Are you sure they didn't send you a prepped ringer? The strings and the shim is the big tell.

I bet they did all the necessary fret work, intonated it, set it up, shimmed it for proper neck angle, then shipped it to you! And now they are of course $179! It's amazing what these companys will do to move product!

Wish we woulda had stuff like this 40 years ago

The shim is a good thing,It shows they cared enough to make correct ajustments ,A shim is part of the guitar ajustment ,and probably works better than fenders micro tilt.Leo use to shim alot to get proper neck angle ,I do too .Your upper string action will be as good at the 15th fret as it is at the 10th fret, and all the way to the last fret.Shim is part of the guitar.

I bought my Fender Squier for $179 and it sounds awesome enough to me. 😊

What a time for beginning guitar players..you get a decent guitar now for very little money ...

I taught guitar for decades & I always said ‘if it doesn’t stay in tune it’s useless…doesn’t matter what it looks like or how it sounds if it doesn’t stay in tune’ amen

My experience with the Leo Jaymz I bought, the flag fender looking thing, was not very good. You got one that HAD to be pre setup. I had to do everything to mine to get it to play even close to others I have. Shimed neck, reduced neck thickness, replaced tuners & 2 pickups. Neck was raw wood & ruff as a cactus. Radius is 14, flat as a pankake. Glad yours was free. No more of those for me.

I picked up a Leo Jaymz Les Paul copy. 200 bucks and it plays and sounds excellent. Looks pretty sharp too. For the price point, you can't beat it!

oommg... i wasnt expecting this... SOO SOLID SOUND !!! okay i am buying

They said they were gonna "change your mind", translation, we are gonna take a bunch of extra time on the neck so it feels really good and hope you talk about how nice it plays, so we can sell pieces of shit to everyone else

The body is made of Philippine Mahogany not Honduras "real" Mahogany. It's a much lighter less dense wood that's easy to machine and is stable. A good choice when cost is important.

I’m gonna start ranting about cheap lambo kit cars!! Someone might send me one yo wreck… er I mean test drive! ✌🏽🤨✌🏽

They sent you the best example of what they have. I'm sure they spent more time on it than they would normally.

I don’t know what budget guitars you’ve tried before, but there are some really nice budget guitars out there, like, EART,Jet, Amuse, and FireFly, just to name a few! These guitars have roasted maple necks, stainless steel frets, full size pots, and the list of specs goes on! I know there are some really bad ones out there, but, if you try some of the ones I listed, you won’t be disappointed! Now, I’ve tried Leo Jaymez also and in my opinion, they don’t hold a match to the ones I’ve named! Give ‘em try, if you dare!

WTF? How did I just find this channel!! Had to subscribe.

The best thing about budget guitars . Modding them . Thanks for the video.

I didn't say anything, but did have an idea that any guitar sent out for review would be prepped. Anyway, I ordered one - even with the price markup to $179 it's would still be a deal according to your review. The guitar just arrived today. Yep; double boxed with a nice gray gig bag, but not inside the bag as if that matters. Tools are taped to the neck (though the smaller allen fits nothing on the guitar), same inner packing as yours. Mine is clearly a hard maple neck, but not a flicker of flame in it - no skunk stripe either. I didn't examine the electronic guts since the stuff couldn't be any different than yours; didn't bother looking for a neck shim either. The bridge pickup is actually labeled "Alnico V" (not a brand name but a claim of the strongest possible alloy magnet). Nut is well cut - no whittling needed. Frets ends are remarkably well-manicured and the frets are level and polished. Low action - a bit too low as there's some fret buzzing, but after tuning tension is applied there's still a bit of back bowing; can fix that in a jiffy. The intonation on mine is quite a bit off... all strings note flat one-octave higher (12th fret for you country folks :) ). All that said, I've bought new Fenders that needed the same touching up. Your review is outstanding and the guitar is a bargain even with the recently elevated price!

