as I was afraid it would be. While I haven't weighed it, it is clearly lighter than my 8 pound Strat, so guessing it is maybe 7.5-7.7 pounds or so. The neck is not too thin, which I like, and I love the radius. It is quite flat, and bends are a breeze.The craftsmanship on mine was fabulous. Not sharp frets, no issues with the finish, or the electronics, or anything I could see. The only disappointment I had was that the color was not as vibrant as the stock photos. I got the 'Translucent Blue' and it is darker and you cannot see quite as much of the wood grain. It is an attractive guitar, but that could be a bit better. The setup out of the box was atrocious, but that was a very easy fix. I only had to lower the bridge (like 1/2 an inch…it was ridiculously high…surprised the strings didn't break) and once I did that all was good. I've only had it now for three days, but this is very likely going to become my go-to guitar. In humbucker mode, with distortion, it is simply the best sounding guitar I've ever owned. Period. And the single-coil mode (which I haven't played with too much yet, but have tried it out to see how it works) makes this guitar much more well-rounded to different styles. I always wanted a Les Paul, but didn't want to spend thousands to get one. I still can't believe how reasonable the price was. My only regret is not buying this model sooner!!!William

I had a hard time choosing between the antique finish or the desert burst, they both look awesome. The guitar was set up pretty well right out of the box. Tuned and played right away. No buzzing, intonation was spot on and no tuning issues. The grovers are smooth and hold the tune well. A few things I noticed that I did not like were the tone and volume control knobs were set at all different heights and one was actually rubbing the top of the body. It was with some difficulty, that I managed to get that particular one up and in a good position without marring the finish. The others I adjusted to a matched height about 3/32 off the body. Looks fine now. Now I know while I didn't purchase a US made Les Paul and shouldn't expect perfection, I was disappointed that the guitar body is made of several pieces of wood glued together. But the real issue is they show what appears to be a one piece solid mahogany in the rear view picture but in fact it's just a thin mahogany laminate covering three glued together pieces underneath. I suppose on the desert burst model you'd hardly notice any difference in the color of the finish but on the antique finish it clearly doesn't match. Is this enough for me to send it back? Well no, I can live with it as it has no effect on the guitars sound and I don't regularly stare at the backside anyway. Just thought I was getting a one piece mahogany body. I did point this out to the customer service rep and told them they should clearly point this out so others aren't surprised like I was. For the price I paid, I'm satisfied. The fit and finish is every bit as good as my US made Les Paul Classic. Other than those little issues, it's a solid well built awesome sounding guitar and I really enjoy the coil splitting feature as well. At less than one third of the cost of the real one, this is a real deal. I'd give it five stars if it wasn't for the laminated back, but it's still a great deal on a great playing/ sounding guitar.JimmyD

I've got 3 Schecters if that tells you anything. I have an Apocalypse and a Silver mountain. I bought this for my lady. It's got a slightly thinner neck than the regular "Thin C", it's thinner but not narrower. It came "ready to play"…but to make it even better required a very slight neck adjustment, a couple of the saddles raised…and most importantly for me…the pickups WAY too close and it made it sound "busy" to me…too much going on…chaos. I lowered them to 1/16 treble and 1/8 bass…and they've really improved…I can hear individual notes in the chords where before it was a noisy mess. To the other reviewer wanting to change pickups…try lowering or raising them and see if it improves. This isn't a $1000+ guitar and it shows in the little details…the carve of the body…rounding the neck/frets…the finish…it's not up to the Apocalypse or Silver mountain…but it's a FINE guitar.Joe Rocker

