Are Xaviere Guitars JUNK?

Or Is Xaviere a Good Budget Guitar?

junk guitars

Xaviere Guitars are JUNK REVIEWGuitar Blogs and Webzines normally write about all the great and positive hooptah, in regards to guitars and guitar companies, and usually shy away from talking about what really needs to be talked about. Here at Gear-Vault we believe in the “no bullshit‘ policy, which means we not only write about the good that need to be revealed, we also write about the bad and the ugly–that–MUST be exposed.

First off, let me state for the record that we have not preformed any hands-ons review of Xaviere guitars–yet.
The owner of GuitarFetish.com have not sent us a review guitar. If you would like Gear-Vault to evaluate this guitar and publish a comprehensive no-BS-hands-on-review of Xaviere, then forward this article on to the owners of GuitarFetish and tell them you demand a Gear-Vault review of this guitar.

UPDATED READ: I Purchased an Xaviere XV-550 Guitar and Here Are My Thoughts

 

To start off our Xaviere research, let’s find out where these guitars are produced. According to carvinguitars.com message forum, these guitars are made in ‘China’. I guess that is to be expected for a guitar at this price point. If you read the entire thread on carvinguitars’ forum, you’ll see the poster gushing over the GFS pickups installed in Xaviere guitars, stating “I think they compete well with pickups that are twice the GFS price [point]“. That sounds promising. Or does it?

Not according to a relatively recent thread posted on mylespaul.com forum. A forum poster named “Powdercoater” added to the topic with a discouraging and negative experience with Xaviere:

“I just received a Xaviere XV-500 a few days ago and want to say that it’s been a lousy buying experience. The guitar is junk and has big finish runs, a gouge in the top , terrible frets, and lots more that I’ll not get into unless someone wants to hear it. It was apparently a return because it had play marks and the plastic film had been mostly removed from the plastic parts. Just the fact that they shipped me this thing is wrong, but guitarfetish’s response was what soured me on dealing with them. After all’s said and done I’m out $40 and the time spent on sending it back. Frankly my expectations for an inexpensive guitar aren’t that much but GFS selling a second/blem as new and refusing to even communicate is bullshit. I didn’t complain or even offer any description of the guitar. I was trying to get some info on how the money works on an exchange and got a really snarky reply from a guy named Jay. After that he’s refused to reply to follow up email from me. I’ve bought from Rondo and gotten a good product and great service. Same with Musicians Friend. If you buy from GFS you’re risking getting clipped for at least the shipping. I’ll see how the refund goes.”

To be fair, the XV-500 is a $209 axe. Not that should justify anything when you can buy a Squier, Epiphone or an Ibanez for under $200. Can we overlook the fact that many people are really high on GuitarFetish’s GFS pickups? No, that is not the be all, end all to what determines a decent guitar.

With further research we stumbled across Harmony-Central reviews, which seem to be slightly favorable, at least compared to all the negatives found. How do we know what is real or what is manipulated, and how can we trust the judgment of another guitarists views? We could look at all the things that seem to be consistent, however, the Harmony-Central reviews are not all that consistent, in fact, the reviews look to be all over the charts. One thing that seems to be somewhat consistent is GuitarFetish’s poor customer service:

“These guys were horrible in responding to my emails. The guitar they sent me was garbage. I went to a professional guitar tech when I got it, and he told me the only way to attempt fixing it would be to steam the neck.(est $100) It was completly warped, with the strings about an inch above the fretboard. These guys just threw this guitar in a box and shipped it. NO SETUP WHATSOEVER!!!! Or they would of known. They said they thought the truss rod was broke, but if you looked down the neck it was rippled. A blind man could see it was warped. People who dont have some knowledge are going to be ripped off by these guys on ebay!!! They did send my money back, but they took there sweet time. This guitar lures you in by the way it looks, and I do admit, it was a nice flamed top.”

So with everything that you learned today, is anything a deal breaker for you? Would you send your cold hard cash over to a company with such mixed reviews? Join our message forum and tell us what personal experiences you’ve had with GuitarFetish and Xaviere guitars, we’d love to hear from you! Let your words and thoughts be heard for everyone to read. https://gear-monkey.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1195

ATT! READ: Are Xaviere Guitars JUNK? PART 2

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112 Comments

  1. So much for your “no bullshit” policy. All you did was quote two opposing forum posts and speculate that an inexpensive guitar is “junk”. That’s not journalism and it’s barely blogging.

    And the author hasn’t even played a Xaviere guitar! I thought you guys did “Music Gear Research”. Looks like you just browsed the web a bit.

  2. Hi Schuyler, I value your opinion, but there’s really no reason to be on the offensive. Of course we quoted random experiences from people that dropped their cold hard cash on these guitars and aren’t happy. Their opinion matters to us as well. I did point out these guitars are a low priced axe. But how do they compare to a $200 Agile AL-series? Obviously the good folks who spend time looking (and researching) for the perfect guitar want the best bang for their buck.

    Hey here’s an idea, maybe Gear-Vault should have an Agile (AL-2000) and Xaviere (XV-500) shootout…. hmm now that sounds like fun!