How you can tell if you have a "photo-finish" vs. a real wood veneer is to look for what is known as "chatoyance". What that means is the natural shimmer of the woodgrain under strong light. The fibers of the wood are whatever color the wood is, but the connective tissue (think gristle) that binds the fibers together is clear, so when you look at the guitar under strong (or sun) light and you tilt the guitar back and forth, the woodgrain glows prettily and seems to move a little bit under the clear finish as you tilt the guitar back and forth. Any flamey Gibson will show tons of this. If you do this and the light doesn't dance with the woodgrain and seems very static and unchanging, it's a photo-finish. Which isn't necessarily bad - I've seen some photo-finishes that were damned attractive. Some early photo-finishes from the late 90s when they came up with the idea are now turning to crap as either the paper or the adhesive deteriorates due to age. I imagine they have better methods now, but I don't have data on it.

For a first guitar, it's pretty impressive. I'll still cast a skeptical eye because of the parts' durability over time. If nothing else, it's a nice starting platform for modifications.

I got one a week ago, mine is very satisfactory . I did do a fret level,crown and polish . Most novice owners probably wouldn't have the knowledge to tackle that and in reality it was playable out of the box. I commonly do this to most all my guitars to get the best possible action. I also rolled the fingerboard edges. I did replace the crappy plastic nut , however it was cut well and useable. To me the pickups are fine ,the electronics are quiet and work smoothly. Very happy with it and the price is more than fair. Very good job on packing.I recommend it without a doubt.

I ordered one because of this video. It arrived today in a single small triangle shaped box. Instead of a gig bag, it was in a white plastic sack. The action looked good, but only because of a severe back bow. Every string fretted out when using open chords. The fret tops were as rough as a fingernail file and the ends were very sharp to snag my fingers. No flame on the neck and no skunk stripe on the back. They scammed us with this ringer.

Thanks for the video. I just ordered the same for $139. Arrives Tuesday before my first lesson!!!

I loved the moment when you first started playing plugged in, heard the tone and looked confused before you even said anything as if to say "this can't be, it sounds beautiful!" :p thank you for a great video :)

My favorite neck is the MIM classic 50' vintage soft V shape lacquered. It's beautiful. Stratocaster.

Just shows how much markup there is on brand name guitars made in china. It's a shame the quality isn't this good on some of them.

Great review, man! Thanks for being honest about it…

As an older viewer ( in my 70’s) I can tell you that when I was a kid, the cheap guitars were shit. The affordable guitars today are so far superior to the stuff in the old days. For people who can’t afford a top flight instrument, at least they can get something that’s reasonably playable. That wasn’t the case way back when.

Said it before, I'll say it again. EVERYTHING on my channel was recorded with $105 Squire Stratocaster Hardtail Bullet guitars.....stock. I'm an ok guitar player and they work well. (Alright, I'm better than ok!) I didn't use them because they're cheap, I just love the necks on them.

I love the reviews I found you recently but I've been playing for well over 10 years thank you so much for everything you do!

Great review Sean . I;m impressed .

Wow. Guitar renaissance at the moment. You make beautiful guitars but what’s coming out of the east right now is astonishing. As an amateur home luthier why even build your own if you don’t have a proper shop. Just upgrade and do the simple things. I like the clear pick guard.

I can’t buy the parts for that price! Wonder what they feed the labor?

I own two Leo Jaymz tele models and they came hot like this one right out of the box. If I had a hankering, I might drop some Fender pickups in one of them, but truth be told, they sound and play fantastic!

How come the Strat on the wall has an identical finish? I mean it looks like the paint came from the same gun by the same hand!

that is a alot of guitar for 139 bucks wow nice review man

Those pups sound almost as good as the Seymour Duncan pickups I bought for about $130...each!!

