Sometimes you get a good one. I bought one and did a set up it plays great. Bought another the paint is crap, plays like crap after set up. Just hope it makes good fire wood.
What I like about these guitars is they make a great beginning for a guitar build or mod because they have (full thickness bodies) that will accept full size trem blocks and are fully routed for modding, parts for it are super easy to find and popular mods are a new bridge with a full size trem block to improve sustain (>be sure to check string spacing, its different on american strats and asian strats) also new tuners, and the power jack plate has the cable sticking out at the wrong angle but new ones are not expensive. and again the body of this guitar is fully routed for any possible pickup combo of humbuckers and single coils etc.and the necks are generally good and playable.with the exception of some needing the frets ends dressed down. You can build a very good guitar from this and spend FAR less than the cost of an american made guitar.
Good vid on this guitar. I have been watching others, and looking at this one. I'm intrigued with the guitar - mostly because of the neck and body. They both look solid, and I dig maple fretboards. Harder to find axes that I like with them on it. And body is unique in color, for sure. So I may pick one up. Your tip on Walmart is great. I would mod this just for fun, most likely, and start by sanding the hook off the head-stock. Getting that to look nicer, and then prolly a loaded pick-guard and set-up. Could be a fun project, and I always like to have a couple projects going into the Fall.
These look like they would be a blast to mod. I have two Strats a custom that I built myself and an old Squier that I am constantly trying out new things on. If I can find one of these on sale, I'll pick it up and start flipping some of my old "loaded pickguards" and trems to see what I can get out of it. I really like the Blueburst finish, it looks like a great body to start a surf guitar! 🎸🌊
The holding screws on the tremolo are supposed to be loosened a quarter turn. However, you will be lucky if it stays in tune though. It is not a high quality tremolo. Mine had some fret sprout, but I am used to it since I live a warmer, more humid area than most. I blocked my tremolo for more resonance. It was playable, except for the strings out the box. I did lower the action and change the truss to get it as low as practical. It is a great modding guitar. I put some inexpensive S-90 pickups in it so that it has more tone that I want.
Nice job on this review Average Joe! I saw Braun's review and bought one for myself. The electronics are not very good at all, but I like the neck a lot. I believe it's flatter than a standard Fender Strat. Maybe not quite as wide? It seems that way to me, but I think the neck is perfect. I think the pickups are very low output, but I usually use an effects board anyway. My setup was good. The only problem was the frets were not polished at all. The frets ends were good though. I floated my bridge, but I like my strats that way. The bridge is definitely cheap. I'd advise anyone buying this to keep it and consider watch Darrell Braun's upgrade video for this guitar. Once he was done he had a MIM Fender Strat equivalent guitar for about $200 total.
I like my white example - (all the colors of the Cali special are the same exact guitar in different colors) - but mine came with sharp frets and the action was sky high, its gonna need a neck shim, but im not too upset the neck is really pretty nice the body is full dimension and will accept full size tone blocks without sticking out the back and everything is correctable with a good once over and set up. Consider it a "kit" guitar that can be upgraded to the level you desire, at the price theyre asking you really cant beat it as long as you understand what youre getting.
Buying it from WALMART was actually very smart because had something been damaged or wrong you could have just went to your local walmart and returned it for a refund. No shipping involved! I am getting a white one from walmart for the $79 on sale. Many keep forgetting we live in a age where guitars like this are 90% machine made. very little is done by the human hand on these. so they stay very consistent and. that is why they are so much better than they used to be years ago. years ago $79 would not get you anything decent that looked and sounded like a strat.
I bought the Indio Cali classic DLX and was disappointed in the strings distance from the frets. The California professional luthier did not do a good setup on the guitar, so I returned it. It would have been okay for a beginner guitar student, but a more professional guitarist would only be impressed by their price, but not impressed by the quality. You get what your pay for. You could spent a hundred dollars getting it repaired so it would be playable.
I see that some of those guitars are better then others, so it is a case of getting the luck of the draw as to whether or not you get a good one. Maybe you get lucky and got the one that was made correctly.
