Richwood RE-135
Home Guitar Reviews Richwood    RE-135	91% Overall Features 10 Sounds 9 Finish 8 Reliability 8 Overall 10 Taken from 2 reviews

Submitted by: Stu Gosney on 02 October 2007

PricePaid: 430 GBP (New) Purchased From: www.rockfactory.co.uk Model Year: 2006 Features: [10] Richwood have taken the classic les paul shape, and added every extra you can think of: the re135 features a quilted maple top, mother of pearl binding round the body, neck and headstock and a tree of life inlay on the fretboard. Visually, this is the nicest guitar I have ever seen. Sounds: [10] I was a bit dubious as to what this guitar would sound like, given the low price tag, although I had read reviews of them sounding as good as Gibsons. I do not know what pickups it features (although they are apparently the same as the top end Epiphones) but my goodness do they sound good. I'm not lying when I say this guitar sounds better than my Gibson - it really is that good. (although mine is a LP Studio, so I do not know how it compares to a Standard/Custom, but they are the same minus the maple top) On a clean setting the treble pickup is nice and bright while the neck pickup is beautifully warm and mellow. Turn the distortion on though and this guitar sounds amazing! Treble tones stay nice and tight, while that neck pickup will sing solos like bird, and do it all day with an amazingly long sustain. It even sounds good when you stop playing as there is absolutly no buzz at all. Action, Fit & Finish: [9] To play this guitar is great. The neck is slightly thinner than my Gibson, but still wider than a strat, and is nice and comfortable to play. Again, the action is nice and low, with strings being fretted effortlessly. Although the frets are marked with 'leaves', the tree of life inlay can be slightly confusing at times, though there are position dots on the side of the neck if you do get lost. As I have said, this guitar looks amazing, so the finish cannot be faulted. Reliability & Durability: [8] I haven't owned this guitar very long, but it feels just as durable as any other guitar. It should be able to take a few knocks but as with any guitar you will want to treat it with care. I think the tuners are the only thing on this guitar which don't at least match Gibsons. Don't get me wrong, they hold well but my Gibson seems to never need tuning, whereas this does, but it is no more than most decent guitars. Overall Rating: [10] Having bought this purely on looks, I was pleasently surprised that it sounds just as good. It may not have Gibson or Fender written on the headstock, but if that bothers you then you are seriously missing out as I can guarantee if it did then there would be an extra 0 on the end of the price tag. This both sounds and looks better than my Gibson and I recommend them to everyone. I will certainly be looking at Richwood's next time I buy a guitar, though with an RE135 in my possession that may not be for a while as it is a joy to own and play.

Submitted by: Ian B on 28 August 2007

PricePaid: 487 GBP (New) Purchased From: www.dangleberrymusic.co.uk Model Year: 2006 Features: [10] Recently made in Korea, this Les Paul style guitar is part of a limited edition Tree of Life Artist Series made exclusively for the UK market. There were 168 made, 24 of each in 7 colours. Right, onto the details Mahogany body with solid quilted maple top finished in 'amber burst' with gloss finish, 22 fret mahogany neck/rosewood fretboard. The body, neck and headstock are bound with mother of pearl, and the fretboard inlaid with a stunning mother of pearl Tree of Life motif across the whole fretboard. Gold (coloured/plated?) tunomatic style end piece and bridge, 2 gold (coloured/plated?) passive generic humbuckers, 2 each of volume and tone controls, 3 way selector. Generic gold (coloured/plated?) closed tuners. It came supplied with a good quality fitted hard case and a cerificate of authenticity. Sounds: [8] It's been a long time since I played a genuine LP, but going from memory, this guitar isn't far away from that sound. It has a really fat tone, which I love. Uaed with my Roland Microcube and Toneworks AX1500G, I can easily get all the variety of sounds I want. The pickups are generic, tho' I believe they are the same/similar to, the ones Epiphone use in their top end Gibson clones. Action, Fit & Finish: [8] The actual finish was flawless, tho' the factory setup action wise wasn't the best, not unplayable by any means, but higher than I like. It shipped fitted with 9's, I soon restrung with a set of 11's, lowered the action, and within 10 minutes it was setup exactly how I wanted. The action is now superb with not a hint of fret buzz. Reliability & Durability: [8] It's too soon to tell about durability, but it gives the impression everything about this guitar is built to last. I'll only be using it at home, but I'd have no hesitation in using it live. Once it was setup to my liking, nothing has been touched since, inc the tuning, which has been rock solid. Overall Rating: [10] This guitar has to be seen to be believed, it is absolutely stunning, my description simply can't do it justice. Unless your rabidly anti Les Pauls, there's literally nothing to dislike, tho' the lack of dot/block markers on the fretboard will take a bit of getting used to for me, but if this is all I have to complain about, I'll settle for that. As it is one of 24 made in this colour (mine is 7 of the 24) the chances of being able to buy another if lost or stolen are slim, but if I could, I would without hesitation. It has a list price of £825 GBP, but I paid £487 GBP, so whichever way I look at it, this guitar was a steal at that price. It was more than I'm usually willing to spend on a guitar without trying first, but I've not been disappointed in any way. To sum up, if anyone reading this has ever wanted a Les Paul type guitar with a difference, have a look at these, but as a limited edition, they won't be available forever. A fantastic guitar that really stands out from the normal LP clones. Highly recommended.

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