  3. hey schuyler, stop being a douche! GearVault is by far the best guitar – webzines on the web. Why are you so butthurt over the writer pointing out peoples recent bad experiences? Can’t contribute to the topic, can ya? You probably never even heard of these guitars until today.

    Keep up the good work GearVault, don’t let douchebags like this discourage you. I love this site and visit it multiple times per day! It makes work go by faster haha

  4. I have owned and played two Xaviere’s, unlike the author of this “review”.

    Love this quote: “According to carvinguitars.com message forum, these guitars are made in ‘China’” Ha. So is the Ibanez SAS32EXFM, which costs ~$600 new and is an incredible player.

    Whether or not I like Xaviere’s isn’t the point. The truth is, with lines like “…the bad and the ugly–that–MUST be exposed.”, they are trying to trash Xaviere’s without even having seen one in person.

    I am honestly not trolling here, GearVault is much better than this article depicts.

  5. “First off, let me state for the record that we have not preformed any hands-ons review of Xaviere guitars–yet.”

    And there goes your credibility.

    BTW: Might try a spellchecker too.

    Unbelievable.

  6. I’ve had wonderful shopping experiences with GuitarFetish.com, although I haven’t played any Xavieres.

    This article, however, is garbage. I agree with Schuyler. This sounds like it was written by someone with an axe to grind. Did the guys at GuitarFetish pee in your Wheaties or something?

    This is lazy journalism at best.

  7. Paul Lesster, you are the one coming across as a douche. His criticism is fair. A “review” of a product that the reviewer has never even seen that consists mainly of a couple of cherry-picked internet forum posts is pointless at best. And you coming back at him with crap like douche and butthurt hardly contributes to the topic either.

    I’ve never seen a Xaviere either and I’ve read mixed reviews on them. I suspect they are hit or miss and not any better than they should be at their price point at their best. So I’m not trying to defend Xaviere. But this review reads like “They won’t send me a free guitar so I’m going to take a shot at them.” Schuyler Colfax’s comment “That’s not journalism and it’s barely blogging.” is accurate IMO.

  8. What if, after never meeting, talking to, or otherwise corresponding with the person that wrote this, I pronounced them a douchebag? Reasonable people would say tha comment was made from either ignorance or bias, or both. They would be correct. It would also be a fair assumption that I had a bias hiding someplace.

    I have owned over five Xaviere guitars and currently own two, one being an XV500. I have used GFS parts and pickups on numerous builds. I have set up no telling how many Xavieres for those that have bought them. As someone who actually owns and has worked with them, here’s an honest and unbiased review:

    They are better than their +/- $200 price tag, but they aren’t custom shop guitars. When I started playing (over 25 years ago) there was nothing on the market like these for the price. The finishes are usually very good and the electronics have been superior to any other guitar close to their price point. You get full-size pots, better than average pickups, decent hardware.

    They are great for beginners and, with a little work, are fully gig capable – some are from the box with a string change. They usually sound much better than they should.

    The weak spots are the tuners and sometimes the fretwork is shoddy. Jay at Guitar Fetish has an awesome return policy and I have returned things with zero hassle. If you do not expect a $2,000 guitar (even a $500 guitar) you will, most likely, be pleased.

    I would highly advise Gear Vault that, if they wish to continue to be taken seriously, to not put out trash reviews like the above.

  9. Schuyler is right to dispute your bullshit review. While I don’t own a Xavier guitar, I have done at least six transactions with Guitar Fetish since they opened including my most recent purchase of a very nice paulownia tele body that I used for a build project. They do offer some very nice pickups for the price point. Are they boutique grade? No. However, for the price and the variety of pickups available I do believe they are a good value.

  10. You are publishing an opinion on an instrument you have not played or even held, based on the hear- say you read on a forum. Very, very unprofessional on your part.

    GearVault is now on my “Web sites that are full of shit” list. How can I place even the slightest trust in ANY of your reviews based on the “professionalism” you’re demonstrating here?

  11. @Schuyler –

    You seem very offensive for whatever reason. A lot of guitar manufactures have guitars made in China nowadays, they have notable guitar factories in China. Epiphone, for example, recently opted-out of Korea production to be made in China. As you pointed out, some Ibanez guitars are now made in China. I don’t think the author was using that as a strike against this guitar, he was pointing out that China can build guitars for lower costs, hence allowing them to sell for an inexpensive price.

    That said, woods, fret work, set-up and electronics probably vary in quality. I suspect Xaviere cut corners to save costs. Do a search on Agile guitars and see if you find bad reviews. I doubt you’ll find much (if any) bad press about them, and they produce and sell way more guitars than GuitarFetish. In my opinion “you get what you pay for” doesn’t always apply to guitars. I would actually rank Agile above Epiphone to nearly, but not quite, to USA Gibson level. Can we say that about Xaviere? I’ll be looking forward to the Agile vs Xaviere shootout.

  12. “Of course we quoted random experiences from people that dropped their cold hard cash on these guitars and aren’t happy.”

