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Guitar Gal
September 21st, 2007, 07:50 PM
Has anyone seen these new Xaviere guitars?

http://store.guitarfetish.com/xaxvandxvgu.html

Looks like they have more choices and got rid of the ugly head stock logo. Have a choice of P90's or Dream 180's......tele or strat.....rosewood or maple....so many choices.....:D

Hmmmmm......:drool:

GG

Adrian30
September 22nd, 2007, 10:02 AM
They're looking very sweet and highly afordable.

kiteman
September 22nd, 2007, 10:04 AM
Pretty damn cheap but how good are they?

Katastrophe
September 22nd, 2007, 10:10 AM
I'd love to play one. Reviews that I've read on the Zemaitis copies have been mixed. But, the prices are right on these new models, and they look cool, too. I'd like to try the cream Tele with the maple fretboard.

Please forgive my lack of manners. Welcome GG and Adrian!

t_ross33
September 22nd, 2007, 10:12 AM
Hey, those do look kinda sweet :drool:

I've heard mixed reviews of Xaviere guitars, but mostly from the fanatics over on the Telecaster Discussion Page, TDPRI and you KNOW how touchy Tele players are about their guitars :rotflmao:

From what I hear, the build quality is generally pretty good for a guitar in this price range, certainly on par with many Squiers, SX etc. GFS p'ups get great reviews on this and other forums.

Hmm... a semi-hollowbody Strat with P90s... must... not... reach... for... credit...card.... :nono:

Spudman
September 22nd, 2007, 02:37 PM
Damn! Just when I thought I was safe. Who posted this?:reallymad:

snarph
September 22nd, 2007, 08:59 PM
this is my current favorite

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o31/snarph/yhst-50206111187217_1969_17996622.jpg

And for just over a buck and a half what could you loose

Spudman
September 22nd, 2007, 09:20 PM
I don't know if anyone noticed or not but the backs are not contoured. They are a square edge like a Tele or Les Paul.

I wonder what "poplar" core means? A multi piece body with the center piece being poplar and the wings something else?:confused:

I think I'll wait for a report.:munch:

marnold
September 22nd, 2007, 09:49 PM
I wonder what "poplar" core means? A multi piece body with the center piece being poplar and the wings something else?:confused:
The one description I read said that it had a poplar core with maple laminate on all sides. I'm not sure what the point of that would be since it wasn't a transparent finish. The only thing I can think of is that they tried to give it some maple brightness without it weighing a ton.

snarph
September 23rd, 2007, 03:50 PM
Well look at the sound got out of the Masonite Dan electro guitars ?

duhvoodooman
September 24th, 2007, 10:36 AM
this is my current favorite:

......

And for just over a buck and a half what could you loose

I'd go with the Surf Green body and the rosewood fretboard, but we're basically on the same wavelength, Snarph. At a buck-fifty-nine, they've gotta be a steal! GFS doesn't sell junk, from what I've seen....

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-50206111187217_1969_18719589.jpg

Ro3b
September 24th, 2007, 01:32 PM
As though the universe were responding to my GASeous emissions, these came along just as I was thinking I'd like a P90 guitar. So I just pulled the trigger on one. Surf green tele body with maple fretboard and P90s. I really wanted the red sparkle finish, but they only have those with the Dream 180s.

Spudman
September 24th, 2007, 06:28 PM
Great Ro3b. Now I'll actually (please if you would be so kind) get some sort of idea how their P90's sound. I've been thinking of upgrading one of my P90 guitars but have heard zip about the GFS P90's. Some feed back on these after you get the guitar would be greatly appreciated.

Ro3b
September 24th, 2007, 07:32 PM
Actually a guy on Harmony Central has posted some clips.

