Mitchell HD400 Hard Rock Double Cutaway Electric Guitar Black

First I'd like to say that this guitar is an incredible value for the price and plays as well as guitars costing many times more. The other reviews cover that in detail, so I won't go into that here.I'm posting this review to point out a glaring problem that no one else has mentioned: There are no cases that will fit this guitar. The problem is that the "horn" on the guitar body sticks out about 2 inches longer than on a standard strat. The length of the body between the strap buttons is 20.5", while most cases will only accommodate a guitar body of 18.5". I already own 2 hard cases that fit my other 4 guitars perfectly, but the HD400 won't fit in either one. This is a serious oversight on the part of the designers at Mitchell. For that reason, I'm docking 2 stars from this review. Once this issue is resolved to my satisfaction, I will update this review to 5 stars.

When I was contacted about evaluating one of Mitchell Guitar’s new line of electric guitars, I knew absolutely nothing about the company. I was generously provided with a sample of the lime green HD400 by Music123 for review, and was completely impressed by the build quality of this very cool looking instrument, and excited by how much fun this guitar is to play.Besides green, the HD440 is available in transparent red, transparent blue, and black. The thin mahogany neck helps me to play fast and with good control, and also makes bending strings easier. The green and blue models have a 24 fret maple fretboard, while the black and red models have rosewood. Small fretboard dots are located between the low E and A strings. Not seeing something more visually prominent was initially a little odd, but was not hard to get used to.The HD400 has a familiar look, with a Strat type body, three pickups, a five position selector switch, and volume and tone controls. The guitar has a Floyd Rose bridge with whammy bar, and locking string nuts. The tremolo system is perfectly balanced, and operates as smooth as butter. It is easily the best I have ever used. The guitar stays in tune very well, and it usually takes just a few turns of the adjustment screws to get back in tune. So you should be fine, if you attempt some Brad Gillis moves. The metallic gray finish of the Floyd Rose and the volume and tone knobs is identical. The headstock is also similar to a Strat, but with a beveled slash, painted to match the body color.The guitar has excellent tonality, and plays cleanly and crisply. With light gauge D’Addario strings installed, the string tension feels very light, and I switched to lighter gauge picks than I normally use. For me, this guitar requires a little more finesse and touch. If you prefer a more aggressive approach, try heavier gauge strings.The HD400 has humbucking pickups at the bridge and rear, with a single coil in the middle. As sound setups vary greatly, it is a difficult to generalize about how the guitar may sound when connected to an amp, but speaking generally, when playing with a clean tone, the pickups deliver well, with pretty even output through the five pickup positions. The treble position is nice and bright but not too raspy. When playing with distortion, the differences in sound are harder to distinguish, but when the single coil is connected, it contributes some noise. With an ability to provide a variety of sounds, this guitar is suitable for many musical styles including rock, metal, country, and surf.Some guitars have a plate where the neck is joined to the body, and often the serial number is imprinted on this plate. The Mitchell does not utilize a mounting plate, and the serial number is printed on the back of the headstock. This is one thing I would change about this guitar, as it is not very cool looking. The serial number could easily be impressed on one of the black plastic covers that provide rear access to the pickups and controls. Another little quirk is the location of the cord input jack, which is recessed on the bottom side of the guitar, just below the strap peg. Normally I use Fender cord with a 90 degree jack to connect to the guitar, but that using this type of connector would damage the guitar body.At this price level, the Mitchell HD400 provides major value at a modest price, and the Floyd Rose tremolo is exquisitely sweet. Produced in China, the workmanship is excellent, very much on par with my ESP and Ibanez guitars in the same price range. The overall playability of the Mitchell is outstanding, making this instrument an excellent choice for beginners, and those like me with smaller sized hands.Of course there is no substitute for being able to hold a guitar in your hands and actually playing it. Mitchell’s new line of electrics are available at Music123 (with free shipping), and various other retailers, so perhaps you will have an opportunity to play one, and see for yourself how finely crafted they are.If you do buy a HD400 without playing one, hopefully you will be as fortunate as I was, and will receive a high quality instrument that will meet your expectations in every way, and motivate you to expand your musical horizons. I offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to Dan Erickson of Music123, and Mitchell Guitars.