    Those weren’t random, unless by “random” you mean cherry picking the worst review you could find on the first page of the harmony central reviews. In fact, here’s a link that page:http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/product/Xaviere+Guitars/XV-500/10/1

    Notice anything odd, for instance, the one you happened to “randomly” quote being surrounded by positive reviews?

    Or are you just butthurt they haven’t sent you a free guitar? Good luck on that one, btw.

  13. So a $200 Xaviere isn’t as good as a $1200 Gibson? That’s a news flash right there.

  14. Not sure why people are upset with the author? This isn’t claimed as a “review” like some are calling it. He’s just pointed out stuff across the web.

    To be honest, I never even heard of this guitarfetish, but I am very interested in trying one of these XV- guitars… they look pretty damn sweet for the price!

    Also, @Blo Blue, thanks for your review post. Im getting the hollow body xv-550.

    I guess it’s true, negative press is still good press… 🙂

    btw, gearvault looks like a sweet website with great content. Bookmarked!

  15. Wow.
    What Mr. Colfax is saying that no one seems to grasp is that the writer of this “article” is giving a very unfavorably biased review of an instrument he has never seen or touched. He then bases his opinion on a couple random internet forum posts. To find out where the guitars were made he goes to the Carvin forum? Why not contact GFS?
    It’s very irresponsible to review something based on hearsay and call it “truth”.
    I have no interest in Xaviere guitars and find that some of GFS’s products are good and some are mediocre. If I were to write an opinion on one of their guitars, I would however, play one first.
    If this is what passes for a review here, I believe I’ll get my info somewhere else. This review is very amateurish.

  16. I have been playing for a long time and have a lot of guitars. When I put down a $3000.00 guitar and pick up a Xaviere, of which I own 5, I don’t notice what the Xaviere is lacking in comparison, but how much guitar you get for such a good price. You should play one before you attack a company.

  17. Ummm, why are people here calling this a “review”? The author said he wants to review the guitar and even wants to do a Xaveire XV / Agile AL shootout. Not sure why some here are calling this a “review”.

  18. I own one of the guitars. While I do not think this review was very fair, because they had nothing but hear-say it does match my experiences with mine. Mine was dinged on the fretboard and neck (attempted fret work?) and came scratched. Nearly all the screw holes were stripped and out of alignment (cocked screws not in wood on control covers, bridge posts loose etc.).

  19. If this “article” wasn’t a “review,” what was the point of it, exactly? It reads like a cheap shot at a company that won’t send this site free gear to review.

    As for the Agile/Xaviere shootout, I wouldn’t really trust anything this author had to say after reading this article or review or whatever it is.

  20. Hey guys,

    First off thanks to you all who posted and left a comment! Also I’d like to thank everyone who has come forward to share their personal experience with these guitars. Your posts will help all those who research Xaviere guitars. I would just like to clear up one thing thought, this article is not review.

    Would you guys like us to do a Xaviere vs Agile hands-on-review? Sounds like a fun project to me!

  21. Ahhh, I’m sorry, I mistakenly thought Gear Vault was a site that actually did serious gear reviews.

    Carry on with whatever it is that you do.

  22. Wow. this is the kind of spew you projectile vomit onto people and call it journalism? oK. to be fair, you DIDNT call it journalism, but dont worry, niether would I or anyone else I know. Ive been a professional in the music bus for more than 30 years and have owned just about every make and model of electric guitar you can imagine, and across the board, there is no such thing as 100% consistancy in quality with ANY maker or model. some of the big boys would, in fact, suprise you with their LACK of quality. GFS is one of those that doesnt fall into this category. For every unhappy customer you can randomly pull of the net for your biased anecdotes, I can show you 10 that are in complete opposition to them. And their customer service has proven over and over to be second to none.

    The only thing that this article has accomplished as far as I am concerned, is to convince me that the author, and by default, the entire website is not even qualified to judge and are the literal defenition of incompetence. This is like the National Enquierer for music reviews. Dont worry, I wont be returning, and Im sure you are just fine with that as you no doubt have your stable of mindles rag readers that will buy and read ANYTHING and continue to bob their heads up and down in agreement no matter how contrived, obviously biases, and ridiculous the story is.
    My only advice is for the author, and who ever gave the sign of on posting this article, not to quit your day jobs if you are striving for any type of career that requires any level of competency whatsoever.

    What a bunch of tools you hacks are. I guess it is good you are around because it makes the rest of the hack jounalists and websites seem better just by default.

    Keep lowering the bar. You guys are naturals at it.

  23. I love this website! You guys are always willing to push the envelope. We need more websites with balls of steel like you guys have.

    Mucho respect!

    P.S. I loved your piece on the Gibson Hendrix Strat

  24. Regardless of where you stand on bang-for-your-buck guitars, this ‘article’ is a ‘travesty.’ I realize a simple gear review doesn’t really call for the greatest of ethical standards, but quoting biased, unattributable, second-hand information (from the internet, no less) is pathetic. If you want to blindly speculate, at least have the stones to do so without hiding behind the thin veil of pseudo-journalism. Better content, plx.

