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expired Posted by p0o9i8u7 • May 26, 2021
expired Posted by p0o9i8u7 • May 26, 2021

Monoprice Indio Cali Classic Electric Guitar w/ Gig Bag (Sunburst) $79.99 + Free Shipping

$80

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https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=610164

Sunburst only. Need to select that color for the sale price. 20% off.

This is a repeat (except color) of various earlier deals. Sometimes FP, sometimes not. I didn't see this latest offer posted, but it seemed semi-popular.

It's a very low end guitar. Suitable for a beginner, if that beginner can do a basic setup (or, better, knows someone who can). More likely, a project/mod guitar for someone with that inkling. At $80 shipped it's basically disposable.
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https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=610164

Sunburst only. Need to select that color for the sale price. 20% off.

This is a repeat (except color) of various earlier deals. Sometimes FP, sometimes not. I didn't see this latest offer posted, but it seemed semi-popular.

It's a very low end guitar. Suitable for a beginner, if that beginner can do a basic setup (or, better, knows someone who can). More likely, a project/mod guitar for someone with that inkling. At $80 shipped it's basically disposable.

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Model: Monoprice Cali Classic Electric Guitar - Blue, 6 Strings, Double-Cutaway Solid Body, Right Handed, SSS Pickups, Full-Range Tone, With Gig Bag, Perfect for Beginners - Indio Series

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Sort: Lowest to Highest | Last Updated 7/9/2025, 01:34 PM
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10 Comments

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May 26, 2021
3,470 Posts
Joined Jul 2009
May 26, 2021
kenstogie
May 26, 2021
3,470 Posts
I have a mono price guitar so I am not crapping on them BUT. If you get a dud and want to return it ... the return shipping is YOUR cost..... the cost to ship a guitar cannot be cheap and I am sure some of these are duds....
May 27, 2021
33 Posts
Joined Nov 2017
May 27, 2021
tamtamb
May 27, 2021
33 Posts
Quote from kenstogie :
I have a mono price guitar so I am not crapping on them BUT. If you get a dud and want to return it ... the return shipping is YOUR cost..... the cost to ship a guitar cannot be cheap and I am sure some of these are duds....
Do you have Cali? How is it overall? I saw some YouTube videos where they said they are decent for beginners. Thoughts?
May 27, 2021
87 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
May 27, 2021
fibonaccisquare
May 27, 2021
87 Posts
Quote from tamtamb :
Do you have Cali? How is it overall? I saw some YouTube videos where they said they are decent for beginners. Thoughts?
The challenge with any of these guitars is just that the factory tolerances/QC are not the best. With that said, for what you get at $80, yes, they are very much worth the price of admission. At worst, you should be able to resell on FB marketplace or similar for ~ what you paid for it. They are a great mod platform to be sure, if you were to invest in some upgrades, I'd rank them:
1a) Tuners/Nut
1b) Trem/Bridge
3) Pickups

The upside here is that Mexican Fender parts can often be found for pretty cheap and are easy drop in replacements. Darrell Braun had a good YT video on upgrading one of these for ~$100: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE71INVjGng

You will want to invest time/effort into improving the setup... especially paying attention to the frets. But if you have the desire to learn how to do these things and don't want to worry about doing it on a more expensive guitar, this is a great learning opportunity as well.
Last edited by fibonaccisquare May 26, 2021 at 09:37 PM.
May 27, 2021
87 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
May 27, 2021
fibonaccisquare
May 27, 2021
87 Posts
Quote from fibonaccisquare :
The challenge with any of these guitars is just that the factory tolerances/QC are not the best. With that said, for what you get at $80, yes, they are very much worth the price of admission. At worst, you should be able to resell on FB marketplace or similar for ~ what you paid for it. They are a great mod platform to be sure, if you were to invest in some upgrades, I'd rank them:
1a) Tuners/Nut
1b) Trem/Bridge
3) Pickups

The upside here is that Mexican Fender parts can often be found for pretty cheap and are easy drop in replacements. Darrell Braun had a good YT video on upgrading one of these for ~$100: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE71INVjGng

You will want to invest time/effort into improving the setup... especially paying attention to the frets. But if you have the desire to learn how to do these things and don't want to worry about doing it on a more expensive guitar, this is a great learning opportunity as well.
FWIW, this one isn't on sale or anything, but if you were going to put ~100 into the Indio to make it better, I'd probably skip it and just buy the Eart SSS Strat style here: https://www.amazon.com/EART-Elect...Y3KTL?th=1
If that one goes on any kind of substantial sale, I'll be all over it. Hell of a player out of the box and still a good upgrade platform.
Original Poster
May 27, 2021
240 Posts
Joined Jan 2008
May 27, 2021
p0o9i8u7
Original Poster
May 27, 2021
240 Posts
Quote from fibonaccisquare :
FWIW, this one isn't on sale or anything, but if you were going to put ~100 into the Indio to make it better, I'd probably skip it and just buy the Eart SSS Strat style here: https://www.amazon.com/EART-Elect...Y3KTL?th=1
If that one goes on any kind of substantial sale, I'll be all over it. Hell of a player out of the box and still a good upgrade platform.
If you're buying and upgrading as a means of saving money it doesn't make too much sense. You're generally better off buy the maximum guitar from the start.

