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I’d stupidly sold a very modded Wayne Static Epiphone V I had a few years back, so was looking to replace the vibe. The only 50s style V Gibson makes was north of $10k, and intimating that for a stage guitar, so I took a chance on this Prophecy V. I’m not a huge fan of active pickups, so I planned on swapping them out. I was more after the aesthetics of this guitar- the binding and inlays are really cool. I didn’t get what I expected from this guitar. It exceeded my expectations! The finish was flawless, although it would be better if they advertised it as matte black, because there’s zero gloss to be found. Minor issue; I dig the matte. The binding is perfect and the hardware is all the good stuff that I’d normally swap out on an import guitar, if I’m being honest, so it was a win. The Fishman pickups sound absolutely incredible! I was NOT expecting that at all. I’d read several reviews before buying, and a lot of them talked about how hard it was to get pinch harmonics on this thing. Well, I found out why, and my only legit complaint about this guitar was the unlevel frets. I’ve been a professional/semiprofessional luthier for 25+ years, so a level and dress was nothing but a little time for me. No, I am an advocate of getting even brand new guitars properly set up, including leveling and dressing of frets, so it’s not a deal breaker for me at all. Let me tell you, though, this thing is an absolute monster of a player now!! And pinch harmonics are easily attainable. I went ahead and added an Earvana compensated but for tuning stability. Other than that, this thing is a ton of guitar for the money. Easily has features found on guitars costing $500-$1000+ more. And the setup issue is a very minor inconvenience, since I do that anyway. Even if you’re on the fence about this guitar, spending money on a proper setup will still get you an incredible guitar at an incredibly affordable price! It’s a no-brainer! As a side note, my cousin and a friend both bought a Prophecy Extura, and both also needed fretwork, and that seems to be a pretty common thing anymore. It is what it is, I guess. Just buy it! And use the easy payment plan like I did!

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First, ignore the other reviewer's "for a guitar made in China..." comments. This guitar does NOT feel cheap, and it sounds amazing. The Fishman pickups are next-level: I'd never heard of them before, but I'm sold now. If I could afford it, I'd put them on every guitar I own. In their default mode (so to speak) they sound very modern and aggressive, with a tight but heavy low end and excellent highs. In "classic" mode they sound...well, classic. Think mid-80s Judas Priest. There's also a coil split for the neck pickup, so you can get a not-quite-Strat vibe if you please. In short, the quality and variety of sound available on this machine is very, very satisfying.I ordered two of these, as the first came with a big scratch on the upper horn. That guitar was set up perfectly out of the box: the action was so low--with no hint of fret buzz to be heard--that the plastic film over the neck pickup had bubbled up slightly and was touching the B & high E strings. That's some *low* action! The second guitar arrived scratchless but needed to have the action lowered. The neck was arrow-straight, so I needed only to lower the bridge, and now it plays really, really well.Access to the upper frets is quite good, much better than most other V-shaped guitars. (The lack of access to upper frets on V-guitars has always puzzled me. I mean, why shape a guitar like that if you're going to make the upper frets no more accessible than on a Les Paul? It's a V-shape, how hard can it be?) Only three complaints: the first concerns the colors. I didn't order the "Tiger Eye Burst" because it looks ugly as f***, like a slightly stripey tobacco sunburst (my least favorite guitar color), and although the "aged glossy black" looks great, it's in no way glossy. This is a matte finish all the way, and it picks up every fingerprint imaginable.Complaint #2: no vibrato. That's not a surprise, of course, given that it's not advertised as having a vibrato, but it would be nice.Complaint #3: neck dive, not a lot but enough to be noticeable. Again, no real surprise because it's a V-shape, but it's a bit of a pain.Summary: Despite those three minor complaints, this is a darned fine machine. If you want a classic-looking and great-sounding metal machine--and only $900??--and don't mind functioning without a vibrato, you absolutely cannot go wrong with this guitar.

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I haven’t bought this guitar yet, but I will be very soon and because it has the same bridge as a Les Paul, in the same neck profile at the top of the headstock as a Les Paul, a Floyd rose FRX top mount could be put on this guitar with zero issues Making it the ultimate metal guitar

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I bought this guitar from zZounds a few weeks ago. First of all, I love the way it looks. When I opened the box, the strings were set very high from the fretboard. I had to lower the bridge to remedy this. It buzzed and fretted out. So I changed the stock strings which were Gibson 10s to D'Addario 9s. It helped but it still buzzed a lot. Thankfully, when plugged into an amp the buzz doesn't pick up. It plays well, but it feels sort of cheap. An almost plastic feel.I swore I would never buy a Chinese guitar. I own a Jackson USA King V, a Gibson USA 60s Tribute SG, a made in Japan Jackson Dinky, a made in Japan Ibanez Prestige, a made in Japan Edwards/ESP V, a Mexican Strat, a Korean made Fernandes Vortex and a Korean made Wolf "Les Paul"You can feel the difference in quality, BUT...It is a nice guitar, even though $900 is a little steep for a guitar that is made in China.