Donner DST-400: The BEST Affordable Guitar I've Ever Played
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- Опубліковано 25 чер 2022
- #donnermusic #donnerguitar #summernamm
Donner DST-400 Electric Guitar
US Amazon: amzn.to/3HCkPMx
Discount Code (valid until June 30th): 10NAMM2206
Amazon Canada (Discount not available): www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B095...
Donner Website: bit.ly/3HIAjhR
Donner Music: bit.ly/3ObQDdB
Plugin: Neural DSP Archetype: Petrucci
DAW: Reaper Audio
Audio Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
Strings: Donner stock strings
Picks: Ernie Ball Heavy
I don’t even need another guitar, but these Donners keep calling name.
Good presentation. Clearly spoken without 'gas-bagging'. Well done!
I just bought a Donner Tele, I too am impressed.
You do a great job! Thank you.
I bought that exact same guitar. He’s correct. Don’t think they send reviewers special guitars. Mine was setup perfectly also. Plays amazingly.
Great review Nico! Thanks buddy!
My first Donner guitar purchase was the DLP124. It blew me away. It impressed me so much I decided to buy the DST 400 and I was even more impressed. I did have to adjust the action on both guitars to my liking but let me just be clear both guitars were playable right out of the box. The quality vs price amazes me. These guitars can compete with guitars 3x - 4x their price. I have some expensive guitars in my collection and both guitars give them a run for their money. Especially the DST400. My band mates also thought very highly of these guitars and did not believe they were so inexpensive. I don't know how Donner can sell these guitars for so little but all I can say is keep up the great work!!
Thanks for the awesome feedback!
I still play mine all the time 😃
Yep, the little cry babies,God forbid you have to have it setup,man ..the wimps of today kill me.
That sounds and looks a lovely guitar.
Nice finish and colour.
Thank you for the review.
I've had it for about 7 months now and I still think it's great!
I just ordered my Donner DST 400. I am super excited to get it on Friday. I am a beginner guitar player but I have only heard good reviews about this guitar. I am looking forward to learning! Thanks for your time reviewing the guitar. It makes me feel good about my purchase.
I keep this guitar next to my studio desk so no exaggeration, I play it pretty much every day! 😃
It's awesome that you decided to start learning and I wish you tons of fun and success in your guitar journey. Cheers! 🤘
Sounds great. Honest review. 🤘🏻
Wasn’t expecting a Yngwie riff. Up The Irons 🤘🤘🤘
That’s so cool that they reached out to you to review the guitar. It DOES sound pretty sweet! And we got to hear samples of our favorite Maiden songs! 🤘😊
It was very nice of them and kinda cool especially because I was already using some of their gear 😊
Glad you didn't find the video TOO guitar-y!! 😃🙏
Excellent video 🙂🙂
I just got one and as a guy who's owned and played Fender strats all his life I can't believe how good that thing is...
Because I love really intense tremolo action I'm going to add a tusq nut and locking tuners but except for that I'll keep it mostly stock...
I'm sure Dave Murray would love to have one of these...
Looks like a solid axe for a great price! Great video Nico!
It really is!
Your sound is heavy like always super video and guitar 🤟🤟🤟
Thank you!
Sounds soo nice ...
Thanks for the vid! Finally a good alternative to Harley Benton & co!
I have owned the black DST100B (Donner Strat 100 Black) for about 2 months. The same as your review guitar but with no humbucker coil split. I bought it during a Donner sale which they’re always having :-) and with a discount code it was £90 (I’m in the UK). It is quite unbelievable quality for the price…..that was with an amp and digital tuner etc. included. I’m old but when the kids are in bed I am playing this til the small hours…..With a NUX Mighty plug (the best £50 I ever spent) no-one can hear me. Im old (57) and play harder style like Strapping Young Lad/ Devin Townsend, Mastodon….the Donner has great tone for this, even as a strat style. I do need to do some fret sprout filing above the 14th fret but thats a 2 minute job. Have fun and play guitar….this is a steal at the price. Cheers.
