I bought a Donner DST-400 which came with no fret sprout but after the fret board dried out during a Boston winter it turned into a real cheese grater! I had to file them down quite a bit. The neck is really comfortable to play now. Just touching the tremolo bar threw the tuning completely out so I am putting in a Wilkinson replacement bridge. The tuners are going to be changed as well. Thanks Steve!
Great video Steve! $150-ish for a guitar, strap, bag and cable is pretty awesome to see, especially if the guitar is as solid as you say it is. Very good news for beginning guitar players or someone who doesn’t want to spend a ton of dough. I have a compressor pedal from Donner and I love it, glad to see their guitar line getting some good reviews. They seem like a pretty cool company. Stay safe and rock on man!
I bought the black DLP a couple months ago and I was super surprised. One of the tuners had a little play in it, and the action was super high, no big deal but awesome guitar for the price. I'd highly recommend.
This guitar is pretty great for the money. bought one over last winter and i really only had to spend $1 to file the bottom of the frets so i wouldnt mess up my fingers. and thats more of a storage problem at the warehouse than the quality overall. fantastic buy for sure
Rockin' I picked the Surfgreen one to hang next the Shell Pink Hardtail HSS Bullet Strat ... fun retro looking value guitars in fun vintage car colours.
The tuners on it look like the ones they use on the esp ltd ec256. I like how they but the bridge saddle screws the right way so the saddle don't move randomly. I have had too many guitars with that issue.
Great guitar for the price, I actually like Donner, they've impressed me with all the pedals I bought from them. Remarkable prices for the sound of them to be fair. Ive not bought a guitar from them yet, but iam pretty happy with the sound of this Les Paul style guitar, Great video 👍👍
There are many choices of low-cost guitars these days... and most of them seem to be quite well built. Never has the cost of entry into guitar playing been so inexpensive. And let's face it, when I was starting out in the mid-70s you had to spend quite a bit more in 70s dollars (never mind inflation!) to get anything even decent.
Wsup Steve! You are a awesome strummer! You definitely pick a mean axe!!! I just came accross a $149. Harley Benton S-60 TR Rock Series & as I was about to look up reviews on Y.T., it rolled to your $150. Donner review. I was wondering if you have any experience with the Harley Benton S-620 TR Rock Series? Come payday i think I might grab both, the Donner & the HB if I find good reveiw on the HB.
april 27-2021...i just ordered that very same guitar same finish. I ordered it straight from donners website because screw amazon. paid 132 dollars using a discount code they gave right there on the sight. expecting it any day now.
My SX Tele sounds awesome, has a laquered fingerboard for about $130 I think I paid for it a few years ago. I changed pickup and that helped it... I'm just not a single coil guy
Hi Steve! I can always count on you for a review on any guitars I’m looking at lol. Quick question, there is one of these on my local Facebook marketplace brand new open box for £100! What pickups you recommend? Thanks
I have got to be honest. I bought a Harley Benton te-30 because I wanted to try s telecaster style guitar. I actually spent almost an entire day with it in my hands. I will be getting a fender and for me it was worth it to see how it felt before dropping so big money
If you are building guitars (like me), go to Lowes or HD and get some of the dark purple, nearly black poplar, if you can find it. I buy 1/4" x 6" pieces, plane them down to 3/16" and make it into headstock veneers.
As always, great vids Steve but... when switching to camera B (lower) we miss out on your left hand fret work. I've learned a lot over the years watching your techniques and chord shapes.
I got mine on eBay, Donner "factory refurb," guaranteed. the strings were loose, the neck was not straight, and there is a hump in the frets at 2,3,4,&5. I messaged the problems, and they sent a standard reply that didn't address the problems. It was $70 with coupon, so I am going to fix it and scrape the logo off.
Along the same vein as this, you should review a Xaviere LP Pro from guitarfetish. Bought one a while back and it is really hard to put down. Quite spec'd for a $260 LP.
That guitar looks similar to the old Roland GR-500 guitar Synths from the 70’s ... same finish and design ... just missing the synth switches where the knobs are .
