I am super impressed with the presenter. He is very experienced and knowledgeable. I am compelled to subscribe. Taking a sample of four was a stroke of brilliance.
What a fantastic way to cover the subject of super-affordable guitars! This is the first time I've seen your channel, and I think you're providing a valuable and unique approach with the exact information a lot of us are really looking for. I subscribed immediately after finishing the video, and I hope your channel grows quickly to reach as many people as possible. Thank you for doing this!
So I bought my first IYV guitar on a whim from the Zon. I got that PRS one in smoke black. That one arrived with a chunk taken out of the headstock. Also the binding was poorly done, and there were a lot of bubbles in the finish. It played well and was actually intonated correctly from the factory. Still, since it was bought from the Zon, it was easy enough to send back for a replacement. The second one I got came as far as I can tell flawless. Zero cosmetic issues. Difference was that it wasn't intonated at all. Both looked to have been shipped new in the box so I don't think the first one was a return that was repackaged, but I could be wrong. Either way, the second one I could was great. I just had to intonate it and tune it. Sounded as good as the first one. After that, I picked up one of the green IYV Les Paul style ones from the flea bay. One of the sellers there is selling it really cheap. They even took my lowball offer I didn't actually think would be accepted. It came in and was just as flawless cosmetically as far as i could see. Played well and was already intonated too. I think I got a smoking deal on that one. I did end up reading on the Zon and other places the reviews for this guitar brand such as this video. It seems cosmetic defects are more the norm than not. I think I got extremely lucky with the two I did get free of defects. I am interested in a few other types of guitars from this brand, however I have a hard time justify the higher prices for them considering the defect possibilities even if the defects are only cosmetic. The two I got were around the 100 bone mark. The Zon had a coupon that brought it down, and the flea bay seller took an offer for around that. The other IYV guitars are all around 200 or more and I am just not worried about spending that much for a guitar with a lot of potential for defects.
So glad someone is doing this type of work. It's absolutely what consumers need when shopping on a budget. I ended up buying a model from this brand and besides a minor finish issue and a buzzy first fret it's been incredible.
Incredible! 😁 If I were to describe the perfect budget guitar review, this would be it. Tells me exactly what I need to know: playability and consistency, with measurements to back it up. Way more helpful than watching other reviewers who just read off the feature list and then shred for 10 minutes. Definitely would be interested in buying one of these once they're fixed up. Thanks for this!
When you said one of the guitars weighed in at 4. something lbs. I ordered the guitar. I have been looking for an affordable 5 lbs guitar. Plus, this double offset cutaway looks great. Thanks for a thorough and thoughtful review.
The guitar is 5lbs, perfect weight for grabbing and couch playing. Very nice guitar. I love the neck. Reminds me of my old Melody Maker. And the 24 frets are a revelation for me. The pickups in this case are squealing at jam room volumes. I used it on stage once but I am now on a search for quieter pickups.
@@daveallen9921 Thank you for your insight on the guitar, as I've been tempted to get an ILP-400 from same company and I feel like I'm in for a good instrument. Just want myself an affordable 24 fret set neck Les Paul
I've been playing over 60 years. A traditional Gibson man if a name need be applied, but oh, have I gotten into these IYVs! Again and againI have been amazed. And not just for the price! Its their feel, their sound and their basic good looks. Enough of each that my Gibsons now generally sit while these are in my hands making music. Good review here. Thank you. Truly informative (a rare thing IMO here on YT)
I think this is a great idea for these budget guitars so people have a better idea of what they are getting into. Could I suggest a video of you showing the repairs needed to get them all set up? Also maybe a video on affordable tools to do the set up? I think that may help out some folks as well.
Most of it will be the same processes I showed in my Ibanez video, but if folks are interested enough I can show it on this guitar too. I like your idea on the affordable tools too!
It's the first time I saw someone take this approach, and I love it ;) Obviously it would be difficult (due to costs) to do the same with higher priced guitars but I'm pretty sure there are similar inconsistencies with more known guitar brands in all the price tiers...
I still have my 2-year old IYV IPF-300, and apart from sloppy binding, F-holes, and inlays, it’s been pretty good. It’s obviously not even close to a real PRS in terms of fit and finish, but it’s highly playable, and pretty darned good sounding, especially for the price. I personally like the baseball bat neck better than the typical PRS neck profile, too. This was a GREAT review! You just got my subscription!
