Blueridge BR-160

The BR-160, modeled off pre-war style Martin D-28s, comes with a solid bookmatched Spruce top, solid Rosewood back and sides, and solid Mahogany neck with Rosewood fingerboard. They are made in China, which I always took to mean don't touch, but this guitar proved me wrong.

When looking at the 160 a Martin side by side the most noticable difference is the intricate inlay in the peghead. It is a "flower-pot" type inlay. It was custom designed by Greg Rich to be on all the guitars. Very beautiful!

The peghead is smaller. But it is modeled off the way dreadnaughts pegheads were made. It has butterbean tuners, that so far have held tuning very well.

The guitar also features front facing bracing. Which gives you more tone, and overall adds to the sound of the guitar. Pre-war Martins had this, but currently they do not.

The finish is antiqued. Meaning the top has a slight orange tint, but still looks nice. The finsish is very well applied, I couldn't find the first dent or ding anywhere on the guitar.

Out of the box, the guitar had a great tone. Not the full bassy tone that bluegrass players desire, but still a great tone.

Over time, the guitar really opens up. The high end becomes tighter, and the bass becomes a lot fuller. After playing the guitar for several months, I would play it against any guitar made. I have that much confidence in it.

I added a Fishman Natural 1 undersaddle pickup. I play through a Crate CA-112D amplifier. Th guitar just sounds like a million bucks. I play live with electric guitar and bass, an electric banjo (yes, you read that right)and a full set of drums. This guitar stands up against everyone of the other instruments on stage.

I also play a lot of studio sessions. I am constantly complemented on how great the guitar sounds. No one I talk to can believe how much I paid for it. In the studio I usually use a matched pair of Neumann U-89's, and send my pickup direct to the board. I an get any sound out of this. From the boomy bluegrass sound, to electric funk guitar sounds. (By using the pickup I can also route the guitar through any processor and effect made)

This guitar was perfect for me right out of the box. The action did not have to be touched. The frets were wonderfully dressed. The finish was as smooth as glass.

I play extremely hard and expect the most out of my gear. I use the guitar almost seven days a week, and have not had the first problem with it.

I am thinking of buying a second one and setting it up identical so I can have backup in case something terrible happens.

I have not had to use any form of customer support, so I don't know how well they work.

I have been playing for about eight years now. I have had several other guitars, all major brands. None of them can compare to the Blueridge.

For an acoustic dreadnaught guitar to get so many great sounds and tones, it is amazing. I would recommend these guitars to anyone.

This guitar is a D-28 copy. Overall very nicely put together and sturdy. Very handsome guitar that rivals any high dollar guitar in looks.

Well, i am a professional bluegrass musician so a good, loud, deep sounding guitar is in order. This guitar has that deep booming sound that most bluegrass guitarists are looking for. Still, not as loud as a good old D-28 Martin but a large number of well known musicians are turning toward this guitar. Marty Raybon's lead guitarist is picking a Blueridge.

Action was close to the way that i like it. The nut could have been a little cleaner.Good finish job on the top and the rest of the guitar. I am not too fond of the tuners. A good set of Waverlys would work much better.

This is a pretty consistant guitar that works well on stage. It is durable and i like it because i can take it to places that i don't want to take my nicer Martins. I would play a show with it and have no problems with it at all.

NA

I have been playing bluegrass music since i was 9 years old. I have played little local festivals up to the WSM Radio in Nashville Tennessee. I own a Martin D-35 and another DR-35. A Morgan Monroe archtop Stanley Model Banjo and a Gibson Archtop Banjo.OVer the blueridge is a great guitar that will work very nicely in most playing situations.

D-28 herringbone copy made in China. All solid woods (nice looking spruce and rosewood). Bone nut and saddle. Nut cuts are not perfectly spaced, 5th string annoyingly close to 6th. Action was too low. Medium strings are a must. Gloss finish, but I doubt it's lacquer. Overall construction is pretty clean and well done. The pickguard that comes with it is ugly. I replaced with a tortoise Martin type. The tuners are low end but decent butterbean type. You'll have to pay extra for a case from most sellers.

It's got decent volume with medium strings. I don't consider it a cannon. (My Gibson J-60 with the Advanced Jumbo bracing IS a cannon.) The tone is very Martinesque, with the kind of high-end and middle that you would expect from a much more expensive guitar. 80/20 bronze sound right to me (phosphor bronze is too much on the treble side, in my opinion). Overall, this is a nice sounding substitute for the type of Martin that most of us can't afford or simply won't shell out for.

