November 14, 2022
Bearing in mind that I normally have a really good opinion of Glarry, it does occur that once in a while you get that one guitar that just wasn't quite meant to be a guitar. In this particular case the neck pocket appears to be misaligned and so the high E side sits about a 3/32nds of an inch higher that the low E side in the pocket, causing it to twist just a bit. The neck itself is fine, but the pocket itself is not properly flat. For me it's fixable, just a terrible nuisance. The fretwork was ...
Bearing in mind that I normally have a really good opinion of Glarry, it does occur that once in a while you get that one guitar that just wasn't quite meant to be a guitar. In this particular case the neck pocket appears to be misaligned and so the high E side sits about a 3/32nds of an inch higher that the low E side in the pocket, causing it to twist just a bit. The neck itself is fine, but the pocket itself is not properly flat. For me it's fixable, just a terrible nuisance. The fretwork was fine and, when using a fret rocker, I didn't have any high frets. The nut has some problems with being cut way too high, (even higher than normal budget standards), but again I have the tools to fix it or I'll replace it. Lots (and I mean LOTS... I could start my own sawmill) of extra sawdust left in the various cavities and the tuners were so loose on the headstock they would rattle if you shook it. The F hole was cut ok, but could probably have been better. Given the problem with the neck pocket, I can't get a good feel for the bridge, but by all appearances it seems solid and stable. I don't see any issues with the barrels that give me concern if the neck was sitting properly in the pocket. Again, keep in mind that on budget guitars these are the kinds of problems you will run into. But since I bought this as a platform for modification, I'm not going to bother returning it. If you are a beginner, just make sure you budget some money for a proper setup so that these types of issues can be found and fixed.
Update November 14, 2022: I am revising my original review at this time. I would re-rate this as 4 stars had I gone ahead and sent it back at the time I discovered the neck pocket was out of spec. Final determination is that the neck pocket was 3mm (1/8th inch) too shallow. Since I could not route the body due to the finish, I thought I would sand the heel of the neck, however had a problem with my sander that caused damage to the neck that was entirely my fault. My suggestion is that if you get one that is not in good shape, reach out to their customer service and they will make it right. In this case, since I caused further issue with the guitar, that problem is on me and I will not be asking for refund or credit. Chalking it up to lesson learned. Contact customer service first. I've seen many Glarry guitars over the years and they have been reasonably good. I just got the one lemon that invariably occurs when making a budget instrument. Again, just get with customer service and they WILL take good care of you as evidenced by previous reviews here.
November 14, 2022
Update: As I noted, I had not planned to ask for a refund or credit, but one of the managers at Glarry reached out offered a credit, which I gladly accepted. I did not expect it and as I said previously this is the great level of customer service that you can expect from these folks. Thanks, Glarry, and I plan to put that aside to order a Strat copy soon. Thanks for the great support of your products.