Alden Bluesline ZE Metaltop

The construction is supposed to be all Mahogany I believe, but I can't tell by looking. The dark satin stain is really nice, but pretty well conceals the grain, so hard to know. Can't tell how many pieces the body is either. Les Paul set-up: 2 vol, 2 tone, 3-way switch. Tune-o-matic bridge, LP style tailpiece. Wish it had a Zemaitis styled "flat" tailpiece, that would look more true to the original. This guitar is very light, I would guess around 7 to 7-1/2 lbs.

Neck is on the thin/narrow side, but feels good to me (I usually like my necks fatter and wider, but this one seems right).

Frets appear to be medium jumbos and are finished nicely.

Metal-top with etched figuring. Not nearly as fancy or intricate as the Zemaitis it's styled after, but looks cool.

Doesn't come with a bag or case.

Strap endpins are solid.

No-name butter-bean styled tuners. All the accessories are finished in a brush-metallic, very nice.

These pickups sound great! I thought I'd likely want to swap them out, but I'm not going to. Believe it or not, this guitar sounds darker and heavier than my 06 Gibson Les Paul Standard. Perhaps because the LP has a maple cap? Very good guitar for overdriven rock 'n roll, but cleans up plenty nice too.

Humbuckers are quiet as can be, as they should be.

Very good string-to-string definition when strumming chords, even with some overdrive. Have to give a high mark here, this guitar sounds excellent.

Have to knock some points here. Let me state I'm very happy with my purchase, but right out of the box, the neck vol pot was bad. I decided to go ahead and have them all swapped out, as they are the really cheap tiny foreign type. Switch seems fine though, so I didn't replace that.

I'm not sure about the tuners either. They look solid, but I'm having a little bit of tuning stability with the B string, and it seems like the turning ratio on that particular tuner is "sloppier" than the other 5 tuners.

The nut was cut way too high, resulting in higher-than-desired action out of the box. I do have to say, this isn't unusual with new guitars costing 2-3 times as much, so I don't deduct too much there.

The frets were finished nicely, and there are no apparent finish flaws. The etching on the metal-top looks cool, no flaws there.

Once I swapped the pots and had a good set-up done, the guitar plays fantastic. However, I don't like having to immediately swap parts on a brand new guitar, so I think there does need to be a little more attention to detail.

One other thing that is wierd about this guitar--probably driven by cost--the routs for the pots and the switch go all the way through the guitar! In other words, if you remove the metal top, you'd have two "holes" in the guitar! Wierd. Doesn't affect anything, but seem sort of cheap.

I think the guitar can be depended on. I don't rate reliability until I've owned for several years. But I have faith it'll do fine.

No idea--but I would bet it doesn't exist! LOL

Overall, I'm glad I bought it. It gets high marks on the "mojo" scale. Fun to play, cool funky vibe, and different looking. You turn some heads with this guitar when playing live--for at least a moment, guitarists in the crowd may wonder if it's a real one. The headstock is a dead giveaway as it doesn't have the offset sort of design that a real Zemaitis has, and of course on closer inspection, you realize it's not a $20k guitar (or even a $1k guitar for that matter).

Still, it's cool and funky and I like it.

Really nice looking guitar. The satin stained (supposedly) Mahogany body is particularly sweet looking. Wish I could tell how many pieces the body is, just kinda curious, not that it really matters. Stain is very dark, so hard to tell. The etching on the metal (aluminum?) top is done nicely, though it doesn't really look that similar to most pictures of Zemaitises (sp?) I've seen. Still, it overall captures the general look--and for about what? $20,000 less? :) Set up like a Les Paul--3 way switch, 2 vol 2 tones, tune-o-matic bridge, etc. Larger sized frets which seem to be well dressed, fretboard seems to be a pretty flat radius. Has all of what you need, none of what you don't.

No case/gig bag included.

I'm impressed. I don't think I'll swap out the Alan Entwhistle (sp?) designed pickups. They sound warm (mine don't seem as hot as the previous reviewer stated) and the brushed metallic finish looks cool. It's really a good sounding guitar. Sounds a little spankier than my 2006 Gibson Les Paul Standard (not as thick and fat), but sounds very good in it's own way. The middle pickup position is particularly nice. The bridge pickup does really well without squealing feedback even with high volume and high gain. Great for rock and roll, and is there anything else?

