Checking Out A $160 Guitar From Amazon 

Professionally honest review. Gives people an idea of the red flags but doesn't make a new player feel bad about their purchase. Great job!

Yours is the only channel I will watch reviews of gear I have absolutely zero interest in owning whatsoever. I always end up learning something. I love how thorough you are and its actually surprisingly entertaining to watch you go through the list of items to check etc. Fantastic stuff.

I've seen a lot of people talking about these but yours is the only one i trust.

"Donner, party of 3!" yelled the waitress. "Wow took you long enough! We're down to 2 now!"

I grabbed a black gloss Donner Tele during prime day on Amazon. Less than $100. String change, a little setup, and it’s a hoss. Somewhere down the road I may do some mods. But out of the box it’s got good bones.

My first electric guitar was a real p.o.s. Les paul copy i bought in 1977 for 165.00 . I did the math on what i made then and what i make now, and that guitar cost me 8426.00 , holy crap! I can’t believe how lucky today’s beginner’s are!!! What a great piece of gear for a beginner!

I have the exact same Donner guitar, and I can tell you, it’s a great guitar! I have been doing my own setups for about a year. Applied what I knew to this Donner, and.. I got lucky, as my guitars finish did not have any visible flaws in fit or finish. Never bothered my tone anyways..lol. Rock on Everyone!!

Phil, I understand what you’re saying about getting a more expensive guitar, but I’ve purchased many guitars between $300-$1000 and pretty much every single one of them except for my RG 550 Genesis needed to be completely set up. Most of them needed mild fret work, leveling, crowning, polishing, etc. The one thing I will completely agree with though is that the more expensive guitars are finished better. Although in the past you had to go over the $1000 range for most guitars to get them with higher quality pick ups and higher quality Tuners, Bridge, etc. Now there are starting to be nicer guitars with better components as low as $300.

I’ve bought 2 Fender MIM guitars that needed a set up right out of the box. So this may not be too bad.

I factored in the cost of a setup when I got my 1st guitar. I got the Grote semi-hollow Tele, and I have been quite pleased with it. I don't buy guitars for their resale value; I buy them to play.

Actually, it may be a really good thing for a beginner to also learn about the setup process as well as learning to play the instrument properly. If you are in the learning mode, you might as well learn proper care and setup as well, then you'll be a step ahead of those who just play the instrument and don't know a thing about how to fix minor problems they are having with the instrument.

Great review Phil. You summarized it well. I see comments on these inexpensive guitars ranging from experienced players loving them and accepting that they may need some tweaking to others complaining about finish and setup issues. I have found them to be a fun way to enjoy a new guitar including inspection and setup. It's fun to understand and resolve an issue. I've learned a lot doing this. Even bought junk guitars off craigslist and pawn shop just to challenge myself. Eventually, I trade or give them away and do it again.

I got on on prime day for about $120 with the intention of modding it a little. Im probably going to leave it as is for a while because its pretty solid. action was high out of the box but my frets dont buzz. For the money I dont think I could have done any better and im really happy with it. I'd rank it above a bullet of affinity for sure.

Mr. McKnight, Very helpful video on the Donner semi tele... lots of extra information about the topic. Thank you. The details help. Great Insight.

Hey, Phil! Great review. The last comment is the most valuable information, in my opinion.Maybe it would be helpful if you could repeat that now and then, many of us think that buying more expensive stuff will make us better players.

Appreciate the honest review, I love the look on the maple fretboard. Really reminds me of what the 70s era of imports were doing

My donner Stratocaster body was awesome! The electronics could be upgraded! other than that I'm happy with it!

Should be called Donor guitars, b/c you will be donating it after you give up from frustration. Sky high nut height and string action. Beginners would do themselves a huge favor getting an entry level Squire.

I have been curious about Donner. Pretty much what I expected for the money. Thanks Phil.

I got one in July 2024. The intonation needed to be adjusted. The nut slots need to be deeper. Two of the tuners slip a bit when twisting the handles. The posts don't slip. The high E string didn't have enough wraps on the post and it slips. Several frets cause buzz. Yet I really like this guitar. It is very comfortable to play. Mine feels too heavy for a Thinline design. The wood must be very heavy. There was only one bit of sand under the paint on the top. Everything else was pretty and perfect. The screws were in straight and the pick guard was positioned right. The three ply design looks great. After the frets are leveled and crowned, the nut slots will be adjusted. The last thing to be done is to get locking tuners. Then it will be perfect. I have seen this entire package for sale online at Walmart for only $105.99 as the regular price. Amazon has them for $169.99 with a $50 off coupon. That is where I got mine. It is worth it.

