Blueridge BR-180

you already know the major stuff.
I have had no tuner problems. The string pegs are poorly made. No bridge relief before the pegs. Had to cut string slots so they went sufficiently downward after the bridge. (Didn't see that one, did ya guys?) String winders position cause contact with previous winders. Frets not trimmed at body and neck joint.

I have been playing for many years. The tone is great. But I did not find it at all to be the "cannon" as I've heard it described. And since I am a fingerpicker it is less than anticipated in volume. It is however an acoustic which can be recorded without EQ if you can find a mic that good. Like most guitars (including Martins) it comes with action too high at the nut.

Fairly good setup but they missed a few things. The building of the body seems flawless. Beautiful to see, unlike Dean guitars (and some others) that LOOK great but have no tone at all.

This one will last forever. Unfortunately it will probably take forever to loosen up.

Get one while you still can for this price or before somebody else buys the company. Nothing can touch the tone for the price.
If at all possible find a store where you can try more than one. So far I haven't.

This guitar was made in China in 2002.
It's a dreadnaught shape, a solid spruce top, ebony finger board, Indian (farmed) rosewood back and sides and abalone pearl borders and trim.
The neck is thinner than the Martin D series this guitar is patterned after.

It suits my music style perfectly. I play jazz but use a different guitar and folk/rock with this guitar.
The sound is very warm with a big dreadnaught bass and clear bright highs. I pulled out my Martin 0021 for tone comparison. This guitar actually sounds warmer to me.

The fit and finish of the guitar inside and out are first rate. I took a small mirror and looked inside. I would probably ask Blueridge to tone down the aged top wood finish they use but it's not bad.
The frets could use a little work. They're o.k. but need a bit more finish and fine filing. The neck in general needs to be re-set up by a good luthier. I'll probably switch out the tuners at that time and put in Gotoh's. The guitar plays just fine. Keep in mind I keep comparing this guitar to my Martin and Martin D-45's I've played. Some of you may be laughing at comparing a $740 Chinese guitar to a Martin D-45 but you really should see and play one of these. I'm a Martin guy but I'm also a guy who can't afford spending $5,000 or $8,000 for Another acoustic guitar. So this one makes me very happy.

The guitar sure looks like it will hold up. Except for the tuners, everything else seems fine. The finish looks very solid and yes this is perfect gig guitar. I hate playing or bringing any expensive guitar or bass to a gig and I'm an old guy who only plays nice parties and gigs ;)

No contact, no opinion.

I've been playing for 35 years. I own a Martin, A strat, A custom electric, a Joe Pass Jazz guitar, a Kinal custom bass guitar, a Gibson 5 string banjo and assorted amps.
I'd buy another one in a minute.
I love just about everything about it.
My favorite feature is the sound and look.
I compare it to Fenders, Seagulls (same price) and Martin's (much more expensive). It compared much more closely to the Martin's.

a lot has already been said about the blueridge br-180 so you know most of it. it's all solid w/ rosewood and spruce.... but the tuners are a modified Waverly design and are no name brand. to replace these tuners with gotohs that look like them but are very high quality go to stewmac.com cost is 49.99 that is what I am going to do as I was informed that the tuners are a trouble spot on the Br180 as you read on down you will see what I mean. seems like the gold tuners on all the blueridge guitars are a problem while the nickle tuners don't have the problems of falling apart.

it already sounds so good I cannot believe my ears that I am not hearing a very high priced martin. think Hd-28 or a very deep d-28. this is the best sounding guitar I have owned. better then a dy-91 koa alvarez yairi that retailed for 2000.00, better then my taylor 614. my old guild D40 or any of the three other br-180's I have tried. it is so rich and full I might be spoiled for any other guitar

well here's where the problems come. nut poorly fit sticking out the high side a bit. bridge pin holes oversized and pins pulling out. I will have to get oversized ones from stewmac and if that don't help I will get the bridge replaced. the pickguard was coming up so I heated it with a hair drier and pulled it off. didn't like its looks anyway. now for the tuners. the low E and A both came apart while I was putting on new strings.this released the tension and of course the tuning could not be done. I have fixed the problem for now by pulling the tuners and repinging them to hold the backs on because the first job at the factory wasn't done right or at all.
although these are Waverly copies they are not built like Waverly. the back supplies tension to the peg gear to keep then in place unlike Waverly's that have a solid complete ring that hold the tuning gears in place. I am sure the gotohs are much higher quality then these as some top guitar makers are now using them. should solve my problems.

