MusicRadar Verdict
The 320 excels at balls-to-the-wall rock ’n’ roll.
Pros
- +
Bags of fun.
Cons
- -
Not all that versatile.
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Many lower-end electrics seem to pile on features to make their spec sheets sound that bit more impressive, but the entry-level Revstar keeps things beautifully simple, concentrating on quality.
Along with the following model, the 420, but unlike the upper 500, 600, 700 and 800 guitars, it’s made entirely from nato, a pretty close cousin of mahogany, found in Indonesia. The slab body doesn’t have any ‘comfort’ contours and there’s no fingerboard or headstock binding, either.
Like all the Revstars, it’s a Gibson-esque set-neck design; those offset SG- inspired horns and a rounded heel make access to the top 22nd fret a doddle, while the dark rosewood ’board features a slightly flatter-than-Gibson 350mm (13.75-inch) radius and medium-gauge, finely honed frets.
Like the 420, the 320 features a slightly thinner-depthed neck, which fills out as you get up the dusty end, and retains quite a classic feel as opposed to an ultra-thin ‘speed’ design.
Hardware is fairly generic but certainly functional, while the pickups, designed by Yamaha and made by Korean giant G&B, aim for a high, but not daft, output with powerful ceramic magnets.
Consequently, the 320 excels at balls-to-the-wall rock ’n’ roll. It feels meaty and sounds it, too, from the mid- focused crunch of the bridge to a high- octane saturated neck lead voice. It’s not the most versatile guitar out there, but it’s a lot of fun.
Dave Burrluck is one of the world’s most experienced guitar journalists, who started writing back in the '80s for International Musician and Recording World, co-founded The Guitar Magazine and has been the Gear Reviews Editor of Guitarist magazine for the past two decades. Along the way, Dave has been the sole author of The PRS Guitar Book and The Player's Guide to Guitar Maintenance as well as contributing to numerous other books on the electric guitar. Dave is an active gigging and recording musician and still finds time to make, repair and mod guitars, not least for Guitarist’s The Mod Squad.
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