  25. Chaz if this was not a review, then what exactly was it’s purpose?

    I could write an article on Xaviere guitars and by selecting a few random forum posts as my sole research, make them sound like the greatest instruments ever produced by mankind. What would be the point and how helpful would that be?

    If you played one and found it lacking, received poor treatment from GFS, or anything like that, then fine, go ahead and roast them.
    To badmouth a product with no firsthand evidence to back up your claim is irresponsible at best.

    You state that “we not only write about the good that need to be revealed, we also write about the bad and the ugly–that–MUST be exposed”

    How can you honestly comment on a product you have never seen? You seem to have fans here that believe what you say. Don’t you owe it to them to provide factual info? Saying that someone on a forum said “xxx” is not factual info.

  26. People commenting think this is a Xaviere review? Lol. Ummm… okay.

    Some people posting on this subject have some major reading comprehension issues.

    Keep up the good work Gear-Vault. Don’t let the folks with reading difficulties discourage you.

  27. Hey guys,

    I realize this is a controversial piece and it deserves criticism. But lets keep it civil. I don’t want to delete any posts. I think everyone deserves their opinions published to be read, but if gets too vulgar I’ll have no other choice but to delete or not-approve vulgar comments.

    @ Pete, this is not a review. It is a post linking to other folks’ personal experiences with Xaviere. In no way, shape or form did I post my opinion in this piece. Everything quoted is from peoples’ experience — a direct link has also been posted linking to the source.

    I am glad that people are stepping forward to write their personal experiences. That was the intention.

    I’ll do a follow up article tomorrow with all the positive information submitted.

    Keep the comments coming folks. Please post your personal experiences.

  28. If this isn’t a review, its a very poorly thought out smear on Xaviere. You talk right off the bat about how their lesser quality and cite information form online forums (and as we all know, they’re always chalk-full of correct information). To make matter’s worse, you don’t even offer a review of any of their product, you just quote some random posts you found online. I can’t say I think much of your journalistic integrity, as you’ve shown yourself to lazy to do any actual work. If you want to rectify the situation, actually pickup an Xaviere guitar and review.

    For the record, I do own an Xaviere XV-600, and I think it’s a pretty awesome guitar. It’s not going to compete with Fender, Gibson, PRS or guitars of that caliber, but it sounds and plays amazing, and is on par above anything I’ve played form Epiphone or Squier. At their price point, their very hard to fault. I plan on upgrading it in the future with some better quality tuners and a custom preamp, but for now, I’m completely satisfied with it.

  29. Ok, one more time. What don’t the experts like about the guitars that they’ve never played?

  30. I would love to read a Xaviere and Agile shootout comparison! Make it happen gearvault!!!!

  31. Do they make a guitar for shredders? Floyd Rose / locking tremolo / lock nut / thin neck???

  32. Why are the people responding calling this a “REVIEW”? /scratcheshead

    meh, I bought a used one off ebay and it’s nothing to write home about. And the guy claiming these are as nice as a $3000 guitar must work for GFS company. That’s laughable.

  33. I have two, both bought as blems. I use them both onstage alongside my Gibbys, US Peaveys, US Hamer, and other budget guitars.

  34. Lol @ all the butthurt replies on this post. Gear-Vault thanks for having enough balls to not bullshit or try to be ‘politically correct’. Too many guitar bloggers around the net seem scared to post the bad and the ugly. I’m sick of reading happy-happy goody-goody BS that we all know is BS.

    Gear-Vault is the REAL DEAL!

    Oh and bookmarked! 🙂

  35. GuitarFetish won’t email me back. Add me to the list of “not a happy customer”.

  36. Wow, way to write a Fox-news worthy post. You didn’t do ANY primary research and just decide to post crap you dug up on google? Thanks for the zero effort article. Next time you decide to half ass something, prevent yourself from hitting the submit button. I don’t even have to try a GFS to see that you’re just trying to rock the boat. Please, for the sake of any shard of dignity or respect you want to maintain, DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH before you post an article on a supposed “Music Gear Research” website.

  37. Tedster, what exactly do they have the balls to do? There is nothing of factual information, no actual review, nothing other than cherry picking random internet posts to create an aura of negativity around a product and a company of which the author has absolutely no grounds to speak about.

    I guess you are right, it takes balls, and a certain lack of integrity, to write an article on nothing but here-say about a company you have no affiliation.

  38. Thanks for having the balls to publish this. We need more bloggers out there that’s not afraid to push the envelope. You guys always write detailed and comprehensive reviews. I’ll be looking forward to the hands on review!

    Keep up the good work guys!

  39. Wow, great articles guys. Can always depend on Gear-Vault to spread the word!

    Can’t wait to read your follow up piece! Rawk!

  40. @ T-BONE

    Thanks bro. I’m thinking about buying one,,, but I’ll probably wait to see how the Gear-Vault hands-on review turns out. Gear-Vault’s reviews have always been spot on, so I know they’ll give a great review.

