Laguna LE50 Short-Scale Electric Guitar 

Comments about Laguna LE50 Short-Scale Electric Guitar:

First thing, expect quality on par with something for this price. Dont expect the quality of something worth way more and you wont be dissapointed. Action is kinda high, screws and input jack were a little loose. Fretboard is a little sloppy. Tuners seem decent, pickups sound pretty good. The finish on the headstock is pretty flimsy. Overall, with a little set-up this guitar can definitely be fun at a great price for whatever you need it for. Just dont expect perfection like a lot of the reviews claim.

Comments about Laguna LE50 Short-Scale Electric Guitar:

i read other reviews on this item
some even say all set up out of box!
very disappointed
can i return for an exchange of one that is set up at least decently?????

Comments about Laguna LE50 Short-Scale Electric Guitar:

Purchased this guitar for my children. I was expecting it to need a major set up... some fret work ect. What I got however was a great instrument already set up nicley out of the box with a great neck. Not sure what they could improve on.

Comments about Laguna LE50 Short-Scale Electric Guitar:

Gret starter guitar for children, nice tone and pickup quality is suprisingly good.
The only thing I would think needs to be improved is the setup on this guitar. Action was high for a beginer guitar and neck needed to be straightened and shimmed to get the action were it should be for ease of playing.
At this price some of that is to be expected, I would reccomend bringing the guitar to a professional to have it set up and this guitar will make most happy.

Comments about Laguna LE50 Short-Scale Electric Guitar:

I have small hands for one, but the real reason I like a 3/4 size guitar is I want to play it sitting in my easy chair. This guitar is excellent for that. I did set it up by filing the nut slots and adjusting the bridge, but I expect to have to do that.

Comments about Laguna LE50 Short-Scale Electric Guitar:

The 5th fret was off location by about 1/4 inch, so I couldn't tune it or play anything on it. Also the tip of the head stock was a little dinged, which must have happened in the warehouse cause the UPS packaging was perfect.

Comments about Laguna LE50 Short-Scale Electric Guitar:

I bought this for my son on his 10th birthday. He loves it!! The bridge set up was a little rough but action/intonation adjustments were easy. The flat black finish is amazing especially when I put on a matching set of black DR strings. The neck inlays and overall playability are more than I expected. I can't believe how much guitar you get for the money. This guitar sounds great when plugged into a Peavey Vypyr 15 amp. We might sink a set of active EMGs before long.

Comments about Laguna LE50 Short-Scale Electric Guitar:

I'm giving an average rating because I'm really just using this slot to detail the differences between the Mikro and the LE50.

NECK:
Same materials

Mikro has better fretwork (see above)

Both had good fret and neck dot work - look different though - aesthetics

Mikro uses one piece of wood, LE50 uses two (see below)

Both seem to have the same curvature and shape - both are very fast, thin 'speed metal' necks


HEADSTOCK:
Mikro has a scalloped head, like a strat
LE50 has an angled head (which is why they used two pieces of wood for the neck), like a Les Paul

Mikro has 6 on one side tuning machines with string trees,
LE50 has a 3 on each side configuration so a bit shorter headstock

Mikro's nut is a thin one in a groove
LE50 has a more typical 'glue a nut' to the top of the fretboard.

Both were already setup pretty well in regard to the grooves in the nut - both had pretty nice low action over the 1st fret


PICKUPS:
I like the Mikro pups better. Just a bit warmer and more well rounded. This is a subjective stance.


HARDWARE:
Mikro has a cool 'one piece' string ferrule all six ball ends go through, and looks much nicer than the six individuals on the LE50

Mikro uses plastic knobs, the LE50's are metal

Mikros vol and tone pots roll more smoothly than the LE50

Both did a good job lining up the bridge and putting in the string-thru-body channels to the ferrules. I doubt either will cause string breakage due to sting rubbing on edges of the bridge.

Both did a nice job of setting the saddle heights to match the contour of the neck curvature

Both had typical tuning machines that worked fine. If you're having trouble with your machines 'slipping', it may be due to the thin strings on the short scale. Increasing string gauge will cause more tension when you tune it up, and thus should help tuning machines stay put.

BODY:
Here's the main diff between the Mikro and LE50, although if you lay one on top of the other they are nearly identical in outline. They are pretty much the same body shape in silloette.

