Blueridge Pre-War Series BR-260

I recently bought a new Blueridge Pre-War Series BR-260, with middle of the road hard shell case included. I bought it to see what a Chinese made, relatively inexpensive (for solid Brazilian rosewood) guitar would look and, more importantly, sound like.

This dreadnought size guitar has a high gloss finish with aging toner on the solid Sitka spruce top. My top wood has exceptionally tight and even grain which bodes well for aging. The herringbone binding sets the top off very nicely!

The back and sides are beautifully book matched solid Brazilian rosewood. The neck is mahogany with the traditional 28 style volute that Martin made famous.

The full scale neck joins the body at the 14th fret and has lovely diamond and snowflake inlay very well executed in the ebony fretboard.

The guitar comes with bone nut and bone vintage long through-the-hump saddle in the ebony bridge. The tuners are open back Waverly style and seem to be very tight now, although I have heard complaints about some of the earlier Blueridge's in this arena.

The headstock has a little more busy work that I personally like, but it is a well executed abalone veneer.

I play acoustic country, bluegrass flavored music these days and primarily on Martin guitars, of which I own 4 and have owned Martins for 35 years. I usually am a rythym player to accompany my singing, but I play lead when with one of several groups I get together with, so I need a guitar that has volume in addition to good tone.

This guitar is a bit dead out of the box, a comment I've read often, but rapidly goes through a preliminary opening up in the first week of playing. Also, the guitar ships with light gauge D'addario strings. I don't care for light gauge strings for bluegrass and country music and immediately put on Ernie Ball Power Slinky Acoustic phosphor bronze strings, medium gauge (13-56).

The sound is very bright across the board, including the bass strings. This is not tinny bright, but a good brightness that cuts through with clarity for each note. There is good bottom tone enhanced by that brightness. This guitar is almost as loud now as my 35 year old Martin D-28. The tone is different; not better or worse, just different. It is very full, rich and clear. I can only anticipate it developing as it ages. It is very impressive so far!

I can pound it or fingerpick it and the notes remain clear and distinct.

The action is perhaps high for some people, but will suit most bluegrassers just fine. I like it and have no intention of lowering the action.

As mentioned above, the bookmatching of the back, especially, is fantastic! The sides and top are equally well executed, but it is most dramatic with the highly figured solid Brazilian rosewood on the back.

I have noticed no outright flaws yet. The frets are smooth up and down the sides of the fretboard. The intonation is fine. The tuning gears are tight.

The saddle is, perhaps, a bit lower than some guitars I see, which means less to adjust down the road. However, this varies with any brand of guitars a little bit at the final setup.

The finish is possibly a little heavy. I'm just not sure about this one. It is evenly applied and appears to be competently applied. It certainly isn't deadening the tone that I can tell.

The durability of a relatively new model from a relatively new manufacturer is something only time will tell.

Everything about the guitar appears well made and solid.

I rarely do any gig without a backup and I will probably use this as a backup to a Martin until it comes into its own or not, with the passage of time and exposure to live playing with other people. That will be the true test. My old D-28 will be, as always, the measuring stick.

I do plan on putting in the K&K triple pure western pickup using a Vintage Jack to avoid any drilling.

Blueridge guitars have a one year warranty.

Not applicable at this point, although it is nice to know that I live within driving distance to Sage, the importer and creator of Blueridge guitars.

I have had several non-warranty contacts with Saga over the years (I've bought a couple of Kentucky mandolins directly from them) and they've always been friendly, courteous and helpful.

I've been playing professionally and semi-professionally for over 40 years.
I have about 20 or so instruments including 4 Martins, 5 Fenders, Dobros, Nationals, and assorted other guitars, lap and pedal steel guitars and mandolins.

I will wait to see how I bond with this guitar, but I really like it so far. The price has recently taken a big jump. All Brazilian rosewood products keep going up and these are no exception.

I've mentioned above comparisons with my D-28. It stacks up well against my guitars: period.

I love the clarity of tone of the individual notes across all 6 strings most of all.

I could do with a less "busy" headstock decoration.

I LOVE the Brazilian rosewood look and it seems to be denser, thus imparting that clarity to the sound.

If it holds up well and ages well it will truly be an outstanding purchase.