Samick AV3 Greg Bennett Avion

September 2005, Indonesia, cherry sunburst, gorgeous finish.
Grover tuners, splittable DuncanDesigned HB103 pickups, tone lock t-o-m, one wonders about the very low price paid.
Les Paul style archtop, gibson scale, you get the idea.
The tiltback head is properly glued at the 2nd fret, the most reliable way to do in such a case.
The neck is on the wide side, but thin, reminds me of Ibanez necks. A real joy to play of course.
For the price paid, a solid 12.

Very honest sound, the DuncanDesigned are clear and with good definition. The guitar concept provides warmth and clarity, along with fantastic sustaiiiinnnn.
To my taste, the sound is slightly too bright(FM rock) so I changed the pickups for "woodier&trhoatier"ones.
The guitar behaves well noisewise, and you can play most styles as it comes stock.
I am using a Cube30 and a Vox vr30r with this guitar, and nothing else in the signal path. It is my living-room guitar so keep in mind I don't play it loud. The p-u's seems a bit microphonic, which could be a squealing issue when played loud.
Overall, stock, it gets a honest 8. For the price paid it is better than any guitar I have encountered.

Well set-up as it came (I got it in its paperbox), nothing to worry about except the loose jack input, a very common issue I have to say.
The nut is well cut, but could be 1-2mm lower.
I had a little problem with a too high fret, had to file it in order to play perfectly. No big deal, but a bit surprising given the overall quality of this guitar. Hence one point off.
The electronic job is properly done, no worries here.

Strap buttons are well attached, and the hardware seems reliable. Overall a very sane impression about this axe. Still, I can't rate it yet.

I just love it, and its price is somewhat from another planet. Before buying I had an Epi LPstandard at home for 2weeks, and the Avion3 is better made(polished frets-nothing hurts) and has better pickups by far. The sustain on both guitars is fantastic.
I would buy it again if broken/stolen/lost.
I love its neck, and the tones delivered. The sustain!
The overall tone is compressed and fresh, just keeps you playing for hours.
If you want a LesPaul-type guitar, this is it.
I play since the mid'80s, own too much stuff hence I know one thing or two about guitars. Hats off Samick!

la mienne est fait en indonesie, probablement par de jeunes exploites. elle a 22 frets et elle a un arch top. dessus jai 2 volumes et 2 tons (treble et bass) + un 3 way selector. elle a 2 humbuckers qui fonctionnent tres bien et qui capes beaucoup de dist. jai aucune idee de quoi est fait ma guitare. ils mont dit en mahogany mais ce nest pas vraie. ce point ne me derange pas car le son est tres beau. la mienne est de couleur cherryburst et elle a une forme de les pauls mais avec une courbe avant plus prononce.jaime bien le neck car il offre une resistance quand on joue dessus. jai aussi recu un petit cable CHEAP ASS de 2 pieds. completement inutile

je joue du metal, nimporte quelle sorte de metal et la guitare prend des surplus de dist ce qui est excellent. jutilise une boss od 20 drive zone twin pedal et un cube trente (ampli). tous les cordes donnent des sons chaleureux. bref, le son est parfait

parfait est mon seul mot mais je nai aucune idee de quoi est fait ma guit mais cela m importe peu

ma guitare a deja fait des tonnes de lives et tout est alle comme sur des roulettes. tout a de lair bien place pour durer longtemps. encore une fois , je crois quelle va durer tres longtemps et je depend sur elle. parfait

elle coutait 660 et je lai eu pour 319 $

je joue depuis 9 ans et elle est la meilleure guitare que je nai jamais eu

Well unfortunately Samick plays the "I'm not telling" game on their website. I think they would sell twice as many of these if they listed the specs, no matter how dismal. I think it would be better to own up to a DECENT guitar built with cheaper wood than to *hope* that nobody finds out that this guitar does not have any mahogany or maple in it (I honestly don't know if it does or not). I would like to know how this guitar is actually built, but that is secondary. I will assume a plywood top with a picture over a nato wood body or whatever the cheapest way to get it built might be. It does have a good set-neck joint which seems to be 95% of the LP sound. Also is an arch top which adds $$ if you're buying a custom guitar. Inlays could be stickers, probably a plastic nut, fake binding, whatever. However, this guitar plays and sounds fine to me.