I'd like to know if yours has developed this problem. These have a 2-sided neck pocket with no wood on the neck pickup cavity side. Any guitar I've ever seen built like that, the neck gets pulled into the pickup cavity over time and crushes the neck pickup. To see what I mean, look at 4.05-4.09 in this guys video and you can see the neck pickup ring caving in: th-cam.com/video/KQ_wJMwh66I/w-d-xo.html You can also see it in several of the photos people posted on their Amazon reviews. Flamed Maple? The neck is "African Mahogany", not that it really matters. Also is it possible you could tell me the nut width/string spacing at the nut? I looks a bit narrow like 40-42mm. 43 is the minimum I can deal with.
To address your observation re. the neck pocket, the fact that the heel of the neck is secured by 4 hefty screws into the neck pocket would suggest that it would be unlikely to move more than perhaps 0.5 mm under string tension.
Lets get it straight wood plastic and metal all 50's guitars where this price !!does any one say hear is a 56 strat or 59 Les Paul does it sound good??
Chinese pickups are usually darker sounding or scooped..Its likely due to the type of wire they use...eg...texas style strat pickups are wound with enamel coated wire which definately gives its distinguishable sound...my biggest concern for pick ups is if they have been potted to prevent looping in live settings...
The great part about this is that you can drop 150$ on a guitar and drop 350$ on a pretty killer amp. For 500$ you’ve got all you need to keep you interested in playing guitar. But of course, you’ll get GAS eventually. But at least nowadays young guitarists are more inclined to stick around long enough to get GAS. 🤘🏻
So true... I got that guitar + a brand new Boss KTN-100 MK1 (on clearance @ Sam Ash along w/credit for my old setup). Paid about $170 out of pocket for the amp that was on sale for $369.
How a guitar sounds is more to do with the player than the guitar, every player sounds different, the best players will make even a poor guitar sound good, but a poor player like i am will make the best guitar sound bad.
It's nothing to do with that. It's because very few guitars nowadays, regardless of price, are truly bad. Modern "cheap" guitars are in a different league to the junk we had 45+ years ago when I was learning, because manufacturing techniques and quality control have progressed to a remarkable extent. The level of precision in modern manufacturing wasn't available to budget manufacturers back then, which is why starter guitars were unplayable, and why these days you have guitars such as Harley Benton and Firefly, which bring playability and a reasonable amount of quality at beginner instrument prices. People complain about rough fret ends nowadays. Back when I was learning, you could probably get your finger between the string and fretboard at the 1st fret.
@@NiqScott I agree that todays guitars are a vast improvement on the badly made samples that i started learning on in the 70's. Re the likes of Harley Benton, i have two of them, and both needed work and upgrading to make them playable and stay in tune. Todays cnc machining has removed most of the hit and miss problems, but a lot of todays samples need a good setup to play at their best. Whilst practice makes perfect, i still think that a realy good player can pick up any guitar and still sound good.
@@davidkastin4240 Thanks for the encouragement, i am now 65, and my hands are just not as nimble as they were. My mistake is that i started to learn to play too late in life, if you learn in your childhood it makes all the difference.
Actually, guitars generally do sound the same. You have humbuckers, P90s and single coil. Other than that, the changes are far more subtle. But I try guitars how I would normally play them. The chances of me not using reverb or delay is zero.
Time for me to maybe get a TH-cam channel so we can go at it...lol. Notice the guitar in my avatar? Can you name it? It's as killer sounding of a guitar now as it was then
we have no idea what the guitar sounds like !!! with all the distortion he could be playing a cigar box with strings on it and we couldn't tell the difference
![[UNCUT] The Loyal Pin ปิ่นภักดิ์ EP.15 (3/4)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IVwR87OH0_A/mqdefault.jpg)
![[안방1열 풀캠4K] 베이비몬스터 'DRIP' (BABYMONSTER FullCam)│@SBS Inkigayo 241110](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/AQ4RIghEvUs/mqdefault.jpg)
Doesn’t matter what kind of guitar or pick up, Steve will make it sound good!
