Rogue Guitars.........?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dogbreath
  • Start date Start date
Dogbreath

Dogbreath

Im an ex-spurt
Maybe I'm the last to know (again) but I'd never even heard of them til I got a strat for Christmas. All I wanted was a different sound.

This thing was dirt cheap and actually sounds pretty good!
I was shocked!

Got a little fret buzz to fix and the tuning heads are a little lacking in accuracy and holding, but other than that, I'm pretty impressed.

Anyone else play these? What are your thoughts?
 
I'd sooner hang myself.

But really, if it works, then it works. Enjoy it. The one Rogue I bought I sent back. It was one of those mini-LesPaul guitars. Worst playing intrument of all time. Not that I was expecting something it wasn't, just had to give it a whirl before giving it to my cousin ya know? :D
 
Rogue (insert product here) are normally complete crap, though in your case, the crap may not show up for a few, well, weeks.

Anyone wanna put bets on how long his new geetar will last??? :p
 
Oh?

And what IS your experience with them?

what a buzzkill........... :rolleyes:
 
Not!

It still sounds good. :D

Does it stand up to my $1400.00 Carvin Custom? No.

Does it have a different sound that's useable and recordable?

Yup.

:cool:
 
Hey Dogbreath,

I do have a couple of Rogue's (accoustic, accoustic bass) and they are just fine.

I believe they are mostly OEM guitars anyway, manufactured by those mass producers in Korea (Samick etc.) and they slap their name on it. Not even sure if it's not just an MF house brand, I haven't seen selling this brand by anybody else.
It's really a case by case situation as far as quality goes, don't worry about it man, if it sounds good it's good.
 
(Disclaimer:I'm not a "guitar" dude for the most part, I don't subscribe to "Guitar Magizine," but I play a few chords and like having a guitar around)...

Back in the summer, after considering the mostly favorable user reviews on Musician's Friend's website, I got a marked down blemished Rogue acoustic electric (the herringbone, with spruce top, and mahogany back and sides) from Musician's Friend for $102 (all the better known brands at that time were starting at around $200). Although the guitar was a bit more "blemished" than I expected, it played fine to me. A friend of mine who is into guitars (and who has owned guitars costing over $800) thought my Rogue was a very decent guitar. I ended up selling it to him for what I paid for it.

I then bought another (almost identical model but not a blemished one) for $119...the only real problem I had with the second guitar was getting the battery into its compartment (to power the electronics for electric play). I did, with some effort, get the battery into its compartment, but haven't resolved the issue as to why the compartment won't open up properly (I like stuff to work right but I can live with the battery compartment issue)...

My impression from reading the dozens of user reviews on the Musicain's Friend website (yes there are a few horror stories) and having a couple of the guitars myself is that the design and materials for these guitars are decent but one just has to make sure that there are no quality control issues with their specific instrument when they receive it.
 
I have a Rogue LX400 pro that I use as a studio bass. I'm more of a guitarist than a bassist but I'm very happy with it. I was impressed with the out of the box setup for a cheapo 'mail order' bass. The electronics are a bit weak though.
 
Throw some new pickups (AP11? ;-D) in there along with some new wiring, and you will have a guitar that sounds pretty danged good. It might not play as well as...well...lot's of guitars, but it will do the job just fine, and sound good.

I know a lot of people that pick up the Rogue guitars just to learn how to work on guitars, then start doing so many things to them, that they become really attached to their new $200 axes...many using them regularly on stage.

Anyway...have fun with the new guit-fiddle!

~Chalz
 
I picked up a Rogue blem mahogany cutaway dreadnought acoustic from MF for $85. For the $$, it's an amazing guitar. Nice low action, frets are well dressed, good intonation, stays in tune and a full, bright sound. Has a Fishman p/u installed and came with a cord, 9 V battery and truss rod adjustment tool.