I had been playing strats, wanted an LP sound for cheap, that simple. It sounds fine to me, not necessarily EXACTLY like a 1960 goldtop or whatever but perfectly usable. My band partner described it as "warm" after hearing me play it at a few gigs without knowing anything about the guitar, and he has NOT always liked the sounds I have brought in.

When I got it it had the usual squeal at high volume, pickups were microphonic. I spent like $15 on wax, melted it in a crock put and dipped the pickups without even undoing the wiring and the microphonics are gone. I can't say that the pickups sound different, but they still sound fine to me, I have no reason to think that going out and buying new pickups will make too much of a difference. The wax came out of the crockpot nicely in one big piece (should have put a wick in it, could have been a candle ;) I can always pot more pickups with the leftover wax as well. You need alot to dip the pickups but it takes very litlle to fill up the spaces inside the pickup.

Having never actually owned an LP or Epi I can't compare the sound of each, but I will say that I am very satisfied with the sound of this guitar. It works great for rock and roll and sounds at least as good as any of the Variax LP models without the piezo chonk.

With the potted pickups I'm giving sound a 10 because I am satisfied. It's not the greatest thing since Leo Fender was born but it is perfectly adequate in my opinion.

Maybe I'm less picky than others, but it plays fine for me. I have used it live about 15-20 times now. I did some minor action-setting etc when I got it, had to tighten up the jack and a pot but otherwise it has been fine. I think that in spite of the lack of documentation about materials used it is a very nice-looking guitar. Good value for $300 if you ask me. I give it a 1 because Samick refuses to document this model. ARE YOU LISTENING SAMICK?

Finish, strap buttons, dependability, are fine, I gig with it regularly. I specifically stopped buying $1500-up guitars so that if a pa speaker falls over on it and it breaks in half I could care less. Just get the insurance $$ (I know, good luck) and go get another. I give it a 9 because they ought to be able to put enough torque into the jack and pot nuts at the factory that I shouldn't have to worry about it.

Do they have anybody who speaks English? I've never tried to deal with them, as far as I'm concerned I could care less, they would have nothing to offer me anyway. All I want is documentation, specs of the guitar.

Been performing live in the Dallas area for over 15 years.

As I mentioned, I stopped buying expensive guitars, my Ed Roman Quicksilver is sold and I have semi-retired my 1979 anniversary strat. I now play an 80's jap strat with floyd (awesome guitar) and this one and a Variax. I paid less than $500 for each, so I won't be devastated if they are stoled or broken. I play through lots of old-school effects (love the Ibanez TS-9 series) and a 69 Twin Reverb. Between this guitar and the Strat I pretty much have all the electric tones I need, the amp and effects make the most difference to me. I use the Variax mainly just for acoustic, although there are lots of usuable sounds on it.

What I love about this guitar is that it sounds fine and I could care less if it gets damaged. Perfect for live use for me.

I wish Samick would give us more information on their website. Maybe they would be willing to hire me for marketing. I promise to pay for myself with increased sales ;)

I give it a 10 because it costs $300 and is every bit as usuable as the $2000 overpriced **** that says Gibson on it. Ask Ed Roman about Gibson ;)

Those already said by everyone. Excellent.

I play punk-rock and I needed the LP sound. Well, I got it. It sounds warm and thick even when selecting the "treble" position.

Yet I'm thinking about chancing the pickups for a couple of Seymour Duncan SP-90-2. I'll tell ya when I 'm done.

Perfect. It looks, feels and wighs as any Gibson LP. Excellent finish, perfect hardware. Friggin' hard to get out of tune. Love it.

I would definitely play it on stage with my group or alone. It sounds perfect and it's a booty you can rely on.

Haven't had to contact no cuystomer support. I guess that says it all.

I definitely love this thing. It's my fourth guitar and I wish they made them this good when I was a kid. I'm so happy with it that I've been considerin' buyin' another Samick-Greg Bennett model, maybe a Torino or a Royale.

If you're lookin' for a Les Paul but you can't afford it, this is exactly what you need. And if I were the Gibson buddies I'd be shakin' in my shoes.

