Steinberger Spirit GU Deluxe

Korean-made 2005 lefty model with 24 fret bolt-on neck. H/S/H pickup arrangement with EMG Selects (passive). Came with gig bag, cable, and hex keys. Neck is relatively thin, almost strat-style, with very fast action.

This guitar is VERY versatile. I bought it for my son (for those of you who want a serious guitar for an undersized but serious kid I couldn't recommend a better axe) but I find myself playing it upside down. The EMG selects aren't as good as their active counterparts, but I'd rate them higher than the ones I have on my Ibanez RG.

Very low noise from the single coils, and a great distorted sound from the HB.. Sounds very full clean with plenty of balance.

We play through a RP200 effects processor with a practice amp, or a Roland GP16/Marshall/ADA rack combo and a Mesa Boogie 2x12 cabinet (scorpions, I think.. haven't looked back there in a while).

We had received one that had some damage (4th fret wasn't inserted right.. had a bit of a buzz, and there was some physical damage) but MusicYo cross shipped me a new one immediately so my son had it right on time for the holidays. Awesome service. Remember: any manufacturer can have a problem (I had some problems with an American Strat once)-- it's how they deal with it that really matters, and MusicYo came through for me BIG time.

Second guitar was perfect and didn't need any additional set up or adjustments. Fit and finish was excellent.

Rating given is for the replacement guitar.

So far so good.. in the hands of a 9 year old I'm not so sure ANY guitar will last, but the advantage of this one is that it is compact and light-- so it can be handled very easily.

Couldn't be happier. Like I said above- any vendor can have a problem now and again with a product... they dealt with it better than some walk-in stores could have. Email response was almost immediate, and cross ship happened next day.

I have been playing for 25 years and own a 1959 Gretsch (recently sold), 1991 American Strat, Ibanez RG, Ibanez G-AX (practice and backup), Ovation acoustic, Gibson acoustic, and about to purchase a Dean 12 string. My son has a Johnson junior strat (the only company that makes junior scale lefty models), and a Hohner lefty acoustic.

If stolen we would immediately replace it.

This axe is PERFECT for smaller-bodied players.. kids who take guitar seriously have a very limited choice-- especially lefties. Most models out there are too heavy or too awkward for a pre-teen to use -- enough so that it really makes them hate practicing. The lack of a headstock and compact body are a perfect combination that gives the player 24 full size frets to develop their hands. A kid also gets very frustrated when they need to retune their guitar every few minutes (my Ibanex G-AX, for one).. this Steinie holds tune just as good as my friend's Parker Fly Deluxe.

We may eventually replace the pickups with active EMGs, but for now this is great!!!

BTW- for other parents out there wondering, I'd also recommend Blue Note straps-- they're impossible to find, but well worth it. A kid needs to be comfortable if they are going to keep practicing. www.bluenotestraps.com.

Parents: don't waste your money on cheap "beginner" or Junior Scale guitars!!!! 20 fret necks and poor tuners make them very frustrating to where you're wasting your money. Invest in a guitar like this one (or the "Broom" model).. the extra expense up front more than pays for itself.. Plus they absolutely love the unique look. You won't find a better solution

2004 korean made, 24 frets,
fireburst finish on a swamp ash 2 pice body.
master volume and tone, Passive EMG selects in a H/S/H setup
R- Trem tremelo, maple neck with rose wood fret 25" scale.
Included Gig bag.

string accessory to convert single ball strings is a must. although not included it is worth the price. you can now use your favorite strings in place of the mandatory steinburgers (there not bad but hard to find) I prefer Exlier poly webs.

I play a wide vareity of music from rock to pop and even praise band stuff on sundays. I will typically choose a guitar to match what I'm playing (i have 8) and this guitar is very versital, heavy metal is about the only palce you will find it is weak. alot of people have complained about the emg pick ups, they arn't that bad. I would take these over the crappy single coils in a stock mexican strat any day. they are quiet and bright but not tinny. you can even get some good dark blusey out of the neck and middle when mixed.
the worst pat is the tone nob is worthless. its either on or off. but the 5 way selector still offers the variety you need. other have complained that they wish they had the trans trem instead of the the r trem. If you have never played a trans trem this will be the most stable tremelo you have ever played. it stays in tune, no matter how hard you drive dive and pull. yes bending whole chords is cool but realistically how often are going to be doing that? the best way to describe it sound is between a strat and a les paul, not quite as bright as a strat but not as dark as the paul. it is cabale of covering both areas well but just cant do the paint melt goes to eleven distortion that a les paul can. with the right effects you can get close but not all the way. it stiil has its place which is every were but a metalica tribute band.