Overall: I wanted to wait a while before I reviewed this instrument just to make sure the new guitar bias wore off first. The first thing I wanna say about this guitar is the tuning stability is crazy good, and I'm sure that's because of the black tusq nut. This guitar stays in tune better than some of the more expensive guitars I own and that really surprised me a lot. The tuners feel sturdy and the bridge is very easy to set up. The neck is super thin, and access to the higher frets is superb. I also really like how the inlays are done on this guitar. As I'm getting older it's harder for me to see where I'm at and having the inlays switch to the bottom of the fretboard after the 12th is super nice. I will say though that while I love the neck, it was also one of the only parts of the guitar that required some work on my part. Out of the box, I did have to level the frets a tiny bit to get the strings as low as I like them to be. It's a minor complaint since I like my strings VERY low, but it is worth mentioning especially since this guitar is around the price-point where these kinds of issues shouldn't be as expected. I'm not gonna cover too much on the sound of this guitar because you can make any guitar sound good with enough processing, but I'd say that the pickups in this guitar sound perfectly fine on their own and I have no plans of changing them out. The tone of the bridge pickup is beefier than you'd expect which you may or may not like. The neck pickup is honestly my favorite, it's very warm sounding and has none of that harsh sharpness that I personally can't stand. Overall the pickups are just comfortable to listen to, which makes them perfect for mixing. To top it all off, it's a very pretty-looking guitar. I got the Sky Burst one and I find myself still looking at it and admiring it. With ALL of that said though, I would say that this guitar best suits someone who is intermediate, but at the same time I think that more advanced players will love the playability if they're willing to put in some minor effort to take the guitar a bit further.Patty

Great price, great service, follow the email trail and they keep you informed as to how your guitar is proceeding through the set up etc, you then get advice of delivery with a tracking option. The delivery comes in a one hour window. Great set up, played great right out of the box. Pity I have to change all that as I use a higher gauge string but for me that’s not a problem. The XTSA itself? Who would play one of these, why did I buy it? Is it a good quality guitar, what does it sound like? I suppose all in all I was inspired by the sound of Lindsey Buckingham’s Model One, which I would love but it’s £5,000 plus so…. The first Godin I bought on the path to that type of sound was their A6 and they say that the XTSA has a better acoustic voice which is due to better electronics, individual piezos etc. Well that would be true if the A6 didn’t have it’s own resonant acoustic voice that is louder unplugged that some thin bodied acoustics. This can be heard over your vocal mic if you sing and if you don’t you can still mic it and that’s a GOOD copy of an acoustic, that can also be beefed up with the humbucker. (Closer to the Lindsey sound in a way, but the electric is weaker.) But then the pluses on the A6 become the minus’s in that sense as the acoustic voice is always on your vocal mic if you sing, unless you are a great tech and can stop that. (Harder for me as I sit down, as I'm older and I use a lot of expression pedal, so the guitar is closer to the vocal mic than when you stand.) But then this contributes, along with the chambering of the A6, to the muddy sound of the electric aspect of the A6 when driven. The XTSA has a great tone. It’s hard to hear it maybe, but apart from the voicing via the pups, chambering etc. the two guitars both have that ‘Godin’ tone, which I love. I wasn’t happy with my A6 with regards to where I was heading tonally because I also use a lot of subtle whammy and pinch harmonics and the A6 doesn’t ring that easily. What I wanted was indeed an A6 with better pups and a whammy, and the XTSA indeed does that. You see I didn’t really know what I was looking for in a guitar, I knew what I liked when I heard it and what I don’t like. I don’t like Strats as they are too nasal in my mind, very stylised, and LP’s are too much for my ears, like a cartoon caricature of a guitar. Even via buying the A6, it made me consider putting piezo saddles on my Strat, with a preamp to get more acoustic byte, like Pete Townsend did, but then you don’t get an EQ. And then before I started ordering stuff, I slowed down and thought about it. I then played the A6 clean on the humbucker and realised that the tone on the guitar is still the same without the piezo, as I said the piezo only really gives bite. So it seems it’s the Godin sound I like? And then to me the Godin A6 simply sounded better than the Strat in general, but then it’s muddy when driven and no trem so….. The XTSA! So…. Strats sound like Strats, I’ve got emg 57 66’s in mine and it still sounds like it always did and yet now it’s clearer when driven is all, and it drives harder of course, but then other than that not much really changed the cleans are still much the same. LP’s sound like LP’s…give or take. In my mind, Godin’s, well the two I’ve now played, that do also have Godin pups, they have a ‘sound’. And personally I LOVE it, I’m finally happy with that tone… I got the God-in me! I’ve only had it a short while but I love ALL the electric tones, along with a nice bite from the piezo that when taken out gives great contrast. You can indeed bluff via playing the same licks with peizo in and then out, and it sounds diverse. Subtle but it holds the ear. Funny how the human brain works, it seems to enjoy processing sound, and delights when you subtly change voicings. Hearing the same voicing over and over simply get’s monotone-ous. The synth? Well I thought I may as well get the GR-55 seeing as the guitar is synth ready, not that I was bothered. And yeah the synth is nuts, I don’t even know where to start. On a quick pan through, some of the sounds are like a cheap synth organ, horrible! But then there are a few obvious gems there, some great guitar effects, I guess I won’t talk too much about the synth as I never was a big fan. If you play in a covers band you will LOVE it. And you can see all the videos of what it does on Youtube. Quick note on the synth, you can run it all through one amp to get used to it before you start spending money on more amps, as you can with the XTSA, run it through three, which helps the acoustic sound via an acoustic amp. You need the 13 pin cable, but then they sell the GR-55 with or without the external cable that comes actually with the external pick up for standard guitars. If you buy the one with the external pick up, it’s only £70 more so you kinda get the pick up for £20 as the 13 pin lead on it's own is £50, (But yes you can get the cables cheaper on e bay, not real Roland ones but they look muchSteve

