GLARRY 39″ Full Size Electric Guitar with Amp

I needed a cheap beater guitar that could be made functional, and I’m a lefty, so my options were limited. The action’s high, the frets are rough, and the strings are horrible, with a shrill tone that caused me to dial back the trebel. The practice amp is pretty dreadful, but its compact and functional for noodling around in the basement. As far as cosmetics, its a typical cheap run-of-the-mill strat lookalike, but the finish is pretty decent. However, there is a ding in the rear of the guitar body that was painted over at the factory. It doesnt really bother me much because its not visible when playing, and again, I was looking for a workhorse beater.

Now, you may be asking yourself: ‘If you found so many nitpicks, why the solid four star rating?’ Because its an electric guitar with a practice amp for a sawbuck and a half, and I wasnt expecting anything at that price to rival my PRS or Gibson. – Its the guitar I was expecting at that pricepoint. This guitar would be great for a beginner with a little setup. – Ditch the strings, oil the fretboard, and sand the frets, and this is pretty playable. Just dont expect too much, and you’ll be very pleased.

Obviously for around $85 (with free ship) we are not talking high-end gear here, but overall these packs are DEFINITELY worth the bucks and then some…. The guitar is easily on par with (or better than) the low end Squier Strat that sells for around $125. The Squier comes with nothing but a cardboard box…. Here you get the guitar, a half-way decent little beginners practice amp, a cheap (but usable) gig-bag, a cord and some picks….. Not too shabby for well under a hundred beans!

I have purchased a couple of these packs so far and here’s what I have found….

On the guitar: The body is light (basswood?) but is the “full thickness” of a real Strat. (The Squiers are thinner.) The necks feel good, are comfortable to play and are straight. Fret’s seem fairly level and have not been overly “sharp” on the edges. Both of mine had no logo on the head-stock, but the heads were the correct (traditional) Strat shape/size. Body paint/finish was excellent with no blems. The pick-ups are a little on the weak side, but if you adjust them so that they are up as close to the strings as you can get them (without hitting), they actually sound pretty friggen good!…. Plenty of “Strat Quack” tones to be had!

On the amp: It is what it is. A small low powered amp that will allow you to make some noise. It is interesting to note though, that this thing does have an adjustable gain so you can dial in different levels of overdrive. As well as Bass/Treble controls to tweak the tone, a headphone jack and an extra input for CD or MP3 player. Again, not high-end, but decent enough for the bucks and usable. Better than NO amp, and actually a cool little toy that can get some decent nasty-sounding dirty blues tones if nothing else….

Just an FYI…. I have been playing for over 30 years and just happen to love cheap, playable guitars. I didn’t get paid to write the review….. Just like sharing when I find a good deal!…. For less than the cost of what most pay for hard-shell case you can get a decent looking/playing Strat style guitar here with extra’s. Great for a back-up or beater axe. Or, to practice modding or luthier work on. Or to give to a “budding” rock-star….. It’s $85, it’s a no-brainer!….

If you can finish reading this review, you must buy this guitar!

This guitar is absolutely beautiful (the green finish one… woot). The guitar comes like all other guitars; it needs to be ‘set-up’ and attuned. Unless you pay a music store to do it for you when buying a guitar (often built into the price tag), all guitars need different levels of set-up; regardless of their cost. Watch a few videos on the subject if you don’t already know, and you will see what I mean. I have not set this one up yet, but I have tested it out ‘as-is’ straight out of the box. It was quite impressive without any work, but it was clear that it needed a full set-up.

It is light-weight but sturdy; thanks to the basswood body and finish. The neck seems to be white maple which makes it lighter as well.

I have all the equipment I need to set this guitar up and start using it, including a few items which were not part of the package. It still has only set me back by about 130 or so in total (July 2023, wait for the real inflation to kick in…). That is okay though, as the guitar has already proven itself to be a capable instrument.

During my initial testing, I realized there was a great deal of set-up needed to condition this guitar to my liking, and it may be a more elaborate project depending on how an individual prefers their set-up (beginners: refer to the five bajillion guitar set-up videos). Newbies can learn a lot by buying this guitar and watching the necessary ‘how-to’s’. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty or making a few mistakes on your first guitar. It builds character; both for you and the guitar!

The frets have rough edges, but that is caused mostly by the fret boards and neck shrinking during warehousing, shipping, etc. after production. This is fixed relatively easily with fret files; which set me back a whopping seven measly bucks. The fret boards need to be lubricated and conditioned, the neck needs sanding for my taste, you will need new strings, etc, etc, etc. Again, all guitars require set-up and care to get it ready and keep it happy. The strings that came with it are fine enough, but will have to be tossed in order to finish the set-up properly. Do not take them off until you are happy with the string ‘action’ and tremolo ‘float’, or you are wasting a good set of strings to help you during set-up. And be sure to get strings of the same gauge so that you don’t mess up your set-up too much. That includes attuning the individual strings and so on. It should also be noted that minor set-up adjustments may be necessary depending on the tensile strength of the different strings you install, despite being the same gauge, but this is after everything else is completely finished. And lastly, as the guitar sees use and time passes, further set-ups are inevitable.

The amp is fine. I don’t know why people are whining about the sound it produces. It is absolutely and ridiculously loud. Are they trying to host a garage band concert with a 20W amp or something and have the volume maxed? At like 10%, or whatever it took to get the gain to produce distortion, I was already feeling like my cat was scared out of her mind and I was having the time of my decade here.

You will have to buy a decent guitar strap for comfort, and I would highly recommend a stand or proper case for storage. The bag included isn’t going to keep it protected by itself.

Listen, I just spent a lot of time pouring my heart out over this ‘cheap’ guitar. I’m not yanking anyone’s chain or being spoon fed by anyone to do so. My review is written by a human being, me (not AI or CTRL+V’ed from some arsenene sweatshop reviewer), and is © 9/9/2023, me, with permission for Amazon to use my creative writing skills (and I don’t really care what it says in TOS, I am still giving permission even though it may be implied by some legalese which I do not believe in).

Listen, if you are considering this guitar already to get your journey started, and haven’t clicked ‘Buy Now’, I don’t know what else to say.

This is my third Glarry instrument, and I absolutely love it. Amplifier works great, and is better than other beginner amps. Feels good in the hand and perfect! Would highly recommend to any beginner guitarist who wants to Stratocaster.

Would be better if the amp didn’t have so much static.