My wife found a cheap copy of a Stratocaster at the garbage dump, but we brought it home. The frets were sharp and jagged and the action was high, so I took the neck off and filed and sanded the frets down, lowered the action and put a descent set of strings on it. For free I think it turned out pretty good. Some cheap guitars I think are okay, but they need to be set up; others are just toys--junk.
I found a small guitar amplifier sitting outside on the curb for the garbage man one day while I was working.. I took it home and plugged it in, and it worked. It didn’t have a mark on it, just some dust.. I told a coworker of mine about it that is a guitar player also, and he told me about another coworker of ours, who is mother through out a Marshall head .. I don’t know anything else about it, but it was an amp made in the 70s. She threw it away because her son had moved around got married and moved away to another city. She was cleaning out his room, and that was one of the things she tossed.. I was working one day, I was parked in an alley behind an apartment building. I saw two women carrying a tama drum set to put it in the dumpster.. it had the floor tom, the two mounted to the bass drum, the high hat with Zildjian symbols, and two chrome snare drums, one of them was a Slingerland.. there was a bag of drumsticks, a lot of drum fittings and clamps, a musical wood block, and a cowbell in the canvas bag.. I ran up to the lady like I was stopping her from jumping off a bridge just as she was about to drop the first room into the dumpster. I asked her, are you throwing these drums away? She said Yep. I live in a small apartment, my husband died three years ago and I’m sick of stepping over them. I asked her if I could have the drums. She said of course.. I thought about it for a second, then I said look let’s do it this way. I’m driving my company car/Jeep. I opened my wallet and I only had a $20 bill. I said I’ll give you $20 for these drums if you give me a receipt.. I did not want to be accused of stealing them. She excepted the money and gave me a receipt signed and dated, The drums took up every extra inch of space I had in my Jeep liberty company jeep.. I actually could not see out the rearview mirror because my company jeep was prettyfilled with tools and boxes of things I used every day on my job.. on my way home that day. I stopped in a music store and asked the owner, who was a new owner in the past few months, and he just happened to be a drummer, if he would be interested in the drums. He was a good poker player, but I could tell you was interested.. we ended up doing a swap for a used peavey tweed classic 50 with 4-10s..I never had a peavey amplifier before.. mostly fenders and traynor and ampegs.. it was only missing one chicken head knob.. I can’t believe how much better than my fender super reverb I liked this peavey.. I did not know they had switchable channels with post in Parissettings to make a growl at low volume. I didn’t know they had switchable channels. I didn’t know it had a built-in cooling fan for the tubes. I did not know how warm the tone is.. I liked that amplifier so much that I still have, that I went out and picked up a Peavey Deltablues, and a PV classic 30, all tweed, all tube amps.. both of my classic amps the 30 in the 50s were made in the 80s. My Deltablues was made in the 2000 and I believe it was one of the last ones that they made in the United States factory. I’m only sorry I did not know about these amps in the 80s when I was playing in the smoky bars getting home at 4 AM smelling like an ashtray.. all three of these amps have pre-and post game controls, and switchable channels, and they are all tube. They take the same tubes that they use in Marshalls, And I never heard them make any crackling or hissing or popping noises that my fender super reverb and fender vibrolux reverb were famous for..
Yes , it emits noxious noises, they should have made them take these back and stuck in those vw cars they rounded up and destroyed. The world would be a better place.
@@badger305 They didn't destroy the TDi's, they installed better emissions control devices on them. A few months ago, I bought one: a 2013 VW Jetta Sportwagen with a 2.0 liter turbo-diesel and 6 speed manual transmission. I can honestly say it's the best car I've ever owned. It handles extremely well, has an incredibly immaculate leather interior, and gets 40+ mpg. In fact, I'm hitting my first 600+ mile tank of fuel (14 gallons of diesel).
@@rotaryskratch18 - Reminds me of that time I posted a comment opining about the comparative merits of my Fender vs. my Gibson, on a channel devoted to automotive performance.
I swear Gibson was ripping off the Judas Priest "Breakin The Law" video for the Reverse Flying V. If you go watch it, there's a bank security guard playing this cardboard cut out that looks EXACTLY like that. Apparently, the props department screwed up and glued the neck backwards and the band absolutely were pissed once the video was finished and they saw it. But hey, Gibson had the old lightbulb glowing over their heads when they obviously watched it!
Haha I just watched the video to get confirmation that the props department f'ed up the cardboard Flying V...That is some Spinal Tap shit right there! Would have loved to see them get pissed when they saw it. xD
there were british clubs in the early 80s where it was a thing. Young guys would make cardboard guitars to play air guitar. That's where the reverse v comes from.
I had a student with an Esteban. Her mom was so proud of the literally unplayable acoustic guitar shaped firewood. She quit of course, as I am sure 1000's did. He should be slapped.
han36solo That's actually a quite an important point: how many kids gave up on guitar because of having a really shitty, nearly or just about unplayable guitar and didn't know better?
Regarding your question "Why?" on Gorky Park's guitar: it simulates the shape of a Russian stringed folk instrument called balalaika. Overall this band as you mentioned, tried to close the gap between the US and Russian culture and their stage image is a grotesque on stereotypes around USSR things. I hardly imagine anyone would consider this guitar as a real instrument to play :-) more like a souvenir to put on a wall.
I was gifted an Esteban guitar and practice amp. The guitar was not great but I still managed to do a handful of acoustic songs on a record with it. With a few mics, some reverb, and finesse it was workable. I've actually done a few gigs with the practice amp through a PA. With a few pedals it beat dragging a big cab in for a small gig. Me and friends always had a good laugh about Esteban and I took some pride in making it work.
@@waveman2952 I paid $83 winning a bid on Ebay. Actually only bidder. And it was a drunk what did I order last night kinda thing. But the Ashthrop E /A 6 string with all kinds of accessories was a great birthday present for myself. And I've used this guitar at worship services that are live broadcast on internet. My Boogie's never got out for any of that but this I drag everywhere including the Fla beach.
Six years ago I'd bought an Esteban acoustic guitar for the blue burst finish and as a companion to my Martin acoustic guitar. As soon as I tuned the Esteban and played it I'd hated it. It had no sustain and the sound was dead as a doornail. Two days later I took it to a local small music shop and gave them the guitar and sixty bucks for a traveler guitar. That Esteban still remains the worst acoustic guitar I'd ever played bar none. P.S. I'd later apologized to my Martin guitar for hooking him up with such a terrible companion and Martin forgave me. Martin likes the traveler guitar WAY better.
My 1st guitar was a $99 Carlo Robelli acoustic. After a year, I acquired the hand strength to crush boulders due to the high action. For $50 the guy at the music store (not the Sam Ass I purchased it from) filed the nut and bridge and did a magician's job on the neck. 25 yrs later it still plays great.
Many of these guitars have a lot of electronic crap that is always going to fail (like modern cars) we will always love more conventional things for the purity of playing, good video, cheers!
I have a kiesel Vader and while it's light weight, plays nice, sounds great and stayd in tune well, setting that thing up is a big pain, especially because you can easily run out tuning revolutions fast
I think you should do a video on the top 15 reasons why Wolfgang Van Halen needs to go on a diet he can play drums play Guitar Play keyboards and sing all at one time it's absolutely incredible never been done before but he thinks he can do it and copy some of the best musicians ever someone needs a drug test his fat ass
Eddie Van Halen without a doubt is the Undisputed King Guitar Alex Van Halen is one of the best drummers to ever live and this guy thinks he's going to come in and just replace them Mike Anthony is one of the nicest guys and a phenomenal bass player when I say is somebody needs to stop this kid before he completely destroys the legacy of Van Halen
If you are willing to waste money on a cheap, cheesy, plywood body, chinese made POS guitar, you must either have money to waste or you are a beginner who doesn't know any better! Just because that poser slash played on one in a TV commercial, doesn't men that it is a good guitar, remember, he got paid millions for doing that commercial and than he went home and played the guitars that Gibson makes custom just for him! Don't think you'd ever see slash playing a first act on any stage anytime soon! lol
My worse guitar was an Ibanez Roadstar bought in the 80s. Felt like it was made of plastic and had a huge heavy locking trem that only went down. No tone. Perhaps I was too young to do it justice. Swapped it for a prototype of the first Focus by Kramer guitars. One pickup, Floyd Rose and a coil tap. Loved it!
Haha years ago I was at a hotel in Phoenix, AZ, and one night I heard a Spanish-y version of "House of the Rising Sun" coming from the bar area. "It couldn't be," I said to myself, but sure enough, in the corner, there he was -- black shoes, black pants, black shirt, black hat, black sunglasses -- Mr. Esteban himself. I was laughing so hard I had to leave.
RE: #2 on the list. Take a look at the Judas Priest video for their single "Breaking The Law",when the Guard is rockin' out....it's a cardboard version of the Reverse V...some 30+ years BEFORE Gibson made the real version.
Re: The VW guitars, another unique feature that I neglected to mention is the plate on the back of the headstock which has the VIN# of the car that it came with. Then there are some much more rare ones like mine that don't have that because they were showroom models so they had no particular car to be paired with. They have the plate but no VIN#. Sometimes, a dealers name. The rumor was that the showroom ones were made extra carefully and usually kept in a glass case at the VW dealership. Even the box contributes to the collectibility. The original box is not a standard brown guitar box. It has all kinds VW stuff printed on with pictures. I have one of each but they are kept in different places so they have yet to "cross paths" to allow me to compare them directly. Also thanks to you Robert for accepting my comment below so graciously with a like, showing that you understood there was no malice or insult intended. And regarding the Estebans, other tv guitar selling celebs do business the same poor way but I have an electric that approximates an LP stylewise from Keith Urban and it is very slick. Rolled fret ends, super smooth, low action, no buzzes or intonation issues and very good playability. The only thing about it to downgrade is the sound so someday it will get some quality pickups but I see them around real cheap sometimes so this is a heads up to your readers to snag one if they come across a good deal. Then again, perhaps mine is exceptional but there is no way of me knowing.
