The convenience of on-line shopping notwithstanding,
it’s always better to be able to see, play, and hear
the guitar you’re planning to buy. Playing feel and sound
are next to impossible to suss from a computer screen,
and because they can make or break the experience you
get from your new ax, try to get some actual trigger
time on your potential purchase by visiting your local
music store.
Plan to amplify your guitar? If so, does the preamp/
pickup system being offered have the features you want,
such as a built-in tuner, multiple pickups with blending
capability, and maybe even stereo outs if you want
to get fancy and route the pickups’ signals to separate
amps or an amp/P.A. setup.
If you’re favoring a purely acoustic instrument, then
the quality of the woods is going to be of primary importance.
A guitar made of solid woods will typically improve
with age, whereas, a plywood guitar probably won’t, so
pay attention to the solidarity factor of the instrument
you’re considering as comparatively priced models can
offer all solid-wood construction, a slightly less groovatious
recipe of a solid top and back with laminated
sides, or an all laminated body with a solid top.
And if you plan on primarily recording your guitar
with a mic, you might also want to opt for a
gloss finish to minimize rustling sounds that can
be created by the instrument brushing against
your clothing.
The five guitars on review here represent all
points on the features curve and at a pricing scale
that runs from $349 to $999 street. We tested these
instruments in our studios and ran the models with
electronics though a Fishman Soloamp.
Breedlove
Stage C250/EF
ONE OF THE LOWER PRICED MODELS IN THE BREEDLOVE LINE, THE
Korean-made Stage C250/EF has a gloss finished body and
rosewood peghead overlay, and a natty set of appointments
that includes ivoroid binding on the body and neck, abalone
rosette and top purfling, and “stage” style abalone fretboard
inlays designed by Kim Breedlove. The solid Engleman spruce
top features Breedlove’s “improved” bracing, which includes
a JLD bridge truss assembly that’s designed to add stability
and increase sustain by coupling a lightweight wooden block
under the bridge to the tail via a wooden dowel. The C250/EF
is well made and finished in all areas, including the frets, which
are set evenly and have consistently rounded tops. The interior
is spotless.
The C250/EF arrived with a good setup that
places the strings low over the frets for easy
fingering. The neck’s medium thickness and
smooth satin finish combine for an excellent
playing feel, and everything sounds
in tune as you move around the fretboard.
The C250/EF is lively and open sounding,
with strong bass and clear, resonant mids
and highs. This guitar has good acoustic
projection and is very satisfying to play without
amplification.
Plugged into the Fishman SoloAmp,
the C250/EF kicked out a solid acoustic
sound without any harsh piezo artifacts.
The controls on the L.R. Baggs
Stage pro Element preamp barely
had to be touched to get stageworthy
tones, and only the guitar’s
phase switch and Notch controls
needed to be called upon to get
rid of some pesky feedback. This
is a great electronics package for
the C250/EF and it makes this
guitar a worthy choice for those
who want the best of both worlds
when it comes to an acoustic-electric.
The C250/EF pushes the price
envelope pretty high for a guitar that uses
laminates for the body, but it’s hard to fault
what it offers in terms of tone and playability. And
if you like the modernist lines that have made Breedlove guitars such a recognizable marque,
you’ll certainly want to give the C250/EF a test drive.
Epiphone
AJ-500RE
LOOKING MUCH LIKE A ’30S-ERA EPIPHONE ACOUSTIC, THE AJ-500RE
features all solid wood construction with full binding on the body,
neck, and headstock. The Chinese-made guitar has a satin finish,
a plain (no center stripe) back, and the interior workmanship is
clean as a whistle, with carefully sanded scalloped bracing and
neat kerfing around the inside perimeter. The neck’s generous
“C” shape feels great in your hands, and the frets are nicely finished
and evenly crowned and trimmed. Gold “butterbean”-style
open-gear tuners turn smoothly and add a classy touch to what
is essentially a modern guitar in a vintage guise. The modern part,
of course, comes from the AJ’s advanced electronics system, which
combines an E-Sonic 2 preamp with dual pickups: a Shadow
Nanomag pickup mounted at the end of the fretboard and a
Nanoflex transducer located under the bridge saddle. Separate
jacks for each pickup allow you to route the
signals to different amps, with one jack combining
both pickups for mono use.
The AJ-500RE has a ringing acoustic sound
with a volume potential that befits its dreadnought-
sized body. The bottom end is strong,
the mids are upfront, and the top end is sweet
and complex. Plugged in, the AJ offers the
widest range of sounds in this group. With the
magnetic and piezo pickups placed respectively
in the neck and bridge positions, it’s easy to
get anything from dark jazz tones to crisp,
airy acoustic sounds. Through the Fishman
Soloist amp with its tone controls set flat,
some of our best amplified acoustic sounds
were obtained with AJ’s Blend slider
slightly favoring the bridge pickup, and
with a touch of treble enhancement
from the neck pickup’s Tone control.
