NGD Xaviere XV 620

[bluesbishop]

I will be honest....I wasn't expecting much. I'm 49...I have had TONS of guitars in my life. Until recently I had nothing but Custom Shop instruments, with my favorites being my Gibson Art and Historic R0 Les Paul and My Fender CS 51 Nocaster Relic....but after a LONG drawn out divorce after 20 yrs of marriage and then losing my job this year...well...my gear had to be sold to survive....just stuff.

I still had one Vintage Amp...My old Blackface bassman...and things have been turning around latley....so I was getting a jones for a new guitar, but still did not want to spend alot, and wanted to take a plunge slowly..... don't know if I will ever spend what I once did on equipment.

After some research it was between the Xaviere and the Rondo SX...but the Xaviere won out due to a better nut, better pickups...and I'm a HUGE Zeppelin fan and I thought it would give a better Page vibe.


The Pros: The color is gorgeous....Mine is candy apple red with a rosewood neck....and the color is a true candy....you can see the gold metal under the red....nice. Photos..( and the ones from my iphone aren't that great) don't do the color justice.

Neck is nice...but not Tele like...think more 80's Jackson or Charvel..wide radius...not a deep neck, but wide...nice and flat...effortless bends.

Set up out of the box...not bad! Intonation...spot on...action could be a tad lower for my liking ( I play 9's or even 8's...LOW.... remember..I'm a PAGE fan!)..strings kinda suck....hardware looks good...and even my ash tray from my old CS fits it well. Pots work well.

Bridge pick up...pretty good! way better than I though...I may even keep it!
Neck....not to crazy about...but I prefer more "stratish" tones from the neck....not typical tele tones...may try the Fat Pole in the neck.

Plugged into the Bassman biased to run 6V6's, an some old Mullards with my Nobels Overdrive, it sounds WAY better than the price point would suggest...IMO...better than the MIM Teles...

The Cons:

Ok..this is a BIG one. the finish looks GREAT from a foot way...but upon close inspection...MAJOR finish flaw....when you tilt the guitar you see ripples...and not just replaces...looks more like slices under the top coat....like someone was trying to relic the guitar....vertical lines...about 1/2" or so apart....when you run your fingers lightly over the top you feel them...like speed bumps......

Neck pickup...mentioned above...not my favorite...will be replacing

On a positive note.....is this a deal breaker for me? No...Guitar fetish has good customer service and I could get a refund or exchange id that is what I was looking for. Truth is I bought this as a player...to bring back some joy on my life of something I have been doing since I was a pre teen.....I bought this to made mod...maybe try to relic ...and if that didnt wrok out well...maybe even refinsh.....why? Its a under $200 guitar. I dont sweat small the small stuff....most wont even notice the flaw unless I hold it up to the light right and point it out....

What I gained was a nice player with a good sound....and what Ive learned after losing so much in my life is that name on the head stock don't matter, cost...doesn't matter.....how does it make you feel?...does it inspire you to play? ....This guitar wins on both accounts for me...Thanks Xaviere!

(Sorry for the poor photos....will take better photos with camera later and add)

image removed

image removed

 

[bender-freak]

I bought one in a copper finish some time back, and found the same issue with the finish as you describe. I decided to keep it, cause, like you this is a "beater/pack-around/grab and go/ who cares if it gets dinged" guitar. Playability is pretty darn good after spending some time and effort doing a setup and a few "tweaks and bangs" here and ther. Well worth the money, IMO.

Was gonna put up a pic, but I see they changed how PhotBucket works.....again....so I will have to figure out how to do it all again....GGGRRRRR

 

[bender-freak]

Got the new PhotoBucket thingy fingered out ....I HOPE. Anyway, the "ripples/lines" in the finish are only visible when the guitar is held at a certain angle. It wasn't bad enough for me to wanna mess with sending it back. Absolutely NO ONE who has picked it up and played it has noticed the flaws at all.....'cept me The "bad" places are between the control plate and the bridge.

 

[bluesbishop]

That cooper color looks pretty sweet...I wonder if it only a issue with those colors that use a metallic paint?? My Candy Apple red metallic per there website says " "Candy Apple Red" finish is the real deal- A white guitar sprayed Metallic gold with red Candy over the top"

Wonder if is due to the metallic flake paint, and improper cure times? I haven't heard about this issue in other colors.

