Walden Guitars G730

If you've read the rest of the reviews, you already know the specifics.
I bought this one as a basket case project. So when I got it, it had no tuners, nut, bridge saddle, strings or bridge pins...No accessories or case, and the top was smashed in & cracked from the bridge to the bottom edge near the end pin.
Other than that, it was in great shape.
I repaired the top, which was easier than it looked like it would be, and touched up the satin lacquer.
I was able to get a set of gold tuners from another Walden guitar. These don't have the pearloid keys. But they are very good quality tuners & an exact fit.
I installed a Tusq nut & bridge saddle, which I cut & fine tuned myself, and a set of amber colored bone bridge pins with abalone dot inlays, which look sweet on the guitar.
I strung it with a set of 80/20 brass strings in .011-.050 gauge.
I won't rate this category because I purchased it as a project.

I love the sound of this guitar. It's crisp, clear, full & bright, with excellent definition and projection.
It's very well balanced and not muddy or boomy in the bottom end.
The sound is very well suited to picking and backing up vocals.
It may sound funny. But I could tell, just from handling the guitar during the repair stage, without even having strings on it, that it was going to sound great. There was just something about the way it resonated when I touched it.
I was not disappointed in the least.
In fact, I think it totally blows away the similar sized Martins with the HPL bodies that sell for $650.-$750.

Other than the repairs & other work that I did myself, the guitar seemed to be very well made.
The bracing and all the joints were clean and neat.
The frets were perfect, as were all of the bindings and purfling.
The one issue I have is the thickness of the rosewood bridge, which doesn't offer enough support to the saddle. It requires more of the saddle to be exposed between the bridge & the strings than is desired.
This is possibly due to the angle of the neck set, which I do not want to get involved with.
I rated it a 6 because these are factory issues. But I was able to get around them & end up with a great sounding & playing guitar.

About 6 months after the project was finished, the bridge pulled up for no apparent reason & without any warning, while playing it.
This may have been loose to begin with & could have gone unnoticed because of the lacquer I used to touch it up, holding it in place for a while.
It was re-glued easily enough, and has been fine ever since.(About a year, so far)
I have no worries about playing live with this guitar. But I would always have a backup no matter what guitar I'm playing, since anything is possible, from a broken string to a popped bridge. I feel it is foolish not to have a backup at all times, no matter what.
Don't worry about the finish. Just because it's not glossy doesn't mean it won't hold up well.

I can't rate this, since I bought it damaged without a warranty & performed all the repairs myself.

I've been playing over 40 years, to date. And I've begun fooling around with restoring & repairing guitars in the last 2 years or so.
I bought this as a project, which I planned to repair & resell. But once I got my hands on it, I fell in love.
You'd have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands now.
I've compared this guitar with several of the Martin GA sized guitars in the $650-$750 price range. And this blows them away.
It has a clarity & definition that just can't be matched by HPL. And I haven't found many guitars at any price that sound significantly better.

Grand Auditorium design - dimensions nearly identical to Taylor GA's. Solid western red cedar top with solid Indian rosewood back, and laminated rosewood sides. Somewhat unique combination of woods as it seems most cedar tops are matched with mahogany back and sides. Will discuss impact on tonal quality below. Designed in US - built in China. Satin nitro finish, no electronics. Came with nice gig bag, humidifier and extra winter saddle. Seems like a very good bang for the buck!

I began this latest episode of guitar acquisition syndrome by looking at the lesser priced Taylor GA's (114, 214, etc.) Kind of stuck on a GA size, due to the fact that my others are all dreadnoughts and wanted something more for fingerpicking and a lighter touch. The Taylors were OK, but I thought overly bright. Plus, frankly, I thought they were overpriced for laminate backs and sides with what has become available in the market today. Had remembered reading a very flattering review of a Walden GA in Acoustic Guitar magazine (a G570TB) and started doing more research on their line. Listened to some sound clips at the Walden site and after reading some other reviews, I settled on the G730. Scary to buy sight unseen, but took comfort in all the positive reports I read on build quality. Plus, Power Alley has their luthier inspect and setup all of their guitars! So, for $300 less than I would have got a Taylor 214 (with a laminate back), I ordered the Walden. OK, so about the sound... All I can say is, "Wow"! This guitar is amazing to me. I had never played a cedar top in conjunction with a rosewood body. The first thing I noticed was the sensitivity of the guitar. It responds beautifully to a light touch. Second, I noticed a tonal complexity to it that was unlike any other guitar I've owned. Nice overtones, slightly emphasized bass AND treble. Kind of like if it had an EQ that the bass and treble sliders would be boosted with a flat midrange - just like my car stereo! Maybe it's the combination of cedar and rosewood with scalloped bracing - whatever - I don't care. It's beautiful.

