Pabst Blue Ribbon 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

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

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

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

Having previously purchased a lemon drop second hand I was impressed with the vintage brand. I've previously owned custom shop guitars by Fender and Gibson so have perspective on how "good ones" should sound. The v6 was ordered from Richard as I enjoyed his YouTube videos and liked the thought of the guitar being essentially hand picked and set up prior to delivery. Richards pricing is not the cheapest but it does ensure that the guitar you receive plays as well as it possibly can. The guitar itself arrived in tune, set up to my specifications with a blocked trem and 10 gauge strings. The finish was flawless and the fact vintage spec the correct woods for these guitars (alder and maple) really sold me. It has a full size tremblock, bent steel saddles and sounds like a good strat should. The Wilkinson pickups in the lemon drop where excellent paf approximations and the single coils are no exception. Plus the bridge is wired to the second tone pot which is something I always do as I tend to roll off the treble when soloing. The guitar is also very light and can be played comfortably for hours. Packing was top notch. Double boxed. Comms excellent and I would wholeheartedly recommend purchasing from Richard again. In fact I have Gas for a Eastman Les Paul in 2020😊Matt S.

If you've ever put a guitar together from after market parts, even 2nd hand, its doesn't take long to rack up an expense. For Richard to offer this guitar for £287 with a full setup is quite extraordinarily extraordinary. The QC on this one is exceptional from Vintage and despite thorough inspection I cannot find any flaws at all. It is a very lightweight guitar, slightly neck heavy, so I'd recommend purchasing a good quality leather strap to prevent slippage. The highlight of the VS6 would be the neck which is a wide C profile and very enjoyable to play. The setup from Richard again is exceptional and you really have to applaud the effort invested making these very affordable guitars so playable. On that note, I would also recommend that these are perfect guitars to learn some basic setup skills on; though very well setup I have made small adjustments as can be expected as you break a guitar in. All in all, a great value guitar which Richard and his team have helped punch well above its weight.Jordan T.

I can't speak highly enough of my experience with Richards Guitars. The guitar itself is great value for money. Highly playable and light-weight. Lovely finish, and great to look at, which is saying something, as I've never been into 'road-worn' finish, generally speaking… The instrument feels great in the hand, and it's been played every day since I got it 🙂 The setup on the guitar was spot-on too, so I couldn't be happier. Richard (and team) agreed to have the guitar ready and delivered in a pretty tight time-window too, and it was right on time, which was greatly appreciated. Last but not least, I needed the exact dimensions of the guitar in a pinch. Richard answered the phone and got the measurement for me while I waited. Quality 🙂Tim C.

This ax is smooth as butter. I've got Gibson, Fender, Ibanez amongst others but this PRS, an Indonesian one at that, is hands down the most playable. Can't wait to get an American made PRS 24 Custom!w6mag0000

I originally ordered a new-in-box PRS SE 24 standard. I soon received a call from one of their sales professionals who offered me an opened box version at a greatly reduced price. Warranties stayed the same and the guitar arrived quickly in "New" condition. I will definitely buy from ProAudioStar again!t44haven

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

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

This is a beautiful guitar and if it were 1000$ it would be well worth it. For 2300$ though I would like to have some inlays that don't look like cheap plastic and not have fret buzz. The buzz could be fixed with a set up but for 2300$ I feel like it should come set up. On the back the slots for the cover plates are not routed so they just sit on top. Not a deal breaker but this does make it look a little incomplete. Overall it sounds great minus the fret buzz. I'd say no better than a se model and not worth the extra money unless you just want a bolt on neck. I prefer bolt on or through necks which is why I bought the ce but I plan to return it and either get an ernie ball music man or an American strat.Not satisfied with AMS quality c

I bought this because I was in the market for a US guitar and I already had a US Strat. I was thinking about a Gibson Les Paul Classic and then PRS showed up on my radar. I did some research and decided to play both. I have an Epiphone Les Paul so I thought I would prefer the Gibson. I played this guitar first and the Les Paul just didn't feel right after that. I bought this one a couple weeks later. After having it for an extended period (12 hours) I started thinking about selling my Strat and buying a Silver Sky. This guitar just felt so good I didn't want anything else. The neck feel is fantastic. The tone options are amazing The color is sooooooo much more vibrant in person than in pictures It is sitting in the rack in the other room while I type this and I wish I was playing it right now. It was totally worth every penny and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a true quality instrument.Jay P

