Raven RM-680 Hollowbody

This is just an update of the RM-680 review immediately below this one. I was the guy who did not like the factory pickups. I replaced the Korean humbuckers and put some De Armond Gold Tones. Mighty clouds of audio joy now surround the fluffy quilted (maple?) clouds figured into the swirling wooden face of its violet/blue arched top. Actually, since the De Armonds were designed for use on Fender's copy of a Gibson SG (a nice psychadelic grunge axe), I now call the RM-680, The Heavy Cowboy. It is smooth. It plays like sprinkled sugar with that "sweet and low" fretboard, and when I overdrive the Gold Tones, tinkerbell sprinkles grunge dust semi-tones laden with sparkling, shimmering feedback harmonics on my amplifier and we fly, ever so high above cares of this world, back to Raven wonderland. Yes, it's that good! And no, I don't work for Raven. I tried to be a dealer but they wouldn't allow no guitar pickin' down Texas way. They got an east coast dealer and a west coast dealer, and they want to keep "all points in between" I guess, for the internet. I would have liked to have gotten in at the ground floor. But what does that tell you, if I think their guitars are good enough that I wanted to carry them as a dealer? Margin baby. You buy them cheap, even retail, and you get a lot! Is anybody interested in profit? Or in a playable axe that doesn't look like you bought it at Toys R' Us? Well, buy one retail, anyway, and you'll still be puttin' money in your pocket. Ravens rule by popular demand, not by brand name and hoopla. The strings are good for putting on vegetable dicer grates, and you can slice cheese with them, or hot, mushy bread, but I wouldn't personally ever send them out of the factory for use on a guitar. But a 10 anyway. I've never seen a maker who matched the bang for the buck, except Raven again, on some of its other models.

After changing the pickups, with its inherent hollow-body electric/good feedback characteristics, it is one of the sweetest guitars of all of mine...and one of the sweetest guitars I've ever played, $3,000 Les Pauls included. I currently have about 15 electric guitars. The only one of mine that might be sweeter is my Raven RM2000 that has Rio Grande Big Bottom Bastards (wound for extra bass) on it, but it can't match the feedback nuance of the RM 680. The world is sad enough without tinny sounding pickups, but with good, gold tone pickups and other's like them, one's soul can shine, at least for a while. Life's too short to play crappy guitars, if you know what I mean...I hope to play Super Ravens in heaven!

Let me put it this way: if the RM680 were running as the first female president of these Newnited States, I'd vote for her on looks alone, and my sin even bigger than that would be that I loved her just too much to where she'd grown to be an idol in the dark, heavy resources of my grungy heart. Sappy, but you get the point. It's a stunning piece of guitar art.

Had it about eight months now. No problems, but ask me 20 years from now, if I still have her. Raven might come out with something better and I might trade her in for a new model, etc., or just minimize my collection for simplicity's sake, but not because there is anything wrong with her other than what I mentioned about pickups/tremolo.

see review immediately below. It's mine, too. This is just an update.

playing about 25 years; counting violin, but about 22 on guitar. Anything else I'd like to share? Buy one. Anything I wish it had? Wings a first-class section, so I could really fly when I play it, instead of only in my soul on the wings of its songs. Oh, and some boutique class USA or British pickups, and a dive-bombing tremolo that still looked vintage.

Korean, blue/purple quilt top and dark blue translucent back with cream binding/pinstriping in abundance; bought in 2002 for $380; two humbuckers on a three way with gold hardware and gold Bigsby clone tremolo. I don't know what kind of wood or how many layers of maple or mahogany. All I know is that it's a stunner! It will knock you out! You'll look at it for hours and think you're having an LSD flashback! You'll dream about it. You'll daydream when you look at it! Hypnotists could use it for dream therapy and inner healing! Not that I believe in that stuff....