Yes I got this a week or so ago and I love it. Great sounding and feeling guitar. At least for a cheap guitar, like I dont feel like I need to swap the pickups right away. And the strap seems sturdy enough. Also I just checked and the intonation seems pretty spot on. Also the glossy neck doesn't get too sticky either.

panty hose is a pretty good idea for the viewer. may I recommend a darker color to highlight when the frets catch/tear them? Hard to see on a tan color.

I've been a guitar snob my whole life. However, I just purchased my 3rd Harley Benton guitar. I own a Strat style guitar, a LP style guitar and a Jazz Bass. All I did was basic set up, polished the frets and swapped out the strings. They play great, sound great and I don't need to worry about knocking one over.

It may be an old guy thing, but that's still a lot of guitar for a buck and a half!! 8) JMHO --gary

I got one a couple weeks ago and it is great. I checked the frets and they are perfect. I did add locking tuners and a Tortoise pickguard. The pickguard barely covered the old holes, so beware. I did drill new holes too. The string ferrules are not glued in and fall out. The only gripe I have is a dust speck or two in the neck finish. Barely noticeable. Plays like butter after a set-up. I set the action low and it does not buzz. I do need to replace the grub screws with some shorter ones.

I bought one of these. Can in fantastic condition. Intonation was set and the action was extremely low. The frets feel a little gritty but that will play in. I might increase the relief a tiny bit but otherwise this would not require any set-up. This would be a perfect guitar for a new player as delivered by Amazon.

Donner honestly makes some good stuff (for the price) I bought a couple of their pedals on amazon and while they weren't astoundingly awesome, they were a pleasant step above the nameless stomp boxes that were thrown together with scrap electronics.

I got this guitar a couple of weeks ago. I like it. The fret ends are smooth. The pickups sound good and the volume and tone pots work fine. It was perfectly intonation when it arrived. There are a few high frets that need leveling. All in all, for the money, it's a nice guitar.

Waiting for that Sire review that's coming :)

I’m late to the party on this but I picked up one of these at an auction house as I presumed was a B Stock nonetheless I got it home and did the once over on it. I only discovered 2 flaws. It needed new tuners and the string height screws were sticking up giving it the cheese grater effect. So those were replaced as well and I got to say this is a very playable and great sounding guitar. New strings too of course. It’s all set up and intonated ready to go. Happy days !

Bought a DST-100L Donner guitar a while back for 101.99 to have as a beater. Nice strat copy. I don't regret buying it. Still play it often.

I got one back in May. Intonation ok, action great. No buzzing, no fret sprout. No need for any leveling. While the pickups were good (i reused them in my Grote), I put in some fender-style humbuckers from Fretwire. On advice from another youtube channel, I went from 10's to 8's for the strings. This is my absolute favorite guitar now. Only thing I may upgrade are the tuners, but they are fine now.

Picked one up on discount for $120. Added brass saddles, bone nut, and Wilkinson tuners. Cost me $60. So for $180 it’s a great guitar.

I reviewed the Donner LP style guitar. It's actually pretty good.

They sent me one this week to review for my website. The pickup selector on the guitar they sent us broken and they're not replying to emails so... It'll get reviewed as a broken guitar.

I bought one of these a month or two ago when they were on sale! It works well for me, with a little bit of fret buzz on the low E, but I think I just need to adjust the action for that. Haven't really done much checking on the intonation honestly, because I've been playing my other guitars much more. While I like mine a lot (especially once I threw distortion on it), I'm not nearly as thorough in how I assess my guitars and basses and I don't really know how to break it down to the degree that you do (even if the steps you're following are pretty clear, I don't have nylons, I don't know how to actually use the action ruler, I don't know how to use my multimeter to check the output). So it is very probable that a lot of problems it has are things that I only notice when I'm playing, just before I decide to grab one of my other guitars and continue.

Compared to the Sears Silvertone and Wards Airline guitars that young guys had back in the day, the guitars nowadays are light years ahead. Those in the past never had a guitar set up and didn't even know what that meant but still played well in their garage bands.

I've bought three Donners and they were all fine right out of the box. I'd say they're reasonable competition for Squier. 👍

I’d like to see you get your hands on an old Memphis guitar (my first guitar.) I need a luthier to get my old Memphis up and running again.

Got mine about four years ago and the pick ups blew me away , way hotter than I expected, still kind of a tinny twangy sound but for a metal player I keep mine in drop c sharp and sounds dope for like Deftones and Linkin park . After about four years the input jack has died or something need to take it to get it repaired I'm sure very affordable repair. The guitar is definitely worth every penny and then some !

