Peerless Monarch

Traditional Jazz box with a single floating pickup. My model has both a volume and a tone control. The basic mode has only a volume control. It has a solid spruce "formed" - not carved- top with solid maple back and sides. Excellent finish with no flaws noted. The neck is comfortable and fairly thin. The action was set low and fast with no fret buzz, and good acoustic volume and tone were produced when not amplified. Bought the guitar on Ebay for $1,125 with free shipping using the "make an offer" process.

Outstanding amplified sound, even through my Blues Junior tube amp. I have not played it through a more traditional jazz amp. The acoustic tone is very good unplugged with great volume for practicing without an amp.

Outstanding finish and fit. Have not found a flaw in the workmanship. The guitar came with a "Deluxe" Peerless case. The case is adequate but not heavily padded. One problem - although the addition of the tone control is a plus in most ways, having two knobs on the pick guard as placed has me consciously trying to avoid hitting the uppermost knob with my strumming hand.

I am new to Peerless guitars and have just bought this one so I don't feel confident to comment at this time.

Have not had any dealings with customer support, as all has been working as expected.

This is a traditional hollow body, jazz guitar. Made in Korea by the people who used to make guild, epiphone, Ibanez acoustics before they moved their operations to China.

Solid (but not carved its pressed into shape, kind of the next step up from laminate!) spruce top, solid maple sides and back, but not flamed which is nicer in some ways than the over pretty pieces of wood you sometimes see. Rosewood bridge.

Very nice, and very thin poly sunburst finish which really impressed me as you can see its not coated in a thick covering of paint. Gold grover tuners and one floating pickup with only a volume control.

I haggled for a deluxe case and a new set of strings in with the price. The case is OK but doesn't hold the guitar quite snug enough for my liking.

This is a Jazz guitar, its about the notes you play not gizmos and gadgets. It might not have millions of pickup selections and tone controls but you don't look for the ash tray on a motorbike!

This guitar sounds great unplugged and projects quite well for an electric guitar and in a one to one teaching situation wouldn't even need to be plugged in IMO.

Amplified I'm running this through either a Hot rod deluxe (clean channel obviously) or a Blues Junior.

I tried this compared against another Peerless guitar in the shop (a Jazz City) and it just blew it away. The sound is brighter, but not harsh and very centered. In contrast the Jazz city sounded muffled and fuzzy.

It has THE jazz sound for me, warm yet punchy and has a rich harmonic content almost 3D in its sound quality.

Talk about responsive with a delicate touch it whispers yet dig in and it really sings.

I haven't touched a thing on it. No buzzes or rattles everything adjusted correctly.

All the woodwork looks good to me, and I am picky!! The binding the bracing inside and especially all the inlaid fret markers are perfect, no leaky glue or extra filling added. These fella's sure know how to put a guitar together!

The only thing I don't like is the original strings it came with, the coloured ball ends of the daddarios look tacky on a guitar like this. (I know its picky but I'm trying to find something to complain about!)

It stays bang on in tune (I haven't had to tune it since leaving the shop! amazing), reminding me of those adds you see in the local paper selling guitars that have been tuned recently!

This is not a solidbody its an acoustic instrument treat it properly and it will last more than your lifetime.
I wonder how long the plating will last on the hardware (not that I've ever had problems with gold plating) But it will last if you give it a wipe when you put it away.
I look after all my guitars and I see no reason why this one should let me down. I would gig this without a back up because I doubt there is any risks of a string going and with mininmal electrics I would be suprised if there were any problems.

Had no dealings with them and doubt I will need to, but I have heard good things about them. The previous posters experience seems good, but also having trawled the net many good things are said about peerless the company

I've been playing a long time and teaching music for some 27 years. I own a Custom shop Strat, a Les paul and a cheap yamaha acoustic. I do a lot of research into my instrument purchases and I never buy on a whim, I buy because I need to for a job (like a workmans tools I guess).
I always play the guitar I'm going to buy and have never bought one sight unseen over the net. I am buying a musical instrument and not a dvd player. I played loads of Les Pauls until I was happy with the one I eventually bought, they were all different. I had to travel a long way to play a peerless guitar but I was glad I did. I had tried several cheaper archtop style guitars, Ibanez etc and they just didn't have IT.

For the price it blows all the competition away. Yes some have prettier wood or more plate or pickups. But for sound and quality alone you would have to spend four times as much for as good a guitar.

I would definitely buy again, or save up loads more cash and buy a custom made archtop, a Bennadetto or something of that ilk. I just couldn't afford or justify that sort of money at the moment.

Made in Korea, 2007. 22 frets - 24.6" scale. Had it about six months. Full hollow body jazz box. Solid spruce top, solid maple back and sides. One floating neck Humbucker with volume control. Gloss sunburst finish. Rosewood bridge, pickguard, tailpiece and fingerboard. Grover machine heads. Can't really give it ten as it has limited features but it was the quality of materials that attracted me to it.

Most of my playing has been rock and blues but I have always loved jazz. Since I got my hands on this guitar it's given me a new impetus to get to grips with playing rather than just listening to jazz. I use an AER Alpha which delivers a luscious, rich sound from this guitar. The variety of sounds is obviously limited by the simplicity of the layout but who cares, what it does it does brilliantly! I was willing to pay a lot more for a jazz box but having played it I just had to have it.

The action was a little high but lowered it in the shop to just over 1.5 mm at the twelfth fret. Exhibits no buzz but I'm not an aggressive player. Helped by the 13's it was strung with making it surprisingly slick. The frets are smooth and well polished. The finish is excellent - I'm very demanding and looked at a few before choosing this one. The guy at Vintage Guitar where I bought it was very helpful and long-suffering!

I play just for my own enjoyment so it won't get caned and I look after my gear. Only having owned it for a short time it's difficult to say how it will last the test of time. I don't foresee any issues. It seems very well made overall.

The guitar I ended up with was not the one I initially I chose. I had some issues with a high fret on the first and Peerless and my retailer were very helpful, offering alternatives without any hassle.

I've been playing for over thirty years but got a lot more serious about it in the last ten. I've had a wide variety of solid body, ending up with an accumulation of Strats. I also have an Epiphone and a Martin acoustic. If the Monarch were lost or stolen I would absolutely get another.