Best Choice Products SKY1032 Electric Guitar: Full Review

The Best Choice Products SKY1032 electric guitar is an affordable beginner model aimed at new players looking to buy their first instrument. Best Choice Products is a company that specializes in budget-friendly consumer goods, ranging from musical instruments to home furnishings.

The SKY1032 electric guitar is designed to deliver solid playability and sound at a low price point. It features a double cutaway body shape made of basswood and a bolt-on maple neck. The hardware includes diecast tuners, a tremolo bridge, volume and tone knobs, and a humbucker pickup in the bridge position.

This guitar is intended to provide new players with a quality entry-level instrument to start learning on without breaking the bank. While it lacks some of the refinements and features of more expensive models, it aims to deliver good enough performance for beginners. This review will examine the various attributes of the SKY1032 to help assess if it accomplishes that goal.

Construction

The Best Choice Products SKY1032 electric guitar features a basswood body with a glossy polyurethane finish. Basswood is a common material for budget-friendly electric guitars as it is lightweight and has a balanced tone. The glossy polyurethane finish gives the guitar a smooth, sleek look and provides protection from scratches and dents. Some guitarists prefer the feel of a satin finish, but the glossy finish helps enhance the visual appeal of this guitar.

The neck is made from maple and has a 25.5 inch scale length with 22 frets. Maple is known for providing brightness and snap. The fretboard is rosewood which offers a slightly warmer, rounded tone compared to maple. Overall, the use of basswood for the body and maple for the neck and fretboard provides a versatile combination capable of a wide range of tones.

The headstock has a tilt back design and features sealed die-cast tuning machines. This helps provide stable and accurate tuning. The pickguard is made of plastic and matches the black and white color scheme of the guitar. The guitar has two humbucker pickups and 1 volume knob, 1 tone knob, and a 3-way pickup selector switch. This allows for a range of tones from clean to high gain distortion.

Some other features include an adjustable truss rod for optimizing neck relief, chrome hardware, and a Tune-O-Matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece for stable tuning and intonation. It comes with an extra set of strings and basic accessories like a strap, cable, picks, and gig bag.

For guitarists looking for an affordable, well-constructed electric guitar capable of handling rock, blues, metal and more, the Best Choice Products SKY1032 is a great option to consider. It has a stylish look with versatile electronics and hardware. While it may lack some bells and whistles found on more expensive models, it provides excellent value given its quality and price point.

Another high-quality electric guitar to consider in this price range is the D'Angelico DAPD300TBCBAPS. This guitar features a laminated maple top, back and sides paired with a set mahogany neck for balanced tone and sustain. It has Seymor Duncan Designed HSS pickups allowing for diverse tones from sparkling cleans to high gain distortion. Other features include a Wilkinson tremolo bridge, locking tuners, and a slim C-shaped neck profile designed for fast playability. The D'Angelico DAPD300TBCBAPS combines modern looks and construction with vintage inspired design elements. For intermediate players looking for their next guitar with exceptional tone and playability, it's an excellent choice worth checking out.

Playability

The guitar's neck and fretboard make it very playable for beginners. The neck has a comfortable "C" shape that fits nicely in the hand. The fretwork is well done, with smooth and neatly finished frets. This allows for comfortable and fast playing up and down the neck.

The guitar features 22 frets and a rosewood fretboard. The neck is maple. This combination provides a smooth surface for sliding and bending notes. The action and string height from factory setup is low and buzz-free. Overall the guitar plays easily right out of the box.

The guitar's playability makes it a great choice for new players. The comfortable neck shape and quality fretwork mean beginners can focus on learning, rather than struggling with poor playability. The smooth fretboard allows easy transitions between chords, while the low action facilitates quick changes in fingering.

Having an instrument that is comfortable to hold and easy to play helps beginners build confidence and skills faster. A guitar with high action or sharp frets would be very difficult for a novice to learn on. But this model's quality construction and setup ensure playability right away.

The guitar's hardware also contributes to playability. The tuners keep the strings tuned reliably during practice sessions. The bridge and nut allow proper intonation up and down the neck. All of these factors together allow the player to focus on practicing and improving.

Many budget guitars compromise on components and setup in ways that hurt playability. But this model delivers on the most important elements for a beginner-friendly instrument. Before purchasing, be sure to read reviews of the Fender 0378253506 to confirm the particular instrument has good fretwork and setup.

While price is a consideration, playability should be the highest priority for a first guitar. Spending a little more for better quality can mean the difference between a struggle and an enjoyable learning experience. An unplayable instrument with sharp frets or bad intonation will be very frustrating.

The comfortable neck, quality frets, and low action on this model check all the right boxes for beginner playability. The guitar feels smooth and responsive right away, allowing new players to develop skills and confidence. Focus on playability above all else when choosing a first electric guitar.

Hardware

The Electric Guitar Best Choice Products SKY1032 comes equipped with decent hardware components considering its budget price point.

Bridge

The guitar features a basic hardtail bridge made of chrome-plated zinc. While not as high quality as a solid steel bridge, it holds tune reasonably well and intonates the strings properly. The saddles are individually adjustable for precise intonation.

Tuners

The tuners are chrome sealed-gear tuners, a step up from cheaper open-gear tuners. They keep the guitar in tune well, with smooth and accurate tuning. The tuning ratio is 14:1.

