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Artist GM1 Grungemaster Vintage Sunburst Electric Guitar w/P90s

Our Artist GRUNGEMASTER was purpose-designed here at Artist Guitars for playability and chunky tones. Whether you're a serious player looking for a new axe to gig with or just starting out and want to explore rock, blues, Grunge or Metal, the GRUNGEMASTER will undoubtedly take you there...

It comes with a Poplar body, Canadian Maple Neck with Eco-Rosewood fretboard and block-shaped Inlays, two P90 Single Coil Ceramic Bar Pickups with a 3-way selector, Chrome Tune-O-Matic bridge with a Stop-Tail-Bar for greater stability, and Vintage Covered Chrome Machine Head tuners.

The Tech Features

Brand: Artist

Model: GM1TSB

Neck: 2512" / 648 mm scale Maple Bolt-On Neck, Truss Rod

Fretboard: 21 Frets, Eco-Rosewood Fretboard with 'Block' shaped plastic Inlays

Body: Poplar with a Tortoiseshell scratchplate

Machine Heads: Vintage Covered Machine Heads

Bridge: Chrome coloured tune-o-Matic style, with 'Stop-Bar' anchor.

Pickups: Cream coloured soap bar covered 'P90' type pickups, ceramic bar magnet.

Neck - M-90N 7.8K 5.2H

Bridge - M-90B 9.2K 6.2H

Controls: 1 x Volume, 1 x Tone and a 3-way switch

Strings: 10-46 Gauge Electric Guitar Strings

Neck Profile:

  • Scale: 2512" / 648mm
  • Nut: 42 mm / 158” ABS Plastic Nut
  • 1st fret Thickness: 21mm / 1316
  • Shape: Modern D
  • Fretboard Radius: 12" / 305 mm

Colour: Vintage Sunburst

Dimensions: 103cm x 33cm x 6cm (40916” x 13” x 238”)

Weight: 3kg - 3.6kg approx, 7lb - 8lb

Optional Hard Cases: REC300RC, REC350FTB, REC350BK

Optional Gig Bags: HGBAGST, BAGST

(16409)


Reviews (22)

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

By: on 15 April 2024
Coolest guitar I've ever owned!

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for 5 star review. We really appreciate the support!

Incredible value

By: on 4 March 2024
really impressed with the finish, smooth fret board, pickups sounds great, all round perfect finish. can’t beat it for bang for buck, sounds better than my expensive guitars

Artist Guitars Response
Thanks for your review! We are always here if you have any questions.

Love the Grungemaster

By: on 6 February 2024
I waited a few months so I could post a review devoid of new guitar glow. Phenomenal value for money this Artist Grungemaster - and for me, it's almost the perfect guitar. I prefer its 12" fretboard radius, it's got simple and very ergonomic switch-gear - it's a basswood body that resonates almost as well as my Gibson and Fender - the Wilkinson P90s have got great clarity, a beautiful growl and a bluesy single coil sound on clean. Switch to distortion in bridge and neck position and the pickups can get a bit noisy at my place, but the middle position is such an adaptable and inviting sound it's not that big an issue. The neck and fret work I could not fault out of the box, a slight truss weak improved the already fine action. The Gibson style bridge seems strong and stable, the tuners aren't top-deck but everything seems well made and it holds tune perfectly. And I love the way the whole thing looks - i got the aged white body and the body and pick guard complement the P90s beautifully. Well, the headstock looks a bit dinky but then, so does a Telecaster headstock if we're honest, and the volume/tone knob graphics a bit cheap looking (I put some Tele knobs on and it looks pretty bloody good really). I use the guitar at band practice instead of my Tele Player Plus and it's just as good in the mix (Grungemaster pickups' output is a bit less for live gigs though). I reckon it beats Epiphones and Squiers/ cheaper Fenders as an entry or second guitar, or if you want a good strong foundation guitar for mods etc. I was looking at the “similar” Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST – the Grungemaster has better pickups and is more soundly constructed for almost a third of the price. If you like off-set style guitars with easy-play flat necks and good P90s look no further I reckon. I also recommend the excellent gig-bag which holds heaps of extra gear. And, I thought my guitar delivery was running a bit late (it actually wasn’t) and the support I got from the Artist customer service guy was just brilliant. So … yep, I’m impressed, thank you Artist guitars – you might just rule the world if you keep making stuff like this for reasonable money.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for your review. We truly appreciate it.

