Regarding the Westcreek guitar in this video, I am suggesting the JX-20 model but was showing a Westcreek double cut as an example of the "2-3 Westcreeks I've checked out" but I see from the comments now that this was confusing. Sorry about that.
@@nmcgregor1990 right? When Danzig says "the golden age of guitars" that no BS. I've even gotten my "name on the headstock" friend that plays professionally to play an Indio on stage. I gave him one for his birthday knowing he would laugh, but I did a total set up and changed tuners, that's it, now it's his go to for his surf band. I even got him a blue one because he doesn't like blue guitars, but still his go to now, at least for that band. 😂.
To all these guitar elitists in the comments: This is a video about inexpensive guitars, intended for aspiring musicians that don't have an extravagant budget. No one cares that you refuse to put your hands on any guitar under $1000. That amount may not seem like much to you, but to most viewers of this video, spending $1k+ on a guitar is simply out of the question. I've always been a huge advocate of the saying "you get what you pay for" but like Max says, guitar manufacturing really has come so far in the past decade, and when it comes to a lot of these budget guitars, I feel like many times you're really getting even more than what you pay for. My Firefly LP copy feels every bit as nice to play as an Epiphone Les Paul Standard, even though the Epiphone is over 3x the price of my Firefly. Just my two cents here.
very true as long as the frets & neck are made well & the body is good enough, & can be intonated ,& has a good sound is good enough for us.. Even if I could afford a 1k guitar I bet it would still have some minor issues. but for some of us we think 200 bucks range is good enough for our music hobby,,
@@SnarlyCharly spot on. I have an elitist friend that has always scoffed at my "cheap guitar" fetish. I bought him a blue Indio for his birthday. Blue because he hates blue guitars, and Indio because I didn't want to spend much on what I thought would be a wall hanger. I did a total set up, feet job, locking tuners, bone nut, but kept pickups and electronics. It's now his go to for his surf band. 😂. I turned him, and he's still pissed about it. Pissed he's been spending so much for the name on the headstock. 😂
Well said. My most expensive guitar is a PRS NW SE and I'm still wondering what the hell I was thinking. It's a great guitar - but then, so are my $179 Squier Bullet Mustang and $159 Squier Sonic Mustang, and they all play better than me.
Some great choices. Glad to see Leo Jaymz on the list. I'd also throw Fesley, IYV, and Donner into the mix. And don't forget the Squier Debut Strat for $119!
Yeah I had the Donner DMT 100 and it was a great guitar and the pickups sounded good. I got it for a gift last year and just sold it the other day because I was thinning out the herd. I think it was around $150 new... PS I believe my son got me a Fesley diy kit for Christmas , so I can totally customize it.
My $170 Fesley just came in a few days ago. Purchased to a great extent b/c of the Bald Shredder review. (THANKS, man!) Changed strings; tweaked the truss rod and it plays GREAT. Since it is now a dedicated Roland GK-2A MIDI guitar w/ that hardware installed, it serves my purposes (triggering synths) w/out breaking the bank. (Okay, would have preferred a thinner neck, but...)
The red Chender I got from watching your channel got stolen. 🤬. You even took the he time to help me find the same pickguard you have on yours. That was so cool of you. I couldn't believe you took the time to help me years ago, and I still appreciate it Max. 🤘. Love the channel, and have bought many guitars and gear you've recommended. Thanks for the channel man. 👍🙏
I have 2 Leo Jaymz guitars, one is a Tele style and the other an SG style. They were $119 and $129, respectively. Both were ok out of the box, but I decided they were good enough to invest in some upgrades. I had my guitar tech make the Tele a string-through body, rewired it CTS pots, orange drop cap, treble bleed, CRL 3 way switch, a Switchcraft output jack, and Tonerider Vintage Plus pickups. Had a bone nut made for it as well. Stock tuners are decent. On the SG, I upgraded to locking tuners, a Graphtech nut, new 3 way switch, CTS pots, orange drop caps, treble bleeds, and Tonerider Rebel 90 pickups. I have less than $500 (and that includes paying someone to do the work) in each and now they are absolutely amazing guitars. I realize I will never recoup that money, but I don’t care. I have no plans on getting rid of them and the payoff in improved performance and playability was well worth it. 😊
Great review, Max! These are some solid choices. I would have to add IYV to that list. Pretty much everything I've ordered from them off Amazon is coming in around $200 and the quality is amazing.
I've had the same good experience with 3 IYV guitars. I did replace the nuts on a double neck because they were cut poorly, but overall, the guitars are great.
Max thank you again for your videos. You're always great to watch and your videos are well produced. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you're keeping the guitar alive. Younger folks sometimes can't afford expensive gear so you're doing rock music a huge service by helping and guiding them through the maze. You are appreciated man!
@@GuitarMAXMusicHey Max been following you about 8 years, first ff was their 338 in red, at the time think their only model. Now about 9 guitars later I thought an idea for your videos might be subscriber's collections, what models they got and why. I've talked in comments w people who've got more than I and would be interested in their choices. Maybe some kind of livestream. Just a thought. Thanks for the channel, really enjoy it, Happy Holidays !
Great list! It's amazing how fast these guitars sell out once they are highlighted by YT reviews. It shows how much the quality has improved! Have a great Christmas!
The Firefly SG 28" Baritone is a great bang for your buck. Looks great. I love mine and its quality is great. I had to do fret leveling on my other Firefly baritone purchase. Not too many baritones but Firefly knocks it out of the park for the money
I picked up a couple Fojill Lp's for $199 on Amazon...they look great, feel great, and have excellent tone! And Also came across a Censtar tele heavy relic that kicks butt for $170! The Bullfighter/Minsine brand is putting out some incredible strats and teles for under $120 ! These are all right up your alley! Thanks for your excellent reviews!
just chiming in to add that for the DIY type person like myself, there's a tonne of DIY guitar kits out there to build and finish in the most custom way imaginable.. A lot of the kits i've seen for strat or even SG styles are around the $200 range. Some work needed but a VERY personal experience! I've done a few so far.
Great video! I do need to say there are plenty of Jackson JSs for less than 200 bucks new (Amazon, Musicians Friend, Audio Star, etc.). Used Jacksons (Dinky's and other bolt-on versions of their more expensive neck-thrus) can easily be had for < 100 bucks). Again, great video!
I bought a headless guitar from Eart and you are absolutely right. Granted it was around $329-$349 which I know is over the 200 list but they are incredible value and I also bought the ST20HH I believe is what it is, super strat, HH active pickups! all flat black and sexy as hell. I have a Kramer single cut (Les Paul) style guitar with Floyd rose, EMG 81/85s and the works was like 800 but I pick up my Eart or Harley Benton usually first even over my Gibson LP! Inexpensive does not = garbage just have to do your homework. Great video we love ya man keep em coming!