My pleasure. Your comment was easy to identify as non-insulting because there wasn’t a death threat attached to it. LOL I don’t deny that a lot of people really like the VW guitars. They’re just not for me. But that’s why there’s so many guitars out there to choose from!
I too have an un -serialized showroom model garage master. I picked it up at a pawn shop for $100 with all of its original accessories. It was incredibly well built and set up. Frets were dressed and polished. I was actually really impressed with the build quality of the guitar and it’s tone when unplugged. Furthermore the neck is one of the nicest feeling necks in any of my guitars at any price. I echo Robert’s assertion that the electronics are crap. The pickups just never seemed to open up even when paired with quality CTS pots and don’t even get me started on the pre-amp. I gutted the stock electronics, added a set of vintage Filtertrons and got rid of the mid cut and preamp. I also moved the pickup selector down by the VTT knobs and replaced it with a MojoTone prewired toggle. I also got rid of the weird looking 3 piece pick guard and had a custom one piece scratch plate made for it. All in all it has become one of my favorite guitars and I find myself reaching for it a lot more often than many of my others that are infinitely more expensive. I’m currently looking for another bargain on one to keep stock as a collector/ conversation piece.
I agree with the Esteban, I have a special place for them in my heart because I found like 100 to 150 in the garbage at guitar stores, I was damn near broke at the time and it sure as shit helped me out
I've got an aluminum-neck Kramer bass. I really like it, though the thing is a boat anchor. I found it in a store for a steal of a price, after reading about these things but having never actually seen one. Then I picked it up, and just instantly loved it. I've always been curious about the Duke guitars, but have never gotten the chance to try one out in person. Maybe I'd like it, or maybe I wouldn't. But I'm not the kind of person to buy something unseen and unplayed.
I have one of the basses; I got it cheap, too. I paid $300, but it’s easily worth three times that! The sustain is unreal. Aluminum necks were made until about 1983. Then they started making wood necks only. After about 1988, Kramer was junk.
I am a Luthier, and have been building and repairing guitars since 1985. I was so glad to see the steban guitar on your list. I got a couple of them in the shop to set up over the years. They were the worst guitars I have ever seen. I tell people I dont work on them now because they are not able to be set up at all.
What a great business model! Produce something so ugly and awkward that no one will buy it, in hopes that one day it attains collector status in some vague and distant future. lol
Not sure about the chaos pad Ibanez used, but I have seen the chaos pad used to good effect on the Manson MB1 Matt Bellamy signature guitar. The pad is in the body of the guitar (so can't be stolen) and sits down between the bridge and the tail, which seems to make it easier to use in conjunction with the tremelo. Muse use it to great effect in their live shows.
Sorry, but you don't know bad guitars. The crap we had to play in the 60's and 70's was horrible! Most of the real crap came outta Japan, but even fairly expensive German and Italian guitars were just pigs to play. Tuning was sketchy, electronics were noisy and fragile, playability was laughable. Fat necks, skimpy frets, inaccurate fretting and bridge placement, terrible tuning pegs, bridges and tailpieces. Try giging with a Teisco Tulip E-100 or a Hofner Galaxy and see how far you get. Enjoy the microphonic pickups on the Kimberly or one of the relatively pricey Italian Voxes. If you're really brave, try Welson. . . where they essentially did EVERYTHING wrong!
Cheshire Cat I’m right with you there. In the early 60s the guitars that were readily available and affordable in Europe were mostly terrible. In 1963 I played 6 gigs a week at holiday camps for the four month season, my guitar was a German built Hofner Colorama . That thing was a real dog to play and sounded awful, a modern day Squier is 100 times better. Oh how I lusted after an American Stratocaster but they cost £175 which was around 12 times the average skilled workers weekly wage at the time and as rare as hens teeth in East Anglia.
They should have done then what they do now, studied the dimensions and angles of good Gibsons and Fenders, copied the neck width, thickness, fingerboard radius, headstock and neck angle. A cheap guitar these days plays like a dream compared to a Hofner, and Hofners were cheaper than Gibsons and Fenders, but they were Not cheap.
Hofner were not really cheap and were, like the U.K. built Burns instruments, made of quality materials but as you say they would have been better if the makers had followed Gibson and Fender specs a bit closer. The situation wasn’t helped by the lack of technical knowledge at our local music shops who largely regarded electric guitars as a passing fad and not a real musical instrument and the almost no-existent replacement parts situation.
Hofner and Burns were well constructed in a lot of ways, but at least in Hofner's case, had fatal flaws. I've rarely seen a Hofner hollowbody without a hump where the neck meets the body. The Solidbodies seem designed NOT to sustain, with needlessly complicated wiring and just cheap, terrible tuners. The Italian Voxes were a real rip off. They were pricey, but the hollow bodies were terrible. Thin plywood for bodies, neck joints that would crack, turning the guitar to kindling. Squeeling pickups and fat, unplayable necks (except for the basses). The cheap American Harmony's were Plain Jane's aesthetically, but a bargain, and sooooo much more useful and durable.
Cheshire Cat YOU NAILED IT. We could not WAIT to put all of that trash in the dumpster and as soon as we had saved enough for Gibsons and Fenders - that's exactly what we did LOL. The sad thing is that the millenial hipsters have revived all that junk - your old $75 Silvertone/Harmony/Teisco will fetch $1500 - still won't stay in tune or stop squealing at low volume LOL
Muse uses one of those chaos pads for the bass line of Madness. The bass player mounted it to his bass much like the Ibanez guitar. Saw this on their SNL performance. First time I'd ever seen it.
This is a so so vid. First the VW guitar. The reason for the price differential that you mentioned between 100 and 300 is usually about the condition and what is included. The expensive ones have the original vw logo case, the strap made out of a seatbelt, some vw picks, and a keychain plus the handbook which tries to be witty. They also have active pickups and produce a wide range of tones. Not Fender, not Gibson, just a range of sort of unique tones that are versatile. I am sure some are bad but mine are outstanding and punch way above their weight. They did not have an "amp in the trunk". They plugged in and used the car radio system. I'd wager that pristine ones will be collectible. Musically they are far superior to the old Silvertones and Teisco, and etc which get crazy money now. Re Esteban, you were pretty much on except that it came out recently that he also lied about his musical accomplishments and awards etc. What a con man.
@@rodstiffingtonxyz Yeah but that is what we said growing up about the Silvertones, Danelectros, Teiscos and etc. They will never get up in the rarified air of 50's LP or Strats etc but they do have a certain something.
Anybody can play, any guitar in any new vehicle. All you need is an aux cord and a 1/8 to 1/4 adapter. Done. Hell, I use my FM transmitter by plugging the guitar directly into the aux port on the transmitter. Then it transmits my guitar, playing to the radio. Done.
The Kramer Gorky Park guitar is modeled after the Balalaika shape. That’s a Russian folk stringed instrument. You asked “why”… that’s your answer, Robert.
My first reaction upon hearing about the story of their destruction a while back was "Aww, what a waste. Couldn't they have been donated?" Upon watching this video and learning more details about the model, my reaction to Gibson producing them is, "Aww, what a waste."
Apparently even Esteban didn't know "his" guitars were shit. Basically, some shady company went in search of an accomplished, somewhat known guitar player to endorse their trash. Esteban was getting ready to record the commercials and if I recall correctly, he insisted on using one of "His" guitars for the commercials (because HE had some integrity) and so unbeknownst to Esteban, they found a tech/luthier at the last minute (I think he had a day or so - perhaps hours...? I'm sorry, I can't remember) but the tech said the three "best" ones chosen for him could barely be called guitars. Basically all sorts of insane work was required to make these things simply play. I remember the guy telling the story (who was good friends with the tech) said that Esteban really had no idea what was going on, and wasn't at all the kind of guy who would pull a move like that. Not that it means he's completely free from all responsibility, but it does at least put him in a less brutal light.
Are you his mother? Or maybe Esteban himself? I call BS in this, since every one of guitars have been shit. So after the first one, he continued to run the scam several times.
@@RByrne Lol, this was some shit I watched on UA-cam or some random article I read, details are fuzzy but that was the gist. HE didn't run shit, he wasn't in charge of anything, you mouthbreather. Go cry somewhere else, you fucking baby.
Great video Robert, my worst guitar was an old Lyle 12 string. The neck was bowed, the intonation was way off, the frets were sharp and some of them above the fret you were using touched the string above it making the notes muddy. a real lousy guitar.
The worst guitar was a Sears Silvertone. I learned very quickly what was meant by the term "action ". At the 12th fret the strings were in the vicinity of 1”. I had callouses on my left hand that doubled as a finish hammer. I believe it was a cheese slicer in a former life.
Barney Fike, I’m not a guitar expert but I believe years ago silvertone guitars were made by Harmony guitars. Harmony guitars sounded just okay, were built like tanks, lasted forever and usually played like crap, though some played nicely. I was given a student model Silvertone years ago that played great but sounded like a baritone mandolin or lute because of its small scale. Being a bassist, I gave it away unfortunately. By the way this guitar had a floating wood bridge and tail piece. Good way to improve intonation on cheap guitars. Note to bassists: Don’t buy acoustic bass guitars without a tailpiece. String tension will eventually and always twist and destroy an acoustic bridge that anchors the strings. I guarantee this, my source, basic physics!
