Nice video Darrel, very detailed :) One thing though, I felt like you were rushing through the content like you were even talking fast haha Have a great evening :)
3 ปีที่แล้ว +5
No mention of the obvious neck shim falling out at 12:20 not very honest review.
@@louiswilkins9624 Yeah, I got the bundle with the little practice amp and other accessories (strap, cable, tuner, extra strings). I think what differentiates it from other entry-level Strat copies is that it has a humbucker. The amp is very small (which I wanted) and the gig bag seems a bit more durable than the super flimsy ones you usually get at this price range. Mine doesn't go out of tune that much but I don't use the trem. I will say the frets do stick out a bit on the sides but that's pretty minor to me. I'm not exactly shredding all over the neck and I can always polish them down if I need to. I've seen this listed on Amazon as having 20 frets but that's not true; it has 22. Hope this helps.
@@h.9089 They're OK for me as an intermediate player. There are about a dozen other reviews of this guitar on TH-cam you can reference - search "Donner dst".
My wife just bought me this exact guitar at a thrift store for $70. I am amazed at how well it plays! I’ve been playing this guitar more than my expensive Ibanez and Charvel guitars! It’s well worth upgrading because of how well it plays. I just ordered new pups, tuners, and a pearl pickguard and a solid brass block for it!🎶🎸
Very impressive for the price. Have you seen how much stuff comes with their starter packages? They even include a tuner. Perfect, complete package for a beginner.
Have you noticed that some of the TH-camrs who specialize in doing guitar reviews/demos are all getting the same guitars at the same time? Phil McNight, Music is Win, 60 Cycle Hum, Darrell Braun Guitar, etc.
Donner reaches out to everyone who wants to demo them! They even sent me one for my channel to review and I plan on contacting to see if they will send me this one as well to test!
Maybe it's cheaper to send out a bunch at once. Still, for me it's a good thing, as each of these channels provide a different point of view and watching all of them demo the 'same' instrument gives a broader view of the various aspects these instruments have.
My wife got me one of these types of "amazon special" $100 guitar/amp combos a few years ago for Christmas. Little did she know she created a monster. But, if you're on the fence about getting a guitar, get one of these. Great to learn on, and if it turns out guitar isn't your thing, you're only out a little money.
I would like to see one of these review channels do a side-by-side with the guitar they get free to demo and one they buy blind. Good way to confirm or debunk whether or not the guitar they are being sent to demo is on par with a guitar the average person would receive.
The two main advantages of buying this strat' copy. Is bringing this to a gig and not worrying bringing your real $1000+ stratocaster/other guitar. The second is with the S/S/H pickup configuration, you can play a list of cover songs that use either single coil or humbuckers with one guitar.. so you don't have bring more than one. Years back I had a strat' copy like this and used it in a cover band.. played a lot of places.. As long as you can do a basic setup on it and there is no big physical defects like a warped neck it can be a great for the price. My 2 cents.
What i really enjoy about Darrell's channel is that he doesn't shy away from "cheap" guitars or gear. It may be easy for TH-camrs to make content about things persons can't usually afford because, they can now afford them. Nothing's wrong with doing that as well but while it's not always a guarantee, I really think it speaks true to his character. ✨
"Beginners don't tear their guitars apart" - Yeah, I didn't do that to my Strat copy either at first ... and then I somehow obtained a couple of old Höfner humbuckers, and Eddie Van Halen was the cover story of the latest edition of the musicians' magazine I was reading at that time ('83), and you can imagine the rest 😄
I mean nothing wrong with it thats what "influencers" do when someone is trying to promote a Brand pretty sure tyler and darrell got a pretty penny also before accepting
Tyler was specifically wanting this color though according to the video. He was looking for another model of his first guitar which he said was a Cort guitar but he went with this cause Cort guitars aren't budget guitars like they used to be.
I have that guitar. I got it about a year ago. It has some of the best cheap pickups and they get good sustain and plays awesomely acoustic (not plugged in). It was on sale when I got it for $104.99 and I had $65 in Amazon Gift cards so I only spent like $40 + Tax.