Doesn't suit my music style at all! That's why I bought it, to learn a new style: Rockabilly and Delta slide blues or something like that. Been playing folk-rock renaisscance, grunge. Skip all the amp and effects and stuff I've been using...it's mentioned in another review of the Raven RX620. Just know that this axe sounds good, but the pickups are quiet and they don't have as much response on either volume or tone as I would like...probably replace them with some hot humbuckers with great dynamics/harmonics etc., namely the De Armond Gold Tones, or possibly Rio Grande BBQ and Texas Specials, for my preference. Dislikes: the pitch travel of the Bigsby style whammy bar because, like the genuine Bigsby, doesn't have much pitch dip; maybe a half-step or whole, so you can't dive bomb, but this is a jazz, no-shredding, Rockabilly guitar, so no big deal. Don't like the pickups much; too bright, not enough punchy bass, or warm midrange; no golden, ecstatic harmonics; not hot enough, pretty feedbacky, too, but I that's one advantage if you're doing a song that can benefit from the feedback normally associated with hollowbody electrics. I'm no connosieur on what's pickups are good for this type of guitar, so my opinion is best taken as extra-lite in this area. Maybe they're just Korean and "don't got no shuck and jive." I don't know. They're ok, just not terrific. I like the appearance of the tremolo, the gold hardware, the pickup covers, the cream rings and binding, the quilt, the transparent/amber detailed machine heads. If I were a guitar, and vain at that, I would marry "her" for her looks alone...for the money, even though I don't like the pickups, I'd still give it a 9 for tone. I used to have a '63 Gibson ES-225T hollowbody electric, and this one isn't too far away from that sound, but the stinkin' pickups are too tinny for my preference. Overall though, you can get that beautiful, golden warm, mellow tone from this guitar by just taking the time to mess with the knobs, but you need a nice amp. Without a great amp to compensate, you may not get the golden wonderful tone that is needed, because the pickups just don't eq with enough range, at least on my guitar they didn't, and I tried for hours with lots of variables. A set of pickups should fix it.

Again, like other 2002 Ravens, the strings come straight from either wire fishing leaders, medical sutures, or orthodontist's supply houses. They can't be guitar strings, they're just too heinous to actually be originally made as guitar strings. I changed and the guitar is mo' better now. Pickup height/set up was poor for my taste. But, they're Korean pickups and it's an area in which they haven't equalled the USA, yet. Let's hope they don't, but from what I've been told by several presumedly reliable people in the industry -- including people at Fender and Gibson -- a number of "made in the USA" guitars are actually partially made by Koreans in either/or both/and their production and/or components, and that by law, a certain number of operations and hours must be logged by USA workers to meet the "loophole" requirements. So, I don't pay the extra grand or two to have the made in USA formality placed on my guitar. I'll take the prestige of keeping a thousand or two dollars in my pocket and just play a lowly Raven. Anyway, on the pickups...I had to fool around with raising and lowering them for a long time, and finally put on some studio quality headphones to set them in as well as possible. I still only achieved average tone. I wish that all pickup makers would learn from De Armond's Gold Tones, which allow not only height adjustment, but also allow the face of the pickup to be rolled either toward or away from the neck or bridge, allowing fine tuning of soundwave patterns and interplay nuances of each guitar. After a lot of tweaking with the RM680, finally, the tone is relatively mellow, like I think this type of guitar should be. Rear pickup was weak in volume, no matter what I did, but Eric cut me a check to replace it. Other setup is fine. Action is excellent! Like a solid body electric. No fret buzz whatsoever! Craftsmanship is flawless, beautiful, majorly-skiled carpentry! I'm giving them an eight only for the stinkin' strings, pickup setup and one weak pickup, but that's personal taste; otherwise, they would have gotten another 10. Mine was hopefully a fluke, and it was rather minor at that. Other reviews of this same guitar had no weak rear pickup. Strings are possibly strands from stainless steel screen doors...

Will this guitar withstand live playing? I've only had it about three months and haven't been gigging around where I live...it's podunky ville here. I'd have to go back to Houston to gig and that's not on the agenda for now. Still, it seems to be built just fine for toughness. Does any guitar withstand live playing? If the roadies are cool or the baggage handlers don't trash it. Hardware and all that seems to have a durable finish. Special care should be given to this guitar to keep it from temperature and humidity extremes, since it is a hollowbody. So, ask the airlines to put it the overhead or something, maybe buy a guitar humidifier, too. Yeah, I'd gig without a backup if I had to. But, I'd eat raw fish, if I had too, to survive. Still, for a hollow-body electric guitar, I'd give it a 10 for overall strength of construction. Time will tell.

Excellent customer support from Raven West Guitars. Eric should consider being a diplomat in the mideast, if he ever gets tired of Raven West. On second thought, it will probably take not diplomacy, but instead the complete military surrender of the worldwide Jihad army to get peace there, here, and everywhere. Mohammed says in effect: "If you ain't Muslim, you gotta die" or at least have some hand bones and ankle bones cut off. Anyway, Raven leaves me "ravin'" about good customer support, at least so far.

