Captain mack from Miami Beach, FL. USA
mark_iannone@yahoo.com
Subject:
Newbie player, did much research before buying this guitar.
Quality:
Very well made as far as I can tell. I have played it everyday since owning it and have had no problems with the quality of this guitar.
Sound:
Too new of a player to know, my opinion may not hold much weight . I suggest reading all the reviews paying attention to more advanced guitar players that have played multiple guitars. I think it sounds great hooked up to my Marshall MG10CF amp.
Reliability:
Very young guitar, time will tell.
Overall:
Beautiful looking. Not too many complicated controls, good starting guitar, great price.
Playability and Feel:
I think it may be a bit heavy but I have only held a Fender Strat once before and didn't play it. This guitar is heavier but I'm a big guy so no problem.
Tone:
Not even qualified to answer this question. Sorry, please read other reviews.
Finish:
Wow, Cherry Sunburst! Great.
Action:
Again, too new of a gutar player to know what to say here. I was able to tune it and play it the first day I unpacked it.
Do you own this product?:
Yes
Tony S from Jackson, NJ, USA
Subject:
The feel, quality and sound of a Gibson at an affordable price!
Quality:
Very well made. This is a solid guitar. No let downs here.
Sound:
Wonderful balanced tone... great for blues, rock and metal alike.
Reliability:
Only owned the guitar for 4 months, but is a solid instrument. No issues so far!
Overall:
Excellent overall guitar for the money. Bought it for my son, and I couldn't believe how closely it plays and sounds like my Gibson Les Paul. If you're looking for a great guitar, like the Les Paul look and feel, and don't care about not having the Gibson logo on your headstock, look no further!
Playability and Feel:
Feels like a Les Paul. Neck is pretty fast, and great for a slide. Controls are right where you'd expect them to be within easy reach and without any guess work.
Tone:
Neck pickup is hot, while the bridge is dark and mellow. Great for all styles of music.
Finish:
Perfect! Absolutely beautiful.
Action:
The action was set very well... may need to tweak a little for your individual feel, but perfect for the majority of players.
Do you own this product?:
Yes
Jon Farrell from Kingsport, TN
Subject:
Best Beginner Guitar Ever
Sound:
Tone is very good for a guitar under $200.
Reliability:
Very reliable, no issues whatsoever.
Overall:
I am a beginner (playing one month) and this guitar has been perfect for me to learn on. I bought the sunburst model, its beautiful. Straight out of the box it plays very well with some tuning. The strings are good enough to start with. I rate it 5 stars!
Playability and Feel:
Very fast neck, can be very clean sounding and can get chunky as you want for that metal sound.
Tone:
Pickuos are hot enough to learn on.
Finish:
The sunburst finish is absolutely beautiful.
Do you own this product?:
Yes
Date submitted:
3/17/2011
Sound:
Tone is sharp when you need it and deep when you need that. Excellent all round !
Overall:
Awesoem axe with killer sounds. I'm just an intemediate player and this blows me away.
Playability and Feel:
You know your holding a quality guitar when you pick this up
Tone:
Swapped out humbuckers for EMG's
Action:
Best Ever....easy on the fingers and quick too !
Skill Level:
Intermediate
Do you own this product?:
Happily
Joe from Orlando, FL
Sound:
Better than expected.
Reliability:
Only 1 month, but so far, so good.
Overall:
Solid, well built and great sound.
Playability and Feel:
I Love it. The feel is the same as a guitar 10X the price.
Tone:
Tone is great. Great sound from my Peavy Vyper amp.
Finish:
Finish is excellent. Especially for the price.
Action:
Excellent. lays well and stays in tune.
Skill Level:
Intermediate
Do you own this product?:
Yes
Date submitted:
1/27/2011
Army Bass Player from Ft Knox, Kentucky, USA
Reliability:
A good quality wood.
Overall:
This guitar really sounds and plays fantastic. Even under the melting Iraqi temperature it stayed in great conditions.
Finish:
I own the Wine Red Color and it's just a beauty.
Action:
Initial set up was pretty good
Skill Level:
Intermediate
Do you own this product?:
I own it
Date submitted:
25 August 2010
James McKinney from Pineville, MO USA
julemc2004@yahoo.com
Subject:
Fantastic low-buck axe
Quality:
If I did such things, I wouldn't hesitate to take my Special on a world tour...
Sound:
Sound from the Epi humbuckers is not bad...the "650R" neck pickup sounds great for jazzy chording and riffs on the amp's clean channel; the bridge "700T" has plenty of bite for hot overdriven leads and power chords.
