First Act ME-501

Made in China in November of 2006
Bolt-on maple neck, rosewood fretboard, 22 frets
2 Alnico V humbucking pickups
3-way selector switch, 2 volume, 1 tone
Solid basswood body with subtly bursted transparent red finish
Bound body and neck

Mostly typical features for a 2-pickup guitar, but the Alnico 5 magnets are a plus. The burst under the finish is subtle and has a cool "vintage" look, and the body and neck binding looks classy. On the spec sheet it all sounds pretty good.

Classic old-school rock tone, seemingly regardless of the amp its played through. Through my Epi Valve Jr with guitar volume at max, sounds good clean with the amp volume at 9 o'clock and is starting to break up nicely by 10:30. Backing off the guitar volume with the amp turned up gives it a nice bite - perfect for Tom Petty's louder tunes or AC/DC. Plenty of bass in the neck pickup, and the bridge is reasonably aggressive. Even sounds good through a Crate MX10, and the tone control works well. Not the thing for metal, but made-to-order for straight-ahead rock 'n roll.

Compared to the Rio Grande TX/BBQ pickups in my other dual-humbucker guitar, these are less aggressive and less sensitive to nuances of picking but creamier and rounder-sounding. The pickups in this guitar may not be in the same league, but they sound good and I have no plans to replace them. Probably on par with Epiphone's '57 Classic Alnico pickups, and a notch above the ceramic pickups typical on budget axes.

There were significant issues with the neck joint - If I hadn't planned on a project anyway and the seller hadn't sold out, I probably would have returned this guitar. The neck pocket route was NOT parallel to the top of the body - over 3/64" high at the front so the neck sloped down toward the body. Factory "setup" consisted of adding excessive neck relief and raising the saddles until it stopped buzzing; the underlying issue was not addressed. The clearance holess in the body for the neck mounting screws were a bit small and coated with excess paint; the neck joint creaked because most of the screw force was wasted in the body and never made it to the neck. In an attempt to compensate, the neck mounting screws were tightened so much they cracked the finish around the neck plate; this must be the "minor cosmetic flaw" noted on the enclosed quality checklist.

Fixing this required
1) chiseling and filing the front of the neck pocket until level
2) drilling the clearance holes in the body out to 3/16"
3) adding a 1/16" thick shim to raise the fretboard above the body

After doing this, I was able to get the action down to about 5/64" at the 19th fret with minimal buzz - not perfect, but not bad. The neck was actually fairly decent, with no sharp edges. The neck is a comfortably chunky "D" profile with a smooth satin finish. Nut was good - a touch high but the slots were smooth. It looked like an attempt at leveling had been made but hadn't been followed by crowning; the highest few frets had flat spots on top... but at this point the guitar was a serviceable player.

The bridge design looks good and is reasonably solid, but had one easily-fixed flaw... the oval-head screws used to mount it restricted saddle intonation adjustment. Replacing them with #6 x 3/4" stainless flat-head Phillips machine screws allowed the necessary adjustment.

After leveling and crowning the frets (cheap guitars are great for practice!) this guitar is a very sweet player, but you'd be paying twice the purchase price if you had someone do this for you.

Hopefully most are at least a bit better - I've since gotten another First Act and it was serviceable right out of the box.

After the work I've done on it, it's as solid as any electric guitar. The die-cast tuners look a lot like Schallers (NOT the typical stamped First Act tuners, at least on mine) and work smoothly.

Don't gig yet and wouldn't do so without a backup - the whole idea of "cheap" guitars is that you can afford more than one and swap if a string breaks, etc.

Haven't dealt with them.

Have been playing intermittently for 8 years and recently got seriously back into it. I've probably tinkered with guitars more than I've played them. My other electrics are hot-rodded imports (Agile, SX, Epiphone) and I have a couple nice US-built acoustics.

I like the funky shape, the pickups, the finish, and the neck profile. I chose it because it looks cool, Paul Westerberg has one, and it was a whopping $49.99 before shipping so it seemed like a worthwhile gamble.

I see where other reviewers here have rated this "axe" all over the the scale from 1 to 10 so I guess I'll have a whack at it, too. One of the great things about being a grampa is ya get to buy stuff for your grandkids and if they don't like it or want it anymore you usually get it back to be returned or re-boxed for gift giving to some other poor unsuspecting soul. And so it was that I got this back from one of the kids who decided guitar playing wasn't for them. And then the real fun began. I had bought this thing offa eBay for $53 bucks and it was in absolutely horrendous condition - a true beater that was banged up, dusty, dirty, un-kept and un-cared for. The previous owner musta raised pit-bulls for fighting. Probably treated them the same way, too. Cleaned her up and re-strung the beast and then she passed muster but this was definately a learners guitar with a small frame and marginal hardware.

