Your favorite guitar that you own

[Heath]

negativefx wrote

stuff!

Dude, I could go on and on about your basses, which are fantastic...  but that white pearloid on white (ivory, silver, blizzard, can't tell for absolute certain in the picture), with a maple neck is so fucking stunning.. it's what a unicorn would look like as a guitar.  That's the guitar Sir Galahad would use to fight evil.  Seriously beautiful, dude.

Now I have to build one just like it... wow, I just felt a stabbing pain in my wallet...


[edit:  Had to come back and say again: DAMN, that guitar is hot!]

[Heath]

My Strat and Strat-type guitars (Part 1):

(pardon typos, had to type this up between doing stuff at work. I'll proofread it after lunch  )

I just want to say right here that I don't care about fret board radii or profile shape.  I've never (well, with one exception) played a guitar with a neck that just did not work for me.  Then again I'm not a shredder and maybe it's a more pronounced issue there.  I'll admit, I like a big ass LP kind of neck, but I'm not picky.  

I also don't normally give a shit about modeling a guitar after someone else's.  I've never wanted to imitate anyone.  I've never wanted someone else's name on my guitar.  I've never wanted any "tribute" guitars over a standard guitar of the same quality.  David Gilmour (and, to a lesser degree, Brian May, because his guitar is so NON-standard) is an exception to that.  I have created 2 strats, the Black one and the Red one, modeled after his Strats.  The Red one isn't finished yet.

David Gilmour Black Strat

I built this from a very mildly abused black MIA alder Strat body.  It took me a while to find a neck for it that I could afford and that conforms to the neck he is using (a maple '57 reissue neck with a C profile and 7.25″ radius).  It's pretty darn close.

It's decked out with:
- 1-ply beveled black acrylic, 11 hole pickguard.  His is round beveled, mine is a slightly rounded normal bevel.
- He uses true vintage tuners whereas I use vintage "style" Wilkinson EZ lock tuners.  Undecided about whether it's worth replacing them as they are excellent tuners.
- Shortened tremolo arm to 4.25″ (here a quick video of me doing that)


- Custom recessed mini-toggle switch on the pickguard for neck/bridge combo
(click for larger picture)
 

I built this using two 9v battery
retainer clips.  The trick was to
mount it under the pickguard
without adding more mounting
hardware visible from the top
side of the pickguard that
would also not be prone to
being dislodged from usage
pressure.  I built it so that
Volume and first Tone pots
would go through it and fasten
it, along with themselves, to
the pickguard.  The toggle is
mounted on flap that folds over,
giving it the proper depth so
that only the top half of the
toggle protrudes through the
PG.  The bolt that holds the two
pieces of metal together also helps maintain the stability of the toggle.

Even though the PG looks a little scratched and ragged, that's just the vinyl that hasn't been removed from the pickguard yet.



- Fender synchronized tremolo bridge fitted with a full size steel block
- There has been a lot of discussion about the pickups in the guitar, and they have changed somewhat over the years, but I've got installed what I believe to be the most accurate set in regards to the current setup:
Bridge:  Seymour Duncan SSL-5 (Gilmour's is a custom overwound SSL-1.  The SSL-5 is a production model based off of that pickup)
Middle:  Fender Custom Shop '69 (wound by Abigail Ybarra)
Neck:   Fender Custom Shop '54

One thing I could not find is parchment/ivory/cream knobs with green numbers.  I might try and make my own.. not from scratch, but get some without inked numbers and figure out a good way of coloring int he numbers without looking ghetto.

The Blue Special

(Brian May inspired Strat):




I built this guitar, not as a replica of anything,
but more as a guitar that would use a lot of
the same tools Brian May uses to generate
some really spectacular sounds.  I used a
Strat-based guitar simply because they are so
damn easy to work with and, due to the
nature of the bolt on neck, much cheaper
than the alternatives.

In this guitar I have used:

- A baby blue Squier body (the cork sniffer in
me has considered upgrading, but the realist
in me can't find a thing wrong with this body
other than being about a 1/4 inch thinner than
a standard Fender strat).

- If I recall correctly, this is a Fender licensed
neck made by AllParts, with a Fender logo.