Hey thanks so much for sharing your experience and thoughts with this guitar! It really is impressive what you get for the price.
If only they had guitars like these back in the day at these prices. Back then, the same money (which was considerably more when you count for inflation) got you a pretty poor quality instrument with bad action and even worse tuning 😂
Cheers man! 🤜🤛
I have a couple of Donner pedals, they do sound good. I never thought of looking at their instruments though.
My first guitar was a Squier Strat + a Fender 15W, which I got for £99 (about $120 US).
The most I spent on a guitar was £130 for a 7 string DIY kit guitar. Everything works fine, the pickups are decent enough for unbranded humbuckers. I just desperately need some high tension strings for the bridge, it’s a Floyd, but it really doesn’t like high gauge strings, they pull the bridge up to a nearly 45° angle, I’m having to use some really slack Ernie Ball .09s (I will always recommend Ernie Ball strings, even over David Gilmour endorsed strings, which surprisingly do not hold tune at all well). The low B string is loose enough you can bend it almost as easily as the high B and E strings.
My next most expensive guitar is a “part-caster”, where I sourced the parts myself (approx. £120). I went cheap on it as I was a little summer project, I even stained it with food dye. I got unbranded hot-rail pickups, definitely a regret going cheap there, they sound clear, but lack any punch. It’s got a nice feel though, and the neck is satin smooth (that was the part that cost the most).
My cheapest was a second hand (possibly even third hand) guitar from a local seller on eBay, and it was made by a brand called Wesley (never heard of them before and couldn’t find anything on the web), I bought it for £30, but it needed some serious repairs - a new bridge (£10), and a new neck due to the previous owner I can only assume leaving it leaning against a radiator, the truss rod was busted. I got an Ibanez rg style neck as I couldn’t find a replacement of the same brand, that cost £25 (totalling £65). This is my favourite to play, despite how beat up it was. It’s just a shame its previous owner showed such little love to it, it has a beautiful quilted Indigo blue finish. It just has a nice feel, and the pickups are fantastic (I don’t know what brand they are), even though they look like they’re a bit rusted.
I don’t own any budget-busting guitars, can’t afford it. I do keep an eye on Adrian Smith’s signature models, they seem to be the closest to a budget guitar, I was very surprised when I saw how low in price they are for a signature model. Still not within my budget, but one can dream.
Rising force!!!
It was the first riff that came to mind for a heavy single coil tone 😄
Looks pretty nice. I have some higher end guitars as well. The thing is, on the expensive ones I really nit pick and obviously expect it to be nearly flawless (and it rarely is). Usual still have to fix a few things on the premium ones. Once and awhile you come across a cheaper alternative and it’s almost great right out of the box. It feels good when that happens. Plus, on the less expensive guitars I don’t expect as much and can live with things that I wouldn’t tolerate on the more expensive guitars.
It does feel good and it's a pleasant surprise when it does turn out that way 😊
I'm not sure if the deal is still going, but if you register for the Donner App, you can get a coupon for 50% off a guitar (with registration points) which would bring this into the $130 range. Also, looking for reviews on this guitar helped me find an awesome new channel!
Hey thanks for the awesome feedback and I'm really happy you found the channel! Cheers 🤜🤛
I'd like to see a video of your guitar collection. I know you've shown some of them, but I'd like to see more
Yeah, I probably should do a video or two about the different guitars I own. It's not a particularly large collection by any means but there are a few interesting ones. Sorry for replying over a month later... I only just saw this comment now! 🤦🏻
The Kramer Baretta special is excellent value for money, I got one for a 130 from gak.
Amahzohn actually has these on sale for $145 right now!!! I had to grab one!
Smart move!! I still play mine all the time... at $145 that's just crazy!!