Hey now... I had a First Act VW Garagemaster guitar. It had a built-in preamp with overdrive and a 1/4" to 1/8" cable that plugged-into the VW Radio sound system. That preamp system also worked as a Headphone amp. I think that there was a 1/8" headphone jack. Mine came with a sturdy strap made of Seat-belt material and a very nice VW Gig Bag. I paid $129 (including shipping) and sold it for $150 (minus shipping and fees). I was AMAZED that someone paid that much for that guitar. But it was a good starter guitar. I cannot understand what financial genius would think that a $150 guitar would be the deciding factor on which $24,000 automobile you should buy.
Arthur Seery my cousin has one. No idea where he got it but I swear it’s a damn decent guitar! People pay good money for them still. We actually had a band use it in the studio one time lol definitely a weird thing pairing it with the car but I really don’t see anything wrong with the actual guitar itself. At least the one my cousin has is decent. Maybe some of them suck? Esteban on the other hand.... what an embarrassment to even have these on the market. So so bad.
There's a lot of guitar manufacturers that are in financial trouble nowadays and they keep using technology to solve problems that don't exist instead of building guitars with better materials and workmanship.
Gibson comes to mind when this subject is on the table. If they weren’t constantly trying to peddle $2,000+ guitars, and instead focused on quality and affordability, they might get out of their rut.
The problem is the manufacturers adding stuff hoping to attract buyers rather than solve problems. The real problem is sales are down. The guitar craze is over. You can search for this years and last years most popular recordings and you will notice almost no guitars in them anymore. Next year when students start college/university, if they even see a guitar, and they may not, they will say something like: Yep, my Granddad liked those but I'm not sure why.
@@wickedwayzzz33 Paul is right, guitar based music is on the downturn. Also we should consider the tariffs imposed by the US govt on imported woods which causes the price of any guitars made with imported exotic woods in the US to increase dramatically.
#2 was definitely the best. Should do a sit down test, show how the v can at least be wedged up on your leg, but the reverse just infinitely slides off.
To be fair, even if you had a 250,000 dollar burst, at room volume, the effect of drop tune, either by pedal or robot tuner, would be no different than the Peavey. But having it on this list is a good place for it. Thanks for the video.
Great job Robert. When our store "Strings &Things" Music in Lincolnwood, Ill behind Norlin HQ. Our store fell victim to a lot of cont emporary crap from Gibson through the 1970's. Gibson has a habit of trying to become a large corporate enity. From the days of CMI until now. Right now they are making the closest reproduction guitars I have ever seen. I am 68 and worked in Music Stores since 1972..
This video made me subscribe to your channel so long ago. I remember some dude shared it on a Squier fans Facebook page and i clicked on the link and 15 minutes later the guy and i agreed we nearly fell of our chairs laughing when you reviewed the Reverse Flying V. After all these years it still cracks me up.
Not saying that ibanez is good but the kaoss pad thing comes from (better said is made famous) by matt bellamy of Muse, he does some sweet stuff with his custom guitars.
Les Paul, (the man not his guitar), built an electric guitar out of aluminum, (can’t remember if it was solid or hollow-bodied). He said it sounded great and thought that he discovered the ultimate material for building guitars, but found it quickly to be an engineering disaster! While touring with and playing guitar with the Andrew Sisters, they would dance and sing from one side of the stage to the other, being followed by a spotlight. When they were in front of Les the spotlight would heat up the aluminum guitar, greatly expanding, and de tuning the guitar. Embarrassed, he’d frantically retune the guitar, but the the spotlight would move and the guitar would lose it’s tune again. He put the guitar in a closet from then on.
Except for the current political untimeliness of the image of the combined U.S. and Russian flags, I found this take on the balalaika to be most interesting and compelling. Perhaps if he had manifested an understanding of the cultural implications, he wouldn't have included this one, but then I wouldn't be aware of it.
@@xmillion1704 Burns did a Balalaika guitar back in the 60s. Theres was more curved, like some real ones are, and seemed to be a bit smaller. There is one in a book I have (Tony Bacon's Burns book) it has a trisonic and the same built in amp as the Bison, this was around the same time as the Concord inspired Flyte.
@@xmillion1704 They had some oddities, although after the original company went out of business the revived version just stuck to the more 'normal' styles, and for a while they made a Brian May guitar, Brian of course used their pickups for his original
The ESP EC-256P is a gold top LP style guitar w/P90 pickups. First off the pickups are not P90 pickups but hybrid double coil pickups with the low gain of a Fender single coil pickup ? Second the pickups were not setup to adjust the height at all but had the screws to do adjust if it was done right . It has a some what skinny neck yet is a awesome and strait neck that does bends very good and hits tones my Epiphone LP cannot do . So i had a friend re-engineer the pickups and adjustment screws correctly using a good set of $40 P-90 pickups. The Guitar was a glued in neck done perfectly and i use 10 - 48 strings and had to open up the nut slots using a nut file set for 10-48 strings . The guitar now is a good guitar i bought in circa 2016 for about $220 then and the tunamatic bridge stays in tune well with very low action. This guitar was made well in Vietnam but they were clueless on the way P-90 pickups are supposed to be mounted to be adjusted by the player . I have no idea why they wound hybrid double coil pickups using only one coil with very little gain ? I actually love the bending string tones this guitar does , it sounds wonderful now playing threw a monoprice 15 watt tube amp !
What?? No Line 6 guitar!!! I bought one, and had a professional "run the rack" on it. Frets levelled and polished, everything set up, etc. This guy said it was the biggest turd he'd ever seen to date - and asked that I NEVER bring it back to his shop. Later on, I didn't even try to re-sell it....I put it to rest at the garbage dump. RIP
I came across this because I found out a song from 1 of my favorite albums called 'I Constantly Thank God For Estaban' was named that because when the album was being created they saw a cringy Estaban commercial. Lol. I love that they were 18 & realized w/o even owning 1 how bad they were lol.
Nice video. I did see most of them were gimmick guitars with flaws. And then you had design nightmares for playing let alone eyesores. Spot on for the eight you chose. Of course there are worse out there somewhere but it was nice you had a few real expensive examples that should never be purchased by any wary customer. Thanks!
The Kramer triangle shape was a tribute to the Russian balalaika. Its triangle shape is likely owed to balalaikas needing to be simple to build due to being homebuilt village instruments. They were typically used to play protest songs ridiculing the tsars and oligarchs. The culture of defiance surrounding the instrument may have contributed to Russian luthiers being reluctant to create a production version of it for the early part of its existence. You asked why 🙂 Personally, I think Kramer would have been better off just making an actual balalaika
I replied to your comment, as well. Like I said, I still have mine after going on 30 years. Aria Pro are one of the most underrated brands of that era.
re: Volkswagen/First Act guitar, I believe the car's stereo doubled as a guitar amp (I recall seeing something similar on Top Gear, where they had Eric Clapton playing guitar through the car stereo of whichever model car they were demoing, but Eric used a Strat and a wah wah pedal...sounded pretty good). The Volkswagen ad I remember, though, had Nigel Tufnel (aka Christopher Guest) from Spinal Tap.
I think there were three or four Volkswagen TV ads for that guitar. One with Slash, one with Nigel Tufnel, one with John Mayer, and I believe there was also one with Brian May or somebody else, but I might be mistaken about that.
I had a guitar by a company called Karera. Sometimes it was spelled Carera. It was a strat style copy that couldn't even be intonated properly. Very cheap, sounded hollow. Not even a good pedal and amp would stop it from sounding like a tin can until I upgraded everything. And then it sounded kinda ok.
the Gorky Park one looks like a fucking Dorito. like, everyone hates on the St Vincent Signature for being ugly or whatever (it isn't, and I want one so badly) but at least it's ERGONOMICALLY SOUND
I got a used Esteban acoustic years ago and it’s never let me down. It’s my only acoustic so I use it a ton. It has some battle scars but the thing still sings! So I’m not sure about other Esteban guitars but mine is great!
matt bauckman without a doubt! Yamaha is so underrated. I've never owned one myself but I've never been disappointed any time I tried playing one. I just always find something I like better when buying.
I actually have a esteban guitar acoustic with the bottom cut away .I've had it 12 years and haven't had a problem with it .it sounds good and plays good although the first one they sent me had dead places in the neck i sent back the second one has been good
The problem with the flying V if you can't sit with it it keeps slipping off your lap I have 24 guitars I was playing for 40 years and I got a mild stroke now I have to relearn playing from the beginning and because I fell in love with playing guitar I am actually re-learning to play after being almost a semi professional
Hate Ibanez. Worked at their warehouse Hoshino in PA. They used to let people buy dinged guitars for cheap or build them. Instead they brought in Japanese executives and trashed everything and fired loyal employees.
Strats like bodies are there for a reason : they look good, are comfortable to play and they are basically like what you expect. For some those acts with a dose of absurd humour, bizzare shaped guitars do stand out. That reverse flyig V or that Gorky Park, those would look painfully out of place in the hands of James Hetfield, yet I can imagine any of them being used on stage with Marylin Manson...
You did pretty good at picking the worst. I'd say to add any of the 70's Fenders with 3-bolt necks. Stores across the nation were having a field day with the massive boost in sales of shims. And a lot of guitar players were saying, "I... uh... I MEANT to do that".
Yes, I’ve played my share of shitty 70’s Fenders, as well. LOL I’ve played some good ones too, but man are there a lot of shitty Strats and Teles from 1970’s. LOL
Peavey AT200 - the Variax JTV has the alt tuning as one of its features but you have to understand what you are playing. You have to have the amp set loader than the acoustic volume of the strings but it is an awesome feature. It's great to be able to jump to open tunings with a slide at the flick of a switch. Much better build than the Peavey apparently.
