Laguna Guitars LE 422

I really don't understand why people have problems with Laguna. I bought the LE 422 and I couldn't be happier with it. The pickup configuration is one of the best things about the guitar it has a coil tapped humbucker and two single coils which you can get a lot of sounds out of. The neck I thought was very fast and it never goes out of tune. I think if you have had a bad experience with Laguna you should consider giving them a second chance. I tried high-end epiphones, ibanezes, and fenders and the laguna beat all of them.

Copied from the laguna website:

* Louisiana Swamp Ash body for great tone
* AAA Flamed Maple veneer top
* Available in Trans Black Cherry or Honey Burst Transparent
* Hard -Rock Maple neck / Thick Indian Rosewood Fretboard
* 22 Frets
* Self Locking Tuners
* Roller string trees
* Teflon impregnated graphite nut
* Wilkinson Trem
* HSS Pickup configuration w/Alnico magnets & coil tap (double paraffin dipped)
* Satin Nickel Hardware
* Strap Locks included



I really like the sound of the humbucker in the bridge, and the fact that the tone knob is a push/pull switch for hum/single coil for the bridge pickup. Flip the pick up selector to the bridge, tone knob about 2/3rds and add a little overdrive, and you ARE iron man.

Also, I find that the tone knob has an incredible range of tones. With my brother's fender, its either 10, about halfway, or 0 for the tone knobs, and they dont offer the same range of tones.

I think alot of people trying this guitar in the store dont even touch the tone knob because they are used to guitars where the tone knob hardly makes a difference.

-How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)?

This guitar is perfect for blues rock and classic rock.

The tone knob is so versatile that it'll do anything from blues to hard rock without even touching the amp , but simply giving the tone knob a little turn. (assuming you have a little bit of drive added on your amp)


-Is it noisy? On what settings?

This guitar does not give off any noise on any setting. If you are hearing noise, I can assure you that the source is not the guitar. Laguna pays very good attention to the wiring of its guitars.


-Rich/Full sound? Bright sound?

The pickups have a rich sound to them. i compared this guitar to a Gretsch Electromatic Pro Jet, and it has the same kind of bright blues sound with the tone knob all the way up, but with the tone knob all the way down, it has a very dark sound, good for metal, but still kind of rich.

-Likes and dislikes?

what's not to like?

I dont really have much preference for action, but the way its set up in the store is fine and there is no fret buzz or anything. And dont forget that it is uncommon for 'low end' guitars to be set up well from the factory. I say that in quotes because there are alot of people that will consider $400 a low end price range, but this guitar is certainly not low end quality.

I found this guitar to be very playable. Since I am a bass player primarily and have just picked up guitar a few months ago, I can tell when a guitar is really playable or kinda average. If it's kinda average, I can hardly play anything. But I can play so much faster and change chords so much more easily on this guitar than I can on my brother's mexi strat.

I have only played this guitar in the store, but I have visited the store several times just to make sure that this guitar is really as good as I remembered, and every time it always manages to impress me. i have compared it to just about every other guitar in the price range and this one comes out on top.

I think alot of people complain because it doesnt have that strat sound. I got news for you people: This guitar is not a strat. The strat sound is pretty much the one prominent sound that this guitar cant do.

I'm going out to buy this guitar on sunday, and no other guitar will do. This guitar has a great, and has alot of bang for the buck.

I second the reviewer below...there is nothing special about the Laguna guitars. I've seen them the last few times I dropped into G.C. and I just checked the new LE524HH model out for the first time the other day. That will be the last time I check any Laguna out. This model was almost $600 bucks in the store. It is a new version with dual humbuckers and a floyd style bridge. I don't see a point to these guitars at all, besides the marketing hype from the GC sales guys. One sales associate actually tried to tell me they were better than most Fender strats, high-end Epiphones and Jacksons in the $700-$900 range. What a crock! Sure, the parts looked to be of "ok" quality, but the features aren't any different than a $200 Squier guitar!

