Product: Silver Creek D-160
Price Paid: USD 199.99
Submitted
07/13/2008
at
08:33pm
by
picker
Features
:
6
Musician's Friend brand dreadnought, made in China. 25 1/2 inch scale, 1 11/16 nut width, 14/20 fret. Chunky modified V neck. Solid spruce top (not stated what kind, sitka I guess). Solid mahogany back, sides, and neck. Rosewood fingerboard, overlay, and bridge. Gloss lacquer (I guess) finish. No-name cheap, but functionally adequate tuners. Forward shifted X bracing similar to pre-war Martin design.
Sound
:
8
Tone and volume similar to many other solid mahogany dreadnoughts. Bright, loud, and responds well to being played hard. Ideal for flat picking. Not well suited for light finger picking. Very similar to Martin D-18.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
8
Excellent quality gloss finish. Excellent fit and finish overall. Bracing looks well glued. Top wood was straight-grained and bookmatched, but showed some runout. Back, sides, and neck appeared to be straight grained good quality wood. Good quality artwork with abalone on headstock. White (probably plastic) binding and rosette. Tortise shell pickguard, (edges slightly sharp and crudely cut). Initial neck relief was about .013, but easily adjusted to .007 by trussrod adjustment. All string heights at nut were approx. .027 inch. Action at 12th fret was approx 8/32 - 9/32 low E, 6/32 high E. Compensated 1/8 inch saddle with plenty of height to adjust action. Saddle and nut appeared to be tusq or bone, definitely not plastic. Plastic bridge pins. The strings that came on it were extremely poor.
Reliability/Durability
:
9
This guitar is a solid wood guitar, so the usual care should be taken as far as heat and humidity are concerned. A typical setup from a competent luthier or tech should address the string height issues. Better quality tuners might be needed. This guitar should be more than adequate for daily use. Its tone and volume make it competitive with much more expensive guitars.
Customer Support
:
1
Beyond the initial 45 day return period from Musician's Friend, customer support is likely nonexistent.
Overall Rating
:
9
Normal price is about $299.99. I got it on a special for $199.99. I don't play professionally, however I have played and owned several other solid wood guitars. They usually cost several times more than what this guitar costs. It is surprising what is offered here. Considering its cost, this guitar is an excellent value. One can buy this guitar and spend a modest amount of money addressing its shortcomings and have an excellent player.
