My Xaviere

[Skynyrdpicker]

I know there has already been a few threads on these guitars, but I'm new here, so I figured I'd introduce myself by showing you all and giving a bit of a review of my Xaviere XV-500.

I ordered it as a blem from guitar fetish for quite cheap. It is the amber sunrise model.

My first impression, right out of the box, was that it felt like a guitar costing much much more than I payed. Just the quality of the wood, and the overall feel of everything; how solid it seemed, gave me that impression. However, I realized the tuners weren't great. I also didn't like the black pickup rings, but that was a personal thing. The blems weren't that obvious, all I could find was a little scratch on the back of the guitar, and a bit of orange on the binding of the neck. The rosewood fingerboard was also a bit dry. The stock pickups were really nice. The GFS pickups are great, and I really loved the neck pickup, using it all the time for everything from classic rock to blues. The bridge sounded good, but I found it harsh on the high notes, a little to bright, although this was just a personal thing. I used it live a few times, straight out of the box, without any problems whatsoever. I got a lot of comments on the tone of the guitar, using the neck pickup. "That thing sounds just like a Gibson" and "I love the tone from that guitar, what brand is that?".

Here she is new, straight out of the box.


A month passed and I realized the guitar needed to be set up professionally. On the low frets of a few strings I would get a bit of fret buzz, and I didn't think the neck was completely straight. Either way, this was to be expected as I got the thing through the mail. I also decided to change the bridge pickup, and the tuners. I ordered off guitar fetish again (I would recommend this store to anyone). The other day, I got my order in the mail, installed the new tuners, put on a pickguard, changed the pickup rings, oiled the fretboard, and then brought her to my guitar tech. He installed the new GFS Retrotron Hot Nashville pickup in the bridge for me, and set her up well. She plays beautifully. I've only got a Roland Micro Cube at home, but I tried her out on a Peavey tube amp the other day, and it's a great sounding guitar. Even on the cube, the tone comes right through, and you can hear how great this guitar sounds. The new bridge pickup is great too, very warm tones that I love.

Here she is now, in all her glory:



Really, there are very good guitars. They just need a bit of work straight out of the box, like all other cheap guitars. For the price, it's a steal; the top is definitely solid maple, and the body is mahogany. The stock pickups are great too, and my bridge pickup swap was only due to a personal preference. The set neck gives you nice sustain as well. Now that mine is set up nicely, I would most definitely put it up against some guitars costing much much more. It cost me 189$ new (without shipping). I put about $160 into it. Now I have an excellent guitar that I would not trade for anything in the world. Check out the Xavieres if you want a bargain, a project guitar, or something that with a little work can be incredible.

[hbucker]

My friend got one of the semi-hollow models that look like yours with an F-hole. It sounds very nice. Tuners are a bit lame and there was a funky dark stain on the fretboard that needed cleaning. He had more blems on his.

Bottom line is that it sounds great. Wouldn't trade it for my Elitist but no more than he spent on it, it's a real gem and a fun guitar to tinker with. I'm particularly impressed with the GFS Crunchy PAF's in it. They sound better than I thought they were going to.

[Skynyrdpicker]

Yeah, the crunchy PAFs are good pickups, I really do like the neck one. They're very hot though, you just barely have to touch the strings to get any sound out of them. I swapped out the bridge for another GFS pickup, and they really are great value. The semi-hollow body one was pretty nice, but they didn't have any more by the time I had ordered. Just tell him to swap the tuners. I ordered another set from guitatfetish that was like 25$, and they stay in tune wonderfully.

[pestilence]

Originally Posted by Skynyrdpicker

Yeah, the crunchy PAFs are good pickups, I really do like the neck one. They're very hot though, you just barely have to touch the strings to get any sound out of them. I swapped out the bridge for another GFS pickup, and they really are great value. The semi-hollow body one was pretty nice, but they didn't have any more by the time I had ordered. Just tell him to swap the tuners. I ordered another set from guitatfetish that was like 25$, and they stay in tune wonderfully.

Which tuners from GF did you buy? I'm looking at replacing mine when I get my Xaviere. I like the Gotoh style.

[Platypus]

The Crunchy PAF is a great inexpensive alternative to the Seymour Duncan Custom. The output is almost identical, and they sound very similar. The GFS is maybe a tad grittier, but still very close.

[Skynyrdpicker]

I forgot about this thread!

I got these for my guitar; a big step up from the stock tuners.
Classic Keystone Tuners Chrome- Fits 70's, 80's Les Pauls

[namekuji]

Hi! I'm Japanese Cheep Guitar Mania.
There is an enormous interest in the guitar of Xaviere.
That guitar is light, is? and The neck is thick, is?

[Skynyrdpicker]

Originally Posted by namekuji

Hi! I'm Japanese Cheep Guitar Mania.
There is an enormous interest in the guitar of Xaviere.
That guitar is light, is? and The neck is thick, is?

It's about 8 lbs. The neck isn't terribly thick, but it isn't thin either.

[namekuji]

Oh Thanks!

[The_Sentry]

Sweet! Maybe one of these days they'll do some lefty models.