I have previously played and owned only long scale basses. Have always wanted to try a short scale. Went to my local GC and tried a few they had in house. The short scale Sterling was a nice looking bass but the fret work was terrible. Based on reading other reviews I took a risk and ordered a Squire CV 60 Mustang. It is a beautiful instrument. Arrived in great condition with absolutely no flaws. Finish is great, Fretwork is great, string action and intonation were nearly perfect. Hard to believe that Squire can make an instrument like this for such a reasonable price.Jim

I have always wanted a short-scale Fender and decided to pull the trigger on the Squire CV version. Being a Gibson player, the 25.5 scale length always threw me off but this Mustang is very easy to play/swap between my Les Paul and 335's. The single-coil tones are great and certainly a contrast to the humbuckers & P90's I usually play. To be 100% honest, you better have some skills in setting up guitars and polishing frets or be prepared to pay a tech to get these guitars to their full potential. I had to completely polish the frets and fiddle for weeks to get the action to my liking. A neck shim is almost essential to get any height on the bridge and provide enough downward pressure to keep things intonated. I have no idea why Fender doesn't do this on all Mustang's, Jazzmasters and Jaguars since this is a very well-known issue. Once dialed in and frets polished up, this Mustang is a little tone monster.Jason F

Sound: It's a classic Mustang sound. Ease of Use: The Mustang bass was originally made for younger players and students, but it has a serious professional following as well. Quality: The only problem initially was rough fret ends which were quickly taken care of. Look for pro advice online as to how to do this. Value: Because I owned one before, I feel this is worth the selling price. Manufacturer Support: No contact with Fender about any concerns. Unless it's something out of my ability I'll handle it myself. The Wow Factor: When I first saw the "Vintage Vibe" Mustang bass, it owned me. Overall: I've owned one before and had to sell it. Incredible instrument. I've always preferred short scale basses because they're so much fun to play. Had to buy this one. I like playing this bass more than my 2001 American Series Precision bass! You won't be disappointed. Perhaps some minor tweaking may be needed, but worth every cent.Ampman

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

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

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

Hello Ola, I am thrilled with my new Boden Original NX-8. Combined with my Fusion NX-6, I have excellent, hand & wrist friendly, very high quality guitars. I am using a Mono Y-Cable with the NX-8 so that guitar oriented pedals and amp are used for "guitar", while bass i sent to bass-supportive pedals and amp. Really takes better advantage of the 8 string features. My only regret is that I am challenged in trying to add my Roland GK-3 pickup to either Strandberg for use with my GR-55. The very ergonomic, minimalist bodies leave little room for attaching the synth hex pickup. But, still trying since I have been a Roland guitar synth player for many years. Oh well, challenges make life more interesting, right? Thank You and Take Care, David SlowikDavid S.

strandberg asked me to review this product, and I replied that I was not pleased and that they probably did not want my review. Then… they asked me again. First, the positives. This ax is exactly what it says it is. It's compact, ergonomic, light and full of innovations. The fanned frets are just like everyone says.. you don't even notice. The same for the asymmetrical neck. The 3 way switch and controls give you a broad pallet of sounds, just like everyone says. The problem is that it felt, to me, that I was not playing a musical instrument. It didn't respond like an instrument. It felt like a piece of electronic equipment. The tones, while varied, never struck me as particularly musical. I suppose if you are depending on pedals to shape your sound, that's not a limitation. In that case the guitar is just a device for generating a signal. But that's not how I play. It didn't work for me. Remember… I TOLD strandberg all this, and they still asked for the review. My guess is that their algorithm simply registered that I hadn't submitted a review, so they asked me again. But that's it in a nutshell, isn't it? All machine. No soul.John S.

