Risa Musical Instruments G1M1WE Guitarlele

Looks nicely made. Hollow body (not very resonant when not playing thru an amp, but that's probably because the body is soooooo small). Two nice Talman - like lipstick pickups, volume and tone controls, solid pickup selector switch. Very attractive pearloid pickguard. Red finish is very nicely done. Neck finish is satin, unstained and very smooth. Maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. Frets are mandolin - type, very thin, but this does help the overall sound and intonation. Good if not great vintage type kluson repro tuners, sort of what you'd see on an old strat. The tailpiece is very similar to a hardtail strat and is very comfortable to rest your right hand on. The gig bag is well done, better than I had expected.

This is where it shines. The pickups are quiet, the neck pickup is mellow, the bridge pickup is bright and shines on my marshall's clean channel. The tone control leaves a little to be desired, as there is very little difference between 1 and 10.

Action is POOR. This thing has a zero fret. When playing down by the nut, it plays OK (only OK), but the mid to upper frets buzz more than the beehive outside of my bedroom window! The Truss rod seems to be adjusted right, so it must be a bunch of very poorly dressed frets. No wonder the guy on ebay sold it! I'll try putting on some heavier gauge srtings tommorrow (it presently has 10 - 46 I think. Maybe heavier strings will help. Also this thing will take time and patience to learn, as you cannot squeeze the srtings at all when chording or they'll go WAY sharp. Try playing a basic A chord and you'll see. There's just no room for your fingers!!!

I think it will withstand the rigors of live situatins, as it does seem to be constructed well (not withstanding the previously mentioned gripes.

I bought this thing used, but it is obviously low-mileage; there's not a scratch on it or wear of any kind. HMMMMMM.... Wonder why..... Havent tried to contact them. I may though, to see if anything can be done about that incipid BUZZING all over the neck and the general action, which really is poor past the third fret.

I've been playing for 35 years and wanted a little something to help round out my recorded and live sound. Its a cool little (and I do mean LITTLE) instrument, big hands need not try this tadpole!
If it were stolen, I'd probably write a thank you letter to the guy who stole it!
In all fairness to this instrument, I will try to resolve the playability problems I'm having with this and if I have any success, I'll follow later here.

i am guessing that this is a 2001 model by the serial #..i purchased this guitarlele new with the plastic still on the pickguard and pickup..purchased direct from manufacturer on ebay...it is a very unique liquid shape solid body,kinda like, but not exactly like an old vox mandolin...it is VERY lightweight and comfortable...there are 2 gorgeous chrome knurled barrel knobs ,1 for volume, 1 for tone...there is one lipstick single coil pickup..the electronics are simple passive type..the neck is made of maple with a grafted headstock...finish is quality fender-style..bridge is through the body fully adjustable fender style..nice and heavy duty...tuners are kluson style...scale is supposed to be around 17"..overall length is around 30"..the thing is small !!...i haven't measured to check it exactly....came with a nice gig bag

the sound is amazing...the guitar is meant to be tuned to 'A' or 'B',which is 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 steps higher than a 'standard' guitar tuning...(nails the intro to the beatles 'here comes the sun' exactly !!!..once i played an old ernie ball earthwood terz size guitar..i was sorry that i did not buy that guitar,it had an amazing sound..i am happy to say that this little guitarlele can legitimately replicate the feelings i had for that unique ernie ball creation...i am primarily a blues/jazz/roots/reggae/soul/r$b/folk guitarist... playing for 34 years...30 of them professionally..over the years i have acquired a taste for slide guitar and ukulele...this little guitarlele that risa sells is real nice..has a clean full sound,that gets nice and gritty with a distortion pedal..does not sound small...my wife thought it was my strat...sounds especially nice with chorus..i am sure that it could do anything that a standard electric guitar could do...there is nothing that i dislike about this finely crafted instrument

the guitar was set up perfectly...intonation was right on...pickups adusted properly,and the finish on the neck, body and hardware were flawless..nice touch..the white pearlized 2-ply pickguard..the guitarlele was advertised as being handcrafted in europe...mine was made in korea..at first i was a bit taken aback, but i realized quickly that the label did not matter...this guitar is just plain ...NICE

there is nothing to indicate that the guitar will not hold up...it is a great novelty instrument,and a wonderful travel instrument,but made for a pro,not a toy..no junk here...the scale length is simple to get used to and the set up is great ...strap buttons have felt protection...i would say that the guitarlele is VERY reliable,and LOTS of fun to play

i dealt directly with rigk,via email ..the guitar was shipped at a very reasonable rate via airmail...i won the guitar on ebay on a sunday evening and paid direct to germany via paypal...rigk told me that monday was a holiday in germany , and the following monday was memorial day here in the states...i recieved the guitarlele on TUESDAY...lightning quick 9 day turnaround delivered to my door even with 2 holidays thrown into the mix ..unbelievable !!! and from europe !!! thank you rigk @ risa instruments !!!..here is their email,do yourself a favor..use it.... info@risa-music.de

as i said earlier...i play ALOT...i have a bunch of fender,and prs guitar,some martins,some nice koa ukes,dano's,tweeds,and EMERY SUPERBABY(THE BEST!!!..THANK YOU CURT)..the guitarlele is a great addition to my arsenal...i would highly recommend this instrument to ANYBODY...it would make an excellent guitar to travel with...and it makes a great studio instrument,because it lets you play different inversions for familiar 1st position songs and fattens up the mix..don't even think about stealing this guitar,you'd have to get by 250lbs of vicious hound and smith and wesson ...no sir...keep your grubby paws off of my guitarlele !!!..call rigk..get your own !!..risa also makes some interesting looking ukulele's and more upscale versions of the guitarlele...i am going to pick up one of their uke sticks..you should check them out...they are not well known here in the states,but i am telling you the product is high quality and reasonably priced...overall a big thumbs up !!!