The Electra Forums

Has anyone here tried out Xavier guitars? I've been a fan of their pickups and parts for a few years, great price and great quality. Likely all made in China, but excellent quality control. So, after watching The Beatles Gala a couple of weeks ago, watching Pete Frampton and his cherry EX-335 got me wanting a semi-acoustic again. I actually took a run at a burgundy pro on craigslist but it was gone.

Guitarfetish sent me an email advertising up to 15% off all clearance guitars so I ended up buying a surf green XV-900, marked down to $259.00 & reduced 15% to come in at $220.00. I sure wasn't expecting much more than a project guitar, but WOW!!! This guitar blew me away. Fit and finish are excellent, frets were perfect and smooth. Upgraded GFS Fat Pat pickups and tuners. The fretboard needed oiling which I did with fret dr and I changed strings to my usual Ernie Ball Slinky's. I think the stock strings may have been 9's because I had to put 1/4 turn on the trussrod to flatten the neck. The pickup heights also needed adjusting, but that's it!

This guitar blows away Epiphones and holds it's own with even more expensive guitars. It baffles me how anyone can make money selling a guitar this good for $220.00, but there you have the China Syndrome. Chinese guitars have steadily improved in quality since the complete garbage they started out as, not unlike the early Japanese guitars from the 60's, improving steadily to the gems we all love.

So, anyone else have an opinion on Xavier guitars?

I have an early one - sounds funny saying that - but it is true. I think mine is Korean, the headstock is different (early) and the color is unique. The color looks black, in fact I had it for 6 months before i realized it wasn't. I took it outside and it kind of glittered - sort of - and kind of looked like it was dusty or something. Then I looked closely and it had lots of fine bronze and blue flakes in the black finish. I updated a lot on this guitar - different pickups, bridge, tuning keys, and an earvana nut. I didn't have to do that. But it had some fairly hot and muddy pickups in it. They keys I upgraded it with came from GFS (funny). The bridge is a larger gotoh style. The nut is a nice feature that keeps all the cowboy chords in tune as well as the barre chords. I think I changed the pickup rings to cream, and knobs to dish types. The guitar is a GREAT Les Paul type guitar, set neck, and this one has a thinner body (a feature of this model). It is a lot like a Schecter or LTD EC-1000 in many ways.



or this pic



That looks like dust on it, but it is the flake shining in it. Would probably look great under stage lighting.

I had one of the newer chinese made ones, it was LP like gold top, but was semihollow (or weight relieved) and had a P90 in the neck. It was pretty good. I sold it. I bought it really cheap as a blem/factory 2nd. It had some imperfections in the gold finish, like a dimple or two. No big deal really. I put cream trim on it to match the gold top. It was pretty cool. I think I did ok when I sold it too. Unbelievable for that I paid for it.

Actually, some of the chinese epis are getting pretty good too. I have several. I have a couple Wilshires, a 339 pro, and a swingster (kinda like an orange gretsch).

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Thorny

That's a nice looker Thorny, kinda a supermodel Les Paul body. The reviews on the Xaviers range from better than Gibson to landfill. My experience with the company has been excellent. I can sure see this XV-900 being a go to guitar for at least a bit. I'm going to keep an eye on sales and pick up a couple more models for sure!

Well, I certainly would say the quality is somewhere in the middle. I won't be trading any gibsons for one, but at what they cost you can trade a Les Paul for about 10 of them - that is UNREAL. So HUGE bang for the buck. Great value.

Need a beater for that BAR gig? You aren't going to take that $5000 Gibson Custom Shop LP to a bar gig where you will make maybe $100-200 for playing all night (that is if you can get a gig that pays). Afraid some drunk is going to throw a beer bottle and hit your beloved 335? They also are just waiting to STEAL your Gibson or Fender as soon as you turn your head. Well, buy one of these and you will not have to worry. They are fine.

Want a different type of guitar but now sure how much you will play it? Here you go. If you don't like it, you aren't out much. If you play it all the time and later want a Gibson or Fender, then get one. You aren't out much, and can get most of your money back when you sell it.

It is kinda like buying tools are Harbor Freight (for those out of the country it is a store where you can walk in with a couple hundred $ and walk out with a shopping car full of Chinese-made tools with American sounding brands - such as Pittsburgh tools!). Some people would insist that all of that stuff is trash and never consider going there. Most professionals would not consider going there. But it is fine for most of us, and frankly I wouldn't have near the variety of tools I have without a place like that and those affordable tools. If I break one, I go and get another. If I start making millions I can afford to play only hand-made-custom-for-me guitars. Until then, I mostly get affordable ones and fix them up the way I like them.