OK-here we go. I have this exact same guitar which arrived in Dec. 2020. I also got mine for $79.99 plus tx Monoprice. Mine had sharp fret ends -easily fixed. Tuners yes so-so-but I still have them and they are fine for me. New Strings a yes...no truss rod adjustment needed-tweaked the intonation ever so slightly and the Action was marvelous. A GIG BAG TOO? Yep. Light ax is a big plus. This Cali Classic Blue was my first Indio and I have ordered 2 more--a DLX Tele gorgeous and an Idyllwild A/E guitar. All on Sale. Would you buy a more expensive Indio electric in the future say a 66 or a DLX? They also have a Boardwalk 335 style at a higher retail. Do you have a 335 style like a Grote/Firefly/Indio? Your review was "spot-on" and will be of major help for those in the market for a fun, decent playing and sounding guitar. All the Best to you- keep the videos coming...stay safe.
Hey Dennis! I personally LOVE Monoprice guitars. I find them to be the best budget guitars in terms of build quality, bang for the buck and company support. I am currently looking at either an Indio semi-hollow or off-set P90 model.. I have an HSS strat on the way to me. Review will be forthcoming. Thanks again for your support.
@@AJgeartalk i couldn’t agree more on how we feel about Indio. I am concerned, maybe ‘spoiled’ is a better word, that they’ll raise their prices now that things economically here in the US have changed. I already see higher prices with Firefly and IYV although IYV has a major US distributor problem. My 3 Indio/Idyllwild purchases cost me roughly $323.00. Everyone came with a padded gig bag. The DLX quilted Top Tele which was $127.99, on sale back in July, is amazing. Only changed the strings and tweaked the intonation. I have heard wonderful things about the off-set Mustang style Indio too. I will look forward to your review of that guitar. If you are ever in the market for an acoustic/electric the one I got from Indio, maybe $116, is nice. It sure works for me. Budget A/E, but, as I always have said: “You let Clapton play it and you think you’d know the difference?” Lol. Stay safe and be well.🎸
@@dennismullin3052 I actually bought the Idyllwild Acoustic-Electric w/ Fishman electronics a few months ago. Got it on sale for $139 plus tax. Was a STEAL.
@@AJgeartalk lol-that beats my deal because you got the better acoustic electric. Oh well-good for both of us because these A/E’s are just terrific. Enjoy, Brother.🎸
Poor tuners on a China-made guitar are to be expected and the 'pots' will be small and cheap ones. Wilkinson tuners are about $25 brand new and made in S.Korea. Get the 19:1 ratio type. Full size CTS or Alpha pots are easy to find used and get them that way. Buy a can of electronics cleaner spray(NOT brake cleaner) for the pots and switch. 'Fret Sprout' is dry neck wood shrinking AWAY from the steel . I use 1/2 a wet sponge in the case all the time. Keep the guitar in the case all the time. A 3-corner file is cheap and you can smooth the corners of all the frets BEFORE humidifying it... this is basic stuff all guitar players learn fast.
Photos of this on Amazon and Ebay look like a 3 tone burst or fade, not a 2 tone burst. I got one just for the 3 tone burst, and was very disappointed at the 2 tone burst. Other than that its a decent strat clone at the $100 price range - but nothing special. You can get similar guitars w/ 24 frets on ebay for less. The only reason to buy it is if you want this exact color, or a headstock that says Indio classic. The neck might also be a bit thicker than your typical strat neck. Fret ends on mine are definitely rough. I stripped the body down to bare wood and refinished it in red stain. It should look good with the natural maple neck, and silver and white hardware. I build guitars as a hobby. If I were going to put the whammy on this, mods would likely include locking tuners, a roller nut, roller saddles, float the bridge, round the fret ends, roll the fretboard edge, roller trees, dual strap locks, hotrail pickups, and ernie ball extra slinkys.