I tried a Laguna LE524HH. Dual humbuckers - no name, just say "custom alnico" on them. Sounded "ok". Not unlike most other low-cost guitars featuring humbucker pickups. No real depth compared to Seymour Duncans, DiMarzio, etc. Clarity under gain could definitely be better. As for which music the guitar is best at, I couldn't tell you...I don't think it is good at any particular type, really. Combined with the cheaper licensed floyd bridge, these guitars definitely need a sound upgrade if you are going to get serious with it. I'll give it a 4 because it does have upgradeability, so all is not lost...

Not really impressed with the overall "package". Neck cavity had an angled gap on one side...certainly not ideal for tone, sustain or long-term stability. Finish, as the reviewer noted below, is nice overall and the flame top (probably a veneer) looked nice. This one had kind of a transparent gray/black to black burst, so you can't see how thick the top is. The neck wood looked cheap, but sturdy. The neck pocket really bothered me, though. Maybe this one slipped through quality control, but I wasn't thrilled about the idea that the neck was sitting loose in the pocket, held from shifting only by the screws on back. As for the frets the other reivewers complained about, the guitar I tried was "ok". Not great. Definitely needed to be tweaked a bit by a tech before it would feel right to play on for fast movements and long periods. One other complaint I had was about the electronics. Both the tone and volume knobs were scratchy when they were moved and there was a spot, about half-way around a full-turn when moving the volume knob, that the signal would just cut out.

I wanted to like the guitar (even with the ugly headstock), but it just didn't feel like something I could work with reliably. The wood body was nicely weighted, but I felt like the neck and hardware was put together with chewing gum and double-sided tape. To be honest, as a gigging musician who does play large shows at times...I wouldn't trust this Laguna as far as I could throw it...and, I have a feeling that I WOULD end up throwing it!

Never had to deal with them and I never will!

The guy below is totally right. Save your green and get something else. There are too many good options out there to have to settle for low-quality in the $600 range. The other reviewers checked out $400 versions, but this $600 version scares me just as much. I think G.C. should rethink this marketing trap...it's just bad mojo for gaining trust in players. If you're thinking about trying a Laguna...don't. Check out the other reviews on Harmony Central - there are plenty of great guitars out there, some for half the price!

Basic strat knock-off. Bolt-on maple neck with rosewood fretboard and offset dot inlays. Nice finish on the body, but the flame top on two of the models I tried (tried 3 in all) was a cheap veneer. Generic Alnico pickups, no-name hardware (except for the Wilkinson bridge on some). Absolutely zero advancements in guitar technology here...the Lagunas look like every sub-$300 Yamaha and Samick strat style guitar ever made (though the quality on both the Yamaha and Samick versions is significantly better!).

I play everything...ambient, metal, classic rock, jazz and some classical. Over 12 years of experience in playing and building instruments. I use professional grade sound equipment and amps. These guitars perform about as well as a $100 guitar should. Problem is...they cost $400 and up!!! Through a $75 10-watt solid state practice amp with an 8" speaker, you can't tell whether the mid-range muddiness and tinny top are from the cheap speaker or the cheap electronics in the guitar...so, if you stick with a low quality amp to match this low quality instrument, it's a win-win situation for those who do not know what good tone is. But, through a good quality amp, these guitars sound as cheap as I've ever heard a guitar sound. Not really suitable or voiced for any type of music. You better be ready to incorporate many effects boxes to cover up the shortcomings of this guitar's "tone" or invest significant amounts of money to make it sound "ok".

The finish was smooth and well buffed, but most guitars "look" great these days. The problems with the Lagunas stem from the un-painted portions...while the frets look well polished, the overall quality of the fret job on every guitar I tried (3 different Lagunas) was truly sad. I have a feeling the inherent problems in these guitars are due to the cheap woods used and the significant humidity/temperature changes the guitars experience on their way over to the U.S. from south Asia. Cheap plastic nuts, low-grade woods and high-grade fret-buzz on all 3 I tried...horribly disappointing. The first floor model I tried had been adjusted by the tech at Guitar Center to a ridiculously high action to compensate for the inherent buzz and warp in the neck. The 2 models they pulled direct from the stock room, fresh out of the box, were barely playable and needed a truss adjustment and fret re-dress, at minimum. Again, I have seen many sub-$300 guitars far outperform these Lagunas and these Lagunas actually cost more!

