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CHEAPEST Guitar I've Tried (Donner Strat Pack)
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- čas přidán 16. 01. 2022
- CHEAPEST Guitar I've Tried (Donner Strat Pack)
How much do you get when you buy the most budget guitar set you can find? That's what I'll be doing today, checking out the Donner Stratocaster electric guitar strater pack (the Donner DST-100). It costs next to nothing, and comes with everything you could need to get started. But that means nothing if it's all rubbish, so let's see if it is.
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That little amp didn't sound bad at all, in my opinion. If I was a kid and I got that as a first guitar, I'd be over the moon! You should SEE what we had for beginner stuff when I was a kid in the late 70's! My first guitar was a Teisco-type 'finger-destroyer' guitar from Japan with only 1 single-coil pickup!
It don't matter how good or crap a guitar is, your playing makes any guitar sound great! You are the man!!! 😁
It's that way with ANYBODY. Eddie Van Halen created a guitar out of a 'rejected' body, a neck he found on a classified ad, and parts he scrounged up. He changed rock guitar forever with it - and it cost him well under $250 to put the guitar together. A guitar is only as good as the person playing it. Wood means nothing more than stability, names on headstocks mean zero, what you paid for it means zero. Everything important happens before the guitar (you) and after (your amps/effects).
I like a quote i read a year or so ago....
It's the carpenter, not the tools. Works here.
@@glenkepic3208 Exactly!
@@Axess-sv8nq very well said!! 💯
@@lucassmith1319 Thank you, Lucas!
After being in the music business for decades, I know a LOT of people who own guitar shops. Even the high priced Gibsons, Fenders, PRS, and 'boutique' guitars come in with fret sprout sometimes. Wood is wood. Paying a higher price doesn't save you from fret sprout and wood issues. There are tons of variables with wood which can alter it.
Indeed. A local guitar set up man said this to me recently. On a side note, he couldn’t believe the quality of the Jet JS300 he set up for me.
Yeah, I don't understand this bullshit about fret sprout. I've had fret sprout on expensive guitars I've bought. I also think it's bullshit to talk about guitars not staying in tune! I mean wood moves in different humidity conditions so it's going to go out of tune unless you find a way to keep all the humidity from reaching the wood.
@@joeking433 Also, a guitar going out of tune usually means one or both of these things: 1. The nut slots aren't smooth enough (or cut right). 2. The string slack hasn't been stretched out enough. Strings go slack even if they've been on a guitar for months.
@@Axess-sv8nq But my point is that every guitar will go out of tune with humidity changes. You can tell if a nut slot is the problem, when you turn the tuner it doesn't change pitch immediately.That is very rare.
Go in guitar center to shave the skin off your hand. They all are like Christmas trees
I bought this same kit in black and it was a great deal for the money. I have three Donner's and fret spout was never an issue on mine. Then again, I live in California and the guitars ship from a distribution center about 40 miles away. I ended up replacing the trem block with a full sized brass block, I swapped in a prewired pickguard with Alinco pickups and all new electronics, added a bone nut, roller string trees and locking tuners. The best part of the kit for me is the amp. I use it when buying used guitars. I can pull it out and test that everything works on the spot.
Brother, absolutely love your reviews, keep doing what you do, it’s honest and very inspirational. Love and peace from Sydney, Australia.
Cheers!
I have little fret sprout on my Fender player so... It happening sometimes. Nothing to worry about. It fan be fixed by 15 min. With Simple tools
When I was starting out (many years ago!) I would have killed for a guitar like that! Got to add.. I love your sense of humor and your playing. And I still think you have the best guitar face on the internet!
Cheers!
It was my only chance to get an affordable guitar with all the accessories. Kinda lucky there's low budget guitar like those. Yes I don't recommend that for a professional musician but for a guy like me where every penny count, that's perfect
I have one in the trunk of my care and a Donner Tele behind the seat of my truck.
I swear, the more they get bounced around and junk piled on them, the better they play and sound. I live in the Mojave Desert ( a little dry) so I did get some fret sprout ( cured with a fingernail file) .