"You gotta shop it" To suggest we have to shop for a better price on a hundred guitar is very funny to me! Are we all going to hell for buying instruments made by slave children? I hope they are high paid California union workers? Robots? What is happening? I want all the cheep awesome guitars!
It's all relative, people can live a good lifestye in Beijing, Shanghai, etc for $1K a month and for not much more a great lifestyle. As to the rest of it, most people in China are happier than the avergae American because they're living lives not consumed by division & ideology. How do I know this? I have a family member who lived there for a couple years, returned to the US and couldn't wait to go back. He said something to the effect that the concept or presence of government in your life was a non-issue, people could walk around in major cities in the midde of the night with zero fear of criminal, smoke weed even though it's looked down upon, etc etc etc. This was pre-pandemic but regardless, if the anti-China propaganda going on now is similar to before, it's not remotely reflective of how actual people living in China feel. I would venture that having the "right" to go on Twitter to rant about the latest Qanon conspiracy theory, Hunters laptop or make up stuff about government officials or other famous humans is vastly overrated. As to the other big China issue of educating Muslim sects to not be radical, it's probably a better approach than invading nations such as we did in Iraq. And most important, I have many Monoprice Indio guitars, they are phenomenal. There's nothing wrong with businesses who help bring the joy of music/art to all of us without extortion level prices. A more appropriate perspective would be appreciation which is actually what the Chinese people I know about would prefer. As I understand it they're quite mystified as to the bizarre reaction some Americans have towards them for providing goods they'd never be able to afford otherwise. Even the gurus from all traditions tell us appreciation is the cornerstone of happiness.
Sometimes you get a good one. I bought one and did a set up it plays great. Bought another the paint is crap, plays like crap after set up. Just hope it makes good fire wood.
What I like about these guitars is they make a great beginning for a guitar build or mod because they have (full thickness bodies) that will accept full size trem blocks and are fully routed for modding, parts for it are super easy to find and popular mods are a new bridge with a full size trem block to improve sustain (>be sure to check string spacing, its different on american strats and asian strats) also new tuners, and the power jack plate has the cable sticking out at the wrong angle but new ones are not expensive. and again the body of this guitar is fully routed for any possible pickup combo of humbuckers and single coils etc.and the necks are generally good and playable.with the exception of some needing the frets ends dressed down. You can build a very good guitar from this and spend FAR less than the cost of an american made guitar.
Do you know which guitar is better the retro classic or the cali SS?
Thanks for the review.
Good vid on this guitar. I have been watching others, and looking at this one. I'm intrigued with the guitar - mostly because of the neck and body. They both look solid, and I dig maple fretboards. Harder to find axes that I like with them on it. And body is unique in color, for sure. So I may pick one up. Your tip on Walmart is great. I would mod this just for fun, most likely, and start by sanding the hook off the head-stock. Getting that to look nicer, and then prolly a loaded pick-guard and set-up. Could be a fun project, and I always like to have a couple projects going into the Fall.
I got mine for $74.99 and I plan of modding it.
These look like they would be a blast to mod. I have two Strats a custom that I built myself and an old Squier that I am constantly trying out new things on.
If I can find one of these on sale, I'll pick it up and start flipping some of my old "loaded pickguards" and trems to see what I can get out of it. I really like the Blueburst finish, it looks like a great body to start a surf guitar! 🎸🌊
If you add a monoprice guitar to your watchlist on ebay they may shoot a discount offer to you.
The holding screws on the tremolo are supposed to be loosened a quarter turn. However, you will be lucky if it stays in tune though. It is not a high quality tremolo. Mine had some fret sprout, but I am used to it since I live a warmer, more humid area than most. I blocked my tremolo for more resonance. It was playable, except for the strings out the box. I did lower the action and change the truss to get it as low as practical. It is a great modding guitar. I put some inexpensive S-90 pickups in it so that it has more tone that I want.
