Raven RP-450

This guitar is a wonderful, inexpensive PRS style hollowbody with a beautiful finish and high level of craftsmanship. It is the perfect choice for someone on a budget that desires a finer instrument. I've seen it compared to a real PRS, but I would say that it falls somewhat short of that particular pinnacle. The guitar is manufactured in Korea and has high quality Korean gold harware throughout. This does make a difference. Carved basswood body; beautiful quilt top. Two humbuckers, tunamatic and stop-tail. Large inlay on rosewood fretboard, twenty-four frets. Single volume and tone control.

I think this guitar sounds great. Yeah, the pickups aren't that strong, but it has a sweet tone and doesn't get muddy in the low-mids like some high output pickups do.

All was great here also. Fine setup. I only had minor adjustments to my taste. The hardware and all other cosmetic features were perfect. The quilt top is especially pretty. I've had the guitar over a month now and I've yet to find a single flaw.

I've yet to take this axe on the road. But I'm pretty sure I could depend on it. It does appear to be rock solid.

I haven't had to rely upon support yet but having talked to the company before the purchase, I feel sure that if a problem came up they would stand behind their instrument. The warranty is limited lifetime.

I've been playing for over 30 years and have played professionally all my adult life. I own a G&L, a Japanese Strat and Tele, an SG and many others. Is this guitar the best thing I've ever played? No. But it is currently my favorite guitar (displacing my beloved Telecaster) and I plan on getting more. I love this guitar. It is light and plays and sounds great. I'll probably have a bone nut put on at some point, but other than that. the stock guitar is fine.

This is an update to my previous review.

Apparently, Raven only received my first email concerning the color of the RP-450. The second two should have went through, but outages in my @home cable service might have hampered mail toward the end of July.

The company did get back with me and offer an exchange if I wasn't happy with the instrument. I already have the guitar up for sale, but not because it's not a fine instrument (no room for any more guitars).

I thought that my concerns were voiced at Raven, but there's the very likely chance that they never saw my complaints. I'm changing their rating (hopefully someone at Harmony Central can bump the old review up to 10?).

Made in 2001 (well, maybe 200 or 1999, no way to tell), 24 frets, flame maple cap on a basswood body , heardwood maple neck, pair of Humbuckers, Tune-O-Matic bridge, no case. It has a Dark Purple burst transparent finish (I ordered Cobalt Blue, I guess they feel tha you should take what they give you).

The sound (pickups) is very acceptable though not as good as a Carvin C22, M22 or a Duncan '59, JB or Pearly Gates. I can get most of the sounds out of this guitar that I can get out my Hamers and Carvins. Which is pretty astounding considering the price.

Action was a bit off from the factory. No neck adjustments were needed, only lowering of the action. The overall quality of the guitar rivals that of axes in the $700 - $1000 range. Everything is tight, well constructed and of high qality components.

Short of doing a Pete Townshend on this guitar, it should stand the rigors of club or road use. The electronics are quality and even though it's already been bumped around, the guitar has been reliable.

Emailed them about the descrepancy in finish (I ordered Cobalt Blue and the guitar came in dark purple, like the first RM2000 model that I ordered from them), and didn't receive a response. I guess it's too much trouble for them. Maybe I'm wrong about the color, but the website plainly shows a medium blue guitar and this is not even close. I'm thinking that they should update their site with the correct photo soon or risk pissing off customers and getting more bad reviews.

I've been playing for over 30 years and have collected quite a few guitars over that time (a dozen Carvins, 5 Hamers, several Ravens, and even built, from scratch, over 2 dozens guitars of my own). The Ravens aren't quite in the same league as my Carvins and Hamers, but they beat the piss out of some newer "cool" guitars like the low line PRS, Parkers and Deans. If one of them got ripped, I guess it wouldn't bother me too much, they're downright cheap (costwise) and it woud be easy to get another one.

This guitar is awesome for the cost! It is a semi-hollowbody double cutaway guitar with a slight PRS look to it. I has a sweet carved flame top with a basswood body. Two gold humbuckers which sound great through my Line 6. Gold tuners which stay in tune and gold stop tailpiece. Great feel. It has the Les Paul scale and came with a nice low action. Typical three way togle with two speed knobs, one tone, one volume. Overall, this is a great guitar for the money. I own a PRS McCarty and this one is pretty darn close in comparison. Granted, my PRS is a sweet guitar. It's a PRS, I don't need to say any more about it. But I really like the semi-hollow body and the difference in tone that it gives. Again, for the money, it is awesome.

I play mostly rock and alternative, and it suits my needs very well. I am in a alternative band and it sounds great. It sounds very close to my PRS. However, I use Line 6 gear, which can make just about any guitar sound decent, if not great. Some reviews say the pickups are low in output, however, they are about the same as my McCarty pickups. They give a nice warm sound, both clean and distorted. Though similar to my PRS, the hollowbody gives it a warmer and sometimes not as clean sound. Again, for the money, it's great.