A friend liked mine so much he asked me to order the spruce top version for him (first quality). It arrived a few days ago and is very similar to my mahogany. Only difference is the spruce top's body and neck are bound, action is a wee bit higher and the frets aren't dressed as well. Spruce top also seems to have a bit more of a full bottom end. Still, one hell of an acoustic guitar for $99.

Another Rogue product that get a lot of positive buzz is their Hoffner "Beatle Bass" knock off . I've never played one but it gets good reviews from the guys on FDP and TDPRI. Can usually be had for $199 and is often on sale for less.
 
aspirin said:
I believe they are mostly OEM guitars anyway, manufactured by those mass producers in Korea (Samick etc.)
Click to expand...
Samick has not manufactured guitars in Korea for some time. Most Samick instrument production is now in the PRC.

and they slap their name on it. Not even sure if it's not just an MF house brand,
Click to expand...
It is.

"Rogue" is just a proprietary name that belongs to Musician's Friend and is placed on a wide variety of contract product made by many factories in different countries.
 
I was very tempted by the under $100 Mandolin that they sell. Unfortunately every review I read was negative. I still want one but it needs to at least be playable and it doesn't seem that they are from the reviews.
 
I got this pack - RA100D guitar and mando - for $80.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/511194/
They both came set up pretty well, good intonation and playable. I worked the nut a little on the guitar and strung it Nashville, and I couldn't be happier. Plays and sounds very nice. The mando is also very playable (though I'm not a mando player, it's fun to fool around.)

I bought three of these squareneck resonators, and am completely satisfied. I don't have any other dobros to compare them to, but for my purposes (learning) they really fill the bill. The first one was $180 - then they dropped the price to $130 so I bought 2 more - free shipping too.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/519190/

Here's a thread with pics of one taken apart:
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=143353

Of course, time will tell if they hold together, but for now I'm a cheapass happy camper.
 
Rogue=Behringer of the guitar world. :D

divided the forum the same way the behringer stuff does.

I dont mind Rogue for what they are....

I have one of their mandolins I take on the road with me. I dont care if it gets stolen or if I get in a drunken rage and beat someone with it.
 
BigRay said:
Rogue=Behringer of the guitar world. :D
Click to expand...

True dat... :D

It's good for what it is. Got some rod adjustment to do and swap the heads but at least if I screw it up, no big deal...

I love the neck... :)
 
An old session dog learns a new trick...

I'm a pretty fussy guy here... I've been playing a long time, and all of my guitars are "name brand" instruments... except for one.

A few months ago, I was asked to do some session work for some '60's retro-sounding jingles, and one of the sounds I needed was that of an electric sitar. For the fun of it, I started researching electric sitars, and found that the cost of a used Coral electric sitar is well over $2k, so I looked at some new copies, and even tried out a modeling guitar with an electric sitar model. What I finally decided on was a Rogue electric sitar, which is a Korean copy of the original Coral electric sitar. Between the "special pricing" at MF at the time, and my ASCAP discount, I ordered one sight-unseen for $218 including freight. I didn't expect much, but I thought I'd be able to get through the jingles regardless of how bad the Rogue sitar was. So the thing arrived; I opened the box, and I was truely not expecting what I received. It's really well-made, has a great feeling neck, lipstick single coils, and THE electric sitar sound. I couldn't be happier. Granted, I'm a bit embarrassed when somebody sees a Rogue product in my collection, but I'll probably get over it... the session check arrived, and cashed just like any other check. ;)
 
I bought a Rougue in 2000. Paid $79 new. It's a rebadged Squire Strat. Plays well, neck is straight, no buzz. Only QC issue is that the inlays on the side of the neck were off from the inlays on the fretboard. I use it for a dirty strat sound, the pickups and wood will not give me that "bell" like sound like my "real" strat.
 
timboZ said:
So you get a discount from MF if your a member of ASCAP. Cool.
Click to expand...

Yep. Same thing at GC. Every little bit helps! ;)
 
Ask the GC sales guy for "good-guy" price - you might get a better discount that the ASCAP discount (I always do).
 
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