I got mine in November of 2022 from Amazon for $160. Now it's $218. I changed the tuners to locking tuners and I replaced the bridge with a Musiclilly bridge with individual saddles and I had to replace the volume control after one year. Now I have a great guitar. Yes. Any time you order a guitar from Amazon it's a crap shoot. Out of the seven guitars I ordered from Amazon in the last two years I sent four of them back. This is a great guitar if you like playing Rock, Rockabilly and Blues. and yes , this guitar sounds good even when playing heavy metal
This is fantastic. You are doing a great service. I think Centar might be something to check out. They are one if the few cheap 24 fret guitars that look pretty good.
Thanks for this. First time I have seen such a comparison. I bought an IYV tele clone. No cosmetic defects. Set up was ok. Weak tuners rough frets but overall a nice instrument. Bought a used Lyx Pro Strat copy. Great neck, very resonant body, light weight. A good platform for upgrades. Pots smooth but not very effective. Good range of sounds but switch wonky. It takes some patience and skills to get these in good playable long term shape. But at their price if the neck and body are good there is lots of $ room for upgrades.
Great video man. I took in a copy of the ES135 in on trade. It had about the same issues as those 4. I corrected everything. Except the cosmetics now it plays real nice. I do t like that thicker neck either I might end up shaving it about 1/4 ". It would be good to do these kind of videos as long as you don't go broke buying. You are very informative. Have a good one man.
Very interesting take, thanks. I have an IYV Mustang knock-off and it came superb, nothing needed but a bit of fret polishing (although I also noticed that the tuner feel is disturbingly variable even though they function well.) I also have a Squier Bullet Mustang and honestly the Indonesian Squier is a better guitar, and I have less in it. But I really like that IYV is a Vietnamese-made guitar and a Vietnamese company (as opposed to an outsourced product from an American company.) Interestingly, my Fender Duo Sonic is by far the least playable as delivered - it came with a pot with neither inner nor outer nut even attached, and its fretwork is more saw than guitar. On the other hand, the finish is by far the hardest thing to fix and the Duo Sonic in Sienna Sunburst is absolutely gorgeous. All three finishes are flawless for that matter, but the IYV and the Squier are both solid white semi-gloss which has to be much easier than a multicolor semi-transparent finish. All three are COVID-era instruments so I suppose the disease and lockdowns hit Mexico a lot harder than they hit Vietnam or Indonesia. Or maybe Fender just pushed the Mexican plant harder than the other two were pushed.
Very interesting and perhaps singular experiment! I wonder how consistent the QC would be with Epiphone or Fender products if you had four random guitars from each? I have an IYV IJZ-300TSB that is absolutely beautiful, as in flawless cosmetically and a great player after setup. I buy these things from Amazon as a Prime member with free shipping, and if there's anything significantly wrong I just send them back with free shipping. My contention is that just about any low end guitar (and entry level Fenders and Epiphones are low end guitars regardless of price) is going to need adjustment and setup. If you can correct most of the flaws in these and sell three of them and break even or make a profit, more power to you, but from what I have seen IYVs are not selling easily in the aftermarket. Thanks for the effort it took to do this.
sweet guitars brother! last year i caught the IYV ILS-300(green) on a crazy stupidly cheap sale! i bought 4 of these... 3 are a bit modded but number1 is all stock.... theres was a tiny bit of fret leveling involved but im happy with all 4! number2 is a bit "greenyfied" for that peter green tone... number3 has a proper coilsplit on the bridge humbucker... number4 has p94(humbucker sized p90s)....found 2 of the tuners stripped and got a new set.... overall im pleased with my "stupid n crazy sale" purchases....
Considering you can easily spend twice that on PU alone, these look like exceptional value. And a great platform to learn a few basic guitar maintenance skills on (like polishing frets, upgrading tuners, etc). Much less stressfull to learn on a cheap guitar than a $$$$$$ guitar. I can't say I care too much about cosmetic flaws. If it feels good and sounds good, it is good. And given the whole "premium priced relic market" (not something that attracts me at all) it seems silly to worry about it.
