This just in ... Volgoa is an in-house brand from Grote guitars! That actually makes a bit of sense seeing as I haf the suspicion this was made by a 'chibson' factory and not many are doing photoflames. I think they are trying to do too much for too little. The $100 Grotes I tried were pretty decent quality for being $100. Slow down Volgoa/Grote. Work on these things and we'll see how it goes.
They actually make 3 brands. In addition to Grote and Volgoa, they also have a brand called Redid. And the guy at the company told me the factory was founded in 2016.
Agreed, I think it looks awesome! But unless you're planning to hang it as a decorative item or put a lot of work, money and time into it; it's just kind of pointless.
I just bought a Volgoa and I find it very good for the price . Fit and finish is decent , electronics are decent . With a good setup it’s a great guitar . Even out of the box the setup is better than most . I like it .
Thanks a LOT!!! I was just on the verge of ordering one of these but thought I would check some reviews - You just saved me a couple of hundred dollars man, thanks again.
This review was very interesting and informative. From what I gather, cheap guitars today are in some cases pretty good or at least have the potential to be but this Volga? A few too many deal breakers on this one and red flags all over the place. ‘Cheap’ or not, good craftsmanship in design and manufacturing are qualities that are available nowadays at lower prices to the consumer but you must do your homework before buying - and reviews like this are very important in helping you to make an informed choice. Thanks. Good job!
Nice honest review, it looks the part but is obviously let down by quality control and poor electronics. I hope they contact you and try to make amends with a replacement that works properly. Have given you a sub. Cheers from Australia
Thanks for the review Raf. I could barely hear the audio from my PC it was soft like no 2 in volume and your vocal audio was 8. But I could hear the differnce with the Squire even at that level. Keep up the good work.
Thank you. So I actually did that on purpose, the reason why is because if I mic'd the speakers it sounded way louder than what I was actually hearing in the room and then some of you might havs thought I was crazy lol. Using the phone's internal mic was the best way to capture the difference between one and the other. Though in retrospect I could havs raised the clip volume. That was my bad 😅
China is a copy masters,if i not wrong the originals was made in Newburgh ny,very expensive guitar,great sound,before thats guitar they make in the same factory in the 17 K road,the Steinberger headless instruments! Nice copy!
Thank you for reviewing this guitar. I saw your comment on another channel. Whenever I buy an inexpensive guitar I always re-fret and change the nut and electronics anyway. However, your review revealed the super fat neck and the crooked pickup routes. It could be the routes are correct but they screwed in the pickups crooked. No matter, I decided to go with the Donner DMT-100 for my Pimp My Cheap Metal Guitar project. You talked me out of this one. LOL Thanks!
Experiences will always vary in the realm of cheap guitars. I did try to highlight all of the issues I had and showed the girth of the neck and electronic issues. It is a looker though!
On a budget guitar like this I expect to replace all electronics if needed. And replace tuners too. As far as the neck thickness I love les pauls so I would prob be ok with the neck - but...I understand yours and others preference. And let's face it, the neck is the heart of the guitar - you must feel comfortable with it. Now the overhanging fret ends...yeah I would prob return it for that issue.
I think the neck is dry because someone tossed it in an oven and cooked it. Not sure why people get a stiffy for roasted maple because that is exactly what it is….roasted and dry also brittle.
I get that but that's where the manufacturer needs to come in and oil/hydrate it though! The problem with extremely dry necks is that, even if roasted, too dry it may be dangerous under low levels of humidity, leading to cracks. Plus nicely oiled/hydrated just feels better lol. Eart is a great example of what good looks like for a budget brand in that regard.
I brought the headless. It had many issues. I have some experience working on guitars so I could fix most of the problems. Gap in neck pocket I could slide a thick business card into. Frets were stainless as far as I can tell but not polished and they had noticeable tooling marks. Pickups were not great. My triangle box was inside a box big enough for 4-5 guitars to fit with no padding so it just bounced around inside the bigger box. I paid $199 and it looks nice. After some work it now plays great. Not as good as my Eart but it was cheaper. Almost forgot, my nut was cut wrong too.
Very Cool, Thankyou. Looks nice shame let down by a few points. I purchased a couple of super bargain Donner guitars on Black Friday Sales. WOW super impressed with everything about them. Cheers
Yeah, the photoflame would put me off. I don';t mind doing a bit of fretwork on a cheap guitar, the dry neck, no biggie, its roasted which will dry it out, and then storage, shipping, etc, it'll happen. You can fix that. But the baseball bat neck and the crappy electronics is def a deal breaker. Thanks for reviewing man.
Bought the GT6-01 (two humbucker, no whammy bar) for $145. Fret ends needed some light filing, intonation needed adjusting, and the low E saddle was raised to eliminate buzzing. Otherwise playable. One other issue is the switch is wired such that the middle position and bridge position are both bridge pickup only. Output is good, though not super hot. Neck p/u measured 10.4 ohms and bridge p/u measured 11.2. Not a great guitar, but worth what I paid.