  41. I read about these guitars maybe about a year ago, over at vintageGuitarmag.com. Please put in the seach box when you get there: the word Xaviere. I was very impressed with this article written on the “Xaviere xv 700 thinline guitar, in fact went away wanting one. Chaz PLEASE do a hands on review!!

  42. Thanks for posting this Gear-Vault. Glad to see someone finally has the nads to call out shoddy guitar companies!

    Keep them ’em check, boys!

  43. this is lightweight stuff. you posted a smear article about a guitar company with no first hand experience with their product whatsoever and used random anecdotes from forums — forums!!!!!—- to support your claims also without balancing it out by presenting the other side (I know for a fact there’s a lot of anecdotal stuff on forums with very positive experiences).

    this is just hilariously bad. I can’t believe anyone reads this website.

  44. Now granted, I don’t have a gear review website, so take this for what you will, but I actually HAVE played and owned an Xaviere guitar for a period of time, and I’d say you’re rather off-base based on my own experience. Mine was a surf green XV-600 model, thinline Tele shape with a maple neck and the Dream 180 pickups. I was quite impressed. For a guitar that costs only $164, it was top-notch stuff. Played well (I assume the previous owner had given it a proper setup), comfortable neck, pickups had an utterly unique character to them and sounded great. What else could you ask for?

  45. I think some people replying to this article have insecurity issues. The author simply posted (and compiled) experiences from other sources. He’s not forcing you to agree or disagree what people’s experiences are with the company, he’s just supplying the tools for you to research and make up your own mind.

    Jesus Christ people, overreact much? Ever hear of this cliche` “don’t kill the messenger?” And why people are calling this a review is beyond me.

    Keep up the good work gearvault

  46. Alright guys, lets keep it civil. Criticism of the article is acceptable, but we’re not going to have flaming or wars between one another. Take it over to Harmony-Central if you want to have an internet fight, it’s not going to be tolerated here.

    Thanks.

  47. well, with idiotic comments like this that show the poster has not done his/her homework at all, what does anyone expect? “One thing that seems to be somewhat consistent is GuitarFetish’s poor customer service”

  48. And for the record, I’ve placed maybe 30-40 orders from GF without the slightest issues or problems. And I’ve always gotten prompt e-mail replies, including Jay personally responding on a Sunday afternoon. And he is a wealth of useful information on HC, even just generic stuff that isn’t about pushing or selling his own products. Its a shame that this kind of crap-slinging is allowed when most of it is based on absolutely nothing concrete.

  49. I’ve read several negative customer service complaints on the internet about Jay and Guitarfetish, but have not found one single complaint from RondoMusic. Why is that?

    It must be a conspiracy!!1

  50. All that I can add is that I had a return, and Jay was a jerk about it. Left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. They should get someone else to handle email, cause Jay sucks at it.

    I am about 50/50 on there products though, their hardware is a great value for the money.

  51. I don’t know. Selective looking maybe? I’ve seen a few from Jay and Kurt. And yet, I give them both very high marks, especially considering the price area they are both dealing in.

  52. I just read the Harmony-Central thread and it’s like an echo chamber over there. Frenzy of trolls set out to hit websites all across the net when they someone reads something they don’t agree with, while having no clue otherwise. I’ll keep my membership at thegearpage. H-C use to be cool, but man that place really went to sh*t.

    My advice to anyone here *AVOID H-C* if you don’t want to turn into a mindless freak.

  53. yes, a mindless freak swayed by actual real life experiences with the company. Don’t want real world stuff interfering with the “truth”.

  54. DoubleD, H-C isn’t that bad. I’m a member there and frequent it often. I would say H-C is my 2nd favourite guitar message forum on the interweb. There’s a lot of great posters over there who know their stuff.

    I don’t feel they’re trolls. I just think they are passionate and want to voice their opinion, I think they all had favorable experiences with GuitarFetish. In fact, from reading the passion posted on here, it makes me want to review the Xaviere XV guitar even more. I can’t wait to get my hands on one!

  55. I couldn’t deal with the H-C ignorance and decided to find a new forum to frequent.

    Anyways, keep up the good work. I’m bookmarking this site. I love the balls to the wall, no asskissin’ approach.

  56. The lack of journalistic integrity here is amazing. How can you possibly think that it’s OK to write an article such as this without any actual research outside of hearsay from two forums which have the reputation of looking down on anything that isn’t of the brands that are explicitly stated in their names.

    As far as customer service, I can give you first hand accounts of good customer service from Guitar Fetish. I sent an e-mail to Jay asking if he had just a base plate for a Telecaster pickup lying about that I could buy from him since I had a pickup missing its plate. Having just placed an order a few moments before, I asked if he could include that and add it to my total. When I received my order, I found that he had simply included the part in my package without charging me for it. Outside of that, he’s answered each and every single e-mail I’ve sent him regardless of whether it ended in me purchasing something.

    Unfortunately, I don’t think writing an article calling Xaviere guitars junk is the best way to get a sample to review. It’s more likely that you’ve left a bad taste in his mouth regarding this site and I would imagine that he wouldn’t expect a good review regardless of the actual quality of his product.

