First Act Mark II

This guitar should only be bought for somebody who you are not sure if they will stick with it or not . Mine is a deep blue solid top bolt on neck .It is a string through body with 1 volum control , 1 tone control . After about 6 months the pick ups began to lose power and I had to add a compressor pedal before the amp to get any kind of sustain . All in all the 6 rating on sound was when it was new .I had to super glue the tremlo in place and remove the wammy bar as the guitar was always going out of tune , this was not the fault of using the wammy bar as I only left it on for show original .It had 2 single coil pickups .

I play blues and hard rock and have always taken care of all my musical instruments . The sustain was good and crisp , the sound quickly faded to the point I replaced the the wiring and pick ups.I use a small practice amp when generally practicing, a first act amp(its ok ). When practicing with the band or giving lessons I use a Besinger vamp 120 and run that out to a 800 watt power amp for big fun. This guitar chords better than it solos , but thats nothing to brag about. The sound was crisp and bright in the beginning .I would give this guitar a 6 rating on sound , before the pickups faded away .

The guitar cost me $89 at walmart and for a begginner it would be a good guitar , but compared to my Old Sears silvertone gutar , it could do alot better . The pick ups were adjusted well and the neck fretts were more suited for chord playing rather than any kind of solo . The tunners were very good and held tune very well after the strings were broke in and I fixed the bridges "wondering " problem .The paint job and appearance was very good .

This guitar is under no circumstance should be used for a live gig , unless You just popped a string during a chorus and you have no other choice . I have replaced the wiring , the pickups and superglued the bridge in place . I am currently trying to find a new neck for it as the one on mine stared splitting at the headstock at the low E turner .I am waiting for a email resonse from FIRST ACT on a replacement neck as the cheapest one I could fine for was over $100 , more than I payed for the guitar .Considering I put DIMARZIO " hot " rail pickups on it . Taking it back to walmart is not a option .The strap buttons I can say , I have never had a problem with .

Still waiting on the company to get back with me as I cannot find a resonable replacement neck .

I have been playing for 24 years, 22 of that in one band or another . I have a Carvin power amp , Besinger vamp120 to run my effects and as a stage monitor . I use DOD effects and shielded heavy duty cables .I have owned 20 or so guitars over that time , most of those have been mid level guitars as far as price . A few cheap guitars but out of them all this guitar was a waste of money . I have poured about $200 dollars into a $89 guitar and now It is out of action until I can find a new neck for it .I will say even les paul puts out a junky guitar now and again, very rarerly but after owning 2 of these dogs , never again Will I buy a first act product .

This info is submitted only for those who are not aware of this guitars origin. Perhaps you found someone who is selling one in the local newspaper, or in a pawn shop. This guitar is manufactured and distributed by Wal-Mart stores. Do not pay more than $50-$60 for this guitar, no matter what the condition, as you can get a brand new one from any Wal-Mart store for $70 and it will come with a carry case, strap, extra strings, picks, and music book. You can't beat it.

The guitar is a 20 fret, full-size dreadnought style guitar. The top is laminated spruce; the back and sides are fiberglass, or laminated wood as well. It is a very well made guitar and suitable for a beginner, and comes in 3/4 and half sizes as well.

I bought one for my son, as I'm not quite ready for him to start banging away on my Martin. The sound is quite good for such an inexpensive guitar. I've played $200-$300 Epiphones and Alavarez's that sound very similar in quality and tone. Nothing fancy, it's just a nice student guitar.

Action out of the box was terrible. Very high. I had the nut and bridge sanded down to a comfortable playing height. A new player doesn't need zero-action, as calluses need to be built; but the action was so high it would have discouraged him after a while, I'm sure. Finish was hard as glass, but I'm sure it would crack if abused.

One good thing about this guitar is durability. Wal-mart took into account that players of this guitar would be unaccustomed to caring for an instrument, so they made it with good, hard, cheap materials. My son left the guitar on our porch in the hot sun for hours one day, then brought it inside into the A/C. That would have been curtains for my Martin, but this little guitar didn't seem to know the difference after an hour of allowing it to acclimate.

Hey, if it breaks, and you kept your receipt, take it back to Wal-Mart. Their return policy is quite lenient, as long as you keep your receipt. Wal-mart is a pleasure to work with. While you're there you can pick up whatever you need around the house as well.

Overall, this a a very good guitar for someone who is just starting out. Forget New York Pro, Sunlight, and many of the Johnson's (though some are good) if you need a guitar for you or your student, you can't beat this one. Actually, you could beat it...and it would hold up a lot better than a $500-$5000 solid-top guitar. Higher-end instruments tend to break when dropped by a careless teenager.