How long have I been playing? 21 years? Is there something I wish I would have asked before buying this guitar? Yes, can Raven please go teach other guitar manufacturers how to make guitars and sell them this cheaply? Thanks Raven for giving us a break! Would I buy another one if stolen or lost? Yes, probalby, but I'd also pray that Jesus would bring perfect divine vengeance on the guy who stole it or "lost" it! (but that he'd save his soul first, if He's going to kill him). While we were in Russia, someone stole a Fender Jap Strat from me while our band was working on a studio project, but Big Bad Jesus got it back...I kid you not! Some guy and these church people prayed, and said they felt like Jesus was going to get it back...they even smiled about it because of the sense that they got that it would be okay...well...It showed up about a year later in town of two million people, plus we got some great equipmnet for cheap, like these Ravens for one! Quite a story behind it... What do I love about this guitar? Everything but the pickups and the small audio range of the tremolo. Did I compare this guitar to others? Yes, Gretsch, Yamaha, Guild, Gibson, Epiphone Ibanez, anyone who makes mass produced hollow-body electrics. No one had anything as deluxe for under about $1000, even Korean and still not as many features as the Raven. I think Epiphone is maybe now using the same company on one model now, but they're marking them up more than Raven. For instance, Epiphone now sells a double-cutaway Les Paul clone, and it sells for about $300 more than a Raven of the same kind, even if you buy it heavily discounted from Musician's Friend. Otherwise, it's about $500 more. Epiphone's quilted Les Paul clone now looks just like the Raven RM 2000, beautiful but you pay more for the same thing, it seems. So far as hollow-body electrics, I haven't seen any guitars, yet, as beautiful as the Raven RM680, except maybe some $5000 Gibsons or similar. No, this doesn't play as a nicely as some $3000 to $5000 hollow body electrics, but it might after I change my pickups. I don't know. Maybe not, but it feels great in every other way. Go ahead and buy your Gibson and Fenders but rumor is, they're part Korean anyway. That's the rumor. Anybody know someone who's actually been to the factory and/or can truly verify that USA export components are coming from there? Both Fender and Gibson employees have told me so, as well as people that own retail stores that sell the new axes. Anyway, Raven seems to be the most price-efficient, conscientious guitar retailer out there, for the low-end price stuff. They're trying to gain market share while they're little, so buy them cheap while you can. For the value, I can't see spending the money for anything else. Someone with great hands can make a Raven sound supreme, and do so easily. I've seen nothing on the web or in my area that even comes close to the value for the money. That's my experience. If someone knows differently, please post it, so I can go buy their stuff, too.

WHOOPS....I NEED TO AMEND MY PREVIOUS REVIEW....A LITTLE....THE TOP IS TRI-LAMINATED....THE SPRUCE TOP IS ONE LAMINENT ABOUT A 16TH OF AN INCH THICK, WHILE THE PREDOMINENT LAMINENTS ARE SOMETHING ELSE...THE BACK AND SIDES ARE OF COURSE LAMINATED,...BUT IM NOT SURE AS TO THE WOOD, IT MAY BE A TRI-LAMINENT OR A REGULAR DOUBLE...I SUSPECT IT'S DOUBLE..(MAPLE ON MAPLE)....I DISCOVERED THESE WHEN I CHANGED THE PICK-UPS...THERE-FORE....THE SPRUCE TOP IS PURELY COSMETIC....BUT IT'S P-U-U-R-D-Y...THE PUPS ARE NOT..I PUT DI MARZIO CLASSIC PAF'S ON...WHAT A DIF !!!!HAD TO DROP MY RATING A LITTLE BECAUSE OF THIS...

SOUND IS MUCH BETTER WITH NEW PUPS....

