As an owner of several other "cheap" guitars (e.g., Xaviere, Glarry, Firefly) I took a chance on the WestCreek Revenge (red), fully expecting it to require a complete set-up and to have some minor fit & finish issues, maybe even require some downstream mods/upgrades to get it to punch above its weight.
So I was very pleasantly surprised when the Revenge arrived this afternoon in (nearly) flawless condition, was playable right out of the box, and sounded absolutely fantastic.
Appearance - positives:
+ The red is deeper and more nuanced than the Amazon photos; in some lighting it is very vibrant and in other lighting it is almost maroon. Really comes alive, especially with the flame top.
+ The sides, back, and neck are not black as they appear on screen, but more of a deep burgundy. A nice surprise!
+ The stain, lacquer and binding are flawless all-around. The flame top is subtle but adds plenty of color depth.
+ The glued neck joint is perfectly blended with the body as if the entire thing were carved out of one solid block of wood.
+ The stainless frets are already polished with smooth, rounded ends - just as described. Extremely comfortable without any filing needed.
+ The mother-of-pearl fret marker inlays are vibrant with plenty of 3-dimensional depth.
+ The fretboard itself appears to be high quality wood; the coloration is consistent and there is no wood filler.
+ The headstock logo appears to be mother-of-pearl inlay. Higher-end than what I expected; based on the Amazon photos I thought it would be a white decal. So another nice surprise.
Appearance - negatives:
- The highest fret marker inlay is *ever* so slightly crooked. You can only see it because the strings make vertical reference lines; most would probably not even notice. I’m picky about such things but even I can live with it.
- The humbucker pickups in the Amazon photos have chrome covers. The one I received came with uncovered black pickups. Which I’m actually happy about because I would’ve preferred that look anyway. But it's in the negative list because it's still an assembly discrepancy; if someone is ordering this guitar hoping for the chrome pickups that are pictured, they would likely be disappointed.
- All 3 of the control knobs are marked "volume" when in fact there should be 2 volume (top and middle) and 1 marked "tone" (bottom). The knob functions properly as a tone knob so the pots are correct; it's just the wrong tophat. I submitted a customer service request this afternoon to the seller to either send me a replacement tophat OR send me a partial refund that would cover buying new tophats myself. Again, it works right, so not a big deal.
Functional - positives:
+ As mentioned above, the guitar required minimal setup. I watched a YouTube review (apparently from a prior run of Revenge models in late '22) which said the nut needed cut way down, the truss rod needed big adjustments, the bridge was too high, and the intonation was way off. Well in my case, at least, none of that turned out to be a problem. The nut is cut perfectly; strings are low with no buzz. Neck relief is right where I like it (flat with no relief), and bridge height was also perfect. Just needs *slight* intonation adjustments on 2 strings. Honestly, I've never bought or worked on a guitar that was this close to being dialed in right out of the box.
+ Pots seem to ramp up as they should. Saw a prior Amazon reviewer who had bad luck with a volume knob jumping straight up to full volume but this wasn’t an issue for me.
+ The factory tuners are tight and don't seem to have a lot of slop in the mechanism. We'll see how well they hold tune but so far, so good.
+ This guitar sounds amazing! The sound of these (black, uncovered) pickups matches the appearance of this guitar, i.e., full-bodied & aggressive. Crisp & vintage clean tones, monster crunch at high gain, with sustain for *days.*
EDIT: Another + The pickup specs aren't listed, however, according to my multimeter they measure just shy of 10k at the neck and slightly below 14k at the bridge. So they're fairly hot and provide plenty of crunch, as you might want/expect with this style of guitar.
Functional - negatives:
- The strings suck. But factory strings always do, so I'm not sure this really counts as a minus. Just replace them with your favorite strings at your earliest opportunity.
- The fretboard looks pretty dried out, so it's in bad need of oil at the first string change. But that's pretty much standard operating procedure unless you have a maple fretboard.
- The high-E tuner knob is really hard to turn. So much that I was worried about breaking it when I initially tuned up the guitar. It seemed to loosen up a tiny bit after that, but still pretty stiff. Not a big deal, but might be a reason to upgrade the tuners at a later date.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with this guitar. Especially at a sub-$250 price point! I realize that other user experiences seem to be mixed, so quality control may still be luck of the draw. But I'm pleasantly surprised and impressed with the one I received. Even if it had come needing a setup it would be a steal. This guitar looks and sounds as good - and perhaps better - than other "Explorer" and "Snakebite" type guitars costing >10x as much that I've played around with. If you're in the market for this style of guitar - and maybe tired of waiting for other more popular "cheap" guitar brands to release their next batch (as I did) - the Revenge is an excellent value.
EDIT: I contacted WestCreek via Amazon customer service link about the volume/tone knob and they issued me a $10 credit within 12 hrs. Enough to cover the cost of a set of 4 identical replacement tophats, which I can easily change out myself.