well if you want to trust the tuners you can but after my incident I won't because I have seen the insides and they are an accident waiting to happen. there is just three tiny ping indents holding the backs on and when the back pulls off the tuner is worthless, the tuning knob and gear fall right off into your hand. I can see this happening to someone using a string winder on stage "in a hurry" as buttons are sometimes stressed sideways a bit when using a stringwinder. off comes the back and the tuner falls apart.
fix this tuner problem and it should be ok. but know that stewmac is the only place to find goodones like the gotohs or the waverlys which are really expensive at 149.00 a set or more.

well I contacted saga music {called them ,as the several emails I sent either came back or were not answered}and they said "I would have to go back through the person I bought it from on ebay" I warned them that I was going to do this write up and it wouldn't look good but they said they didn't care. well then I don't care either. but I paid a good price for this guitar and the least someone could do is be honest and help me out as I would do for them.
be careful about buying anything on ebay. ask a lot of questions and get a guaranty or warranty of some sort. otherwise I doubt I will buy anything from ebay again. be sure you know who you are dealing with and that you will have support if something happens

well I have been playing about 24 years and have owned many fine guitars and some not so fine. I didn't really have a good acoustic until I got this one because I sold my taylor recently and all the others I mentioned are also gone. I went full electric for a long time and the acoustics I had on hand were never used but now am trying to go back to acoustic as I don't want another band situation. electric guitars do not make for a one man band but a good acoustic can go a long way.

Blueridge
BR-180
a lot has already been said about the blueridge br-180 so you know most of it. it's all solid w/ rosewood and spruce.... but the tuners are a modified Waverly design and are no name brand. to replace these tuners with gotohs that look like them but are very high quality go to stewmac.com cost is 49.99 that is what I am going to do as I was informed that the tuners are a trouble spot on the Br180 as you read on down you will see what I mean. seems like the gold tuners on all the blueridge guitars are a problem while the nickle tuners don't have the problems of falling apart.

already sounds so good I cannot believe my ears that I am not hearing a very high priced martin. think Hd-28 or a very deep d-28. this is the best sounding guitar I have owned. better then a dy-91 koa alvarez yairi that retailed for 2000.00, better then my taylor 614. my old guild D40 or any of the three other br-180's I have tried. it is so rich and full I might be spoiled for any other guitar. I have a mountain coming that has the same spec's as this one beinteresting to see how it sounds.

well here's where the problems come. nut poorly fit sticking out the high side a bit. bridge pin holes oversized and pins pulling out. I will have to get oversized ones from stewmac and if that don't help I will get the bridge replaced. the pickguard was coming up so I heated it with a hair drier and pulled it off. didn't like its looks anyway. now for the tuners. the low E and A both came apart while I was putting on new strings.this released the tension and of course the tuning could not be done. I have fixed the problem for now by pulling the tuners and repinging them to hold the backs on because the first job at the factory wasn't done right or at all.
although these are Waverly copies they are not built like Waverly. the back supplies tension to the peg gear to keep then in place unlike Waverly's that have a solid complete ring that hold the tuning gears in place. I am sure the gotohs are much higher quality then these as some top guitar makers are now using them. should solve my problems. I DO NOT SEE HOW ANYONE CAN CALL THIS A PRO GUITAR with all the problems they are having with the tuners. I have been at a bunch of web sites where people are raving about this being a pro insturment. I say hogwash. give me a takamine or even a cheap yamaha that will stay in tune and not fall apart and that will be a pro piece of equitment in the right hands.

well if you want to trust the tuners you can but after my incident I won't because I have seen the insides and they are an accident waiting to happen. there is just three tiny ping indents holding the backs on and when the back pulls off the tuner is worthless, the tuning knob and gear fall right off into your hand. I can see this happening to someone using a string winder on stage "in a hurry" as buttons are sometimes stressed sideways a bit when using a stringwinder. off comes the back and the tuner falls apart.
fix this tuner problem and it should be ok. but know that stewmac is the only place to find goodones like the gotohs or the waverlys which are really expensive at 149.00 a set or more.