I like your review. I am deciding tonight weather to order one tomorrow. I have never seen them under 193.00. As of today May 6, 2024 they are 211.00 on Amazon. Almost everything you mentioned was a quick fix for me. The thing that bothered me the most was when you said the piece of wood the bridge is attached to seems like soft wood. If that goes, you are kind of screwed. How would you fix such a thing without taring the entire top off the body. I have the solid body neck thru version of this and I love it. I just tuned it and play it. No issues. So I was thinking this would be good as well. I like the sound of semi hollow bodies and many times I will play them at home unplugged.
I haven't had any issues with the bridge, so it's probably not an issue, but if it were to become one, I'd drill it a little bigger, insert a hardwood plug, then redrill the holes.
Mine came yesterday. Yup, gritty frets. 4 high frets using rocker. Yup, crappy "F" hole finish. Have not checked neck relief or string heighth yet. It doesn't play or sound real hateful. Debating to keep or return.
If you have the ability to do the required work, I'd definitely recommend doing so. These are great players once you address their quality issues. Check my other video where I go through all of the fixes.
I think if you want this style of guitar and you're willing to deal with the nut, then yeah, it's a great guitar. Would I call it the best at this price? Definitely not. I've got some Monoprice guitars at lower prices that had much better all-around quality. But, this is nicer than the early Firefly guitars that were around the same price. Those have improved tremendously in quality, but their prices have also gone up.
@@IracesGarage fair point. Monoprice lack style though. Cool video man. I have 6 different IVY guitars, all set up and finished beautifully. I have sent two back. So no gamble. Thx
P.S. i notice Lebanon Valley and the "red Camaro" which i believe i have a video of that year that car,, as i go through my archives, you let a certain girl borrow while her car got fixed?? idk lol
Well , how does an over priced US maker justify the Highest prices I have ever seen in my five decades of play Only extras being a Relic job (why) And a bit of extra filing , sanding In all reality
I almost bought one of those. The Fretboard inlays are a turn off for me. Too busy! What cooled my heels on this one was review on You Tube that showed a inside view of the body. It was a poor fit inside and lots of glue running everywhere. Not the best brand for sure.
A lot of glue squeeze out doesn't bother me on a budget instrument. In fact, I've run into a number of cheap guitars that have come apart because not enough glue is used, so I'm totally fine with seeing too much. It's not going to impact the sound and it's completely out of sight.
I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. I have a lot of cheap guitars, and I also have some much more expensive stuff. I do generally feel that the higher end stuff is nicer, but there's definitely diminishing returns for sure. A good setup will narrow those differences even more, at least from a playability perspective.
@@IracesGarage never been to hung up on names. Ive been learning to work on my own stuff because of the ridiculous prices of the big boys. I've got budget instruments that play and feel like something well above there price range. Ain't saying it's Gibson quality but I guess I'll never know. Can't afford Gibson
pretty impressive 2,1-2,3 kg weights! But they may be neck divers?? My IYV double F hole Tele had been a serious neck diver till I chopped the headstock! Here is the result: th-cam.com/video/BO5xAdI-zLo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Zo1fkfCrtFMonLdu
What for? For people who can't afford whatever guitar that you consider adequate. Not everyone wants or needs a Murphy Lab R9. Some of us are quite happy to take a cheap guitar, spend a couple hours on it and sit back with the satisfaction that it does all the same things as that R9.
I got burned buying an IYV semi hollow (the LP shaped one) by getting a buzzing fret somewhere around the 12 fret. I dont care how cheap a guitar is, buzzing frets are unacceptable. If a factory isnt capable of doing a proper fret job, then they shouldnt be in the guitar business. Its like any other product, if they make flashlights that dont turn on then dont make flashlights. If they make chairs that break when you sit on them, then dont make chairs. For some reason asian factories think they should be able to make guitars with buzzing or sharp frets. This should not be tolerated. I gave a IYV a bad review for my guitar on Amazon. I hope everyone does the same. Ive been burned by Epiphone with a $150 Les Paul that had sharp fret ends, so this happens with big name brands too. I plan on buying Harley Benton next time, I hear they are setting a standard for good quality cheap guitars.
"Capable" and building to a price point are 2 different discussions. The cheaper something is, the more corners that get cut. Poor fretwork doesn't have to be tolerated, you just need to pay more for a guitar that's had the time added to address those things. At $150, expectations should be set realistically. These guitars aren't for everyone, but can be a great option for the right people.
