Raven RP-350

2001 Model, Korean Made, beautiful PRS Sytle guitar. 24 frets, 2 covered humbuckers with flamed maple top, I chose the Cobalt Blue finish. (The burst to black colors looked a little too Butt Rock)All mahogony body & neck. Dark blue transparent finish on back and neck. Mid-range import parts, seem OK for now. Came shipped in a cardboard box with packing foam. I will say that after seeing these online and always wanting a PRS style guitar, I sold my $1,000 custom built strat on e-bay and bought one of these. Glad I did.

I play in a modern rock band (Foo Fighters, Lit, U2, Weezer)and this sounds great. I'm running through a Mesa Recto-verb 50w head and 1/2 stack with Vintage 30's. I run an Alesis Quadraverb through the fx loop for delay, and modulation effects and a Dunlop crybaby with a Hendrix pot in it. Bridge pick-up is very Les Paul sounding and the middle position has a nice SRV spank to it, especially on the clean and push channels. Neck pick up gives you that classic Slash solo tone. I usually use EMG 81's for my bridge, but will keep the stock one for now. Suprised that the pickups sounded so good. Had to replace my ESP pickups quick.

String action was a bit high and intonation off a little, but a new set of Di Addario 11's livened it right up. The frets were well seated and even, but a little tarnished. I masked off the fretboard and used a little steel wool to make 'em sparkle. The finish is beautiful, 1 little glue spot at the bookmatch seam on the bottom end.
A little area near binding on the bottom horn is a bit uneven. The tone pot is bent slightly, creating an uneven rotation, no biggie, I don't use it anyway.

This guitar will become my main unit for live shows. I have an ESP Viper-300 for back up (SG style- Also Korean made)It seems plenty sturdy. I am getting a good hardshell case and some Schaller strap locks. For the price, you could completely gut the guitar, replace all the hardware and pickups with Gibson grade stuff, and still pay less than half of a real Les Paul.

Purchased it From Eric at Ravenwest Guitar in LA. We e-mailed several times and talked twice. He even held the unit for several days for me while my other one sold ( I was set on the Cobalt finish and he only had one left). Ordered it on a Tuesday, got it the following monday by noon. Came US mail, $21.00 for shipping. I had it shipped to my work at a design company and several of the wood shop guys guessed is probably cost about $1500. Lifetime warranty, but will probably never use it.

I am 34 and have been playing seriously for 24 years. I also have the above mentioned ESP, a Fender P-Bass and a classical in my home studio. I've played classic rock, punk, melodic metal, and modern rock. I tend to hang on to my gear. I played the same 1973 50w Marshall for 12 years before moving to smaller Fender combos and finally back up to the Mesa. This guitar rounds out my current live set up quite nicely and I'm looking forward to road testing it. This is the first time I've ever bought a unseen, unplayed guitar and relied mostly on reviews from this site to calm my fears. Glad I did. It was just the thing I needed to spark a new creative period.

Brand spankin' new Cherry Red Sunburst, set neck, Korean made ,mahogany body, flamed maple top...the same as mentioned below.

I play this thing with straight stock everything. I own boxloads of pickups (mostly Duncans), pots, switches...whatever. This thing kicks butt straight out of the box. I run all my guitars through homebuilt versions of early Fender amps. I turn my Celestion Blue stuffed 5e3 tweed deluxe clone volume up to 12 (yeah, I said 12), plug this PRS clone in and rumble the rafters.

Action :Five full minutes of tinkering with a screwdriver on string height and intonation. Fit : Set neck, binding, bookmatched flame...all outstanding. Nut cut a little too deep but so what...no fret buzz. Finish : Un-freaking-believable. Wear your sunglasses to look at it.

This is my third one. I've got the RM-2000 an RSM-1000 and RP-350. I'm going to get the Les Paul single cutaway for my next one (RP-300).The only thing cheap about these guitars is the price. The two I gig with regularly hold their own against ANY competitively styled guitar.