THIS GUITAR (RM 680) HAS A TRULY FABULOUS FEELING AND PLAYING NECK

FOR THE MONEY.....THIS GUITAR IS STILL A BARGAIN...EASILY WORTH AS MUCH AS COMPETITORS IN THE $6-700 PRICE RANGE

I've been playing a Takamine acoustic for a few years, and have in the past owned a Gibson Les Paul, Gibson L6-S, Fender Stratocaster, Ibanez, Kay ,& Hagstrom Guitars. I have always admired the sound of the Jazz hollowbody guitars like the ES175 to the Rockabilly
styles of the ES-335 and recently shopped around to find one that I would feel comfortable playing. As most guitar players do I look for comfort, then sound and then appearance, although appearance does put a dampner on that order sometimes, especially when it comes to a guitar such as the Raven RM680 in the natural finish. I looked at and played, the Guild StarfireIII and the X180 Park Avenue which were very good"excellent" but I did'nt need a new dependant in the family, Epiphone Joe Pass "I think I'll Pass", Gibson ES-135 also excellent but again I fell short of the small loan application...Then I stumbled on a fair to poor photo scan of an ad for a Raven RM680 Jazz Guitar on Ebay...Yeah, good old Ebay, sometimes it's more of a reference resource than anything else...So, I looked amd saw and for the price I figured this is worth a gamble, the major reason I took the gamble was the great reviews posted here on Harmony Central, another great resource tool. Well, I ordered the guitar and they said it would be shipped out the next morning possibly the next and would be 5 to 7 working days to get it. That was a Monday...Thursday the same week I came home from work to find the guitar, Surprise! I opened the carefully packaged hard shell case and layed it down on the couch, Flipped up the fasteners to open the case and said to myself...I hope I see what Harmony Central reviews told me..And Bam! I opened the case, at that very moment I could feel my heartrate increase in speed, I felt I had fullfilled a wildest dream, a miracle had financially occured, WOW! I picked this guitar up and looked at the immediate overall appearance and then proceeded to tune it.What a pleasure, the action set just right, just low enough to effortlessly
play, and when I plugged it in the Amp, the warm cool jazzy sound yet bright...I was impressed as you can see...then I came down from the mountain for a better look. Other than a few flaws in the finish like some minor scratches of the neck base upper side that had been finished over nicely and a ding in the curve of the most visible F hole nicely preserved under the finish. I am happy to say I now own a jazz guitar that was built in Korea by some well trained technicians.
I'm a happy camper , and so say my other musician friends, this is a remarkable instrument and I would recommend it to anyone in any financial state.

My style of play is anywhere from a George Benson to a Moody Blues style. With that in mind I find the sound of this guitar given it's 3 way toggle feature and humbucker style pickups with a Bigsby style bridge"much nicer than Bigsby, to me personally" I can get the job done easy from a sweet bright to a whole warm melodic to even a bluesy sound...But don't expect it to turn "Metal" heads.

Getting around this guitar is a pleasure, the fretboard is layed out very conservatively with the inlay markers, the cutaway allows you to reach the complete peak of the neck. The machine head knobs were a surprise to me, the hardware was said to be gold so I expected these to be just that "which I don't generally care for cause they oxidize and loose thier finish some times from the acids of the skin" and fortunately they are a pearly cream color that accents the guitar very well.I did find as I mentioned before some finishing flaws that almost bothered me enough to send it back to the factory. The F hole on the top part had a ding/fray in the wood, at the cut of the curve that was nicely preserved forever in clear site, also at the base of the neck where it meets the body there are some vigorous scratches against the grain of the wood also nicely preserved forever.

Judging by the wieght of this guitar and the general appearance of this beauty I would have to say it will be the nicest guitar found in the studio. As for using it on a gig,I would If I had another one to back me up in case it got accidently smashed. The hardware will hopefully last being that what ever is gold plated has no skin contact,the machine heads hold the tuning well, the bridge is constructed with heavyduty hardware and the sound control knobs are smooth and placed well on the body along with the toggle switch.

Very nice people to deal with and pleasant to talk to. They know thier products very well and are very accommodating. 5 STARS for Customer Support. I should know , since I provide customer service myself on the job.

Alls been said that I'll say

Let me begin by saying this relatively inexpensive Korean arch top is not only as good as some American made guitars, it's better than quite a few I've seen. It we make the analogy to cars, this ouuld be a Mercury or Pontiac. Not the absolute best, or the ultimate in luxury, but better than average, and quite confortable.

I was under the impression the top was solid. My tech thinks it's laminated. We can't tell without removing one of the pickups and inspecting the grain, and we haven't done that. But the guitar has a very sweet acoustic sound, which leads me to believe the top is indeed solid. (It should be noted that there is nothing wrong with a laminated top and many ourstanding guitars have them, and many outstanding jazz players including Joe Pass used them.)

