Raven RP-450

Everything I wanted rolled into one- Maple neck/maple fretboard (the RP-450 LTD), beautiful ash top, burled. Gold hdwe. FAAAAAAAAST neck. A few INCREDIBLY minor flaws, nothing to affect playability or even durability overall. Who's gonna get picky for $350?? So it's got a flaw in the binding?? It sings like a canary. BFD. This bitch ROCKS.

I play blues/blues-rock, rhythm guitar. Not a lead player. It's sweet and deep, tone-wise....can't ask any more than that. Maple fretboard gives it just the right "bite" I want, stomp boxes sound a little weak....but the RP100 cures that. Overdrive adds punch the way I like it. Yeah, I've already put an order in for another one. Sold the RP-350 the nite I got it to my lead guitar player (not that I didn't like it, mind you, but I need TWO of these- I'll change the pickups when I get it so I've got two different guitars, sound-wise). Awesome tonality....and just the right amount of feedback when I want it, with SUSTAIN like you wouldn't believe.

As already stated, MINOR (as in "this-is-nit-picking-shit"). BFD. It's gonna get banged around when I play out, so it looks alot better today than it will in six months, LOL.

Gonna change to Schaller locks on the strap pegs, new strings/setup. Nice and PERFECT right out of the box (which is AMAZING AS HELL). My guitar player just drooled over it. NO, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT. Get yer own!

This thing will outlive my happy ass, I'm betting on it.

Lifetime warranty, I own three Ravens now (RMB4300 neck-thru bass, AWESOME BASS- RP450, and the RP350 which I sold immediately upon getting this sucker). Never had a problem, but I know Raven backs up EVERYTHING they sell, know other guys who own these who've had to deal with warranty issues and they're done IMMEDIATELY.

If you steal my RP450 I'm coming after you and cut your gahonas off.

I've played nearly 40 years now, I'd cry like a baby if it "walked off"....play bass mainly, rhythm second, keyboards, too. I'm going to be playing ALOT more rhythm now....the second RP450 is on the way now.

If you want a PRS, but can't afford one- GET TWO OF THESE and buy a nice used car with the rest of the money so you can get to rehearsals and gigs ON TIME. You can buy me a beer or two should we ever meet to thank me.

This is a Korean made PRS Hollowbody copy with a mahogany body covered by a gorgeous quilted maple top. It has 24 medium jumbo frets that are finished quite nicely. It has a 3-way switch for the gold plated humbuckers. It has a Tune-O-Matic style gold-plated bridge with gold plated Gotoh style tuners. The neck profile is identical to that of a PRS.

I have a number of Fender guitars and always wanted a Les Paul style guitar for the sound but never found anything that turned my crank. This guitar is a different matter. I play it through a Fender Blues Deville 410 and it is the sweetest sounding thing you've ever heard. With the neck pickup, it will produce the greatest jazzy tones just by rolling off the tone. On the bridge pickup it simply sings when lots of overdrive is applied and the notes sustain beautifully no matter what type of setting you are using. Of course, it can make that Strat or Tele-type sound but it can do just about everything else. If you want that type of sound you have to use single coil pickups.

Since I bought this guitar second-hand, I have no idea how the guitar was set up at the factory but the fellow I bought it from had 12-52 on it with a wound G. I replaced the strings with 12-52 also but with an unwound G. The finishing on this guitar is mind-boggling considering the cost. Everything is very neatly done and of good quality material. I straightened the neck out with the truss rod - I prefer necks that are almost straight for the best action (got that from Dan Erlewine)- and didn't have to touch the bridge to get extremely low no-buzz action. The medium jumbo frets are nicely finished and the feel of the neck and action rival or surpass any PRS I have ever played. I am not denigrating the PRS - it is an awesome guitar - but this little Korean copy is just that good!!!!

This guitar seems to be very well built and I doubt that there would be any reliability problems. The previous owner gigged with it often and had no trouble at all.

This guitar has a lifetime warranty. Imagine that!! PRS has a two year warranty which I find ridiculous for a guitar of that quality and price.

