Natural Finish Electric Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

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

My wife asked what i wanted for Christmas. My response was "you can never go wrong with a guitar." She had received a sale flyer and decided to get it for me. it is not a guitar I would typically pick out based on the style but its growing on me. When it first arrived the action was a bit high but that is an easy fix. The Fret ends were a bit sharp but nothing a file from Stew mac didn't fix. I play in a garage band the tends to be on the Metal, hard rock side and this fits the bill. At this price I don't have to worry about nicks or scratches or spilled beer.I considered swapping out the pickups but it does the job just fine and I am going to keep it as is.As with any traditional style trem don't expect to Dive bomb it and stay in tune. I myself put 2 extra strings on it and locked it down. I would recommend it to a beginner or as a drag around and don't worry guitar.Chris T

Opened it just to inspect it. It's darker than the one shown in the picture. At first I was upset, but this color is really quite nice. It's more a deep mahogany color. Black pickups and knobs. The back of the neck is a neutral light color wood. It's in perfect shape. No nicks or scratches. Can't play it yet as it's my "gift" to me from my wife. Best way I figured I could avoid an argument was to tell her that she got me my christmas gift for under $100. It looks a lot more expensive than $100 too. She was surprised at the finish of the guitar. Very happy so far…2015.monit

The guitar itself looked cool. That was what I assumed when I went to the store. Then I bought it. I was stupid to not try it at the shop. Frets buzz, some sort of hard sound comes out, and even though I keep tuning to standard, it keeps flatting itself, which forced me to keep it at Drop A. This guitar's only good for actual practice; no amps no pedals no nothing except the guitar. I definitely recommend getting something a bit better, and there are lots within this guitar's price range, some even lower priced.Zephyr

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.

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

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

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

I bought this guitar because I wanted a new toy and because of the price – I figured I didn't have much to lose. I have three other guitars, two of them Jackson, that I play frequently, and I always wanted a guitar of this style. The natural finish is attractive and unusual. I like that. The pickups are ok, but the electronics leave a lot to be desired. The fingerboard craftsmanship is lacking attention, at least on the one I received. There are unfinished areas and one of the inlays is missing a small section. I don't know what strings they send over to China to put on this thing, but they are complete garbage. Putting some new strings on improved things a lot. This also suffers from some fret buzz. The guitar comes setup pretty well. The intonation seems to be spot on and the truss rod is adjusted properly. Action is set surprisingly well, considering the price of the guitar. However, as I mentioned above, this results in some fret buzz. I'll work with that a bit later. The neck has the same feel and playability as my higher-end Jacksons, so that's a plus. Overall, I don't think you could go wrong with this in the low price range. I'd recommend inspecting the guitar closely upon receipt to double check quality control. I wouldn't recommend this as a first guitar, unless an experienced guitarist is available to inspect. It's also not a guitar that's easy to sit and play, which is something to consider. If you get a good one and it's setup properly, this is an excellent guitar for ripping out some metal riffs or just having fun. Just don't take it too seriously.Matt

I received my guitar about three days ago, and overall I am very happy with my purchase. The guitar looks awesome – I love the wood finish with gold hardware, and have received many compliments on the instrument's overall appearance. It is incredibly light, weighing in at just about 7 pounds, making it the lightest guitar I have ever owned. I love the feel of Jackson necks, and this guitar is no exception. It has a fast action that makes speedy riffs a breeze to play. Access to the higher portion of the fret board is incredible, thanks to the V body shape. This is my first Flying V guitar, and I will definitely need to get used to handling the unique body shape as I play. Now for a couple cons that made me drop my rating from 5 to 4 stars: this guitar is top heavy. I have never owned a top-heavy guitar before, and it is super inconvenient to play standing up. You have to put in a constant effort to keep the guitar level as you play. I personally like to play with my guitar at a 45-degree upwards angle, which is much more difficult to do on this guitar then on any of my other well-balanced instruments. While the natural wood body looks awesome, it feels as if it would be easy to damage. But as long as you're careful you shouldn't run into any issues. I ordered this guitar online, and was not happy with the experience Guitar Center delivered. It said that the instrument was in stock and ready to ship, but after three days I still hadn't received a shipping confirmation in my email. I reached out to customer support and found out that the guitar was actually not in stock and I would have to wait three additional weeks before my guitar would ship. That was a bummer. All in all I would recommend this guitar, and am happy I added it to my collection!Darin

