Product: Blueridge BR-2M
Price Paid: US $300.00
Submitted
04/16/2000
at
08:24pm
by
George Kraushaar
Features
:
9
This guitar is a standard dreadnought guitar from Saga Musical Instruments, importer of higher quality acoustic instruments such as Kentucky Mandolins and Gold Star banjos. Saga's instruments have always been a little better than standard asian imports and sometimes a lot better, especially in the sound department. Although many Saga instruments are made in Japan or Korea, this model states "made in China".
This guitar is a deluxe model with a solid spruce top and mahogany neck, back, and sides. The laminated back and sides are very attractive selections of that wood and are stained a golden brown. The three piece neck is not as attractive as the body woods.
The top is solid spruce of an indeterminate variety. I certainly doesn't appear to be sitka spruce. It looks more like englemann but could be some asian variety of spruce.
The fretboard and bridge are both ebonized rosewood. The body is bound with a multiple binding of white and black similar to a Martin D-35 and the neck has a single ply of white binding. Very rich and attractive looking. The tuners are sealed (Gotah or Ping) and a small tortoise pickguard is installed, but I would opt for a Martin style pickguard instead. A highgloss finish is standard fro both neck and body.
This guitar is exceptionally well constructed for the price and looks like a cheap Santa Cruz. I was amazed at how clean the interior construction appeared through the soundhole, unlike so many Korean guitars.
Sound
:
10
The sound of this guitar is exceptional for the price. It is loud and lively and has the usual crispness of a deluxe mahogany guitar. Although it wasn't as nice as a Martin or Taylor, it was much better than a Washburn or Epiphone. Richard Schneider (owner of Saga) is an excellent bluegrass musician and knows what a good instrument should sound like and goes after the right tone from the outset. A musician friend and I went to a local music store to look at a Gibson CL-20. We took the Blueridge along for comparison purposes and decided that the Blueridge sounded better than the Gibson!
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
8
The guitar is generally very well constructed. The construction of the box was top notch, with all interior joints very tight and clean; almost as clean as Martin or Taylor. Amazing for such an inexpensive guitar. The gloss finish was likewise very cleanly applied and highly polished. However, like all too many Blueridge guitars from the past few years, the fretwork was not up to snuff. There were noticable buzzes on the 13th and 14 frets and the action was a little low overally. When I leveled and polished the frets, I made a new bone saddle to raise the action and improve the tone. I also installed a Seymour Duncan undersaddle pickup at the same time. I'm going to take a point off for the sloppy fretwork.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
This guitar seems to be very well designed and constructed. We've subjected this guitar to a lot of abuse as a "loaner" at our local country music palace, Clay's Corners in Brasstown, NC, and it has held up well. What is remarkable is how lively the tone stays even after the strings have become dirty and dingy. This is usually the sign of a sensitively constructed instrument. I think its a wonderful guitar for a backup or a party or camping guitar. It's cheap but it looks real good and it sounds real good.
Customer Support
:
7
My experience with Saga is mixed in regard to customer service. I used to be a dealer for Saga and they sometimes got things mixed up when service was needed. It wasn't that they were unhelpful, but things could end up a pain anyway because their reps would screw things up.
Overall Rating
:
10
I'm a professional who currently plays a Bourgeois and a Larrivee. I bought this guitar because it looked and sounded so good for the price. I would not use this guitar for a normal gig, but as a guitar to take the the woods or the beach (or even to practice on). It gets played a lot at our local music hangout and a lot of folks have commented on how good it looks and sounds. If stolen, I would not hesitate to purchase another Saga product to replace it.
I am really impressed with some of the higher quality Chinese violins and I am gratified that their guitars (at least Saga ones) are looking good as well. This guitar would be great for a student or anyone needing an inexpensive guitar with professional looks and tone.