Cool review and again, your tone is great. I don't know if you have done a video on your gear set up, (I can't find one), but if you haven't, I'm sure many of us would love to see one if you would ever be interested in revealing your secrets :)
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it 😊
I do have a video about my settings for Bias FX II
ua-cam.com/video/ieaEC5pChrU/v-deo.html
Lately I have started using the Archetype Petrucci plugin by Neural DSP and I think it's even better although Bias gives you a wider variety of sounds. I still use both but I am gravitating towards the Neural DSP a bit more.
@@LicksOfTheBeast Thanks for the link. I'm relatively new to the channel so I missed that video.
The most unexpected part of this video is the snippet from Malmsteen’s “Rising Force” 😄
Hahaha yeah it was literally the only thing that came to mind for a heavy single coil bridge pickup tone. Such a great riff too!!
The fretwork on my Affinity was immaculate - but I could have gotten a good one. They start at $258. But the pickups are not Alnicos. Maybe Yahmaha might be a better deal as they have Alnico pickups and a decent reputation about fret ends and buzzing.
Been trying to order one online for 3 months! No chance, except in Australia only right now! Gutted! 🤨
Nice colour
Looks great in person too!
On this note, is there a Guitar Tier List video on this channel? I value ur opinion highly. Tempted to purchase the new HSS Pete Thorn Suhr.
I have only reviewed the Maiden signature guitars so far and I have never played a Suhr so I couldn't offer an opinion, but from what I understand, they are phenomenal. Some really great players swear by them and Pete Thorn is a beast of a player so I can't imagine his signature guitar being anything but stellar! Of course whether or not the feel, configuration, neck shape etc feel good to you is another story altogether but if the specs are to your liking, I doubt you could go wrong! Good luck!!
I just got mine nice looking but I need to fix the height of the strings I was not in impressed it should be ready to go and there's a couple marks on the neck as well
For the price and the quality Donner guitars far beat squier guitars .
You should gives us a rig rundown of your set up
Here ya go!
ua-cam.com/video/ieaEC5pChrU/v-deo.html
Lately I've been using the Neural DSP Petrucci plugin more often but the concept is still the same
Sorry to bother you, can you please tell me who plays that part in the nomad at 5:39? I mean the reverbish melodic part. Thanks a lot! Really enjoying ur videos!
Hey man, never a bother at all!
I don't know for sure but it sounds like Janick... although it could be Dave too.
@@LicksOfTheBeast thanks for the giga fast reply! Keep up the quality content
What do you think of the: Mitchell HD400 Double Cut Away Electric Guitar in Lime Green? They sell for under $400.00 and I've heard some nice things about them, From: Scranton, Pennsylvania 👩
I didn't know anything about them, but after reading this I checked it out and if they're anything as good as they look, I will be beyond impressed with the bang for buck factor!
👍😎
I've got three guitars right now, and only one of them has a tremolo bar. Unfortunately that one (an ibanez GiO) is the cheapest of the three and ah... the whammy is definitely where that shows.
If I was going to get a fourth guitar, even though I wouldn't have a huge amount of money to spend on it, I'd first and foremost want one that has a better tremolo than the GiO. ...I've also thought about maybe trying a hollow-body electric but that's another story.
If this one works as well as you say for the price point I think I may want to look into it :)
Hollow body electrics kick ass. I have a Korean Gretsch that I absolutely adore! Yeah this is definitely a good trem but I would say for more subdued use. For heavy use you definitely need something that was designed to stay in tune under battle conditions.
@@LicksOfTheBeast In that case, I may just want to save for a decent hollow body with a good tremolo.
I've heard from others that PRS might do that sort of thing well -- though I'd certainly be happy for recommendations from someone with your level of experience :)
@@SplotchTheCatThing Depending on the tone and playing style you're going for with a hollow body, both Gretsch and PRS' Korean made guitars are very good!
I just picked up a refurbished one in black for $106 on ebay. Plays pretty well and lets me add a Srat to my collection for almost nothing. Great guitar if you stay away from the tremolo. Unfortunately that's the one weak link.
