Just realized....almost 24 hours after uploading, I did a video supposedly to focus on electric guitars.....and then veered left to review a nylon string acoustic just cause I had one nearby So much for staying on topic. 😅😅

At 69 YO, I am a new guitar player, learning from KZfaq lessons, and progressing nicely. However, I have gone through a BUNCH of guitars, all used, some of which I will donate to Guitars for Vets, and some I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I had gone far enough that that I wanted to invest in a NEW guitar. I looked around and decided I wanted a parlor sized guitar. I was seriously considering a Gretsch Jim Dandy till I stumbled across reviews on the Yamaha APXT2. All of the glowing reviews were spot on. Got it on Amazon, and out of the box, the setup was tolerable, the frets were well dressed and the unplugged tone was good for practicing at home. I was STUNNED when I plugged it in to my Line 6 Spider IV amp! It plays like an electric, and the clean tones would almost make you believe you were playing a Dreadnought or a Jumbo. It really is that good. At the price point, I really cannot recommend it enough. It is small enough to be easily portable, and unplugged is good enough for beach play or around a campfire. BTW, I AM looking to get involved with Guitars For Vets, as soon as I can find a local program.

I do setups, repairs and custom builds as a side job and I'm amazed by the number of killer players I've done work for that have no idea how to maintain/set up their own gear.

Some great points about the expectations for set up. If you are a beginner, some of the set up issues might be enough to put you off playing for life.

Nice video. Loved the " probably makes ya a cup of coffee" comment for the Enya.

I really like your reviews and that you take the time going over each guitar in depth. I have Squiers, Epi's, Ibanez, Firefly, Donner, Indio, HB, and a PRS SE so budget guitars are my thing. Great channel and you deserve WAY more than 500 subs.

"A+++ Item as described!" I hate those reviews. Always go to the negative reviews. They are the honest ones.

Great review! Truthful, honest. I went through a stage where I wanted to try different guitars just for fun .. been playing a long long time 😂 so I started by ordering a Wolfgang standard just to see what it was like, fkn awesome 😅 bought one for my son and sent it to him.. than grabbed a Mexican Strat for under 700.00 flame top HSS .. great guitar with quality I didn’t expect to see.. next up a Squire contemporary jaguar.. I love it! Can’t put it down! My thoughts before it arrived was to change the pickups with Seymour Duncan’s but I didn’t have to because of its versatility I can find the tone I need pretty much, less then 600 with a roasted maple neck and very smooth.. Most recently the reviews of a new company called Fensley were great online so I picked up the newest 800 series.. nope.. the guitar was advertised as a rock machine but fell short to me. Shaped like an Ibanez with a Strat neck.. feels weird 😂 and the finish included flame maple top that had runs lol , hard to change strings etc… but it was under 200 after 50.00 coupon so what can I say.. anyways. Sometimes it’s good to experiment with affordable equipment. Just the joy of playing music keeps me going 🤙🏾

I like to scroll the diy kits and so far I've bought 3. It's an easy way to get a box of parts for a partscaster.

Nylon stringed guitars like the blue one have no truss rod (because of less tension) and the strings are tied on. You can find ball end nylon strings but most are not. Good stuff and informative!

I think nowadays, for a beginner, 9 out of 10 of these cheaper Amazon guitars are going to be just fine. It’s the more experienced player who will notice this or that, and has developed certain preferences. As far as set-up goes, plenty of higher end, brand name guitars get shipped with lousy set-ups…so in this respect, all things are pretty equal. As far as Squier goes, the one thing I think you’re missing is that these are GREAT guitars in general. A beginner who buys a Squier isn’t necessarily going to return or sell it, ever. And many VERY long-time players have a Classic Vibe series in their arsenal. Just my 2 cents.

44:44 Paul S is absolutely wilding 🤣 46:00 PASS ME THE BUTTER 50:05 WE GOT SCRAPPY DOO

Dude, I have never bought/got a guitar that I didn't have to set up to my own preference, That's any and every brand. Fender Gibson and many of the rest. (No BS. I have Picts. lol) Buying off the shelf/wall at a local guitar store? In my experience? There is always been a set up charge. If you are dropping a couple hundred on a Squire or Epiphone, or maybe an Ibanez for instance? I get it. But once you eclipse 6 or 7 hundred dollars? it needs to be ready to gig or they should get it ready/Set up to your liking for the listed price. Me setting up my guitars. Is me bonding with the instrument. Just getting to know the critter inside and out Making it mine.

What do you think about making a video entirely about tuners and what makes them bad/good? Also, are there alternatives to simply replacing 'bad' tuners? Tips/tweaks? This might be a good topic to explore because tuners are such a common issue with beginner budget guitars

I need to try out one of those Enyas. Maybe it'll do my taxes for me if I spring for the deluxe model. 😅

(29:55) Regarding Sweetwater's 55-point inspection, understand that this only applies to guitars and stringed instruments that are priced $399 (as of this comment) and up.

Great observations/opinions on Yamaha!

