Recording King ROS-626

You can see from the various entries that consistency is not very good for these guitars. Mine had only one problem (see fit and finish). I really like the size of this guitar and the slotted head. String spacing at the nut and at the saddle make this perfect for fingerpicking and there aren't many out there like it.

Again, lots of variation between guitars, but mine sounded great with good tonal separation, no buzzing, sweet (not harsh) timbre, just a beautiful sounding finger-picking guitar. Won't compete with a full size dreadnought, but not intended to. I tried several brands of strings and it definitely likes those it came with. I have guitars that cost thousands and this one sounds as good or better.

Fit and finish were excellent - as good as any guitar costing thousands more; binding, finish, etc. were perfect. I wouldn't care if it had overruns or other cosmetic problems, but this one had absolutely no problems. That is, fit was perfect with the soon-to-be-discussed exception. Plays easy. I lowered the action a bit and it played even easier with no loss of tone and no buzzing. No flaws, but someone had scarred it up while stringing it, presumably at the factory since this was shipped directly to me from the factory. Easy to do with a slotted head. Here's where the sole problem I had with this guitar raises its ugly - UGLY - head: Intonation was incorrectly set. The high E string was tolerable, but the low E was unacceptable, with others in between correspondingly sharp. I set the action lower, via shaving the saddle, and tried reshaping the saddle with an angle backward (that had the sharp side toward the tail). This gave some correction, but intonation was still off. The only way to fix this would be to remove and reglue the bridge into the proper place or to fill and later recut the saddle slot. Needs to be lengthened 1/8 to 3/16 inch. Very expensive either way you go. Sadly, I am returning this guitar this week.

Everything seemed to be good. Not sure this is really a gig type guitar, unless your venue is a quiet coffee house. This guitar is made for ease of playability, sweet sound, and fingerpicking. It is not something you would be banging on or competing with a 5-String banjo. But I had it for only one month. However, I played it every day for that month, outside and inside, in cold and hot conditions and at one gig. No reliability or durability problems.

This is my second Recording King instrument and they are very slow to deal with. They have strict relationships with their suppliers that require going through hoops to get anything done. I bought this guitar through Instrument Pro and Recording King ships them drop shipment (directly to the customer). I just wanted this guitar repaired; I definitely DID NOT want to return it. But looks like the only option they will give me is to return it and from what Instrument Pro says, I won't be receiving a replacement but rather a refund. Again, not my choice but it is good of them to honor their customer satisfaction guarantee (though I never did receive the guitar stand and tuner their ad promised). Honestly, I would be skeptical about a replacement anyway. If it was not for the intonation problem I could have kept this guitar for the rest of my life. I can't think of anyone making anything like it, except maybe a Martin 000-EC28 and that does not have the slotted head and costs five times as much. Let me be clear: I very much regret sending this back and if someone at Recording King had not glued the bridge in the wrong place I would be an extremely happy customer. The rating applies to both RK and to the seller; RK for making the process difficult and Instrument Pro for being very slow to respond and requiring several e-mails, phone calls, and letters to get things going.

I've been playing guitar for 42 years and other stringed instruments for up to 29 years. I have 4 Martins (including the aforementioned 000-EC28, so I feel qualified to compare the sound of the ROS-626 to them and mine was as good or better. I play professionally and have acoustics and electrics both. I am very competent at instrument set up and most repairs. I wish I could have tried an ROS-626 before buying, but stores around here don't carry them. Anyone considering one of them should check out intonation and, based upon what others are saying at this site, fit and finish as well. I'm all for spending less money, but an unplayable guitar is unacceptable even if it is free. I'm definitely going to keep my eyes peeled for a used one; hopefully I can find one someday that has been manufactured properly, but I don't think I'll buy another new one based upon these problems. Too bad because a 000 body with a slotted head and the solid woods make this a unique and very desirable guitar. Not to add competition to my search for a used one, I'll say that if you can find one with correct intonation and void of fit and finish issues, buy it. Rating would be 9 or 10 if there was not an intonation problem.

The finish on mine was very nice--unlike the last reviewer (that probably works for Blueridge, Saga). Very attractive and well made.

The sound is nice, mellow and balanced. It will certainly improve with age--this is a "green machine..." I play professionally as a studio musician and a church musician. I bought this guitar for playing liturgical music for some church clients on the Oregon Coast. It performs wonderfully. The wide string spacing helps with my accuracy and clarity. Nice tone--but lacks the bark of my Alvarez MD-350.

Played well out of the gate. I prefer medium action--which this guitar had. I get better volume with no buzzing under hard strumming that way.

It looks like it will last as long as any other wooden, glued-together object will...

Who knows?

I have a degree in music and I have been playing for many years. I use this guitar for classical, gospel, and swing. It works well for all of those things, though it isn't the perfect choice for any of those (it is the perfect compromise, however.) I like the size and the clarity. I think that I would have bought the rosewood model if I had to do it over again, I just prefer that sound--maybe a maple model if they had one. Just my preference.

Finish is adequately applied nitrocellulose which has been applied too thick in the joint areas. 12 fret triple O style based on a Martin. Tuners are Grover Sta-tites. Made in China within the past year. Top is solid Sitka spruce and back/ sides solid African Mahogany. Neck is mahogany. It is what it is; versatility is not this guitar's forte.

Sounds OK. Not the holy grail people have made them out to be. I've seen and played 3 of these and they are very variable ranging from a pretty a sweet tone to thuddy and fairly unappealing.

