Maverick F3 Reviews 5

I used to play for about 12 years and then had kids and a big mortgage so everything got sold, lent out and never returned, or thrown in the dustbin (a rock and roll moment with an old Marlin when I got divorced !). After my company started making a profit, I decided on a new guitar. Originally I was dead set on an Ibanex RG series but a colleague told me to check out Maverick. I had a look and was absolutely smitten by the F1 - but the F3 was just that bit better with the boxwood body and HSH pickups - so it had to be one of those. I looked on e-bay (oh yes)and in my amazement ended up winning a bid on one for - £250 brand new in the box (I'm not kidding).

I love everything about this guitar. It's the right weight, feel, construction and looks amazing.

Let me put it this way. If I'd paid the £599 RRP It would not change my opinion on this guitar.

Fret board - immaculate and fast. It's the fasted fret board I've played on (I got River Music in Grimsby to do a setup after it arrived because the guys I bought it from probably puked at the price it went for and refused to do a setup) and I've played Fender Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, BC Rich etc etc and (for me) it's not what I'd say "better" - but more of a guitar that just does what you want it to do - no matter how you play it(I play funk/rock/metal). The trem has never put the guitar out of tune - even by a fervent "wanging" by a four year old when I wasn't looking. Works perfect and never let me down. As for how it looks - mine is a semi transparent sunburst which no matter how hard I look - is completely flawless. No crackles, pops or hisses. I even took off the back plates to look at the wiring and there are tie wraps round the cables and really tidy soldering.

If you bought one of these - you will not be dissappointed. Have a good look around, and you can sometimes get a real bargain. If not - at £599 you'll have a guitar that beats others that cost up to a grand. The F1 is a belter aswell by all accounts.

Fluffy rated this unit 5 on 2005-01-01.

Bought this guitar from Marks Music in cambridge for the bargin price of £499...i aquired this guitar two years ago and i havn't looked back since. I bought it because i had been playing for 6 years and needed to upgrade from my squirer(ouch). Seeing as i am mainly into metal/hard rock this guitar seemed ideal for me with its HSH pickup config and its fast neck

It's gorgeous! The body is based on a standard strat shape but has been made more aggressive and its super sexy (i would sleep with it!). The new model i don't like as much with its chrome pickup mounts but each to their own....the neck is the best and fastest i have played....i have played a gibson les paul studio (£1500) and a mark knoffler fender strat (£1400) and neither of them compare to this one....the action on this guitar is good but not quite the best in the world....the floyd rose is a great tremolo system when u have it set up and in tune....the pickups give a powerful sound which is well suited to grunge and music like blink 182 / lost prophets....the flat roll volume controls are superb!

the pickups sound a bit "muddy"....they dont quite wail like i wud want them to....floyd rose is a pain to restring and tune (floyd rose's fault not mavericks)

since i bought this guitar i have had no problems with the build quality save for a screw breaking one the floyd rose twice....maybe i was doing it too tight?! but that is once again not mavericks fault

Great great value....if u have £500 to spen and u want a guitar for and type of rock this is the one for you!! fast, reliable, gorgeous and the pickups sound nice! the only other £500 guitar i could suggest would be an ESP M-200 which wails a bit more but the neck and action arent quite as good

Prune Of Doom rated this unit 5 on 2004-11-25.

I Paid £450 at river music grimsby for this guitar with a p/x of a vintage Les Paul [list price £599 without the p/x]

i tried the £100 less F1 which was in itself a VERY nice guitar but when i plugged this one in the range of sounds was amasing in comparisson, the single coil + 5 way selector makes some very nice combinations for both clean and distorted sounds. another thing this had over the F1 was that the F1 only came in solid colours where as this has a range including the transparent black which is what i got and is a really effective style. neck is 24 frets and very thin [especially when your used to LP's] and also feels very fast all three pick-ups are very reactive and give great sound whatever music you try to play oh and to top it off its got the Very intuative rollers and a double locking floyd rose trem

only real flaw i have with this guitar is ive always had set-necks which although this feels better to play doesnt look as nice from the back [im just trying to put something negative but its hard to find] the pick-up selector switch can be knocked but i normally have it on the bridge pu anyway so i dont care and ive been used to fixed bridges so ive had to modify my playing style a bit

the bolt on neck feels more solid then the two set neck guitars ive owned, the finish is immaculate and very effective with a few curves on the body to make it stand out but not BC Rich stylee. im very carefull with guitars so i aint dropped it but i think it could take a hammering and just an allround quality feel

if you like a guitar to look good, play well, and sound awsome then this is worth a go, i cannot get my feelings across how good this guitar actually is. if you have around £600 to spend on a guitar i think you would find it hard to find a better guitar for less than £1,000 so if your looking for a guitar give the little guys a go.... you wont regret it

Tanny rated this unit 5 on 2004-06-05.

I purchased the Maverick in my local music store for £599 - I was planning to spend £500 tops, but the F3 just stood out and begged to be bought.

Mavericks tend to shy away from 'extreme' styling, but they do have a unique appearance which sets them apart without turning them into B.C. Rich type affairs. The Evolution control system (two rollers set into the body of the guitar to control volume and tone) sums this approach up - it's clearly different to anything else but isn't over the top. So in sheer terms of style the guitar won me over (and I still give it an admiring glance every time I pick it up). Looks aside the guitar is great to play. Everything just works...the cut-away is deep enough to allow work across all strings and all frets, the trem unit is superb and the pickup selector is placed where it's useful - unlike the traditional strat-based designs it has been located beneath the neck pickup, reducing the risk of knocking it during play. I find the evo controls knock the traditional knobs into the rough...they're easier to adjust when playing (as they match the natural movment of the picking hand), less likely to get knocked out of position, and although they're not going to magically turn you into Satch or Vai little details add up...

The neck was a tad 'dry' when I first bought the guitar, and although this has improved with use I still find it hasn't become as slick as I'd like. However, it's perfectly playable and is a minor flaw... Perhaps a larger flaw is the single-coil pickup, which is (as far as I'm aware) the only thing that seperates the F3 from the (£100 cheaper) F1. I can't honestly say that I think the single-coil fitted to the F3 is worth the extra cash - it performs, but unless you can't survive without a single-coil or, like me, get addicted to other features (finish, etc), it might be wise to consider an F1...but then I've never been a fan of H-S-H configurations.

Before I bought the guitar I spent 10 minutes going over every inch of it, desperately trying to find a flaw so I could justify putting it back on the rack and walking away. Unfortunately I couldn't spot anything amiss - the finish quality was perfect, the body was beautifully carved and the neck was straight as an arrow. Everything, down to the wonderfully sculptured headstock, screams of quality way beyond the price the guitar retails for. The humbuckers are Duncan-designed ‘A’ Series' and the single-coil is a Duncan-designed Alnico V. The humbuckers are great in terms of tone, and ideas I had of replacing them have gone out the window. The single-coil is all that it should be, but I think most people will spend the majority of their time working with the humbuckers. I have had one minor problem with the input jack (which, by the way, is slightly inset to make it easier to locate on a dark, crowded stage - another great design feature) but it was covered under the warranty and repaired without fuss.

If you're looking for a quality rock guitar without paying over-the-top prices (but without losing great looks) then the F3 is perfect. Maverick guitars, especially anything above the F1 range, should definitely be priced higher than they are - and surely they will be eventually, so get in and buy one now before they become too popular!

S. Hudson rated this unit 5 on 2003-06-01.

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