Without a doubt one of the best reviews I've seen on an under $200 Strat Daryl. And definitely one of the cleanest inside the cavities. Definitely interested might have to pick me up one of these.
I guess there are only so many videos like this you can watch without falling asleep. I made it to near the end, but the most exciting thing I saw was what looked like the shim lying on the bench. Thanks anyway.
Everybody take a shot every time DB says “I gotta say...” haha JK. Good work amigo. Man, beginner/entry level guitars have a come a looooong way since when I started playing in the early 90s.
Damn they've come a long way since I started playing in like 2003 even. The Squier I got when I first started was no where near this nice nor did it sound as good.
One of the characteristics of a very inexpensive guitar is the ratio of good to poor examples. You can still find good 'uns but you may have to sample more to get one. Neck pocket looks shallow to me though. Interesting that some routing is done pre- finish and some post! Or is it the neck pocket was masked during finish?
Darrell, I recently bought a Michael Kelly custom (most of their guitars are custom) guitar that looks and sounds amazing. I have been watching your videos for a good while and don’t remember seeing you review one. If you get the opportunity, I would recommend it. I think it would be something your viewers would like. Their guitars have a bunch of styles with many options.
i love every video Darrell, especially those "affordable equipment" types of videos. it's soooo detailed and honest, maybe the only one who's really doing an honest review. you're doing a great job my friend. much love from Germany
I bought my Donner a year ago in the exact same color. Though mine must have missed a few stops in the quality control dept. I easily corrected the issues and now have a good-looking, fun-to-play guitar. I paid a tad under $100. In addition, double boxing provided great protection. Along with the perfectly adequate gig bag, I find this guitar to be well worth the money.
I have a 2007 USA Standard Stratocaster and I have to say that the cavities on that are no cleaner than that. Looks like you could have a lot of fun upgrading and would end up with a really nice looking, sounding and playing instrument. Another great video, thanks.
Hard to complain about anything on this for just $150. And for another $100-150, you could easily throw in a nice set of pickups and some better tuners (and new strings of course) and have a very solid instrument that will last a good while.
"That screams yellow!" was my first comment. I play acoustic, but I subscribe to you because I want to an idea of what's our there if I get the urge. Another area is upgrade components on budget guitars. Keep up the good work. Love it.
Looks like a solid guitar that one could upgrade as parts needed to be replaced and come away with a decent daily player. Looks a lot like the Monoprice, Huntington, Sawtooth or Glarry guitars, more than likely the same factory pumping out Chinese value brands and putting any label & graphics on the headstock.
I’ve always found that with electric guitars, I can play a $100 guitar and not notice much of a difference in tone when I go to a $800+ guitar. I think a lot of the price, like anything else, is in the name. 🤷🏻♂️maybe I’m wrong but that’s just my personal experience from playing guitar for around 6 1/2 years
The difference in tone is in the electronics, which can be emulated fairly easy. Some of the price for higher end guitars is in the wood quality, build quality, and hardware quality. But yes you're also paying for a name, insurance (returns), and middle man markups. (typical retailers charge 300% of cost to build for most guitars and electronics)
@@janjuko4024 I agree with you but wouldn’t it make sense that higher levels of craftsmanship and higher quality materials would result in a nicer guitar, which would mean a nicer *clean* tone at the very least? What I was saying is that that would make sense but it’s not the case, so we completely agree on this 😂 the tone is coming from the pickups and whatever amp/pedals you’re using but even then lower quality guitars will sometimes use shittier pickups and electronics which don’t translate the tone and gain nearly as well or as clearly as, say, some P-90s in a Gibson Les Paul. This is speaking from my experience playing mostly heavy metal/rock so I assume with different kinds of music it would be different in some ways
Uh no absolutely not. Some guitars are definitely expensive because if the name on the head stock but on average a $800 guitar will have a lot better hardware than a cheap $100. Sure you can get a decent tone out of no name pickups but typically $100 guitars are good for begginers and pretty much only them.
