Cheap import guitar of the week #9 - Chibson Les Paul 1956 with P90 pickups
The Chibson rides again... this time in a gold top flavor with P90 pickups.
Oh, yeah. This one is nice. Nice and cheap. As in under $300 cheap, usually with free shipping. Doesn't get better than this when it comes to a Gibson Les Paul copy.
Now of course, since this is a China copy, and considering how cheap it is, don't expect a perfect guitar out of the box. However, from the customer reviews on copies like this, this is a safe one to get.
A Paul with P90s is a nice thing to have. I owned one at one point. You get a very nice "growly" sound, while at the same time having your clean tone come out a lot clearer. The single-coil pickups make a big difference here.
The gold top look with gold knobs and white-color singles? Classic. Definitely a good looker.
This is one of of the best-selling Paul copies, and it's easy to see why. Get one.
Want something nicer?
Of course you do, and you probably want a warranty with your guitar too. See what Epiphone has with P90s. They're really knocking it out of the park in a good way these days.
Cheap import guitar of the week #8 - Chwashburn Paul Stanley PS1800
I'd actually prefer this over the real thing just because I could beat it up.
The real-deal Washburn Paul Stanley PS1800 guitar is expensive. No, it is not an Ibanez, meaning not a PS120 Iceman. This is a Washburn.
Washburn does make some fine guitars. Truly, they do. The PS1800 is higher in price because of "PAUL STANLEY", but when you look at other models, such as the Washburn XMDLX2TNG, you'll be shocked at how low the price is for a genuinely good guitar. Seriously, check it out. And it's not a knockoff, but rather a real-deal Washburn.
The China knockoff version (meaning not Washburn, not Ibanez and just a copy) would be a nice guitar just to thrash around with something different without spending a lot.
Squier Stagemaster and Squier Showmaster, the unsung cheap rock hero guitars
At one point I owned a purple Stagemaster, and there are times I regret the fact I traded out this guitar.
Two of the coolest guitars with seriously good build quality to them are the Squier Stagemaster and Squier Showmaster. They feature things usually seen on expensive Fender models, such as two-post bridges, Floyd-Rose systems on some, premium grade sealed tuners, high-fret-access neck and so on. Even the paint is premium grade on these things.
Oh, and the best part: Dirt cheap.
The first question you probably have is why I got rid of mine. It's because ultimately, I'm not a humbucker guy. I'm a single-coil guy. And I happen to play the Squier with the biggest single-coils available, the Jazzmaster. That's my thing...
...but your thing may be humbuckers. And if so, both the Stagemaster and the Showmaster fit the bill very nicely.
As a true workhorse cheap rocker guitar, you can't really get any better than one of these. Flatter fingerboard radius at 12.6-inch if I remember correctly, seriously cool looking reverse headstock (some painted, some not,) premium grade parts throughout and it's just a solid build all around. With very little setup, the Stagemaster/Showmaster is a gig-ready/stage-ready guitar. Well, most of them are.
The only ones that require some work are ones that have the Floyd-Rose in them. It's probably true you'll have to get a new Floyd installed, being the guitar is over 10 years old. But given how cheap these things sell for, you'll have plenty of cash left over to get one.
Why do Stagemasters and Showmasters sell for so cheap?
You'd think that a premium-grade build guitar would sell for a lot more, but these don't.
Why?
Squier brand. I'm not kidding. The only reason these don't sell for more is because Squier is on the headstock.
What's the difference between the Showmaster and the Stagemaster?
Not much.
Showmasters typically have an HH layout with no vibrato system.
Stagemasters typically have an HSH layout with a Floyd-Rose style vibrato system.
But then there are the oddball models where a Showmaster will have an HSH with Floyd, and a Stagemaster like the one I had will be an HSS hardtail.
In other words, shop both models and just pick out the configuration you like best, as the all have the reverse headstock neck with the 12.6-inch fingerboard radius. The neck is a bit flatter than the typical Fender feel, sort of like Gibson/Epiphone with a longer 25.5-inch scale length.
What I do know is that there are more Stagemasters out there than Showmasters, so if you want one plus another as a backup, the Stagemaster is the better choice just based on availability. If you want something more exclusive that almost nobody has, the Showmaster is the better choice.
Rather get something new instead of old? See the Squier Contemporary Series.
Cheap import guitar of the week #7 - Chackson Pro Dinky
Arguably, this is the best cheap-import feature yet, but you can't have it.
This China knockoff most closely resembles the Jackson Pro Dinky model.
There are two huge reasons to buy this China knockoff.
First, it's under $140 at the time I write this. But there is a $95 shipping charge. SO WHAT? The total price is still under $250 and still an amazing deal.
But why so amazing? That's the second reason, which is there is maple color on both the headstock and the fretboard.
It's the second reason that matters more, because you almost never see Jackson guitars anymore with that seriously cool maple fretboard + black shark fin inlay + black-logo on maple headstock look.
The maple + maple is one of the most badass looks that Jackson ever released, and they are not easy to come by - never mind see one for under $300.
Whenever you see a maple fretboard on a Jackson, the headstock is always painted black. Ugly? Yes. But the maple + maple looks incredible. It has that oh-so cool "ultimate guitar rocker" look to it like it came straight out the 1980s - and that's not a bad thing.
Even if the frets are a little uneven on arrival where you need a guitar tech to do some minor touch-up work, it's worth it because nobody else will have a Jackson that looks like yours.
Here's the part that's awesome and funny at the same time. Even as a knockoff, it's easily worth 500 bucks just for the maple + maple combo. No joke. There are Jackson players out there that would do anything to get a maple + maple guitar like this, because at present, Jackson is painting all their pointy headstocks.
The only way to get this guitar in a look like this from Jackson would be to have the custom shop craft it for you. Don't bother. Get the knockoff and enjoy.
Why can't you have it? Yeah, good luck finding one. You're better off just buying the actual Jackson since you can order it, like, today.
Cheap import guitar of the week #6 - Chender David Gilmour Stratocaster
Somehow, I doubt this is "Made In USA", but it's still a cool dirt cheap guitar.
It's not too difficult to acquire a very convincing David Gilmour Stratocaster copy. And believe me, you will want the copy over the real thing. Why? Because the real thing is quite expensive, while the China copy is under $300.
On the Gilmour China copy, they usually get the neck correct, so the look of the guitar is a spot-on. As for the rest of it, that I can't say because I've not played it.
However, I can say this: The real-deal guitar has Fat '50s pickups in it and some Seymour Duncan electronics wizardry. You can get damned close to that by buying a Fender Custom Shop Fat '50s pickup set. That set is not as expensive as you think it is. Actually, it's a fairly good deal, even as a Fender-branded product. So when you want that "sparkly" tone the Gilmour Strat has, that set of pickups is pretty much how to get it.
Or, you can outright buy the Gilmour pickup set. But it costs more than the Fat '50s set. Your choice...
...which basically means you could just skip the China copy, get a black Squier Strat, toss in the correct pickup set, and you're done.