Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? This guitar is simply fantastic overall. I was initially somewhat apprehensive about getting a guitar that is priced as an intermediate instrument. I must say without hesitation that I am VERY well-pleased. Reliability How has it stood up over time? I have had this guitar for about one week. Having been a guitar player for 20 years now, a teacher for 8 years, and having worked professionally in musical instrument retail sales, I can tell that this guitar is made to last. Overall Your general opinion of this product. Overall, the instrument is great and will suffice for all my applications. I am truly taken aback by the overall quality of this guitar. I am very happy and excited to have it! Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? The neck feels amazing. It is rather thin for an 8 string and fits the hand well. A player can reach almost all the strings and frets just fine. There is slight restriction on the upper frets due to a mildly insufficient cutaway on the lower horn. Yet, I cannot see any major deficiencies resulting. The strings feel pleasant and have nice bounce and spring in them. The controls are in excellent spots for my taste. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? I play a wide and eclectic variety of styles, from jazz to metal to classical. I personally enjoy the many tones of the instrument. The basswood body and bolt-on maple neck with rosewood board offer good and nice clarity in conjunction with the pickups. I have to agree with other reviewers in that, while on a distortion setting, the B and F# strings tend to become ever so slightly dull and buried. Yet, the clean tones are astoundingly good in quality. I know this will work perfectly for jazz. The cleans are additionally reminiscent of the great cleans from Billy Corgan, Marty Friedman (think of his "Scenes" solo album 1992), and even George Benson and Paul Jackson Jr. I think the pickup output is more than sufficient for any application. For reference, I play a Mesa Boogie Studio Caliber DC-2 amplifier. Finish How did the stain or paint job look? The matte walnut satin finish is clean and wonderful without any error. I love it. The black binding is a great touch and makes the instrument look even more expensive than it is. The frets are perfectly finished and polished. Action How was the action out of the box? The action is GREAT upon immediate play, and should not require much adjustment. I have a 1999 Ibanez JEM 7D Vai model as well as a 1979 reissue Dean V, and the action on this Omen 8 is just as enjoyable. The strings feel wonderful and comfortable!

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? The guitar is very sturdy and smooth! It is a very dependable guitar and is made of quality materials. Reliability How has it stood up over time? It has endured hours and hours of rigorous playing. It handles my virtuoso soloing very well. Overall Your general opinion of this product. FANTASTIC!!! Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? It is very smooth. It is very playable. Everything was spot on. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? It handled the lower notes very well and the higher ones just as nice. The pickup do a good job t picking up a quality sound. Finish How did the stain or paint job look? It looked sick! It is the prettiest guitar i have ever played. Action How was the action out of the box? All it needed was a quick tune up and it was ready to go.

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? Built like an ox Reliability How has it stood up over time? its only been a week Overall Your general opinion of this product. Great guitar but weak, muddy pickups, especially on the fat string. I installed a Dimarzio 8 string bridge pickup and what a difference!! Soon I will do the neck. I play the shnitzle outta this thing( a la Cannibal Corpse, Behemeth style) and it keeps in tune very well. Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? Stout, yet it has a very playable neck. I went from a 6 string right to this 8. It was strange for 30 min but now I can't put it down. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? Flabby, muddy, blurry bridge pick up. neck pick up is tolerable. Lose them both and upgrade, I chose Dimarzio's. Finish How did the stain or paint job look? Top notch. Action How was the action out of the box? Had to adjust the neck tension as usual. Raise pickups, and the bridge tension on the heavy gauge stringe for down tuning.