Assuming that I could actually get one to play correctly (possibly by having a custom neck made or swapping a better quality one from a mid-line Jackson, Kramer, Yamaha, etc.), I still wouldn't be caught dead using a Laguna outside of bedroom practice. At a live gig? I wouldn't even use it as a third-rate backup...Even if you could fix the poor quality of the woods and setup and upgrade the substandard hardware, you would still have to fix the sound! Any guitar that costs $400 and requires $600 in upgrades/repairs out of the box isn't worth buying in the first place...period.

If their customer service is anything like their instruments, I wouldn't count on receiving anything "quality" from Laguna... Even if they are responsive now, once they sell enough guitars to get a reputation, they'll stop addressing the issues dilligently, because every guitar they sell is going to have AT LEAST one, if not more, problem down the road and it will take a toll on their business from a monetary and resources standpoint. I have a feeling this brand will only be around for another 2-5 years (only because of Guitar Center's heavy marketing), so enjoy the support, if there is any, while you can...

12 years of dedicated living in the realm of guitars and I can tell you that I have rarely been so disappointed as with the 3 Laguna models I tried. My go-to guitars are modern USA and Japanese Jackons, early Ibanez, Hagstrom, mid-'90s Yamahas and Modulus. You can buy any instrument I play for under $1000 and most for under $500 thanks to online retailers and used guitar havens like eBay. Why waste $400 to $600 on a sub-par, low-quality "no-name" instrument like Laguna? Just look at the headstock shape...how much thought do you think they put into the rest of the instrument? I can tell you from experience with 3 different models from Laguna that they followed a classic formula to sell cheap imported guitars...low cost woods + low cost hardware + low cost electronics + shiny, eye-catching finishes that "look" like expensive instruments. It's the heart of these instruments that are rotten...absolutely no soul. Even if you are a beginner, there are many brands that offer FAR better quality for often less money. Don't waste your cash and talent on a Laguna!

Finish: Honey burst transparent
Body Style: Strat
Bridge: Wilkinson tremolo
Tuners: Locking, laguna brand tuners
Scale Length: 25.5 in
Accessories: allen wrenches, strap locks, spare tremolo spring, and whammy bar
Year: 2007
Made in Indonesia
Frets: 22
Top wood: AAA Flame Maple Veneer
Controls: volume, tone (push/pull) and 5-way selector. Pull the tone control up to use the split coil on the humbucker, push down to use the dual coil humbucker. The hum from the single coils is canceled in certain settings of the 5-way switch.
Pickups: SSH (The humbucker can be split and used as a single coil)
PUP make and model: Custom Alnico (all three)
Body: Louisiana Swamp Ash
Neck wood: Hard-Rock Maple neck / Thick Indian Rosewood Fretboard

I've had the Laguna for one month now. I've been a lifelong acoustic player and now venturing into electrics. My only previous experience is with an old Kramer Striker ST100 I picked up from a friend last year. I find that the clarity of the sound from the Laguna puts the old ST100 to shame. I am pleased with range of tones that come from the various settings of the 5-way switch. I also purchased a Korg PX4D and I prefer to play the guitar on the "Rock" preset but also enjoy jumping over to Acoustic once in a while. My son likes to go for the more metal like settings.

The high notes are strong and so are the low notes. I find that the middle notes are not always as strong and can be overshadowed by the bass and higher notes.

I rate this as an 8. Remember I am new to electrics and I don't have the ear for tone quality just yet.

Factor setup: Pitiful. It was not playable. Huge amounts of fret buzz, intonation was not even close. I had to adjust the springs after working on intonation, adjusting the truss, string height on the Wilkinson bridge, etc.