I bought my first one from a guy named Ray Heffron off eBay listed under raymar96@earthlink.net. I don't know anything about him other than he's a cool guy and he sells these things dirt cheap. I think he offers a limited warranty but I don't really care. Anymore I'll just write him occasionally and ask him what he's got available and for how much and he'll send pictures and I'll decide if I want to get it or not. I don't know anything about Raven but this guy Ray gets a 10.

Playing 25 years. Other than the Celestion Blue I strictly use Ted Weber Speakers for all my amps. I'm more into the amp side of the sound than I am the guitars. Homebrew clones of the '59 Bassman, Tweed Deluxe, Champ, Marshall Plexi etc. several low watt, all tube practice amps. Anyway...go ahead and buy your X-thousand dollar real deal LPs, PRS's, or whatever...but there's a real reason why Gibson and PRS send they're lizard lawyers out into the world fighting the shipment of these things into the U.S. The quality of these foreign-made guitars scare the crap out of these guys and if they can't get a slice of the pie (like marketing the KOREAN made PRS Santana model for a ridiculous $800 or so) they want to just keep them out of the country. Well, whatever...I paid $185 for this Raven and it's a thing of beauty...get 'em while you can. I know I will.

2001 Korean made PRS copy. Left Handed Model Green Flame Maple Top.Mahogany neck and body. Set neck. Two Humbucking Pickups. 1 volume 1 tone 1 selector switch. Standard tunders of unknown brand. came with cheap cord and limited lifetime warranty.

Sounds very good for a $360 dollar guitar. Not as good as my Jackson SL1, but good for the money. The strings that came on this guitar are crap. I will be changing them soon. The pickups are very responsive and have good tone. Very quiet. You can use this guitar to paly any kind of music. I would't know about country though.

Guitar came set up pretty well. Except for the strings, ii plays well right out of the box. The neck is narrow but of medium thickness. Players with big hands may have problems playing chords. I had some problems initially with one of the solid strings slipping and going out of tune with moderate bending. Once I stretched it in, it stayed in tune.
The flame maple top finish is ok. I have read reviews that the finish is beautiful, killer, etc. Let's get real. Take a look at the finish on a USA made Jackson sometime.I own a Trans Green SL1 with a flame maple top. Now that is a finish all others should be compared to. It makes the finish on the Raven look ok.
The tone knobs on this guitar are cheap. They sit unevenly on the pots. I will be changing them. The nut looks like it is made of pretty cheap plastic. The rest of the guitar looks pretty well put together.

The guitar is pretty well made and should hold up ok. Some of the add on parts such as the nut, tone controls, tuners, etc. may not.

I spoke with them on the phone and they seem pretty decent. The warrantly is limited lifetime. I won't expect to use it.

I have been playing for awhile and own a varitey of guitars. Jackson USA SL1 Lefty, American Standard Tele Lefty, Ibanez RG 470L, Fender Strat Lefty, Kramer Striker Lefty, Steinberger GT Pro Lefty, Carvin CM 140.
The Raven is a god value for the money, but not exceptional quality for the money. If I had to compare it qualty wise to something I already own I would have to say the Ibanez. Hmmm' they are both made in Korea, I wonder if by the same factory? If you ask Raven who makes them the only thing they will tell you is that it isn't at the Cort or Samick factory in Korea. That doen't left too much to guess.
I primarily bought this guitar because I wanted something with a different wood and that looked like a PRS. I will probably never be able to afford a real PRS, so why not have the next best thing.

Korean made PRS copy Hum/Hum w/ tune o matic bridge. Ocean blue qulited, solid mahogany body and neck. The tuners are Schaller-type and I think they are fine. The components are of good quality.

This guitar sounds very nice. A real versatile instrument with pretty good pickups, certainly better than expected. It is a full humbucking sound that can translate to many styles. I read the reviews and was somewhat skeptical, but I am pleasantly surprised with the quality. This will fit the versatile guitarists style very well. Solid mahogany and humbckers are a great combination. You'll like it.

