It is! It's a sexy, sexy guitar.
The thing is, it'd be so easy to fix this at the factory. I bet they saved $10/each by not having the pickups potted.
From looking online, it appears that other guitars - of this same model - don't all have the nut slotted improperly. Find out what's wrong with that one and fix it. I suspect they're doing them all in some sort of manual process - or getting them from a supplier and not doing adequate controls on components.
Throw on some better tuners - maybe an additional $20.
I don't really like the bridge and saddle - but they'll do. They should probably upgrade those to something a bit heavier. They're not terrible, but I really think heavier duty would have done the trick.
They've now made the guitar worth upwards of $1,600.
I would take a look at the waveforms from the sound chambers, just to see if that's a problem. That's easy. Pump a control tone in and see what comes out. You can literally physically see the waves and optimize for them. I'd not be surprised to find out there's some consistency issues within the factory, so once they optimize the sound chambers to get the resonance they want, just make a damned solid jig and ensure the manufacturing process can easily stick to that exact specification.
These are small things. They are things easily and cheaply added to the manufacturing process.
When you spend $875 on a guitar, your first fucking stop shouldn't have to be somewhere else to upgrade the components.
Finally, fire whoever they have in charge of QC. Hire actual guitarists to perform those tasks and give them a dedicated workspace. They don't have to be good guitarists - and they can train the next generation that replaces them. It needn't even be expensive - just pay them the going rate but hold them accountable.
The brand has great potential. They're going to squander it and what little reputation they have.
Anyhow, those few changes will make the guitar a phenomenal piece. Those few changes (including the QC - as I pay more to get a consistent product from the factory) will make their guitar a reasonable upper-mid-range guitar. They'd be adding maybe $50 to their production costs - but they'd be able to charge almost twice as much.
A good price for the changed guitar would be $1,200. A reasonable price would be $1,400. A realistic, and not obscene price, would probably peak out around $1,600. It'd be stretching it, but they could pull it off with some marketing.
They'd take the legs out from under PRS and grab a share of the market for people who couldn't afford a PRS but want a similar sound, quality, and look.
I'm almost completely certain that they'd actually end up selling more guitars - even though they cost more. I'd want to do some market research before deciding on the optimal MSRP. (MSRP doesn't have much to do with manufacturing costs anymore, they're pretty detached.)
I'm pretty sure I could turn that company around in under three years.
I'm also pretty sure I'm qualified to offer these opinions.
Side questions: Did you enjoy my review? Do you think I should do more of them? Was it helpful, entertaining, and informative?
I did enjoy the review, I think I'd enjoy more of them. Especially for someone with limited knowledge such as myself.
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