The guitar seems very well put together. I did notice just a little uneveness to the finish which you can see if you look closely at the binding; some areas are a little "whiter" than others. But, overall, the guitar has a feeling of quality about it that far exceeds the price I paid for it. Setup was perfect - neck is pretty much dead straight. Action and intonation are dead on - thanks to Power Alley.

Hard to comment on some of this stuff. Tuners seem solid, but don't know what make they are. Finish is thin by design (for a more "open" sound), so I'm sure it's going to wear faster than a globbed on glossy finish. I have had it out playing with friends, but no hardcore gigging. I'll baby it!

No dealings directly with Walden, but the dealer (Power Alley) was great through purchase, setup, and delivery. Has a lifetime warranty.

I've played for 20+ years. Folk, country, singer-songwriter stuff. This purchase has caused a demotion of my Martin DX1 to second string as it is just a better match for what I'm into these days. Again, I started out on this purchase by closely evaluating the lower end Taylors, and in my opinion, this Walden G730 blows them away at a lower price point. People seem to always want to get into the American vs. overseas argument. I evaluate the finished product on its own merit and could absolutely care less about where it was constructed. Go Walden!!

Satin finished guitar. Solid Cedar top in Grand Auditorium size (similar to a Taylor) with solid Rosewood back and laminated sides of rosewood.
Nicely inlaid abalone purfling around sound hole. Comes with Gig Bag but I would like to see a case instead. Still Gig Bag is very well made and nice.And they offer a "Winter Saddle" with the guitar.For us in the frozen north who know about dryness! Nice touch. Comes with a Planet waves Humidifier too. As well as the customary Allen wrench.
Real Lacquer finish and everything is very tidy. Well made, and fit and finish are superb and those are not even the best parts of the guitar. Scalloped bracing very clean inside. Blissfully to me No electronics on this model though they offer Acoustic/Electric models as well.
Rosewood fingerboard and well seated and finished frets. Straight true neck and nice tuners hold tune and are very smooth. Rosewood bridge and plastic binding. I would like to see rosewood bridge pins to give the guitar a touch more class and warmth in tone. But tone is NOT a problem with this beautiful instrument. Tone is this instrument's name!

The sound of this very balanced and warm sounding instrument is very even and loud. It has an open and airy sound that polyurethane or polyester coated guitars do not have. The problem with poly resin coats is that they are very hard and they do not bond to the wood like an old fahioned lacquer coat does.They keep away scratches, look nice and shiny new all the time. But they also keep away tone. Walden puts real lacquer on their guitars so the more it is played the better it sounds because the wood and finish bond and become one.
If you play fingerstyle you will find this guitar well suited with a warm and very focused sound. balanced and loud, (String spacing is nice too.) thanks to the rosewood. The cedar top is warm and mellow. but Do not confuse mellow and warm with a lack of volume. It has tone and volume to spare.
If you are a singer songwriter who strums you will love the comfort of the shape and the way it sets easy on the lap or light when standing.
The coat is very thin so it has plenty of open natural tone. Really it must be played to be believed.

The fit and finish is consistently fine. Look inside a Walden and you won't find gobs of glue or wood shavings or anything else a guitar in this price range is bound to have. And this G730 is just superb. Neck is bolted into the body and there is a real nice "broken in " feel to the neck. Again if I had a complaint I would like to see wood bridge pins replace the plastic pins. But this is an easy rememdy and not really an issue in the fit and finsh part. More of a personal tate thing.
The fret ends are not sharp like on many of the new Martins I have played. And the the quality of woods used is top notch.Lots of care goes into the building of thes guitars and it shows.

This has not been an issue. Seems rock solid.
I'd use this without backup no problem. But always carry extra stings!

These people are superb at anything you may want to address. The designer John Lee is an ex Taylor builder and has learned his caft well. As you will no doubt notice immediatley when you pick a G730 up and look at how this is put together. and after you play it you will be hooked. It won't take more than that.

