Gear4Music guitars, any experience?

[guitartrojan]

As the title says, does anyone have any experience with Gear4Music guitars? I'm looking at this one specifically. The same model in purple looks good, too. But anything about the guitars or buying experience with them is appreciated. Thanks!

Gear4Music Pasadena

[Deleted]

I think it sais "fingerboard POPLAR LAMINATE" I would stay away from that one but sure it does look good!

[guitartrojan]

Jan 27, 2018 8:03:01 GMT @chedapapa said:

I think it sais "fingerboard POPLAR LAMINATE" I would stay away from that one but sure it does look good!

Wow, you're right! I was too busy eyeballin' it to see the stuff that matters. My same problem with women...

Good catch, thanks. Now I'm going to check how many of their guitars are made like that.

[easyrider]

Once I decided to order a Sigma D-41 from this shop but there was impossible to create an account and check out the order. Weird place.

[GustangMcStang]

I bought a Gear4Music guitar last year for use as a mod-ing platform. It's a Seattle which I picked because I really, really like the colour scheme, also dug the fact that it's not just another Strat copy (well it is, but it's housed in a Jaguar/Jazzmaster shape body).
I've got to say that straight out of the box, it was a bit of a dog. Terrible gauge 9 factory strings, rubbish tuners and a trem system that only served to put the thing irretrievably out of tune.

However, it's got a really nice neck, also the "paulownia" body means that it's very light.

So, in short what I've done is -
- replace the pickups with a set of Artec P18 "lipsticks" - now looks miles cooler and sounds much more distinctive than the generic strat copy pickups it came with.
- replace the machine heads with a set of Fender logo stamped ones, nothing pricey, got them on ebay probably from a Mexican or Far East guitar.
- replace the control knobs, also the pickup selector and tremolo knobs. Purely on aesthetic grounds.
- replace the neck/body heel plate, again purely aesthetic, the Gear4Music logo is SO ugly!
- custom headstock logo, because . . . . why not.
- graphene top nut, helps smooth out the tremolo.
- new tremolo bridge block- the one it came supplied with had only three holes for trem springs; I like 5 springs on my trems, I deck the things so that the trem only lowers notes, none of this "floating trem" malarkey, I can't cope with that. 5 springs also helps the tuning stability.
- most importantly, a set of gauge 11 strings, these cheap guitars will never sound good with anything lighter.

What has this left me with? A guitar that has a certain surf/punk trashy appeal that actually now plays really well, jangles most convincingly and is pretty much my number one gigging guitar at the moment.
It's the first guitar I've ever tried to "mod" up but despite what I've done it's still basically a Gear4Music cheapo guitar.
I like it.

So, that's a yes from me but with reservations.






All of the above work experience was invaluable when it came to mod-ing up my Harley Benton MS60 (which was the guitar I wanted in the 1st place, just took a while for a cheap one to turn up on ebay).

[salteedog]

Nice one. Where did you source the custom logo? - I assume its a waterslide thingy.

Like you I'm a believer in decking trems. Can't be arsed with another degree of freedom for tuning to go awry. But I'm interested in why you think 11s are needed for budget guitars. Is it because you have low expectations for the fretwork?

[Deleted]

I don't trust a floaty trem live but love them at home. Can't trust them live. One broken string and you're knackered.

[MartinB]

Nice! I like it.

[blindwilly3fingers]

That certainly looks good I love the colour. Good work.

I have a squier strat with lipstick pups but i changed from 10's to 9's. Are 11's not a bit to beefy? Do you still get the jangly sound with the heavier gauge?

[GustangMcStang]

I got the transfer from Rothko & Frost, it's easily the classiest thing about the whole project.

As for the gauge 11's. I use these on all of my electric guitars, have found over the years that most intonation problems on most guitars can be rectified by just putting a set of 11's on. I have a lovely old 60's Telecaster which for the first few years I owned it, never quite played in tune with itself. The minute I put a set of 11's on it - problem gone. My Danelectro U2 played okay with 10's on it but I think it sounds better with 11's. I may be wrong here here but it seems to me that heavier strings kind of work the pickups more (which is a consideration with lipsticks, they're low output).

Regarding the jangle factor, I also think (and this is merely my uninformed opinion) that the heavier strings actually make the guitar ring a bit more. Though I guess that a lot of getting a guitar to jangle has got to do with technique as much as anything else.

Cheers.