Mikro has the cavity under a pickguard with no back-access, like a strat
LE50 has no pickgaurd and access to the cavity is via the back, like a Les Paul
Thus the LE50 is a bit easier to work on for electronics needs.

Both have scalloped waists and feel good riding the hip

The Mikro has a scalloped forearm rest, like a strat. The LE50 does not. I prefer the Mikro in this regard because it IS nicer to play with your forearm on a flat surface than on an edge

The LE50 has scalloped the rear of the body where the neck bolts are, which does allow a bit more hand access to very high frets. Mikro doesn't (and may be a tad more stable for it - I don't believe the scalloping here really helps much)

Mikro has a flat top, LE50 has more of an 'arched top' shape to it. Aesthetic difference really.
Mikros have sharper horns. Again aesthetic - Mikros look a tad more 'evil' due to the sharper points, I think.

Both had good paint jobs and top coat jobs - even, good color tone
Two pups, 3-way switch, vol and tone. Standard.

Same on both this and the Mikro.

If scale length is a feature, the LE50 is about 1/4" longer in scale than the Mikro. Insignificant difference.

Both came with string perhaps a bit too thin for the scale length - when you shorten the scale you typically have to use thicker strings. If you want to you slinky strings, you pretty much have to stick with guitars over 24" in scale. Strings that are too thin make chords a bit out of tune you use juuuuuust the right finger pressue on each string.

This is a physics thang, and hard to describe. If you're having trouble getting short scales to intone, a thicker gauge string might really help. Either that or tune the guitar up a step or two.
In case folks do not know, nearly all aspects of gtr making is done by hand. They might use jigs to shape the neck and body and do cavity routing, but assembly is by hand. You just can't make machines that'll do this sort of work.

THEREFORE, if I'm to rate quality, I'd best do it by examining mutliple gtrs of the same model as they all might be assembled by different people. In this regard, low quality is likely a result of low quality CONTROL. That said, there wasn't much wrong with my LE50 when it came. Here's what was:

1) One of the frets was a bit high and needs to be filed a bit.
2) The frets ends could've been filed smoother - they don't cut, but you can feel them catching a bit.

3) Minor bits of glue in certain places - around the string ferrules and neck botls. All scraped off easily with my finger nail w/o hurting the finish.

4) minor dent in the fretboard - not a problem for playing at all, just a l'il blemish

5) string ferrules were not all hammered in completely - doesn't affect anything and only noticable by close inspection

6) neck was a tad rough, but admittedly it was left more natural than the Mikros which have more 'stick' to them due to more laquer (or whatever they use to top coat). Even rough, the LE50 palyed faster due to less 'stickiness' of top coat. NOTE: to get this speed from the Mikro, just rub the neck with something slightly abrasive - i.e. remove the sticky via abrasion

In comparison to the Mikro: I have three Mikros and none had any of these issues (well, except for stickier necks)
Still a great value, especially at the price point. Just like the Mikro.

It's a working guitar, and nice and portable like you'd want from a short scale.

I do NOT often buy expensive guitars. I see no need to pay extra for looks when it's sound I'm after.

Still, I got this guy because I thought it looked a bit more like "me" for gigging than the Mikros, so looks do count I suppose, even to frugal dudes like moi.

Comments about Laguna LE50 Short-Scale Electric Guitar:

I bought a pee wee les paul and a mini strat in the past for my other kids and this one blows them both away. The others I bought would not stay in tune and in my opinion were junk compaired to this one.
The pickups sound good and the playability is sweet.
The finish is nice, the sound is good, and it stays in tune.
Great guitar for the price. I bought it used and it came in the the box with no flaws at all and it still had plastic over the pickups. I think someone bought it and it was to big for their child so they sent it back.

Comments about Laguna LE50 Short-Scale Electric Guitar:

I would buy one of these again and would recommend it to everyone.
This guitar stays in tune and sounds really good. I bought this for my 5 yr old and he rocks out on it. It is a little big for him but it is something for him to grow into.
It is made well, the pickups sound great. I have bought a pee wee les paul and a miniture strat in the past and they both would not stay in tune. That is why I wanted to try something different this time.This guitar does stay in tune.
I bought this one used for $86 and it came in the box with the plastic over the pickups and not any scratches or defects at all. I think someone ordered it and it was to big for their child, so they sent it back.