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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

I was really enthused about some of the customer reviews I had read. "As good as an expensive guitar," etc. Well, let me break it down to you truthfully. This is only MY experience and others may have had other experiences. The guitar looks really nice, but let's keep in mind that these are made in China, and that although it looks great, what's under the hood may not be up to par with a more expensive guitar (ie. using laminate instead of real wood, cheap electronics, etc.) - the first guitar I received was defective. All the frets between the 12th and 16th frets were unplayable--the guitar would only play one note. I was highly disappointed as everything else on the guitar seemed to be great. - I returned the guitar to Zzounds. I must say, excellent customer service. No hassle on the return. I received an RMA number and UPS return sticker. The replacement was sent as soon as UPS had the returned guitar in their system - I received the new guitar within a couple of days. Guess what? Same issue. Not as bad as the first one, but bad nonetheless. - I made a decision to keep the guitar and taking it to a guitar tech friend. Why? Because AI really wanted the guitar to work--it looks great. He was surprised that a guitar (even Chinese) would leave the factory in that condition. The issue was there were frets that were sticking up too high in the upper part of the neck. It was uneven. He filed down 3 frets for me and gave me a break on pricing since I had brought previous guitars to him for set up. Normally, it would have been $40-$50 worth of work with a guitar tech--I paid $30. - The dead fret issue is ok now, but the bottom 2 strings sound thin and buzzy--perhaps the bridge needs to be shimmed (shims and hex key come with the guitar. - The action on the guitar is ok. It gets a little high in the upper middle to high range, but what do you expect for $238? - The piece that holds that jack in place is really cheap plastic. Watch that the nut hex that holds the jack doesn't come lose--mine did, and I cant find it, and I haven't even gigged with the guitar, it's been lightly played. - The sound is very bright. A lot of players like this sound. I prefer a darker, more mellow sound when the guitar is unplugged, but it's all preference. This was an honest review. I paid ZZounds price + what I paid my guitar tech to fix. In retrospect, you shouldn't have to do this with a brand new guitar. If this happens again, I will simply return it. A small truss rod adjustment is ok, but having to file frets to make the guitar playable? Like my friend said, it should not leave the factory like that.

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bought this guitar to semi-retire one of another brand that I've played for fifteen years... very impressed with the electronics and the playability. Great feeling neck, nice and thin, low smooth action. Can't beat the price.

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