RE: Kramer Gorky Park... the triangular body shape is designed to resemble a Balalaika which is a traditional Russian stringed instrument. So that's the answer to your "why?" ;)
I recently subscribed and that reverse v made all 3 videos I viewed. The look on your face while you're at a loss for words is priceless 😆 P.S. buy a real Strat.
you can catch Estaban on youtube for a good laugh. the name, he claims ,comes from Segovia who called him that after meeting him and was impressed by his abilities except there is absolutely no proof that segovia ever met Estaban
Watching his loss of words, using only expressions validates his knowledge. I was thinking about getting a coffee just so I could spew it at his expressions. LoL. Good job
I loved this video! The flying V was perfect, nothing needed to be said. Just to look at it was all it took. If you want to know why Gibson is having troubles, just look at the stupid ideas and what they are asking for their "mistakes"! Thanks again Robert! See you in Indy at the show soon.
What the hell happened to Gibson? All they need to do is 5-6 guitar types, do them RIGHT (i.e. Fix the scale length!!!) and make them more affordable. The world could have been theirs but no. They had to inject unwanted gimmicks into their tradition and they still keep unwanted traditions (like an untunable scale length and kluson tuners...). PRS has basically shown Gibson how to do everything better. EVERYTHING! Such a shame... RIP Gibson USA
This was a funny friken vid. I grew up on Vintage Fenders and Gold top Les Pauls so I know how to hate bad guitars. My first electric guitar was truly one of the worst guitars I have ever set fingers on. God love my parents. It was called the "HI-Lo Surfer". It was banana color and shaped like a warped pentagon. I was only 10 years old and it came with the thickest flat wound strings. I'm not sure I ever even got a chord out of it it was so impossible to play. There was a popular 60's guitar that it was moddeled from, I think I've seen Brian Jones playing one. What a miraculous joy it was to be taken out to Rayburn Music in Boston on my 13th Birthday for a brand spanking new blonde body with maple neck Fender Telecaster. That was in 1970. Thats when my life actually began. Cool vid man, had be laughing all by myself, like, you know, one of those crazy persons.
I know you got a cool guitar collection,have you ever tried a Nuno N4? I used to work for guitar center years ago and one came in used and have played those ever scince..Really cool guitars..i had one you really would have liked..i had a mid 80's BC Rich warlock with a purple flip flop paintjob..only one I have ever seen but was one I wish I never sold
I covered that on my channel when it happened. It wasn’t SOMEONE AT Gibson destroying Firebird X’s, it was GIBSON destroying Firebird X’s. Basically they ran over like 350 of them with an excavator. They had to document their destruction with video in order to write off the loss on their tax statements. Then guitar players started whining that Gibson didn’t donate them, because giving a child a guitar with an electronics system known to catch fire is a GREAT idea. 🤦🏻♂️
Robert's Guitar Dungeon haha I know they aren’t 1000$ quality or anything but it’s a good guitar that can compete with epiphone and fender Mexico products. I found all three for under 60$ each!
That Ibanez rgk-p6 was so misleading, u can't plug into the amp and use the touchpad effects so you could only use 3.5mm headphones to hear it or else it's just a normal guitar so u had to wire 3.5 cable to a speaker or pedals/amp that had 3.5 input so it was made to jam with headphones and had built in distortion/clean and the koass had the effects of reverb or delay and some of the best effects I've heard from any pedal and had wacky non modern guitar effects DJs would use but you couldn't daisy chain effects and was stuck to one selection.. After about a year the kaoss pad plastic got gummy a peeled... Definitely a terrible purchase on my end
Thomas Morrison It’s not a guitar, it was essentially a MIDI controller. And if you are quick to bash the sound of it, listen to some Allan Holdsworth and thank me later!
The Firebird X...ha ha ha...I remember Gibson set up a special forum that was open to join for a relatively short amount of time that allowed the members to dialogue with Henry J., Gibson’s CEO. The forum started just before the guitar was rolled out to build hype. I was one of the few “blessed” to be on this forum and I remember when the guitar was announced at some event by Henry J. himself, the response on the forum was a unanimous WTF Henry? You are charging how much for this abomination? There were other comments that are not repeatable on polite company. First Henry disappeared and one of his minions fielded the heat and the forum went away. Now Henry only appears from the keep it his castle once a year and if he sees his shadow, it means that Gibson will only produce overpriced, quality control bereft crap for another 12 months. So far it’s been sunny in Nashville on that one day for the last 6 or 7 years. lol
They haven’t filed bankruptcy. They have until July I believe to restructure their debt. If they haven’t done so by the deadline, THEN they will have to file bankruptcy.
Rob's - That's true, but regardless, they've made some real CRAP over the past few years. It's not terrible, but it's not up to Gibson standards. I bought three brand spakin' new Gibbos in the early 00's and they were awesome. The last two I had showed up with sharp frets and just lousy fit & finish.
My first guitar was a Harmony. It sucked BALLS. I didn't really how bad it was until I got a decent guitar and realized those first 2 years of practicing actually made a difference.
Just take a good look at this lardasses guitar collection. When your lazy and astupid you will be found on youtubey fantasyland
He has an amazing collection! Congrats, Robert! You should do an episode that runs down everything in your collection.
I’ve done one or two of those in the past.
@@RobertWJackson OK, I'm new to the channel so I'll dig through your catalog.
OR.....you could do another one to annoy the trolls....
"When your lazy and astupid" I see what you did there.
Reverse Flying V ........silence. No explanation necessary. Perfect delivery sir! Cracked me up 🤣
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Spit out my dinner during that silence. Bravo! 😂👍
Arguably the most telling review of anything ever on UA-cam
Highlight or lowlight of the video!
In all honesty the reverse V is the real V. The original design is an A
The triangular guitar looks to be based on a Balalaika, a Russian acoustic instrument; I think that's actually pretty neat!
It looks like a communist Dorito.
😀
@@SausageFingers420 😀
I figured someone had already pointed it out. Gotta be quicker to the draw lol
A band with that balalaika geetar and the reverse V would be dope!
My wife found a cheap copy of a Stratocaster at the garbage dump, but we brought it home. The frets were sharp and jagged and the action was high, so I took the neck off and filed and sanded the frets down, lowered the action and put a descent set of strings on it. For free I think it turned out pretty good. Some cheap guitars I think are okay, but they need to be set up; others are just toys--junk.
They are cheap cause they left half of the work for customer.
bro. any guitar can be built to A1 specs. tf wrong with. u. I dont like this dude and yeah mfkas gonna learn today. fuck him and all yall yuppie pukes
I found a small guitar amplifier sitting outside on the curb for the garbage man one day while I was working.. I took it home and plugged it in, and it worked. It didn’t have a mark on it, just some dust..
I told a coworker of mine about it that is a guitar player also, and he told me about another coworker of ours, who is mother through out a Marshall head .. I don’t know anything else about it, but it was an amp made in the 70s. She threw it away because her son had moved around got married and moved away to another city. She was cleaning out his room, and that was one of the things she tossed..
I was working one day, I was parked in an alley behind an apartment building. I saw two women carrying a tama drum set to put it in the dumpster.. it had the floor tom, the two mounted to the bass drum, the high hat with Zildjian symbols, and two chrome snare drums, one of them was a Slingerland.. there was a bag of drumsticks, a lot of drum fittings and clamps, a musical wood block, and a cowbell in the canvas bag.. I ran up to the lady like I was stopping her from jumping off a bridge just as she was about to drop the first room into the dumpster.
I asked her, are you throwing these drums away? She said Yep. I live in a small apartment, my husband died three years ago and I’m sick of stepping over them.
I asked her if I could have the drums. She said of course.. I thought about it for a second, then I said look let’s do it this way. I’m driving my company car/Jeep. I opened my wallet and I only had a $20 bill. I said I’ll give you $20 for these drums if you give me a receipt..
I did not want to be accused of stealing them. She excepted the money and gave me a receipt signed and dated, The drums took up every extra inch of space I had in my Jeep liberty company jeep.. I actually could not see out the rearview mirror because my company jeep was prettyfilled with tools and boxes of things I used every day on my job..
on my way home that day. I stopped in a music store and asked the owner, who was a new owner in the past few months, and he just happened to be a drummer, if he would be interested in the drums. He was a good poker player, but I could tell you was interested.. we ended up doing a swap for a used peavey tweed classic 50 with 4-10s..I never had a peavey amplifier before.. mostly fenders and traynor and ampegs.. it was only missing one chicken head knob.. I can’t believe how much better than my fender super reverb I liked this peavey.. I did not know they had switchable channels with post in Parissettings to make a growl at low volume. I didn’t know they had switchable channels. I didn’t know it had a built-in cooling fan for the tubes. I did not know how warm the tone is.. I liked that amplifier so much that I still have, that I went out and picked up a Peavey Deltablues, and a PV classic 30, all tweed, all tube amps.. both of my classic amps the 30 in the 50s were made in the 80s. My Deltablues was made in the 2000 and I believe it was one of the last ones that they made in the United States factory. I’m only sorry I did not know about these amps in the 80s when I was playing in the smoky bars getting home at 4 AM smelling like an ashtray.. all three of these amps have pre-and post game controls, and switchable channels, and they are all tube. They take the same tubes that they use in Marshalls, And I never heard them make any crackling or hissing or popping noises that my fender super reverb and fender vibrolux reverb were famous for..
@@Jodyrides That is so awesome!!!
Your review of the Gibson reverse V was priceless. I shot coffee across the room. Thanks for the laugh of the week.
What review? I didn’t say a word about that guitar.
Exactly. "It was gold, Jerry. Gold."
Yeah, some things are better left unsaid...
Actually I think you said everything that needs to be said about that ugly POS.
