3,968 posts
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Post by salteedog on Aug 2, 2018 21:14:38 GMT
Ooh just found your post @chedapapa . Roswell LAFs. Ok, I'm on a recce. There is probably at least one member of this forum who has a pair of these sitting in a drawer.
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572 posts
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Post by Djangle on Aug 8, 2018 22:35:55 GMT
From the reviews I've read on them most buyers state they are great guitars after a good set up but one of the things niggling me is the poplar laminate fretboard anyone know if it's any good as a fingerboard? The Gear4music logo would need sanding off as its a bit naff but that's being a bit picky. Most electric 12s apart from Rickenbacker seem to have the wider fretboards and I find them a bit fatiguing on the fretting hand after a while and as a Ricky is too pricey was hoping the neck on the G4M was a bit slimmer than my Eastwood12.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2018 8:26:17 GMT
Poplar is as soft as Willow! Stay away from it, people! Poplar just like Pine maybe good for the guitar body but not for such an important part as fretboard which needs be VERY stable!
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DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
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Post by DefJef on Aug 9, 2018 8:54:15 GMT
I agree with Che. It's hard to imagine a timber less like maple than poplar. Although poplar is nominally a hardwood so is balsa. Maple is very hard, poplar is soft and one of the cheapest utilitarian woods out there. Cheap may not be bad; certainly ash and alder were originally chosen for Fender bodies because of that fact, but even Leo knew he needed to invest in the neck, originally because he wasn't planning on having a truss rod.
Poplar has been used for artists' canvas stretcher bars for centuries, is light, very strong, straight and resistant to warping, bending and bowing and even rotting when out of the ground.
Obviously laminating poplar also adds rigidity and strength and stability to it but without some really objective illustrations of its suitability for holding on to frets, resisting bashes and transferring great resonance I'd steer clear of it. Having said that I would qualify my own statement by saying ALL timber has variables and the best laminated poplar could be better than the worst solid maple. I'm dubious that, on average, laminated poplar would trump maple. I'd like to see the evidence that it does though.
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Post by Vincent on Aug 16, 2018 18:49:49 GMT
Cheap one here on ebay. Rosewood fretboard + solid spruce body? 79 euro free delivery in France
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Aug 19, 2018 9:27:03 GMT
These Vision Strats sell for 57€ (shipped) on German ebay. They must be the absolute worst you can get. Here's a demo:
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Post by Vincent on Aug 19, 2018 14:22:56 GMT
Well spotted. Shipping to France is 18.90 EUR. That would make it 3 EUR cheaper than the one I found, delivered. This one has a headstock with a serrated profile whereas the guitar I linked to is more Fendery. I watched the video. Did not sound great but the recording is not very good to me either. If all functions well they could be great for a beginner. Beginners should not be too concerned with tone in my opinion. It is enough to concentrate on learning the basics without looking at pickups too closely. For the more experienced players, if you need or intend to change all the hardware and there is other work necessary then of course they are a false economy. Or are they? Some of us enjoy to pass the time modding guitars. Why allow our creative pastimes to potentially destroy an expensive guitar when you can get one of these for so little money. And what is the average price for a stomp box,57 EUR?
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Aug 19, 2018 15:10:02 GMT
I'll be the first one to denounce excessive focus on tone at the detriment of music but these guitars most probably sound terrible. Here's an older demo:
Then they also look like cheap toys and there is no telling how adjustable they are or how stable that adjustment would be.
There is gratification in a likeable tone and in playing around with tone variations to some extent. Something in the guitar should incite a beginner to invest and it can be had fairly cheap nowadays, so better not give it away to save 60€. If you want to get a beginner started, buy an ST-62 instead, or even an ST-20 for 79€. At least the ST-20 might be worth upgrading with better electronics later because the rest will be decent. Just get a loaded pickguard with everything. It also has a thinner, "modern C" neck profile.
Prices can be lowered to the point where the compromises hurt and this is where I think these Vision guitars firmly sit. They have no brand name to defend, so the makers sell the illusion of a guitar and get away with it once. They are not going for more, they know you won't buy again. This is a rule I would apply to all those makers of cheap beginner's instruments like Rocktile, Career, C.Giant, Dimavery, Encore, quite possibly Santander and Sioux. They must not be terrible but they have no need to be good, so they likely won't.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2018 16:05:46 GMT
My ST-62MN Black also sounded horrible with Roswell pickups but after loading it with Ironstone Silvers it sings lovely! One should NEVER focus on the tone of these cheapo axes but on PLAYABILITY!
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Post by guitargog on Aug 9, 2019 11:19:04 GMT
They seem to me to be good for modding, they use decent tone woods like mahogany and alder for the subzero brand and the tube amps look decent too. I think you'd need to swap out the electronics though, as they are probably cheap, pots, switches and pickups. I like the look of the t style guitars, especially the P90 one... I was going to buy a V132 but I may get one of the subzero guitars instead.
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Post by neilrockfan on Dec 21, 2020 21:14:03 GMT
I was impressed with the thinline type cream t style guitar, as far as the body is concerned... but be aware that the neck may be a pig, I got one that had sharp frets and a broken tuner but I am seeing this setback as a using the body as a modding platform. I am planning on buying a new neck and tuners.
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700 posts
YouTube Channel: ToroK Channel
Disclosures: See Signature
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Post by taurash on Jan 2, 2021 10:42:40 GMT
I've discovered SubZero guitars while looking at affordable brands that could challenge Harley Bentons. I gave one of their top of the line axe a chance and made a video about it.
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ttmax
Harley Benton Expert
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Post by ttmax on Jan 2, 2021 13:18:56 GMT
I don't know this model and I don't like the genre of music for which it is created, my only experience was with semi hollow paradigm. I have no idea what this brand is like, if not for the only one purchased, whose flaws could also be limited to my purchase, but I don't believe for the hsrdware. Harley Benton is not my favorite brand, as from my point of view it made two mistakes, in the medium / low range the quality standard has worsened, while in the high range the prices have risen too much, in the end theirs always remains on the headstock screen printing and even if I do not agree with many this also counts, but at least in my experience it is always better than subzero (ja60 > paradigm)
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