Malden Karma

This is a 2004 single-cutaway solid body...not a Les Paul or PRS Singlecut copy as the previous reviewer said. It is a unique design, a breath of fresh air in the budget world of electrics. 22 well-dressed frets and a super straight neck make this the smoothest, fastest guitar I own. A beautiful, well bookmatched flame top, mine the Vintage Burst, make this a great looker. Other than that, 2 vols and 2 tones and that's about it.

Because of the somewhat thin and lightweight body, the guitar is a bit brighter than a LP, but doesn't sound like one of the super strats out there from Schecter, Washburn, Ibanez, etc. Kind of a cross between an LP and a PRS. Like the body shape, a unique sound. After dialing in my Valvetronix VTX120 using the "Boutique" model, this guitar really started to sound great. While I'm sure a pickup upgrade will make it sound better, I'll put some Rio Grande's in the next Karma I buy.

Setup out of the box was ok, though like any new guitar, if you don't or can't tweak it to your liking, you might as well have left it hanging on the wall. You don't buy shoes that don't fit do you?
Then do yourself a favor and learn how to tweak you guitars...you'll be amazed. As I said earlier, the top is killer...a beautiful guitar. There are some finish flaws, though minor enough, I would not ever consider returning it...not the way it plays. This guitar has an absolutely incredible neck, IMO. Fast and fluid.

Dunno. Good enough for what I will put it through. Never gig without a backup. Never.

Dunno, though I did email with a question about future finish offerings for this model and Malden tech support responded quickly and courteously, so by that I would at least say "responsive".

I've been playing for 35+ years and have playing 100's of guitars. This is the sweetest guitar I have ever played. While some upgrades would take it to another level, it is just so fluid feeling any faults are way overcome by it's playability. If I handed it to you and left you with it for a half-hour or so, you'd be gone when I got back. :-)

This guitar is an Asian produced (I think it's Korean) 22 Fret copy of the Les Paul/PRS Singlecut. The guitar is a slim bodied Mahogany with a thin flamed maple top (very nice AAA Flamed Natural Color....quite impressive). The quality of the top was a terrific surprise for a guitar that costs a mere $599 (they say it's 100% flamed maple and not a laminate top). The guitar is much slimmer and lighter than any LP or PRS Singlecut I've ever owned and it sports a very nice neck joint that doesn't get in the way of playing those high frets. The guitar has a plastic bound body and neck which adds to the appearance and classy looks. There is a single fretmarker on the 12th fret and it is a nice understated touch given the nice look of the top. The guitar has a set neck (I assume the neck is Mahogany) with a RW board. The frets were smaller than most LP frets and were a bit too small for my liking. The guitar has passive Alnico pups standard LP controls (4 knob, 3 way toggle) with no coil splitting offered. The bridge was a typical LP style bridge with adjustable tailpiece. The tuners were Grover Style (well...the knobs looked like grovers...they did not perform or feel nearly as nice as grovers). The neck was 24 3/4" with an R305 profile. The guitar came bare bones...no case, bag....documents...nothing....

To be fair...I compared this guitar to my PRS McCarty, Dean EVO Special Select (similar concept for about $499) and my LP Standard. Compared to the other guitars this one had exposed glue from the binding, a poorly cut plastic nut, and a non-existent out of the box setup. The general styling was excellent and I think this brand has some potential if they just attend a bit more to setup and finishing. I found the Dean far superior in initial setup and playability (the Dean has much larger frets and weighs 2 lbs more).

This guitar is a wonderful looker for someone who can't afford an LP or other LP style guitar. I prefered the understated appearance to my Dean, but it just didn't compare in quality finish work or setup.

I play mostly rock and blues....I use a Carr Mercury for most of my playing and I use very few effects. I found this guitar a pretty disappointing sounding instrument. The pups were muddy and lifeless with little articulation and minimal sustain. The thin body and lack of resonance was staggering compared even with the Dean EVO. The guitar is definitely on the dark side of the tonal spectrum and I needed to engage the bright switch on the amp to get any sparkle. This guitar has 3 tones...none of them great....If I were to keep this guitar the electronics would go in a heartbeat. The guitar might do well with new pups and for a budget player this is still a very usable instrument.

The action and playability of this guitar was poor. It truly looked like they set minimal parameters on the instrument so that it could be played out of the box....The profile of the neck was a bit flat and with the small frets bending was not comfortable (I adjusted the action, truss rod, bridge position, etc). The pups were not remotely adjusted and the tonal balance was poor. The best part about this guitar was the bookmatched maple top which was nicely done....It actually was quite stellar. Unfortunately...the overall playability outweighed the cosmetic beauty.

I'm unsure about how this guitar would hold up under gig conditions. The weight of the guitar was quite light and would be comfortable on stage, but I just didn't feel that the hardware or tuners would hold up. The nut was poorly cut and would need adjustment (who are we kidding...it needed replacement). The overall makeup of the hardware was pure imitation chrome. Could you depend on it....probably...would I? Probably not....

I would not use any guitar on a gig without backup....this I trust a little less than others.

Unknown??? I plan on returning this instrument and I have no plans on working on it further. At this price it is a decent guitar, but I think I rather invest in the Dean EVO...all that guitar needs is a new set of pups and wiring...then it will be a great LP replacement...This guitar is a passable budget guitar with one of those stellar tops...

Ok...I reviewed this guitar tough....when compared with a PRS or LP this guitar is truly a budget item. If you want a killer top with nice looking cosmetics at a price under $700 then this is your guitar. If you want a fantastic player that can do all the LP tones and have the look....this isn't it. This guitar lacks the girth, sustain, and overall tonal depth to do that gig. I wouldn't suggest buying this guitar to upgrade it to the LP standard...you'd have to replace too much and spend so much that you'd be within a few hundred dollars of a used LP...... On the positive side....if you want a guitar to play hard rock or perhaps metal on and have something that looks great under stage lights....this might be your guitar after you upgrade the pups. If you like to bend...and play soulful stuff I just don't think this guitar will do it. I think they are on the right track and compared to the guitars at this value that I played in the 80's we are light years ahead :) Buy this guitar with the right info or better yet....play one yourself.....then see what you think.