Picked up the West Creek Tt-20 and The Racer....I am blown away at how good they are.....also picked up a Musily MST-1....Nice Strat copy with a cool finish....You could not get anything like these at this price when I started
Guitar Max!! Keep it up, man. I've received a lot of great info from your channel. Here's my two cents! I have a Gibson Les Paul BFG, a cheap Yamaha 112CE I completely went thru. I've had two IYV guitars, both were amazing. One was the IJZ-500 big ole hollow body, and the other was the PRS semi hollow body copy. Both IYV guitars had way better fretwork than the Les Paul. Inexpensive guitars rule!!
This was really interesting. It would be good to also match this with Best Multi effects under XxxUSD, same with Amplifiers so that it would be a complete Christmas gift package. But again, really appreciate these type videos. Happy Holidays.
I bought the Squier Nashville Stratocaster straight from fender. Was less then 300 with their specilas. Damn this guitar punches above its weight class. A little fuz, slap back, and compression and its a perfect country/rock guitar.
Another great video, most guitar players think it's the guitar brand, but it's the guitarists skill. I have 20 + guitars from Thomann all excellent for the price. My favourite is the Prince tele copy, have 2.
Nice review and thank you. I love the Hallicrafters receivr on your shelf. I've got one right now on my radio room work bench to restore. I'm going to try to talk Santa into bringing me a Groove guitar instead of a lump of coal.
@ I’m up to six now. Two neck thru Tele’s 1 with humbucker in the neck. Now two SG’s because I always wanted a white one but they were out of stock, A Les Paul like your red one (Wolf) great guitars
Great vid so many fantastic affordable guitars now it is amazing. One you could have included is the Ibanez GRX120SP. Amazing guitar for the money, looks and plays like a premium instrument. Two powerful humbuckers with 5 way switch. Only €198 for Thomann, great value instrument.
I know it was a freak sale, but I got an IYV Issy-200 flame top for only 91 thru amazon....free shipping, too ! And, it's a neck-thru with wilkinson tremelo. Pickups are more than ample for me, I think you might do an under 125 review, so the Leo Jaymz, Donner, Indio's can shine. I sell a lot of cheaper guitars to beginners, and they really appreciate it ! After all, an amp these days, a good one, can be a big investment if you're not sure how to recoup the bucks. You're doing well, Max, love the new old plane !
I got that double cutaway LP Jr from Westcreek with the single P90 and it's a boss. Same with the FFTL. The fretwork is also amazing and for the cost of some pretty minor upgrades and a setup and you've got a guitar that can easily hold it's own with a guitar that costs 4 times as much and has an expensive logo on it.
I have a a few guitars I purchased new, 15-20 years ago. A Gibson SG Special, A Korean Ash Blond Fender Telecaster and a Mexican Strat HSS. None of them were perfect and required work to improve them. Nut filing and Bridge adjusrments mainly, Adapting saddle springs and screws to get them to go back further for intonation. I hear you say that modern guitars have come on since then. What I would find interesting is a direct A / B comparison between some older big name brands and the newer budget guitars to see how they stack up, both before and after tweaking. Are the budget brands that good? Have the big name brands improved as much and held their relative advantage?
Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction and purpose of the video 1:00 - Overview of the top six guitars under $200 1:51 - Firefly SG Style - $199 3:01 - Monoprice Indio - $169 4:18 - Leo Jaymz Single Cut - $189 5:09 - Harley Benton TE-40 Deluxe - $199 7:14 - Westcreek JX-20 - $169 8:05 - Groove Strat by Kana Music - $139 9:12 - Bonus: Eart SSS - $215 (price varies) 10:38 - Conclusion and encouragement to explore used market options
I think I would go with the EART Electric Guitar SSS Single Coil Pickups, Solid-Body, Stainless Steel Frets Right Handed-Rosewood Fingerboard-Red if it has some minor issues like some frets need to be adjusted I could fix those not very hard ..
I got the "red burst" Firefly gs it's purple. The cross inlays are cool and the guitar came set up perfectly. It's sweet and well worth the cost and wait.
All good stuff. Here is a few more I think should be looked at. Fender Squire Debut is 120 and was going for under 100 a couple weeks ago off the Zon IYV has a fewf models from 120 to 200. Some of the names go by GStyle as well from the Zon. Tario on Flea Bay has several models at 120 Leo Jaymz Monsoon Series off the Zon Diamond guitars from World Music Supply have several sub 200 models. The Barchetta, Bolero, and Halcyon are all under 200. Grote has several good models as well under 200. West Creek has more models under 200 that are good, but you did mention there is other models you liked from them. Check out the Sunsmile Guitar from the Zon Fojil guitars from the Zon have been good to me. Fesley guitars are also great.
OH, and would love a review of the Guitar Fedish Xtreme Vibrato. Check it out. A great way to put a vibrato on with no drilling!! Merry Christmas to you and yours. 🎄
Max, I love 🥰 your channel. I ALWAYS learn something with EVERY new video. Thanks for what you do. 🤗 I'd like to hear your thoughts on why today's affordable instruments are a better value than ever before. Is it better TECHNOLOGY? Everyone seems to have CNC machines now. Is there better QUALITY ASSURANCE/CONTROL? Is there more COMPETITION? Is it TRANSPORTATION i.e. easier to assemble things in one country that were manufactured in another? Etc. Is it NONE of the above or ALL of the above. I'm wondering what your opinion is. 🤔
Max mentioned the Jackson JS series as an upgrade platform and I am in full agreement. BC Rich NJ series or sometimes Platinums as well as most ESP/LTDs from the 90s and 00s are also good contenders, but often the hardware or pickups on cheaper guitars from all these brands are less than ideal, as lower quality hardware and pickups is where cost is reduced. Most use Schaller 1302 (non-Lockmeister) size recessed bridges for Floyd Rose retrofits with thinner R8 nut sizes (Floyd Rose makes the R8 and it will work with a Schaller bridge--you may just have to shim the high and low E saddles a bit if you don't like a 10" radius). You shouldn't have to change anything other than the bridge baseplate and saddles. The replacement Schaller bridge will work on the narrower, licensed import bridge posts/studs and the licensed Floyd spring claw in the back will be fine. Even your licensed locking nut should hold tuning well unless the locking pads are worn. If they're worn, that's when you replace them with the R8. If your guitar has a string tree/retainer like most LTDs (Jacksons and BC Riches are less likely to have these), your guitar should stay in tune better, especially if you tighten the retainer slightly until the guitar stays in tune even with aggressive whammy bar use. The reason why you skip putting in every single part of the replacement bridge is usually the Schaller screws/studs/posts are a larger diameter and all the import screw holes have to be redrilled to a larger size. The improvement in tone from the slightly bigger Schaller parts isn't worth the effort. So if you swap bridges, expect a lot of spare Schaller parts left over. I'm a Jackson guy--mainly Kellys. Most of mine date from the 90s when they were owned by Akai (Professional series for midrange guitar or Performer range which were lower end), and some of them are the newer post 2002 ones when they were owned by Fender (X series for midrange and JS series for lower end). I preferred the Japanese made ones as the neck, frets, etc., were very good for the price, especially used, but I also have some made in India, which were cheaper at the time and used single locking floating bridges. New Jacksons made in the last 5-10 years may be