(This is a continuation of the last post)
First let me say that the wait was worth it!!!
The guitar that Samick sent me is a 10 for the way it looks and the care that went into producing this high quality guitar. This is the nicest guitar I have ever owned!!! This guitars finish is nicer than the 2 I played in one store and 2 I only looked at in another store

2005, Indonesia, 22 frets, 2 volume 2 tone, 3 way selector, Daul humbucker, Les Paul Style, Red Transparent, Grover tuners, Jumbo frets, case included. The pickups were already wax potted.

I LOVE the way the guitar feels!!! It really is great for playing rock blues etc. I am using a Roland Blues Cube-30 and a Digitech RP300A and the whole set up sounds pretty awesome to my ears! The only noises that I am getting are from a bit of buzzing on the E and A strings. I play pretty hard and have tried to use more finesse but always return to playing chords harder. I already had lifted the action up and just yesterday finally adjusted the rod to get some neck relief and it has helped a lot but not all of it is gone. I will most likely have to set the action a bit higher for MY TASTE. I love the sound of this guitar!
My friend has an Epiphone LP Studio and I did notice that the pick ups are a little hotter, but with the presence and treble knobs on my amp and the wide variety of controls on my Digitech, this is not an issue for me.
I love the way this guitar makes me feel about playing!
I love the neck since it is closer to an acoustic steel string guitar neck!
I love the looks!
I love that it has the higher quality Grover tuners!

The only thing I see that I dislike is that it did not come fully set up for MY STYLE of heavy handed playing and no guitar company can set up guitars for every different type of player that is why they are made to be adjusted!
I give it a 9 only because the pickups should be a little hotter in my book.

Set up well for light to medium playing.
A couple of frets have little mars on the upper edge but I do not play with my thumb up on the 19 thru 22 frets so it is only a minor cosmetic issue.
The nut is a bit high, but it seems as though it is not as high as the first one I recieved. I am going to wait on filing down the base to lower the action at the nut.

* Will this guitar withstand live playing?
Yes although I am not on stage yet!
* Does the hardware seem like it will last?
Yes!
* Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy
to wear off with lots of playing?
Finish seems thick, but a bit too glossy and I feel that it will show flaws eventually
* Are the strap buttons solid?
Changed out for Schaller Strap Locks
* Can you depend on it?
Seems VERY reliable. Too soon for this really
* Would you use it on a gig without a backup?
YES!!!

Because I ended up with a diamond, I feel a lot better about the whole experience.

First off I want to send out kudos to Steve and David at Crossroads Music in Indiana for really going the extra mile and making sure that everything worked out for me! They told me that they are now getting all guitars shipped to them directly(no drop shipments) so that they can verify that only the best quality guitars get shipped out!!!! View guitar here: http://www.crossroads-music.org/catalog/samick_av3_avion_flamed_arch_top_electric_guitar_brand_new_2854489.htm

The maunfacturer Samick wants you to deal only with the place that sold you the guitar. They would not mail me the return label but instead mailed it back east to the seller, who then mailed it to me! So it took a bit longer to get.

I recieved the guitar boxed in a guitar case with a small guitar cable and an allen wrench for neck adjustment. No warranty or any info on how to setup or care for the guitar.

I give Crossroads Music a 10 for customer service
I give Samick a 7 in the hopes that they beef up thier customer service and also hope that they will very soon carry replacement parts as it is very hard to find any! (just looking at options!)

If stolen I would buy again!
If you are thinking about purchasing let me tell you that if you get anything close to what I got you will not be disappointed!!! Feel free to email me with specific questions and I will tell you all I know!!!

This rating is a bit premature, but I think it is appropriate to let people know what I am going through in regards to buying this make and model of guitar!

2005, Indonesia, Red Transparent, Grover tuners, basic medium duty case included.

I bought this specifically to have a Les Paul style guitar, with a bound neck. (I already had a Squier Strat, but it had a way too narrow "quick neck" that had strings buzzing in open chord positions.)I play mostly rock/blues, and have finally after years of off and on playing, decided to get more serious about my guitar. I have played with some friends in a garage band and at small gatherings. I tried this guitar and an Epiphone and a Les Paul on a Marshall amp and while there obviously were differences in the quality of pick ups and finish, it was not enough to have me want to plunk down $499 for an Epi on sale, not to mention the outrageous price of the Gibson. I liked the sound of the pickups on all three and would be happy with any of 'em! Of course I was not blasting the amp so the differences would probably have been more obvious then. I would have to say that the Gibson had more of a lighter ethereal feel to the pickups.