I've been eyeballing the Masvidalien Cosmo pretty much since it was released – I was hesitant to pull the trigger for two silly reasons: 1) I was stuck in this misguided notion that I needed an extended range guitar to play modern metal and 2) I was afraid that the high variability of the burled maple tops could somehow result in me receiving an ugly guitar. Like I said, silly. I started considering the artists I love who do mostly play 6 stringed guitars and decided that was a bad reason to hold back (look at Joe Haley of Psycroptic, or of course the man himself – Paul Masvidal of Cynic!) so after over a year I finally ordered my Cosmo. I was not disappointed! It's light as feather. Fretwork is immaculate. The EMG 57 sounds great, and that VMC control does really allow you to shape the sound (admittedly I need more time to play around with this). The burled maple top is exactly what I was hoping for. I don't see any tool marks, any hiccups in the paint, etc – in short, the guitar arrived flawless. I own one other guitar – a black Boden Original 8. Again, it's silly but I was concerned that I would have a hard time dropping down two strings. Like my fingers wouldn't know where to go. This wasn't the case at all. The slight 6-string multiscale feels just right and the EndurNeck is surprisingly effective (I figured it would play less of a role than on my 8 string since the 6 string neck is so much thinner, but I don't think that's the case at all). It probably sounds like I'm heaping too much praise on this instrument – that I'm being blindly positive. Maybe that's true. But it far exceeded my expectations, I haven't found a thing wrong with it, and I haven't been able to put it down since it arrived. Paul Masvidal and Ola Strandberg cooked up something truly awesome, and I feel very fortunate to be able to own a Cosmo. Highly recommended.Grim

I finally gave up on waiting for the Ibanez GRG131 DX to be restocked, which was not MF's fault – no one is responsible for shortages in this country other than our brainless leader and his group of morons. So, I checked out the Ibanez RG6003FM as it is very similar to the GRG131DX. Yes, they are different in colors, but the important parts are way better on the RG6003FM. Comparing the RG6003FM vs. GRG 131DX: pickups, (Quantums vs. Infinity R pickups), necks (Wizard III vs. GRG), body wood (mahogany vs. poplar), switches (5 way vs. 3 way), finger board (jatoba vs. NZ pine), and a flamed maple top vs. black paint made it a no brainer. The RG6003FM is a super guitar. If you wait for a Stupid Deal they are very close in price. I received my 6003FM in 4 days, triple boxed, perfect condition and ready to play. Lucky for me that the GRG 131DX was out of stock. I'd like to thank MF and my super helpful Gear Advisor, Stephanie ext. 3575, for a great guitar and great service!Don

Really like how light it is. Pickups are fine for practicing. Stays in tune fairly well. The top has a round dark spot about the size of a nickel in it that I don't like but whatever. Had a bunch of high frets so they had to be leveled, crowned and polished before it could be setup. The knobs were wobbly due to imperfections in the plastic inserts inside the knobs. While pulling them off to be replace the stem of the volume pot broke inside the pot so the pot needed to be replace. Got the new knobs on so no more wobble. This guitar is good enough to knock around with and for practice but it may need some work to get it right. At least the one I got did, YMMV.Poor Devil

Since (regrettably) selling my late-80's model RG550 some years ago, I had not owned another Ibanez until purchasing this one. This purchase was not intended to be a replacement of the prior, as they are not in the same category, but kudos to Ibanez for making a functional, good-sounding lower-end RG model. As stated by other users, the pickups are a bit flat-sounding, but these can be replaced with premium ones. Out-of-the-box, this guitar packs some punch, and the range of sound is diverse enough to play nearly any style of music well enough. The best features of this guitar are its light weight, and fast, comfortable neck. The fact that this guitar was purchased on sale made it all the more satisfactory…BolekLolek

Okay this product is good. The pickup is fine and it's a great amount of fun. BUT: The fret work is terrible. Really. They stick out of the neck, and it feels like playing with sandpaper on your fingers. Terrible rash after half an hour of playing, still has not worn off. Also the action is really bad and the second fret is buzzing like crazy on mine. I need to get that fixed, but I hoped to get it working right off the box as I am travelling a lot and don't have time to take care of my guitars (which is why I took this one). Overall if the item and the object is really fun and smart and cool (you really get that "cool" factor when playing live and people notice and start laughing at your baby-sized guitar. Also includes a "cute" factor for those who are into that.) But the quality is really poor and needs quite a bit of work to be really useful without cutting your hand. Also a mild annoyance, but the headstock is not blue. I selected this one because the picture showed a blue headstock and it looked cooler than the black one. I got the black one. Minor annoyance, still an annoyance. I would not make this choice again I think, or be prepared to go to the guitar store and invest an additional 100 dollars in fret work and proper setting.pauwohre_0