@@IracesGarage Im not trying to be argumentative or debate you, but I feel strongly enough about this issue that I have to respond. I own two other electric guitars, a Jackson Dinky and a Censtar tele clone. I paid $200 for each these guitars and they both feel and play incredible. Whoever was in charge of building the production line for these guitars knew what they were doing. Perfect action and fretwork, no defects in quality. They may be made of cheaper woods and user cheaper electronics, but from a design standpoint they are just as good as many $1000 guitars I see. So I disagree with your point that its a cost issue to maintain good fretwork. The other point I want to make was that the IYV IJZ-300 TSB semi-hollow jazz guitar I bought was really well crafted in every other respect than the fretwork. Nothing cheap looking about it. The paint job looks as good as any. It looks and feels very solid. I feel the workers on the production line were cheated just as much as I was cheated by having someone who designed the production line not knowing how to do fretwork properly. It could have been a very fine economical guitar, but it wasnt.
@@PeteKaster I’m aware. My comment was one of sarcasm pointed to the comment left inline above by the user that said he would skip IYV and suggested he would spend his money on an HB instead😂
Bro I just returned a PRS SE Tremonti that I purchased from Sweetwater 🫤 I can’t believe that It was assembled at the factory in Indonesia I can’t believe that PRS inspects all of their import guitars at the facility in Maryland and passed this guitar to Sweetwater and I can’t believe that after a 55 point inspection at Sweetwater they found it acceptable to sell the ☹️ either way I sent it back so imperfections on a $169 guitar I would probably expect 🤨
That's a bummer man. I grabbed an SE 594 from Sweetwater and I'm absolutely blown away by it. Soon I hope to do a video that compares the IYV, my Harley Benton CST-24T and my 594 to show what 3 different price points gets you in similarly made guitars.
@@IracesGarage yeah I have had a CE 24 Custom a SE 24 Custom a SE 24 Standard a SE Tremonti Custom with zero issues but I wanted the new 2023 SE Tremonti because of the new carve being more like the Core model but since PRS moved production to Indonesia they are 50/50 so I’m not going to order anything online and the stores don’t stock it I won’t buy it and Sweetwater has changed ownership so I’m going to steer clear of Sweetwater too 🫤 best wishes for your future success and btw I just ordered my first Firefly guitar so wish me luck 🍀
I am super impressed with the presenter. He is very experienced and knowledgeable. I am compelled to subscribe. Taking a sample of four was a stroke of brilliance.
Good job! Glad to see it. Let’s hear it.
What a fantastic way to cover the subject of super-affordable guitars! This is the first time I've seen your channel, and I think you're providing a valuable and unique approach with the exact information a lot of us are really looking for. I subscribed immediately after finishing the video, and I hope your channel grows quickly to reach as many people as possible. Thank you for doing this!
Awesome, thank you!
So I bought my first IYV guitar on a whim from the Zon. I got that PRS one in smoke black. That one arrived with a chunk taken out of the headstock. Also the binding was poorly done, and there were a lot of bubbles in the finish. It played well and was actually intonated correctly from the factory. Still, since it was bought from the Zon, it was easy enough to send back for a replacement. The second one I got came as far as I can tell flawless. Zero cosmetic issues. Difference was that it wasn't intonated at all. Both looked to have been shipped new in the box so I don't think the first one was a return that was repackaged, but I could be wrong. Either way, the second one I could was great. I just had to intonate it and tune it. Sounded as good as the first one.
After that, I picked up one of the green IYV Les Paul style ones from the flea bay. One of the sellers there is selling it really cheap. They even took my lowball offer I didn't actually think would be accepted. It came in and was just as flawless cosmetically as far as i could see. Played well and was already intonated too. I think I got a smoking deal on that one.
I did end up reading on the Zon and other places the reviews for this guitar brand such as this video. It seems cosmetic defects are more the norm than not. I think I got extremely lucky with the two I did get free of defects. I am interested in a few other types of guitars from this brand, however I have a hard time justify the higher prices for them considering the defect possibilities even if the defects are only cosmetic. The two I got were around the 100 bone mark. The Zon had a coupon that brought it down, and the flea bay seller took an offer for around that. The other IYV guitars are all around 200 or more and I am just not worried about spending that much for a guitar with a lot of potential for defects.