My fiance purchased this guitar for me as a early Christmas gift around october 2019. After the usual string change adjustments and tuning it sounded great and played great. Only real issue is neck dive but with this body shape you expect it and can be corrected by moving the strap button placement to the back plate or near by depending on your choice i left it and rest the top horn inside my leg like you see dimebag with his ml and many others with the v shape and non traditional shapes like the warriors king Vs and so on. I personally love the Rhoads shape and the natural finish. Other than some minor changes and upgrades knobs Tusq Nut Locking tuners and a Seymour Duncan bridge pickup upgrade and a good setup this guitar is my daily player out of the 6 i own its become my favorite im looking to buy another honestlychuck thomas

Overall: In a YouTube review of this guitar, there was one guy that said he didn't understand why any experienced and knowledgable guitar player would want THIS guitar over something more high-end (i.e., a "real" Eclipse), because of the differing body design features. I, myself, am not anything of a virtuoso player, nor do I have the fattest wallet at the moment, which is why I settled on something more in the midrange for my first relatively decent guitar. I've been playing for years, writing songs on "piece of crap" guitars, and it didn't matter to me that my instrument was nothing to show off when that's all that I was using it for (i.e., to write songs). Before I am an instrumentalist, I am a vocalist and songwriter… but I digress. Anyhow, coming from someone that has a limited span of what truly "decent" is in this department, I, personally, found this guitar to be worth the price. I am not the most knowledgable about guitars, no, but I know what feels right to me as a player. This one is pretty nice. The body is lightweight and thin without feeling or looking cheap or flimsy, and the playability is fantastic. There is little strain on your fingering hand due to how easy it is to press the strings down, unlike on cheaper guitars. Had I learned to play on this one, I would have been totally spoiled! Maybe like that guy with the YouTube review. Haha. The sound is nice and crisp… and the color is beautiful. I went with the Cobalt Blue, because it matches with my room. I have no complaints about it, under the circumstances. It is everything that I needed it to be. The available payment plan was the cherry on top. Just two more payments! Thanks, zZounds!Note: I was required to rate "Manufacturer Support" when I submitted this review, even though I never made any direct contact with the manufacturer. I couldn't give it less than 5 stars when there was never a problem with it. *shrug*Emha

IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT! It was on backorder. It took round-a-bout 5 months to get it in my eager hands. I bought the Purple Burst version. What their online photos do not properly convey is that the back and the neck are purple as well (how purple depends on each guitar-having seen two in person). The 1st appeared almost black in most lighting. The 2nd is defiantly purple but when photographed there is a color mismatch between the back and front that is NOT noticeable in person (see photos) This is my first Les Paul body style and my first guitar with split coil capability. The jumbo frets are awesome. I haven't been playing long (2-ish years). They cut down on my mis-fretting. The ease & sound of bending the strings + the sound of the pick-ups are more than I was expecting. The neck is super slim. I have size S/M woman hands. I love the size. There is not a lot of stretching to reach around for the low end strings. The neck also has a lovely coating that allows me to slide up and down easy without sticking- if you have played a matte coated neck, you know what I mean. The fret board and the inlays are leveled out very well but the fret board was a bit thirsty when I got it. A fret board oil & cloth buff were all it needed. The frets are very well placed & filed (no snags or fret spouts). The "Set-Up" was really good straight out of the box. The string height was set really well. Low enough (esp. at the nut) that It was not a finger killer to fret but there was no fret buzz at any frets when playing. The intonation was pretty spot on as well. Took slight adjustment when it got new strings (mostly at the Low E and A). The top pick-up was a touch high for my taste but if that is the worst I can say… The neck was straight and ready to play. The tuners work well and I love the keystone buttons on them that match the headstock style. It is heavier than I expected 7.5lbs- 8.4lbs. To sum things up, I cannot believe I got this beauty for this price point.Elaine, K

