Badlands Guitars, another youtuber brand

[MFB]

Same. I'm a sucker for a good '80s Kramer or Charvel, and while these have all of the elements, they just don't look like one of those. I can't put my finger on why, but they don't really do anything for me. That said, I'm happy for the guys that they sold so many more than they expected. Maybe the next design will resonate better with us.

Probably because it's an "80s Guitar" by committee vs just being an actual product of that time when those things were in fashion

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Probably because it's an "80s Guitar" by committee vs just being an actual product of that time when those things were in fashion

To me it looks like a more low-mid-priced '80s Korean-made strat clone, rather than the "iconic" guitars like Jackson, Charvel, etc etc.
I think ESP did a much better job with the '87 Series, as well as Kramer with all the stuff they're doing. Sure theyre not USA-made, but in terms of aesthetics, I'm leaning more towards them

 

[bostjan]

I worked at a guitar store in the 90's that had a bunch of unsold late-80's Charvels and Jacksons. Honestly, my view is skewed, since the nice ones were all sold by then, but the ones that were left over by the time I worked there were so incredibly tacky that I'm too embarrassed to even describe them in any detail.

I feel like this one does a pretty good job enveloping the "spirit" of those without specifically evoking any particular aesthetic.

If you want a really nice 80's superstrat, maybe you can find a Valley Arts. Those were fantastic guitars, but the company's factory burnt down in the early 90's, and then Samick tried to bring the brand back, which of course just caused people to lose faith in the brand, and then Gibson tried to revitalize the brand in the early 2000's, but I think, the damage had already been done. At any rate, might be able to find a sleeper out there in the used market, if the overvaluers haven't already decided to descend on the brand to buy them all up and flip them at 10x the price yet...

 

[spudmunkey]

Reminds me a bit of this one:

 

[MetalDestroyer]

^that's pretty rad tbh

 

[spudmunkey]

^that's pretty rad tbh

To me, it's a bit like if 1985 Microsoft made a guitar for some executive award or magazine giveaway, that ended up inspiring their 1992 logo:

 

[sell2792]

Hard pass.

 

[JimF]

Love the graphic but something just turns me off about the guitar as a whole, but I'm not the demographic so that's probably why! The 80's Charvel's I like were the Japanese ones, so basically Jackson Soloists in metallic colours.

Graphics designed by the collective-unconscious perhaps?...

 

[CapinCripes]

I'm gonna keep harping on that pickup config. If your gonna go full 1986 on it why choose the safest pickup option? I mean go 1h or hs or go home.

 

[ArtDecade]

I dig it, but McKnight is a bit of a bore. That said, Jake E. Lee should sue Badlands.

 

[spudmunkey]

Love the graphic but something just turns me off about the guitar as a whole, but I'm not the demographic so that's probably why! The 80's Charvel's I like were the Japanese ones, so basically Jackson Soloists in metallic colours.

Graphics designed by the collective-unconscious perhaps?...

View attachment 120284

Honestly? That comparison is one I'm sure they'd be A-OK with. A no-nonsense, focused-purpose and hi-performance machine, with an aesthetic that harkens to a previous era.

 

[Shawn]

I found their truck the other day.

It actually doesn't look too bad....could be worse.

 

[MetalDaze]

Forget geometric patterns. I'm waiting for them to move onto this...

 

[Dekay82]

Forget geometric patterns. I'm waiting for them to move onto this...

That has Tone King written all over it, 1,000,000,000,000%

 

[MetalDaze]

They are back with a holoflash version

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

FIx that headstock and that'd be really cool.

 

[spudmunkey]

I don't mind the headstock, but I think it worked better on the first model.

I'm not sure how I feel about the burst though. In a way, it reminds me of my very first electric guitar, a very "cheap" guitar.

 

[Nightside]

Idk that is one of the most 80s headstocks I've ever seen.

I like it

 

[Nightside]

Forget geometric patterns. I'm waiting for them to move onto this...

Who would you even put on it these days?

 

[narad]

Who would you even put on it these days?

For the same audience that likes the originals? Probably a reminder to get an annual screening for osteoporosis.