On a video I saw on another channel, Ron Thorn just grabbed the body and the neck and pushed it into alignment. I've never seen that before, but it worked!
I doubt it's ebony at this price - probably a composite or what people are calling 'techwood' these days. It does look like ebony and I've had to do a double take on some of my reviews. By the way, your review are very thorough... and you are very consistent in your approach. A lot of youtube guitar guys can learn a lot from your videos.
They say it is a Laurel Wood fingerboard and wow are the prices outstanding considering what you get with it. I wish they listed just the guitar because to be honest it would make an outstanding platform for building a hotrod that you could play out and not be afraid of it getting broken and still be under the price of a Squier series strat or tele. I mean a Gotoh traditional strat style trem is between 60 and 80 bucks and fender locking tuners are just under 50. You get some Golden age or IronGear pickups CTS dual concentric stacked pots and a Freeway 10-way switch altogether around 360 dollars for everything and you have a well equipped S-type player that didn't break the bank and you don't have to worry should it get banged around a bit because you got less than 400 bucks in it.
Fret edges don't matter. They need to be level. Nicely cut net pocket doesn't matter. The angle must be right. We already know from its price that this gutar is cheap. The real question is if it can be set up properly. Close ups on clean edges don't answer the important questions.
If your neck wood isn't seasoned/roasted it will be softer and smaller diameter screws might tear out. The body is also basswood so smaller screws will also tear out easier as well. But more likely they just settled on a common set of hardware for a lot of different instruments - it might be that the bass has the exact same screws which one might feel are adequate or a bit underwhelming unless they're giving us a 6 bolt neck.
Nice review Darrell. I had already bought one for my granddaughter, swapped out the loaded pickguard, strings and nut. It plays well. My one came with some decent case candy, which I assume they all do. The only issue is that the body is too thin to take a Free-way switch, but so it goes. Take it easy.
adjust height and tilt of the humbucker and be ready to raise the D polepiece a turn or 2 and maybe the A and bass Es. The G,B, or treble E usually has one string too 'piercing' so lower its polepiece a turn or so to tame it. And put a tiny jumper on the switch to let the forward tone pot control the neck and bridge pickup as well (they are not on together!).
lol.. It's the same one they sent to Tyler @ Music is Win. Yesterday's episode... same colour too. Somehow, I knew it would be the yellow version. Maybe tomorrow it will be featured @ Guitar MAX.😆 Well played, Donner... well played!
The fret ends on the Donner I bought were sharp enough to cut my hand. It was easily remedied with some luthier tools but a beginner would have trouble with that. Otherwise it was much as this one. You get what you pay for.
I ordered a black, single humbucker "Kramer-ish" guitar off Amazon for $110. Brand name is "Ashthorpe". Just got it today and have to send it back because they sent me a blue one. I wanted black because I have an orange Dragonfire "Screamer" pickup on the way and a blue mounting ring which would clash with the shade of blue that the guitar is painted.
I've had an excellent portable usb rechargeable Donner practice amp for a couple of years. Might have to get one of these to go along with it. Nice cheap axe.
Agree with you, Darrell - before watching your videos on this brand I also like you only know Donner Kebab. But now, Donner Musical Instrument, too! Hoping this brand will sell massively like Donner Kebab? Thanks!
You should try Eart guitars, I am hoping they are the trigger for the new game changer. They have different level of roasted maple necks and stainless steel frets and the quality is insane, frets are perfect, smooth, rounded sausages. Everything is very consistent, it must be their process, if I had to guess, full automation. Tuning machines are ridiculously smooth. Price $270 - $390. New standard should be roasted maple with SS frets.
Would you please review the Donner DST-400? It boasts vintage tuners, coil split humbucker, a steel tremolo block and 2 point tremolo, alder body, and it sells for $199 with free shipping. If you look online, there are 15% off coupons, so that would bring it down to $170 shipped! That’s an incredible price, especially if it doesn’t need any upgrades. It looks like it could compete with the Squier contemporary series at more than 1/2 the price.