Pickups

There are two single coil pickups, a humbucker at the bridge and a single coil at the neck. Both pickups are wax potted to reduce microphonic feedback. The pickups deliver a decent range of tones, though don't expect the richness and harmonic complexity of higher-end pickups. They are serviceable for rock, blues, jazz, country and clean tones.

Electronics

The Best Choice Products electric guitar comes equipped with a basic set of electronics to get beginners started. It has volume and tone knobs, allowing you to control the output level and tone shaping of the pickups. The wiring is fairly simple, utilizing a 3-way pickup selector switch, master volume and master tone controls. This gives you the ability to switch between the bridge humbucker pickup, both pickups, or the single-coil neck pickup.

The output jack is located conveniently on the side of the lower bout, making it easy to plug in your guitar cable. Some users noted the input jack was a bit loose, so replacing it with a higher quality jack may be recommended down the road. Overall, the electronics offer just enough control for experimenting with different tones as a beginner, without being overly complex.

Sound

The Sound section is one of the most important considerations when reviewing an electric guitar, as it determines the instrument's tone, sustain, and versatility.

Tone

The Best Choice Products SKY1032 electric guitar produces a surprisingly warm, balanced tone across the frequency range. The dual humbucking pickups provide a rich, full-bodied sound when playing rhythm. There's enough crispness and clarity in the treble tones to cut through a mix when soloing. The tone is well-suited to blues, classic rock, and hard rock.

Sustain

This guitar has decent sustain thanks to its fixed bridge and quality construction. The sustain is enough to hold notes through phrases without excessive decay. While not as sustaining as a Gibson Les Paul, the SKY1032 has noticeably better sustain than cheaper guitars in this price range.

Versatility

Between the 5-way pickup selector switch and master tone control, the SKY1032 offers a versatile tonal palette. It can cover sparkling clean tones, fat overdriven sounds, and singing lead tones. The dual humbuckers allow for splitting coils to get single-coil-like tones as well. Overall, this guitar is flexible enough for rock, metal, blues, jazz, and more.

Comfort and Ergonomics

The Best Choice Products Electric Guitar offers decent comfort and ergonomics for the price. The body is made of basswood, which is relatively lightweight compared to other tonewoods like mahogany or alder. This helps reduce shoulder and back fatigue during long practice sessions or live performances.

The double cutaway body style provides good access to the higher frets, making it easy to play leads and solos up and down the neck. The contoured body fits nicely against your torso whether sitting or standing.

The neck has a modern C-shape that most players will find comfortable to grip and play. It's not overly chunky but also not super thin. The gloss finish on the back of the neck allows for smooth sliding up and down during solos and leads.

The hardware spacing seems well thought out, with the bridge positioned properly intonate the strings, and the knobs are easy to reach while playing. The guitar hangs well with most standard straps thanks to the strap buttons placement on the body.

Overall, the Best Choice Products Electric Guitar offers good playability, comfort and ergonomics considering its affordable price point. It's lightweight with a contoured body, comfortable neck shape, and well-positioned hardware.

Value

The Best Choice Products SKY1032 electric guitar offers good overall quality and playability for a very affordable price point. While it may lack some of the premium appointments and craftsmanship of more expensive models, it's an excellent choice for beginner and student guitarists on a budget.

The guitar features a basswood body with a gloss polyurethane finish, a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, and diecast chrome hardware. The pickups and electronics deliver a decent range of tones that work well for rock and metal styles. While more advanced players may eventually want to upgrade some components like the pickups, for most beginners this guitar provides very good value.

Considering the low price tag, the Best Choice electric guitar punches above its weight in build quality, playability and sound. The hardware stays in tune nicely and the neck has a comfortable feel. Overall it's a great entry-level instrument that lets new players get started without a huge upfront investment. More expensive guitars may offer finer woods, craftsmanship andcomponents, but this model delivers on the essentials at a very wallet-friendly price point. For budget-conscious musicians just starting out, the Best Choice Products SKY1032 is an excellent value purchase.

Pros

• The guitar is good quality and very playable for the low price point. The neck is smooth and feels great in your hands, making it easy and enjoyable to play.

• It comes with everything you need to get started playing electric guitar. It includes an amp, gig bag, strap, picks, cable, and clip-on tuner—a great value bundle for beginners.

• The body shape is comfortable to hold and not too heavy to play sitting or standing. The double cutaway design allows easy access to higher frets.

• The humbucker pickups provide a decent, full sound. They are surprisingly good quality for a budget guitar and amp package. You can achieve classic rock and metal tones.

• The guitar stays relatively in tune, even during longer practice sessions. The tuners work well for an affordable guitar. Intonation is also set up nicely out of the box.

Cons

• The guitar has very cheap tuners that don't hold tuning well. You'll likely need to replace them soon after purchasing.

• The pickups and electronics are also low quality, leading to subpar tone that lacks dynamics and character. Upgrading the pickups would be recommended for improved sound.

• The tremolo bridge feels flimsy and loose even when properly setup. Using the whammy bar too aggressively could knock it out of tune easily.

• The fretwork is imperfect, with some sharp fret ends and uneven frets. You may need to pay for professional setup and fret leveling to improve playability.

• The budget hardware and materials mean this guitar will be more prone to buzzing, dead spots, and other issues over time. Durability is not this guitar's strong suit.