I've been playing for just over 40 years now and own 3 Strats, a Tele, Yamaha classical electric, Takamine acoustic, Yamaha Classical other than this guitar. I've owned numerous guitars other than these listed here.

Now on to this Raven guitar. I had recently been in a local music store playing around with a PRS Hollowbody and really was impressed- but for $4,000.00 I suppose you should be. I was puttering around on eBay looking at PRS models and someone had put in a listing for this Raven Hollowbody. The high bid was $137.00. This piqued my curiousity further and so I did a bunch of surfing to check this out. I was astounded to see the opinions of this guitar on Harmony Central and so thought - What's to lose by giving this a whirl? The owner agreed to sell for $200.00 and when I got the guitar in my hands, I had to almost giggle because it was so dang good. I took it home, changed strings, plugged it in and spent the next few hours just noodling around. I just could not believe how good this guitar was, insanely low price or not. They are selling these things new for $370.00 - shipping included.

This guitar is neat because it's so cheap, there's not much point in selling it and what makes that so cool is that it is a superior instrument. Talk about bang for the buck!!!

Of course, it is not a PRS, but it comes so close, the difference is negligible. Just think of it, $200.00 as opposed to $4,000.00 - just a slight difference, that's all.

I wish they made an archtop copy, I would buy it in a heartbeat. I loved the feel of it so much I bought a PRS Archtop and have sold my Godin ACS SA (that hurt) along with my Heritage 575 Custom. I loved that Heritage but could not cure the big hollow body feedback problem. All sorts of suggestions from the factory but nothing that made a big difference. Absolutely maddening!!! Well, the feedback problems are solved with the PRS- but boy, was it expensive.

Anyway, I hope this might help somebody else be happy. Take any Raven any day, from what I can see.

Most features are covered in the other reviews. My rig is mahogany with a green ash top and gold hardware. The figure of the ash is interesting - sort of like what boiling water looks like except green.

I play blues and blues based rock. This thing handles everything well. I purchased one without playing it via eBay so I was hoping it would be Les Paul/335 like. Turned out that not only was it like those guitars but added its own personality tone wise. My usual set up is into a solid state amp through a TS9 or straight into a Peavy Delta Blues 210 (all tube). It sounds surprisingly good through a cheap solid state. Plug into a tube amp and this puppy sings like an angel. The bridge pickup is bright, the neck pickup is rich sounding and both pickups on sound surprisingly good. The best recommendation I can give is that I consider myself a rythym guitarist and this is my tool.

I've given thought to installing Z-90 pickups in it but then I would really miss out on the versatility of the guitar. When Raven comes out with P-90s, I'll definitely get one. In the meantime, I'm using the strat to do raw, roudy blues.

The action was perfect and the pickups were a little bit too low (but an easy 30 second adjustment). The frets are done well. Fit and finish of all wood and electronics were tight and impressive. The same as you would expect from a $1000 guitar. The finish on the wood was good but I have found some laquer overspray in spots but you really need to search for them.

I bought the guitar knowing it had a deep scratch next to the strap button - factory second.

I use a hardshell case so I expect this thing to outlive me. It is made for giging ... dependable, well made and good strap buttons. Its lightweight is also nice for long playing sessions.

It looks good on stage (I get alot of compliments and questions about it) and its cheap enough to replace if someone does the old "grab and run for the door" with it.

I purchased from RavenWest Guitars. The transaction went smoothly and deliverey took 3 days. Good warranty. I'll give them a 10 for my minimal dealings with them.

I've been playing on and off for 30 years. I delayed my review of this guitar 6 months from the time I bought it because I sell my gear quickly if I don't love it. I have a 15 year old Strat, a 1977 Ibanez acoustic and good amps (all purchased new). My next purchase will be a Rickenbacker 6 string.

If it were stolen I would buy another RP450. Next time I'll get a red one. There are no better values out there in my opinion. Thanks to all the previous Harmony Central reviewers. You guys/girls pointed me in the right direction.

Korean version of a PRS Hollowbody.
24 frets.
Quilted brown/yellow maple top.
1 volume knob, 1 tone knob.
2 humbuckers.
Mahogany body and neck.
Rosewood fretboard.
"Generic" Grover machines.
"Generic" tune-o-matic bridge.