If you're buying to upgrade for amusement/interest/education it is a whole lot easier on the conscious to mess up a $80 guitar than an $800 guitar. But you'll likely not get your money back. And 100% depreciation on an $80 guitar beats 20% depreciation on an $800 guitar.

Also, the blue HSS version of this Cali is also on sale ($96/20%).
May 27, 2021
3,470 Posts
Joined Jul 2009
May 27, 2021
kenstogie
May 27, 2021
3,470 Posts
Quote from tamtamb :
Do you have Cali? How is it overall? I saw some YouTube videos where they said they are decent for beginners. Thoughts?
Nope have 2
Idyllwild by Monoprice Solid Spruce Top Acoustic Guitar with Fishman Pickup Tuner and Gig Bag. (Awesome for the price)

And

IIdyllwild™ 3/4 Classical acoustic guitar (can't hold tune to save bucketful of cute kittens)


These CAN be great guitars especially if you can set them up (most people can't if they are beginning) but they can be kind of mediocre too especially if the set up was not really done well.

QC can be hit or miss....
Last edited by kenstogie May 27, 2021 at 02:03 PM.
May 27, 2021
87 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
May 27, 2021
fibonaccisquare
May 27, 2021
87 Posts
Quote from p0o9i8u7 :
If you're buying and upgrading as a means of saving money it doesn't make too much sense. You're generally better off buy the maximum guitar from the start.

If you're buying to upgrade for amusement/interest/education it is a whole lot easier on the conscious to mess up a $80 guitar than an $800 guitar. But you'll likely not get your money back. And 100% depreciation on an $80 guitar beats 20% depreciation on an $800 guitar.

Also, the blue HSS version of this Cali is also on sale ($96/20%).
I don't disagree at all. My thoughts there were that there is more than $100 in "end user value" difference between that Eart guitar and this Indio. If you *only* care about the guitar for the purpose of upgrading and doing it on a guitar that you don't mind making a mistake on, you're probably better off just picking up something used anyway. The Indio is certainly playable, and with some improvements can make some pretty big leaps forward, but it does have substantially lower ceiling on tone/playability compared to the Eart. It's ultimately just a question of what is your objective/goal with the guitar. Honestly, if it's just someone looking to learn how to play, you're probably better off saving a bit to try to get into the 300-500 range and looking for a used guitar that has been well setup. You'll get a guitar that retailed for out of your range if you do it right and will likely get a *much* more playable neck... But I recognize that this site is largely about taking advantage of price differences more than anything.

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Original Poster
May 27, 2021
240 Posts
Joined Jan 2008
May 27, 2021
p0o9i8u7
Original Poster
May 27, 2021
240 Posts
Quote from fibonaccisquare :
I don't disagree at all. My thoughts there were that there is more than $100 in "end user value" difference between that Eart guitar and this Indio. If you *only* care about the guitar for the purpose of upgrading and doing it on a guitar that you don't mind making a mistake on, you're probably better off just picking up something used anyway. The Indio is certainly playable, and with some improvements can make some pretty big leaps forward, but it does have substantially lower ceiling on tone/playability compared to the Eart. It's ultimately just a question of what is your objective/goal with the guitar. Honestly, if it's just someone looking to learn how to play, you're probably better off saving a bit to try to get into the 300-500 range and looking for a used guitar that has been well setup. You'll get a guitar that retailed for out of your range if you do it right and will likely get a *much* more playable neck... But I recognize that this site is largely about taking advantage of price differences more than anything.
Used guitars are excellent but they are a tough thing for a guitar newb, who could be an easy mark for overpaying or buying garbage. At pretty much any price point.

I wouldn't recommend this guitar for someone starting out unless they were comfortable playing around with setup, and wanted to go for the lowest price possible. But the one Monoprice guitar I have is the LP-style 66 DLX. The three (?) DLX models Monoprice sells are reportedly setup in California. Based on the one I received I believe them, as it was good to go upon arrival. With only two fret ends that could use touching up. I was quite impressed.

I would have no problem recommending the Monoprice DLX models to a beginner who wanted to buy sight unseen and was OK with the brand limitations, and the DLXs routinely go on sale too. I also love the Inyen Vina guitars on Amazon - amazing for the low cost.
May 27, 2021
3,470 Posts
Joined Jul 2009
May 27, 2021
kenstogie
May 27, 2021
3,470 Posts
I have had some good luck with Harley Benton but they like all guitars at this price point can require a set up.... strings fretboard, intonation, string height/truss rod adjust....etc
May 31, 2021
75 Posts
Joined Nov 2012
May 31, 2021
Grege
May 31, 2021
75 Posts
I bought one of these a year ago and I was pretty shocked at how nice they were for 80 bucks. There was nothing on the guitar I thought needed upgrading, but I agree with the other people that these need a little tweaking out of the box to get them playing perfectly.

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