Bumping my review from 4 stars to 5, as this was really the only “negative” above that bothered me.
WestCreek Revenge Right Handed Electric Guitar with Heavy Metal Humbucker Pickups, Jumbo Frets, and Mahogany Body
4.5 | 321 ratings
Price: 239.99
Last update: 07-24-2024
About this item
WestCreek Revenge Introduction: This WestCreek Revenge electric guitar is easy to access the upper frets.
Musical Style: Revenge model electric guitar is heavy metal guitar.
Heavy Metal Pickups: Sound good on clean, overdrive and distortion.
Bone Nut: Bone nut much denser and tough than other types of guitar nuts. It will transfer the sound vibrations with great efficiency, without absorbing them.
Rounded End Medium Jumbo Frets: Smooth and comfortable playability.
Musical Style: Revenge model electric guitar is heavy metal guitar.
Heavy Metal Pickups: Sound good on clean, overdrive and distortion.
Bone Nut: Bone nut much denser and tough than other types of guitar nuts. It will transfer the sound vibrations with great efficiency, without absorbing them.
Rounded End Medium Jumbo Frets: Smooth and comfortable playability.
Product information
| Item Weight | 11.33 pounds |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions | 43.31 x 19.69 x 4.33 inches |
| Country of Origin | China |
| ASIN | B0BJ6158DG |
| Item model number | Revenge |
| Customer Reviews |
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars
272 ratings
4.5 out of 5 stars |
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,921 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments) #5 in Solid Body Electric Guitars |
| Date First Available | October 14, 2022 |
| Back Material | Mahogany |
| Body Material | Mahogany |
| Color Name | Blood Revenge |
| Fretboard Material | Rosewood |
| Guitar Pickup Configuration | H-H |
| String Material | Stainless Steel |
| Top Material | Mahogany |
| Neck Material Type | Rosewood |
| Number of Strings | 6 |
| Guitar Bridge System | TOM |
Top reviews from the United States
BG
Looks and sounds fantastic!
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2023
BG
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2023
So I was very pleasantly surprised when the Revenge arrived this afternoon in (nearly) flawless condition, was playable right out of the box, and sounded absolutely fantastic.
Appearance - positives:
+ The red is deeper and more nuanced than the Amazon photos; in some lighting it is very vibrant and in other lighting it is almost maroon. Really comes alive, especially with the flame top.
+ The sides, back, and neck are not black as they appear on screen, but more of a deep burgundy. A nice surprise!
+ The stain, lacquer and binding are flawless all-around. The flame top is subtle but adds plenty of color depth.
+ The glued neck joint is perfectly blended with the body as if the entire thing were carved out of one solid block of wood.
+ The stainless frets are already polished with smooth, rounded ends - just as described. Extremely comfortable without any filing needed.
+ The mother-of-pearl fret marker inlays are vibrant with plenty of 3-dimensional depth.
+ The fretboard itself appears to be high quality wood; the coloration is consistent and there is no wood filler.
+ The headstock logo appears to be mother-of-pearl inlay. Higher-end than what I expected; based on the Amazon photos I thought it would be a white decal. So another nice surprise.
Appearance - negatives:
- The highest fret marker inlay is *ever* so slightly crooked. You can only see it because the strings make vertical reference lines; most would probably not even notice. I’m picky about such things but even I can live with it.
- The humbucker pickups in the Amazon photos have chrome covers. The one I received came with uncovered black pickups. Which I’m actually happy about because I would’ve preferred that look anyway. But it's in the negative list because it's still an assembly discrepancy; if someone is ordering this guitar hoping for the chrome pickups that are pictured, they would likely be disappointed.
- All 3 of the control knobs are marked "volume" when in fact there should be 2 volume (top and middle) and 1 marked "tone" (bottom). The knob functions properly as a tone knob so the pots are correct; it's just the wrong tophat. I submitted a customer service request this afternoon to the seller to either send me a replacement tophat OR send me a partial refund that would cover buying new tophats myself. Again, it works right, so not a big deal.
Functional - positives:
+ As mentioned above, the guitar required minimal setup. I watched a YouTube review (apparently from a prior run of Revenge models in late '22) which said the nut needed cut way down, the truss rod needed big adjustments, the bridge was too high, and the intonation was way off. Well in my case, at least, none of that turned out to be a problem. The nut is cut perfectly; strings are low with no buzz. Neck relief is right where I like it (flat with no relief), and bridge height was also perfect. Just needs *slight* intonation adjustments on 2 strings. Honestly, I've never bought or worked on a guitar that was this close to being dialed in right out of the box.
+ Pots seem to ramp up as they should. Saw a prior Amazon reviewer who had bad luck with a volume knob jumping straight up to full volume but this wasn’t an issue for me.
+ The factory tuners are tight and don't seem to have a lot of slop in the mechanism. We'll see how well they hold tune but so far, so good.
