Wow guys Jeremy just gave me the honor of buying this beauty from him. Really greatful for the privilege of owning a muse this creatively beautiful. Just Gained a lifelong subscriber.
I bought the Lava Spruce. Love it! Been playing 50+ years. Sure it's a little gimmicky, but the "gimmicks" are well thought out, and they work. I love some of the effects. Find some of them quite inspirational when playing. And just playing the guitar as an acoustic with 0 effects - it sounds good to me. Has a rich bottom and midrange. Glad I bought it.
As someone going into audio engineering and just an all-around guitar and tech fan. I'm not sure a lot of people understand the extent of use an all in one guitar like this brings, and the cost saved on a multitude of pedals a lot of guitar players use. This is as much an electric guitar as it is an acoustic, and it has a built-in system to make your own EFFECTS🤯! Not to mention run with other effect pedals! So i guess if you're an acoustic only player or a "purest" this is just a sturdy novelty with cool ranging sound. However, for someone who wants a large range of sound from their guitar at a price shy of 1k, that's honestly a steal. Especially when you take a look at the marketplace for even a low range electric guitar. Take that and the price that would need to be spent on pedals right off the bat to get the same amount of effects, and you're already saving thousands. Now i just saved up to get one, so we"ll see how i feel in a couple months 😂. Either way, I really hope this is the beginning of a bright and beautiful future for all in one guitars on top of the usual mainstays. Awesome review, man! You and some other channels reviews really helped with my decision on saving up for one. 🤘
Thanks for the review. Trying to find pics on the net (of / or ) the difference in the "gig" bag between the 36 and 41 inch and do they make the better protected one for the 36 inch. Help appreciated as I'd prefer the 36 for noodling on a couch, but would pay extra for a better bag if offered.
It sounds good. Definitely better than a lot of the videos I have seen by influencers. I’d love to try one out for my own. I’m always curious about new tech
It’s definitely fun and funky if you have the spare income to throw at it and love weird guitars! I don’t regret mine. I’d love to know if this newer one stays in tune as long as my lava me 2 does. It’ll never replace all of my other guitars but it’s definitely interesting.
It’s definitely a strange piece to have in a guitar collection. I got the lava me 2 a few years back bc it looked cool and I’m a sucker for funky tech, and it’s been pleasantly surprising. I never really use the built in speaker thing, but it stays in tune for months on end. I’ve got it hanging w my “real” guitars and it’s the one that’s the easiest to just pick up and play for a few seconds. If you’re not into kitsch weird stuff, I wouldn’t bother, and it’s way to expensive to get for a kid. The price point is just ridiculous.
We'll, it's interesting. I suspect there's value as a learner if guitar and a home learning tool. Would i play with it if i was given one? Of course. Would i buy it, probably not. What might be interesting is to design an interface like that to be adapted to more traditional guitars. We put pickups in all kinds of guitars so it seems that wouldn't be hard to adapt.
Random message from the UK, lurking for a long time a guy that hates his job watches your channel and thinks good on him putting in all the effort and being fortunate enough to make THIS the job, I am a techy guy that would kill to dump my present job and do you, doing you not an easy feat but this is not you bro stick with you. This is me probably a techy guy but its not you. love your content but dont let the bubble lead you stick your love and your guns. All about the wood and the history of said wood the craft and history of said wood. Maybe a little drunk :) xx
Nah, this is too much like an Apple product for me. That finish will start to look old and the screen will get scratches. Then they'll bring out a new one in bright shiny colors a year later, and this will get tossed. That said, it does have some cool and valuable features, but just the presentation and marketing turns me off. Better to get a proper guitar and get a good learning app as well as some lessons. Even a couple months worth of weekly lessons can put someone on the right track quickly.
I think that if you want to get into the effects while you're playing then you really need to plug it into a guitar amp, not a PA system. Maybe you should watch other people's reviews first.
