Bad Aax SST13 Solid-Body Electric Guitar, Gold

I bought this as a project guitar, mainly for the body and the neck and I just couldn't resist the price tag ($89.95 at time of review). However I thought it would only be fair to give it a thorough test as it came out of the box for anyone else who may be interested. So, what exactly do you get for a $90 instrument?The finish on the body is beautiful and mine only had one small imperfection, a small spot where it looks like the gold undercoat dripped and pooled before being clear coated, but it was on the back near the bottom and honestly if I wasn't looking for it I probably never would have noticed. The neck is actual maple and the frets were even and smooth but I should point out that it was not clear coated. For me I love that it's bare wood, reminds me of old Stratocasters, and over time will smooth out and color from the oils and sweat from your hand to result in a very intimate look. But some players prefer coated, or at least coated and then scrubbed to a satin finish on the backside so it definitely worth mentioning.My guitar was also not set up from the factory. I had to adjust the truss rod and saddle screws on the bridge to prevent fret buzz. It also doesn't come with any tools so make sure you have a 3/16" allen wrench for the truss and a T6 Torx for the bridge saddles or you will never get it sounding right. However after some adjusting (took me about 20 minutes) I was ready to tune it up and see how she sounds.I was absolutely shocked at how great the tone was (keep in mind I'm reviewing this based on a $90 guitar). The SSS 5-way switch worked without static or feedback and all five were appropriately diverse. The pickups were also surprisingly quiet, I had expected a ton of feedback but all of the tones came through quite clear. I played clean on each pickup setting for about ten minutes each (sounded great) before throwing my board at it. Playing dirty it sounded great, too. Everything from my Tube Screamer, Boss DS-1 and NYC Big Muff played smooth and had no breakup whatsoever.So what did I get for a $90 instrument? A shockingly good one as it turns out.

The frets are sharp on the ends, you'll need to file them down. The nut was off and I shimmed it for now but will need to replace it. first e string rattled. Pickups seem fine, sound is great, it is heavy. Very nice looking and well worth the eighty I spent on the new one, with shipping. I don't mind that I will need to fix some things because overall the guitar is good.

Very crudely built.Unplayable because all of the frets had not been finished,and stuck out.And I do mean ALL of them.We all make mistakes.Dont buy this.I replaced the neck,and the electronics.For the money I spent on fixin it up,I could have bought something a lot better.You get what you pay for.

Everything was in great condition. Good neck, good frets. Everything worked right for me when I received mine.