- Schaller locking tuners

- GFS Brighton Rock pickups

- Brian May pickup switching wiring.  Each
pickup has it's own on/off slider switch and
reverse phase slider switch

- Fender synchronized tremolo bridge fitted
with a full size brass block


I actually have a tremolo cavity cover on it
at this time (white pearloid, matching the
pickguard).  The full sized brass block
protruded a tiny bit because of the the
slightly thinner body so I had to make a
"gasket" for the trem cover to keep the block
from bumping the cover when "whammying."





As you will see on some of my other guitars, I like women on my neckplates.

The Febson Strato Paul

"It's alive!  ALIVE!!"

This one was born of a desire to combine the best aspects of both Fender and Gibson conventions.  I feel it turned out very well.  Here's a rundown of interesting features:

- All gold hardware

- Gold Wilkinson "5+1" trem system

- Replaced 1 knob with a momentary "arcade-style" kill button, leaving master volume, master tone

- Bridge pickup:  Dimzario Fastrack 2 strat-sized rail humbucker
- Middle pickup:  Dimzario Cruiser strat-sized rail humbucker
- Neck pickup:  GFS Lil Killer strat-sized rail humbucker

- Each pickup has it's own toggle, 1) Humbucker, 2) Off, 3) Single-coil so that you can push it more towards the typical Les Paul sound or more towards the classic Strat sound.

- Les Paul truss cover

- Gibson logo (just for fun)
- Gold pinup girl neck plate

Custom Fender Deluxe Strat XII

 
Last, but certainly not least... you could even say I saved the best for last.



This is a 1988 model, not a re-issue.  I'm the second owner.  The first owner made some modifications that had me worried at first.  You'll notice that it has lipstick-tube pickups and metal knobs which are obviously not stock.  

I took it to a local luthier to have it looked at, set up, and restrung.  He called me the next day to tell me it was a little bit special.  I came in to see what he was talking about and he pointed out the non-stock stuff that I was aware of.  I hadn't opened it up, though.  Turns out it's loaded with some old Chandler lipstick tubes, often regarded as the best you can buy.  In addition it was wired with a push/pull pot to reverse phase for a very neat "Wish You Were Here" sound.

I was obviously very pleased to hear this... and yes, it sounds magnificent

[negativefx]

Heath wrote

Dude, I could go on and on about your basses, which are fantastic...  but that white pearloid on white (ivory, silver, blizzard, can't tell for absolute certain in the picture), with a maple neck is so fucking stunning.. it's what a unicorn would look like as a guitar.  That's the guitar Sir Galahad would use to fight evil.  Seriously beautiful, dude.

Now I have to build one just like it... wow, I just felt a stabbing pain in my wallet...


[edit:  Had to come back and say again: DAMN, that guitar is hot!]

When he sent me pictures of it during the build, it looked like an ice blue.  After seeing it in person, I named it Tres Leches.  :)  It's a hard color to describe but it's kinda of like a metallic off white with a hint of egg shell.  It's killer.  The SSS pickguard is the same pearloid color.

[rocket88]

heath,beautiful strats. since you know i have a love for all things danelectro, and all of them have lipstick pickups in one way or another, i always wondered what it would be like to have a strat with lipsticks. not to mention the strat/les paul mutant is freaking awesome.

negative, those are some beautiful fenders. when i did my jaguar, i was actually thinking about building a jazz in a pj config, but ended up getting the jag for way too cheap so i figured i'ld just change that around. i was planning on doing mine in candy apple red, with pearloid pickguard. you're very luck that you were able to have a buddy that was a master builder at fender.

while i was thinking about building the pj jazz, i also thought it might be interesting to make it with 2 p-bass pickups in the jazz pickup location, but since i've never seen or played something like that i didn't want to build it and possibly hate it.

considering we all have some really nice guitars & basses we love, it got me thinking what about the ones that got away. i passed up ad '78 rickenbacker 4001 for $700 cause i bought my g&l l-1000 instead and it was natural and i've always dreamt of a black rickenbacker in my stable. i also missed out on an original '76 sting ray for $450 in like 2000 cause i didn't have the cash and my parents wouldn't lend me the money (now i showed them what it was worth and my dad is like if i knew they could be worth money like that i would have lent you the money *face palm*). lastly my dream fretless i a peduall pentabuzz that was $1200 that i couldn't buy since i just bought the g&l, but i actually had the cash, my biggest problem was it was trans green, like hulk green. the worst part is that i went back to the store the next day figuring i'll deal with the hulk green pedualla, and it was gone, sold 10min before i got there. i say one recently in a dark trans blue and the price..................$4500!!!!! i nearly shit myself. i had to play it to convince myself it wasn't as good as i remember and just made it out to be amazing, and sadly it was incredible i still see it in my dreams.....