well I contacted saga music {called them ,as the several emails I sent either came back or were not answered}and they said "I would have to go back through the person I bought it from on ebay" I warned them that I was going to do this write up and it wouldn't look good but they said they didn't care. well then I don't care either. but I paid a good price for this guitar and the least someone could do is be honest and help me out as I would do for them.
be careful about buying anything on ebay. ask a lot of questions and get a guaranty or warranty of some sort. otherwise I doubt I will buy anything from ebay again. be sure you know who you are dealing with and that you will have support if something happens.
as I write this I have contacted the dealer and he will get me a new set of tuners. he seems to really want to help so I am not placing blame on him. the rest of the problems I will have to deal with.

well I have been playing about 24 years and have owned many fine guitars and some not so fine. I didn't really have a good acoustic until I got this one because I sold my taylor recently and all the others I mentioned are also gone. I went full electric for a long time and the acoustics I had on hand were never used but now am trying to go back to acoustic as I don't want another band situation. electric guitars do not make for a one man band but a good acoustic can go a long way. be sure to ask questions if you buy on ebay or from an unknown person. this is the second guitar I have bough off ebay that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. but once again I do thank the dealer I got it from for trying to help out.I leave this guitar with an eight because of the sound. its a shame they could not go a bit father and put decent tuners on it.

The feature I like best is the sound. This guitar is a BIG sound, I couldn't believe it when I first played it. As good as any flat top I've ever played. Other than that, the quality of workmanship is outstanding, and I love the head stock.

As I said, the sound is amazing. Full, alive, great. After a week of playing the BR180 I had to sell my old guitar (which I thought was pretty good) because it's sound couldn't hold a candle to the Blueridge.

Plays like a dream. The neck is the perfect shape (for me) easy to get my hands around. The action couldn't be better.

Can't say for sure, but it looks well made. This guitar uses the forward X bracing of the pre-war Martins, and that bracing is weaker than new bracing patterns (which is why Martin stopped using it), but it also sounds better than the new bracing (which is why Martin is now offering it again). Only time will tell how this guitar will hold up.

Bouht from Janet Davis Music, so the support was great during the buy. The guitar is made by Samick, and I have no idea whether the warranty support will be good or bad, but Samick is established and will be around for a long time, so I expect it will be good.

Been playing for 35 years, owned a lot of guitars and am very picky about sounds and looks. This is the first guitar I've ever owned that completely blew me away for sound, looks AND value.

It was made this year 2003, 14 fret to the body, Dreadnot style with full D 45 Martin inlays all except for the headstock which is actually quite ornate with a custom inlay patern. It says it is made by Sega in China.Top is sol,id spruce, Back and sides are solid rosewood. The neck is mahogany. All tuners are in gold trim. All in all an excellent looking intrument. The again toner is a bit much, it almost looks orange,beside my HD-28V so I am hoping that it will mellow out as it gets some time on it.

Sounds excellent. We have an onld D 18 Martin, a new HD 28 V and a D 41 in the family. It sounds closest to the 41 for response considering the woods are almost identical I guess that makes sense. The bass response is better than the HD 28V and more balanced however the over all tonal quality is just a little less. It may open up once I get a few years on it, I know the Martins did. All in all for the price the tone is excellent.

The action I think will be exactly too my liking. I play bluegrass so I like the action just a little higher than most cause I don't like to hear the buzz unless I really hammer it on purpose. It came with light srings and the action is just a bit low , but I expect when I change them out to a bluegrass guage the action will be dead on. I was impressed with how the bridge and nt were set up. The were sanded to proper hight without grooving out the nut more than neccessary. There were absolutely no flaws, I've seen Martins that looked a lot worse.

Everything looks solid on it, In think it should stand up. The only complaint I have so far is that with the smaller headstock, you have to be carefull aboput how you wind the 6 th string, because the 5 th string will ride up on it and comprimise the tuning of both strings. The first night I was playing it seriously in a jam the 5 th sring went out of tune when I was changing the 6 th string from D to E tuning and it took me a few minutes to figure out that the 5 th string had got tangled in the tuning peg of the 6 th sting. I guess they had to change the head stock so that Martin wouldn't go after them, since for all intense and purposes the guitar is equivalent to a D - 45 for a fifth of the price. Next time I put a set of strings on it I will use the martin technique of winding the strings at the headstock to reduce the circumference of the winds.

I bought it through Janet Davis , and they have been excellent.