  57. So, wait… You review a guitar, but haven’t actually played it? You’re just basing it on negative reviews, when positive reviews are plentiful?

    So, I guess your gear vault is empty?

  58. Holytits 60+ posts of pissing contest. Some cats have wayyy too much time their hands /shrugs.

    I never even heard of this company until tonite., I’m gonna go check them out.

    “GuitarFetish” HAh, I love the name!

    Oh, am I the only one who sees a “?” at the end of title? i.e Xaviere Guitars are junk(?). I’m pretty sure they’re asking a question, not making a statement.

  59. I agree with prior remarks about HC. I mean, these guys think Prince an Peter Green are god. Must be a bunch of brainless, tasteless gits.

    Also, everyone on HC loves GFS pickups. This proves they are tone deaf, as well as too broke to buy a set of Seymour Duncans.

    I also agree with the fact that GFS’s customer service sucks. Jay is a straight up liar. He’ll tell you what he typed on the website (which if you look, is all worded in a rather shifty manner anyway) and nothing else

  60. mr_goodbomb, you really think this is a review? Do you even know what a review is?

    My god some people are so f’king dense!

  61. Lol @ people calling this a review. This is not a goddam review, it’s a blog post. Jesus A Christ people!

    Really, there are people this stupid?

    They’re calling it a review on H-C too. Funny how they say this site is misinforming information, yet they are spreading vile by saying this is a review. /facepalm

  62. in other words the reason for creating this “blog” has nothing to do with getting any truth or honest opinions. Brilliant

  63. I’m pretty sure this post has some warrant to it. I’ve read a couple of people posts in this topic (just in the last few hours) revealing their negative experience. Does that make the guitar ‘junk’? No. But it does touch on the point the author already made. Therefore, the author isn’t spreading false information like you seem to think.

    Clearly the only people spreading false BS are those H-C posters trying to discredit this site. This site is pretty damn cool.

  64. gilmourD – I’m sure the folks at G-v will be so crushed when guitarfetish doesn’t send them a chinese LP ripoff sample for review. Haha! Now I’ve heard it all.

  65. if you want it to have the slightest amount of validity, you find as many people as possible with experiences good or bad and try and come to a conclusion. This post/blog was set up to put a negative slant on the company, pure and simple. But hey, it created another avenues for the satisfied customers to voice their opinions about the company too, as well as let more people know how helpful the owner actually is, even on stuff that has nothing to do with his personal products and isn’t putting any money in his pocket. So, in a backhanded way, it has been a nice bonus to Guitar Fetish.

  66. Holyknots batman. People really have their panties in a bunch over this post?

    btw, this isnt a review. Peeple really think this is a review?

  67. no, I wouldn’t give it that kind of credit. Its a post/blog as I’ve stated a couple times now. What makes it unique is that it has no interest in any kind of truth or accuracy.

  68. I agree T-Bone. With all the positive posts for GFS, and all the comments/traffic brought to this blog, it actually has to give GFS a positive boost in branding and *positive* reputation.

    Just as I’m sure the owner of GV likes the attention this article has brought them. As they say, bad publicity is still good publicity. I tend to agree with that motto.

  69. “no, I wouldn’t give it that kind of credit. Its a post/blog as I’ve stated a couple times now. What makes it unique is that it has no interest in any kind of truth or accuracy.”

    I disagree with that. If there was no truth or accuracy on this blog, how do you explain the posters who stepped up and posted in this topic stating their had first hand experience, which was nearly identical as the article pointed out?

    There must be some truth to it when people are stepping forward to say they’ve experienced similar issues.

    I understand that you had a lot of positive experiences, that’s great. But what about the people who haven’t? Should their experience be discredited because you had good experiences?

    – I think this post has truth and accuracy to it.

  70. […]you can buy a Squier, Epiphone or an Ibanez for under $200[…]

    Sure, you can find other brands at similar prices…..and you can also cherry pick some scathing reviews of said brands from various internet forums, quote them in a blog and present them as the basis for a legitimate informed opinion, but that doesn’t make it so. It goes both ways.

    I don’t have much of an opinion on Xaviere guitars…..mainly because I’ve never played one. I CAN tell you that I’ve read more positive reviews of them than negative, but I can’t even say what that is worth without knowing anything about the reviewers. What I CAN tell you is that this article is just BS posing as quasi-legitimate journalism.

    This article fails to deliver any real substance.

  71. it’s like this

    i too am tired of reviews that state that every piece of gear is heaven sent

    the whole premise of this article seems to be based on the fact gear-vault is above this.. cool… if that’s what was actually going on here

    you guys have implied a hellova lot with this… it’s there for anyone (who isn’t sucked into your we’re shooting from the hip rubbish) to see

    you’ve found a few bits of info on the net, written by people who don’t like the guitars… and dismissed as ‘inconsistent’ reviews of people who do

    the truth is the web is so full of rubbish i could probably go and take an excerpt from an article stating moses only played strats while riding monkeys pumped up on coke.. then write an article entitled “moses .. a strat loving primate jockey?’

    you can say it’s not a review all you like… but the fact remains this piece of rubbish is choc full of implied drivel… which is really gutless in my opinion

    man up and apologise

  72. In as little as 3 and a half hours, I noticed three people who posted (probably more, but I don’t feel like digging through 80 posts) provided some of their personal experiences, which coincides with the author initial point.

