NGD - Xaviere XV-500 Lemondrop

[groovedoggie1]

Was going to pick up some GFS Crunchy Pats for a projects and thought I'd just get them shipped inside a nice new guitar! I've read both good and bad about Xavieres and I'm very familiar with the quality of Agiles and lower-cost Gibsons. I figured for $209, I'd get a great set of pickups and a beater guitar I could use for other projects.

First, let me just say that this guitar far exceeds expectations. I thought I would have to do a lot of work and the bottom line is that I like this guitar much better than a Gibson Les Paul Special I recently bought.

The top finish is very, very nice! Binding is good around the body and the neck (single ply). The neck, with the strings off, is perfectly straight. The frets are absolutely level and the ends are perfectly dressed. The frets have a decent crown, but need a lot of polishing. A lot. The fretboard is a dark rosewood. I gave it two coats of lemon oil and a few good wipes. Dark stuff is still coming off on the white rag.

There is a finish flaw on the lower edge that should have qualified this one as a blem. I'm so happy with the neck, though, I don't want to risk getting a different one.

Construction is interesting. It definitely has the full 3/4 inch maple cap, but the mahogany body is constructed of 3 pieces set at an angle to the neck. Also, the neck color is a sickly brownish as opposed to the red of the the body. The neck is slimmer than my Gibson, but doesn't seem as slim as Agiles.

The headstock is different that what is shown on the website. It is a little smaller, and instead of the art deco stair step, it has a semi "open book" look to it. Not bad!

Hardware is hit and miss. The tuners, although no-name, are really good quality. They just needed tightening. Bridge and tailpiece are fine. I'll leave the switch alone as it is not one of the cheap "block" switches. The pots are not full-sized as advertised. They are tiny. I tried them out and everything sounded fine, but I suspect their durability. They are in the process of being replaced with some Alphas and Orange Drop caps I have lying around in the parts bin.

The pickups are fantastic. Hotter than a classic Gibson 57. I really, really like them! Of course, I've used GFS pickups in several other projects, so I knew what I was getting into. Bottom line is that I'm not taking the pickups out for another project - I'm keeping the guitar as-is with just some new pots and caps. Here's the big news, though - I like it so much, I'm selling my LP Special!

Maybe I was one of the lucky ones, but if you're looking for nice-looking axe on the cheap, give Xaviere a try!

 

[NRVPaul]

Here is mine...

 

[Electroman67]

Alot of bang for the buck imo, i bought the tobacco burst & couldn't be happier with it.

 

[groovedoggie1]

I have to say, these Crunchy Pats are very sensitive to adjustments. I dropped them in the rings and adjusted the pole pieces. Wow!!!

 

[Olds442]

congrats! lemon is an awesome finish.

 

[kevinpaul]

I was wondering how the GFS guitars are, I know they look great and the price is a fit. I have never heard from any one that bought one. Good guitars at a fair price.

 

[Bigby73]

Just my $.02: I bought one of the lemon drops and it was barely okay for the price. What do you expect for that kind of dough? If I can find the pics I will post them, but the neck joint was terrible. Gap city and the neck actually sat on a strip of glue. Looked like a piece of double-sided tape. I was never able to get it set up well and the nut was way too tall. The neck was too slim for my hands. One of the tail piece studs was not very well seated in and actually had a little play to it. I could have easily pulled it out in other words. Ugh. The rosewood fretboard almost seemed like a synthetic of some sort. Photo top of course but overall it was an okay guitar. I played it a few times but never bonded with it.

You get what you pay for as the saying goes.

Gotta love the tagline on the guitarfetish website: "The XV-599 really should cost $600 or more" Umm no.

I do like the pickups though. I ended up stripping the guitar for parts as I just couldn't justify sinking any money into it. The tuners and pickups live on in my Epi G400.

$239 lesson learned.

 

[Bigby73]

I was wondering how the GFS guitars are, I know they look great and the price is a fit. I have never heard from any one that bought one. Good guitars at a fair price.

It's up to you of course, but for the money and in your shoes? I would scour craigslist and find a decent used Epi. The Xavierre is unique for sure and I kinda did like the cutaway of the body style. But my experience was less than positive. Maybe I got a bad one and QC has improved since then.

 

[gibsonguitar1988]

Congrats.

 

[anthem1]

congrats man

 

[groovedoggie1]

It's up to you of course, but for the money and in your shoes? I would scour craigslist and find a decent used Epi. The Xavierre is unique for sure and I kinda did like the cutaway of the body style. But my experience was less than positive. Maybe I got a bad one and QC has improved since then.

Bigby, where yat? I just left the Nint' Ward and am living up near Prairieville.

 

[Bigby73]

Bigby, where yat? I just left the Nint' Ward and am living up near Prairieville.

Slidell.

 

[groovedoggie1]

Slidell.

Grew up in Pearl River! Still have family (and lots of good memories) in PR and Slidell. Was living out by the airport til after the storm. Job moved me out to BR, then NOLA. Now working back in BR again.