I have Zero complaints and bonus, I bought them a year before the pandemic and they were less than $80USD delivered.
Here’s the best part… they both play exactly the same notes as my $2,000 Fender… who knew!
Good honest and fair review!!!
I use a sanding sponge on any fret sprout I encounter. It works very well and is fast. You don't even have to apply much pressure on it. Up and down the neck at a 45 degree angle with a sanding sponge takes care of most fret sprout - in my experience.
That might be an idea for guitar compagnies: a car trunk simulator which shakes them for some days! 😂
@@carlosclaptrix
You may be on to something brother!
My first electric guitar cost me just over £100 back in 1970 after much saving. It was a lot of money for a young man back then. Fast forward to 2022 and £100 (now worth not very much) buys you not just the guitar but all that kit as well ! Pickups were a bit nasty but for the price an absolute bargain and unlike most 1970's cheapo's playable as well.
That's something we tend to forget. Sure, this is not the best stuff but for the money... the guitar even looks kinda pretty.
And that little amp, what can you expect? It runs on battery, so it is portable. And compared to the cheap amps in the past that had the sound and stability of a shoebox it is pretty decent.
A friend of mine bought a comparable set back in the late 80s maybe early 90s at a similar price. After about a month the amp committed suicide and fell apart (which was the best it could do). The guitar wasn't the worst, it had lots of rough and sharp edges and the pickups were really not the best.
Yeh - Mr. internet tells me that 1 British lb was worth 2.4 US dollars back about that time. It further says that with inflation that an equivalent value today is 1582 British lbs. So 2.4 X 1582 British lbs = $3797 dollars in today's value. That is a lot of money. It makes the Donner red Chinese guitar somewhat more impressive. Good review - good playing as always.😊
@@daniellarson3068 Hi Dan lbs isn't used as a substitute for £'s. However feel free to use: pounds, quid, bob and squids.
@@ACIDICMELTD0WN Thanks - I was too lazy to get the symbol. I've never been to England, but I kind of like the Beatles. **** OK I fixed it. - I'd never heard the "squid" expression. I guess I need some culture. All I've ever dealt with are US and Canadian currency. Seems like another reason to see the world.****
I was having a crappy day at work until I saw your ”unboxing" video.
Always glad if I can brighten someone's day :)
This is my favorite review from you! I love your playing, your analysis of the guitar's good points and flaws, and your expressions as you do!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great !
I love cheap stuff.
Nice little rig.
man,,,,i try to think back to a drug store selling Teisco guitars from like $34.95 in the late '60s.
Niche market now but they weren't very good guitars.
Crazy what can be bought now.
Hell, i'd have loved that little amp back in '72 at 15. I played thru my stereo, preamp and head phones, yes Audition/Teisco 'jag alike' before i finally bought an amp a year or so later. Records one side, guitar the other. Gotta start somewhere ;)
Rock on !
I saw someone who got one free by Donner and bought one ... and both were identical ... that surprised me when I saw that. You are totally right about the fret sprout,but I saw a Squier Strat with even more sharper fret who cost twice as much as the Donner, so I think it's a great guitar for the price. Also, the pick up aren't micro-phonic so it's better then other brand in my opinion. Yes, I'll give you a high quality guitar and you'll feel the difference on the weight, the finish ... but for a guy like me who doesn't have lot of money and wanted to start with guitar, I think it was OK. On what I saw on CZcams, most of musician says that a great amp change everything. Someone tried a cheap amp with a high professional guitar and cheap guitar on high quality amp. The better result was the cheap guitar on the great amp. So, I bought a amp with included pedal function so I'll save some bucks.
I didn't played a lot, watch many video on CZcams. I'm really passionate about the technicality of the guitar, so I'm kinda of a guitar geeks more than a musician. After the few times that I've played with it, I discovered that I prefer the humbucker sounds. So, If someday I got money or been lucky in a draw, I would get a guitar with 2 humbuckers.