Sounds killer. Nice bottom end and sharp enough to hear the notes clearly when hitting a chord 👍🏻
I bought a Donner DST-400 which came with no fret sprout but after the fret board dried out during a Boston winter it turned into a real cheese grater! I had to file them down quite a bit. The neck is really comfortable to play now. Just touching the tremolo bar threw the tuning completely out so I am putting in a Wilkinson replacement bridge. The tuners are going to be changed as well. Thanks Steve!
Great video Steve! $150-ish for a guitar, strap, bag and cable is pretty awesome to see, especially if the guitar is as solid as you say it is. Very good news for beginning guitar players or someone who doesn’t want to spend a ton of dough. I have a compressor pedal from Donner and I love it, glad to see their guitar line getting some good reviews. They seem like a pretty cool company. Stay safe and rock on man!
I bought the black DLP a couple months ago and I was super surprised. One of the tuners had a little play in it, and the action was super high, no big deal but awesome guitar for the price. I'd highly recommend.
NEW to guitars can you recommend a good amp with lots of Tone and reverb for metal?
Wasnt expecting the Bark at the Moon riff wicked !
keep a guitar in a case with 1/2 a dampened sponge ((6 for $1 at Dollar Tree) cut in half. Get a 3 corner fret file to smooth the fret ends.
This guitar is pretty great for the money. bought one over last winter and i really only had to spend $1 to file the bottom of the frets so i wouldnt mess up my fingers. and thats more of a storage problem at the warehouse than the quality overall. fantastic buy for sure
Rockin' I picked the Surfgreen one to hang next the Shell Pink Hardtail HSS Bullet Strat ... fun retro looking value guitars in fun vintage car colours.
The tuners on it look like the ones they use on the esp ltd ec256. I like how they but the bridge saddle screws the right way so the saddle don't move randomly. I have had too many guitars with that issue.
Great guitar for the price, I actually like Donner, they've impressed me with all the pedals I bought from them. Remarkable prices for the sound of them to be fair. Ive not bought a guitar from them yet, but iam pretty happy with the sound of this Les Paul style guitar, Great video 👍👍
Thanks for the review!
Frouts? I'm glad to see Steve has a sense of humor.
There are many choices of low-cost guitars these days... and most of them seem to be quite well built. Never has the cost of entry into guitar playing been so inexpensive. And let's face it, when I was starting out in the mid-70s you had to spend quite a bit more in 70s dollars (never mind inflation!) to get anything even decent.
Wsup Steve! You are a awesome strummer! You definitely pick a mean axe!!! I just came accross a $149. Harley Benton S-60 TR Rock Series & as I was about to look up reviews on Y.T., it rolled to your $150. Donner review. I was wondering if you have any experience with the Harley Benton S-620 TR Rock Series? Come payday i think I might grab both, the Donner & the HB if I find good reveiw on the HB.
april 27-2021...i just ordered that very same guitar same finish. I ordered it straight from donners website because screw amazon. paid 132 dollars using a discount code they gave right there on the sight. expecting it any day now.
got it! awesome guitar. I love it!
@@ernestschultz5065 still enjoying it?.. I wish people would make comparison videos with Epiphone (within relative range) lol
Yes I'm still enjoying it. Might swap out the pickup for something a little better.
It sounds even better than other inexpensive LP style guitars I've heard. 🙂
Thanks for the great review :) . Does it go out of tune as often as most less pauls?
My SX Tele sounds awesome, has a laquered fingerboard for about $130 I think I paid for it a few years ago. I changed pickup and that helped it... I'm just not a single coil guy
Cool! 👊 What was that you were playing at 15:30? Love the sound. Thanks for sharing this. Mines arriving tomorrow.
Nevermind lol Gravity. Good stuff 👊
Hi Steve! I can always count on you for a review on any guitars I’m looking at lol. Quick question, there is one of these on my local Facebook marketplace brand new open box for £100! What pickups you recommend? Thanks
Man I'm so excited I just bought one of these I got the 124 black Les looking one. It's was 93$ I can't wait to get it.
