Raven RSM-2000

What year was it made: 2002
Where was is made: Korea
How many frets: 22
Top? Antique Pearloid
Which controls are given: Volume pot, tone pot, 3 way toggle
Pickup configuration: H/H
Make and model of pickups: G&B
Active or Passive electronics: passive
Body and neck woods: Mahogany neck and back, pearloid top, rosewood fretboard.
Finish: white pearloid top + white pearloid headstock, transparent brown back, neck & sides
Body style: LP Jr double cutaway
Bridge style: Tune-O-Matic style
Tuners: non-locking, three on a side schaller copies
Neck/Scale: Wide/Thin neck, medium/large frets
Included accessories: cable

Everyone has their own preference for tone; I'll describe what this guitar sounds like and compare it to similar guitars.
Pickups - maybe I'm going deaf, or I've spent too much time working with paints, but they sound good to me. If the guitar had a nice maple top instead of pearloid kitchen countertop material, their top end would come through better. Their tonality is a focused midrange with bite, similar to a Duncan JB. Haven't measured output, but they respond nicely to multiple gain stages. With the volume pot backed off, they clean up *very* nicely and retain the high frequencies (more useful to me than a coil tap). With enough distortion, sustained notes will fade into a singing, pleasant feedback. The pearloid top dampens the tone of these a little, but I'm willing to bet that in a different guitar they'd sound even better. I haven't heard any other Ravens; I don't know if these are different from the stock Raven pickups that other reviews complain about, but I'm happy with them. The sound of the stock pickups were much better than I anticipated. No, they're not vintage PAF's, nor do they have the difference in sound of PRS models. Considering the price of the guitar, the pickups sound great.

The guitar arrived new in the box, detuned - which is how guitars should be shipped. While tuning the guitar, I raised the bass side of the bridge about 1/3 turn. Factory setup was fine - I don't have my action set super-low, but what I go for most people find comfortable. Pickups height was fine. Hardware all tight, polished, and in perfect working order.
As far as fit/finish - the assembly of this guitar is of the same quality as Gibson or Paul Reed Smith (no, not the $4000 guitars, I mean the $1500 ones). I've gone over the guitar three times and can only find minute specs around the binding edges. I've owned five PRS CE's, five Gibsons (1967 & `68 SG's, `68 ES-345, `69 Les Paul Personal, `83 LP Standard); the feel of this guitar is comparable.

This Raven was bought new with a lifetime warranty. Who can beat that? In any case, this guitar is excellent; I can't see it falling apart or developing body problems. The hardware does not have company names stamped into it, but it's just as good.

One thing Raven does lack is open promotion of technical info and specs - when a product is of this quality, I like to know where the parts came from. The website is ok, but obviously new.
At present, I haven't contacted the company and do not need to. The guitar is excellent, I'm happy, and I don't need to waste their time.
As stated, the guitar has a lifetime warranty provided that I do not modify or sell it. I like the guitar to the extent that I'm not mailing in the warranty, and if necessary will pay for repairs myself to insure it wouldn't be exchanged by the company in the event of me returning it.
I bought this guitar on Ebay. The Raven dealer that sold me the guitar was very pleasant and helpful; I'd buy another guitar from him. Customer service on this level rates a 10.