Factory set-up is largely irrelevant to me. I'm going to install a new bone nut and saddle to raise the action and correct the string spacing. The guitar looks very nice with its herrinbone-type inlays and the rosewood and spruce seem to be of excellent quality and are both nicely matched. Neck is straight and the (medium?) frets feel smooth.

Ive only had it for a month so I have no idea how it will hold up.

Ive never bothered with customer support on guitars.

I've played for thirty years. My main acoustics are a Gibson J-150 and a Gibson J-60. The Blueridge is no toy, but it is not going to make you sell any of your expensive guitars and spend the cash on something else. When I perform, it is with the Gibsons. The Blueridge may hurt Martin's sales of their D-15 and D-16s and the like, but it is not the same as a good D-28. Bottom line, it is a good sounding guitar FOR THE MONEY.

This is a Follow up on the BR-160 I purchased on line in Nov.
It is mainly about the customer support. So read on.
I have now had this guitar a little over a month. And these are my impressions now.

Sound has opened up a bit and is excellent. Superb even. Sure is a cannon. I put DR strings (.12's) on it and it really came alive. Why Saga ships with .10's is a real mystery to me. The strings don't last and they are too thin to provide any real great tone.
But Nothing in the price range can compare. Certainly not Takamine or the Taylor 110. This blows it away.
Warm rich and balanced tone.
I am especially surprised at how loud and responsive it is when finger picked. Very sweet,and lush. Excellent.
The headstock is small but the strings being tight to each other on 6,5 and 1,2 is no real worry to me. It has not caused any intonation problems or string muting problems.

Neck has been a pain and tho it is straight, the trussrod is loose inside the neck, and there is fret buzz. And any tightening causes the neck to have a back bow and even worse string buzz.I have been playing since 1968, and know what I can do and not do to set up my guitars. I do know how to adjust the trussrod properly.
Frets are high on the second fret and adds a "Boing" factor. Not nice but my guitar tech will remedy that. They look high at the body too.

The tone is fantastic, but the neck has been overly sensitive, and unstable. But corrections can be made no sweat.
Tuners seem to be holding well.Intonation is fantastic.
When I get the little bugs corrected the guitar will be worth the hassle. I really do believe in this product. Just not their method of customer care. It sucks.
I have already gigged with this guitar and was really impressed.'Cept for the nagging neck bug. No rating until the work to fix the bugs are complete. I think this guitar will be fine. I am not an eager optimist usually.

Customer support is at best shaky, IF YOU BUY ON LINE. I want to stress that this is where I disagree (Respectfully) with Saga.
Having said that, They did respond to my queries immediately. But here is what happened:
I'm having a bit of trouble with instability of the neck and I wanted to take my guitar to the pros at Elderly Instruments under warranty and have it looked at. But because I bought it on line I have to send it back to where I got it from. Which means I have to spend another $30.00 to ship it there, and then they ship it back to Saga, who in turn decides what to do about the guitar.
With my Gibson Les Paul, Even though I bought it from Musician's Friend, I was able to take it to Elderly Instruments and they fixed it no questions asked.
When I contacted Saga About my guitar they told me that, that is their warranty policy, and that it would take quite a long time for all of this to take place. A couple of months! for something as simple as a trussrod fix inside the neck. The guys and gals at Elderly could have that fixed inside a week tops.
So rather than pay to ship the guitar back and then pay to have it shipped from the point of purchase home, I have decided to bite the bullet and just pay to get 'er fixed. So my advice is:
DO NOT BUY A BLUERIDGE ON LINE! Cause if you have trouble at all you are hosed. And Saga will not budge on this issue.
Saga needs to adjust their thinking on this to be sure. Customer satisfaction should not come at the customer's expense. I would do whatever it took to remedy a situation as speedily as possible were it my company.
It brought home to me that paying an extra $100.00+, is worth it when there are troubles. Something to be said for paying a bit more and having a reputable dealer to fix problems. And Elderly is the best at it. These people never leave you high and dry. They even set up all the guitars before they hit the floor. And they take a lot of pride in that, as they should. But the guy who sells on line no matter how good or responsible is can't get you in and out all that quick. Especially if he is required to send it to the factory. If it were something major I might understand the wherefore and why. But not in this situation. Bad rating.

I have no regrets for buying this guitar at all. It is so superb in tone and playability.
I would still buy another one if lost or stolen. But I would buy it from Elderly Instruments instead of on line.
I have been playing many years. I have owned mainly Guilds(Pre-Fender!) But this guitar is superb and matches any of my Guilds.