The guitar was set up poorly, very poorly. The tune o matic bridge was on backwards. Quality control should have picked up that mistake quickly. The saddle adjustment was pegged to the body and there was too much dip in the neck. The strings were disgustingly bad, I change them with a new guitar anyway, but WOW they were bad!
On a positive note the guitar is beautiful. Deep quilted top and excellent finish. It is a very expensive looking guitar and it sounds pretty good too, go figure.
The plastic nut was not cut properly. The strings are buried in there. The overall quality of appearance and sound was worth the set up time and minor nusances.
A seven is a fairr rating. the website emphasizes quality over quantity and the bridge being placed backwards is a no brainer for lack of qulity control.

The guitar is very solid and the finish appears durable. There is a cheap plastic input jack holder that may not last too long, but it appears to be a very good quality. Certainly, better than anything in it's price range by far.
I would gig it without a backup. I keep up with my guitars and there is no problem with this one

Raven West Guitar Company was very punctual answering emails and shipped quickly. I liked the service attittude and the personal thank you from Eric Berquist. Nice touches!

I like Strats, but there are times that a Humbucking tone is the thing you gotta have. I like this guitar better than my Ibanez JEM 555 that I had at one time, I really do. I gets clean and dirty well.
I was looking for a guitar that sounded and looked great for a bargain price. I chased guitars on DigiBid and EBay for a while and grew tired of being glued to the computer. This guitar fits the bill. I would recommend this for any guitarists. Beginners should get the guitar set up by a competent guitar tech. This is my only beef and it is a major one. Quality control was a problem in this factory and other problems could, or will, rear there ugly head once people start buying these in droves. This is a really good guitar and a SUPER bargin. Buy one! or if you're going to buy a Epi Les Paul, buy two! This is worth the cash and I will keep this beautiful and toneful guitar.

O.K., let me tell you, I've used a Gibson Les Paul for 10yrs. now and never really considered anything else. Maybe a PRS but untill reciently they weren't made left-handed (and for the price I'd take a Gibson anyway). Unill the other day when a guy at an open mic asked me to try out his new Raven the RP350. It looked like a PRS was as heavy as my Les Paul and had a better high-end response than the Paul. I played it and had to have one, so when I was told that I could buy it online for about $400 I went straight to Ravenwestguitars.com and bought one. Trust me, a long time Paul fanatic, if you but a Raven you wont be disappointed(They even make a LP copy). Raven West Guitars scores a perfect ten in my book, and being left-handed, having leftys in stock, they earn even more of my respect.

Tony Damato
Four Jacks & A Jill
NJ

2000 Raven RP-350. Made in Korea. This guitar has a solid mahogany body (arched top), mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard. Great looking top. 2 Humbuckers with 3-way switch. 1 volume, 1 tone. Tune-O-Matic bridge like Les Paul. I personally would have prefered spliting humbeckers, but what you get for the money, you can't beat it.

Great sound. Humbuckers are quiet. Great sustain! I would put the neck and bridge pick-up against almost any others. The middle position is pretty close in sound to the neck position, but I don't really use it. Again, I prefer being able to split the PU's and run the inside and outside in parallel. Again, for the $$$ it can't be beat.

Great! Awsome! Perfect intonation. The action was perfect for me. No buzzing. Finish is beautiful.

Only had a couple of weeks. Everything seems solid. I'll give it a 10 for now. If I have any problems, I'll get back here and adjust the rating

Eric at Ravenwestguitars.com was great. Always got back quickly to answer questions and resolve problems. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another guitar from them. Since I can't give an 11....

Been playing for 17 years. I have owned Fender American strats, Gibson Les Paul's and many others. I would put this guitar up agains any of them. But since you can own about 3 - 5 of these for one of the others... Hands down the best.

This is Raven's version of the famous PRS. Mahogany body, maple cap, killer (and I do mean KILLER) flame top, two humbuckers, one tone and one volume, three way switch. Les Paul style bridge and tailpiece. Standard tuners and a nice fat neck. Mine is a burgandy flame that fades to black at the edges and on the back. The body is bound in cream. Came with a molded cord. Not alot of extras, a very simple guitar, but exactly what I wanted.