A RainSong is NOT any different than the material used by this Lava and most import “carbon fiber” composite guitars. They are not what you probably think. They are actually made of ground up, powdered CF material that is mixed into resin, so it’s basically a hard plastic of sorts. The problem is that this material is NOT the same as bidirectional carbon fiber used by McPherson, Emerald, and KLOS Guitars. This plastic material shatters/breaks very easily. In fact, Agufish got a Lava 3 that he unboxed last year with a shattered top (he oddly still reviewed a replacement guitar 8 months later) - you can find both videos on his channel, the first unboxing video shows the shattered top when he opened the package. That sort of damage would NEVER happen with a bidirectional CF guitar that is made of the same material used in the aerospace industry - that’s what KLOS, McPherson, and Emerald use. So your statement that you want a McPherson or RainSong highlights my point that you don’t understand the difference between the materials and price points. More on that below. I personally recommend a KLOS. It’s the most affordable bidirectional CF guitar on the market. They have a Black Friday sale going on. You can always call to ask for discounts. They always have b- stock listed on their Reverb, site, or you can ask if you don’t see the b stock you want, and the best deals are when they launch new models via kickstarter. Every guitar gets pleked. Has lifetime warranty against defects. You can return if you don’t like it or try one at a dealer. You’re not going to get all of that with any of the “CF” Amazon guitars - they’re all the same reinforced plastic with ground up CF. There’s no way to repair or replace whether they have electronics or not. I wouldn’t even recommend these types of guitars for homes with kids or rowdy pets being that they break so easily. Some of them cost nearly what some KLOS models cost - you’re better off saving up for a guitarist that will last a lifetime. Oh, and you can customize the specs and features of your KLOS. You can select the pickup, opt for a sound port, get other upgrades or downgrades (which are anything but that!). Can’t do that with these import guitars. I also agree regarding the electronics. Lava should have built these guitars with replaceable electronics modules that can be swapped easily by the user. They will probably not get supported updates within 3-4 years thereby making the electronics obsolete. There’s also no repair program either. The idea is nice but the execution is not good. I do like the idea of the integrated effects and the guitar sounds nice - but it’s really not worth more than $200 and has more risk than anything. I’ve also heard people say that while it’s supposed to resist temperature changes, after 2-4 years, these guitars start to warp and shift - especially in more extreme climates. I can’t speak to that, but being that it’s basically plastic, I don’t doubt those reports from people who own guitars from several of these brands using similar materials. Not trying to knock the guitars, but like timeouts and other stuff we learn about, I’m disappointed that nobody in the guitar community seems educated about the subject of composites, the types of carbon fiber materials used in guitars, and the differences. The overseas industry takes advantage of this lack of knowledge and makes people think they’re getting a tank of a guitar for less. Most people want to know if their guitar is made with laminates, the type of wood, whether it’s a hardwood back/sides, and all the specifics about the specs and features. Notice these brands provide no information on their websites and ads - not even the scale length. I’m sure there are people who like these guitars, but others end up feeling duped and have no recourse. I learned about CF materials when I got a gift from my dying mom to get a hybrid full sized deluxe KLOS when they launched it on Kickstarter in 2017. I’ve had that guitar since 2018, and it’s still going strong, even with a wood neck that’s reinforced with two CF stiffening rods (was before they offered full CF necks). It’s my only guitar. I learned to play on it. It gets played around 1-2 hours daily, sometimes more if I break up my playing sessions into much smaller bits (I’m disabled). It sounds beautiful- not like wood, but it has plenty of bass and sparkle with D’addario XT strings if you’re looking for more treble with your bass and mids, or Cleartone Phosphors if you want a slightly darker sound with less trebles. I can play any genre of music with it - sometimes metal and rock, other times classical. Very versatile. Anyway, I really wish a few UA-camrs would get together and make a campaign to learn educate people about this material and the differences because everyone should understand what they’re buying.
@@MashaT22 Thank you. I know that McPherson was different, and I got one to play outside for the Memory Care facility folks during shutdown. This is Montana, and it was very cold some of those days. But the guitar sounded good for not being wood, and has no issues with warping or breaking apart. I do have to change strings. Back in the day (1990s), one of my projects in St. Charles LA made a structural carbon fiber for tubes from rice hulls. An extruded carbon fiber, probably like the bi-directional CF of which you speak. This is the only non-wood guitar I own. Thanks for the update. Oh, and one retailer I know had 7 of 11 Lava guitars sold returned as damaged. They have since dropped the line.
No, no, no !!! It's like an electric car. No info, just marketing and lots of money. Basically a product that you find out that you paid a lot of money for something that doesn't have service, doesn't play well, etc. when you have it at home and it's too late...
Did you know that there is 6 band parametric EQ in sound settings that allows you to adjust the preamp/line-out sound?
Wow guys Jeremy just gave me the honor of buying this beauty from him. Really greatful for the privilege of owning a muse this creatively beautiful. Just Gained a lifelong subscriber.
I bought the Lava Spruce. Love it! Been playing 50+ years. Sure it's a little gimmicky, but the "gimmicks" are well thought out, and they work. I love some of the effects. Find some of them quite inspirational when playing. And just playing the guitar as an acoustic with 0 effects - it sounds good to me. Has a rich bottom and midrange. Glad I bought it.
