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Daisy Rock Stardust Series Elite/Daisy Series Artist |
Daisy Rock Stardust Series Elite/Daisy Series Artist
I first came across Daisy Rock Guitars at a NAMM show about three years ago. I was immediately blown out by their unabashed look and obvious target market …these are guitars for girls! Since then they have had a couple of different Australian distributors and have also shifted their production from California to the increasingly popular manufacturing region of Asia. This can mean many things to different people but the bottom line is that the guitar is going to end up cheaper for you, the end user. Perhaps more importantly there is no apparent loss of build quality due to the ever improving standards and skilled labour evident in China, Taiwan and, in this guitar's case, Indonesia. The Crimson Burst Stardust Series Elite that I was sent for review was no exception although it did need some attention before I could run it through its paces.
On opening the box I was greeted by a very cute double cutaway guitar that looked for all intents and purposes like a show stopper. It has a very well applied wild black-to-crimson see-through burst on top of a pearloid finish, not for people who don't wish to be noticed. The generously appointed black hardware - Tune-O-Matic Bridge, Grover machines and well placed tone and volume knobs - add some rock appeal and real quality as well.
This Stardust Series Elite had a "set up by"‚sticker on the back but it didn't seem to have very much attention paid to it by the owner of the initials. I had to spend time straightening the neck via the truss rod and lowering the action to make it at all playable. However, after a few adjustments the guitar was ready for action. (Note: The guitars supplied for road testing are generally demo models. However, if set up problems like this do arise, they can easily be alleviated by the friendly staff at the store you purchased the guitar from - Ed.)
I jacked it into an all-tube Laney VC50 to check its sounds and was pleasantly rewarded with many and varied very useable tones ranging from coil tapped funkiness through to bridge position shred thanks to the fast attack of the pickups. Two high output humbuckers coupled with a tone-tap and a three-way selector switch gives this set-necked guitar a lot of very cool tones. The Mahogany body gives it warmth, the set neck sustain and the mahogany neck with 22 medium frets and rosewood fingerboard is very easy to play thanks to the profile which is designed for the smaller hands of girls. This profile doesn't mean it is uncomfortable for us gorilla fingered blokes though, it's just really quick! Access to the upper frets is a cinch thanks to the neck's shallow heel and the fact that the cutaways stretch back to the 21st fret. The guitar is also light so it won‚t damage delicate backs after a long night of cavorting around the stage.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely, and not just to girls either. An easy-to-play, good-looking, well appointed, light, versatile, sub-$500, set-necked solid-body is a rare thing these days so if you're looking for such an instrument you should probably further investigate a Daisy Rock Stardust.
A footnote: With the Stardust Elite I was also sent one of Daisy Rock‚s first ever models - the daisy shaped Daisy Series Artist. This guitar has a Basswood body, Duncan Designed humbuckers and single-coil pickups and a very well set up (pleasant surprise!) bolt-on neck that reminded me of an old San Dimas Charvel I used to own. I liked it so much I bought it for my daughter. OK, I bought it for my daughter but I seem to be using in the studio a lot. Don't know about prancing around the stage with a pink daisy-shaped guitar though, I might get hurt.