I know dude! How bout it!!! It made me laugh hysterically!!! What a guitar makers WASTE! LOLOLOL...hahahah!
Has anyone checked the VW guitar for emissions?
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Oh you can believe the state will be calling!
Yes , it emits noxious noises, they should have made them take these back and stuck in those vw cars they rounded up and destroyed. The world would be a better place.
@@badger305 They didn't destroy the TDi's, they installed better emissions control devices on them. A few months ago, I bought one: a 2013 VW Jetta Sportwagen with a 2.0 liter turbo-diesel and 6 speed manual transmission. I can honestly say it's the best car I've ever owned. It handles extremely well, has an incredibly immaculate leather interior, and gets 40+ mpg. In fact, I'm hitting my first 600+ mile tank of fuel (14 gallons of diesel).
@@rotaryskratch18 - Reminds me of that time I posted a comment opining about the comparative merits of my Fender vs. my Gibson, on a channel devoted to automotive performance.
I swear Gibson was ripping off the Judas Priest "Breakin The Law" video for the Reverse Flying V. If you go watch it, there's a bank security guard playing this cardboard cut out that looks EXACTLY like that. Apparently, the props department screwed up and glued the neck backwards and the band absolutely were pissed once the video was finished and they saw it. But hey, Gibson had the old lightbulb glowing over their heads when they obviously watched it!
Haha I just watched the video to get confirmation that the props department f'ed up the cardboard Flying V...That is some Spinal Tap shit right there! Would have loved to see them get pissed when they saw it. xD
there were british clubs in the early 80s where it was a thing. Young guys would make cardboard guitars to play air guitar. That's where the reverse v comes from.
Watched the video since the 80's and bever noticed that!
I had a student with an Esteban. Her mom was so proud of the literally unplayable acoustic guitar shaped firewood. She quit of course, as I am sure 1000's did. He should be slapped.
I have one, the body is borderline ok but the neck is totally unplayable.
han36solo guilty!!
han36solo 😂😂😂😂 too funny!
han36solo That's actually a quite an important point: how many kids gave up on guitar because of having a really shitty, nearly or just about unplayable guitar and didn't know better?
han36solo slapped then whacked with the box of shit he sells
Regarding your question "Why?" on Gorky Park's guitar: it simulates the shape of a Russian stringed folk instrument called balalaika. Overall this band as you mentioned, tried to close the gap between the US and Russian culture and their stage image is a grotesque on stereotypes around USSR things. I hardly imagine anyone would consider this guitar as a real instrument to play :-) more like a souvenir to put on a wall.
🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯 amazing some these UA-cam fucktards can't even do a little research before coming on here and making an ass outta themselves😂😂
I was gifted an Esteban guitar and practice amp. The guitar was not great but I still managed to do a handful of acoustic songs on a record with it. With a few mics, some reverb, and finesse it was workable. I've actually done a few gigs with the practice amp through a PA. With a few pedals it beat dragging a big cab in for a small gig. Me and friends always had a good laugh about Esteban and I took some pride in making it work.
I like that. Making it work ! Why not, what ya got to lose.
10 years ago my wife wanted one from TV and once you put better strings on it and better tuners it's ok as you said! Congrats to your success!
@@waveman2952 I paid $83 winning a bid on Ebay. Actually only bidder. And it was a drunk what did I order last night kinda thing. But the Ashthrop E /A 6 string with all kinds of accessories was a great birthday present for myself. And I've used this guitar at worship services that are live broadcast on internet. My Boogie's never got out for any of that but this I drag everywhere including the Fla beach.
Six years ago I'd bought an Esteban acoustic guitar for the blue burst finish and as a companion to my Martin acoustic guitar. As soon as I tuned the Esteban and played it I'd hated it. It had no sustain and the sound was dead as a doornail. Two days later I took it to a local small music shop and gave them the guitar and sixty bucks for a traveler guitar. That Esteban still remains the worst acoustic guitar I'd ever played bar none. P.S. I'd later apologized to my Martin guitar for hooking him up with such a terrible companion and Martin forgave me. Martin likes the traveler guitar WAY better.
My 1st guitar was a $99 Carlo Robelli acoustic. After a year, I acquired the hand strength to crush boulders due to the high action. For $50 the guy at the music store (not the Sam Ass I purchased it from) filed the nut and bridge and did a magician's job on the neck. 25 yrs later it still plays great.
9:54 *SamuraiGuitarist has left the chat*
I was looking for this
The Reverse Flying V was fantastic. I could never keep a regular V comfortably in my lap, but that reverse was nice. I wish I still had it.
Many of these guitars have a lot of electronic crap that is always going to fail (like modern cars) we will always love more conventional things for the purity of playing, good video, cheers!
Headless guitars just look terrible in general.
I love my Steinberger Spirit bass, it's super smooth and deep.
I have a kiesel Vader and while it's light weight, plays nice, sounds great and stayd in tune well, setting that thing up is a big pain, especially because you can easily run out tuning revolutions fast
If someone replies that they liked the Gibson reverse V it is time for a drug test
I think you should do a video on the top 15 reasons why Wolfgang Van Halen needs to go on a diet he can play drums play Guitar Play keyboards and sing all at one time it's absolutely incredible never been done before but he thinks he can do it and copy some of the best musicians ever someone needs a drug test his fat ass
Eddie Van Halen without a doubt is the Undisputed King Guitar Alex Van Halen is one of the best drummers to ever live and this guy thinks he's going to come in and just replace them Mike Anthony is one of the nicest guys and a phenomenal bass player when I say is somebody needs to stop this kid before he completely destroys the legacy of Van Halen
I think the title should have been "8 Guitars That Robert Thinks Suck". I have 8 guitars that are worse than any of these LOL!
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Saw your VW guitar review and played one at a pawn shop. Aside from the gritty strings, I loved it. Think I'll be swinging back to buy it tbh.
Nice! I hope you enjoy it!
Why?
If you are willing to waste money on a cheap, cheesy, plywood body, chinese made POS guitar, you must either have money to waste or you are a beginner who doesn't know any better! Just because that poser slash played on one in a TV commercial, doesn't men that it is a good guitar, remember, he got paid millions for doing that commercial and than he went home and played the guitars that Gibson makes custom just for him! Don't think you'd ever see slash playing a first act on any stage anytime soon! lol
My worse guitar was an Ibanez Roadstar bought in the 80s. Felt like it was made of plastic and had a huge heavy locking trem that only went down. No tone. Perhaps I was too young to do it justice. Swapped it for a prototype of the first Focus by Kramer guitars. One pickup, Floyd Rose and a coil tap. Loved it!
Haha years ago I was at a hotel in Phoenix, AZ, and one night I heard a Spanish-y version of "House of the Rising Sun" coming from the bar area. "It couldn't be," I said to myself, but sure enough, in the corner, there he was -- black shoes, black pants, black shirt, black hat, black sunglasses -- Mr. Esteban himself. I was laughing so hard I had to leave.
David Schwartz 😂
You had a chance to punch him and you didn't take it?! You could have been our hero!!
It could have been one of the many Esteban 'tribute' acts that are out there, working the Holiday Inn Lounge circuit
RE: #2 on the list.
Take a look at the Judas Priest video for their single "Breaking The Law",when the Guard is rockin' out....it's a cardboard version of the Reverse V...some 30+ years BEFORE Gibson made the real version.
I looked it up and saw that, it gave me a laugh.
I also remembered that scene when I saw the Reverse V.
WE'RE GETTN FKN OLD!
I think of that video every time I see one of those lol
Re: The VW guitars, another unique feature that I neglected to mention is the plate on the back of the headstock which has the VIN# of the car that it came with. Then there are some much more rare ones like mine that don't have that because they were showroom models so they had no particular car to be paired with. They have the plate but no VIN#. Sometimes, a dealers name. The rumor was that the showroom ones were made extra carefully and usually kept in a glass case at the VW dealership. Even the box contributes to the collectibility. The original box is not a standard brown guitar box. It has all kinds VW stuff printed on with pictures. I have one of each but they are kept in different places so they have yet to "cross paths" to allow me to compare them directly. Also thanks to you Robert for accepting my comment below so graciously with a like, showing that you understood there was no malice or insult intended. And regarding the Estebans, other tv guitar selling celebs do business the same poor way but I have an electric that approximates an LP stylewise from Keith Urban and it is very slick. Rolled fret ends, super smooth, low action, no buzzes or intonation issues and very good playability. The only thing about it to downgrade is the sound so someday it will get some quality pickups but I see them around real cheap sometimes so this is a heads up to your readers to snag one if they come across a good deal. Then again, perhaps mine is exceptional but there is no way of me knowing.
My pleasure. Your comment was easy to identify as non-insulting because there wasn’t a death threat attached to it. LOL
I don’t deny that a lot of people really like the VW guitars. They’re just not for me. But that’s why there’s so many guitars out there to choose from!
I too have an un -serialized showroom model garage master. I picked it up at a pawn shop for $100 with all of its original accessories. It was incredibly well built and set up. Frets were dressed and polished. I was actually really impressed with the build quality of the guitar and it’s tone when unplugged. Furthermore the neck is one of the nicest feeling necks in any of my guitars at any price. I echo Robert’s assertion that the electronics are crap. The pickups just never seemed to open up even when paired with quality CTS pots and don’t even get me started on the pre-amp. I gutted the stock electronics, added a set of vintage Filtertrons and got rid of the mid cut and preamp. I also moved the pickup selector down by the VTT knobs and replaced it with a MojoTone prewired toggle. I also got rid of the weird looking 3 piece pick guard and had a custom one piece scratch plate made for it.
All in all it has become one of my favorite guitars and I find myself reaching for it a lot more often than many of my others that are infinitely more expensive. I’m currently looking for another bargain on one to keep stock as a collector/ conversation piece.
