Ali Express Frankenstrats
- Thread starter Kapo_Polenton
- Start date
I concur, but if you think about it, so was the original.
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
Like EVH said, it's just wood and metal.
You can build an 84 style guitar with a Mahogany body for $179.
https://www.kramerguitars.com/en-US/Electric-Guitar/KRARSM675/Ruby-Red
https://www.kramerguitars.com/en-US/Electric-Guitar/KRARSM675/Ruby-Red
harddriver
Well-known member
I was at a GC recently and checked out the Kramer classics they had and they are a toy at best. YMMV. The MIM Charvels are much higher quality IMHO but they are not $179. I will say again...you tend to get what you pay for.
Yes it's all just wood and metal, but there is a difference between furniture grade mahogany and tonewood grade mahogany and quality steel versus pot metal.
Someone should let Gibson know.
harddriver
Well-known member
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
Maybe that explains Lemons and Keepers that have mojo....it still seems to very much be the luck of the draw after any guitar is assembled............all you can do is mitigate as many variables as possible and hope for the best.
I would say yes and no to " toneful" wood. I mean no way Charvel can know what a slab of alder is going to sound like. They might gauge quality in their supplier and how porous or grainy it is and the weight, but no other way they can know. Yes you have to at least have a decent body but whether that alder comes from Canada or China... if the grain is decent, you can't really argue it is way better. What you can argue is electronics, pickups, trem, neck finish, and tuners. That's clearly where the costs are adding up and why they price them where they do to be able to pay assemblers, finishers, marketing and then to cut a profit outside of the markup the vendors agree to so they make their cut. Given all that, I think the Charvels are a good deal BUT I wouldn't discount some of the budget bodies and necks available if they come from decent wood and are finished well. But then the builder becomes like charvel , sourcing good hardware etc and the cost goes up. I think the minute you go a floyd style trem, your costs might make less sense. If you go old school trem though, you can still build yourself a sweet axe with some know how.
sytharnia1560
Well-known member
It is actually quite surprising how different wood is depending on where it is grown. I have some New Zealand grown Alder that I used for a couple of guitars and it in no way resembles the Alder on my Charvel/ Fenders etc ... it is far lighter weight (and I mean way outside the 5-10% you would expect between planks), the pores are way more open and even the general grain pattern is nothing like the others .. hell even the colour of the wood is much lighter
Now tone wise it seems a little brighter and thinner than the other Alder guitars I have but that could be down to maybe things like body thickness and size.
I have a Ali Express "Yngwie strat" and it's ok... body wood looks to be basswood, paint job is pretty good apart from around the routings where there are runs. Pick ups were ok and useable for high gain (not so much break up type gain) and cleans ... the Neck is really good but much smaller than my real YJM, but there were no fret issues ... I paid $150nz for it (which is about $85us) secondhand and have been a little bit tempted to get something else from there like a Rhoads polka dot or something, but they work out to be around $500 shipped...which is getting into the "a bit too much to spend on something that might be junk"
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Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
Agreed on the Rhoads. The one or two reviews I have seen were not favorable at all. Fret and neck issues, crap finish on body etc... but the frankenstrats are hit or miss. Also worth nothing are the people who are more satisfied, generally have know how on how to swap parts they want or level/ round off the frets.
Saw this the other day and am tempted to give it a go. https://www.guitarfetish.com/XGP-Pr...d-Body-Flamed-Maple-Purple-Burst_p_43832.html
I have a nice reverse headstock neck with jumbo frets on it sitting around which would look cool. I could probably finish it like those Palermo frankenstrats which are just leaving the cavity open and throwing in frankie style wiring. May do it up as a H H frankie so it is more unique. I even have a spare 2 point usa trem somewhere I could throw in it.
sytharnia1560
Well-known member
Binding on a strat shape is a huge NO for me hahahaha
Why not just pick up a cheap secondhand squier california or similar? pretty damn cheap ones can be found ... then some spray cans and tape? I've done a couple that I no longer have and it is fun
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
Another limiting factor is their markup on shipping! That body is what 129? Well, to ship it, it's 75$ lol. Forget that. I'd sooner go local. I could do a Henrik Danhage Charvel clone sort of deal with this or get a body cheap as you say and spray and relic it myself in the spring which could also be fun. The body that I linked is 249 USD but for me in Canada they have it listed as 279 CAD which is a pretty good deal. That would be like paying 200 USD. Incredible how bad our dollar is now.. I remember when it was on par, Canadians were running to Ebay to buy stuff up.
https://www.solomusicgear.com/product/solo-st-style-hsh-relic-finished-guitar-body-ivory/
Briman24
Well-known member
You can get used floyds for 120 to 200 on kijiji now and then. Bodies 50 to 150 and for neck i recommend northern redfish on reverb. He has nice new necks from 110 to 180 on reverb. They come with steel frets too. I bought one banana headstock neck from them and was great quality except i had to adjust depth of nut slotNice! Must have been a Leafs fan..
I see what you guys are saying though, if you factor in decent parts ( not to mention shipping of items and tax) before any painting this is what it might look like:
Ash body 300
Quality Floyd rose 350
tuners 80
neck 300
Electronics 50
I'm at 1080$ before I even get to a paint job of any type. Edging on up there. I've seen some of these newer relic'd frankenstrats from EVH go for under 2000$ so it's like... which is going to retain better value and be ready to go out of the box. I have the pickups already but that would tack on another 150$ etc etc.
The only way it makes sense is if you raped a strat style guitar you picked up on craigs list or other that plays decently already.
RevDrucifer
Well-known member
FWIW, my tech buys necks on Ali Express all the time and after a few hours of fretwork gets them playing great. When I was getting ready to build my Gilmour Strat last year I was getting opinions on neck makers and he suggested getting one on there and he’d fix it up, I played 2-3 of the ones he did and they did indeed play great. I went with Musikraft in the end because they drop ship directly to MJT and it just made it easier.
That said, he did get a few that had unusable truss rods, so it’s a gamble. I was mostly surprised by the finish of them, really great clearcoats and tints, they felt great in my hands.
That said, he did get a few that had unusable truss rods, so it’s a gamble. I was mostly surprised by the finish of them, really great clearcoats and tints, they felt great in my hands.
sytharnia1560
Well-known member
mate you should see how our dollar (new zealand dollar) is against the US and then shipping
.. I have a buddy in north carolina and he wanted to sell me an old kramer aero thingy for $80us .. shipping was over $250 hahahahahahahaha
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
that's the thing, I would use them in a heart beat as there are some amazing finishes on necks there but then there are the necks that become completely unusable. There has to be consistent builders on there though.. I am assuming the ones with good ratings and a bit pricier necks are going to be more reliable but you never know. I think they know the cost of shipping back isn't worth most people's trouble and they say screw it and use it as firewood.
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
mate you should see how our dollar (new zealand dollar) is against the US and then shipping
It's brutal. I am happy to see that locally to Canada, more builders and suppliers are popping up. It is time we start to fill in some hobby niche areas for " our own" so to speak. But they don't make it easy to do anything.
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
Looks to be about 40 min from my place.. I should see if he has a private shop so Reverb can't take their cut for " the man". Thanks for the suggestion.