So glad someone is doing this type of work. It's absolutely what consumers need when shopping on a budget.
I ended up buying a model from this brand and besides a minor finish issue and a buzzy first fret it's been incredible.
Incredible! 😁 If I were to describe the perfect budget guitar review, this would be it. Tells me exactly what I need to know: playability and consistency, with measurements to back it up. Way more helpful than watching other reviewers who just read off the feature list and then shred for 10 minutes. Definitely would be interested in buying one of these once they're fixed up. Thanks for this!
That was very cool. I never saw someone get multiple of the same guitar to compare them. Thanks for doing that. Very good video. Liked and subscribed.
When you said one of the guitars weighed in at 4. something lbs. I ordered the guitar. I have been looking for an affordable 5 lbs guitar. Plus, this double offset cutaway looks great. Thanks for a thorough and thoughtful review.
I don't recall any being 4lbs. All 4 were about the same weight... I want to say 6.5lbs?
@@IracesGaragethat’s kinda close. I have ordered but not yet received the guitar, we’ll see. Check out 22:45
The guitar is 5lbs, perfect weight for grabbing and couch playing. Very nice guitar. I love the neck. Reminds me of my old Melody Maker. And the 24 frets are a revelation for me. The pickups in this case are squealing at jam room volumes. I used it on stage once but I am now on a search for quieter pickups.
@@daveallen9921 Thank you for your insight on the guitar, as I've been tempted to get an ILP-400 from same company and I feel like I'm in for a good instrument. Just want myself an affordable 24 fret set neck Les Paul
I've been playing over 60 years. A traditional Gibson man if a name need be applied, but oh, have I gotten into these IYVs! Again and againI have been amazed. And not just for the price! Its their feel, their sound and their basic good looks. Enough of each that my Gibsons now generally sit while these are in my hands making music.
Good review here. Thank you. Truly informative (a rare thing IMO here on YT)
I think this is a great idea for these budget guitars so people have a better idea of what they are getting into. Could I suggest a video of you showing the repairs needed to get them all set up? Also maybe a video on affordable tools to do the set up? I think that may help out some folks as well.
Most of it will be the same processes I showed in my Ibanez video, but if folks are interested enough I can show it on this guitar too. I like your idea on the affordable tools too!
It's the first time I saw someone take this approach, and I love it ;) Obviously it would be difficult (due to costs) to do the same with higher priced guitars but I'm pretty sure there are similar inconsistencies with more known guitar brands in all the price tiers...
GREAT REVIEW ,,,,,BTW
Best I have encountered on YT
Thanks for the information... I've been looking at these for quite some time... So, thanks for the groundwork.
😎👍🎸
Glad it helped! Make sure to check out my follow-up video where I show how to fix the issues.
Thank you for this useful review 👍.
I still have my 2-year old IYV IPF-300, and apart from sloppy binding, F-holes, and inlays, it’s been pretty good. It’s obviously not even close to a real PRS in terms of fit and finish, but it’s highly playable, and pretty darned good sounding, especially for the price. I personally like the baseball bat neck better than the typical PRS neck profile, too. This was a GREAT review! You just got my subscription!
Thanks! Great information! This was really valuable. I’d be up for getting a guitar that you’ve fixed up. Thanks!
I got mine in November of 2022 from Amazon for $160. Now it's $218. I changed the tuners to locking tuners and I replaced the bridge with a Musiclilly bridge with individual saddles and I had to replace the volume control after one year. Now I have a great guitar. Yes. Any time you order a guitar from Amazon it's a crap shoot. Out of the seven guitars I ordered from Amazon in the last two years I sent four of them back. This is a great guitar if you like playing Rock, Rockabilly and Blues. and yes , this guitar sounds good even when playing heavy metal
This is fantastic. You are doing a great service.
I think Centar might be something to check out. They are one if the few cheap 24 fret guitars that look pretty good.
Very Nice Review. You do an Outstanding Job. Thanks for Sharing.