The guitar has 2 humbucking pickups. On mine, the neck pickup is noticably louder than the one near the bridge. This could be because it is about an eighth of an inch closer to the strings. I tried raising the bridge pickup, but it couldn't be raised. My guess is that the springs holding it in place are too large.

This guitar normally comes with a Bixby style tremolo. I believe this is a mistake. Tremoolos are not necessary or even desireable on a jazz guitar. And even the best of them causes tuning problems. The guitar I tried out at the NAMM show had trouble getting and staying in tune. However I correctly guessed that these problems were caused by the tremolo, and I ordered mine with a fixed string tailpiece. Mine, with the fixed string tailpiece has no tuning problems whatsoever. It tunes up easily, and stays in tune. If anybody decided to buy this guitar as a result of this review, I strongly suggest you forgo the tremolo.

The neck could be a tad thicker for my taste. This is not a criticism but a matter of personal preference. It's actual quite comfortable.

Speaking of comfort, this guitar is about slightly thinner than some other jazz guitars I've played. Personally I find this to be a big improvement. As somebody who is used to playing a thinner, solid body guitar, I prefer this size body. I don't like large guitars. I find them hard to playt. This one is just the right thickness.

My only real criticism is not of the guitar itself, but of the strings it came with. I don't know what they are, but I did not like them at all. I showed the guitar to 5 people the day I got it, and all 5 agreed that the strings were inferior and did not do the guitar jusctice. They were replaced the next day.

The guitar sings. At low volume you can hear both the electic signal and the natural acoustic sound, and it's simply beautiful. Rich and deep and warm. Just the way a jazz guitar should.

This IS a jazz guitar, and not the kind of thing you'd want to play through a lot of effects. It's not designed for playing at high bolume (like all hollow bodys, it will feed back). But for those who want a mellow jazz sound, it's perfect.

The guitar was reasonably well set up (the strings notwithstanding,) The frets could have been filed a little better, and the action could have been adjusted a little lower, but these are things that players should have done anyway. I've bought dozens of guitars over the years and only once received a guitar that was perfectly set up right out of the box. They always need some tweaking. This is no exception.

Everything else was just fine.

Again this is a jazz guitar. I mostly play rock, and my band does tend to get loud. This guitar is not really appropriate for the kind of music I play on gigs. For me it is more of a personal instrument.

However if I played the kind of music that it is suited for, I'd have no hesitation about useing it on a gig. It is certainly a professionaly quality instrument, more than capable of meeting the demands of gigging.

The strap buttons seemd solid enough, but as a matter of course, I always replace strap buttons with Straplocks on all my guitars. This was dione the day after I got the guitar (at which time I also replaced the strings)

Since the guiutar is brand new, I've not had it repaired. I got it directly from the manufacturer bypassed the distributor, but I did meet both him and the company's owner and they both seemed like honest people who are firmly committed to putting out a quality product at a price working musicians can afford.

I'd have no hesitation about dealing with either of them in the future. In fact, I probably will.

I've been playing 42 years, however I've always played either solid bodys, or regular acoustics, or thin semi-hollow bodys. This is my first full size hollow body jazz guitar.

But I can say this. I like it very much, and am glad I bought it. I've played other hollow body guitars on occasion and this one is as good as any of them, and a lot better than some that cost a lot more. Prior to buying it I check out some of the other Korean gutars and this one is definatley several cuts above all the others. It may not be quite as nice as a $5,000 Gibson L-5, but it's a lot closer than the price difference would indicate.

10 is too low a number. On the one to 1-10 scale, in terms of bang for the buck, this is deserves a 25.

I think for the price, it's the best jazz guitar on the market. I think it would be a bargain at three times the money. I would recommend it to all my friends, and I'm recommending it to those of you who are reading this.

Only get one without the tremolo.

My review is on the RAVEN model RM 680 hollow body jazz style guitar. I wont go into great detail since a previous review by "BILL" covers it almost to a 'T'....READ HIS...and believe it...!I read his review and thought I'd take a chance,...and ordered it. I'm glad I did..! I suspect.,...this guitar was produced in the Korean factory that makes Ibanez guitars, It's not Samick or Cort and it definately was not the product of some Korean "cobble-shop" ! The spruce top is a very nice grade..the flame maple back and sides are not of the highest grade,...and the back is not exactly "bookmatched"...but they are real maple and spruce inside and out, and for the price of this guitar,...it really does'nt matter if they are not a select material, especially since the rest of this guitar is VERY NICELY DONE.....The headstock has a little grain in it,..but remember,..this is a natural finish,..so everything shows.....If this guitar had Duncan class pups and select flame maple...it would be around a $1200.00 retail..or MORE...!THIS IS SIMPLY THE BEST QUALITY AND WORKMANSHIP I'VE SEEN FOR THE MONEY...!.....And NO.. I do not have any affiliation with this company,...and my sight and hearing are quite good...!