You have a great metal guitar Period! If you put overdrive and distortion in front of your amp I have a guitar identical to this except S-101 Standard except mine is red and white. I got mine for 50 bucks. Overdrive really drives mine I can vibrate furniture. I played like 6 hours today.
I've got a new entry in my ever expanding "Affordable Guitars" serries! Enjoy :)
Darrell! Did you ever try a Kramer? Maybe a Baretta Special? Those things go for $200 and holy hell, they're quality. Love your content!
BTW, the fretboard might be Amaranth, I have a few Amaranth fretboards with the exact same look
152$CDN?For real?
Nice video Darrel, very detailed :) One thing though, I felt like you were rushing through the content like you were even talking fast haha Have a great evening :)
No mention of the obvious neck shim falling out at 12:20 not very honest review.
I got this in sunburst for Christmas - no complaints so far.
How are the sound and pickups?
You like it?
@@louiswilkins9624 Yeah, I got the bundle with the little practice amp and other accessories (strap, cable, tuner, extra strings). I think what differentiates it from other entry-level Strat copies is that it has a humbucker. The amp is very small (which I wanted) and the gig bag seems a bit more durable than the super flimsy ones you usually get at this price range. Mine doesn't go out of tune that much but I don't use the trem. I will say the frets do stick out a bit on the sides but that's pretty minor to me. I'm not exactly shredding all over the neck and I can always polish them down if I need to. I've seen this listed on Amazon as having 20 frets but that's not true; it has 22. Hope this helps.
@@h.9089 They're OK for me as an intermediate player. There are about a dozen other reviews of this guitar on TH-cam you can reference - search "Donner dst".
I got one too recently but I got a rare lemon... the internal electronics were cutting out :(
My wife just bought me this exact guitar at a thrift store for $70. I am amazed at how well it plays! I’ve been playing this guitar more than my expensive Ibanez and Charvel guitars! It’s well worth upgrading because of how well it plays. I just ordered new pups, tuners, and a pearl pickguard and a solid brass block for it!🎶🎸
Very impressive for the price. Have you seen how much stuff comes with their starter packages? They even include a tuner. Perfect, complete package for a beginner.
Have you noticed that some of the TH-camrs who specialize in doing guitar reviews/demos are all getting the same guitars at the same time? Phil McNight, Music is Win, 60 Cycle Hum, Darrell Braun Guitar, etc.
Maybe there's something big in the making
Should be a marketing effort of Donner to get a place in the market using influwncers. A good mové.
Donner reaches out to everyone who wants to demo them! They even sent me one for my channel to review and I plan on contacting to see if they will send me this one as well to test!
Maybe it's cheaper to send out a bunch at once. Still, for me it's a good thing, as each of these channels provide a different point of view and watching all of them demo the 'same' instrument gives a broader view of the various aspects these instruments have.
Yeah it's painfully obvious
My wife got me one of these types of "amazon special" $100 guitar/amp combos a few years ago for Christmas. Little did she know she created a monster. But, if you're on the fence about getting a guitar, get one of these. Great to learn on, and if it turns out guitar isn't your thing, you're only out a little money.
but you're up on fire wood.
I would like to see one of these review channels do a side-by-side with the guitar they get free to demo and one they buy blind. Good way to confirm or debunk whether or not the guitar they are being sent to demo is on par with a guitar the average person would receive.
This!
Free guitars probably come with a condition that says you can't do that
Darrell just made your wish come true
The two main advantages of buying this strat' copy. Is bringing this to a gig and not worrying bringing your real $1000+ stratocaster/other guitar. The second is with the S/S/H pickup configuration, you can play a list of cover songs that use either single coil or humbuckers with one guitar.. so you don't have bring more than one. Years back I had a strat' copy like this and used it in a cover band.. played a lot of places.. As long as you can do a basic setup on it and there is no big physical defects like a warped neck it can be a great for the price. My 2 cents.