I am a versatile musician. I play Rock, Soul, Pop, Top-40, R-n-B, Disco, Reggae and Smooth Jazz. I PLAY EVERYTHING !
I am currently using a Line 6 Flextone 2 XL Modeling Amp.
I use this amp because like myself, it does everything.It's versatile.
This guitar can cut ANY of the above mentioned kinds of music.
It's a VERY versatile axe, versatile like my amp, like myself.
SURPRISINGLY the pick-ups sounded VERY good....they just looked odd.
All the sounds from this axe, ALL OF THEM are excellent.

I ordered this axe on 2-13-03.
I recieved it on 2-20-03.
I live in thr Baltimore/Washington Merto area.
This axe came from the west coast, in a box, in the snow, in the mail.
I opened the box and drooled. It looked beautiful, simply beautiful.
This thing has a KILLER quilted maple top. And I mean KILLER.
This maple top EASILY rivals ANYBODIES 10 top and I mean ANYBODIES !
SURPRISINGLY the set-up was dead on.....THIS FREAKED ME OUT BIG-TIME !
Intonation was dead on.
Action was perfect.
Pick-up adjustment was perfect.
I'm a former PRS employee (back in the day).
I KNOW what a guitar is suppose to be like.
Sure it has a plastic nut.
Sure the input jack plate is plastic.
Those things are a given, considering the price of this axe.
But these are minor short comings on a very, very good guitar.

The mahogany on this guitar IS NOT from Honduras.
The rosewood on this guitar IS NOT from Brazil.
However the construction is on par with the "boutique" guitars.
This axe seems very solid.
I've stained about maple tops "back in the day".
The stain and finnish on this axe is first rate.
Every single thing about this axe is pretty damn good.
I'm pleasantly surprised..........FOR REAL !

Life-time warrenty on this axe.
Warrenty applies to original ownwer of "un-modifyed" guitar.
I can count on 1 hand the companies that offer life time warrenties.

Raven West Guitars are most impressive.
Eric is the patron saint of customer service.
The music industry IN GENERAL would do well to take a lesson from
these guys. You know, no matter what your're buying, the one thing
you can't buy is good customer service.That's the one thing we all want. Raven West Guitars delivers customer service like NOBODY ELSE !
Your're not going to believe these guys !!!!!!!!

I've been playing since 1980.
I own PRS, Schecter, Yamaha Pacifica and Fender.
This is my first hollowbody....and I'm in love.
I have lusted after a hollow body for years.
There's no way I'm paying $3500 to PRS for his axe.
It's not worth it. No way in hell.
This guitar is equal in construction.
No it does'nt have "exotic" woods.
No it's not American made.

You could do the following upgrades:
Change pick-ups (classic 57's).
Change the nut.
Change the bridge (Tone-Pro's).
Then you've got a SUPEROIR GUITAR for ALOT less than a PRS. ALOT LESS.
If someone stole this I would hunt them down and take they're life.
This guitar has some VERY SERIOUS potential, with a few upgrades.
This is a serious tool for any serious musician.

It is a 2002 Raven rp450. Made in Korea. 24 fret, rosewood fretboard, les paul top inlays. The tuners are non locking no name brand sealed tuners. I will probably replace these with sprezel locking tuners in the near future. It has a tune o matic bridge and stop bar tail piece. The body style is that of a PRS hollowbody. One tone and one volume with a hum - hum configuration. The neck is what I call in between. Not to thick, not to thin. It came with a gig bag and a cable.

The guitar seems to fit my playing style. I was looking for something unique to play with and I have found it. It can rock hard but is also suitable for jazz, or country, if you know how to use the volume and tone
nobs. This thing sounds nice. Not as good as my PRS custom 24 or a PRS hollowbody, but still plays and sounds outstanding. It is a litle prone to feedback, but that comes with buying a hollowbody and one of the reasons that I did. It feeds back nicely and it is very controlable. The tone and volume knobs are very responsive and it the guitar cleans up nicely when you roll off of the volume. I will probably replace the pickups with PRS Archtop pickups, or others, but not sure yet.