I have two different models of Valgoa guitars. Both are excellent right out of the box, no setup required. My frets are level and the rounded ends perfect. I like the composite fretboard and the neck is super comfortable and playable for me. Sorry you don't like the way it looks on this style guitar. I also have one with roasted maple fretboard, locking tuners that work well and it has Hot Rail Humbuckers with coil splitting. My two Valgoa guitars are awesome . I guess you got a bad batch.
I just got a VRS-1983. It is an amazing instrument for the money. It is incredibly payable right out of the box. It was intonated, with great action. The frets and neck were well finished. The humbuckers sound much better than one could reasonably expect from a $150 guitar. I bought a PRS SE Custom 24-08 last year. It sucked. I quickly sold it at a loss. I like the Volgoa far more than that PRS. If you’re considering buying a PRS SE save your money and buy a VRS-1983.
Sounds like you got a good one! Glad you did. Most of the reviews on Amazon for that model and even Volgoa in general are subpar or average but I do know of some people who had a positive experience with one. I ordered another Volgoa (made a vid on the channel too) and it was much better but still didn't quite stack up to some of the other guitars in it's price point. I've yet to try a really good one but I know they'te out there. Sucks that you had a bad experience with the PRS SE though they make some phenomenal guitars! I have a 2013 Zach Myers and it's one of the best instruments I've ever played. I've met with a slew of recording and performing artists who've used it and liked it even better than a $30K PRS dragon they had. Guitar is a unique thing. Not all are built the same way and not all of our preferences are the same. Personally I like to evaluate based on the 'average' or my experience handling multiple of the same before giving my opinion. This video was an exception but that is why I got another one to give it another chance. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the great review and video. Glad I ran across your channel which I will subscribe to as soon as I finish this comment. Who’s budget Les Paul style guitar company is making the best budget guitar you’ve reviewed so far? 😊
That's tough. I think it depends on the budget I think sub $250 it's the new Firefly FFLPs with locking tuners for sure. If it's sub $500 then either the Harlet Benton Deluxe Gotoh Emg series or the Eart singlecut. Can't go wrong either way!
This is a phenomenal in-depth video Raf! GuitarMax just did a video on the same one and he seems to have had a different experience but goes nowhere near the level of detail you did and I suspect he might be a shill planted by those guys. Thanks for sharing!
You should make that statement about Guitar Max being a shill directly to him instead of a snide remark putting his integrity into question. At least then he'd have an opportunity to defend himself.
I have a VVS-6 on the way. It's the one with the maple neck and alder body. It was somewhere around 250, i think. I'm decent at setting up cheap guitars, but I'm a little worried about it now lol It looks pretty legit, I just hope the electronics work ok. Nice video brodda-
Thanks Adam. I hope your experience is a positive one! I'm sure I was the exception ans not the rule and I've been wondering if I should give them another chance but I have too much gear right now to entertain that and I can't imagine these guys reaching out and saying 'hey we saw your vid, we want you to review another one to prove we're better' lol
@@RafsGearReviews Hey bud, thought I would give u an update. So the guitar came packed a little strange, but it was fine lol The first thing I noticed is that the neck is pretty badass. The back of it is so smooth I cannot believe it haha...maybe the smoothest neck ever, but maybe the fattest also hah, seriously it's pretty fat, but I like it. The pickups aren't half bad either. The tuning stability was throwing off, then I remembered I have a killer gotoh 510 off of a Charvel pro-mod. I installed it, but it's not working out...too much to explain, but I'm throwing the original trem back in, and then I'm gonna work on that nut, and install some different string trees. lol I'll let u know if that trem is actually usable. I'll know after that. Cheers-
Yeah I gotta say that the guitar looks good for 150 dollars.. I’m a luthier, I usually spend 500 bucks for my pickups . I’m thinking for a starter guitar , repairing the things you mentioned is easy
I don't expect a lot, just a working guitar is all (if you watch the video you'll know what I mean). The headless seems to have more positive reviews than all of their other models though.
I agree that guitar is not a good example - I got the firefly Suhr style in the green and it's great, all brands have duds - not a fan of the composite finger board, personally - good review though
thanks for this honest review, I saw some other "popular youtuber" reviewing it and this video puts that review into perspective! Unsubscribing there and subscribing here! TRUST is everything
@@monkeymethods It's on my radar. Seems like pretty solid value for the money on paper. I got a lot of stuff to go over and sell atm but eventually I'll prob get the neon green and post a vid on it.
As far as the right they sell pickup rings in many colors that would cover the route you can get gold chrome white etc. . Not warranted if pay 150 dollars any day
I watch all your reviews. I trust you. I'm just wondering. I know you can obviously only review that guitar you have. But guitar Max said his was awesome. And he also paid 189. But to each his own.
