Guitars you really wanted, but turned out to be a disappointment

[jboroff]

Gibson Explorer (muddy sounding), Gibson SG, (thin and weak sounding) and as much as it pains me to say it because it is an absolute work of art, my Mayones Regius. Someone mentioned it earlier but the neck profile doesn't work very well for me. Otherwise it is a beast.

 

[Metropolis]

https://www.sevenstring.org/threads/ibanez-rg5328-total-failure-disappointment.341767/

That's a combination of bad consumer experience and probably so called lemon. Quality control failed in couple of things at some point and it happens even when guitar costs nearly two grand. What I've seen and played more recent Prestige models none of them had sharp fret ends or anything other negative to say about them. If you like it otherwise send it back and get another one. In my opinion you should get almost perfect instrument in that price range.

 

[Edika]

I've read several posts mentioning the Gibson Explorer as muddy sounding. The Gothic Explorer I have is anything but muddy. It is not the brightest sounding guitar but clarity is not a issue. The 500T makes the guitar sound like a sledge hammer and for sure it's not the most articulate pickup but it's not muddy. I did try a set of Black Winters which were clearer but I preferred the sound of the Gibson pickups. I have only played another Gothic years back which sounded equally great, a Voodoo which first made me interested in Explorers and a regular model which did sounded warmer but not muddy. Anyway I'm not discounting other people's experiences but muddy and Explorer have not been my experience so far.

EDIT: One thing I see mentioned several times is neck profile and I did have that issue in the past. Now I have guitars of various profiles from a Gibson 50's baseball but to an Ibanez wizard neck. No issues playing any of them but the Gibson neck does fight me back a bit more. I have jumbo frets, vintage frets, medium jumbo and various sizes. Can't really tell the difference anymore. The longer you play guitar and the more you vary the profiles the easier it is to get used to different profiles and not being trapped to being only to play one type of neck and frets.

 

[Merrekof]

Ibanez RG2077xl.

Jumped on it the very minute I saw it online, put some better pickups in it but I never really liked the 27" neck.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Dude, this is SSO, do you want to get banned

only applies to USED prestiges tho

 

[Carl Kolchak]

That's a combination of bad consumer experience and probably so called lemon. Quality control failed in couple of things at some point and it happens even when guitar costs nearly two grand. What I've seen and played more recent Prestige models none of them had sharp fret ends or anything other negative to say about them. If you like it otherwise send it back and get another one. In my opinion you should get almost perfect instrument in that price range.

Great! I won Jap lemon lottery! I feel special now.

 

[Matt08642]

I've been "meh" about my Fender Player series Strat for a bit now, but I don't think its a knock on the guitar, more just that I don't vibe with single coils right now

 

[High Plains Drifter]

Prestige RG752FX and Kiesel UltraV-7. Had high hopes for both but could never gel with either. Sold them both and have never missed them since.

 

[Musiscience]

Ibanez RG2077xl.

Jumped on it the very minute I saw it online, put some better pickups in it but I never really liked the 27" neck.

This exact same thing happened to me with a RGD2127FX and a Schecter KM7. Great guitars, nothing wrong at all with the QC or quality, but just couldn't get along with the 26.5 inch scale length. I guess this is just something that you either like or don't and if you don't there is no getting used to it.

 

[Matt08642]

Prestige RG752FX and Kiesel UltraV-7. Had high hopes for both but could never gel with either. Sold them both and have never missed them since.

My 752FX was also something I was really let down by till I got the frets leveled and set it up the way it was meant to be + Put the original PAF7 in the bridge position. Spent a while trying other pickups (Crunchlab, Titan) and hated how they sounded in it, but the PAF7 (which I never even gave a chance) works really well with it

 

[bostjan]

Sort of along these lines, when I first saw the Schecter Avenger 7 string, I thought it looked super cool and, at that time, any 7 that wasn't a superstrat was a big deal for me. But then I picked one up off a store shelf and it had that weird V-shaped neck...

 

[dmlinger]

I always wanted the Gambale Ibanez sig. Scored a FG100DY in excellent condition a few years ago. Amazing guitar but couldn’t vibe with the tiny frets. Sold it for a small profit and never regretted it.

