SX KY1 CUS 24 NA

24 frets
laminated top
One volume One tone toggle switch
Pickups H/H
Mahogany body and maple neck rosewood fingerboard
Finish Flamed top
Transparent Blue
Body Style: PRS
Bridge: Wilkinson style
The inlays are real abalone birds, and they look very very nice!!!

Music style: Hard rock, blues, rock
Effects: Lines 6 POD xt and Behringer VAMP 2
The stocks pickups sone very decently, the high a nice output, you can have both, clean and overdiven sounds, they can give you good harmonics with the right distortion.
The pickups give you a very wide variety of sounds just by using the volume and tone pot

I like the sounds of the pickups, but maybe I will change them in the near future

About the setup, the guitar did not have a factory setup at all, I had to adjust everything, the trussrod, the intonation, the action, pickups height, etc.

There was a big problem with the pickups routing, the neck pickup was not flat and it was making contact with plastic cover of the pickup, when I remove the pickup I saw that the pickup hole was too close to the neck, so the pickup hit again the wood of the body, but nothing that a dremel can not fixed (If you are no afraid of dealing with powertools in your guitar!)

The hardware was ok, gold hardware which looks very nice on the blue guitar, may be it will looks better with zebra pickups.

Another problem with the guitar besides the neck pickup routing, was that the hole to access the trussrod, I have to remove some wood again (Dremel!!!) to have access to the trussrod and adjust it.

The finish of the guitar is great it looks like a more expensive guitar, I think that the finish and the woods are more important issues than the routing( Off course, if you know how to fixed it, and you get a good guitar for the price

The guitar look very strong, the only thing that I worry about is the bridge, it looks a little cheap and unestable, but I have to play more with the guitar to know how good is the bridge.

For a 190 US guitar I think that it is an excellent guitar, off course if you are no afraid to expend some time fixing issues like the pickup routing and set up, but come on it is a very cheap guitar and I think that the looks of the guitar worths all the work.

This is my fourth SX guitar from Rondo. I'm fairly well amazed at how the Chinese create these guitars.
Its a beautiful axe in person, although I did inquire to see if the bookmatched blue flame guitar was representative or the actual instrument for sale[Kurt was honest saying representative]. In some ways the bookmatching and abalone inlays are more impressieve than the PRS in the $3-4K range. While the finish is gorgeous,
The bridge showed some minor oxidation but for $189 I'm not complaining.
Out of the 4 SX guitars I own, this required a bit of set up.

I did ask SX if they set up the guitars after arrival from China. I was told they don't which makes it impressive they are in as good a shape as they are.

The tuners are probably the weak point but stay in tune when you do get there. I've tightened them a bit.

The humbuckers are very hot...screamers. Its easy to overload the POD[first generation]on most settings, but on a Fender '65 blackface setting the sound changes radically--to very warm single coil sounds. This guitar is clearly a shredder and very fast neck makes it perfect in this regard. As with all SX guitars the pots can be scratchy at first--probably from moisture sitting in a warehouse.
Its a very good match with my Carvin SX100....interfacing better here than with the POD.
The tone control is very powerful and you can mute off to subdued jazz tones to hot and bright. I would love to learn the exact specs of these humbuckers.
For screaming leads with a POD stereo chorus, simply awesome.

I did some minor alterations. Funny how the Chinese can create such beautiful bookmatching and inlays and ignore tiny issues.
With an emory board I buffed off a burr near the high E string on the nut. The trem had a bit of binding but after swabbing the nut with W40 its nice and quiet.
Most strange of all is the tuning 'vibe'. It takes about 20 minutes of playing to warm up the instrument, then the trem use stays in tune. Nice and smooth and a lot of nuance control.
The rosewood fingerboard is strange--it almost looks like a laminate tape on other wood. I don't care it sounds great regardless of the wierd contstruction. The abalone inlays are stunning. Period. The pots are recessed but not perfectly--but they have a nice smooth feel.

I raised the bridge pickup a hair. Altogether a very balanced sound with the selector switch in the middle position. The toggle switch is a bit jiggle.

I wipe the guitar down every every play but don't see the metal finishing or paint finish suffering after a few months.
Its hard to get over how beautiful it is for the price.
Strap buttons solid and the trem bar screws in nice and tight
with a couple of twists.

Have enjoyed dealing with Rondo from the beginning.
No experience with repairs but Kurt always helpful
with queries.

I'm a late bloomer and didn't start on guitar until I was 25. Now playing about just as long.

This guitar has a vibe all its own and would be it again. Super shredder and one of a kind in personality.

I've joked with friends I've named her 'Sidra'--as she's real and she's spectacular. :)

24 frets, PRS styled guitar. All the same features listed by others. Looks killer, plays great with some set up and sound great stock. I had the 22 fret version which i like very much, and this is a nice upgrade in a couple of ways, mostly bridge related. The wilkinson 2 point trem system is similar to a strat but smoother and better sounding. Had some minor damage from shipping so I ended up getting it at a nice discount! Nice set neck, just right, not too clubby, fase & good scale length. Stays in tune. Used it at a gig 2 days after I got it and she sings!

Had Classic 57's in my other KY-1, but these stock pups sound great. Gritty but just blue enough if adjusted to the proper height. I may keep the stockers. Great tone for the $$ for sure. Screams if allowed! Quiet and solid sounding at all volumes and settings.