different (I have seem some with offset 5 bolt necks), but the Akai to early Fender versions from the 90s and 00s were not that different. I have used parts from both eras to make partscasters (mainly an MIJ RR with chrome pickguard that may have a Dinky or Kelly neck--as long as it's 4 bolts and 24 frets for a 24 fret body or 22 frets for a 22 fret body, it's usually compatible). The Duncan Designed pickups that came stock in those guitars were usually based on the JB/59, Distortion, Jazz, and Invaders models. I think mine were mostly modeled after Invaders based on the polepieces. These are very dark pickups to me, so I usually get rid of them for something more articulate. Duncan Designed pickups are usually two conductor plus ground only, as are many cheaper import made pickups. Also, if you do a lot of wiring options such as with Seymour Duncan Triple Shots, Shadow killpots, phase switches, etc., expect your price to go up. I prefer guitars with pickup rings as I think they look better and allow the use of Triple Shots to do series/split/parallel on each pickup. Direct mount pickups are better for active pickups since those usually are series mode only. If your guitar is 7 string or more, I would go for active pickups, since they do not make the Triple Shots for anything larger than 6 string guitars. Being able to do your own setups and electronics work, if not paint, refrets, and nut slotting, can save you money. Most new guitars use polyurethane paint, which cannot be touched up as easily as nitrocellulose paint used on vintage guitars, so keep that in mind. *I can usually build a Floyd Rose guitar with everything I want for about $600-1200 USD using used guitars with new replacement parts.* I prefer bolt ons for the brighter, snappier tone, and the tone wood is usually irrelevant to me because the guitars are usually gloss black and thus made of alder, poplar, basswood, or other woods that take solid colors well. If you play tune-o-matic or other fixed bridge guitars, the price really comes down since Floyd Rose style guitars are by default more expensive. That said, fixed bridge guitars usually rely on "tone wood" and set/thru necks, which can also raise the price. Other things that raise the price are unconventional paint colors or radical body styles. I have mentioned the Jackson Kelly Star (Kelly + RR). These alone will cost around $2000 for the body style alone and usually have to be purchased from Japan because the design is so rare. Pointy and star body shapes like the BC Rich Ironbird and Kramer Voyager also tend to be more expensive. *Where cheaper guitars have really excelled in the last 10-20 years is improved paintjob quality, carved/archtop bodies, and fretboard inlay quality.* Guitars like Schecters (although occasionally tacky) look fantastic compared to the old Jackson Performers that came with mostly dot inlays. *The main thing to look for with cheaper guitars is solid fretwork and nut slotting, as this will be the most difficult thing for novices to repair.* Everything else is swappable with proper know how. Hope this helps.
THIS! I'm also a Jackson guy. In fact my "best" guitar is an 60 dollar JS Dinky pawn shop special 😮 it's the body and the neck; the frets are so hard and smooth they seem like stainless but arent TBH, I've got another $600+ in it for parts now...but I didn't have to. Duncan Designed pickups were fine, and the tuners were the same as the high end models. Exactly the same :)
@@tbonuss I agree. Why didn't I say Ibanez? Ibanez is all over the place with their Edge bridge designs, and Schallers/OFR/Gotohs aren't guaranteed to fit a tight recessed bridge route like a Satriani JS100. So on an Ibby, if the trem is recessed, it's kind of a roll of the dice as far as retrofitting a non-Ibanez bridge. The Ibanez forum even has a "what fits what" diagram just for this. I don't think their Original Edge is worth the $300 price and they are hard to find used in good shape. And a +1 for the Schaller 1302 is removable knife edges, so no need for a hardened steel baseplate (warmer tone without one--in comparison and OFR sounds like having stainless steel strings vs. nickel wrapped steel core). Their pointier X series guitars (older mid 80s Destroyers, Icemans, Xiphos, Glaive) often rarely come with floating bridges. The star shaped Destroyers sometimes came with Kahlers. I also like a lot of Fernandes and Aria shapes from this period, but the bridge designs were all over the place. I'm worried if I buy a 1985 Ibby Destroyer DT555 or DG555 I won't be able to find a replacement bridge for it. Ibby necks are also super flat with tiny frets, so if you prefer a scalloped neck or a neck with some relief and a thicker feel for vibrato, you probably won't like them. That said, I have a few fixed bridge Ibbys, a parlor acoustic, and I really like their basses for the money. Their 6 strings are really reasonably priced. Just making sure the electronics fit is an issue sometimes because Ibby always tends to do their own thing instead of making sure their routes fit the most common pickups and bridges. Other guitars like Adrian Smith's Lado Earth guitars are crazy expensive because of the rare shape and there are so few of them. I'd love to have one.
A really good video, and I Can agree with most of the suggestions! It would have been waaay cool if you patterned with another TH-camr to do the same for Bass. :) Happy Holidays, MAX!
Guitar player since 1964. Have many expensive acoustics in my collection…. and yeah, I know this is about electrics…. But several years ago I stopped into the Guitar Center in town just to idly look around. They had a nice collection of used instruments, and they had just gotten in several brand new Mitchell D120 Mahogany/Sitka dreads that had $129 price tags on ‘em…. I HAD to try one. Boy was I impressed! It sounded great! So I then played all six Mitchells in turn. Wouldn’t you know the best sounding one of the six had a postage stamp sized blemish on the back where some bozo had smacked it into something when handling it. But it sounded so good, I asked the manager what he could do about a damage discount. He said he’d let me have it for $85 bucks plus sales tax. For $90.10 I walked out with one of the best sounding acoustics I own. It compares favorably with any of the four Martin D18s I own, including my 2007 D18 Golden Era. If you want the great warm sound of a Mahogany/Sitka dread with scalloped forward shifted X-Bracing for little more than pocket change, you can’t beat the Mitchell D120, even at today’s $149 retail… To quote Richard Rawlings from Gas Monkey Garage, “Get You Some of That!” Final Tip: Put Elixir 11182 Nanoweb Heavy Duty Light strings on it. It will amaze you! SP5 Old Curmudgeon US Army Vietnam Veteran 1969-70…. and still… Beaucoup Number Ten GI
The Harley Benton 620 Tb-Tr super strat is around $150 with a Floyd Rose locking tremolo system and dual humbuckers. I have one and it is a great guitar. $80 shipping but that price for shipping is good for several guitars at the same time. Had I known that at the time of my purchase I would have gotten a single cut LP too
I bought a brand new ESP/LTD MH 103-QM locally about 13 years ago for $199.99. They sell for a LOT more today, and they're USED. It's still one of my most frequently played guitars.
New subscriber to the channel! Been watching on my big screen for a while! Long time player who likes your reviews as well as the great guitars! Merry Xmas!
what amp and effects were you using to demo the yellow firefly sg? i really liked the brignt punchy sounding overdrive you had going on that and other demos! rock on!
2 things, first always tighten the screws when you first get your ax...2nd if you only do one thing, replace the volume pot, it can make a big.difference...also if your like me and you jack up your cheap ax, besides duncan pups change out some hard ware from callaham...thier bridges and salles make a big difference...thats it, and sorry for my bad spelling...i cant subtract either...
