Relish Guitars Trinity Electric Guitar Metallic Red

I've been following Relish Guitars for years. Could not justify the price to buy their original guitar. These were made in Switzerland and with the exchange rate and shipping and customs across the Atlantic, they were not cheap. The original model had a metal frame supporting a front and back and it had swappable pickups. You would pop the back off (held by magnets), pull out the install pickups and pop different pickups in. I tried one in a specialty guitar store in Milwaukee, WI years ago. It also had the most innovative electronics available at the time. I was glad that Relish worked with a highly reputable guitar company in Indonesia to build a more affordable version with swappable pickups and a wood body. I was recently lucky enough to pick up the Trinity model at a Guitar Center in Atlanta, GA this week. I am a fussy guitarist. Lately I've been more in a selling than buying mode. I try out guitars for entertainment. I usually put them back on the wall. I do not need another 2 humbucker pickup guitar. The store had three. The first one I picked up didn't impress me, then I noticed that someone had swapped the pickups around, but had put on in backwards, so it didn't work. After fixing that problem, I decided to give the black one a try. I liked the satin neck. I noted that the scarf joint in the neck was a fair distance from the headstock, which added neck/headstock stability. I was disappointed that the Humbuckers did not have a coil split, but that is easily added. I noted that the pickups were not well balanced. When I looked at the back, I noted that the Bridge and Neck pickups were switched, so I put them in the proper locations. That fixed it, balanced pickups. I think it also helped some of the other tests I ran. I like to set my amps to a good overdrive sound, then roll the guitar volume back until I get a clean sound. Not every amp can do this well, so I work to find one that can. One problem with many guitars is that as you roll the volume back, you lose treble. Failing this test puts the guitar back on the wall. (It can be fixed, but why bother.) This guitar passed. I liked the size, shape, and weight of the body. It balanced well on my lap. The neck felt great in my hands. Fretwork was very good (stainless steel frets). Sounds I got out of the two humbuckers was good and fit my requirements. It had decent die-cast, sealed tuners and a solid 6 saddle bridge. Strings through the body. And I really liked the idea of swapping out the pickups at will. My earlier experience showed how easy that was. I also liked that it had simple electronics (Master volume and tone, 3-way blade switch). While in the store, I checked sources for other pickups for this guitar. The Relish website has their own pickups, plus those from Seymour Duncan, Bare Knuckles and others. They also sell the device that holds the pickup so you can add any pickup that will fit a HB route into the guitar. (That means that Lollar and Lindy Fralin pickups are possibilities!) When I got it home, I checked the setup and it was dead-on (at least to how I prefer guitars set up). This is a rarity. The pickup height was a little lower than I would like, but that is easily fixed by turning one thumb screw in the back of the pickup mount. I have no complaints about this guitar. I do wish the store was a little more careful in their inventory on display, but that is a minor problem. The only downside I saw was that it came with a gig bag. But it was a good sturdy gig bag, comparable to what PRS gives you on their lower end models. It is far better than the ones you get from Fender or Squier. I will probably replace it with a better hard case eventually anyway. I have had a look at the electronics and believe that it might be possible to wire in a coil split with minimal effort. No drilling needed. But I want to check with Relish Guitars before I go there. This guitar may not be the right one for you, but if the idea of swapping pickups on the fly appeals to you, this would be a good choice. It is really no more expensive than many other guitars with this build quality out there. I disagree with the other review here. The build quality is much better than a typical $500 guitar.

Quality is on par with any made in Indonesia product, similar to Squire, Ibanez Gio. There is more of a hype than actual quality. Choice of materials is also a factor not justifying the premium price of this instrument. It should be priced accordingly and not demand a premium price.