But really love that cooper....I think I'm gonna try the brown shoe polish trick on the head stock...on crazy about the color...but the new head stock shape is much netter than the old shape.

 

[mindwave]

glad you like yours, I have 2 a 550 (semi hollow LP) and a strat copy

the 550 is one of my favorites nd one of my only un modded guitars

the strat i ought specifically to md, and since then I have played it to death and loved every minutye of it

my 550 was new and had no finish flaws I have found, the strat was used, so hard to tell what came with it and what came along the way

j

 

[bluesbishop]

A follow up from John at Guitar fetish. GREAT Customer service. Offered refund or exchange....I wrote and said it was not needed.....I did tell him I was interested in another guitar...he told me when I was ready to purchase to email him directly so he can go hand select for me.....

After day two..really diggin this guitar....very comfortable to play...and nice THICK tone....it seems pretty well matched with the 66 Bassman...when I push the amp to break up...and then push it over the top with my Nobels Overdrive....wow...very responsive...

now deciding if I want one of there LP copies or a Agile....both seem to have pros and cons...

 

[nadzab]

My Candy Apple red metallic per there website says " "Candy Apple Red" finish is the real deal- A white guitar sprayed Metallic gold with red Candy over the top"

I really have to wonder if that's true...that's a lot of paint labor for such an inexpensive guitar, as opposed to just shooting a single-stage metallic red.

 

[bluesbishop]

I really have to wonder if that's true...that's a lot of paint labor for such an inexpensive guitar, as opposed to just shooting a single-stage metallic red.

I can give you my opinion only..as I did not build nor paint this....BUT i have had several custom Harleys....and my last was a 1956 Custom panhead with a custom Candy paint job.....and that's exactly how we painted my bike....white, gold and then House of Colors Candy Brandy Wine....and I can tell you the effect was exactly the same....same type of depth, same type of metallic effect under the paint....

I can't see a one step process that would work for a Candy color

 

[bendecaster]

Is that the shape of the headstock? Very Tele-ish!

Hey wait, isn't the 620 a semi-hollow/Thinline?

 

[bendecaster]

Oh, that's an 820.

 

[mindwave]

having owned a 1/2 dozen agiles, if youre going to go w/ rondo go 3000 or above, his 2000's are great startes and at 199 they were perfectly priced

the 2500's i bought ONLY because I couldnt get the configuration elsewhere for less $, otherwise they are really not much improvement of the 2000's

the 3000 and above (specifically the 3100) is where they pull ahead

mt 2 cts

 

[bluesbishop]

Is that the shape of the headstock? Very Tele-ish!

Yep...they redesigned the headstock from that ugly head stock they had in the past to a more "Tele-ish" head stock shape...much more pleasing....and much closer to the fender shape we all love

 

[dqami]

A follow up from John at Guitar fetish. GREAT Customer service. Offered refund or exchange....I wrote and said it was not needed.....I did tell him I was interested in another guitar...he told me when I was ready to purchase to email him directly so he can go hand select for me.....

After day two..really diggin this guitar....very comfortable to play...and nice THICK tone....it seems pretty well matched with the 66 Bassman...when I push the amp to break up...and then push it over the top with my Nobels Overdrive....wow...very responsive...

now deciding if I want one of there LP copies or a Agile....both seem to have pros and cons...

I would have negotiated a partial refund since it would cost them to ship back and restock and sell for less as a blem.

Glad you like your Xaviere! I had a couple of the thinline style; one w/ Dream 180s which didn't sound good and another w/ the P90s which I still own and enjoy.

 

[caterwaul]

Is that the shape of the headstock? Very Tele-ish!

Hey wait, isn't the 620 a semi-hollow/Thinline?

Yes, that is the model for that guitar, which is what brought me here... then I was like "Hey, this isn't my guitar !" ha For the viewers/readers, 820 is the model the gentleman has posted about

That John guys customer service is heaps better than Jay's. I was wanting to return mine as well, but just seeing his advice (which was what I was already contemplating, as well as those I seeked opinions from) made me feel rather optimistic. By the way, did you know GF has a warranty on their guitars ? I did not know that. John informed me. Anyway, I'm glad the original poster is (more) pleased w/ his guitar.

P.S. The gentleman w/ the copper tele ? (it's) SWOONY !
cheers