Epiphone EF-500RCCE Masterbilt Collection Acoustic-Electric Guitar, Fingerstyle Neck, Natural Satin Review

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(More customer reviews)As a lifelong finger-style guitarist it takes a lot to impress me. Looks, sound, intonation, action, string spacing, the works. I found a factory 2nd EF-500RCCE that had some visual blems, and a pickup only under the saddle (earlier model), but after playing it for 3 hours straight the day it arrived I knew that it was THE guitar I had been looking for.
I have relative pitch so I can really tell when an instrument sounds off-pitch or has audible issues. The intonation all the way up and down the fretboard of the EF-500RCCE is as good as I could ever hope for with ANY guitar. I rarely have to adjust the tuning because it stays in tune day after day after day. I keep it humidified while in its case, and always wipe it down after playing (body, neck, and fretboard/strings).
The EF-500RCCE sounds like a dream; beautiful rich tone, surprisingly decent bass, mids that just fill the air, and higher tones that ring like a bell. Great overall projection with wonderful overtones. Epiphone (Gibson) really nailed this design! On my particular guitar the action was just a little low and the outer ends of the frets needed some smoothing, but these were minor refinements. I can play so much better and faster on this guitar than any other acoustic I've ever played - even a $3500 Martin guitar for finger-style guitarists.
I play this guitar VERY often, and it just keeps sounding better and better. I'll be getting another EF-500RCCE eventually, one that has a nicer fit and finish - and with the E-Sonic2 preamp and pickups. That way I can keep one at home as my studio acoustic.
Note: The nut is advertised as 1.75" wide. It actually measures at 1.70" using a digital caliper.
Also, the wide string spacing at the compensated saddle measures 2.37" - for finger-style guitarists.
Further, the neck contour is not the advertised "V" shape. It's actually more of a "D" shape with a perfect rounded thickness. I find its design to be absolutely perfect for me.
The EF-500RCCE has a neck thickness of .953" on the 5th fret (including strings). For comparison, a Gibson Les Paul Special (circa 2001) measures .905" thick on the 5th fret (with strings). The EF-500RCCE neck, overall, is a little fatter than the Les Paul.
Even at $1000 (street), this guitar is a great value. At this price, though, it's a no-brainer!!

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Art & Lutherie Ami Nylon String Cedar Guitar Review

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(More customer reviews)To the eye: It's a great looking guitar for sure, with REAL rosette inlays on a gorgeous cedar top. It would look great hung up on a wall, or sitting in a corner - good since you will not want to put it away, ever.
To the ear: Intonation is dead on, and the tone on this is absolutely even up and down the entire fretboard, with excellent clarity and separation of the individual notes. The parlor size doesn't provide much bass, but it's not tinny at all, and it is much louder than you'd expect. It is not a baby or travel guitar sound, but definitely a real parlor sound with good projection and that tight clarity you would expect.
To the hands: the modern neck has a sort of hybrid feel - with the seeming acres of classical fretboard, but a thinner depth than most old classicals (it has an adjustable truss rod). I generally play steel strings (30 years), but I just can't put this little nylon beauty down (the somewhat thinner neck might be part of it), and it's increased my playing by hours and hours a week. It's a great player for just... playing. In a word: Comfortable.
To the wallet: Handmade in Canada by the same people who make the Seagulls I believe. At $300, I think it's just a ridiculous deal, and a value that can't help but appreciate over time. Buy it, play it for 10 years, sell it for a profit.
To the Devil's Advocate: It does have gold/pearloid tuners. I hate gold hardware and I hate pearloid, so they'll be leaving us soon.... YMMV

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Takamine Pro Series ETN10CTBS Dreadnought Acoustic Electric Guitar, Sunburst with Case Review