    Want to read them?

    – Bill says:
    March 25, 2010 at 12:53am

    “All that I can add is that I had a return, and Jay was a jerk about it. Left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. They should get someone else to handle email, cause Jay sucks at it.”

    – guitarlover says:
    March 24, 2010 at 11:14pm

    “GuitarFetish won’t email me back. Add me to the list of “not a happy customer”.

    – Doc says:
    March 24, 2010 at 9:29pm

    “I own one of the guitars. While I do not think this review was very fair, because they had nothing but hear-say it does match my experiences with mine. Mine was dinged on the fretboard and neck (attempted fret work?) and came scratched. Nearly all the screw holes were stripped and out of alignment (cocked screws not in wood on control covers, bridge posts loose etc.).”

  73. Wow, Bassman, your post is much like this review itself. Endless amounts of positive remarks about the product, and you choose to reinforce the few negative ones. Good job, you’re officially a troll.

  74. Ok, congrats everyone, you’ve endlessly pointed out that it’s not a review. So, what is it? An article asking if, potentially, a product is bad, despite a flood of opinions suggesting otherwise and a limited pool of opinions agreeing? So, what is it, then? Devil’s advocate? A harmless question? Absolute junk for no other purpose than stirring up trouble and trolling for attention?..

    I’m voting for the latter. Good job, kids, your gear vault is still empty. Maybe post information on a product when you’ve actually tried one.

  75. Bassman:

    “I disagree with that. If there was no truth or accuracy on this blog, how do you explain the posters who stepped up and posted in this topic stating their had first hand experience, which was nearly identical as the article pointed out?”

    This article and the comments made below it have no relationship other than call and response. How can you claim the original post has truth or accuracy because some people chimed in and agreed? What about the flood of those who disagree? No validity, I suppose?

    Check out this site:

    http://www.godhatesfags.com

    They have a laundry list of followers. So, that makes everything on their site accurate, correct?

  76. I think the problem I have with the article above is that the author clearly hadn’t actually tried the guitar he was reviewing. He just cherry-picked some negative stories and let them serve as his own opinion.

    That’s very poor “journalism”. Look up “Les Paul” online, or “Stratocaster” and you’ll find equally negative reviews by people on the internet. You’ll also find positive comments.

    Its clear to me that the “no bullshit” policy the author is gushing about does not apply to his own horrible writing.

    P.S. I’ve never tried Xaviere or GFS.

  77. how can you say keep up the good work? this isn’t good work. it’s an attack article based on no personal experience and only forum heresay representing only one point of view. I’m no xaviere fanboy, this is just a hilarious article and I remain shocked by its existence.

  78. Well I own two of these so called junk guitars and love them. The first one I received arrived damaged while being shipped. I sent an email to Jay after unpacking and finding the damage and received a reply shortly thereafter. Jay had UPS return to pick up the guitar from my house the next day and had my replacement sent as soon as UPS had picked up the damaged one. I did nothing other then email Jay and he took care of the rest. I’ve also emailed him recently and received a return email promptly so I’m really not sure what more one could ask for from him regarding his customer service. I can’t say that I’ve received the same level of customer service when I’ve visited my local stores such as Sam Ashe or Guitar Center, at these two places I’ve been lucky to even get a salesperson to acknowledge that they have a customer in the store.

  79. “So with everything that you learned today, is anything a deal breaker for you? Would you send your cold hard cash over to a company with such mixed reviews?”

    What have we truly learned?

    Presenting this biased opinion piece as “no bullshit” is irony at its best.

    Research? Cherry picking a couple posts out of the thousands of posts and reviews online is sufficient to be called research on this site? I’m all for impartial reviews of gear however impartial reviews require experience and facts…both of which this commentary is woefully short on.

  80. I have 3 Xaviere guitars. I have Guitarfetish pickups in several other guitars. I gig these guitars regularly, and have not only never had a problem with ANYTHING from Jay, but regularly get compliments on my tone.

    the last guitar I got from Jay just happened to arrive the day of a gig. I tuned it up, checked the action and intonation (neither needed adjustment), and took it to a gig. I always travel with a backup, but the new guitar played all 3 sets without a clam!

    Personally, I won’t hesitate to buy from Jay again.

  81. Two things strike me as funny:

    1. Those that think by pointing out this is not a “review” somehow adds validity to it

    2. The same ones that call names in an effort to distract from what has been said

    If this wasn’t a review but, rather an article, it was poorly written for an article. There was minimal research done, no balance in comments good and bad, and little real information given. If you think people at Harmony Central spend all their time fawning over Xaviere guitars then you are misinformed.

