xntrick
New member
I have been GASing for an SG for some time now, big fan of Toni Iommi and i've wanted to add a hard tail to my collection. Don't have the funds for a Gibson due to working fewer hours at work for the past 18 months and i could only find one of the Epiphones comfortable but i didn't like the faded cherry finish nor did i like the trapezoid fret inlays. I was excited when the XV-300 was announced as i had the funds from selling a pedal and a few bike parts. Haven't had much playing time as i am under the weather a bit so here are my initial observations.
The case was very smelly when i first opened it. It's either from the foam or the fake velvet lining but it stinks!!!
The guitar is very light and when i compare it to my maple superstrat(about 10 lbs) it feels like a paperweight. I can't get over how straight the neck is and how comfortable the radius and the profile feel, most of the other SG type guitars all seemed to have wide and flat necks. The back of the neck is glossy but my hands do not stick to it, whereas the ESP Viper, the Epiphone SGs, and even the PRS Tremonti SE all have the problem with the glossy/sticky necks. The nut seems to be made of plastic and there was residual material hanging out over the fretboard from cutting the nut. The guitar is very resonant when played unplugged despite the very cheap strings, it took me a while to get it in tune and my left hand was covered in a dark oil when i was done playing. The pickups were hotter than i was expecting but hard to get a read on them due to the crappy strings. I did not notice easier picking due to the short scale but that may also be affected by the lousy strings. Because of the placement of the strap buttons the guitar will nose dive when you let go of it, switching to a different strap helps somewhat but i still found myself having to use my right forearm to hold the body down at playing level. Hopefully some of the regular SG players can recommend a good strap to fix that problem. Playing the 300 has given me a greater appreciation for the design of the strat as it has the tummy cut for your body and the forearm contour for your picking hand, i take my hat off to Leo Fender for those. Overall i'd have to say you get a lot of guitar for your money that is certainly on par with Epiphone.
The case was very smelly when i first opened it. It's either from the foam or the fake velvet lining but it stinks!!!
The guitar is very light and when i compare it to my maple superstrat(about 10 lbs) it feels like a paperweight. I can't get over how straight the neck is and how comfortable the radius and the profile feel, most of the other SG type guitars all seemed to have wide and flat necks. The back of the neck is glossy but my hands do not stick to it, whereas the ESP Viper, the Epiphone SGs, and even the PRS Tremonti SE all have the problem with the glossy/sticky necks. The nut seems to be made of plastic and there was residual material hanging out over the fretboard from cutting the nut. The guitar is very resonant when played unplugged despite the very cheap strings, it took me a while to get it in tune and my left hand was covered in a dark oil when i was done playing. The pickups were hotter than i was expecting but hard to get a read on them due to the crappy strings. I did not notice easier picking due to the short scale but that may also be affected by the lousy strings. Because of the placement of the strap buttons the guitar will nose dive when you let go of it, switching to a different strap helps somewhat but i still found myself having to use my right forearm to hold the body down at playing level. Hopefully some of the regular SG players can recommend a good strap to fix that problem. Playing the 300 has given me a greater appreciation for the design of the strat as it has the tummy cut for your body and the forearm contour for your picking hand, i take my hat off to Leo Fender for those. Overall i'd have to say you get a lot of guitar for your money that is certainly on par with Epiphone.
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