Daisy Rock Girl Guitars Rock Candy Special

Price Paid: US $400

Features: 7
The other users summed up the specifics well. It is certainly not the most versatile guitar I have ever played, but it does what it is supposed to do.

I bought this one for my daughter as her first electric guitar. Her first guitar was a Daisy Rock pixie.

It is a 05 made in Korea. Given the close ties between Daisy Rock and Schecter Guitars (and their CEO’s) I would assume that these guitars are built alongside each other.

Sound: 7
The pickups do a decent job, especially in smoother, cleaner tones. They sound good through a chorus and tremolo effect. They do not push distortion pedals very hard, and you end up with a good crunchy sound, but not the type of range a higher end pickup will give you.

“Duncan Designed” does not mean it has Duncan’s in it. I have three guitars with Duncan’s and the Daisy Rock does not even approach the tone that those guitars generate. But it does come in at less than ¼ the price.

One real disappointment is the coil tap feature. Tapped, the pickups are just flat and thin. They really do not gain anything with this feature.

My daughter plays through a Keeley compressor and a Boss ME-50 into a Peavey Classic 30.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 8
The guitar looks great! The top (pink of course) looks deep and catches the light well. The binding is smooth and has fewer imperfections than you would expect from a guitar in this price range. The star inlays really give it a good look.

The action is also really good, not too high, not too low. There was a little fret buzz and a bit of an intonation adjustment required, but that is to be expected. The guitar is very playable and fits my hand and my daughter’s hands well.

The pickup selector feels a little loose, as do the bridge saddles, but not terribly so. The tuners feel nice and tight, and it holds tune reasonably well.

Reliability/Durability: 9
She has only had this guitar for about four months, but so far so good. She is not too hard on it, and takes good care of it, so I expect it to stand up for a long time. Hopefully I will not have to amend this section.

Customer Support: 10
I have never dealt with them. Their website is great and they have really broken ground on offering instruments to girls that are typically thought of as “boys only”. And they are doing it in a fun classy manner. The company markets itself well and has really filled a niche. My daughter loves them, and is proud to say she has a Daisy Rock guitar. This is her second one after all. I give them high marks for presence and style.

Overall Rating: 8
This guitar does not compete with my Heritage guitars, but at $400 it should not have to. For the price, this is a nice, playable musical instrument. In football terms it is definitely a I-AA guitar, but it is a first stringer. If this guitar was lost or stolen I would definitely replace it. My daughter is already eyeing the Rock Candy Custom Special.

I do wish it had a more conventional V V T T controller configuration, instead of the coil tap feature.

Submitted by Archie at 02/28/2006 13:13

Price Paid: US $350

Features: 10
CONSTRUCTION: Set-Neck
BODY: Mahogany w/Quilted Maple Contour Top
NECK: Mahogany
FINGERBOARD: Rosewood
FRET: 22 Medium
SCALE: 24 3/4”
INLAY: Stars
BRIDGE: Tune-O-Matic w/String Thru-Body
TUNERS: Grover
BINDING: Créme
HARDWARE: Chrome
PICKUPS: Duncan Designed Humbuckers
ELECTRONICS: Master Volume, Master Tone-Tap*, 3-Way Selector
FINISH: Pink Metro

Sound: 10
I bought this guitar for my daughter, who is now 9 years old. She started playing 2.5 years ago. Her first guitar was a short-scale Squier Strat, $99. If your child shows interest in wanting to keep on playing and learning, sell it fast an buy a full scale guitar. These short-scale guitars are made cheaply and nearly impossible to tune.
Her second guitar was slightly better, but still a short-scale guitar, very hard to tune and keep in tune; it was a Daisy Rock Butterfly series, Fantasy. Very cute for a girl, but not easy to handle due to its shape.
I still was not satisfied. My daughter's teacher told me all short-scale guitars would be hard to tune and that kids her age could easily get used to a full-scale guitar.
I tried the Rock Candy Special at the local GC. I was blown away. I could not put it down. It sounds and plays as good or better than some of my own guitars (Fender, Gibson, Ibanez).
In single coil mode, it can be a bit noisy, but not any more than a Fender Telecaster. I love playing this guitar!

Action, Fit, & Finish: 10
The guitar was flawless in my opinion. Every thing worked great and it was set up pretty well. I may have to tune the bridge a little, but it is so minor that I have not decided to do it it yet.
For under $400, it is amazing, great finish, great sound, great looks. And for a little girl, or an older guy like me with back problems, the light weight is to die for!

Reliability/Durability: 10
My daughter has had the guitar for almost a year now. She practices about 4 times a week and walks to her lesson once a week. Yet the guitar is still spotless. Yesterday I tightened the Jack outlet nut and changed the strings. I played it for about 2 hours... couldn't put it down.

Customer Support: N/A
Dont know

Overall Rating: 10
>Did you compare it to other guitars? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?
I have been playing for about 20 years. I own a Gibson SG Stantard, a Gibson 333, an American Telecaster, an American Stratocaster Deluxe, a Ibanez Prestige S1520, all 2 or 3 times the price of the Rock Candy Special. Yet I consider the daisy to be an equal among them.
>Is there something you wish you had asked before buying this guitar?
Do they also make a model for boys?
>If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
If stolen or lost, i would buy a Rock Candy Special again on the spot.
>Anything else you'd like to share?
If the ratings could go to 11 (Spinal Tap), I would rate this guitar 11 outta 10.

Submitted by pjr at 10/24/2005 10:16

Price Paid: US $400

Features: 9
Mahogany with quilted maple top (perfect for bringing out the tone and preveting the guitar from sound too dark). No tremolo available, which would have made this a "10" guitar. Has a split coil tap in the bridge humbuckers. This produces a pretty different and usable tone, although you do get the customary volume drop. It won't get you any Strat sounds out of it, but it sounds great! Duncan Designed pickups.. whatever that means. They do the job well, they don't overpower the guitar. Sometimes i wish they had a bit more "grrrr" to them, but overall a fantastic piece of work for the money. The one thing I noticed about the guitar is that it doesn't feel or sound like some mass produced, assembly line guitar. It sounds and feels like "my" guitar.. if you know what I mean.

Sound: 10
Sounds fantastic! Yeah, ok, so Daisy Rock's are made for girls? Whatever... this thing looks and sounds fantastic! Smooth, sweet tone, very little noise until you tap the humbucker into a single. It has less beef than say, a Les Paul, but it has it's own vibe going on. I play Rock, Pop/Punk, and this thing more than holds it's own.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 10
No complaints at all really.. it looks like a much more expensive guitar, and is very well constructed. The only thing that might throw you off is how light weight it is. It's a slightly smaller scale than a full-size Les Paul, but what a freakin joy to bounce around with on stage!! Killer tones without the 11lb weight of the Les Paul to crush my hip.

Reliability/Durability: 10
Reliability? Hah!! This things takes it's punishment on stage like a good rock guitar should, and then sits there looking all smooth and pretty after the fact! This thing hardly breaks a sweat and I beat the hell out of it! Holds it's tune.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with them...

Overall Rating: 10
I've gone through a LOT of guitars with my G.A.S. (gear acquisition syndrome)... Guitars like PRS, American made Fenders, Ibanez, Les Paul's, etc... but this Rock Rock Candy Special though, is here to stay. I can't quite put my finger on this guitar, only that it has it's own personality.. but still let's mine come through when I play it. I've owned it for almost a year, and I keep coming back to it. There must be a reason.

Submitted by DavZ at 01/22/2005 16:41