@@Rev_John_Danger That sounds pretty awesome I have never done stuff that involved. Love to see pics and/or vid.
The review of the Gibson Reverse V is an instant classic.
They should use that in ads.
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I agree with the Esteban, I have a special place for them in my heart because I found like 100 to 150 in the garbage at guitar stores, I was damn near broke at the time and it sure as shit helped me out
I've got an aluminum-neck Kramer bass. I really like it, though the thing is a boat anchor. I found it in a store for a steal of a price, after reading about these things but having never actually seen one. Then I picked it up, and just instantly loved it.
I've always been curious about the Duke guitars, but have never gotten the chance to try one out in person. Maybe I'd like it, or maybe I wouldn't. But I'm not the kind of person to buy something unseen and unplayed.
The Dukes are wonderful - haters gonna hate!
after you wrote that you instantly loved it I fully expected you to say 'it anchor's my boat just beautifully'
I have one of the basses; I got it cheap, too. I paid $300, but it’s easily worth three times that! The sustain is unreal. Aluminum necks were made until about 1983. Then they started making wood necks only. After about 1988, Kramer was junk.
@@5roundsrapid263 By the early to mid 90s the strikers were plywood bodies.
William Roan I had a plywood Aerostar when I was a kid.
I am a Luthier, and have been building and repairing guitars since 1985. I was so glad to see the steban guitar on your list. I got a couple of them in the shop to set up over the years. They were the worst guitars I have ever seen. I tell people I dont work on them now because they are not able to be set up at all.
That reverse V is a mess but in the long run it might become a collectors item cause so few of them have been sold.
What a great business model! Produce something so ugly and awkward that no one will buy it, in hopes that one day it attains collector status in some vague and distant future. lol
Not sure about the chaos pad Ibanez used, but I have seen the chaos pad used to good effect on the Manson MB1 Matt Bellamy signature guitar.
The pad is in the body of the guitar (so can't be stolen) and sits down between the bridge and the tail, which seems to make it easier to use in conjunction with the tremelo.
Muse use it to great effect in their live shows.
Sorry, but you don't know bad guitars. The crap we had to play in the 60's and 70's was horrible! Most of the real crap came outta Japan, but even fairly expensive German and Italian guitars were just pigs to play. Tuning was sketchy, electronics were noisy and fragile, playability was laughable. Fat necks, skimpy frets, inaccurate fretting and bridge placement, terrible tuning pegs, bridges and tailpieces. Try giging with a Teisco Tulip E-100 or a Hofner Galaxy and see how far you get. Enjoy the microphonic pickups on the Kimberly or one of the relatively pricey Italian Voxes. If you're really brave, try Welson. . . where they essentially did EVERYTHING wrong!
Cheshire Cat I’m right with you there. In the early 60s the guitars that were readily available and affordable in Europe were mostly terrible. In 1963 I played 6 gigs a week at holiday camps for the four month season, my guitar was a German built Hofner Colorama . That thing was a real dog to play and sounded awful, a modern day Squier is 100 times better. Oh how I lusted after an American Stratocaster but they cost £175 which was around 12 times the average skilled workers weekly wage at the time and as rare as hens teeth in East Anglia.
They should have done then what they do now, studied the dimensions and angles of good Gibsons and Fenders, copied the neck width, thickness, fingerboard radius, headstock and neck angle. A cheap guitar these days plays like a dream compared to a Hofner, and Hofners were cheaper than Gibsons and Fenders, but they were Not cheap.
Hofner were not really cheap and were, like the U.K. built Burns instruments, made of quality materials but as you say they would have been better if the makers had followed Gibson and Fender specs a bit closer. The situation wasn’t helped by the lack of technical knowledge at our local music shops who largely regarded electric guitars as a passing fad and not a real musical instrument and the almost no-existent replacement parts situation.
Hofner and Burns were well constructed in a lot of ways, but at least in Hofner's case, had fatal flaws. I've rarely seen a Hofner hollowbody without a hump where the neck meets the body. The Solidbodies seem designed NOT to sustain, with needlessly complicated wiring and just cheap, terrible tuners. The Italian Voxes were a real rip off. They were pricey, but the hollow bodies were terrible. Thin plywood for bodies, neck joints that would crack, turning the guitar to kindling. Squeeling pickups and fat, unplayable necks (except for the basses). The cheap American Harmony's were Plain Jane's aesthetically, but a bargain, and sooooo much more useful and durable.
Cheshire Cat YOU NAILED IT. We could not WAIT to put all of that trash in the dumpster and as soon as we had saved enough for Gibsons and Fenders - that's exactly what we did LOL. The sad thing is that the millenial hipsters have revived all that junk - your old $75 Silvertone/Harmony/Teisco will fetch $1500 - still won't stay in tune or stop squealing at low volume LOL
Muse uses one of those chaos pads for the bass line of Madness. The bass player mounted it to his bass much like the Ibanez guitar. Saw this on their SNL performance. First time I'd ever seen it.
This is a so so vid. First the VW guitar. The reason for the price differential that you mentioned between 100 and 300 is usually about the condition and what is included. The expensive ones have the original vw logo case, the strap made out of a seatbelt, some vw picks, and a keychain plus the handbook which tries to be witty. They also have active pickups and produce a wide range of tones. Not Fender, not Gibson, just a range of sort of unique tones that are versatile. I am sure some are bad but mine are outstanding and punch way above their weight. They did not have an "amp in the trunk". They plugged in and used the car radio system. I'd wager that pristine ones will be collectible. Musically they are far superior to the old Silvertones and Teisco, and etc which get crazy money now. Re Esteban, you were pretty much on except that it came out recently that he also lied about his musical accomplishments and awards etc. What a con man.
i feel like the name first act will always stop it from being "collectible"
@@rodstiffingtonxyz Yeah but that is what we said growing up about the Silvertones, Danelectros, Teiscos and etc. They will never get up in the rarified air of 50's LP or Strats etc but they do have a certain something.
Anybody can play, any guitar in any new vehicle. All you need is an aux cord and a 1/8 to 1/4 adapter. Done. Hell, I use my FM transmitter by plugging the guitar directly into the aux port on the transmitter. Then it transmits my guitar, playing to the radio. Done.
@@JC-11111 But older cars don't have that ability, like mine.
The Kramer Gorky Park guitar is modeled after the Balalaika shape. That’s a Russian folk stringed instrument. You asked “why”… that’s your answer, Robert.
Let me hear your balalaikas ringing out
Come and keep your comrade warm
Idk, the reverse flying V doesn't look that bad. Looks a lot better than the other triangle on the list.. lol
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Riding over the Firebirds with a tractor was the best thing that could have been done to them.
RIGHT???
My first reaction upon hearing about the story of their destruction a while back was "Aww, what a waste. Couldn't they have been donated?" Upon watching this video and learning more details about the model, my reaction to Gibson producing them is, "Aww, what a waste."
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That guitar makes me angry when I see it.
Esteban guitars are good for one thing... I played a song then smashed one into a bonfire. Didn’t feel bad
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Apparently even Esteban didn't know "his" guitars were shit.
Basically, some shady company went in search of an accomplished, somewhat known guitar player to endorse their trash.
Esteban was getting ready to record the commercials and if I recall correctly, he insisted on using one of "His" guitars for the commercials (because HE had some integrity) and so unbeknownst to Esteban, they found a tech/luthier at the last minute (I think he had a day or so - perhaps hours...? I'm sorry, I can't remember) but the tech said the three "best" ones chosen for him could barely be called guitars. Basically all sorts of insane work was required to make these things simply play.
I remember the guy telling the story (who was good friends with the tech) said that Esteban really had no idea what was going on, and wasn't at all the kind of guy who would pull a move like that. Not that it means he's completely free from all responsibility, but it does at least put him in a less brutal light.
Are you his mother? Or maybe Esteban himself?
I call BS in this, since every one of guitars have been shit. So after the first one, he continued to run the scam several times.
@@RByrne Lol, this was some shit I watched on UA-cam or some random article I read, details are fuzzy but that was the gist.
HE didn't run shit, he wasn't in charge of anything, you mouthbreather.
Go cry somewhere else, you fucking baby.
Great video Robert, my worst guitar was an old Lyle 12 string. The neck was bowed, the intonation was way off, the frets were sharp and some of them above the fret you were using touched the string above it making the notes muddy. a real lousy guitar.
I think the Gorky Park one was meant to resemble a traditional Russian stringed instrument which the body is a triangle.
The worst guitar was a Sears Silvertone. I learned very quickly what was meant by the term "action ". At the 12th fret the strings were in the vicinity of 1”. I had callouses on my left hand that doubled as a finish hammer. I believe it was a cheese slicer in a former life.
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Barney Fike,
I’m not a guitar expert but I believe years ago silvertone guitars were made by Harmony guitars. Harmony guitars sounded just okay, were built like tanks, lasted forever and usually played like crap, though some played nicely.
I was given a student model Silvertone years ago that played great but sounded like a baritone mandolin or lute because of its small scale. Being a bassist, I gave it away unfortunately.
By the way this guitar had a floating wood bridge and tail piece.
Good way to improve intonation on cheap guitars.
Note to bassists: Don’t buy acoustic bass guitars without a tailpiece. String tension will eventually and always twist and destroy an acoustic bridge that anchors the strings. I guarantee this, my source, basic physics!
Hey now... I had a First Act VW Garagemaster guitar.
It had a built-in preamp with overdrive and a 1/4" to 1/8" cable that plugged-into the VW Radio sound system.
That preamp system also worked as a Headphone amp. I think that there was a 1/8" headphone jack.
Mine came with a sturdy strap made of Seat-belt material and a very nice VW Gig Bag.