[johnk]

a few of my favorites:
all 1962 original seafoam green P bass (purchased in 1975):





my own custom built ric style 325 basses:

[alltrax74]

my favorite is a strat that i put together with various parts : olympic white warmoth body, ri57 japanese neck, vintaeg noiseless neck pick up, fender hot alnico 3 bridge and middle pickups. I love it
No pic sorry but it's just a strat...

My 2nd fav is a Les Paul I built myself : sipo mahogany body & neck, ebony fretboard, stewmac pickups (awesome).
I put the switch in the same cavity than the 2 pots, I prefer it that way



You can find more details of the build here : Les Paul

And my 3rd fav is a Fender Mustang 1965 Daphne blue, 100% original

[alex.s]

Wow, wish I had the space to store (never mind the dosh to buy) so many guitars as some of you here have the luck to have! :)

That said, I have a small but lovely little family of them. My main three are my late 90s CIJ Fender Jazzmaster, which I bought NOS ten years ago, an Epiphone Casino and a recently purchased (brand new) Guild M20.

Have a few bodies and bits scattered about, the closest to being working of which is a Tokai SG shaped guitar. Nearly hoarded all the parts I need to a Tele, too, which I'm very excited about. A Jazzmaster body has been sitting in my office for a while now, too, which I'd love to perhaps turn into a 12 string...

Anyway, here's the happy family:

[Heath]

rocket88 wrote

i always wondered what it would be like to have a strat with lipsticks... the strat/les paul mutant is freaking awesome.

I can tell you 12 strings + those Chandlers immediately made me think of Turn Turn Turn meets Solsbury Hill... very beautiful.  Makes it hard to put down.

The only other example I have is a weird Frankenstein guitar that I put a couple of GFS lipstick tube pickups in and the results were not great.  I don't want to blame the pickups or the guitar, but there was something in the combination that was not making my ears happy.  I ended up putting a 3 band preamp in it and now it sounds amazing.  I can get a very SRV sound out of it.  I'll post it up in in this thread soon.

Squier makes a strat with stock Duncan Designed lipticks.  I've been thoroughly unimpressed with anything "Duncan Designed" so far, but it's a fairly affordable guitar.  I'd probably be more inclined, if I were going the less expensive route, to get a decent Squier CV and a set of Seymour Duncan tubes (which I hear are pretty damn good).

rocket88 wrote

considering we all have some really nice guitars & basses we love, it got me thinking what about the ones that got away.

Here's a heartbreaker for you.  I spotted an original Yamaha SG-2 online at a Guitar Center in Hollywood.  Just like Link Wray's, except sunburst.  $900.  I put $200 down on it then lost my job.  In the ensuing chaos of job hunting, moving, changing banks, new cell phone number, etc. they could not get in touch with me and I had my mind on survival and crawling out of debt.  I lost the guitar AND my deposit.  Still makes my stomach turn to think about it.  For the record, that is my dream guitar and I WILL have one some day... just not real soon :p

alltrax74 wrote

My 2nd fav is a Les Paul I built myself : sipo mahogany body & neck, ebony fretboard, stewmac pickups (awesome).  I put the switch in the same cavity than the 2 pots, I prefer it that way

I saw that when I was checking out your build pages.  Stunning job, man, absolutely beautiful.  I dig the control set up a lot.  Seems much more intuitive and easy to use.

I'm still kind of in awe of your craftsmanship... On one hand I like knowing there are people in the world capable of truly handcrafting such works of art... on the other hand I feel like a talentless piece of shit

alex.s wrote

...so many guitars as some of you here have the luck to have! :)

Up until just about 4 years ago, my entire experience with electric guitars was limited to a shitty Hondo strat (my first electric... nothing against Hondo, but this one was a POS), a cheap but lovely Yamaha rear-load strat type, and an Ibanez RG-270 (one of the cheapest models).  None of those can even touch that beautiful JM of yours.  Come to think of it, that Casino would also blow any of those out of the water.  

I can't help but notice your guitars cover a LOT of territory.  That's a really well balanced trio.

