Glarry GMF Electric Guitar Laurel Wood Fingerboard HH Pickup Blue

on July 11, 2024

GMF guitar arrived quickly and well packaged...but it will need some work to be playable. The biggest issues are sprouting frets with sharp edges along the entire fretboard, and the nut is cut way too high on the low E and A strings, so that even when open strings are in tune, fretted notes are very sharp on the first 5-6 frets. I adjusted the saddle heights down to try to minimize, and the neck is fairly straight, and the other 4 strings intonate well, so i believe it's the nut, not at the bri ...

GMF guitar arrived quickly and well packaged...but it will need some work to be playable. The biggest issues are sprouting frets with sharp edges along the entire fretboard, and the nut is cut way too high on the low E and A strings, so that even when open strings are in tune, fretted notes are very sharp on the first 5-6 frets. I adjusted the saddle heights down to try to minimize, and the neck is fairly straight, and the other 4 strings intonate well, so i believe it's the nut, not at the bridge or neck that's causing sharpness. Other minor issue is the neck humbucker pickup is sitting deeper towards the neck than the bridge, and can't be leveled adjusting the screws for its height...problem probably lies underneath. Understand that at this price point, the GMF is a budget/beginner's guitar, but this will take more than a little set-up---namely filing/replacing the nut, filing and crowning all the sharp frets to play. So it's a project guitar, i suppose!

on July 15, 2024

Update: Lynn from Glarry reached out quickly and courteously to address my concerns. I appreciate that Glarry works to ensure customer satisfaction. After some work (filing frets and nut) and a fresh set of strings, it's playing better! It's a fine looking, light guitar with 24" scale that's benefitted from some extra care.

on December 23, 2023

I like the finish of the body of the guitar - see through blue revealing some would pattern. Unfortunately, the body of the guitar does not make it playable. The pick-ups are of poor quality. But even worse is that the saddle was way too high and the factory's inspector should never have shipped it out. So why did they? It is an attempt to hide the improperly installed truss rod - and frets installed improperly. But the action was so high because of the nut it is not fun to play and notes go out ...

I like the finish of the body of the guitar - see through blue revealing some would pattern. Unfortunately, the body of the guitar does not make it playable. The pick-ups are of poor quality. But even worse is that the saddle was way too high and the factory's inspector should never have shipped it out. So why did they? It is an attempt to hide the improperly installed truss rod - and frets installed improperly. But the action was so high because of the nut it is not fun to play and notes go out of tune. When I lowered the saddle and tried to lower the nut the buzzing and so forth was unserviceable. I would return it but the price isn't worth it. Instead I turned it into a project guitar and I am ordering an affordable Canadian Maple neck with properly installed working truss rod, frets, and especially nut. I will update the machine heads with affordable locking ones with a good ratio, and after the neck is ready and installed will install good quality strings. If the pick-ups still are poor once the neck and action are playable I may switch out the humbuckers with some upgrades and make sure the wiring/soldering is improved. There is no excuse for shipping out a guitar with an improper nut and with a poorly crafted neck - frets and truss rod. Not a guitar for beginners as it requires too much work to make it playable and enjoyable to play so it doesn't sit in the closet.

on December 30, 2023

Glarry reached out to me promptly when I brought an issue with my guitar to them. Sometimes the body of a guitar and feel makes you not want to have to send an instrument back for something that only a Luthier can adjust properly unless you have those skills yourself which I do not. So they offered a solution that will enable me to keep the guitar and have an issue with the neck/nut corrected. I have done some other reviews and pointed out other Glarry guitars/instruments I recommend for a new p ...

Glarry reached out to me promptly when I brought an issue with my guitar to them. Sometimes the body of a guitar and feel makes you not want to have to send an instrument back for something that only a Luthier can adjust properly unless you have those skills yourself which I do not. So they offered a solution that will enable me to keep the guitar and have an issue with the neck/nut corrected. I have done some other reviews and pointed out other Glarry guitars/instruments I recommend for a new player. This guitar for the affordable price is excellent for an experienced player who likes small projects and like the finish of the body and can make adjustments typically performed by a Lutheir.

on November 15, 2023

Ok, wow! I've been looking for something different from my usual telecasters, and I've heard some good things about these, so I thought I'd give one a try. I'm glad I did! Honestly, out of the box, it was good, but not great. The strings definitely needed replacing, and a few things needed some attention. Nothing major. But stuff that many - if not most - guitars will need to get them in good playing order. After removing the strings, I tightened the nuts and screws on the tuning machines. ...

Ok, wow! I've been looking for something different from my usual telecasters, and I've heard some good things about these, so I thought I'd give one a try. I'm glad I did! Honestly, out of the box, it was good, but not great. The strings definitely needed replacing, and a few things needed some attention. Nothing major. But stuff that many - if not most - guitars will need to get them in good playing order. After removing the strings, I tightened the nuts and screws on the tuning machines. Some were ok. But most were somewhat loose. This helped the tuning stability a lot! Next, I leveled and polished the frets (i do this on all my guitars needed or not and it wasnt really needed here) and then oiled the very dry fretboard. Ahhhhhh, much better! Then i replaced the strings with my favorite Ernie Balls. Next i did a minor truss rod adjustment, and lowered the bridge saddles to lowere the action to where i like it. Lastly, i spent some time adjusting the individual string intonation. Only minor adjustments needed here, and the g, b, and high e strings were spot on! When I plugged it in and started playing, I was blown away by how great it sounded! Nice full sounding pickups that really like to be driven, and not a bit of microphonics that seem to be common in most "budget" guitars! Best of all, this guitar is really a blast to play! If you want to have some groovy fun, plug it in, crank the amp, and rock and roll to your heart's content!! This guitar is a real winner! It sounds better and is more fun than any $100 guitar has any right to be! Just go on and buy it!!

on August 04, 2023

I am not pleased with this guitar. The one string tree is not properly installed making it impossible to tune.

on September 10, 2023

Update Four STARS. After Lynn resolved the issue I am pleased with the guitar. Nice fit and finish. Plays and sounds great for a short scale ( 24 in.). Glarry is putting in the effort to improve their quality. Keep it up.

on April 27, 2023

Great little guitar. Needed a little setup and ready to go. Would buy again