Suffice to say, the AJ-500RE is one
of the best made and best equipped
mid-priced guitars we’ve tested, and
that’s why it gets an Editors’ Pick
Award.
Hohner DL500CE
AS WITH MANYGUITARS IN THE “AFFORDABLE” CLASS, THE INDONESIAN-MADE
DL500CE has a solid top with laminated back and sides. But in this
case, the wood happens to be highly figured lacewood koa, which
looks awesome. A gloss finish, crisp looking abalone fretboard inlays
and rosette, a pearl headstock logo, and nicely done wooden back and
end stripes add to the upscale vibe. However, closer inspection reveals
some flaws in the bindings that rim the entire perimeter of this guitar.
There are also visible glue lines on the base of the bridge and the
neck joint. The interior workmanship falls short too, where we find
glue stains, wood debris, and unsanded braces.
On the plus side, the DL500CE plays well and doesn’t suffer from
string buzz or serious intonation problems. The GraphTech nut and
compensated saddle undoubtedly help in this regard. The DL500CE’s
acoustic sound is about what you’d expect for a guitar that streets
for $349. The tones are balanced enough, but there’s not a lot of
depth, complexity, or upper-end zing on tap here. Sonically, the best
thing going for the DL500CE is its Fishman 4T Classic preamp and
dual-element pickup system, which needed very little
tweakage to deliver good sounds through the Fishman
SoloAmp. An all-ply guitar such as this is
best suited for amplified rather than acoustic
duties, so the DL500CE might do the trick if cost
is a primary consideration and you plan on plugging
in most of the time.
Revival RG-26
IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO GETAS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO A BOUTIQUE-GRADE
guitar for minimal cash outlay, it hardly gets better than the RG-
26. This small-bodied beauty from Chinese manufacture features
all solid woods, a gloss finish, and sweet looking appointments.
Running down the list we find neat wooden bindings on the body
and neck, inlaid wood back and end stripes, a heel cap and rosewood
headstock facing, and a perfectly rendered abalone rosette
and fretboard dots. The construction is top notch in all areas,
including the inner workings, where we see carefully
shaped and sanded scalloped braces, tight
joints, and not a stray speck of dust or glue.
Playability-wise, the RG-26 rules thanks
to its moderately slim neck, which sports a
low action and well-shaped frets with smooth
ends. The guitar’s intonation is excellent—
thanks in part to the properly cut bone nut and
compensated bone saddle—and its acoustic voice
is crisp and open with good complexity and presence
in the upper mids and highs. The RG-26
has what the company calls a “00 thin body
shape,” which, though comfortable to get
around on, is a limiting factor to both its
volume and projection. But while the RG-
26 doesn’t have the low-end mass of a
dreadnought- or jumbo-sized instrument
(which is something that solo
performers tend to look for), it is ideally
suited for recording. Slap a good
mic on this guitar and revel in the
pure and balanced tones that come
back at you. Built by people who
obviously care about attention to
detail, the result speaks for itself and
the RG-26 gets an Editors’ Pick Award.
Walden D710
COMING IN AT THE SECOND LOWEST PRICE IN THIS GROUP, THE D710
is a dreadnought-sized guitar that features a satin finish, a solid
top and back, and nice looking appointments. The bindings
(white/black on the body, black on the neck) are grade A, and
the multi-layer back stripe and wedge-shaped end piece are precisely
set. Ditto for the abalone rosette and the abalone “Walden”
logo that’s inlaid into the rosewood headstock facing. Tortoiseshell
buttons class up the gold-plated tuners, and the nut is
carefully worked and polished. Despite a white-ish mottling on
the fretboard’s surface, the frets themselves are finished well
and don’t have any sharp ends to dig into your hand. The
D710’s interior construction is generally clean and tight,
although some of the bracing could stand a bit more sanding
to remove “hairs” that pop out of the wood.
Set up with reasonably low action, the Chinese-made D710
plays easily and sounds musically in tune. As you’d
expect from a dreadnought, the tones are muscular
and present. The D710 delivers a good
amount of volume, and with its abundant
bass and punchy midrange, notes ring out
clearly and have good dynamic feel. With
no onboard electronics, the D710 is less
suitable for stage use, but it sure records
well. We had the opportunity to hear it
miked with an SE Electronics SE4400a condenser
and tracked it into Logic on a Mac
laptop though a Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56
multi-channel audio interface, and the resulting
tones were warm, rich, and nicely
detailed. A versatile guitar for an attractive
price, the D710 stands out as an
excellent value for those seeking a
purely acoustic experience (the
D710CE comes with Fishman
Aero+ electronics and a cutaway
for $609 retail).