For a beginner it's kinda a safe investment. Most of the music store around my place got 1 or 2 low budget guitar because they can't make as much profit than an expensive one. You can also change the pick up for better quality if you wanna do your own modification. Also my blue Donner strat adorn my room on a nice wall support, as it self, it's a nice art master piece. So for 115 EU (paid 215 CAD) it's a no-brainer for beginner
I don't put the whammy bar, I knew with that type of bridge, it's not "really" made for lot of whammy and people gave me advise of changing strings and that made a really difference.
Just got mine the other day. Luckily, no noticeable fret sprout at all. Although, the string action is a little bit higher on the high frets than the low frets.
But then, I'm just a beginner who has just been watching videos for months and finally took the plunge into actually buying a guitar.
Knowing piano kinda helps me learn quicker, I gotta say.
Another Elmo video to have my morning coffee with. One of the best ways to start the day. :)
Glad you enjoy :)
God I'm blessed ... I really wanted to see you review that guitar (that's what I own) and today I just watch other of your video and just found out that one. Can't thanks you enough !!!
I don't know if it was one of my comments that make you bought it but you are so amazing !!!
I have one coming today . Had eBay sale 70 bucks shipped . Got to mess with and give to my son . He’s learning bass and got a Epi and littler Fender bass amp . Got him this to mess around with .
Donner is a family name from Finland. I think it was Jörn or his brother who started Love records recording studio and publisher company.
Another very good video, Elmo, and a lot of fun for us guitar nerd types! But then... your vids are always a lot of fun. Keep the good stuff coming, Brother! As for these Donner Strats, I think they are an amazing value. I have one in Lakeshore Blue (light metallic look). It's not a Fender American. But the thing is actually a heck of a guitar - and for the price, I don't see how you can beat it. I bought a second one for my Daughter. Same. It was maybe even better than the first. I am really liking this red one. Stunning! I like what Donner is putting out right now. Can't beat these... for the amount of cash they ask, and I also think they are GREAT mod platforms. Yes - costs more to change things out - but modders can spread the cost out that way too. OK - Good stuff. Peace, love and happiness to you and the people you care about - from the USA.
Thanks! Take care :)
To be fair, that mini amp really issnt the worst I've ever heard! 😂
That's true. I've heard worse as well.
Not as out of tune as I thought it would be! Not a bad guitar for a beginner, pretty nice.
Ha! Love the bag on the frets lol.
Good Morning mate. Thanks for the video, I’m way to pleased with my JS300 which is a genuine corker of a guitar. Full set up, electrics swapped out for a set of Alnico5s, wiring loom pots and switch from a newer Fender Player Strat ! On a side note, I have a feeling you can make a cricket bat with a few strings on sound amazing. Take care mate.
Take care :)
I got one of these in the local Cash Converters.
It was for sale at £30, couldn't resist.
It's a great guitar, put some good strings on it and sort out the nut and it transforms it.
Nice video. You really make that guitar sing. I've always had a soft spot for any musician who isn't wrapped up in the quality or looks of an instrument. (Willy Nelson is one).
Thankyou for sharing.
I bought Donner's 12" pedal cables. They are decent, and so is the price.
That head-stock shape looks remarkably like the Harley Benton.
Great playing!
Cheers!
Lol ! This mini amp sounds better than the CODE 50 :')) !
But that's not saying much :D
for that kind of money , Ibanez GRX 40 for the win , but I actually liked the amp , I am sure it would surprise you if you connected it to a big speaker
For a lot less money- Indio for the WIN!
Jostain syystä tuli ekana mieleen Jörn Donner hehe.
Melkoinen kokonaisuus tarvikkeita jos nuo kaikki ostaisi erikseen.
Mun laskukoneella reilusti yli tuon paketin hinnan.
Ite ostin viulu kitin aikoinaan 50€. Siinä oli kanssa "sälät" mukana. Jopa kukkakuvioitu kansi kuten kukka Jem kitarassa.
