Description
Review of the Ermik 39 Inch Solid Body Electric Guitar Kit with 20W Amp
The Ermik kit is a full size 39 inch electric guitar in a Stratocaster style outline, sold in blue with a 20 watt practice amplifier and a full set of starter accessories. It is aimed at a first time electric player who wants three pickups and a usable amp in one purchase rather than assembling the pieces separately.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Three pickups with a five position switch, giving single coil brightness at the neck and a humbucker at the bridge. That covers far more ground than the single pickup layouts common in this bracket.
- A properly specified amplifier. The 20 watt unit has gain, bass, treble and volume controls, a drive button, an auxiliary input for playing along with a phone and a headphone output for silent practice.
- A headphone socket on the amp, which is the single most useful feature for anyone learning in a shared house. Other quiet options are covered in the guide to quiet guitar practice.
- Maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard and a C shaped profile, the standard combination and a comfortable one for a beginner’s hand.
Cons
- The body wood is stated three different ways. The table says body material rosewood, top material maple, rosewood and basswood, and back material basswood. Rosewood is far too dense and expensive for a guitar body at this level, so basswood is the plausible answer, but the data does not settle it.
- The pickup order disagrees. The page bullets say HSS while the manufacturer description says S-S-H. Those describe the same three pickups read from opposite ends, and it matters because it determines whether the humbucker sits at the bridge or the neck. A Stratocaster style guitar normally puts the humbucker at the bridge.
- The item weight is given as 13.97 pounds. That is the packed kit with the amplifier in it, not the guitar, which will be nearer seven or eight pounds.
- No scale length is published, so string compatibility cannot be confirmed from the listing. A 39 inch overall length usually indicates the standard 25.5 inch scale, but that is an inference.
- The fret count and the nut width are not stated either, both of which affect how the neck feels.
Detailed Product Description
The instrument follows the familiar double cutaway outline with a contoured body, a scratchplate and a tremolo bridge. The description calls the body glossy hardwood, and given the back is listed as basswood that is almost certainly what it is. Basswood is light, soft and neutral sounding, which is why it appears on most affordable electric guitars, and it takes a gloss finish well. It also dents readily against a stand or a belt buckle.
The neck is Canadian maple with a rosewood fingerboard and a C shaped carve. C is the standard modern profile, a shallow rounded shape that suits most hands and does not force a specific thumb position. Rosewood is slightly oily and comfortable against the fingertips, and it needs no more care than an occasional wipe.
The pickup arrangement is the reason to look at this kit. Two single coils and a humbucker across five switch positions give a bright, thin, cutting tone at one end and a thick, loud, distortion friendly tone at the other. The description notes that positions closer to the neck give a fatter sound, which is accurate. One volume and two tone controls complete the layout.
The bridge is a tremolo with a supplied arm. It bends pitch downward and, with practice, adds vibrato. It also complicates string changes, since removing all six strings at once releases the spring tension and lets the bridge move, so strings should be replaced one at a time.
What Comes with the Product
- The 39 inch electric guitar
- A 20 watt amplifier with a carrying handle
- An instrument cable
- A clip on digital tuner
- Six spare strings
- Picks
- A tremolo arm
- A gig bag with handles, shoulder straps and side pockets
- A shoulder strap
Not included: a stand, a capo, a spare cable or any lesson material. The listing states the tuner is battery powered but does not say whether a battery ships with it.
Who It Suits
This suits a beginner who wants tonal range from the start and does not want to replace the amplifier within six months. The three pickup layout and the amp’s drive button, tone controls and auxiliary input make it usable for practising along with recordings, which is how most learning actually happens. Twenty watts is more than enough for home, as covered in the guide to guitar amp wattage for home practice.
It suits less well a younger child, since a 39 inch full size body is a large object for small arms. It also suits less well a player who already owns an amplifier, because much of the value here is the amp. Comparable packages include the Donner DST-152 HSS kit, the LyxPro 39 inch kit with 20 watt amp and the EASTROCK 39 inch starter package. The wider selection sits in electric guitars and beginner starter kits.
How to Maintain
Wipe the strings after every session. Nickel steel corrodes from sweat and the resulting dullness is usually blamed on the guitar rather than the strings.
Change strings one at a time. A tremolo bridge floats against spring tension, and removing all six at once shifts it and upsets the intonation.
Tips and Recommendations
Start with the amplifier’s gain low and the drive button off. Distortion masks mistakes and beginners who learn only through heavy gain tend to develop sloppy left hand muting.
Fit a fresh set of strings before forming a judgement. Factory strings on budget guitars are often stale by the time the box is opened.
If the strings buzz or sit high off the board, a basic setup will change the instrument more than any accessory. The guide to guitar action and setup explains what to ask for.
Product FAQ
Is the pickup layout HSS or SSH?
The listing says both. The page bullets read HSS and the manufacturer description reads S-S-H. Either way there are two single coils and one humbucker with a five way switch, but which end the humbucker sits at is not confirmed.
What is the body made of?
The data conflicts. Rosewood, maple and basswood all appear in different fields. Basswood is the credible answer for a guitar in this class.
How heavy is the guitar?
Not stated. The 13.97 pound figure is the boxed kit including the amplifier.
