Stellar Guitars?

[Robert Machado]

I'm not sure how I happened upon the Stellar Guitars website, but I did.
(www.stellarguitars.com) Actually, now I do remember: I was perusing ebay
drooling over $4,000 Les Pauls and saw an auction for one of these things.

Having not heard of these guitars before, has anyone played one, and if so,
what did you think? The MSRPs on the website are a bit high for me, but I
don't think anyone pays that for any guitar. The models I saw on ebay were
in the $200-$300 range.

From their website, they look like a pretty good deal:

"Each and every guitar is hand built to our demanding "tip to tip"
specifications.
We are American owned and operated
We manufacture our own professional grade pickups that can only be found on
our guitars.
We offer a wide range of guitars to fit all of our customer?s specific needs
(which are continually growing and changing).
We strive to stay on top with the latest technology in guitar design.
We use only top grade materials.
We keep our prices honest. "

Is this a case of you get what you pay for, or are these diamonds in the
rough? Similar to Agile guitars (thread on this NG from 2/6/06)? Any
feedback from the peanut gallery?

Rob

[tja]

A friend of mine at work got a Stellar and it looked great. It had weight to
it and a killer finish. He had an issue with the volume or tone control or
something and they immediately offered to take it back. He ended up just
asking them to ship him the new knobs and they did it with no problems.He
has been playing much longer than I have and he thought it was the deal of
the century. All he has replaced are the strings.
He got his on e-bay. I would have to say I think it was money well spent.

tja

Post by Robert Machado
I'm not sure how I happened upon the Stellar Guitars website, but I did.
(www.stellarguitars.com) Actually, now I do remember: I was perusing
ebay drooling over $4,000 Les Pauls and saw an auction for one of these
things.
Having not heard of these guitars before, has anyone played one, and if
so, what did you think? The MSRPs on the website are a bit high for me,
but I don't think anyone pays that for any guitar. The models I saw on
ebay were in the $200-$300 range.
"Each and every guitar is hand built to our demanding "tip to tip"
specifications.
We are American owned and operated
We manufacture our own professional grade pickups that can only be found
on our guitars.
We offer a wide range of guitars to fit all of our customer?s specific
needs (which are continually growing and changing).
We strive to stay on top with the latest technology in guitar design.
We use only top grade materials.
We keep our prices honest. "
Is this a case of you get what you pay for, or are these diamonds in the
rough? Similar to Agile guitars (thread on this NG from 2/6/06)? Any
feedback from the peanut gallery?
Rob

[Yofuri]

Post by Robert Machado
I'm not sure how I happened upon the Stellar Guitars website, but I did.
(www.stellarguitars.com) Actually, now I do remember: I was perusing ebay
drooling over $4,000 Les Pauls and saw an auction for one of these things.
Having not heard of these guitars before, has anyone played one, and if so,
what did you think? The MSRPs on the website are a bit high for me, but I
don't think anyone pays that for any guitar. The models I saw on ebay were
in the $200-$300 range.
"Each and every guitar is hand built to our demanding "tip to tip"
specifications.
We are American owned and operated
We manufacture our own professional grade pickups that can only be found on
our guitars.
We offer a wide range of guitars to fit all of our customer?s specific needs
(which are continually growing and changing).
We strive to stay on top with the latest technology in guitar design.
We use only top grade materials.
We keep our prices honest. "
Is this a case of you get what you pay for, or are these diamonds in the
rough? Similar to Agile guitars (thread on this NG from 2/6/06)? Any
feedback from the peanut gallery?
Rob

I have the Mercury 004 Natural Blond ($245 through my door with hard
case). It's a steal as far as I'm concerned. The case is OK, but not
tops, being a thin ABS case of acoustic dreadnought depth with limp
aluminum edging:

http://www.factorydirectmusic.com

Playability is tops. The action was nice out of the box, no fret or
neck problems, and my tuner says intonation is nearly perfect without
touching the bridge. I did change the factory strings to 9's from
whatever came on it. It holds tune wonderfully has great sustain and
enough volume unplugged for practice and family room jams.

The finish is perfect except for a small rag fiber embedded in the
finish on the side of the headstock and a little unbuffed roughness from
overspray mist in the bend of the cutaway. I haven't pulled a pickup
cover or pot nut to check the thickness of the spalted maple top, or if
it's wood or a lithograph. There were strings of excess glue in the
soundholes from the f-hole bindings. The top, side, brace and back glue
joints appear neatly and fully glued in my inspection mirror.

There are no markings anywhere except "Stellar" scripted on the
headstock. I would be happy if the large rectangular fret markers were
left off.

At the price, with freight and case, I'd put them in the "diamond in the
rough" category.

I've seen a few negative evaluations of various Stellars, but my
experience and observation would make them seem likely to be mischief
unrelated to the quality of the guitar or actions of the seller.

Rick

[marc]

I don't know why your emphasizes that they cost in the $200 to $300 dollar
range when I see them being sold for $700 and $900 dollar range at their web
site: http://www.stellarguitars.com/electric.htm . What is that...something
special...... you can get an original gibson les paul for that price.