I just got 2 Firefly elite explorer type guitars they arrived 2 days ago One is black and One is cream This is the best version they have put out . $219.00 on Amazon.
I have the dlx indio single cut i changed the pickups ... Then months later i put the og pickups back in because they sounded really good! The indio les pauls are crazy. Moderately more compact, well balanced little les pauls. With the best les paul blneck Ive ever played. Ibhate glossy bwcks butbthe nexk pridule on the indiobles paul is perfect. Id desribe it as a thin U. Dont undertand why I like it so much....i just do
First timer here, great stuff but I watched the whole video looking for an acoustic option as a brand new never before touched a guitar kind of guy. What would you recommend for 200 or less in the acoustic?
Hey, are you gonna review the newish Firefly EVH Frankenstein copy? The interesting thing about it is the dummy neck pickup and pickup switch are actually properly wired and work.
i love my Tagima ja-3 signature. A decent beginner guitar (Humbucker, single, hot-rail + 5-way gives you so many options for sound) new $400 (can find for $300 if lucky), but my $175 Grote semi-hollow body HH is still my fav! They are very different, but that Grote just sounds so good. Just get both. For under $700 you can cover any song you want with these two.
I've wanted a Firefly 338 semi-hollow for months now, but they seem to have ended production of that particular model. I've checked out reviews on the Grote semi-hollows, but I just can't get past their whole "fake humbucker" fiasco where they were found to be deceiving their customers by hiding single-coil pickups in humbucker housings. That just screams shady and unethical to me, and makes me not want to support that particular company. But if they really do make a legit HH semi-hollow, I might just have to suck it up and grab one for myself
How about a Jackson JS 11? They are under 200 for new ones. JS 12 is almost 200 and JS 22 it right at 200 with a better neck and fret board. ( Guess that would be subjective) I love cheap Jackson's, and I own 2 JS 32 King V's that I bought for 250 new and the other 200, used from a local music store. Im very happy with them. They compare pretty well to my pricey metal guitars, overall. They are string through t.o.m. bridges and sound metal a.f.
I appreciate the fact that neither Squier nor Epiphone made this list. Do you have a top 6 list of affordable acoustic guitars? Like many people who came of age in the 1980s, my parents bought me a strat-like guitar shaped object as a birthday present sometime in my teens. Absolute rubbish and, in retrospect, probably patently unplayable, and it gave me the impression that I wasn't superhuman enough to play guitar. I'm so glad that the current and future generations don't have to deal with such shite. My most recent electric guitar purchase was a Donner HSS Strat (a little more than 200 quid, but I bought it with pandemic money) and I'm now of the opinion that Leo designed the perfect guitar, and I probably would have been just as happy with any cheap new Strat-style guitar. Even a Squier.
The only guitar I would add would be another Indio guitar, the Cali Classic Strat-Style, which sells for just over a hundred dollars. Although the tone isn't quite as good as slightly more expensive guitars, it's really solid. I have a black one with black pickguard. Even though I have better guitars, sometimes I just wanna put my hands on that bad boy. It also comes with a very nice gig-bag.
I have a Firefly FFST and a Fender Player II strat....absolutely nothing wrong with the Firefly at all and it was $189...came in flawless.The only thing I will change on it will be the strings.
All these are great but I would recommend squier. Especially the $300 plus models. Great modding platforms but still great of the box with a simple $35 basic setup from a tech
Based on your previous recommendation video for the Firefly SG style I bought one. Adjusted the next and action, but the nut was cut so high that chords fretted below the 4th fret were sharp because of the force on the strings. The high-E constantly kept snagging on ends of the frets if you strummed with any force. It would've added at least 30% to the cost to get things set up properly, defeating the purpose of these budget guitars, so I returned it and then spent 4X as much on a Reverend Jetstream HB and it didn't need a bit of work. Plays great, awesome versatile sounds. Sucks spending so much, but what good is cheap if it's not playable?
Admittedly, i havent browsed the Thomann website in a while but it looks like they have new shipping options now. $51 through DHL and $66 with UPS. Wayyyyyyyyy better than the $80 i saw before. Makes me want to look into another HB soon..... Christmas money was good this year....
Regarding the Westcreek guitar in this video, I am suggesting the JX-20 model but was showing a Westcreek double cut as an example of the "2-3 Westcreeks I've checked out" but I see from the comments now that this was confusing. Sorry about that.
The quality of cheaper guitars compared to about 20 years ago is unreal. New players are so lucky and have so much more choice than I had!
Yes
@@nmcgregor1990 right? When Danzig says "the golden age of guitars" that no BS. I've even gotten my "name on the headstock" friend that plays professionally to play an Indio on stage. I gave him one for his birthday knowing he would laugh, but I did a total set up and changed tuners, that's it, now it's his go to for his surf band. I even got him a blue one because he doesn't like blue guitars, but still his go to now, at least for that band. 😂.
1979 my 1st guitar was a Matao LP copy plywood body bolt on neck. It was junk
Facts.
To all these guitar elitists in the comments: This is a video about inexpensive guitars, intended for aspiring musicians that don't have an extravagant budget. No one cares that you refuse to put your hands on any guitar under $1000. That amount may not seem like much to you, but to most viewers of this video, spending $1k+ on a guitar is simply out of the question.
I've always been a huge advocate of the saying "you get what you pay for" but like Max says, guitar manufacturing really has come so far in the past decade, and when it comes to a lot of these budget guitars, I feel like many times you're really getting even more than what you pay for. My Firefly LP copy feels every bit as nice to play as an Epiphone Les Paul Standard, even though the Epiphone is over 3x the price of my Firefly. Just my two cents here.
very true as long as the frets & neck are made well & the body is good enough, & can be intonated ,& has a good sound is good enough for us.. Even if I could afford a 1k guitar I bet it would still have some minor issues.
but for some of us we think 200 bucks range is good enough for our music hobby,,
well said, the entry level guitars nowadays are far superior in bang for the buck to those available in the 70's when I was keen to learn.
@@SnarlyCharly spot on. I have an elitist friend that has always scoffed at my "cheap guitar" fetish. I bought him a blue Indio for his birthday. Blue because he hates blue guitars, and Indio because I didn't want to spend much on what I thought would be a wall hanger. I did a total set up, feet job, locking tuners, bone nut, but kept pickups and electronics. It's now his go to for his surf band. 😂. I turned him, and he's still pissed about it. Pissed he's been spending so much for the name on the headstock. 😂
Well said. My most expensive guitar is a PRS NW SE and I'm still wondering what the hell I was thinking. It's a great guitar - but then, so are my $179 Squier Bullet Mustang and $159 Squier Sonic Mustang, and they all play better than me.
Well said.
Some great choices. Glad to see Leo Jaymz on the list. I'd also throw Fesley, IYV, and Donner into the mix. And don't forget the Squier Debut Strat for $119!
There are so many great guitars under $200!
Yeah I had the Donner DMT 100 and it was a great guitar and the pickups sounded good. I got it for a gift last year and just sold it the other day because I was thinning out the herd. I think it was around $150 new... PS I believe my son got me a Fesley diy kit for Christmas , so I can totally customize it.