I bought a scratch and dent and it took me all of 5 minutes to rub them out…they r gone. It plays like butter, it sounds like an Orchestra. It instantly became my Go To Favorite. I have other higher end guitars but this one hit me hard in my sweet spot . Plus it's totally Unique in that on the internet no other came close to this unique pattern, its one of a kind and the pick of the litter. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are in the wood grain pattern… I kid thee not. Needless to say I'm very Happy with this guitar. It's all I read about and even more. Way to go MF. Another great sell. I've been happy with every purchase from MF.James

The axe felt great, used the guitar and acoustic inputs and was humming along until I tried the synth 13 pin GK input. I was using the Boss SY-1000 when I plugged into my PA and immediately noticed that the top string was dead. The piezo built into the bridge had a bad transducer which left me with only 5 strings for synth. After purchasing another 13 pin cable and troubleshooting, it was clear that I received a Godin lemon. Reading reviews across different vendors it's obviously a reoccurring problem, so I returned the Godin. Roland makes a GK-3 divided pickup that can be installed on any guitar and deliver IMO better tracking than this Godin all-in-one. I'm feeling better about my Boss SY-1000 purchase getting away from this Godin Guitar. Bottom line is I think the synth piezo wired inside this guitar is much too susceptible to signal loss. I would recommend the Roland GK-3 divided pickup attachment over this guitar for synth exploration all day.Chelton

This guitar is a high quality one! You can feel that everything is precise as far as the craftsmanship. This has an extremely smooth neck. I have never used these pickups , but I like them a lot. I get some good mid-range. There are 2 things that I would say are yellow flags. Not anything bad, but something you should know if you are buying this: Setup – I had to restring and also adjust the guitar to my liking. This is not necessarily a bad thing, considering I do that with all of the guitars I buy. Weight – this is SOLID. Definitely the heaviest guitar I own. I don't know if it is because of the Ash wood, the electronics, combination of the 2, the other wood, no idea. It is a heavy guitar. I don't plan on standing for a long period of time with this one. This is not a bad thing for me, more of a surprise.Elusive One

