Submitted by wsbluesbox (see all reviews from this person) on 4/16/2013

Where Purchased: Republic guitars

Year Purchased: 2013
Price Paid: Don't Remember historic exchange rates / currency converter

Sound

This guitar sounds amazing. Very loud and punchy and very metallic. It sounds alot older than it actually is.

Sound Rating: 9

Setup

When I was purchasing this guitar I was asked how I wanted it set up. I wanted it set up with a medium action that was suitable for both slide and fingering chords. That is how I recieved it. It was easy to play right out of the box. The intonation seemes pretty accurate but i do need to slightly retune when I use a capo.

Setup Rating: 8

Appearance

This is where I have some issues on this guitar. It came to me with deep scratches under the strings on the cone coverplate. The neck had scratchmarks accross the whole 7th fret. Every fret had gauges in the wood where the fret ends were carelessly finished. The bottom of the 12th fret hadn't been finished sanding or staining. There was a deep gauge at the top of the head stock. When I asked frank about it he told me that they were supposed to look old and "vintage". Sounded like a bad excuse for poor workmanship. I was told that I could send it back for a full refund. It sounded and played so good I decided to keep it.

Appearance Rating: 3

Reliability

So far it seems pretty reliable. I have read on various forums that the tuners are sub par but so far they have been OK for me. I bought this to use as a travel guitar so we will see how it holds up

Reliability Rating: 8

Customer Service

When buying the guitar, Frank was very patient and helpful. I asked alot of questions. He set the guitar up as asked, no problem. He honored his 10% off promotion if you mention Keni Lee Burges name. He responded to me concerns promtly. Although his responce wasn't what I had hoped for. Granted he did offer a full refund should I send it back.

Customer Service: 8

Components

Everything seems as you would expect from the price range so far.

Components Rating: 8

Overall Comments

This guitar sounds amazing. If you want the sound and playability that this very reasonably priced guitar offers and you are not a stickler for finnishing, I'd say go for it.
I probably won't go down the Republic path again. I like my finnishing work to be a little better and I already own one. I think my next reso will be a vintage Triolian.

Overall Rating: 7