Harmony used to "stripe" their (birch) guitar backs with a fine-pointed spraypaint gun, and I have an old factory-made fiddle with a flamed maple back which was actually laid down with a needle-point torch (the flame figure was evident on the purfling, which should have been intact). In 1978, Hondo II LP copies rolled out the "roto" manufacturing method of printing a photo of figured wood on a plain top, since adopted by nearly everybody since. Manufacturers have clever ways to make inexpensive guitars look amazing. Given the price of raw stripe maple, this may well be a combination of some of these methods. Having said that, if a guitar feels good and plays good, IT IS GOOD. High or low, price be damned.

It looks gorgeous. How good are the tuners? The pickups sound pretty good for cheap ceramics too. I agree, a pickup and electronics upgrade is all it needs to be super sweet.

A political/economic tactic that some countries use is to export and sell products in other countries for a price that is actually below the cost of manufacturing. The manufacturers are subsidized by their government, in other words that foreign government absorbs some of the cost of manufacturing the products (s.g., that foreign government may cover the cost of labor or may provide manufacturing facilities or cover the cost f energy, etc). This is done to undermine foreign economies and/or obtain US currency. If a country does what is described above it is typically or often a violation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules - if that country of origin is a member of the WTO, which most countries are.

I've never seen a $150 Chinese guitar with perfect fret levelling. They definitely sent you a "special" on for review lol

Leave the stock pickups, spend time adjusting their height and bass/treble tip by ear for the best tone, and swap the pots, switch, and jack. That's it.

I recently got the same one in the brown/tobacco type flame and I haven't found a reason to change anything about it except the knobs which I changed to zebra wood to match the body. You simply can not beat this for the price! Drooling over another one. Subbed!

Nice demo brother...thanks! Liked and Subscribed!!!!

I am not crazy about the pickups,but as a beginner instrument, it’s great. Intonation and tuning are key.

That looked like a pretty thick shim.

Honestly without seeing and hearing before I can't believe the price for a playable guitar . Sounds and looks great . I'd play it on a gig ..well a few songs . I have a Fisher handmade in Coalport , Pa by an ex dentist who decided to make guitars . Half the good players in town own at least one .24 fret neck , one piece neck thru and some have 24 frets . I think you'd love them ! Nice review ! Still unreal for the price .

Hey if you're here watching my video, hit the like button or a little monkey is gonna run up your body and do bad things to your ears!!

Great video, great channel. I got my son a LTD Phoenix, and I could not believe how great the machining is these days. It's no handmade Firebird, but it is very sweet.

try a EART, before they became a popular cheap option and the price went up they were $150-$250. the headless i got was nice, the bridge meh $60 bridge, the rest holy crap! the strat i grabbed for my buddy is better than any other cheap guitar i've had.

I was going to change some things on my Classic Vibe Squier but maybe I'll buy something like this instead for a modding platform. It would be nice to have a vintage appointment and a more modern appointment Tele. Two things kinda bug me about it though. Not sure about the clear guard. I guess they wanted to show off that flame top and it does look fantastic but it leaves the truss rod access hole to be seen and that's second gripe I'd have as I prefer access to the truss rod up by the nut. Still though like you said for 139 bills can't expect perfect. Thx for sharing.

Thanks for the informative video. However, I noticed your Fender Frontman 212R in the background. I have a 2007 Model, but loaded with one WGS ET-65, and one WGS Retro 30. Hence, the sound went from below average with the original Fender Design Speakers, to just killer tones with incredible headroom straight in, no matter the genre. In short, it can sound as sweet as Carlos Santana, to as roaring as EVH. No problem.

Been wanting a tele for a while now. Definitely take one like that .

When you buy a guitar for $139 or $250 you assume certain things. Most of the time these target new players that are learning. You also assume the pickups and pots aren’t the best out there but how could they be at that price point? Look at it for what it is, an entry level budget guitar. Will it accomplish what you want it to accomplish? It doesn’t make sense to compare it to a $1K guitar? I would buy one in a heartbeat for my kid (if she was still a kid) to learn on. Just my 2 cents about budget guitars. The word budget is in there for a reason.

