Product: Blueridge BR-341
Price Paid: USD 500 USED
Submitted
05/17/2009
at
09:51pm
by
Gus
Features
:
10
This guitar is a Chinese made reproduction of an early 1900s parlor size slot head model. It's the guitar I've been looking for for years. The neck is a soft v joining at the 12th fret with a 1 7/8" nut. The frets are on the small side, but they play cleanly and keep the action easy. Finally, a neck I can play! The body is mahogany with a sitka top. The finish appears to be lacquer and the woods solid.
Sound
:
10
The sound is wonderful. When I picked it up in the shop's acoustic room, I felt the body of the guitar vibrate in my hands as someone with their back to me 10 feet away softly played another guitar. It's very alive and rich. Although it is parlor size, it has good bass, possibly because of a relatively large lower bout. The smaller size is also much more comfortable to hold. I have a wonderful Gibson J 30 which sounds better to the player, but the Blueridge sounds better to the listener. The wide neck makes it good for finger picking or strumming folk melodies. If you need a wider neck, find one. The old "You don't practice enough" is pie in the sky when you die.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
I bought the guitar used, so I don't know how the factory set-up was. When I got it, it had a nice low action with no fret buzz on a dead straight neck. The back of the neck has some capo marks. It had a heavier set of strings on it and they had pulled some belly into the top. The distributor told me that this is not unusual and the guitar should be strung with lt or xlt strings only. The belly has no ill effect on action or sound. This particular guitar has one of the best set ups I have ever played.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
I think the prior owner thrashed the guitar a bit, but it looks great and didn't suffer any ill effects. The tuners hold the pitch and are very smooth. The finish is fine lacquer, which means it is thin. That's the point
Customer Support
:
10
I e-mailed SAGA with a question about the belly and they got right back to me with a nice and informative reply. I have no idea if there is a warranty other than the seller's.
Overall Rating
:
10
I have had guitars off and on for the last 40 years (God that seems like a long time). I also have a Gibson J 30, a Seagull S6 Cedar GT, a Fender CG7, and two Peavy electrics. If the Blueridge disappeared, I would look for another one, but it's the only one I have seen. I don't know if another would play this fine. This one is the keeper. The Gibson was the pick of the litter in Elderly's showroom when I got it, but the Blueridge is better. I'm building a StewMac 000 kit. I picked it because of the small body size and the wide neck. It is a learning experience.