I appreciate your reviews more than others even when they are "sponsored" because you give an honest evaluation and spend the time to talk about the neck & frets where many others don't. The neck carve and thickness as well as the nut width is by far the most important feature of any guitar in my opinion. If the neck isn't comfortable I just won't play the guitar no matter how cool it might look or sound.

I got one during the Amazon days sale for $117, shipped. I may have just gotten lucky, but it's a really good guitar for the price. Factor in $15-$20 for the gig bag, $5 for a cheap strap and it's, what?, $90-$95?...STEAL! Sounds great with distortion, and I've had no issues so far. Great review, Phil. I also got a Glarry bass, in yellow. Needed a quarter turn on the neck, and I raised the low E string a little, plays great. And I stuck some 'Minion' stickers on it, so now it's my grand daughter's favorite guitar!

I bought the Donner strat in sapphire blue on sale for $75 as a mod platform. For $75 it was a great value. Like you said, the guitar needed a fret level, crowning and polishing to get it playable. The truss rod did need some adjusting as well. I did replace the plastic nut with a graph tech tusq nut. The tuners were terrible and I replaced them with locking tuners. I replaced the bridge with a ping strat bridge for a mim strat. I changed out the pickups for the Wilkinson strat alnico v pickups and I changed the electronics out for a mim strat set with CTS pots and a fender 5 way switch. I slapped on a cool pickguard and the guitar plays really well. This neck feels amazing and the alnico v pickups sound great. The only challenge is that the body did not take standard strat parts and so I had to do a bit of modification, but nothing drastic. This was a fun project and in the end it is a great guitar.

Phillip, what is the tool you use for chacking the nut height? Thanks.

I love the guitar . Replaced the pups with some phat cats . And a new wilkinson bridge , so like all in for like 220$

I always hang out until the end of the video. always.

Quick fix for the fret kissing thing. Put your fingers on both sides of the offending fret and forcefully push the string around the fret as you push it all the way down to the fretboard, It puts a dent in the string right above the fret. Instant clearance. Scalloped strings. It's a thing. Thank you for the videos. Real world testing. The honest truth about a guitar right before your eyes using test equipment and technique. You rock. Good job.

I bought mine 2 months ago (Stratocaster with SSH pick ups) 205 CAD with capo, amp, strap, picks, bag, spare strings, etc ... I received it a bend neck and I decided to make it adjusted by a pro, which it cost me 55$ + 7$ (better string + taxes). The guitar is perfect for my need, I'm a new beginner and with the pro adjustement and new strng it made a huge improvement from when I received it. So for a Canadian like me, it cost me 300$ for a decent guitar. I compared my Donner with a Squier and personnaly thing my Donner is more quality of the 3 Squier I saw in the music store. It would have cost me about the same amount for the Squier with less quality and without the accessories. Yes it's a great buy and if I was living in the US it would have cost me even less for my baby. For a beginner I prefer buying a "basic" guitar and investing in a great amp then having the professionnal guitar with a basic amp (I've watch lot of video on RU-vid and in my opinion, the amp it's the most important ting to make a great song). I bought a Boss Katana 50 MKII at 329$ cad (229$ in USA) and I could make a gig with that little amp who have lot of versatility. I only need to be able to play before giging if I want but time will tell. I also saw other RU-vidr who received Donner guitar free of charge and make it a beast (changing pick up, strings) but nobody was able to compare the cost of those mod versus buying one with all the features. I think I've made a great move with a SSH configuration, I totally prefer the humbucker and I will potentialy buy one with a 3 or 5 way switch with 2 humbuckers. thanks for that review who seems honest ... I totally agreed that guitar need an adjustement right away and the string need to be replace to make it more playable. I can also tell Donner seems to have a constant quality, every Donner I saw got all the same quality versus Squier where it can change on every guitars.

They must have picked a winner when they sent yours. Mine was perfect but I must have gotten a bad batch of pups. No low end at all. So I changed the magnets to A3 and the same problem. I think I’m gonna change it all out to an SS style and just use stacked HB or HR style. It feels great and the finish looks nice. I definitely want to change the pickguard to black.

I was really happy with my Donner ukulele from a couple years ago. I ordered the Tele with the “rosewood” color fingerboard and single coils. When it arrived, I was concerned because the box was crunched and the internal wedge box was broken. But, the guitar inside was thankfully intact. However, when I strummed it, it was not merely not in tune. It was tuned to ukulele pitch (up nearly 5 half-steps!) on the treble strings, and *up* nearly a perfect fifth on the lower E string. Yes, nearly to B. The A string was just flat of C#. A week and a half later I am still trying to gently bring it “home” to see if it was damaged by the abuse it received leaving the factory. The finish of the body is beautiful for such an inexpensive guitar. I am hoping not to have to return it once I get to evaluate the integrity.