Nice job on this review Average Joe! I saw Braun's review and bought one for myself. The electronics are not very good at all, but I like the neck a lot. I believe it's flatter than a standard Fender Strat. Maybe not quite as wide? It seems that way to me, but I think the neck is perfect. I think the pickups are very low output, but I usually use an effects board anyway. My setup was good. The only problem was the frets were not polished at all. The frets ends were good though. I floated my bridge, but I like my strats that way. The bridge is definitely cheap. I'd advise anyone buying this to keep it and consider watch Darrell Braun's upgrade video for this guitar. Once he was done he had a MIM Fender Strat equivalent guitar for about $200 total.
Excellent input George! Thanks for stopping by.
I like my white example - (all the colors of the Cali special are the same exact guitar in different colors) - but mine came with sharp frets and the action was sky high, its gonna need a neck shim, but im not too upset the neck is really pretty nice the body is full dimension and will accept full size tone blocks without sticking out the back and everything is correctable with a good once over and set up. Consider it a "kit" guitar that can be upgraded to the level you desire, at the price theyre asking you really cant beat it as long as you understand what youre getting.
when your done playing it you can open your beer
Buying it from WALMART was actually very smart because had something been damaged or wrong
you could have just went to your local walmart and returned it for a refund.
No shipping involved! I am getting a white one from walmart for the $79 on sale.
Many keep forgetting we live in a age where guitars like this are 90% machine made. very little is done by
the human hand on these. so they stay very consistent and.
that is why they are so much better than they used to be years ago.
years ago $79 would not get you anything decent that looked and sounded like a strat.
White Indio Cali Classic i scurrently listing for $99.99 on Walmart online. Where are you seeing it for $79?
I bought the Indio Cali classic DLX and was disappointed in the strings distance from the frets. The California professional luthier did not do a good setup on the guitar, so I returned it. It would have been okay for a beginner guitar student, but a more professional guitarist would only be impressed by their price, but not impressed by the quality. You get what your pay for. You could spent a hundred dollars getting it repaired so it would be playable.
I see that some of those guitars are better then others, so it is a case of getting the luck of the draw as to whether or not you get a good one. Maybe you get lucky and got the one that was made correctly.
This is my first electric guitar. Just bought it for fun. What is the significance of the 5 position pick up switch.
Different tones.
OK-here we go. I have this exact same guitar which arrived in Dec. 2020. I also got mine for $79.99 plus tx Monoprice. Mine had sharp fret ends -easily fixed. Tuners yes so-so-but I still have them and they are fine for me. New Strings a yes...no truss rod adjustment needed-tweaked the intonation ever so slightly and the Action was marvelous. A GIG BAG TOO? Yep. Light ax is a big plus. This Cali Classic Blue was my first Indio and I have ordered 2 more--a DLX Tele gorgeous and an Idyllwild A/E guitar. All on Sale. Would you buy a more expensive Indio electric in the future say a 66 or a DLX? They also have a Boardwalk 335 style at a higher retail. Do you have a 335 style like a Grote/Firefly/Indio? Your review was "spot-on" and will be of major help for those in the market for a fun, decent playing and sounding guitar. All the Best to you- keep the videos coming...stay safe.
Hey Dennis! I personally LOVE Monoprice guitars. I find them to be the best budget guitars in terms of build quality, bang for the buck and company support. I am currently looking at either an Indio semi-hollow or off-set P90 model.. I have an HSS strat on the way to me. Review will be forthcoming. Thanks again for your support.
@@AJgeartalk i couldn’t agree more on how we feel about Indio. I am concerned, maybe ‘spoiled’ is a better word, that they’ll raise their prices now that things economically here in the US have changed. I already see higher prices with Firefly and IYV although IYV has a major US distributor problem.
My 3 Indio/Idyllwild purchases cost me roughly $323.00. Everyone came with a padded gig bag.
The DLX quilted Top Tele which was $127.99, on sale back in July, is amazing. Only changed the strings and tweaked the intonation.
I have heard wonderful things about the off-set Mustang style Indio too. I will look forward to your review of that guitar.