First of all ya gotta understand this "axe" was originally advertised by First Act as a children's guitar. When sales began to gather steam First Act dropped the children's part and then advertised it as a beginner's guitar. Well - go to their web site now - and it's no longer even a beginner's guitar either - it's just listed as another guitar in their line-up - at $200.00 bucks a pop. So much for a kids guitar, eh? Once I got this un-wanted beast back from my grandson I decided to experiment a little bit so I took her apart to have a closer look. If I goofed something up I figured no big deal - it was a beater with minimal buckage involved. The body appears solid throughout - no plywood that I could tell. But the pots, tuners and the two Alnico humbuckers were of marginal quality - not a knock on First Act - it IS an inexpensive machine - so about what's to be expected. So I decided to change some things up and a monster was born.

First thing out was the Alnicos - their top of the line hummers are world class but these First Act units sounded muddy and weak - followed quickly by the pots and tuners. I like to build reliable machines on a set budget with as little up front outlay as possible followed up by some ol' fashioned elbow grease to get the desired results. Hell - if I wanted to build a Les Paul outta this I woulda just bought a damn Les Paul to begin with. So with that in mind I purchased some used - but hot - custom wound home built humbuckers from a local luthier who could no longer remember exactly what they were or what he had built them to go in, got a set of used Kramer pots and some no name Grover type tuners he had laying around and set to work. A couple of soldering irons, three nights and numerous hand burns later I plugged her into my ol' Sunn amp and began peeling paint off the walls. Hot-dayum! Even I couldn't believe it. After tinkering with the saddles to lower the action and fine setting the humbuckers to match I had a Hellrazor looking for something to shred - if it wasn't for that damn fat, slow neck. Whoa......

Some of us ol' timers like to meet in the back of one of my buddies furniture warehouses in the old district downtown on weekend nights just to kick back, down a few cold ones, and jam. Downtown's pretty much abandoned on weekends so we can set-up, open 'er up and let 'er rip. When I walked in a couple of weeks ago with this First Act in hand I about got laughed outta the building - until I plugged her up - then the laughing stopped. The looks on these guys faces was priceless as this ol' beater slammed walls of sound offa the corrigated sides of the warehouse in waves of distorted Marshall amplified satisfaction. The hair was standing up on the back of my neck, too. Now I don't get laughed at any longer and, as a matter of fact, this ol' First Act gets asked to be borrowed by my friends more than any other of the fine, big money axes that we have hanging about in our arsenal. There's just something soul satisfying about watching the look on people's faces when you open her up and they realise the wonderful rich full metal sounds they're hearing are from this ol' beater.

Never needed them but from what I hear First Act is very responsive to their customers. This is a wanna-be luthier's dream - get in there and see what makes it tick - have some fun building your own custom battle axe - a great solid body platform to experiment with.

I've been playing since 1968 and owned all the big names, many of them more than once. I bought this thinking it a cheap ol' beater for a child to play. And on the surface, that's what it is. But for under a hundred bucks and a few night's work I turned this plain looking machine into a world beater that can hunt with the big dogs any day. I love the fact that upon cursory inspection it looks absolutely bone ass stock - a sleeper for sure. I love the First Act logo on the headstock - it's like a big joke for those about to hear it for the first time - and a true shocker for them when they do. It's not a perfect machine by any stretch - I find the neck to be somewhat fat and hand fatiguing - I make it a point to carry a bottle of talc with me to help glide my hand along the neck - which is not built for high speed shredding - but for the money I didn't expect that anyway. But for an ol' boy just begging to be modded, it's a diamond in the rough for sure and worth throwin' a few bucks at. Enjoy.

I got this guitar for my 10th birthday. it has 24 frets. it is laminated top. there is a 3 way selector that is horrible. when you move it it falls off. it has two volume controls and one tone and they constantly fall off. it has dual humbuckers that sound okay but with the tone up they are muddy. it has a single cutaway. the tuners are HORRIBLE. they constantly go out of tune. the neck seems a little too big but im twelve so maybe thats it.

i play rock and the humbuckers work okay, but i would upgrade them if you were going to play live. I don't play big and i have a small practice amp and it sounds good unless you turn up the gain. then it gets muddy. it has a nice clean sound without gain. bad distortion. it doesn't have a variety of sounds. i don't like the amp but the guitar humbuckers are nice.