Cool vid. I dig these guitars. Maybe they sent you one that was plecked, since they know you are a reviewer. Maybe not. But they sure as he11 don't know who I am.... and I've bought 4 Leos. All 4 were at least "Very good," with a couple being damm near perfect... right slam out of the box. I absolutely love what Leo Jaymz has been doing the last couplea' years. Awesome guitars, for the cash they ask.

First time I seen your channel and I've watched her do the guitar so I followed the link they jacked the price on you it's 179 on sale for 159. I was looking through it I was thinking about getting that green one the same style that you had and then there's an American flag That one's 119

After your detailed inspection and plugging it in ... descent sound for the money!

That's NOT a "gig bag" that's a nylon wrapper with a zipper on it

It even has that Tele chime that sets it apart from other guitars! Lot of budget Tele's don't chime so well.

I have been hearing alot about this company. I have seen multiple videos on different models and it seems they are a good value. That tele looks pretty sweet.

If the pickups was potted I don’t think you would hear the noise of the switch or a faster way is dip them in lacquer. Love your channel I get real opinions about real guitars from a real person .

Your review just upped the price to $179! :) I just bought one at that price... like I need another guitar! I would have never bought it without your review.

Thanks for the heads up and the review, the price is now $179

Damn for 139 that's a whole lot of guitar. Looked like the bridge was alinco instead of the standard Chinese ceramic. It Def had a Lil bit of that Tele twang. The pickups didn't sound bad. Honestly I'd upgrade the switch to a super switch or a 3pole 4way, a multi point jack and maybe throw on some CTS or Alpha pots (those little cheap ones are normally better than we give them credit for). Then I'd call it a win.

That looks like a good platform for some mods...I.E. pickups, pots & switch for sure. That top doesn't look like a photo...too much movement in the flame. 👍👍 Damn sure beats the 1k x 2k price of some of the leading makers.

Add the same attitude about "Cheapies" So Bought a Fazley Outlaw Coyote T - Style From a Company Called Bax,,,Ash Body, Roasted Canadian Maple Neck And Finger Board. Wilkinson HardWare...Tusq Nut Came with a Gig bag... In The Uk £122 Delivered.. Had it Four Months And have Not Picked Up My Fender T's Since.

I just happened on this channel - this guy is interesting, down to earth - someone I could crack a beer and hang out with. I like his approach, at one point he had me laughing so hard I spilled my coffee! Nice tele, some of these deals are amazing, and a lot of the work you can do yourself if you're mechanically inclined. Think I'll be back... 😏

It has a microphonic bridge pup and/or bridge. A buddy bought a Glarry Tele for my birthday. Bridge and Bridge pickup so microphonic you could hear my eyeballs thru the amp if I even looked at it. Guitar was good after 2 hours work and shopping carefully for $80.00 in parts.

Few years ago I got a budget (SX) Tele with "Flame Maple Neck". Took it to some guys that built guitars and they got a laugh. Seems they used something like a Heated Rope to get the effect. You might tale it to a local Hardwood dealer and have him look to see if it really is Flame or Not.

I like your enthusiasm and humour and of course your knowledge. That's a great guitar for the money from what I can and certainly hear. I like your playing do you have vid of you playing anywhere?

Thanks for the review!

Hi - nice guitar for the money! Two things - #1 the hole in the neck pocket is a registration hole for the CNC milling machine and #2 I didn't see a ground wire going from the bridge plate to the back of one of the pots.

Plug that hole with a hardwood dowel. Just before you glue the dowel in, check how it sounds by dry fitting the dowel.

Leo Jaymz is the winner lol.

Yeah and the neck is different when you look on the back You got that stripe up the side of that neck but the one in in the link doesn't have that dark stripe up the middle

Thanks for the vid brother! Some people get overly excited about name and brand, but Eddie could have played any guitar and would still sound like Eddie. If you can’t set up action that’s different. It’s a pretty guitar, but that headstock drives me NUTSSSS. Not a huge deal, just not a pretty design. Have an LTD telecaster that I love! In cases you don’t know, LTD is the lower model of ESP, like Squire / Fender.

