Michael Kelly Patriot Custom

Beautiful book matched maple top, fantasic ebony neck, high end hardware, including a tone pros briddge.

I play melodic rock and shred guitar, and this axe handles both very nicely. Very full sounding on rythm playing, and the neck position pickup on leads is phenominal!

The guitar was set up perfect out of the box. The neck is straight, smooth and comfortable. The pickups are perfect. the finish is perfect, and the abalone inlays on the ebony neck are amazing.

I have owned Gibson Les Pauls and in my opinion the Patriot Custom blows Gibson away! I do alot of bends and hard playing and the Grover tuners keep this guitar in tune perfectly. This is my main live guitar and I don't bring a back up because this guitar is a tank!

This guitar gets a full 10! I have been playing for 12 years and my only regret about this guitar is I did'nt get one sooner! I have spent thousands of dollars on the "ultimate" guitars costing 6 times as much!

2006 made in Korea (Dont let that fool you!!)
22 Frets
Mahogany neck, back and Flame maple cap. Actual maple cap, not a veneer.
Ebony fretboard with nice abalone inlays
Design is to emulate LP, but is closer to a Dean EVO
Has 2 knobs and three way toggle. Volume, tone. Both are push-pull pots to split coils
Hardware is top notch. Grover Keys, Tonepros tune o matic tail.
24.75 scale, neck is very comfy. Slim, but not too, Not too fat. Very close to my 2004 LP studio.
Strap buttons are nice and big and very attractive even. Big plus
Pickups are they're own, But very impressive. (more in sound)
Also, pick ups are direct mounted
The finish is Black fade.
Got mine with a very nice hard case for $499
Giving this a 10 because it has some top shelf parts and everything needed.

I play a mix from Metal to blues to Rock and even mello.
I run thru a Peavey Ultra plus half stack, a Peavey Classic 30, or a Hughes and Kettner Blue 30.
It covers alot of ground.
Has a very full and rich sound. Resonates quite nicely and sustains eternally..
It is a quiet as any quality axe would be
I am very impressed with the stock pickups. Im a bit of a pickup snob in that I've put Duncans or some aftermarket pickups in every guitar Ive owned, Gibsons etc. The stock ones are very nice. And probably are on par or dominant of anything in this price range and even a bit above.
They are versitile, and complex and clear enough to hear notes within the chords and even picked notes with a power chord droning under heavy distortion.
Time will tell if the stockers stay. I will say that the ONLY pickup out of 15 guitars that Ive never changed, was a neck pup in my Michael Kelly Patriot Q. No Kidding.
To me, these are a little bit on the bright side, but not piercing or unpleasant. And honestly, this will cut through nicely in a band situation. Ive not played this one out yet.
I'm giving a 9 because sound is subjective and nothing is perfect. But for the price, this is sweet.

Set up was VERY good!! Guitar traveled nearly 1000 miles to me from the dealer and 2 strings were less than 1/2 note flat.
Action is great, no buzzes or dead notes ANYWHERE!!
Pickup height is close to spot on.
The construction is quite impressive.
Frets are finished nicely, uniform and no rough edges. Inlays are very nicely done with minimal filler.
No bubbles, runs or issues in the paint or finish.
No color bleeds in the binding.
Color is Black fade, but appears more Gray. Attractive, but one would expect more black with that name.
Back and back of neck are gloss black.
Top is flame maple and an attractive figuring, but was not bookmatched. For the price, Id rather have the tone Im getting with the real maple cap on mahogany vs a pretty bookmatch. Id expect this on a $2000 PRS or Gibson.
Also, the wiring cavity is extremely clean and tidy!!
Another meaningless point, but to me shows detail, the logo on the headstock is either a die cut sticker or a foil logo that is laid under the clear coat. Won't scrape off like the Gibson logo on my studio.
I'm giving a 10 because for the price and even beyond, its nicely detailed.

Again, Grover keys, Tonepros bridge and tailpiece and D'addario strings. All top shelf that I expect a lifetime of performance from.
Finish, wiring and even the stiff feel of the three way feel like it will go the distance.
I have a lower model Kelly that has not let me down in 2 years of hard play.
Yes, I can depend on it, and would use without a backup if need be, but having a backup is always a good idea..
Strap buttons are solid and large and even though this sounds petty, they are attractive. Like some thought went into thier design.

Warranty is 2 years. I have not needed, nor do I think I will. Didnt on my other Kelly.
BUT! I have gotten pleasant responses to emails from the company and feel they care about the customer's satisfaction.
I'll give a 10 because I dont get that with Bigger name brands.

Ive been playing/tinkering with guitar for nearly 30 years. Though Ive had gearless times during family raising and such.
I've played alot of brands and price ranges to where I believe I can make a fair assessment. Im not a youngster thinking my first axe is the best..
I have played this back to back with a 2004 Gibson LP studio, 2002 Explorer, Strats, 89 RG570, Carvin SC90 , a couple of vintage Kramers just to name a few. This guitar plays and sounds fantastic! I LOVE it and at is the first axe I reach for these days.
Id replace if if I had to, and may get another cuz I want to.
If I could add one thing would get another volume and tone control for more of a classic LP setup as I switch from bridge to neck alot.
The sustain is one of my favorite attributes..
Yep, Im gonna give it a 10. Is it the best guitar in the world? Probably not. It is a fantastic, tool for expression that is comparable to guitars costing so very much more. So FAntastic value it is!