This has become my absolute number one guitar. I'm primarily a hard rock/metal player, but I've found my dabbling in fusion style playing to be quite pleasing with this guitar as well. First and foremost the tone achieved by the unique combination of mahogany body and ash top with the Fishman Fluence pickups is wonderful. For over eighteen years I was team passive, really not liking active pickups except. With that being said, I did find them useful for precise and technical rhythm playing, but sterile and non-dynamic for lead playing. I'm happy to say that not only is the active tone far superior in every measurable way to that other brand that introduced active pickups, but with a flick of a switch you engage a passive voice that sounds like somewhere between a JB and Distortion. This mode is well suited to clean tones and is great for playing classic metal. Switching between the two voices is an extremely engaging way to experience the instrument and makes you feel unbelievably connected with her. I don't think I've ever read a guitar review where someone says "the picture doesn't do it justice", but I assure you that in this example it is absolutely true. You can see the ash pattern through the finish quite easily and the glossy coat really makes it sparkle and shine. The only tradeoff I would point out is that the glossy finish is a little less smooth than a satin finish, but you smile every time you look down at the guitar and its beauty so not really a big deal. The neck is wonderful, smooth and FAST. Again the pictures do not do that awesome birds eye maple justice. The stainless steel frets are enormous and will give you absolute confidence with your bends and vibratos. One other thing to point out is that I'm not an Ibanez fanboy. I've always respected their instruments, but found some of them a bit too lightweight feeling. This guitar has a great solid feel to it and the resonance and sustain is far superior to any Ibanez that I've played before. Perfect.Tirpitz

This guitar plays really easily, the action is low and notes have great sustain. The pick ups give a wide range of tones and sound super clean. The finish is stunning, it looks close to black in some light but has glints of green and purple if light is shined directly on it. The quality control is top notch and I can't find a fault with it. Once the new strings have settled it stays locked in tune.Scott D.

My first electric. Got it in a combo kit with amp and bag. Hook it into my computer now and rarely use the amp for anything. That being said, as many people have mentioned the bridge. If this isn't your first guitar, or you are looking for a second guitar – don't get this one. I learned about intonation and action and all that while having this guitar. You can only set the intonation on the outside E's and everything else is just what you get. My the height of my bridge for medium action on the low E is maybe a 1/16 from bottoming out, any lower it will buzz more. To get the same range of action on my high E my bridge is almost a 1/4" in the air. I do not know enough to get into shimming the neck to get it leveled out more, I just know enough to assume a 1/4" rise over 3" space probably isn't a good thing. However! I've learned plenty on it over these last 6 months. I bought this guitar because I did not want to invest a lot of money into it if I wasn't going to stick with it. I bought this in February of 22. The first 5 months I probably played on it maybe 50-60 hours. These last 4 months I've probably played on it 1-3 hours a day. I started using apps to learn and being able to plug it directly into my computer has been amazing. It's served it's purpose, I'm now getting to the level of playing where I'd like a better quality instrument and am looking in the $400-$500 range. For a first guitar, and you're not sure if you're going to stay with it, this was great for me and I will pass it on to someone else to get started with. Other than the bridge intonation and probably not flat fret board, I have had 0 mechanical issues with it.Jay

