Reading other reviews, I was wary of buying this guitar. Only my previous experience with zZ's 12 out of 10 customer service made me give it a shot, and honestly, I half expected that I would be sending it back. I'm so glad I took the shot! If you want a fine bluesy and rockin' resonator, buy this one!

Sound
I don't know what some of these clowns are talking about. Not loud unplugged? Nonsense--It's as loud as my Gibson J-185. And that Jumbo Body sings out! This baby has a voice louder than any of my dreadnaughts including my Hummingbird. And what a sound it is! Mine came set-up perfectly with the action high-enough for slide, but still very fingered note and chord friendly out of the box, awesome. Sounds like it was borned in da swamp!

Features
One guy said he thought the materials were cheap. I can only suppose that he doesn't know that even the highest quality resonators are built, and were built back in the 30's, with ply-wood because whole woods do not offer the solid rigidity needed to produce great resonator tones. I also like the very natural positioning of the knobs. And for me the cut-away is the best idea since the spun-cone for getting the most out of a resonator.

Ease of Use
This bad-boy sounds great on it's own, and plugged into my Marshal, I can get tones that allow me to play anything from warm or tinny Mississippi blues sounds to screaming rock tones ala ZZ, or Dwayne,… read more and again the Cut Away is indispensable as muting well above the body joint is near impossible on other resonators I've played. The Piezzio will feed back when turned up over half way, but it's controllable. I have read that the pick-up's need to be balanced, or conditioned, by someone who knows how to do it. I'll research that more, but I'm not worried about it.

Quality
The workmanship is first rate. Beautiful finish, tight joinery and binding. SUPERB! The feel of fretboard was left a bit rough, but that will work itself out in a few months of bending strings across it. Cosmetically, gorgeous with a flawless finish and beautiful flame patterns.

Value
At first I thought that it seemed just a little over priced at $700.00, but then again, It's a far, far better value than the Hound Dog is at $500.00, and other resonators in the range where I thought, this would be great only if. . . So, all things considered, I feel the price is just about right in relative comparison, and a far better value than some I've played with $1,000 plus price tags.

Manufacturer Support
One thing sucks, FENDER didn't see fit to design a hard shell case for this model--Shame on them. What's worse is that the people at Fender, can't even recommend a close fit! Come-oooonn Fender, you make HS cases for crappy Mexi-o-casters, but you didn't think this model worth the trouble?

The Wow Factor
This one is AWESOME! And all my pickin' buddies--other Old Dogs, who all own very high quality guitars--oooh and aaah, with ear to ear grins as they try it out without exception. She's a head turner in looks and sound.

Musical Background:
Playing for 41 Years, used to play professionally and planning on doing so again soon.

Musical Style:
Blues, southern rock, classic rock and hill-billy toe-tappin stuff too. read less