i was suprised at how well the guitar was ready to go right out of the box(minor tuning) I am a lefty so finding a guitar that is in tune is a miricle let alone intonated properly. The action is low and no buzz! i see now cosmetic flaws at all ans I am picky. Mine has a nice fireburst finish(the only option for left hand). and it is sweet. the only real thing I noticed was the humbucker mounting rings are designed for a gibson style archtop as they are angled and this guitars body is flat so the humbuckers are at somewhat of any angle to the strings. it does not appear to affect the sound too much. the neck is thin sleek and fast although the first few times you play it you are thrown off by the missing head, i found my self missing flat a few times. they overall smaller length and body size make it a joy on the neck with out comprimising solid sustain.

I have played with it live and it is solid,and stable. I dont play with out more than one guitar because of the things we do but, if I had to take just one and this was it, I wouldnt be to worried. if you should break a string you can always lock the bridge and it stays in tune! Cosemtically it will look good for a long time if maitained, small nicks and dents are to be expected, if it leaves the house. i am sure in time it will still look just as good although used.

most people cant tell you anything about customer service because they havent contacyted them. iguess this a testiment to the good product they send out. I did need to contact them I ordered my GU on a sunday night, received it wednesday.(I paid for quicker shipping) I noticed the string adaptor I ordered was missing the srews that retaing the srtings in place. I emailed them per the web site and received a return email with in 15 minutes! the email appologised for the mix up and told me the screws were in the mail. Saturday of the same week they arrived. this is my second guitar from MusicYo, and I cant recomend them enough, especially for you lefties. I am giving a 9 instead of a 10 because they should have caught the mistake before it went out.

overall this is a great guitar at a great price as I mention earlier I have several guitars ranging from the expensive; Fender & Gibson to the economy; Jay turser and home built from warmoth. It is in the top two. The versatility and stability are great. Ned Steinberger is a genius. The diferent approach to the engineering aspect of this guitar creates a small learning curve buut once you understand how it works you truly have a beautiful engineering marvel you wont want to put down. I debated about this guitar for a year before a bought it. I kick myself for not jumping sooner because it went up $50 in that time.

Standard Steinberger Spirit GU Deluxe in the transparent green finish that the wife bought me as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago. It came standard with EMG Select P/Us, 24-fret neck, R-trem, etc, etc, etc (all the usual stuff that has been mentioned by others). I chose the Stein b/c I had always liked the unusual look and the 24-fret neck.

Like so many others, I felt that the EMG Select p/u's were a tad weak and flat (I knew what I was getting myseld into though, as I had experienced the EMG Selects many many moons ago on an old Hondo Flying V.... wish I never sold that shoulder-killer :-)). I currently play through either a Digitech RP-1 or Line6 GuitarPort straight into a powered mixer or my old Crate G80XL. The Stein is VERY quiet, but in it's stock configuration, this guitar is absolutely 100% reliant upon the effects or processors to give it character (due to the very flat EMG pickups), not to say that it is poorly designed or not playable. In fact, it has a very nice "unplgged" sound (better than your average Strat but not quite as nice as a LP), superb action, and is very comfortable.

The guitar really came alive once I decided to hack into the electronics. I replaced the bridge humbucker with an offering from Lace (actually, I bought the "Powered by Lace" set from MF on sale for around $30 and promptly split them btw this guitar and another project) and, recalling my earlier experience with the Selects, I tapped the neck PU (all you need is a $2 switch from Radio Shack and a soldering iron). The Lace unit matches the output of the EMGs very well but offers GREATLY improved sound quality. The guitar is now able to reproduce many of the lush distorted sounds that I was going for (Satch, Nickelback, etc). Once the neck pickup was tapped, I was also able to get those missing tones akin to my old Strat (SRV, Clapton, and David Gilmour).

Now that my upgrades are complete, this guitar has become very versatile. I can go from crystal clear all the way to super saturated distortion without having to grab a different axe.