I purchased this guitar a few years ago and it is my go-to ever since whether I am at home or while traveling. I have rather small hands and not very good stretch so it makes playing my other guitars rather painful after an extended period of time. I like playing this guitar because even though it has a full scale fretboard, everything just feels smaller in my hands when I play it. The width of the neck is smaller than my other guitars makes it easier for me to reach and my hands don't get as fatigued as easily. The sound is great! I only play for fun and have a small 100W amp but it sounds excellent no matter whether I'm playing metal or jazz. The only problem I have with it is there is a little bit of fret buzz when I am playing certain notes. It is not really a problem with the instrument itself. I ordered this by mail and never had it set up after it arrived. I am not comfortable doing it myself so I will have to take it into the store whenever I get the chance. I am sure that once I get it adjusted properly, I will have no problems with it. I love this little beast.Sordesco

A solid four stars. Travel guitars all have their limitations and this one is certainly no exception. But despite those limitations this instrument fulfilled its needs on a recent trip. Which is why I waited to write this review until after it was used for its intended function. It's size and weight were convenient for traveling through airports and overhead bins. It was durable despite being mashed by other carry on luggage. It was fun to play through Vox classic rock plug in amp with ear buds but difficult to stay in tune. Also used a basic leather strap with rough suede to compensate for awkward weight distribution. This kept the strap from sliding in that the guitar is neck heavy. All travel guitars like the Traveler series suffer the same malady. The Neck is straight as an arrow and the action is very good. Haven't changed the strings yet but the stop tailpiece is adjacent to the pickup which may make string changes difficult. All in all, I would not gig with this guitar but for the money it served its purpose preparing for a gig upon my return. A good value overall with some limitations.Rockinvet

It came from the swamp! (Swamp Ash Body) This swamp creature is a tonal monster that screams like a Yeti and growls like a Lion. This Typhon is the father of all monster guitars. It came flawless and perfectly set up and intonated which is rare but it can and did happen to me. It outshines my Fender Strat and Fender Acoustasonic. As I struck a chord ON it, IT struck a chord IN me, and the bond was instantaneous. Guitar is about having fun and enjoying music not about snobbery. I'm preparing to entertain with my mastery of the musical arts and I'm going into battle fighting against fears, insecurities, and self-doubts but I can now face these foes fearlessly because I'm equipped with my new weapon of choice – this purebred sexy swamp beast axe. I was standing in a swamp, with my head hung low, not enough tickets, for my sold out show. Hear the roar of the crowd? Can you picture the scene? Put you ear to the swamp, hear my guitar scream. Can you hear it now? Are you blown away? You'll see stars for a couple of days! This S570 AH SWK is beautiful and thanks to MF my dream became my reality. MF jumped through hoops and went all out in helping me get this guitar. Call them up and they will assist you in overcoming any hurdles standing in your way of purchasing this guitar. They excel over Sweetwater IMHO. My EVERY experience with these MF'ers has been a 2 thumbs up, 10 star rating. What are you waiting for? Get your own S570 AH SWK Today! You'll be glad you did! As for me, I'm as happy as a slime covered swamp creature in a black lagoon playing guitar. The black on this thing is gorgeous and the silver waves ring out like silver bells at Christmas. When you hear it Roar, you'll be imprisoned in it's melodiosity (I coined that phrase) Metal, Alternative, Rock, Country, Blues, Pop, Reggae, Jazz it does it all. Just do it my friend! Pull the trigger and blow the brains out of your savings account and you too can start playing "FOR REAL" today. Costs less than a Prestige or a Joe Satriani Signature JS2GD-Gold Boy but I must dispel the MYTH… it's just as good and no one in your audience will be able to hear any difference.James