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(More customer reviews)I was wanting to purchase a higher end guitar and after trying out several and listening to several on YouTube I decided to purchase this Takamine. I already own a Tak 12 string and thought the sound was incredible for the price. This one I didn't actually play until after it arrived but I watched Brad Davis try it out on YouTube as my guide. I have owned Ovation, Alvarez and Ibanez in the past and am more satisfied with Takamine. The guitar was set up perfect right out of the case. No blemishes or scratches anywhere and perfect action, very low set and a fast neck. The sound is incredible off amp as well as on. It has a very strong low end and mixes perfect with the the mids and highs. Great for strumming and picking. I couldn't believe how awesome this guitar sounds everytime I pick it up. I still play mostly without the amp and like classic rock, christian contemporary and ballads that use a classical style of play. This holds up with the best of them. It is a bit plain in appearance which is why I chose the Tobacco Burst; mine is a bit darker than the pic. The pic appears sort of orangey and mine is a bit more of a darker Tobacco Burst which I like. No pick guard and a satin finish not a gloss so the wood sounds are not impaired and will improve as the wood ages. These natural woods sound great. It has a solid cedar top and solid sapelli/mahogany back. I have alway had spruce or maple tops before and must admit the cedar sound is more to my preference for the lows. I paid $929 including the case through Amazon which is a deal since most everywhere else was $100 to $150 more. I got a better sounding guitar than Taylor or Martin puts out unless I wanted to go $1000 more and most all of their guitars in this price range were all laminates or occassionally a solid top but that was it. Very pleased with this purchase and is the best sounding acoustic I have owned yet....beats my former Ovation Legend and I loved that guitar.

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Yamaha FGX720SCA - Natural Finish 6-string Acoustic/Electric Cutaway Guitar Review

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(More customer reviews)Para aficionados y profesionales, una de las guitarras folk mas versatiles del mercado sobre todo en calidad/precio. No perderás el dinero.

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Guild GAD-30 - Natural Mahogany Orcehstra 6-String Acoustic w/ Deluxe Case Review

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(More customer reviews)I have read many glowing reviews about the Guild GAD models, including this OM model.
1. The good: Beautiful exterior finish, light weight, wonderful tone response, fast neck, solid woods. I ordered the mahogany back and sides, and it was just what I wanted. (I am favoring mahogany over rosewood for my next steel stringed acoustic guitar).
2. The unusual: wide string spacing. (Great for finderpicking)
3. The Bad: The high E string (first string, thinnest string) would come off the fret when I did pulls from the third fret while fretting the 1st fret. This is a common technique, and my playing style is full of such ornaments. I first experienced this while noodling. So I played a baroque piece with a lot of ornamentation, and discovered the location, and that it was a consistent error. I could learn to play without having the string fret out like this, but only by avoiding what caused it in the first place, in other words, by compromising the music. When a string pulls out like this, what happens is the string snaps back against the outside of the fret, making a tinkly noise instead of the tone that you expected. The reason this happened seems to be that the neck was made too narrow at the lower frets in error. Rather than scrap the guitar, or changing the string spacing at the nut, Guild Asia decided to just ship it and hope for an undiscerning customer.

A less serious issue, which has been pointed out by several other users, is that the bracing that is out of sight is roughly finished, while that which is visible near the sound hole is
finished smoothly.
Now for the bad part (for me): Because I purchased this from an Amazon affiliate with completion by Amazon, I was forced to pay the full return shipping costs, plus insurance. Bad deal for me. I could have corrected the problem, or had it fixed by a luthier, by changing the string spacing at the nut with a nut replacement. But that enters into the error of me fixing someone else's problem. I don't feel that that is the customer's role. Also, when I saw how the error occurred--the fingerboard seemed to be over rounded at the top edge, and was actually thinner than the neck--well, then I couldn't be happy with the instrument. There simply wasn't enough real estate for the 1st string because they chose to accommodate the 6th string. Someone at Guild GAD should have made the call to take a loss on the instruments with the flaw. Instead, they chose to sell them to unsuspecting customers. No more Guild anything for me. You can buy $300 guitars from major manufacturers all day long without this kind fo error. It is inexcusable. I will never purchase another guitar from or through Amazon, and no Guilds for me either. Never. And in the future I will make sure that I have some confidence in the seller by phone at least before purchasing an instrument online. I had formerly placed this confidence in Amazon, but that is over. In the future, I will be using Amazon less.

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Aria AP-STD2 Parlour Acoustic Guitar Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this guitar online purely on the basis of the excellent reputation Aria company has built for themselves over the years in the guitar manufacturing industry.
I did feel unsure initially in deciding to buy this guitar without first playing it.
But my fears were removed when I took it out of the box and strumed the guitar. This little fella has great volumne, tone and fretboard playability that is second to maybe another Aria.
I use this guitar to play jazz and it has all the attributes that a jazz guitarist need to bring out some creativity. It is a very versatile guitar for folk , blues , jazz etc.
I highly recommend this parlor guitar for those who want a small bodied guitar with great tone and projection.Keep up your excellent work Aria.