The guitar was set up fairly well from the factory. The action is good and I only have to adjust the intonation on 2 strings. The pickups were adjusted very well to balance the output of the guitar. There were a few
flaws. Right around the tip of each cutaway there is a little but of paint on the binding. Also, there is some glue around some of the higher
frets, but it comes right off with the scratch of a pic. The top is completely one piece and so is the back. Also, there is almost no heel what so ever on this guitar.

I am sure this guitar will withstand live playing. It better. The hardware seems like it will last, though the gold plating will probably flake off just like on every guitar that has gold playing. I would never
use any guitar on stage without a back up, but I'm sure if I had to it would do fine. The first thing I do on every guitar is replace the strap buttons with strap locks. Just something I like to do, but the strap buttons seem solid.

The guy Eric who seems to run the Raven West Guitar company on his own is a great guy. He picked up shipping for me. I also e mailed him on Christmas Day with a question about the guitar and he got back to me in 30 minutes. He is very friendly and is a great person.

I own a Les Paul Gothic, PRS custom 24, a Parker p 38 and this guitar is just as solid as any of them. It can hold its own and is in some ways better. The quilted top is beautiful. I would kill someone if they stole this guitar and then buy another one. It is a great guitar and would recomend buying this to anyone.

This is a knock out guitar! All I can say is wonderful!!!! Eric at RavenWestGuitar is a great guy! This is the second Raven I have purchased. I cannot say enough about the quality and value of this guitars! Reasonably priced and beautiful enough to turn all the heads in the room where you play this beauty! I bought a cherry sunburst lefty model. Called Eric on a Tuesday and had it in hand in less than 48 hours! Simply stunning, action, fit and finish excellent. The only possible improvement is a different set of strings. It looks so much like a PRS its a mystery how they sell them so reasonably. The pickups are strong and perfect for blues playing. Heck, country and rock and roll too. (probably make a great jazz instrument also) The only thing missing is the birds inlay and believe me for the money I saved I dont miss them at all.
Gold plated hardware, et all a very uptown guitar! I found the pickups to be strong and sweet, very fluid sounding. Looks like I will be buying a 3rd Raven next year as well. Keep up the Great Work Eric!!! I have been playing guitar since 1971 and the workmanship on my Gibson and Ibanez isnt this good! Highly recommended. 10s all around!

I play thru a blues Jr. fender amp. And this guitar sounds sooo good when playing Allman style blues or Santana style lead lines. Unlike some reasonably priced guitars the pickups are strong and noise free.
The selector switch is quiet and smooth. Sounds good clean, or just add a little overdrive and pickups are smooth and violin like.

Guitar action was perfect. I think I will put a different set of strings on probably Ernie Ball lights. Flame top is beautiful and bookmatched. Looks far more expensive than it was. Saw absolutely no flaws on fit and finish at all.

Everything is solid as far as I can tell. Durablity should be excellent. Would play this guitar anywhere without a backup. Or maybe another Raven(LOL)

Eric is wonderful! I bought a rsm 2000 last year from him and I was pleasantly surprised that he is still at RavenWest. He is always helpful and He is very sincere. Ordered my guitar by phone, had it at the door in less than 48hrs. He goes the extra mile, which is rare these days. Eric, was who I thought of when I started looking for another guitar. Eric and RavenWest. A solid combination!

Ive been playing 31 years. Ive had a lot of guitars. Every thing from Gibsons to Ibanez, Taylor and everything in between. Im a lefty and Its hard to find a lefty anywhere. It took 6 months of waiting and hefty upcharge to get my Gibson SG in 71. And it wasnt finished well at all. Cherry was oversprayed on the binding on the neck. I love the look of these guitars the best and the quality. I have no idea how they do it. It has everything the big boys have except the brand name. Im very happy, I sell and trade alot. But this is my 2nd Raven and I still have the first one! Looking forward to the 3rd won. Ive had Fenders that are almost always either black or white in left handed at the guitar store. If you are a lefty you dont have to suffer with boring looking guitars anymore!!! I dont know why but the imported guitars are now lots better than the american counterparts. Better quality control and value! And affordable, I dont have to eat Ramen noodles for a year to pay for a Raven.