Where did you pick it up for that price
@@davidartrip6732 got it off eBay
I like your video. Guitar sounds good. Like your playing and commentary. 👍
Would you care to share what you're playing this guitar through ?
A daw , effects pedal, pedals etc...
TY
I have got to be honest. I bought a Harley Benton te-30 because I wanted to try s telecaster style guitar. I actually spent almost an entire day with it in my hands. I will be getting a fender and for me it was worth it to see how it felt before dropping so big money
How is the neck on those ? The TE-52 has an amazing
Donner and done guitars. Meaning good for beginners and then you move on to a better middle price guitar. Great video Steve
I always find quartersawn oak and flame maple looking through the dimensional boards at lowes. It's a treasure hunt!
If you are building guitars (like me), go to Lowes or HD and get some of the dark purple, nearly black poplar, if you can find it. I buy 1/4" x 6" pieces, plane them down to 3/16" and make it into headstock veneers.
@@peachmelba1000 @B's Kitchen & Riffs! builds things to sit on.
Reminds me of my first hohner lp copy!
*Amazing !* 🤘🏻
As always, great vids Steve but... when switching to camera B (lower) we miss out on your left hand fret work. I've learned a lot over the years watching your techniques and chord shapes.
I've been looking for a good beater guitar, I think I've found it
I got mine on eBay, Donner "factory refurb," guaranteed. the strings were loose, the neck was not straight, and there is a hump in the frets at 2,3,4,&5. I messaged the problems, and they sent a standard reply that didn't address the problems. It was $70 with coupon, so I am going to fix it and scrape the logo off.
Darn! I thought you were going to play the guitar with the saw.
Lower bass string pickups to eliminate muddiness in low notes
Sweet Saw Dude!
Right?!?
Hi, DLP could it stand for Donner Les Paul, because looking at strats are DST Donner Strat? who knows, take care
Don’t let me down
I've heard Wolf guitars are really nice for the money.
Erling Haaland has 14 goals in 11 Champions League matches!
FOURTEEN! IN ELEVEN?! 😳🙌
I'm getting it just for the flame. ;)
I have guitar for 150 and when I try to play chords if I don't use capo it sounds not good.
Did you say something about fret sprout?
Dude, did you upgrade the basement studio? Nice. Greetings from a fellow MassHole.
Nice, not bad it reminds of the Epiphone special lp jr
Along the same vein as this, you should review a Xaviere LP Pro from guitarfetish. Bought one a while back and it is really hard to put down. Quite spec'd for a $260 LP.
That guitar looks similar to the old Roland GR-500 guitar Synths from the 70’s ... same finish and design ... just missing the synth switches where the knobs are .
Through the Marshall amp that sounds almost good. Nice guitar
sup steve! josh from taunton here
what software use in this video? Guitar rig or?
Are you still demoing with software. presets please😃
Steve could make a banjo with one string sound like an orchestra.
Wonder what pixxylixx thinks of it
I'd like to know if yours has developed this problem. These have a 2-sided neck pocket with no wood on the neck pickup cavity side. Any guitar I've ever seen built like that, the neck gets pulled into the pickup cavity over time and crushes the neck pickup. To see what I mean, look at 4.05-4.09 in this guys video and you can see the neck pickup ring caving in: th-cam.com/video/KQ_wJMwh66I/w-d-xo.html You can also see it in several of the photos people posted on their Amazon reviews.
Flamed Maple? The neck is "African Mahogany", not that it really matters. Also is it possible you could tell me the nut width/string spacing at the nut? I looks a bit narrow like 40-42mm. 43 is the minimum I can deal with.
To address your observation re. the neck pocket, the fact that the heel of the neck is secured by 4 hefty screws into the neck pocket would suggest that it would be unlikely to move more than perhaps 0.5 mm under string tension.
Steve that looks a lot like my glenn burton for the price of 189.00 . For 150.00 not bad.
only with a interface? as same with all. try with a crate amp and tell me.