As someone going into audio engineering and just an all-around guitar and tech fan. I'm not sure a lot of people understand the extent of use an all in one guitar like this brings, and the cost saved on a multitude of pedals a lot of guitar players use. This is as much an electric guitar as it is an acoustic, and it has a built-in system to make your own EFFECTS🤯! Not to mention run with other effect pedals! So i guess if you're an acoustic only player or a "purest" this is just a sturdy novelty with cool ranging sound. However, for someone who wants a large range of sound from their guitar at a price shy of 1k, that's honestly a steal. Especially when you take a look at the marketplace for even a low range electric guitar. Take that and the price that would need to be spent on pedals right off the bat to get the same amount of effects, and you're already saving thousands. Now i just saved up to get one, so we"ll see how i feel in a couple months 😂. Either way, I really hope this is the beginning of a bright and beautiful future for all in one guitars on top of the usual mainstays. Awesome review, man! You and some other channels reviews really helped with my decision on saving up for one. 🤘
Is the LAVA ME 4 Carbon worth it honestly for someone trying to learn how to play music 🎶
Thanks for the review. Trying to find pics on the net (of / or ) the difference in the "gig" bag between the 36 and 41 inch and do they make the better protected one for the 36 inch. Help appreciated as I'd prefer the 36 for noodling on a couch, but would pay extra for a better bag if offered.
I think that according to the manufacturer's page, then 36" will give louder precedence to the effects when played accoustically.
It sounds good. Definitely better than a lot of the videos I have seen by influencers. I’d love to try one out for my own. I’m always curious about new tech
It’s definitely fun and funky if you have the spare income to throw at it and love weird guitars! I don’t regret mine. I’d love to know if this newer one stays in tune as long as my lava me 2 does.
It’ll never replace all of my other guitars but it’s definitely interesting.
It’s definitely a strange piece to have in a guitar collection. I got the lava me 2 a few years back bc it looked cool and I’m a sucker for funky tech, and it’s been pleasantly surprising. I never really use the built in speaker thing, but it stays in tune for months on end. I’ve got it hanging w my “real” guitars and it’s the one that’s the easiest to just pick up and play for a few seconds. If you’re not into kitsch weird stuff, I wouldn’t bother, and it’s way to expensive to get for a kid. The price point is just ridiculous.
Frankly, the guitar itself sounds way better than I expected. Through amp? Not so much. Is this the new Ovation?
We'll, it's interesting. I suspect there's value as a learner if guitar and a home learning tool.
Would i play with it if i was given one? Of course. Would i buy it, probably not.
What might be interesting is to design an interface like that to be adapted to more traditional guitars. We put pickups in all kinds of guitars so it seems that wouldn't be hard to adapt.
which size?
Fantastic
Is this the 36-Inch or 38-inch version?
Does it actually say 'Hey' ?
Is it and APPLE /LAVA (Apple product) ?❓
No. It's an android interface
Random message from the UK, lurking for a long time a guy that hates his job watches your channel and thinks good on him putting in all the effort and being fortunate enough to make THIS the job, I am a techy guy that would kill to dump my present job and do you, doing you not an easy feat but this is not you bro stick with you. This is me probably a techy guy but its not you. love your content but dont let the bubble lead you stick your love and your guns. All about the wood and the history of said wood the craft and history of said wood. Maybe a little drunk :) xx
yup,a learners guitar,wish i had one 5 yrs ago with all the gadgets!! the future is now!!!🤗🤗🤔🤔
Your going to get a million hits on this
Unlikely...
@@JeremySheppard it would be cool if it did
Nah, this is too much like an Apple product for me. That finish will start to look old and the screen will get scratches. Then they'll bring out a new one in bright shiny colors a year later, and this will get tossed. That said, it does have some cool and valuable features, but just the presentation and marketing turns me off. Better to get a proper guitar and get a good learning app as well as some lessons. Even a couple months worth of weekly lessons can put someone on the right track quickly.
shutup geek
Hey Jeremy, there's something wrong with the link to the guitar. I'm getting this URL not available.
Both on my Android phone and my Mac.
If you get rid of the "I'm" at the end of the url, it works.
Star Trek Pink
I think that if you want to get into the effects while you're playing then you really need to plug it into a guitar amp, not a PA system. Maybe you should watch other people's reviews first.
Well yeah... No!
Not for me. Expensive toy IMO Looks like a Barbie Doll guitar. Thanks for the review.🎸
They'll make a Ken doll guitar eventually.
Couldn't be bothered its a guitar for nerds.
It has too many things going on for me. If I wanted a carbon fiber guitar, I'd get a McPherson or Raintree. Thanks Jeremy
This is much cheaper than a McPherson by a couple of thousand dollars
@karlcountry2363 less expensive, less quality construction, and not for me. These have been reviewed elsewhere.
A RainSong is NOT any different than the material used by this Lava and most import “carbon fiber” composite guitars. They are not what you probably think. They are actually made of ground up, powdered CF material that is mixed into resin, so it’s basically a hard plastic of sorts.