Hey Chuck, thanks for supporting the content, much appreciated. It's hard to say but I think it's a little bit of 'luck of the draw' with these cheaper import guitars. I am surprised Max didn't make a comment on the thickness of the neck but perhaps he prefers them that way. Everything else I pointed out could be QC variances. I have to judge them as I get them to be fair but almost all of my videos are from guitars I've tried 2-3 of the same model to be sure I can speak on them. This was one of the rare exceptions where I only tested the one. Maybe I should give the brand a second chance ...
You pass over the beautiful binding on the body... This guitar seems over the top for $200! Minor fixes, I like the neck profile- like early tele's- for bigger hands. Maybe you got a lemon.
There's a lot to like! No doubt. But faulty electronics, bad routing, lots of fretwork needed and a big chunky neck that's not for me it was hard to give it a passing grade BUT it is very possible I simply got a lemon.
Just a thought ..on cheap guitars...you can't expect consistently good quality...these are made in bulk...if possible for this kind of instrument..try it out in a store...and if you find issues but like the guitar...ask for them to pull out a couple of others...you will be surprised each one is different...if you find one that is good enough buy it..else don't..but for 200$ with these features don't expect perfection..if you are a beginner bring along someone who can help advise you ..if you know your stuff you will know what to do to get the most out of the instrument.
Yeah if you see the video, I wasn't expecting 'perfection' I just wanted it to actually work. At the price I would have been perfectly fine with doing some fretwork, setting it up, changing the nut and maybe even sanding and reshaping the neck but having to change the pickups and electronics because it doesn't work is bs on any price tier.
Not too sure but lots of negative reviews on Amazon for this model. So much so they pulled the exact one (pulled the link) and uploaded a different one. Surprised Max didn't comment on the neck. It was so thick both me and a friend of mine got hand cramps after playing on it for a bit. Then again he is in great shape and we are not lol.
Well, if you are looking for affordable guitars that are "acceptable" quality, there is nowhere else but Harley Benton to look really. Buying a mystery guitar from Amazon and complaining about it is like eating gas station sushi and whining about a stomach ache.
@@RafsGearReviews Haha, wasnt meaning your review specifically, generally talking about buying cheap instruments from Amazon, and a brand no one has ever heard of at that. Your review was spot on, just saying none of the issues you found should not have been a surprise, given the price point and where it came from.
@@nemesis11fp20 fair point bro, when I rewatched this I thought about it should have probably clarified the things that are minor and easy to solve for the sake of any newbies that don't know any better. Thanks for the feedback brother!
The only good Amazon guitar I ever bought was a mustang copy by IYV guitars. It was phenomenal for $110 but it was made at the factory that makes some Harley Benton guitars so go figure. I have owned 8 Harley Benton’s and they all were great, especially after the mods
I think this review would be helpful to the beginner looking for their first guitar - I was that person once and it was very discouraging to buy guitars that had to be fixed before they were even remotely playable
My Volgoa VSR-1 is coming tomorrow. I'll update if Volgoa got their sh!t together or they're still 💩. I bought and returned one I got over a year ago. Worse than a Glarry!
Mandatory not? But you can argue near neccesary to maximize playability. All necks need to be buffed and polished (this one wasn't) and ideally also oiled/hydrated. Otherwise you will have rough and bumpy areas and it won't feel as good.
@@RafsGearReviews okay. I also saw another review that explains the weakness of the pickups. They are apparently too low and have no springs and are therefore not adjustable. I can understand why you are returning it, you shouldn’t have to do that much surgery to make it playable, but if a player wants to give the pickups a chance they could throw springs in and at least make it playable
Maybe they made the neck super fat and rough so the players can customize the profile themselves? Am I playing devil’s advocate too much for this guitar?
thanks for the review it looks nice but not worth the time to roll the dice to see if you get a playable one, i bought a leojaymz monsoon $ 261.00 per reviews and it was the same way fret buzz -neck was bowed- one big paint chip right in the front neck pocket covered by a sharpie-, i sent it back for a refund even ask refund to a amazon gift cart 2-2-24 and amazon states it might be april before a refund is issues they received the item on 2-6-24 , i dont want to have to do a setup on a custom guitar your really better off going to a local shop.
The cost of that pickup set is about 35.00 for the whole set . So I’d just be throwing those out . On the other hand I just watched Guitar max review the same guitar right out of the box and his sounded a lot better one my iPhone . If you paid 500 for the guitar complaints would be all over but 150 bucks? Complaints aren’t warranted
Not sure if you watched the whole video but if you did does that mean that you believe that guitars under $150 do not need to be functional at all? I'm not referring to it being set up, but functional or in a state in which it can be tested. If so that's an interesting line of thinking. For a guitar this cheap, I don't expect the build quality to be great. Or even decent. I would like it to actually work though.
Not a lot tbh. Just some working pickups. I can tell you didn't watch the video so I'll summarize. At this price I'm ok with: 1. The sharp fret ends. 2. The unleveled frets. 3. The rough routing. 4. The poorly cut nut 5. The photo flame 6. The baseball bat neck. 7. The poor quality tremolo But I'd at least like for the pickups to work and produce sound so I can properly determine what this 'potential mod platflorm' needs. After everything I detailed and broke down; I determined it needed to go back lol.
