Raven RP-450

This is an update to my previous review.

Still great

Still great

Reliable and durable

none

In my last review I said about the only improvments I could think of would be locking tuners and a tone pros bridge. I've neglected almost all my other guitars since I got this one so I figured I must like it just that much. I decided to get the work done. I took it to Doug Proper of The Guitar Specialist in South Salem New York. Doug works on guitars for some pretty famous people and though I may not have their talent, money, or fame, I figured I could at least borrow their luthier. I wasn't dissapointed either. Doug leveled and crowned the frets, installed new nut, tone pros bridge, locking Sperzels (he called Bob Sperzel and had the tuners custom made). If you need work done and can get your axe to Doug, I highly recommend him. If he had changed the name on the headstock to PRS McCarty, nobody would have doubted it. So now it is perfect...uh..almost. Perhaps someday I'll get the Buzz Feinten tuning system installed. The guitar now prices out at around $1100.00 which I don't think is too much for a working mans axe. Get one, you'll love it.

Korean, wiht 24 frats (TWO OCTAVES!!!), laminated flamed maple top, mahogany back and rosewood fretboard. EASIEST GUITAR TO PLAY EVER. almost cheating. it is beautiful and i love it

sounds like Santana....but Santanas guitar costs $6k...think aboutit
rich full tones with great sustain. I put PRS Santana III pickups in it bc i read that the stock PUs suck. i thought they sounded decent

i dont know how they do it...but the action is incredible. io belive the neck is smaller then most guitars and this allows for the action to be set lower and lighter string to be used. OVERALL unbelievable

Replaced all the electronics...pickups, tone/volume pods, switch and jack...heard they suck so spent $25 for new pods, switch and jacks and $180 for PRS Santana III pickups.

BEST GUITAR I OWN, and i own 6. For $500 total including all aftermarket work it couldnt be better. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for any guitarist.

Same features as everyone else has described. Mine was an older model which predated the newer G&B pickups with the slots in the cover and plastic underneath. It is red and has gold hardware. I'll give it a 10 for features only because it has everything you need to perform with it, neck body, tuners, pickup, tone, and volume control.

This guitar sounds wonderful..now. Several months after purchasing this guitar I got a Raven RP350 solid body. It has the upgraded B&G pickups. There's no comparison between the old ones and new ones. I was fortunate to find someone on Ebay selling their Raven with Lace pickups that they had installed and I was able to buy the upgraded B&G's from them. I installed them and that was it...they sound fine to me. I do a variety of music from the 50's to the 00's and the sound fits all styles. I don't shred or heavy metal so it may not work for them. This is a very very musical guitar.

I got this used from a private seller on Ebay. I don't know how much was factory set up and how much work they did. Either way, it's just fine thank you very much. No issues with the action which is low without buzz, fit, which is perfect, and the finish which is outstanding.

I use this guitar and my RP350 on every job and I've had it about a year. I work between 8-12 times a month. The guitar is reliable and durable. I put strap locks on it only because I'm anal. The original strap buttons and screws were oversized. When I put on the locking Shallers I had to fill in the holes a bit from the large screws that were in there.

There is no customer support. This Raven was made in Korea and the owner of the company is no longer with us.

I've been playing 40 years. I have owned everything with every fancy and expensive name you know. This guitar is fabulous. Has anyone mentioned how light this thing is?? No shoulder fatigue..zero. I read the reviews here and couldn't believe them but bought the guitar anyway just in case. It's all true. It's so good the list of improvements you could make to it is a short one. To make it perfect you'd only need to add locking tuners and a tone pros bridge. Aside from that I can't think of a thing. A lot of people compare this to a PRS. I say maybe, then again, maybe the Raven is better.