I'm adding this follow up to my review of my Blueridge BR-160.
When I changed the six factory tuning keys, to brand new standard Gotoh chromed enclosed tuners, I had to use the six hex-threaded screw-in bushings from the factory tuners, on the newer Gotoh's.
The reason is, the thickness of the 160's wood headstock is too thick to use the six hex screw-in bushings provided with the Gotoh's. Those Gotoh bushings are just too short to screw in and reach the the body of the tuner on the back side of the headstock.
Doing this, the Gotoh's worked just fine.
Now, one other thing.
With the big E sixth string, I did a reverse winding of the string on that tuning key post, because that gave the string a straight line right to the bone nut slot. This gives more clearance with the A string as it exrends down to it's nut slot.
I did the same with the small E string, doing a reverse wind there too.
That gave the 1st string a straight line to that nut slot also.
These two strings having a reverse wind causes no problems at all, and might just relieve some stress on those two bone nut slots.
Is all this really necessary? No not at all. Just some personal doings of my own.

I am writing my second review. Actually its an amendment and quick update. I am five down from here, (Rob and I bought mine through Janet Davis). This guitar is amazing! It has already opened up a bit and it now sounds as good if not better than any Martin I've come across. People at jam sessions are astonished and I have to say quite a few Martin HD-28 owners are pissed! I just wanted to amend something that I said that turned out not to be true about the build of the guitar. I said it was a one piece neck in my review. It is not. A friend of mine got it up in the light and was able to show the grain reflection differences. Not only is it a two piece, but the scarf joint is so well done that you can't tell unless you go to extreme measures of proof! I dont know how they are doing this at Saga for the price but I am definitely hooked. This friend of mine is fairly knowledgeable about wood and he also pointed out that the wood qualities are better than I had mentioned in my review. You will have to be plain crazy to pick a Martin over this guitar. I understand that the higher level models of Blueridges just shatter Martin in comparison. Well, enough said.

Materials have been amply covered. Spruce rosewood,and so on.
Made in China and well made.
Loud and clear is best suited for the tone. I would say it is better than most D-28s I have played.
Teh neck is a bit on the thin side for me. I am used to playing Guilds. This is more like playing an electric. But the setup formthe factory is superb and there is not one flaw I could find in finish or workmanship.
Came with a very nice case.
The tuners work well once in tune. But not geared especially well. A lot of turning to get it to tune. But once in tune it does hold. I recommend Grover "Staytite" tuners. They hold tune and they are 18:1 ratio.
The woods used are fine and the binding is clean as is the purfling inside and out. But why the Herringbone on the edges,and normal purfling around the soundhole? Hmmm...
Still in all who cares when the guitar is so superb to play and listen to. Just a joy to play.

Rich and full and warm. Better than A D-28 in that it is not as muddy or bassy. Deep loud bass but clear and sweet. As I have played this guitar the sound has done nothing but improve.

Action is fast true up and down the neck and ewasy to play. Excellent and solid.

Too soon to know how the durability and reliability will hold up so far in two weeks it is rock solid and showing no signs of changing. Butthen it is nor summer yet.

I have had dealings with them and I have no complaints.

I have been playing since before there was hair. I own three Guilds A Fender Strat, and a Jazz Bass and some mandolins as well as Piano and harmonicas and various other things like that
If lost or stolen I would hurry to get another one ASAP. I am so happy with this axe that I have put all other acoustics in their cases. Favorite feature is the tone and the palyability.
I will be putting a Baggs IBeam pickup system in it for performing ease. But Love the tone acoustically

solid wood mine had one bad tuner but no problem

I PLAY BLUEGRASS AND BLUEGRASS GOSPEL.I REPLACED THE LIGHT STRINGS WITH MEDIUM ELIXIR.TOOK IT TO THE MUSIC SHOP THIS MORNING HAD TRUSS ROD ADJUSTED AND STRAP BUTTON INSTALLED.GOT IN JAM SESSION WITH D-28 A HUSS&DALTON AND ANOTHER BR-160.THEY WILL HOLD THEIR OWN AGAINST ANY GUITAR.I WAS GOING TO BUY A 910 TAYLOR BUT NOT NOW.I HAVE PAID 4 TIMES AS MUCH MONEY BUT NEVER GOT MORE GUITAR.

I LOWERED THE ACTION SLIGHTLY BUT IT WAS GOOD FROM THE FACTORY WORKMANSHIP WAS GREAT NO FLAWS THAT I CAN FIND.I HAVE OWNED A 710 AND 2-810 LIMITED TAYLORS AND THIS ONE IS AS GOOD.

