Thoughts on GOC Guitars?

[Arthur McCay]

Apparently the next Materia run in November will be with upgraded hardware made in Germany...

I chatted with folks from GOC earlier this month and they said bridges will be German grade steel which I think is a type of material rather than manufacturing country.

They also promised CNC'd necks made of atlas wood - some sort of proprietary synthetic material. No clue what that might be.

There seem to be quite a few new tops and finishes coming with the 3 gen of Materia and the prices will be around 1k this time.

Sounds really tempting so far and I'm itching to get one but I'll wait for a few customer reviews before pulling the trigger.

 

[Tyson]

Anyone have any experience with their non-headless models? I have a couple bucks kicking around and am looking at maybe purchasing one of those limited northern ash models they have discounted right now.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

Anyone have any experience with their non-headless models? I have a couple bucks kicking around and am looking at maybe purchasing one of those limited northern ash models they have discounted right now.

I have a Valkyrie 265 (7-string) that I really like. The only complaints are that my frets weren't polished and the neck is thicker than I normally prefer but it's still playable. The GOC pickups sucked too although they were better in my Materia oddly enough. I think they're different pickups honestly despite them both being called "4th Dimension" pickups.

 

[Tyson]

I have a Valkyrie 265 (7-string) that I really like. The only complaints are that my frets weren't polished and the neck is thicker than I normally prefer but it's still playable. The GOC pickups sucked too although they were better in my Materia oddly enough. I think they're different pickups honestly despite them both being called "4th Dimension" pickups.

I guess I might give it a shot. I like taking chances on cheaper guitars for some reason.

 

[FancyFish]

Now what they have a storefront setup, what are yalls feelings on those 7 strings they're offering? I'm guessing it's some sort of limited run. Was thinking about picking one up as my first 7.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

Screw GOC. I'm seeing some bad stuff on Facebook as of late. Their whole operation seems to be falling apart. I'm done being a customer of theirs. Especially considering that they are apparently charging $25 a piece for saddles to replace the sub-par ones they used on the guitars originally. And $25 for the new brass headpiece.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Screw GOC. I'm seeing some bad stuff on Facebook as of late. Their whole operation seems to be falling apart. I'm done being a customer of theirs. Especially considering that they are apparently charging $25 a piece for saddles to replace the sub-par ones they used on the guitars originally. And $25 for the new brass headpiece.

that's basically what tengdu tuner prices are at. still very reasonable compared to other headless bridges.

 

[diagrammatiks]

Funny they have an aliexpress store now...which you can only really use if you ship directly from mainland china.
I though their whole thing was doing setups and final qa in the states

 

[LeviathanKiller]

that's basically what tengdu tuner prices are at. still very reasonable compared to other headless bridges.

I don't have a problem with that so much as with how they marketed their product compared to how things actually are. They acted like they designed stuff in-house (even if some of it was a copy of or similar to existing designs) when apparently they didn't do that at all. Their "4th Dimension" pickups were found on Aliexpress even. They've talked those up in several places. Imo, they just appear to have put together a lot of already made parts that anyone could have gotten off the internet. I saw videos where they were routing the bodies so I at least think that is genuine and they have their logo embedded in them. I really don't have any issues with the instrument itself (body and neck), just the hardware on/in it. The actual feel of the guitar (especially the neck) feels WAY way better than my Ormsby Goliath much to me surprise. Why not just be okay with not having made every single thing yourself though? It's understandable. Not every guitar builder makes every single piece of the product. They'll use Hipshot bridges, other companies' pickups, other companies' tuners. It's fine. Don't try to claim you designed every piece of the product when you didn't. That dishonest/shady marketing is why I'm really just fed up with them.

 

[Mathemagician]

I knew the hardware was likely to be cheap but I didn’t know the cost of replacement parts would be >$200 as I just hadn’t looked into it. So I learned that I like the small form factor of headless and that I’m not sold on fanned frets. Which was worth the cost to me at least. Not really planning on buying hardware upgrades though.

Going forward I hope they just raise their prices and add the new better hardware as the default option for buyers. No idea if I’m ever going to see the Guitarmory pickups that were “supposed” to come with it.

 

[Crundles]

Hey, so I haven't posted in a while because my Internet provider decided two months is a decent period to process an address change request, but I did get my guitar, so here's a quick review I guess.