It's funny.. I've got 40+ guitars, yet I envy the ones you have .  That JM is gorgeous (are you fan of early Cure?), I've been wanting a Casino for a WHILE now, and I'll bet that Guild sounds heavenly... I've never touched one I didn't want.  


..and now back to posting guitars! :D

Here are 2 of my acoustics guitars

My Ovation mid-bowl on the Left and my Takamine on the right:

[alex.s]

Heath wrote

Up until just about 4 years ago, my entire experience with electric guitars was limited to a shitty Hondo strat (my first electric... nothing against Hondo, but this one was a POS), a cheap but lovely Yamaha rear-load strat type, and an Ibanez RG-270 (one of the cheapest models).  None of those can even touch that beautiful JM of yours.  Come to think of it, that Casino would also blow any of those out of the water.  

I can't help but notice your guitars cover a LOT of territory.  That's a really well balanced trio.

It's funny.. I've got 40+ guitars, yet I envy the ones you have .  That JM is gorgeous (are you fan of early Cure?), I've been wanting a Casino for a WHILE now, and I'll bet that Guild sounds heavenly... I've never touched one I didn't want.  

Oh far from me to be complaining, as you said it's a well balanced trio and does cover most of what I enjoy playing. The one guitar I feel I'm missing the most at the moment is an electric 12 string though! and I'd love a P90 SG very very much. And a Mustang. And a Rickenbacker... :D

The Casino is surprisingly good for what I paid for it (about 300 including a hard case, it was a self bought birthday present about 6 or 7 years ago), and I was lucky to get a good deal for the JM too as I used to work at the local guitar shop every now and again and that one had been sitting there for a while, managed to part trade it with an old Ibanez PGM...!

Same goes for the Guild, these are made in China but you can't fault the craftsmanship, and in the price bracket it is in (I paid £425 including hard case, extra sets of elixirs, strap, tuner etc) I couldn't find a guitar that played as well and had as much character. That said, it's a small bodies, all mahogany job so perhpas not everyone's cup of tea. Works for me though! :)

[Heath]

I have a weird thing for "fixer-uppers" and a soft spot for cheap guitars.  I often find a decent body and neck in need of some hardware TLC.  Here's one I'm kind of proud of.

This lady had a son who wanted a guitar.  She special ordered him one, picked out the body style, wood, and the finish, but cheaped out on the hardware, etc.  Oh, yeah, and she ordered it from First Act.  Her son consequently stuck it in a corner and never touched it.  She cut her losses and sold it on Ebay for cheap.

Now, in defense of First Act, they sort of shot themselves in the foot with their Wal-mart specials.  It was a cool idea for beginners, but it sullied the brand name of a company that actually makes pretty decent higher end and custom guitars.

I saw it and loved the body shape and color.  If you folks will indulge me for a bit, the changes I made are only really appreciable if you understand the journey.  

Here is what I initially purchased:



Stripped it:



Dremeled a new pickguard:



Installed it with the new gold lipstuck tube pickups, gold knobs, new gold bridge:



Almost done:



After adding 3 band pre-amp, and extra knob (bass. mid, treb, gain), and some graphics.



Topped off with a little neckplate love:



The sound palette is pretty amazing now.  It's very easy to dial in a pretty decent Stevie Ray Vaughn sound among many others.  It's also a pretty unique guitar that is very eye catching.

[ξεναγος νεκροπολης]

hi there! Get ready!
that's my best guitar till now...




i also have an epiphone goth les paul(by epiphone of course...hahaha!) like this,





but it's in the studio for everyone to jam or practice and that's why i don't have a live photo...i bought it for 500 euros...stupid i know but i was 19 years old...



now for the washburn, i think i saw her in ebay for about 50 euros...
15 years ago i exchanged a skateboard for her from a stupid kid in my town...
i played with her for about 3 years, but from then...this guitar was in the worst condition a guitar could ever be...out of case for 12 years. noone was ever playing with her, laying next to a wall full of dust, as we had better ones in the studio...so i took her home, took off all her clothes, and made a serious surgery to bring her back in life. i've changed all electronics and put a demeter fat control in her to make her happier(you may can see the battery case there!)!
it was also the very first time i ever did a set up by myself.
i believe it worked!
and that's why a love her more than anything i've ever played till now...
for her punk rock story!
as you can also see in the picture, there is my old cheap amps speaker witch is connected with the noise cricket...yes...yes...that's my home amp...and there are all my pedals...yes...all from this site...
so...i can say that this site helped my to give life to lot's of "dead" things...that's d.i.y.
thanks guys...to everyone...

