00:00What's up people, I'm Karl Metalhead and I bought my dream guitar from Aliexpress.
00:12Like most young metalheads beginning my journey through the genre, Metallica were an important part of my formative years,
00:18and one of the bands inspired me to pick up the guitar.
00:20I'd regularly purchase Total Guitar magazine, and if I spent as much time practising as I did reading reviews and lusting after the year to talk about,
00:27I'd actually be a pretty decent guitarist by now.
00:30Throughout the magazine would be page after page of adverts for guitar stores, but there was one store that I'd always be drawn to,
00:37Percy Prime Music on Queensway in Birmingham, and that was because they were dealers for BC Rich, Ibanez, Jackson and ESP guitars.
00:45If you'd asked me at that time what my dream guitar was, it'd be James Hetfield's black ESP MX220 Explorer.
00:52Now I might not be the Metallica fan that I once was, but there's no denying that throughout the 90s, Hetfield was the man.
00:58So it's over 25 years later, and I'm seeing some really cheap guitars on Aliexpress.
01:04I start browsing, and amongst all the Strats and Les Pauls, I start to see some guitars that piqued my interest.
01:09Now I'd heard of Chibson guitars, but this is when I started doing a little more research, and a short while later, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge.
01:17Having read all sorts of horror stories about the cheap Chinese guitars, I really wasn't sure what to expect would arrive.
01:23I'd read about guitars not having truss rods, and I recently saw a video where the neck was actually set at an angle.
01:29At worst, I figured I'd hang it on the wall as a decoration, and at best, I hoped I'd be able to do some work on it to have a decent guitar.
01:36The first guitar that I ordered didn't arrive, so a little over a month after its due date, I contacted Aliexpress, who were quick to refund the money that I'd paid.
01:46After some searching, I found what looked like a more reputable seller that actually had reviews from previous customers, and I placed an order.
01:53Listed at £265, I used an in-app coupon to get £40 off.
01:59Surprisingly, within 45 minutes, the seller had marked the guitar as shipped, and provided a tracking number.
02:05Parcel Force attempted delivery while I was out at work, so I had to go to my local post office to collect it.
02:11Delivered in what is best described as a polystyrene sarcophagus, I saw how easily the guy behind the counter lifted the parcel,
02:17and I was a little concerned about how light the package was, especially once I lifted it myself.
02:23It's worth noting that I didn't pay any additional customs due to your fees, only what was paid through Aliexpress when I placed the order.
02:30So now that it's in hand, what can I say?
02:33It looks fantastic.
02:35There's a couple of very minor blemishes in the paintwork, but nothing that's noticeable from a distance.
02:40Straight out of the box, the neck feels good, and certainly comparable to other guitars that I own.
02:46It's bright and loud when it's unplugged,
02:48but it's a metal gizzard, so what does it sound like plugged in?
02:55So we'll start with the clean channel.
02:58The first thing I'm hearing is there's quite a lot of noise.
03:00The pots seem quite smooth, quite nice.
03:07Pickup selector switch seems decent.
03:12So that's the bridge pickup.
03:17That's both pickups.
03:22Another pickup.
03:23That's a lot of noise.
03:48and distorted we've got quite a lot of noise gate to cover up all the noise coming from the pickups
04:18so
04:48sound quite weak to me. Definitely pickups need replacing.
05:18guitar solo
05:48For the £225 I paid for this guitar, I'm pleasantly surprised at how good it is. I'd anticipated
06:17changing the tuning pegs and nuts, but they seem fine if a little plasticky. Clearly
06:22the pickups and wiring need looking at, but I'm confident with a little bit of work this
06:25would be a fantastic guitar for the money. I hope you found this useful. Are you contemplating
06:31buying a Chibson? What modifications would you make to this guitar? Share your thoughts,
06:36tips and mod ideas down below in the comments.
06:40I'll see you next time.
06:45I'll see you next time.
06:49I'll see you next time.
06:54I'll see you next time.
06:58I'll see you next time.
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