Reliability:
I've had mine 8 years and it has held up like a tank. I've upgraded it some and now I wouldn't be afraid (or ashamed) to play her on any stage. I did have to change out the volume & tone pots and the 3-way switch eventually.
Overall:
Overall, the
Special II is a great beginner or back-up guitar as-is. Change the tuners, give her a good set-up, new strings, and maybe a Graphtech nut, and she's ready for any stage.
Playability and Feel:
The older Special II's like mine are very heavy, around 9 pounds-so get STRAPLOCKS! The rosewood fretboard is smooth and fast, no sharp fret ends, etc. Controls are right where they need to be.
Tone:
See "Sound" above...
Finish:
These are quite plain-Jane, so don't expect an eye-popping masterpiece like a Gibson LP Custom...however, the paint and polyurethane finish on mine was flawless. (I got the white one)
Action:
This thing was made in China, and Epi quality control was a little lax, so I had to set up the action and intonation myself. You can expect to do this on most low-end guitars, though. The Tune0matic bridge and truss rod make this fairly easy.
Do you own this product?:
YES
Subject:
Great Guitar For Price
Sound:
great tone for stock pickups
Reliability:
very reliabel first got and didnt have to do a thing to except tune
Overall:
I love it. It is great for begginers. never had to make big adjustments.
Playability and Feel:
it was a little heavy at first but you will get use to it
Do you own this product?:
yes
REBEL_ROCKER from myspace.com/mirrorimagetriplets
Subject:
BEGINNER GUITAR UNLESS YOU PLAN TO UPGRADE
Quality:
GREAT IF YOU PUT A LITTLE WORK INTO IT!
TOTAL COST OF MINE WITH GUITAR: $250
YOU WILL SIMPLY NOT FIND A BETTER SOUNDING GUITAR AT THIS PRICE RANGE (I GUARENTEE IT)
Sound:
1ST) CHANGE BOTH POTS OUT!!! THEY ARE HORRIBLE AND IF YOU UPGRADE YOUR PICKUPS AND DONT CHANGE THESE OUT, YOU WILL NOT GET ALL THE TONE YOUR SEARCHING FOR WITH UPGRADE P/U'S...( I SUGGEST A SEYMOUR SH6 DIST P.U.)
Reliability:
2ND)CHANGE OUT THE PICKUPS!! THIS IS TO YOUR PREFERENCE (i.e. EMG'S OR DUNCANS) IF YOU CAN ONLY DO ONE, I RECCOMEND THE BRIDGE P.U. 1ST
Overall:
FIRST AND FOREMOST:
THIS IS A BEGINNER GUITAR! WITH THAT BEING SAID HERES THE GOOD NEWS! A FEW UPGRADES CAN MAKE THIS SOUND AS GOOD AS THE REST OF EM!
Playability and Feel:
THIS IS CHEAP WOOD...IT WILL DING EAISLY...IN MY OPINION IF YOU GIG WITH IT, IT SHOULD BE IN A CASE NOT A BAG
Tone:
GREAT AFTER MODIFICATIONS:
YOU WANT THAT GODSMACK/P-ROACH
CRUNCH/SUSTAIN THEN FOLLOW THESE STEPS
Finish:
4TH) ADJUST THE PICKUP HEIGHT TO YOUR SPECS...(i.e. IF YOU LIKE A LOT OF DIST. THEN RAISE IT CLOSER TO THE STRINGS AND VISA-VERSA) BE CAREFUL YOU WILL GET A NASTY TONE KNOWN AS THE "WOLF GROWL" SOUND IF THEY ARE TOO CLOSE TO THE STRINGS!
Action:
3RD) PUT NEW STRINGS ON IT AND ADJUST THE ACTION AND THEN THE INTONATION! THE FACTORY PRE-SETS THE ACTION VERY HIGH SO THERE IS NO STRING BUZZ THAT WOULD OTHERWISE DISCOURAGE YOU FROM BUYING THIS GUITAR...(IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY ADJUST THE ACTION TAKE IT TO A GUITAR SHOP AND HAVE SOMEONE WITH EXPERIENCE DO IT FOR YOU) YOU CAN REALLY GET A GUITAR OUT OF WHACK IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING (ITS KINDA LIKE A CARB ON AN OLD CAR) GOTTA GET IT JUST RIGHT!