I paid $129 (including shipping) and sold it for $150 (minus shipping and fees).
I was AMAZED that someone paid that much for that guitar.
But it was a good starter guitar.
I cannot understand what financial genius would think that a $150 guitar would be the deciding factor on which $24,000 automobile you should buy.
Arthur Seery my cousin has one. No idea where he got it but I swear it’s a damn decent guitar! People pay good money for them still. We actually had a band use it in the studio one time lol definitely a weird thing pairing it with the car but I really don’t see anything wrong with the actual guitar itself. At least the one my cousin has is decent. Maybe some of them suck? Esteban on the other hand.... what an embarrassment to even have these on the market. So so bad.
There's a lot of guitar manufacturers that are in financial trouble nowadays and they keep using technology to solve problems that don't exist instead of building guitars with better materials and workmanship.
Gibson comes to mind when this subject is on the table. If they weren’t constantly trying to peddle $2,000+ guitars, and instead focused on quality and affordability, they might get out of their rut.
sorta why PRS make money
The problem is the manufacturers adding stuff hoping to attract buyers rather than solve problems. The real problem is sales are down. The guitar craze is over. You can search for this years and last years most popular recordings and you will notice almost no guitars in them anymore. Next year when students start college/university, if they even see a guitar, and they may not, they will say something like: Yep, my Granddad liked those but I'm not sure why.
@@paulstokes-rees4590 Such a defeatist point of view. Get outta here.
@@wickedwayzzz33 Paul is right, guitar based music is on the downturn. Also we should consider the tariffs imposed by the US govt on imported woods which causes the price of any guitars made with imported exotic woods in the US to increase dramatically.
That reverse flying V review was the most accurate. I felt it.
#2 was definitely the best. Should do a sit down test, show how the v can at least be wedged up on your leg, but the reverse just infinitely slides off.
To be fair, even if you had a 250,000 dollar burst, at room volume, the effect of drop tune, either by pedal or robot tuner, would be no different than the Peavey. But having it on this list is a good place for it. Thanks for the video.
Great job Robert. When our store "Strings &Things" Music in Lincolnwood, Ill behind Norlin HQ. Our store fell victim to a lot of cont emporary crap from Gibson through the 1970's. Gibson has a habit of trying to become a large corporate enity. From the days of CMI until now. Right now they are making the closest reproduction guitars I have ever seen. I am 68 and worked in Music Stores since 1972..
This video made me subscribe to your channel so long ago. I remember some dude shared it on a Squier fans Facebook page and i clicked on the link and 15 minutes later the guy and i agreed we nearly fell of our chairs laughing when you reviewed the Reverse Flying V. After all these years it still cracks me up.
The reverse V, LMAO!!
Best acoustic guitar for the blues
The prison guard has a fake guitar the same shape in Judas Priest’s “Breaking The Law” video!
I'd like to see someone playing one just for entertainment purposes, just once.
Man the reverse v is a groovy axe!!
that guitar gets a 10/10 from me lmao
Not saying that ibanez is good but the kaoss pad thing comes from (better said is made famous) by matt bellamy of Muse, he does some sweet stuff with his custom guitars.
Actually. Those guitars is called Manson Guitars
P0wer2R0ll yeah they are a custom guitar company that make guitars for matt amongst others, Matt made the use of a pad famous though.
Ibanez=I been had lol
I've seen Tom morello from rage against the machine use things like that ibanez pad thing.
JimijaymesGuitarist h
That Volks with a built in amp sounds like a killer classic car find
Les Paul, (the man not his guitar), built an electric guitar out of aluminum, (can’t remember if it was solid or hollow-bodied).
He said it sounded great and thought that he discovered the ultimate material for building guitars, but found it quickly to be an engineering disaster!
While touring with and playing guitar with the Andrew Sisters, they would dance and sing from one side of the stage to the other, being followed by a spotlight.
When they were in front of Les the spotlight would heat up the aluminum guitar, greatly expanding, and de tuning the guitar. Embarrassed, he’d frantically retune the guitar, but the the spotlight would move and the guitar would lose it’s tune again.
He put the guitar in a closet from then on.
Thé Kramer one is a triangle because it s the traditional shape of Eastern Europe / Russian instruments as Balalaika
Except for the current political untimeliness of the image of the combined U.S. and Russian flags, I found this take on the balalaika to be most interesting and compelling. Perhaps if he had manifested an understanding of the cultural implications, he wouldn't have included this one, but then I wouldn't be aware of it.
@@xmillion1704 Burns did a Balalaika guitar back in the 60s. Theres was more curved, like some real ones are, and seemed to be a bit smaller. There is one in a book I have (Tony Bacon's Burns book) it has a trisonic and the same built in amp as the Bison, this was around the same time as the Concord inspired Flyte.
@@Djarra - Cool, thanks! I've not been previously familiar with Burns guitars.
@@xmillion1704 They had some oddities, although after the original company went out of business the revived version just stuck to the more 'normal' styles, and for a while they made a Brian May guitar, Brian of course used their pickups for his original
Ha ha I love how you “reviewed” the reverse V!
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I laughed out loud. He couldn't have done better with his description of the Reverse Flying V.
Your sigh at the reverse Flying V was perfect, nothing needed to be said.
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The Kramer triangle guitar was designed to like a ballilanka
Balalaika*
The Gibson Reverse V can be played sat down and is a great guitar - I want one
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The ESP EC-256P is a gold top LP style guitar w/P90 pickups.
First off the pickups are not P90 pickups but hybrid double coil pickups with the low gain of a Fender single coil pickup ?
Second the pickups were not setup to adjust the height at all but had the screws to do adjust if it was done right .
It has a some what skinny neck yet is a awesome and strait neck that does bends very good and hits tones my Epiphone LP cannot do .
So i had a friend re-engineer the pickups and adjustment screws correctly using a good set of $40 P-90 pickups.
The Guitar was a glued in neck done perfectly and i use 10 - 48 strings and had to open up the nut slots using a nut file set for 10-48 strings .
The guitar now is a good guitar i bought in circa 2016 for about $220 then and the tunamatic bridge stays in tune well with very low action.
This guitar was made well in Vietnam but they were clueless on the way P-90 pickups are supposed to be mounted to be adjusted by the player .
I have no idea why they wound hybrid double coil pickups using only one coil with very little gain ?
I actually love the bending string tones this guitar does , it sounds wonderful now playing threw a monoprice 15 watt tube amp !
"The Gibson reverse flying V"...(sigh).... Perfect.
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My nephew got one of those Esteban guitars, and they are JUNK. I'm not even a guitar player and I could tell the difference.
Your comments on #3 Esteban are the best ones on the list! Hilarious!
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Lol @ your face when you mentioned the reverse Flying V 😂😂😂
What?? No Line 6 guitar!!! I bought one, and had a professional "run the rack" on it. Frets levelled and polished, everything set up, etc. This guy said it was the biggest turd he'd ever seen to date - and asked that I NEVER bring it back to his shop. Later on, I didn't even try to re-sell it....I put it to rest at the garbage dump. RIP
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I came across this because I found out a song from 1 of my favorite albums called 'I Constantly Thank God For Estaban' was named that because when the album was being created they saw a cringy Estaban commercial. Lol.
I love that they were 18 & realized w/o even owning 1 how bad they were lol.
Nice video. I did see most of them were gimmick guitars with flaws. And then you had design nightmares for playing let alone eyesores. Spot on for the eight you chose. Of course there are worse out there somewhere but it was nice you had a few real expensive examples that should never be purchased by any wary customer. Thanks!
Dude you are one funny guy man , you should do stand up , seriously funny thanks watched this as soon as I woke up , made my morning
Thanks man! I appreciate the kind words. I think I’ll stick to guitar, though.
At least the Fisrt Act Volkswagen guitars dont catch on fire like the cars do...
That’s okay. We have (or DID have) the Gibson Firebird X’s to fill the void of self-igniting instruments. 🔥🔥🔥
The Kramer triangle shape was a tribute to the Russian balalaika. Its triangle shape is likely owed to balalaikas needing to be simple to build due to being homebuilt village instruments. They were typically used to play protest songs ridiculing the tsars and oligarchs. The culture of defiance surrounding the instrument may have contributed to Russian luthiers being reluctant to create a production version of it for the early part of its existence. You asked why 🙂 Personally, I think Kramer would have been better off just making an actual balalaika
I saw where you liked my comment Robert, but seriously I fell in love with one in the 80s!
I replied to your comment, as well. Like I said, I still have mine after going on 30 years. Aria Pro are one of the most underrated brands of that era.
re: Volkswagen/First Act guitar, I believe the car's stereo doubled as a guitar amp (I recall seeing something similar on Top Gear, where they had Eric Clapton playing guitar through the car stereo of whichever model car they were demoing, but Eric used a Strat and a wah wah pedal...sounded pretty good). The Volkswagen ad I remember, though, had Nigel Tufnel (aka Christopher Guest) from Spinal Tap.
I think there were three or four Volkswagen TV ads for that guitar. One with Slash, one with Nigel Tufnel, one with John Mayer, and I believe there was also one with Brian May or somebody else, but I might be mistaken about that.
I had a guitar by a company called Karera. Sometimes it was spelled Carera. It was a strat style copy that couldn't even be intonated properly. Very cheap, sounded hollow. Not even a good pedal and amp would stop it from sounding like a tin can until I upgraded everything. And then it sounded kinda ok.
The Reverse Flying V looks like a lawn dart on acid.