@@GuitarMAXMusic that's why I own 23 guitars!!! lmao
Oh yeah, you're that dude who only reviews guitars from companies that pay you.
My $170 Fesley just came in a few days ago.
Purchased to a great extent b/c of the Bald Shredder review.
(THANKS, man!)
Changed strings; tweaked the truss rod and it plays GREAT.
Since it is now a dedicated Roland GK-2A MIDI guitar w/ that hardware installed, it serves my purposes (triggering synths) w/out breaking the bank.
(Okay, would have preferred a thinner neck, but...)
The red Chender I got from watching your channel got stolen. 🤬. You even took the he time to help me find the same pickguard you have on yours. That was so cool of you. I couldn't believe you took the time to help me years ago, and I still appreciate it Max. 🤘. Love the channel, and have bought many guitars and gear you've recommended. Thanks for the channel man. 👍🙏
You’re totally right-a $200 guitar is pretty good nowadays!
I have 2 Leo Jaymz guitars, one is a Tele style and the other an SG style. They were $119 and $129, respectively. Both were ok out of the box, but I decided they were good enough to invest in some upgrades. I had my guitar tech make the Tele a string-through body, rewired it CTS pots, orange drop cap, treble bleed, CRL 3 way switch, a Switchcraft output jack, and Tonerider Vintage Plus pickups. Had a bone nut made for it as well. Stock tuners are decent. On the SG, I upgraded to locking tuners, a Graphtech nut, new 3 way switch, CTS pots, orange drop caps, treble bleeds, and Tonerider Rebel 90 pickups. I have less than $500 (and that includes paying someone to do the work) in each and now they are absolutely amazing guitars. I realize I will never recoup that money, but I don’t care. I have no plans on getting rid of them and the payoff in improved performance and playability was well worth it. 😊
I have a dayglow Green one
Great review, Max! These are some solid choices. I would have to add IYV to that list. Pretty much everything I've ordered from them off Amazon is coming in around $200 and the quality is amazing.
Hell yeah IYV! 🤘
I've had the same good experience with 3 IYV guitars. I did replace the nuts on a double neck because they were cut poorly, but overall, the guitars are great.
5 IYV models so far and am enjoying all
1:55 Firefly SG
3:01 Monoprice Indio offset guitars
4:17 Leo Jaymz single cuts
5:34 Harley Benton TE40
7:09 WestCreek JX-20
7:55 Groove Stratocasters
8:59 EART Stratocasters (price fluctuates)
Max thank you again for your videos. You're always great to watch and your videos are well produced. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you're keeping the guitar alive. Younger folks sometimes can't afford expensive gear so you're doing rock music a huge service by helping and guiding them through the maze. You are appreciated man!
Happy Holidays everyone. Thank you Max for the awesome year
You're welcome! Happy Holidays to you too!
@@GuitarMAXMusicHey Max been following you about 8 years, first ff was their 338 in red, at the time think their only model. Now about 9 guitars later I thought an idea for your videos might be subscriber's collections, what models they got and why. I've talked in comments w people who've got more than I and would be interested in their choices. Maybe some kind of livestream. Just a thought. Thanks for the channel, really enjoy it, Happy Holidays !
MERRY CHRISTMAS 🌲🎅
Great list! It's amazing how fast these guitars sell out once they are highlighted by YT reviews. It shows how much the quality has improved! Have a great Christmas!
It really does! Happy Holidays!
Ibanez GIO Series are worth mentioning. I have a GIO bass and it's a solid and playable bass for under $200.
The Firefly SG 28" Baritone is a great bang for your buck. Looks great. I love mine and its quality is great. I had to do fret leveling on my other Firefly baritone purchase. Not too many baritones but Firefly knocks it out of the park for the money
I picked up a couple Fojill Lp's for $199 on Amazon...they look great, feel great, and have excellent tone! And Also came across a Censtar tele heavy relic that kicks butt for $170!
The Bullfighter/Minsine brand is putting out some incredible strats and teles for under $120 ! These are all right up your alley!
Thanks for your excellent reviews!
just chiming in to add that for the DIY type person like myself, there's a tonne of DIY guitar kits out there to build and finish in the most custom way imaginable.. A lot of the kits i've seen for strat or even SG styles are around the $200 range. Some work needed but a VERY personal experience! I've done a few so far.
Great video! I do need to say there are plenty of Jackson JSs for less than 200 bucks new (Amazon, Musicians Friend, Audio Star, etc.). Used Jacksons (Dinky's and other bolt-on versions of their more expensive neck-thrus) can easily be had for < 100 bucks). Again, great video!
I bought a headless guitar from Eart and you are absolutely right. Granted it was around $329-$349 which I know is over the 200 list but they are incredible value and I also bought the ST20HH I believe is what it is, super strat, HH active pickups! all flat black and sexy as hell. I have a Kramer single cut (Les Paul) style guitar with Floyd rose, EMG 81/85s and the works was like 800 but I pick up my Eart or Harley Benton usually first even over my Gibson LP! Inexpensive does not = garbage just have to do your homework. Great video we love ya man keep em coming!
Used private sales!!
I got a beautiful blue Epiphone Les Paul for $225! I love it!!!
Glad to be alive to watch you, Max
I bought an Indio offset earlier this year and I love it. Incredible guitar for the price.
Picked up the West Creek Tt-20 and The Racer....I am blown away at how good they are.....also picked up a Musily MST-1....Nice Strat copy with a cool finish....You could not get anything like these at this price when I started
I bought a Westcreek out of curiosity and immediately bought a second one. Big fan of those rounded frets. Just a solid guitar for the price.
I have that double cut in the video and it arrived in great condition. The strings were even good. Still haven't changed them.
Guitar Max!! Keep it up, man. I've received a lot of great info from your channel. Here's my two cents! I have a Gibson Les Paul BFG, a cheap Yamaha 112CE I completely went thru.
I've had two IYV guitars, both were amazing. One was the IJZ-500 big ole hollow body, and the other was the PRS semi hollow body copy.
Both IYV guitars had way better fretwork than the Les Paul.
Inexpensive guitars rule!!
This was really interesting.
It would be good to also match this with Best Multi effects under XxxUSD, same with Amplifiers so that it would be a complete Christmas gift package.
But again, really appreciate these type videos.
Happy Holidays.
I bought the Squier Nashville Stratocaster straight from fender. Was less then 300 with their specilas. Damn this guitar punches above its weight class. A little fuz, slap back, and compression and its a perfect country/rock guitar.
Man I've been eyeing one of these as well!
Great time to be alive! Also like to look for Ibanez RGs for sale. Easy way to get a 500-600 guitar for under $200.
Absolutely!
@@GuitarMAXMusic The flame on the Dragon Eye on the RGA!
Another great video, most guitar players think it's the guitar brand, but it's the guitarists skill. I have 20 + guitars from Thomann all excellent for the price. My favourite is the Prince tele copy, have 2.
