Campbell American Precix

Manufactured in 2006,maple body,neck,and fingerboard,Lollar pickups

This isn't my first all maple solid body guitar, Previous to this model,I've owned several,one of my favorite being a vintage Gibson L6-S I bought brand new in 1974. I still have it and I don't think I'll ever part with it. When I came across this guitar company I thought it would be a great opportunity to get a custom guitar made in the US,or so I thought. This is the first all maple guitar that I really don't care for. I just can't get a good tone out of it. It's beyond bright. It's shrill and unpleasant. There's absolutely no mids or lows whatsoever. I've used every amp in my arsenal,which includes 11 amps! All of them are either vintage or high end boutique amps. I'm extremely finicky when it comes to tone. I'm afraid this guitar gets an F for lack of tone.

Another problem I have with this guitar is it's shoddy craftsmanship,and I hate to even use that word in this case. See the next category.

I'm not a professional musician,and I'm not in a band. But when I have free time I usually spend it playing my guitars. I currently own 22 guitars. I'm not married,so I don't have to answer to a wife. I've been playing guitar now for 42 years. In the span of that time I've owned and played hundreds of guitars. So I think I know a thing or two about them. So when I say that this guitar is one of the worst,you can take that to the bank. I didn't play this guitar that often,and when it wasn't played it stays in it's case. I took it out to play it a few weeks ago and to my utter shock and disappointment,I discovered the neck warped! Read the next category.

Fearing the neck warped,I took it to my guitar tech who confirmed it as well. I tried calling the company several times a day for five days and no one answered and no one called me back. I also sent e-mails every other day. Finally,I had to leave a really nasty message and after that I got a call back. Their guitars are covered for two years. It turns out that my guitar was three days past the two year window. Because it was out of warranty,they said they're not responsible. We're talking THREE DAYS! THREE DAYS! They refused to honor the warranty.

The thing that really pisses me off about this piece of crap is that I didn't play this guitar all that often because I didn't really like it. So it spent most of the past two years in it's case. The few times I did play it,I played it in my studio where the humidity is controlled and is always at a safe setting. This is the first guitar I've ever owned that had this problem. This guitar is basically useless to me now. I have no intention of repairing it. I refuse to put any more money into it. I'm so pissed off at this company. It would be one thing if it was three months or even three weeks past the warranty. But three days? Plus as a small "American" company,you'd think they'd go out of their way to make things right. Unbelievable! This guitar wasn't cheap either. I really have to wonder if they really manufacture their guitars here in the states. I've read the favorable reviews for this guitar. The first thing that comes to my mind is that those reviews aren't written by actual customers. They must be written by the people who own and work for this company. There's no way that these guitars deserve those high ratings. You've been warned people.

Maple body,neck,and fingerboard,Gotoh tuners & bridge,Seymour Duncan Pickups

I got this guitar in a trade. After owning it for less than a week,I regret my decision. I never even heard of this company. I can see why the guy had it up for trade. Nobody in their right mind would buy it! I figured it was an American made guitar so the quality would be good. May be if it was a Gibson or a Fender that would be the case. But not here. My mistake was I didn't take enough time to play it and inspect it. This has three single coil pickups. I've owned plenty of guitars with single coils,so I know what to expect as far as noise goes. Or so I thought. There's no way the pickups on this guitar are Seymour Duncans. I say this because they sound horrible. Not to mention the noise is unbearable. It's so distracting. I discovered the reason why. They never shielded the guitar! Plus,the wiring is about the cheapest and worst I've ever seen! I've owned Squire guitars that had better wiring and electronics. The volume and tone controls crackle when I turn them. The input jack is always loose. I'm pretty sure some of the frets are uneven because no matter how many times I've adjusted the neck,there's still continuous fret buzzing. The tuners are horrible. This guitar will not stay in tune. To say I got the bad end of this deal is an understatement. I can't believe I traded my 1966 vintage Fender Blackface for this piece of garbage.

I got it used so I can't comment on how it was set up from the factory. However,if I had to guess,I'd say probably poorly,if even at all. It has a natural maple finish and fretboard. The lacquer is already coming off the fingerboard. This guitar can't be that old. I've owned countless Fenders with maple fingerboards and the lacquer didn't start coming off until they were at least 10 years old.

This guitar won't last much longer. At this point in time,it probably needs fretwork done,and the electronics and tuners need to be replaced. I have no intention of putting a dime into this hunk of junk. I'll try selling it,but I doubt I'll get much for it. I can't believe I traded my vintage Fender amp for this! I want to cry.