[Heath]

ξεναγος νεκροπολης wrote

hi there! Get ready!
that's my best guitar till now...

...and my favorite post till now.  That's rock and roll, dude.

btw, I have a Washburn, too.  You can see it in the first pic on the first page, it's the blue one in the middle of the "couch" guitars.  Got it really cheap.  I took the (surprisingly good) humbuckers out and put a set of GFS Mean 90s in it.  I can't recall what wood the body is made out of, I think it's basswood, but together with those pickups it's got fantastic sound that makes it very hard to stop playing.  VERY fun guitar.  

I ended up re-using the stock pickups in a friend's guitar.  Almost hated to let them go.  They really did sound pretty damn good.

[dbat69]

Well Heath, like you I've created my own Gilmour tribute strat (although I didn't have a maple neck/fretboard when I did it).  Its made out of bits of other strats I've salvaged so I'm not quite sure what they were.  The body is made of wood  I don't know what type but it's quite heavy and was carefully routed - better than I've seen on many strats - it just made it a pig to neatly put copper shielding in the cavity.

I re did the electrics, made the little toggle switch mod (for mine I used the Fender aluminium mounting plate which I cut down, keeping the two adjacent pot holes for fixing, then did some bending to be able to mount the switch behind the pick plate).  The pick plate was changed to a single ply black one of course.

I put in new pots and switch, I used a Sprague orange drop cap and waxed cloth style wiring for the mojo.  For pups I got a set of Ironstone Silver (I think) - they are great pups for not much cash - sound very yummy.  THe wammy bar was also shortened.  And pup covers, knobs and switch were replaced with cream ones for that vintage look.

Despite all the effort put into this one, it is still only my number 2.



I have a Candy Apple Red strat which is also going to get the 'treatment' when I've got a few quid together (if I ever stop buying components for pedals )

My favourite guitar is my vintage Tokai Flying V - this is pre law-suit - I bought it new as soon as I got a job.  It is a lovely guitar in every way.  I've read that they are supposed to be as good as the '59 Gibson it is based on (not that I'll ever be able to compare).  



I am an old rocker at heart and back in the day when I was gigging, my favourite band was the Scorpions (still is one of my favs) - hence my love of the Flying V and Explorer.  So here is the rest of my collection apart from my first ever electric guitar which is in need of some TLC as a bolt got lost from the Kahler copy trem, and it probably needs a new neck (it was a Satellite strat copy which I put 3 HBs in and did a lot of other mods too)

[Heath]

dbat69 wrote

Well Heath, like you I've created my own Gilmour tribute strat (although I didn't have a maple neck/fretboard when I did it).

That's a totally legit (and great looking) build, my man:



"1972 June
The original maple neck is replaced by a Fender 1963 rosewood neck taken off a 1959 (body) sunburst Strat David had been using on/off since mid 1970. The Black Strat maple neck was now fitted onto the sunburst Strat. The rosewood neck is featured on Dark Side of the Moon, WYWH, Animals and David’s 1978 solo album (all albums and tours)."

I personally prefer maple fretboards, so I went with that version of it.  However, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Animals (my favorite Pink Floyd album)... that's some serious pedigree :D

I love those Explorers.  It's one of the few body style I've never had and I kind of want one... bad :)

That Hamer is my very favorite body shape of all.  I LOVE that Les Paul double-cut style.

[rocket88]

mmmmm, flying v.......*drool*......

i swear with the flying v, explorer, firebird, sg, and les paul body's gibson has some of the most drool worthy guitars ever. for some reason those and the tele have always been my favorite bodies. i've lusted after a flying v and explorer for years, they scream METAL. it's hard to type the the word metal in the typical 80's priest/maiden falsetto way.

btw, john. i love those ricks you made. especially the black one. they are absolutely stunning. and the fact that you've had that p bass for that long is amazing. i bet she has some stories to she could tell.

[dbat69]

Yeah, I forgot he changed between the necks on his strats.  

My first electric had a maple fretboard but everything since has rosewood, until I got the Candy Apple Red one - I love the metallic colour, and of course Gilmour uses one .  I have found it to be a nice one to play and a little bit brighter, although that could be other things too.

