EX-84 Modern EMG VW : Great quality at an amazing price

I've always wanted a white explorer with black hardware ever since I saw Metallica's video for 'One', so after doing copious amounts of research on this EX-84 Modern EMG I finally pulled the trigger. The guitar got delivered after about two weeks. It arrived in perfect condition. I've heard people having gotten it with a chip or some minor scratches in the finish but that was not a problem for me. Guitar looks absolutely pristine. The body is a tad smaller than a Gibson Explorer or an ESP, but not like a junior guitar. I think I actually prefer this size and shape.

Everything on this guitar was in great order. The hardware is quality, the knobs and switches feel good and solid. The EMG pickups delivers really crispy sound with a lot of bite, but still a warm clean tone from the neck pickup. The EMG's sound really hot. By that I mean they have a lot of attack but it also picks up every little slide of the hand you make. The guitar had a really good setup right out of the box. I got it delivered in Scandinavia during October, so after I unpacked it I let it acclimate for a couple hours before I played on it. The intonation was spot on. Neck was straight. Really good right out of the box. The tuners feel great and solid, and the guitar stays in tune. I could have sworn that I read it came with Grover locking tuners so I was a bit surprised when I saw it came with the regular JN-03 machine heads and when I went to check the website, sure enough it didn't say Grover locking tuners so I must have misread. The fretboard felt a little dry, but no sharp edges or anything. You should DEFINITELY pull the trigger on this. This guitar easily feels like a guitar worth more than it's price. A contender for my top guitar, and I own guitars worth 3-4 times the price of this.

The one huge con I had with this though was that the nut that was on it was SUPER high. Like double the height of a regular nut, and the bridge wont go any lower, so my action was too high, especially around the first three frets. So I did have to remove the nut and sand down the underside of it. This can be a daunting task if you're not familiar with it. But I did that, oiled the fretboard and lowered the bridge and it plays wonderfully now. And like I said, it was more than playable out of the box. But with a good setup it will play like a expensive guitar. Well done Harley Benton. Will be buying more from these guys.

PROS:

-Beautiful finish

-Good hardware and pickups

-Good fretboard. Neck feels nice. (same thickness as a Gibson Les Paul)

-Very playable setup right out of the box

CONS:

-Really tall nut. Had to sand it down myself. This was the biggest con.

-Bridge won't go as low as I would like. So action is good, but not perfect.

-The guitar has neck dive. This comes from the fact that most of the weight is in the neck/headstock and the fastening point for the strap is on top of the neck. Neck dive can be remedied by moving the forward strap point to the back of the heel of the neck, or buying a wider leather strap.