How To Make A $170 Budget Guitar Great!

[@matthewrobinson405]

I love the KZbin auto-captions...”today on roofs, spirits, and beer...”

[@jackc6716]

Need me some of that

[@liammclillyz4705]

Yeah it sucks just as much as talk and text on my Samsung LMFAO

[@AD1978leo]

Mine got gear right but your version is better

[@michaelmiller8871]

@@AD1978leo same.

[@user-eu3mn6ss5l]

Budget guitars have come a loooong way since the 80's! I started on a Kent Les Paul Copy that had a single coil hidden in a humbucker case. It's amazing what you can get for under $200.

[@toemasmeems]

Lmao now THAT is some shit

[@tyleraho2485]

What?!?! Serious hey?

[@user-eu3mn6ss5l]

@@tyleraho2485 YES! True story.

[@Isaiah-ft5nx]

I couldn't imagine what would happen to a company that did something like that today. Crazy how times change...

[@user-eu3mn6ss5l]

@@Isaiah-ft5nx Yes - things are way, way, way better than they were in the 80's, at least when it comes to budget gear.

[@chrispq12]

Just a quick observation Fluff: You set your string height by 'your' feel. Which becomes a big question mark for anyone watching. If you just state the factory string height for that body style it can be a reference for all viewers. Good video, good work!

[@CoreyAllgood]

God damn, Fluff. Sponsored video or not, if I'd had this video when I started playing 22 years ago, this would've been one of the most amazingly helpful tools I'd ever had. Thanks for doing this for beginners dude!

[@nickagervasi]

I reviewed one of these Donner strat style guitars and I found the same things. Slightly high action, but everything else was pretty much decent on it. Gifted it to my brother. Still think it is a GREAT guitar for the money.

[@joesharpe7685]

As a note for anyone planning on adjusting height, I appreciate how fluff's doing it, and for him that may work, and if he's done it enough then he has got more of a natural feel for it, but for a beginner going in and lifting saddles up and down is a great way to make your guitar play very badly. As a guide/tip for beginners (from a repair guy!): Get the low and high E to a point comfortable for you, then, following the radius of the fretboard adjust the inner 4 strings until they match the radius of the board, I don't recommend adjusting each string one at a time without any reference to the others. It's like changing the volume of a certain instrument in a mix whilst you have that instrument solo'd.

[@lucasetten]

A cheap string height gauge is an easy way to take the guess work out of it and find a good starting point.

[@joesharpe7685]

@@lucasetten for sure, I still use a super cheap amazon one and it's great.

[@Aadams700]

Don’t roast me me but this was my first ever guitar I started about two years ago and I gotta say it played the pretty good

[@lo0nyt0onz]

I started on a Aria pro II bass guitar i bought for $50... Then upgraded to a 97 epiphone powerbass i found at a pawnshop that was covered in stickers for $25. Currently use a 88-89 Squire Jbass (E serial number) thats beat up and well used and has alot if upgrades. I bought It for $299. All 3 are phenomenal and still own them.

[@Diplomat440]

I can attest to this. Back in the day when I was broke I had an esp LTD m-10. It felt great. Comfortable. I knew basic electronics and did a pickup swap. I received an emg hz for Christmas one year and wired it into the bridge position. Amazing difference. I eventually ordered another m-10 and threw a seymour duncan hot rodded set in. Good stuff!

[@mram6311]

Herman Li reviewed this same guitar, definitely worth a watch.

[@nathanielhook9112]

Can't believe the volume knob doesn't have insane fuzz in it. Pretty clean

[@lusiek0666]

I like buying cheap guitars and upgrading them myself... thanks for the videos.

[@Buffrt66]

I bought a Donner pedal board. It came with a case and a bunch of jumper cables and daisy cables. With a simple modification I was able to mount my power supply under the board. I am totally pleased with this board.

[@dustinroberts5949]

Perfect timing on this one! I offered to clean up and setup an old Jay Turser strat for a coworker to learn on, thanks a ton for this.

