Product: First Act VE591 Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 02/13/2009
at 08:29pm
by dq
Features
:8
Covered by other reviewers
Sound
:9
I got mine used and the pickups were weak. I also own the VW Garagemaster which is the same guitar but a different body that sounds great. I adjusted the pickups and individual poles and now it sounds great. String separation is good, clean highs. Bass isn't real strong but that's fine. Has a semi hollow body type of sound which I dig.
With the preamp on, you can go from a mild distortion to all out metal. The tone is amazing w/ the Vstack tech. Very warm and crunchy like a tube amp. I've tried it with both SS and tube amps and both sound good. Has a separate volume control and 2 switches. One goes from mild distortion (like a P90) to mega distortion. The other switch cuts the highs and scoops the sound. very versatile.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:7
The jack was buzzing bad when I got the guitar. No sound was coming out except the buzz. Since I got it used. I had to get it fixed myself. I checked the jack and switches/board and no loose wires. Turns out the jack was bad and was making a bad connection. I had it resoldered and now it works fine.
Finish and frets are good. The strings are too slinky so I will change them soon. All electronics work fine. Tone knob actually works.
Reliability/Durability
:8
Everything is solid except for the tuners. They are the cheapest of the cheap. Will probably change them.
Customer Support
:No Opinion
Overall Rating
:No Opinion
I've owned a lot of gear and the cheap stuff intrigues me as in todays market, you can get very good equipment for not a lot of money. First Act guitars are right up there IMHO because they actually put good pickups (Kent Armstrong design) in most of their guitars. Of course they do need tweeking but even expensive guitars do as well. Most people associate the FA guitars with what is sold in department stores. I checked out one at ToysRus and I about cut my fingers on the fretboard. This is very dangerous, especially for kids. This guitar wasn't like that.
I love the tele lines, the pickups, and the Vstack electronics. My Fender Champ 600 and this guitar are in love. I can go from sweet clean to barroom mojo to headbanging with this guitar. Sometimes it can sound like a Gretsch, sometimes I can get a Santana tone out of it, and sometimes Black Sabbath. A very fun guitar. I used to own a Danelectro Innuendo that had built in distortion, tremelo, and reverb. It was totally digital sounded and didn't sound good escept when played clean. This one actually sounds good. If it got lost or stolen, I would get another because nothing else on the market is like it.
Product: First Act VE591 Price Paid: GBP 90
Submitted 06/03/2008
at 11:37am
by Jayzo
Features
:7
Bolt on thin maple/rosewood neck, solid flat top, silver metalic body with thin black binding. Retro styling, kind of Fernandes Monterey shape, strings thru-body bridge, average tuners. Not the most beautiful axe.
Two FirstAct humbuckers, but it looks as if they can be replaced by standard pickups. Active/ passive electronics, 9 volt battery runs amp sim and headphones, but the guitar works without it too. Includes decent stereo headphones and minijack adapters, guitar cable, tools, manual and an excellent heavily padded bag. Two volume, one tone control, 3-way switch and 3 additional mini switches for active electronics. Very well made for such a budget guitar, miles from some better known brands.
Sound
:4
Bought it for taking it on holidays and general messing around while I'm at work or with kids, as it is light and saves taking pedals and all - just plug into anything and rock. It's perfectly OK for practice and noting ideas but wouldn't record with it. Thin tele sound, with some crunch here and there, no real sustain but on the positive side, not noisy and with quite a variety of settings. The guitar seems to attempt a 'vintage rock' sound.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:7
OK setup, of course it needed tweaking but every axe does, anyway. Easy and comfortable neck but dry as hell - needed oiling before playing it. Electronics are fine, no noise or scratching.
Reliability/Durability
:6
Solidly built, no problem for stage and will last if one would want to gig with it. I guess with a compressor and a decent amp, it'd sound decent.
Customer Support
:No Opinion
Dunno.
Overall Rating
:5
4 years playing, got 1976 LesPaul, 2001 Strat, 1978 Kramer, 1975 Kay, 2005 Fernandes Dragonfly, 2004 Peavey HP, 2002 Hamer SATQ, 2003 Parker PM10, and crapload of ebay bargains, playing rock and metal, mainly with computers and software, studio use only. Not a great player but addicted to guitars, like bending and harmonics squealing and as I said, this axe will do for travelling, instead of taking the rare ones.