Sound: I haven't even got far enough to plug it in the action is so buzzy that is why i do not recommend this guitar. If it was set up to playable i would probably like it. You can feel a feel a few fret edges, but nothing horrible. That i would expect for a guitar in this price range, but for it to show up completely unplayable is unacceptable. Value: The way it arrived no. Overall: I have always liked ESP products, but today i am disappointed. This guitar arrived today and is unplayable. The neck has got a back bow and all the strings buzz horribly. The strings are hitting on the back of the bridge after the saddle because the tail piece was screwed all the way down to the body. If ESP did this they should be ashamed, if zZounds did this they should be ashamed. Not sure who set this guitar up? I'm going to try to fix it tomorrow wish me luck. If i can get to stop buzzing and to play decent i may keep it, if not it's going back. It is a pretty guitar and aside from the atrocious setup seems to be of decent quality.Shawn

I'm a collector and player of the unique and unusual of the big brand and some off brand stuff. Never been a huge Gibby fan, even though in a classic rock guy. The flying v crescent moon is wonderful though, and has a vibe and feel all its own. When you think that legends from Hendrix to king played them, and had a style all they're own, the V just has its own place in the guitar world. I swapped the hot ceramic Gibby pups for some Seymour Duncan's with chrome covers, as I wanted a more dressed look and blues warmth from this lightweight but oh so solid beast. I did the graphitec saddles as well, again for a warm vibe. The result is amazing, period. I'll put her against anything from anybody in tone, weight, style, playability and feel. Even before the mods, still best of the best. All welds perfect, fret work perfect, finish accomplished the look of a vintage road warrior. Nickle hardware, true Ebony fretboard, feels like one gorgeous piece of mahogany in your arms as the neck and body are so perfectly set together.golfn64

This guitar sounds so good, it's hard to say if it's the wood or pickups. Who cares? It sounds good. Good tone and sustain. I look forward to playing it. Tuning is easy, playing it is comfortable. It has the original good looks that the Flying V was made with. I have heard people with Gibsons say that they with the knobs were like on my V. They also liked the placement of the jack. Which, I want to say, are 2 solid reasons I wanted this guitar. The Through-the=body stop and the jack at the end of the wing tip. Very nice.David

Gibson Flying V. Antique natural. Low action and great playability from factory. Awesome fretboard even though multiple tool marks around fret ends. Good access. Pickups sound good clean and can get hot enough for metal with a boost. Nice grain in wood. Couple small sand marks under nitro. Neck feels great. Giving it 4 stars for cosmetic issues but played so well did not send it back or even pursue price reduction. Case is very nice. AMS great as always. Killer payment plans and fast shipping.Todd

I bought the black and gold edition of this guitar and I was pleasantly surprised when it sounded so good and looked absolutely stunning! My only problem with this guitar is that the pickups look a little tarnished or rusty but it doesn't affect the tone but other than that it's definitely worth the money.Angel

What you see (in my case) was a black Stratocaster knock-off and what I got was black Stratocaster knock. The quality is decent (downright great for the price). but of course, that means although the basic guitar is well mased the hardware and pickups are not of stellar quality. If you expected anything else you must be crazy. The guitar arrived in good shape … I put on new strings and straightened the neck, then checked the intonation which was good… This is an EXCELLECT beginner's electric guitar. I have been playing for 50 years and I bought this guitar to practice my guitar repair skills. I will pull all the frets and re-radius the neck then refret the guitar and perhaps replace the pickups. If you buy one of these, be sure have a luthier (guitar builder/repair person) set it up for you if you don't know how to do that for yourself. These are great low-end guitars but (like any other guitar) they do need a setup. I am old enough to remember all the bad ( as in almost unplayable) beginner's guitars from back in the day. Now with CNC machining the quality of the low-end guitar market has increased greatly and this guitar is the result. The beginner can now get a decent guitar at a decent price. This is one of the best guitars the low-end market segment has to offer. Rawk On!!!Thomas