I have 3 other guitars that I use, and like...now I have another...for me, the sound is very full and rich,... but as with any guitar, a lot of your sound depends on other factors also...eg..pick size, strings, pick-ups,amp,...etc....My favorite amp is an Ampeg reverbejet with a celestion vintage 30 speaker....this guitar is a jazz guitar but can work very well as rockabilly or crossover into other stuff,..but will feedback (hollow body) at high sound levels if your standing in front of it...DA !

The finish work on this guitar is EXCELLENT.....The fretboard, frets, and inlays....are EXCELLENT...The neck is slim and fast, The action perfect for me...all I did was change the strings....10 plus !

I see no indication of anything or part that wont hold up well, but I havn't had it to long, so only time will tell....

Bought it from Ravenwest guitar,....they were very nice to deal with. The guitar has a lifetime (limited) warranty....that in itself may or maynot mean a whole lot,..hope I never have to find out...!

I've been playing most of my life, mostly professionally, but only the guitar in the last 10 tears. once again...THIS GUITAR IS THE BEST QUALITY AND WORKMANSHIP I'VE SEEN FOR THE MONEY....I would get another if stolen.....Sure, I'd like a hand made or high end brand...but I work for a living $$$$. I am very satisfied with this guitar....If your looking for this type of guitar, I dont think you'll go wrong with this relatively new company....

Brand new single cutaway full sized (jazz box style)hollowbody guitar. Made in Korea. This is the most impressive RAVEN guitar I've yet owned. And that's saying something! I now have five of them and have been extremely impressed with every one I bought. It's a full sized(16" across the lower body-11" across the upper bout and a full 3" in thickness)hollowbody with "F" holes,in the style of Gibson or Gretsch single cutaway guitars. It sports a close grained SPRUCE top and flame maple back and sides. The large body is bound with 6 ply black and white binding and has a fully bound (though only single ply binding is used on the fingerboard)20 fret maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and full block inlays. The headstock is bound with the same 6 ply binding as the body. The twin humbuckers, bigsby-style trem, tuners, strap buttons and other misc. hardware are in gold. It has a rosewood adjustable bridge plate with diamond shaped pearl inlays on each end and a one piece rosewood bridge that rests on gold adjustment wheels which move along threaded posts that anchor in the bridge plate ala Gibson's tune-o-matic style. The carved rosewood bridge bar is compensated for string intonation but is non adjustable. The Bigsby style tremelo is solid and extremely well made and works smoothly. The tuners are good quality gold plated sealed units with very rich looking half-moon buttons in a sort of swirled amber translucent plastic. Very cool looking and they certainly add to the overall deluxe vibe of the guitar. The standard Gibson electronics setup-two humbuckers each with their own volume and tone control topped with gold Gibson style "speed" knobs and a three way switch complete the setup. It came with Raven's lifetime warranty, neck adjustment wrench and a moulded cord.