You do NOT need to replace the pickups on this guitar! In my initial review, I said that I was going to swap out the MK Patriot pickups with DiMarzio Air Classics. However, I've been playing this guitar (and ONLY this guitar) for the past 3 weeks, and I've been saying to myself "Wow, these pickups sound REALLY good"...
In addition I wrote Michael Kelly, and told them what a great guitar this is, and to check my review on Harmony Central. Todd, the guy that designed the pickups, told me that the pickups in the Patriot are actually HOTTER than the Air Classics, and that sometimes the A/B box will put out unequal signals.
Soooooo....I re-tested the SG and Patriot again, this time, unplugging
and plugging each seperately without using the A/B. Conclusion: The signals were equal (to the naked ear), the SG being brighter since it's a lighter guitar. You'd expect an LP style such as the Patriot to sound fuller, which it did.
In addition, I plugged both of them into my mixing board, and the MK actually produced a LOUDER reading on the LED.

Again, you do NOT need to replace the pickups! The Patriot's pickups are extremely quiet, too. When I intitially tested the Patriot, it's also likely that I had the coil taps set to single coil, which of course would produce a weaker signal. My mistake on this. I'm perfectly happy with the pickups as well as with the rest of the guitar.

Excellent, as previously stated!

Perfect!

Absolutely!

Michael Kelly's support is the BEST in the business. I've written them several times, and I've always gotten a quick, informative and friendly response.

As I stated before, I ain't no rookie, and I KNOW my guitars.
Do yourself a FAVOR and BUY THIS GUITAR!
In the past, the pickups may not have been as good, but MK has made
significant improvements in upgrading the pickups on the Patriot Custom.
So, if you've read reviews on other MK guitars which say that you have to swap out the pickups...IGNORE them! Go try one for yourself....Before you spend $2,000-$3,000 on a Les Paul...or PRS or Dean! I used to equate low price with quality, but Michael Kelly has shown me that this is not true, at least with their products.

Also remember, when you get a similar guitar, such as an Epiphone LP,
that the body is Alder and Mahogany, not solid mahoghany as with the
Michael Kelly. AND with the Epi, you will definitely have to replace the inferior pickups. The Michael Kelly Patriot is Gibson, PRS and Dean all rolled into one, at a fraction of the price, and surpassing the rest in quality. As I said...BUY THIS GUITAR! You won't be sorry.

Patriot Custom, Cherry sunburst finish.
See this at http://www.michaelkellyguitars.com/archtops/patriot%5Fcustom/

Made in 2006. Assembled in Clearwater, FLA, USA, parts made in Korea.
Full scale length. This is a Les Paul Style guitar, body is solid mahogany, with a REAL (not veneer) carved maple top. The top is bound to the body via white binding
Neck is mahogany with ebony fingerboard. Beautiful REAL abalone inlays on the fingerboard, medium jumbo frets. The neck also has white binding. Grover Tuners on an angled headstock. The neck
reminds me of a Les Paul Neck, but slightly narrower, which is a
good thing. Fits my hand very well, and it's very comfortable.
Two humbucking pickups, with coil tapping. Finish is glossy and smooth as silk, with NO imperfections!
Case is sold seperately.

I play classic rock and blues. This suits my style perfectly.
Using a Fender Blues DeVille and Peavey ValveKing 112. Not noisy at all! The sound is full and Rich. However, I want a little more gain,
so I'm swapping out the pups with DiMarzios Air Classics. I A/B this
with my Gibson SG Standard, and the SG was noticably louder. Since I will be alternating between the Patriot and the SG, I want the pickup output to be similar. However, if you're only going to use the
Patriot, then swapping pups isn't necessary. The pickups are much better than you'll find on a guitar close to this price, such as an
Epiphone.

This was set up perfectly! The action is great, allowing smooth bends, and fast riffing. Incredible! The top is bookmatched pretty closely, but not perfect. Then again, it's a REAL maple cap, which is typical, even on Gibson LP's costing 5 times the price!
The fret ends are smooth, too, unlike most of the Gibsons these days.

Definitely will withstand live playing. The hardware seems very durable, and the finish is impeccable, and seems durable. The strap buttons are over-sized, which is a great feature. I would definitely use this on a gig without a backup, if I needed to.

This has a two year warranty. I've written Michael Kelly, telling them what a great guitar it is, and requested that they make a Goldtop Patriot. They got back to me within a day! They're great to deal with.

I've been playing 40 years. I've owned primarily Gibsons (SG's, Les Pauls, etc.). If it was stolen or lost, I'd buy another one. I'm going to buy another one anyway! This guitar, when you pick it up, has a bit of weight to it, but it's lighter than a Les Paul. When you strap it on, you don't notice the weight since it's so perfectly balanced. VERY comfortable! This guitar is BEAUTIFUL! GORGEOUS! The craftsmanship is wonderful. PERFECT. You'd think that this guitar would cost $2000 or more. The only criticism that I have is one of
cosmetics: This guitar is a cherry sunburst, and came with black knobs and a black toggle switch cap. Basically, the black stood out
like a sore thumb. Therefore, I got some GOLD speed knobs and a cream colored toggle switch cap, and put them on. NOW, it looks like
I think it should. The gold knobs and cream cap give it that vintage look, and it looks great!
If a small company like Michael Kelly can offer such great guitars at such reasonable prices, why can't the larger companies (Gibson, Fender, Ibanez) do it as well?
Great job, Michael Kelly!