Se jopa toimii ja ihan ok soundi. Talla piti muotoilla matalammaksi. Kielet oli sen sentin korkealla puolivälissä kaulaa.
And a wild Miracle Man shows up. What a pleasant surprise.
:)
Hey, not bad. I was listening to a Roger Daltry interview and he was talking about how he made his first few guitars. If someone wants to make music, just start making music.
finally someone who isnt sponsored by donner
They did try to sponsor me :D
I have 3 Donners, the HH tele thinline, the HSS Strat, and the Donner Special. The Special is the best of them, but for the price, you can do much better.
I guess Harley Benton is pretty high in terms of price quality ratio. I got a really good HB SC450 plus, put Tonerider AC2 pickups in it and it's simply gorgious. Also bought recently a S620 TR, sanded the neck to a thinner profil, put a Tonerider Generator in the bridge, an old Epiphone pu in the neck, then a back box in the floyd rose - it plays and sounds fine and stays in tune forever.
I just commented about that newer version donner. I saw one brand new for 80 in a pawn shop today. It had the vintage tuners an that Seeker name on it. Nut looked like it had never been played. Right by it is the Yamaha version for like 120. How does the new donner play ? I did a few upgrades to mind. Let me know. Monoprice is half the price an more like a fender.
I did a review on the Donner DLP which was surprisingly good. Nice video man! 🤘
Cheers!
Great demo review as always! This would be great for someone just starting out. Too bad Donner wasn't around in my early years.
Yeah, these beginner guitars are so much better these days.
Sounded good for a guitar just over £100
However if any wants a guitar for just under £200 with locking tuners and is hss and sounds ridiculously insane as stock pickups I recommend Bax music - Fazley Phynica HSS strat flame top
I bought a LyxPro Tele on Amazon for $100. It's probably not the best $100 guitar out there but I leveled the frets and they really were good with only a few mildly high frets (actually much better frets than the Ibanez artcore Semi hollow body I just bought!). And even with the cheapest Chinese parts it sounds as good as my expensive guitars to me.
How do you not get fret sprout??? Is it a matter of using wetter woods or something? I've had fret sprout on expensive guitars, too!
Herman Li also tested the same thing 😁
One thing is that even the budget guitars are getting better, but this would be good to learn to your own mods and setups, the body colour is nice, and your playing Elmo could make any guitar sound great, Elmo not sure if you can get them in Finland but try the Vintage JHS brand guitar here in the UK, their brilliant ,
Been looking at them.
Ha-Ha-Ha....Elmo you are insane....and I love it. Great vid and I'm not surprised at anything you found negative about this verrrry inexpensive guitar....lots of higher priced guitars suffer from the same challenges.....especially heavy wammy bar use and a tight nut.....loved your playing and honest review....Happy New Year from sunny California, USA....I look forward to seeing more of your vids....
Thanks! Happy New Year!
I have tried Glarry, Grote, and Harley Benton, in this new Cheap Guitar Renaissance - Grote 335 copy is a work of art, HB Teles are as good as Fenders, Glarrys... are good starter guitars, or up for mods. Still good for the money, used them for a couple of my vids, but the pickups are muddy.
Try an Indio by Monoprice, better than Grote, Glarry or recent HB's.
I've had mine (DST-100) for 4 yrs and to me it's a darn good guitar. I had to do a complete setup however, including much fret work, but after time it settled into a nice player.
Elmo said if you or ordered 10 guitars they'd all be of differing quality. He's probably right.
But it's woth giving it a shot. Return it if you don't like it. There's nothing to lose if you get it from Amazon with their liberal return policies. BTW I got the yellow. Very nice!
looks like a harley benton st20. same headstock. the same guitars get sold in australia with other brandname.
Thanks for the video Elmo I always enjoy your reviews this one is no exception thoroughly enjoyed it your playing is awesome brother!✌️❤️🎸🎵🎶
Thank you!
I think I will buy a Harley Benton TE 62, good tuners, a new tele bridge, tusq nut and a set 7ender tele PUs. For about 350€.