 

[High Plains Drifter]

My 752FX was also something I was really let down by till I got the frets leveled and set it up the way it was meant to be + Put the original PAF7 in the bridge position. Spent a while trying other pickups (Crunchlab, Titan) and hated how they sounded in it, but the PAF7 (which I never even gave a chance) works really well with it

With me it was pretty much the neck shape and feel. I've got or have had at least a dozen 7's and even though the Ibby set-up was pretty decent outta the box, I just never jived with it. It was a decent guitar for the money but maybe I thought that a MIJ guitar would have some kind of magical feel to it... and it just didn't. I've been much more impressed with the necks and fretwork on my Schecter, Jackson, ESP/ LTD, and Carvin sevens.

 

[mbardu]

Throughout all my youth, the PRS Custom 24 was always the guitar I was dreaming of.
But it turns out I don't really like them after all. Not really there in cleans like a strat or superstrat. Not mellow or warm like a short scale guitar. Sticky necks with "meh" profiles.

Now, since the ~2015, they're going in a direction that I appreciate more, plus i do love some "special models" like rosewood neck builds or McCarty thickness models; not to mention non Cu PRS guitars blike the SC58 or P245. But the "basic" PRS Cu24s of the 2000s were a huge disappointment for me (even after trying quite a few). So much anticipation, loved the look, loved the idea of it. But the guitar themselves were neither here nor there, and I actually prefer a good 25 inch scale Carvin over those.

 

[Charlie Foxtrot 3rd]

Charvel pro mod san dimas style 2-7 okoume, looks killer sounds average. And the finish just flakes off if you breathe in its general direction, refuses to stay in tune. Pretty disappointed

 

[Fenriswolf]

My dad bought me a Gibson Les Paul for a Xmas present my senior year of high school. It was originally going to be a Les Paul Studio, but I wound up playing every Gibson Guitar Center had, and I clicked with a Standard. It had some issues that would make some people have an aneurysm when it comes to a $2500 guitar, but it was the one, it was worth just fixing the issues.

Pretty much every guitar I've gotten since that one, from $100 LTD to custom shop ESP and Charvel has been a disappointment. For the most part, they've all been great guitars, they just don't measure up.

EDIT: One thing I see mentioned several times is neck profile and I did have that issue in the past. Now I have guitars of various profiles from a Gibson 50's baseball but to an Ibanez wizard neck. No issues playing any of them but the Gibson neck does fight me back a bit more. I have jumbo frets, vintage frets, medium jumbo and various sizes. Can't really tell the difference anymore. The longer you play guitar and the more you vary the profiles the easier it is to get used to different profiles and not being trapped to being only to play one type of neck and frets.

Then only thing that really bothers me much anymore on guitars is where the controls are. Like my Whitey Charvel, the volume is where the first tone knob is on a Strat, which is honestly so much of a better spot, but it's such a Straty feeling guitar, I expect the volume to be in the same spot as every other Strat.

 

[broj15]

Honestly, every 7 string guitar I've ever owned. I've tried everything from prestiges to low end jacksons & ltd's and pretty much everything in between, and a myriad of specs and I've never found one that made me wanna leave behind my sixers. That definitely has more to do with me than it does any of the guitars I've owned though. Even with that in mind I've still caught my finger hovering over the add to cart button on a few 7 string guitars.

Edit: It's not even a playability issue for me either. Other than an old ('06/'07 iirc) schecter C7 hellraiser with it's giant baseball bat neck they all played pretty good and felt comfortable, but I feel like when it comes to actually writing music I can be way more creative without the extra string.

 

[FedericoTeti]

I saw this and I had to comment. The biggest disappointment for me is my strandberg neck thru boden 6 trans.

Feels cheap, I dont know. I bought aftewards a harley benton (GG copy) and feels higher quality. Then I got a Ibanez AZ 2404 and it feels like the strandberg should feel.

I think I used about 2 times (1 hour tops) and the screw in the whammy bar cut inside. Very disappointing considering I paid 3k for this guitar (and it´s indonesia made... go figure)

 

[G_3_3_k_]

EBMM JP7. It was fast. Playable. Sounded unreal. Neck was WAY too thin.

 

[USMarine75]

LTD KS-M7.

Not the fault of the guitar per se.

MusiciansFriend sent me one that looked like it had been on tour with Unearth. It was beat, the Evertune was jacked up, and the action was stupidly high. It either ships with super heavy gauge strings or the previous "owner for 44 days" restrung it. I got the feeling someone messed with the Evertune, jacked it up, and then returned it. There was so much wear on the parts and scuffs on the body and pickguard.

I set up an exchange but then ended up canceling the new one that was back ordered after a couple months of waiting because something else came up. Shame because I only paid $1199 new and now they're $1599.