SX NGG7 Custom Hollow Body

Just received my SX NGG7 Custom Hollow Body (satin natural) archtop guitar. Most of the detailed information about this instrument has already been discussed in previous reviews. The guitar has one volume and one tone control and features an all maple construction with laminated top. This beautiful guitar has a single humbucking pick up which sounds great (IMO)throughout the tonal range. The bridge is a floating mounted Tune-O-Matic on a wooden base. The tuners are gold plated - probably Gotoh and the neck features dark perloid inlays with an inlaid "SX" in the headstock. The frets are jumbo and the fretwork is excellent. The neck is quite comfortable and the action fine right out of the box IMO.

The guitar suits my music style perfectly - soft, ballad jazz played in a small group setting. I use a US Custom amplifier with 10" speaker and light reverb. This guitar features a guiet pickup (may be Wilkinson) and very quiet at all settings. I prefer a mellow, bass amplified sound and this instrument delivers it. I don't play the guitar unamplified so am not concerned with this feature. The instrument is perfect for my application (soft, mellow jazz).

The guitar was well set-up as received. Some players may prefer a lower action which can be easily obtained using the thumbwheel adjusts on the tune-o-matic bridge. I did not need to adjust any of the humbucking pickups sensitivity screws, but you do have that flexibiity if required. The guitar was flawless as received - beautiful finish, electronics clear and quiet, tuning pegs stay locked. Workmanship is excellent.

I would expect this guitar to easily withstand extensive live performance and would not hesitate to use it as either a primary or back up instrument on gigs in any venue. The only future "defect" might be a wearing away of the gold lacquer on the tuner keys, but this is normal on models in this price range. The guitar I received did not have a rear strap button, but one could be installed if required. I do not know how durable the guitar body/neck finish is - time will tell. As of now it is beautiful - no rough patches, cover up spotty finish glitches or other flaws.

I purchased this instrument on the internet from Rondo Music (my sixth instrument purchase from Rondo Music). Kurt and crew provide legendary customery support that is superior to any other merchant I have ever dealt with! No I am not an employee, just a very satisfied customer over a lengthy time period. Check out their website - www.rondomusic.com. They consistently offer an incredible selection of great guitar/musical instrument and accessory values for all skill levels and tastes. Their prices are excellent exceeded only by the quality of their service!

To sum it up I have been playing guitar for over 45 years (gasp) and enjoyed every minute of it from student to performance level. During this time I have owned most of the so called major brands of instruments at one time or another. I was looking for a well made natural finish single pickup archtop and this instrument more than fills the bill. I can honestly say that the "SX" and "Agile" instruments from Rondo Music more than hold their own in quality and certainly in value for the money spent! If anything happened to my NGG7 I would hope to be able to replace it. The low price and high quality are a winning combination.

Don't know year of origin of this Chinese made arch top guitar. The NGG7 has one passive humbucker in the next position and the guitar itself styled after the Pat Metheny model.

Considering its price a nice combination of tone woods...maple body, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard. Non-locking bell shaped tuners and Tune-O-Matic bridge. Hardware finished in gold color. One volume one tone control and harp tailpiece.

Striking combination of black laquer, gold hardware and perfectly cut abalone inlays.

I write and play in a number of styles--my initial concern was filed under the humbucker being too dark but I took a chance. Big surprise. With the tone control down, I found by moving it about an inch gives me all the brightness I need--in fact, all the way open the tone is much too bright for me. As with most SX guitars I've bought, there is a bit of scratchiness on the tone pot--possibly from sitting in storage. Its seems to dissipate with usage. The humbucker is quiet and offers a well balanced sound. In fact its such a rich sound, almost feels like a bass is playing along on certain fingerpicking patterns.

I enjoy using a POD 2.0 with a '65 Fender dialed in. I own 4 other SX instruments and was very surprised again...to find this budget copy of a famous original had so many complex tones. Playing it for hours after my recent acquisition, its hard to put down.

One of my constant surprises with SX guitars is how well, generally, they are set up. The intonation was correctly set and the action fairly low and silky--the way I prefer for fingerpicking. Great for folk and jazz chording. Have not adjusted the single neck pickup as I'm happy with the sound. Bridge and saddles well made.

There are some very minor flaws in the finish but only if you are super picky--and I am. By that I mean some micro-pitting on the top in 2 or 3 places, minor discoloration spots on the 5 play pickguard...and the most serious--a too large borehole to anchor the pickgard. This arrived jangling and loose but was remedied by using a bit of 'twistem' in the wood screw hole. You'd never notice the finish flaws from more than 3 feet away. Considering this guitar was styled after a $2500[street] axe and 12x cheaper, I am not complaining in a major way.

On the plus side, the abalone inlays are gorgeous and so is the binding around the body. Frets are finished nicely. If not for that hole and the above I'd give it a 10. Be that as it may, I love looking at this guitar even when I'm done playing.

Its a brand new guitar and have no idea how long it will last. It appears to be built well.

Rondo has always been helpful with questions in the past.
I could have sent the guitar back instead of the minor repair I mentioned, but everything else was so perfect with sound and playability I wasn't going to chance a return. Thats how much I like this instrument.

I've been playing since 1980 and own an assortment of guitars from expensive to budget--and the B word is not a criticism. I love SX guitars and thats why I have a small collection so far.

Until this purchase I've never considered myself a fancier of "fat body" guitars. This budget model from SX has changed my mind.

It is perfect for a jazz project I'm working on. Its sound, playability, and overall beauty have changed my mind about this particular style of guitar. If something happened to it, I'd most likely replace it.