I've put together DIY kits, but I much prefer buying the parts individually so I can get what I want. I always end up modding new guitars anyway, so I might as well start off with the parts I want. The parts that come in the kits are usually bare minimum. I at least want locking tuners and decent pickups.

Yamaha has a fine reputation overall as a manufacturer. Though they may not be well-known as an electric guitar brand, I'm sure it's a much safer bet than those ultra-budget brands, easily worth an extra $100 bucks or so. Even the cheapest Fender would be a safer bet than LyxPro. But if you know how to do some basic luthier work, willing to invest the time, and like to gamble, you might be able to make them reasonably playable, and damn, they are cheap (i.e. inexpensive)! Though a beginner with no support may be extremely frustrated, and it's criminal to let a young player get so discouraged due to starting on a flawed sub-standard instrument, as I did in my youth. Anything under $150 at today's prices for the guitar alone is very likely to be disappointing.

dude love your channel I am curious to know about this watching this video today..

I think Brad over in Louisville just did a video about one of those China made, Carbon fiber, speaker/app etc guitars. He liked it. @TheGuitologist

Sapulpa, brings back memories of that disgusting greasy spoon called the crescent. I wish I would have known you there 15 years ago.

Can't believe more Strat's are sold than Telecasters....

i LOVE KIT GUITARS AND HAVE BEEN BUILDING THEM FOR OVER A YEAR. I ORDERED 1 FROM eBAY AND THEY SENT ME A CASE OF 5 !! doh!!

friend of mine teaches guitar at a major music chain and he was telling me the Donnar guitars he has seen his students use were nothing but things breaking on them all the time

Hey Boss First thanks for the work and opinions you put into your videos you are appreciated. Somewhere in this video you land on 'kit Guitars" And kind of write them off as a waste. Stating, (I'm paraphrasing here)_ That it is not building a guitar ..Just assembling ready to go parts. kind of kin to paint by numbers. Which it true'ish But not strictly true. Ahh but I digress a bit.. Anyway my attempted point here is. What do the "Guitar Builders" at Gibson, Fender, PRS, And the rest do? (including the custom shop folks) After the after the CNC Machines are done with making the parts? They go to the Body area; and select a near 100% finished Body. Then to the Neck area; and select a near 100% finished Neck, Then collect the pickguard, Pick Ups, Machine-Tuners & Bridge, Pots and the rest from their respective areas. And now that they have a complete kit? Yup .. They simply Assemble it.. Of course there is still finish set up. But this is no different than building a kit guitar.. There is no Master Luthier, At Gibson or any of the rest, Whittling on a piece of Burch wood with his Buck knife to carve out a Strat body .. Nope it is all done by CNC machines now. Top to Bottom, Inside Out, Over & Under, Cheap & expensive. Just like the Infamous Kit-Guitar-Kit-Guitar. Sorry Boss for the long diatribe, But a Kit- Guitar is what you make it in to just like the big guitar makers. Peace Out and don't let that loud rattley-ass glass plant there deafen you. LOL

Have a couple drinks buy a cheap guitar... I feel called out lmao.

I got a Grotesque Les Paul with stainless steel frets and bone nut set neck for $155 on Amazon and it plays better than the best Epiphone and it has P-90’s.

I have this new Squire guitar. It is really good. I gigged with this already! Fender is going to challenge the under $200 market. It has good strings; Squire was a string company before Fender. It's only slightly lighter than the Fender Starcaster Strat, but a much better neck profile. Tremelo and intonation were set perfect out of the box.

I looked under the details for the Squier Debut, it was first made available April 1st, 2024. It's fairly new. And also checked KZfaq, looks like only a couple videos popped up about it. You should add the Squier Debut to your tags for this video. Would the debut strat make a good partscaster base to learn how to mod and upgrade a guitar? Wished that there was a Tele option.

The Debut is it's own thing. It's not a Sonic, not a Bullet, it's a Debut. They're doing it to sway people away from cheap knockoffs in that price point.

I have 4 budget guitars and they're the only ones I play.. I have a studio Les Paul that I could never get the action where it was comfortable to play and keep in tune., same with a 400$ PRS style Ibanez.. the budget guitars have needed little to no attention other than quality strings.

How about a look at Bass guitars? Yamaha is slightly more popular in Bass guitars maybe? I would like your thoughts on a "Leo Jaymes" brand guitar from Amazon that resembles a Les Paul custom. My interest is to pick up on your comment about the strings that come with the guitar because Yamaha guitars are far better packaged and have nearly ready to play strings out of the box.

All we are is dust in the wind dude..

I disagree with your statement, that people shouldn't complain about the strings on the guitars sold on Amazon. If you buy a pair of shoes, and a string is broken, would you just buy a new pair of shoes strings. If you buy a shirt from Amazon and a button is broken would you just buy another button (if you can find one, that matches the color of the shirt). Buy a watch and the watch band is broken. Yes, most of the items Amazon sells come from foreign countries, that's why I appreciate yours and other KZfaq videos that discuss items on Amazon. But, there is no reason why flawed items should be allowed or sold on Amazon or Walmart sites. No matter how long the item sets in a warehouse, or how long it takes to ship, to the United States.

Stay away from donner