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1750516

Pretty nice stuff!

marnold
September 25th, 2007, 07:50 AM
Actually a guy on Harmony Central has posted some clips.
Sweet find. Sounds like quite a deal for the price. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the f-hole look, but the sparkly red Strat-shaped one with a maple board looks pretty cool.

duhvoodooman
September 25th, 2007, 08:51 AM
Since Medway MA, where GFS is located, is only a 2 - 2.5 hr drive from here, I'm going to shoot them an e-mail and see if its possible to stop by their location and try out a couple of these new Xaviere models. I get over toward Boston periodically and could easily swing by Medway, which is just a couple of minutes off I-495 south of I-90. Perhaps they'd let me try out two or three of the new models, and then I could report my findings/impressions back here. Kind of a "Fretter's field trip"! We'll see what they say....

Spudman
September 25th, 2007, 03:45 PM
Since Medway MA, where GFS is located, is only a 2 - 2.5 hr drive from here, I'm going to shoot them an e-mail and see if its possible to stop by their location and try out a couple of these new Xaviere models. I get over toward Boston periodically and could easily swing by Medway, which is just a couple of minutes off I-495 south of I-90. Perhaps they'd let me try out two or three of the new models, and then I could report my findings/impressions back here. Kind of a "Fretter's field trip"! We'll see what they say....

That would be awesome if you do because as you probably have guessed...I want one too.:o

stingx
September 25th, 2007, 04:17 PM
I'm 5 hours away and was thinking of going up there in a few weeks when I take a couple of days off during the week.

Brian Krashpad
September 26th, 2007, 05:30 AM
Re visiting GFS, over at H-C Jay (the GuitarFetish/Xaviere guy) has said that locals in his immediate area can call ahead and arrange to come over, but that he didn't want people making trips into town to come over to the shipping center from elsewhere because they're not set up for flesh and blood customers.

I'm paraphrasing but that's the gist of it.

pie_man_25
September 26th, 2007, 06:11 PM
:DR wow, well, if one of you guys could check them out that would be sweet, I really like that surf green tele style hollow body with maple fretboard and the sunburst strat:DR

Ro3b
September 28th, 2007, 06:45 PM
Mine is scheduled for delivery on Monday. I'm highly psyched.

duhvoodooman
September 28th, 2007, 07:53 PM
Cool! Which model & feature set did you go with?

Ro3b
September 29th, 2007, 05:46 AM
Surf green tele, maple fretboard, P90s. I've really been jonesing for a P90 guitar; I was all set to get a Squire Tele Custom II when GFS came out with these.

Guitar Gal
September 29th, 2007, 08:03 AM
Surf green tele, maple fretboard, P90s. I've really been jonesing for a P90 guitar; I was all set to get a Squire Tele Custom II when GFS came out with these.


That was the one I was drooling over too.....but since I already have the Squire Tele Custom II with P90's......I have restrained myself from this purchase.....

Make sure you give us a review after you get properly acquainted :AOK:

GG

Ro3b
October 1st, 2007, 08:07 PM
It's here.

Very short review: I love it.

I'll do a longer review after I've had it for a few days.

Spudman
October 1st, 2007, 08:24 PM
It's here.

Very short review: I love it.

I'll do a longer review after I've had it for a few days.
Cool. I'm tap dancing like I've got to go to the bathroom waiting for your review.:)

Brian Krashpad
October 3rd, 2007, 07:19 AM
Cool. I'm tap dancing like I've got to go to the bathroom waiting for your review.:)

Me too, take pics!

Aside from a few minor quibbles (bit sloppy finish in f-holes, on some, is the main one) the reviews in the forums on Harmony-Central are good.

Ro3b
October 3rd, 2007, 12:43 PM
I posted under "Product Reviews."

Spudman
October 3rd, 2007, 08:44 PM
I've been checking these out while I've been tap dancing:) and waiting, and here is a thought: Get the model with the Dream 180 pickups and then if the pickups don't excite you for another 60 bucks get the Dream 90's and drop those in or a combination of the two. Clever, eh!

