Are GOC guitars any good?

[@c.j.robert5350]

Stock pickups sounds amazing. They sound more organic than the Fishmans; they really do sound more compressed and seemed to have a narrower band width.

[@WillihamG]

Yeah I don't know why but I totally agree with you. The stock pick ups actually just feel more natural compared to the fishmans. But this is only for the clean stuff, I definitely prefer the fishmans for the high gain stuff but that is my opinion.

[@imcrazedandconfused]

I agree. The stock pickups have more 'meat', the low end and low mids sound better to me. Of course you can't have it all. I understand that many might think, the fishmans sound better, but they are just a bit more flat. If you associate this with 'clarity', you might prefer the fishmans with their hyped highs, I think the clean sounds of the stock pickups are really good, and if you coil split you may end up with some great sound variations.

[@Cool_Papa_Funk]

What really impressed me about my GOC's is the action and fret work. I used to only play MIJ Ibanez back in my six string days, so I've gotten spoiled by super fast low action. The playability of my GOC's is on par with those guitars.

[@jonathanshaver3001]

I had a Boden 8 string, ended up selling because, although the neck shape was very nice, it was just a bit too thick for my liking. Not exactly comparable but I now have a GOC vajra 7 string and it very quickly became my favorite guitar. The neck is 100% what I was looking for, very thin and still has that flat spot all the way along the neck. The fit and finish are 99% as good as the strandberg. I can't find a single issue with it. Even the routing on everything is perfect, and the paint work is perfect on mine. As far as tuning, I've gotten used to flipping my pick around and turning them with that, it's now just as easy as tuning any "regular" guitar. I always end up swapping pickups from a house brand, but the ones in mine are pretty damn good. Slightly less output than I usually go for, but they're surprisingly clear and articulate. I'm a die hard Ibanez guy but the GOC has me really thinking about selling my Prestige 7 string.

[@justsumguuyyyy]

Great pickup comparison shots. Very helpful, thank you

[@Mega_trav]

Appreciate the constructive criticism and honest review and experience

[@davidp7833]

Those riffs at the beginning melted my face off

[@YouSoundButtHurt]

She's not going to go out with you, mate.

[@egorillad]

Love watching the picking hand in your vids🤘🏽

[@frankiechan9651]

It's refreshing getting an Aussie point of view on guitars. I'm actually kinda surprised that YT hadn't put you in my feed/ suggested your channel earlier than this. GOC sending a whole replacement neck is awesome customer service, that was completely unexpected. Unfortunately, I'm unco enough with 6 strings, let alone 8 (although I have been considering picking up a 7 string)

[@dougc84]

I found your stuff on FB and was impressed by your playing, so I thought I'd check you out on YT. I'm glad I did. I've been trying to sell off a 7-string for a while to fund a GOC. I had a Strandberg OS8 before (that I stupidly traded off), and was concerned it was going to feel sub-par by comparison. I'm gonna tell the guy that really wants to trade me an Ibanez Iron Label to bugger off and wait for the GOC. Thanks for the awesome video and the actual review!

[@MicoOng]

You can string the GOC both ways. You can string it from the top, and you can string it through the tuners like a strandberg. For the bigger strings like the 7 and 8th, those have to be on top. They won't fit properly when stung thru.

[@Aaronitouse]

I recently got myself a GOC 8 String similar to the one in the video, I personally feel that GOC offers some of the best value on the market when it comes to 8 string headless guitars. Love mine

[@albertpeach]

I live in the US & wondering where you were able to purchase one. Did you get it from their website or through a dealer? Would appreciate any advice on getting one. Thank you.

[@tusharjamwal]

I really liked both sets of pickups, I prefer the stock ones for cleans and fishmans for the gain in this comparison

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

I think both pickups sound good. Just depends what you're looking for in the sound. I'd take the Fishmans as they're more to my taste, but I wouldn't complain about having the stock ones. Plus I've always been of the mind set that a tone should be sculpted around the specific guitar and pickups being used. I dial in my sound differently for different guitars, as each has their own characteristics. So I could probably dial in a tone with the stock pickups that I'd prefer.

[@jorgeh.fernandes1681]

pretty sick design!!! thanks for sharing!

[@guitashmurtz4772]

Thank you very much for this review. Have a nice day!

[@JohnReynolds1337]

Wow that riff is amazing

[@marzbitenhaussen]

excellent review and playing

[@aoi_bleu]

I bought a 6-string GOC Vajra which will arrive soon. It will be my second guitar after 10 years. In terms of sound quality it will be definitely an improvement for me. The comparison you made with the pickups was very good. Personally, despite some minor differences, I don't find any of the pickups to be better since it is a matter of the sound that one desires. They both sound nice!

