Grote Electric Solid Body Guitar Modern-GST For Beginners (Solar flare)

The media could not be loaded. This guitar turned out to be very decent.Finish: excellent, flawless, I couldn't find a single scratch anywhere. The satin black finish is very beautiful and smooth, and the woods used in the neck are great.Electronics: for this price the pickups are ok, not microphonic, I would like them a bit hotter, but they are usable. The coil splitter for the humbucker works well and produces a nice tone, especially on the second position when combined with the middle pickup. Output Jack is good, pots do their job, although the tone could be more gradual. All of the pickups sound good in clean and overdriven sounds.Setup: it was good out of the box, I lowered the action a bit because that's how I like it, but it was playable upon arrival, intonated. Truss rod works fine. Frets could use some polishingNeck: something to be aware of, this neck is chunky, I measured 22.5mm at the first fret. I guess you could sand it down, but I don't have experience doing that, for now I'll leave it as is. The wood grain and color on the neck are very beautiful, very smooth to play. Fretwire is medium jumbo I think, that makes it comfy to bend strings, and gives plenty of material if fret leveling is required. No fret sprout at all.*The body size seems to be smaller than average strats, this guitar is very light which is good if you have back issues.

Had read some good things about Grote guitars so orderered this Pawlownia ST, when it went on sale $70, as I wanted to get a project guitar but also a guitar I can take to parties and gatherings without getting nervous.I unpacked it, let it stand till the following day and truly "I played it straight out of the box" However, that not to say there weren't a few things that needed improving. The neck had too much relief, but this is the same as all the guitars I have bought online, that were $200 plus, as they normally ship from Southern US to my Northern location. I quickly adjusted the truss rod and fixed this. I will also adjust the string heights at the bridge and intonate when I change strings. The fret ends were excellent, in fact I can see the edge of the neck sticking out further than the frets in places, suggesting they sanded the frets before installing on the neck? Different but hey, whatever they did worked well. Fit and finish were very good, only very minor blemishes, equal to my guitars 3 times the price. The deep grain pawlonia wood looks great through the translucent blue (with a hint of turquoise) hard finish, very attractive. The plastic nut is cut perfectly. I have not experienced this with some of the more expensive guitars. Tuners work, but tighten and losen as you turn them. Guitar need constant tuning , new tuners will be the first upgrade with new strings. Tremolo bar supplied but tremolo was screwed down tight, so no tremelo sounds until, claw, springs and tremolo adjusted. If this was your only guitar, pick ups would sound fine, however although adequate to make music they do not sound as good as the ones in my Squire Strat. More fun changing P U's.In conclusion, worth every penny, don't know how Grote do it at this price. Very light, don't worry about the Pawlonia, Fender makes the "Empress" Tele out of the same stuff, so really great for beginners and young axers. Will play out of the box to get you going but will benefit from a full set up. Down the road, with skills and experience improving, make it a project, make the guitar grow with you. Tons of fun, I am really enjoying mine!! Will probably buy more Grote guitars in the future.

What on earth? I do YouTube guitar reviews and recently reviewed a similar Grote HSS guitar (the Standard S) and even though that one needed some work, I love it. See the review on Scuttle Productions channel.I ordered this one in two colors, coma red and mocha (I think) and WOW. They arrived in two gigantic Amazon boxes with two small guitar boxes inside. One box was damaged and the interior styrofoam was busted. BUT, the guitars do not seem damaged as far as I can tell upon initial inspection.The necks are two different shades of roasted maple. One is sort of pale, yet dark and the other is very dark -- unlike the corresponding necks in the photos. But, I like them both and I like the variation. These have lesser features than the original Grote. These don't have stainless frets with rounded edges and the inlays are much simpler. The do not come with gig bags and the truss rod adjustment is in the headstock, as opposed to spoke wheels at the neck heel.That's OK, though. Both have absolutely gorgeous body finishes. The red is satin and the mocha is glossy, which I wasn't expecting based on the pictures. There are minor imperfections in the finishes, but more by feel, not really visible. The necks feel pretty good. They are not glossy, but are a bit rougher than I'd like. I might sand them with a fine grit, but I don't know if that would compromise the dark finish (stain vs. roasted?).The frets are polished quite well. I don't think I'll polish them. The ends are not sharp. I have not noticed any buzzing or high frets yet, but I haven't played them much. The action is good, probably 1.75 mm at the 12th on both and the bridges are set well. My original Grote needed a shim, badly, but these do not.The logo on the headstock is off the edge on one. There's not a simple fix for this. Check the video for my original for a very funny story about the logo on that one.The pickups are OK. I think they may be a downgrade from the original, but I haven't checked the specs closely. I would consider replacing the pickups and electronics eventually. But, I think a beginner would be completely happy with them. They function very well, but don't sound amazing. I usually replace strings on new guitars, but these ones feel new and acceptable. They'll be fine until I decide to change them.Overall, I think the value is amazing. The quality is impressive. I don't mind the lower specs, because this still beats just about every other option, even at a somewhat higher price point.They look absolutely fantastic and they feel good to play. They are light guitars, maybe 6 pounds. I am impressed.I'll publish a video in a few weeks or so. See the channel info above.

I'm only writing this to warn people before they buy about this guitar....... This guitar is not full sized!!! The body is smaller than a normal strat-styled guitar!! I would compare this to a micro size Ibanez or Squire!! Now after that, the guitar is wonderful especially for the price!! I run a guitar shop where I stocked this guitar mainly because it is a wonderful guitar overall just not full size body!!!