I teach guitar I write and play and record and sing. Needless to say I spend a lot of time with a guitar in my hands.AND i have had a guitar in my hands since 1968. So you know I have been playing since before there was hair.
Now a poorly made guitar is all too common for the new student. Unfortunately the parents make the mistake of buying a guitar that is poorly made and no fun to play. Because they figure "Cheap is good".But if the guitar hurts or sounds bad or is hard to keep in tune the frustration levels quickly suck the joy of learning to play, right out of the equation. And it is a good bet the student will give up.Walden takes those problems away. If a student or even potential student asks me what to get I don't even hesitate. My first reponse is always "Walden" I have several students using the G570 and D550 guitars and all of them love them. And once they got them really startedd to excel and took off faster. it s my biggest thrill to have a student come to class excted about showing me what they figured out on their guitar. The ones who have gotten better guitars (these are not expensive folks!)like a Walden do better because they hear how good they sound compared to what they played before.
These guitars are so well made and sound so good, and play so well, and even look very nice it is a foolish thing to look elsewhere.Why? Because even if you buy the Bottom of the Natura line you will be buying a guitar that will last you a lifetime and be a joy to play and own for a good long time... This is not true with your average Washburn or Whatever else you may think sublime. But buy a Walden and you will not replace it.

This is the top of the Natura line in a Grand Auditorium style, solid cedar top, solid rosewood back, laminated rosewood sides, all fine examples. 14th-fret neck joint, nice fretwork, rosewood fingerboard. A couple burrs on the binding, very minor, inlay work and rosette flawless. Rosewood bridge with plastic saddle & pins. Non-branded tuners, but very smooth and stable, with coppper-colored pearloid buttons, unusual and quite pretty. Also a rosewood headplate, nice touch. No cutaway, no electronics; I wanted the best acoustic sound from the get-go. Double-action trussrod, you don't see that on many guitars at all, let alone at this price point. And the deluxe case is outstanding, nice-looking and very substantial.

With a pick, the sound is rich and warm, not the volume of a dreadnaught, but very responsive. Same with fingerpicking, but the light top and body geometry really brings softer notes alive. Concise bass, presumably would be fuller with heavier strings (I use Martin silk/steel sized .0115-.047). I've always had dreadnaughts, but as I get further from heavy strumming, I find I like the smaller body and more responsive feel of GA, 000, and 00 bodies.

Excellent setup, higher action than I was used to, and I did lower it about 1/16", but left it higher than my previous guitar, because it's a much better guitar, and therefore plays easier higher and sounds accordingly warmer and fuller. Excellent specimens of cedar and rosewood used throughout. Besides a few binding burrs and a couple minor lacquer flaws, excellent build quality. No protruding frets, no dips in the fretboard, no dropoff below the neck joint, nice straight neck.

The thin natural lacquer finish is by design and should be considered a feature. If durability of the coating itself is your concern, you might try something else, but a lighter finish doesn't inhibit the tone as much, and allows higher quality woods to age more naturally. It is a very light guitar, but manages to feel quite substantial regardless, well-balanced and lively against your belly.

I've only had it for a couple months and haven't needed them, but the dealer is very responsive and has found the company's representatives receptive and helpful.

I've been playing guitar since 1986, and I've always kept just one acoustic (I've had a Yamaha, an Epiphone, and a Fender), just one electric (Fender HSS Strat the whole time), one amp (a Gorilla, a Crate, and a Vox). My previous acoustic I bought new in 1994. I played it a lot and it had sentimental value, but the craftmaship was fair, there were fret buzzes that wouldn't adjust out, fret ends I had to dress myself, the fretboard dropped of pretty sharply below the neck joint making the cutaway almost useless, the tuners were notchy and unstable, the preamp was noisy with awful tone, and the deep dreadnaught was uncomfortable for as much as I play. The Walden has adressed all of those issues, and I actually play more often because of it. I doubt that I'll add a pickup, because it sounds and plays so nicely, I'd sooner mic it up. I was shopping around for a Yamaha or a lower-line Tacoma or Breedlove, in particular hoping to find something with a cedar top when I heard about these. The more I looked into it, the more I saw everything I wanted for less than I'd have payed.