[@ryshask]

I'm glad to see a strandberg knockoff... Means this guitar style is getting more popular and will be cheaper going into the future! I hope...

[@LucasLeCompteMusic]

They just launched a basic model that is under 1k. Strandberg that is.

[@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power]

People have been biting Strandberg for awhile now.

[@tonvks]

Just the audacity of calling them a "strandberg knockoff" 😂😂😂

[@Mega_trav]

Not a knockoff. Knockoff would imply that they copied the strandberg design. The body isn’t the same shape, the scale is different, placement of zero/neutral fret is different. If this is a strandberg knock off then strandberg is a steinberg knockoff dispute having a different design

[@hiveschool]

I love my GOC, I did have to send it to my local friendly luthier to get it set up correctly though 🙂

[@doctoribanez]

Tried to look them up but the website didnt work for me. Got the headless harley benton and ended up buying a lot of tools , pickups and a bridge lol. Could have just got something better, i like how its more compact to throw around but am really turned off that i had to do so much to it. I may get a keisel

[@kotekutalia]

Kiesel quality is good but Strandberg has a better body design allowing to sit in a classical position

[@aguyholding1024]

I have this guitar, same color as well. My truss rod is very difficult to turn as well. I messaged GOC and got the same "try harder" response. I bent the little truss rod adjustment tool that comes with the guitar. I think I got it to move a little using a different piece of metal I found that fit the truss rod adjuster, maybe like an 8th of a turn. I kind of gave up and it's good enough for what I do with it, just playing in my house. It is a little disappointing, cool to hear they were quick to replace your broken neck. For the tuners I put some PTFE washers on there that someone in the GOC Facebook group recommended and it made the tuners slightly easier to turn but yeah still not fun. My tuner knobs are also not perfectly straight and I think it's the 7th string tuner rubs a bit on one of the other strings tuners. Oh and my tuner knobs came in two styles like they ran out of one style and just grabbed something else, odd. The other thing about this guitar is the 0 fret on the higher strings always gets a little pit in it so if you do a bend it makes a little pining noise as it pops in and out of that pit. Maybe I should say some good things about this as well though. I love the neck, it is very thin and flat. The way strings are held with two screws at the top is great. I like the flush cut look so I put the strings in and put in the first locking screw, then I can bend the string up and cut them off so they fall back down under where the second locking screw goes in. Also just enjoy the lightness and compactness of the headless style guitar.

[@aguyholding1024]

Oh two more cons. 1. The little bridge poles that the strings rest in are quite sharp. It would be nice if they were a little rounded off. 2. The nut is extremely sharp in the corners. I had to file it down on the treble side as it was cutting my finger if I slid my hand towards the 1st fret and hit the nut. Still I should say I do like playing this guitar mostly because I like the neck and light weight.

[@kotekutalia]

Thanks for the unbiased review. Zero fret tends to wear down quickly, maybe that's why you get the pinging sound

[@aguyholding1024]

@@kotekutalia Yeah, the string is making a little groove in it. Some people in groups mentioned hitting it with steel wool when doing string changes. It’s just not my favorite feature haha.

[@stevenhardy8122]

The strings are so much more brighter : D

[@ChiefSpartan1]

Steinberger spirits also have the problem of stiff tuning machines.

[@zeronine-eightyfour]

My GOC Vajra also had a crack int he neck, the screw at the corner had a crack, luthier CNC-ed out the corner and glued in a new roasted maple piece and then drilled a new holes and installed threaded inserts. Also installed new pickups. The default pickups are trash. The guitar is a nice mod platform and overall workhorse. But it sounds so dead acoustically. It just doesn't have any life to it. The finish itself is not really good. So in the end, it is a nicely playing guitar due to the neck, with different pickups it sounds good as an electric guitar. But it is not close to any of my other guitars. The included pickguard was super flimsy and scratched up. So had the ESP custom shop making a pickguard for me. In the end decent guitar after pouring about 450 euro's into it.

[@Zigmeister67]

Do you still have the guitar you built? I think it was the tele. Replacing the one you had stolen. Do you ever play it? Great video v

[@JessWoess]

Yes I still have it! Pick it up every now and then!

[@matthewsantos2420]

hi, what about intonation do you need to still need to loosen or remove the strings?

[@Ronron1327]

How would I know?

[@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power]

I hear some "cafo" now, but was that piece at the beginning original? 🔥🔥

[@blackwind743]

Interesting. Balaguer Anamoly looks promising for the headless ergonomic fans also but paying 3500+ from the custom shop seems to be the only way to get one you want because there don't seem to be many in the wild.