Thanks for this. First time I have seen such a comparison. I bought an IYV tele clone. No cosmetic defects. Set up was ok. Weak tuners rough frets but overall a nice instrument. Bought a used Lyx Pro Strat copy. Great neck, very resonant body, light weight. A good platform for upgrades. Pots smooth but not very effective. Good range of sounds but switch wonky. It takes some patience and skills to get these in good playable long term shape. But at their price if the neck and body are good there is lots of $ room for upgrades.
Great video man. I took in a copy of the ES135 in on trade. It had about the same issues as those 4. I corrected everything. Except the cosmetics now it plays real nice. I do t like that thicker neck either I might end up shaving it about 1/4 ". It would be good to do these kind of videos as long as you don't go broke buying. You are very informative. Have a good one man.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for making this video!
Very interesting take, thanks. I have an IYV Mustang knock-off and it came superb, nothing needed but a bit of fret polishing (although I also noticed that the tuner feel is disturbingly variable even though they function well.) I also have a Squier Bullet Mustang and honestly the Indonesian Squier is a better guitar, and I have less in it. But I really like that IYV is a Vietnamese-made guitar and a Vietnamese company (as opposed to an outsourced product from an American company.) Interestingly, my Fender Duo Sonic is by far the least playable as delivered - it came with a pot with neither inner nor outer nut even attached, and its fretwork is more saw than guitar. On the other hand, the finish is by far the hardest thing to fix and the Duo Sonic in Sienna Sunburst is absolutely gorgeous. All three finishes are flawless for that matter, but the IYV and the Squier are both solid white semi-gloss which has to be much easier than a multicolor semi-transparent finish. All three are COVID-era instruments so I suppose the disease and lockdowns hit Mexico a lot harder than they hit Vietnam or Indonesia. Or maybe Fender just pushed the Mexican plant harder than the other two were pushed.
One of the best reviews i have seen,,, and gave me some ideas for my channel... thanks
Never liked Wrap bridges
But never saw this mod to one
But aquired 2 Epi's that have em
Ya got me checkin my Gs and Bs again
Very cool comparison. Thanks.
Very informative review ! 👍🏻
Thanks! 👍
Very interesting and perhaps singular experiment! I wonder how consistent the QC would be with Epiphone or Fender products if you had four random guitars from each? I have an IYV IJZ-300TSB that is absolutely beautiful, as in flawless cosmetically and a great player after setup. I buy these things from Amazon as a Prime member with free shipping, and if there's anything significantly wrong I just send them back with free shipping. My contention is that just about any low end guitar (and entry level Fenders and Epiphones are low end guitars regardless of price) is going to need adjustment and setup. If you can correct most of the flaws in these and sell three of them and break even or make a profit, more power to you, but from what I have seen IYVs are not selling easily in the aftermarket. Thanks for the effort it took to do this.
sweet guitars brother!
last year i caught the IYV ILS-300(green) on a crazy stupidly cheap sale! i bought 4 of these...
3 are a bit modded but number1 is all stock....
theres was a tiny bit of fret leveling involved but im happy with all 4!
number2 is a bit "greenyfied" for that peter green tone...
number3 has a proper coilsplit on the bridge humbucker...
number4 has p94(humbucker sized p90s)....found 2 of the tuners stripped and got a new set....
overall im pleased with my "stupid n crazy sale" purchases....
Great review.
Thanks!
Considering you can easily spend twice that on PU alone, these look like exceptional value. And a great platform to learn a few basic guitar maintenance skills on (like polishing frets, upgrading tuners, etc). Much less stressfull to learn on a cheap guitar than a $$$$$$ guitar. I can't say I care too much about cosmetic flaws. If it feels good and sounds good, it is good. And given the whole "premium priced relic market" (not something that attracts me at all) it seems silly to worry about it.
Always a good idea. The serial numbers are a bit confusing at best. Not good when tracing back lots of information, etc. Good video.
I’m interested in them.
I like your review. I am deciding tonight weather to order one tomorrow. I have never seen them under 193.00. As of today May 6, 2024 they are 211.00 on Amazon. Almost everything you mentioned was a quick fix for me. The thing that bothered me the most was when you said the piece of wood the bridge is attached to seems like soft wood. If that goes, you are kind of screwed. How would you fix such a thing without taring the entire top off the body. I have the solid body neck thru version of this and I love it. I just tuned it and play it. No issues. So I was thinking this would be good as well. I like the sound of semi hollow bodies and many times I will play them at home unplugged.