Product: First Act VE591 Price Paid: USD 300.00
Submitted 11/20/2007
at 03:43pm
by Rob
Email: kalin9 at sympatico<dot>ca
Features
:8
I own this guitar for about 3 months. The finish of this guitar is very good. Very nice looking guitar. The body style is very good but, I would appreciate to have it a little bit bigger. The wood is solid and strong! Very good neck. It comes with a gig bag, cable, 9 volts battery (i think). It has 22 frets. Excellent pickup and easy to setup.
Sound
:10
You can play any music style with this guitar. I am using a 50 watts marshall amp. and it sound very good even excellent. When you use the guitar preamp, wow!!! you get even better sound. You can get soft overdrive to hard distortion. When you use the guitar without the preamp, the controllers act the same as a normal guitar. But when you use the preamp, the controllers act differently. You can not beleive our well you can adjust your sound and tone to adapt to the style you are playing. The guitar sound is very impressive. Bravo to First Act!!! They have deliver a very good guitar at a good price for professional. I give a 10 for the sound of this guitar!!! I have install a Bigsby Tremolo on my guitar. It look superb!!! The sound is even better with the tremolo. ATTENTION: You don't have anymore guitar garantie from First Act if you install your tremolo within the two years garantie. So, I didn't care about it and I install it. It is up to you, I am not responsible for it.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:9
What I like about this guitar is that it stay tune. Take good string, like elixir.
Reliability/Durability
:8
The way this guitar is build, it will last for may years. I think this guitar will become a piece of collection in the future.
Customer Support
:No Opinion
I didn't have to call customer support so far, so I don't know nothing about it.
Overall Rating
:9
I think this guitar deserve a 10. Solid body, excellent neck and excellent sound. But, small body (my opinion).
Product: First Act VE591 Price Paid: USD 400
Submitted 03/06/2007
at 11:28am
by Alan Root Robertson
Features
:10
The finish is a beautiful silver and chrome. It goes great with jeans...
Body style is tele-like with an edge to it- being a tele fan, I really like it. The tuners are solid as is the feel of the guitar. The pickups are not amazing, but they don't have to be for the guitar to work. More on that below. Scale is said to be Les Paul, though I wouldn't know, my hand just recognizes it as feeling right. Nice configuration of knobs and switches, well thought out. Overall, a beautiful, absolutely beautiful guitar.
Sound
:9
The forte of this thing is overdrive to shred. The clean thing needs help (like a compressor, or a nice clean amp) to really work, but the dirty side is wonderfully there. I had never heard of Vstack technology before, but it sounds w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l and rich. Very articulate (sorry Obama). The instrument speaks, and it is suprising because the pickups themselves don't strike me as top flight. The only reason I give this category a 9 is because of the clean sound drop off. I compensate with a Korg compressor on the signal path that adds nice snap and brings up the overall level.
It is noisy, and I like that! Because it's the noise that oughta be there. It goes straight into the PA, which for me is ideal, since I can't get on an airplane with an amp and everything else I need. Oh by the way, it comes with the greatest case ever. Soft case, form fitting, nice pocket, backpack straps. The case almost feels like the guitar itself.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:9
FANTASTIC neck. In a few places the frets catch you as you work your way up, but no more than most guitars I've picked off the walls of a music store. The finish is perfect, the balance of the instrument is really nice. I don't understand how they made this guitar, put the best overdrive technology inside it, and sell it with case for under $400.
Reliability/Durability
:No Opinion
I have had the thing for a few weeks now and don't know how it will last. All indications are it is as solid as my Fenders and G&L.
Customer Support
:No Opinion
I've only heard that they are quick and helpful. This apparently was a low level guitar manufacturer who bought the Vstack technology and amped up their manufacturing to approach the top tier of the Vstack.
Overall Rating
:No Opinion
I would buy this again in a skinny minute. It perfectly fits the needs I have in a guitar. Looks great, plays great, sounds great, light weight (hey, a rhyme), a professional instrument I can gig with all over the country for only 4 Cs.