I did try several times calling the company,but nobody answered the phone. They never responded to my e-mails. For some reason,I'm not surprised.

I've been playing guitar now for over 37 years. I've must've owned hundreds of guitars over those years. I currently own 18 electrics and 6 acoustics. I think I know a good guitar from bad one. To say this guitar is one of the bad ones is an understatement. In most cases,the quality of American made guitars is superior to the imports. But I must say,in the lest five years,that's changed a lot. I own several guitars that were made in Japan,China,and Korea. All of those guitars are better than this so called American Made guitar. Please don't make the same mistake I did. Stay away from this company! After I became the owner of this piece of %@#$ I looked up the reviews that people submitted for this company's guitars,and my impression is,that those ARE NOT legitimate reviews from REAL customers. They have to be submitted from the people who own or work for the company. I say that because as an ACTUAL OWNER of a campbell "American" guitar,I can tell you first hand that their guitars are JUNK!!!

2007 Campbell American Precix handmade in USA
22 Frets, Volume and Tone knob (tone pulls up for coil-tap) and 3 way pickup selector
Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck and JB in the bridge
Body is Poplar and neck is Rock Maple with Ebony fretboard
Satin finish on the neck, the body has a green nitro-cellulose finish
the Body is a shortened super-strat type, but unlike I've ever seen.
all Gotoh hardwar, tuners and bridge, string-thru body

This guitar bleeds Rock and Roll. It is an animal waiting to be unleashed. I play it through an Epiphone Blues Custom 30 and a Fender '65 Reissue Deluxe Reverb.
This guitar does not make any noise. I don't know what black magic Campbell used on this guitar but it avoids being microphonic but is LOUD. I have another guitar with the same pickups but for some reason this guitar just wails.
The poplar body with the humbuckers gives the guitar a nice bright sound, especially when you kick in the coil-tap.
Very versatile guitar that can do it all very well, but excels in classic rock/blues more than anything

This impressed me the most. The guitar is handmade and it shows. Everything is set-up to perfection. The nut was hand-cut. The action was low, but not too low. This guitar is just beautiful and feels smooth as silk.

Just got this guitar, so can't say much. Everything seems solid and I bet this will last a long time.

I've spoken with Dean myself on several occasions, and he's always willing to answer questions about the guitar personally. However, I haven't had any problems yet so I can't comment on this.

I've been playing for 3 years now, but I know a good guitar when I pick it up. I plan on buying more of these Campbell Americans. I just love the fact that it's a great sounding guitar that is a blast to play. So easy, so lightweight, and so fun. I am holding on to this one for a long time.

2007 US built. 22 frets. Flawless metallic purple nitrocellulose finish with matching headstock. Maple bolt on neck with rosewood fingerboard. Hipshot trem. 2 x seymour duncan humbuckers (not sure which model but may be JB and Jazz). Toggle pickup selector, volume and tone controls with push pull coil split. Gotoh tuners. I dont know what the wood is but it is quite hefty for a small guitar.

I play a variety of music - rock, soul, jazz, rnb in function and covers bands. I use a Matamp 1224 and Mesa Boogie Stiletto Deuce through a Marshall 1960A 4x12. This guitar sounds superb and it is very versatile. I usually gig with strats with bridge humbuckers and PRS CE 24. The Precix has a similar feel and sound to both of these - it is more of a strat sound than Les Paul even with the humbuckers. You can easily get a range of sounds from fat hi gain leads to clean funk chords. The coil tap is very effective and surprisingly noise free. There are no sounds which I wouldn't use (unlike the middle position a strat). The gutar is vibrant and sustains happily.

The set up was spot on with a low action with a set of 10s. The pickups were properly set up at the right height . I like the fact that the bridge is set low on the body - The pickups are only just above the pickguard aned it looks and feels very tidy. The build quality and finish are entirely flawless. The guitar is a reasonable weight because the body is so small. I would have liked a bit of forearm contour and would have preferred the volume control a bit closer to the strings, like on a strat. I use the volume control a lot and the controls are a bit cramped next to the edge of the body. Otherwise this is a really good guitar.

I have only just got this guitar but I will be playing it live. It is a solidly built pro quality instrument which I am sure will be as reliable as the well known makes. I always take a backup because no matter how well built the guitar the strings can break at any time.