Post by Robert Machado
I'm not sure how I happened upon the Stellar Guitars website, but I did.
(www.stellarguitars.com) Actually, now I do remember: I was perusing
ebay drooling over $4,000 Les Pauls and saw an auction for one of these
things.
Having not heard of these guitars before, has anyone played one, and if
so, what did you think? The MSRPs on the website are a bit high for me,
but I don't think anyone pays that for any guitar. The models I saw on
ebay were in the $200-$300 range.
"Each and every guitar is hand built to our demanding "tip to tip"
specifications.
We are American owned and operated
We manufacture our own professional grade pickups that can only be found
on our guitars.
We offer a wide range of guitars to fit all of our customer?s specific
needs (which are continually growing and changing).
We strive to stay on top with the latest technology in guitar design.
We use only top grade materials.
We keep our prices honest. "
Is this a case of you get what you pay for, or are these diamonds in the
rough? Similar to Agile guitars (thread on this NG from 2/6/06)? Any
feedback from the peanut gallery?
Rob

[Robert Machado]

Post by marc
I don't know why your emphasizes that they cost in the $200 to $300 dollar
range when I see them being sold for $700 and $900 dollar range at their
web site: http://www.stellarguitars.com/electric.htm . What is
that...something special...... you can get an original gibson les paul for
that price.

Ahhh, but they don't sell their guitars from their website. In their FAQ,
they note that one cannot buy from the factory. One has to go through an
authorized dealer, and until this morning when I read this thread, I could
only find them for sale on ebay (the other being Factory Direct Music as
Rick pointed out). For the two models I have been thinking about, I have
not seen either of them for sale, including shipping, for more than $285.

The only reviews I have found so far are from a website called Harmony
Central, and the reviews have been really favorable. The one resounding bad
point, which is easily changed, is that everyone says that the factory
strings are junk and should be changed immediately to avoid spending a lot
of time trying to "set up" (and I use that term loosely and in a general
sense) the guitar and get frustrated only to figure out that the strings
should be replaced upon arrival.

From the reviews I've read, I think I'm going to pick one of these up, but
according to the deal my wife and I made when I started this, my 5 string
Fender Jazz bass has to go befoer I can get anything new. Although I don't
think that she remembers I have some Christmas money stored away... Hmmm...

Rob

[Lumpy]

Robert Machado wrote:
[considering a "stella" guitar]

Post by Robert Machado
From the reviews I've read, I think
I'm going to pick one of these
up, but according to the deal my wife
and I made when I started this,
my 5 string Fender Jazz bass has to
go befoer I can get anything new.

Keep two, purge one -

- Fender Jazz Bass
- Stellar guitar
- Wife

Choice looks simple to me.


Lumpy
--
In Your Ears for 40 Years
www.lumpymusic.com

[Robert Machado]

Post by Lumpy
Keep two, purge one -
- Fender Jazz Bass
- Stellar guitar
- Wife
Choice looks simple to me.

I'll sure miss waking up next to a warm body in the mornings...

Rob

[Lumpy]

Post by Robert Machado

Post by Lumpy
Keep two, purge one -
- Fender Jazz Bass
- Stellar guitar
- Wife
Choice looks simple to me.

I'll sure miss waking up next to
a warm body in the mornings...

Fifteen guitars.
Two ex-wives.

Zat tell ya' anything?..;-)


Lumpy
--
In Your Ears for 40 Years
www.lumpymusic.com

[Geezer]

Post by Lumpy

Post by Robert Machado

Post by Lumpy
Keep two, purge one -
- Fender Jazz Bass
- Stellar guitar
- Wife
Choice looks simple to me.

I'll sure miss waking up next to
a warm body in the mornings...

Fifteen guitars.
Two ex-wives.
Zat tell ya' anything?..;-)
Lumpy
--

Two ex-wives and a new wife who bought me my last two guitars!
How'szat?!
Geezer

[Lumpy]

Post by Geezer
Two ex-wives and a new wife who
bought me my last two guitars!
How'szat?!

Atza Nice! Keep the last three.


Lumpy
--
In Your Ears for 40 Years
www.lumpymusic.com

[HareBall]

Post by Robert Machado
I'm not sure how I happened upon the Stellar Guitars website, but I
did. (www.stellarguitars.com) Actually, now I do remember: I was
perusing ebay drooling over $4,000 Les Pauls and saw an auction for
one of these things.
Having not heard of these guitars before, has anyone played one, and
if so, what did you think? The MSRPs on the website are a bit high
for me, but I don't think anyone pays that for any guitar. The models
I saw on ebay were in the $200-$300 range.
"Each and every guitar is hand built to our demanding "tip to tip"
specifications.
We are American owned and operated
We manufacture our own professional grade pickups that can only be
found on our guitars.
We offer a wide range of guitars to fit all of our customer?s specific
needs (which are continually growing and changing).
We strive to stay on top with the latest technology in guitar design.
We use only top grade materials.
We keep our prices honest. "
Is this a case of you get what you pay for, or are these diamonds in
the rough? Similar to Agile guitars (thread on this NG from 2/6/06)?
Any feedback from the peanut gallery?
Rob

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/Stellar/