Amazing shipping, Ordered 12/22, arrived 12/26, a SUNDAY, even in our historic supply chain crisis. If I'd known they'd be so fast, I'd have ordered a day or two sooner to have it here for the little ones on Christmas. Everything as expected, except not a trace of the blue burst shown on the website; just solid blue. Pretty color, seems well done, but lost a lot without the burst. The biggest problem is that the bridge (a 6-screw version) is mounted off-center towards the treble side. This means the bass strings are way in on the neck, and the treble strings are close to the edge. Also, they don't line up right with the pickups. (see photos). I hope that's not a problem, it'd be a real bear to fix, and given the automated production of a unit like this, a replacement would probably be the same. Neck has a satin finish, knobs all work smoothly, no scratchies, arranged as Volume, Neck Tone, Center Tone. The selector switch feels stiff but solid. Jack nut seems tight (always seems to be a weak point in electrics) but we'll see for how long. I like the block saddles. I doubt I'm going to gig with this one (I play upper-tier Strats mostly) but it seems like the perfect "bathroom guitar" or kids guitar, certainly better than the plywood crap I learned on. A great replacement for Squier Affinity that now costs $249 street. I wanted a guitar to tinker with, and I sure got one. New strings, tuners, pups… fun for me and the grandkids. I won't save money when it's all done, but the experience for me and them will be golden.New User

I bought this a little over a month ago, and I play it every day. I'm a beginning guitar player, and I'm happy with my purchase. The reviews I read prior to buying this varied: some said it was flawless, others found multiple problems. It appears that while it is an overall good value, the individual guitars may vary in quality. I haven't had a "set up" done on it yet, so I've been playing it just "out of the box" and I'm impressed with the sound and playability. Pros: Looks good. Sounds good. The little practice amp that came with it sounds very nice, and you're not gonna play a bar gig with it, but it's sufficient for practicing at home or even in a garage jam. It's built to upgrade over time, so you can easily customize it how you like. Cons (bearing in mind this is just "out of the box" with no setup): The frets are installed inconsistently. Some frets are flush to the edge of the fretboard, a few are a bit short of the edge, and others stick out past the edge, making it difficult and painful to slide your hands down the fretboard. (See the photo.) This doesn't seem to affect the sound. There's a light intonation issue on the higher strings: a perfectly tuned E on the open string gets to be a sharp E in the 12th fret (so it's about halfway between an E and an F), but this could probably be fixed with a proper set up. Very minor issue: the strap that comes with it is AWFUL. It's thin, it's itchy, it has no pick holders, and the slots to go into the buttons on the guitar don't lock well. Very minor issue: the gig bag is flimsy. Consistent with the reviews I read before buying this, it is definitely worth the money if you are a beginning guitar player or are looking to customize your own guitar over time. The sound is good out of the box and it's a great guitar that can grow with you as you grow as a musician. The quality of individual components (the finish, the frets, etc.) may vary a bit from item to item, which is to be expected at this price point.New User

Got the newer retro classic with 3 saddle bridge. Is a great value and equal to squier bullets for half the price. The newer indio needed a little work, but so did two squiers i have bought. The indio had rough fret ends and nut was a little tall. Sanded fret ends and sanded the bottom of the nut to reduce the height. Tuners are not smooth turning but stays in tune really well. Will remind again my squier bullets both needed much more work than this indio. Have sold both bullets and kept the indios. The indio plays great and is really slinky. I guess due to top load bridge. Indios are probably the best value out there.Travis

The guitar is surprisingly good considering the very low price. It did have one significant issue though that would make me hesitant to recommend it to a beginning guitar player. I'll start with the good stuff. The basic build of the guitar is very good. The finish is well done. The neck pocket is a good fit. The tuners are good. The nut was cut well. The included gig bag is similar to those I've seen selling in the $30-$50 range so it's a great value too. The electronics and pickups are the typical cheap and generic components that you find on guitars in the sub $200 price range. They aren't terrible though. The bridge design on mine is different than what was pictured. This doesn't matter to me but it does seem to vary. The bad thing on the guitar was the fret edges. I checked the level on the frets using a fret rocker and found them good but the edges were very rough. Since I do guitar tech work as a side gig, this was easy for me to fix but a beginning player might find this to be an issue.New User

