The more plonky areas of the music press have been running a mail-order ad for a guitar called The Axe. This promises an instrument, a practice amp, strap, guitar tutor, tuning tape, lead, carrying bag, and even a plectrum - everything you need for a mere £78, P&P included.

We bought one. It's roughly Strat shaped, with two twin coil pickups, volume and tone, chromed bridge/tremolo, and a three way selector. It's got a wide, flat fingerboard, with 21 high rounded frets. The neck doesn't seem to have a truss rod, and is not as straight as it should be; without a truss rod, it's not going to get any straighter.

The amp is an Action Man-sized stack, seven inches high, with a single volume control. Its 3½in speaker actually sounds extremely pokey when wound right up, though not triffically loud.

The tutor is a badly printed but reasonably straightforward guide to the rudiments of guitaring. We found only one glaring error — the chord box for A7 is wrong.

So what's it like! Firstly, it's not a rip-off. The vendors genuinely seem to have made an effort. But the guitar is not great: the neck is full of buzzes and rattles. In the hands of a beginner, this situation is only likely to deteriorate — it needs to be set up professionally, which adds another £10-15 to the price. As it comes out of the box, The Axe might arguably end up deterring would-be guitar heroes.

It sounds OK. Even though it doesn't sustain well, the pickups give a pleasingly raucous cheap tinny sound, which is almost John Lee Hooker through that mini-amp.

You get a lot for your money. But you're buying blind, and you can't just go back to the shop to call on their professional expertise. If you do fancy The Axe, be prepared to find yourself a guitar mechanic. Call (Contact Details) for more info.