[@Coda02]

If you are looking for a great cheap guitar I really recommend squier affinity its my first guitar (squier affinity telecaster arctic white) and I think its amazing!

[@BudgetRC_Channel]

I bought a Monoprice Strat a few years ago (before they started their "Indio" line) for $60 during a 15% off sale. Based on the headstock shape and the overall look, I think it was made by the exact same OEM as this Donner. The only difference was that mine was an SSS model. That guitar came with the lowest action that I've ever gotten a guitar with, and there was no fret buzz anywhere at all. I had to raise it because it came too low for me to bend. I was just comparing that guitar to my 2019 Player's Series Strat last night, and honestly, it holds it's own in terms of playability. The only thing that feels better about the real Strat is the thicker neck profile.

[@heathbarnhart1092]

They all get from the same places. There are few other brands as well. I buy alot of Donner pedals, and for fun one day I took the back off to look at the circuit and found a different name on the circuit board. Its all just sourced stuff.

[@ithemba]

@@heathbarnhart1092 true with the pedals, they are all OEMs from the same factory (one I vaguely remember reading about being an offshoot by former employees from the MASSIVE Behringer factory in China) but with the guitars I'd be interested in which factory they are made. Would absolutely not surprised if it's the same as all the fireflys, Harley Bentons and so on.

[@thepeopleschoice431]

I’ve been impressed with Donner stuff. I got an effects pedal from them and it’s actually nice.

[@richardgosse5580]

Just bought my 6yr old the 30 inch model to start learning.

[@ajackson5955]

Buc-ee’s! The one gas station to rule them all.

[@tjm516]

Very glad the quality of the starter stuff even since I started playing. You can get an awful lot of guitar for sub $200 these days.

[@TejasAutoSalonJasonW]

Lol. You won my subscription with the Buckies Tshirt. Would you say the Epiphone SG I paid $189 is a good entry guitar? I started playing guitar seriously about 6 years ago. Being a percussionist/ vocalist it got pretty cumbersome to haul the drumset to the campouts. It's my 1st brand new electric and the cheapest guitar I own. I threw some slinkys on it and love it. The oldest guitar I own is a 62 Encore Violin holow body.

[@ArielEduardoAlba]

Buc-ee's!!!

[@evhstringer]

We got one opening soon in Leeds, AL

[@l1ttlenem04]

You never tested the little amp lol.

[@cyb3r3vil30]

Right !😵

[@RebeccaHindle]

I love that little amp sounds good as a travel amp

[@joesatchton212]

Shoulda done some fretboard conditioning on that rosewood board as well as some fret polishing [0000 steel wool is so great and so cheap, but of course cover them pups] when you had all the strings off. But man, amazing how good "cheap" guitars have gotten in my lifetime. Folks never had it so good with music gear....Cheers and happy holidays to you and yours!

[@nickagervasi]

I got one of these and reviewed it and I did oil the board as well, but it didn't truly NEED it like some others I have gotten in the past.

[@joesatchton212]

@@nickagervasi Yeah, that's good to hear. Again, incredible how good stuff is now. But I always like to use some Dunlop Fretboard stuff anyways, whether they truly need it or not. Just a dab on each fret section... Cheers!

[@nickagervasi]

@@joesatchton212 absolutely no judgement against it! I typically do on every string change. But, I was surprised that at this price point it didn't NEED it. I was recently gifted a more expensive guitar than this one and it NEEDED it. So especially for someone that this is marketed toward "a beginner" it was nice to see that it wouldn't require a beginner to go out and get fretboard conditioner.

[@evhstringer]

Ok bought a left hand sunburst cause right hand was out. Flipped the nut, adjusted bridge for right hand playing.. Neck was straight, frets level...checked with notched straight edge and flat straight edge... Everything good...great deal for 169.00.. Sounded good with stock pickups through Freidman runt 50 in 4x12 cab 2 greenbacks 25 watts 2 vintage 30s .. Dont knock cheep guitars without trying them.. Might surprise ya.. Bought another to swap all electrons and tuners bridge.