I just got a brand new black one from Donner's eBay store for $115.
My term is fine. Set it up
Hi, are single coil PU noisy?
Not particularly, no. They're actually quite smooth and sound nice. Better than the stock pickups on the Jackson SDX
10:49 solo, from which song please?? Brain exe stopped working lol
its the second solo of Iron maiden - Writing of the wall live version
Hahahahaha that program crashes almost daily for me 😄
@@eliasHZAT Yes, you're absolutely right!! Should've clicked but no, i guess i didn't haha. Thx mate
dsp setting??
Barstool Warrior preset with the gain turned down to 3, overdrive pedal on with drive at about 2. A bit of compression, reverb, chorus... That's it!
All of these reviews are great.
It’s a shame donner have taken my money and blatantly ghosted me. Still waiting for confirmation they have actually sent the guitar.
Ordered 2 weeks ago.
Any updates?
@@ryanberry4670 hey Ryan, have since been contacted with an update saying it has been sent thankfully. feeling very relieved. hopefully will see it arrive Wednesday.
Do you know the neck radius?
9.5" very much like a modern Strat.
@@LicksOfTheBeast Thank you.
Try to buy new squire with them features it will cost you .
The problem is: if they send you a guitar, they probably set it up nicely ... which is not necessarily what anyone would get.
It didn't look or feel like it got any kind of special treatment and of course I can't speak for Donner as for how they normally set their guitars up before shipping but I can say that I have had to get most of my guitars properly set up before they were playable and I didn't have to with this one. It depends really... My Dave Murray Strat played like crap when I received it, my SG and Les Paul were perfect from day one although I have played others in store that were set up like crap. 🤷🏻
But that's cool... It's a guitar especially a cheap one I would expect to need to adjust several things to my liking. There's not just one setup it's a personal thing as long as the neck is right.
They probably did set it up, and make it perfect but you could either do that or pay someone who knows how to.
I get what you mean but I think the wanting to maintain a partnership with a company is more of an issue. Don't know the channel or the guy so I'm not saying he'd let it sway him but it's always a thought when gear is provided. I don't even play strats so I have no horse in this race haha
Personally i would not recommand supporting brands like harley benton or donner. Serious guitar shops do not even work with these. There are tons of affordable used guitars out there, which do have higher quality etc. No need for this cheap shit. Who suffers due to these prices?
@@kotdrauf It's probably a good thing for beginners who can get much more quality than 20 years ago for a lower price point. But personally I would choose a used Schecter over a low-cost guitar.
@@kotdrauf probably those big names...oh that's right, none of them build or have guitars built overseas!! I have one of these Donners that is great out of the box. And a Harley Benton SG that is the same. Not like my Gibson SG, but also not a several hundred dollar guitar.
Hi Nicko, bit by bit you’ve slowly been increasing the commercialisation aspect of your channel over time, and considering the quality of your content, up until now this hasn’t been an issue for me personally.
However, I think this video signals that you are open to going even more commercial and I’m a little worried about what that means for your content. I say this, because a review with any kind of reward incentive like this one, isn’t an authentic review, it’s more of a commercial, and for me, it doesn’t really fit well with your other content because it doesn’t have the same authenticity or relevance. I’m sure you’re always going to be a popular channel, you have a lot of skill and charisma, but commercialisation is off-putting and it could result in losing a few subscribers.
To be fair he did say that he would not recommend something he doesn't like himself. Personally, I think his tone is great and I'd have no problem with him recommending more gear to me. And if he makes a few quid out of it, or at least, some personal gain, then good luck to him.
His review of this particular guitar seems spot on to me so I can only assume he's being honest.
If anything, this has made me more interested in this channel and I look forward to future gear reviews.
Hey Ryan,
I'm not sure I understand what you mean about slowly increasing the commercialization aspect of the channel as I don't sell or advertise anything on here.
