Gift from a Friend who just got back from China

I am sure it looks good in this picture. Trust me, close up, it doesn't look as nice.

My friend recently got back from a working trip in China. He was kind enough to buy me a souvenir from China. A Al Dimeola PRS copy. Point to note; I am not endorsing copies and not encouraging in general but this is what to expect when getting one of these Chinese copies.

1. Expect the frets to be uneven.
2. Expect low end pickups.
3. Expect low end electronics.
4. Expect low end hard ware.
5. Expect painting imperfections everywhere.
6. Even though it looks like Mahogany under the clear, it might just be a veneer on the top. Underneath it can be Basswood or Plywood.

This souvenir was an eye opener for me. I wanted to know how bad these guitars can get to compared to even the Made in China branded offerings such as Squier and Ibanez Gios. Well, these guitars look good from really far. If you aren't one to tinker your instrument, I highly suggest never to step into this realm. As a matter of fact, I don't encourage anyone out there to part their money for replicas unless you want it purely just for the looks.

Anyway, my friend was kind enough to get me one of these knowing of my crazy obsession with electric guitars and my recent new found love for the Latin Jazz Fusion guitarist. I had to at least make it playable. After my tinkering, the guitar is actually pretty playable. Well, at least to my ridiculous level of standard. There are a lot of mods which I have done to it to make it playable. The next few post will purely be about how I DIY and make this guitar playable. To be continued.

P.S. AGAIN, I DO NOT ENCOURAGE ANYONE OUT THERE TO GET THESE AS REPLACEMENTS. THIS POST IS PURELY FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE AND THE SOUVENIR IS PURELY TO SATISFY MY CURIOSITY.