BRASS TACKS- Just as I see it----The action was higher than two I played in local store. Neck pickup had to be pushed down repeatedly on the bridge side to get the neck side to not be dipped down. There are various mis-colorings on this guitar. Nut is definitely too high. The lead/rhythym switch was pushed all the way in when I recieved it. the 1st string is buzzing a lot around the 1,2,3,4 fret. The 5th string tuner is weird and I tried to loosen the screw but to no avail. All of this is not too bad other than the broken switch and the fret buzz and the creaky feeling Grover tuner. Oh yeah, the case has a wierd shape on it for the arch top and it was made a little askew. I am upgrading to a heavy duty case because i feel that this is what allowed the toggle switch to be pushed in.

Seems durable! High gloss that will most likely show everything that happens to it. solid strap buttons.

I will now be finding out how well customer service is. As I write this I am awaiting a return label from the online company that I purchased it from. At this point, you don't deal with Samick, just their authorized dealers.

I like this guitar a lot and feel that the only real issue here is that the inspector needs to be told to not let anything like this pass by them! I would buy this guitar again if something unforseen happened. I love that I can get a decent Les Paul for under $300.

I am going to do an update to let everyone know how this turns out and I will also fill in more of the questions asked and give truer number ratings! Just won a Blues Cube 30 on ebay and can't wait to hear them together!!! Keep on Rockin' in the Free World!!!!!!!!!!

2003 Avion-3 Cherry Sunburst, Made in Indonesia.
Mahogany neck & body with maple flame top, Grover tuners and HH pickups.

When I recieved my AV3 by UPS, I ran to plug it in and try it on my amps.
A 1968 VT-22 ampeg(tube) and a Randall commander(solid state). And to my astonishment, this guitar sounded incredible. Absolutely no problems with the pots or pick-ups as stated by others -(this dosen't mean that they don't have a problem with these features, it just means I might have been lucky with this guitar). Warm tone on the neck pickup, a little bright on the lead though, but managable. Great sound with a glass slide, one of the reasons of my purchase for this guitar was the lespaul sound w/slide without the astronomical price. And I'm sure this product would sound even better if the pickups were changed to a aquality set.

The bad - High E was too low. Bridge was also too sharp on the high E and I had to file a slight area on the bridge to keep the E from premature breakage. Volume knob was cracked. And a small crack in the clearcoat finish where the bridge anchors (over tightened).
The good - Besides the bad, which I think is minor, the guitar played beutifully. nothing loose. If it wasn't for these negatives I would have said this guitar is excellent in this catagorie.

This guitar will last! I USE my guitars. If it couldn't keep up to my every whim, it would end up in the fireplace. Very solid. Stays in tune, unlike my old goldtop I owned. Thats why I don't own it anymore. Strap buttons were replace with dunlop locks. Gigging alone with it wouldn't worry me a bit.

Beeing an avid guitar player for many years, I've come to discover that price dosen't always mean quality. Brand-names nowadays are the selling point for guitars, not the quality of them. I own 2 guitars for over 25 years -- 69 telecaster w/bigsby, 77 strat standard. Also I have owned a 68 gold top les paul. I've tried all the LP copies like Jay Turser, Epi, etc... None of them impressed me, not even NEW LPs - A whole lot of money for what? That goes without saying for all of the old companies that are making money off just their name. This AV3 was the deal of the century. Low cost with high quality. I would have no problem purchasing another AV3 should anything happen to this one.

Remember fellow guitar players - The guitar doesn't make the player, the player makes the guitar!

This is an update to a previous review of mine.

