RavenWestGuitar Co. K2-RM999

basic strat setup 5 way switch, wilkinson single coils, etc.. its already been covered. But it does have everything you need

I currently float around as far as style goes. sometimes i do the whole punk thing, other times i do classic rock stuff. It really is a versatile guitar, pickups stay fairly quiet. I'm not sure if the cavity has the special shielded paint. anyways, it sounds like a strat should. My Peavey valveking, combined with this guitar does a decent surf rock imitation. definitely not bright, or thin sounding. it has a full bodied sound, but when compared to a american made fender strat it does definitely sound different. slightly darker, and bass seemed more emphasized. I run this guitar through a jekyll and hide pedal, into my peavey valveking tube amp and then into a vintage 30 speaker. when driven hard this guitar really gives a ballsy sound. also it does not like to feed back. I basically have to put right in front of the speaker to get a note to ring out into feedback even with gained turned way up.

my only complaint is that the tone knobs don't do change the sound all that much. I'm gonna try checking the capacitor.

the action, and pickup height was set up really well. it was playable right out of the box, i adjusted it to my preference though. The wood pickguard was not perfect, some of the edges had missing layers exposing which is typical of plywood. one of the control knobs rubs against the pickguard. Also the third fret sticks out just enough to catch the high e string. this hardly happens, but it is a flaw that shouldn't be there. fretboard looks like it was dyed, or painted? some of the frets had a little residue left on them from the process.

The guitar looks like it cost so much more. simply because of all the small little extras. such as the scorpion inlays, and the wood pickguard.

this is one very solid guitar, i would not be afraid to gig with it. a little heavier than other strats which is a good thing for me. I don't mind a little heft to my gutiars. waited a couple of months to do this review, and nothing has failed me. neck feels solid, pots are not scratchy etc.

strings hardly ever break, stays in tune very well. finish is fairly tough, got one scratch( left mysteriously at a friends house).

no opinion

been playing for 4 years or so and have a modest collection of pedals and guitars. but this definitely makes it very hard to justify spending 1000+ dollars on a fender or any other guitar. difference is negligible with a good setup, and maybe a pickup upgrade which it doesn't really even need. I have gotten many compliments about the guitar and its sound. I recommend this to any beginner or pro. it should make a incredible first guitar, or a very playable backup guitar. for the price paid a whole lot of guitar is delivered.

This guitar (Strat style) comes with a mahogany stain finish, burled wood (real wood) pick guard, 22 frets, three Wilkerson single coil pickups, grover tuners, standard 5 way switch, volume and two tone concrols.

The guitar feels heavy like a better Strat should. The action was right on out of the box. The frets were brand new so it took a couple of hours of playing to get those smoothed down a bit (not a complaint).

The fit and finish is up there with guitars costing four times what I paid.

I have a cheap strat knockoff already. I also have a few humbucker styled guitars. So, I base my opinions here on my experience with those guitars. The Wilkinson pickups are impressive compared to the single coils in my cheap Strat knockoff. It's like the difference between a toy and a real guitar. I have been playing it through a Hendrix pedal and find that it sounds just like Jimi. So, I guess the guitar has a kind of vintage Strat sound to me. Nevertheless, I am very pleased.

This guitar came perfect right out of the box. In fact, it was pretty close to still being in tune. After unpacking it I was playing in like, a minute. The action was exactly where I would have put it. To put this in perspective. When I bought the cheap knockoff (Indiana) I had to mess with that neck for like six weeks to get it where I could live with it.

The guitar neck feels great. I think it might be a bit, just a smidge, wider than the neck on the cheap knockoff. Whatever it is, I love the way it feels. Guitar solos are easier. What can I say. The grover tuners are, well, grovers. They are as good as it gets. The pickups have a thin burled wood cover glued to them that matches the pick guard. It looks really good. My wife loved the look of this guitar right off. I tend to look more at the details than the over all appearance. It's good both ways.

This guitar is still new. With that said, it is a very high quality guitar and I'm sure there wont be any problems. I have another Raven West, the K2-RM300. I have had it for about eight months or so. It is a Les Paul style. It is still an awesome guitar. I use it very frequently and gig without a backup. So, I will gig tomorrow with the RM999 without a backup.

I have never used Raven West customer support. Dont think I will ever need to.

I have been playing at guitars for nearly all of my life. I have been playing weekly gigs for seven years. I own a whole stack of guitars. I will only mention the ones that seem to need mentioning. I have an Indiana Strat knockoff. It's OK. Not in the same ball park as this guitar. I own a Martin DC17E, a Washburn acoustic, an Ibanez Artcore electric, a Jay Turcer single cutaway, a Raven West RM300, a Seagull 12 string, a 1974 Yamaha classical, a Line6 Variax 600, and an assorted collection of mandolins and a banjo.

If this guitar was stolen I would get another one. No doubt. I might mention that while I was on the prowl for a Strat I tried lots of Fenders and Squires. I also tried a G&L that was awesome, but with an awesome price tag. I think this guitar is up there with the grand plus priced guitars. It is way ahead of everything that is even close to it's price range.

If I had one wish, I wish it came in blue.

Typical Strat style with 3 pups, 5 way switch, tremolo. Unique finish with a wooden pick guard and pup covers. Looks like a custom made guitar.