This is a fantastic guitar for any beginner or someone who wants to see if a Telecaster is for them or to mod or even just to play. I've got Mexican and American Fenders and have had lower end Squiers. I'd say this guitar is the equal of the Bullet line but costs considerably less. The finish is flawless, electronics are fine, tuners are good and the neck is decent. The biggest problem I have with the guitar is the very small frets (not tall at all) and the sharpness of fret ends. The fretboard is listed as being rosewood but it's more likely what is called "engineered rosewood". It looks good and I like it but could be a little smoother. Buyers should note that Fender parts are not totally interchangeable. For instance, the neck plate is a different size so if you're planning to swap necks be aware. The pickguard holes and shape are not the same as Fender's, nor are the holes drilled appropriately for Fender's tuners. The ferrules fall out the back of the body when changing strings which is ridiculous and if you look in the holes you will notice that they are not drilled straight through the body. It appears the front and back of the body are actually two separate pieces of wood glued together with holes for strings drilled separately and they don't line up properly. That is unbelievably bad but you can still insert the strings so it doesn't negatively impact much. I would definitely buy this again and I'm even contemplating getting another.Steve

The guitar came fast. Box was destroyed when arrived. Guitar was actually shockingly nice. The neck was nice, though a little bit rough. It played well and sounded OK, but noisy. Was a nice guitar. However there was a major hash down to the bare wood. It played so well I thought about keeping it. But in the end requested a return. Will update when receive replacement.Paul

I got one a few years ago and liked it a lot so I got another one a few weeks ago. There are some differences from the older ones. The new body is top-loader only, which would be fine if it wasn't for the bridge with sharp edges of the string holes, which then breaks strings like crazy (even broke the B and I don't remember breaking B like… ever). I will file those edges down on the next string change so it's an easy fix/adjustment. Also, the new body is tiny bit thinner (1.65 in. vs 1.75 in.; not a big difference) and has sharper edges to it which I like more as it looks the part more (the old one had rounded off edges which is a bit more comfortable but looks less like what a Tele should). The pickups are about the same, i.e., not the best so I replaced them. Finish on the body has some hazing but it's in the cutout so not as visible and I don't really care; it looks fine. The neck, however, was the biggest surprise – it has rolled edges and all fret edges are smooth – that's something you only get with $1K+ guitars. I don't know if I was just lucky or they are all like that but I love it! I did not have to do a thing to the neck – it was great out of the box. Fretboard radius is 16" and the grain on my copy looks great too. The frets themselves look a bit bigger/taller/better than on my old one. The back of the neck is unfinished but smooth and I prefer that over the finished necks. Tuners are the standard bottom-of-the-bin stuff but they work and I have no intention of replacing them soon. The string tree for G and D is unnecessary so I am bypassing it at the moment and will probably delete it. The headstock logo is a bit "loud" (I like the old one better) so I may have to do something about it. Overall, I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants a budget-friendly Telecaster style guitar and does not mind doing a few things to it to make it a great playing instrument.Igor

Excellent shipping time. I ordered the guitar on a Friday morning and received it the next day. But it helps that I am in the same state that is ships from. As with the previous guitars I have purchased from Monoprice, it is a great value for the price, especially considering it was on sale and I also got an additional promotional discount on top of the sale price. It pushed me over the edge in deciding to make the purchase. I have several guitars and have trouble justifying additional ones to my wife. This black & white Retro Classic (very similar to a Telecaster body design) will be for modifying (pickups, tuners, etc.). Out of the box there was some fret sprout, but letting the guitar sit with my other guitars for a week and will play it to get some tonal samples before doing the make over. The Retro Classic is a nice, solid guitar to start out with or add to your current arsenal, but may need some clean up (i.e. addressing fret sprout, set up, cleaning frets). Still recommend it. Again, cannot beat the quality for the price.Mark