I usually refer to dust covers / lightly padded as just gigbags, the actual good ones I call soft-case

It does catch the eye. That’s how a beginner suffers. Our first impression is the look. The coolest one on the wall. I want it. Lol. I remember my first LP copy in 1978. Lol. Don’t know who made it or where it was made. No writing on the headstock or body. It had one dead note on the B string. Thanks Phil 👍🤘I just went back to 1978 with the memories of that guitar. 😂 You Rock

Whilst I don't have a Donner guitar, I do have a fair few other things of theirs. Namely an interface, pedal board and PSU, their Circle looper and a tuner. Their products are great for bedroom players like me without a big budget.

I got one and was very pleased with it. Lots of fun, but did need some set up. Tuning machines tricky hole doesn't go down as far as regular vintage style.

Great review. I don't have a Donner, but I'm starting to collect some of these low end axes. I have a Grote 335, damn thing's a good guitar. I dig your style. I did have the Xavier version of the F-hole tele your reviewing, but I passed it along to one of my nephews. I'll be subbing and checking in. Good channel!

That bridge pick up sounds pretty good..

The riff you used for the pickup demos reminds me of that Khruangbin song "People Everywhere"

Great honest review. Please do a setup video for this guitar. Maybe throw in some cheap pickups you've got lying around. Then do a comparison. Cheers 🤘

That guitarr is perfection! The piccaunethings you brought to our attention are of zero consequence. I do realize however that you are obliged to bring them to our attention and it's right that you do. I clicked on the link you included. I would have ordered one immediate! Just under $200 Cdn. But of course they are unavailable at this time. All the cheap brands of guitars are sold out at all times. And it'd not just daddy's ordering their kid it's 1st guitar. They are beauty, easy players WITH SOME DIY TOUCHUPS. They sound terrific through pedals/amps or modelling amps. Amazing good value for their price! P'shaw on you Fender. P'shaw on you Gibson.

Love honest reviews. Some guys made that out to be a $400 guitar.

I got one of the lake placid blue Bullet Tele's for $140. Cheap guitars are awesome these days.

Great review! I must have got lucky, I’ve had mine for about a month now. Haven’t gotten it set up yet but I was planning on doing that before I bought it anyway. I had very little to no fret buzz.I don’t think there was any sprouting or so little that it wouldn’t affect playability. I also did not have any neck pitch issues after having it for a bit. Most importantly the thing sounds great with my my cheap amp. I also got the Donner wah pedal and have nothing but good things to say about that too . Thanks Phil for being such a knowledgeable and trustworthy resource!

Hi Phil, I love your site here. I'm not much of a player but like to collect & dabble a bit in playing. I really enjoy the fixing & setting up of guitars. My question is "Do you have a video out there that shows how to "Mic-Up" an amp. I'm talking right from the start not just the mic placement in front of the speaker. Do you need 2 amps or a guitar amp & a PA system or do you mic into the same amp you're plugging your guitar into, etc.? I would just like to play around with that set-up.

Best great reviewer on RU-vid!

Well some people say they give honest reviews and then there are others that just give them!

I have donner's dst100 in antique white humbucker single, single guitar and I would have to say it was quite impressive for what it is.

I believe this review underplays Donner quality. I bought a Donner solid tele and set it up as a pro instrument. Replaced pots and 3 way switch, and rewired it like a 1951 Fender Nocaster/ Broadcaster. Carefully dressed frets. Sound is superb, playability spot on. Yes, I am a skilled craftsman. I had a Squire Vintage Vibe, crap instrument compared to Donner. Needed entire fret redo and pots failed in 6 months. Donner guitars are a solid platform. I ordered this slimline today.

I bought this one that was featured on Trogly's channel. I get it tomorrow. I have been playing for years and have more expensive guitars. I know how to do my own setup so not worried about issues. I just wanted the Telecaster experience. Not my favorite type of guitar but maybe this could lead into something. I will eventually give it away to someone starting out or sell it at a ridiculous low price. Great timing for this video

I'd buy it for $155!!! No worries with it at the bar

Donner should really send you their $129 Tele to try out. A white one. Those things have been going for $109 over the summer, and I think the quality is quite surprising in a positive way.

Eart guitars are the best deal in guitar today. I have both the tele and strat Suhr copies and they are unbelievable for the money. Would love to see Phil review one of those.

Great review! Got mine 3 moths ago for $160. A very solid modder or beginner after a proper setup. Going ashtray, neck hum sized p-90and Dimarzio Tele bridge. For what it is very good piece. Ive paid much more and been disappointed. This Is Decent.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHIL!