Do you own this product?:
OF COURSE
Date submitted:
2-22-2010
Quality:
it is a good product but when you improve you can geta beterr one
Sound:
it is great i played gigs with and it justs sounds great
Reliability:
i have had for a year and it is holding up
Overall:
i think it is a great product for a beginner no matter what
Playability and Feel:
it fast neck is great it is and easy to play guitar
Action:
good had to tune it though :(
Do you own this product?:
yess one year
schcbooking@yahoo.com from jefferson city. mesuoir.mo
schcbooking@yahoo.com
Subject:
read this you need to know
Quality:
made in the usa what can you say
Sound:
dopends on who plays it but good out of the box might need you to set it up some.and tune it .
Reliability:
great nothing batter. iv ownd three and still on them two are black and i just got the white .
Overall:
Not a bad thing to buy it is made welll i play guitar tell they die just can use some add on's
Playability and Feel:
awsome its like wening a race evertime
Tone:
stock the hb knock off are okay.but you can bay anew set up like the emgs81 or V hb set up and it well help so much more thoughs pick up will turn it into a death hammer no lie
Finish:
Two of them are black and the white one is on the way with some more emg-zw-85 set up and some good old darco strings
Action:
okay i had to have the fret broad sanded down some iv put about 4oo into my two black modles iv put emg81 and 85 inthem had to have all the hard wear redone.But you have to know you get what you put in>>>
Do you own this product?:
yes i do and 7 other gibsons and epiphones
William Eddy from Middlesboro, Ky
Ink2k4@yahoo.com
Quality:
I think that overall it is a well made product.....not greatly made but well made. It feels very solid and nothing appears to be loose or shorting out.
Reliability:
We have only had it for a month now, but the two year old boy loves it has had recreated years worth of abuse and it is solid and holding fast. There is some grip about the tuners, true they are cheap and lose tune, however; playing for hours it holds true....if you let it sit a few days it will drop a little. Any guitarist that doesn't turn his/her guitar everytime before playing it is a idiot anyway!!
Overall:
My wife wanted to learn how to play, so I ordered this for her. I have several guitars and most of them are high end and no offense to her but I wasn't about to let a complete novice grab ahold of my Gibson LP Black beauty or my Gibson SG....Ha! I thought this would be a good start for her, truth be told over the last month....I have snuck and played this thing more than my own high end guitars. It's simply amazing....its fast great tone, very light, and looks amazing(Cherry Sunburst). Is this one that I would gig with....nah, but for around the house...I am thinking of ordering one for me....Although I will never hear the end of it if I do!!
Playability and Feel:
This is amazing for a sub $300 guitar. I often forget that it was so cheap. The neck is fast(for a painted neck). It is so light that can barely feel it standing. The controls are the standard places.
Tone:
It sounds very bright when clean. With very heavy distortion (Using a POD X3 Live) it can get a little muddy, but with light distortion (AC/DC, Van Halen and etc.,) it shines. Great sustain and easy to finger tap!
Finish:
Again for a low end, looks sharp. She loves it, and my friends have been amazed by the look. It looks like a thousand dollar guitar!
Action:
Right out of the box it was very close to tune. Dialed it in and wailed on it (she had to stop me and demand that I hand it over to her).No fret buzzing and no popping or cracking in the sound.
Skill Level:
Intermediate
Do you own this product?:
Sorta....whats hers is mine right?
REP from Northeastern PA
repmusic@aol.com
Subject:
Great for my Purposes
Quality:
The guitar appears to be well made. The pickups were a little loose, no major issue. Finish is good, tuners work adequately (I will probably replace them, though, eventually). For the price, excellent.
Reliability:
I'm pretty sure as long as I don't hammer nails with it or use it as a weapon it should be ok. I've had it for two weeks, no problem as of yet. I don't foresee any problems either.
Overall:
For my purposes, this guitar is perfect. I am primarily a keyboard player, and use mostly keyboards and acoustic guitar in my recording. This guitar is intended to complement those instruments, and will be used sparsely in the studio.
Playability and Feel:
Again, for my purposes, it is perfect. It is not intended for constant use, but as an instrument to complement my recordings. If I were using it every day for extended periods, I might want something a little lighter.
Tone:
I found tone to be nice and smooth when set to use both pickups. Treble setting is quite bright, rhythm setting has a "subdued," understated tone.
Finish:
I purchased the white model. I love the finish. More importantly, my girlfriend loves the finish.
Action:
Playable. I will be taking it to get it properly set up at some point, though.
Do you own this product?:
I own it.