The sound is amazing. I have owned many Strats, all American made, one pre CBS, and I prefer this over them all. Great tone from any pup configuration. You wouldn't believe the sustain from a bolt on neck guitar. You get the crystal clear Strat tones, but can also get that compressed Leslie West tone.

This is my third Raven West and just like the other two, the intonation was perfect. Their guitar techs really set them up nice before they leave. Since this was set up for a tremolo, which I rarely use, the action was a little higher than I like. It only took me about 10 minutes to adjust the action an re-intonate the guitar.
Beautiful stained wood grain finish with a light stained pickguard. Very original. There were a number of oil spots on the front lower body, but you have to look close to see them. Otherwise it would have been a 10.

I can't see any potential problems with this guitar.

It is a pleasure to deal with Eric. Customer satisfaction seems to be quite important to him.

I've been playing for over 30 years. Although I've owned about 5 Fender Strats, I always went back to my set neck with humbucker guitars. With this one, I find I'm uing it just as much as my set necks. It's the best "Strat" style I've played. I've owned just about every quality guitar, as well as a couple of cheapie, including Gibsons, Fenders, Ricks, Ibanez, Hamers and a couple of Tursers.
The RWGs are as good and sometimes better than the leading brands.
I don't know how they do it, but I'm sure glad I discovered them.

some kinda dark stained wood. wooden pickguard, p-ups and backplate.
trem 2006
21 frets (I don't like much- I'd rather your typical 22)

AWESOME
UNBELIEVABLE
I have this fantastic American Strat I've been playing for a few years - just as good.

beautiful, everybody wows at it
only minor flaw - rough fret edges on the side of the neck (moreso on my 590T model)

so far so good (6 months)

Eric is a really nice guy to talk to/email although I don't know him personally.

15yrs of playing over 100 guitars.
lost/stolen - I'd buy 2 more - literally. actually, I just might buy another real soon.
f#$%?&in beautiful, great beepin sound. it's perfect. I'll absolutely recommend this to ANY potential buyer out there (an NO I don't work for the company)
I've been reading HarmonyCentral reviews for years. this is my first post - It's worth every second of my time.
congratulations Raven West on both guitars purchased so far !

Made in Korea 2006
22 frets, bolt-on neck, S-style guitar. 25 1/2" scale
1 volume, 2 tone and 5 way selector switch.
3 Wilkinson single coil pickups
Solid Carolina Body (a species of poplar with tonal properties similar to alder)
Hard Maple Bolt on Neck
Rosewood Finger board
satin oil finish,
vintage 6-screw fulcrum tremelo
Grover tuners - chrome
Solid Wood Pickguard, Pickup Covers and Tremelo Backplate!!!!!
Ridiculous features for the price

Perfect for that vintage single coil sound.
I play original Alt./Indie Rock with elements of Jazz and Blues.
I'm currently playing through a new Epiphone Triggerman 60 combo amp with a bunch of different effects. Crybaby, Big Muff PI, EQ, Chourus, and sometimes a Zoom GFX-5.
The sound really works for me. I prefer the stat style and the pickups aren't that noisey at all. I own a Epiphone SG type guitar and this sound blows it away, even plugged directly into my amp without the boost and EQ from my rig.
I'm sure you could get a bit hotter pups, but for the price They can't be beat. There is some variety within the single coil world. For the pice 10 but You could always upgrade to change the sound.

The guitar arrived playable once tuned but does need to be setup.
Pickups were fine but again I'll make some minor adjustments.
Fit and Finish are spectacular for a $199.00 guitar,(price without case and shipping) absolutely mind blowing. The only things I would say is the fret edges could use a little sanding, they are somewhat sharp on the bottom but I have not felt the need to do this yet so no big deal. Also the grover tuners are a little close together on the headstock. which doesn't seem like a issue to me since I restrung it without a problem.

Only had it a few days so tough to say definitively.
I can say that everything on this guitar seems very solid.
I never gig without a backup regardless but I feel confident this guitar would be fine. I might change this rating later but it feels so damn good.

Called and talked directly to the owner.
A very nice Guy who called ME BACK!
I would give the rating as 11

I've been playing for about 18 years and I've bought, played and sold a lot of instruments. I currently own a Alvarez/Yari WY1 acoustic guitar, Epiphone SG, Ibanez Artist and a few other cheap acoustics. I sold my USA Strat(1989) several years ago during some lean times and have wanted another for awhile. I've played numerous Fender MIM Strats and Jay Turser Strats trying to get that sound and feel without breaking the bank. I was prowlimg around Ebay and discovered Raven West Guitars and was surprised to find that they had 100% positive feedback. I never considered buying a guitar online without playing it but was intriged by the photos, features and price of these guitars.

I love this guitar. The neck and fretwork rock. It's very east to play yet has a raw woodshop feel. The natural sustain is beyond belief. The all wood pickguard, pickup covers and tremelo backplate have to be seen. Not to mention the killer scorpion neck inlay and blue pearl abalone RWG headstock logo. It gives the instrument a custom feel.
I keep forgeting....this is a $200.00 Guitar.
If it were stolen or lost I would buy 2 more.

I feel the need to say that I don't work for the company.
I am always skeptical when reading reviews online. Thank god I took the chance. I will immediately sell my Epiphone SG and buy one of their slightly more expensive hollow body guitars. I feel like I robbed the place, damn.