@ianscanlon2418 There is a lot more options for guitars now then there was in the good old 1980s, that for certain. Cheers.
What i really enjoy about Darrell's channel is that he doesn't shy away from "cheap" guitars or gear. It may be easy for TH-camrs to make content about things persons can't usually afford because, they can now afford them. Nothing's wrong with doing that as well but while it's not always a guarantee, I really think it speaks true to his character. ✨
Just got mine delivered and it is so beautiful! The beginner kit came with way more than expected! I'm really shocked at how cheap it is!
'Donner' is German for 'Thunder' 😄 Just like 'Donner und Blitzen' / 'Thunder and Lightning' 🙂
From this video I learnt that you don't need a super high end guitar but you definitely need a high end amp. That guitar sounds awsome
"Beginners don't tear their guitars apart" - Yeah, I didn't do that to my Strat copy either at first ... and then I somehow obtained a couple of old Höfner humbuckers, and Eddie Van Halen was the cover story of the latest edition of the musicians' magazine I was reading at that time ('83), and you can imagine the rest 😄
6:48 I really thought he was going into 035 there and panicked for a second...
why would you panic on the thought of hearing a great riff?
@@szatanovsky you have clearly never been in a guitar store. As someone that has worked in a guitar store, I never want to hear 035 ever again...
You do know that is NOT how you play it right?
Lol me too
There's something so special about cheap guitars. Keep 'em coming Darrell! We love it! Cheers from PL
That something is greedy westerners. Chinese people are treated horribly. Forced organ harvesting. Terrible human suffering by the CCP. Truth.
So, they hit up you and Tyler Larson on the same day, eh? "Hey, guys, want a butter-colored HSS Strat copy? We've got a bunch."
Like a whole bunch
Why not call it "banana coloured" if you've got a bunch?
I mean nothing wrong with it thats what "influencers" do when someone is trying to promote a Brand pretty sure tyler and darrell got a pretty penny also before accepting
Not claiming there's anything wrong with it. Not even tacitly.
The issue is that darrel didn't even say he'd obviously been paid which is just embarrassing
"Beginners don;'t normally tear their guitars apart"
Probably--but I did with my first electric--and didn't always put it back together right.
this guitar as a starter is getting alot of love especially for being in the150 ramge
"Let's not mess aboawt and open this guitar" love it!
Music is Win got the same guitar and color today, too.
No messin' aboawt! Ha Ha.😊🍁
@@ragjamrock Aboot!
@@DMSProduktions What do you expect he is a Canadian after all!
@@Edward1312 Eh?
Tyler was specifically wanting this color though according to the video. He was looking for another model of his first guitar which he said was a Cort guitar but he went with this cause Cort guitars aren't budget guitars like they used to be.
Darrell is legit and honest.
If the guitar was junk he would either tell us or not make a video about it.
He has earned my trust and respect.
I have that guitar. I got it about a year ago. It has some of the best cheap pickups and they get good sustain and plays awesomely acoustic (not plugged in). It was on sale when I got it for $104.99 and I had $65 in Amazon Gift cards so I only spent like $40 + Tax.
Without a doubt one of the best reviews I've seen on an under $200 Strat Daryl. And definitely one of the cleanest inside the cavities. Definitely interested might have to pick me up one of these.
Got endorsed by them a while back and they sent a DTC 100 tele style guitar. Absolutely great instrument!
I guess there are only so many videos like this you can watch without falling asleep. I made it to near the end, but the most exciting thing I saw was what looked like the shim lying on the bench. Thanks anyway.
Everybody take a shot every time DB says “I gotta say...” haha JK. Good work amigo. Man, beginner/entry level guitars have a come a looooong way since when I started playing in the early 90s.
Damn they've come a long way since I started playing in like 2003 even. The Squier I got when I first started was no where near this nice nor did it sound as good.
At least the bridge is aligned properly on this one. The one they sent Dave was WAY off.
Same question I was going to ask!
Me too.
