Aspen A-118S

This dreadnought was made in Korea around 1981 , and is a very high quality martin copy, solid spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides, rosewood fretboard with simple martin type dot position markers. 20 frets to the body, it is under-stated and made of quality woods.

Any song you would wish to play on a martin, or any tune, this will have exactly the same feel, it boooooms !!!! Sound to keel over to..

Great set-up on this guitar, i hussled it from a pal who knew how good it was, but doesn't play acoustic a lot....his loss !!! Simple and understated, but lovely herringbone binding and a nice mahogany smell even after all these years. Tuners are good.

Very very well crafted guitar that could be hurled around and still play well, dont bother with a back-up.

WHO ARE ASPEN !!??!!

I have owned many martins, and this stands up to almost all of them except those that have cost several thousand dollars..also beats handmade guitars i have had for sound quality...what isnt to like ? It isnt covered with mother of pearl, but would i want that on a guitar? Shux, no...if someone steals it, i have fitted a tracking device, and they will be followd and then..........ill kindly ask for it back, with a baseball bat in one hand...kiddin...! Great guitar

Transparent finnish, seems durable. Dreadnought, with rosewood bridge and Grover chrome tuners. Has mahogany V-neck with rosewood fretboard, mother of pearl inlays on headstock. No idea when made but I beleive it was made in the 1980's by Samick in Korea. Solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, bone nut and bridge saddle, triple bound with segments in the middle layer.

Sound is constantly surprizing me when I go to try other guitars I can't seem to find one I like better. The Martins sound similar but feel to light. I found a $2,500. Taylor that I liked better but I'm not worth a guitar that pricey. Very rich sound, good base and mid range though not as bright as it could be in the treble strings. When I jam with the guys I put a sound hole pick-up which is not the best way to do it. It would be worth a Fishman peizo set I think.

I bought the guitar used and it was not played much, no wear on the frets, rusty strings and the action was way too high, so I assume that was the factory set-up. I lowered the nut and the bridge saddle and had to dress one fret down, now it has a sweet low action with no buzz. I can assume the factory set-up was poor.

This guitar is very rugged, it seems well made, and has been played almost every day since I got it 6 years ago. It looks exactly the same now as it did then, a few scratches but good for a 20 year old guitar. The rear strap button fell out once and I glued it back in. I take it sailing with me every weekend and it's fairly stable in the humid environment. I never doubt that I will have it forever.

I do my own repairs.

I have been playing for 6 years, this was my first guitar. I also own a 1967 Aria ES335 copy and a Vantage classical guitar. I bought the Aspen because it had all the features I was looking for in a used guitar and was much better sound and quality that I thought I would get. I was surprized when I went to buy it at how good it was for the money.

No idea where it was made or what year, I bought it 2nd hand in 1994 in Lyon France. It has 20 frets, a solid spruce top,I think the neck is mahogany, no idea for the sides and back but they are solid wood.
It has a very resilient transparant gloss finish. Still looks and plays great after 10 years of rough and tumble treatment. It's apparently a Martin copy, right down to the warning to use light or medium strings embossed into the back bracing under the soundhole. But it is a lot heavier and more solid than my Martin D18. It has Grover tuners. The neck is considerably wider than other dreadnaughts and when the nut broke I had to have a replacement made by a luthier because the standard ones from the guitar store weren't wide enough.

It is a very versatile guitar and adapts to all sorts of music.
It has a heavy rich sound that is great for a solo performer.
Good for fingerpicking and arpeggios.

This guitar will still be young when my grandson gets it.
I've used it in at least 150 gigs and apart from a couple of minor dings it is none the worse for wear. Everything is solid.

The company no longer exists, so customer support is not available but it doesn't need anything anyway.

I've been playing for 37 years.

I own a Martin D18, an Ibanez electro acoustic archtop, an Ibanez electro acoustic flattop, and a double cutaway Les Paul.
I use all of the guitars for recording or gigs, but the Aspen is the guitar I usually play when I'm alone.

Year: 1970's
Frets: 21
Body style: Martin replica
Tuners: Very similar to the ones on my $2,500 Takamine Santa Fe. Made in West Germany.
Bridge: Nice and solid and a little ornate with black pegs.
Neck: Nice and straight

The sound out of this guitar is incredible. I believe Aspen were masters of copying upper range range guitars, such as Martins, and were taken to court for doing so. I played this guitar and the first thing that hit me was that it was VERY LOUD. Just playing a hard open e chord made the guitar feel like it was gonna take off - and the sustain and resonance were pretty astonishing. I actually felt the impact oin my chest.
Yes, the sound is big as a house and very bold. Think of the intro to 'heaven' by Talking Heads on Stop Making Sense. The guitar also sounds great on the recording I've made with it. I like to mic up the neck and add a little reverb. It sounds golden.

Action: Around 4mm at the 12th fret, which allows me to strum very aggressively, without the strings rubbing against the neck. I have 2 main styles of playing,
soft melancholic picking - Red House Painters / American Music Club etc
full belt pounding
It handles both well.
The guitar looks very nice, with a black and white trim along the edges. The Aspen logo appears to have changed for this model, so maybe it's a slightly newer than the others I hold.
The tuners are beautiful and are the softest tuners I've ever used. They're even better than the ones on my $2500 Takamine Santa Fe!

Great finish which has lasted years. Solid as a tank. Sings like a bird.

The company stopped trading in the early 80's I am led to believe.

I have been playing guitar for just under 20 years. I own a number of acoustic guitar. Most of these are Aspens (luckily), although I also have a couple of very sturdy takamine guitar. In fact I've tried most types of guitar in my time, although find that Aspens and Takamine's suit me very well.
This A118S is a great guitar. If you see one, make sure you snap it up straight away, as you may never get the chance again. These baby's are hard to find, and hard to let go of. All of my friend's have offered to buy this from me at one point or another. It stays.