    What we have here is posturing by a group of people who are unwilling to call BS on a place that says they do not believe in BS while putting out BS. What’s shoddy is shoddy regardless where it comes from our who wrote it. The form or manner in which BS is conveyed does not change the essence of BS.

    Sorry GV fanboys, we didn’t mean to hurt your feelings with things like unbiased truth while pointing out things that should be glaringly obvious to even those who are, at least, educable mentally retarded.

  82. OH MAN IT ONLY TOOK YOU THREE HOURS TO FIND THREE PEOPLE WHO SAID SOMETHING BAD ON THE INTERNET?!?!??! YOU SURE SHOWED US

  83. This the worst journalism I’ve come across as far as gear goes.
    This site holds no merit for me seeing this kind of dribble gets published.

    This is worse than a school news paper.

  84. How can you write this with out seeing the product.
    They are a fine outfit giving the BEST value on the internet today.

  85. I’ve bought from Jay in the past and had issues with the parts not fitting. Now that wasn’t on him though, it was an odd ball import guitar that wasn’t standard sized. I got a prompt email response and a very fast refund.

    I’ve bought pickups from him as well and I didn’t care for them very much. To be fair though they sounded a lot like the Gibson 490R/T set which I hate to begin with. They were well made and worked, they just weren’t what I was looking for.

    So basically I’ve had a few less than amazing experiences, but I can say the same for many bigger companies as well. I’ve been through a lot of gear that is considered high end or great by a lot of people that I didn’t care for.

    But in every case with GFS I was dealt with professionally and fairly. That’s why I’ll continue to support his company.

    Now anyone that sits here and thinks that spending $40 on a pickup made overseas is going to get them the best pickup ever made is going to be disappointed. But if you are looking for a pickup that is a step up from a lot of the crap that is thrown in a lot of imports at a reasonable price it’s really hard to berate the company and their products. We aren’t talking about $3000 guitars here.

    But to sit here and post 2 snippettes from some internet forum posts as the basis for this article is pretty reckless and irresponsible. You should either try the gear out for yourself or post both sides of the story. There is no way for you to verify your sources when you just start copying and pasting stuff from the internet. And you end up damaging the reputation of a man’s business in the process.

    I’m not a huge fan of all of his products, but I am a big fan of his customer service and appreciate the fact that he caters to a specific market that has long been ignored.

  86. I have 2 Xaviere Shell Top guitars and love them. I have had them since they were introduced and both play perfectly. Both shipped with no damage and aside from installing my string preference, I’ve never had to perform any maintenence.

  87. People overact too much. I’d rather blogs write about the bad stuff about guitars instead of all the great stuff. It’s hard to trust a blog that constantly writes only “how marvelous this guitar is” and never point out the bad stuff.

    great article

  88. I love H-C! Sure they have their fair share of tools, but overall, a lot of guys know their shit. I’m ashamed of how they are handling themselves here, most of them are better than this. I would like to appologize to Gear-Vault on behalf of the the entire Harmony-Central forum. What you are doing here is great. Dont let a few bad apples discourage you!

  89. So it’s not a review, got it. It’s a pithy, cheap-shot blog post. That makes it all better now, doesn’t it?

    I’m not sure how cherry picking a couple of bad reviews from anonymous online posters constitutes “balls of steel.”

    Lazy and dishonest is more like it.

  90. I’ll be looking forward to the review. I just added my email to your “eNews & Updates” so I’ll get notification?

  91. I actually have never had an issue with them at all.I haven’t bought a full guitar from them before but all my accesories have been great deals and good quality.Everything has a dark or down side for sure but I have read the same posts and there were just as many good things as bad.I have had more problems with certain mail order places(won’t name it but here’s a hint MF and GC) and also with Gibson and Fender rep’s before so I guess it’s apples and oranges.

  92. You got 100 replies to this because the author made an irresponsible post that sullied the reputation of a company he had never personally experienced. People got mad. That’s wtf.

  93. So, this site is angling for free stuff. How do they do it? By cherry picking negative comments off the web and having their readers demand the free stuff for them? What a cheap-shot. While I’ve never bought the guitars I have bought several pickups from Guitar Fetish as well as assorted hardware and I HAVE NEVER BEEN DISAPPOINTED. If you go to any other guitar site the majority of reviews are overwhelmingly positive.
    This mickey mouse site wants free stuff so they post something with absolutely ZERO firsthand info. The guys at Guitar Fetish should tell these guys to shove it up their @$$.

  94. Thanks for posting this. I’ve been researching Xaviere guitars and find they do seem to be all over the place in terms of being either really good or really bad. It’s seems like a real crapshoot whatever you gonna get.

    That said, I’m still thinking about buying a XV-700 thinline – pending how the Gear-Vault review is. Hopefully your review is favorable.. I really like the price and looks of the guitar.

  95. Great article. Not sure why some are calling it a review, but… it does give some good food for thought. Some people are a bit hyper-sensitive. This article doesn’t discourage me from buying a guitar from guitarfetish, in fact, quite the opposite. It makes me consider buying one of their tele guitars.

    Keep up the awesome work, GEARVAULT!

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