If I had a problem I would deal with it myself or take it to a tech locally but I did send a email to the company enquiring about the tuners - they sent a detailed helpful reply within a day.

I have been playing for 35 years and have played hundreds of gigs. I have amassed a lot of gear including over 30 guitars. I am very impressed with this guitar. It is compact, well made, versatile and it feels and sounds great. You could pay a lot more for a similar instrument by some other manufacturers.

Sapele (Mahogany) Body
Ebony Fretboard
Rock Maple Neck
Jumbo Medium Frets
Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro (neck)
Seymour Duncan Custom-Custom (bridge)
TKL Hardshell Case
500k pots with push pull coil splitter on tone control
Gotoh bridge and tuners

I play classic rock and alternative in a band formed by a bunch of us guys in the various branches of the US military serving in Afghanistan. Conditions here suck but this Precix is awesome. I play it through whatever we can lay our hands on and it sounds like a million dollars every time. I play through a Digitech foot pedal with 80 preset chanels. Most of the songs we perform in the band switch back and forth between clean and distortion of some type. This set up is great with the Precix. I set up tone and volume during sound check and use the pedal for everything else. I just set it and forget it.

The solid one-piece mahogany body and ebony fretboard are so striking and looks so awesome I sometimes open the case just to look at it but that impulse is soon overcome by the stronger desire to play it. I even keep a picture of it on my desk at work. Narry a single flaw on this baby. I compare it favorably to my LP which doesn't fare as well in fit and finish. The action is medium low which is how I like it and I haven't had a single complaint. The neck seems flawless and the matching headstock complete the package. Nice job Dean!

I've played this baby in 5 shows over the last 2 months with no back up. It is awesome. I broke a string on one gig and finished the song anyway and changed strings before we started the next song (about two minutes). The neck is as smooth as silk and as fast as a cheetah on fire. I've got at least 100 hours of playing on this gem and it still looks like it's brand new. A couple of our shows went for three hours and still ticking.

Dean has been super cool about this guitar. You can tell he puts his soul into every one he makes. I doubt I'll be worrying about warranty work for quite some time. I look forward to playing this guitar until it falls apart if that's possible (It's built like a rock).

I've played and owned everything from LPs to Strats & Teles, this guitar holds it weight with the best of them. It's light, comfortable, fast and beautful. I would recommend this guitar to everyone. It plays like a dream. I can't wait to finish this review so I can go back to playing my Precix. I would absolutely be crushed if my wife made me choose between her and my Precix. Of course I wouldn't have to choose because she likes it too. If something happened to this baby, I would get another if I could. It's my favorite toy.

Black, double cutaway similar in feel (but not looks) to a
Gibson SG.

String-through body Gotoh fixed bridge
Gotoh tuners
Slightly flatten C profile neck with 1 11/16" nut
12" radius fingerboard
Heavily padded gig bag (top quality)
Made in late 2005
22 frets
solid top
H/H pickups with coil tap
Seymour Duncan Jazz and JB
Maple neck, ebony fingerboard, poplar body

I play classic and progressive rock, blues, and some country.

No noise from pickups even with coils tapped.

You can loosely approximate most sounds from LP to Strat
but the Precix has its own unique sounds neither the LP
or strat has. (Again it reminds me more of an SG than
other other guitar I can think of but longer scale.)

It is hard to get a traditional jazz sound out of it
but instead it has a slight (dampened) acoustic quality
with neck PU only and the tremble rolled off.

The guitar does have a lot of tonal versatility.

The 12.5" radius fingerboard is unusual and takes
some time to adjust to but allows you to play rhythm
and lead all over the neck as a result. This guitar is
capable of putting out some incredibly unique tones
but requires technique specific to this radius and the
ebony and pickups to draw it out. I'm still exploring the
tones. It sounds plain jane at first until you realize
how you have to work your finger vibrato, bends
and pickup adjustments differently to hit its sweet
spots. The 12.5" radius requires totally different
technique than I'm used to to bring out the beauty
and unique sounds this guitar has to offer. It has
some incredible semi muted tones for example that are
totally unique to this guitar.

The intonation is dead on. It is even perfect on the G
and B strings in the first few frets. It looks like the
nut may have been shaved by hand to perfect this intonation
in the low registers. Open A and D chords are not sharp
like on other guitars without compensated nuts. The Precix
doesn't have a "compensated" nut per say but has been shaved
by hand I think.