The problem is that this material is NOT the same as bidirectional carbon fiber used by McPherson, Emerald, and KLOS Guitars. This plastic material shatters/breaks very easily. In fact, Agufish got a Lava 3 that he unboxed last year with a shattered top (he oddly still reviewed a replacement guitar 8 months later) - you can find both videos on his channel, the first unboxing video shows the shattered top when he opened the package. That sort of damage would NEVER happen with a bidirectional CF guitar that is made of the same material used in the aerospace industry - that’s what KLOS, McPherson, and Emerald use. So your statement that you want a McPherson or RainSong highlights my point that you don’t understand the difference between the materials and price points. More on that below.
I personally recommend a KLOS. It’s the most affordable bidirectional CF guitar on the market. They have a Black Friday sale going on. You can always call to ask for discounts. They always have b- stock listed on their Reverb, site, or you can ask if you don’t see the b stock you want, and the best deals are when they launch new models via kickstarter. Every guitar gets pleked. Has lifetime warranty against defects. You can return if you don’t like it or try one at a dealer. You’re not going to get all of that with any of the “CF” Amazon guitars - they’re all the same reinforced plastic with ground up CF. There’s no way to repair or replace whether they have electronics or not. I wouldn’t even recommend these types of guitars for homes with kids or rowdy pets being that they break so easily. Some of them cost nearly what some KLOS models cost - you’re better off saving up for a guitarist that will last a lifetime. Oh, and you can customize the specs and features of your KLOS. You can select the pickup, opt for a sound port, get other upgrades or downgrades (which are anything but that!). Can’t do that with these import guitars.
I also agree regarding the electronics. Lava should have built these guitars with replaceable electronics modules that can be swapped easily by the user. They will probably not get supported updates within 3-4 years thereby making the electronics obsolete. There’s also no repair program either. The idea is nice but the execution is not good.
I do like the idea of the integrated effects and the guitar sounds nice - but it’s really not worth more than $200 and has more risk than anything. I’ve also heard people say that while it’s supposed to resist temperature changes, after 2-4 years, these guitars start to warp and shift - especially in more extreme climates. I can’t speak to that, but being that it’s basically plastic, I don’t doubt those reports from people who own guitars from several of these brands using similar materials.
Not trying to knock the guitars, but like timeouts and other stuff we learn about, I’m disappointed that nobody in the guitar community seems educated about the subject of composites, the types of carbon fiber materials used in guitars, and the differences. The overseas industry takes advantage of this lack of knowledge and makes people think they’re getting a tank of a guitar for less. Most people want to know if their guitar is made with laminates, the type of wood, whether it’s a hardwood back/sides, and all the specifics about the specs and features. Notice these brands provide no information on their websites and ads - not even the scale length. I’m sure there are people who like these guitars, but others end up feeling duped and have no recourse. I learned about CF materials when I got a gift from my dying mom to get a hybrid full sized deluxe KLOS when they launched it on Kickstarter in 2017. I’ve had that guitar since 2018, and it’s still going strong, even with a wood neck that’s reinforced with two CF stiffening rods (was before they offered full CF necks). It’s my only guitar. I learned to play on it. It gets played around 1-2 hours daily, sometimes more if I break up my playing sessions into much smaller bits (I’m disabled). It sounds beautiful- not like wood, but it has plenty of bass and sparkle with D’addario XT strings if you’re looking for more treble with your bass and mids, or Cleartone Phosphors if you want a slightly darker sound with less trebles. I can play any genre of music with it - sometimes metal and rock, other times classical. Very versatile.
Anyway, I really wish a few UA-camrs would get together and make a campaign to learn educate people about this material and the differences because everyone should understand what they’re buying.
@@MashaT22 Thank you. I know that McPherson was different, and I got one to play outside for the Memory Care facility folks during shutdown. This is Montana, and it was very cold some of those days. But the guitar sounded good for not being wood, and has no issues with warping or breaking apart. I do have to change strings. Back in the day (1990s), one of my projects in St. Charles LA made a structural carbon fiber for tubes from rice hulls. An extruded carbon fiber, probably like the bi-directional CF of which you speak. This is the only non-wood guitar I own. Thanks for the update. Oh, and one retailer I know had 7 of 11 Lava guitars sold returned as damaged. They have since dropped the line.
Can’t get my head around plastic guitars
How about the sound of a bango or dobro?
No, no, no !!! It's like an electric car. No info, just marketing and lots of money. Basically a product that you find out that you paid a lot of money for something that doesn't have service, doesn't play well, etc. when you have it at home and it's too late...
USB-C charge..thankyou.
What did I say?