I have been playing for 30 years, have played professionally in a bluegrass band, and own several Martin Guitars.

I am quite happy with the guitar, look forward to many years of playing it.

This guitar is a brand-new top of the line D-45 knockoff by Blueridge. It's made in China and indicative of how high the quality of Chinese made guitars can be. Here are the features:
-Back and sides of a very rich looking solid Indian rosewood. The soundboard is very fine grained sitka spruce with aging toner. The binding is white plastic and the purfling on top, back, sides is very colorful abalone of vibrant blues, greens, silver/white, and amber. It reall catches the eye. Abalone surrounds the soundhole, fretboard extension, and borders the heel down the sides and the butt wedge; just like a real D-45. The abalone is not the fake stuff that used to be seen on Asian guitars. The bracing is scalloped spruce very similar to that in Martins.
-Slim and fast neck of solid one piece mahogany with white binding on the fretboard and around the peghead. The peghead is adorned with Blueridge's fancy new abalone inlay with a scroll featuring the "Blueridge" trademark. The head no longers looks like a Martin shape, but is rounded at the top of the peghead.
-Fretboard and bridge of very dense, black ebony with old style abalone D-45 inlays. There are 20 nickle-silver frets. The nut and saddle are bone.
-Tuners are gold plated Kluson like and feature butterbean shaped knobs.
-High glose poly type finish.
-Black Chinese-made themoplastic case similar to old Martin cases.

This guitar is made for full bodied acoustic tone and it delivers. In comparing it to a Martin D-28 and a HD-28 it sounds somewhere in between. It has more depth than the D-28 but not as much as the scalloped HD-28. However, the highs are more prominent and sparkly than the HD-28 and the overall balance better, especially when using Elixir nanos. The tone could be described as typically rich and full rosewood with good sparkle and separation; kind of like having the depth of a rosewood guitar and the clarity of mahogany in the high end. Although the tone is similar to what one would expect from Martin, it still isn't a Martin, just like a Collings or Santa Cruz is similar but not the same as Martin. For my playing, which is a combination of bluegrass, celtic, new age etc., it works well, because the tone is a little more contemporary than most Martins. I also use a Martin on stage in my act. The guitar is also brand new and hasn't had time to open up and mature.

Generally the workmanship is excellent with a few exceptions which I will note. The inside work is meticulous; close to but not quite up there with Martin. All construction and inlay work looks first rate, especially for the price. Here are the problems areas:
-the bone nut was poorly fit to the slot. The sides of the nut weren't flush with the fretboard and the spacing of the slots was too narrow. I fashioned a new nut with wider spacing which made things more comfortable.
-The uncompensated bone saddle was too low, causing too much buzzing of strings against frets. I made a new, higher saddle and compensated it.
-The bridge pin hole were poorly reamed and the bass pins did't fit as far into the holes as the trebles. I refashioned the holes.
Once those issues were addressed, the guitar played and sounded as one would expect a premium guitar to.

I think this guitar will hold up. I previously owned a Blueridge BR-7S which I came to have complete confidence in as a performing guitar and I would expect no less from this. Although the poly finish is a bit thick looking, it offers good protection against sweat and the bumps and bruises of guitar life.

I've been playing for 40+ years and I have owned everything out there except Collings. I also own and play a Martin 000-16SGT and an A. Lo-Prinzi LM-12. I use the Martin for alternate tuning fingerstyle stuff and the Blueridge for flatpicking and standard tuning fingerstyle pieces. I don;t play the Lo Prinzi in performance that much because it doesn't sound as good or play as easy as the Martin and Blueridge. I also play a Vega Tubaphone banjo from 1923.
I really think that this Blueridge is both a wonderful playing and sounding professional level guitar. It certainly gets all the attention of a Martin D-45 at both visual and tone levels at about 1/5 the price.
Several years ago I owned a similarly beautiful Martin D-41 which I was afraid to take anywhere, because it was so pretty and it cost so much. This Blueridge is just as pretty (even more so) and I'm not scared to take it out. Other musicians look at it and say "What kind of guitar is that?!" and are astounded to find that it's a Blueridge, what they thought was a "cheap" guitar brand.
I don't know how Saga does it. I know it's made in China, the land of a cheap and plentiful labor force; but in the final analysis, it's a great guitar for someone who's after both looks and beauty. Just lay your money down and take it to your nearest luthier for a proper set up.