I play guitar as a hobby and don't perform live. I run it through a Zoom 505II into my 1979 Fender Deluxe Reverb. For my purposes, it does everything I want it to do. Real heavy with great sustain. No need to change these pickups. I suppose there are those who always swap the pickups in guitars like these, but I won't be.

The guitar was in perfect intonation when it arrived at my door. I lowered the action a bit, but that's just personal preference. No buzzing at all. The rosewood fretboard is on the light side up around the 20+ fret range, but that means very little to me. I imagine some fingerboard oil would darken it up. Again, personal preference.

The finish on the body is incredible for a guitar in this price range, or in any price range. Mine has a burgandy flame that fades to black at the edges and is absolutely beautiful. I had a flame top les paul a few years back and this totally puts it to shame. I have no idea how they make these guitars for under $300. If you have a few extra bucks, get one just to hang on the wall. Even my wife was impressed! No flaws at all on mine. Looks like it came from a custom shop. Can't say enough about it. 10+++

Just got it, so I really can't comment. But it seems to be built like a rock and I'd be shocked if it doesn't last forever.

I got this guitar from Ravenwest in sunny CA. We emailed back and forth a few times and I always got a response quickly. I'm sure they'll be there if and when I need anything.

I've been playing off and on for about 15 years. My other guitars are a Washburn WP50 (Les Paul copy) and a Ibanez PS10II. I love both of these guitars, but the RP350 outshines both of them. If it were stolen, I'd order another one the same day. I was considering a Hamer import when I bought this guitar, and I know I made the right choice. Nothing against Hamer because those guitars are also excellent, but when you compare prices, there really is no comparison. I'll be buying another Raven in the near future for sure. You can't go wrong for under $300. LAST WORDS: Get one!

I think this is a 2000 model PRS copy like none I've ever seen,great for the price great for even more money, even though it is made in korea its a nice guitar. I play rock, and it is the perfect match for my parker guitar. It has one volume and one tone and a three way selector. All the controls are quiet. I have had it for a week and am impressed. It has a stop bar tail piece similar to a les paul. Tuners have really suprised me i ordered sperzels because it is easier and faster to change strings but i would trust these tuners at a gig if i had to, they are a little tight but what do u expect. I give this catagory a 10

WoW sound. Unbelievable the neck pickup is awesome warm and full I would put it up agaist a Les Paul or a PRS any day. The bridge pickup is a little week but i have ordered a PRS pickup already. The pickups are suprisingly quiet as quiet as my parker. I like a heavy distortion at the bridge pickup and it is a little weak not bad for the money and maybe perfect for someone else but not me. I still and pleased with the sound this thing puts out and give this section a 9

The only thing i have done different from the box is change the strings they were probably ok but i wanted mine on it. The pickups and action were great like it was made for me. Intonation was good. The finish is amazing for this price the picture at the website does not do this guitar justice. I have the ocean blue fading to black around the edges, beautiful. One thing i did notice was a little blue paint on the side of the neck at the 23and 24ht frets. The side marker dots are a little small but not a problem. The neck is smooth and the action is fast. I give this catogory a 9.

I have had this guitar for a week and have hardly put it down my parker is getting jealous. I have no worries about taking this guitar on the road and doin a great job for me, but time will tell. I always take 2 or 3 guitars for backup only cuz I am paronoid. The finish and the guitar feel and look solid. At this point I give it a 9 only because time will tell.

I got prompt response on an email that i sent to them they were very personal and polite. Didn't seem to busy to listen to me or answer some questions. It came with a 1 year limited warranty. I hope they dont get so many customers they forget me. I give them a 10 here cuz i dont like waiting for a response and they were very prompt.