Yeah if you see the video, I wasn't expecting 'perfection' I just wanted it to actually work. At the price I would have been perfectly fine with doing some fretwork, setting it up, changing the nut and maybe even sanding and reshaping the neck but having to change the pickups and electronics because it doesn't work is bs on any price tier.
@@RafsGearReviews that's why I don't trust what I see on UA-cam that much anymore. One guy says this and one guy says that. I'm 53 years old and I'm looking for something to keep me busy on my down time and to keep me sane. I haven't turned the TV on in 10 years and I'm getting older to wear I'm not able to do some of the things I did before and I always wanted to learn guitar but I was always busy messing around with race cars that I just never had the time. Now I want to learn even if I never even get good at it. What would you suggest on a guitar that I can learn and something that is fairly cheap. I had saw that guitar on Amazon and that is one of the ones I was thinking of ordering. If you have a suggestion I would appreciate it. Thanks for your advice.
@@libertarianman69 There's a chance that mine was a dud but based on neck design I don't know if this would be my recommendation for someone looking to learn. For someone looking to learn or get back to it again the most important things to nail are tuning stability and playing comfort. You want something that encourages longer playing sessions. I'm not sure where your budget is but if possible I would highly recommend anything from the Eart brand. They do fantastic fit and finish, their necks are very comfortable to play and their tuners, nut and bridges help maintain rock solid tuning stability. You might have to get it set up by a tech if it's not perfect out of the box but that is a reasonable expectatio for any sub $500 guitar. Eart currently has this Telecaster style model for sale for $258 and it is worth every penny. I can't recommend them enough: amzn.to/3VBGDwW The guitars are great because even if you go from beginner to pro they are still perfectly usable and worth keeping down the line.Or if you need to sell, since they have a cult following, they are much easier to sell than an unknown brand like Volgoa. Outside of Eart I'd also recommend certain models from the Firefly brand of guitars: FFPR, Aerosonic, FFV or FFLX if you don't mind radical shapes or the Pegasus. You can find those at Guitarsgsrden.com The fireflys are great mod platforms and the specific models I called out are built out of another factory they have which makes guitars to a higher standard. They also have a huge variety and a massive cult following so resale is easy enough. Other brands to check out are M Musi (same level as Eart) and Indio Dlx and IYV (these last 2 are on the same level as firefly). Expect to have to set up any of these guitars to get them playing properly. One final route is going used if you k ow someone who can inspect a used guitar for you. Schecter has some great bargains in the used world and their guitars are great quality. Esp/Ltd is another one. Hope this helps and good luck man!
This just in ... Volgoa is an in-house brand from Grote guitars! That actually makes a bit of sense seeing as I haf the suspicion this was made by a 'chibson' factory and not many are doing photoflames. I think they are trying to do too much for too little. The $100 Grotes I tried were pretty decent quality for being $100. Slow down Volgoa/Grote. Work on these things and we'll see how it goes.
They actually make 3 brands. In addition to Grote and Volgoa, they also have a brand called Redid. And the guy at the company told me the factory was founded in 2016.
Sorry but it is according to Amazon: "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock. "
Appreciate you catching that. Never owned a Grote at all. Hear most are nice. But don't mean these are.
Very thorough review! Volgoa is supposed to be sending me one of their headless guitars for review. I hope it doesn't have the same issues!
Good luck with that lol. Let me know how it goes! It's a shame though because it is a beautiful guitar!
I'm glad you can send it back! I just paid $149 on Black Friday for a Squier Mustang Bullet. It's great!
Nice! Squier keeps upping their game!
Toronado for $199.
Good looking guitar. Yea that neck would be a deal killer for me as well. Hopefully they will address and fix those issues in future.
Agreed, I think it looks awesome! But unless you're planning to hang it as a decorative item or put a lot of work, money and time into it; it's just kind of pointless.
I just bought a Volgoa and I find it very good for the price . Fit and finish is decent , electronics are decent . With a good setup it’s a great guitar . Even out of the box the setup is better than most . I like it .
Thanks a LOT!!! I was just on the verge of ordering one of these but thought I would check some reviews - You just saved me a couple of hundred dollars man, thanks again.
thanks for the review, raf. please also do one on Boya&Ziqi.
I've been looking into it. We'll see ... Lol.
Man that sucks because it actually looks great. Great in-depth review man!
Thank you!
This review was very interesting and informative. From what I gather, cheap guitars today are in some cases pretty good or at least have the potential to be but this Volga? A few too many deal breakers on this one and red flags all over the place.
‘Cheap’ or not, good craftsmanship in design and manufacturing are qualities that are available nowadays at lower prices to the consumer but you must do your homework before buying - and reviews like this are very important in helping you to make an informed choice.
Thanks. Good job!
I appreciate the kind words, thanks for watching!