Amazing value for money!

By: on 12 October 2023
For the price point this guitar has no business being this good and is an absolute steal! I've had a blast playing with my grungemaster since I've received it and am very impressed by what you get for the price. The guitar looks really nice, plays really well and was in tune with no intonation issues out of the box. The P90 pickups are gutsy and give a nice rocky distorted tone while still providing some really clear and pretty clean sounds. This guitar feels small and light while still retaining a full length scale length and punchy big sound, I'm also a big fan of the jaguar style body. This guitar absolutely shines when playing some more grungy rock but I've also had a great time with the tonal pallet for indie stuff or jazz, and can even dial in a chuggy metal tone no worries. The only negatives I have with this instrument is that the pickup heights are non adjustable out of the box (easy fix is to glue some extra foam to the bottom of them to allow more lift) and that some of the detailed work around the neck binding and frets is not as aesthetic as other guitars I own that are 3 or more times the price. For the price though this is to be expected and is more of a visual detail than anything that can impact performance. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for an excellent value guitar whatever the skill level. If you're sitting on the fence for one of these just get one!

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you for your review. We really appreciate it.

Artist Grungemaster

By: on 2 July 2023
My Grungemaster GM1 Vintage Burst arrived a few days ago and I have had a chance to muck about with it and set it up. This is my second Artist guitar and I continue to be amazed at the exceptional build quality and the excellent fit and finish of these guitars, they are very, very good and comparable with much higher priced Asian made instruments. I tried some Squire Jazzmasters and quite frankly the Grungemaster blew them out of the park in terms of sound and build quality. That being said, you can see where cost cutting has been made, but that's fine when the basic instrument is solid and well made. The Grungemaster sounds fantastic - the P90s sound full and fat (I had thought of swapping them out but I don't think I will now). I replaced the stock strings (which are rubbish), gave the frets a good polish and tweaked the truss rod, and the guitar plays great. If I do anything to this guitar I might replace the nut and the tone and volume pots with some spare CTS pots I have, but that's about it. I absolutely love the look and sound of this guitar - before you go out looking at Squires or whatever, check out Artist guitars, worth every cent.

Artist Guitars Response
Thanks so much for your review! We really appreciate your continued support. We are always here if you have any questions.

Grunge Master GM1

By: on 28 May 2023
The Grunge Master GM1 is a really good guitar I have played a lot of different guitars I’ve been playing a Firebird Gibson (USA)Fender Tele(USA) & a Hagstrom lately which all sound great.A friend mentioned Artist guitars and said give them a go & I bought a Artist GM1 & it holds its own with my others guitars it sounds great & works well with my other guitars Id heard a few people say there good guitars and there right this Grand Master GM1 is a really good guitar well done Artist guitars I will definitely be adding more Artist guitars to my collection

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you for your review. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.

What a looker!

By: on 13 May 2023
This is my second artist guitar, (1 st being the apricot burst LP) and might I say they are both beautiful guitars. The sunburst on this looks amazing, finish is flawless and the woodgrain underneath is absolutely stunning! Plays and sounds amazing, I have a fender telecaster worth $1500, and this is easily as good, if not better. Only complaint I have is the strings and the frets. Frets are very scratchy on both of my artist guitars, but it seems to be that after a couple of hours of playing they seem to smooth out, just something to look into QC. I was hoping not to have to buy a new set of strings, but I found that when they snapped so easily on a bend I had to buy a set. This is to be expected though, I mean for the price of this guitar I don't mind buying strings everyday! Such a beautiful and well built guitar! Well done artist team, this is definately a keeper.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you for choosing us for your musical needs. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need any assistance in the future. Cheers!