Nice review and thank you. I love the Hallicrafters receivr on your shelf. I've got one right now on my radio room work bench to restore. I'm going to try to talk Santa into bringing me a Groove guitar instead of a lump of coal.
I want your top six AIO guitars baby!!! I just picked up their white SG. Awesome. Happy holidays
I'm glad you love it!
@ I’m up to six now. Two neck thru Tele’s 1 with humbucker in the neck. Now two SG’s because I always wanted a white one but they were out of stock, A Les Paul like your red one (Wolf) great guitars
I got the Leo Jaymz single cut and it is a beast!! Great tone range!!
Great vid so many fantastic affordable guitars now it is amazing. One you could have included is the Ibanez GRX120SP. Amazing guitar for the money, looks and plays like a premium instrument. Two powerful humbuckers with 5 way switch. Only €198 for Thomann, great value instrument.
I know it was a freak sale, but I got an IYV Issy-200 flame top for only 91 thru amazon....free shipping, too ! And, it's a neck-thru with wilkinson tremelo. Pickups are more than ample for me, I think you might do an under 125 review, so the Leo Jaymz, Donner, Indio's can shine. I sell a lot of cheaper guitars to beginners, and they really appreciate it ! After all, an amp these days, a good one, can be a big investment if you're not sure how to recoup the bucks. You're doing well, Max, love the new old plane !
Holy crap, now THAT is a deal. G-d must like you.
This was a GREAT review of the guitars. I never heard of most of them.
I got that double cutaway LP Jr from Westcreek with the single P90 and it's a boss. Same with the FFTL. The fretwork is also amazing and for the cost of some pretty minor upgrades and a setup and you've got a guitar that can easily hold it's own with a guitar that costs 4 times as much and has an expensive logo on it.
I have a a few guitars I purchased new, 15-20 years ago. A Gibson SG Special, A Korean Ash Blond Fender Telecaster and a Mexican Strat HSS. None of them were perfect and required work to improve them. Nut filing and Bridge adjusrments mainly, Adapting saddle springs and screws to get them to go back further for intonation. I hear you say that modern guitars have come on since then. What I would find interesting is a direct A / B comparison between some older big name brands and the newer budget guitars to see how they stack up, both before and after tweaking. Are the budget brands that good? Have the big name brands improved as much and held their relative advantage?
Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction and purpose of the video
1:00 - Overview of the top six guitars under $200
1:51 - Firefly SG Style - $199
3:01 - Monoprice Indio - $169
4:18 - Leo Jaymz Single Cut - $189
5:09 - Harley Benton TE-40 Deluxe - $199
7:14 - Westcreek JX-20 - $169
8:05 - Groove Strat by Kana Music - $139
9:12 - Bonus: Eart SSS - $215 (price varies)
10:38 - Conclusion and encouragement to explore used market options
I currently have one of the Leo Jaymz in my wish list. Happy Holidays to you and yours Max!
Happy Holidays!
I think I would go with the EART Electric Guitar SSS Single Coil Pickups, Solid-Body, Stainless Steel Frets Right Handed-Rosewood Fingerboard-Red
if it has some minor issues like some frets need to be adjusted I could fix those not very hard ..
I got the "red burst" Firefly gs it's purple. The cross inlays are cool and the guitar came set up perfectly. It's sweet and well worth the cost and wait.
You hit everyone Except Donner, IYV, Cort, Fojill Which are Great Budget Guitars that are Gigable out of the Box.. Cheers🍻😎🥃🥃🎸🎼🎵🎶🎶🎶
Awesome choices from "The guitar guy." I'm also thinking you're a "Watch guy," too! :)
All good stuff. Here is a few more I think should be looked at.
Fender Squire Debut is 120 and was going for under 100 a couple weeks ago off the Zon
IYV has a fewf models from 120 to 200. Some of the names go by GStyle as well from the Zon.
Tario on Flea Bay has several models at 120
Leo Jaymz Monsoon Series off the Zon
Diamond guitars from World Music Supply have several sub 200 models. The Barchetta, Bolero, and Halcyon are all under 200.
Grote has several good models as well under 200.
West Creek has more models under 200 that are good, but you did mention there is other models you liked from them.
Check out the Sunsmile Guitar from the Zon
Fojil guitars from the Zon have been good to me.
Fesley guitars are also great.
Bro, you should do a video of the best guitar at any price point. Like the best guitar if you could only have one but best bang for your buck!
I lucked into a great IYV green LP style guitar on the cheap. As well as a cool Redid SG. Both are huge fun.
Yet another awesome video max thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
Have a great holiday Max!
Thank you!
OH, and would love a review of the Guitar Fedish Xtreme Vibrato. Check it out. A great way to put a vibrato on with no drilling!! Merry Christmas to you and yours. 🎄
Max,
I love 🥰 your channel. I ALWAYS learn something with EVERY new video. Thanks for what you do. 🤗
I'd like to hear your thoughts on why today's affordable instruments are a better value than ever before. Is it better TECHNOLOGY? Everyone seems to have CNC machines now. Is there better QUALITY ASSURANCE/CONTROL? Is there more COMPETITION? Is it TRANSPORTATION i.e. easier to assemble things in one country that were manufactured in another? Etc.
Is it NONE of the above or ALL of the above. I'm wondering what your opinion is. 🤔
I just ordered the firefly EVH Frankenstein guitar so great to hear that Fireflyis on the list
Max mentioned the Jackson JS series as an upgrade platform and I am in full agreement. BC Rich NJ series or sometimes Platinums as well as most ESP/LTDs from the 90s and 00s are also good contenders, but often the hardware or pickups on cheaper guitars from all these brands are less than ideal, as lower quality hardware and pickups is where cost is reduced.
Most use Schaller 1302 (non-Lockmeister) size recessed bridges for Floyd Rose retrofits with thinner R8 nut sizes (Floyd Rose makes the R8 and it will work with a Schaller bridge--you may just have to shim the high and low E saddles a bit if you don't like a 10" radius).
You shouldn't have to change anything other than the bridge baseplate and saddles. The replacement Schaller bridge will work on the narrower, licensed import bridge posts/studs and the licensed Floyd spring claw in the back will be fine. Even your licensed locking nut should hold tuning well unless the locking pads are worn. If they're worn, that's when you replace them with the R8. If your guitar has a string tree/retainer like most LTDs (Jacksons and BC Riches are less likely to have these), your guitar should stay in tune better, especially if you tighten the retainer slightly until the guitar stays in tune even with aggressive whammy bar use.
The reason why you skip putting in every single part of the replacement bridge is usually the Schaller screws/studs/posts are a larger diameter and all the import screw holes have to be redrilled to a larger size. The improvement in tone from the slightly bigger Schaller parts isn't worth the effort. So if you swap bridges, expect a lot of spare Schaller parts left over.
I'm a Jackson guy--mainly Kellys. Most of mine date from the 90s when they were owned by Akai (Professional series for midrange guitar or Performer range which were lower end), and some of them are the newer post 2002 ones when they were owned by Fender (X series for midrange and JS series for lower end). I preferred the Japanese made ones as the neck, frets, etc., were very good for the price, especially used, but I also have some made in India, which were cheaper at the time and used single locking floating bridges.
