Crafter Review: Convoy DX

History:

Purchase: I bought this guitar from a shop in MBK shopping centre, Bangkok, Thailand while on holiday. It cost about £180 in Thailand and in the UK goes for about £280 :)).

What I Like About This Crafter Convoy DX: First off I'm a beginner, this is my first electric guitar and I think I got a far better deal than a typical Fender copy beginners guitar. The guitar is made of quality wood and has a set neck which I am told sustains the sound longer. I can certainly feel the strings reasonate through the neck as I hold it and can feel the strings though the body when I play it with a strap. It has a two humbucking pickups, anlico magnet type, and seems to be very high quality for the price. It looks great and sounds lovely.

What I Do NOT Like About The Crafter Convoy DX: The build quality on the one I purchased is not perfect. The defects are the volume and tone knobs rise up at a slight angle from the body rather being at a right angle to it so they appear wobble when turned. Worse is the tone control has a crackle. These are the only defects and I put it down to shop use. In my excitement and ignorance I did not check the guitar well enough before handing over the money. The only other thing I do not like about the guitar is the use of gold plating on the bridge and tuning keys. It looks a bit brash and I fear will rub off over time.

Crafter Convoy DX Quality Rating: The body is made of mahogany and has a quilted maple top. Looking from the back, the body appears to be three pieces of mahogany that are joined together. I suspect a single piece would be better but the whole thing is solid and weighty. The neck is set into the body rather than bolt on and is also mahogany with a rosewood fingerboard. There are fret markers on the edge of the neck so you can see them when using a strap and the fret markers on the fingerboard appear to be annodized so they resemble mother of perl (but they are metal). The is a bridge and neck humbucker, tone volume and 3-way switch. All the metal parts ( except pickups ) are annodized with gold.

Review Summary: I think this guitar is a great deal. Check them over before buying to avoid build defects. There is a cheaper version with a bolt on neck that doesn't have gold plated parts.

Rating of this Crafter product: 4

This Crafter Convoy DX Electric Guitars Review Submitted By: john doe

Review Date: 2004-02-29