If you are ever in the market for an acoustic/electric the one I got from Indio, maybe $116, is nice. It sure works for me. Budget A/E, but, as I always have said: “You let Clapton play it and you think you’d know the difference?” Lol.
Stay safe and be well.🎸
@@dennismullin3052 I actually bought the Idyllwild Acoustic-Electric w/ Fishman electronics a few months ago. Got it on sale for $139 plus tax. Was a STEAL.
@@AJgeartalk lol-that beats my deal because you got the better acoustic electric. Oh well-good for both of us because these A/E’s are just terrific. Enjoy, Brother.🎸
Thoughts on the thickness of the neck and weight? I'm looking for something thin and lightweight!
Neck is not "thin" in my opinion. Sort of a "full" C. Weighs around 8 lbs.
@@AJgeartalk Interesting... thanks.
Poor tuners on a China-made guitar are to be expected and the 'pots' will be small and cheap ones. Wilkinson tuners are about $25 brand new and made in S.Korea. Get the 19:1 ratio type. Full size CTS or Alpha pots are easy to find used and get them that way. Buy a can of electronics cleaner spray(NOT brake cleaner) for the pots and switch. 'Fret Sprout' is dry neck wood shrinking AWAY from the steel . I use 1/2 a wet sponge in the case all the time. Keep the guitar in the case all the time. A 3-corner file is cheap and you can smooth the corners of all the frets BEFORE humidifying it... this is basic stuff all guitar players learn fast.
Photos of this on Amazon and Ebay look like a 3 tone burst or fade, not a 2 tone burst. I got one just for the 3 tone burst, and was very disappointed at the 2 tone burst. Other than that its a decent strat clone at the $100 price range - but nothing special. You can get similar guitars w/ 24 frets on ebay for less. The only reason to buy it is if you want this exact color, or a headstock that says Indio classic. The neck might also be a bit thicker than your typical strat neck. Fret ends on mine are definitely rough. I stripped the body down to bare wood and refinished it in red stain. It should look good with the natural maple neck, and silver and white hardware. I build guitars as a hobby. If I were going to put the whammy on this, mods would likely include locking tuners, a roller nut, roller saddles, float the bridge, round the fret ends, roll the fretboard edge, roller trees, dual strap locks, hotrail pickups, and ernie ball extra slinkys.
The price is low in part because they pay their Chinese workers almost nothing....
Use it as a Wallhanger LoL !!!
"You gotta shop it" To suggest we have to shop for a better price on a hundred guitar is very funny to me! Are we all going to hell for buying instruments made by slave children? I hope they are high paid California union workers? Robots? What is happening? I want all the cheep awesome guitars!
Not exactly sure what your point is here- but "ok".....
It's all relative, people can live a good lifestye in Beijing, Shanghai, etc for $1K a month and for not much more a great lifestyle.
As to the rest of it, most people in China are happier than the avergae American because they're living lives not consumed by division & ideology.
How do I know this? I have a family member who lived there for a couple years, returned to the US and couldn't wait to go back.
He said something to the effect that the concept or presence of government in your life was a non-issue, people could walk around in major cities in the midde of the night with zero fear of criminal, smoke weed even though it's looked down upon, etc etc etc.
This was pre-pandemic but regardless, if the anti-China propaganda going on now is similar to before, it's not remotely reflective of how actual people living in China feel.
I would venture that having the "right" to go on Twitter to rant about the latest Qanon conspiracy theory, Hunters laptop or make up stuff about government officials or other famous humans is vastly overrated. As to the other big China issue of educating Muslim sects to not be radical, it's probably a better approach than invading nations such as we did in Iraq.
And most important, I have many Monoprice Indio guitars, they are phenomenal. There's nothing wrong with businesses who help bring the joy of music/art to all of us without extortion level prices.
A more appropriate perspective would be appreciation which is actually what the Chinese people I know about would prefer. As I understand it they're quite mystified as to the bizarre reaction some Americans have towards them for providing goods they'd never be able to afford otherwise. Even the gurus from all traditions tell us appreciation is the cornerstone of happiness.