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So I picked one of these up the other day to see if the quality was really as good as people say for the price at which they are offered ($195, I believe).
I actually ordered a XV-560 - that's the hollow-body, LP-shape with the P-90's. What I actually received was the XV-550, the same guitar, but with GFS Crunchy PAT humbuckers instead of P90s. I e-mailed the appropriate kids and they are sending me out some GFS Dream 90's so I can put those in and the issue is semi-resolved.
Anyway - the guitar. So the setup was okay out of the box, definitely playable, but it can use some adjustment. Really, the only major impediment to playability is the hugeness of the neck heel with really gets in the way of hitting the upper frets. I may have been lucky with the LPs I've played up to now, but this seemed out of hand and definitely makes this guitar a poor choice if you spend much time in higher ranges.
Overall I'd say these things are better than I'd expect considering that they go for under two bills. You will spend some time on setup, and you may spend some money replacing some bits, but in all you will get more than what you pay for. And - honestly - a great looking instrument (I got mine in tobacco sunburst). Keep it in the livingroom as a beater if nothing else - it will look fantastic sitting in its stand, and it's the kind of thing you'll never mind your drunk buddy picking up and trying to pound out freebird on.
- Robert
Guitars: 1977 Gibson S1, Fender 50's Classic Player Edition Stratocaster (MIM), Fender American Deluxe HSS Stratocaster, Lonestar Tele, Yamaha FrankenGuitar (you could call it 'modded' but it just looks broken), Agile AL-3000M Thru-Neck, Agile Valkyrie 24, Peavey T-25, Xaviere XV-550, Xaviere XV-500
Amps: R-50H Reverberocket, Vintage Modern 2266, Twin Reverb, Blues Junior, YCV-40, Hot Rod Deville, Bassman Ten, Valve Junior, Lectrolab R700C, VS65R, Powerblock, GX212R, A small army of vintage Harmony's and similar amps
Pedals: Too many to list - 90% of them of my own making.