[@sevenity2677]

Hate to say it but the shirt is worth more than guitar this time! Like the guitar but love bucees!🤘🏼

[@AD1978leo]

Remember what he said about setting the action to feel. And that does come over time with a little experience. There's text book set up as a starting point but your playing style and personal preferences will end up being the deciding factors on stuff like action. For example it you are a chugger you may want the action slightly higher then if you like clean and melodic parts. Most of us are kinda in the middle.

[@GRBAquatics]

So Very Cool, Thankyou. Very interesting, Entertaining and Informative. Have just ordered Donner Les Paul and Telecaster for $110- ($80- US) Black Friday Bargains Cheers from Australia

[@cyborgoftheyear]

I bought a 7 string Jackson JS22-7 new on Amazon for $199 (still up on Amazon), and it's a pretty decent guitar surprisingly (at least for death metal, haven't really evaluated playing clean). I tend to use it a lot more than my Ibanez 8 string, which was around $500.

[@Gizmo-st1ky]

Nice shirt! Texas Forever!!

[@brendadavis140]

For the beginner’s sake, what are you doing when adjusting intonation? What are you looking for sound wise?

[@triledink]

You should have bought a Kramer special baretta and make it play like a 1000$ guitar. Oh, sponsor guitar... but getting a kramer is still something im willing you to do.

[@danpugatch]

I bought the Kramer Focus VT-211S which is the same guitar basically but with all maple neck. I set it up with DR Blues and very happy with it.

[@ch33sepants28]

I got that same one on almost the exact same day.

[@jasonmitchell1537]

Cheers from Texas!!!! Nice shirt!!!! Funny my middle boy got that guitar in blue for Christmas 🎄!!!!

[@cbus1971]

Bucees is everywhere now.

[@KsiazeIgor]

Have a go on Harley Benton guitars, those are true money savers, they're decent quality and they play tremendously well. Greetings from Poland!

[@2free2snakes]

Except when their higher ends turned out to be garbage. They are still kind of hit and miss.

[@AndrewLewisHowe]

All this can be done on $65 Glary guitars off of Amazon. Now, what normally is really needed for cheap guitar is neck shaping. Maybe the Donner strats have a decent neck, but both my cheap Glary and Monoprice strats came with obnoxiously "D" shaped necks. I'm in the process of rearching my Glary and found it wasn't hard to take a sander to the neck and shape it how I wanted. Scary and dusty yes, but not difficult. Tru-oil, usually marketed as gun stock oil, is a wonderful product for making a nice neck oil finish. My Glary neck made of low-grade maple(?) now looks like 200 year old mahagony with a french polish finish on it. LOL.

[@lengross4126]

Love the video but could use a little more info. For instance when setting the intonation what direction to turn for sharp or flat. Same for string height and pickup height. This would add just a few seconds to your production but make it way more useful..

[@sevenity2677]

Go to bucees!

[@Soldano999]

One thing i've learned: buy at least a decent $200 squier "that you get to keep.

[@davidmonterroza6665]

Amazing! Just what I needed to know

[@lithiumirl2238]

I would really like to see how u setup for low tunings. Like drop A or B on you regular 6strings

[@charliebrown7940]

Mine came ready to play. Love it.

[@maicocheatham9669]

Hey, Can u please make a video on how to add the whammy bar for this guitar. Cannot find this donner anywhere on youtube thanks.

[@rodnocker505]

I’m digging your Bucces tshirt😋 you must be in Texas. They have killer jerky and dried sausage

[@sb632]

Very cool video. Should keep this and do a mod project. Show what parts you would use to upgrade like bridge, tuners, nut and pick ups.

[@b00mz91]

That buc-cees shirt 👌 texas represent

[@RNAMusic]

Buc-EE'S!

[@heiwaheiwa2637]

Awesome love the channel

[@ChristianStoneLIVE]

That is EXACTLTY what I did to mess up my first guitar.