I'll give you 150 right now for it. I bought a Zwuei Thinline Telecaster dual Humbucker with a Bixby type trem system. Great Guitar. 250 bucks.

Nice guitar, I checked with the link you supplied, unfortunately, this model is not there, the only ones I found are $400 and dont look as good as this one. Thanks for the demo.

Just found your channel, I like it!

Hello from your old time viewer Sean, hope you doin fine 🙏 That guitar neck is my fav part of the guitar, because for me, the neck determine how good the guitar will feel in your hands. So, a perfect fret job and a flame maple neck is perfect for me. I would prefer a string through Tele. GBU Sean

As fender American tele owner. When I bought it brand new. It had the most awful set up. Frets would cut the shit out of my hand. Fret sprouts were beyond a 1/16 of an inch. Neck needed relief, intonation was complete shit. That guitar costed me 1400$ I spent hours on that guitar to bring it to fruition. Bought a hard luck kings southern belle for 189$ . It has got to be best craftsmanship and setup I’ve ever seen or played. Fenders quality control is complete dogshit

Sean, maybe I'll get one of these to play with before I cut that big slab of Walnut I have...

Man you do one fun reiew. You might have even sucked me into buying one just for curiosity. Hell if the guitar seriously underwhelms me at least it's a good piece of wall art.

I was pleased to see that good guitar, maybe someone's first guitar, could actually be a cheap made in China guitar. As a kid I'd have traded my soul for good guitar. Now I wouldn't have to.

Ahh Blueburst, a man of fine taste. Recently subscribed. Love your videos. Greetings from Japan! I have a blueburst Epiphone Japan Les Paul. I've been meaning to upload a video for a while. Might need to add this Tele to my collection 😁

I was waiting for some shredding 🎉🎉🎉

That sounds correct. I want a great Telecaster so bad. Thanks for the video! Subbed

Sean to my ear it's not full tele twang, but it's smartly made! Great neck and Mahogany body. Cheers 😎

If the neck is straight, plays good and the body is good too then I LOVE cheap guitars. You can upgrade the hardware, but if the actual guitar is not up to snuff then it is hopeless to begin with.

Beware of guitars that are sent to you. You need one bought at random under another name to be sure they didn't send a ringer. They get a good review to boost sales and the QC starts to fall off. Check them again six months from now. The reason to change the shim is wood sims don't work forever. Especially when it;s not a full pocket shim. My guess is it won't last

I don't keep any fender type bolt-on body that has the finish drying hole in the neck pocket. It is there at the expense of the transfer of vibration between the neck and the body. That was a ridiculously huge shim and brother, it also will kill that same transfer.

If I’m not. Is taken that bridge pickup looked like it probably has alnico pole pieces, pretty good for a cheep guitar

Love the look of the neck on this..reminds me of my old 80s guitars. Lol

I would be very happy with this guitar. But only if it looks and sounds like that one. You may have gotten one that was setup and ready. Love the wood on it though.

Oh my GAWD!! $139??? How in the....

I got a monoprice indio "stringthru" body Telecaster for $100 shipped to house...had good setup and all..sounds and plays great. Love it. Get one. Try one on here see what you get :)

This is a nice channel. Today I have a pair of expensive guitars, but when I go around to play and drink something (I'm not a professional guitarrist) I'm always looking for a guitar like this to play and don't care about nothing, and maybe burn it if I'm drank enough.... Sacrifice !!!!!

That is a very beautiful telecaster. For $139 dollar ❤

I'm tellin you you need to check out IYV bone nut , 3 layerbinding, tuners aren't grover but they work

Gee, I love cheap little POS guitars, it gives ya a base to start from. Sure, you'll replace damn near everything but the body, but what the heck, it's fun. (I'm obviously not in it as a business or anything.)