Very cool. I just noticed and learned something. I’m not sure if I’m explaining it properly but I think you bend from the Maj 6th to th7 or … but m not see if I’m saying it correctly. You bend say if you’re playing in in “A” from F# to G. That’s a nice bend. I would always take the obvious G to A. That’s a good little bend right there. Thanks for that.
Cool! Glad to be of help :)
Hi Elmo, nice video. Have you considered reviewing harley benton's fusion iii? or the Larry Carlton S7? Those are great bang for buck guitars too, and I'd love to hear your opinion on them. Have a nice day
Thanks! Already filmed a vid on the Fusion III. Looking at trying an S7 in the near future.
Great vid as always Elmo
Cheers!
Not terrible. A bargain for a beginner! You never know when dealing with a beginner if they will stick with it or toss it in under the bed. Then you are not out much money! 🤣👍
Did you heard from the Sire S7? 499€, good pickups and rosted maple neck.
Been thinking of trying one.
Brother… you make any guitar sound great… have a great day…
Cheers! Take care.
Apologies --eyesight @ 74 rather poor --caps lock helps me SEE !---Found Donner website---not too bad --many similar websites --ok for beginners --good old 62 Stral I.of mine -- still the best ---until you burn it !! like Jimmy did !
you're the greatest guitar player I have listen to. great video!
Thank you very much! That's some praise :)
Elmo, please do a review of a SX strat! The models are: SST-57 (maple), SST-62 (rosewood?) fretboards. Would be very interesting to compare them to a classic vibe for example. They aren’t that expensive, can be had for around 150€, new.
Looks like an ebony fret board - Cool
Another decent review, thx. This little thingy sounds pretty decent even the attached amp is not too bad, even for a new starter.... Elmo, it might be only me but I would really love to hear some REALLY CLEAN tones not only the slight overdrive from your Plexi. I really appreciate you try to cover al these budget ones. I am wondering if you could give a go with BAX music`s own Fazley ones. I found strat copies with Wilkinson hardware and pups for around £100, which is a great deal if it works how it should. I look forward to your next video.
Cheers! I've thought about that (the clean), but that would mean changing amps completely.
Probably using a plug in or a DAW just for the clean purposes might do the job... Just an idea...not the end of the world but for example a strat like comparison may would be even more comparable or distinctive
The amp sounds actually OK
Som alltid lika roligt att se och höra dina recensioner Elmo 👍👍Har du förresten provat HB.s billigaste ST modell? Harley Benton ST-20 BK Standard Series
Har inte testat den vad jag minns.
I still use my walmart generic branded strat, I've changed basically everything about it, but I still use it 😂
Thank you Elmo. Please try the Italian brand EKO, strat and tele. Good guitars for the price for me.
Will do!
@@MrPolevaulter Grande!
This guitar sounds way better than any of the low end squire stock. Even that little amp was more than ok for the price.
Squier
I agree
This is gonna be interesting~~
10:05 The reaction every guy has during his first prostate exam.
Or colonoscopy which I have been tens of times. But you got anesthetic cream, thank God.
Very good review.
Any chance to pick a traveler guitar and review it ?
Haha :D
Don't know about a travel guitar. There are so many regular ones to try.
Their mini pedals are better than the guitars. The single coils are worthless. The humbuck is decent. The tuners are garbage. You gotta drive the sheet out of it with a good amp or overdrives to get anything out of it for rock or metal. The frets are sheet. The trem will work but you will constantly be re-tuning. Its basically junk. For 70 more bucks you could get a Jackson or Ibanez. Dont buy it unless your gonna mod it
Edited, I saw their new upgraded 2022 model. Nice finishes, better necks, vintage tuners, coil split and a nice looking trem bridge. Might be worth asking for the new one. I did some things to my old one an i play it more now. The wood settled , truss adjusted right an frets got finally right. New locking tuners an crap, it will play fine now
Excellent review.
Glad you liked it!
