Monoprice Electric Guitars?

Ohhh Monoprice - how gauche - I prefer this setup:

Sweetwater Studio Pedalboard Dream Package Deluxe - Includes Guitar and Amp »

 

OK, here's my final assessment of the Monoprice California Classic “Chinacaster.”

For +/-$75, it’s a pretty good guitar, but not quite ready for primetime straight out of the box. Oh, the neck and bridge are set up surprisingly competently, and the fretwork is fine… but the nut and/or tuners are awful. The guitar does NOT stay in tune at all. So, if you’re willing to replace the tuners and work on the nut - which is not a huge expense - it’s worth it. I will say that the satin-finished neck feels and plays very nicely, and the pickups are actually pretty decent sounding.

I decided that I wanted to upgrade the neck (I couldn’t live with the non-Fender-ish headstock shape), and found on eBay a beautiful, lightly used curly maple Mighty Mite neck from the ‘90s, supposedly with a Brazilian rosewood fretboard, and complete with Kluson-style tuners, nitro finish, and a Fender decal. Really nice.

The MM neck fit in the pocket OK (although oddly it’s shallower than the Monoprice neck heel), but I discovered that the existing screw hole in the body were drilled slightly off-center. This causes the MM neck to sit at an angle and the strings pull slightly towards the treble side instead of being centered down the neck. WTF?!

So, this is a deal-breaker for me. Part of the fun of Fender-style guitars is mixing and matching parts.

I’m going to send the guitar back to Monoprice and find myself a Squire to put this nice neck on.

 

I have no affiliation other than being a satisfied customer.........

If you are looking for a good giggable instrument at a terriffic price, go to Rondo Music's web site. Rondo Music Home Page » . Their stuff is very well regarded. I have a made in Korea Brice branded 6 string fretless bass from them that I have played on wedding gigs and other "serious" musical endeavors. They are nice particularly if you're looking for unusual configurations (like my 6 string fretless bass) - I know someone who was looking for a 7 string guitar to play around with on a budget and he got one from there and likes it.

Here's my bass when it was new. It's paper thin (you can see the grain of the Agathis through it), but it sports a real American quilted maple veneer top. The hardware is fair, but works (stays in tune for years). The (active) pickups are fantastic.

 

I bought a white California Classic last night. Can't wait to do a live comparison when it gets here.

 

So, it's been a few days. How do you like the guitar. I'm interested in buying one of the basses but there is so little info from actual owners out there.