[@javiercojoba]

What tunings are you using for 8 strings?

[@skullPUMP]

Stock pickups sound -great.-

[@trestabernae7250]

I would love to buy one of these eight-string guitars... but it's expensive 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@ninjabaker4601]

Prefer the moderns but still shocked at how good the stock pickups were

[@steveweilhart2359]

like the Tosin riffs (chords) in there - fishmans are better but the stocks are not bad

[@BrokenStrings231]

That's sick as fuck!

[@JoaoFerreira-fx3xp]

And of course you had to play some AAL on the 8 string!

[@Djentlicious]

🤩

[@leighton138]

im to poor for a strang i got me a 40 buck first act lol

[@jdoxpears]

Is there a reason why these things are so vague when it comes to placing orders? They have loads of models on the website but seemingly no purchasing options? I've only just encountered the brand through your video and they piqued my interest

[@BryanAdriano-m8h]

They always sell out

[@mappies123]

they only sell their stock on aliexpress and they're always limited run so it's pretty much a lottery on what models and what color will be available

[@FreddyGaming]

I huge advice that my tech gave me. If you want to have even more clarity and crystal clear sound disconnect the Tone pot. You will thank me

[@nickczarnickcovers]

🔥

[@keeprocking3620]

I love my GOC Materia, but tuners are just too damn stiff. To the point some of them start creaking when turning - and I'm not joking or exaggerating. Also, the bridge pickup is lovely and tight and sounds good both in full humbucke and coil split modes. But the neck one just lacks the highs. Don't like it for anything except high gain lead stuff.

[@BryanAdriano-m8h]

They have notches and those are meant for your guitar picks to turn. They now have PTFE washers which is similar with Strandberg and turns better, especially if you lube the mechanism. Their bridge stays in tune for a loooong time which i really like

[@keeprocking3620]

Yep, I also love the tuning stability. Check out their new locking saddles which will be released any time soon - they look really promising, especially for tremolo abusers. Mine came with the washers, but they don't seem to help, so tuning with a pick is the only way.

[@crossroadguitars]

ask the people from T4 m what they think of this GOC bridge

[@pakiw2]

Goc isn't bad. It's kinda on expensiver side of the things. But, 27 inch scale length that stopped me thinking of one.

[@NeilDjents]

Their newer ones will be 28-26.5 afaik

[@BryanAdriano-m8h]

GOC is by far the most affordable headless you can get that uses stainless steel parts on places that matters namely the headpieces. I cannot understand why some would use brass or aluminum to lock a heavy tensioned strings

[@1-eye-willy]

the bridge system on that guitar is 57$ on ali express

[@BryanAdriano-m8h]

That is a negative. I have several and they are their own. Feels stiff but use a pick and it holds tuning for weeeeeeeks

[@goodluck4037]

MY HEAD CANNON WAS THAT YOU WERE A MUTE! I HAD A WHOLE NARRATIVE CREATED AND AND AND YOUVE BROKEN THE REALITY MARBLE! NAAAAUUUURR! Also cool review

[@stevenhardy8122]

Just have to say it depending on what your playing new strings might not be your sound

[@halsinden]

REALLY liking your playing by the way. bit of a side point, but i thought at least to mention.

[@SinysterSoundsOfficial]

The Fishmans are definitely an upgrade. Aside from that I think the tuners just need to be completely replaced with a new brand, worst headless tuners I have used by far!

[@BryanAdriano-m8h]

Lube the mechanism and use a guitar pick to turn. Those knobs have notches for a reason

[@SinysterSoundsOfficial]

@@BryanAdriano-m8h Yeah... My point is, having to lube and use a tool to tune is not ideal. There are many options out there for headless hardware. For a $1K guitar they should be better. Once you get around $1,000 I don't really consider it a "budget" buy as there are many options around that price point.

[@kimseniorb]

two GOCs I had a “pleasure” of checking out had a neck bow around first 5 frets, unfixable by a truss rod. havent seen such a horrible qc in years. avoid

[@BryanAdriano-m8h]

That issue is supposed to be fixable by adjusting the trussrod.

[@kylanmcnichols6525]

Riffs in the beginning got a sub out of me. And girl players are hard to swing me over for whatever reason. Bad note choice? Not you. Killer.

[@AA-lj6dp]

Are you still single mam?

[@ChiefSpartan1]

Bruh.... Just go to shows and meet someone. Leave her alone.

[@GottaLookInwardToSeeOutward]

kiesels are did u get my email jess?