Vintage VE300 - Gloss Black

Vintage ve300

I really only bought the electric version of this model as I wanted a black guitar - the v300 model is only available in natural wood, blue or pink. The guitar arrived promptly. Guitar\'s finish was very pleasing - good quality, shiny black, nice detailing. Made in China, of course. . I did not like the brown colour of the pickguard - so removed it by masking paintwork, gently heating pickguard with a hairdryer and pulling gently - came off cleanly and easily; remove any residue with furniture cleaner. Now looks great! Unless you are a big strummer I wouldn\'t bother replacing it.
Action was a little high - but easy to change by removing the saddle and sanding the bottom on a flat surface (take your time - use trial and error - I took off about 2mm). Note: remove strings at bridge end by loosening machine heads - there is enough surplus string. Playability is now very good. The saddle is compensated and the intonation of my guitar is excellent.
The neck of the guitar is very good - well fretted; medium high frets, no sharp edges and the machineheads are of excellent quality. It also arrives with good quality \'light\' strings (D\'addario EJ16\'s I would guess) - surprsingly, you get very little information from the manufacturers eg there are no string recommendations (but I think I would stick to \'lights\'), and no explanation of the electrics etc.
I find the sound of this guitar very pleasing - although you should not expect a \'big\' meaty sound - it is a small bodied, parlour-sized, plywood guitar after all. The guitar is quite loud but lacks base somewhat; the higher end sounds good: clear trebles and not tinny. Sounds best played with a pick, but would make a good \'blues\' guitar fingerpicked.
The electrics are surprising good and more sophisticated than I had expected. They have no effect on the acoustic sound - I have compared with a friend\'s V300. Note: the light on the control box/equaliser on the guitar only comes on when the battery is fading.
I also have a high end Martin and, rather worryingly, I find myself grabbing for the Vintage first - that does not mean it sounds better! Just different.
This guitar is exceptional value for money and fun to have. You can\'t go wrong at this price.