When Michael Kelly says this guitar is made for metal, they meant it. The mahogany body gives it a lot of bass, perfect for heavy metal riffs. The original Floyd Rose is top notch and is really what makes this guitar. You can dive bomb and pull notes up all night and it will not go out of tune thanks do the double locking system. The 2009 version of this guitar comes with Rockfield Black Betty's which are amazing and since the guitar is a set through construction, you get loads of sustain. My guitar came with perfect action and intonation, which I was super stoked on because that meant less work for me. Although I had to do some work on it since it is a floating bridge and I tune down half step. The adjustment was easy though so it wasn't an issue. If you play metal or anything hard for that matter, this is the guitar for you. I have mine in Blood Red, and the pictures on this site just do not do it justice.

Best guitar I have played. The original floyd rose is perfect, stays in tune after tons of dive bombin and useage. The quality is amazing, the company must take pride in their guitars because they are very nice. Great guitar, good price.

If you are looking for a great deal on a guitar that can really put out metal tone, this is the guitar for you. It is very uncommon to find a guitar with an original floyd rose, emg actives, ebony fretboard, and grover tuners (all great quality things). This has all of those and an awesome tone that I have yet to be able to beat with any other guitar. I have compared this to a few Ibanezs, a Schecter Hellraiser FR, an emg loaded Epiphone SG, and a Gibson SG Standard...it beats all of them!

The only reason why I gave it a 4.5 on the quality was because of the binding being a little weird at a couple spots on mine, but that does not hurt the performance of the guitar at all.

I got the black vapor version and it looks great!

If metal or harder rock music is your thing and you want an original floyd rose you should definitely buy this guitar before the price goes up!

The Michael Kelly Hex Deluxe is a very well made guitar, and it has the features of guitars twice it's price. Set neck, original floyd rose, EMG's...everything you could want in a shredder axe. The neck is very thin, though it's slightly thicker than an Ibanez wizard neck. The upper frets are easily accessed thanks to the deep cutaway. The action was very low when it came in the mail- it was actually lower than I could get it to on my Ibanez RG. Very comfortable and easy to play. The EMG pickups are very clear and crisp, and sustain for ages on my Peavey Valveking. The guitar stays perfectly in tune no matter what you do with the floyd rose, and I've yet to break a string in a couple months of owning the guitar.

I got the guitar in Blood Red. Don't be fooled by the photo, this finish is a lot darker than it appears. It looks great though it fingerprints easy. I almost cried when I dropped it and put a nick in the back! Live this guitar stays in tune and I can count on the strap buttons to stay solid, and it sounds great. Of course, with the Floyd Rose I would never play without a backup in case of a string break.

Overall, this is a great guitar. Good looks, good features, solid construction, at an absolute steal of a price.

Well, I have to say this is an excellent value for what you get, I mean come on, look at the features. I couldn't find anything with ths many pro features for the same amount of cash. The B.C. Rich Assasin looks like it might come close though. The frets are NOT jumbo like a Jackson or ESP but are more like a Strat, so, if you like jumbo you may want to look at something else. Mine came in need of a set up though, which is not really surprising for a guitar made in Korea, but that's most guitars really. The only flaw I found in the finish was a micro bubble in the laquer which I didn't even notice for 3 days. If this is your first floating floyd system you're gonna get frustrated setting it up, so you may want to consult a pro. I was surprised at how wide the fretboard is from E string to E string which may be good or bad depending on you. Seems wider than my Jackson Dinky. The thickness of the neck feels thin like a Jackson but maybe just a little fatter. Build quality is as good as anything I've ever played exept my Music Man Axis which is in a league of it's own. The grover tuners are MINI tuners which makes it more time consuming for me to turn them, but they work great. The inlays look pearloid. Bindings look clean. The Michael Kelly logo on the truss rod cover is slightly obscured by the retainer bar but that doesn't really matter. Came with Allen wrenches and an extra spring. I have the black vapor and it looks unique.....not bad at all. The back of the neck is painted and laquered so it feels like playing glass. It's hard to cover every detail in this review, so, let me just say I am very satisfied. Rock on!!