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Have you seen the "lightning bolt"? I've seen it also called the thunderbolt.
the Gorky Park one looks like a fucking Dorito. like, everyone hates on the St Vincent Signature for being ugly or whatever (it isn't, and I want one so badly) but at least it's ERGONOMICALLY SOUND
I got a used Esteban acoustic years ago and it’s never let me down. It’s my only acoustic so I use it a ton. It has some battle scars but the thing still sings! So I’m not sure about other Esteban guitars but mine is great!
If you bought a $200 Yamaha you’d use that Esteban for kindling at the next campfire singalong 😂
Agreed.
Stockholm Syndrome.
Love my $225 Yamaha!!
matt bauckman without a doubt! Yamaha is so underrated. I've never owned one myself but I've never been disappointed any time I tried playing one. I just always find something I like better when buying.
I actually have a esteban guitar acoustic with the bottom cut away .I've had it 12 years and haven't had a problem with it .it sounds good and plays good although the first one they sent me had dead places in the neck i sent back the second one has been good
The problem with the flying V if you can't sit with it it keeps slipping off your lap I have 24 guitars I was playing for 40 years and I got a mild stroke now I have to relearn playing from the beginning and because I fell in love with playing guitar I am actually re-learning to play after being almost a semi professional
I never bought a flying V I'm back to my Gibson ES 345 from 1978
That VW guitar actually looks cool.
Hate Ibanez. Worked at their warehouse Hoshino in PA. They used to let people buy dinged guitars for cheap or build them. Instead they brought in Japanese executives and trashed everything and fired loyal employees.
Roberts non-verbal reaction to the Reverse Flying V speaks volumes. Love it.
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There’s nothing needed to be said.
I kinda like how the reverse flying V looks like a guitar spear or an arrow.
I call it the Gibson Lawn Dart. LOL
The funniest part of this review is the Gibson Reverse Flying V 9:52
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Best review of a guitar ever.
Strats like bodies are there for a reason : they look good, are comfortable to play and they are basically like what you expect.
For some those acts with a dose of absurd humour, bizzare shaped guitars do stand out.
That reverse flyig V or that Gorky Park, those would look painfully out of place in the hands of James Hetfield, yet I can imagine any of them being used on stage with Marylin Manson...
I started dying laughing when you got to the reverse Flying V
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You did pretty good at picking the worst. I'd say to add any of the 70's Fenders with 3-bolt necks. Stores across the nation were having a field day with the massive boost in sales of shims. And a lot of guitar players were saying, "I... uh... I MEANT to do that".
Yes, I’ve played my share of shitty 70’s Fenders, as well. LOL I’ve played some good ones too, but man are there a lot of shitty Strats and Teles from 1970’s. LOL
Peavey AT200 - the Variax JTV has the alt tuning as one of its features but you have to understand what you are playing. You have to have the amp set loader than the acoustic volume of the strings but it is an awesome feature. It's great to be able to jump to open tunings with a slide at the flick of a switch. Much better build than the Peavey apparently.
My first guitar was a first act. Not that specific one. But to this day I still love that guitar.
RE: Kramer Gorky Park... the triangular body shape is designed to resemble a Balalaika which is a traditional Russian stringed instrument. So that's the answer to your "why?" ;)
It’s still hideous. LOL
@@RobertWJackson true ;) just thought I'd provide some context for its hideousness.
I think the Kramer one might have meant to have a balalaika sort of shape
think your right.
Well, the guy is Russian, so......
I recently subscribed and that reverse v made all 3 videos I viewed. The look on your face while you're at a loss for words is priceless 😆
P.S. buy a real Strat.
k
you can catch Estaban on youtube for a good laugh. the name, he claims ,comes from Segovia who called him that after meeting him and was impressed by his abilities except there is absolutely no proof that segovia ever met Estaban
Watching his loss of words, using only expressions validates his knowledge. I was thinking about getting a coffee just so I could spew it at his expressions. LoL. Good job
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I could tell you were trying not to crack up while recording the Reverse Flying V part. I had a good chuckle out of it.
That joke has gotten a lot of mileage on this channel. LOL
I loved this video! The flying V was perfect, nothing needed to be said. Just to look at it was all it took. If you want to know why Gibson is having troubles, just look at the stupid ideas and what they are asking for their "mistakes"! Thanks again Robert! See you in Indy at the show soon.
I'll be there!
What the hell happened to Gibson? All they need to do is 5-6 guitar types, do them RIGHT (i.e. Fix the scale length!!!) and make them more affordable. The world could have been theirs but no. They had to inject unwanted gimmicks into their tradition and they still keep unwanted traditions (like an untunable scale length and kluson tuners...). PRS has basically shown Gibson how to do everything better. EVERYTHING! Such a shame... RIP Gibson USA
Gibson is looking just like Kramer did around 1989. A good name wasted. Crappy QC, high prices, and bizarre guitars no one wants!
Martin Gordon Untunable scale length?!! Haha.
This was a funny friken vid. I grew up on Vintage Fenders and Gold top Les Pauls so I know how to hate bad guitars. My first electric guitar was truly one of the worst guitars I have ever set fingers on. God love my parents. It was called the "HI-Lo Surfer". It was banana color and shaped like a warped pentagon. I was only 10 years old and it came with the thickest flat wound strings. I'm not sure I ever even got a chord out of it it was so impossible to play. There was a popular 60's guitar that it was moddeled from, I think I've seen Brian Jones playing one. What a miraculous joy it was to be taken out to Rayburn Music in Boston on my 13th Birthday for a brand spanking new blonde body with maple neck Fender Telecaster. That was in 1970. Thats when my life actually began. Cool vid man, had be laughing all by myself, like, you know, one of those crazy persons.
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We have the same reaction to the reverse V. Except, I then twitch involuntarily for a second.
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Your reaction to the reverse flying V was priceless...you summed it up perfect!!speecless..lmao
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Did Gibson really think that was going to wow people?I guess it would be great if someone wanted a chin rest while they were playing.lol
What are you talking about? It DID wow people! People were like “Wow, what in the actual FUCK is Gibson thinking???” 🤣🤣🤣
I know you got a cool guitar collection,have you ever tried a Nuno N4? I used to work for guitar center years ago and one came in used and have played those ever scince..Really cool guitars..i had one you really would have liked..i had a mid 80's BC Rich warlock with a purple flip flop paintjob..only one I have ever seen but was one I wish I never sold
I’ve never owned one, but I do really like the N4’s. Cool guitars.
I remember seeing a video of someone at gibson destroying Firebird X guitars.
I covered that on my channel when it happened. It wasn’t SOMEONE AT Gibson destroying Firebird X’s, it was GIBSON destroying Firebird X’s. Basically they ran over like 350 of them with an excavator. They had to document their destruction with video in order to write off the loss on their tax statements. Then guitar players started whining that Gibson didn’t donate them, because giving a child a guitar with an electronics system known to catch fire is a GREAT idea. 🤦🏻♂️
First act vw is actually quality. I have 3 of them I think they’re great
I recommend you go play a Music Man sometime. LOL
Robert's Guitar Dungeon haha I know they aren’t 1000$ quality or anything but it’s a good guitar that can compete with epiphone and fender Mexico products. I found all three for under 60$ each!
@@RobertWJackson At LEAST a Guild.
@@RobertWJackson Old comment might be old but how can a MusicMan be compared to a First Act VW guitar?? Not knocking either here but just saying...
Exactly the point I was making. If somebody thinks the First Act VW guitars are quality, they should play a Music Man and see what they’re missing.
That Ibanez rgk-p6 was so misleading, u can't plug into the amp and use the touchpad effects so you could only use 3.5mm headphones to hear it or else it's just a normal guitar so u had to wire 3.5 cable to a speaker or pedals/amp that had 3.5 input so it was made to jam with headphones and had built in distortion/clean and the koass had the effects of reverb or delay and some of the best effects I've heard from any pedal and had wacky non modern guitar effects DJs would use but you couldn't daisy chain effects and was stuck to one selection.. After about a year the kaoss pad plastic got gummy a peeled... Definitely a terrible purchase on my end
I think the SynthAxe is one of the worst guitars ever made. It was played by Lee Ritenour, but it is super weird and expensive.
Thomas Morrison It’s not a guitar, it was essentially a MIDI controller. And if you are quick to bash the sound of it, listen to some Allan Holdsworth and thank me later!
9:52 - LOL - How am to get it out of the cabinet?! - It's like a giant fish hook?!
The Firebird X...ha ha ha...I remember Gibson set up a special forum that was open to join for a relatively short amount of time that allowed the members to dialogue with Henry J., Gibson’s CEO. The forum started just before the guitar was rolled out to build hype. I was one of the few “blessed” to be on this forum and I remember when the guitar was announced at some event by Henry J. himself, the response on the forum was a unanimous WTF Henry? You are charging how much for this abomination? There were other comments that are not repeatable on polite company. First Henry disappeared and one of his minions fielded the heat and the forum went away. Now Henry only appears from the keep it his castle once a year and if he sees his shadow, it means that Gibson will only produce overpriced, quality control bereft crap for another 12 months. So far it’s been sunny in Nashville on that one day for the last 6 or 7 years. lol
You didn’t hear? Gibson filed for bankruptcy.
Good riddance to their overpriced guitars.
They haven’t filed bankruptcy. They have until July I believe to restructure their debt. If they haven’t done so by the deadline, THEN they will have to file bankruptcy.
Rob's - That's true, but regardless, they've made some real CRAP over the past few years. It's not terrible, but it's not up to Gibson standards. I bought three brand spakin' new Gibbos in the early 00's and they were awesome. The last two I had showed up with sharp frets and just lousy fit & finish.
My first guitar was a Harmony. It sucked BALLS. I didn't really how bad it was until I got a decent guitar and realized those first 2 years of practicing actually made a difference.
How to break in the Volkswagen guitar... Run over it with your brand new Volkswagen.
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