I have purchased a spalted maple Ultra Swede and overall I would say it is a very nice guitar and built with a quality level that will last for a long time. For the money I think it is an excellent value but overall a notch below the quality level of the premium brands like Fender or Gibson. The finish is flawless and the veneer top is outstanding. the neck is very fast as they advertise but I have not been able to get "great" action out of it due to buzzing, however it is a little below average. I had 3 issues that needed attention out of the box. The nut slot for the low E was cut too deep and buzzed no matter what. I superglued a sliver of bone in there and recut it and it is fine. The tune-O-matic bridge had all 6 saddles sloping towards the tailpiece so the low E and A strings would not intonate. I removed the 3 lowest saddles and turned them around and the problem is solved. In my opinion both of these should have been caught during the inspection. The last issue I had was the pickups and I did not like the sound of them. The trebles were a bit, not a lot, harsh and the bass a little weak and slightly muddy. I can see how someone else may like them but I usually play clean or just a little dirty and did not think they were very clear. I tried height changes and adjusting the polepiece screws but last weekend I changed them out with a bridge Duncan and a neck Dimarzio, which turned out to be a great combination, by the way, and with minimal adjustment the guitar now sounds terrific. The basswood body generates a lot of sustain giving the axe a very full sound with out the guitar weighing a ton. If it was lost I don't really know if I would replace it or try something new. There's a lot of nice guitars out there.

I've owned this guitar for about 6 to 8 months now, so I'm well-versed enough to write this review. PROS: - Lightweight and ergonomic....FEELS nice - Nice fast neck - Finish and binding is top notch...up there with a PRS - Stock pickups are great as is - Coil tap is a nice extra CONS (IMO only....most may disagree): - Not a fan of the Hagtrom "impreial" style tuners....I hate the feel of them and I don't like the look. I put in some vintage looking Klusons and it looks way better. - The Tuno-matic type bridge was kinda cheap and not helping me with intonation/tuning. I replaced it with a Tonepro bridge...not a problem since. - Not a fan of the Hagstrom Block Stop Tailpiece...I may look at replacing it...but honestly, it WORKS fine...this is asthetic only This has quickly become my number 1 gigging guitar...so lightweight and versatile. Without sounding cliché...do yourself a favour and buy this one. I have the blonde...wow.

This guitar is just incredible for the money... and I'd say that if it cost more, too.

The pictures really don't do it justice, which can be said of a lot of guitars on here, true, but the quality of the maple top and the finish is surprisingly good. It's really a striking guitar. the inlay's in the headstock and fretboard though, aren't superb... but in the price range, I've never seen better.

What I like most about this thing is it's size and shape. It's a bit smaller than a les paul, much lighter, and with the countour, much more comfortable. The neck is thin, flat, and eminently playable... truly excellent. I was surprised at how well the frets were dressed, too... no snags, no high spots, no buzzing. I'm able to get my action insanely low and still be able to bend notes without fretting out.

Since it's made from good tone woods, I figured that I would have a great jumping off point for customizing, and I was right. The stock pickups are actually pretty darn good... they channel some serious PAF tones, and with the coil tap, offer some shockingly useful single coil tones, but I already had plans to put in a Duncan P-rails before I bought it, which is exactly what I did and man, this guitar delivers buckets of tone!!! Extremely versatile instrument. With an on/off/on and a P-rails in both spots, you can get 3 sounds out of each pickup, and then 3 more when combined together for NINE total sounds. And that's with 1 mini switch and 1 3-way toggle. Those pickups, by the way, are friggin incredible.. try 'em out.

The hardware's not bad, and will probably more than satisfy most folks, but I plan to replace the tuners and the bridge, ideally for a tone pro's. The stop piece is interesting to look at and, given the small size of the guitar, makes a really comfortable place to park your hand but it hides 6 individual string stops that I took apart and screwed back down a little better for a better string-body connection. I've thought about replacing the stop piece altogether, but honestly, it sounds pretty darn good as it is.

For $450, this is a LOT of guitar. I own some really nice stuff, but I keep picking up this one, even over my Axis, because it has so many great sounds and it's so bloody comfortable. I love this thing... great, great guitar.

I was truly blown away by this guitar. When it arrived I had never seen one before in person. My jaw is still dropping every time I look at it hanging on my wall. -mine is vintage burst. The whole thing is bound in pearl - amazing. Tuners are great, stays in tune and sounds wonderful with factory strings [which is unheard of]. Range of sounds is super, sound quality is super. It's just a bit brighter than an 11 pound Les Paul - but very smooth and diverse in tone. These pickups are tops. I was figuring I might drop a set of 57 classics in - not needed. They are fairly hot pickups, but dialing back the volume to 2/3 they reach full output for vintage level and sound great right there. Split coil switch is fine, but I don't know if I'll use it much. The tone when split is actually quite close to full except about half volume. This could be useful sometimes I suppose. I have bought more than a dozen guitars this year alone including from Gibson and Fender. There are a lot of nice guitars out there, but all things considered this is the best piece of work I have ever layed hands on. Did I mention it's light? I was questioning the basswood body - but tone has mojo and sustain is just fine. Sure it's made in ChinaMart, but my specimen is a superb piece of work and a bargain at full retail.

If you like prs and gibson, you can pick up one of these hags for a sixth of the price, get all the same features(some even better ones) and not over pay $1000! A good musician plays what feels good, not whats on the headstock, no regreats buying this guitar!