This idea is making it easier to warrant (or justify) getting one.

stingx
October 4th, 2007, 05:50 AM
I've been following threads on these from other forums. I buy from GFS and generally find Jay's products to be quite good. He certainly does ship extremely fast. I have a problem with these guitars. I should say the problem is based on the comments of people who received them. It's obvious that to make these guitars and sell them at the price point they're at, corners need to be cut. Models with binding - 700s - seem to be hit and miss with the consumer. I've read of discoloration, etc. On the 500s with the F-holes, most seem to have received their instruments with runs and drips (pools of paint collected) on, around, and in the F-hole. What bothers me is that these people dismiss it with the "I don't care how it looks as long as it plays good" attitude. Now I agree the priority is on playability BUT no matter how much you shell out for something, you shouldn't have to settle. I expect BOTH playability and fit and finish to be spot on. Why people feel they need to settle because the guitar is ONLY $200 I have no idea. Also, if he really cannot address the issues at the current price point and would have to bump the tag by, say, 30-50 more dollars who cares? That's STILL cheap by any calculation. Wouldn't you prefer to pay a little more for better quality?

I can't see buying these when you can get a very good MIM Strat or Tele for a few more dollars. Aftermarket parts would be easier to find and fit too.

Ro3b
October 4th, 2007, 06:59 AM
Different strokes, I guess. I don't think I'm settling at all, but then I'm more into guitars than jewelry. I've never seen a factory-built instrument that didn't have some kind of cosmetic imperfection, and the very minor roughness inside my guitar's f-hole will be unnoticable after I've gigged with it for a few years.

duhvoodooman
October 4th, 2007, 07:34 AM
Now I agree the priority is on playability BUT no matter how much you shell out for something, you shouldn't have to settle. I expect BOTH playability and fit and finish to be spot on. Why people feel they need to settle because the guitar is ONLY $200 I have no idea. Also, if he really cannot address the issues at the current price point and would have to bump the tag by, say, 30-50 more dollars who cares? That's STILL cheap by any calculation. Wouldn't you prefer to pay a little more for better quality?
I would agree that you shouldn't have to settle for poor workmanship issues at almost any price point. Having worked in manufacturing-related quality assurance for 27 years now, I can also tell you that start-up quality issues are very common. I would hope that Jay takes his own observations plus comments/complaints from customers back to the supplying factory so that they can make the necessary process improvements to reduce or eliminate these problems. The good news here is that they seem to have "gotten it right" on the functional aspects of these new models (at least based upon early customer feedback), and now it's a matter of addressing the minor, more cosmetic quality issues. Hopefully, each new batch shows improvements over the last--that's the essence of "continual improvement".

Bloozcat
October 4th, 2007, 12:40 PM
OK, I've got a question here...

Is Xaviere pronounced:

Ex-ave-ier

Hav-iea

Hav-e-ere

Zav-e-ere

or

Zav-iea

I'm so confused....:confused:

ETA: OK, I'm voting for - ZHA-vee-yeah...

Spudman
October 4th, 2007, 05:25 PM
OK, I've got a question here...

Is Xaviere pronounced:

Ex-ave-ier

Hav-iea

Hav-e-ere

Zav-e-ere

or

Zav-iea

I'm so confused....:confused:

ETA: OK, I'm voting for - ZHA-vee-yeah...

It doesn't matter. We're typing here. Nobody can hear us.:D

Ro3b
October 5th, 2007, 04:29 AM
It's a French feminzation of "Xavier." Pronounce it zhah-vee-AIR. With a palatal French R if you want to be fuzzy.

Spudman
October 5th, 2007, 05:50 PM
It's a French feminzation of "Xavier." Pronounce it zhah-vee-AIR. With a palatal French R if you want to be fuzzy.

I like fuzzy.:D

Ro3b, what happens if you grab the headstock and flex the neck/body connection? Is it solid or does it bow real easily?