So Jörn has now a guitar company in Chile?
:D
I got to give it to Elmo on the Whammy Bar Face... this guitar with a small amount of "Set-Up" work would be a good instrument for a starting player... this style/level of instrument is light years beyond the cheap entry level guitars of the early 1980's, when I first began playing... those were truly horribly made.
Yeah, in the '80's beginner guitars could be terrible.
You didn't mention this guitar have a coil split. But who cares really, don't think many will try this, since you bought it, so we don't have to. Cheers.
Cheers 😊
As far as I know this guitar doesn't have coil split. The 152 and 400 do.
Great channel man !!!!!!
Cheers!
Cool. Love your style playing. Why don't you try an Eart Guitar. That's a cheap guitar too.
Thanks! So much gear, so little time. I might at some point.
Good brand, what do you think of the eko aire relic? I would like to see this guitar in your channel
Haven't tried it. I did try one Strat by Eko, and it was pretty bad.
The Donna Kebab or a decent little guitar for someone ?
:D
try a glarry guitar. cheaper than donner
Looks better than my first guitar, looks aren't everything that's what I told her, ha..
Could you please review the dst 152?
Maybe. No plans at the moment to do so.
Definitely proper abuse of a whammy bar.
:D
You know what? God bless Donner. They really give it their all when they make something and they’ve made owning a decent instrument possible for a lot of people. They’ve got a really great electronic piano I’ve been seriously thinking about getting for the living room.
I like your review. Good work!
Did you review the silversky se? What do you think about this new version of silversky? A good Guitar or a good operation of marketing?
Thanks! Haven't tried that (yet).
Did I detect some Zakk Wylde? Miracle Man?
Yep :)
You must've been really insulted by the offer of a free keyboard as your disdain for the guitar is painfully obvious. You don't mention the fit and finish of the guitar or demonstrate the tones at each switch position etc. And that little amp! Am I missing a wind-up or something? I normally like your reviews Elmo but you seem to have a downer on the Donner. I may just get one now.
My mom told You to keep it down in there.
Perkele!!!
:D
Personally I'd rather buy a cheaper guitar and work on it/upgrade it.
SO HOW OR WHERE DID YOU BUY THIS GUITAR ??? AMAZON ?? E BAY. ?? NOTHING LISTED !!! YOU ARE KIDDING !
Yeah, I never list where I buy stuff, so as to not seem like I'm pushing the gear I'm reviewing. Just Googled Donner, and found their site and bought it from there. Go easy on your CAPS lock.
It sounded bad most of the time. I would pay 50% more for some harley benton
I'd pay 50% less for an Indio.
I got me a 50€ Vision strat from MSA via Ebay just to "jam" it into a full car trunk as we are going on vacation. So I didn't expect anything, I just wanted to have some practise on my vacation. BUT - surprise! - the neck and the fretboard are so good on this guitar that I spent another 50€ to get some nice single coil pickups from Ironstone (UK).
I am more than content with the instrument and just love the idea of not paying anybody for a name on the headstock.
Check out the sound:
czcams.com/video/jkMHlaEA4NU/video.html
czcams.com/video/E-LuxyuBeOg/video.html
Niente male l, te bravissimo. I
You're just looking to hate cheap guitars, Elmo.
So basically you kept $2500 in your pocket and 98% of your audience doesn’t know the difference!
?
@@MrPolevaulter basically you don’t need a $3500 guitar your playing is so good you could get by with a $150.00 guitar!!🙏🏻
@@1cleandude Thank you 😊
̶W̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶I̶t̶ ̶C̶h̶u̶g̶
Will It Sprout
:D
you get a donner bag so you can shroud your playing in secrecy
Sorry, I think this...in Italian language: è un catarro.
Ironically, your disciplined playing style fools the audience, most of whom I am guessing are not very close to your accuracy and execution level. If I played that same guitar, taken right out of your hands at that moment, they would hear what a sucky player can get out of it. And I bet it would still be pretty good. 😸🎸