Thumbs up.

There was a little issue here. Right off the bat, a volume pot was bad (or acting up). In the middle position with the neck pickup vol rolled all the way back... you could still get volume. I was taking it in for a set up anyway, and just decided to swap out all the pots--which, not surprisingly, were the really cheap little imported variety--and that made a lot of positive difference in terms of taper, both in the vol and tone. But I gotta say, after the set up (which I pretty much figure is required for most any guitar I buy), this thing's action and playability are FIRST RATE. Very nice playing axe. The frets appear to be finished and seated really well, with no "fret outs" anywhere on the fretboard, and no jagged edges along the edge of the fretboard (which, honestly, is usually just a humidity issue). The nut was cut a little high, but that was the case on the aforementioned Les Paul I bought used for $1500 too, so that's not that big a deal to me.

One thing that's not necessarily a poor quality issue, but more of a funkiness thing than anything... okay, this thing has a metal top, right? Well, get this: the routed hole for the vol/tone controls and for the switch? They're drilled ALL THE WAY through the body! In other words, if you take off the metal top, you got 2 freaking holes where the sun can shine through! LOL! Not a big deal, hey it's a $500 Korean guitar, but I did think it was kinda odd. Guess it was a way to cut corners.

Neck is fairly thin, and I think the nut is narrower than what I usually play--but oddly enough, the neck feels great to me. Probably due to the good attention to the fretwork and the larger frets/flatter radius, which I prefer. The satin finish feels great--not sticky at all!

The inlays look cool--they're not plain white plastic, they are more mother of pearl looking. However, the inlay work itself is average at best. You can see black filler along the edges, especially in one corner of the diamond inlay in the same location of each inlay. Nice inlay on the headstock, though it looks very similar to the one Jay Turser uses on some models (the same manufacturing facility?).

The rosewood fretboard looks really nice. Has a couple of streaks (which I find appealing), yet is overall pretty dark. The grain is very tight. Nice.

The tuners work real well, hold tune great. All the components (tuners, pickups, tuners, bridge, etc) are a sort of brushed metal look, and makes for a really cool appearance.

Strap buttons appear solid. Satin finish will likely hold up well. Probably want to consider swapping out the crap pots (and maybe the switch, though I didn't) with decent ones, that's a good $20-$40 investment. I will play this guitar live, and I have no doubt it'll sound really good and play great.

Don't like assigning a rating, as only time will tell...

No idea, I doubt there's much though...

I'm happy with it. Is it a $20,000 Zemaitis, or even an "authorized" $2,500 Japanese version? No. But heck, for less than 6 bills, I got a pretty different looking axe than most other cover band guitarists play, and one that will turn some heads (at least for a moment or two)--and that sounds and plays great! It has a high vibe and mojo rating; I give this Alden an enthusiastic "thumbs up."

pretty straightforward. Zemaitis inspired engraved aluminim top, 2 humbuckers, 2 volume, 2 tone, mahogany body, set mahogany neck.

Great sound for what it was made for, rock and classic rock. very thick sounding guitar, better than most modern les pauls,seriously. The stock pickups are surprisingly very good, a very hot, overwound paf sound. Definately a great sounding guitar that will cut through the mix and let it's presence be known. This guitar loves loud tube amps

Great setup out of thew box. Good action and intonation. Put on larger gauge strings and only had to make minor adjustments. didn't even have to touch truss rod. Very, Very solidly built guitar. A few minor cosmetic blemishes but you have to really search them out hard.Most folks won't even notice, I just have an eye like a hawk. At this price point, not a big deal and expected to an extent. Awesome satin finish on guitar that feels awesome. Nice smooth fretjob. great straight neck. The neck is an awesome medium c shape that is a dream to play. Not fat like a les paul, but not too thin either.

Like I said, very solidly built. Has some real heft to it. I expect it could take quite an abusing. Definately a gigging machine. This thing will hold up to the best of them.

New brand in US. Can't find much info on them. Have contacted US distributor for info, very helpful and friendly.

Have been playing and collecting for 25 years. have many high end "boutique" guitars and this stands up with the best of them in terms of sound, construction and playabilty. Amazing, amazing guitar for the money. amazing bang for the buck and the thing looks cool as hell to boot.