Ro3b
October 5th, 2007, 07:54 PM
Hm, I haven't tried that before now. The neck flexes, but I don't see any movement in the joint itself.

And of course I meant "fussy." But I kind of like "fuzzy" better.

TS808
October 6th, 2007, 06:08 PM
I've been following threads on these from other forums. I buy from GFS and generally find Jay's products to be quite good. He certainly does ship extremely fast. I have a problem with these guitars. I should say the problem is based on the comments of people who received them. It's obvious that to make these guitars and sell them at the price point they're at, corners need to be cut. Models with binding - 700s - seem to be hit and miss with the consumer. I've read of discoloration, etc. On the 500s with the F-holes, most seem to have received their instruments with runs and drips (pools of paint collected) on, around, and in the F-hole. What bothers me is that these people dismiss it with the "I don't care how it looks as long as it plays good" attitude. Now I agree the priority is on playability BUT no matter how much you shell out for something, you shouldn't have to settle. I expect BOTH playability and fit and finish to be spot on. Why people feel they need to settle because the guitar is ONLY $200 I have no idea. Also, if he really cannot address the issues at the current price point and would have to bump the tag by, say, 30-50 more dollars who cares? That's STILL cheap by any calculation. Wouldn't you prefer to pay a little more for better quality?

I can't see buying these when you can get a very good MIM Strat or Tele for a few more dollars. Aftermarket parts would be easier to find and fit too.

I have to agree. I've bought many guitars over the years because they looked cool or the price was right, only to be highly disappointed down the road when the novelty of having the new instrument wore off. Also, after sinking in aftermarket pickups, pickguards, tone pots, bridges, tuners, and other "upgrades", the final cost came out to be what I could have paid to get something a little better. Quality control IS a selling point for me anymore after having bought a number of guitars and amps that I later took a loss on trying to sell or trade them.

But that's the cool thing about forums like this....we can share our experiences with a particular guitar or amp, that will perhaps prove to be beneficial to a potential buyer.

Ro3b
October 7th, 2007, 08:16 AM
Well, what can I say? You're right. I'm ashamed, bitterly, bitterly ashamed, that I bought one of these guitars. Even more ashamed that I think it's such a well-built, high-quality instrument, and that I'm having such a great time playing it, and that I think it sounds awesome, and that I feel just a little bit cooler every time I pick the thing up and strap it on. Obviously my standards and expectations are laughably low.

My god, I feel so foolish. Flow, flow, my tears of regret.

Spudman
October 7th, 2007, 09:39 AM
Well, what can I say? You're right. I'm ashamed, bitterly, bitterly ashamed, that I bought one of these guitars. Even more ashamed that I think it's such a well-built, high-quality instrument, and that I'm having such a great time playing it, and that I think it sounds awesome, and that I feel just a little bit cooler every time I pick the thing up and strap it on. Obviously my standards and expectations are laughably low.

My god, I feel so foolish. Flow, flow, my tears of regret.

It's really big of you to come out and admit your mistakes. It takes a strong person to admit they bought a guitar possibly in error. Therefore you are forgiven and you now have permission to play your guitar and enjoy it until the end of time. You are also given permission to state on this board your feelings of glee and exuberance every time you play your new guitar. We will therefore ignore your short sightedness in making a guitar purchase that ultimately left you happy.

stingx
October 7th, 2007, 01:18 PM
I have both inexpensive (note I didn't say cheap) and expensive guitars in my collection. The point I was trying to make with the GFS guitars is that I don't buy into Jay's comments that this is what you get because at the price he's selling them at he cannot do a better job. That's bullshit to me. You could be as happy as a pig in shit with your drippy F-hole guitar and you can tell everyone how you don't care what it looks like, etc. That's not the point. The point is you shouldn't have to settle for shoddy workmanship because you didn't pay a lot for the guitar PERIOD. Jay's guitars sell slightly less than a MIM Fender Standard guitar. You'll find hit and misses with just about any make and model but most, using the MIMs as an example, are very good - they are well appointed and play well. According to Jay's logic you cannot get that same quality because you aren't paying enough for it. To that I say then up the price.
As long as people have the mindset that it's OK that the product isn't as good as it can be because I'm cheap and paid a cheap price for it then Jay has no incentive to improve the product. Only a think-headed person would fail to comprehend this logic.