Pick it up. If it feels good, plays good, and sounds good - keep playing. Don't get too hung up on the badge on the headstock. If it doesn't - you can fix it, mod it, or do whatever you want to it - it is an inexpensive guitar.

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Thorny

My sentiments exactly on the quality Thorny. The whole Chinese products taking over every market is really disturbing, it's costing thousands and thousands of North American jobs. I held off for many many many years trying to buy North American only, but most N.A. made products have priced themselves out. Like Gibson guitars, I wouldn't have a new one at 1/3 the price they're asking. I find them very average guitars these days, in fact some of the Epi LP's I tried were better than the lower end Gibsons at $1600-$2000. I finally have knuckled under and have started buying more made in China products since I retired.

And no, my 1981 Les Paul (or even my 1981 Electra) isn't hanging on the wall shaking, but I couldn't throw together a parts guitar for $220.00 let alone a great looking, playing, sounding guitar like this Xavier! I just remember the junk $200.00 would buy in the 1970's when I started playing. As with any Chinese product, who knows how long it will last or what issues it'll develop. But at first encounter, I'm impressed!

My Xaviere has to be over 10 years old. The ones with this headstock are very early. They started out making abalone shell guitars and the were quite expensive. You should look those up. I'd kind of like to have one. There is a new company selling them but forget the name.

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Thorny

I have a guitar fetish Tele kit that I am working on. I presume they are the same parts as some of the Xavier. I too am impressed with the kit. The neck is nice and the routing etc well done.

So, anyone else have an opinion on Xavier guitars?

big difference is what rondo/guitar fetish guitars will be worth down the line

I was checking out the Mocking Bird kit before Xmas but its no longer on the list.
I been looking at Xavier for a while and have seen some in the mags. They do look good. Also looking at there effect pedals, the phase and the flanger have a pretty good price for what they are. Earl Slick does some demos. They got a lot to look at.

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SlmGuy

Mine is nearly 10 years old or so, and I bet it is worth more than it cost back then. I made some upgrades to it, and like any cheaper guitar you are not going to get the price for all your upgrades. But still - when you pay almost nothing for one, unless they are junk you just can't go wrong, and no, they are not junk.

Look at it this way:
- New gibson, about $2G, worth about $1100 a soon as you walk out the door. - $900 depreciation in a minute!
- New xavier, about $200, worth about $125 used, so you loose about $75 in depreciation and still have about $1800 in your pocket vs. the Gibson.

Sure, you will be able to sell the gibson for more, but not likely for a higher percentage. Later down the road a Gibson will appreciate (likely, no real guarantee of this). An Xavier may or may not, still - no big deal because I don't have much into it. I'd say mine has appreciated some. It is a rare color they didn't make long and an early variant, probably made in Korea. But I've had the Chinese ones too, and they are pretty good. They are certainly better than what I used to be able to buy for $200 in the old days - and that was in old dollars! $200 then would be about like $400-600 now - inflation and all. Xaviere guitars won't be for everyone for sure. They might have thick poly finishes, little flaws here and there, but overall are decent quality at unreal prices. With a little bit of tweaking and TLC, they could easily be an instrument you could gig with and it would perform fine.

I still have two Gibson - and several Fenders (from different countries), and a few epiphones (from Korea and China), a Washburn from Indonesia I think, and a bunch of Electras from Japan (and new one from Korea now). I have guitars from all over. I modify most of them in some way. But all have the advantages and weaknesses. Gibson has had a tough time trying to make affordable guitars while maintaining quality, and have had a lot of difficulty (especially with their difficulties importing wood that is clearly motivated politically). It seems weird that ANYONE, including a cheap chinese guitar can get rosewood and Gibson can have such a hard time. It is like our own government wants to make it impossible to make a guitar here in the US (at least by Gibson). I will stop, as I am bordering on a political discussion.

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Thorny

Have you played a new one?

Yes - have you?

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Thorny

Well how are the new ones?

I play one of the Xaviere XV-890's that belongs to a friend of mine all the time. It is a really nice guitar that could easily go for $500+ if it said Jackson, Fender or ESP on the headstock. That being said, it is a good guitar for the price. It is definitely not the most robust guitar, but the fit and finish are impressive. It is set neck and has a good tone. The Floyd Rose special could stay in tune a little better but that could just be a spring tension adjustment. The neck needed a truss rod adjustment after about 3 or 4 months too. I would not hesitate to purchase one if at all interested. Personally I have a few too many right now, or I would get on of these before they are gone. I think Samick makes them.