IT IS AS GOOD AS I HAVE PLAYED BEEN PLAYING FOR 42 YEARS WILL TAKE IT TOMORROW WITHOUT A BACKUP

HAVE A LOCAL DEALER WHO ADJUSTED MINE,THOUGH I DIDN'T BUY IT FROM HIM CHARGED $2.00 CAN'T BEAT THAT

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 42 YEARS.HAVE OWNED TAYLOR GUITARS SINCE 1995 710&810.I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS GUITAR IF IT WERE STOLEN I WOULD BUY ANOTHER I MIGHT ANYWAY FOR WHAT I WAS GOING TO SPEND I CAN BUY 5

Wow, all solid woods. check out other folks reviews.

Yay. Praise be to china, thanks for giving me a wonderful toy without spending mucho $$. Check it, it sounds great with light gauge strings considering thats what was on it when i bought...BUT, folks, you got to try it, go medium gauge. I SWEAR the tone almost doubles, it definitely drowns my friends martin and taylor. Taylors are great, but always seemed to bright or not enough volume not to mention ridiculously expensive. I borrowed a friends taylor 810 for a gig because it had electronics and when i was getting acquainted with it i was having withdrawls from my guitar I couldnt believe how much BETTER the blueridge sounded than the 810. Really, no bs. I read from a previous reviewer that this can be compared to a botique acoustic, and he's not too far off. I thought at first ok this is one of those guys who praises everything he has just because he owns it. But all the ratings are consistent...so no bs here folks.

The frets are dressed so nicely and the inlays are so solid. Great attention to detail. Get this guitar professionally set up if you dont like the action. Its worth it. I set it up myself with mediums and it was good, but when i had it done professionally, it was like butter. My friend was playing it and thought it was light gauge. When i was using my friends 810 taylor...i was wanting my blueridge neck. It is a tad bit thicker and wider. VERY nice neck. Great action.

treat it like your child.

Yay. I've been playing for 15 years. I have been trading and selling and buying crap loads of acoustics in search for that special one. I found it. It sounds so good and the price your paying is really worth it. Really this is a flat picking guitar...the dynamics die down a little when you start fingerpicking (unless you have claws). If it were stolen...i would question what i did to deserve that kind of karma, and hope that the guy who stole it play with a johnson acoustic with heavy gauge strings in the afterlife. I love this guitar so much im going to put some electronics on it...maybe the lr baggs dual source so i dont have to cut or drill anything on this beauty.

Made in China, great looking guitar. I've seen better but I remember when I first opened it up from its case I was in shock. Didn't expect half this from a $400 guitar. The orange finish is a bit of a turnoff, but doesn't really bother me. The headstock inlay is a bit much too, but that doesn't bother me either (Most people I show it to like it). The sound and value more than make up for it. Solid woods all around, nice abalone inlay on fretboard, nice trim.

I'm a beginning guitarist, and I bought this used Blueridge blind off of eBay. Never played it in person, so I thought I made a mistake until I received it. After playing it for a few minutes, I could immediately tell a huge difference from my friends' $300 laminates and the budget Martin and Taylor guitars I tried out. It has a nice deep tone with a Taylor-like shimmer to it. I was in the market for some budget Martins and Taylors or Seagulls, and this guitar outshines them all in my opinion. It won't beat out the high-end $2k+ guitars, but it could definitely hold its ground against them.

Used guitar, and the owner apparently adjusted the truss rod well. The neck is straight, but the action is still a bit high. I'll take it to get it set up in a couple weeks, but the setup is mediocre for now. The string spacing looks a bit off over the soundhole too, so hopefully a setup will take care of that.

I certainly feel like this guitar will stand up to years of good use. It doesn't feel as well-built as the high end handcrafted boutique guitars out there, but I'm pretty sure it'll hold up like most good old Japanese guitars. Tuners seem pretty solid for now, and the guitar sure sounds like it was well-made. Just waiting for the guitar to age a bit and the solid rosewood tone to come out.

Been playing for almost a year, and this was the first real acoustic guitar I bought. I've borrowed a Classical 80's Yamaha guitar, and a $250 Yamaha acoustic. They both sound pretty good, but the Blueridge definitely sounds a lot more crisper and louder. I was looking for a first good acoustic to buy, and I'm extremely pleased with the purchase. My friends that I jam with love the guitar, and if I'm with them I rarely get to touch my Blueridge anymore. It looks great, and the rosewood tone is very lovely. It shimmers and sure sounds like it'd record well. After I get this guitar setup I'm sure it'll play much better and it's definitely the best sub-$1000 acoustic I've played (everything in GC, Takamine Martin-lawsuit guitar, Washburn, Yamaha).