Did you ever do a review on the Kramer Focus $130.00 guitar? www.kramerguitars.com/Guitar/KRA945423/Focus-VT-211S/Teal
Lets get it straight wood plastic and metal all 50's guitars where this price !!does any one say hear is a 56 strat or 59 Les Paul does it sound good??
The pups sound good to me.
WASSUP Steve...NGD?
Heat shrinked
Didnt you upload this already?
No he unboxed it in the other video.
Chinese pickups are usually darker sounding or scooped..Its likely due to the type of wire they use...eg...texas style strat pickups are wound with enamel coated wire which definately gives its distinguishable sound...my biggest concern for pick ups is if they have been potted to prevent looping in live settings...
I call it the “tone saw”
I think for the money it sounds good
Really not bad at all for $150
The great part about this is that you can drop 150$ on a guitar and drop 350$ on a pretty killer amp. For 500$ you’ve got all you need to keep you interested in playing guitar. But of course, you’ll get GAS eventually. But at least nowadays young guitarists are more inclined to stick around long enough to get GAS. 🤘🏻
So true... I got that guitar + a brand new Boss KTN-100 MK1 (on clearance @ Sam Ash along w/credit for my old setup). Paid about $170 out of pocket for the amp that was on sale for $369.
I’ve never had a frout spret on any of my guitars. I guess I’ve just been lucky.
try one of the new Kramer Focus then, ouch
Sounds dark, but not bad for the price point.
I just paid $90 for mine on sale. Take advantage of bad reviews.
Theyve locked you down again.
How a guitar sounds is more to do with the player than the guitar, every player sounds different, the best players will make even a poor guitar sound good, but a poor player like i am will make the best guitar sound bad.
It's nothing to do with that. It's because very few guitars nowadays, regardless of price, are truly bad. Modern "cheap" guitars are in a different league to the junk we had 45+ years ago when I was learning, because manufacturing techniques and quality control have progressed to a remarkable extent. The level of precision in modern manufacturing wasn't available to budget manufacturers back then, which is why starter guitars were unplayable, and why these days you have guitars such as Harley Benton and Firefly, which bring playability and a reasonable amount of quality at beginner instrument prices. People complain about rough fret ends nowadays. Back when I was learning, you could probably get your finger between the string and fretboard at the 1st fret.
When Johnny Winter was asked why he sounds so good, his answer was "a lot of practice".
Rock on
Yetimatze
It's pure fun 🎇🎉
Allan practice more. You'll get there.
@@NiqScott I agree that todays guitars are a vast improvement on the badly made samples that i started learning on in the 70's.
Re the likes of Harley Benton, i have two of them, and both needed work and upgrading to make them playable and stay in tune.
Todays cnc machining has removed most of the hit and miss problems, but a lot of todays samples need a good setup to play at their best.
Whilst practice makes perfect, i still think that a realy good player can pick up any guitar and still sound good.
@@davidkastin4240 Thanks for the encouragement, i am now 65, and my hands are just not as nimble as they were.
My mistake is that i started to learn to play too late in life, if you learn in your childhood it makes all the difference.
Its nice n all..but i rather have a real brand..like epiphone or squier
with all that reverb and delay....all guitars sounds the same! heheh
Actually, guitars generally do sound the same. You have humbuckers, P90s and single coil. Other than that, the changes are far more subtle. But I try guitars how I would normally play them. The chances of me not using reverb or delay is zero.
That's why I got Away from modeling amps&that ilk.. they make EVERY &ANY guitar sound exactly alike..
Time for me to maybe get a TH-cam channel so we can go at it...lol. Notice the guitar in my avatar? Can you name it? It's as killer sounding of a guitar now as it was then
Ps.. what reverb &what delay do you use. & fur delay, what setting? Thanks Steve
This company is giving these guitars to every guitar shill on YT selling there sole for 150 bucks.
nobody seems to know that is not the guitar, it's the amp...lmfao
Or in this case, the virtual amp - specifically, Overloud's TH-U.
we have no idea what the guitar sounds like !!! with all the distortion he could be playing a cigar box with strings on it and we couldn't tell the difference
I've heard Wolf guitars are really nice for the money.