Xaviere Guitar Line any good?

[Extremerocker827]

I was looking at GuitarFetish.com and I was looking at this Strat Replica XV-870 Double Cutaway Solid Body Do you think this is a good deal for 174 dollars? How do these compare with Fender Standard Stratocasters/American Made Strats? How do the Les Paul replicase compare with Epi Standards, Gibson Studios, etc? Thank you guys!

[JasonC]

Well, here's the most recent discussion: New Xaviere Strat!

[Extremerocker827]

Thanks, Jason, it seems that they are good guitars, I might think about getting one, but only if I somehow get to try on out before I buy it, idk how I'm gonna do that, though, lol.

[hbucker]

I have every reason to believe that they are decent guitars and probably worth significantly more than they cost. GFS pickups are good and worth twice their price; competing well with the Duncans and DiMarzios of the world. If you don't like them it's most likely a taste issue, not a quality issue.

As for the guitars, my friend bought one of the "blem" semihollows and, blems aside, it was a good guitar. Great tone, decent playability. Again, probably worth at least 2-3 times what he paid for it.

The nice thing about Fender style guitars is that they don't necessarily cost as much to manufacture as Gibson style, set-neck guitars. So when you see an inexpensive one you can be more assured that they didn't have to cut as many corners to make it cost less. And they are VERY adjustable from a setup standpoint.

Are they as "good" as a Fender Strat? I don't know. I have no doubt that if you played them side by side, you'd hear and feel differences. I'd bet they're better than Squires by a long shot. They probably compare fairly well with MIM Strats. Maybe not as well with MIA Strats. But differences do not indicate "better" or "worse" necessarily. You're the only person who can really decide that for yourself.

IMO, with Xaviere, for the price of a Squire, you're getting a significantly better guitar. Xaviere over Squire any day of the week. Xavier over MIM or MIA? Maybe, maybe not. It's your call there but there are no guarantees. MIM's are really pretty darn good workhorse guitars. They just cost 3x's what the Xaviere costs.

Good luck.

[Extremerocker827]

Originally Posted by hbucker

I have every reason to believe that they are decent guitars and probably worth significantly more than they cost. GFS pickups are good and worth twice their price; competing well with the Duncans and DiMarzios of the world. If you don't like them it's most likely a taste issue, not a quality issue.

As for the guitars, my friend bought one of the "blem" semihollows and, blems aside, it was a good guitar. Great tone, decent playability. Again, probably worth at least 2-3 times what he paid for it.

The nice thing about Fender style guitars is that they don't necessarily cost as much to manufacture as Gibson style, set-neck guitars. So when you see an inexpensive one you can be more assured that they didn't have to cut as many corners to make it cost less. And they are VERY adjustable from a setup standpoint.

Are they as "good" as a Fender Strat? I don't know. I have no doubt that if you played them side by side, you'd hear and feel differences. I'd bet they're better than Squires by a long shot. They probably compare fairly well with MIM Strats. Maybe not as well with MIA Strats. But differences do not indicate "better" or "worse" necessarily. You're the only person who can really decide that for yourself.

IMO, with Xaviere, for the price of a Squire, you're getting a significantly better guitar. Xaviere over Squire any day of the week. Xavier over MIM or MIA? Maybe, maybe not. It's your call there but there are no guarantees. MIM's are really pretty darn good workhorse guitars. They just cost 3x's what the Xaviere costs.

Good luck.

Thanks, the only thing is, I just bought myself a Epi Standard and I broke right now. Stupid GAS! Lol. But I'll definetely look into them.

[djwilbanks]

I've heard nothing but good things about them (cept for Greg, but he's grumpy ).

I was thinking of getting some of the GFS Vintage pups for my Deluxe.

If their guitars are as good as their pups, then I'd say go for it.

[JasonC]

I am honestly not all that impressed with the GFS Fat PAF I just put in the bridge of my Schecter. Don't get me wrong, it's still a bargain at $30! It's just not as "amazing sounding", imo, as some have said. It's a great improvement over the shitty Duncan Designed that was in there, and it would be a great way to upgrade from stock Epi pickups... It's much brighter and replicates a more complex tone than the DD's did. The tone of it honestly reminds me of the bridge pickup that came in my Gibson LP Classic... not as impressed with this as I was with the Duncan JB's/Customs. I'm still fine tuning the positioning of it though... maybe I'll find some more useful settings.

[djwilbanks]

Originally Posted by JasonC

I am honestly not all that impressed with the GFS Fat PAF I just put in the bridge of my Schecter. Don't get me wrong, it's still a bargain at $30! It's just not as "amazing sounding", imo, as some have said. It's a great improvement over the shitty Duncan Designed that was in there, and it would be a great way to upgrade from stock Epi pickups... It's much brighter and replicates a more complex tone than the DD's did. The tone of it honestly reminds me of the bridge pickup that came in my Gibson LP Classic... not as impressed with this as I was with the Duncan JB's/Customs. I'm still fine tuning the positioning of it though... maybe I'll find some more useful settings.

Maybe... I dig their single coil sounds, I haven't tried their humbuckers, yet.

[JasonC]

Originally Posted by djwilbanks

Maybe... I dig their single coil sounds, I haven't tried their humbuckers, yet.

Well it's not BAD by any means, it is certainly a great pickup for the price. It's just not really anything special by itself. In fact, I'm liking it tapped a bit better... My preferred PU combo right now is bridge+neck both tapped.

[djwilbanks]

Originally Posted by JasonC

Well it's not BAD by any means, it is certainly a great pickup for the price. It's just not really anything special by itself. In fact, I'm liking it tapped a bit better... My preferred PU combo right now is bridge+neck both tapped.

Interesting.

I'm unsure which 'buckers I'd like to try in my Epi. Right now the Epi is servicable, I'm concentrating on undoing the wrongs the former owner of my Strat wrought upon it.


But anyway, for the price, if you don't like the Xaviere you can part it out for more than you probably paid for it!

[hbucker]

I see what you mean about the Fat PAF. I have one in one of my guitars. I like it a lot better than the Tone Zone I had prior. But it isn't the "holy grail" of pickups. My problem with the GFS site is that the text tends to be overblown as far as the product quality. The site states the pickups hold their own with expensive custom pickups. ...not as far as I can tell. But again, I think they are easily worth twice the price and I'd take the Fat PAF 100 times over the Tone Zones that I've used.

I would love to have the opportunity to try a variety of their pickups but I don't have that many guitars in need of new pickups

[JasonC]

Originally Posted by hbucker

I see what you mean about the Fat PAF. I have one in one of my guitars. I like it a lot better than the Tone Zone I had prior. But it isn't the "holy grail" of pickups. My problem with the GFS site is that the text tends to be overblown as far as the product quality. The site states the pickups hold their own with expensive custom pickups. ...not as far as I can tell. But again, I think they are easily worth twice the price and I'd take the Fat PAF 100 times over the Tone Zones that I've used.

I would love to have the opportunity to try a variety of their pickups but I don't have that many guitars in need of new pickups

Well you could easily resell them for what you paid on craigslist, I'm sure. Maybe try out one at a time, then sell and order a new one until you find the right one. But yea, it would be nice to have them all side by site to compare... it would also be nice if you didn't have to deal w/ the strings every time you swapped them out!