Overall, I'm giving it an 8 in this category due to the EMGs. If the folks @ Steinberger would have tapped the neck PU and used a better humbucker in the bridge, it would be a solid 10.

Set up very well from the factory. Pickups were a little low for my taste, but usable. Perfect flamed top, binding, and paint. Wood feels solid and sounds resonant. Neck joint is nice and tight. Heck, 2.5 years worth of playing and it still looks new, what more could I ask for?

As for the action.....
Everything was great until I had to replace the strings, which I did so with a lighter guage than what was on it from the factory. Ever since, I have been having trouble keeping the thing in tune following use of the trem (in Steinbergers defense, the problem may just be the crappy strings from MusicYo). I have been tweaking and adjusting every knob, nut, and screw on the trem and have gotten it close, but not quite 100%. Because of the trouble that I am having with the trem adjustment, I'm knocking off 1 point. Like I said, though, it may just be my crappy strings.... too bad I bought a whole box!!!

Solid, quality components. No question, this is a very road-worthy guitar.

N/A Haven't called and probably won't

The Spirit line of guitars from Steinberger offer a great value for the money. I would rather have one of these than ANY of the comparably-priced offerings from their competitors (especially considering that you can opt for the same guitar without the flamed top for well under 300 bucks!). As I mentioned above, I only wish that it came with better pickups.

Been playing 23 years, occaisionally on a semi-professional level, but mostly for my own enjoyment. I have owned guitars ranging from the aforementioned Hondo flying V (my first 'real' electric) to the obligatory Strat to a Les Paul Custom, and lots in between. The Steinberger fills its own unique niche in my current collection, is very versatile, and I would readily replace it if it were lost or stolen. For the price, I might even buy one of the GT 'broomstick' ones, too!

This is a spirit gu deluxe fireburst finish.
24 frets, 1 master volume, one master tone,1 five way pickup selctor
passive electronics, h/s/h pickup config.

The fireburst finish is AWESOME I dont think I have ever seen a nicer looking sunburst.
Pickups Sound good As well.

The 40:1 tuners are a godsend, I never can get in perfect tune but with the fine tuners it makes it a breeze.

Neck is pretty thick simular to my gibson faded sg

Neck is maple fretboard is rosewood body is swamp ash

Came with a gigbag, cable, wrenches, and very vague and crappy instructions.

Sound is good. The Bridge pickup works alright for Pinch Harmonics.
I dont normally use the neck position but it sounds pretty good too.
The pickups sound a lot like my 200 dollar set of tony iommi pickups.

This baby is quiet, It puts my strat to shame(my poor old strat will even pickup radio stations sometimes LOL)

But I Still may end up changing out the pickups for active emg's.

Finish is great very heavily laquered the only flaw in the finish is a hairline crack coming from under the corner of the neck pickup mounting ring (suppose it happened when they screw the little screw in) but it is so minute (only about1/16 of an inch long) I dont think I would have ever noticed it if it werent for a glare coming through the window.

The Intonation was perfect out of the box and the action was great.

The frets could have been polished better but thats no big deal to me since i always oil the fretboard and polish the frets when I change strings on my guitars

This thing is built to last infact it'll probobly outlive me.

The hardware seems well built as well.

I dont think the finish is going anywhere either, its like 5 times as thick as my strats.

It seems to be very dependable and stable.

The only reason I wouldnt use it at a gig without a backup is their is always the chance that you will break a sting or a pickup will go out or something like that.

Never dealt with customer support.
Never needed to get it repaired.
Dont know how long the warranty is 1 year probobly

Been playing for almost 5 years and own 9 other guitars.
I cant think of anything I wish I would have asked.
If it were stolen or lost i think i would buy another steinberger but I think I would get a us model with a transtrem.
I love the finish, but I wish I could find some coated strings for it.
I compared this guitar to all the other steinbergers I chose this one because of the finish, the price, the coolness, and the pickup configuration.

The only thing I wish it had was a trans trem.