The guitar came set up pretty good from the factory. The action is nice and low. Every now and then it will buzz ever so slighty. The strings that came with it are pretty junky. I will switch them out for some Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkies, which also will cause the action to need to be adjusted slighty. Every thing seems fine on this guitar. It is Korean made so there might be some cheap parts. The 1/4 inch jack looks pretty cheap. Other than that, the guitar is good. Awesome finish

I haven't had it too long. It seems sturdy. No problems. Not yet. All the hardware seems good with the exception of the 1/4 inch jack which looks pretty cheap. It works fine so far. This guitar seems like it will last. As far as using it without a back up, no. I don't like using any guitar without a backup. I don't even play my PRS without a backup...and PRS guitars are incredible guitars. So no, I wouldn't use this, or any guitar, without a back up.

It comes with a lifetime limited warrenty. I haven't had it too long so I haven't had any problems. I bought it from Eric at Ravenwestguitar.com and he was great. He always responded quickly to my emails about the guitars.

I have been playing guitar for about 6 or 7 years. I have gone through a lot of different gear. I have owned a Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Fat Strat, and currently own a PRS McCarty and of course, a Raven RP-450. I recently switched to playing direct though a line 6 POD. I love Line 6 gear because you can do so much with it and it can make almost any guitar sound great. I am very happy with this guitar. I love the finish, feel and the sound. The only thing I would change is the gold hardware to chrome, but that is just my personal preference. Unfortunately, I couldn't compare this guitar to anything else because the only way I could get one is off the internet. I basically bought it off of its great finish and revievs like this. To buy a PRS semi-hollow body you will spend between 2 and 3 grand. I don't have that kind of money laying around. So for between 350 and 400 dollars you can get one that looks a lot like a PRS, sounds a lot like a PRS, but for a price that is affordable. I am very impressed with my guitar and I would definitly buy another one if this one was stolen.

Bought new, hard to date maybe 2001 or 2000.Its a korean copy of a PRS hollowbody.
(If I can say PRS )Basswood body with a very nice flame maple top.1 volume and one tone control with a three way switch. Two humbuckers, tune - omatic bridge, maple set neck. Looks exactly a PRS hollowbody with almost like they call them a 10 top. Really nice green flame top kind of a green black burst.

GReat sound i also own a raven RM2000( see my other review in the raven forum )Just like my other one the pickups are weak. I found a harmonic enhancer in my equiptment mess and this helps alot.Although weak these pickups do sound good. The neck pickup is dark and fluid i like it, The bridge pickup has a nice tone in a clean mode but with more output could be killer. I should really stop complaining about these pickups for how inexpensive this guitar was. Basickly it gets all the humbucker tones with a more openness after all it is a hollowbody.

Set up and action was good I just tweeked it to my taste. As for the finish the top is a beautiful green flame its just as nice as a real PRS but a lot more inexpensive.Stays in tune really well, the tuners are great.

Its a lot lighter than i would have thought by seeing it which is nice by the time i finish playing with my Les Paul. Very nicely made i dont think you can lose for the price.Pretty good sustain for something this lite.

Talked on the phone with someone when i ordered it. Person was really nice and knowledgable returned my calls and helped my with all my questions.

This is my second raven guitar I really like them both ( rp-450 and rm2000 ) both have beautiful finishes are well made and sound pretty good especially for the price. Still my only complaint is the pickups although they sound good a pretty good tone they are underpowered but for the price I can change them and still have an excellent guitar for a very reasonable price. I have been playing for around 30 years and have owned an amazing ammount and variety of guitars theirs are really nice even if they were twice the price. Sometimes at home i cant deciede weather to play my Ravens or my 2 Les Pauls, my gothic exolorer or my strat or parker fly or others a total of around 16 guitars no wonder the wife is pissed off. I play through a Fender hotrod deluxe, or a marshall micro stack sometimes using my pod as a frond end. Raven has some new models i may need to check out.

PRS Hollowbody II copy, made in Korea in 2000. 24 frets, 24.75 string scale(gibson),carved bookmatched maple top, basswood sides and back, maple neck, white purfing around top.
Small "fretless wonder" frets, tune-o-matic/stop tail piece configuration, 2 gold "PAF" style pick-ups with adjustable pole pieces, schaller copy tuners, one tone, one volume, gibson style pick-up selector. All hardware is gold.
Came with a beautiful green stain on top that fades to black at edges. Sides, back, and neck finished in nitrocellular black.

Sounds really good. I love the Hollowbody, no envelope tones that is gets. I play a lot of different shit, and I really wanted to be able to get that Nugent Birdland/ Anastasio Languadoc tone..I do.
The pickups were pretty nice for a Korean guitar, while only two conductor, they were wax potted and and the covers were soldered at the base for microphonic suppresion.
I did change the pick-ups to schaller golden 50's (personal preference, low output Humbuckers) and I think I will need to change the capacitor on the tone control(sounds like a .01uF on there). I also changed the strings (shitty strings on it, but that is the least of my worries(changed to DR tite-fit 10-46). Other than that it was great. I love the tone and the sustain, a small wooden block under the tailpiece makes it a Hollow semi Hollow body, but also aids in feedback prevention and sustain.