Great except for one thing

By: on 27 April 2023
I love the look and feel of this guitar. I am far from being an expert but the single thing which annoys me is the position of the volume control knob. I find that I am often hitting the control knob with the little finger or the base of the same finger, which results in the volume being decreased as it turns slightly. I thought it was perhaps just the way I hold my picking/strumming hand, but on looking at all three video reviews of the Grungemaster, the guitarists at some point have the same area of their hand in close contact with or right over the volume control knob. I don't know whether any of them actually had the same problem as me. It would be ideal if the volume knob was further toward the tail end of the guitar (eg where the tone knob currently is) and the cable input moved from the front of the guitar to the side, to allow room for the tone knob in its place. If that was done, the volume control would be right out of the way of the hand. Apart from that one criticism, I am really impressed with this guitar.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you very much for your input about this. Thank you for taking the time in sharing your feedback and leaving a review.

I KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE…

By: on 20 March 2023
Just received my third GRUNGEMASTER..! It was even DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING DAY (from NSW to Melbourne)..! I love these guitars – the build, component & sound quality is incredible (for the price you won’t find ANYTHING that comes close) but it is the friendly, prompt and reliable support from Artist Guitars that I have really come to value over the past couple of years. Working in IT my entire life I have yet to come across such consistently high (& honest) standards anywhere in customer support (or even just advice on anything guitar-related ie. ‘linear vs logarithmic potentiometers’ - a real example from my email inbox... If you are lucky enough to be local to their showroom then you are less likely to be relying on reviews for pre-purchase product feedback before making your first order. This is the guitar I travel with between band practice or to give the occasional lesson with (why risk damaging a $10K Fender that plays & sounds little better than the GM1) & when asked by either the student or their parent how much my guitar cost (usually a fraction of my student’s), well I imagine by the shocked look mum/dad are wearing means other important lessons have been learnt… My third GM1 arrived in ‘vintage sunburst’ and the finish is just as good as the other options. If you happen to like sunburst then you will like it on the GM1. I also went with the hard case option – the black case with rounded corners. If you don’t have a hard case this one is great value and well made. Nicely contoured corners mitigate most minor knock damage, latches are hinges are quality components, as is the lock (would have liked a second key to be included – my only gripe at all) and lining material. Features a nicely sized storage compartment with closing lid which fits my portable audio interface box with room to spare for cables, leads, spare strings, slide, picks, etc. With a small backpack I can easily carry my laptop & enough kit to record or play in the park, busk or travel between home and the studio, etc. Thanks again Artist.

Artist Guitars Response
We are truly happy to hear that your overall experience in dealing with us has been overwhelmingly positive. We pride ourselves with our customer service and customer friendly policies. Thank you so much for your review and we truly appreciate your continued support.

Happy Grungemaster owner

By: on 26 January 2023
I have a friend who has a few Artist guitars, though he's a lefty so I can't really try them out. But I liked what I saw and recently bought myself a sunburst Grungemaster for Xmas. I am very favourably impressed. It's a cheap guitar, and you wouldn't mistake it for anything else, but it came out of the box well set up and with zero issues. I have changed the strings, and done nothing else to it. That's more than I can say for any more expensive guitar that I've bought online. It sounds good, feels good in my hands, it's fun to play, and the electronics and hardware, while obviously cheap, are solid and useable. Nothing here needs to be replaced. The tuning machines in particular are stable and effective; this thing stays in tune as well as any guitar I own. My only negative feeling here is that it's a little on the heavy side, though not enough to stop me playing it, and plenty of far more expensive guitars are way heavier. In conclusion: gig-worthy for me, I will be using it live and in the studio. I am delighted with it, great value for not much money.

Artist Guitars Response
We are glad to hear that you are happy with our product. Thank you for sharing this feedback with us and for the support!

Overall Easily 5 Star

By: on 30 December 2022
I did a very thorough review on an external site. Very basically a super light guitar that is v playable out of the box. Any cost cutting has been well thought out. Home use or occasional local gig this feels easily up to it.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for the feedback. We're always here if you need anything. Cheers!