When I was contacted about evaluating one of Mitchell Guitar’s new line of electric guitars, I knew absolutely nothing about the company. I was generously provided with a sample of the lime green HD400 by Music123 for review, and was completely impressed by the build quality of this very cool looking instrument, and excited by how much fun this guitar is to play. As there were currently no reviews for the transparent red HD400, I adapted my review of the lime green model, since most of my comments are also applicable.The HD440 is available in transparent red, black, transparent blue, and lime green. The red and black models have a 24 fret rosewood fretboard, while the blue and green models have a maple fretboard. The thin mahogany neck helps me to play fast and with good control, and also makes bending strings easier. Small fretboard dots are located between the low E and A strings. Not seeing something more visually prominent was initially a little odd, but was not difficult for me to get used to, however it could be an issue for some beginners.The HD400 has a familiar look, with a Strat type body, three pickups, a five position selector switch, and volume and tone controls. The guitar has a Floyd Rose bridge with whammy bar, and locking string nuts. The tremolo system is perfectly balanced, and operates as smooth as butter. It is easily the best I have ever used. The guitar stays in tune very well, and it usually takes just a few turns of the adjustment screws to get back in tune. So you should be fine, if you attempt some Brad Gillis moves. The metallic gray finish of the Floyd Rose and the volume and tone knobs is identical. The headstock is also similar to a Strat, but with a beveled slash, painted to match the body color.The guitar has excellent tonality, and plays cleanly and crisply. With light gauge D’Addario strings installed, the string tension feels very light, and I switched to lighter gauge picks than I normally use. For me, plying this guitar requires a little more finesse and touch. If you prefer a more aggressive approach, try heavier gauge strings.The HD400 has humbucking pickups at the bridge and rear, with a single coil in the middle. As sound setups vary greatly, it is a difficult to generalize about how the guitar may sound when connected to an amp, but speaking generally, when playing with a clean tone, the pickups deliver well, with pretty even output through the five pickup positions. The treble position is nice and bright but not too raspy. When playing with distortion, the differences in sound are harder to distinguish, but when the single coil is connected, it contributes some noticeable noise. With an ability to provide a variety of sounds, this guitar is suitable for many musical styles such as rock, pop, metal, country, and surf.Some guitars have a plate where the neck is joined to the body, and often the serial number is imprinted on this plate. The Mitchell does not utilize a mounting plate, and the serial number is printed on the back of the headstock. This is one thing I would change about this guitar, as it is not very cool looking. The serial number could easily be impressed on one of the black plastic covers that provide rear access to the pickups and controls. Another little quirk is the location of the cord input jack, which is recessed on the bottom side of the guitar, just below the strap peg. Normally I use Fender cord with a 90 degree jack to connect to the guitar, but that using this type of connector would damage the guitar body.At this price level, the Mitchell HD400 provides major value at a modest price, and the Floyd Rose tremolo is exquisitely sweet. Produced in China, the workmanship is excellent, very much on par with my ESP and Ibanez guitars in the same price range. The overall playability of the Mitchell is outstanding, making this instrument an excellent choice for beginners, and those like me with smaller sized hands.Of course there is no substitute for being able to hold a guitar in your hands and actually playing it. Mitchell’s new line of electrics are available at Music123 (with free shipping), and various other retailers, so perhaps you will have an opportunity to play one, and see for yourself how finely crafted they are.If you do buy a HD400 without playing one, hopefully you will be as fortunate as I was, and will receive a high quality instrument that will meet your expectations in every way, and motivate you to expand your musical horizons. I offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to Dan Erickson of Music123, and Mitchell Guitars.