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

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

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

Amazingly, this guitar is actually not too bad for a beginner. It has a decent sound, the amp is of acceptable quality for a beginner, and it actually stays in tune fairly well. You’re not going to get up on stage and play with this one but it was certainly a good investment for my 12 year old son who is just learning to play.Reviewer 14267

I would have to say that I was highly disappointed in this guitar set. I purchased one for my son as he is very interested in learning the guitar. It was purchased for his Christmas gift only to open it up on Christmas for it to not work at all. So we brushed it off and said “things happen.” We decided to purchase another one after having to explain to a 5 year old that he can’t play with his guitar on Christmas. Just received the second guitar only to find that it does not work either. Please find another option as these guitars are poorly made and for the price I can’t believe that they would sell something like this. BEWARE you have been warned!CHUNT

I got this on sale and it's worth what I paid. Out of the box, it needed a setup including fret level, neck relief adjustment, action, intonation, nut, pickup height, etc. I needed to tighten almost every screw on the guitar as well. I setup the trem to float and I'm surprised how well it stays in tune. Also, the fretboard is the driest wood I've ever seen! I don't think it's rosewood, but even after oiling it's really dry feeling. I hope this will cure itself with heavy jamming. After all that, the guitar plays great! The humbucker is not bad at all. The single coils are not all that good, and the tone pot has some crud in there that I could not get rid of completely even spraying it with contact cleaner, but it's fine. I bought these for a couple of friends so we could have guitars tuned 1/2 step down to jam along with some different songs (van halen, guns n roses, 80's rock/metal). For this, the guitar will be just fine.Joe

The Rogue Rocketeer Electric Guitar is clearly a beginner / try it out type electric guitar. The accessories are okay, but you want to consider spending less on individual components and shop around – though you may pay more in total. The included amp wasn't anything to write home about and was a bit better than a travel amp. That said, if you are looking to give this as a gift to a kid who is not 75%+ committed to becoming a rock star you will probably save more with this bundle, but be prepared to replace the strap and amp. I found the design of the guitar to be decent, but it clearly looks and feels like it's price range. Compared to other cheap guitars at a similar price, it was on par. I was more impressed with the "Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar" from the same company in feeling and value compared to the price during my demo review session. The build of this electric guitar was solid enough, so it looks like Rogue has quality controls in place and you will hopefully get a properly QAed and functioning guitar. Bottom line, if you are serious about getting into guitar I would recommend spending a bit more on different guitar and amp – but if you don't want to invest too much time researching, this bundle will give you a playable guitar which will be suitable to start on and you won't feel bad about passing this down or on to someone else when you upgrade. I am writing this review as part of a contest.EReviewer

Overall I do think that this guitar is well worth the little cost, I think credit has to be given to Gibson and epiphone for overseeing the quality of overseas company that makes this guitar. I also want to say that I bought the epiphone Les Paul hardshell case after I received and played the guitar and knew I was going to keep it, the case is also of good quality. I have played professionally for many years and also for fun Jamming with friends and other musicians, and exclusively played my 70s fender strat, and will continue to play the strat as the action is better and a little easier to play and I like the fender sound, I play the strat with the original fender Tube Concert Amp and I play the Les Paul with the concert amp and it sounds good also.I also play both with the Line 6 Jam amp and they also sound very good on the line 6 jam amp. I intend to play the Les Paul as often as I can and I do enjoy playing it. I received this guitar on June 5 and I was very happy to see it was well packed for shipping and was in very good condition when I received it. The action is very easy to set up I changed the strings as it comes with .10 and I like a lighter string. The guitar sounds and players very well the humbuckers sound good the 2 volume and tone work fine and the neck and treble switch works well at this time. It seems the Les Paul 100 is a well built and quality guitar at this time and only time will tell how it will hold up. I think if care is taken it should last a long time. I have owned a lot of guitars in my time and in my time all guitars were made in USA. I did not really like the Gibson the necks are big and bulky but I did like some of the deeper sounds. The guitar I played the most is my70s Fender Strat and I think I will play this Les Paul 100 more also. The guitar seems of good Quality, right now I think if there is a flaw it would be in the tuning knobs, right now I have a little problem with one tuning knob the 3rd string [G] goes out of tune during playing a short time I will try to tighten tuning knob to see if this will help. But over all the quality is good I think that the epiphone les paul 100 is a great value for the price, it sounds good and plays well for a non USA guitar I dont think you will find better, I hate to say this because I am a real fender fan and I have played some of the fender non USA guitars and they were terrible.joesplaceny