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Recording King Gospel Songstress Acoustic Dreadnaught Guitar (Mahogany) Review

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(More customer reviews)I received a brand new recording king rdc-26 today.
1) strings were very rusty
2) bone saddle were rusty (i'm guessing from the strings)
3) There was no pick guard.
4) The Tone Was Way Off
5) The Sound was very terrible.
6) When I turned the truss rodd the neck started to make cracking noise all over the neck.
7) I was turning the truss rodd very very slowly to loose the tension.
8) The neck was cracking all through out the neck.
9) Yea I'm upset.
10) I've put in a return order.

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Taylor Guitars 655-CE Jumbo 12 String Acoustic Electric Guitar Review

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(More customer reviews)I wasn't even really looking for a new 12 string. My current one is 35 yrs old though it was always only just adequate. I first played a Taylor jumbo-style 12 (355) about 10 yrs ago and was taken aback by the huge quality of the sound so when I picked this one up I suspected that I would be pleased. What I did not expect was to be blown away. Maple guitars are typically bright but the pureness of the tone and the level of sustain of this guitar is unmatched by any I have ever played. A friend and fellow guitar player picked it up over the weekend and, without any prompting, said that this was the best 12 string guitar he had ever played and that I had hit a home run. I have to admit that this helped to assuage my guilt over spending the $3K and that my wife heard the comment also quieted the "why did you need another guitar...?" I played at least a other dozen 12 strings the day I bought this guitar (Martins, Guilds, other Taylors, new, used, etc.) but none could match this one for the tone that I love in a great 12. It also sounds pretty good plugged in (though you won't need to). Choosing a guitar is always a personal matter but you will be missing out on a very special instrument if you don't give this one a try. It will be the last one you'll ever need. ps. My other guitars are Martins and Gibsons so I do not have a Taylor bias.

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Luna Muse 12 String Cutaway Acoustic Guitar, Maple Review

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(More customer reviews)This is my third or forth 12 string and I am very impressed (the others were Yamaha and Ibenez). The solid top and maple back and sides create a sweet tone and when plugged in it rocked my world. I'm not going to suggest that it will beat a Taylor or Gibson or any other high end guitar but when you consider it is about one fifth to one tenth of the price, well...nuf said. Still it has great tone and the action makes you think you're playing a six string. The neck is a little narrower than a standard 12 string, but it's not a problem for me and I have big fat ogre fingers. You get so much more than your moneys worth. I'm thinking about selling my Ovation Legend so I can make room for the six string Luna Muse.

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Guild GAD-M20 Acoustic Guitar Natural w/ Deluxe Case Review

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(More customer reviews)This is really a great guitar for someone who wants to check out a small bodied guitar or for someone looking to get into acoustic and being used to electric instruments. This guitar is all real wood. No particle board or laminates. Great for finger style guitar. It has a very balanced sound as is typical of instruments this size. This is not really a guitar for bluegrass flatpickers as they usually go for dreadnaughts. Personally, those guitars are too big for me and very "boomy."
I got mine new for 499.99 Great deal !!
I play this guitar daily and I have had it for over a year now. Other acoustics I have had were sold on ebay.

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Martin D-35 Dreadnought Guitar Review

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(More customer reviews)again played by the greats
johnny cash and elvis
list goes on
everything about this guitar is perfect
i consider this the mercedes of all guitars


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Breedlove Passport C250/CM, T Guitar Review

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(More customer reviews)i bought this for my hubby and he enjoys it every day!
Sounds great and very portable.

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Recording King Classic Series I OOO-Style Acoustic Guitar (Mahogany) Review

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(More customer reviews)Just a quick review...I received this guitar as a Christmas gift. I really can't say enough nice things about it. Solid spruce top and a nut and saddle made out of real bone. I am not sure how, given the low price, that they can make any money on this thing. I am really enjoying playing this guitar. One thing I noticed right out of the box is the fact that the set up on the guitar was excellent (the string height to the fret board, the feel of the neck all felt great.) Someone is paying attention to those little things. As it is an OOO-sized guitar it will not have the heavy bass response that a dreadnought sized guitar provides but the mid-ranges just jump out of this guitar! I am just amazed at what you get for the price. I can only imagine what the higher priced recording king models sound like - they have to be really nice (maybe for next Christmas!).

