Daisy Rock - Rock Candy Custom Special Guitar, Dark Star

I lucked out and found one used, though I then had to pay for some work to be done by my local guy,which put it at about the price listed, lol. I found it for 99 bucks, so I didn't mind putting extra money into it. I loved it right away. The neck/truss rod needed adjustment, and the frets were sanded and fixed. From the first moment I played it I loved it though, even before the fix up. There's just something about it that inspires me to play well. I've owned the same guitar for 20 plus years, and will keep it as well, but this guitar is fun to play, the smaller neck is great for moving around better, and it just overall feels great in your hands. People stop giggling when I mention that this guitar was made by a real deal female musician and the parts and design are treated seriously. There are a couple of other models that look cool, but cost more. For the price, this thing is great. I'll probably replace the pickups one day, but I'm not in a rush. If you are a female OR male, and have lucked out to reading the review for this baby, GET IT, if you can play one in person, great, if not, get it still, you may need to have it tweaked once you get it, but it is well worth it. I just DID NOT WANT A STRAT SHAPED GUITAR!! I'm so tired of that shape, I was so happy to find an alternative to that that has met and surpassed my expectations. It motivates me to play for sure.UPDATE: I still love this guitar. probably more so now. I have a vox practice amp and a digitech cheap multi-effects unit (one of the rp units, the second model, older one). the sound from this setup is beautiful. the guitar's pickups do sound great. the back pickup setting (the more rock-sound) is great and real classic sounding. I use the middle setting, which is fuller and jangly, and cleaner. The front setting has the right amount of bass and fuller, better for single note playing. secret: the tone knob can be pulled UP to give you a lighter sound. While I don't use this really, to find this out after having it for months was a REALLY COOL surprise. Mine has nicks and scratches around it, but that gives it a more worn in look.

I'm a full-time working guitar player and guitar instructor, who happens to teach a lot of women and girls ages 6-60 (but I also have a lot of male students.)Although I do own many guitars by other well-known traditional brands, I mostly play Daisy Rock guitars in the recording studio, in live performances and at various pro-level jam sessions in Los Angeles. My students usually see me play a Daisy Rock at lessons. The reasons why I do it is because Daisy Rock makes guitars that have a lot of high-quality features that you'd usually find in much more expensive instruments; they're really easy and comfortable to play, and I really like their mission to inspire females to play guitar.I first saw the Rock Candy Dark Star at the 2006 NAMM show, and was really struck by how easy and good it felt to play. The satin finish on the back of the neck really helps. My hands are tiny (as small as the hands of some of my pre-teen students), so bending strings and playing barre chords was always a bit of a struggle for me when I started playing. I wish this guitar would have been around when I began taking guitar lessons!I soon got the chance to plug the Dark Star into an amp... it's a great sounding guitar, especially for rock and harder rock styles. I played in a Led Zeppelin tribute group and played this guitar at shows, since Les Pauls are way too heavy for me and my back. If you want to know how it sounds, feel free to visit my website [...] - all lead and rhythm guitar tracks were done on the Dark Star.My only cautionary note is that you have to be careful with the satin paint finish, as it scratches easily. Make sure to keep your guitar in the case when you're not playing it, and don't lean it against the wall or do anything else that'll make it fall - but that's common advice regardless of what guitar you play!Guitar Player Magazine also featured the Dark Star in their Editor's Pick section a couple of years ago when the guitar model first came out. They mentioned how much guitar (=high-quality features) you get for the relatively low price. I love my guitar!

The Good:- Fast neck because of satin finish- Grover tuners for stable tuning- Through-body strings for sustain (possibly mythical :) )- Foil-shielded control cavity- Duncan Detonators (!!!)- Push-pull coil splitter (!!!)The Bad:- Sharp fret ends that require a fret job at a guitar store (an hour or two of work) or a DIY with a fret file- Fragile finish compared to the usual non-satin finishes (more chips and dings than normal)- Plastic nut (like most guitars)I bought this guitar used, and it need a little work --- filing the frets, tightening the pots, sanding the dings, re-gluing the nut. It sounds and plays great. I believe that this model is discontinued, so buy it while you can.