This review is for a Korean-made green and black quilted Raven RP450. This guitar features a quilted maple top, single binding, all black mahogony body, neck, and headstock with a 24 jumbo fret ~25" trapizoidial inlay neck. It also contains a three way switch, two pots (one for volume, one for tone) with two passive humbucker pickups with all gold hardware. The paint job is beautiful, the neck is virtually flat with a 12-14 radius. The hardware is tight and of great quality as the rest of the guitar. This guitar is a virtual copy of a Paul Reed Smith Hollowbody II guitar with a Les Paul trapizodical inlay! Althought it DOES have an arched top, it isn't as pronounced as a Hollowbody II. Furthermore, the back is flat and there is only a single binding. The neck is tapered and the bridge is of a fixed Gibson design. Although the guitar is extremely light, it isn't as light as a PRS Hollowbody II when compared one to another (as we did). There was a cord thrown in.

Wow, this guitar sounds beautiful. Although people have stated from both sides of the fence that the pickups were too hot or not hot enought, when compared side by side to the PRS Hollowbody II, the Raven had a hotter neck pickup and somewhat less hot bridge pickup. However, after consideration initially, there is no need to replace these pickups with say McCarty archtop-type as was previous thought about. The pickups were bright and adequately loud. Furthermore, they were quiet and had a very good sound for a guitar of this type. Although intended originally for Blues music, you could play anything from folk to fusion to thrash on this thing. I play this through a Korg A3 effects processor with Behringer floor pedals and expression pedals through an old Crate 60W half stack with 4x12" slant cabinet.

I'm not sure if Eric from ravenwestguitars.com set this up before it reached my hands, but the action, string height, and intonation were right on out of the box. The only thing I did was discard the original strings and put on a set of Dean Markley 9's (too light for this setup, should be at least a 10 with a heavy possibly 46 or better bottom)! The fit and finish were virtually flawless and perfect.

Although just purchased, from reading other reviews and having sigificant prior guitar knowledge. My intuition and examination would indicate a robust design guitar of excellent qulaity. This guitar (guitar, hardware, etc.) should last a very long time!

Eric over at ravenwestguitar.com was excellent supporting the customer with quick feedback and FAST service. Quality is job #1 over there. He delivered a great product in a fast amount of time and for a very low price. This guitar was ordered on Thursday/Friday and was received by Tuesday after a weekend and holiday off!

I have played guitar since 1988 (14 years). I have many guitars and custom guitars with a plethora of equipment and a professional studio in my home. If it were stolen, I would buy another in a heartbeat. It has a sound and whatnot that I would be without. I would have to immediately replace it if possible. I love everything about it. If I could change something(s)m I would have just made it 22-frets to be like the rest of my guitars (except a Jackson). I also would allow a little virsatility like maybe custom inlay or more variety. This guitar is VERY comparable to a PRS. The question was asked, would I buy a PRS now (knowing that I did previously)? The answer now is NO! Although the PRS may be even lighter, constructed better, or may be of even better quality, there is no way I could justify the extra $2-3,000!! This guitar should sell for between $700 and 2,000 for what you get!!!

Simple guitar but I just had to give this thing a 10 based on value, appearance and playability. Like a PRS ... sorta. It's a Bugandy/Black Flame maple top with gold hardware that looks very elegant. After setting this thing up it's a real keeper. This is no $9,000 PRS hollowbody but seriously do yourself a favour & try one.

I love this guitar. It's a semi-hollow with the Tune-o-matic bridge & stop tailpiece, Mahogany Body, Maple neck, Rosewood fingerboard with Trapieze fret markers, The neck & back are golss black. The pickups arent great on these things. I just had Jason Lollar make me a set of mild P-90's that will fit in the humbucking cavity without altering the body. You can expect the pickups on these things to be so-so .. not as bad as I had expected, but then again I need all that stuff either custom or old. I'm a freak after playing 35+ years.

It came lookin good but needing a good set-up. The strings were pretty bad but after I tweaked the truss rod & set it up with good strings it plays as well as anything at any price ... no kidding.
I expect to get a new nut cut although this one is working great & not kinking the strings at all it's plastic & I prefer bone.