I have been playing for 10 years now and I am no pro but I know what I like and I love this guitar. I would have paid hundreds more well worth the money. If you are worried about the colors the pictures dont show how beautiful these guitars really are. If I were to loose this guitar I would definatly buy from them again and probably will when I get some more money before everybody hears about them and the prices go up (prs). I hope they dont change a thing about these guitars dont add anything to make the prices go up. It keeps up with my parker guitar for 1/4th the money. Beautiful finish ala PRS. I cant say enuff good things about this guitar. I am already looking forward to my next one. overall rating 9.7

This is a brand new Raven RP350, which for those of you who don't know, it's Ravens own version of a PRS guitar. It's a pretty straight forward guitar, loaded with two humbuckers, 1 tone and 1 volume control, along with a 3-way selector located next to the tone and volume controls, so your hand wont accidentally hit it mid song. Not really sure about the tuners but they hold great and feel nice, so I really dont care if they're plain old stock tuners anyways. This model comes in about 5 or 6 different finishes, but I got mine in Cherry Sunburst. And if you look at that guitar on their website, that picture doesn't even come close to doing that finish justice. It's a much darker and richer color. It'll make you cry when you first see it. It also has a SET neck. Overall the features aren't anything special, but its a great guitar so it deserves a 10.

I play....well...my music. Whatever style that may be (hard rock, punk, grunge), it works. At first I was kind of taken back by the sound because my crappy Fernandes guitar sounded better. But I forgot that I had to mess with the tone controls on my amp to get the sound I was after. Then after doing that I realized that the pickups sounded fantastic and they needed less tinkering with to get that sound I needed. I wouldn't say that these pickups are silent, but compared to the other guitars I have, the hum on it is hardly noticeable, and thats it, no squealling or massive feedback of any kind. This guitar sounds best when played clean. I have never played a guitar that sounded so full without being muddy before, its great. The one thing I did notice was that there really isn't a big sound difference between the neck and middle positions on the 3-way selector. No big deal, but just thought it was worth mentioning.

This is were this guitar shines. The finish is unbelievable. Even as I'm typing this I find myself taking breaks just to go look at it. But there were some finish problems that I saw when closer expected. It looks like there are tiny pencil tip dents (only 3 though) on the guitar, and near the horns of the guitar the binding and the finish kind of smear together or overlap in an unattractive way, but its hardly noticeable and this could have just been mine too. When I first got this guitar it was practically still in tune from when it left the store, but because of the freezing cold weather and the constant temperature changes, it was a little off, but no big deal. Other than that it was perfect.

I've only had it for a day now, so I can't really say anything about the reliability. Because alot can happen in a few short months, take for instance my Fernandes jaguar copy, when I first got it I thought it was great, but now I can't even stand to look at it. The neck joint was misaligned at the factory, and now the neck is so loose, despite tightning it down, that it keeps detuning my guitar every 5 minutes. The pickups produce massive feedback and the bridge pickup is dieing on me, and the frets have sharp ends to them. But just from handling a few guitars and knowing what characteristics a good, long lasting guitar should have, I can tell this guitar will last awhile. Everything looks to be of great quality.

Haven't been in contact with them except to order, so cant really give a rating for this one.

Overall this guitar is a 10, hands down. With this guitar you dont get what you pay for, you get so much more. The only thing I hate about doing this is that it's actually a fantastic guitar. And once people find out about this guitar manufacturer and what quality instruments they make, they might end up increasing their prices, becuase in all reality they should. Even though I'm a college student and moneys tight Im still planning on buying another one, because at this price you cant afford not to get one.

I won't go through what the others posted it's true. You get a light version of a PRS style Guitar, Beautiful !!

The pickups are not as good as a PRS or Dimarzio High end pickups but hey You have to pay just as much for PRS pickups as you would for the whole guitar. I probably will go that route, These pick-ups are high end Korean.

Beautiful, Never saw any better on any guitar regardless of price, The strings need to be stretched a lot to stay in tune, but I already bought another set.

Who Knows , looks good, I always take a back up

Very helpful

I would replace this.I have owned about a Dozen Guitar , This is the best Quality for under $500. I have owned.