This is where they (and from what I hear and have seen 1st hand) ALL Recording Kings fall short. Fit and finish is dismal. Purfling not lining up. Stain splattered onto glue drips to cover bad spots. Stained in splotchy manner. Sighting along the neck, it has a curve sanded into the edge (at 90 degrees to the playing surface). Finish buggers. Sloppy kerf lining on the inside. I've seen 3 and all of them had serious cosmetic issues. Crazing lacquer. Just really sloppy craftsmanship overall. Unimpressive. It's too bad because the basic design and idea is a good one. Believe me these are NOT well-executed

The tuners are nice. I don't think I'd gig with it without back-up.

No experience with them

I've been playing for 30+ years. Have owned a lot of guitars and these are $400 guitars that have been hyped to pass as $800 guitars. Mine is going to be a camp guitar. I would not replace it. I might check out the Blueridge parlor model if this were stolen or lost. I wish it had more intrinsic, built-in quality because the size is nice. As it stands it is a mediocre guitar at best.

Finish - 8
Body Style - 10 if this is what you want
Tuners - 9
Neck - feels like a classical...great if this is what you want
Accessories - mine came with a case...nice
2008 - China
12 frets to the body
Solid mahogany top, back, and sides

I wanted a vintage sounding and playing guitar and did a lot of research, both new and used. I actually bought an old Harmony on Ebay and re-sold it, and also bought a Martin 000-15 and then returned it. I was skittish about buying one of these sight unseen but a guy was selling one on Ebay who happened to live pretty close. He let me come over and play the guitar before bidding and as soon as I played it I knew this was the guitar I'd been looking for. It has that compressed sound like an old blues guitar should have without sounding flat or thin. The tones are complex and it projects quite a bit of volume.

The action is perfect...nice and low but no buzzing.
I'd give the finish a B+ or an A-. It's really good, but not perfect. I bought mine used and there is some finish checking that is barely noticible. I've read that the lacquer finish on these is applied to thick, but it looks fine to me. Overall I think you'd have to be a real snob to criticize the finish...the guitar looks great and is carefully constructed and finished. (It's not one of those that looks and feels cheap as soon as you pick it up, if that's what you're worried about)
It's really well made where it counts...the neck feels great, the frets are smooth, etc.

no opinion...I just got it

havent' had to use it

hand polished nitro lacquer finished, 000 body style guitar, grover stay-tite open gear tuners, 12 frets to the body, slotted headstock,
solid mahogony back and sides, triple AAA grade spruce top. designed after a 1902 parlor guitar, the upper bout tapers into the thicker lower bout for a wide open, and clear sound.

i have owned many 000 martins in the past, my last being an m-38 bought new in 1979, which is a very ornate version of the martin ec model. my current guitars include a custom shop nick lucas and a number of prewar L-series gibsons. i will say if you favor a fingerpicking style, the new ros 626 will be your new favorite guitar. it has, to my tastes, excelled over any previous guitar i have ever owned in sound quality, and in build. the recording king ros 626 has a very wide neck, being 1-3/4" at the nut, affords effortless fretting and chordal work. the ros 626 has a fullness and projection of sound second to none. this is a must own guitar for any musician in the blues, ragtime, folk, or old timey vein. the cost of this guitar is almost obscene.

i purchased the recording king ros 626 from paul, a salesman from the guitar hut in knoxville, tn, who sets each of his guitars up himself. being very knowledgeable with acoustic guitar setup, along with the fact he uses state of the art measurement tools for his guitar setups, the ros 626 arrived at my home ready to rock. fretting, intonation, and string action were impecable. much better than any martin or gibson i have ever purchased in the past. if i had to complain, i would have to say the only thing i can bitch about would be the nut was cut very tight, i did have to open up the string notches one through three to eliminate the string binding squeaks i had initially when tuning.

i have owned my ros 626 for about 4 months to date. i have replaced the grover stay-tite tuners with a set of waverly 3 on a side plates for the slotted headstock. not because they needed replacement, just because a guitar this good deserves them (the waverly's cost $200 a set). and they fit this premium made guitar to a tee. gibson and martin should be taking notes with this one, this guitar is what all guitars should sound and play like. i understand there is an extreme shortage of these guitars presently, every one of these being made has someone's name on it already. i was very lucky to get mine, and am very impressed with it so far.

i am not sure what kind of warranty it has, or if there even is a warranty on it. but i have dealt with paul at the guitar hut for quite a while, and he stands behind all guitars that he sells regardless what kind of warranty they have. and that is much better than i have had in the past. the martin m-38 i purchased in 1979 had a lifetime warranty, but as i tell my friends, i owned that guitar for 14 years before trading it, and i believe martin had it in for repairs for 10 of those years. i paid a few thousand dollars more for it than a new car cost back then, and that guitar was the martin guitar that made me go back to gibsons again, it was a nightmare. if i could find a dreadnaught built like this recording king ros 626, i may even drop my adv.jumbo gibson too. a stellar performer for about a fifth the cost of any guitar remotely close to it.

i have been for close to a half a century, have always been loyal to the martins, gibsons, and i truly love my old nationals. although the old nationals will never, ever be duplicated again, (sorry don young), the new gibson and martin offerings seem to be more and more just relying on their names to sell their guitars, they do little to nothing to improve their sound or playability, or even their quality of their new instruments. but they do know how to increase the cost of their instruments, they haven't forgotten that. i truly urge any musician to compare the recording king ros 626 to any new gibson, or martin acoustic, and tell me i am wrong. the ros 626 is an exceptional guitar.