How long have you been playing? 16 years
What other gear do you own? 15 other guitars (51 total since I began playing), 3 amps, and pedals/
If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else? I doubt I could replace it for the price I paid. If the guitar was lost, I?d probably replace it with an RP-450.
What do you love about it? The fact that it?s so inexpensive and still high quality tells me that the Korean guitar craftsmen are where the Japanese were back in the 1970?s. Any guitar collector will realize this is a very good time to find amazing deals on new guitars.
What do you hate? The political tension that exists between North and South Korea. I pray that no war ever impacts the production of these guitars.
What is your favorite feature? I?m very happy that the pearloid/gold doesn?t look glitzy. The white pearloid is tinted to look aged, however it just looks darker than a faded 40 year old piece of white pearl. I do not prefer gold hardware, but it does compliment the pearl and dark natural mahogany body.
Did you compare it to other guitars? Yes, as stated above.
Why did you choose this one? I wanted to see if the new Korean copies were any good. I mistook this for the PRS body style, and didn?t realize my mistake until after I placed my auction bid. Honestly, I had suspected that like most newly-popular items, there was a lot of hype involved. Any hype over Raven guitars is well deserved ? it?s every bit as good as Fender was in the early `60?s, or Ibanez was in the `70?s. It is not a $3000 museum piece; rather a guitar that is very affordable and meant to be played. I believe the street price on these is usually in the $300 range (list around $600). A few weeks before I bought the RM2000, I bought an Ibanez Ghostrider GR520. Simply put, the Raven is on the same level, if not better than the Ghostrider. The Raven has fewer finish flaws than the Ibanez.
Anything else you'd like to share? If you?re new to playing guitar and looking for a quality, affordable guitar, I can?t recommend Raven enough. I?ve owned several dozen guitars over the years, and these are definitely the best new thing I?ve seen in a few years. Consider this ? the RM2000 has the same headstock design as a late 1970?s Ibanez Musician (or Studio, or Artist). Buy them now before the lawsuits begin.

Raven LP Double cutaway copy, Korean mfg. It has one volume and one tone control with 3 position switch, dual humbuckers. The neck is mahogony with the standard luthier joint found on Korean guitars, with a nice tight grained rosewood board and is a set neck. The body is solid mahogony with an archtop. This guitars finish is outstanding. It appears to be a painted dark blue with a low key painted purple flame on the top to set it off, with a clear poly outer coating. It's further set off with gold finished machine heads, bridge, and stop tailpiece. the body has a cream white binding, but oddly, the neck has a very dark brown binding. The white fret dot markers are smaller than I would like, but against the dark binding they do stand out quite well. It is fitted with "no name" tuners, but they feel smooth with a slower rate of twist than other guitars. And they do feature a set nut on the top of the pegboard to hold them tight. Can't really find any fault in this area. This thing has exactly the features I wanted and more.

I use a digital pedal with a pre amp and hook into the PA. Needless to say that I have to use humbuckers because any single coil noise would run through the PA. I play a lot of classic rock, and the pickups on this guitar did not work at all for that. And actually, when you turn them wide open for drive they would lose tone and break up. But in all fairness, I knew before I ever bought the guitar that I'd be changing out the pickups, and I also threw the original pickups out of my last Gibson in the trash, so I suppose that they are in good company. But the rest of the electronics have worked flawlessly.

The guitar was actually set up pretty good from the factory. Only took a very slight turn on the truss rod to drop the action where I wanted it, but it did result in a string buzz on the second string calling for an emory board and elbow grease. The pickups and bridge were aligned right on the money, the bridge still being set where it was at the factory. All the hardware is mounted straight and solid with the exception of one tuner that is just a little bit off angle.

Hard to give a lot of facts in this area because I haven't had it long enough for it to withstand the test of time. All I can say is that at this time it is the guitar I've been using on gigs and it has performed flawlessly. Holds tune as well or better than any guitar I've had. Should anything arise, I'll update the review.

It came with a limited lifetime warranty, but I haven't had need for it. And having changed the pickups and stripped the poly from the back of the neck I've probably voided it. But the co. I bought it from has always replied very quickly to emails and always reminds that if I'm not happy, neither are they.

Simply put, this guitar was an incredible bargain. I originally bought it because I wanted a good solid guitar to drag around with me to save the wear and tear on my others. It has filled the bill and much more. One feature that I really enjoy on this guitar is the way the neck is set. I can get my whole hand above the high E fret before I come in contact with the neck contour or the guitar body. While at first I wondered about it, as it seems to have a very short neck joint, it has been very solid. While at first I wasn't concerned at all about anything happening to it, which is why I originally bought it, I like it so much now that I'm going to get another one just in case something does happen to it.....Go figure.