I haven't had any issues with the bridge, so it's probably not an issue, but if it were to become one, I'd drill it a little bigger, insert a hardwood plug, then redrill the holes.
I got the IP -300-TSB and I had the same rough frets.
Thanks for the feedback
Mine came yesterday.
Yup, gritty frets. 4 high frets using rocker. Yup, crappy "F" hole finish.
Have not checked neck relief or string heighth yet. It doesn't play or sound real hateful.
Debating to keep or return.
If you have the ability to do the required work, I'd definitely recommend doing so. These are great players once you address their quality issues. Check my other video where I go through all of the fixes.
IYV is fantastic, Best guitar at this price point. If your not happy you can easily return it.
I think if you want this style of guitar and you're willing to deal with the nut, then yeah, it's a great guitar. Would I call it the best at this price? Definitely not. I've got some Monoprice guitars at lower prices that had much better all-around quality. But, this is nicer than the early Firefly guitars that were around the same price. Those have improved tremendously in quality, but their prices have also gone up.
@@IracesGarage fair point. Monoprice lack style though.
Cool video man. I have 6 different IVY guitars, all set up and finished beautifully. I have sent two back. So no gamble.
Thx
@@IracesGarage by the way, where are you located? Could use a good guitar tech.
Scarr my Guitar had one and had to do a fret level. But it sounds like the odds are good.
Interesting!
P.S. i notice Lebanon Valley and the "red Camaro" which i believe i have a video of that year that car,, as i go through my archives, you let a certain girl borrow while her car got fixed?? idk lol
Nope. That car hasn't been loaned to anyone. Hell, it hasn't had a motor in a decade!
Are any of these available yet?
They all sold already.
ah....thanks.
These guitars ship with gauge 10 strings right? Thanks
Yeah, that's what mine had.
@@IracesGarage thanks I just got one 2 days ago... not bad at all, especially for the price. Great review by the way!
Well , how does an over priced US maker justify the Highest prices I have ever seen
in my five decades of play
Only extras being a Relic job (why)
And a bit of extra filing , sanding
In all reality
IYV are hitting a low price point and most guitar players do NOT look for fretboard end-of-inlays and fret smoothness.
I'll agree that inlay quality isn't important to most buyers, but playa ility sure should be!
I almost bought one of those. The Fretboard inlays are a turn off for me. Too busy! What cooled my heels on this one was review on You Tube that showed a inside view of the body. It was a poor fit inside and lots of glue running everywhere. Not the best brand for sure.
A lot of glue squeeze out doesn't bother me on a budget instrument. In fact, I've run into a number of cheap guitars that have come apart because not enough glue is used, so I'm totally fine with seeing too much. It's not going to impact the sound and it's completely out of sight.
Even with all the QC problems , id rather own a boatload of IYVs than i would a single Gibson. Which, by the way, would be about the same price.
I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. I have a lot of cheap guitars, and I also have some much more expensive stuff. I do generally feel that the higher end stuff is nicer, but there's definitely diminishing returns for sure. A good setup will narrow those differences even more, at least from a playability perspective.
@@IracesGarage never been to hung up on names. Ive been learning to work on my own stuff because of the ridiculous prices of the big boys. I've got budget instruments that play and feel like something well above there price range. Ain't saying it's Gibson quality but I guess I'll never know. Can't afford Gibson
pretty impressive 2,1-2,3 kg weights! But they may be neck divers?? My IYV double F hole Tele had been a serious neck diver till I chopped the headstock! Here is the result: th-cam.com/video/BO5xAdI-zLo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Zo1fkfCrtFMonLdu
Hot Dog Ends
HAAAAAAACUUGHCOUGHCOUGHWEEEEEEEEZZ
My trust issues keep me from mail ordering
Even a Legit Sweetwater deal
Have one, twisted neck, Benton is a no.
Jones Robert Walker Susan Brown Richard
Allen Donald Rodriguez Timothy Jones Brenda
id rather they just do dot inlatys
Yeah, I could luve without the vine.
Git AAAARRGGHHH firewood
not only can you play music on them, you can heat your house too! Not the most economical method of heating though.
budget guitars should be banned. we have wasted all the hardwood on this junk, and what for? landfill.