I have the fixed bridge (non tremelo) model and the tone is
rock solid even on a strobe tuner. I've never seen this solid
of tone (frequency) on any guitar before. The strobe tuner
freezes in motion when the strings are plucked it is so stable.

The seymour duncan jazz and jb pickups are good although
I would have prefered some other brands like Dimarzios
or Rio Grandes perhaps.

The sustain is adequate but not outstanding.

The guitar was set up perfectly at the factory.

The action was moderately low but not super low.

The neck is unique and will take some time to learn
to exploit and draw out the tone capabilities of this
seemingly rather plain guitar at first glance.

The finish is nice and allows the wood to breath.
I'm not one to care about finish since I'm going to
rough this up on gigs for sure.

The body has a refreshing different shape not yet
associated in the public mind with any particular
artist. I especially like the short overall length
of the guitar which is just 37" long. It's light too.

The guitar is a tank. It is elegant in its
functional simplicity. This guitar should
last a life time.

The nitro finish is going to wear fast but it
is worth it to have improved tone in my opinion.

I would have preferred an upgrade from Gotoh tuners
and Gotoh bridge but they get the job done. I don't
like the design of the Gotoh bridge and wish some
other bridge had been used instead.

Parts and labor are covered under 1 year warranty but
shipping is not. If you find something wrong after
72 hours it's your guitar and you pay the round trip
shipping. No returns after 72 hours! I had a problem
with string breakage at first on the Gotoh bridge but
it has settled in now so I didn't return it for repair.
The company was not particularly friendly when discussing
the problem.

I've been playing 40 years and owned over 20 guitars during
that time. I sold all my guitars recently since I'm downsizing to
a small apartment. I decided to concentrate on one guitar and
bought the Precix as my only guitar for use occasionally
gigging at weddings, etc. and home studio recording. The Precix
has one of the best actions I've ever played if you like a flatten
C profile neck and think you might like to try a 12.5" radius
finger board.

I haven't decided to keep the guitar yet, still breaking it in
and adapting to its uniqueness. If I can adjust to it and
make it sing it would be hard to want to play anything else.
I need at least 6 months before I'm sure. So far the more
I play it the more I like it.

If the guitar were stolen I'd probably buy another one
but only with different tuners and bridge.

Ihave 2 Precix by Campbell American - one in walnut and one mahogany. Both ar esolid body and both are transparent finish, Alnico II and Custom Custom pickups, string through body. Maple necks and Rosewood finger boards. Both came with gig bags and I went for the hard case for one that take with me when I travel. Both are early production, made in Rhode island. Tone/coil splitter, volume and pick up selector. The mahaogany guitar came with a twist knob pick up selector that Dean Campbell and Charlie switched to a toggle at the factory. No problems with the original, but Dean likes the toggle better and insisted that he wants each guitar to be perfect!?

I haven't been playing long so I don't really have a style. I noodle around with Santana, Willie Nelson, Tom Petty - whatever I hear and want to learn. My son uses one to play metal - AC/DC etc. he is 14 and has been playing classical piano since he was 5 years old. He like to loosen up with the Precix and can get the sound he wants from the same instrument that use for my old fart music. No noise, no problems. I notice that both of the guitars respond to changes in the weather, the mahogany more than the walnut. But that is normal and easy to adjust.

The action is great. very easy to play, even for a beginner. The "factory" came to my office in Dedham, Mass to set them up for me, so it was perfect. dean is amazing. A monster on customer service. He issued a standing invitation to the factory for any adjustments and a tour. Everything is still tight and sounding good after two years on the walnut Precix and one on the mahaogany. I have seen no defects, flaws etc. Fit and finish are as good as it gets.

As I said in the section on fit and finish, these instruments are very reliable. the hardware is topnotch - Gotoh and Setmore Duncan pick ups. The finish still looks new after a year with a 14 year old. I don't play prefessionally, so I have no idea what the road will do to an isntrument, but I take mine with me when I visit relatives for holidays and both of my guitars handle the trips without any problems. Strap buttons are solid and all fastenings are still where they started out after two years.

I've never needed repairs, but Dean has offered to clean both of my Precix and check the neck adjustment etc for free. He seems to be a bit a customer service freak, as well as a "Made In America" freak. MOre power to him. The company is great. I was going to be in Rhode island last year so Dean told me to bring in the guitar for a check up. He and Charlie went over it top to bottom - needed nothing, but they did it anyway. Great guys.