My band plays a very diverse style of guitar music and we never limit ourselves to what's currently sonically trendy, so one guitar sound just won't cut it. A large hollowbody like the RM680 (or a Gibson, Gretsch etc.)has a deep resonant signature sound that suits jazz well but is also at home in rock. Just think of Brian Setzer, the Cults guitarist with his White Falcon or even Ted Nugent with his hollowbody Gibson. The sound of the RM680 is full bodied and warm but can more than hold it's own against a solidbody in the "slash and burn" category. I've always admired John McLaughlin's ability to get a les paul style sustain out of his full bodied Gibson and while a solid body gets that sustain through sheer mass, a full hollowbody does it through acoustic resonance which provides a fuller,warmer, more lively (IMHO)and natural sustain. I always liked the hollow body's sustaining characteristics when played at modest stage volume live and the Raven RM680 does not disappoint here. The pickups are almost identical in output to stock Gibsons, weighing in at 8.2K ohms-neck and 8.7K ohms bridge. They record well and are quiet and pretty well balanced tonally. The controls are smooth and work as they should. Though they use the standard Korean level of electronics, Raven must have a good quality control program because I haven't had any trouble with their pots, switches etc. I wish I could say as much for some other Korean made brands of guitar I've owned over the years. Because of it's large body and F holes, it can be played acoustically and has a nice woodsy tone. One of the coolest features of the RM680 is the gold plated bigsby style vibrato tailpiece. It is solidly built and works like a dream! No, you won't be able to do any strat-type divebombing but if you like that cool wavering note sound that Neil Young or Dwayne Eddy get or the shimmering chord sound of Brian Setzer and lots of surf guitarists use, you'll LOVE this trem! It feels like you're walking on a cloud and returns the strings to pitch every time. The overall deluxe appointments and quality of this guitar reminded me of a natural finish Epiphone Sheraton I owned a few years ago. The big differences being the Raven is a full size hollowbody and of course has a spruce top. Not many full sized electric guitars nowadays use spruce as their top material, opting instead for laminated maple. Still, the deluxe binding, inlays and all gold appointments are similar to the epiphone. With that guitar I swapped out the pickups as soon as I got it. I haven't had to do that with any of my Ravens.

The guitar arrived with a good setup. The action was LOW. Very low! As a matter of fact the only guitar I've ever owned with an action that was comparable would be a Carvin I owned many years ago. That there were no buzzing frets was amazing and goes to show how well the fret leveling had been done. The fretwork was very clean and well done. I raised the action slightly because I like a guitar to feel like it actually has strings on it! The intonation was good and could probably be made even better by retro-fitting a hollowbody adjustable bridge from Stewart-McDonald guitar shop supply or other supplier. I'll leave it as it is because I like the tone of the strings resting on the rosewood, and the intonation, while always a compromise on bridges of this sort was very good. Despite the non adjustablility of the bridge it still intonates along the full neck way better than my 67 Gretsch Country Gentleman, a guitar that has defied intonation and driven more guitar techs insane than any on the planet! The hardware was solid, well put together and adjusted properly, but given the obviously deluxe nature of the guitar I would have expected no less. The finish is a clear coat over the natural wood and was buffed to a hard smooth luster. All of my Ravens have shared this level of finishing and for the money it just blows me away. The binding work, fretwork, wood used and attention to finishing is where these guitars really shine. Everyone has his or her own subjective opinion of tone and what pickups are best but I honestly can't fault these guitars on construction. That I haven't had to change any of the electronics is just a bonus as far as I'm concerned! If Raven continues to progess along these lines the major guitar makers have a real threat on their hands! It really opens other musician's eyes when you tell them how much you paid. It really makes them wonder where that extra two grand that they paid for a comparable guitar went... Since I KNOW luthiers who work in a few of those other company's factories (and how much they take home in pay) it makes me wonder too!

I can't see anything that would keep this guitar from performing right up there with the best of them. It's very solidly constructed. I wouldn't fling it around like a solidbody but that's just common sense. I'd trust any Raven I own in a live situation, they're solid.

I bought this guitar from RAVENWESTGUITAR.COM (as I have all my other Ravens) and I've never had any problems with any of them. They've been nothing but friendly and truly proud of the quality of the product they offer.

I won't go over old ground (check my other reviews for how long I've been playing etc.)I'll just sum things up by saying that the RM680 is every bit as good as ANY large bodied hollowbody I've ever owned, vintage or modern. I've owned Gibson's, Gretsch, Cromwell's, Old Kay's and Guild's. I love the easy action, the great fretwork and the solid warm tone of this guitar. I haven't bought a Raven yet that hasn't found it's way onto my bands latest CD, I really do use them daily. That these guitars are the best dollar or dollar value I've found and can be AFFORDED by most musicians is great but really beside the point, these are just GREAT guitars! I remember being one of the only musicians in my home town who raved about the original Danelectro's. Lots of friends called them "toys" and wouldn't dream of owning one. Many years later these same people now own the reissues and are telling ME how cool they are! While the Dano's were made of masonite and plywood, Raven's are made with top notch woods, hardware and finishes every bit as good (and in some cases BETTER) than the more well known brands and they sound great too. Go ahead and try to find a spruce top full hollowbody electric for this amount of money! GOOD LUCK! Cool is cool and quality is quality and incredible value is incredible value no matter WHO makes 'em. Enough said!