Nice honest review, it looks the part but is obviously let down by quality control and poor electronics. I hope they contact you and try to make amends with a replacement that works properly. Have given you a sub.
Cheers from Australia
Thanks for the review Raf. I could barely hear the audio from my PC it was soft like no 2 in volume and your vocal audio was 8. But I could hear the differnce with the Squire even at that level. Keep up the good work.
Thank you. So I actually did that on purpose, the reason why is because if I mic'd the speakers it sounded way louder than what I was actually hearing in the room and then some of you might havs thought I was crazy lol. Using the phone's internal mic was the best way to capture the difference between one and the other. Though in retrospect I could havs raised the clip volume. That was my bad 😅
China is a copy masters,if i not wrong the originals was made in Newburgh ny,very expensive guitar,great sound,before thats guitar they make in the same factory in the 17 K road,the Steinberger headless instruments! Nice copy!
Thank you for reviewing this guitar. I saw your comment on another channel. Whenever I buy an inexpensive guitar I always re-fret and change the nut and electronics anyway. However, your review revealed the super fat neck and the crooked pickup routes. It could be the routes are correct but they screwed in the pickups crooked. No matter, I decided to go with the Donner DMT-100 for my Pimp My Cheap Metal Guitar project. You talked me out of this one. LOL Thanks!
Glad I could help!
interesting - just watched other reviews on this exact unit and the others were very positive and came highly recommended for the price point.
Experiences will always vary in the realm of cheap guitars. I did try to highlight all of the issues I had and showed the girth of the neck and electronic issues. It is a looker though!
Volgoa makes good headless guitars the quality is similar to my former custom guitars built by local luthiers one charging over $3000 at the time
On a budget guitar like this I expect to replace all electronics if needed. And replace tuners too. As far as the neck thickness I love les pauls so I would prob be ok with the neck - but...I understand yours and others preference. And let's face it, the neck is the heart of the guitar - you must feel comfortable with it. Now the overhanging fret ends...yeah I would prob return it for that issue.
I think the neck is dry because someone tossed it in an oven and cooked it. Not sure why people get a stiffy for roasted maple because that is exactly what it is….roasted and dry also brittle.
I get that but that's where the manufacturer needs to come in and oil/hydrate it though! The problem with extremely dry necks is that, even if roasted, too dry it may be dangerous under low levels of humidity, leading to cracks. Plus nicely oiled/hydrated just feels better lol. Eart is a great example of what good looks like for a budget brand in that regard.
I brought the headless. It had many issues. I have some experience working on guitars so I could fix most of the problems. Gap in neck pocket I could slide a thick business card into. Frets were stainless as far as I can tell but not polished and they had noticeable tooling marks. Pickups were not great. My triangle box was inside a box big enough for 4-5 guitars to fit with no padding so it just bounced around inside the bigger box. I paid $199 and it looks nice. After some work it now plays great. Not as good as my Eart but it was cheaper. Almost forgot, my nut was cut wrong too.
Very Cool, Thankyou. Looks nice shame let down by a few points. I purchased a couple of super bargain Donner guitars on Black Friday Sales. WOW super impressed with everything about them. Cheers
Yeah, the photoflame would put me off. I don';t mind doing a bit of fretwork on a cheap guitar, the dry neck, no biggie, its roasted which will dry it out, and then storage, shipping, etc, it'll happen. You can fix that. But the baseball bat neck and the crappy electronics is def a deal breaker. Thanks for reviewing man.
Yeah, the 2 biggest deal breakers for me were the same; baseball bat neck and electronics. I'm ok with everything else for the most part.
Bought the GT6-01 (two humbucker, no whammy bar) for $145. Fret ends needed some light filing, intonation needed adjusting, and the low E saddle was raised to eliminate buzzing. Otherwise playable. One other issue is the switch is wired such that the middle position and bridge position are both bridge pickup only. Output is good, though not super hot. Neck p/u measured 10.4 ohms and bridge p/u measured 11.2. Not a great guitar, but worth what I paid.
I have two different models of Valgoa guitars. Both are excellent right out of the box, no setup required. My frets are level and the rounded ends perfect. I like the composite fretboard and the neck is super comfortable and playable for me. Sorry you don't like the way it looks on this style guitar. I also have one with roasted maple fretboard, locking tuners that work well and it has Hot Rail Humbuckers with coil splitting. My two Valgoa guitars are awesome . I guess you got a bad batch.
He certainly did, as was clearly demonstrated.
Good to hear that you are happy with yours though - keep on strummin’!
I just got a VRS-1983. It is an amazing instrument for the money. It is incredibly payable right out of the box. It was intonated, with great action. The frets and neck were well finished. The humbuckers sound much better than one could reasonably expect from a $150 guitar.
I bought a PRS SE Custom 24-08 last year. It sucked. I quickly sold it at a loss. I like the Volgoa far more than that PRS. If you’re considering buying a PRS SE save your money and buy a VRS-1983.