Hi, I wrote the review that's right beneath this one, and I'd like to add one more important thing if they'll let me... after I wrote that I had a big problem with the master tuning knob (it wouldn't tune), and so I emailed musicyo's customer service (I originally tried gibson via the steinberger page and they referred me back to musicyo which is strange since gibson makes the damn things). I got a reply saying that they were forwarding my query to an engineer. I didn't hear anything back for the longest time, and started to get extremely angry, and began considering replacement guitars (thinking a strat would do nicely) for when I got my refund. However the day after I borrowed a strat from my friend to take for a "test drive" I got a package in the mail with a new master tuner/spring/under the bridge deal. I removed the bridge, installed the new piece (needed a drill), and lo and behold it works perfectly now.

THAT was the those of you who doubted musicyo.com's customer service. Also because of that ordeal I'm pretty familiar with the steinie's physiology so if you have any similar problems I would love to be of help. :)

Still looking for that stratty tone I was told I could find... stratty albiet not as bright, thank god. I really do wish this guitar had another tone pot.

This hottie is a fireburst with all the standard factory stuff... the ECM 5-way pickups, ash body, the rosewood fingerboard that I like on my guitars, etc. I haven't modified it at all yet. I might eventually replace the pickups but at the moment I have no real problems with them.

It came with the allen wrenches, little patch cord, and the gig bag, which is comically small and pleasantly eye-catching (because it's so small).

It plays beautifully... the neck feels Stratty to me, and once the action is set it plays really nicely... although I find it hard to reach the top several frets.

I found that the directions were pretty crappy... I needed to lower the action a little bit and found that the directions didn't really do it for me. They were pretty vague and brief. I didn't get it. Is it because I'm blonde? Perhaps. Anyway, I had to ask a friend of mine who owns one. The directions for the intonation adjustment especially I thought were bad since usually you use a screwdriver to adjust the saddles, not your fingers.

Another thing, and this doesn't have much to do with the guitar itself, but it should be said - get the string adapter. In my opinion Steinberger's strings aren't great. I broke two strings in a matter of minutes. I'm primarily a blues player and so I tend to hack and bend and rake and other such colorfully violent things, but I'm not THAT violent. I almost never break strings, and I snapped the E string that came on the guitar (they had obviously been on the guitar for quite a while). I decided to change the strings, and while stretching out the string as I normally do once having strung it, the damn thing broke. I then broke a third one while doing the intonation. It was their "light" guage string, and as I normally play 9's anyway, sometimes 10's, this bugged me intensely. Thank god, and I praise them for this, they include a 2nd B and E in the string pack. I can't wait to get the adapter and go back to using my D'Addario strings. It's just more convenient anyway - you can't stroll on down to the local music shop and pick up some steinberger strings (what if it's an emergency??).

I'm a blues player and since my amp is pretty bad in terms of dirty tone, I have to rely on a pedal to give me some good chunk until I can upgrade to a better amp... the guitar performed very well with the pedal, which is fussy and temperamental. It hates my peavey but likes my washburn and the steinberger. This instrument gets great jazz tone... very clean, round and crisp. It's delicious. Too bad I'm not really a jazz player. The pickups are fine... try playing for years on a bad set of washburn pickups and you'd rejoice to have these. It's clearly a versatile instrument... your sound can be blown to hell with a simple brush of the tone pot but at the same time you can create any number of sounds between that and the pickups.

As I said before, I needed to lower the action a little bit, and the intonation was flat in a couple of places, which is standard for a new guitar, but I don't like the way you have to adjust the intonation. There's one set screw, and then you have to slide the saddles by hand, which is a pain and can cause a problem. But the last guitar I got was a Peavey EXP which came with horrible action and intonation, so I was really happy when the Steinberger came out of the box more or less playable. Once I fixed the action it played like butter.

The finish is great, it's an all around attractive looking guitar. It's surprisingly heavy, which is a minor issue for me because I have a slight shoulder/back problem as a remnant from an earlier injury... all of my other guitars and basses are really light to accomodate for this, and I don't very much like playing sitting down. This isn't the company's problem obviously, and I'll be able to deal with it.

It's clearly a solid little monster, I have no doubts that it'll outlive me. The hardware seems solid although I worry for the saddles, the wood is very solid, the finish is great, heavily laquered, etc. However I am concerned about the little rubber band that keeps the strings in place. I'm not relishing the idea of using an actual rubber band until I can get it fixed once it breaks, which it will. As for a backup, I'd say it's pretty safe.