The Raven was set up very, very well from the factory. Action was low, tight, and clean with no buzz. Pick-ups were adjusted a little mis-proportionately, but who the fuck cares about that, I have a screwdriver. Fretwork was beautiful-good level nice 35 degree crowns on the edges and no snags. Neck is straight and truss rod was perfect, as was the nut(will be changing to a brass nut soon)
Finish is beautiful. Not as nice as a PRS 10 top, but nicer than I usually see on a $3000 gibson. Binding was right on and clean. When I changed the pick-ups I got a good look inside and they did a hell of a job, even cleaning up the pick-up cavities with sandpaper and paint. I may change the pots and pick-up selector just because good ones are cheap and that is an easy place for guitar companies to skimp on cost. Plays like a dream otherwise.

This guitar is tough, and light to boot. The tuners look beefy and are close toleranced. Big, fat strap buttons that are nicer than any regular, non-straplock type I have ever seen. The finish is thick and looks as if it will stand the test of time. The only real durablilty/quality issue I found was with the loose thread tolerance on the thumbwheel/stub portion of the tune-o-matic bridge. There was a bit of play, but with strings installed and tensioned, this made no real difference.

Haven't really had that much to do with them, but they are quick to respond, helpful, and courteous. Comes with a lifetime warrenty so I feel safe with the workmanship. I already changed the pick-ups and shit though, so I bet I voided that warrenty out anyway.

For the money, this guitar is a steal. If you are in to the Small, rock and roll hollowbody thing, and you don't want to throw away 4 g's, you would be an idiot not to condsider the RP-450. I love everything about it, except that is doesn't have an ebody trapieze tailpiece(being anal).
I have been playing guitar for 6 years(hey, I'm only 23) I have owned a PRS, a Strat, and still own a Doug Irwin that I love to for a solidbody. I play this thing through two tubescreamers, a modded dynacomp, a crybaby, a q-tron, and into a Mesa Mk II. I have plugged her up direct into many amps, even shitty little crate practice amps and it sounds great. When you play it unplugged you can hear the great even response of the guitar acoustically too. I have played violin since I was 5 and I have always apreciated fine hollowbodies, this guitar did not disapoint me.
If it were stolen, I would try to find it before I got another, but if I couldn't find it, I would get another. The only thing I don't like about it is that everyone that sees it wants to get one and I love being the guy with something cool no one else has(hey, it's the american way, o.k.?)

This is a year 2000 model. It is an amazingly high-quality version of the PRS Hollowbody model:
SET NECK , CARVED FLAME MAPLE TOP, HOLLOW BASSWOOD BODY,
ROSEWOOD 24 FRET BOARD WITH MEDIUM FAT FRETS AND PEARL DOT MARKERS, 24.75" SCALE, STOP TAILPIECE,
TUNOMATIC BRIDGE, HIGH-QUALITY DYECAST MINI TUNERS, COVERED HUMBUCKERS (ALL GOLD-PLATED), CREAM BINDING ON THE TOP BODY EDGE AND P/U FRAMES, 1 VOLUME, 1 TONE, AND TOGGLE,
AND A GORGEOUS TRANSPARENT BLUE SUNBURST FINISH. MADE IN KOREA.

I've been a guitarist since 1971, mostly in blues, rock and jazz. I was looking for a light weight, humbucker equipped, small-bodied guitar for blues/rock. The Raven has a bright, thick sound-brighter than a Les Paul/335. Very even, strong volume between the 2 p/u s and good tonal variety with the smooth tone control. The sustain is excellent and, with the hollow body, it has reasonable volume for playing unplugged. I use a Musicman 50 watt head through a closed 2x10"+2x8" cabinent and a Line6 Spider w/1x12". Although the sound is excellent as is, I'm going for more tonal variety and I'll be fitting it with tapped humbuckers and 2 pull-pots, then I can sell my Strat and use just this.

I'm a luthier and collector of vintage guitars. I've owned; '54, '58, '60 & '72 Les Pauls; various ES's; Epiphones; top-of-the-line Hofners; Ibanezs; over 70 guitars to date - this guitar's quality of workmanship, fit and finish is superb! Much better than any Gibson or Fender that I've ever seen. Perfect set-up and fretwork, I use light top (.11) heavy bottom (.54) strings and it plays beautifully anywhere on the board.The flame-top is gorgeous, the color and finish is gorgeous, there isn't a single flaw anywhere - it's amazing that a guitar in this price range ($300-350) rivals any other maker regardless of price!

I've had it for 2 weeks, given the overall superior quality I expect it to be reliable in all ways. I would use it in studio and live. It is much lighter in weight than a Strat, Les or 335 wich is a feature that I love for live gigs.

Comes with a lifetime workmanship warranty. I bought it off of ebay and the dealer was super.

Run, don't walk to check these out. If your considering a real PRS, and aren't a slave to logos, you will save how many thousands of dollars?!