Day one: Pretty Impressed ;-)

By: on 24 November 2022
Fast shipping from Artist and pretty quick delivery from AP. Guitar arrived in good condition and on inspection the quality of the finish & construction is high, though there's one exception, the frets. This is the second Artist guitar I have bought in recent months (a Black58) that arrived with *very scratchy* frets, I mean VERY scratchy. I bought a TC59 some time ago which was perfect, before that I'd bought an LP60 - again perfect. So it seems that QC on fretwork has dropped. This could be down to LEO doing a better job inspecting the TC59 and LP60 than HANK who inspected the Black58 and this GM.. Someone needs to speak to HANK :) No new guitar should arrive with such terrible fretwork that will require proper dressing and polishing. The P90s sound great, action is a little low and there's some fret-buzz. Intonation is flat across all 6 strings at the 12th fret. Vintage Kluson style machines feel good. Plays nice, but will be better once I remedy the fret issues. One star rating lost due to scratchy frets and less than ideal setup OOTB.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you for your feedback and for the honest review. We will try to see what we can do to further improve our QC team's process to try and avoid such matters. Please feel free to send us an email to sales@artistguitars.com.au regarding the frets and we would be more than happy to asses this matter and properly resolve it for you.

Grungemaster!!!!

By: on 6 July 2022
Everything about this guitar makes me want to play it....even more than guitars 10 times the price !!

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this feedback. We really appreciate the support!

The name Grungemaster does not do this Guitar Just

By: on 27 June 2022
I have been trying my new GM two tone burst. I bought it in the hope that I could use it as a cheap gigging guitar. Light, easy to play and sounds good. So that I don't have to take my expensive American Fender to gigs. Can I say that it has delivered on that in spades. I now have the dilemma that I have this Fender sitting here which is worth on the used market, ten times the price that I paid for the "Grungemaster" (sorry but I cringe when I have to say Grungemaster). In terms of playability, build quality and sound, there is not a huge difference in it in comparison to the Fender for the type of music that I play, which is mainly clean to mildly overdriven. The GM is a great piece of kit as a gigging guitar and I would recommend it to anyone, but I do have a couple of things that I would change if I had the means. 1. For crying out loud, find a better name for it. 2. A higher quality set of Tuners would put the icing on the cake. This is my second Artist guitar (I have the burst 10th anniversary 335 which is even more spectacular) and I couldn't be happier.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for the review. We truly appreciate it.

I love it.

By: on 14 February 2022
This is my first Artist guitar.I bought it after watching Brett Kingman[a good mate of local guitar legend,Pete Gordan] review.I absolutely love the Grungemaster.It sounds awesome through the Tweedtone 20 R amp,which i bought after watching another great review by Brett Kingman.Keep up the good work guys.

Artist Guitars Response
It is our pleasure and thank you so much for leaving us this feedback. We really appreciate the support!

Grungemaster is a bargain.

By: on 22 January 2022
Got this Grungemaster as a customer return for $207 delivered to WA. It was unmarked, in new condition and in original packaging on arrival. Very high quality finish. Extremely nice neck with a near perfect fret job. I just did not expect this at this price point. Upon arrival I restrung and setup the Grungemaster. I was blown away at how great this guitar sounds and how easy it is to play. Most new guitars under $1500 usually need fret level and crown after purchase so as to get a nice lowish action, without any string buzz but not this one. Some of the frets were a little scratchy but not bad enough to warrant a polish. They have smoothed out after a small amount of play time. The P90 pickups are amazing in this guitar. The electrics have the small pots, a good quality tone cap (Polyester Greencap) and high quality rectangular three way switch like the ones the Japanese guitars have been using for years. This is the first Artist Guitar I have purchased. I bought this guitar for the P90 experience. I can see myself playing this guitar more than some of my other guitars that cost 9 or 10 times the price. This guitar weighs in at 3.75kg so certainly not a heavy weight. Even at the full price this thing is a steal. If you are considering the purchase of a Grungemaster then just do it. Its intrinsic value is definitely more than the asking price in my opinion. Just be sure to restring it as the factory strings are junk, but hey, you expect that at the price point anyway. Well done Artist Guitars and thank you for a great product along with the great customer service.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you for the really detailed review of the guitar. We certainly appreciate it. We are really happy to hear that you are loving the grungemaster.