I only needed them once... when I was ordering the guitar I noticed that they were out of string adapters, and the idea of only being able to get guitar strings from their website makes me ill, so I emailed their customer service with an inquiry. They emailed me back within an hour and told me they'd have new ones in within 6 weeks. That's not so bad, but then again it's a bit of a wait because Steinberger's strings are NOT GOOD...

I've been playing for 5 years, and my family includes a Peavey EXP which is a surprisingly nice guitar. It has a Roland GK-2A MIDI pickup installed on it, and it's played through a Roland GR-1. I also own a lousy Washburn BT, which I bought to replace a guitar that was stolen from me. It's the guitar I can thrash without worries and it's done quite nicely for me. I also have a Cort 5 string bass which is a wonderful instrument.

I probably would get another Steinberger if this were lost or stolen, although maybe an upgrade.

I really love the way this thing feels when I have it on. It's so small and concise and has a really pleasant weight (despite the twinging in my shoulder) to it. It just feels good (despite the twinging). I like this guitar.

i got me here a SPIRIT by Steinberger GU-deluxe black guitar.
24 jumbo frets, rosewood fret board, one piece maple neck, ?mahogany body? tone and volume, 5 way selector switch for h/s/h pickups(emg select), double cut away strat style body. steinberger r-trem bridge and tuners (really nice) can be locked or floating like a floyd rose. scale is 25 1/2". short guitar... think fender mini strat. great travel guitar.

the select pickups arent bad. i thought i might replace them but i think they will stay on there longer than i thought. bridge high output full powerful sound.
middle is thin very quiet sounding.
neck is huge! when played clean has many acoustic features to it.

i got a gig bag with it... zipper broke in the first hour.. oh well. a patch cable, allen wrenches, whammy bar.

i play, melodic variations of metal(death and progressive), hardcore and praise and worship. i use with many amps (whatever is in the room) buti play it thru the jcm800 setting on the line6 POD. its noisy at really high volumes but i think that is because it is not active. full sound nothing to complain about there.

its still not an emg 81 and 85.

this thing was almost completely setup right out the box (action was a little low tho)

the plain strings slide around a little on the zero fret but nothing major.

i think thi guitar will do okay live. im not sure how well the maple will hold up in 10 years.

the hardware is all steinberger.. pretty hardcore stuff.

music yo shipped it in less than a week.

i have never dealt with gibson.

i ahve been play guitar for about 5 years. i own an aria pro II which is a fantastic guitar as well.

if someone stole this guitar i would save a couple more $$ and buy a steinberger gm series with s trans*trem.

i wish it had emg 81 on the bridge and emg 85 on the neck.

The stats have come up and this was the normal setup. Passive EMG Select H-S-H pickups and wood parts (I believe ash body and maple neck).
The Cherry Sunburst finish is a bit bright but I didn't get to pick. I always wanted a Steinberger and now I got it, even though it's just a humble Spirit model.
I hate five-way switches. They're inconvenient, badly placed, hard to replace with anything else and electrically non-versatile. Passive tone control (= treble cut) is also absolutely useless for me. I usually put something else in the hole where the pot was.

In everything I've plugged it to, it's noiseless (apart from the strings moving of course) and it's not a treble cut trick either. The pickups don't quite seem to match eachother. The middle one is noticeably quieter than the others and the neck pickup seems noticeable louder. The middle-bridge combination is thin and the middle-neck quite loud.
I looked inside and they only use half the switch so the pickups are on or off. I connected the splits to the other half of the switch like I've seen on many other guitars so the in-between positions use the H pickups in split mode. They sound better IMO though a bit odd.
I quite like the sound anyway. It could be much better but this is a low-end model and not bad by any measure.
I mostly play progressive metal or rock and classical and whatever happens to cross my mind.

I got the guitar second-hand and the first owner said he only changed pickup and string height. I noticed the master tone was off and changed that. Later when I took off the strings to look closer at the pickups, the saddle bits fell off. They were unlocked. Luckily setting intonation like setting anything in this guitar is really easy (or perhaps impossible). The strings are light for my taste (9-42) but it plays very well. No visible flaws.
There is one audible and feelable flaw, though. When doing wide bends on the top strings they move across the zero fret and there seems to be slight grooves or scratches on it, so it feels scratchy.
After Ibanez necks this was a bit of a culture shock but it feels very pleasant to me now.