I've only been playing for a copuple of years and these two Precix are my first guitars. I have a reissue of a 69 Strat as well. The Precix is as good as or better than the Strat in fit and finish as well as sound and action. My wife is a professional musician (violin & viola) so she has had a lot of experience with instruments. All of her profssional musician friends have loved the Precix. I would absolutely buy another. I would like a tremolo. I understand that they are available on new Precix now and that they are made in America too. Cool

This model differs to the previously reviewed ones as it has a gold Hipshot tremolo/bridge which is a feature offered since Sept 05, this was made in New England between Feb and May 06. Solid body green tiger maple with hand painted Nitro Cellulose finish plus matching headstock. Stunning looking, very light and perfectly balanced. Neck is maple with ebony fretboard and is slightly flattened "C" Profile; 25 ?? Scale Length; 22 Frets; Medium Jumbo fret wire. Tuners are gold Gotoh. Pick ups are Seymore Duncan Alnico humbuckers(P90s available too) with coil tap and three way switch (rather than the blender). Price included a hard case.

My style is alternative rock requiring jangly to growl plus funk and leads. The Precix excells here as I can go from sparkling clean to breaking up by either adjusting my picking intensity or by flicking between coil tap options. Hugely tweakable via tone and pick up options too. The Hipshot floating tremolo is fantastic for my style of playing too, returns to pitch perfectly! Playing through a Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket with no effects and a POD XT with effects. Sound is incredibly present, both "bright" and "rich and full". Other reviews allude to a sound range from Strat and tele to Les Paul. I agree.

Pro set up. Action low. Finish perfect. Flawless.

This is very well made and will be durable. The Gotoh and Hipshot hardware are very dependable.

Warranty is a year. I was in communication with Dean Campbell many times during the ordering/build process. He is a gent to deal with. He even emailed me work in progress photos of the Precix.

I`ve been playing for 26 years. I currently own a Levinson Blade R4 6 string electric plus a Rickenbacker 12 string. I have owned Fender and G&L strats and teles. I would certainly replace it if lost or stolen. I will be buying another Precix soon. I would like to hear one with the P90 pick up option out of interest.

this custome LEFT-HANDED translucent red walnut wood Precix is equipped with a Symour Duncan 'Al-Nico' in the bridge position and a S.D. 'Custome' pickup in the neck. Chrome hardware, coil tap, tortoise pickguard and a matching red headstock

i can get all tones from crunchy metal to smooth light jazz, this guitar is one for anybody. the 3 way and the coil tap is a great mixture of sound.

playablity like a dream. of course straight from the store might not satisfy YOUR needs. a little ajustment and your well on your way to the perect feel

i am one to not worry about denting and scratches. if the guitar goes across the room,well, thats whats going to happen. It's held up well in my opinion

rocking Hard

A tone control a volume knob a pickup "selector" so to speak what more do you need? I was very impressed by the coil tap.

I got mine with a JB bridge pick up at the bridge and a Seymour Duncan Jazz Master at the neck. They both sound great, with the exception the neck pick up is a little quiet when playing with out gain.

I play alot of Get Up Kids, Saves The Day...other indie/emo bands and the Jeff Beck pick up takes care of that perfectly. I guess you could say it has nice bite. It's very very good for playing along to ym favorite boston recordings

The neck pick up is great for clean stuff. Though it is a little too quiet. It's a delight to play along to any sort of jazz music.

The coil tap basicly gives you a whole new guitar. It brings together my love for strats and SG's.

I can't honestly say i know alot about action. I can tell you that the guitar feels great. everything was ajusted fine because Dean was there to fix anything I needed. I'll give it a ten because I feel no problems with it.

Haven't had a problem since I bought it April 2 2003. The finish is flawless and nothing is loose.

I met Dean in 2002 at a Daddy's in Dedham MA he came up to me while playing a epiphone les paul and was digging my chops. He told me about the low quality craftmenship of epiphones and asked me if I'd like to see something. He pulled out a prototype of the precix. I was so impressed that I orderd mine that day. A month later Dean hand deliverd the guitar to my house and came inside and set it up for me. I have the 3rd precix made. the first being a prototype and the second owned by Jeff Greene. Dean has sent me letters asking me how the guitar is working out. I really with I could give this catagory a 200 out of 10.

This guitar is one of the most amazing guitars I've ever played. I own a Fender American Strat with a les paul pickup at the bridge and a Gibson SG standard. This guitar rivals those. @%$$ rivals...matchess them If it where stolen I wouldn't buy a new one i would commit suicide.