[@painface98]

Love the Buckees shirt. That place is amazing

[@basshnter1997]

A tusq preslotted nut is always the cheapest and best upgrade on a low end guitar. Besides a setup of course.

[@Joey.Darkwoods-Studio]

Would it be safe to say that Donner actually gave it a "proper" setup before shipping it out? You know, being that it would be a positive review. I wonder if you order it directly off the site and its shipped to mr.unknown if the same quality would be reveiced. Just asking....

[@senseiruss]

Donner would've been crazy NOT to do a proper set-up on a "for review" guitar, no doubt. I wonder, just as you do, if the "not-for-review" ones that they ship to the rest of the public are properly set up, too.

[@shreerajanshrestha4366]

using light gauge strings help too.

[@br1an_b]

What is the blue guitar neck rest you’re using? I’ve been trying to find one online to help make re-stringing guitars less annoying, but somehow I haven’t found what I’m looking for. Thanks for the great video, and happy holidays!

[@i3oosted]

Buccee's... oh yeah.

[@Graham_Reeves]

Maybe oil the fretboard too?

[@jamesquirk8656]

Would you consider doing a video like this but for bass? I picked up a Squier Jag bass recently and I've been struggling to get the action/intonation set properly on it - neck is likely bowed but I'm not sure.

[@michaelanderson3703]

Got a hard tailed ssh made in Mexico candy red black pick guard

[@SlyHikari03]

I started out on a righty (I’m lefty btw) squire mini strat in red. I have gone way farther since then...

[@willmeranda4297]

Thank for being honest about the sponsership

[@PooNinja]

On Donner and dasher, Fluff set that guitar up fast Sir! I really like my revecho from them maybe few of those and you could have a donner party, wait what??

[@PooNinja]

Soylent green is people!!!

[@andytatt100]

Anyone else hoping to see i live video of Fluff rocking his cheapest gear in a show?

[@madgeniusmusic]

Right now I want to see anyone playing any guitar in a show.

[@rjmcmooseknuckle]

My 1st guitar was an El Degas sg copy, still have it and i use to think it was amazing! Use to ... lol

[@antsco]

I’ve yet to find a Donner video that’s not sponsored

[@StephGV2]

Damn I wish you put this video out a year ago. Stupid neck plate screws on the brand new guitars I got when I sold some old ones, were all not exactly tight. And the guitars wouldn't stay in tune. A not cheap Washburn and Ibanez. Both also needed the rods tensioned. People who buy mid end brand name guitars and change the pickups and tuners, might as well buy one of these if they don't mind the off brand on the headstock and like the neck shape.

[@titmusspaultpaul5]

Great video....thanks.

[@magicman12b]

BUCK-EES ......... YAS !!!!!

[@Boomheyyou]

Sounds good a cool looking guitar

[@bellend69]

You never tried out the practice amp ? ? ?

[@RebeccaHindle]

I have I like it im keeping it as a travel amp

[@flowryan5829]

Funny thing about budget guitars is the kind of lottery that comes with it. I have a guitar which I bought new over decade ago. It‘s the in house brand of a local music store and it did cost me 100 bucks. That bad boy is still alive and kicking. Straight neck, no fret problem, no intonation problem....nothing. And by god, did i treat it like shit over the years. Best 100 bucks I‘ve ever spend. That thing is the Leopard II tank of the budget guitars.

[@vaughnbenson3777]

This just popped into my head but Fluff and Bert Kreischer have very similar voices

[@shawnl4542]

I’m on reverb I have 700$ I’m new my only guitars are a Ltd 256 and the squire hello kitty pink thing I want to upgrade it and make it nice someday but today I want a new to me axe so I’ve looked at some Harley Benton hollow bodies 300$ ish and a couple sg style epiphones should I try to get someone to discount a strat that I like or idk 700 seems like a weird place these prs guitars look awesome I’m new I don’t know what to do I’m new lol

[@stevenjefferies9415]

what about compared to monoprice?