One of the characteristics of a very inexpensive guitar is the ratio of good to poor examples. You can still find good 'uns but you may have to sample more to get one. Neck pocket looks shallow to me though. Interesting that some routing is done pre- finish and some post! Or is it the neck pocket was masked during finish?
I feel like I just watched this guitar on a different video, wait.....I did! This is a much more objective review. Great job 👍
Donner? I don’t even know her! Nice tones. As always super helpful detailed description for this blind guitarist. Keep up the great work.
So, is this a...Donner Party?
I was thinking the same thing LOL
The body looks yummy ..lol
Scott, I think you got a meme going here, bro.
Delicious
Yes - But no cannibalism allowed.
Darrell, I recently bought a Michael Kelly custom (most of their guitars are custom) guitar that looks and sounds amazing. I have been watching your videos for a good while and don’t remember seeing you review one. If you get the opportunity, I would recommend it. I think it would be something your viewers would like. Their guitars have a bunch of styles with many options.
Darrell - You forgot about the neck shim. Great project guitar.
Yeah, Saw that fall out, but I don't think that Darrell did.
i love every video Darrell, especially those "affordable equipment" types of videos. it's soooo detailed and honest,
maybe the only one who's really doing an honest review. you're doing a great job my friend. much love from Germany
Yeah he's pretty honest
I bought my Donner a year ago in the exact same color. Though mine must have missed a few stops in the quality control dept. I easily corrected the issues and now have a good-looking, fun-to-play guitar. I paid a tad under $100. In addition, double boxing provided great protection. Along with the perfectly adequate gig bag, I find this guitar to be well worth the money.
What issues did you have to fix?
This really makes me wanna build a custom super strat.
I have a 2007 USA Standard Stratocaster and I have to say that the cavities on that are no cleaner than that. Looks like you could have a lot of fun upgrading and would end up with a really nice looking, sounding and playing instrument. Another great video, thanks.
Dave's World of Fun stuff has the funniest review of this...
6:49 LOL I thought that was smoke on the water XD
the fretboard is made of peltogyne according to the listing on amazon
It looks and sounds pretty good to me . Perfect if you're just starting out
Hard to complain about anything on this for just $150. And for another $100-150, you could easily throw in a nice set of pickups and some better tuners (and new strings of course) and have a very solid instrument that will last a good while.
wish i never sold my ibanez sunburst or gibson SG, bought a LXpro to see i can rekindle the bug and dive back into the big boys.
"That screams yellow!" was my first comment. I play acoustic, but I subscribe to you because I want to an idea of what's our there if I get the urge. Another area is upgrade components on budget guitars. Keep up the good work. Love it.
Just got the Donner Tele, this is probably my next one
Looks like a solid guitar that one could upgrade as parts needed to be replaced and come away with a decent daily player. Looks a lot like the Monoprice, Huntington, Sawtooth or Glarry guitars, more than likely the same factory pumping out Chinese value brands and putting any label & graphics on the headstock.
I’ve always found that with electric guitars, I can play a $100 guitar and not notice much of a difference in tone when I go to a $800+ guitar. I think a lot of the price, like anything else, is in the name. 🤷🏻♂️maybe I’m wrong but that’s just my personal experience from playing guitar for around 6 1/2 years
The difference in tone is in the electronics, which can be emulated fairly easy. Some of the price for higher end guitars is in the wood quality, build quality, and hardware quality. But yes you're also paying for a name, insurance (returns), and middle man markups. (typical retailers charge 300% of cost to build for most guitars and electronics)
@@janjuko4024 I agree with you but wouldn’t it make sense that higher levels of craftsmanship and higher quality materials would result in a nicer guitar, which would mean a nicer *clean* tone at the very least? What I was saying is that that would make sense but it’s not the case, so we completely agree on this 😂 the tone is coming from the pickups and whatever amp/pedals you’re using but even then lower quality guitars will sometimes use shittier pickups and electronics which don’t translate the tone and gain nearly as well or as clearly as, say, some P-90s in a Gibson Les Paul. This is speaking from my experience playing mostly heavy metal/rock so I assume with different kinds of music it would be different in some ways
Uh no absolutely not. Some guitars are definitely expensive because if the name on the head stock but on average a $800 guitar will have a lot better hardware than a cheap $100. Sure you can get a decent tone out of no name pickups but typically $100 guitars are good for begginers and pretty much only them.