First and foremost, this is by far the most expensive guitar I've had. Filter anything I say through the appropriate lens.

So far, I'm chalking the entire Buying-a-Chinese-Headless as a "learning experience". Things I've learned:

- I love the headless format - Every time I look at my fretting hand and I see nothing beyond, it brings me genuine joy. I've been wanting a headless since the first strandbergs when I was a broke-ass university student, and actually having a headless in my hands is still slightly unbelievable
- I like the stainless steel frets - I'm not sure how much I actually notice them while playing, but I like 'em.
- I like the wenge fretboard - It looks nice and stripey.

- I don't care about the fanfret - I love the way it looks, I really don't notice it while I'm playing, and at least in the GOC, it's not helping with string tension all that much.
- I don't care about the trans-white ash - I thought I'd like it a lot more than I actually do. Right now I wish it was a high-gloss finish, because I feel I pick up my BC Rich Stealth a lot more because I'm not subconsciously worried about marring the finish

- I don't like the tuners resting on my leg when I play in classical position - I'm sure it doesn't affect much, and will affect a higher-quality bridge a lot less, but I still don't like it.
- I absolutely hate the flat D neck - All my previous guitars have been variations of a C, mostly on the fatter side, and I notice a lot of tension and even pain when playing power chords on the GOC. I have to consciously relax my fretting hand, whereas I've absolutely no issues just chugging the hell out of my BC Rich.

As for the guitar itself, I feel it's pretty well made. It has a decent heft to it, which makes it feel more premium. There is a yellow spot on the body, I presume from a miscalculation on the antiqueing agent - it doesn't bother me, but it's there. The fret ends are a bit wonky as with the previous ones posted in the forum. The low B slips from the frets. I won't judge the pickups because the run was supposed to ship out with the Guitarmory ones. The hardware is meh - I haven't changed the screws, I just tightened everything and it seems to have helped with tuning stability, but there's an upper limit to what can be achieved with the existing bridge. I feel I got great specs for my money, however some of the realization of those specs is a bit cheap.

All in all, the guitar is in a bit of a purgatory right now.

I really like the fact it's headless, and the overall feel, but I dislike the hardware and I never anticipated how uncomfortable a D neck would be for my current playstyle.

I don't want to sell it, because I genuinely enjoy having a headless instrument, and I am even less able to afford a better one than when I placed the order with GOC; but I also can't afford changing the bridge. So in the end, I take it out of the gigbag (really well made gigbag), play it a bit thinking to myself "hehe, headless <3", and then put it down and pick up the BC Rich to practice or noodle.

I guess I'll wait for the Guitarmory pickups, change the screws, and reconsider from there.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

No idea if I’m ever going to see the Guitarmory pickups that were “supposed” to come with it.

You will. I'm sorry it's taking so long but you will get them. There's a lot of things going on behind the scenes to increase production output on our end.

 

[Frostbite]

Hey, so I haven't posted in a while because my Internet provider decided two months is a decent period to process an address change request, but I did get my guitar, so here's a quick review I guess.

First and foremost, this is by far the most expensive guitar I've had. Filter anything I say through the appropriate lens.

So far, I'm chalking the entire Buying-a-Chinese-Headless as a "learning experience". Things I've learned:

- I love the headless format - Every time I look at my fretting hand and I see nothing beyond, it brings me genuine joy. I've been wanting a headless since the first strandbergs when I was a broke-ass university student, and actually having a headless in my hands is still slightly unbelievable
- I like the stainless steel frets - I'm not sure how much I actually notice them while playing, but I like 'em.
- I like the wenge fretboard - It looks nice and stripey.

- I don't care about the fanfret - I love the way it looks, I really don't notice it while I'm playing, and at least in the GOC, it's not helping with string tension all that much.
- I don't care about the trans-white ash - I thought I'd like it a lot more than I actually do. Right now I wish it was a high-gloss finish, because I feel I pick up my BC Rich Stealth a lot more because I'm not subconsciously worried about marring the finish

- I don't like the tuners resting on my leg when I play in classical position - I'm sure it doesn't affect much, and will affect a higher-quality bridge a lot less, but I still don't like it.
- I absolutely hate the flat D neck - All my previous guitars have been variations of a C, mostly on the fatter side, and I notice a lot of tension and even pain when playing power chords on the GOC. I have to consciously relax my fretting hand, whereas I've absolutely no issues just chugging the hell out of my BC Rich.