I just wanted to clear up a little misinformation. A previous poster stated:
"the "Raven RP450" line seems to be relabelled "Saratoga" or sumthin' by a new owner"
He was referring to the Sanatoga SAN-400. This is similar in appearance to the Raven, but is made in China, unlike the Raven, which is made in Korea. Take this as you will. The Raven RP450 is virtually identical to the Dillion DR450, and to the best of my knowledge, (I'm not certain about this) are both made in the Cort factory in Korea, along with about 50% of the guitars hanging on the wall at Guitar Center. The tradition MTP450 appears to be from the same origins as well. Isn't it a little uncanny how they all share the same nomenclature: __-450? I understand that Cort guitars are made to order for the individual companies ordering them, and parameters such as quality control and components can be specified, so perhaps there is some small difference between these companies - there does seem to be a difference in pickups. But I think it is important that value conscious shoppers be informed about this and see through the big marketing curtain that exists. Korea is building guitars of amazing quality for the money. Whether it says Ibanez, Epiphone, Cort, Tokai or Raven on the headstock is really secondary to the features and components and appearance that you want. The Chinese guitars I've experienced are very nice, but different than the Korean ones.
So my point is: if you can't find a RP450, go for the Dillion DR450 (I am in no way associated with Dillion or any other guitar company)

2003
Korean Made
24 Frets
Semi-Hollowbody Quilted Maple Top with Mohogony Body
One Volume, One Tone, 3 Way Selector
Two Gold Humbucking Factory pickups
(The pick ups are the only thing that give this category a 9 instead of 10, I will be replacing the pickups asap...at least they look purdy.)
BEAUTIFUL Quilted Purple Finish!
Standard Bridge Style with standard tuners
Thin neck (Best feel I've found)
Left-handed (Woot!)

I waited a while to post about this guitar which I got around Late Nov/Early Dec 2003, because I was just so amazed when I even looked at it that I know I would have given it 10's all around.

For clean warm tones you will find no better for less than $1,000.

If you use the bridge pickup it can also rip out some solid distortion.

Once again the factory pickups hold it back in this department. Get some nice Dimarzio's in there and it's 10 all around.

Factory set up was good.

The action on this guitar is like butter (oh my).

The guitar did have one ding when I bought it and it was sold as 'used' on eBay. Other than the one ding about the size of a pinky fingernail it was flawless.

The quilted maple top with purple finish is nothing short of gorgeous! I always get compliments on the look of this guitar.

I've played with this guitar and this guitar only for the past 5-6 months of practice. I have played 3 live gigs with it so far and it has a long road of live gigs ahead of it this summer.

Only hardware that will be upgraded (once again) is the pickups. Tuners are great, everything in working order and set perfectly.

Strap buttons are solid, finish is well protected...YES I can and do depend on this guitar.

And yes I have used it at all of our gigs with no back up.

RavenWestGuitars...enough said =)

I've been playing for about 7 years, and I have a few other guitars (Washburn Dime, ESP MH-100, Fender Strat...) and I always choose this guitar.

If this guitar were stolen or lost...I would kill the person who stole it or kill anyone who laughed when I told them that I somehow lost a guitar. ; )

I love it's look, it's warm/deep sound, smooth action, and everything else about it except the pickups.

BUY THIS GUITAR.

I suppose you know them by now ...
Mine's a amber quilt mapple top - LEFTY
Ebony frettboard !

Thank you Raven for making (or having made) interesting guitars for us poor leftys !

Min has the upgraded (or was that improved) G&J pickups
or whatever they're called exactly.
They are pretty funky looking with plastic stripes on each string location. They never fail to raise a comment from people who approach the guitar.
Sound would be a flat 10 or clean and medium distortion, 5 for high gain. I don't use it for high gain (I have other axes for that).
I gig with it and I don't intend to change the pups any time soon.

There seem to be a constant trend among the guitar/pup manufacturers to fit lifeless/dull or even muddy stock pickups on the neck position.
This one is no exception. Bridge and intermediate position are great, neck is lacking clarity, definition and BALLS ...

I don't know what's inside the pups, but they sound intriguing to me :
although I'm almost sure they are humbuckers, they have some single coil quality to them. Also they hum quite a lot for humbuckers in presence of PC screens or neon lights (more than any other HB guitar I have).

Another thing that buggers me is that the tone control is one big laugh (yet another trend in the guitar industry). No control at all,
it goes bright from 10 to 0.5 and instantely dark when turning the knob from 0.5 to 0.4. Ridiculous.
At least the volume knob works nicely (which is not what I can say about my other guitars)

Perfect.
The lowest action among all my guitars with the least frettbuzz.
Extremely fast ebony frettboard.
Flawless !