I haven't tortured this or had it very long yet, but it feels extremely stable. I've met guitars where the neck can move about just a tiny bit and other kinds of things. This feels solid. It is in good condition though I'm sure it has been well kept.

I don't usually deal with support. It's a shame it's all in Gibson's hands now. I have seen so many good things buried or changed for the bad by big companies and I fear for Steinberger. These things are absolute wonders.

This was cheap and I justified buying it by calling it a travel guitar and it should suit that role very well. I believe I'll make more changes to the electronics. So far I've mostly been playing Ibanez guitars as my own with numerous others (Tokai, Washburn, Charvel, Jackson...) on different occasions. They all have their differences

Stock w/ EMG 85's, new selector switch, pots, and jack from stewmac.com

Somewhat dark with passive emg selects, not bad not great, just pickups. When I installed the 85's, the guitar really came alive. I like a maple fretboard sound, and this gets close.

I am a fan of both high, more acoustic sounding action, and very low action. There is some buzzing at very low settings, but if you raise the strings up, it plays great. I love the small size. I am 6'2", so everyone comments on how i look like i am holding a tennis racket! It makes me chuckle. The white finish was fine. Although the logo was messed up, the 'tein' looked like it was scratched off. didnt bother me at all, in fact, the white finish is now gone. I sanded, and eventually plained the body to get to the bare wood. Now the sound changed again. It has more of a natural, almost piano sound.

All i can say is this thing is a tank. I beat the life out of this thing. It has been taken apart probably 20 or more times, sanded, plained, burnt(to try to remove the finish), thrown, dropped, punched, and abused at live shows for the last 4 years. And i stll pick it up every day with a smile. It has put up with my relentless tinkering time and again. Although, I am begining to think the tuners are starting to strip out a bit. I will probably buy a new r-trem within a year. Keep in mind, I use no less than 3 different tunings a day. And i dont mean drop d and back up. Any combination i can think of. Under normal use, the r-trem should be fine for many, many years.

When i first got the guitar, the pickup selector cracked a bit, music yo sent me a new one. Now, four years later, the flushmount output jack is wearing out. They can be tricky to find, so i emailed musicyo last week, and they are sending me one out. I personally dont mind email communication, IT KEEPS THE PRICE DOWN! So if you want to pay double just to have the comfort of human contact, be my guest! Musicyo has been very Helpful.

Ive been playing 14 years. I have had three ibanez guitars, an esp, gibson explorer copy, charvel, peavy predator. Every one is now sold except the steinberger. the cheapest one turns out to be the best! I would buy another one, but i wont have to unless this one is stolen! I have tried to find a replacement for this thing, just to see if there is one for the money, and there isnt. i have broken three strings in four years. thats a great feeling!

Price: $560 Canadian, shipping + 2 sets of strings included.

Came with gigbag, cheap patchcord, instructions on how to use R-Trem, and a pair of allen wrenches.

My guitar is a fireburst, and I just got it two days ago, but I've also had experience with my friend's GU Deluxe, which is pretty much the same as the one I got, except he's already got EMGs in his, and he got the cherryburst instead of fireburst.

Everyone's pretty much covered all the features of this guitar, but I'll add some opinions on a few of them.
24 frets - just excellent, every single fret is easily accessible, unlike my other two electric guitars which have 22 frets and reaching the lower strings past the 15th fret becomes a chore.
Pickups - I can see where everyone puts in their complaints here, but I really don't think they're that bad. I will eventually replace them with EMGs or Seymour Duncans, but that's because I'm my objective in buying this guitar was to get really good gear at a low price. I'll probably end up spending some $650 on this guitar altogether, but I don't think I'll need a better guitar! The pickups give a good variety of sounds, in the first position you get a nice blended sound for rhythm playing, in the second you get a slight treble boost, in the middle you get a mids boost which is actually louder than both the other pickups, the fourth position gives a low boost which sounds really great (by far my favorite position), and the fifth position growls pretty well, but the sound is so bright that I don't like it too much.

The gigbag is not as bad as many people have described it. Obviously you're going to have to be careful not to drop the thing, but the same goes for anything you use!

Some people might think that a second tone knob might have been in order, but I'm liking the master volume/master tone just fine.