Donner sent a guitar to Dave's World of Fun Stuff and it was an epic fail because the bridge was misaligned with the neck.
The first guy to not take the sellout money to lie about it.
On a video I saw on another channel, Ron Thorn just grabbed the body and the neck and pushed it into alignment. I've never seen that before, but it worked!
Well Dave usually only does repairs/set ups!
A Donner strat was my first guitar. It's a good guitar to play. I play a Squier Classic 60s Jazzmaster now.
I just ordered mine yesterday it’ll be here shortly
I have a thinline tele i am modding. Its a good guitar, on par with Squire and Harley Benton. Wife has the regular tele, its nice as well
That intro never failed to make me laugh
I doubt it's ebony at this price - probably a composite or what people are calling 'techwood' these days. It does look like ebony and I've had to do a double take on some of my reviews. By the way, your review are very thorough... and you are very consistent in your approach. A lot of youtube guitar guys can learn a lot from your videos.
Awesome review video again Darrell...thank you these are so pleasent to watch🙏
Gets the job done, nothing more for me. Good series Darren!
Nice non copyright smoke on the water cover at 6:49
Phew the auto focus was really tripping me out
I think you should buy a Chinese Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster from Aliexpress .... Ive hear excellent reviews 🎸✨🏄🎼🎼🎼🎼🎬☮️
Just purchased a DST 400...for $160...Best budget guitar I have purchased.
As a learner would changing something like the strings help improve in any way, shape or form.
I hope YOU'RE having a great day today!
They say it is a Laurel Wood fingerboard and wow are the prices outstanding considering what you get with it. I wish they listed just the guitar because to be honest it would make an outstanding platform for building a hotrod that you could play out and not be afraid of it getting broken and still be under the price of a Squier series strat or tele. I mean a Gotoh traditional strat style trem is between 60 and 80 bucks and fender locking tuners are just under 50. You get some Golden age or IronGear pickups CTS dual concentric stacked pots and a Freeway 10-way switch altogether around 360 dollars for everything and you have a well equipped S-type player that didn't break the bank and you don't have to worry should it get banged around a bit because you got less than 400 bucks in it.
I wouldn't touch anything on that guitar 🎸 sounds beautiful ❤️
The head stock reminds me a lot of a Yamaha Pacifica. No complains, It's a good looking design.
Fret edges don't matter. They need to be level.
Nicely cut net pocket doesn't matter. The angle must be right.
We already know from its price that this gutar is cheap. The real question is if it can be set up properly.
Close ups on clean edges don't answer the important questions.
If your neck wood isn't seasoned/roasted it will be softer and smaller diameter screws might tear out.
The body is also basswood so smaller screws will also tear out easier as well.
But more likely they just settled on a common set of hardware for a lot of different instruments - it might be that the bass has the exact same screws which one might feel are adequate or a bit underwhelming unless they're giving us a 6 bolt neck.
Nice review Darrell. I had already bought one for my granddaughter, swapped out the loaded pickguard, strings and nut. It plays well. My one came with some decent case candy, which I assume they all do. The only issue is that the body is too thin to take a Free-way switch, but so it goes.
Take it easy.
adjust height and tilt of the humbucker and be ready to raise the D polepiece a turn or 2 and maybe the A and bass Es. The G,B, or treble E usually has one string too 'piercing' so lower its polepiece a turn or so to tame it. And put a tiny jumper on the switch to let the forward tone pot control the neck and bridge pickup as well (they are not on together!).
MadmanChris49 you make a good point,i think the Donner is a great guitar and its true that some can't afford the Strat,thanks for the reply
would love to see some of these cheaper brands try a mustang or jazzmaster style copy. its always a strat or tele.