Spudman
October 7th, 2007, 04:10 PM
Jay's guitars sell slightly less than a MIM Fender Standard guitar.

Um, remind me not to go shopping with you because a MIM Fender Strat is 2.25 times more than the model that we are talking about here.

Although I understand what your are driving at I'm not a big fan of the idea of skipping on what could be a highly usable instrument simply for that fact that the finish isn't perfect.

So what if the factory didn't spend all day making sure it was perfect or that finish quality control wasn't up to speed some days. If people became so demanding that their sub $200 instrument was perfect in every way they might never buy an instrument in the first place thereby missing the enjoyment that the rest of us perfect instrument users already have.

Without talking directly to Jay I'm going to assume that the price on these model guitars might reflect the fact that there are some blems and it is much more sensible to reduce the price and move the inventory than to try to facilitate shipping tons of merchandise back over seas. For all we know they were originally supposed to have a higher retail price and this has been adjusted to account for the less than perfect finishes.

stingx
October 7th, 2007, 05:15 PM
:thwap:

Ro3b
October 7th, 2007, 07:32 PM
Let's be clear: the finish flaws on my Xaviere amount to two tiny spots on the inner edge of the f-hole where the white primer is showing, and unevenly applied black paint on the inside of the instrument, which you can't even see unless you're right on top of it and peering in with a dental mirror. I've seen worse workmanship on instruments costing much more. (In fact, if you want to see a sloppy, icky finish, check out a three-thousand-dollar Gibson F-9 mandolin. That's Gibson's "budget" model. Seriously, just go to a music store and have a look. I was going to buy one when they came out, but when I actually sat down to play one, I discovered that I didn't like to touch it. It's pretty horrible.)

My Xavi is a gem. Maybe I lucked out, but given my prior experience with Jay's products, I don't think so.

When I bought my Guild acoustic some twenty-odd years ago, the sales clerk knocked $50 off the price because of a minuscule flaw in the soundhole purfling. That guitar now has all kinds of dings and dents, finish cracks, sweat-fogged lacquer, and all the marks of a happy active gigging life. It's been played in bars, pubs, back seats of cars, churches, outdoor festivals, and in all the kinds of weather there are. The purfling flaw is still there, but compared to the marks the years have put on the guitar, it's not something any sane person could care about. In a few years I expect to be able to say the same about the Xavi.

TS808
October 8th, 2007, 10:51 AM
Well, what can I say? You're right. I'm ashamed, bitterly, bitterly ashamed, that I bought one of these guitars. Even more ashamed that I think it's such a well-built, high-quality instrument, and that I'm having such a great time playing it, and that I think it sounds awesome, and that I feel just a little bit cooler every time I pick the thing up and strap it on. Obviously my standards and expectations are laughably low.

My god, I feel so foolish. Flow, flow, my tears of regret.

Whoa...hold on now. I didn't say anyone was "foolish" for buying one of these guitars. My point was that from MY OWN experience, when I've bought guitars that are relatively new, and inexpensive, over time I've found myself having to sink more and more money into them. I've had problems for example on my SX Les Paul copy with the switch going, the chrome on the hardware peeling, and ripples in the finish. Also, I had a Peavey Predator (one of the older ones) where I ran into many of the same problems.

I play inexpensive guitars too....I own 2 Agile AL-3000's but the quality on those guitars are consistently good.

My point is, be careful what you are buying and don't sacrifice quality. I agree with the previous post. I don't care how much a guitar is...but I believe that such things like paint finishes should be good on a guitar no matter what price.