Rosy cost me $350 with a stand, hard case, Crate 25W amp, cable, tuner, picks, and extra set of strings included. While I want to support American labor, I work for a living, and I just couldn't shell out the 2 grand that all the US gear would've cost me.
Rosie plays like a dream, and in a kind of mystical fashion, holds her tune for a year at a time. I'm serious, I can check her with the tuner and she never budges except for a tiny tweak on the 2nd string once in awhile. I'm using Fender Super Bullet strings and have never used a whammy bar with this guitar, even though I have it.
Hats off to those guitar makers in - I believe - Esmerelda, Mexico, because they allowed me to get a guitar I could only have dreamed of otherwise. It even makes me feel better knowing that many of them play guitar as well. Now, if only I could play as good as the guitar I love! I have a lifetime to work on that.
FYI, I did spring for a Roland Cube 40XL amp a little later, and that thing is fantastic.
Most evenings, I just use a little 4-Watt MA-104 from Toy-R-Us for simple practice, however.