What for? For people who can't afford whatever guitar that you consider adequate. Not everyone wants or needs a Murphy Lab R9. Some of us are quite happy to take a cheap guitar, spend a couple hours on it and sit back with the satisfaction that it does all the same things as that R9.
I suspect these are rejects that didn't meet Harley Benton or other branded labeled guitars specs or QC if that makes sense.
Solution- stop the headache and buy a better guitar….. junk is junk dude. Damn
Whatever floats your boat, man. Some of us enjoy the process.
I got burned buying an IYV semi hollow (the LP shaped one) by getting a buzzing fret somewhere around the 12 fret. I dont care how cheap a guitar is, buzzing frets are unacceptable. If a factory isnt capable of doing a proper fret job, then they shouldnt be in the guitar business. Its like any other product, if they make flashlights that dont turn on then dont make flashlights. If they make chairs that break when you sit on them, then dont make chairs. For some reason asian factories think they should be able to make guitars with buzzing or sharp frets. This should not be tolerated. I gave a IYV a bad review for my guitar on Amazon. I hope everyone does the same. Ive been burned by Epiphone with a $150 Les Paul that had sharp fret ends, so this happens with big name brands too. I plan on buying Harley Benton next time, I hear they are setting a standard for good quality cheap guitars.
"Capable" and building to a price point are 2 different discussions. The cheaper something is, the more corners that get cut. Poor fretwork doesn't have to be tolerated, you just need to pay more for a guitar that's had the time added to address those things. At $150, expectations should be set realistically. These guitars aren't for everyone, but can be a great option for the right people.
@@IracesGarage Im not trying to be argumentative or debate you, but I feel strongly enough about this issue that I have to respond. I own two other electric guitars, a Jackson Dinky and a Censtar tele clone. I paid $200 for each these guitars and they both feel and play incredible. Whoever was in charge of building the production line for these guitars knew what they were doing. Perfect action and fretwork, no defects in quality. They may be made of cheaper woods and user cheaper electronics, but from a design standpoint they are just as good as many $1000 guitars I see. So I disagree with your point that its a cost issue to maintain good fretwork. The other point I want to make was that the IYV IJZ-300 TSB semi-hollow jazz guitar I bought was really well crafted in every other respect than the fretwork. Nothing cheap looking about it. The paint job looks as good as any. It looks and feels very solid. I feel the workers on the production line were cheated just as much as I was cheated by having someone who designed the production line not knowing how to do fretwork properly. It could have been a very fine economical guitar, but it wasnt.
Wow wouldn’t that be poetic justice if IYV made some Harley Benton guitars. 😂😂😂.
@@rayriedy8871 IYV has made guitars for HB. An example is the early TE-90QM Teles with P-90s. Equivalent IYV model is ITF-400.
@@PeteKaster I’m aware. My comment was one of sarcasm pointed to the comment left inline above by the user that said he would skip IYV and suggested he would spend his money on an HB instead😂
Not this comedian agan 😅😅 junk,
Don't forget to tip your waitress.
Bro I just returned a PRS SE Tremonti that I purchased from Sweetwater 🫤 I can’t believe that It was assembled at the factory in Indonesia I can’t believe that PRS inspects all of their import guitars at the facility in Maryland and passed this guitar to Sweetwater and I can’t believe that after a 55 point inspection at Sweetwater they found it acceptable to sell the ☹️ either way I sent it back so imperfections on a $169 guitar I would probably expect 🤨
That's a bummer man. I grabbed an SE 594 from Sweetwater and I'm absolutely blown away by it. Soon I hope to do a video that compares the IYV, my Harley Benton CST-24T and my 594 to show what 3 different price points gets you in similarly made guitars.
@@IracesGarage yeah I have had a CE 24 Custom a SE 24 Custom a SE 24 Standard a SE Tremonti Custom with zero issues but I wanted the new 2023 SE Tremonti because of the new carve being more like the Core model but since PRS moved production to Indonesia they are 50/50 so I’m not going to order anything online and the stores don’t stock it I won’t buy it and Sweetwater has changed ownership so I’m going to steer clear of Sweetwater too 🫤 best wishes for your future success and btw I just ordered my first Firefly guitar so wish me luck 🍀