+ This guitar sounds amazing! The sound of these (black, uncovered) pickups matches the appearance of this guitar, i.e., full-bodied & aggressive. Crisp & vintage clean tones, monster crunch at high gain, with sustain for *days.*
EDIT: Another + The pickup specs aren't listed, however, according to my multimeter they measure just shy of 10k at the neck and slightly below 14k at the bridge. So they're fairly hot and provide plenty of crunch, as you might want/expect with this style of guitar.
Functional - negatives:
- The strings suck. But factory strings always do, so I'm not sure this really counts as a minus. Just replace them with your favorite strings at your earliest opportunity.
- The fretboard looks pretty dried out, so it's in bad need of oil at the first string change. But that's pretty much standard operating procedure unless you have a maple fretboard.
- The high-E tuner knob is really hard to turn. So much that I was worried about breaking it when I initially tuned up the guitar. It seemed to loosen up a tiny bit after that, but still pretty stiff. Not a big deal, but might be a reason to upgrade the tuners at a later date.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with this guitar. Especially at a sub-$250 price point! I realize that other user experiences seem to be mixed, so quality control may still be luck of the draw. But I'm pleasantly surprised and impressed with the one I received. Even if it had come needing a setup it would be a steal. This guitar looks and sounds as good - and perhaps better - than other "Explorer" and "Snakebite" type guitars costing >10x as much that I've played around with. If you're in the market for this style of guitar - and maybe tired of waiting for other more popular "cheap" guitar brands to release their next batch (as I did) - the Revenge is an excellent value.
EDIT: I contacted WestCreek via Amazon customer service link about the volume/tone knob and they issued me a $10 credit within 12 hrs. Enough to cover the cost of a set of 4 identical replacement tophats, which I can easily change out myself.
Bumping my review from 4 stars to 5, as this was really the only “negative” above that bothered me.
Images in this review
SNAFU
WestCreek Nailed It! An Exceptional Value Here. Beautiful Guitar.
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2023
SNAFU
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2023
The guitar is covered in a foam bag and fit into a molded styrofoam coffin and then placed inside a very sturdy cardboard box.
My guitar was playable out of the box. All I did was tune it up and plug it in. Also the strings are nice and didn't leave my fingers black like many others do. Action was nice and low.
Initial inspection showed nothing wrong. Fit and finish is nicely done as is the binding. All hardware is tight and installed properly. Fingerboard inlays are well done and properly centered. The radius per my gauges is 14".
Setup adjustments were just a half turn to loosen the truss rod. The factory action was nice and low, but I like to have all of my guitars set up consistently so I raised the action a tiny bit. Note that the truss rod cover is held in place by two screws that are between the D and G strings. This makes it easy to remove the cover without having to loosen the strings and move them out of the way. Nice little touch WestCreek! Three of the strings needed to be intonated slightly at the bridge because they were a bit sharp. This all took about 10 minutes to complete.
Nut and nut slots are well cut and needed no tweaking. Tuners are firm, very smooth and hold tuning well. These are some of the nicest tuners that I have ever seen on a budget friendly guitar. No need to upgrade them. The pickups are incredible. They are a bit on the hot side. DCR for the Bridge measured 13.36 k and the Neck measured 9.35k. They do cleans well and take gain nicely. If you are a classic rock player, this is the one for you. I will NOT be replacing these. The toggle switch is very nice. It's a Switchcraft style rather than a cheap sealed switch. Pots are full size and all taper nicely. Cavities are painted with shielding paint.
Frets are supposed to be stainless steel, and seem to be. Nickle silver frets have a slight yellow tint to them while stainless steel is more silver. If you compare them side by side it is pretty easy to tell. Fretwork is pretty good. There is some negligible fret rock on 8 frets, but it doesn't affect playability at all so I'm going to leave it alone. One odd thing with the frets is that they are pressed on in a strange order. Some of the frets are shorter than others as you move down the neck. Sort of like the person just grabbed the wrong length fret and put it on. Some of the frets reach to the sides of the finger board and stop. Others run onto the white binding and stop while others run almost to the edge of the binding and stop. This doesn't affect playability and there is plenty of fret room to bend strings, it's simply an odd cosmetic thing that drives my OCD crazy. Finally, my guitar doesn't neck dive with my Souldier nylon seatbelt strap so that's another plus.
What I will change because I choose to, not because I have to.
Replace the plastic output jack plate with a metal one.
Install a Kaish roller bridge and TP6 style tailpiece set.
This is a great purchase and I will be keeping this one. I would like to see WestCreek make some other models like a V in these color schemes. Please use a low neck joint for easy access to the upper frets just like on this guitar and I will buy one.
WestCreek, well done. Please keep up the good work. Thank you.
Update 4/16/2023 - Picture added to show the guitar with the Kaish roller bridge and tailpiece installed. This is a drop in mod and I didn't even have to swap out the posts for either one. Still playing the factory strings and no black fingers! This thing is a real beauty. Plays like a dream. Get one.
Images in this review