Sounds like you got a good one! Glad you did. Most of the reviews on Amazon for that model and even Volgoa in general are subpar or average but I do know of some people who had a positive experience with one. I ordered another Volgoa (made a vid on the channel too) and it was much better but still didn't quite stack up to some of the other guitars in it's price point.
I've yet to try a really good one but I know they'te out there. Sucks that you had a bad experience with the PRS SE though they make some phenomenal guitars! I have a 2013 Zach Myers and it's one of the best instruments I've ever played. I've met with a slew of recording and performing artists who've used it and liked it even better than a $30K PRS dragon they had.
Guitar is a unique thing. Not all are built the same way and not all of our preferences are the same. Personally I like to evaluate based on the 'average' or my experience handling multiple of the same before giving my opinion. This video was an exception but that is why I got another one to give it another chance.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the great review and video. Glad I ran across your channel which I will subscribe to as soon as I finish this comment. Who’s budget Les Paul style guitar company is making the best budget guitar you’ve reviewed so far? 😊
That's tough. I think it depends on the budget I think sub $250 it's the new Firefly FFLPs with locking tuners for sure. If it's sub $500 then either the Harlet Benton Deluxe Gotoh Emg series or the Eart singlecut. Can't go wrong either way!
I have one I have no issues plays good I would have liked a real maple front play it through an amp to fair
Thanks for sharing Raf! i actually had my eyes on one of their guitars.Bullet dodged I guess 😂
Yeah, it's so unfortunate though!
Sorry you have problems. Just a drag all around to deal with. Thanks for pointing them out. All the best.
Phil
NYC/Jersey Shore Area
Thx for the truth brother
This is a phenomenal in-depth video Raf! GuitarMax just did a video on the same one and he seems to have had a different experience but goes nowhere near the level of detail you did and I suspect he might be a shill planted by those guys. Thanks for sharing!
You should make that statement about Guitar Max being a shill directly to him instead of a snide remark putting his integrity into question. At least then he'd have an opportunity to defend himself.
@@JoJo-nt3pi I have and of course he just blocks/deletes it instead of addressing it.
I wouldn’t respond to you either.
What is different about a low output pickup compared to a high output? More windings make more output with more windings? 14:28
I have a VVS-6 on the way. It's the one with the maple neck and alder body. It was somewhere around 250, i think. I'm decent at setting up cheap guitars, but I'm a little worried about it now lol It looks pretty legit, I just hope the electronics work ok. Nice video brodda-
Thanks Adam. I hope your experience is a positive one!
I'm sure I was the exception ans not the rule and I've been wondering if I should give them another chance but I have too much gear right now to entertain that and I can't imagine these guys reaching out and saying 'hey we saw your vid, we want you to review another one to prove we're better' lol
@@RafsGearReviews Hey bud, thought I would give u an update. So the guitar came packed a little strange, but it was fine lol The first thing I noticed is that the neck is pretty badass. The back of it is so smooth I cannot believe it haha...maybe the smoothest neck ever, but maybe the fattest also hah, seriously it's pretty fat, but I like it. The pickups aren't half bad either. The tuning stability was throwing off, then I remembered I have a killer gotoh 510 off of a Charvel pro-mod. I installed it, but it's not working out...too much to explain, but I'm throwing the original trem back in, and then I'm gonna work on that nut, and install some different string trees. lol I'll let u know if that trem is actually usable. I'll know after that. Cheers-
Yeah I gotta say that the guitar looks good for 150 dollars.. I’m a luthier, I usually spend 500 bucks for my pickups . I’m thinking for a starter guitar , repairing the things you mentioned is easy
It's perfect for a mod project or someone handy with them for sure. Even the neck could be reshaped to a 60s Fender profile.
Love dark fretboards hate that wood fretboards are sensitive to water so this material is a winner.
Have 2 headless models. Not bad. what do you really expect for the cost. These prices don't suggest custom guitars.
I don't expect a lot, just a working guitar is all (if you watch the video you'll know what I mean).
The headless seems to have more positive reviews than all of their other models though.
@@RafsGearReviews Did not mean you. Just people in general. No offense intended.
@@CKS64 non taken. It's a beautiful guitar, I just wished it worked properly.
I agree that guitar is not a good example - I got the firefly Suhr style in the green and it's great, all brands have duds - not a fan of the composite finger board, personally - good review though
thanks for this honest review, I saw some other "popular youtuber" reviewing it and this video puts that review into perspective! Unsubscribing there and subscribing here! TRUST is everything
Thanks for the sub! Much appreciated 🙏
I decided to give these another chance and have one on the way so look for another Volgoa vid soon. ✌️
@@RafsGearReviews Any opinion on the Leo Jaymz Tempest??
@@monkeymethods It's on my radar. Seems like pretty solid value for the money on paper. I got a lot of stuff to go over and sell atm but eventually I'll prob get the neon green and post a vid on it.
@@RafsGearReviews Looking forward to that, that is the one I have been following closest... Thanks for your work man!! You are killing it brotha!