New Jacksons made in the last 5-10 years may be different (I have seem some with offset 5 bolt necks), but the Akai to early Fender versions from the 90s and 00s were not that different. I have used parts from both eras to make partscasters (mainly an MIJ RR with chrome pickguard that may have a Dinky or Kelly neck--as long as it's 4 bolts and 24 frets for a 24 fret body or 22 frets for a 22 fret body, it's usually compatible).
The Duncan Designed pickups that came stock in those guitars were usually based on the JB/59, Distortion, Jazz, and Invaders models.
I think mine were mostly modeled after Invaders based on the polepieces. These are very dark pickups to me, so I usually get rid of them for something more articulate. Duncan Designed pickups are usually two conductor plus ground only, as are many cheaper import made pickups.
Also, if you do a lot of wiring options such as with Seymour Duncan Triple Shots, Shadow killpots, phase switches, etc., expect your price to go up. I prefer guitars with pickup rings as I think they look better and allow the use of Triple Shots to do series/split/parallel on each pickup. Direct mount pickups are better for active pickups since those usually are series mode only. If your guitar is 7 string or more, I would go for active pickups, since they do not make the Triple Shots for anything larger than 6 string guitars.
Being able to do your own setups and electronics work, if not paint, refrets, and nut slotting, can save you money. Most new guitars use polyurethane paint, which cannot be touched up as easily as nitrocellulose paint used on vintage guitars, so keep that in mind.
*I can usually build a Floyd Rose guitar with everything I want for about $600-1200 USD using used guitars with new replacement parts.* I prefer bolt ons for the brighter, snappier tone, and the tone wood is usually irrelevant to me because the guitars are usually gloss black and thus made of alder, poplar, basswood, or other woods that take solid colors well.
If you play tune-o-matic or other fixed bridge guitars, the price really comes down since Floyd Rose style guitars are by default more expensive. That said, fixed bridge guitars usually rely on "tone wood" and set/thru necks, which can also raise the price.
Other things that raise the price are unconventional paint colors or radical body styles. I have mentioned the Jackson Kelly Star (Kelly + RR). These alone will cost around $2000 for the body style alone and usually have to be purchased from Japan because the design is so rare. Pointy and star body shapes like the BC Rich Ironbird and Kramer Voyager also tend to be more expensive.
*Where cheaper guitars have really excelled in the last 10-20 years is improved paintjob quality, carved/archtop bodies, and fretboard inlay quality.* Guitars like Schecters (although occasionally tacky) look fantastic compared to the old Jackson Performers that came with mostly dot inlays.
*The main thing to look for with cheaper guitars is solid fretwork and nut slotting, as this will be the most difficult thing for novices to repair.* Everything else is swappable with proper know how.
Hope this helps.
THIS! I'm also a Jackson guy. In fact my "best" guitar is an 60 dollar JS Dinky pawn shop special 😮 it's the body and the neck; the frets are so hard and smooth they seem like stainless but arent TBH, I've got another $600+
in it for parts now...but I didn't have to. Duncan Designed pickups were fine, and the tuners were the same as the high end models. Exactly the same :)
@@tbonuss I agree. Why didn't I say Ibanez?
Ibanez is all over the place with their Edge bridge designs, and Schallers/OFR/Gotohs aren't guaranteed to fit a tight recessed bridge route like a Satriani JS100.
So on an Ibby, if the trem is recessed, it's kind of a roll of the dice as far as retrofitting a non-Ibanez bridge. The Ibanez forum even has a "what fits what" diagram just for this. I don't think their Original Edge is worth the $300 price and they are hard to find used in good shape.
And a +1 for the Schaller 1302 is removable knife edges, so no need for a hardened steel baseplate (warmer tone without one--in comparison and OFR sounds like having stainless steel strings vs. nickel wrapped steel core).
Their pointier X series guitars (older mid 80s Destroyers, Icemans, Xiphos, Glaive) often rarely come with floating bridges. The star shaped Destroyers sometimes came with Kahlers. I also like a lot of Fernandes and Aria shapes from this period, but the bridge designs were all over the place. I'm worried if I buy a 1985 Ibby Destroyer DT555 or DG555 I won't be able to find a replacement bridge for it.
Ibby necks are also super flat with tiny frets, so if you prefer a scalloped neck or a neck with some relief and a thicker feel for vibrato, you probably won't like them.
That said, I have a few fixed bridge Ibbys, a parlor acoustic, and I really like their basses for the money. Their 6 strings are really reasonably priced. Just making sure the electronics fit is an issue sometimes because Ibby always tends to do their own thing instead of making sure their routes fit the most common pickups and bridges.
Other guitars like Adrian Smith's Lado Earth guitars are crazy expensive because of the rare shape and there are so few of them. I'd love to have one.
I bought Leo Jaymz LP burst, this year, and love it! 🎸
A really good video, and I Can agree with most of the suggestions! It would have been waaay cool if you patterned with another TH-camr to do the same for Bass. :) Happy Holidays, MAX!
Guitar player since 1964. Have many expensive acoustics in my collection…. and yeah, I know this is about electrics…. But several years ago I stopped into the Guitar Center in town just to idly look around. They had a nice collection of used instruments, and they had just gotten in several brand new Mitchell D120 Mahogany/Sitka dreads that had $129 price tags on ‘em…. I HAD to try one.
Boy was I impressed! It sounded great! So I then played all six Mitchells in turn. Wouldn’t you know the best sounding one of the six had a postage stamp sized blemish on the back where some bozo had smacked it into something when handling it. But it sounded so good, I asked the manager what he could do about a damage discount. He said he’d let me have it for $85 bucks plus sales tax. For $90.10 I walked out with one of the best sounding acoustics I own. It compares favorably with any of the four Martin D18s I own, including my 2007 D18 Golden Era.
If you want the great warm sound of a Mahogany/Sitka dread with scalloped forward shifted X-Bracing for little more than pocket change, you can’t beat the Mitchell D120, even at today’s $149 retail… To quote Richard Rawlings from Gas Monkey Garage, “Get You Some of That!”
Final Tip: Put Elixir 11182 Nanoweb Heavy Duty Light strings on it. It will amaze you!
SP5 Old Curmudgeon
US Army Vietnam Veteran 1969-70…. and still…
Beaucoup Number Ten GI
Always great to see you, Max. Have a lovely Christmas/ holiday and thanks for all your great video content.
Thank you too!
The Harley Benton 620 Tb-Tr super strat is around $150 with a Floyd Rose locking tremolo system and dual humbuckers. I have one and it is a great guitar. $80 shipping but that price for shipping is good for several guitars at the same time. Had I known that at the time of my purchase I would have gotten a single cut LP too
Amazing video 💯and you should do radio your voice is so perfect❤
I bought a brand new ESP/LTD MH 103-QM locally about 13 years ago for $199.99. They sell for a LOT more today, and they're USED. It's still one of my most frequently played guitars.
I hope you give Tease guitars a try one day!! Their SPR and ST-2 may make this list :D They’re so good!!!