I use if for rehearsal in my 3 bands (electro, classic rock and jazz).
I've gigged with it in the electro band 2 times so far.
The pups remain pretty at high volumes. I use it mainly for the mellower tunes. (kinda acid-jazz in the electro band).

Got it shipped from Eric Blooquist at RavenWest.
Nice guy.
It was $60 for shipping from the US to Belgium which was incredibly LOW. (I had a few other guitarbrands shipped since. Each time for about twice that amount).

I heard Raven guitar owner killed himself, and the Raven business at the same time ...

Luckly, the "Raven RP450" line seems to be relabelled "Saratoga" or sumthin' by a new owner, so it seems to keep alive.

Purchase + shipping + customs + taxes + etc ... all in all, the RP450 was about $500. I don't regret a single penny I paid for it.
I had a PRS CU22 for 2 years (different beast, but at least I know how PRS guitars are). The overall built quality of this one is not one step behind. The PRS pups sound better to my ears but that would be an easy and inexpensive upgrade.

2003
Korean Made
24 Frets
Semi-Hollowbody Quilted Maple Top with Mohogony Body
One Volume, One Tone, 3 Way Selector
Two Gold Humbucking Pick-ups
Factory pickups
Beutiful Painjob, Sunburst Purple Quilted, Black edges/back and Neck
Standard Bridge Style with standard tunars
Thin neck (Feels AWESOME)
Left-handed

I love this guitar...period. It's feel, sound and look is perfect for my play style.
I use it with two different amps. I use it on a Peavey 212 and a Laney with Laney Head. Sounds great on both.
Very Rich and Full Sound. I have been able to get everything that I want out of it.
I play everything from standard tuning chords, to drop-d, power chords, you name it...this fits every situation.
I have no dislikes about this guitar.

I play it factory atm, but may replace the pickups sooner or later
Everything was in tip top shape
Only one flaw on the guitar, a ding on the bottom wing, but that was human error, not factory.

Live play = Deffinately
Everything seems in tip-top shape so far
The finish is beautiful and will last forever I hope
Strap buttons have not failed
I do depend on it
I would use it for sure at a gig with no backup...the only thing you can't rely on is strings ; )

N/A

I've had this guitar for a while now and I love it, It plays better than my fender or esp
If this guitar were stolen or lost I would:
A) Find and kill the thief
B) Get another one or three

I PURCHASED THIS GUITAR ABOUT A WEEK AGO FROM DRK GUITARS. THIS WAS THEIR LAST (BRAND NEW) RP450 IN STOCK AND WILL LIKELY BE THEIR LAST NEW RP450.....PERIOD! I WAS INFORMED THAT THE RAVEN GUITAR COMPANY HAS UNFORTUNATELY FOLDED, AND WILL NO LONGER PRODUCE RAVEN GUITARS. (IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, I BELIEVE THAT SOME RAVENS MODELS WILL BECOME TRUE "COLLECTOR ITEMS"....IN THE NOT-TOO-DISTANT FUTURE!).
MY RAVEN RP450 WAS CRAFTED IN KOREA (PROBABLY IN 2003). THIS MODEL CLOSELY RESEMBLES PRS' HOLLOW BODY MODEL GUITAR.
FEATURES INCLUDE:
* SEMI-HOLLOW, DOUBLE CUTAWAY, MAHOGANY BODY (BLACK BACK AND SIDES)
* PURPLE-BURST QUILTED MAPLE TOP (WITH CREAM-COLORED BINDING)
* SET MAPLE NECK (WITH A SHORT HEEL)
* 24 FRETS, ROSEWOOD FINGERBOARD, "TAPAZOIDISH" POSITION MARKERS
* PURPLE-BURST HEADSTOCK WITH GOLD MINI-OVAL TUNERS
* DUAL "G&B" HUMBUCKERS (GOLD WITH BLACK "SLOTS" UNDER EACH STRING)
* 1-VOL, 1-TONE CONTROL (W/BLACK, GIBSON-STYLE "SPEED" KNOBS)
* 1-THREE WAY PICKUP SELECTOR SWITCH (W/ BLACK KNOB)
* GOLD TUNE-O-MATIC BRIDGE W/GOLD STOP TAILPIECE
* BLACK PLACTIC NUT, BLACK (2-PLY) TRUSSROD COVER
* BLACK PLASTIC JACKPLATE W/GOLD OUTPUT JACK
* GOLD STRAP BUTTONS
* A "TEARDROP" TKL HARDSHELL CASE WAS INCLUDED (FOR AN EXTRA $70)