The neck of the guitar I really like as well. I was afraid I was going to get a neck very similar to a Vantage VS-600R that I have, which is thicker and longer than I like, making it very hard for me and my small hands to play that guitar. And as far as I know, both guitars have pretty much all the same specs where it counts... why then is this guitar so much easier to play? I don't know, but I love the feel of it.

The R-trem is where this guitar really shines I think. It's not as hard as all that to set it up, all you have to do is read the instructions and understand them. Changing strings is a breeze, and the tuners are great!

The accessories I don't really care about, because they don't affect the actual guitar, and whatever the pickups take away from it, the pickups can be replaced if you don't like them. The feel of the guitar, however, and the bridge, are not so easy to change.

I play a lot of different stuff, jazz, classic rock, prog metal, metal, classical, etc. I think this guitar suits all these styles just fine. YES, even with the "EMG Select" pickups. I'm playing it through a Peavey Rage 158, and as soon as I get my Marshall JCM 2000 DSL, this guitar will REALLY shine.

As I mentioned before, there are various sounds you can get from the pickups, and the tone control knob helps in choosing your sound, though not nearly as much as the pickup selector. One thing I don't like too much about the tone knob is that it starts to compress your sound a bit too much when it gets into the darker ranges.

The sustain on the guitar is really great, so is the tuning, I've had to make NO adjustments whatsoever (though I might eventually raise the action a teeny tiny bit, just out of preference).

But beyond all of this, the sound that the guitar has comes mainly from the person playing it no? Well, I can pretty surely say that this guitar is helping me play a lot better than any of my others.

The guitar was set up perfectly fine, with little to be desired; though it was a bit dusty around a couple of the frets and the back of the body. I was worried, after reading a couple of horror stories about people who got 'bergers from MusicYo that maybe I would have to fix various things, but no problems whatsoever so far. Was this luck or is the service always this good? I really don't know, but my guitar was perfect.

This guitar will stand live playing, I can tell it. Someone mentioned this already, but that rubber band that holds the strings on at the neck seems like it could eventually snap. I don't know what I'd do, but I'd probably just grab another elastic band and just stick it there. Meh, hasn't happened to my friend's guitar in two years, and it doesn't seem too likely to happen to mine anytime soon.

The guitar has brighter colors and is ligher than my others, and to top it off it's new so I feel like I have to take care of it like a baby. Nevertheless, it seems like it could withstand a good beating. Mind you, I have no plans to let it even come close to a bad beating.

I think I can depend on this guitar quite a bit. I wouldn't use any guitar in a gig without a backup, but if I had to pick one guitar that I have and only one to take, I'd definitely pick this one. The R-Trem's locking feature helps you to be prepared, just in case anything happens.

Never dealt with them. But they got me the guitar in 2 business days, and considering that the warehouse is in Nashville, I'm in Toronto, and I asked for Ground shipping, that's pretty good!!

I've been playing guitar for 3 years only, and humility aside, my sheer dedication to it has made me one of the best in my area. Until now I've had a really good classical guitar, but when I wanted to play electric (like 99% of the time) I had to go with either a Yamaha or a Vantage... the total amount that I paid for both the guitars and my amp is some $600. This guitar will cost me more than that after I get it some EMGs, but it will be well worth it. After skill, practice, practice, and practice, one of the things that makes you a better player is gear, so I'm VERY happy I chose to buy this guitar.

If it were stolen or lost I might or might not get another one... it depends on when and on how much money I have to spend. Eventually (this could be a ways down the road) I plan to get me a GM, so maybe I'd just get the GM instead of buying this guitar again. But yeah, if I were to lose this guitar within the next couple of years I'd definitely buy another one.

My favorite features, as I already mentioned, are the R-trem (ok, it's not a trans-trem, but that's why I'm gonna get the GM) and its ease of play.

I would like to clarify something. Even though almost everyone complains about the pickups, myself included, don't jump to conclusions. It's easy to think that since so many people noticed it, the pickups must be really bad, but in truth I don't think them bad at all, I just don't think they match the guitar. This guitar demands a powerful sound, and while these pickups can deliver some good stuff, they just aren't top-of-the-line. Since everything else on the guitar is so good, the pickups seem to fall flat. Don't let this deter you from seriously considering this guitar. Find someone who has it, or a similar one, and ask them to try it out for a few minutes. It will be worth your while.