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Recording King Classic Series OOO-Style Acoustic Guitar with Herringbone (Rosewood) Review

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(More customer reviews)This gorgeous acoustic arrived in perfect shape from Amazon, with a factory set-up that was incredibly accurate. Action, neck relief, neck angle, playability, everything was so perfect.
The Recording King RO 127 is a (very well made ) copy of a vintage OM 28 Martin Herringbone,
with all solid woods, 3/4 neck width, and V neck shape. Top is spruce, back and sides rosewood.
They are made in China under supervision and design of Johnson guitar co., USA.
The tone of the guitar is superb: very loud, full of overtones, great low end and ringing trebles.
I couldn't be happier. If you are looking for a beautiful Martin but cannot afford the price, this is the guitar you should look for !

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Taylor Guitars GC4 Grand Concert Acoustic Guitar Review

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(More customer reviews)Just got mine a couple of days ago from Amazon. Sounds just like I expected - full and lively without being brash. Lots of treble zing and smooth responsive bass and midrange. Some of the great sound is the ovankol wood coupled with the great taylor shape and very straight neck. The taylor workmanship is evident everywhere, even the small details. One of, if not, the best american made guitars today. I only expect it to sound better as it ages.

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Blueridge BR-183 Historic Premium East Indian RoseWood 000 Guitar with Abalone Purfling Review

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(More customer reviews)I've owned my BR-183 for at least four years. It is still the favorite performing instrument of my bandmates, despite its smaller size and more intimate tone-- it is preferred over, for example, a top-end Taylor Grand Symphony Koa and a handmade mid-70s Brazilian Rosewood LoPrinzi dreadnought.
The fit and finish on this instrument is top-flight. Out of the case, it had a surprisingly full tone, and over the years of intensive playing and performance, it has only improved in tone. Intonation is excellent up and down the neck. The fingerboard is a bit narrow but I have yet to feel cramped on it, though I'm used to 1-3/4" nut widths. Played fingerstyle it is an absolute joy. Without picks, it has a finger-sensitive quality-- one can hear the smallest changes of finger-angle, the shifts between soft fingers, callouses, and fingernails hitting the string. Up and down the neck, notes glimmer and then arrive with nuance and authority. Strummed, with the action extremely low, it does compress, but in a very pleasing way-- it seems designed to provide a sort of percussive rhythm-guitar quality. "Snapping" the strings gives a delightful pop to the notes and they retain their sonority rather than simply dying, as occurs with the very-young and very stolid Taylor GS. While the Taylor has begun to open up over the year of its life with me, the Blueridge seems more like a 20-year-old instrument.
If there is a complaint to make, it's with the lacquer, which is fairly thickly laid on-- one wonders what the sound would be like with a thinner finish. The detailing is almost gaudy-- the abalone is beautifully inlaid, but there's a lot of it!
This instrument's extraordinary virtues inveigled me into buying a "B-stock" BR-180, the top-of-the-line Blueridge Dreadnought, to keep at a retreat where I travel to write and think. I imagined it to be a sort of on-vacation workhorse, and was delighted to be corrected by its balance, volume, authority, and subtlety. Like the BR-183, it has become a favorite of mine, and of the band's-- requiring that I trek it back for performances regularly. Both these instruments have been fitted with Fishman undersaddle pickups that are led into a Fishman Aura for recording and performance, and the result is amplified sound almost exactly corresponding to the sound of the instruments in rehearsal in a living room-- quite an achievement.

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Hohner Essential Mini Jumbo Acoustic-Electric Guitar Review

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(More customer reviews)I received the guitar and it was unplayable. The neck had a bump around the 18th fret and you could not play the guitar without getting a horrible buzz all along the fretboard. The guitar was supposed to have been inspected by Hohner, but this obviously did not happen. I sent the guitar back and got a refund. Maybe some of the Essential guitars are inspected, but mine was definitely not.

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