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The $60 Maestro SG


Riffster

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I posted a few weeks that Walmart had these guitar packs on blowout at $56 plus tax for the black version.

 

Anyway got it in a few weeks ago but I was traveling through Mexico for a couple of weeks.

 

So here are my impressions:

 

Headstock is very much shaped like a Gibson, I have seen some Maestros that had a wider headstock that looked a bit off. This one is not one of them.

 

Headstock angle is 14 degrees, fingerboard width is actually just like a Gibson and so is the string spacing. I was surprised by this.

 

Frets are decent, edges are not very sharp but I will run my trusty fret-end file (everybody should own one of these).

 

The body has a nice SG shape but it is thicker to accommodate the bolt on neck. The body is made of countless strips of wood and they did not put a veneer on top, looks awful against the light, one wood strip has a knot hahaha, and there are some paint blemishes from the factory. One of the speed knobs came broken.

 

The hardware is absolutely atrocious. The tuners are bumpy and lumpy, think of the cheapest tuners, well, they must use the ones that do not pass QC on this guitars. Lets put it this way, if somebody offered me $1 for the tuners I could not, in good conscience take the dollar. the tuners are crooked too. The bridge is very low quality as well.

 

It comes with an amp, strap, cord, picks and DVD. All of this will find it's way to Goodwill. Don't need that stuff.

 

But...for $60 it will be a decent slide guitar. The guitar actually play well by the way but there is no point on playing this instead of my nice guitars.

 

I already bought some import parts for cheap that are much better than stock. Once upgraded I will post picks. I have spent $120 total including the guitar and will be a quick project.

 

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Oh yea, it is a nice little guitar. especially if you do not want a Strat bullet.

 

The humbucker is decent surprisingly. But a one-trick pony.

 

I already bought an Dogear P90 that will be good for slide and should be easy to install since it'll cover the humbucker hole. I may just have to adjust the length.

 

This thing is going to be a budget SG Junior soon.

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Not bad for 60 bucks, plus it comes with amp! That is crazy. Sounds like it will be a fun project to upgrade. [thumbup]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How are the fret edges?

 

Frets are decent, edges are not very sharp but I will run my trusty fret-end file (everybody should own one of these).

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  • 2 weeks later...

There it is, not a lot to this one.

 

I replaced the pickup with a $20 dogear P90 that sounds pretty good. 9.2kohms, alnico 5 magent

 

Alpha pots and a witchcraft jack. Witch hat knobs (had already installed those in the previous pic)

 

Tulip tuners and a proper adjustable bridge.

 

About $120 all in and happ with it, perfect for slide.

 

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