As far as the right they sell pickup rings in many colors that would cover the route you can get gold chrome white etc. . Not warranted if pay 150 dollars any day
Appreciate the honest review!
I watch all your reviews. I trust you. I'm just wondering. I know you can obviously only review that guitar you have. But guitar Max said his was awesome. And he also paid 189. But to each his own.
Hey Chuck, thanks for supporting the content, much appreciated.
It's hard to say but I think it's a little bit of 'luck of the draw' with these cheaper import guitars. I am surprised Max didn't make a comment on the thickness of the neck but perhaps he prefers them that way.
Everything else I pointed out could be QC variances. I have to judge them as I get them to be fair but almost all of my videos are from guitars I've tried 2-3 of the same model to be sure I can speak on them. This was one of the rare exceptions where I only tested the one. Maybe I should give the brand a second chance ...
You pass over the beautiful binding on the body... This guitar seems over the top for $200! Minor fixes, I like the neck profile- like early tele's- for bigger hands. Maybe you got a lemon.
There's a lot to like! No doubt. But faulty electronics, bad routing, lots of fretwork needed and a big chunky neck that's not for me it was hard to give it a passing grade BUT it is very possible I simply got a lemon.
Just a thought ..on cheap guitars...you can't expect consistently good quality...these are made in bulk...if possible for this kind of instrument..try it out in a store...and if you find issues but like the guitar...ask for them to pull out a couple of others...you will be surprised each one is different...if you find one that is good enough buy it..else don't..but for 200$ with these features don't expect perfection..if you are a beginner bring along someone who can help advise you ..if you know your stuff you will know what to do to get the most out of the instrument.
Yeah if you see the video, I wasn't expecting 'perfection' I just wanted it to actually work. At the price I would have been perfectly fine with doing some fretwork, setting it up, changing the nut and maybe even sanding and reshaping the neck but having to change the pickups and electronics because it doesn't work is bs on any price tier.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Guitar Max had a much better experience with this guitar. Did you just get a bad one for some reason.
Not too sure but lots of negative reviews on Amazon for this model. So much so they pulled the exact one (pulled the link) and uploaded a different one. Surprised Max didn't comment on the neck. It was so thick both me and a friend of mine got hand cramps after playing on it for a bit. Then again he is in great shape and we are not lol.
Well, if you are looking for affordable guitars that are "acceptable" quality, there is nowhere else but Harley Benton to look really. Buying a mystery guitar from Amazon and complaining about it is like eating gas station sushi and whining about a stomach ache.
Complaining that ... it doesn't work? Lol.
@@RafsGearReviews Haha, wasnt meaning your review specifically, generally talking about buying cheap instruments from Amazon, and a brand no one has ever heard of at that. Your review was spot on, just saying none of the issues you found should not have been a surprise, given the price point and where it came from.
@@nemesis11fp20 fair point bro, when I rewatched this I thought about it should have probably clarified the things that are minor and easy to solve for the sake of any newbies that don't know any better. Thanks for the feedback brother!
The only good Amazon guitar I ever bought was a mustang copy by IYV guitars. It was phenomenal for $110 but it was made at the factory that makes some Harley Benton guitars so go figure. I have owned 8 Harley Benton’s and they all were great, especially after the mods
I think this review would be helpful to the beginner looking for their first guitar - I was that person once and it was very discouraging to buy guitars that had to be fixed before they were even remotely playable
My Volgoa VSR-1 is coming tomorrow. I'll update if Volgoa got their sh!t together or they're still 💩. I bought and returned one I got over a year ago. Worse than a Glarry!
CONS:
Veneer crack
Needs new nut - too thin
Needs neck shim
Pickups are microphonic
Chips by nut & truss rod wheel
Noisy AF trem springs
PROS:
Nice frets
Smooth tuners
Compound neck profile
Rolled fretboard
Decent bridge
-TBD-
If frets are level
the neck is roasted? if so it's not necessary to oil it
Mandatory not? But you can argue near neccesary to maximize playability. All necks need to be buffed and polished (this one wasn't) and ideally also oiled/hydrated. Otherwise you will have rough and bumpy areas and it won't feel as good.
@@RafsGearReviews okay. I also saw another review that explains the weakness of the pickups. They are apparently too low and have no springs and are therefore not adjustable. I can understand why you are returning it, you shouldn’t have to do that much surgery to make it playable, but if a player wants to give the pickups a chance they could throw springs in and at least make it playable
Maybe they made the neck super fat and rough so the players can customize the profile themselves? Am I playing devil’s advocate too much for this guitar?
I’ll buy it from you if you still have it?
I don't. Sent it back. Needed too much work to make do.
thanks for the review it looks nice but not worth the time to roll the dice to see if you get a playable one, i bought a leojaymz monsoon $ 261.00 per reviews and it was the same way fret buzz -neck was bowed- one big paint chip right in the front neck pocket covered by a sharpie-, i sent it back for a refund even ask refund to a amazon gift cart 2-2-24 and amazon states it might be april before a refund is issues they received the item on 2-6-24 , i dont want to have to do a setup on a custom guitar
your really better off going to a local shop.