After reading up on double action truss rods, adjusting a neck, etc. I was finally able to get the strings setup nicely: no fret buzz, good intonation, low action. It was a struggle and I was ready to return the guitar but now I am happy and know how to set up my laguna.

PUP setup: I have not adjusted these at this time. However, given my previous comments about the middle notes it might be time to learn how to do this to see if I can bring out more of the middle notes. I've also noticed the high-E string is much much closer to the PUPs than my D and G strings. I may need to adjust things a bit to get more even sounds from the strings.

The top is exactly like the image on the PlayLaguna.com web site at http://playlaguna.com/models/index.cfm?model=le422hbt. If that image is a good bookmatch then so is my guitar. Please look for yourself.

The bridge seems to be properly routed. I am worried if I ever decide to dive bomb with the trem that my bridge will hit the finish. Especially with how low I have my strings action set right now. I might have to raise my bridge (and consequently my string action) to give my trem a little more room.

All the components seem to be in great working order. Nothing is loose, rusted or corroded. I am very happy with the brushed nickel finish. The middle pickup is not completely square in its routed hole. It's installed with just a slight angle to it. The neck PUP is 90 degrees to strings and the middle is maybe 88 degrees. I have not taken the time to remove the strings to see if I can adjust how it is installed. I am likely to mess it up instead of fix it and it's one of those things you just ignore after a while anyway. It does not affect anything except one's sense of a perfect setup.

I cannot rate this a 10 because of the very poor setup from the factory. I contacted the support and their reply seemed to indicate they expected the factory to have intonated the guitar which it hadn't. Also the middle pickup should be in nice and straight.

So far in the 30 days I have had the guitar if feels solid. The controls are great. I plan to use the strap locks and keep working my skills and see if I can gig at some point. I have complete faith this guitar will hold up.

The finish appears to be strong and thick. I have little concern about it wearing off at this time. There is no pick guard on this guitar but I have not seen any problems.

The strap buttons seem solid but I have not used a strap yet. The strap is on order and I plan to start using these soon.

I contacted the company after my purchase. I bought the guitar during a sale and left with it and only what was attached to the guitar. The store knew I was coming back after the sale madness died down to get the rest of the stuff. I contacted Laguna and asked what it is I should expect and they provide to me a detailed list of stuff. I was pleased with their fast response.

However,I tried to contact them again about bringing the guitar in (I live quite close to Laguna Beach where they are located) to see if they would do a new guitar setup and I have not heard back on the two notes I sent.

I would have rated them 10 if they responded to my second note even if they were to tell me they do not do setups for new guitars. As of yet I have not heard back from them so I am lowering my rating.

I've been playing acoustic for 30 years. Electric for about 1 year now.

I would likely purchase this same guitar again if it were stolen. I absolutely love the flame top honey maple! I am pleased with the tremolo and the strings are staying in tune (another problem with the Striker ST100, it requires constant tuning. It might be the Floyd Rose). The nut on the Laguna is Teflon impregnated graphite and that might be why the strings seem to remain in tune. This is not a double locking trem. The locking tuners are awesome. I also really like the use of black and the black headstock is nice. I ordered a black strap to compliment. I also like the mother of pearl inlays dots and how they are different than a typical guitar. I am not big on lots of inlay in the fretboard.

If I were to purchase again I would be much more picky about taking several guitars in a very quiet room to listen to the quality of the sound, both acoustically and also through a clean amp or with the settings I am using most often.

The other guitars I was looking at are the Stratocaster MIM, Telecaster MIM, Epiphone Les Paul or Epiphone SG. This guitar turned out to be more expensive then the Tele or Epi but I am happy with the entire package. Although there are versions of the others that easily cost much more $$$$. I still think it is worth the extra bucks over their basic models. So far I have not felt like I should have spent the extra $100 for the double locking Laguna and only time will tell if that was a mistake.

I am still convinced in this price range this is a great value would definitely come get this guitar again.