I'm reviewing the gold top model. I own a lot of guitars but I didn't have a gold top Les Paul and always wanted one. This is an amazing guitar for the price! Fit and finish are perfect. It sounds and plays great. I love it. Note, always put a new set of strings on a guitar that comes with strings on it. It's a simple fix for a lot of problems you thought you had, but don't. Who knows how long they've been on or what brand they are. Now, the details. Frets were perfectly level, no sharp ends. Slight amount of oxidization. I polished the crowns and ends with Micro-Mesh pads. I used 6000>8000>12,000 grit pads. I wasn't taking metal off, just polishing them to a jewelery finish. Really makes bends and vibrato silky and smooth. I do that to all my guitars. I like the Indian laurel fingerboard. It's a good alternative to rosewood. I cleaned it with alcohol, then applied a very light amount of fingerboard oil/conditioner. Let it sit a few minutes then wiped it dry. It has a beautiful look and feel now. As for setup, the only thing that was set correctly was the intonation. So I lowered the bridge to the (low) action I like, and it was pretty clean, a little buzz on the upper frets. The neck was trussed completely flat, so I loosened the truss rod about 1/4 turn and that gave it the right amount of relief. No more buzz. Next, I filed the nut slots slightly wider and deeper. Action was too high off the nut. I use XL strings (9-42) and the slots were even too tight for them! That was the only real glaring problem on this guitar. Tight nut slots cause tuning issues and your average customer isn't going to have the tools or skills to fix that. I have a set of precision nut slotting files and feeler gauges to cut them to the proper depth. Man, that was the magic touch. The action is amazing now, all the way up the neck. No problems with tuning stability. And that's all I needed to do. It plays like a dream. I thought I would need to swap out the pickups but I like these. I'm old and play mostly classic rock, and these sound just right for the Les Pauls of that era. I get that sound that Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon), early Joe Walsh, Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Joe Perry, Page, Billy G, had in the late 60's – 70's. I ran it through a Goat distortion simulator and got Tom Scholtz Boston sound perfectly. It was actually better than another LP I have with DiMarzio super distortion pups. Easier to control the overdrive. All in all, Epiphone has really raised their bar. If you have typical electric guitar setup skills, you'll make this a sweet playing guitar. If you don't, it's worth it to find someone who does. Just a few minor adjustments and you'll have a fine axe to play.Rich

I've been playing this guitar the RG470AHM for about 6 months now. I'm very impressed by the blue moon burst it looks like a prestige level guitar. the ash body gives it very decent sustain. I see people complain that the rg370ahm got the edge zero 2 and we got the standard DL tremelo But I can't complain because if set up correctly it holds tune great and does it job well. The block on the tremelo appears to be steel which is nice from I hear. I haven't deemed fit to change anything yet due to it being set up perfect for my needs and working well. The quantom pickups do very well and give both decent cleans and take well to distortion. I had to dial them in to my preference due to the sounding a little foggy. That being said this guitar can be easily upgraded. By upgrading the pickups for Seymour or Duncan's. Also you can upgrade the tremolo itself or jus replace the whole thing with a tremelo that fits the guitars route. Also by upgrading the block to brass and the tremolo claw for a locking tremolo claw. May also put inlays in the neck to give it the more prestige look. In my opinion this guitar gives you premium product for a great price . Nice wood work on mine great finish and easily upgradeableyugi-JD

Absolutely gorgeous guitar with a great sound! Pictures don't do it justice. Metallic look is far more beautiful than the photo shows. Sound is full and not the least bit "tinny" as some guitars of this value can sometimes be. Affordable, beautiful and great to play. Couldn't ask for more. The payment plan is soooo helpful when you're living hand to mouth. Thank you AMS and Ibanez for a fantastic product and a very happy gifting experience.Amelia

Overall: Took me 2-1/2 years but I finally ordered this through zZounds on a blemished deal. Don't know if it matters or not but I waited 24 hours before opening. Well packaged. All accessories, tools, owners manual. Maple fretboard perfect. Small Crack in clear coat on body at neck joint. No worries. Paint missing where neck bolts to body. As I said blemished I understand. Time to tune. Ouch!!! Play 10 minutes retune, play 10 yeah you get the idea. Pick ups and bridge are not any where close to specs. Finally get days off from work. Now I'm no guitar smith but when I have time I can figure it out. New strings 9-42 NY/XL. Bridge alignment, tonation, adjust pickup height, slight neck adjustment, adjust tremolo springs. Totally amazing!!! Night to day. My old RG450 has the INF pickups and these quantums sound so much fuller. Sounds amazing through a Orange crush 20 and a Boss Mk100. Country, rock, metal, hair metal this thing is amazing!!!Donnie