I haven't had it long but after ... like I said 35+ years of playing I know guitars & this thing is a real keeper which says A LOT in every catagory. It's freakin beautiful & yes...rock solid.

I had actually gotten one prior to this one from Raven West that had a ding in it when it arrived. I immediately called Eric & within 2 days I had this one & man it's nice. The guy was very apologetic & sincere. Very nice to do business with & I wish him & Raven guitars all the success in the world.

I just cannot say enough about these guitars. I also tried out an RP350 ... WOW! I've played everything over the years & sold everything too. This one's a keeper. It's really fantastic that these guitars are also affordible. Kids & Dad's need to be able to afford cool guitars. PERIOD. These things are something special. My guitar looks extremely elegant & plays like a dream (after set up). I honestly feel, as classy as this thing looks & for how extremely well it plays that I'll have it forever. Like a few of the other articles read "If this thing ever got Stolen I'd cry like a baby!"

Hollow body electric, made in 2001 in Korea, laminate flamed maple top, two humbucker pickups, PAF style, 3 way tone selector, 2 volume knobs, cherry finish tune o matic bridge, stop bar tailpiece, non locking enclosed tuners, purchased case included cord

I was originally planning to put in low output Schaller Golden 50 humbuckers in this guitar, as I was going for the Trey Anastasio Languadoc tone, but I found these pickups to sound a lot like the schallers as is, I was very impressed with the tone, especially with both pickups on. It is low output, and very very quiet through my fender blues deville amp. Amazing tone for jazz, and sounds good overdriven as well.

Couldnt ask for a better setup. I'm beginning to think that a lot of these foreign companies are trying very hard to overcome their stereotype as second rate instruments, because the action and setup was better on this than on any gibson I tried out and just about as good as the PRS hollowbody Mccarty I tried out as well. What I'm saying is definitely dont overlook this just because it is foreign made, it is a literal STEAL for the price.

I've played 6 live gigs with this guitar in the month since I have had it, it hasnt let me down, the strap buttons are solid, the playability hasnt changed at all, and the finish is holding up beautifully, I guess Time will tell but so far it has held its own perfectly, I looked inside the guitar and even had a luthier at my local shop look at it. He said it was made to last and I believe it, its got very good craftsmanship.

I delt with Ravenwestguitar.com and got my emails answered in what seemed to be hours, fast shipping, and Raven the company itself also includes a lifetime warranty, as long as you dont do anything in terms of altering the guitar, then it becomes void. All in all I have found the customer support outstanding.

OUTSTANDING value for the price, I play this guitar all the time. If you like Phish, and the tone that Trey gets through a tube amp, this guitar is perfect, its also great for jazz and blues. Definitely check it out, but dont overpay for it, it looks a lot more pricey than it is, i have seen some stores sell it for as much as 900 dollars. you should be able to get it for under 400

2002 PR 450 Lefthanded Raven Hollowbody, PURPLE/bLUE-quilt.
Made in korea, 24 frets, 1 vol, 1 tone, 3-way toggle.
Tune-O-Matic bridge- non locking tuners-gold hardware.
Gig bag was included.
Amazing PRS McCarty Hollowbody replica.

Sounds awesome, for the money, there is nothing like this guitar on the market today!!! Period!!!!

Action was terrific, came out of the box perfect.
The strings were cheap but as soon as you put your brand of strings
on the guitar, maby make soom minor ajustments it plays
like many guitars that cost 5 times as much would play.

Guitar is very solid and built very well.

Eric was top notch!!!!
He e-mails you right away, very, very helpful and kind.
I recieved my guitar in 2 days/with gig bag, Perfect!
I was a DM at Guitar Center for 2 years- they could learn
alot from Eric and WestRavenGuitars.

For the money these guitars are the best!
You can gut them and personalise them if you want and
they would still be under a grand, and thats with
labor. Let me tell you, these guitars sound, feel,and look
incredible. Write out of the box!!!!!
I orderd another write away!! I'm thinking about a 3rd!!!
Raven PR 450 Hollowbody # 1 with me!! Thanks again Eric!!!!