Monoprice Electric Guitars?

Yup, same with guitarists. I'm a lot more likely to bring a Squier to a club gig than my 1962 Gretsch Tennessean!

 

If you look at the cheapies as a kit that has been preassembled rather than a finished guitar, they are pretty impressive once you get into about the $200 range.

The real cheapies are a good way to learn to do fretwork. You need a bench to set up on and about a hundred dollars worth of tools and in a couple of weeks you can learn to do fretwork as well as anyone other than the best LA, New York or Nashville shops. It helps to have a small bench grinder and a saw of some tyoe with a table and guidework for making quick fixtures and cutting down hardware store files.

Stewball sells videos and all the tools, but I made my own, and aside from the Kamimoto guitar book and the kit instructions Martin handed out that Dick Boak gave me, all my learning came from Navy rate manuals and Walker's and Nonte's gunsmithing books. Yes, I wrecked a couple of those Strad-O-Lin woolworth guitars, but they were unplayable to begin with. Todays cheapies are way better than the cheapies of yesteryear.

As for the low grade China pickups, switches and pots, they are good enough to learn on. I found that if you put a little superglue on them if they howl and mount them with the cutdown surgical tubing the work a lot better, but they'll never be as good as Dimarzio, Seymour or EMGs.

 

Totally in agreement. The guitar I have from Rondo (an Agile fretless Les Paul copy in Silverburst) is amazingly good for the money in all ways.

 

I've been on a cheap guitar kick and just bought a Schecter Guitar Research Omen Solo-6 Electric Guitar Walnut Satin today for only $199! On sale at Musicians Friend. My new Monoprice guitar should arrive on Monday evening.

 

I was hoping H was for Hamer

 

+1 on everything my esteemed friend says on this count. I have a Squier Tele and love it. I sold my Mexican model - it just wasn't as good of a guitar.

 

From my experience the quality difference between MIM Fender and the Indonesian and Chinese Squiers is very much blurred these days.

 

The Agiles, Monoprices, Epiphones and Squiers are all probably made in the same sweatshop!

 

Possibly, though there's more to it than where they're assembled, as mentioned above set up is really key, and some of these brands are better at taking care of this and dressing the guitar better than others.

 

Yep...sweatshop it is...labor so cheap even the Koreans are outsourcing there...

http://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Bl...ntryId/482/Worlds-Largest-Guitar-Factory.aspx

 

I am primarily a guitarist, but I wanted to have a bass around for writing and demoing songs and miscellaneous noodling. I picked up a Squire for $140, and the thing sounds and plays fantastic. I have no regrets whatsoever, and if I needed to play bass at a gig I wouldn't hesitate to use it.

 

People don't realize that many mainstream brands once were just as bad at shipping guitars that needed work, but back then the dealers all had a bench guy and he put an hour or two into each guitar before it hit the floor. That was just accepted back then. No Fender built between '67 or '68 and the eighties buyout was stageworthy as shipped. The store techs got good and fast at fixing the problems because they did it all the time.

 

My new Monoprice electric guitar is still scheduled to be delivered on Monday afternoon despite the snowstorm. This should be interesting.

 

Got the guitar today and it arrived in one piece. Comes in a black plastic gig bag, not bad. It does look beautiful and feels good in the hand. Comes with a certificate of inspection that says my Monoprice Pro Audio Series solid body electric guitar was set up under the direct supervision of, and personally inspected for quality construction in great detail by Master Luthier, Roger Gresco. It is signed in pen by Roger Gresco.

 

Which one did you get?

 

The honey burst LP knockoff. It does look stunning. Strummed it a bit and it sounds nice but don't have a chance to really try it out tonight. Definitely a good value for the price.

 

Looks great in the photo-hope it sounds as good. let us know

 

Is that a bolt-on neck?

 

yes it is.


The monoprice guitar (~130$) boasts these specs:
Body Style: Archtop Single-Cutaway with Dual Humbuckers
Body Material: Basswood
Neck Material: Maple
Fingerboard Material: Rosewood
: Bolt On Neck
Scale: 628mm (Full-Size)
Weight: 9.3 lbs
Machineheads: Chrome
Pickups: Humbucker-Humbucker
Comes with a hand signed Roger Gresco certificate of inspection.

 

photo above is from the net (the black model) but it shows the rear of the guitar similar to the cherry burst model I just received.

 

Tempting...I don't play but wouldn't mind noodling around.

Anyone have any recommendations for a decent practice amp? I like the looks of Marshall's MG series and Orange's CR12.

Bill

 

I'd suggest a small modelling amp from the range of Fender, Vox or Peavey. That'll keep you interested, creating all sorts of tones, long after the shock of having to seriously spend some practice time kicks in!

 

Line 6 makes a very nice entry level practice amp. It's called The Totally Amped Spider IV for about $149. It has an array of effects built in and gets very good reviews. Check out Musicians Friend website.

 

photo of the guitar in my den on a stand.