THE "G&B" PICKUPS SOUND REAL NICE. I READ IN A COUPLE REVIEWS THAT THEY ARE "KOREA'S BEST". THEY DEFINITELY MEET MY NEEDS FOR ROCK & ROLL, BLUES, AND JAZZ. THE POTS ARE SMOOTH AND QUIET AND HAVE A QUALITY FEEL. THE "STOCK" STRINGS NEED TO BE REPLACED ASAP. THEY WERE TARNISHED AND SOMEWHAT LIFELESS. I'M SURE A FRESH SET OF "BOOMERS" WILL MAKE THIS LITTLE BIRD SING EVEN MORE SWEETLY.

THIS IS MY SECOND RAVEN GUITAR (I PURCHASED A PREVIOUSLY OWNED/ NEAR MINT RM2000 LAST MONTH AND WAS SIMPLY AMAZED WITH IT'S QUALITY...I DID A FAIR AMOUNT OF RESEARCH BEFORE AND AFTER THIS PURCHASE, AND I WAS QUITE IMPRESSED WITH MY FINDINGS). THE RP450 LIVES UP TO ALL THE "RAVEN-REVIEWS" OUT THERE. THE FIT AND FINISH IS BETTER THAN SOME OF MY (A LOT MORE) COSTLY GUITARS. THE HIGH GLOSS FINISH IS NEARLY FLAWLESS (ONLY SLIGHT IMPERFECTIONS CAN BE DETECTED WITH AN EXTREEMLY DISCRIMINATING EYE). WITH A LITTLE POLISHING (I USED A GOOD QUALITY CAR POLISH), THE FINISH LOOKED LIKE "LIQUID GLASS". (IT HONESTLY RIVALS MY VIINTAGE PRS!) THE FRETS ARE SMOOTH, NICELY SEATED, AND WELL DRESSED . THE NECK IS HIGHLY POLISHED AND VERY COMFORTABLE.
ALL ELECTRONICS AND HARDWARE ARE SOLIDLY ATTACHED AND HAVE A VERY HIGH-QUALITY FEEL. SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS NEEDED TO BE MADE IN ORDER TO SUIT MY PARTICULAR TASTE AND, WHEN COMPLETED, THIS BABY RESPONDED LIKE A "WELL-OILED-MACHINE"!

THIS GUITAR SEEMS TO BE MADE TO EASILY WITHSTAND LIVE PLAYING. AS NOTED, BEFORE THE CONSTRUCTION IS TIGHT AND SOLID, AND THE FINISH LOOKS VERY DURABLE. JIMI HENDRIX WOULD PROBABLY NEED A BACKUP, BUT AN EXTRA SET OF STINGS WOULD BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME! I TREAT ALL MY INSTRUMENTS WITH RESPECT AND WITH THE UTMOST OF CARE.

PURCHASED THIS RAVEN FROM "DRK GUITARS" (AN AUTHORIZED RAVEN DEALER LOCATED IN FREEHOLD, NJ).
"DOC", CJ, AND KYLE WERE GREAT GUYS TO DO BUSINESS WITH. DOC HAD ALOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE (CURRENT AND FUTURE) STATUS OF THE RAVEN GUITAR COMPANY, AND HE ALSO KNOWS ALOT ABOUT GUITARS IN GENERAL.
THE "ADVERTISED" LIFETIME WARRANTY IS NOW PRETTY MUCH "HISTORY". HOWEVER, IT'T MY HOPE THAT SOME "WARRANTY SUPPORT" MAY BE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE AUTHORIZED DEALERS, WHEN THE NEED IS REASONABLY AND CLEARLY JUSTIFIED.