I had to do a full set up on it; Truss rod, string heights, whammy system, but once done, I'm very happy. Really feels nice and plays well. Set up by me for me. Good fit & finish, just a few dings from shipping which I was able to make disappear mostly. Impressive QC for a fancy top of the line cheap Chinese guitar.

No problems with the other one and I use it regularly. Should be good for a long time. Bought many guitars from Rondo, and they sell a great product and back it up properly.

Best ever, bar none. I know from experience.

Been playing 40 years, blues, swing, classic rock, country, etc.. Play in a band that gigs every weekend. I own a bunch of their guitars and it really comes down to this. You can have one of every kind of guitar that ever caught your eye with these "styled" guitars, or you can spend a fortune on one guitar. Easy choice for me. I own 9 electrics, one of every flavor. Most stay stock, a few have different pups. Cant beat that for less than the cost of a single Gibson, can you?

New 2008 Model from Rondomusic.com
solid Mahogany Single cutaway design with an arch top body with a real flame maple top
Set-in Mahoganny neck with 24 fret Rosewood fretboard with adjustable truss rod and REAL Abalone Bird Inlays!!
Rosewood fretboard with 24 jumbo (2.7mm) frets - 25" scale
1 Bridge and 1 Neck humbucker
Recessed volume, tone and pickup selector switch controls
Gold hardware (including gold diecast sealed tuners), and body binding
Actual Weight is only 7.5 lbs.
D'addario 10-46 strings installed at the factory.
Width of the neck at the first fret is 1 5/8"

Sounds great for $190, doesnt sound like the PRD it's meant to copy but I would compare it to a $300-$600 Epiphone Les Paul

Mine came w/ a minor scratch on the lower horn (can't see it unless you are looking for it), a few small glue spots here and there, the only real disappointment was the knobs. The knobs are bell style and not the speed barrel style shown on Rondo's web site and they don't fill up the recess hole, so you can see the glue around the pots (I just bought some $10 Speed knobs from guitar center, those should fill up the gap) but for $190 you definatly get your $ worth. The bird inlays look fantastic. Also the color on Rondo's website is a bit off, mine came w/ a color more comparable to PRS's "Vintage Natural", which looks nicer IMO

I wouldn't throw it around, but it could probably take a drop or two

Kurt is awsome, he answers questions quickly

For a $190 PRS copy you can't go wrong, worth $300 easily

This is a 2008 model from SX. It is made in China. It has a beautiful book match maple veneer. Do not let the pictures from Rondo music fool you. In the pictures this guitar looks almost white, it has a light gold transparent cream color to it. The color is not as dark is the transparent butterscotch finish that we are seeing these days. I was not sure if I would like it when I looked at the pictures on line. When it arrived I was very pleased with the appearance. It comes with 2 humbucker pickups and has a 3-way selector switch. There are 2 knobs, volume and tone. The body is mahogany with a glued mahogany neck. It has a Wilkinson style tremolo bridge and a 24 fret neck with awesome looking bird shaped abalone inlays from a short distance you would swear it is a PRS.

To be honest I bought this guitar with the intent to throw out the pickups and replace them with name brand hot humbuckers, but after I played this guitar for a while I decided that I like it the way it is. It has a very warm and rich tone to it. The neck pick up is a little brighter than bridge pick up and the two combined will please you with their warm and mellow tone. With a twist of the tone knob you can add a little more distortion to the mix. This guitar has sustain for days with its fixed neck. This is the first fixed neck guitar that I have ever owned and it has made me a believer. The electronics are very quiet and even at louder volumes it does not snap crackle or pop.

Anytime you buy an import guitar you should plan on a setup. I do all of my own setups, but if you don't like to tinker with them you can take it to a pro for about $40. I paid $189 for this guitar and spent 2 hours on a setup and the results are amazing. First step is to get rid of the strings. The factory strings oxidize and sound terrible. They may even be rusted by the time they get to you. The guitar was set up pretty well and I just had to make minimal adjustments to it. The biggest adjustment was the truss-rod. I lessened it just a touch to give the neck a little relief. I had a little fret buzz from the factory but once I adjusted the truss rod I was able to lower the action. It is now very comfortable to play. The finish had a little haze in it that I just buffed out with my small automotive buffer. I added a couple coats of wax to make this baby shine. It looks very nice. The bird shaped abalone inlays is stunning.

I do not gig so I could not tell you if it would survive a bus crash, but it feels very solid. The finish survived buffing so I am sure that hand polishing will not be an issue. The joints look like they were glued well and there was no excess glue outside the joints. I will be replacing the tuners, as I like locking variety.
The ones that come with the guitar will need to be replaced. They do not keep the guitar in tune. This should be part of the plan when you but it.

I did not have to use customer support for this purchase. I have had to use it in the past for other shipments and they are very good.

For the price this as an awesome buy. I love the sound and playability. When people walk into the room they ask me how I can afford such an expensive guitar. I do not try to pass it off as a PRS But I could probably get away with it to someone who does not play. I spent $189 plus shipping and $5.00 for a set of strings. Total $220 for a guitar that looks and sounds great. The best part is that I did not have to spend $600 to get a PRS.