As for the guitar itself, I feel it's pretty well made. It has a decent heft to it, which makes it feel more premium. There is a yellow spot on the body, I presume from a miscalculation on the antiqueing agent - it doesn't bother me, but it's there. The fret ends are a bit wonky as with the previous ones posted in the forum. The low B slips from the frets. I won't judge the pickups because the run was supposed to ship out with the Guitarmory ones. The hardware is meh - I haven't changed the screws, I just tightened everything and it seems to have helped with tuning stability, but there's an upper limit to what can be achieved with the existing bridge. I feel I got great specs for my money, however some of the realization of those specs is a bit cheap.

All in all, the guitar is in a bit of a purgatory right now.

I really like the fact it's headless, and the overall feel, but I dislike the hardware and I never anticipated how uncomfortable a D neck would be for my current playstyle.

I don't want to sell it, because I genuinely enjoy having a headless instrument, and I am even less able to afford a better one than when I placed the order with GOC; but I also can't afford changing the bridge. So in the end, I take it out of the gigbag (really well made gigbag), play it a bit thinking to myself "hehe, headless <3", and then put it down and pick up the BC Rich to practice or noodle.

I guess I'll wait for the Guitarmory pickups, change the screws, and reconsider from there.

I've had this before with guitars and they always end up getting sold. I find that I'm in love with the idea of a guitar more then the actual thing sometimes. I usual end up selling them once the honeymoon phase wears off

 

[Mathemagician]

You will. I'm sorry it's taking so long but you will get them. There's a lot of things going on behind the scenes to increase production output on our end.

Hey just want to say don’t take my comment as a personal attack. I just know there’s been some issues on the supply/communication side of things in the background. I meant more like I knew I took some risks in ordering from a small shop in China so I’m just peacefully waiting.

 

[diagrammatiks]

I knew the hardware was likely to be cheap but I didn’t know the cost of replacement parts would be >$200 as I just hadn’t looked into it. So I learned that I like the small form factor of headless and that I’m not sold on fanned frets. Which was worth the cost to me at least. Not really planning on buying hardware upgrades though.

Going forward I hope they just raise their prices and add the new better hardware as the default option for buyers. No idea if I’m ever going to see the Guitarmory pickups that were “supposed” to come with it.

for the people complaining about the cost of headless guitars...

hardware is still niche and even the cheapest ones aren't cheap. That being said...they could have just used better hardware in the first place and not have had people pay for 2 sets of hardware.

 

[Mathemagician]

My comment was more of a point than a complaint. I wasn’t aware that headless hardware averaged $400+ but I am now.

 

[btbg]

Hey just want to say don’t take my comment as a personal attack. I just know there’s been some issues on the supply/communication side of things in the background. I meant more like I knew I took some risks in ordering from a small shop in China so I’m just peacefully waiting.

Guitarmory has over promised several times and continually under delivered on that part. One guy (who is a hell of a good guy and fantastic builder) is expected to wind 80+ sets of guitarmory pickups, having to ship them to 80 different locations throughout the world while also working a day job and running his own pickup company with little outside help.

Can't help but think thats a fail on Guitarmorys part.

 

[Lord Voldemort]

I almost hopped on this run, seems like a good thing that I didn't. The idea of a brand new made in China company producing headless guitars seemed...well, have you guys not seen this kind of thing before?

I think with any cheap headless guitar you're going to have problems at the bridge. My old NK was reasonably fine, but the bridge was just weird as shit and that was kind of the payoff for saving you know, a thousand or so dollars on a good one at the time.

Anyways, hope it works out for you guys. Also on an unrelated note, The Guitarmory is a dope name for a pickup company.

 

[btbg]

My NK smokes every aspect of my piece of shit Materia.

 

[Lord Voldemort]

My NK smokes every aspect of my piece of shit Materia.

Really?! That's genuinely surprising. Granted I actually liked that guitar a lot, but I had to do some basic fretwork and what not to get it running smoothly. I would have assumed that GOC would be a higher quality instrument in the other categories besides the bridge.