the guitar was in good shape until i got home. when i took it out i needed to adjust the truss rod, adjust the pickups and restring. however, the the knobs were good but they fell off later. the fretwires did fall off. hte finish was okay. it had a couple off scratches on the back. the tuning pegs are horrible and the pickup selector was sort of loose.

this guitar can't take two much power os if you plan on playing live then i would get this as a backup. the hardware won't last long. the finish is bright and strong. the strap buttons haven't buged since i got it. i think it is okay.

the company helped me and sent me some repair parts but some times it takes a long time to get hold of them. my warranty was 2 years.

ive been playing for two years. this was my second guitar. my first was an acoustic. i just bought a fender strat and compared t othe strat this guitar is not so good. when i bought this i was a begginer so i didn't have any questions. it if got lost, i would get something else. you could get a squier strat ofr a epiphone les paul player pack for the same price(the epiphone les paul was my third guitar, the fender strat my fourth). i wish it had better tuners and better pickups

This is a follow up now that I've turned this into a P-90 beast all for under $200. I put some GFS Dream 90's (humbucker sized P-90) in it, set the action low, and got everything intonated. Actually, I paid Danny at The Conservatory of Music to do it, I'm lazy.

It sounds great with the P-90's in it..no fret buzz, even with a low action, no dead spot clunkers anywhere on the fretboard. I still plan on replacing the pots and switch, but after 6 months no problems, scratchiness, etc.

It's setup great...NOW. The factory setup on these entry level jobs is a joke, but it's a cheap guitar Chances are if you're over 16 and buying one of these, you're doing like me and building a project guitar. Everything else seems a-okay. And..I have to admit..after 6 months of playing it...I absolutely LOVE the neck on this..satin finished maple that feels so broken in, annd just the right girth/radius. Really, after the P-90 mod, this is my favorite guitar.

It has been used live regularly, and has withstood the rigors of the 8 teenage boys I work with that all think they have to pull a Townsend whenver they hold a guitar. So, yeah, it seems pretty f'ing sturdy.

No clue

Okay, I see a lot of First Act bashing, which is cool, I guess, but if you want a really rock solid guitar to mod for low dough, these things are amazing, especially if you get a used one off of e-bay. I have a freaking amazing sounding/Playing dual P-90 guitar now...both of my band's guitar players like it too..and here's how much I spent..Guitar $75 on e-bay, GFS Dream 90s $50 on ebay, pup install, setup, new strings $50. $175 dollars for my favorite guitar, how can you beat that? I'm actually thinking about buying one of their Tele copies and tossing good pups in it.

No clue on the year, although I'm assuming fairly recent '03-'04...basswood body, solid, not plys, 2 alnico humbuckers, 3 way switch,2 volumes & 1 tone, string through strat type bridge (non-trem), 2 piece maple neck, rosewood fretboard,non-locking tuners..very basic beginner type guitar bought with the intention of mods.

The pickups are indicative of the price point..that is, cheap..the bridge is a little too bright, the neck, very muddy..but that shall soon be remedied..more on that later.....It's not a horrible sounding guitar by any means...the stock pups just aren't what I'm looking for...a little bit of hum, but the 3 way switch is dubious..soon to be replaced by a switchcraft. Sounds great running through some fuzz, though.

oohh..imagine a $150 guitar and what kind of setup it has...let's see...I went back to Wal-mart 3 times 'til i got one with no MAJOR flaws...#1 had a warped neck, #2 the fretboard was already delamed from the neck, #3 ,which I kept, is missing a screw from the pickup trim ring, and the knobs are seated crooked. Aesthetically, it's a cool little guitar redburst finish that you can see the woodgrain through...almost a hybrid shape, like the bastard child of a tele and one of those '60s italian surf guitars.

It seems reasonably solid for a cheap-o guitar, the hardware will be the first to go, esp. the pups. The finish and shape are pleasing and it is bound on the body, not the neck...the switche and pots are extremely cheap, but not terribly noisy, the pots are actually quiet.

No clue, but it does have a 2 year warranty and I'm going to try and register on their site later today.

Okay, here's the whole story..I want a P90 guitar, but have to keep the budget down due to spousal constraint. I bought this cheap off of e-bay to have the body and neck, period. It was the cheapest solid (not laminated)guitar I could find. I'm going to slowly replace just about everything else. First the stock 'buckers are getting replaced with Armstrong P90 conversions and the bridge will be replaced with a tone-pros. Swithcraft selector, and higher quality pots are on the horizon. The tuners are okay, but probably will get some sperzels or planet waves with a finer tuning ratio. As is the guitar was a decent buy for under $100 dollars..far better than say a rogue, or intro level Ibanez/Squier/etc.