The cost of that pickup set is about 35.00 for the whole set . So I’d just be throwing those out . On the other hand I just watched Guitar max review the same guitar right out of the box and his sounded a lot better one my iPhone . If you paid 500 for the guitar complaints would be all over but 150 bucks? Complaints aren’t warranted
Not sure if you watched the whole video but if you did does that mean that you believe that guitars under $150 do not need to be functional at all?
I'm not referring to it being set up, but functional or in a state in which it can be tested. If so that's an interesting line of thinking. For a guitar this cheap, I don't expect the build quality to be great. Or even decent. I would like it to actually work though.
Also the $150 price tag is a BF deal. The 'normal price' for these are $230 plus tax. If it worked it would be a great price.
Easy return at least.
Yeah I literally dropped it off at Ups today and got my money back already.
Sounds like I wired it.😃
Looool
At 7:05, that reckless obtuse routing is enough to return it. Chinese crap Suhr copy, or not -- designed in "WHATEVER", crafted by incompetence.
For about 180 what do people expect? I mean, a pair of quality pickups cost more than the whole gtr! :)
Not a lot tbh. Just some working pickups. I can tell you didn't watch the video so I'll summarize. At this price I'm ok with:
1. The sharp fret ends.
2. The unleveled frets.
3. The rough routing.
4. The poorly cut nut
5. The photo flame
6. The baseball bat neck.
7. The poor quality tremolo
But I'd at least like for the pickups to work and produce sound so I can properly determine what this 'potential mod platflorm' needs. After everything I detailed and broke down; I determined it needed to go back lol.
Sucks i couldnt at least hear it the thing looks good
Guitar max just did a video of it.
@@OkayyyIGetItI get the sense Guitar max wasn’t too honest in his vid tbh
Yeah I wouldn't expect anything to be good in a buck sixty guitar neither.
Yeah if you see the video, I wasn't expecting 'perfection' I just wanted it to actually work. At the price I would have been perfectly fine with doing some fretwork, setting it up, changing the nut and maybe even sanding and reshaping the neck but having to change the pickups and electronics because it doesn't work is bs on any price tier.
Guitar max says its good.
Seems like he says that about every guitar. Most of his videos feel like ads. I do enjoy his content though.
@@RafsGearReviews that's why I don't trust what I see on UA-cam that much anymore. One guy says this and one guy says that. I'm 53 years old and I'm looking for something to keep me busy on my down time and to keep me sane. I haven't turned the TV on in 10 years and I'm getting older to wear I'm not able to do some of the things I did before and I always wanted to learn guitar but I was always busy messing around with race cars that I just never had the time. Now I want to learn even if I never even get good at it. What would you suggest on a guitar that I can learn and something that is fairly cheap. I had saw that guitar on Amazon and that is one of the ones I was thinking of ordering. If you have a suggestion I would appreciate it. Thanks for your advice.
@@libertarianman69 There's a chance that mine was a dud but based on neck design I don't know if this would be my recommendation for someone looking to learn. For someone looking to learn or get back to it again the most important things to nail are tuning stability and playing comfort. You want something that encourages longer playing sessions.
I'm not sure where your budget is but if possible I would highly recommend anything from the Eart brand. They do fantastic fit and finish, their necks are very comfortable to play and their tuners, nut and bridges help maintain rock solid tuning stability. You might have to get it set up by a tech if it's not perfect out of the box but that is a reasonable expectatio for any sub $500 guitar. Eart currently has this Telecaster style model for sale for $258 and it is worth every penny. I can't recommend them enough: amzn.to/3VBGDwW
The guitars are great because even if you go from beginner to pro they are still perfectly usable and worth keeping down the line.Or if you need to sell, since they have a cult following, they are much easier to sell than an unknown brand like Volgoa.
Outside of Eart I'd also recommend certain models from the Firefly brand of guitars: FFPR, Aerosonic, FFV or FFLX if you don't mind radical shapes or the Pegasus. You can find those at Guitarsgsrden.com
The fireflys are great mod platforms and the specific models I called out are built out of another factory they have which makes guitars to a higher standard. They also have a huge variety and a massive cult following so resale is easy enough.
Other brands to check out are M Musi (same level as Eart) and Indio Dlx and IYV (these last 2 are on the same level as firefly). Expect to have to set up any of these guitars to get them playing properly.
One final route is going used if you k ow someone who can inspect a used guitar for you. Schecter has some great bargains in the used world and their guitars are great quality. Esp/Ltd is another one.
Hope this helps and good luck man!
made in china lol
Just replace the pickups
Pickups, nut, level, crown and polish frets and reshape the moldn
Be careful talking with companies- Firefly stole ideas and a model directly from me. #redscorpion. Too bad (for them) that the blew it.