Grote Electric Solid Body Guitar Modern-GST For Beginners (Daphne Blue)

I maybe got lucky on this, but everything about deciding to buy this guitar has been fantastic. I realize that the Chinese and Indonesian guitars have QC issues at times, but I hit a grand slam with this purchase. First off, Amazon packed this so well that it arrived totally protected. There was an inner box around the guitar, and then this box was placed in a larger outer box with a tons of fluffed packing paper protecting the inner guitar box. This would have survived anything. But the outer box was not even dented, and the inner box was in perfect condition. Then, on opening the inner box, this guitar was perfect with no dents, scratches, or injury of any kind. The deep reddish wood grain body and tortoise pick guard are absolutely beautiful, and the roasted neck finishes it off with a look that is beyond fantastic. The total weight is light, and feels really great. After I did some minimal fret work (slight filing of some ends), and height adjustments, I couldn’t put this guitar down for 90 minutes. It not only looks awesome, it is a total joy to play. I’ve been around a while, and I played in the hay days of rock (1960s) in bars and clubs in the midwest USA. I believe that I have owned or played “all” the major guitar brands ever made, so I know what is out there. All I can say is that I love this guitar and I would have used this in my gigs with no hesitation “back in the day” if I had it then. The fact that this is available for under $300 is unbelievable.

Wow, am very surprised how good this guitar is. I saw videos about the cheapest guitars on amazon saying they were very good but may need setup. This one was on sale for $87 and reviews were most pretty good but a few negative. I tried my luck and won. Out of the box the strings were all very loose. No big deal, it easily tuned up and stayed in tune for hours. There wasnt a single problem, no high action, fret buz, bowed neck, crappy tone or anything. I have 4 other electrics all like $200 guitars except an epiphone les paul like a $500 guitar. And this grote was sounding better than all. It practically played itself as I jammed for hours in amazement. Its very light and it looks beautiful. It has 2 switches and plenty knobs to adjust tone. The nice tone and staying in tune for hours was a great surprise. Cheap guitars may be a bit of gamble and some may get a dud, but i figured I’d ship it right back if it were. Time will tell if this guitar holds up but so far this is an amazing deal.

Had read some good things about Grote guitars so orderered this Pawlownia ST, when it went on sale $70, as I wanted to get a project guitar but also a guitar I can take to parties and gatherings without getting nervous. I unpacked it, let it stand till the following day and truly "I played it straight out of the box" However, that not to say there weren't a few things that needed improving. The neck had too much relief, but this is the same as all the guitars I have bought online, that were $200 plus, as they normally ship from Southern US to my Northern location. I quickly adjusted the truss rod and fixed this. I will also adjust the string heights at the bridge and intonate when I change strings. The fret ends were excellent, in fact I can see the edge of the neck sticking out further than the frets in places, suggesting they sanded the frets before installing on the neck? Different but hey, whatever they did worked well. Fit and finish were very good, only very minor blemishes, equal to my guitars 3 times the price. The deep grain pawlonia wood looks great through the translucent blue (with a hint of turquoise) hard finish, very attractive. The plastic nut is cut perfectly. I have not experienced this with some of the more expensive guitars. Tuners work, but tighten and losen as you turn them. Guitar need constant tuning , new tuners will be the first upgrade with new strings. Tremolo bar supplied but tremolo was screwed down tight, so no tremelo sounds until, claw, springs and tremolo adjusted. If this was your only guitar, pick ups would sound fine, however although adequate to make music they do not sound as good as the ones in my Squire Strat. More fun changing P U's. In conclusion, worth every penny, don't know how Grote do it at this price. Very light, don't worry about the Pawlonia, Fender makes the "Empress" Tele out of the same stuff, so really great for beginners and young axers. Will play out of the box to get you going but will benefit from a full set up. Down the road, with skills and experience improving, make it a project, make the guitar grow with you. Tons of fun, I am really enjoying mine!! Will probably buy more Grote guitars in the future.

I thought this guitar would play great, and I'm surprised it is, for the price you can't go wrong, amazing sounds you can get, it's crazy, from me it's well built and beautifull, by it you will see.

OK, I returned this item so why a 3 START review? The guitar as a whole is surprisingly good for the $85.50 I paid. It looks good, sounds good, but had one major issue. A crack in the body at the neck join. This is not solid wood; it is a composite. It looks to me the slurry of wood-product they made, dried, expanded, and cracked. Also, the tuners were horrible, BUT for a sub-$100 guitar that's expected. If you think you'll get top-notch hardware on an $85 guitar, think again. This would have been a good mod platform. The pickups sounded really good. The humbucker is splitable and it sounded good. The paint was an awesome color. It looked cool. It played well. It had a nice medium neck and a beautiful fretboard. The frets were well done. It would have been a FIVE STAR if not for the body crack. Too bad. It is certainly worth a shot if you want a cheap, but good guitar or a great mod platform.

Great purchase. The body is smaller than on other Strat type models. But weighs a lot less. So I should be able to play this one longer without my shoulder giving out. As with all guitars, it needs a bit of set up. I lifted the pickups and adjusted the intonation. The string height and action needed no adjustment. You can search online how to do the adjustments. It is not hard. The pegs are bit second class but does the job. I read of others complaining about staying in tune, but that is the nature of the beast with new strings and especially with a tremolo bridge. And until the strings mature through several days of playing, re-tuning is a usual thing with any guitar. New strings always need to mature. And if ya use a the tremolo bridge as much as I do, tuning can be a constant thing. I have played Strats and Strat types my whole life, and the tuning issues is the same as with any guitar. This will at the very least be my backup at gigs and band practice. And I plan to gig with it as much as I do my others. GREAT BUY FOR THE MONEY! I MAY BUY ANOTHER!

Very cheap, but fun.

Now I understand that a beginner is not going to shell out too much money to start with, but it helps your learning development if the instrument is at least tunable and playable, this object is not one of those, might make a decent cricket bat or fire starter, if your thinking of starting to learn this wonderful instrument, go to your local music store, and let them help you on your journey of making music, cheers nemanthedeman iTunes