[@Bret_Sanor]

Did you set up the trem at all? I was curious to see how it measured up with other more notable guitar brands and how well it held tuning.

[@mitchthegreat]

Now this is great content. I enjoy all the other stuff. But feels like a "watch gear reviews on things I cant afford".

[@AWMJoeyjoejoe]

Donner? Now I'm hungry.

[@WattchomanBrandySavage]

For $170 I wouldn't mind having the meat and Potatoes of a Strat. The sound is there. Throw in a bit of effort and BOOM! A perfectly usable guitar.

[@eike.zender]

But will it chug?

[@ConcreteAlibi]

what exactly were you doing for the intonation??

[@johnkren2636]

To set the intonation, your octave note (12th fret) should be in tune with your open string. On a fender style bridge, there are screws in the back that you can adjust.

[@joesharpe7685]

John's reply is correct but to add some detail to help guide you (if it's helpful.) Tune a certain string to pitch, now fret at the 12th, if it ish sharp, move the saddle away from the pickups, if the fretted note is flat, move the saddle towards the pickup.

[@ConcreteAlibi]

@@joesharpe7685 Thank you!

[@talkingpanda]

can we talk about the Bucees shirt...

[@tacob69]

Why is Donner Guitars the new Glarry Guitars of KZbin channels.I'm not being crappy I love this channel and it just happens to be the 5th or more videos I've seen on Donner Guitars in a week.They must be the latest crap guitars sending out a million guitars.

[@RiffsAndBeards]

No idea. I have had this for months just finally got around to making a video for it.

[@scaredycat8685]

I wouldn’t mind playing that thing if I just started

[@J.J_6.9]

Geez with those amps behind you, you can make a fucking toy guitar sound great on them

[@nekrotic.6drian]

What mini tool kit is that? What comes with it and where can I get it?

[@charlesrocks]

Do this once a week. People need to know this...especially the younger players. Buc-ee’s 4 Life

[@playthegame9633]

Disagree

[@nsrankin]

You live near a bucees or just happen to hit one up on a tour?

[@pressleycaliforniacustoms9526]

Dude, you really should be using gages to get a accurate setup. You don’t cut the nut? Or measure the height of the strings above the first fret?

[@jefferymeow8765]

how often do you go to bucees???

[@juanvaldez4043]

Someone else did a review on the amp that comes with it and said it had more overdrive than the donner overdrive pedal 😂

[@johnjriggsarchery2457]

Hmmmm, made in the same factory as Glarrys?

[@bobcole612]

Not sponsored by Buc-ee’s?

[@ThatBaritoneGuitarGuy]

I remember those absolutely HORRID 80s Arion PLASTIC pedals. I bought the distortion one, and the PLASTIC footswitch BROKE on the first day. I immediately took it back to the shop to get my money back. I saved up, and got an Ibanez Tube Screamer, which faithfully served me until about 2018, when I got a Spaceman Mercury IV, and never looked back. Anyway, this video is VERY well-timed. RIGHT NOW, I am looking to get a SubZero Rogue VI bass VI. At that price range, I WILL need to modify and upgrade stuff. Well, that is, unless you know of a bass VI with a HIPSHOT tailpiece. I am all about Hipshot, but I don't know of a single bass VI with a Hipshot.

[@Ovibos5]

I still have my Arion Bass Flanger!

[@ThatBaritoneGuitarGuy]

And it didn't break yet? For that matter, it didn't break ON THE FIRST DAY?

[@danyele8526]

Donner kebbabb??

[@b.cguitarcovers2347]

Pretty low budget setup, there is a radius to the neck,didn't look like you were too comfortable setting that up !

[@benheaver4332]

👍

[@theheartlandgroup757]

Buccee’s!

[@ravelitschimo]

Buy another one ☝🏻

[@mikkabrightheart2268]

New noise 🙃

[@michaelanderson3703]

Fender