Donner is a really good brand, i have their power supply 2 and i got no complaints.

Great job Phil. I feel the same. I reviewed a couple of these and both mine I got were solid low cost guitars.

I've heard a pickup maker say that body shielding is not necessary for Humbuckers (no coil splitting), it's not going to or needed for reducing noise. What is your view on that?

I have a LTD arrow $1100 and it still needed a setup out the box just saying. And my Donner noise killer works super well!!

Your review left me hungry for more :)

I bought the donner LP style guitar and it's really very good.

Oddly enough, I have a Donner ukelele. It was well under $100.00 I had to file the fret ends down, but that didn't take long and it was a great improvement. It now plays well and sounds good enough. It's got a little decoration on it, some sun-like hand painting around the soundhole. Maybe it was stamped, seems more likely. It was about what I wanted to spend on a uke and now I play it pretty regularly.

I love your honest reviews man, thank you

I think the real question is, is this a better guitar for a beginner than a pawn shop Squire? Around here you can usually find those squires for $60-$100

Interesting how inexpensive/cheap/low-budget guitars are seen as "beginner" guitars. Wouldn't it be better for a beginner to start on a guitar that plays better? It seems like these guitars are more for people who know what they're doing, like the old adage "a great guitarist can make any guitar sound good". Maybe it's a thing where a beginner just wants to dip their toe in case they end up not taking to guitar, then they only lost $150? For beginners out there, my advice would be if you're serious go with something that plays better - no high frets, decent action, and no fret sprout.

The foam bag is not bad pretty basic but not bad. When your ready to purchase a professional foam bag you have that option but until then this one will work.😉

The market is awash with budget guitars, at these prices it's just down to the luck of the draw regarding the quality issues. As Phil stated, they are great if you have or are prepared to learn how to set up a guitar. Paying a bit more in my experience doesn't always get you a better guitar in terms of how it plays out of the box. Excellent advice for any beginner, i would add having a look at well cared for used guitars that are already well set up, then once you start playing and know what you realy want, go for an upgrade.

I got the Donner Strat. The frets are not well filed on the edges and it will NOT stay in tune. (if I ever get it perfectly tuned at all with the tuner) It's def. worth $150 though..

Thanks Phil - can I ask, what is that nut slot height measuring tool you used? It looks like fretwire on a handle? - thanks!

Even that with it's minor flaws totally outshines what I started on lol. You couldn't get that quality back then anywhere near that price.

I think it SOUNDS great. I mean, those tones could be on a major record release and you wouldn't even think about it.

For a low budget but surprisingly decent LP clone, try one of the IYV guitars available on Amazon. Mines a keeper.

As always, a great review. Since this guitar is aimed at a beginner, it would be really helpful to also demonstrate the sound by playing it the way a beginner would (lots of strumming on open chords like C, G, D, E, A, etc.). How does it work and sound for that purpose? As a complete beginner, trying to play my Epi Les Paul this way gave nothing but mud and four pickup changes didn't help. Eventually, I learned enough to know that a double humbucker Les Paul was probably not the best choice for this type of novice playing style. Now that I play differently, of course, it works just great.

Great job you are looking at stuff some people don’t know about and that’s cool so keep schooling us ! Wax potted at that price Donner is cool!

Great balanced review....I gave it a thumbs up and subscribed!

Great guitar to learn how to modify. Good for experimenting with different pickups and configurations. Doing fret and neck work. Would of never thought of this name brand guitar without your video. Nice, thank you. Looks better than the Squier bullet series. The only question I have. Does it have the full size body? or the bullet, affinity size body? Full size would be a bonus at that price point.

I bought one last month as a kinda throwaway guitar i can mess around with and i actually play it more often than my other, better guitars. Its my first maple fret and i like it a lot. Had to loosen up the action and put better strings on it but its surprisingly good. Terrible with high distortion, although it works well with overdrive

Phewww, I thought for the first 6 minutes there wasn't going to be a stocking fret dressing test. Love it 🤘

just got a donner blues driver pedal. so far i really dig it. seems solid and sounds nice, still waiting on my reverb pedal.

Philmeister.....Love these types of reviews. Maybe a $200 or under guitar throw-down is in order....like pick a LP type and compare Donner, Harley-Benton, Glarry, Indio, Firefly, and the budget Ibanez & Epiphones. We would love to see you and some friends reviewing and jamming. Whadayathink?

My guitar came out the box needing minor set up and had no fret issues, I just upgraded tuners.

Extremely fair review. Informative and useful.