K2desoog
New member
Got this beginners guitar brand new the other day. Was on sale and I was curious so I thought I'd "FFS" check it out. And since there aren't any vids for this guitar, I thought it'd help too for those intending to purchase it or wonder whether its good for the money.
So, heres some aimless 'noodling'. FWIW, I am just your average guitar player.
Rocker RG-100 Electric Guitar by Music Tools (Made In China)
Strat style body
21-frets, medium.
S-S-H pickup configuration; passive, sounds crappy at times depending on your amp settings I suppose.
5-way pickup selector switch
1 x volume, 2 x tone controls
Not sure what wood the body is made of, kinda light though.
1-piece V-Contoured Maple Neck with Maple Fingerboard (love the natural wood grain look on the one i got)
Strat style string through body trem (stainless steel) bridge
Tuners? Not sure; looks like a Fender copy (best guess? non-locking F tuners)
Now, as with ALL guitar purchases, regardless brand, you'd really need to INSPECT it closely. Check for...
a) cracks (closer look at the neck joints), rust, scratches, glue stains
b) neck to fingerboard to string to pickup to bridge alignments
c) neck bowed? concaved? twisted?
d) fret buzz, dead notes , loose frets, uneven frets, fret wires potruding from fingerboard (ouch!). Just hate fret & neck problems
f)... etc
...which was what I did prior to paying up. First one handed to me, surprisingly, no major issues were found on this cheapo guitar except for a slight fret buzz on the high E string at the 1st fret. Suggested to the guitar guy to temporarily solve it with a mallet and softly knock it in. But this is only temporary. Will get a super fine grain sandpaper and sand it down when I get a chance. Some oxidisation on the jack input plate and the neck joint plate. Other than this, so far so good.
The Rocker RG-100 guitar comes with 0.09s gauge strings. Out of the box, the string action is set high and so are the pickups heights. You'll need to set it up so that it suits your style. I do my own guitar setups and the string action I've set on this one is 'low'. Surprised that it can get really 'low' without encountering fret buzz or strings rattling at certain areas.
Electronics? The volume knob is a bit stiff. Pickups hums ever so at certain positions (esp. selector positions 1, 3 and 4). One way around this is to cover the sides of the body cavity for the electronics with tin foil, making sort of a Faraday cage to alleviate the problem. But thats another story for another time. Selector switch is kinda stiff too.
Nice cleans you can get (2nd half of the vid). Overdrive, distortion, metal gives muddled crap at some pickup positions. I must point out at this juncture that 'tone' is subjective. So what sounds awesome to some may be crap to you. And vice-versa. Take a look at the video and judge for yourself. Plugged into a a Vypyr 15 watt using the amps factory preset settings.
Guitar doesnt stay in tune well. A few hi-bends will get it off tune in no time. Beginners cant usually bend strings 2-6th positions higher so this works out for them I suppose. For seasoned players, after 3 super heavy string bending songs, you'll really need that tuner! Intonation... try as I might I cant get it spot on as evident in the video.
All in all, for the price, its just a passable beginners guitar. QC is questionable so check thoroughly before making your purchase but do keep in mind that this is just a beginners guitar. As they say, you get what you pay for.
Dont expect much out of it and I give it a 5.5/10. Keep searchin' cos there are better ones out there.
So, heres some aimless 'noodling'. FWIW, I am just your average guitar player.
Rocker RG-100 Electric Guitar by Music Tools (Made In China)
Strat style body
21-frets, medium.
S-S-H pickup configuration; passive, sounds crappy at times depending on your amp settings I suppose.
5-way pickup selector switch
1 x volume, 2 x tone controls
Not sure what wood the body is made of, kinda light though.
1-piece V-Contoured Maple Neck with Maple Fingerboard (love the natural wood grain look on the one i got)
Strat style string through body trem (stainless steel) bridge
Tuners? Not sure; looks like a Fender copy (best guess? non-locking F tuners)
Now, as with ALL guitar purchases, regardless brand, you'd really need to INSPECT it closely. Check for...
a) cracks (closer look at the neck joints), rust, scratches, glue stains
b) neck to fingerboard to string to pickup to bridge alignments
c) neck bowed? concaved? twisted?
d) fret buzz, dead notes , loose frets, uneven frets, fret wires potruding from fingerboard (ouch!). Just hate fret & neck problems
f)... etc
...which was what I did prior to paying up. First one handed to me, surprisingly, no major issues were found on this cheapo guitar except for a slight fret buzz on the high E string at the 1st fret. Suggested to the guitar guy to temporarily solve it with a mallet and softly knock it in. But this is only temporary. Will get a super fine grain sandpaper and sand it down when I get a chance. Some oxidisation on the jack input plate and the neck joint plate. Other than this, so far so good.
The Rocker RG-100 guitar comes with 0.09s gauge strings. Out of the box, the string action is set high and so are the pickups heights. You'll need to set it up so that it suits your style. I do my own guitar setups and the string action I've set on this one is 'low'. Surprised that it can get really 'low' without encountering fret buzz or strings rattling at certain areas.
Electronics? The volume knob is a bit stiff. Pickups hums ever so at certain positions (esp. selector positions 1, 3 and 4). One way around this is to cover the sides of the body cavity for the electronics with tin foil, making sort of a Faraday cage to alleviate the problem. But thats another story for another time. Selector switch is kinda stiff too.
Nice cleans you can get (2nd half of the vid). Overdrive, distortion, metal gives muddled crap at some pickup positions. I must point out at this juncture that 'tone' is subjective. So what sounds awesome to some may be crap to you. And vice-versa. Take a look at the video and judge for yourself. Plugged into a a Vypyr 15 watt using the amps factory preset settings.
Guitar doesnt stay in tune well. A few hi-bends will get it off tune in no time. Beginners cant usually bend strings 2-6th positions higher so this works out for them I suppose. For seasoned players, after 3 super heavy string bending songs, you'll really need that tuner! Intonation... try as I might I cant get it spot on as evident in the video.
All in all, for the price, its just a passable beginners guitar. QC is questionable so check thoroughly before making your purchase but do keep in mind that this is just a beginners guitar. As they say, you get what you pay for.
Dont expect much out of it and I give it a 5.5/10. Keep searchin' cos there are better ones out there.
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