SX SFV

22 frets, 3+3 tuners, 2 volumes (1 for each pickup), 2 humbuckers w/a 3-way selector. The body is a beautiful dark wood, and the superb grain shows through nicely (I'm not sure what kind of tree it's from). Gold hardware throughout, and a stop bar tailpiece and tune-o-matic bridge. Features-wise, it is identical to a '67 Gibson Flying V, only without a pickguard. But with this finish, you wouldn't want a pickguard. My only real complaint here is that the knobs are too close together. It makes for a slightly difficult time rolling a volume knob w/o hitting the other knobs.

I expected the tuners to be cheap junk, but they are far from it. They move smoothly and evenly, which is quite a relief, as I really did not want to replace them.

I was really expecting this guitar to really be horrible sounding. But I could not have been more wrong. There is so much low end on this thing...my sound man had to roll my bass way off, even on the treble pickup. But that's a good thing in my book. Every cheap guitar nails the highs, but it takes a decent body and pickup to find the low end. The pickups really impressed me too. I have a Dillion PRS-style (also an amazing guitar) and I'm thinking about replacing the pickups in it with the same kind that are in the V. My only complaint was that it seemed a little bright, but that may have been the strings.


I use it through a PA & a DG-Stomp at church, and it really sounded good (through the monitors, anyway!). Through my full rig (pedals: zvex, boss, Line6 [16 in all]; amps: Fender Tweed Blues Deluxe) it really sounded good. I had some great bluesy sounds working. I easily coaxed some modern rock sounds from it too, and some RHCP. The pickups are really articulate...definitely this guitar's strong point.

Right out of the box, the intonation was excellent, and the action was about perfect. The pickups were way out of whack. The neck was as low as it could go, and the brige was sky high. Easily enough fixed, though. The frets are great too...no buzz anywhere on the neck.

The entire body is a natural wood with a clear finish, so you can see the grain, which is really nice. It has a simple straight grain. The hardware is a beautiful gold, and in excellent condition.

I gigged with it this week w/o a backup, but no matter what you play, that is generally a bad idea. I gave this guitar the 3rd degree before I took it out, and I see no sign of weakness anywhere. The strap buttons are solid, and the tuners hold it in tune well. The only area that causes me concern is the input jack...it is mounted perpendicular to the body (just like a Gibson V). If the jack had any stress put on it, I'm scared of the outcome. Other than that, it seems really sturdy.

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I've been playing since 1993, and I own a Gibson LP Standard, Ernie Ball Music Man Axis, Taylor 714ce....some decent gear. Plus a host of vintage amps and pedals. This guitar stacks up. I like it much more than my Gibson, if you can believe that. And for $99, it's definitely gig worthy. I can't cry too much if it gets banged up. It is certainly a fantastic value.

2002 China, 23 fret, 2 volume and 1 tone, 3 way pu selector, 2 humbuckers, rosewood fretboard, maple neck, solid alder body, beautiful white finish, Flying V shape, tune-o-matic bridge, good tuners, no accessories

The sound suits my style, it works great for an alternative to my single coil guitar. It has a nice rich sound using only the amp's overdrive. I like everything about it.

The action was fine from the factory, I adjusted it easily enough. The pickups wer not adjusted well at all, bridge pu was too high and the neck pu was too low. No flaws at all, that's why I'm here writing this review.

It seems solid enough, time will tell. I'd never do a gig without a backup.

Customer support seems good enough, I hope I won't need to find out more.

I've been playing over 25 years. I have a Bachelor's degree in music. I'm no guitar expert, but I've owned many, 3 Gibson Les Pauls, a Strat, a Tele, and numerous others. This guitar is a quality instrument and for the price it's a steal.