Agreed! I have a Tease SBH-HD and an ST-2. Both are really good guitars right out of the box.
Great guitar thanks 🙏 you for sharing 😊
New subscriber to the channel! Been watching on my big screen for a while! Long time player who likes your reviews as well as the great guitars! Merry Xmas!
Welcome to the channel! Merry Christmas to you too!
👍 Merry Christmas to you and yours !
Tons of brands that id love for you to check out Max, like J&D, Bacchus, NK Guitar and SQOE. Great video anyways!.
My favorite guitar under $200 is the Ibanez Gio. Been great for me.
Yes, I have one that sounds and plays great, surprising it didn't make Max's list.
what amp and effects were you using to demo the yellow firefly sg? i really liked the brignt punchy sounding overdrive you had going on that and other demos! rock on!
2 things, first always tighten the screws when you first get your ax...2nd if you only do one thing, replace the volume pot, it can make a big.difference...also if your like me and you jack up your cheap ax, besides duncan pups change out some hard ware from callaham...thier bridges and salles make a big difference...thats it, and sorry for my bad spelling...i cant subtract either...
Try to get your hands on a Jet JS400. Would love to see your review!
Happy Holidays Max!
there are some fessley guitars that should be on this list. There are also some Donner guitars that probably should be here also. .
I found a used PRS SE Santana for $200. Had a few scratches on the body but the frets looked new! It's become my favorite budget guitar
I have the Westcreek DC...it's KILLER!
Max, you rock brotha! We gotta connect at NAMM someday! Hilton party
I just got 2 Firefly elite explorer type guitars they arrived 2 days ago One is black and One is cream This is the best version they have put out . $219.00 on Amazon.
Let's not forget, Dolly Parton did her last tour with a 99 dollar Mitchell. I love cheap guitars 😁
Yup! The Mitchell mm100. Short scale too!
But she only played 3 chords 😂🤣😅
That's $33 per chord. Not a bad deal.
I have the dlx indio single cut i changed the pickups ...
Then months later i put the og pickups back in because they sounded really good!
The indio les pauls are crazy. Moderately more compact, well balanced little les pauls. With the best les paul blneck Ive ever played.
Ibhate glossy bwcks butbthe nexk pridule on the indiobles paul is perfect. Id desribe it as a thin U. Dont undertand why I like it so much....i just do
First timer here, great stuff but I watched the whole video looking for an acoustic option as a brand new never before touched a guitar kind of guy. What would you recommend for 200 or less in the acoustic?
I was just thinking in getting a new axe for Christmas, perfect timing.
I have a few Indio guitars, and I am happy with all of them. Monoprice doesn't seem to be doing much these days, though.......
It's true they haven't released anything new in a while.
Hey, are you gonna review the newish Firefly EVH Frankenstein copy? The interesting thing about it is the dummy neck pickup and pickup switch are actually properly wired and work.
Jackson JS22 , Got it for $159 on ebay , Great guitar. Also really like the Fesley guitar I got
Merry Christmas and a Happy Happy New Year Max 😊
Thanks, you too!
Love My HB TE-40 which I bought off your recommendation.
That's awesome!
i love my Tagima ja-3 signature. A decent beginner guitar (Humbucker, single, hot-rail + 5-way gives you so many options for sound) new $400 (can find for $300 if lucky), but my $175 Grote semi-hollow body HH is still my fav! They are very different, but that Grote just sounds so good. Just get both. For under $700 you can cover any song you want with these two.
I've wanted a Firefly 338 semi-hollow for months now, but they seem to have ended production of that particular model. I've checked out reviews on the Grote semi-hollows, but I just can't get past their whole "fake humbucker" fiasco where they were found to be deceiving their customers by hiding single-coil pickups in humbucker housings. That just screams shady and unethical to me, and makes me not want to support that particular company. But if they really do make a legit HH semi-hollow, I might just have to suck it up and grab one for myself
@@SnarlyCharly I am pretty sure Grote lost money on most of these. They are...(were) HH
How about a Jackson JS 11? They are under 200 for new ones. JS 12 is almost 200 and JS 22 it right at 200 with a better neck and fret board. ( Guess that would be subjective) I love cheap Jackson's, and I own 2 JS 32 King V's that I bought for 250 new and the other 200, used from a local music store. Im very happy with them. They compare pretty well to my pricey metal guitars, overall. They are string through t.o.m. bridges and sound metal a.f.
leo jaymz go hard. have one of their older headless models. swapped the pickups and its AMAZING
Great video!!!! Thank you
I have the older TE-40 with the Wilkinson humbuckers & can concur it's a good axe for the price!
I appreciate the fact that neither Squier nor Epiphone made this list. Do you have a top 6 list of affordable acoustic guitars?
Like many people who came of age in the 1980s, my parents bought me a strat-like guitar shaped object as a birthday present sometime in my teens. Absolute rubbish and, in retrospect, probably patently unplayable, and it gave me the impression that I wasn't superhuman enough to play guitar. I'm so glad that the current and future generations don't have to deal with such shite. My most recent electric guitar purchase was a Donner HSS Strat (a little more than 200 quid, but I bought it with pandemic money) and I'm now of the opinion that Leo designed the perfect guitar, and I probably would have been just as happy with any cheap new Strat-style guitar. Even a Squier.
The only guitar I would add would be another Indio guitar, the Cali Classic Strat-Style, which sells for just over a hundred dollars. Although the tone isn't quite as good as slightly more expensive guitars, it's really solid. I have a black one with black pickguard. Even though I have better guitars, sometimes I just wanna put my hands on that bad boy. It also comes with a very nice gig-bag.
I have a Firefly FFST and a Fender Player II strat....absolutely nothing wrong with the Firefly at all and it was $189...came in flawless.The only thing I will change on it will be the strings.
All these are great but I would recommend squier. Especially the $300 plus models. Great modding platforms but still great of the box with a simple $35 basic setup from a tech
What about the Jackson JS22? they are always $199.
Based on your previous recommendation video for the Firefly SG style I bought one. Adjusted the next and action, but the nut was cut so high that chords fretted below the 4th fret were sharp because of the force on the strings. The high-E constantly kept snagging on ends of the frets if you strummed with any force.
It would've added at least 30% to the cost to get things set up properly, defeating the purpose of these budget guitars, so I returned it and then spent 4X as much on a Reverend Jetstream HB and it didn't need a bit of work. Plays great, awesome versatile sounds. Sucks spending so much, but what good is cheap if it's not playable?
Admittedly, i havent browsed the Thomann website in a while but it looks like they have new shipping options now. $51 through DHL and $66 with UPS. Wayyyyyyyyy better than the $80 i saw before. Makes me want to look into another HB soon..... Christmas money was good this year....
Harley Benton the best looking axe for mine, looked real classy in black.
Jackson JS11/12 (22 or 24 frets) are great guitars for usually 170-ish.
I would put Grote on the list. And Iyv. And maybe Redid.
That Westcreek sounds great.
Have you ever reviewed an Agile Les Paul style guitar
good video, put some high quality pickup and u got amazing guitar