Sound: The guitar came with Quantum pickups. I have Quantum pickups on another guitar, and they sound alright on my Jem Jr. However, they sound spectacular on this guitar. This may have something to do with the ash body on this guitar, vs. the Mahogany body on the Jem Jr.It is amazing that Ibanez can offer ash on a guitar in this price range, when Fender has stopped using ash on more expensive guitars. Features: The most useful feature on this guitar is the Edge Zero trem. As a matter of course, as I’ve done with my other trem equipped Ibanez guitars, I replaced the springs. The springs that come on these guitars are awful and won’t let the trem return to pitch. I replaced them with Floyd Rose extra strength, silent springs. Now the trem returns to pitch as good as my Floyd’s and original Edge trems.There is no string retainer on this guitar. If you put a few extra winds of strings around the post, it will increase the break angle from the back of the nut, where the strings exit. If you get the break angle right, you can lock down the nut without having to retune. Ease of Use: The guitar is quite playable out of the box, with the exception of the trem springs. There were a couple of high frets, but they weren’t high enough to cause buzzing with a normal action. I always do a level and crown as part of the set up anyway. Quality: The fit and finish on this guitar is excellent. I love the grey and black top on this. Definitely a looker. Also, the description of the guitar on the website, when I ordered it, said that the fretboard was Jatoba. Well, as it turned out, my guitar came with a rosewood board, which according to Ibanez’s website is what the guitar comes with for 2021.Also, the jack placement on the top, is really nice. The end to the cord doesn’t stick out. Just be careful plugging in. Value: This guitar is worth every penny I paid. I am quite pleased that the guitar is less than 600 dollars. Great bang for the buck. And zZounds makes it a no brainer with their payment plans. Manufacturer Support: I haven’t had to call Ibanez personally, but I have gone through the dealer before, and they have got fast service from Ibanez for me. The Wow Factor: This guitar not only looks good, but plays great as well. If you aren’t able to do work on a guitar yourself, spend the money for a pro set up. It’s so worth it. Overall: Well, I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I took a chance and bought one that was listed as minor blemish on zZounds site.It took awhile to get to me, but that isn’t zZounds fault. The FedEx hub in my state doesn’t have enough truck drivers, and delays at the Troutdale hub are just a reality at this time.It arrived well packed and it turns out that the minor defect was just a small crack at the neck pocket. This would have probably happened anyway, and it is really small.I did have to call customer service, due to a saddle adjustment screw rounding out when I set the intonation. Sounds got me a new set of these screws through Ibanez, and it only took a few days. So good on zZounds and good on Ibanez.Scott

Ultimately, this guitar is terrific! It seems to be one of the few Squiers that has better than not appointments (considering the fact that they are generally "bare bones" in terms of body woods, etc …) If you're new & want a good single coil strat sound…..yep…….if you know what you're doing already & want a strat you can woop on……yep…..if you want a nice sounding guitar that would normally cost a few $$ more for equal quality?? ……..still yep…… Automatically, add a couple sets of strings to your cart too (I snagged a couple DR Blues 10-46 sets, although the stock Fenders don't sound bad at all honestly) & stretch em on! The only tuning issues I experienced was due to needing to stretch em out a few times to stay tuned (***….tug the string from bridge to nut, back n forth like you were playing a chello with a bow hahaha ….., while also continuing to tune them back up repeatedly). From there, you should be dialed & throughly enjoy this killer, cost efficient strat just about as much as you'd appreciate one that cost a grand!!! Cheers!!T Dogg

This is an incredible guitar ! I bought it as a modding platform, but after having spent a few hours with it, I quickly decided it what mostly stay untouched. These are economic tuners, but man do they stay in tune. After polishing and dressing the frets, graphite-ing the nut, and replacing the strings, I had to tune twice in a 2 week period ! The original plan was to replace them with vintage style tuners, but why waste the money, they're great ! I bought the shell pink, and the color, fit and finish are perfect. It weighs 7.5 lbs, so on the lighter side, which I love. The neck has a better looking wood grain than my Vintage Modified '70s, and about the same feel, at least I don't feel a difference. I don't know if it's because of the top load hard tail bridge or what, but this guitar is VERY resonant, and sustains forever. The pick ups are definitely not top of the line, as the price implies, but they sound really good. My original plan was to replace them with Kent Armstrongs, but I really liked the neck PU a lot, and while I don't have strong opinions either way about the middle and bridge, I thought I would try replacing the electronics first. I installed a Gunstreet Wiring Shop Blender harness (blends neck and bridge PUs), and now I get all the tones I could possibly want. I'm definitely keeping the stock PUs ! Like I said, with a little fine tuning of the set up, it plays and sounds like a dream, looks fantastic, and is priced incredibly well. I couldn't recommend it more.Playin for fun

This is my first electric guitar. It is well made and arrived in great condition. The Scan set up is a real plus and ensured it was ready to play straight out of the box. Everything you need to start your guitar journey is in the package. The included amp is small and simple to use. More than adequate for practice and home use. The Fender Play Instruction is well worth looking into. Overall an excellent package worthy of serious consideration.Heathpk