I just recently wax potted the pickups on this guitar ( http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/electrical/index.php ) , which showed me a few things about it. For one, inside the guitar it was coated with this flat black spray, which I believe to be a shielding spray. I was very surprised to see this sprayed on the inside of the guitar because I don't see it on my Fenders! I suppose this is why it's so quiet between the humbuckers and shielding. Anyway, after putting the potted pickups back in I plugged it into a little solid state amp I use for practice and noticed a much warmer sound on the neck pickup, which I didn't even think was possible. Switching to the bridge pickup I found that it was more useful than ever, because it was also mellower and it doesn't have that harsh bite to it anymore. I can't wait to play this through my 50 watt Crate amp, which caused me to pot it ... every time I added treble I'd get an annoying squeal in my face. Not anymore 8-)

Everyone else has already said these Gary Bennett Avions are made in Indonesia ; this is the 2 pickup model with 2 volume controls and 2 tone controls -- mine is black, and we all know black is best. The 3 way toggle even has the unnecessary Gibson "rhythm/treble" sign on it. I have always used rhythm pickup for lead playing, if there can be said to be such a thing as lead or rhythm. Unless we're talking Hank B. Marvin and the Shadows, the distinction is dead.

Beautiful sound played through a 30w Roland amp (hey, I'm not Hendrix). I play all sorts of stuff from 60s rock to a bit of jazz, to a bit of blues. If you like the sounds on "Cheap thrills", you can get plenty on this thing ; if you like Cream, you got it ; you can get some AC/DC power chords ; you can pick neat and clean like Les Paul himself ; you can get classic Free, you can do a passable Santana sound, surf music, Stax soul sound, Chuck Berry, even a bit of tele twang --and my son uses it for a bit of industrial gothic metal (and plays it in church services!) -- great for classic Aussie rock such as Daddy Cool and Tamam Shud. My only reservation is a minor one which applies to nearly every pickup on any guitar: there's not enough tone difference from 1 to 10.

I'm not the expert, but I've adjusted zilch. Finish is fantastic. No pickguard, which is great, because all you should do with a pickguard is take it off.

The guitar gets few live workouts, apart from in the garage, but goes like a ripper (Aussie speak for "is very good") ; the guitar will still be here when I am gone, and the tuning pegs are worth the price of the whole unit. A very minor point: why do manufacturers stick the jack socket on the edge of the guitar where it puts stress on the jack? Yes, I know you can curl it under the strap, but let's get it right!

Haven't dealt with the company. The best company support is no company support because the product works.

Have played for over 35 years ; this is unquestionably the best guitar I have owned (I did have a Maton El Toro -- Maton has a good international name, but this 35 fret monster was pretty dreadful ; its best feature was the case). I have played teles, strats and Les Pauls, and copies of many. I never liked the look of Les Paul guitars, and never liked the heavy, chunky feel of most Gibsons (including some beautiful jazz archtops I have played). I was looking for a tele or strat and just picked this up in the shop to convince myself I had tried everything ; after about 3 notes and 3 chords I knew this was it. I still don't like the Les Paul look, but if you only ever buy 1 guitar, get one of these. If you are a pro, buy some new pickups if you don't like these, and you will be pleased. In Australia, the original is at least 10 times the price, but you will not get a 10 times better guitar ; Epiphones are 4-5 times the price, and frankly I wouldn't bother. I'm old enough to remember when Ibanez and Yamaha were unwanted in guitar stores, and I think this Samick line falls into the category of potential collectors' item. I was so impressed that I bought the Samick "stratt-ish" guitar, the Interceptor, and if I ever get the money, I might go the tele copy, too. The only thing I occasionally would like on this guitar is an extra neck with 12 strings.

This is an add-on to the last review. This guitar can be made to sound WAY better by replacing the stock pickups. I'm on somewhat of a mission to come up with the best-sounding LP copy for the least amount of cash. After reading some reviews, I decided to try a pair of Mighty Mite Alnico Vintage Buckers. These pickups cost me $35.00 ( I think they've gone up to a whopping $42.00 now at dancingdragon.com), for the PAIR! What a huge improvement in overall tone! It took away the brightness of the stockers and replaced it with warmth. They didn't come with any instructions, so I had a little trouble figuring out the wiring (although this was mostly due to a defective input jack wiring problem that was making me crazy 'til I figured it out). If you don't want coil-splitting (don't know why anyone would; I did it by accident during my wiring trials and it sounded like crap), just hook the red wires together, solder, and wrap with electrical tape to insulate. Attach the other two leads to the pots the way the stockers came out.
These pickups sound great and are a great deal!

Absolutely great with new pickups! Not an expert, but betting it's not far from a real LP.