I'VE BEEN PLAYING FOR ABOUT 40 YEARS. OTHER GUITARS IN MY COLLECTION INCLUDE A 1987 PRS CUSTOM 24 W/BIRDS (SERIAL # 7 2051...MINT), 1967 GIBSON ES335 (W/BIGSBY...MINT), 1975 GIBSON LES PAUL STANDARD (W/FACTORY HUMBUCKERS AND "DELUXE" SERIAL#....MINT), 1966 HOFNER 459TZ (VIOLIN GUITAR...RARE), 1971 MARTIN D18, 1939 EPIPHONE TRIUMPH (MY DAD BOUGHT THIS BRAND NEW IN 1939!). I ALSO HAVE A HEALTHY (AND GROWING) COLLECTION OF ASIAN-CRAFTED GUITARS (YAMAHA, IBANEZ, EPIPHONE, SAMICK, JAY TURSER, CHARVEL, CARLO ROBELLI, ETC.)
I'VE PLAYED AND "CRITIQUED" ALOT OF GUITARS OVER THE PAST 4 DECADES, AND THIS RAVEN TRUELY IS A "KEEPER". IT'S ALMOST UNREAL THAT A GUITAR OF THIS QUALITY COULLD BE PURCHASED FOR UNDER 350 BUCKS. UNFORTUNATELY, RAVEN GUITARS WILL PRODUCE "RAVENS-NO-MORE". THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THOSE RAVENS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN "HATCHED" WILL LIKELY KEEP THE RAVEN LEGACY ALIVE FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.

Just one quick word here. If you are interested in one of these guitars, the time to strike is NOW. RAVEN GUITARS IS NO MORE, and when these guitars are gone there will be no more. I own three RP450s and wish I had three more. The company has recently gone out of business due to some extremely tragic circumstances. There seem to be a few more hundred various style Ravens in the pipeline, but there's no idea when, if ever, they might become available.

Raven RP-450 w/ quilted top. Yellow brown burst. I was VERY surprised to see that this appears to be a solid, one piece top of nicely quilted maple. Unreal for a guitar in this price range. Hollow mahogany body and mahogany set neck. 25" scale, medium jumbo(?) frets, 24 frets, fake pearl trapezoid inlays. Weird looking HBs w/slots. Standard three way switching. LP style bridge. All gold hardware. Sealed tuners that do the job. HSC was additional $70, and seams reasonably nice. Would have given it a ten if it had trad. looking HBs, but some might like that look.

I have been playing for over 24 years and noodle around on a variety of rock, blues, jazz. Also own a Tom Anderson Grand AM. Always wanted a semi-hollow body. This guitar is actually completely hollow from what I can see except for a small piece of mahogany that supports the bridge area. Need to get the dental mirror out to see more. Sound is really nice for a guitar in this price range. This was meant to be my Trey Anastasio wanna be guitar and it plays the role well! Extremely full bodied and fairly rich. I like the middle setting on the pickup selector. I plan on getting a pair of Fralin's to replace the stock pickups which will probably cost me nearly as much as the guitar! Bass strings are a little muddy through frets 1-4 but I haven't played around with the PU height adjustment yet. Not quite as much sustain as I expected, running into ANalogMan comprosser and Ibanez SD-9 into a custom point to point wired copy of a '65 Deluxe Reverb made by Sheldon Colin. Overall, this guitar sounds GREAT for a guitar in this price range. I don't know how you could do better?

Set up, fit and finish were incredible for a guitar in this price range. Played great right out of the box. There was a small finish crack by the treble f hole, but I knew about that before buying it. Overall finish and workmanship is very good, and I particularly like how they use the old school PRS neck heel (nice touch). Fretwork was above average. Neck is very comfortable and not skinny and wimpy, feels like a PRS to me! This Korean company is making some INCREDIBLE guitars for the money.

Time will tell, but I think it will last just fine. I don't abuse my guitars, only my mandolins ;>

Lifetime warranty seems like a good deal.

This is a cool axe that could easily become the mainstay in any young aspiring guitarists career. Any Trey junkie should own one of these. They are lightweight, beautiful, great playing and sounding guitars and so rediculously cheap it frightening to think what these Korean luthiers families are eating on a regular basis. Who knows, could be the next Ibanez type lawsuit guitar?