Grungemaster!

By: on 21 January 2022
This is the 4th artist guitar I have purchased and the 2nd grungemaster. These guitars are pure quality and ideal for anyone at any level of skill. I reach for an artist before any of the big brand guitars. Keep up the excellent work

Artist Guitars Response
We are glad to hear that you are happy with our product. Thank you for sharing this feedback with us.

Surprisingly awesome guitar!

By: on 4 January 2022
Been looking at this for a few months and in the meantime have been trying out many other instruments around the $1200 mark and just not feeling it! Finally got the Grunge Master as a holiday project with the view to use it as a modding platform. I was expecting to replace pickups, all the electronics, the tuners and the bridge. Also expected to have to do a proper shielding job on the cavities and have to seriously level the frets and re-crown. The only thing I have had to do was file down 1 fret and cut the nut slots properly. (Lowering bridge doesn't count as modding!) I've been playing it constantly since Christmas day and love it. The pickups are not cheap sounding and have a lovely range of tones from jazzy to dirty. They even provide hum cancelling in the middle position which wasn't mentioned in any review or description. Even my Casino didn't do this and the hum drove me nuts. Half an hours work (fun work) has left me with the most playable guitar I own. Finally, the video reviews on your website are accurate and provide a realistic reflection of how the guitar actually sounds. Thanks!

Artist Guitars Response
Hi! Thank you so much for your feedback. We really appreciate it. If you need any help, please don't hesitate to contact us. Cheers!

AMAZING QUALITY!!!!!!

By: on 22 December 2021
Just wanted to say thank you to Artist Guitars for my 6th guitar, i have this guitar in white as well , ITS THAT GOOD!!! The P90s are nothing short of magic, our band uses multiple tunings so multiple guitars is a MUST!! Thankfully the playability instantly out of the box is unbelievable and recommend this to any level player. and yes it is going on our new album!!! Thank you ARTIST GUITARS for not making me destitute and out on the streets!!! I have food and and an AWESOME amount of AWESOME guitars!!! Game over!!!

Artist Guitars Response
We really appreciate it for taking the time to leave a review and glad to know that you are satisfied with our products and services.

Amazing customer service.

By: on 19 August 2021
My Grungemaster arrived super quick, but the box was all beaten up and there was a small ding on the headstock. The Sales Rep gave me a 10% discount and sent the photos to the courier. This all happened at around 9pm too. The Grungemaster is so much fun to play and sounds so alive. And since it's so cheap, I don't mind my 4 year old having a strum and a hit. So glad I took a punt on it.

Artist Guitars Response
We're sorry to hear about the slight damage on the headstock during transit but we're happy to know that the team was able to sort this out for you asap. Cheers

GM1TSB Grungemaster

By: on 4 February 2021
This baby really lives up to its name. Great playability straight out of the box with superb build quality and just oozes class. The P90 style pickups on this beauty make it sound like a strat on steroids. Fantastic tone and sustain, excellent note definition/ clarity, comfortable weight and feel. The neck is great and whether its plugged into my Plexi, DSL100, JCM800. Vox Mini Superbeetle or Peavey Classic 30 this guitar sounds amazing. I highly recommend Artist /guitars to anyone I know. I own 12 of their guitars.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much Graham! I am flabbergasted by the support you have given us. Cheers!

TSB Grungemaster

By: on 8 January 2021
Absolutely one of the best put-together instruments I've played, for a very affordable price. Wide range of tones from the twin p90s, and it would be very easy for a beginner to pick up and play, with no setup needed out of the box besides tuning. It also arrived ahead of the estimated date I was given. This is my 4th guitar from Artist and I always recommend them if someone mentions an interest in picking up the instrument.

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