Gear reviews are something I've done since the beginning, although it's been just the Maiden signature guitars (purchased with my own money) until now. In this case, Donner reached out to me but that's just a sign that that the channel is slowly growing and this is really encouraging after all the hard work, time and money that I've been putting into it these past two years.
This is a guitar that sells for just $260 USD, which is a price point that is filled with sub-par instruments. When a company releases one that offers so much value and quality for that price, I think it's information worth sharing with an audience comprised in fairly large part of guitarists and aspiring guitarists.
@@LicksOfTheBeast
Hey Nicko,
*Short response:* This video looks like a commercial and it seems like you’re starting to sell out.
*Long response*
What I mean by the commercial aspect is ways of making money from the channel. It seems like you’re seeing the channel more and more as a source of potential revenue these days and are becoming more open to increased commercial opportunities. For example, you’ve obviously become interested in branding as you wear that Licks of the Beast t-shirt in your videos. You’ve also become more intent on building your subscriber base as well, because now you’re asking for subscriptions in your videos, not just directly, but through pop-ups as well, and what’s with these subscriber goals? Why are you taking time out in your video to talk about how many subscribers you want? Because you’re focusing more on the commercial aspect of your channel these days, that’s why.
So, about this paid review. Firstly, it is a paid review, because a guitar is still payment, and you even have the sign “includes paid promotion” in the video so let’s be honest about it. At least your previous guitar reviews were about Maiden affiliated guitars that you actually paid for so they were relevant to your normal content and much more authentic. In contrast, this review looks and sounds like a commercial, intentional or not, especially when held up against your other guitar reviews. The language and tone are overtly positive, like you’re trying to sell the guitar, you’re not like that usually, you’re a little more subdued in your other reviews. Then consider the time difference, this is a pretty long review compared to the others. So, you’re telling me the iconic Ibanez Destroyer, a classic guitar played by Adrian Smith gets 8.5 minutes, but this guitar which is not affiliated with Maiden and that you didn’t even buy yourself gets over 13 minutes? Why precisely? Because of the power of reciprocity, someone reached out to you and gave you something, now you want to return the favour, it’s natural instinct, it’s also a proven marketing technique.
Anyway, my point is that you seem to be considering more commercial options for your channel, whether this means selling merch, doing paid reviews or opening up a Patreon, I don’t know, only time will tell. Like I said before, this commercialisation can be pretty annoying but my actual concern is that while you’re focusing on things like this, you’re not making good core content, the Maiden videos we all love, and I think that is what the majority of your subscribers are here to see.
@@ryanhoskins01 I really do appreciate that you like the contents of this channel enough to feel protective towards it. It's actually very encouraging!
Things like t-shirts, Patreon etc. are all part of connecting with one's audience and allowing viewers who want to support the hard work that goes into making these videos week after week to do so. As for the reasons for this review, I specifically laid it all out very clearly in the first few minutes of the video.
If the review has a positive tone it's because that was my feeling about this guitar. I don't talk about negative things on this channel as that's not my style. I only make videos about things I like or find interesting and want to share with my viewers. I am not in the business of reviewing guitars, so if I didn't think this one was that good value, I would have sent it back to Donner and not have made the video at all.
I also made a video about my settings in Bias FX II that is over 14 minutes long which is very positive and I have never received and very likely never will receive anything from the company that makes that plugin. But it's a great product that I enjoy using and it answers a question about my sound settings so I was happy to make it.
Believe me, as the channel grows (and I really hope it does because it is a BIG labour of love) the content will just get better, not worse. You have nothing to worry about 🙂
Cheers and all the best!
Nico
@@LicksOfTheBeast Hi Nicko,
No worries, thanks for taking the time to reply, it’s appreciated.
It’s difficult to say how much of an understanding we actually reached here but I hope my comments at least gave you something to think about. Just remember, lack of relevance and authenticity will eventually alienate core audience. I’ll leave it at that.
(Sorry to be so cynical)
All the best. 😉