Chuffed!

13 July 2023

I was busy recording a 'meat n potatoes' track in my home studio. The guitar riffs needed the sound made by humbuckers, and as there was no sign of a Les Paul decorating my place I put the track on hold. I spotted an ad on Facebook (via Bunnings) which displayed what looked like a Gibson, but had a price tag way lower than a Gibson, and a fair way cheaper than say, an Epiphone Les Paul. So I took the chance, and ordered the Axiom Challenger. The instrument was delivered within three days, the carton and packaging was excellent. My first impression as the guitar emerged from the box was how glorious the finish was. Next impression was the weight which compares favourably with a Gibson equivalent. I tuned up, plugged in to a Roland combo and checked the octaves.. all good, and a smooth action on the neck. At this point I was patting myself on the back for taking a 'risk' on a cheap guitar which turns out to be a winner. Ok, so being fussy, I changed the strings straight away for some Elixir 09's. It's a Chinese made guitar. They obviously fine tuned the manufacture of these guitars to make them close as possible to the Gibson Les Paul. They've done it very well. The volume and tone potentiometers don't sweep as sweetly as the upmarket type but they do the job. I might change the machine heads to Grovers or Gibson at a later date, but that would be fussy! So overall, I highly recommend this guitar which would suit both professional and beginners. Denny Ball.

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