Monoprice/Indio make a few of those, but they seem to be out of stock right now.
Cool new Intro! It's really been a while since I clicked on one of your videos.
lets listen to to this thing totally clean *proceeds to add reverb*
you didn't mention the shim that dropped out (12.16) when you removed the neck from the pocket..........
Nice.
The heastock remimds me of Yamaha's Pacifica brand, which is a stellar guitar for the prices.
Again, nice.
I have two Donner Ukes and they are great , They make Pedals cheap also .
lol.. It's the same one they sent to Tyler @ Music is Win. Yesterday's episode... same colour too. Somehow, I knew it would be the yellow version. Maybe tomorrow it will be featured @ Guitar MAX.😆 Well played, Donner... well played!
This was my first electric! ... I love it
The fret ends on the Donner I bought were sharp enough to cut my hand. It was easily remedied with some luthier tools but a beginner would have trouble with that. Otherwise it was much as this one. You get what you pay for.
Was on their website and it says the fretboard is made of Perilla wood, which's an Asian tree that they get cooking oil from as well. Interesting.
As listed on Amazon: Fretboard Material Type Canadian maple
The best thing on this guitar is the color and that humbucker
I ordered a black, single humbucker "Kramer-ish" guitar off Amazon for $110. Brand name is "Ashthorpe". Just got it today and have to send it back because they sent me a blue one. I wanted black because I have an orange Dragonfire "Screamer" pickup on the way and a blue mounting ring which would clash with the shade of blue that the guitar is painted.
Dumb comment of the week.
For the Money the Donner Guitar it is solid you could upgrade the other parts and put in a extra ground plus shielding
I found this same model still in the box, in the trash. Opened it up and the neck was broke. I’m going to use the guts to make a harp type instrument.
I like the dark fretboard
I have some of their pedals. All are excellent. Love the cream yellow. Good company. Thanks!
I recommend Elegee and Riverhead guitars, they are affordable yet good in quality and build!
I've had an excellent portable usb rechargeable Donner practice amp for a couple of years. Might have to get one of these to go along with it. Nice cheap axe.
Donner also has an HSS with a split coil humbucker and Donner say Alnico pickups.......$225 or so.
Very nice coloured strat
You're an awesome player. Love this channel.
Any word on the Kramer VT211? Cheaper than a Squier at only 129.99!! It's an HSS as well.
They are nice but the tuners are not.
Agree with you, Darrell - before watching your videos on this brand I also like you only know Donner Kebab. But now, Donner Musical Instrument, too! Hoping this brand will sell massively like Donner Kebab? Thanks!
Tyler's first guitar
That slight delay at 1:53 tells me darrell ain't liking that damn yellow
the action is freaking high
I have the red one and it's great... strings changed straight after a few goes but would recommend highly 🎸🎶
Wow ! I love the heavy doom sounds!
You should try Eart guitars, I am hoping they are the trigger for the new game changer. They have different level of roasted maple necks and stainless steel frets and the quality is insane, frets are perfect, smooth, rounded sausages. Everything is very consistent, it must be their process, if I had to guess, full automation. Tuning machines are ridiculously smooth. Price $270 - $390. New standard should be roasted maple with SS frets.
Nice unboxing vid!! :)
Would you please review the Donner DST-400? It boasts vintage tuners, coil split humbucker, a steel tremolo block and 2 point tremolo, alder body, and it sells for $199 with free shipping. If you look online, there are 15% off coupons, so that would bring it down to $170 shipped! That’s an incredible price, especially if it doesn’t need any upgrades. It looks like it could compete with the Squier contemporary series at more than 1/2 the price.
You have a great metal guitar Period! If you put overdrive and distortion in front of your amp I have a guitar identical to this except S-101 Standard except mine is red and white. I got mine for 50 bucks. Overdrive really drives mine I can vibrate furniture. I played like 6 hours today.
Full bore metal pedal and this Guitar!