The Hamer was bought on a whim, I liked the tobacco sunburst since seeing Alex Liefson use a LP way back at the dawn of time.  It is also a nice guitar to play and sounds good.  I was actually looking for a Hamer Explorer at the time and kept going back to it.

Being a Scorps and Schenker fan, I had to have the V and the Tokai was the only decent cheap one at the time.  If I could have afforded it I would have also got the Explorer.  However it was always a want of mine and when the opportunity came (many years later) I got one, well it started with the Jackson, then I got a different one before finally the Tokai found its way to me.

I've got to say that I really like your Ovation - its beautiful.  And they really sound as good as they look (at least the ones I've played)

[dbat69]

rocket88 wrote

they scream METAL. it's hard to type the the word metal in the typical 80's priest/maiden falsetto way.

ha ha  I can just hear Halford screaming it now

[Heath]

Ha, well, me and Flying Vs don't get along too well (though I have an oddball one and I am in the process of building a classic Gibson-style V just to round out the collection).  I seem to always end up injuring myself on them.  I'd probably gut myself on that Jackson Explorer, though it is a serious beauty... which I guess is not so different from my experiences with other "beauties"

While I'd love to be able to buy all top of the line big brand badboys, having gotten used to researching less expensive brands has taught me that if you can get the look, feel, and sound, screw the brand and giant price-tag.  I'd play the shit out of that Tokai. :)  Those are good guitars.

I've played some Samicks, Arias, Agiles, etc. that have felt like $2000 guitars to play, they just don't have the brand to back up the massive price hike.  I always say, If the wood is good, the rest of it is a cheap upgrade.    I've been fond of pointing out that I got an Agile 2100 Les Paul style guitar in a stunning tobacco burst, mahogany with a thick tiger flamed maple cap, perfect finish*, real Grover tuners, Tune-O-Matic bridge, nice vintage output pickups (ceramic, but they sound great... next model up has AlNiCo Vs) for $169 + shipping (Christmas sale + *a teeny tiny 1/2mm (yes half a millimeter) round dent right at the edge of the bridge pickup ring which didn't even break the finish).  When I opened the box, my jaw dropped.  Super beautiful and the feel, the weight, the neck size, everything feels just right.  I felt like I'd just won the lottery.  Sounds badass!  I wouldn't mind getting a Gibson, but this Agile LP has quenched the burning "need" for a Les Paul down to a mild spicy "want".  

I'll have to check out some Ironstone Silvers.  

[dbat69]

Heath wrote

I always say, If the wood is good, the rest of it is a cheap upgrade.    

I like that, and so true.

Yes the Tokais are good value although they have become a lot more pricey over the years.  The quality is there though, from the ones I've played.

Heath wrote

I'll have to check out some Ironstone Silvers.

They make a couple of versions for strats, as well as HBs and Teles.

If the others are as good as the ones in my strat, they are worth a try, can't go wrong for the cost at around £35 a set

[IvIark]

I'm a real fan of Tokai's too.  I've played a few of the higher end Japanese models like the LS100 and every one I played was fabulous.  I have a friend who spends silly money on guitars, last time I saw him he'd just bought two new ones, a Gibson custom shop Custom and a PRS custom which for the life of me I can't remember the model number of (but I seem to think it was 4 numbers?).  The PRS looked gorgeous and sounded good, the Gibson had a warped neck and was awful.  He'd paid over £6000 for them (but returned the Gibson).

I would quite honestly buy a premium Tokai before either of them based on some of the more modern examples I've seen.  I bought a PR52 PRS copy a couple of years ago just because I saw it really cheap in an auction and thought I may as well try it even if it wasn't a Japanese model.  OK it isn't up to the fit and finish of the Japanese ones I've tried but it is still a fabulous guitar.  Action perfect, lovely to play, sounds great.  I may prefer a pickup upgrade and will almost certainly do it just to give it a little bit more, but what it was supplied with are perfectly usable.  One of the pots could do with swapping because it's a bit scratchy but that's fine too, the previous owner may have ridden the pot a lot.

I wish lower cost guitars were as good as this when I bought my first electric which was a Clapton style Strat copy made by Hohner and was awful.  No matter what I did the strings at the top of the fretboard were so far away from the board that I needed fingers like a power lifters neck to play it up there.