HB-35Plus Cherry : A good budget guitar

I bought this for my partner, who is a beginner/part time player, for her birthday.

As a session musician and guitar tutor, I looked it over when it arrived.

Well packaged, in 2 boxes, the outer box being very sturdy, with the inner box well padded inside.

It is not a AAAA flametop. Maybe a AA.

Bridge posts not fully seated, but not really an issue.

Tuners, ok, solid, hold tune, intonation needed slight adjustment, action ok.

Pickups, great for the price, and with 8 combinations, plenty of variation.

Neck a little dry, but no big deal.

Screw on scratch plate not seated properly, which will require fixing.

Pots a little loose, pull ups fine.

Frets a little scratchy and will need a polish.

This is an entry level guitar, but you get a lot for the money.

It sounds good with lots of scope for variation, the cleans are sparkly, the mids and lows have a nice bit of grunt.

It plays very well, isn't heavy, and I found the neck very comfortable.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find better at this price point, and for a beater, mod project or practice instrument it's a bargain.

Get it set up right, and you could gig with it.

Sure, there are a couple of issues, but I've seen worse on much more expensive guitars.

All in all, I'd recommend this guitar; great price and real value for money.