I've been a long time Ibanez player. I have yet to have a guitar disappoint me. The first one of these I ordered did though. It came out of the box wrong. Weird is the best way I can describe it. It have "Jiva" on the headstock which is only on the Nita Strauss signature models, the neck felt rough, almost sticky and the tremolo creaked and refused to flutter. I promptly called AMS and started the exchange process. As soon as they saw that UPS picked up the old guitar and it was on it's way they sent the new one out. It got delivered on a Sunday! Upon opening this one, EVERYTHING about it felt different. Much more what I thought it was going to be. This guitar plays great! Fretboard and fretwork are solid, neck is smooth, action is right where it should be. The Ibanex trem does exactly what it's supposed and behave like a Floyd. The tone on this is wonderful. I've also played mostly DiMarzio pickups most of my life. These are wonderful pickups. Add in the coil tap and I've got a world of tonal options at my disposal. Extremely happy for this mid priced guitar! Super fun to play!MikeT275

Overall: I purchased this guitar about a month ago and used it for my band’s last gig. The tone is phenomenal, the neck action is flawless and after hammering out 80’s solos for three hours it stayed in tune. In my opinion you will be challenged to find a better guitar for under $1k. The transition from dirty to clean is unmatched, the guitar looks amazing! If your budget is under 1k you MUST give this guitar a shot!My only complaint is be careful when bending the high E string as it can come off the fretboard…..Matt

I hadn't owned an RG in years and during the pandemic a lot of the ones I was looking and wanted were out of stock. I'm not big on gold hardware, but I love a blue guitar and this one caught my eye, so I bought it. It shipped to the house in two days and was set up well right out of the box. The DiMarzios sound amazing and the Ibanez FR style tremolo stays in tune very well. The fretboard plays like butter and the roasted maple neck is gorgeous! Another great transaction with Proaudiostar.Scott W

Excellent craftsmanship! The neck feels really great. Had no sharp fret ends and the satin finish is top notch. It came with a really nice set up and low action out of the box. Electronics are really decent to. Bridge pickup got a bit muddy with heavy distortion, but did well under a crunch setting. Middle and neck positions were buttery smooth with clear differences in tone. The 3-way switch is excellent quality as well, which is usually isn't the case. Wiring is great, but I opted to switch it out with Emerson wiring harness anyways. Overall, you can't beat this guitar. I bought a Vintera 60s Jazzmaster before this one and I would pick this Squier over the Vintera any day..Diego

I'll second the review that says he'll leave her stock. I do like it as is as well, and I also hear Strat/Teleish sounds out of this thing. I thought when buying it would be a heavy rock type guitar not so it's very fender single coil like w/ out the hum… nice! I will say the amp makes loads of difference tube vs solid state. It sounds great through a tube amp and mehh through the other. Had some fret buzz that needed adjusted out but other then that I like it. It's a good buy in either color I'd say.👍🏼🤘🏼✌🏼Brado

The guitar itself is quite nicely built, but the app, which is supposed to help your kids learn the chords etc. is demoralizingly bad. It's hard to explain to a 5 year old why, after following the daily items (tune your guitar, practice some chords etc.) they don't get the points for completion. As a software engineer, I fail to see why it's okay to leave this basic functionality broken. Furthermore, the app appears to be abandonware. I see no updates or fixes. The 'Games' section has been 'coming soon' for months. The app should be removed from the site as a selling point, since it is basically broken. Just be aware when you buy this guitar, the app is not going to work.Ben

My 6 year old really loves the thing. She strums it and goes to it often without prompt. She can’t really get her fingers down onto the fretboard to play a chord, but she knows that those cards are instructions. She carries them around and tries playing them with the guitar on a flat surface. She also still doesn’t have a great sense of the guitar as an instrument, that’s to be taken care of, and not banged around like a toy. I think by the time she’s 8, this thing will be perfect for her. If you guys made something a little more towards the toddler end of the spectrum, I’d pick it up in a heartbeat. I understand and greatly appreciate that you’ve scaled down a real electric guitar. Phenomenal concept. Greatly happy with it. If there was something a little more durable, and a little easier for little fingers to hold the notes, I’d pick that up for sure. Great idea, great product, pretty nice app.James C.

Bought a Loog mini for my 9y old. He seems to like Guitar and I can play a bit , but whenever we tried on my Ovation he got very frustrated. Heard about the Loog 3 string and it made sense to me. Well my some loves it!! He’s learned the basic chords now because hit little hand can actually get around the fret board and he is so excited! As I’d dad, I’m I admit – this is a really well made guitar and I love messing with it !!John S.

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