I bought this guitar for a couple reasons. My first reason was because i wanted a guitar that was my own, and not acoustic, ive used my brothers acoustic guitar fr my learning thus far, but ive grown apart from it, ive started wanting to learn skills used on electric. Another reason was, i can play well, and im in a band, but our guitarist isnt good at all and insists on playing guitar, so ive decided if i can play in his place, i can at least teach him. Finally, i am a huge fan of the anime "K-ON!" and the main character, Yui, plays a Gibson Les Paul in the same color as this, so that had a bug impact on what guitar i chose in the end. I absolutely love how it looks! It's simply awesome to have it in my room, and i constantly get told at school that i have a "sexy guitar" or i get asked "how much did it cost" and its awesome to know that it didnt cost me more than a PS3! And i love the features the guitar has [the 2 different pickup sounds are very useful]. And there is in NO way there is a $2000 dollar difference in sound quality, it still sound amazing, especially with some distortion or overdrive added to it! I'm yet to change the string on it, so obviously it still lacks in my own touch to it, but i will eventually get to that. and very VERY tiny scratches to the pick guard and writing on the switch labels were spotted upon its arrival, but these cannot be seen unless close.jayzap96

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

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 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

I had played one of these in a store and liked the feel. After having one for a few weeks, I like it even more. I'm slightly taller than the average guy. Hence my fingers are a bit longer than the average guy. Maybe it is just because the neck seems to get thinner as you get up to the higher notes, but it seems like the neck is a little wider than the rest of my guitars up around the 15th to 24th frets. ("rest of my guitars" include Les Paul, Strat, Ibanez RG550, EVH Wolfgang, and others for reference). Aside from how great the paint job LOOKS, it does not have a gloss coat on it. This is a good thing since the paint job extends up the back of the neck allowing your hand to slide quite freely on the back of the neck. The bridge humbucker is fantastic. It screams the notes clearly with ZERO noise or hum when not playing. I'm not that impressed with the neck humbucker, but that's comparing it to the neck hum on my Les Paul, Carvin, and PRS Custom. AND, for about 90% of the 80s hair band songs you are never using that pickup anyway. The Floyd Rose is great! I got tired of waiting for it to need minor tuning adjustments naturally, so I'm to the point of TRYING to make it go out of tune even slightly and it STILL stays locked in tune. Overall, this guitar is now my GO TO for anything 80s (the biggest chunk of my playing preference).Steve

I was keen to find a 6 string that had a fixed bridge that I could use for covers and so I can retune to alternate tunings easily without having to get the screwdrivers and spending a lot of time retuning like a Locking Tremolo guitar. Thankfully the guitar already had Seymour Duncan pick ups in which are essential to having a aggressive tone but as well allow good expression so this meant it would be a case of getting the guitar out the box and playing rather than buying separate pick ups having to fit them in and so on. As I wanted a guitar that wasn't black or brightly colored the desert sand finish on the guitar really stood out and attracted me. Most of the SLP2's have a great selection of finish's. As for the neck and wood finish it is very smoothly and allows you to get quick access from from end of the neck to the other. Behind each the tuners on the headstock, there is this interesting circular turning device to help lock in the strings. This may help keep it in tune more but I also just attribute it staying in tune due to the general quality of the guitar. I bend the strings a lot for my lead playing and I play very aggressively with thick picks and rhythmically so once I put some heavier strings on (my preference) and configured the bridge saddles with a very small L shaped Allen/hex key the guitar stayed in tune.Tom H.